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bandherbooks's Reviews (3.65k)
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Read one chapter and wasn't really swept away into the story. The film comes out this Thursday, so I'm just going to put this aside and have a fresh mind.
Reviewed from an ARC provided by Netgalley!
Imogen is a barkeep in a brothel to work off her dead father's debts. She isn't "for sale" until a wealthy Duke offers an extraordinary sum for one night with her before he goes off to fight in a major war.
Of course they share the best night of passion EVER, and he leaves her to her sad little life. She wore a wig and heavy eye makeup during their encounter, so when he returns years later on his deathbed after being a prisoner of war, he does not recognize the women tasked to nurse him back to health and treats her like garbage. He's kind of a jerk.
Besides being mistreated by her one time lover, Imogen also accidentally murders a man, and is offered a marriage of convenience to one of her elderly patients, which turns her suddenly into a titled lady and the next door neighbor of the Duke.
Cole (the Duke) only made it through his time as a prisoner due to his dreams of the woman from the brothel and is trying to find her. He still doesn't realize his new neighbor is the woman who haunts his dreams. In fact, he finds his neighbor irritating and tries to fight her wish to turn her home into a safe haven for women/children.
Interesting premise that I found a bit unbelievable, but well written and an enjoyable read. Characters from previous books by Byrne make an appearance, but you do not have to read them to enjoy this story.
Imogen is a barkeep in a brothel to work off her dead father's debts. She isn't "for sale" until a wealthy Duke offers an extraordinary sum for one night with her before he goes off to fight in a major war.
Of course they share the best night of passion EVER, and he leaves her to her sad little life. She wore a wig and heavy eye makeup during their encounter, so when he returns years later on his deathbed after being a prisoner of war, he does not recognize the women tasked to nurse him back to health and treats her like garbage. He's kind of a jerk.
Besides being mistreated by her one time lover, Imogen also accidentally murders a man, and is offered a marriage of convenience to one of her elderly patients, which turns her suddenly into a titled lady and the next door neighbor of the Duke.
Cole (the Duke) only made it through his time as a prisoner due to his dreams of the woman from the brothel and is trying to find her. He still doesn't realize his new neighbor is the woman who haunts his dreams. In fact, he finds his neighbor irritating and tries to fight her wish to turn her home into a safe haven for women/children.
Interesting premise that I found a bit unbelievable, but well written and an enjoyable read. Characters from previous books by Byrne make an appearance, but you do not have to read them to enjoy this story.
Envisioning a bleak future for a United States shattered by a second civil war, American War definitely will find a timely release in April 2017. Focusing on one family, and specifically one girl who comes of age and is radicalized in a displaced persons camp, all with harsh consequences for herself and her family.
Overall, I found it hard to connect with the story, as many details are left to the imagination or to be assumed by the reader. Also, the inclusion of "factual sources" didn't really work for me as it does more effectively in other dystopian or post-apocalyptic novels (see Mira Grant's Feed Series).
Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC.
Overall, I found it hard to connect with the story, as many details are left to the imagination or to be assumed by the reader. Also, the inclusion of "factual sources" didn't really work for me as it does more effectively in other dystopian or post-apocalyptic novels (see Mira Grant's Feed Series).
Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC.
Former beauty queen turned physics professor meets hot Airforce pilot Lance on the day he is left at the altar. They kiss, but he runs off. They meet again at a catapult competition and again sparks fly. Both aren't looking for a commitment, but Lance is seriously into Kaci's energy, smarts, and her potato gun (not so much into her elderly cat Miss Higgs). Plus, Kaci needs to get over her fear of flying so she can attend an important conference in Germany that will help her secure tenure at the university she teaches at, so Lance seems like the perfect helper. Too bad he hasn't told her he deploys in a matter of weeks...
I seriously had a lot of fun reading this. The cover is pretty lame, but the characters are smartly written and had great, sassy dialogue and awesome chemistry. It is also splendid to see a scientist heroine, and the perils of being a woman in academia touched upon. I'd definitely read upcoming books in this series.
Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC.
I seriously had a lot of fun reading this. The cover is pretty lame, but the characters are smartly written and had great, sassy dialogue and awesome chemistry. It is also splendid to see a scientist heroine, and the perils of being a woman in academia touched upon. I'd definitely read upcoming books in this series.
Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC.
Aubrey was a mean-girl beauty queen in high school, but mostly as a coping mechanism to deal with the various disappointments in her life, especially her parents' divorce. Years later, she is back in her hometown and trying to renovate her deceased Aunt's beloved bookstore. She can't afford much, so her uncle secretly hires Ben, Aubrey's former crush to do the work. Ben is also recently returned after a long stint working on building water systems in dangerous parts of the world, a job he took after the death of his wife. Sparks fly, but Ben doesn't know he is on Aubrey's list of people to make amends with...
A sweet story, with lots of heat.
A sweet story, with lots of heat.
Every time McLean moves she adopts a new persona. This is her fourth move in less than two years, but this time maybe she'll try to be Mclean again if only she herself could figure out what that means.
Not my favorite Dessen, as I found the overall story arc to be a bit bland. Mclean has struggles and she handles them nicely and fairly neatly, which lends to the lack of excitement.
Not my favorite Dessen, as I found the overall story arc to be a bit bland. Mclean has struggles and she handles them nicely and fairly neatly, which lends to the lack of excitement.
American Gods was a total slog for me. I always go into a Gaiman thinking the premise sounds very intriguing, but his style just leaves me cold. I really struggled for the first 500+ pages and was ready to give up and FINALLY the last two hundred pages caught my interest, and I finished. I'm glad I'm done and I'll never read it again.
I think Gaiman may be one of those authors you need to read at the right moment in time and for me, that time has been never.
I think Gaiman may be one of those authors you need to read at the right moment in time and for me, that time has been never.
A classic case of I read too many rave reviews and my expectations were too high. I found this London theater actors romance okay, but nothing mind-blowing. The acting and theater details were nice but the actual romance featuring a cranky Darcy-type and a hardworking and heart-broken actress were not my favorite couple.
Lovely Children's Librarian Darcy is having hot sex with a local handyman who hasn't defined their relationship, when she learns her ex, the smarmy Boyz, is renting the Nantucket mansion behind hers. Plus, another handsome neighbor and his charming grandmother are renting the mansion next door. Poor beautiful Darcy gets sucked into various melodramas of the summer set included love squares, heroin use, and affairs, among others, and ends up with a HEA you can see coming from miles away. Not my cup of tea, as the storytelling style left me feeling cold, especially regarding the various relationships, and as a main character Darcy is annoyingly perfect. So perfect she even calls it out herself in the text.
Thank you to netgalley for the ARC.
Thank you to netgalley for the ARC.
I typically avoid self-help books, but in recent times I've needed a little dose of something to help lift the spirits and this one seemed just schlocky enough to do the trick. Basically, Manson espouses that while you can't give ZERO fucks, you have to choose which fucks you are willing, able, and WANT to put in the time, sweat, and tears in. The rest can fuck off.
I also enjoyed the discussion about problems. We will always have problems, and it is the problems we are okay with that are the fucks we should give. Every solution simply leads to the next set of problems, so remove yourself from a negative feedback cycle of desires and choose fucks that reward the struggle. It reminded me of "Life is pain highness. Anyone who tells you differently is selling something."
The ending was a bit overwrought, especially with the 'and we all will die, so no need to fear death' which didn't seem to resonate with the rest of the book, but overall worth the few lunch breaks it took me to plow through it.
I also enjoyed the discussion about problems. We will always have problems, and it is the problems we are okay with that are the fucks we should give. Every solution simply leads to the next set of problems, so remove yourself from a negative feedback cycle of desires and choose fucks that reward the struggle. It reminded me of "Life is pain highness. Anyone who tells you differently is selling something."
The ending was a bit overwrought, especially with the 'and we all will die, so no need to fear death' which didn't seem to resonate with the rest of the book, but overall worth the few lunch breaks it took me to plow through it.