Book Review: A Perfect Fit by Heather Tullis

What the book says for itself:

Cami DiCarlo doesn’t agree with her father that her life has been stuck in a rut, so she is not happy when he forces her hand into heading up guest services at his newest five-star hotel. The fact that he unveils the existence of four half-sisters at the same time, and insists that they live together while they launch the new resort, only makes things worse. When she meets Vince Talmadge, the sweet, sexy landscaper her father would never have approved of, Cami can’t say no. If only she could be sure she is on the right track—and that they will be able to stop the person who is trying to destroy everything she and her sisters are working to build.

What I had to say about the book.

I sort of struggled with this book and I couldn’t decide at first why it was I didn’t immediately like it. I could have been that the story is about one couple, but ALL the sisters are involved in this book as the set up to the series begins. The names of the girls were all about flowers but I couldn’t really remember what each girl was supposed to be in charge of in the running of the Hotel their father forced them into working in. They are all sisters, but only 2 share the same mother and the other 3 have different mothers. They struggle to come to terms with their relationships as sisters, and their feelings for their cheating father. And though I did like that part of the story where I could see the inner turmoil and how they interacted with each other and eventually learned to get along. It was still difficult to grasp the love story I wanted to read about because of all the extra family involved in the plot.

I totally guessed the “bad guys”. One right from the start and the other pretty quickly afterward so it was kind of predictable, but there were still fun twists and surprises I didn’t see at first. The whole issue the “Bad guy” had was a little cheesy and overblown, but desperate people do desperate things.

The love story should have had me riveted, but it kinda happened really fast, then they started sleeping together (though nothing is given in detail so it could still be considered basically a clean romance) and I was really annoyed. Their kissing started to get boring for me since there was no “sexual tension” because they were already a couple, just afraid to commit to the long term relationship at first.  I’m sure I’ll read the others that come out for the series (the teaser for book 2 at the end of this book 1 was interesting), but I’m not dying for them right away. 

DOUBLE Book Review Shatter Me and Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi

     
                                                                                  


What Shatter Me says for itself:

I have a curse.
I have a gift.

I'm a monster.
I'm more than human.

My touch is lethal.
My touch is power.

I am their weapon.
I will fight back.

No one knows why Juliette's touch is fatal, but The Reestablishment has plans for her. Plans to use her as a weapon. But Juliette has plans of her own. After a lifetime without freedom, she's finally discovering a strength to fight back for the very first time—and to find a future with the one boy she thought she'd lost forever.

In this electrifying debut, Tahereh Mafi presents a riveting dystopian world, a thrilling superhero story, and an unforgettable heroine.

What Unravel Me says for itself:

tick
tick
tick
tick
tick
it's almost
time for war.

Juliette has escaped to Omega Point. It is a place for people like her—people with gifts—and it is also the headquarters of the rebel resistance.

She's finally free from The Reestablishment, free from their plan to use her as a weapon, and free to love Adam. But Juliette will never be free from her lethal touch.

Or from Warner, who wants Juliette more than she ever thought possible.

In this exhilarating sequel to Shatter Me, Juliette has to make life-changing decisions between what she wants and what she thinks is right. Decisions that might involve choosing between her heart—and Adam's life.

What I have to say about both of them:

These books are awesome and you tear right through them. I read the first book when it was online for the promotion of book 2. I read it in one afternoon. Then book 2 was done in 5 hours. Such a fast read, but not a small book. (Either of them)

The style is unusual and not what I’m used to reading, but these books didn’t slow me down on that at all. The only thing I didn’t like is that in book 2 I read it in the actual book form, not an e-book, and they had the edges of the pages roughed up. (probably to give you a feel for a dystopian world with books being banned) but I found it annoying.

Shatter Me starts out with Juliette in a mental institution and she’s been writing in a journal about her issues. As we read her thoughts, I love how some of them are crossed out like she’s trying to be honest, then changes her mind to show she’s not completely lost her senses. The thing about Juliette is that she has a superpower that makes it so people can’t touch her skin. She will drain them of all lifeforce and it hurts them as she touches them. She loves the way it feels, but is so sickened and horrified that what her touch does is kill another person.

Adam is sent to observe her, and we come to discover that he can touch her through some weird  trick of fate. They knew each other in school before she accidentally killed a child through touch and is sent from doctor to doctor and hospital to hospital to eventually end up all alone in an institution. Through the comments in her notes and a few conversations with some other people, we see the world has been changed because of the way the humans treated it. Grass is not green. Birds can’t fly. Martial Law rules.

Warner wants to use her as a powerful weapon to reorder and start the world anew with him in control, but she refuses to be used as a weapon. Adam helps her escape and they find themselves at the end of the book with a group of people I can only relate to the X-men.  Ari thinks she’ll finally have something of a normal life.

Unravel Me picks up a couple weeks after book 1 ended. Ari is having a hard time adjusting to this new prison. She still feels trapped and wonders if her power will be used for this side of the war and how being used by one group would be any different than being used by a different group.

The interactions between the characters and how they try to make the best of the really crappy situations they find themselves in is wonderful. I’d have to say Kenji is my favorite character in this book. (He was a supporting one in book 1, but here we get to see all the awesome stuff he can do.)

Adam, we discover has some kind of mutation as well, thus the reason he can touch Julliette without injury, but there of course has to be a twist. And I loved how there would still be some tension and hardness for the characters, though I was still really sad for Juliette that she couldn’t find any happily ever after.

Warner comes into play in this book, and it’s even better than book 1. We get to see that Warner isn’t just a bad guy. (he is a bad guy), but he does have a reason for what he’s doing and getting into his mind through the interactions with Juliette was awesome. Plus there is kissing and a whole lot of confusion, and guilt, and action, and fighting and on and on.

I CANT WAIT for book 3. 

Buy Shatter Me on Amazon HERE

Buy Shatter Me on Barnes and Nobel HERE

BUY Unravel Me on Amazon HERE

Buy Unravel Me on Barnes and Nobel HERE

Book Review: FEUDLINGS by Wendy Knight

Hey, I might actually be able to post this. Been having difficulty with blogger lately, but it seems like it may be fixed.

So I've not been reading as much since I've done tons of writing and editing over the last month. Finished book # 3 the middle of April. So fun to be able to create something from just an idea.

And its also amazing to read someone else's ideas. In the form of a book. And speaking of reading other books, let me tell you about one that kept me up way into the night it was so good.

FEUDLINGS by Wendy Knight.



First off, can I just say I love this cover! And those boots! If I could stand to wear heels, I'd totally have a pair like that.
Here's what the book has to say for itself:

Nothing makes a new school suck worse than discovering the guy you’re in love with is your prophesied nemesis.

Ari is the most powerful flame-throwing sorceress ever, and her people’s last hope in an ancient war. But she’s also a seventeen-year-old girl, and in her free, not-hunting-nemesis times, she jumps from school to school, trying to figure out regular people her own age and pretending she’ll get the chance to graduate.

Shane lives a double life. He goes to school and masters the art of popularity, hiding the fact that he has a fate with a slim chance of his survival. He’s destined to end a 300 year-old war by killing or being killed. He knows he’s hunted by a powerful enemy who’s not afraid to die. Only problem? He has no idea who that enemy is. 

When Ari shows up at Shane’s school, angry and sullen and determined to keep him at arm’s reach, neither of them realize they are supposed to be killing each other, not fall-ing in love. Until Ari does realize it, and she almost dies – by Shane’s hand.

Here's what I have to say about it:

This was such a fun book. Very much a Romeo and Juliet without the tragedy. Two kids from feuding family's fall in love and try to stop the whole war. Romance without being inappropriate. Battle scenes without being horrible and bloody and gory. A teenage assassin who has to fight her family's ancient battles, and does her best to be merciful, giving them the chance to run yet protects her family and her mother especially. Ari has a brother who is supposed to be her protector, (fighting assistant, right hand man, guardian, and so forth) but since he has a conscience and didn't want to continue fighting in the war, he is now an outcast and can't ever return home, but that doesn't stop him from still being her guard and doing what he can. The magic in the story was believable (as far as magic goes) there were rules to it, they had to do it right, no one could do all the things and there were limitations.
The humanity and relationship development was right on. Ari wasn't used to having friends and had always shut herself off from people, but as her classmates begin to break down her walls and she lets her guard down she starts to realize she can be human and actually enjoy life, even to the point of falling for a guy. Shane at first seemed like the egotistical popular guy that had to have a girlfriend all the time, but we soon get to see how Shane is so much different than the image he projects as a way to keep himself hidden in the open. The supporting characters were awesome and I even loved to hate the room mate.
Wendy did a wonderful job on this story and it has a sequel coming before long.

Here is Wendy's BLOG

It's a great price as well.
Here's the link to buy it on AMAZON

Here's the link for Barnes and Noble

And if you have a preference for Smashwords, it's right HERE

Book Review: Seeking Persephone by Sarah Eden

Here's what the book says for itself:

When Persephone Lancaster receives a marriage proposal from the ill-tempered Duke of Kielder, she refuses, and then reconsiders. The obscene sum of money he's offering Persephone would save her family from ruin. With her characteristic optimism, she travels to the far reaches of Northumberland to wed a greatly feared stranger. Lodged deep in a thick forest infested with wild dogs, the Duke's castle is as cold and forbidding as the Duke himself, a man with terrible scars on his body and his soul. But the Duke's steely determination to protect his heart at all costs is challenged by his growing attachment to his lovely and gentle bride. With caring persistence, Persephone attempts to pierce the Duke's armor and reach the man beneath. Yet he cannot tolerate such exposure, and his repeated rejections take their toll. But when grave danger arises, the Duke realizes he must face the risk of revealing his true feelings or lose the woman he cannot live without.

Here's what I have to say about it:

I LOVE it when a romance is clean and sweet and you are left wishing it wasn’t clean, but so relieved when it really is clean. Sarah Eden is a masterful writer and none of her plots are the same or feel forced.  This was such a cute book, and I wondered how on earth people back then did what they did, and why they would possibly consider marrying someone they had never met to save their family from ruin. It would never happen today, but by Sarah's wonderful storytelling, you can see how the characters would do just that. And still believe it was all logical.  The only thing I didn't really love in this story is the villain and the harm he caused seemed slightly odd. His retaliation seemed a little too mean for the offense given to him. But of course, he was a jerk, so they do those things right?

Persephone went through a lot, but held up really well. She was such a positive thinker and tried so hard that I was getting really irritated at Adam for not realizing how fortunate he really was sooner. I loved how Adam was a mean bear, but still had a soft spot, and his friend Harry is so awesome. (He's featured as the Hero in a follow-up book "Courting Miss Lancaster" and I absolutely recommend it too since Persephone and Adam are in it as well) See my review on it coming soon.

Wonderful book all around. Get it. You won't be disappointed.

Find it on Amazon HERE

Find it on Barnes and Noble Here

BOOK REVIEW: Reasons I fell for the funny fat friend. By Becca Ann

Book review  REASONS I FELL FOR THE FUNNY FAT FRIEND  By Becca Ann

What the book says about itself:

It's stupid to fall for your brother's ex. It's even worse to enlist another's help to win the ex over. But Brody is desperate and Hayley, his partner in American Sign Language, is more than willing to lend him a few tips. She’s the school’s ‘matchmaker’, and with her bizarre and positive personality, Brody finds her easy to talk too, even about the most awkward situations. Hayley’s tips seem to be working, but as Brody learns more about his matchmaker, he starts finding reasons to spend time with her, and not the girl he thought he was in love with. But Hayley isn’t ready to fall for anyone. Labeled the “Funny Fat Friend” within her group, her self image makes it impossible for Brody to share his feelings without Hayley shrugging it off as a joke. Convincing her Brody can, and did, fall for the “Funny Fat Friend” turns out to be a lot harder than simply falling in love.

What I have to say about it:

This was a cute book overall, but it was sort of offensive in places. Maybe it was because it was told from a teenage boys point of view. He was sort of crude in places, and I was very relieved when he changed his language because Hayley didn’t like the way he talked. There was also a lot of sexuality and reference to sex in it. I know that’s the “norm” for kids these days. (makes me sound like an old prude, but I guess I am) I don’t think it needed all the reference to sex and that the kids in it seemed to treat a sexual relationship as so casual and as something not important.

The things I liked about this were how Brody could see all the good qualities in Hayley. How Hayley was struggling with her own self image and that Brody could see past the whole “you have to be model perfect” image so many girls struggle with. I liked the set up in the book, the Chapter headings cracked me up a lot of the time. I liked how it came gradually for Brody to realize why he was falling for Hayley, and how even though he was trying to prove he liked her, he still screwed up and made mistakes along the way. It seemed like a very real portrayal of a true to life situation.

 

Check it out on Amazon HERE

Check it out on Barnes and Noble HERE

Book Review: Gentleman of her Dreams by Jen Turano

 

A book review:

Gentleman of her Dreams by Jen Turano

 

 

What the book says about itself:

When Miss Charlotte Wilson asks God for a husband, she decides He must want her to pursue Mr. Hamilton Beckett, the catch of the season. The only problem? She's never actually met Hamilton. Fortunately, one of her oldest and dearest friends, Mr. Henry St. James--who has returned to New York after a two-year absence--does know Hamilton. Much to Henry's chagrin, Charlotte immediately ropes him into helping her meet Hamilton. However, none of her plans to catch Hamilton's eye go as she expected, and she is even more confused when her old feelings for Henry begin to resurrect themselves. In the midst of the mayhem Charlotte always seems to cause, she wonders if the gentleman of her dreams might be an entirely different man than she thought.This novella is a companion to A Change of Fortune, Jen Turano's full-length debut novel, available fall 2012!

 What I have to say about it:

This was so cute. Charlotte is a riot and that she wanted to catch Mr. Hamilton Beckett and the way she tried were hilarious to me. I loved how Henry tried to help her and put aside his own feelings for her to try to help out, but that Charlotte’s family and even the servants knew Henry was more suited to her and were rooting for him. I rooted for him too. Such a nice guy and it was wonderful that they figured it out eventually.

It was so fun and I know it was a prep or a teaser for the Change of Fortune coming out soon I loved her style of writing I’m definitely going to get it soon.

This was free or really cheap at the time of this review. Maybe it still is, but its worth paying for either way.

Check it out on Barnes and Noble HERE
Check it out on Amazon HERE

Book Review Turning Pages by Tristi Pinkston

BOOK REVIEW:  Turning Pages by Tristi Pinkston

What the book has to say for itself:

With his pride and her prejudice, what could possibly go wrong?

When the arrogant Blake Hansen steals Addie Preston's promotion at the library, he pretty much rubs her nose in it. But Addie, who dreams of being a full-fledged librarian, decides to stick it out. She loves surrounding herself with books and keeping her father's memory alive in the building where they spent so much time together.

Soon, Addie learns that her beloved library will be torn down to make room for a larger facility, and she has to make a choice. Fight, or let go?

To complicate things, she finds herself attracted to Blake, who is engaged to someone else. Will Blake and Addie ever resolve their differences?

What I have to say about it:

What a cute story. This was a fun retelling of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.  Addie has had a pretty rough couple months in this story. Her dad died in a car accident and the families financial situation gets pretty rough, she doesn’t get the promotion she’d been expecting at the library that was basically promised her earlier, and the guy who did get it seems to be a pretty arrogant boss type guy. Her attempts to change the citiy leaders minds about tearing down the building don’t work. She has problems with her best friends brother who she’s been crushing on for years, and then her best friend even gives her some stress. But through it all, Addie is a character you can really love and get behind. She has some down moments, but it’s so refreshing to read about a girl who has values, morals, and goals and will stick to them no matter what. Her upbeat personality shines through and you find yourself rooting for her.  It’s a very quit and easy read. A clean romance just like the Jane Austen version.

 

Check it out on Amazon HERE

Check it out on Barnes and Noble HERE