Thursday 30 June 2016

"The Girl With All The Gifts" Book Review


My Rating ★★★★★ 5 Stars   

Every now and then I stumble upon a book so riveting and so well-written that the highest rating (5 stars) simply seems beneath it. This is one of those books, in a league of its own, demanding respect from readers ranging from young adults to mature audiences and those who aren't even a fan of this genre.

This genre? It isn't even like the others in its genre, that's what amazes me. The Girl with All The Gifts wasn't a survivalist apocalypse book. Not really. It contained a delicious plethora of themes - ranging from survival to love (but not the traditional cliché love), to acceptance of the worst kind of humans out there and an in-depth look at the science behind a world gone to ruin. It was everything and more.

I loved how the synopsis gave nothing away. The cover first reeled me in. There was something about the stance of the girl on the front cover - power. A little girl wielding power is what I first thought. Then the synopsis confirmed that she, named Melanie, was a special little girl who promises that she won't bite. This of course is the one and only hint we get that this is a Zombie book.

Did I mention that this was so much more?
The characters, so sure of themselves, are each driven by their unique, ingrained ambitions, all remaining consistent throughout the entirety of the book.

Melanie has a love so profound for Ms. J and wishes to protect her. Ms. J in return has a sort of motherly love for her and wishes to protect her even though Melanie is what she is.
Sergeant Parks, a protector, a man ruined, tired and haunted by the things he's had to do for the good of the remaining humans at the base and underneath it all he seeks redemption and acceptance, from whom you may ask? Well, from anyone willing to listen to him long enough to grant him his desire I presume.
Private Gallagher, a young man, sworn to protect but still scared shitless. He does what he can when he can. He thinks himself a coward, but I didn't see it that way. He is simply a survivor who has not made the best decisions.
And Dr. Caldwell. Driven by an intense urge to find a cure, she's ruthless in both her methods and her devotion and will not stop at anything to achieve her goal. I loved how I ended up feeling for her toward the end of the book. This was a character who no one should feel any kind of pity for, yet I felt something. At one point I accepted her justifications, that she did what she had to do in order to achieve her goals. I saw things from her point of view and I wanted her to succeed.

This was by far the most mature, well-written, well-researched book I've read in the past 12 months.

Saturday 18 June 2016

"Night Draws In" Book Review



★★★☆☆ 3 Stars

e-ARC received in exchange for honest feedback. Thanks to Netgalley for making this title available.


Being that I'm a nyctophile, when I first came across this title I was intrigued; and the cover somehow exuded creepiness so naturally I was interested in reading this.

There are no reviews on goodreads yet (quite understandable being that this is an unreleased book scheduled to be released later in the year) and I'm a bit hesitant to post my generous 3-star review. So in this review I will be cautious yet constructively critical.

This was a story with lots of potential; however, it was poorly executed. There were some positive things that I should point out :
1. At times the writing style was clear.

2. The plot was interesting, sometimes unique.

3. It was short (shy of 300 pages I'd say).

Some of the negatives:
1. Certain scenes were drawn out. Others were not thoroughly explained.

2. Key mentions from the synopsis were only seen once throughout the entire book, and mentioned in only one line - dragons etc .

3. Lots of editing needs to be done before this is actually released. Maybe I shouldn't even mention this point seeing as the author might be working on that already.

Thursday 16 June 2016

"A Dark Billionaire Romance #1-6" Book Review







My Rating 
★★★★☆ 4 Stars

Thanks to the author for sending me the full series free of charge. I really do appreciate it.

Before I go into my review I just want to say, objectively, this was a good book. Buy the book, support the author.

My review is a bit odd. How can I give it 4 stars, say it's a good book that you should pick up, but not be in love with it? Well, it all comes down to preference; and I'm a very picky romance reader.

1. Romance.
2. Billionaires.
3. Lavish lifestyle.
4. BDSM?

What's not to love?!

I'm not a fan of romance, never will be.
Not a fan of Billionaires either, nor the lavish lifestyle.
Absolutely no comments on the fourth. BUT, I am a fan of Aubrey Dark since I first read Mine & His. I respect her writing.

This is not a review of her previous work but I feel it necessary to comment on how I was initially intrigued by her dark spin on romance and how I ended up wanting to read THIS series. Three reasons:
Her writing style - clear, concise, far from pretentious, one or two typos.
Her imagination - she has a dark mind, almost as much as mine, except mine is devoid of romance and would include much more torture.
Her research skills - she writes like she is an expert on the profession of all her male protagonists.

I liked this one, not as much as I liked the one featuring Rein (or was it Rien) but this was a good book. I can see the appeal. As I said, her writing style in her previous works was superb and that style was carried over to this series.
There was a plot to keep readers intrigued.
Enough romance scenes to satiate the erotic genre fans.

There was a scene featuring a character from one of her earlier books which made me speed-read then left me wanting more. Do you see? More than a year has passed since I read His & Mine and that one character has somehow always found a way to sneakily cross my mind. That's how much I enjoyed that book and in addition to the previously mentioned reasons, I wanted to read this series so that I could somehow recreate and forge a new connection to another character of hers. It didn't happen but not because of any negatives on the part of the author, but it's because I can only stomach certain types of romance. And those romance books need to be a lot dark with just a bearable hint of anticipated romance. I don't mean Fifty Shades of Grey dark or Stonehart dark (Uncovering you series). Those aren't dark in my books, those are merely mild BDSM bullshit. I mean dark dark, the real kind where the professional is in his element, has a scalpel peeling off the face of some bad guy while the girl is in the other room panicking but aroused (you know the book I'm talking about! Damn it!!).

Again, this was a good book. It really is. Go read it if you get a thrill out of the erotic genre. Support the author, buy her books

Wednesday 15 June 2016

"Bait and Snitch (Ponderosa Pines Cozy Mystery #4)" Book Review




My Rating 
★★★☆☆ 3 Stars

Thanks to the publisher – Willow Hill Books - and Netgalley for making this title available in exchange for an honest review.

When I first received this title I did not realize it was the fourth book in a series called Ponderosa Pines Cozy Mystery. So, when I began reading I felt like the odd one out. Like someone new to a party which was already in full swing; however, based solely on this book, I can tell that the series is treasured with a range of charming, tolerable, ‘fun’ (by the standard of other humans) and (in a good way) over the top characters.

I found the women to be meddling quidnuncs with too much time on their hands. BUT as I said, I started this series on the fourth book, which means I plunged into a well-established fictional world with no connection or solid background information on the main characters. Such a connection would have been forged from the initial book and the subsequent; and said background information would have been provided in Cat Killed a Rat.

If you’re a fan of mystery books with a bit of feminine comic relief then I recommend this. If you’re into dark thrillers then this definitely won’t be your cup of tea.

Saturday 11 June 2016

"Faithful" Book Review




My Rating ★★★★★ 5 Stars

Thanks to the publisher – Simon & Schuster - and Netgalley for making this title available in exchange for an honest review. This review is my opinion and has not been influenced by anyone.

This is a story of loss, regret, guilt, love and finding one’s self after straying so far away for far too long. Shelby Richmond is an ordinary high school girl until a tragedy changes her fate in the blink of an eye. Her best friend’s future plans are drastically changed while Shelby walks away with immense loss and guilt.


I was hooked from about 2 pages in.


The character development was highly noticeable and gradual without being forced. The whole story was well written, with each character having a unique voice and personality. In just under 300 pages, Alice Hoffman executed a solid plot with sufficient background and explored complex emotions, experiences and connections.

I felt an instant connection to Shelby. I felt her loss, her guilt, the pain she went through, her desire to just blend in and to be forgotten.

Alice Hoffman novels usually have the ability to evoke profound emotional responses from her readers and this book is no exception. She captures human emotion and tragedy like no other author. Her writing style has the typical, flawless Alice Hoffman touch of clear prose and magical realism.
I found myself wondering how Alice Hoffman is able to express the inner thoughts of humans so well, so freely and make you feel such deep emotions for characters.

She is also one of the few authors who can make you fall hopelessly in love with the relationship between characters then tear them apart and leave you heartbroken but not for long because you end up truly understanding and accepting that these two weren’t meant for each other.

Her stories all feel like fairy tales without the classic, predictable happy ending, but still you’re left satisfied and content with the ending. It’s amazing how she does that

Wednesday 8 June 2016

"Bookishly Ever After (Ever After #1)" Book Review




My Rating ★★★☆☆

While this was a “fun” read, I didn’t enjoy it and I didn’t connect with the characters. I do think this had so much potential to be one of those AWWW books that a girl just has to love. I feel cheated; I feel like a kid who just left the candy store empty-handed. I was genuinely looking forward to reading this a few days ago despite my incessant rantings (soliloquy of course) about not being a fan of YA anymore (to be fair, I was never a real fan of YA, I simply happened to enjoy a select few YA books that I’ve come across in the past). 


Phoebe, our protagonist, is virtually socially inept. She’s the classic knitting book-nerd who has a new book boyfriend almost every week but has failed to snatch a real life boy. She goes through her high-school free periods with her nose buried in a book and barely has time for anything else. 
At the beginning of the book, Phoebe is actually crushing on a different guy who resembles the hot guy in the book that she is currently reading. Her friend Em has planted this idea into Phoebe’s head that Dev – the tall, dark, gorgeous, band geek – has a crush on her and that she should make her move. It’s only after Em mentioned Dev as a potential that Phoebe starts paying attention to him.
But, being that she’s socially inept and has a lack of real life experience with dating she turns to her books as a guide. She attempts to channel the flirtatious female characters as a way to win Dev. 
I mean come on! What’s not to love about this premise - the promise of a light, fun, happily-ever-after modern day fairy tale? Even the book cover is gorgeous and inviting. 
She loves books. I love books. It was the perfect fit. 

Phoebe has read countless romance/YA/Paranormal books; enough for her to easily take notice of Dev’s feelings for her yet she is unsure? Come on Feebs, you’re smarter than that. I know you are.
Her obsession with this Golden book really made me like this one less. It really did. How obsessed can one person be with anything? I should’ve known she would be obsessed with a particular book, much like Hazel and Augustus Gloop in The Fault in Our Stars – The Imperial Affliction. She goes on and on about her love for the book and the characters (especially the swoon-worthy Aeden). My utmost wish at this point is to not have to read the word “swoon-worthy” during the next few months. 
I also did not enjoy having to read snippets of another book; I cringed every time I had to. There was once I actually turned off my kindle when I got to the part where I had to read yet another scene out of Golden. I resumed reading the day after. 

So there you go, I did not like Phoebe. 

I did not like Em. She had an obsession too – French kissing German-style and breaking up/getting back together with her foreign exchange boyfriend. 
I kept picturing Dev as Michael Persad (that gorgeous, Vine, Indian-descent guy) just to connect with him and get through, suffice it to say – that didn’t really help. Dev was just so plain. There was nothing which stood out about him or nothing that made me think “Yes! No wonder Pheobe likes him”. 
Grace was probably the only character who seemed like she had her head on straight. Almost every scene she had in the book she gave some really wise, mature advice. Go Grace! 
The writing style was confusing at times, but only a few times throughout the book in particular scenes. 
The way the two main characters fell for each other would be more appreciated by the younger audience I think. Or maybe I’m just really not in YA. 

Hey, quick question, do readers actually remember the names and stories of characters they’ve read? Because I seem to forget about names shortly after I read a book. And sometimes a month or two later I completely forget the plot of a book

Thursday 2 June 2016

"Life, Love and Death: Short Stories" Book Review


My Rating ★★★★☆ 4 Stars


An anthology comprised of romantic, horror, futuristic, fantasy, paranormal short stories. I tried not to go into this book having expectations, but it’s hard to achieve that, nonetheless I went in with an open mind.


Surprisingly I really enjoyed this. The writing style was clear, very concise and easy to follow. I tend to enjoy and follow the plot of a story more when the writing is clear – less time is spent trying to decipher code, pretentious writing. The use of pronouns rather than names in the first story (as well as 2 others) confused me a tad bit. I had to reread to try to figure out the sex of the characters. I’ve never really liked stories which follow this pattern though, so it isn’t necessarily a negative thing about the book, it’s simply not a preference of mine.


A few stories were more memorable than others and at times I found myself rushing to the end to read the climax. And yes, the climax for these stories was actually at the end. How odd but exciting. I also found myself wishing the stories were longer, much longer in some cases. They were way too short *sad face*.


This is the first book I’ve read by this author and I love her dark mind. A few stories had me wondering how she came up with the ideas. The darker stories were definitely more gripping and spoke directly to my dark soul e.g Clay Soldiers. I think this one was by far my favourite since it was creepy.


The final story “Revolution Imminent” sounds like something that would be a fast-paced, action packed sci-fi thriller movie.


I look forward to reading any future titles that are along the horror genre, once the writing style remains simple and unpretentious.

Wednesday 1 June 2016

"The Queen of Zombie Hearts (White Rabbit Chronicles #3)" Book Review



My Rating ★★★☆☆ 3 Stars
The “final” book in the series!!! Or is it?
Ali and slayer friends are back doing what they do best – flirting with each other, inventing witty comebacks on the spot and slaying stinky Z’s.
Ali thinks the worst is behind her, that Anima took all they could and there’s nothing more they could possibly take from her. Boy! She couldn’t be more wrong. Anima has big plans and sends in zombies in a sneak attack against our favourite slayers. Four friends die and the team is crushed, but sadly they can’t take a break to mourn the deaths of their dearly departed because they’ve got a corporation to take down, Z’s are still after them and someone on their team is a double agent who’s helping Anima.
Through all this, Ali learns she isn’t who she thought she was. She now has new abilities, one of which allows her to control the Zombies and she meets a mystery woman who may or may not cause her relationship with Cole to be in danger.
I wouldn’t say this was a “stunning” conclusion to the white Rabbit Chronicles. It was an adequate conclusion. Ali and the other slayers are stronger now, they’ve defeated Anima and they get to move on with their lives, placing Anima in their past.
They endured quite a loss, some more painful than others but that didn’t stop them from fighting, it fuelled their rage. I didn’t connect with this one as much as I did with the others. The deaths didn’t affect me, not in the least bit. The first four friends that Ali lost had me thinking “I don’t give a flying fuck about these fucks”, the only one I knew a little bit about was the girl. Then I realized one of the other deaths was the guy she was dating.
This is the third book of the series and my least favourite. My rating has nothing really to do with the execution of the plot. I think Gena Showalter is a great storyteller with a very active imagination. There are a few reasons why I didn’t like this one. One of the reasons being the way she chose to represent teenage talk through texting. That is such a pet peeve which infuriates me – shortening words like ‘you’ to ‘U’ and ‘waiting’ to ‘w8ing’ or something like that.
I also dislike teenager, immature girl friendships with a passion so of course it annoyed me whenever Kat and Ali had conversations, or when Reeve and Ali or when the threesome got together to have girl time all while chaos ensues around them. One of my least favourite scenes was when the girls were taking selfies. UGH….
I’m going to say it again, why are the teenagers the ones who are doing all the heavy lifting? These teenagers are dropping like flies; why not call in reinforcements (adult slayers) from the other states to provide aid. You want to take down a corporation (Guh, have I mentioned how much I fucking hate pretentious plots which feature TEENAGERS trying to take down corporations?) why not attack with full force? Call in slayers from all over the world to help!
Its YA, so I do understand the teenagers having a prominent presence than adults. I also completely understand if someone less misanthropic and more enthusiastic were to give this 5 stars, I would give it 5 stars if I had a different personality. It’s a good book; well written and action packed, it just didn’t connect with my inner-misanthropic-self.