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Killing Sarai (Killing Sarai, #1)
I'm really debating whether or not to post this review because it will probably end up being an unpopular opinion, but eh.With all the glowing reviews I expected this book to blow me away. So you can understand how this is very awkward.The story started out good enough and I was hooked from the beginning. Such a promising start, you know, I was 100% sure I will be reading an amazing book.Sarai is a great, strong female character and she never let anything bring her down.Victor... I didn't get to know much despite being in his head several times.What was the connection between these two? I just don't know. They both just sort of tell you they have these feelings developing between them, I definitely didn't witness any of it.And then, it was kind of all over the place. I must say I was actually enjoying the Javier storyline despite the author's cop out of glossing over the details that I would have very much liked to know simply cause it seemed to be that kind of story. And you know, if you're gonna write a book about a sex slave, mention bondage and stuff like that... but okay.It's all tied up nicely in the end, the body count is over the roof, and it felt like a natural end of the story save for our hero and heroine getting together which I expected to happen within the next few pages. But then I glanced at my percentage thing. All of this happened at 65-ish % of the story.So I'm thinking, no way, she won't make the rest of the book a will-they-won't-they. She didn't. She started a whole new storyline that didn't have much to do with what I've read so far.I won't say anything else about it because I don't want to spoil it, but I found it completely redundant and for a minute there, I swear I wished for a cliffhanger instead so I can actually read that as a separate story.I forced myself to finish the book cause it completely lost me at that point. It took me forever to go through that last 30%.As for the writing, the further the story went, the less I was convinced. In the beginning it was tight and I felt like I was reading a really good, well written book, but as it went on, it just sort of faltered in quality, and there were even noticeably more typos and grammar mistakes ("should of"? A published author wrote that a couple of times and it went unnoticed. SMH.) That being said, it's still good, just not what I expected from J.A. Redmerski (or rather, not as much as I expected) - some POV cheating where the heroine magically knows what the other characters are thinking and feeling, the dialogue felt kind of stilted at times, hero's POV comes too late in the story and out of nowhere.At least it wasn't insta-love.What bothered me the most, though, is that all the while I was reading it, there was this sense of deja-vu but I just couldn't put my finger on it. Then it came to me - if you've read the ICE series by Anne Stuart, just be prepared to read a similar story minus the awesome badass heroes who seem like actual bastards that they are. Victor was more of a bleeding-heart-crying-assassin kind (remember that movie where the leading man is an assassin who cries? Yeah, that's how I saw Victor).There's a mildly graphic sex scene in the book.The ending is very abrupt and not in a cliffhanger way. Even cliffhangers give you more closure than that.Overall, I'm kinda disappointed. I guess I expected more, and it didn't deliver. But if you're a J.A. Redmerski fan, you should definitely read the book, I still recommend it.
What a beautiful, amazing story.First I want to say it seems you can read this book here on Goodreads. I was given a copy to review, though, in exchange for an honest opinion.The book is quite long and there's a lot going on.I had a couple of concerns reading this. One, it seemed to have a lot of potential to be something more than your typical NA novel, but I feared (as is the case lately) it wouldn't own up to that potential.I'm glad to say it was so much more.The second bit that worried me was the religious talk in the beginning. I thought, for sure, it would be a preachy book.But it wasn't. It didn't bother me one bit, though it does play a huge role throughout the book.The characters in this book are very complex. I know not everyone will relate to the heroine, Mara, but you will definitely feel for her. You can tell that she's broken. She does a lot of things you won't approve of, but I was still rooting for her until the very end.Honestly, watching her so broken really hurt, I just wanted to reach into my kindle and hug her and tell her everything will be okay.I liked Jack's character a lot. However, I felt I didn't really get to know him that well.This is not a romance book. There are romantic elements to it, but honestly, it felt more like a coming of age story, a self-discovery of a very lost girl. Mara isn't healed through the power of love or whatever, she isn't healed at all until she decides to heal herself.Wow, I actually feel I'm not deep enough to talk about this book. It's a very powerful story about loving and accepting yourself. I don't know how else to explain it.Loved the way it was written. The story shifts between past and present and 1st and 3rd person POV and it worked very well, slowly uncovering the Mara before and why she is the way she is after.I did think the book was a bit over-Hoovered (if you've read a Colleen Hoover book, you'll know what I mean.) It's tragedy after tragedy after tragedy and the girl just can't catch a break. Just when you think things are finally looking good, BAM, something happens.There are a couple of mildly graphic sex scenes. It wasn't a smutty book, they're just sort of there and I thought they worked very well with the story.Overall, it's such a great and refreshingly beautiful book. The characters are flawed, the events that happen realistic. Nobody in this book is perfect. I definitely recommend The Truth About Dandelions.
Okay, I may have had some issues with the first installment of this series, but this one was way, way better. Everything I complained about is pretty much covered and improved in this one.You know who I love? I love me some Tyler. I am team Tyler all the freaking way, which I know will be the cause of a major heartbreak after I read the next one because Elodie is just too much of a coward to take a chance on him. For shame. Poor boy.I was hoping for him after I read the first book, but he just didn't seem like much of a hero in that. Still. Here, you get to know him pretty well and I really loved him.I understood Elodie a lot better as well. Her modeling career takes a major turn and I was really happy for her. What bothered me was the whole indecisive thing she has going on between Tyler and James. I get that she felt torn because the two of them are so different but you know...make up your mind and do what's right.I don't think she even realizes the thing with Tyler is much stronger than what she has with James. But James is safe, and she doesn't want to get hurt. So at the same time I can see where she's coming from.James... is boring as hell. I don't like him at all. I don't think at this point anything can be done to make me like him and the idea of him being endgame.The writing is awesome and I really really loved it. This is something I liked in the first book as well - Elodie is French and you can tell by the way she thinks or talks, the story is told in such a way that you can tell English is not her first language. It really felt genuine.However, there was some POV cheating. The book is told from Elodie's POV but at one point she's passed out drunk and we still get to see what happens even though she doesn't witness any of it. Sometimes the author will let you see a glimpse from others' feelings and thoughts even though there is no way Elodie would know what they think or feel.Other than this, I loved it.There's a graphic sex scene as well as some swearing.There's also a sort-of cliffhanger in the end. It's more like just a cut-off scene which bothered me... However, I must admit, while I wasn't dying to read this second book after the first one ended the way it did (also sort-of cliffhanger), I'm dying to know what happens in the third (and also dreading it).I wonder if when it's finished, the author will turn it into a full book. I just think it would flow much better if it could all be read in one sitting. But yes, do I recommend Mannequin? Definitely at this point, but wait until the whole series is out. It's not your typical cliffhanger rage, it's more of a cliffhanger frustration I feel.*** Free copy of this book provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
Truth be told, when I first saw Gemma Burgess is writing a new adult novel, I'll admit I was kind of not happy about it. [b:A Girl Like You|9712341|A Girl Like You|Gemma Burgess|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1289919160s/9712341.jpg|14600859] is one of my absolute favorites but I read a lot of NA genre and the books are hit&miss.Anywhoo, I shouldn't have worried, because the author didn't write your typical NA. The first book in the Brooklyn Girls series is a true coming of age story with a chick-litty feel so if you're a fan of those, you should definitely read it.On the other hand, if you want hardcore romance and steamy scenes, maybe you should pass.I thought it was good, but nowhere near her other two novels.I'm not going to talk about Pia much, she is your typical chick-lit heroine, a little ditzy, a little crazy, getting herself in stupid situations only to get out because she's smarter than she thought she was.What I liked about this book (and really, it's something Gemma Burgess does well in all her novels) is the friendships and sense of belonging she creates with her characters. Pia lives in a house with other four girls and they truly felt like a small family. I'm excited to read all of their stories.The writing is light and it has a few LOL moments throughout. The book reminded me of HBO's Girls a lot, except it's a clean read although (a lot) of sex is implied as well as some drug abuse.I almost wish it was deeper than it was! I mean, things happen, she gets herself into a lot of trouble, it's all solved by some miracle and that's it. I just expected more because, I don't know, it had a lot of potential.While the lack of romance is not a deal-breaker for me (don't get me wrong, there is some romance but it's so minor it's forgettable) I felt she could have taken some time to develop that as well.I also felt the author really overplayed the whole Brooklyn thing. And I've never even been there, so there you have it. It would get really annoying at times.I'm excited to read the second book, about Angie. She was the most interesting of the girls to me, and she has some serious issues, so I hope it's a good one.Overall, I do recommend this if you're a Gemma Burgess fan and want a light, chick-litty read.*** A free copy of this book provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
eep, free on Smashwords! Go price match it on Amazon!https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/321509This book depressed me. Shame on me for not checking reviews before I read it because I should know better by now, and I went into it unprepared. I knew it wasn't a light read but that it would make me cry throughout... I didn't expect that.“There’s a reason for everything.”Sara lost so much! So, so much. It broke my heart, I could feel every emotion she was going through, and felt all the despair she felt. You feel like you're in this hole just sinking deeper and deeper and there's just no way out.“Sometimes you can’t see it and it doesn’t make sense, but eventually, in time, it does. Even when it hurts. Even when it’s bad. Something good happens because of it.”Light comes in the form of Lincoln, her late husband's brother who's always there for her. I felt so much for Lincoln, you can tell he's hurting just as much but trying to be so strong for Sara because he's literally her only anchor keeping her on the ground. I loved Lincoln so much! I loved that he never gave up on her. He never let his conflicting emotions get in the way of being there for her throughout and being whatever she needed him to be.I was really rooting for them.I don't know how to talk about this book without spoiling anything. I mean you can tell from the synopsis what the book is about but I still felt uncertain about... things. I was dreading the ending because it just didn't seem likely things would turn out the way I wanted them to turn out when Sara was holding on so tight and Lincoln being who he was.I loved Mason and Spencer and really wish there were more of them both throughout the book. Still, the two of them, and even Gracie, Dana, the very minor characters made a great impact on the story. You have to admire that.Lindy Zart's writing is fantastic! The story is told from 3rd person POV (thankfully) and the pace of the story is just perfect.What bothered me was a bit of repetition. Sara this, Sara that, Sara... It stood out and I noticed it, so it must have been a little too much.Another thing - At times Sara just seemed... not very perceptive. Lincoln's feelings were blaringly obvious, and with every time he showed her he cared about her more, she would wonder "What did he mean?" It really was that obvious. He wasn't even being enigmatic, I think everything he said was straight out telling her what he wanted to say without actually saying it. And while I understood that she was hurting and stuck in some sort of limbo, I just can't believe she wouldn't realize "what he meant".Other than that, it was a perfect five star read for me, and made me a Lindy Zart fan for life.There's a sex scene but it's not graphic at all. You just sort of know what's going on. I thought it was beautiful.Overall, would I recommend Take Care, Sara? Yup, just make sure you have a box of tissues (or a few) if you're easily moved by books.
I keep switching between three and four stars because despite a couple of things that bothered me about it, I actually quite liked Mannequin. It was a 3.5 read for me, though.It's a very short story (I read it in just over an hour) about a young girl, Elodie Marais and the not-so-glamorous lifestyle she leads as a high fashion model in NYC.I loved the way this book started out. When I signed up for an ARC of this it said it was a "new adult erotica", but I was hoping it wouldn't be just smut.Elodie is not an unlikable heroine, though I felt like I didn't get to know her much. She seems to have hopes and dreams beyond being a "mannequin" but other than fleeting thoughts about it, I didn't see it in the way she acts. She makes a bad choice, or two, though I actually approved of one of them.My main problem with the book was that it didn't have much of a story. I like my erotica with substance, so there you have it.Another thing was that halfway through the book, I didn't know if there even was a hero in the usual sense. I found myself wondering if I should root for any of them?I was hoping for Tyler, but as it was he wasn't much of a hero. I'm still holding out hope, though, for the second book.I felt that James had a lot of potential, but the author barely scratched the surface of his character, and in all honesty, what I did see of him - he acted too good to be true.And lets not forget Felix, who I thought might make a reappearance and childhood sweethearts will get their HEA.Overall, the story didn't have much depth at all, and I thought that it could have. I haven't read a model story before so I was really hoping this would be something more than it was.What I really really liked? The writing. It's not perfect but it was very very good, and the author has a descriptive style that brings everything to life in full technicolor. I liked this so much. It's told in third person POV, so thank you, Olivia Best, for that! I love 3rd person POV books.Yep, there are a couple of sex scenes and you will get to read about an "engorged member" or two. Actually, the chemistry between Elodie and Tyler was through the roof! I loved it.Overall, I would recommend this little novella, if it weren't for the price of $3.99. I just don't think a novella, good or bad, should be charged for that much!It does end on a cliffhanger, sort of. Nothing huge and nerve wrecking but if you're not a fan of these, I'd pass until the second part is out. I will definitely be reading it.*** ARC of this book received from the author in exchange for an honest review.
I really wish the author took her time developing this story, because it's great. However, the book is very short while at the same time, so much happens at such fast pace.I found myself really caring about the characters, though. The author is very brave at one point (no spoilers from me!), and I really admired that. I kinda loved Luke, but I was rooting for Liam and Katy.Overall, a fast read you can squeeze in if you don't have enough time to read a longer book.
Maverick
This would have been a perfect five star read for me but in the end I was just sort of left... unsatisfied. As it is, it's more of a 4.5.I feel horrible about it because it really had everything.A great hero and heroine, with awesome chemistry.A great story line that I breezed through.Something a little different than your usual NA romance.Low on drama! Yay.Kellen is really just misunderstood. Love these nice guy heroes. He didn't piss me off once, which tells you a lot since there actually were a couple of things he did that were debatable. But I felt everything he did was in character and not the author trying to create a swoon worthy manwhore. Which he wasn't really.And Gina was such a great character too! I mean she's a strong female character pulling through after all that's happened and she really came off as smart and confident (for the most part). I just didn't like that she kept intruding with her POV.This was supposed to be an all male POV book, dammit.I love all male POV books.Actually, the reason I wanted to read this so bad is because when Anna Cruise put up her ARC form thing, she asked a question about whether or not people liked reading male POV books. And I was like HELL YES. (I bought the book, btw, this was not an ARC. Just clarifying that.)But I digress.I loved the chemistry between Gina and Kellen, they hit it right off. It was insta-love but for some reason I didn't mind. I wouldn't have minded if she let it develop over a little more time, either, but eh.So, did the author pull off male POV? I haven't read her other books and have no idea if she's done it before, but Maverick felt genuine.My problem with the book? There weren't really supporting characters. Some passers-by, yes, but for the most part it's Gina and Kellen.However, there was Jay. I would have loved Jay! You know that feeling when you mourn a character even if you never got to meet him? Yup, that was Jay for me. I was really bummed about his death (not a spoiler!)One thing I really didn't like was the near-rape scene towards the end. Then they proceed to have sex. Ugh.There are a couple of graphic sex scenes in the book.Overall, I loved Maverick! The characters felt real, it was really low on drama, some of the things turned out way different than I thought they would be and I loved that as well.Definitely recommend this book.
DNF at 67%. I just couldn't finish this.It wasn't bad, I just didn't really care for it, so I guess it would be unfair to write a review when I watched Dr Who while pretending to read it.Oh wait. I do have a couple of things to say - Marcus is still one of the weakest whiniest heroes I've ever read.And the author still sort of tells you what happened instead of showing it to you (this was my complaint about the first book as well).On the plus side - she included Marcus's POV, and I always appreciate male POV.I didn't like the prologue because it basically told me what will happen. I think that might be why I wasn't into it so much :S.
I am so reading this book.After reading it:AHHAHAHAHAHA IS IT WEIRD THAT THIS IS MY FIRST MM? EVER?ahahahahahahahahahhaahahThis thing needs to be read (it's only 10 pages)!Uh, I liked the way it's written? Sorry, I don't do the fancy .gifs. Oh well.It was also gross, and so, so funny. It was hard dodging my sister's question of why I'm laughing so much.Over and out.
Here's a little disclaimer: for those who have dealt with or know someone with a terminal illness... you might want to pass this. I wish I didn't have to write this because I really, really loved this book to bits. Some of the things are just way too offensive to someone sensitive to these things. It's a character trait, Saylor is mentally ill, but it still might evoke some negative feelings.That being said - oh my god, this book killed me.I am not even kidding, I'm sitting here, writing this review through my tears cause I'm afraid this feeling will slip away if I leave it for later and the review won't be as accurate to my feelings as it would if I write it out straight away.I was really considering passing up on this book and I thought hard before I clicked that Request button on NetGalley. From the blurb you can't really tell if it will ultimately be a happy or a sad read. There was this sense of dread-of-a-romance-reader I felt throughout - how could this book have a HEA and still be realistic? There was just no way.I won't spoil it for you, though. Read it.First of all, I'm blown away by the writing. The book is really well written and I swear, Saylor felt so, so real to me. You have this feeling that you should really, honestly despise her for what she's doing, the way she talks about the others in TIDD group but my god, I felt for her and understood her so much.S.K. Falls - I bow to you. I do, honestly. Because you did this. You made me love her and understand her and just hope for her so much, and for everything to turn out for the best.Fans of Me Before You, you might wanna read this book! Because it has that same feeling of questioning everything you know, hoping for an illogical ending, your common sense warring with wishful thinking.By far, maybe the best character development I've ever read. The change in Saylor is so subtle you don't even notice it as it happens but at the end of the book, she's a different person.The secondary characters were fantastic! Her mum, so distant and cold and her dad, putting up an act so transparent I wanted to climb into my Kindle and strangle him. Dr Stone. Drew. I loved Drew so much. And Zee.The book is a clean read, there are no graphic sex scenes though sex is implied.I can't believe I almost didn't read this book. I can't recommend it enough. It's powerful and so honest. The characters are so real and I grew attached to them. I wish it didn't end so abruptly. I wish I knew what happened after. But I guess that's the beauty of it.And even though I will probably hate myself for putting myself through it because who wants to read sad books when life is sad as it is? But it's definitely going to my top reads this year. Definitely.*** Free copy of this book provided by the author through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Undeclared (Woodlands, #1)
I really, really liked Undeclared.It was fairly drama free, it had two awesome main characters, a great cast of supporting ones and, while the author was stretching it a bit - which she admits herself in the end, I thought it was a great, unique story.Noah was a nice guy! That's the first thing you need to know about this book. If you're tired of the obligatory tattooed bad boy womanizer hero, this is your book. Because Noah was a nice guy, consistently, until the end. I never once thought he might do something to make me mad or suspected him or doubted his intentions. He owns up to every word he says, and he does everything right.I liked how determined her was to get/win Grace back.edit: I have to add. It was such a relief reading a book where I didn't have to worry about the hero doing something to piss me off.Grace, on the other hand, annoyed me just a tiny little bit. I think us girls are much more forgiving towards the opposite sex, even when it comes to fiction, because while I'd have been fine with Noah screwing up once of twice, it was Grace's flair for the dramatic for no obvious reason that really had me shaking my head. It wasn't even that bad.I think it's the fact that without it - there wouldn't have been conflict in the story. Otherwise, she was a perfectly good heroine, but she invented problems where there weren't any just for the sake of it.Anywhoo, they had great chemistry and I was really siding with Noah from the beginning.The writing is great and it's a really fast read - before I knew it, I was halfway through.I have no knowledge of the way US Navy works or anything else that happens in the story in terms of Noah's deployment. So I can't say something bothered me about it. Either way, the author admits to some artistic freedom in the end and I appreciated it.I loved all the side characters - especially Bo and Finn (but I always love me a Finn in a book, so that's no surprise). I know Bo gets his own story, but I'd love to read Finn's as well! Oh and Adam. And okay, Mal. All of them. Lana, too!I just love it when authors do this, though, when they make you so interested in the lives of all supporting characters you just can't wait to hear their stories. Jen Frederick did it so well.But I have a complaint. The story was powerful and great, however, at one point it just focused too much on sex. I know, I know, it's not really a valid complaint coming from me, but I just felt the story should have been more about everything else and sex...was just a thing that happens in the book. It sort of took away from it.So yeah, there are a couple of graphic sex scenes in the book.Overall? I loved Undeclared and I definitely recommend it. I can't wait to read the next book.*** Free copy of the book provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.