Pieces of you (Shattered Hearts, #2) by Cassia Leo

2 Stars



Yet again, I go against the norm and so forgive me for my rant, but words can’t describe how angry I am.

I.JUST.DO.NOT.UNDERSTAND.CLAIRE

There I said it! My one and MAIN ISSUE is CLAIRE!

This is what I want to do to her



Let just say this. I liked Relentless.

This is how I felt after I finished Relentless



So… you can see how excited I was for Pieces of You

This is how I felt

At 27% things start to pick up and I’m so happy



At 37% I’m getting nervous, but I still like Claire

At 51% I’m pissed. Claire is so immature!



At 100% I pretty much wanted to punch something and by “something” I mean “Claire”



We start off right where we left off in Relentless and if you haven’t read it yet, then do not read anymore.

So, we are shocked right? I mean Claire freaking cheated on Adam with Chris, her baby daddy and there is the cliff-hanger. Yep, did that pissed me off? Yes, BUT I still gave it 4 stars BECAUSE the read was pretty good. So, Claire pissed me off, but I’m giving her a second chance.

How does Claire act in Pieces of You? Up until the 40% mark, I was cool with her. I felt like she was really trying. She doesn’t zone out as much, she’s being honest with both Adam and Chris, she wants to see her baby and so all is groovy right?

Yes, then… Claire changes.

Here comes the slow downward slope. Let me just be honest. I hate HATE hate… did I say hate, yep, Hate indecisive girls. Just get over yourself and pick a guy! Let me rephrase, either pick a guy or be alone, BUT do not be with someone and then not really be with them. Do you know what I mean?

Adam goes to Hawaii to train and compete in a surfing competition for 8 weeks. That’s only 2 months people. Chris is back in Claire’s life and he is very honest with his feelings towards Claire. Now Claire, she is just this big ball of mess. She basically has two guys drooling over her and in the mean time, cries cries and cries her freaking eyes out.

First off, why difficult is it to be away from someone for 8 weeks. Also, Adam is still in the same country, yes Hawaii is kind of far, but sheesh, I’ve had a long distance relationship for over a year and he lived in a different country.

You’re mine, and a piece of you will always belong to me the same way a piece of me will always belong to you - Adam

Chris is trying really hard to redeem himself. He is working hard to put Claire first and get a chance to meet his baby. You would think Claire would be appreciative, happy or even thankful?

You’re the f&cking love of my life. You don’t stop loving someone just because they’ve hurt you

Go ahead and walk away. You’re still mine, Claire, whether or not you admit it to yourself

The biggest mistake you made was loving me enough to let me go. I’m so f&cking sorry I wasn’t there for you-Chris

Ug no

Claire is selfish, self absorbed, immature, emotional, dramatic and STUPID



Do not even get me started on the ending. It’s beyond ridiculous!

I think Chris and Adam are okay, honestly I don’t know if I would pick to be with any of them. I think everyone needs to grow-up and stop having unprotected sex.


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Music of the Heart (Runaway Train, #1) by Katie Ashley

2 Stars

**HUGE SIGH

I really really really wanted to like Music of the Heart. It had a lot of elements in a novel I enjoy, such as bad-boy rocker with tats, sweet naïve virgin Heroine and crazy love tension, HOWEVER

I JUST COULD NOT GET INTO IT.

I see the reviews and I just don’t get it. I am highly disappointed since I like Katie Ashley and The Proposition was fantastic! So…What went wrong?

So you have sweet virginal Abby, who is tagging along her brother’s band tour, but doesn’t know if she wants to be a singer? Really? Then you have Jake who is the lead singer of another band and of course he is a man-whore. Don’t get me wrong, I love me my man-whores, but Jake, oh I had so many issues with him.

Abby and Jake strike up a ridiculous bet, Jake doesn’t think Abby could stay on the same bus as him, but Abby disagrees and joins Jake on the bus for a week. Does this sound familiar to you? It’s silly, but I move forward. First off, Jake is just awful. Who could be attracted to that? He keeps on screwing women! Let me give you my version of the story…

Abby and Jake fight

Jake flirts with Abby

Abby says no way you can’t get past first base

Jake screws a girl because he’s horny

Jake says sorry

Abby forgives but still won’t let Jake get past first base

Jake screws a girl because he’s horny

Rinse and repeat…

The story was told in alternating POV’s and honestly I couldn’t tell a difference between Jake and Abby’s voice. I mean, can Jake cry anymore? I think when the Hero cries in the book, it has to be a very important part of the story (a shifting point), but to me, Jake just cried because he was upset or the sake of crying? Jake did a lot of horrible things while he was upset. Oh I really wanted to like him, especially when he was trying to redeem himself, BUT he kept on messing up!

Abby is twenty-one, but she acts like a seventeen year old. Her inner dialogue was very immature and she was just too forgiving. I mean how many times can you forgive a guy? I’ll admit she kind of got more confident towards the middle-end, but then she reverted back to her old self soon afterwards. I did not like Abby.

Music of the Heart was too long and had unlikeable characters. The plot was subpar and unoriginal. I felt like I was reading a combination of many other great reads but was getting a very bad knock-off. It PAINS me to write a negative review, because I am a fan of Katie Ashley. I just don’t understand what went wrong.

I’m will not move forward with this series BUT I will give Katie Ashley’s Net and Lies a go because I truly believe this was just a one-time mess up.

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Going Under by S. Walden

2.5 Stars

What.THE.F.DID.I.JUST.READ?!

Yeah… that pretty much sums up how I feel right now. I am sorry, but I am going against the norm and say I was NOT a fan of Going Under and no, it’s not because of the subject matter.

I love my happy books, however, every once in awhile I love me an angsty, pull-my-hair, kind of read and I can see why there are so many rave reviews, but … HUGH SIGH I did not get the same feeling.

[Disclaimer]

Going Under isn’t for the faint of heart. It deals with a heavy subject matter that can offend some easily. Just a word of warning.

On with the review…

First Issue

WTF blurb? Really? I mean, EVERYTHING was mentioned in the summary. Okay, maybe not everything, but a huge part of the book, where in my opinion, I should have figured it out on my own OR it should have been revealed to me way sooner than it was.

[Copied of Summary]

Brooke Wright has only two goals her senior year at Charity Run High School: stay out of trouble and learn to forgive herself for the past. Forgiveness proves elusive, and trouble finds her anyway when she discovers a secret club at school connected to the death of her best friend. She learns that swim team members participate in a “Fantasy Slut League,” scoring points for their sexual acts with unsuspecting girls.

Brooke, wracked with guilt over her friend’s death, decides to infiltrate the league by becoming one of the “unsuspecting girls,” and exact revenge on the boys who stole away her best friend. An unexpected romance complicates her plans, and her dogged pursuit of justice turns her reckless as she underestimates just how far the boys will go to keep their sex club a secret.

Second Issue

The beginning was too darn slow. I understand Walden was setting up a back-story and I needed to understand Brook, but come on, I read the blurb, so I was waiting to get to the meat. You know?

Third Issue

I didn’t care for the Heroine. I really wanted to like Brooke, I really did. BUT she was all over the place. Brooke had guilt (which really pissed me off, but that’s my personal issue), so we have that, then her act of “revenge” was just ridiculous. What did she do? Go to a bunch of parties and prevent girls from getting drunk? Ug, okay.... I don’t know (and it may be easy for me to say) but shouldn’t Brooke talk to someone, like a teacher, a parent or talk to the girls explain to them the “situation” instead of saying “oh don’t talk to that guy”.

Okay, my rant is slightly unjustified because she does try to redeem herself and by “redeem”, I mean become less annoying and smarter. The story actually picked up around the 75% mark and that bumped my rating up half a point.

Fourth Issue

Even though it made me nervous, I saw the climatic-ending a mile away! I wasn’t disturbed by this, yes it was dramatic, but if anything I was just pure pissed. I thought to myself, really? Walden went there huh? I just pushed myself to get to the 90% mark.

Things I liked..

Brooke’s dad is freaking awesome

I wasn’t sure who was good or bad. Usually I talk about the Hero, but you really don’t know who it is. Brooke’s affections go back and forth between Ryan and Cal (to me) and at first I felt like there was just something more than what I was reading, but its clearly stated towards the middle.

Video Game Scene!

The ending was good. I liked. I think if I didn’t get that closure I would have just taken two sleeping pills and called it a night.

The cover is beautiful and very fitting.

Overall

I think my downfall was the hype. I hate having high expectations and not having them met. I don’t even think my issue was with the story, I think it was just the whole layout. I thought the beginning was slow and the middle-end was too obvious and quick. I didn’t understand the Heroine and felt there was just something lacking between the Heroine and Hero.

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Sever by Lauren DeStefano

2 Stars

It seems you either loved or hated Sever and I will be in the latter category. I can list a lot of reasons why I disliked this book, so where do I even begin?

Let me first say this, I do not like to give negative reviews and I usually try to write something positive, but I just can’t and I apologize a head of time..

Sever is just ridiculously terrible.

There is a reason why it took me a MONTH to finish it.

The plot didn’t make sense and I felt like I was reading in circles that involved a bunch of overly emotional irrational characters that acted like chickens with their heads cut off.

Somewhat spoilerish review..

First off, where the F was Gabriel? I thought Sever would be about Rhine finding Gabriel but she just ends up “relaxing” at Vaughn’s brother's house because Cecily complains? I didn’t understand that.

I’ve always liked Linden, but I soon see Linden is a just big girl. He believes and does what his father wants with no regard towards Rhine and Cecily’s feelings. That sh!t was okay for book 1 and 2, but we are in book 3 now and I’m just so over it! Oh and Cecily is so annoying and I really just wanted DeStefano to kill her off!

The summary clearly tells you that Rowan is working with the resistance… first off, where the F was Rowan in book 1 and 2? Okay, I get he wasn’t in book 1 and I’ll let it go that he wasn’t in book 2 BUT to show up in the latter half of book 3 is just…. STUPID?! Just write that crap off, I felt like Rhine’s brother was a loose story line that needed to be wrapped up.

A lot of people died for no reason, but what for dramatic effect? Oh and you find out the twist for the climatic ending and you are like, WTF that is the twist? Are you serious? REALLY?! Ug okay.

Overall I should have stopped with book 1, but I had to freaking finish and this series was a complete waste of time. It’s just so sad b/c I really liked the whole concept and the cover is very pretty.


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Stolen by Lucy Christopher

Stolen by Lucy Christopher
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

2 Stars

What a disappointing read

I saw the mixed reviews and figured since Stolen won so many awards, it couldn’t be that bad…. ug, it was.

Let me just explain my issues with books with kidnapping, they are hard to write. I read a lot of books about kidnapping and Stockholm syndrome and its very difficult for me to keep interest because there can only be so much plot.

Better kidnapping books to read are, Bel Canto by Ann Patchett, Captive in the Dark by C.J. Roberts and Slave by Sherri Hayes (mind you, these are older reads, so maybe that is why I enjoy them more).

Gemma is 16 years old and on her way to Vietnam, she is kidnapped by Ty. Ty takes Gemma to the Australian Outback, where no one is around for miles. As Ty tries to form a relationship with Gemma, Gemma does everything she cans to escape.

Stolen was written from Gemma’s point of view via a letter to Ty. Already, I hate this. I do not like the way it was written and it reminds me a lot like Taken by Kelli Maine, a book I wasn’t a fan of either (mainly due to the writing style). I hate the way Gemma references Ty as “you”, the whole idea of the letter was ridiculous and didn’t work for me.

Stolen had no depth and the characters were just flat. I wanted to see deep seeded issues with Ty and all I got was one lousy crying scene and a few outbursts where Ty almost hits Gemma, oh big deal. I just didn’t see a true bond form because Gemma kept on wanting to runaway. I do not believe Gemma had Stockholm syndrome and even though we read moments where she couldn’t look at him because he was too beautiful, it just didn’t seem like that was enough of a reason.

When I finally got to the ending I was just thinking to myself, really this is how it’s going to end? I mean, it was so anti-climatic and just a pure let-down.

Overall, there was no tension and I couldn’t get into the characters. I do not recommend.


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Rock Me (Ross Siblings, #2) by Cherrie Lynn

Rock Me by Cherrie Lynn
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

2 Stars

Ug… WAS.NOT.A.FAN.

Look, I understand Rock Me wasn’t going to win any awards, but I wanted a decent read. Book 1, Unleashed was okay, so I didn’t expect Rock Me to be so disappointing.

I don’t know what’s worst: the cover, title, or the characters, it’s all a tossup.

Candace is a good girl, but lives a shelter life. Her parents pay for her school and apartment and she does everything she can to live up to her parents standards. Brian is not the type of guy you take home to mom and dad. He’s a tattoo artist with a short temper. Candace knows Brian isn’t her ideal guy, but she can’t help who she likes.

So, the summary is really blah and the writing is pretty much that and a little more blah.

Candace is sweet and innocent? I guess, sure, whatever. The first few chapters she pretty much stalks Brian and then when Brian shows interest, Candace then, kind of acts different? I am all for back and forth banter, but the reasons are pretty ridiculous.

Brian is the “bad” boy, ug… not really. He’s just a guy who likes tattoos and likes to give people tattoos, big deal? I didn’t understand Candace and Brian’s attraction to each other. It was just short and kind of odd.

I didn’t understand the obstacles and problems. Candace struggles with her parents, but I don’t think that is enough to be the main plot.
Overall, I do not recommend.

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Forever Mine (The Moreno Brothers, #1) by Elizabeth Reyes

Forever Mine by Elizabeth Reyes
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

2 stars

I should give a 1 star rating, but I thought that is kind of mean, considering the writing was okay, my main issue steams from the ridiculous plot

Forever Mine is by far one of the most annoying reads I have come across in a very long time. Probably everything I detest in a book was written in.

Sarah’s mom got sent to jail, so, Sarah is sent to live in another city with her friend Valarie. Sarah would rather stay home town and live with her guy friend, Sydney, but mom said no. Sarah is the new girl at school and catches Angel’s eye, but once Angel tells Sarah he doesn’t believe guys and girls can have a platonic relationship, Sarah thinks its best not to tell Angel her best friend, Sydney is a guy.

Okay, so if I read the above summary I probably would have never picked up the book, but I didn’t, so I only have myself to blame. The reviews were mixed, but I still thought Forever Mine could have been a good read, BUT, I.WAS.WRONG.

Let me state the obvious, I HATE IT when the MAIN PROBLEM (aka PLOT) can be solved in a matter of minutes, heck, seconds in this case!

I thought Sarah and Angel’s relationship form fairly quickly, but I figure the whole book would be about the relationship, so I didn’t complain too much. The beginning was 100% fine, I liked Sarah’s back-story and Angel seemed to be funny and cocky, like I said, no complaining!

Oh how quickly things can turn sour.

The minute Sarah decides not to tell Angel that her best friend Sydney is a guy (because she is scared of Angel’s reaction), I think I seriously debated dropping the book. I actually paused and thought to myself, is this worth reading? The ONLY REASON why I kept on reading was because Sarah’s decision to keep the secret from Angel was so into the beginning of the book, I figure that couldn’t possibly be the only problem. YES, THAT WAS THE MAIN PROBLEM.

I can’t believe I read hundreds of pages of Sarah not being able to tell Angel this, I mean, I rather Sydney be her boyfriend and she cheats on Angel, then, at least that secret was justified.
Is Sarah a complete moron?

I have so many other issues, but I don’t want to give it away, I just think Sarah’s actions are so unrealistic, no 17 year- old girl would do the things she does and still not be able to tell her secret.

It just DID.NOT.MAKE.SENSE!!!

Once I reached the climatic ending where the coach is involved, I can whole heartily agree on how STUPID Sarah is.

I am not sure if I can move on to book 2, if it’s anything like Forever Mine, I may combust with anger.


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Jessica’s Guide to Dating on the Dark side (Jessica, #1) by Beth Fantaskey

Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

2.5 Stars

I am very torn with Jessica’s Guide to Dating on the Dark Side, I wanted to rate 3 stars, but overall, I feel that the writing quality deserved 2.5 stars.

Jessica is your typical teenage girl, she has a best friend and a crush, however, Jessica is nothing, but abnormal. Jessica is adopted and one day her past comes back. Lucius is a vampire prince and he shows up in Jessica’s life to honor a pact Lucius and Jesscia’s biological parents made, which is, Lucius and Jessica are to be wed when Jessica turns 18.

The summary is pretty cute. I’ve been putting off reading because I wasn’t too fond of the title (I sort of had this idea that it would be a step by step read of a guide book), but I was wrong, so I am glad it’s not what the title claims it to be, very misleading and silly.
I think the fault lies on the writing. I feel like 100 pages could have been edited out and practically the whole story leads up to the last 5 pages and a very disappointing cliff-hanger ending.

I think Jessica is ridiculous, she really does act like a silly teenage girl and I do not care for her at all, she only redeems herself towards the end, which probably was the most interesting part of the read. I found Lucius to be pretty funny, although it took me a bit to get comfortable with his dialogue, I finally was okay with it, but I thought it was a bit dramatic and not necessary. Lucius tried to speak like his from a different time-period, but it didn’t quiet flow, it wasn’t like I was reading a Jane Austen’ novel.

There’s plenty of banter back and forth, which I LOVE in a book, but there was just too much in the book. Like I said, 100 pages could have been omitted. I felt like the whole story was a tease for the final 5 pages and it left me feeling a little angry, okay, a lot angry and downright pissed off.

The story was too descriptive, also, I didn’t care for Lucius’ letters to his uncle, (it was a different take of Lucius’ POV), it should have been 100% Jesscia’s POV, or 50/50 with Lucius.

Finally we get to the twist, the part I was kind of confused. So, yeah it wasn’t anything expected, but I didn’t think there were enough clues in the beginning of the book for me to I don’t know accept the twist. I felt like it was kind of thrown in there just to be “different”.

I’m debating if I should continue on with the series or leave it as a lost cause. I am undecided for now.


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The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay

The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

2.5 Stars

"Maybe if I can solve him and he can solve me, we can explain to each other. Maybe that's what I need. Someone to explain me."

I really wanted to like The Sea of Tranquility, I really did. I loved the summary and plot, I read a lot of reviews and one of my favorite reviewers gave it 5 starts, BUT I just couldn’t justify anything higher than 2.5 stars, this book was just NOT FOR ME.

Nastya is a 17 year old damaged girl. Everyone in Josh’s life is gone and he therefore doesn’t like to be bothered. Nastya shows up at Josh’s school as a new student and even though both of them have past issues, they sort of become drawn towards one another and like it or not, their lives become tangled.

From page one you are hit with punch in the face. Nastya basically says, she died 3 years ago by a boy and she plans on killing him. So from first glance, I am assuming she’s one pissed off cookie and this may become a murder mystery? So when I start to get to know Josh’s character, I am thinking to myself maybe he’s the killer? The answer would be no, this is not a murder mystery book and Josh’s character has nothing to do with Nastya’s past. So, let me say I do not like the way the book begins, even though I get what Millay was trying to do, but it was kind of leading us as the reader under false pretenses.

The book is told from Nasya and Josh’s POV, which I enjoyed a lot. Also, there are hardly any flash back scenes, which I appreciated. It’s difficult to write a book with characters having past issues and not do flash back scenes; I am not a fan of flash back scenes EVER. Like I’ve said many times, I love it when the title is referenced, it was referenced a few times and I smiled when I read it. That pretty much sums the positives.

This is my rant

I do not like Nastya. I don’t like the way she acts, dresses, “talks” and probably almost everything else. There is so much self loathing in her character it’s really hard for me to like the heroine. When you do find out what happens, I really didn’t understand why she was so self loathing. Her loathing was to the point where she didn’t care if the guys at the school lied and said she was sleeping with them. I.COULD.NOT.UNDERSTAND.

I am indifferent to Josh. I sometimes like him, but then he says something and it makes me want to punch him in the face. So, Josh closes himself off to people, okay, makes sense, everyone around him has left, he’s own his own. Right off the bat we know Josh’s story, but I really didn’t get anything out of Josh, if anything, he didn’t seems as damaged as Millay tried to make him to be. Josh mentions how he feels, but he doesn’t do what Nastya does, he doesn’t dress or act differently (out of the norm), but he kinds of just shuts himself off from people, except for his best friend, does being a loner equate to being damaged? I would say, not really.

I think there were too many issues between Josh and Nastya, I felt like Nastya’s issues over shadow everything, if anything maybe it should have been written form Nastya’s POV.

There is hardly any dialogue until 50% into the book. This was the downfall for me. I.CAN.NOT.STAND books when it’s just the character’s thoughts. I am talking chapters and pages of Nastya and Josh thinking. I wanted to rip my hair out and I started to skim. At some point I was thinking of just dropping the book, BUT the reviews were so positive, I forced myself to get through it.

At the 50% to 80% mark, things got better. There was more dialogue and more interaction between Nastya and Josh. Pretty much at the 80% mark, I realized Nastya and Josh weren’t perfect heroine and hero characters, in fact, I felt like Millay wanted me to hate them and I’ll be honest, I sort of did.

I didn’t want an epic romance because I knew I wasn’t getting that right from the start, but I didn’t want this long drawn out story. I love character development, it’s probably one of the attributes that distinguish a good or bad book for me, but I did not like the character development in The Sea of Tranquility. It was just too boring.

I understand the positive ratings, because there’s a lot of drama, a lot of tension and just pure anger, but execution is a major factor and execution was seriously lacking.

The Sea of Tranquility was just not for me.

The Statistical Probability of Love at first sight by Jennifer E Smith

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

2.5 Stars

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight has all the right elements for a great book, you got the great “meet-cute”, awesome Airplane and London setting, who doesn’t love weddings? and I can’t forget to mention the very adorable cover, but alas, it wasn’t meant to be and was a HUGE FLOP.

Hadley is 17 years old and is on her way to be in her father’s wedding. This is her father’s second marriage and Hadley has issues with her parent’s divorce. Oliver is on the same flight as Hadley and the two them form a relationship over the 7 hour flight.

No, the book isn’t all on the plane (though I wish it was), they both land in London and there is story there, however most of the interaction between Hadley and Oliver is minimal once they both land in London. (huge bummer in my eyes).

I really wanted to like it, I really did, it was even nominated on Goodreads 2012 vote list?!, so how could I, crazy me, not like it?! I.Simply.Did.Not.

I like the overall idea and the characters were grand, heck, even the British slang written throughout was bloody brilliant, BUT the writing style was just not for me.
I can’t tell you how much I HATE books with no dialogue. The story was lacking substance, meat and intensity, even “cutesy” books have some drama!

I could care less about Hadley’s daddy-issues. Maybe I couldn’t empathize. Most of the time I wanted to scream and say “oh get over yourself Hadley, your freaking 17 year old almost adult, just get over it!”. Oliver story was good, we don’t understand what happens until the middle, but it still wasn’t enough for me to get overly excited, I was just thinking, oh big deal.

So, is this a love story? No, it’s a mild love story, but it’s mostly about a little girl’s issues with her parents breaking up and meeting a boy who kind of helps her see things in a different light. It would have been better in my opinion if Oliver helped Hadley’s issues by interacting with her, but it’s mostly Hadley thinking out loud. There’s a lot of descriptive scenes and many paragraphs of Hadley thinking, just not my type of reading.

I do not recommend unless you’re 13 years-old and you’re parents are getting a divorce.

Oh, one more thing, I liked how the title was mentioned on the last page, nice touch.

The Essence (The Pledge, #2) by Kimberly Derting

The Essence by Kimberly Derting
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

2 Stars

One word to describe The Essence would be BORING or maybe ANNOYING. Book 2 picks up where book 1, The Pledge left off. Note, if you haven’t read book 1, I would suggest NOT reading this review. I remember liking The Pledge until the ending. When I found out Sabara was stuck in Carlaina (Charlie) in The Pledge I was 100% grossed out, regardless I still liked the characters and decided to continue with book 2, The Essence.

I don’t even know if there is a summary to The Essence, I would just say it’s about Charlie being tormented by Sabara. If all 3 books were out, I would suggest skipping book2 and just go to book 3, in all honestly The Essence was unnecessary and completely a “filler” book. I am shocked by the positive reviews.

I love the Max and Charlie story line, why was there only a few handful of pages of the relationship written? I don’t know. I don’t need the book to be completely relationship related, but the other side plots needed to be more interesting and I felt like nothing really happened.

I can’t get past the fact Sabara is related to Max, how could Charlie kiss Max? This isn’t like “The Host”, where the characters aren’t related, I can’t explain my uneasiness, I mean, towards the end the whole grandmother thing was kind of explained and seemed less creepy, but I still can’t get past it. I need to, but I can’t.

As for side characters, I would say all of them were… meh.
I am debating if I should move to book 3, considering I was mildly satisfied with the ending of The Essense. I think my over all issues were mainly driven by the main plot, Sabara being stuck in Charlie.

I didn’t think the whole book was going to be about Sabara being stuck in Charlie, I thought it was going to be a minor challenge that the characters would work towards fixing, but I was wrong and very upset. There were so many times I wanted to throw the book at the wall because I was just so annoyed with Charlie, I wanted to shake her, I wanted to punch her in the face, I wanted her to fix her problem instead of being in stupid denial.

I don’t like single layer books. This book had a fairly simple problem and it wasn’t enough to be the main focus for the entire book. I wanted more Max and Charlie involvement, I just simply wanted more.

I do not recommend.


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Falling for you by Lisa Schroeder

Falling For You by Lisa Schroeder
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

2.5 Stars

I wavered between 2.5 and 3 stars, and after writing my review, I decided 2.5 was a better fit. This is my first Lisa Schroeder book and I am sad to say, probably my last one too. Falling For You just didn’t cut it for me.

I should have listened to my gut, but the cover was too cute and I loved the title and summary, so I went into the read with mild expectations and I was highly disappointed.

The first page is titled “hospital”, it doesn’t take a genius what that chapter meant, in fact I felt like it was unnecessary. From there on, we rewind 5 months prior and the story is told. I did not like the storyline at all; in fact I would say the book was 100% annoying. I couldn’t understand nor relate to any of the characters. I didn’t feel sorry for Rae, I know I should, but I thought Rae had poor judgment, was a little annoying and a little ridiculous.

I didn’t understand why the first 1/3 of the book was about Nathan and Rae, I felt like the summary was misleading. If this book was between Rae, Leo and Nathan, then why did Leo come in so late in the game? Also, I didn’t really care for Leo, if anything I felt like he was just an added “friend” character to create hype. The summary and title is very misleading, the book is about “Falling” for someone, but its about Rae and her messed up family life.

I thought the whole book was a downer and was leading to something horrible. I understand depressing books, but Rae’s situation never got better, she may have a fun date here and there, but the whole time, Rae was just going through one issue after another.

There were just so many things that didn’t mesh in this book, from the character developments, to the misleading summary, to the annoying situations, to a very anticlimactic obvious ending.

I do not recommend.


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Perfect You by Elizabeth Scott

Perfect You by Elizabeth Scott
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

2 Stars

Let me summarize Perfect You for you real quick:

Kate whining
Kate whining some more
Kate meets Will (okay it starts to get good)
Kate complains and whines
Kate acts stupid towards Will and everyone else around her

That’s basically the book in a nut shell. I really didn’t like Perfect You and I should have stopped reading after the first 20 pages, but I actually thought the beginning was okay. I thought well, once I get pass the beginning, it should really pick up, BUT NO nothing happens.

I’m dead serious when I tell you nothing happens in this book. Perfect You is about Kate complaining about her life, multiple times in multiple variations to probably drag out the story line. Suffice to say, I did not like Kate, I actually would call her a BIG B. What does Will even see in Kate? I am all for witty banter between the guy and girl, but there has to be some niceness, Kate never let up.

Also, when you felt like something positive was going to happen, like when Will does a nice gesture, I would think to myself, oh okay the book is going to change direction and it’s going to be less annoying now, but oh no, it’s stupid Kate, she thinks the worst in situations, so she kind of sets herself up to fail and the story line becomes annoying again.

I don’t know what’s more annoying, the characters, Kate whining, Kate being stupid or the fact there was no plot.

On a positive note, I liked grandma; she was the only one in the whole book that had a lick of sense. Also, some of the comebacks she made towards Will was kind of funny, but this wasn’t enough for me to like the book, it just made it bearable.

I know this is a young adult book and I see there’s suppose to be something learned from it, but it just didn’t jive.




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City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

2 Stars

WTF Words can’t describe how I feel after reading City of Bones. The only reason why I read this book was because I saw the movie preview and it looked really good.

I don’t even know where to begin. I thought the beginning was good, I thought it was kind of interesting and there was movement, then everything went downhill around 200 pages into the book. The book was very slow, I felt like everything was described and there really wasn’t any plot or story line. There would be an obstacle and the whole team went to solve the obstacle, which I usually would find interesting, but it wasn’t. The pace started to pick up around page 350, but once you got to the end, well you will see…

I was always confused with Clary and Jace’s relationship. I thought Clary was sweet and just really confused. Jace to me was just as a**hole. I couldn’t stand him, there were moments where I thought he was sweet and somewhat protective, but once I got to the end, I was like WHAT THE F DID I JUST READ?!.

Like many reviewers say, you either love or hate this book, I think I fall into both categories. I had to read the spoilers to book 2 through 5, just to get my questions answered, because after reading, City of Bones I was left with an icky feeling.

I am not sure if I will finish the series, a part of me wants to just so I can read how the story develops, but another part of me doesn’t want to torture myself. For now, I am going to take a break and probably not go see the movie.

The Waiting Sky by Lara Zielin

The Waiting Sky by Lara Zielin
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

2 Stars

I really hate giving this review, but it’s my honest opinion. I tried to like THE WAITING SKY, I really did. THE WAITING SKY in my opinion was the most annoying book to read, I didn’t like the main character Jane, I could not relate nor understand her reasoning. I thought the relationship between Jane and Max was VERY juvenile, they didn’t act like 17-year olds, but 12-year olds, some of the jokes they were trying to tell each other, were just awkward and it didn’t make the conversation flow.

Jane is 17 years old and has an alcoholic mother (main reason why I was intrigued with this book). After Jane’s mother almost kills Jane’s best friend, Jane was finally pushed to spend the summer with her brother, cashing tornados. The story should have been about Jane trying to move forward, but the whole book and I mean 99.9% of the book was Jane’s justification to why Jane needed to take care of her mother. I think I would have liked this book a lot more if Jane stayed with her Mom and Jane was trying to work out issues or Jane deciding to leave on her terms and trying to work out issues.

I’m trying to be sympathetic, drug and alcohol use are serious topics, so I was looking for something deeper, something dark and gut retching, but I didn’t feel it in this book. To mean, I was reading a book about a whinny mother, an annoying daughter and awesome side characters that for some reason put up with all of Jane’s drama. I loved Cat, Jane’s best friend and I was pretty much ticked off when I read Cat’s story and Jane just didn’t have any guilt, or if she had guilt, she justified why she did what she did.

I think the thing that really KILLED it for me was the ending, really Jane, are you really that dramatic? I just didn’t understand her reasoning. The ending was just over-all dramatic and unnecessary and it made me HATE Jane more and just sealed it for me on how stupid Jane’s actions were.

The only positive aspects in this book is Jane’s brother and Max pushing Jane to seek professional help, since alcoholism doesn’t just affect the alcoholics, it affects the people around the alcoholics as well. Also, the story centered on tornados, was different and interesting.

I wouldn’t recommend this book, unless you are into annoying, irrational characters that whine throughout book. It pains me to give a negative review because I love independent authors, but it’s my honest opinion.

The Opportunist (Love Me With Lies, #1) by Tarryn Fisher

The Opportunist by Tarryn Fisher
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

2.5 Stars

I really don’t understand how The Opportunist received so many good reviews. From the first chapter, I hated the book, but stuck with it because of the reviews. Now, that I have finished, I’m left with a sticky feeling and regret finishing The Opportunist

Olivia Kapsen is not your average heroine, she is severely flawed, you see bits of this in the beginning, but it’s more apparent towards the end of the book. Olivia runs into her Ex, Caleb, 3 years after they broke up, he has amnesia and doesn’t remember Olivia. Olivia takes this “opportunity” and spends time with Caleb because she still has feelings for him.

So, let’s get to it, I hate Olivia, I am all for “real” characters, not everyone is perfect, but Olivia’s lies and decent is so profound, I just couldn’t understand why people loved this book, I wanted to stop reading about Olivia and wait for another character I could read and like. It was hard to understand Caleb since the POV is from Olivia’s, I never really liked Caleb, nor did I dislike him, I suppose I just didn’t trust him.

This book is one huge drama fest of tension, lies, betrayal, crying, and fights. I hated every second of it, on top of hating it, I hated when Traryn Fisher would go back and forth from past and present time. I can’t believe this is a series, it reminds me a lot like Avoiding Commitment by K.A.Linde, another book I couldn’t stand while reading. Maybe I am a sucker for happy endings, I just feel like Olivia’s character was so horrible, how could you sympathize? There’s a book 2 told from the “other” girl’s point of view (the love triangle in this book) and I can tell you for a fact I will not read it.

The book was written well and I read it in two sittings, I am glad it was short because if it was any longer, I probably would have ripped my hair out. I can understand the story, I just can’t relate, nor do I find it my kind of reading. I will steal clear from these kinds of book, because it leaves you with nothing, but an unsettled feeling in the pit of your stomach.
I do not recommend.

What a Boy Wants (What a Boy Wants, #1) by Nyrae Dawn

What a Boy Wants by Nyrae Dawn
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

2.5 Stars

I don’t know why this book got so many good reviews. I think the only reason why I finished the book was so I could write my own summary. What a Boy Wants is beyond, typical, redundant and written from truly a 17 year-old.

Sebastian is a player and he makes money by emailing girls advice on how to get guys. Just from reading the summary, I shouldn’t have picked up the book, but the reviews seem so favorable, I decided to give it a go, but I was pretty much right on my original thought. Why would anyone pay someone $100 for advice via email?! Buy a self-help book, ask your guy friends, but really, asking a “player” to send you advice works? This part was very unbelievable.

The dialogue back and forth between Sebastian and mystery girl was just atrocious, I couldn’t even stand to read it at times and started to scan the book. The author wanted to really get down and true to the teenager lingo, but here’s a hint, yeah I like young-adult books, but that doesn’t mean I want to read it at a 17 year-old level.

The book is about Sebastian helping a girl get the guy she wants, but there’s a twist and here it is, it’s so obvious, I was really hoping it wasn’t. The book was so predictable and I love predictable books, but the writing just made everything so immature. I was even okay on how short the book was and if anything it helped me get closer to the end.
The only positive thing I can say is that it’s a light and fast read and that is enough for many people. If you need a quick fix, then this book will do the job.

I do not recommend this book because the writing style just didn’t do it for me and I will not be picking up the series.