oh yeah, ARC baby! Okay, so I guess it's back-to-life time, huh? I spent December vacationing and partying like World War 3 was coming or something. Gooh yeah, ARC baby! Okay, so I guess it's back-to-life time, huh? I spent December vacationing and partying like World War 3 was coming or something. Good thing nothing crazy like that is gonna happen, huh?
[image] Dammit, 'Murica! This is why we can't have nice things!
So, assuming you are all still alive by the time this book is released, you should read it. Of course, it's a book 50 in a series, so if you haven't read the first 49, you won't have a clue so you need to read those 49 books first. We'll wait.
[image] I don't know. He's just been sitting like this all day. I think we broke him.
The deal with this series is that it has mysteries set in the future that are written like police procedurals. There is usually a first death, followed by the investigation during which there is another one or two, then the solve. The solves aren't usually some big reveal or twist - at least not in the later books, but we just walk through it with our heroine and it's entertaining. This mystery had a poisoner as the villain. It was decent enough, but not going to blow your mind. I think by book 50 you are reading because you know and love the characters. That's what keeps me around. Because I love the series, I will always read it and enjoy it, even though I can see a few minor problems at this point in the game. What problems, you didn't ask?
Problem #1: The biggest hook and fun in the beginning of the series was the fact that it is set in the future. The first books included some really fun ideas for future-world. Even some Jetson's level things. You all know you want an Auto Chef that makes your food at the press of a button. Plus, flying cars, off-planet stuff, virtual reality, holograms, floating beds, robot butlers, etc... That kind of stuff was the big selling point for me.
[image] Why don't we have this yet? We have the technology. I've seen those pitching machines at batting cages. Just do that. With sandwiches.
The problem is that the cool future-stuff died out long ago. There have been no new things mentioned for many books now, and even the things that were there earlier are rarely mentioned. It is like the future-world just morphed into boring now-world and we are simply following along with a murder mystery. In todayland! I feel a little cheated here. If I wanted to just read a cop book, I would read a cop book. But, you might notice I don't read many of those. Why? They are boring. If I want cop-stuff, I get it in the only place that makes sense: Brooklyn.
[image] That's right. I said it. Suck it, CSI's!
Problem #2: Our billionaire book boyfriend, Roarke, has been neutered. Like, at this point, he is just Eve's lap dog who jumps at every opportunity to help her and cater to her every need while she can't even be bothered to ask him what he does for a living. She orders him around like a lackey and he's happy to be her personal assistant. It's like, what the hell happened, man? Why?
[image] We can hope. There's always hope. *sigh*
In the early books, Roarke was a little bit dangerous. He was cutthroat in business and in his personal life. When someone (view spoiler)[ Eve's mother (hide spoiler)] tried to blackmail him he basically threatened murder - and he meant it. He was forceful in a good way when it came to Eve's crap because he wouldn't let her steamroll him. We even got his point-of-view occasionally. But, somewhere along the line he just laid down and got squished. I don't know why the author decided to do this, or if she just got lazy and decided she was done writing him.
[image] Come on, Roarke. You can walk that off. It's barely a flesh wound.
So, why do I still love the series when it's obvious that it has lost a bit of its magic? Because it had enough magic at the start to carry over for a long time. And, I keep my fingers crossed that some of that magic will come back one day. Plus, I still enjoy the books. Every single time.
Okay, I have to do my arc disclaimer now:
I have received a free copy of Golden in Death, by J.D. Robb from Macmillan in an exchange for an honest review....more
I got an arc from a publisher for this one and I agreed to be honest in my review. Sorry, but if you say "honest", you are going to get it.
This book wI got an arc from a publisher for this one and I agreed to be honest in my review. Sorry, but if you say "honest", you are going to get it.
This book was supposed to be a psychological thriller. A lady who is being sexually harassed at work gets the chance to have anyone she wants "disappear". I liked the idea. The problem was the heroine, Sarah. She had to be the biggest loser ever. I hated her enough that I would have liked to "disappear" her by the end of the thing.
[image] Well, almost. Except that I can spell vaccinate. Still.... I get the sentiment.
Sarah is a loser who whines continuously in her head about how much of a victim she is for 350 pages. Between the pages and pages of her pity-party, we get exciting moments of her dressing her children and taking them to school, and petty squabbles her kids have. You know, the boring monotony of life that we read to get away from.
[image] Yeah, this kind of thing. But less funny.
When she finally (162 pages in) does what we knew she would do the whole book, we then get to see her whine about having done it and act like a guilty toddler.
[image] convincing.
The situation she finds herself in with her boss is unfortunately possibly realistic, so I did feel sympathy for her. But, at the same time, I couldn't understand her actions. She did absolutely nothing to rectify the situation, but waited for someone else to save her. She didn't try to record him telling her that she had to have sex with him to keep her job. She never considered quitting, telling his wife, or filing charges against him. She even met a past victim of her boss and didn't think to get this lady's number so that they could find others and build a case. She did, however, consider sleeping with him to keep her job. So, basically this book is just being in this pathetic woman's head with her pathetic thoughts. If I liked her at all, or could relate to her in any way, I might have enjoyed it. But, I didn't. Not at all.
Now, for the legal crap: "I received a free ARC of 29 Seconds by T.M. Logan from Macmillan in exchange for an honest review."
The author of this book is my friend and she is super cool, so if you want to get your kink on, you might need to check out this book. As for me? It wThe author of this book is my friend and she is super cool, so if you want to get your kink on, you might need to check out this book. As for me? It was a little shocking. I feel like an Amish woman who just saw a naked man. What the hell? Thou art shocked!
[image]
This is a BDSM book, and FYI - this makes 50 Shades look like Dr. Seuss. I will put her in a box and I will hit her with some rocks. I will beat her with a cane and make her crawl through the rain...
Now, my personal opinion of BDSM is a big ol' nope. It seems like just way too much work for one thing (plus a thousand other reasons). You need special outfits, tools, machines, and maybe the boy scout patch in rope tying. I already have a torture machine in my bedroom that's not being used. It's called a treadmill. (Although it makes a good clothes hanger.) The only exercise we got from that thing was when we had to haul it into the house, and then out to the driveway for the garage sale. Good workouts!
[image]
So, onto the book! It was about a very messed-up desperate girl who lets everyone walk all over her and has no self-respect. She meets the perfect man for her, a sadist. This is going to work out great!!
[image] Aww, but our woman isn't wise. Too bad..
But, oh gee, our sadist wants to change for his girl. He'll do anything for her.... for a while. But, then he decides that his girl does actually like being abused hurt during sex, she just doesn't know it yet. He'll help her with that. After all, he's willing to do anything for her. Plus, she's really sexy when she is crying and in pain.
Her tears fell like summer rain. She was so gorgeous...
He saw her chained to a wall with her head bent, her face awash with tears, her back, her thighs and her ass covered with his marks... Her tears would be real, her whimpers too and when she begged him to stop, knowing that he wouldn't, Luke wanted that moment more than anything.
Real men like to make us cry, girls. Our fear, panic, bloodshot and puffy eyes, snotty nose, and bleeding is sexy stuff!
[image] now, this girl must be having mind-blowing sex!
Needless to say, I really wanted to see our girl kick this sadistic bastard's ass to the curb. I'm waaay too much of an alpha girl to appreciate the dom/sub thing. I just want to kick the dom's ass the whole time. But, if you like it and find it sexy, this book has got some major hardcore stuff for you! It's a BDSM dream come true. :)
When I got a letter telling me that I could have a signed ARC of this book I felt like a schoolgirl meeting a boy band. I LOVE Nalini Singh's writing!When I got a letter telling me that I could have a signed ARC of this book I felt like a schoolgirl meeting a boy band. I LOVE Nalini Singh's writing! The archangel series is probably my favorite series ever. So, when I wasn't exactly thrilled with this book, I felt guilty. How could I NOT like this book? I'm a terrible person! There are even PUPCUBS involved. What more could I want?
[image] That's your answer to every problem, Mr. Groundhog! And, it NEVER works!
So, here's the thing, it's just too long, too slow, with too much redundancy. We are visiting every character from the first 14 books and seeing how happy they are together. Then, they think about how happy they are together. Then, they think about life in general and how the world has changed. Then, they have sex. And, hey, that's okay, but when you do that same thing 14 times, it gets a little old.
Plus, there are meetings. Lots and lots of meetings. And, we get to read the back and forth conversation of these endless boring meetings.
[image] there's a reason why I had millions of "boring meeting memes" to choose from.
There were a few new things that happened. Pupcubs. But, they weren't enough to carry the book. And, I did like catching up with some of the old characters. It just needed to be shorter. It was an epilogue that simply went on too long.
Thank you, Mr. Powers, for sending me this book and sharing your journey. I lost my brother, and only sibling, to AIDS just 7 months ago, so to hear mThank you, Mr. Powers, for sending me this book and sharing your journey. I lost my brother, and only sibling, to AIDS just 7 months ago, so to hear my dad has cancer was a devastating blow.
I don't know if I would recommend this book to the newly diagnosed patient because the author gets very real in this book and it is scary and overwhelming, in a way. Although I have had a few friends who have gone through chemo, Mr. Powers describes the process in so much more detail that I now realize that I never really "got it". Chemo is painful and horrible. This book really opened my eyes and gave me many things to look out for while my dad goes through this process. (IV antibiotics, actually, my son had an allergic reaction to them as well).
I think this book would be very helpful for family members of those who are going to start chemo, and for patients who have already started the process.
The story is a journal of a man's journey through cancer. It is really difficult at times, but he handles it well with humor and a strong will to live. He gives the true details of what it is like for those who are fighting this fight and gives a lot of credit to all of the doctors and others who give their time and effort to fight alongside them. The motto is: "Noone fights alone!"...more
This is a futuristic, dystopian version of Romeo & Juliet with lots of added twists and turns.
Set in the future, there are two distinct groups in the This is a futuristic, dystopian version of Romeo & Juliet with lots of added twists and turns.
Set in the future, there are two distinct groups in the world: the priors, who have been genetically enhanced since birth and live lives of privilege and wealth; then there are the geneserians, or gens, also called imps in a derogatory way by the priors, who have not been genetically enhanced and live in slums, can only work in the lowest paid servitude jobs, must wear armbands to identify themselves, are harassed by the police, and have to use different monorail cars than the priors. They are lesser and are never to forget it. A relationship between a prior and gen is illegal and would result in the gen being imprisoned, and possibly hanged.
Davis, a prior, is a perfect ballerina, and perfect daughter to her father who is running for office and wants to completely segregate the priors and "imps". He has always told her that her mother died because of a gen's mistake when she was being born. But, is this the truth?
Cole, a gen, is an MMA cage fighter whose only hope to help his family rides on the money that a man who is running against Davis's father will give him for an entry fee for a big fight coming up. He wants Cole to meet Davis and get a photo of them kissing for that fee.
But, when they meet, it's just like Romeo & Juliet and sparks fly. Can he really betray her once he gets to know her? How can they be together at all when it's illegal? Add in a bizarre illness that is killing only the priors, and a bunch of secrets coming out, and you get a pretty good story!
The first part of the book read a little slow for me, which is why I gave it four stars instead of five, but it gets very exciting by the halfway point. And, the ending kinda killed me because I'm going to have to wait way too long for the next one!...more
Fast-paced, exciting, & tons of twists - the author packs every page of this novella with dark post-apocalyptic images that make it impossible to put Fast-paced, exciting, & tons of twists - the author packs every page of this novella with dark post-apocalyptic images that make it impossible to put this book down. Just make a decision that you will read it in one sitting!
I loved the further character development of Sam in this book. She has the ability to become another Katniss if she continues on the path that she is currently on. Very promising growth! And I appreciate the empathy she displays that makes her refuse to sit by and watch injustice (which started everything in the first book).
I am also looking forward to seeing what possible character development lies in the future for Nick. He can be an interesting addition...
I read this book and the second one together, in one sitting. Since this first novella is so short, it is almost just an introduction to the main charI read this book and the second one together, in one sitting. Since this first novella is so short, it is almost just an introduction to the main character and the background for everything, but it is still very fast-paced and the author packs a lot of action in to each page. The main character, Sam, is well-developed and continues her development much further as she enters the second book to make her into a very cool badass....more
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