adds
I'm making a pact with myself. If I come across a book where a main-ish character has a ridiculous name then I'll stop reading. I can't do it anymore. Also, if a main female character tolerates a man's possessive or abusive nature because he's hot or rich I'm abandoning ship on that too. It's not sexy or endearing, it's terrifying.
After reading all 3 books in this series I full on don't like the turn it took. The whole forbidden romance aspect was super, but it did not go the way it should have. I wish I had stopped reading and left this as a cliffhanger. I would have felt better filling in my own blanks.
Word candy; prose magic. How do simple letters form simple words that sink into me like teeth and gnaw me raw while I delight in every sublimely torturous shard? I'm high and dazed from the poetry of Leah Raeder's own pièce de résistance. Author, who ARE YOU?! And just thank you for giving us this.
Maise is in that transitory time between a childhood that's seen too much, been stripped away too soon, and the experience and awareness of actual adulthood. She is such an old soul juxtaposed with naivety and youth. We, as readers, are given the occasional conspiratorial hindsight from Maise, adding the perfect amount of suspense and tension.
I happened to have an interesting collection of somewhat fitting music I was going through while reading but I'll just leave these few.
Troye Sivan - Bite
W. Darling - Hunting Happiness
Tender - Belong
I've known for years that the best advice I've ever gotten came from my father when I was a teen. He really only said it once, but he told me to try to use my head AND my heart equally in love and relationships. I got a lot of good advice from him, but this goes through my head to help me navigate every relationship I've been in. Thanks, Dad.
I devoured this book in a little over three and a half hours. I thought I'd just get in 20 minutes of reading before bed. Totally figured this was going to be another not-so-great YA/NA romance I'd read as fluff. Nope! I'm writing this exhausted today because I lost a lot of sleep from not wanting to put this down. Don't regret it a bit.
I laughed, I cried, I loved this book.
I'm embarrassed I read these 3 novellas. Not because of the sex parts, but just because of how craptastic everything was. I mean, bad. Really really bad. I literally said, “what the actual fuck?!” every few pages. This should have been put on Literotica and left there.
I know what it's like to be conflicted over someone. I get it! But good Lord, Katie had multiple personalities to the Nth degree. She flip flops multiple times on the same damn page. “I love him because... PENIS! I hate him... sort of.” Brandon is a creepy domineering asshole. I wanted to punch him in the face so much. Of course this story makes it ok though, because he's rich and hot and he had... reasons. Douchenozzle deserved a restraining order and a swift kick in the nuts at the least.
Author(s), if you want to publish a sexual fantasy of yours then that's totally great. But you have to flesh out an actual story, not just awkwardly force a plot along to get to yet another not-so-fantastic sex scene. I don't know anyone who orgasms at the drop of a hat. If you can insta-cum the second someone puts a finger in you then you're the exception, not the rule. Also, people can and do say no to sex, even when it's with someone they love.
I got to the end of chapter 8 and couldn't get any further.
It takes more than 2 minutes for people to get off. 99.9% of people can't orgasm just by pretty much looking at someone and stroking themselves for however much time can pass in the length of a page. If you're going to write detailed scenes there has to be a way to convey more time passing. This kind of wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am style of sex happened multiple times, yet for the characters it was fully satisfying.
These characters are the kind of people on your Facebook newsfeed saying they love each other in comments everywhere after 2 weeks. Nauseatingly annoying and completely unbelievable.
This book is the high point of the series. I may not have agreed with the way Rose acts or reacts but her personality is a little more consistent and the author doesn't let up on the cringe-worthy.
There were parts I hated about Tainted. So many times I was thinking, “Rose, wth are you doing?! That is not a good idea and you know it.” But there were redeeming sections that managed to catch me with hesitant hope and suspense.
I'd call this more a short story. Or a .5 novella prequel. This doesn't have to be read to understand the other two books. If I hadn't read this I wouldn't have had the horror Rose refers to painted out for me in gory detail. I might not have minded that. At times it can be good to imply or hint at things and let the reader use their imagination.
I think this is an amazing book. I read it when I was an early teen and it's stayed with me all these years. I never forgot the cover or the confusion, terror, and dread I felt while being riveted. If you feel the first half of this book is a little difficult to get through just keep reading. You will be rewarded.
Since this story is mostly told in diary style from the perspective of the main character there are things we just won't know because she doesn't know or doesn't bother to explain. Mainly why the war happened in the first place. Still, Ann is able to care for herself quite well on her family's farm after luckily surviving due to her location. Even with all her knowledge of gardening, preserving, and farming she is still a 16 year old who is naive about people and the world.
Honestly, I do not understand the male character or his motivation. I can't wrap my head around his choices. The only explanation is he's mentally unstable. He must have cracked somewhere along the way in life. Poor Ann doesn't have the life experiences to listen to her instincts when it comes to a man.
There is a definite religious tone throughout the novel. A pervasive correlation is the story of Adam and Eve. One man, one woman, and an apple tree. To someone who isn't religious it isn't overwhelming or preachy.
So, the summary doesn't really do this book justice. Of course this book is kind of cliche and cheesy, but it has characters that have their own separate personalities and it totally worked for me. It was a fun little read. Don't expect any insane out-of-left-field drama or obstacles. Things are more realistic and relatable. Actually, on that note, I was hoping for more friction from the nasty nanny. Maybe there'll be a sequel and that snake can rear her head.
Some stuff I loved
• The pacing was perfect at first. The characters set eyes on each other more than 2 times before getting it on. Their first date was right on. I've been there, done that. Towards the middle I started getting impatient. I wanted even more Blair and Declan but there was more Blair and Raine. Towards the end things started to move really fast between Blair and Declan. Like, a little too fast. Then I realized that's kind of how it happens in real life. To commit, or to not commit.
• Can I be Raine's friend too? She's kinda awesome. It's the simple touches that made me identify with her. Like a text from her that reads, “Why can't I ever learn the difference between lay and lie?” I don't know, but it's one of my few common grammar second guesses. I feel you there Raine.
• This book passage
“Boys will be boys and all that.” I looked up from the blinking cursor on my screen.“I hate that phrase. It's just an excuse for boys to be dicks and explain their way out of it,” I said.
• Literary pop-culture references. Hello, Harry Potter.
Some stuff I didn't like
• The sort of stalking. That made me uncomfortable. Bad idea. Abort!
• Where they hook up. Do people do that?
• Blair taking a shower around Declan after being all dolled up, and having no makeup on from what I gathered. Oh, and then going straight to work still in her date dress. Yeah, right...
• Typos or little misses in editing. I had the ebook version, but still. They became a little more frequent in the last half.
• The thing I hated the most was all the food. How much are you going to scarf down Blair?! No, you're not a big girl because you were born that way, or that's just how you are and it's no big deal. You're overweight because you overeat and it's some pretty unhealthy fare. Plus, little to no exercise. Treats are nice. Splurge on dates. But cut those portions in half and don't eat multiple ice cream bars or plates of cookies at a time. Blegh.
I started [b:Snitch 18519239 Snitch (Bea Catcher Chronicles, #2) Olivia Samms https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1391107546s/18519239.jpg 26218972] on Aug 25 and finally forced myself to finish on Oct 26. I devoured [b:Sketchy 16290044 Sketchy (Bea Catcher Chronicles, #1) Olivia Samms https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1360988990s/16290044.jpg 23681623], the first book, in two days only because I had to sleep.The pacing is slow and the characters are completely unbelievable at times... most of the time. They don't speak or act normally. They did and said things, or things just happened that ended up being filler or drove the story in a way that made me cringe or roll my eyes quite often. There's a subtlety that's desperately needed and missing. Everything is clumsy or unrealistic. It tried to tackle some serious issues, but it's done in a way that provides little depth or connection for a reader.I kind of loved Bea in the first book. As soon as I started this second one I found myself thinking, “What the hell? This is NOT the Bea of book one.” She's turned into a bit of a dunce and is somehow not quite as cool. She's corny, tacky, gross, way over the top, and not true to her age. Bea, the bull in a china shop wrecking everything, jumping to conclusions, and refusing to listen for five freaking seconds.I jumped into book two wanting more Sergeant Daniels and Bea action. I love that a relationship would be taboo. He's adorable. Unfortunately the escalating tension and teasing was not written as well as it could have been. The choice of words did not evoke the right mental image. It didn't flow. It was the wrong kind of awkward and took attention away from these characters finally possibly coming together.I wish I were more excited for this series to continue.
Without You, There Is No Us offers an interesting and unique, albeit depressing, view of North Korea, a country so backwards it borders on the unfathomable. Kim is allowed in to North Korea for an extended period teaching English at a school to the sons of the most elite families by pretending to be a missionary. Her position is tenuous at best. Not only is she not religious and could be found out by the other teachers, all the foreign faculty is constantly watched and monitored. There is no privacy. It is utterly paranoia inducing, which is completely warranted. I appreciated the subtle comparisons and subsequent critiques between her students' faith, gullibility, and brainwashing and that of the devout teachers' attitudes about their own religion.I can barely imagine Kim actually living this, or what citizens on a daily basis must go through. She has managed to write in a straightforward and almost stark way that imparts a good representation of her experiences recounting the monotony, frustration, and fear. Rare but truly tender moments between Kim and her students break my heart.I struggle to wrap my head around North Korea. It angers me, terrifies me, and makes me profoundly grateful. It's easy to forget how lucky I am to live with even the most basic and simple choices. I love my denim and blue jeans which has been deemed too American for Koreans. I can do, say, and go where I want.Reading Without You kept reminding me of reading [b:Little House in the Big Woods 77766 Little House in the Big Woods (Little House, #1) Laura Ingalls Wilder https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1350471760s/77766.jpg 1200805] as a child. I remember having a hard time actually imagining a life with such little technology or luxuries I took for granted. The students entertained themselves with songs and skits, just like I remember reading in the Little House series. North Korea is stuck between two worlds. The electricity is unreliable and looking at nighttime satellite imagery shows a country swathed in black. Citizens are kept relatively ignorant for easy control. They are fear-mongered, brainwashed, and worn down with constant labor or service.I fervently hope I live to see the day the North Korean dictatorship falls, but would Korea become one country again? It would be a huge burden on the south and the Stockholm syndrome of an entire nation seems rather absolute and daunting.I imagine Kim will no longer ever be let into North Korea, not that it would be safe for her to go back. Before starting this book I didn't understand the seriousness of her sacrifice. I'm glad I stumbled on to this book for her personal view of this tragic country and for what I learned reading it.
I wanted to rate this 5 stars just because I couldn't put it down. It picked up speed and I stayed up until 6 am reading. I had to force myself to walk away and sleep. I'm glad I didn't finish this right before bed. It shocked the hell out of me. Kind of gutted me. And that's why it gets 4 stars (really 4.5). I'm mad at it for making me feel the way I did.
This book played out exactly the way I thought it would, then all of a sudden it didn't. Sometimes love really screws with you and you end up being so unselfish it's actually selfish.
I raced through this book in 3 days. Super easy reading even though it doesn't really get interesting until half way through. Right when I started to get frustrated at the lack of much magic a whole heck of a lot of magic happened!
So, the magic part is awesome. I had this book described to me as a bit like adult Harry Potter living and using magic in the real (muggle) world. They have the same first name and they're both a little snarky, but that's about where my comparison ends. That's ok though, this is good for its own magic world.
I'm looking forward to continuing the series as long as the female characters are written a whole lot better here on out. Every single woman was attractive and almost everything they did revolved around their looks or sex. Except for detective Murphy. But it was hard to take her seriously because of comments made about her. You can describe someone physically pretty without reducing them to a useless simpering fool. Strong female characters are good. You can write them without reducing the strength of your main male character.
And really, I spent a good bit of the book thinking Dresden was more a-sexual than not. Turns out he isn't, just really freaking awkward. Felt like Dresden is quite a reflection of the author. Made me pretty uncomfortable most of the time. I probably wouldn't like Harry Dresden if I met him because I'd probably catch him leering at me. He's not “old fashioned”, he's just a chauvinist who thinks he's a nice guy.
I won this book in a First Reads Giveaway.
After reading a few passages to a friend his response was, “I didn't realize 9th grade me wrote this.”
Honestly, for some reason I thought this might be erotica. Or that it would contain adult content. It would be even more cliche than it already is if it did have graphic sex, but maybe that would have broken up the monotony a little. Coco, the stripper turned model and actress, finally does have sex with her rich mob boss boyfriend Sam on page 224, but to me it was pretty short and sweet. In fact, this didn't feel much like a love story either. The entire point of the book was Coco either rising to fame or making secret business moves against Sam. The romance just happens to further the plot along until it can be used as a twist. Anyway, it took me two months to slog through this book. I kept putting it down and not really being very interested in picking it back up. I've seen most of my complaints voiced in other reviews so far too.
Every other chapter or so the focus shifts back and forth from the present to the past. It was almost like reading two stories in one and at times terribly confusing. I'd start a new chapter and catch myself wondering what the heck was going on. Then light bulb moment and I'd have to remind myself where things had left off.
I love simple and well thought out explanations, but you won't find that here very much. I was either left confused on things explained (real estate), annoyed that things weren't explained (who is Meyer Lansky?!), and downright bored with the constant sermonizing. The same points are made twice back to back all too frequently. There were so many sentences that could have been removed with another stiff edit. You just said that already, we get it. Not to mention I seriously don't care what the author thinks or feels about Robert Downey Jr. or Hugh Hefner, because it certainly didn't feel like those opinions came from characters. And even if they had they don't need to be in the book. Name dropping just alienated me even more.
Speaking of the characters, they were rather hard to relate to. The only person I was actually interested in was Coco's friend, Danny. Unfortunately he's basically just there to move the plot forward.
Coco was downright unbelievable. This was obviously a perfect woman fantasy. There's a line early on where Coco mentions at age 17 that she rarely thinks about her weight due to her high metabolism. Ok, Mr. Male Author. I don't know any girl or woman who doesn't think about her weight. Another reviewer mentions Coco's love of classic cars stemming from her love of Hot Wheels toys as a child. I would have believed her love of cars more if she had reasoned it with a nostalgic connection with her father possibly loving and working on cars before he died.
There were a few other random things I had issues with. The photographer who shot the photo that made Coco famous recommended his life partner as her agent. That agent also recommends lawyers and accountants to handle her money. Conflict of interest much? Nawwww people never screw over pretty perfect blonde women for money. Duh. Before Coco starts acting she has a conversation with someone who blatantly tells her she could act. Someone who knows nothing about acting. This just felt like heavy handed foreshadowing. Most of the dialogue is pretty corny with a rather unnatural flow at times. At one point a sniper hitman tries to kill Sam, Coco happens to be there. About two shots are fired and one of them grazes Coco. Sam and Coco have a conversation later about this professional missing. If they were a pro they wouldn't have missed. Someone's watched too many bad Hollywood movies.
I made it to the third chapter and decided to not torture myself with this any further. I can only imagine that people get through this series by skimming through to possibly only read the sex scenes. Which are admittedly not completely horrible. But everything in between is irrefutably painful to read. I found myself literally rolling my eyes, sighing, scoffing, groaning, cringing, and downright facepalming.
If Ana were a real person and I could talk to her I'd tell her to run her naive butt away from the abusive and domineering (not in the good way) relationship she was being trapped in. Because, guess what? THIS IS ABUSE. This isn't sexy. This is scary. Not the BDSM stuff, but everything else. Adults are fully capable of having a healthy relationship with some incredibly kinky sex. They're even fully capable of having a 24/7 Dom/sub relationship. This just happens to be none of that.
I could argue that Christian is possibly trying to get Ana into a 24/7 BDSM relationship. Except any decent Dom who's connected to a sub knows when to push, and when not to. Christian pretty much pushes all the time. He does what he wants, and he manages to wrap it in a barely pretty enough package to fool Ana. Hello mind games!
So, Ana, I don't care if the sex is mind blowing. The guy's a creep. He's scary. He treats his subordinates like chattel or with the bare minimum of respect. Oh, and you are so not on this planet to fix him. Run, don't walk, as far and as fast as you can. Pray that law enforcement will help you keep this guy at bay, because he'll for sure pull every string to keep owning you. That broken heart you think you have? It'll mend. And when it does you'll realize it was probably just your lady part hormones making you stupid lustful for the earth-shattering O's. Trust me; been there, done that.
I won a copy of this book from the Goodreads First Reads Giveaway program.For me, this is the modern version of [b:He's Just Not That Into You: The No-Excuses Truth to Understanding Guys 10412 He's Just Not That Into You The No-Excuses Truth to Understanding Guys Greg Behrendt https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388205020s/10412.jpg 822184]. While trying to get to know a guy and date we're dealing with Facebook, Twitter, Apps, dating sites, Skype, and texting. Always texting. So. Much. Texting!Lisa and Carrie started HeTexted.com, a site to receive peer advice to decode what a guy really means. Questioning if a guy actually likes you or is an incorrigible flirt looking for a hookup? Post a screenshot and others will weigh in. There's even a section to seek out more private advice from actual guys.So, that's what started this book, which is broken down into different things a guy can do to communicate in this digital age. Things like adding you on Facebook, ranting, sexting, emoji and emoticon usage, all the way to texting vs. saying “I love you” in person. Lisa, Carrie, and three “bros” weigh in throughout. There are also image examples of texting conversations pulled from the site.Now, lets get into what I personally thought. Me, being me, I took notes. I knew some things I was not going to agree with and other things would completely speak to me. I wanted to make sure I kept track. Hello yellow sticky notes. I also felt I probably wasn't necessarily the target demographic with this book. At the end of it all I realized no matter what you've got going on everyone's probably run into some of the scenarios being tackled here, and we've all for sure been confused about a love interest at some point.I got through the first chapter entitled He Friended and immediately asked this new guy I've been talking to for about a month if he only looked through my pictures or checked out other parts of my page. He'd only looked at my pics. Throughout the month I'd skimmed his wall, gone through his liked music pages, and even ended up on his sister's and mother's profiles. Ok, so the book has men and women pretty much pegged right so far.About half way through the book there's the He Updated chapter. This is probably the only chapter that actually irritated me. “Women are right to examine his Wall... Everything you need to know about a guy is right there on it.” NO! That's not true at all. Want to know why? Because I am not MY wall. Let me bury you under a mountain of salt you should be taking this chapter with. I know how to make lists on FB or change custom settings and hide things from entire groups of people, or just one. I loved the section about a guy's handle on FB. Um no I didn't. If his name isn't his real name and he's made up some crap just report it. Seriously. It's against the TOS on FB.And for the love of all that is holy, this book needs to stop referencing things like Star Wars or Harry Potter. It's painful because they don't really get it right. This fan does not appreciate it.A few pages later this book is redeemed for me. The last half is a bit more serious. There are little nuggets we all need to absorb and live by. I actually gave some succinct advice from Kenny in the E Txd chapter to my best friend, who happens to be a guy. Proof that some advice goes both ways. It works for everyone. He was confused about a girl being busy. Too busy to text. A BS excuse I've heard more times than I can count. Replace busy with neglectful and don't suffer through someone keeping you waiting for days on end.
I spent almost the entire time reading this wanting to throw it across the room. First because I was frustrated with the style and then because of the actual plot.
I quickly got tired of hearing how fair a maid Evangeline was and how Gabriel was the noblest of all the youths. We get it: they're gorgeous people who're destined to be together. Except...
Cruel Fate has torn them apart. Yeah, that's depressing. Really frustratingly depressing. But this only worked to make me angry, not sympathetic. There are times I'm too literal to just accept certain things and go along with the flow of the story. This happens to be one of those times. Sucks for me.
Poor Evangeline treks across the land following rumors trying to catch up to Gabriel. You know what my parents always taught me when I got lost? Stay in one place. Don't wander. It makes it harder for you to be found. So what does Gabriel do? He wanders. And the only time he stays in one place is when Evangeline stays in one place too hoping he'll come back to that location. Ugh! So much anger. Why does Evangeline hear all these rumors and searches for him but he doesn't seem to be hearing anything about her?
Here's the only passage giving any indication of Gabriel being upset about being parted from Evangeline. And yes, I'm aware that this poem is following Evangeline so we don't get Gabriel's perspective, but still.
“‘Be of good cheer, my child; it is only to-day he
departed.
Foolish boy! he has left me alone with my herds and my
horses.
Moody and restless grown, and tried and troubled, his
spirit
Could no longer endure the calm of this quiet existence.
Thinking ever of thee, uncertain and sorrowful ever,
Ever silent, or speaking only of thee and his troubles,
He at length had become so tedious to men and to
maidens,
Tedious even to me, that at length I bethought me, and
sent him
Unto the town of Adayes to trade for mules with the
Spaniards.'”
I wholeheartedly do love this book. I've read it twice and was quite caught up in it both times. I recommend it. I'll be reading the sequel, of course. And perhaps perusing other works by Follett.
I feel the hidden influence of Follett's ability to write successful mystery or thriller novels added enhancing factors to this novel, while also possibly contributing the few defects. The style can be a bit too abrupt at times, mostly being revealed through somewhat lacking dialogue. All the same, the plot is propelled at a steady and interesting pace with clever twists and turns. We're able to follow many characters and actually understand their motivations, all while not necessarily agreeing with them. I commend Follett for that ability, and his masterful use of foreshadowing. Only on a second read did I see how subtle it was at times.
My only real complaints:
Did they use the words “puke” and “sexy” in that time?
I feel for whoever had to edit 973 pages, but did no one notice these spelling errors? There were only 4 or 5, so not bad for a book of about 400k words. Maybe next printing they'll be gone.
After being informed of child sex abuse allegations against Bradley and her husband I won't be reading any of her books. She knew and helped her husband rape boys as young as eight, along with their own children.
Bought this at Spirit and own this for decor. The contents are ridiculous because... of course. “Spells” like this aren't real. Book looks good next to my obsidian skull, which also doesn't do or mean anything because it's a rock.
Got a kick out of some of the reviews though.
I read this when I was far too young to grasp pretty much any of the references. That's alright though, because it leaves for the now humorous memory that I was sad for all the people who winked out of existence. How awful to just be gone and be... where? Seemingly nowhere. Made me anxious to imagine if that could happen to me. Thankfully I don't have to worry about that since I'm a heathen. Anyway, I remember rooting for all who were left to scrape together and rebuild since that's just what we do as a species.
Obviously I was reading this as any other post-apocalyptic novel and didn't have the wherewithal to recognize or be put off by the writing. I think I made it through a few of these books actually.