REVIEW: Three by Jay Posey

Three by Jay Posey My rating: 1 of 5 stars The book was rude. It threw me into the mix with scant explanation. I waited and waited and when answers were finally given I didn’t understand them because the book didn’t explain what they meant. Characters would act shocked upon awareness and I would just go, “So what?”. The writing spent too much time with scene setup and barely any time with world...

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REVIEW: The Big Reap by Chris F. Holm

The Big Reap by Chris F. Holm My rating: 3 of 5 stars Book 3 was a game changer much to my enjoyment. + the characters Sam finally made full use of his power as a Collector by choosing to ride living people as his meat suit. In previous books, his modus operandi was to ride the recently deceased because he wanted to avoid embroiling the living, i.e. the innocents, in his business of Hell. Now,...

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REVIEW: Reactivated by Caitlin West

Reactivated by Caitlin West My rating: 2 of 5 stars Characters were poorly developed. The plot was infuriatingly incomplete. + the characters Ardan was established as a disciplined assassin, but the carefree way he acted towards Brad vastly undermined his role. He recently completed a mission so to have a stranger like Brad come up and chat him should have put Ardan on alert. Ardan should have...

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REVIEW: Unbreakable by Elizabeth Norris

Unbreakable by Elizabeth Norris My rating: 2 of 5 stars I liked book 1, but book 2, Unbreakable, not so much. The book was split into multiple parts, and I didn’t like part one because it was a slow beginning. The book could have reduced part one to a few pages and included it in part two where the plot commenced. I liked the plot. It wasn’t stingy with the action, and the conspiracy showed good...

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REVIEW: Boy Nobody by Allen Zadoff

Boy Nobody by Allen Zadoff My rating: 3 of 5 stars I was dazzled. Dazzled! + the hero The book was told exclusively in 1st person POV from the hero’s POV, and I loved it because watching Ben’s mind calculate as he gauged people and situations thrilled me. Ben was believable as an assassin without a trace of doubt! He was competent. He was collected. He was peerlessly cool. When unpredicted hurdles...

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REVIEW: Impostor by Susanne Winnacker

Impostor by Susanne Winnacker My rating: 2 of 5 stars A girl who can take on anyone’s form takes the place of a victim to hunt the serial killer who killed her? What an exciting blurb! I’m all in. Woah was the blurb was somewhat misleading. Half of the book was about the heroine’s boy troubles. Ew. + the characters Tessa spent the first quarter of the book, i.e. the ENTIRE beginning, bemoaning...

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REVIEW: Grime and Punishment by Z.A. Maxfield

Grime and Punishment by Z.A. Maxfield My rating: 2 of 5 stars Beyond the premise of crime scene cleaners nothing appealed to me, including the smut. I couldn’t connect with the couple. I wished both men did more to work out their personal issues instead of wallowing in guilt, pity, and all that woe-is-me crap. Both men never really recognized that their friends with benefits did them more harm...

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REVIEW: Incarnation by Emma Cornwall

Incarnation by Emma Cornwall My rating: 2 of 5 stars Nice read but lacked oomph. + the goods The reasons the book was a good read was because of the elegant mixing of elements, the diverse characters, and the strong heroine. The incorporation of the King Arthur legend surprised me. This was the first time I read a Dracula fanfiction where Dracula and Mordred were the same character and one of...

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REVIEW: Real Vampires Don't Sparkle by Amy Fecteau

Real Vampires Don't Sparkle by Amy Fecteau My rating: 2 of 5 stars The book bored me silly. I thought with a satire title the book would be funny. It wasn’t. Oh, there was one joke at Twilight’s expense but it was more of a nod to the title than a true attempt at humor. Other than that, the book had nothing that could be deemed funny whatsoever. The book was 90% filler, 10% plot, and I’m being lenient. +...

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REVIEW: Hunted by Kevin Hearne

Hunted by Kevin Hearne My rating: 3 of 5 stars Book 6 of the series was one big chase scene, extravagant and exhilarating! The book immediately picked up from book 5’s cliffhanger (book 5's review) and with a twist of events mercilessly hurled a major death. Literally running for their lives, the heroes couldn’t afford the luxury of grief. They couldn’t even afford a long moment to rest because...

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REVIEW: Mist by Susan Krinard

Mist by Susan Krinard My rating: 2 of 5 stars The book started off strong but then slid downhill towards the middle and never climbed back up. By the end, things were a mess. + the characters Mist was a strong heroine. She didn’t blindly follow the gods, her superiors, and thought for herself. She moved on with her life, finding new reasons to live in a world that didn’t require her service as...

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REVIEW: The Ability by M.M. Vaughan

The Ability by M.M. Vaughan My rating: 3 of 5 stars The book was a mildly enjoyable read despite the sadness that rained throughout the first quarter of the book. + the characters As a denizen of La La Land, I didn’t like the sad beginning. Chris was forced to shoulder adult responsibilities because his father was dead and his mother was in perpetual depression because of it. My heart bled as...

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REVIEW: The Lives of Tao by Wesley Chu

The Lives of Tao by Wesley Chu My rating: 2 of 5 stars That awkward moment when you enjoyed the book but hated the hero and wished he would drop dead, preferably within the first chapter he was introduced. OMFG, the whiny dipshit was insufferable. I understand characters need to have flaws or else they’re not believable, but at some point there is such a thing as too many flaws to the point that...

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REVIEW: Charming by Elliott James

Charming by Elliott James My rating: 3 of 5 stars I almost rated the book a 2-stars had the positives not outweighed the negatives. + the world building Info-dumping thrived like weeds, and my patience neared bottom level after a couple chapters. Yet, because the info-dumping was relevant and interesting and didn’t interfere with the action scenes, it didn’t become as big an issue for me as it...

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REVIEW: Earth Girl by Janet Edwards

Earth Girl by Janet Edwards My rating: 4 of 5 stars The heroine’s character development was superb, but the world building was subpar. + the world building The world building failed to respect the book’s central theme of history and ultimately its setting as an alternative reality. No explanation was offered for how all nations united as one civilization. Neither was an explanation offered for...

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REVIEW: Data Runner by Sam A. Patel

Data Runner by Sam A. Patel My rating: 3 of 5 stars Hipsters versus evil corporations and their hired thugs. The book read like an action movie but without the plot holes and indigestible contrivances. + the characters The good guys were a bit full of themselves. Parkour was cool. Community was cool. Staying in school and going to college, cool. Hacking and beating the man, guess what? Cool, too....

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REVIEW: Peregrine Harker & The Black Death by Luke Hollands

Peregrine Harker & The Black Death by Luke Hollands My rating: 1 of 5 stars The book was a head-banging read. It was told in a way where the protagonist was practically mute and so detached that the dialogue was communicated in incredibly stilted summary and events were literally forced upon him. I think the intention behind the inane narration was an immersive reading experience but in practice...

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REVIEW: Silver/Steel by Belinda McBride

Silver/Steel by Belinda McBride My rating: 2 of 5 stars The book was not an insufferable read but it could have easily been so because the romance was crap. The relationship consisted of nothing more than insta-love and smut, which as a rule I don’t mind, but in this case it was ruined by the “I want you, but I can’t because Stupid Reasons” from both men. + the characters Someone should have given...

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REVIEW: Sanity Vacuum by Thea Isis Gregory

Sanity Vacuum by Thea Isis Gregory My rating: 3 of 5 stars I thought the book would be more exciting because of the blurb, but it wasn’t. Action scenes were few and irregular, considering they were in regard to the villain trying to kill the heroine. Yet everything worked for me. I enjoyed the book. + the plot The plot moved leisurely, but I never once felt the inclination to skim, and the book...

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