The Word Exchange by Alena Graedon

The Word Exchange by Alena Graedon

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

No spoilers! Definitely colorful language abound! I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review.





I was not expecting this. The Word Exchange has challenged everything I know about what defines a good book, beaten the absolute shit out of my standards, and spit them back out at me. I stand before you a little befuddled and completely in awe of Graedon's ability to redefine something about myself I once thought of as unyielding. There are few books that I can confidently coin as an experience, as readers we are gifted these books when we least expect it, but are most in need. The writing style is arduous but it's so consistent and entwined with a bigger implication, a cautionary tale on our relationship with and ever growing disparity in our ability to communicate. Alena Graedon's debut novel is a vivid reflection in, with and for language, an interactive looking glass that will boldly reveal the truth if you have the courage to peer through it.

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

Unholy Ghosts by Stacia Kane

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


5 STARS!


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? Let that sink in for a moment, shall we? You get this brief time of life 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 IN THE CITY.

The Forever Song (Blood of Eden #3) by Julie Kagawa

The Forever Song by Julie Kagawa

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


☆ ☆ ☆

I'm really going 3.5 here but rounded up because I feel like it. YOU DON'T OWN ME GOODREADS.
EDIT: Changed rating down half a star, it's been a few days and it's just more accurate.

No spoilers and colorful language abound!

*I received this book in exchange for a review*

The Immortal Rules (Blood of Eden, #1) by Julie Kagawa

The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

My rating: 3 of 5 stars




☆ ☆ ☆

No spoilers and colorful language abound!


So... you know when you read a book but at the end you just shrug to yourself quietly giving your brain permission to forget the whole thing?





Heh.

Slip the Skin Episode Two by Tera Shanley

Slip the Skin, Episode Two by Tera Shanley

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


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No spoilers!

Slip the Skin Episode One by Tera Shanley

Slip the Skin, Episode One by Tera Shanley

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

4 stars!

No Spoilers!

Slip the Skin is an idyllic lycan novella portraying Ms. Shanley's take on paranormal romance. We are introduced to Linden as she prepares herself for a night out on the town with her best friends, and quickly we learn the importance of this little adventure. Our heroin had me sliming from the start with her witty commentary and her interesting grasp of the here and now. The pace reads very much like a novella which I appreciated, but I couldn't help but notice the bones are there for a full book if the author ever felt like revisiting Linden and Grahams beginning. I'm excited to read the next installment and curious what else this author has out there!



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Shattered Promises by Jessica Sorensen

Shattered Promises by Jessica Sorensen

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


☆

Warning: colorful language abound!

Shattered Promises is absolutely ridiculous.




Now lets all be honest with ourselves for a moment, shall we? When you see a book with a title like this on top of a cover like that there are certain assumptions that are fairly safe to make. Chief among them is that this is not literary genius with deep characters and a multidimensional plot. Instead rather you conjure up a little dash of insta-love, controlling love interest who is moody and borderline abusive, and a not so special girl who turns out to be chock full of key to the world's salvation special . Awww yeah. You could say I had a good idea of what I was walking into, and of course I went willingly. When I realized that this was a retelling of a YA book made specifically more smexy for adults I was totally interested.