Dark Wolf

Dark Wolf by Kate Douglas

Dark Wolf is the first installment of the new Spirit World series. This book was all over the place for me. I love paranormal, but I really couldn’t get into this book.

Take everything you have ever known about shifters and throw it out the window, the shifters in this book are out in the public world. Also, the public want to be shifters; they get tested and are let down when they find out that it is not in their blood and can not take the nutrients to bring out the recessive gene.

There is someone in the area murdering, raping, and dumping girls bodies at random times and places and it is up to Lily Cheval, Chanku pack representative, to find out who it is. Lily is getting close to finding out who it is and falling in love at the same time. But is she falling in love with the person she is looking for?

This book is filled with sex, mystery, and betrayal. This book had a lot going on, with a ton of characters and sub plots. I understand that you must introduce several characters for a new series, but this was very distracting. I thought that the sub characters had too much going on and were too complex not to be main characters. I give it 2 ½ stars for a new take on the paranormal life, but the book was just mediocre for me.


Synopsis

Sebastian Xenakis is still coming into his power as a wizard. He can shapeshift by magical means and runs as a wolf using the power he draws from the elements. But young women are dying—raped by a human and then slaughtered by a wolf. Suspicion falls on the shapeshifting Chanku, but Sebastian wonders if he might somehow be guilty of the crimes.

Then he meets Lily Cheval, the uncrowned princess of the powerful Chanku, and realizes he will do whatever it takes to clear his name and win her love. But evil walks where Sebastian goes, and there are mysteries neither Lily nor her father, the powerful wizard, Anton Cheval, cannot unravel. Is Sebastian the perfect mate for Lily, or is he instead, one she should fear?

Skinny Bitch in Love

Skinny Bitch in Love by Kim Barnouin

 

This novel is based on the best selling Skinny Bitch cook books.  This book was distracting to put it mildly.  I thought that the title was great considering the main character in this book was kind of a bitch.  I just hope this main character was not based on the author who has her own diet and cook books.  I thought that the book was awful wordy, the plot was not clearly defined, and there were a lot of unnecessary sub plots that did not relate to anything in this book.  I was left confused and felt the ending was rushed compared to the wordy first half of the book.  Overall, I was not impressed with anything this book had to offer and felt it that the author might be taking a shot at the 2/3’s of American’s who are overweight.  Sorry I just didn’t get it; the synopsis is misleading hinting at romance which is maybe 10 pages in this long winded book.

 

Synopsis:

In this new novel based on the #1 bestselling Skinny Bitch books, a twenty-something chef loses her dream job—only to find happiness after she launches a vegan cooking school and falls for a sexy carnivore. Twenty-six-year-old Clementine Cooper is an ambitious sous chef at a hot vegan restaurant in Santa Monica. When an important food critic visits the restaurant, a backstabbing coworker sabotages her vegan dish by adding butter. Fired from her job and blackballed in L.A., Clementine has hit rock bottom. Not one to wallow, she decides to launch her own cooking school and personal chef business called Skinny Bitch.
Every day, Clementine passes a space for lease in her neighborhood and fantasizes about opening her own restaurant. Fifteen tables. A juice bar. Cali-meets-Moroccan décor. She plans to work hard, save money, and buy the space. But on the first day of her cooking classes, she discovers that millionaire restaurateur Zach Jeffries is opening a steakhouse in the same space!
Zach is the antithesis of everything she stands for, but she’s incredibly attracted to him. And it seems like he might be attracted to her too, since he immediately enrolls in her cooking school. Can two people who are so fundamentally different actually find love? As Clementine rebuilds her life with new friendships, romance, and recipes, she finds that there are healthy choices to make both in and out of the kitchen.

Scarlet

Scarlet

           
             Scarlet is the second book in The Lunar Chronicles series by Marissa Meyer. You’ll find my review and specific criticisms for the first book, Cinder, right below this review. Let me say that I was on the fence with Cinder, so I was a little reluctant to read this one because of that. I’m so glad that I did, though; I enjoyed this one much more than Cinder.

            Why did I like this one better? Easy. Because of Scarlet and Wolf. Wow! They had so much more emotional intensity than Cinder and Kai ever did in the first book. In fact, I found myself wanting to hurry up and get back to them in the story. Yes, Cinder and Kai are both featured in this one, but there is no relationship progression (absolutely none) between them-which was a letdown because I was hoping that the author would correct this in the second one. As it was, it was very hard to decipher Kai’s feelings for Cinder in the first one; the guy has a mean poker face. So, those of you looking for lots of Cinder and Kai interactions in Scarlet will be disappointed on that end, as was I.

            Scarlet is a fairy tale re-telling just as Cinder was, but this time we have some new characters introduced and ones that are better developed than some of the characters in Cinder. The two main ones are Scarlet, a.k.a. Little Red Riding Hood, and Wolf (self-explanatory). Wolf is one of those characters that you’re not sure if he’s the good guy or the bad guy, and there’s a little bit of a gray area with him, but you still like him. I did anyway. The majority of the book follows Scarlet, but there are also POV’s from Cinder and Kai, as well.

            What we see of Cinder is of her escaping the prison and later, as a wanted fugitive under penalty of death, running for her life. We also see Kai, but his scenes are infrequent and most of them revolve around what he can do for his people to stop the impending war with the Lunars. Scarlet’s scenes have to do with her grandmother’s disappearance, of course-this is a re-telling of Little Red Riding Hood. When she goes to the city looking for her missing grandmother, she meets up with a street fighter named Wolf. Together, they both set out to get to the bottom of the mystery, but Wolf’s intentions are not quite as clear.

            Towards the end of the story, Cinder, Scarlet and Wolf meet up, and it’s interesting to see their interaction and how their individual stories start to overlap with each others. I’m really looking forward to the third book now; it’s called Cress and will follow Rapunzel. It will be interesting to see how Meyer is able to successfully mesh her particular story with the others. Additionally, I can’t wait for the evil Lunar Queen to get her just due.

            I highly recommend Scarlet, but I think it would be prudent to read Cinder, if you haven’t, because of the overlapping storyline arc and the on-going appearance of main characters from the first book.

Scarlet – 4.5 stars out of 5 stars!

Sorry, didn’t do a playlist with this one!

Reviewed by Susannah;)

Cinder

Cinder

        
              Have you ever read a popular book with good reviews before and asked yourself, “Why don’t I like this book more?” I feel this way about Cinder. It’s a popular YA book that has gotten great reviews, comes highly recommended, so what’s the problem? Why did this book not connect with me better?

        
              Let me begin by saying that this Marissa Meyer’s debut book, and it is a futuristic and sci-fi fairy tale re-telling of Cinderella. Over the recent years, I’ve read some decent fairy tale re-tellings, but I’ve also read some terribly clichés ones, as well.  Usually, they are hit or miss, but I find myself more in the middle on this one.

          
             The cover, which features a red high heel with a woman’s leg and the mechanical parts shown inside, tells the reader a lot about the book alone. Cinder is a cyborg and kinda of a futuristic Cinderella, but she’s also a talented mechanic, who has caught the attention of Prince Kai, the Emperor of New Beijing’s son. Before I go further, there is a backstory about World War IV, that has devastated the world and caused it to be rebuilt, a current plague that is killing indiscriminately and has no known cure, and an impending war with Lunars, inhabitants of the moon, who are at odds with people of Earth. New Bejing is where Cinder lives. Prince Kai goes to Cinder because he needs her help with an android robot, or so she believes at first, but he has no idea that Cinder is a cyborg. Furthermore, Cinder, who’s somewhat self-conscious, doesn’t want him to know, which I think made for one of the best parts of the book. And, when the truth of her full identities (notice that it’s plural) are finally revealed, holy cow! Easily, Kai’s and Cinder’s interactions and the last part of the book (the ball was fantastic!) were the best part of it. I do think that Kai’s character could have been fleshed out a little more, given more substance; there were a few times where I was frustrated because I didn’t know what he was thinking, but I wanted to know, and I thought for sure that the author would reveal it, however disappointingly, she didn’t. Moreover, there were no real gestures to give the reader further indication.

        
           Cinder is a very original re-telling, with an interesting storyline, but outside of Kai, Cinder, and Peony, I didn’t care for any of the secondary characters. And, yes, there is a mean stepmother and a bitchy step-sister. Peony is her second step-sister, but going against the original fairy tale storyline, she’s nice to Cinder. Cinder is a very likeable character, though, because you clearly see what she’s gone through. Even with her tendency to pity herself, which stems more from her own insecurities about having mechanical parts than anything, she gets in there and tries to rise above it; she’s not a shrinking violet, by any means. She knows that she has perceived deficits, but she doesn’t sit there and bemoan her fate; she goes on because she has to.

          
           The world building is unique and descriptive, but some of the plot elements were rather predictable. But there again, Meyer’s writing is a little inconsistent. When I wanted her to be more descriptive (as with some of the more flat secondary characters), she wasn’t, and when I wanted her to be less descriptive and a little more glossed over (as with some of the more technical aspects), she wasn’t. The more sci-fi and technical aspects were the least appealing things to me, but I wouldn’t discourage anyone from reading it because of that. In fact, even though I'm kinda on the fence, I would say give this book a try, and see if you like it for yourself.

Cinder – 3.5 out of 5 stars!

Reviewed by Susannah;)

Still Mr. and Mrs.

Still Mr. and Mrs. by Patricia Olney

Still Mr. and Mrs. is an entertaining short re-release from the Love Swept line of The Random House Publishing Group. Gabriel Stewart and his soon to be ex wife, Rebecca, come to an agreement to benefit Gabe’s company, The Toy Factory. Rebecca Ann (which happens to also be my name) strolls into town by request of her soon to be ex husband two weeks before their divorce to help with an international merger. The couple pretends to be happily married, and soon discover that the feelings are still there. Can the couple work it out in before their divorce?

Dear Cassie

Dear Cassie by Lisa Burstein

Ok to start off by saying I really loved this book is an understatement. All the profanity and sarcasm in this book reminded me of myself (before I had children of coarse) and I loved every f***ing minute of it.

The abrasive attitude of Cassie brought back so many memories, leaving out the illegal activities (or maybe not), of my youth; needless to say that I can relate to this book minus the rehab part.

I can not say too much about this book due to spoilers, but I can say the descriptive writing style had me right there with Cassie throughout the entire story. The attention to detail was impeccable. The story itself was a beautiful, heartbreaking, full circle that took Cassie and myself on an emotional journey.

This book is related to the series Pretty Amy and to get the full back story you might want to read this series. I, however, did not read the series and still enjoyed the book.  Dear Cassie is a great stand alone.

The ending was confusing to say the least; to me this is a cliffhanger and hope the author did not leave us hanging. I would like to follow Cassie’s story further (hopefully with Ben). I would rate this book a 3 ½ out of 5 stars and recommend for younger readers 17+.

Synopsis:

What if the last place you should fall in love is the first place that you do?


You’d think getting sent to Turning Pines Wilderness Camp for a month-long rehabilitation “retreat” and being forced to re-live it in this journal would be the worst thing that’s ever happened to me.

You’d be wrong.

There’s the reason I was sent to Turning Pines in the first place: I got arrested. On prom night. With my two best friends, who I haven’t talked to since and probably never will again. And then there’s the real reason I was sent here. The thing I can’t talk about with the guy I can’t even think about.

What if the moment you’ve closed yourself off is the moment you start to break open?

But there’s this guy here. Ben. And the more I swear he won’t—he can’t—the deeper under my skin he’s getting. After the thing that happened, I promised I’d never fall for another boy’s lies.

And yet I can’t help but wonder…what if?

Stolen

Stolen

               *Spoilerish - Stolen is about a London-based sixteen-year-old girl, on her way to Vietnam with her (predictably) well-to-do parents, who, while at a stopover in a Bangkok airport, is drugged while purchasing coffee (because all sixteen-year-olds wonder around a Bangkok airport without their parents to purchase coffee), and then is kidnapped and taken to the middle of an Australian desert. She eventually goes on and becomes sympathetic to her kidnapper, who is Australian himself, yet he followed her all the way from London to Bangkok (exhales). Make sense? Oh, and they met in a park when she was ten and he was nineteen, and evidently, he’s been obsessed with her ever since. A nineteen-year-old obsessed with a ten-year-old. O-kay. From London to a Bangkok airport to a little shanty in the middle (as opposed to the edge or the far side) of an Australian desert. Really?  I’m sorry, but this was just so far-fetched and convoluted. Furthermore, I haven’t even gotten to the part about his parents.

               Why did he kidnap her? His reasoning was that he was in love with her; he didn’t even ask for ransom money from her wealthy parents, although he went without certain basic necessities. Either that or the author just failed to mention them. Heard of soap? And, don't get me started on the disgustingly nasty water that they had to wash off with-with no soap! What was the point? So, because he’s in love with her, he takes her to a dump in the Australian desert to prove it? And, as much as I appreciate the beauty of the Australian Outback depicted, it was a little too much with pages upon pages and rather, what stayed with me most is that damn, there’s some scary a$$ snakes there. I think I’ll mark that one off my bucket list. And, did I forget to mention that he has an affinity for those same slithering reptiles?

               I’m sorry, but I never did warm up to anyone in this story: Gemma, the kidnapped, Ty, the kidnapper, those scary snakes. Well, I did like the camel in the story, but I also felt bad for her-Ty had kidnapped her, too! This guy was a real whack job. He has a disturbing obsession over a child, keeps venomous snakes as pets, eats kangaroos, thinks nothing of stealing a camel…sorry, this is not a guy that I would fall for, Stockholm syndrome or otherwise. If anything, I would probably call an animal cruelty agency on him-if he had a phone! Really disappointed with this one because it had so much potential.

Stolen – 2 out of 5 stars!

 Reviewed by Susannah;)

A Shard of Ice by Alivia Anders COVER REVEAL

COVER REVEAL

A SHARD OF ICE

BY

ALIVIA ANDERS

RELEASE DATE APRIL 14, 2014

PUBLISHER: RED ALICE PRESS

 

 

Synopsis:

THEIR SOULS, REAWAKENED

When 13-year-old Lilix Morgan is found alive and floating on a bed of ice
at sea, everyone counts it a miracle. Kidnapped nearly four weeks earlier,
she remembers nothing of her mysterious abduction. When she tries to
remember what happened, she hears only a melody - a faint and delicate set
of notes, strung together in a tune she doesn't understand.

THEIR POWER, UNMATCHED

A year later and desperate to put the lingering nightmares of her past
behind her, Lilix crosses the country to enroll at Baelmorte Academy,
aiming to become the violinist she once dreamt of. Things seem to be
finally going well, and Lilix settles into a routine of sheet music and
inspiration among new friends.

Then the dreams start.

The melody and night terrors she thought she'd left behind return with a
vengeance, threatening to ruin her fragile version of normalcy. Then an
unlikely ally tells her that she isn't alone. That there are others just
like her, fighting to hide their own shocking truths from coming to light.
That they know who she is, and what she's been through. Now, accompanied by
four other girls, Lilix discovers her nightmares are larger than a single
trauma; they're a window to a hidden part of her soul, a place of immense
power with a destiny that cannot be ignored.

THEIR BATTLE, IS ONLY BEGINNING

With this knowledge comes a new and frightening reality. For Lilix has been
reawakened to stop an age-old enemy, one thought to have been destroyed
centuries ago. Trapped by her destiny, Lilix is torn between what feels
right and what she remembers. Her memories tell her of a star-crossed love
waiting to be reunited, of friendships and trust broken in the past. But
can she save that love when reality brings her an enemy, and an evil that
will be the undoing of them all if they don't destroy it?

LINKS:

Facebook for Alivia Anders: http://www.facebook.com/aliviaanders

Twitter for Alivia Anders: https://twitter.com/AliviaAnders

Blogger for Alivia Anders: http://aliviaanders.blogspot.com

Official author website (still under construction): http://aliviaanders.com

A Shard of Ice on Goodreads:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17207178-a-shard-of-ice



Send Me No Flowers

Send Me No Flowers by Trish Jensen

This short sweet re-release by Trish Jensen hit the spot. I really like the simple life portrayed in this book. I have never read a book with more southern references that I have actually heard in real life. Being from Alabama, and growing up chubby I relate quite well to this story. It hit home for me and I loved it.

Synopsis

When she was known as an overweight kid from a "loony" family, he often rescued her from bullies. Now she's come back home all grownup and gorgeous, and he's the one who will need rescuing.

Sheriff Rob Townsend of Daredevil, South Carolina remembers Jenny Creighton as the girl mean kids called "Jumbo Jenny." He was compelled to protect her on more than one occasion, a brand of heroic kindness Jenny never forgot. Jenny's returned to the small town to claim an inheritance and open a flower shop. On the inside, however, she's still the chubby girl who doesn't want anyone to remember her humiliating past.

Rob has turned into a hunk with a painful history of his own-one that makes him the biggest heartbreaker south of the Mason-Dixon line. When he becomes her best customer-buying flowers as goodbye gifts for a growing line-up of ex-girlfriends-the women in Daredevil begin to run from Jenny and her kiss-goodbye bouquets. How can she build a business when all the single gals in town are scared to see her on their doorsteps? And what are the secrets behind her childhood hero's love-'em-and-leave-'em lifestyle?

This Dark Endeavor

This Dark Endeavor

     This Dark Endeavor is the first book in a series of YA books by Kenneth Oppel that follows sixteen-year-old Victor Frankenstein. Summit Entertainment owns the movie rights to this book, so one day, it may very well be made into a movie. Which it should be because This Dark Endeavor is a phenomenal book, and I can see it translating nicely to the big screen. If you're a fan of YA historical fiction or gothic books, or even Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, do yourself a favor and read this book. Honestly, if I taught high school English literature, this would be on a summer reading list for my students. 

     Victor's twin brother, Konrad, has fallen ill, and doctors are unable to completely heal him. However, Vincent believes that an alchemist's Elixir of Life, that he found in a tome in a hidden library, will do what the doctors are unable to do. So begins the quest (this dark endeavor) to save his brother, as Victor, his best friend Henry, and his (distant) cousin, Elizabeth, set out in attempt to retrieve the three arcane ingredients needed to complete the mixture. The first two are in forewarned, "dark" and dangerous places, and the third one, well, its retrieval will shock you. Along the way, revelations are revealed, as a love triangle slowly emerges between the twin brothers and the beautiful Elizabeth. Dare I say, though, the romance may develop slowly, however, there is never a dull moment in this story, as the plot moves along at a quick pace and with prose and dialogue that flows evenly. And oh...Victor, Victor, Victor. Such a richly-developed, complex character that you can feel his inner turmoil and the wars that he wages within himself, at times; he loves his brother, but he loves Elizabeth, as well; he's jealous and resentful of his perceived perfect brother, but on the same token, is willing to sacrifice so much for him. You begin to see as the storyline progresses how this young Victor will become the older Victor, the one who goes on to create a well-known monster. 

     From the very first few pages, I was hooked and intrigued and I had to find out what Vincent's motivations were. Why he became the mad scientist bent on bringing a lifeless body back to life; bent on bringing life into his own creation. This book and the conflicts that the characters faced stayed with me long after I finished it. This Dark Endeavor is one of the best YA books that I've read this year. 

This Dark Endeavor - 5 out of 5 stars!

This Dark Endeavor playlist -

Falling Slowly by The Frames ("Moods that take me and erase me and I'm painted black. You have suffered enough, and warred with yourself. It's time that you won,"...Those lyrics get me every time, but this time they made me think of Victor and his inner struggles.)

Whatever It Takes by Lighthouse

You and Me by Lighthouse (When he sees Elizabeth with Konrad and he finally realizes that he's in love with her)

Unwell by Matchbox Twenty

Chances by Five by Fighting (Elizabeth is very religious, but Victor is not. There's one line where it says "No act of God can pull me away from you" and it made me think of Victor and how his feelings for Elizabeth transcend his beliefs.)

I'll Be by Edwin McCain ("I'll be your crying shoulder"...enough said.)

Reviewed by Susannah;)