Kelster

7:00 pm 15 July 2013

This book started off differently, with 3 POV's and an interesting set up. I was pretty excited even though I thought the writing was simplistic. Unfortunately, this book did not live up to my expectations. I didn't like the writing style, especially statements written and then qualified. It just wasn't smooth. The h was somewhat of a Pollyanna. So strong and independent and resourceful and innocent. The dialogue was stilted and then became awkward in the bedroom. I hated that the H coached her through her orgasms and the way he wanted to teach her about sex and pleasure just came across as all wrong. And all of his hesitancy in the bedroom with the "we can stop," "it's all up to you," etc was too much.

I also thought the whole Fated concept was archaic and silly and I'm not really sure it had a place here. I didn't like The One, She is my soul mate crap. The "cliffhanger" ending didn't evoke any emotion from me except irritation. I felt no connection to the characters throughout my read. I was bored for a large portion of the book and a great concept fell flat. It looks like, perhaps, the next book is going to also include the POV of the "other woman." Another great concept; I just have no faith that that the writing will give it justice.

The idea for the book was nice, but the follow through was bad. The drama and angst couldn't even resonate with me because of the disconnect I felt with the characters.

7:00 pm 13 July 2013

Grave Refrain: A Love/Ghost Story - Sarah M Glover

I read Grave Refrain: A Love/Ghost Story as part of a buddy read. And I am glad that it was part of a buddy read because it made me push myself past a less than stellar beginning.

Once I was into the book there were several amazing things that I loved. I loved Andrew because he was a true tortured, passionate, possessive H. I loved his obsession/madness with the h and I loved every aspect of him and his music and his band. I loved that the band was right on the cusp of stardom and how that affected him and the h. I liked that the h was quirky and I liked that even when she was insecure and afraid she stayed in the relationship. If the book had centered around their relationship, both of their insecurities within the relationship, his obsession/madness, and the music/band I would have liked it much more. I did also enjoy the supporting characters, especially Simon with his doubts concerning the h and how out of control the H is in regards to her.

The book is long, too many times written passively, and it was incredibly busy because along with all of that, the characters are also dealing with ghosts. For whatever reason, I was not completely sold on the ghosts and felt that they were not needed. There was enough meat in the remaining parts of the story to provide an excellent book with a more manageable length.

All that said, Andrew was a fucking fantastic H and his passion and obsession for the h was riveting. He was truly tortured and mad at times. It brought to mind all the stories about artists feeling more deeply and responding with more fervor than normal folks. When the H and h came together they were frenzied and intense...pure ecstasy. I loved it. He was protective and frantic and I loved that too. I just wished it wasn't interspersed with the whole ghost story line, otherwise it would have been a 5 star read.

7:00 pm 11 July 2013

Short book about a woman who has a kink. A kink that is shameful and vulgar and yet, that's what turns her on. I did like that Jovan attempts to give her exactly what she wants and eventually attempts to save her from herself.

7:00 pm 11 July 2013

Was just meh for me. Very typical NA book, this one with a love triangle. It ends on a cliffhanger but I am not sure why because the author makes clear who her choice is by the end of the book and their love is the end all, be all, of all loves.

What annoyed me I think was that there wasn't much originality in this book. Sweet, innocent h that everyone loves because she is so down to earth and doesn't realize how beautiful she is. I hated some of the baby names used for her like Laney bear. Didn't like the "mysterious" and tragic secret of one of the characters, haven't we seen enough of that shit?

I did enjoy some of the drama in the story. I also liked that neither guy was made to be a villain and the ending was enough to give me pause and to wonder where the author was going next.

7:00 pm 10 July 2013

I love how the book started. Very original so it piqued my interest right away. I like the h's personality. h's are usually inconsequential to me unless they are really bad or really stupid and annoying. But this h hits all the right notes. The author did a great job in allowing the reader to watch as their relationship develops through their interactions and dialogue. I love when an author doesn't skip this crucial step. I love that the h didn't playing dumb about her situation and the H's feeling in regards to what has happened.

This book kept me glued to it. I loved that the book wasn't focused on the H's profession and that the h didn't whine throughout due to her size or her lack of experience or because she was jealous. The facts were there but never were they harped on or dragged out.

This book is sweet, but I love sweet as long as it isn't overdone. Great intro to this author.

7:00 pm 9 July 2013

Black Heart (Cursed Hearts, #1) - R.L. Mathewson

This book was just okay. Some things that made me pause: Why did everyone put up with Tristan being such an asshole? Although the readers know his issues no one else does and I just didn't get Marty taking his shit constantly. Also, I didn't get the age difference between Tristan and Marty. He was born a few years before Marty. Marty trails after him when they are younger and she looked up to him as a big brother. As they get older their feelings for each other change and become romantic. But then she states that their first kiss took place when she was 15, a freshman, and that Tristan was a senior. How? Unless they were the same age, because Tristan graduated from college at 18 and got his masters at 21. So, as a senior he had to be 14 or 15, the same age as Marty.

I was okay at overlooking Marty accepting that Tristan was an asshole and treated her like shit on occasion but she loved him anyway. Sigh... But then the brothers are introduced at close to 70% in and the book nosedived after that. The banter between the brothers was annoying. Marty becoming this kick ass fighter, soooooo fucking annoying and Marty's lack of shock at the discovery of the brothers, didn't feel believable. She was arguing about something so inconsequential when all of her questions should have been about the brothers surrounding her.

7:00 pm 5 July 2013

An absolute 5 star read for me. I loved Josh and Nastya, plus Drew was the perfect supporting character to both. But there were other supporting characters that offered depth as well. And I think that's what I liked so much about this book. The book was well rounded and mistakes and faults were thrown without discrimination and any character could be subjected to them.

The theme throughout the book is second chances. Having them, recognizing them, and maybe, most importantly, not squandering those second chances that are given.

I was captivated right from the start of this book and I remained there throughout. This book is not a crazy read filled with drama. It is about two broken teens falling in love in what they see as impossible circumstances. The path they take is slow and deliberate and extremely cautious and I believed every step taken. LOVED!

7:00 pm 3 July 2013

Once I got past the introductory phase of the book I was completely engaged. Not just in the sex and the romance of Vin and Dylan but in the total train wreck that was Gary. Really, I was captivated by Dylan's family dynamics as a whole and how fucked up they were but also how believable they were.

Oooooh, I loved Ms. Dolphina with her meddling self. Loved. I loved when she came to assist Dylan and I loved that she wanted Vin to find love. I enjoyed this book because there was so much there to entertain and keep me engrossed. Vin was something special. A complete Dom, in and out of the bedroom, and some of his expectations of Dylan...sizzle.

7:00 pm 1 July 2013

This Man Confessed (This Man, #3) - Jodi Ellen Malpas

I loved this book. Loved the series. And I LOVE Jesse Ward. There is no ish about my feelings for Jesse. I am completely enamored with this man.

Be aware that this series contains a hot man and a beautiful young woman engaged in a bat shit crazy, dysfunctional relationship. And I was ecstatic to be a part of them. I love the H's obsessiveness and his possessiveness. I love how he chases and his attempts to gain and maintain control over his woman. I even love the way he tramples and how Ava attempted her own trampling. I love the supporting characters and the authors style of writing. From the beginning of this book I was completely engaged. Even when shit happened that would usually annoy me, primarily because it is OTT, I was all in with this book.

This author reveals the reasons for Jesse's insane personality traits and I believe those reasons but what she has done better than anything is to show the love and complete devotion between the H and h. Jesse is a fantastic H: His humor, his arrogance, his dominance, his affection, his willingness to do anything for his girl, his lack of shame in showing weakness for the h, his expressiveness in trying to please the h. Sigh... This man is golden. End of.

7:00 pm 30 June 2013

The beginning was somewhat slow and at the end the writing style was weird because the author stopped transitioning into new scenes. Also, while I liked that we were given the chance to see what happened after the capture some of it didn't sit that well with me.

This book is definitely not for someone that has issues with people being coerced into sexual situations. There is no violence so the characters weren't beaten into submission etc. but they are placed in scenarios where they are forced to do things that they didn't choose. It also deals with the guilt and shame that they feel for enjoying those things done to them and that they did to others.

One thing that I did enjoy were the conversations between Captor and Victim in which the Captor rationalizes what he is doing. He believes that these forced experiences are things that are wanted so he feels justified in removing freedom of choice in order to give it. And if not something that the victim wanted that the pleasure felt by those forced actions makes it worthwhile. "...this delicious, intense experience, would never have been possible for you had someone not forced it upon you." He refuses to believe/accept that those few minutes of ecstasy can have detrimental results for that person going forward.

The book is long, it has a lot of sex/sexual situations but it also makes you think and dissect. What's happening to them is wrong because it's against their will. But they enjoy it and they aren't being hurt. Still, they are being forced...but it's something they secretly want and fantasize about. Hmm.

7:00 pm 29 June 2013

Blind Attraction (Reckless Beat, #1) - Eden Summers

I did not like Blind Attraction at all. The beginning started out okay and I was hoping that there was going to be something beyond the H seeing the h and becoming desperate for her. I liked that he wanted to meet her and I liked the scenario that developed that causes them to spend more time together. But after that the book went from so so to eh pretty quickly.

I didn't like/believe virginal Alana switching to seductress. I didn't believe their feelings for each other and how quickly they developed. I never felt that I knew the characters and I felt no connection between them. I wish the author had chosen this scenario to force them together but that we got to watch them grow as a couple. Too many authors are relying on instant attraction instead of showing a couple as they develop feelings for each other. It takes skill to make me believe in insta love and too many authors aren't skilled enough to do it.

7:00 pm 29 June 2013

I really disliked this book. I had such a visceral dislike for this book right from the beginning. Page one. This book was so light that it was shallow and superficial and completely aggravating. There was no depth to the characters, to their relationship, to their love. It was weak on many many levels. I didn't believe in this book at all. If not for a challenge this would have been a dnf.

7:00 pm 28 June 2013

I really enjoyed this book. I thought that it seemed pretty predictable and some of it was but I enjoyed how everything came together at the end. Very smooth read and I remained interested right from the start. I thought the characters were 3 dimensional and I loved that we saw the relationship between Ruthie and Stephan grow and develop over time.

7:00 pm 27 June 2013

This book didn't really hold my interest until after the h was delivered the the H's room for sex. Once sex was introduced the book was better but only as far as it dealt with their romance. The side stories were just okay.

7:00 pm 25 June 2013

I thought the sex scenes were good but I didn't feel completely connected to the characters. I wanted more detail about why they fell for each other and how/why their relationship developed from pure physical attraction to love. I like falling in love with characters and I felt that there wasn't enough here for me to get a good feel for either man so that I could really delve into them. I thought the ending was kind of a utopia reality but it was a nice and I wish that it could be reality. 3 stars

7:00 pm 24 June 2013

Leo's Chance (Sign of Love, #2) - Mia Sheridan

This book is so effing good and thank goodness it wasn't a rehash of Book 1. As the story progressed it just got better and better. I loved that there is so much more insight into Leo and that his story is so well fleshed out. I felt like I knew Leo and I loved witnessing his growth and transition. There was so much more to him than I thought would be depicted. Really really good. I was hoping for a lot and this author delivered. Color me impressed. Kudos to Dr. Fox...

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