Kira

When I chose this book, the synopsis promised me:

A captivating and magical adult retelling of the fairy tale East of the Sun, West of the Moon.

What I got was:

a magical middle-grade retelling of the fairy tale East of the Sun, West of the Moon with an awkward mention of an 'erect penis'

And that's really my biggest complaint. 

It felt like the author really wanted to be writing a middle-grade/YA fantasy book, and she could have pulled that off beautifully with the framework she built, but instead she tried to ride the NA wave and draw in an older audience by adding some sexy times to her story. Unfortunately, I didn't feel like she was comfortable writing it and I was bored reading it.

Other than that one incongruent sexual reference, the love scenes were very vague and mostly "fade to black." I didn't go into this expecting an erotica or anything, but if you're going to market it to adults and throw in words like that, then don't prude out on me. Either refer to sex completely in vague terms, or tell me what happens, but you cannot throw in a graphic phrase for shock value and then fade into the next day when the girl is "sore down there." It just doesn't fit with the story.

Since this was supposed to be a NA book, I had higher expectations for world-building and wanted a deeper romance, but found this really was just the original fairytale with some padded action scenes and dialogue. She followed the fairy tale almost exactly (I looked it up on Wikipedia to make sure). That would be fine, except I don't personally care for fairytale retellings unless they take the original and put a new spin on it. This was just like reading a Hans Christian Anderson story, only a little longer and with a unexpected penis reference. Are you uncomfortable seeing Hans Christian Anderson and penis in the same sentence? Me too. Those two things just don't belong together, which is why I was put off by it.

The NA content (which honestly doesn't add anything to the story and is pretty sparse) could be eliminated and this would instantly become a great middle-grade fantasy book. This is a story I would have loved as a 13-year-old girl. But since it's there I can't recommend it for younger readers either, and it felt too juvenile for me to enjoy as an adult.

If you are an adult who likes middle-grade books and fairytale retellings, you may enjoy this story, but since that wasn't what I was looking for, it left me disappointed.

Twenty-one-year old Shandi is on her way to start a new life. She's loaded up her tiny VW bug with all her possessions, her briliant three-year-old son, and her best friend Walcott and they are headed to the big city where she will have the opportunity to attend college. Natty (short for Nathan) gets car sick on the way, so they pull over to clean up at a gas station, where Shandi and Natty promptly become victims of an armed robbery. 

William-- tall, blonde, handsome William-- is also shopping in the Circle K and also finds himself facedown on the cold linoleum while a kid with a gun screams and hollers and demands money nobody has. Though the robbery is short in duration, it leaves lasting marks on all involved and draws them all together, for better or worse. 

This is such a hard book to review, mostly because I can't put my finger on whether I enjoyed it or not. The description lures you into expecting a love story, and it's so perfectly named because itis a love story... just, someone else's love story. You will not know until the very end whose love story you are reading, who you are supposed to root for, who will end up with whom. That is actually what I loved most about this book. The fact that it kept me on my toes and I had no idea where it was going or what it was really about. 

William is a complicated hero, and I won't spoil it by telling you what exactly that means because you should find out for yourself, but he was definitely different from any hero I have read up till now. There was no instalove. There were no cheesy confessions of unrealistic adoration within moments of meeting eachother. There was just the story of what happened to William and Shandi after the robbery, and then flashbacks to what came before, helping us to piece together the bigger picture and eventually discover exactly what story we are reading. Also, there were some really sweet moments between William and Natty... and Shandi and William... and Shandi and Walcott... and William and his best friend Paula... and flashbacks to William chasing after and falling for his first love Bridgett... did I mention that this is someone else's love story? But I'm not telling whose. 

So if I liked it, why just the three stars? Well, quite simply, this book was somewhat forgettable. I enjoyed it while reading it and had no trouble slipping into the story and wanting to know what happened next, but I never fully connected with the characters and once I was finished, I haven't really thought about it again. I save my four and five star ratings for books that I liked enough to recommend to friends and/or re-read myself, so I can't rate this one higher; but, if you're already a fan of Joshilyn Jackson, or just looking for a good read that doesn't necessarily fall into any clear genre brackets and will keep you guessing till the end, then yes, give this one a try. You might be pleasantly surprised.

Attention Team Kade!

You are going to freaking love this book.

Was that spoilery?

I don't even care.

You should all be Team Kade anyways.

I devoured this in less than 24 hours and while it had it's issues, I still spent most of that time like this:

And now I want to turn around and start it again so I can reabsorb the best bits; I was speed reading the first time.

This series still befuddles me in some ways, though.

How does she do it? How does Tiffany Snow string me along and keep me invested enough that I will overlook the fact that:

1. Kathleen is almost killed on every page.

2. She heals faster than the freaking Wolverine and every morning she is bright and shiny, ready for new injuries.

3. There's an impossible love triangle that in most situations would make me lose my mind.

4. Sometimes the plot doesn't flow smoothly and there is always a "shocker" at the end that kind of comes out of nowhere.

5. Kathleen is super smart but occasionally does things that make me say 

Yet, somehow she not only makes me overlook them...

I just gave this book 4.5 stars.

How does she do it??

Okay, I do know.

I love Kade.

The end.

Okay, if you have read The Summer Garden by Paullina Simons, you have to see this brilliant post. It's every emotion I experienced while reading that mindf**k of a book, perfectly represented in gif form. Super funny.

Click Here

Back in May, Just One Day by Gayle Forman rocked my world. The journey that Allyson went on, both with Willem and then on her own, had me gushing to anyone who would listen. It made me want to learn a foreign language, backpack across Europe, take a class in something I love, and then track down and attend a Shakespeare play no matter how far away it was. That book just spoke to my heart and it has a place on my ultra exclusive favorites shelf. I love that book. 

Yet what I didn't love about that book was the "door slammed in my face" ending. Allyson goes through this incredible journey of self-discovery and growth and then embarks on a huge adventure, one we are not sure she can succeed in, and just when it all comes to a  gut-squeezing climax, the book ends, leaving us all breathless, and agitated, and desperate to know "What happens next?!" 

So, it's no secret that I was excited for this book. I would even say it was one of my most anticipated books for the year. I have been dying to know what was in store for Willem and Allyson. Dying to know.

And you want to know what I know now?

I've been waiting for this book for six months now, and with it being October I was like:

And then tonight as I'm getting ready for bed, I remember that release day is today  and I forgot. 

Don't read this next part if you haven't read the first book yet. Do you hear me? It contains predictions that could be spoilery for you. Also, why haven't you read the first book yet?!

I'm downloading this book as we speak... well, as I speak, or type, or whatever, and I am not going to get much sleep tonight because I have got to know:

1. What the heck happened to Willem when he left Allyson?

2. Did he get amnesia and forget her completely or just for a little while?

3. Who the hell is that girl with the sunflowers? I hate her already. 

4. What is he going to do when he finds Allyson standing on his doorstep, a newly forged world traveler who crossed several countries looking for him?

5. Do he and Allyson get a HEA or is this just a coming-of-age tale studded with romance to string me along while Allyson discovered herself? Because that is going to really tick me off. I signed up for a HEA dammit. 

Augh! Why am I still writing this stupid post, I need to start reading my book. Sleep is overrated. 

**POST READ EDIT** I have now finished this book and prediction #5 took the money. A coming-of-age tale that left me in the lurch. You can read my review here *sigh*

As an audiobook lover, it's often frustrated me that Goodreads had no progress option for minutes or hours. And then today I saw this happy little sight when updating one of my books:

And yes, it took a little brain power to figure out how many minutes are in my audiobook, but my head did not explode. 

This pleases me. 

Okay, I give up. 

The only way I can edit my reviews is by scrolling through the blog and clicking on the edit button on the top of each post, but that means I have to start at the top of the list and scroll down through 50+ posts to get to the next review I want to edit. 

Is there an easier way to do this? When I'm on the shelf view or table view, it will let me click to view the review, but there is no edit button that I can see. 

These two showed up next to eachother in the daily deals. Coincidence? I think not. 

So, you're burnt out on the New Adult genre.

You've read 30.5 books this year about fictional girls having the same college experience, like they are in some sort of perverted episode of the Twilight Zone. They have all been raped, abused, or raised by wealthy parents who do not care about them and keep them from the one they love, but its ok because after one roll in the hay with the reformed bad boy, these girls have life figured out. They get over their past, they stand up to their parents, they pass the test and save the day. And you're just over it.

Yeah? Me too.

And then along came Fangirl: the antithesis of the new adult trope.

*fist pump*This book so exceeded all of my expectations. I don't even know what to say about it without spoiling it for someone else, so I'm just going to say that it was such a fun ride and totally worth the wait and I love where she's taking the series. The story line just got so. much. bigger!

I could nit-pick some of the little things that Armentrout does in her books that drive me nuts (ninjas and babies, ahem) and there were some parts that were a teeeeensy bit cheesy, but overall I still love this series and this is my favorite book so far. Loved the trade-off between Daemon and Katy's POVs, loved seeing the inner workings of the Daedalus labs, love the new characters, and love love loved what happened in Katy and Daemon's relationship.

Armentrout did a fab job of keeping the story moving and keeping me invested even when the two of them were apart. If you've been following this series and this book is lost somewhere in your to-read pile, move it up the list pronto. This series is only getting better. 4.5 Stars

This one was hard to read, but I'm still glad I did. It's gritty and dirty and hard to stomach sometimes, and there were some big WTF moments that almost killed me. But, it was also entertaining and fairly fast-paced and I'm impressed with how ruthless Camden was when he had to be. It definitely got a rise out of me. I couldn't see how the author would possibly merge the two story lines and twist the plot enough to warrant a third book, but man, that ending... holy blazing coffeemate, Batman! I will be ready in October to find out what flippin happens. And can we have a round of applause for Karina Halle pushing these books out lickety split so no one had to riot? #teamCamden #noquestion

I would consider this a "must listen" book, which is rare. I have a feeling if I had read it myself I would have become bored, but the narrators on this were seriously so so soooo good, I could have listened to them read a grocery list and still enjoyed myself. If you are going to try this book, I highly recommend the audio version. It wasn't the most exciting story, until the end, and the romance was very light, but I was still caught up in it and it appealed to the part of me that was completely horse crazy as a kid. I look forward to reading more from this author.

A quick review because I'm supposed to be packing every freaking item I own and instead I read this book. And now I'm reviewing it. Don't tell my husband.

Anyways, so this book was like... Rrawr. Edgier than I'm used to and I really did cringe and try to hide my eyes through some of it, which made it very hard to read, but I am surprised by how much I liked it. As much as I like to love the bad boy, I do typically want my characters to be likable and redeemable and there's not a lot of that in this book. These people are all kinds of screwed up, with mafia and gangsters after them, and never knowing who's conning who.

I am hard pressed to see this as a love triangle because Javier is just effin scary, and he cheated on her (among many other bad bad things), but he certainly made me sit up and take notice. He kept the plot chugging right along and I am intrigued by him in a car-crash-rubbernecking sort of way.

As far as Camden goes, he is delish but also has all sorts of issues to work through. Anger, daddy issues... and a septum ring. I keep picturing a bull with a ring in its nose and I wish she wouldn't remind me that he has one of those ever again. But out of the two men, Camden is clearly the only wise choice and Ellie's no saintly prize either, so they're probably perfect for eachother.

What am I even trying to say about this book?? I was on the fence for the first 40%, pretty sure I was too much of a wuss and this con artist business wasn't for me, but then it hit a new gear and this book became page-turning crack. Totally could not put it down, and I don't want to read the next one, I need to read the next one. Like right now. So for that reason, and because this book broke up a very long streak of reading "blah" I give it four stars and I say, "heck yes, three bucks very well spent." Back to packing.

This is going to be one of those books that is totally subjective for everyone. Some people will absolutely love it, and some people will get to the end and think "WTF did I just read?" I fall somewhere in between the two.

Honestly, from the first page I was fully on board with Sutter Keely and watched his story unfold with a dreamy little smile on my face. He was abso-freaking-lutely adorable and I was rooting for him so hard. He made me laugh over and over again and I caught glimpses of his heart that made me get a little teary. But while he was charming, he was also pitiful.