Tuesday, June 2, 2015

Court of Fives by Kate Elliott

Court of Fives (Court of Fives, #1)Court of Fives by Kate Elliott

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


☆☆☆☆☆

No spoilers and colorful language abound! I received this ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.





Yes. Oh, hell yes. YA has a new gold standard, and it was woven by Kate Elliot.

Here is how she did it:

Take every trope and tangled mess of cliches and throw them out the window. Replace them with a strong female protagonist, guided by love of family, an unquenchable desire to cultivate sense of self, and steadfast desire to be logical. Permit these eloquent components to unfurl on the mystical backdrop based upon the Ancient Egyptian civilization, peppered with otherness and ripe with cultural friction. Sounds fantastic, right? That's because it is.

Monday, April 13, 2015

Crushed (Soul Eater, #2) by Eliza Crewe

Crushed (Soul Eater, #2)Crushed by Eliza Crewe

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



☆☆☆☆


No Spoilers! Definitely colorful language abound!

I think it's time for some realness. I've had this book for almost an entire year, I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review...11 months ago. Thanks NG?

I could be all upset with myself being that I waited this long to read what has turned out to be, a wonderful series. That wouldn't be the right thing, I think. I've been in a serious book funk lately, I haven't read much and reviewed even less. The blogging, twitter, requests, page views, and drama took the sparkle out of reading. I felt like I wasn't reading to read, I was reading to review and, for me personally, they became very different things.

So, here I was, around midnight when I realized I had this baby on my kindle. I quick bought the first one, and gobbled it up. I was pretty disappointed at first, I just wasn't connecting but it was entertaining enough that I kept going. It's not often that a new series gets a double 5 star rating from some of my more discerning blogger friends, and I had a feeling this was going to be worth it. I was so right.

Crushed was great. Plain and simple. Again, I read this in one sitting, and it felt fantastic. I decided I wasn't going to review anything, until I felt like I had something to say, so I guess I do?

Here it is:

If you haven't read this series yet, I envy you. Reach for it when you need something to swallow up reality and replace it with something better. It pulled me from a deep-dark funk, and I hope it does the same for you.




Thursday, February 19, 2015

Fate's Edge (The Edge #3) by Ilona Andrews

Fate's Edge (The Edge, #3)Fate's Edge by Ilona Andrews

My rating: 4 of 5 stars




☆☆☆☆


No spoilers and colorful language abound!


On the Edge (Book 1)



Bayou Moon (Book 2)



Ah! This, again, took me awhile to sink into. I'm not sure why I find the beginning of all of these books so tedious, but somehow I plow through, because I know how worth it, it is to finish. They are so good. I think I had forgotten how negatively I felt throughout most of the entire first book, yet I gave it a descent rating, they won me over with that ending. That seems to be the theme of me and these books.

Can I just say how happy I am about this world? Also, how equally sad I am that it's ending? I feel really comfortable now with the rules and landscapes of The Weird and The Broken and The Edge. I am deeply invested in the political environment between the various territories. With the switch in MCs each book, we are given a deeper attachment to these fascinating dual realities, I am excited yet sad to be starting the last book.

Fate's Edge I think was my favorite. Kaldar was everything I expected and then some. Sigh. His humor had me cackling in the dark, in the wee hours of the morning.


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Overall the humor in this book was on point. Jack and George are a wealth of endearing charm, I am so pleased we've gotten bits of their story since the beginning and we seem to be following it through. I wonder if they would ever pick up the story again when the boys are grown up! YEAH. That should happen.


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Anyway, time to read on.






Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Guiltiest of all guilty pleasures: NO SHAME

Recently I was chatting with some friends about my most guilty, of guilty pleasures.  Cool Ranch Doritos and Peanut M&Ms, at the same time. Apparently, this makes me a fucking weirdo and frankly, I'm more shocked that I'm the only one. It's honestly fucking delicious. Calorically it is a nightmare, but every now and again my inner fat girl roars her double chins and I must obey.

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What is your most favorite and bizarre combo of food? I must know.

Unholy Magic (Downside Ghosts, #2) by Stacia Kane

Unholy Magic (Downside Ghosts, #2)Unholy Magic by Stacia Kane

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

Update: Feb 2015 reread was just as great as the first time. This book has remained firmly in my memory, so stepping back into this world is like turning on a favorite TV show. Enjoyable to the max!

No spoilers!

Unholy Ghosts Review

That's it. I can't articulate anything.

Various stages of feels as demonstrated in animal gifs:

ZOMG


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No no no.


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...did that just happen?


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DEAD


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View all my reviews

Thursday, February 5, 2015

Unholy Ghosts (Downside Ghosts #1) by Stacia Kane

Unholy Ghosts (Downside Ghosts, #1)Unholy Ghosts by Stacia Kane

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


☆☆☆☆☆

Feb 2015 Reread with MacHalo Girls: ABSOLUTELY FUCKING LOVED IT. Everything I said below still stands. I think I loved it more the second time around because perspective.

No Spoilers! Definitely colorful language abound!


1. THIS IS NOT WHAT I WAS EXPECTING.

I didn't read the reviews on this until I finished, and truthfully it's really a difficult book to review. It's not what you think it's going to be. It's not what you want it to be. It's not familiar. It's not unfamiliar. So what is it then? It's fucking tragic. This world is a place with no meaning. Filled with a bunch of people with no hope. The class devision is extremely prevalent, specifically noted in the dialect of the lower class. It's a bit startling at first, but truthfully it's something you adjust to and eventually see the fineness the author applied to it. It speaks of an uneducated and hardened group of people who have long been forgotten by a system that no longer seems to exist. There is no god, no light, no better place, no peace. You simply die, and your ghost is ushered to the underground where once a year you might be let out, for all of eternity, consumed by a murderous rage, you aren't even yourself. Let that sink in for a moment, shall we? You get this brief time of being alive where the quality of your life is nothing more than a roll of the dice. You are born with magic? Great. You are born with wealthy parents? Good. You are born poor? Well, shit. You can't change anything, you just have to manage to make it through, then for what exactly? AN ETERNITY OF NOTHING BUT RAGE IN THE CITY UNDERGROUND!

2. WHO ARE THESE CHARACTERS? IS THAT A LOVE TRIANGLE? I DON'T EVEN CARE.

You see, anything to do with ghosts typically freaks me the feck out and so that means I'm in equal measure terrified and fascinated. Eventually my TBR list lacked the ability to hold my attention and I went out seeking something I couldn't articulate. Thankfully I've met some book soul sisters here on GR and was reminded yet again by Jenny of this series. Something sparked and I put all my other reads on hold to start this.
I made a note at 20% through to myself:
Even if I were to stop right now, even if that was possible to let these characters go, I would always remember Chess. She is a character that will stay with me forever.

She is mosaic of painful memories, self-medicating tendencies and a healthy dose of self loathing. She is powerful, deeply sensitive, and brimming with hope despite herself. She expects the worst in others but somehow finds herself disappointed when they let her down. She is acutely aware of herself yet slathered in denial. She is a junkie with morals. She is a powerful witch and debunker but afraid of ghosts. She is gritty, raw and articulate. She is a badass and a pussy. She is complex, she is herself, she is MY NEW FAVORITE CHARACTER.


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Terrible is equally complex and manages to ooze a comfort in his own skin typically only seen in those who have been blessed with the pleasure of growing old. As all of the characters in this series his many layers are revealed in a deliciously slow manner, and almost in spite of himself. Terrible doesn't want you to get to know him but every now and again he slips and you see how clever, observant and protective he is. Not only does Terrible accept himself without hesitation despite being who he is and what he does, he also offers the same acceptance to all those around him. He truly see's people for who they are without any preconceived idea's of what they should do or be or say. This is especially visible in the way his friendship with Chess builds over the series.

Lex is the obvious charmer but carries it as his armor. You never once assume he will be anything other than what he is. I accept him, he's interesting and offers what I imagine will be a tough thing to accept in the plot. The relationship that develops with Chess is one she may have a very hard time seeing for what it really is.

Really, all of these characters are easy to judge and disconnect from. Some are junkies, some are pushers, some are enforcers and murderers, some abusive to themselves and to others. They will reflect all the ugly humanity has to offer and it's up to the reader to look deeper and see all aspects of their story.

3. THIS PLOT. WHAT IS HAPPENING. IS THIS HAPPENING?

N-O-T-H-I-N-G about this book is something you've read before. The drug use is intense and is a character of it's own. It's the force that drives everything Chess does, from sleeping, to working, to relaxing, to functioning on a basic level. It has a sort of love triangle but so far from the YA garbage you've read that you won't even care. These ghosts are murderous and dangerous. This world is bizarre and confusing. THIS FUCKING PLOT IS AMAZEBALLS AND CREEPS UP ON YOU.


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4. EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS BOOK.


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5. THE 2ND BOOK IS ON MY KINDLE. I HAVE TO FUCKING GO.


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View all my reviews

Bayou Moon (The Edge, #2) by Ilona Andrews


I had a really hard time getting into this book, suddenly I was halfway through and loving it. I account all that to the genius that is IA, but even they started to lose me there, till the end. Then I was bowled over with happy feelings and loved it all over again. I'm not certain how to rate it... let's go with...

 ☆☆☆☆

No spoilers and colorful language abound! 

Eh. That's about all I've got here. I don't understand why I don't know what to say! It couldn't have anything to do with the fact that I was up all night reading and making sure my toddler doesn't pee the bed. That wouldn't have any bearing on my cognitive abilities or anything...eh whatever.


Continuation of this world:

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William aka Lord Leather Pants:

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Cerise:

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The angst:

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Spider and his gang of freaks:

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This whole plot:

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That ending:

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Friday, January 30, 2015

On the Edge by Ilona Andrews

On the Edge (The Edge, #1)On the Edge by Ilona Andrews

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



☆☆☆


No spoilers and colorful language abound!


I have something to admit. I have been refusing to read this book based on it's cover. I know I know, I mean look at all their covers... I know they still contain magic but this one, I just couldn't get past. Then all my friends started reading it and decided I'd take the jump too.

Then I loved it. I mean seriously, LOVED IT. A cat boy and another who raised his crazy dead grandpa who eats dog brains all before page five? A place called the Weird and the Broken?


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YES.

Then we got to Declan and I hated him. Deeply.


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In fact, it made me not want to read this anymore. I hated Rose's reaction to him, I hate how arrogant he was. None of it was working for me anymore. Upon the urging of very trusted friends, I kept going. I'm so glad I did.


Right now, I'm just happy. It's the kind of happy when you discover a new series to love. It cannot be compared to anything else. Most of the time as a reviewer, you slosh through a lot of ..um..shit. Then you escape back into your favorites and participate in epic rereads to remind yourself why you even liked to read in the first place. Maybe you get tossed a new release of something you've been waiting on for ages and it's glorious but those are few and far between. But
Excuse me. I need to go stock up on tea and snacks. I HAVE READING TO DO.




Monday, January 26, 2015

Room With a View: Hot Down Under (Flesh, #2.5) by Kylie Scott

Room With a View: Hot Down Under (Flesh, #2.5)Room With a View: Hot Down Under by Kylie Scott

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


☆ ☆ ☆

No spoilers and colorful language abound!

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Truth be told I really enjoy this author and the Flesh series but this was just too damn short. Her books are not particularly long, but 32 pages is hardly enough! Smut in a post apocalyptic zombie infested world?

Fuck yes.









The Boss by Abigail Barnette

The Boss (The Boss, #1)The Boss by Abigail Barnette

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


☆☆☆

No spoilers and colorful language abound! P.S. this is free on Amazon!


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I was not expecting to like this. I was wrong.

Just because I'm not into D/s smexy stuff, doesn't mean I don't find it entertaining to read about. One must broaden their horizons and junk. In fact, I'd go as far as to say this is what FSoG should have been, it was down right empowering to read about a women taking control what and how she wanted it. Now, if you like your smut chock full of emotionally crippled men with a penchant for stalking, a knack for all kinds of abuse and a complete lack of communication skills, this is not the book for you!

I believe this is the "right time right place" kind of book. I don't know about you, but I have to be in the right frame of mind to read smut/romance books. Aside from the bit of cheese in the bginning and the fairly predictable ending, this was a home run! It's well written, and the rose colored glasses by which everyone lives isn't overwhelming. I don't know when I'll reach for the 2nd installment, but I'm sure it won't be too long from now. Enjoy!









Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Burned (Fever, #7) by Karen Marie Moning

Burned (Fever, #7)Burned by Karen Marie Moning

My rating: 1 of 5 stars




Spoilers marked and colorful language abound!

I wasn't sure how to write this review. So much of what I want to talk about is a complete spoiler, and I wouldn't do that to you guys. I could rip this book apart plot point by plot point, it's held together with shoe string and gum, but that would be too easy. I'm going to get to the heart of why I think it was so fucking awful instead.

Monday, January 19, 2015

Iced (Fever, #6) by Karen Marie Moning



☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

No spoilers and colorful language abound!



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There is nothing extraordinary about Iced, as is true about many new novels, creating the foundations for new characters. It features a mostly irrelevant plot tailor made to showcase these people we are supposed to fall in love with or grow to hate with a deep and powerful loathing. The tricky situation here is this is not an entirely new novel, rather a continuation of a long standing, multi-layered, extremely loved universe that has been masterfully created by KMM. The readers were introduced to the disjointed blubbering monologue that is Dani in the Fever series. Nearly everyone I've read or spoken with went into Iced with an active dislike of Dani "Mega" O'Malley but in true zombie fashion, we followed the scent of blood. With nothing more, other than hope for a mention of more Mac and Barrons, and even the die hard "never gonna happen" fans decided to pick up Iced. Here you find myself and Cory who decided to enter into this journey hand in hand, what we are willing to do in the name of love, sigh. Although we have entirely different feelings on this book, I think her review is fantastic!


     There is a truly magnificent moment that only a few readers are blessed with, and most don't know it has happened until they near the end of a book. This slow sickly anxiety creeps in and you know the experience is soon to be over and you may have to wait years for the next installment. You whiz through a series, lulled by an author's magic, weaving you in a precious little cocoon, where you truly shut off and allow it to take you away. A space where these characters are real, the emotions you experience while reading are tragically tangible, you are at the whim of the pages.  I believe this is what is commonly referred to as becoming a fangirl. It's a term used in jest most often but I believe it's a uniquely special journey where you lose bits of yourself and get to live another life. I am a KMM Fangirl.

 photo 89438742569315524_8J0LviUv_c_zpse74ea3d6.jpgI have to admit I was pleasantly surprised how comfortable I found Dani's inner voice to be and was practically rejoicing that it wasn't what we had experienced in the Fever books. When I said there is nothing extraordinary about Iced it's the truth, however there is one very large exception, one I never could have anticipated. As I mulled my way through Iced, slowly at first and then voraciously, I found myself floating along with all her emotions, her interactions, her rage, her self-perseverance, her self-denial, I was completely woven up all that is Dani. I finished this book the same day I started it, and immediately (as in went to my kindle screen and found the beginning) started to read it again. The second time around is when it all clicked, I felt as though I was reading a characterized version of my 14 year old self. You know those absurd cartoons where they take something identifying to you personally and blow it up to absurd proportions? Yeah... that. Single mother? Check. Messed up childhood? Check. Incapable of even conceptualizing any kind of intimate relationship? Check. Completely and totally self reliant? Check.  Lack the emotional maturity to understand why you know things? Check. Incredibly observant? Check. Desperately searching for some sense of stability? Check. It goes on and on down the list.


Fuuuuuck.

You think you know yourself and them BAM!
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No wonder I like her, right? I'm vain as hell.



I'll just have to dig around in my brain another time and suss out what the hell all of this means, but right now what it means is I have a never ending soft spot for Dani and unwavering faith in KMM. I know she's building something spectacular, and I trust her implicitly. On that note let's talk about this damn book.


aaaaaand that's about where I blank out. I can't talk about the things I don't like in this book because it's all murky and confusing. I can't talk about the things I do like for that very reason, but I guess I can mumble my way though this.

 photo lolbrary-what-you-doin-lolbrary-stahp-288307_zpsdfa206d2.jpgFirst of fucking all KMM better fix this shit with Christian. He is a MacKeltar and I am a huge fan of that entire series, he needs a happy ending like all the rest of them. Find a woman, fall in love, do the bonding, find out she's a virgin, have lots of kids. Out all off the men circling Dani he is far and away the highest on the rapey scale. Not in an excusable way either just straight up thinking about raping her or in more friendly verbiage "take her". I don't care if he is turning into a demon or the 4th Unseelie Prince, or whatever-the-fuck, I DON'T CARE! Christian you need to fucking stop it.


Dancer needs to own up to whatever skeletons he's got in his closet because it's chock full and pretending to be Mr. Normal is getting on my damn nerves.

 Ryodan is... well... frankly he's an asshole, but so are all of the 9 so that's not hard to accept. It's how he tries to cage her to keep her safe that enrages me, he tries to teach her lessons on how to treat him and how to act and it makes me sick. Dani made a reference in her head about not being a dog made to heal and just wish so much she would have fought harder against him. I felt a little like a ping pong ball through out this book being ricocheted back and forth between "this is creepy she's 14" and "ok ok, but it's more than that" and to be honest I think this entire book is mostly made up of grey area.

After my reread I marinated on Ryodan's motives for awhile and came up with the conclusion that a being as old as he is, he's never seen anything like her and she might be the only thing that could ever give him what he wants. In the mean time he is, in the only way he knows how,  trying to keep her safe and be there for her. In fact it's the exact same thing Barrons did with Mac, making her move in, training her, working with her, claiming ownership of her all in the name of "protecting his interests" which we all know is a pile of lies. If you think Barrons didn't want her from the second she stumbled her ass into BB&B you are delusional. Their methods for maintaining the upper hand were considerably different, Barrons was withholding and manipulative, Ryo was more aggressive and violent. Doesn't change the fact that it was the Same. Exact. Motive, to claim and protect what they felt to be theirs. I can't really articulate how I feel about Ryodan specifically other than I'm forcing myself to stay neutral, for now. There are times that I'm disgusted by him, but on some level, I get it.

The innocence Dani shows every time she miscalculates the mens reaction to her makes me smile. It's the only bit of innocence she allows to show because she is simply unaware that she is wrong. It may be the only bit of her childhood that has remained in tact and I was happy to see KMM keep that thread throughout the entire book. Dani is so jaded and filled with teenage arrogance with some seriously deep trust issues, I couldn't help but root for her. All I can say is I cannot wait to see who she becomes in the coming books, I too think she will be one hell of a woman.

This wait for Burned has been horrible, I'm trying not to get my hopes ups for January considering how many times it's been pushed back. But I think January is definitely happening!




Wednesday, January 14, 2015

The Boss by Abigail Barnette

The Boss (The Boss, #1)The Boss by Abigail Barnette

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


☆☆☆

No spoilers and colorful language abound! P.S. this is free on Amazon!


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I was not expecting to like this. I was wrong.

Just because I'm not into D/s smexy stuff, doesn't mean I don't find it entertaining to read about. One must broaden their horizons and junk. In fact, I'd go as far as to say this is what FSoG should have been, it was down right empowering to read about a women taking control what and how she wanted it. Now, if you like your smut chock full of emotionally crippled men with a penchant for stalking, a knack for all kinds of abuse and a complete lack of communication skills, this is not the book for you!

I believe this is the "right time right place" kind of book. I don't know about you, but I have to be in the right frame of mind to read smut/romance books. Aside from the bit of cheese in the bginning and the fairly predictable ending, this was a home run! It's well written, and the rose colored glasses by which everyone lives isn't overwhelming. I don't know when I'll reach for the 2nd installment, but I'm sure it won't be too long from now. Enjoy!









Friday, January 9, 2015

Crossing of Wires: Golden Son and Petite Ame

I've mentioned before that I'm a toy maker, and every once in a blue moon I will share something that I'm working on. Mostly however, I keep my two lives separate, at least publicly. My mind is an entirely different story. I cannot tell you how many times I have been influenced by my reading life, something about a character sticks with me and it manifests into something.

In this instance, it was Sevro and Evey from Pierce Brown's Red Rising Trilogy.

He may be tiny, but he is fierce. 




I haven't finished Evey yet, but she's nearly done! I'll update the blog with her pictures soon.