Wow, I am so disappointed in this book. I was expecting so much more than what I got. It did take her a long time to write this last book and I figured it was going to be great. It took me forever to get through this book. I just had a hard time getting into the story and had to actually force myself to read 50 pages a night. I never once got caught up in the story and felt like I had to stay up later to read more.

There was so much "fluff" in this book. It could have been half the size and it would have been better. Her pregnancy just dragged on and there were so many things that happened, unnecessarily. There are so many characters in this book but you don't really get much of their story. You just get overwhelmed with all these names and no real character development.

I loved the first two books. I thought they were great and just full of so much twists and turns. I was never bored and there wasn't a dull moment. I felt like this book, was just so boring.

I was becoming really irritated by Diana and Matthew. Really? We get that you love each other but the obsessiveness was getting old. I don't need to know that every time you look at each other, it's all consuming. It started to feel corny and forced. Did she not have anything else to say about these characters? There really wasn't much going on throughout this whole book until the last 50 pages. Benjamin is the enemy of this book but he really was in the background. He is seriously the least involved "villain" I've seen in a while.

The ending... oh it was bad. There are so many loose ends, it's crazy. I couldn't even keep track. All these characters that have no ending whatsoever. Phillip coming back and telling her that her work is far from done? Giving back the arrow? Does this mean there's another book? Did she leave it open on purpose? Not to mention, Gallowglass. He's one of the most entertaining characters and he's just .. lost. I felt like there were so many things left undone. Frustration.

The sad part is that I've recommended the first two books to so many people, I feel bad. I really wouldn't want them to waste their time with this "ending."

I want to thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book to review.


I was a bit disappointed. The reviews and my review do not add up at all. There are so many people that really liked this book but I just thought it was .. okay.


It really started out strong. I was really wrapped up into the story and got about 40% of the way through before I started to get a bit bored. The writing style was different and I'm not sure that I liked it so much. It was either that or I got a really bad ebook version. There were a lot of random letters/equations/ramblings in the middle of paragraphs. I'm not going to judge too harshly about that because I'm not sure if it was just the ebook I received.


Right away, you know this is going to be a typical YA love story. From first sight she's already smitten. Of course, she is. Although, with her living in a bubble all her life, I'm not that surprised. I really liked Olli's character at the beginning. I mean, we really don't learn much about SCID. Really, this girl just lives in white. I mean everything is white. That's pretty much all I get from it. There are some serious plot holes in this book! For example: She knows that she has this disease and then she runs off with her boyfriend?! I mean what about the nurse?! She should have known that she was living this way for a reason, then to throw all caution to the wind. Just so they could be alone and have sex. Not cool. What is it with these YA books lately?!


Then there is the ending. I saw it coming from the beginning. How else would this tie up really pretty with a bow on top? This was the only way that I could see it happening. So to me, it was predictable. I'm pretty good at figuring things out like this though. I missed my calling of being a PI. haha.


Anyways, this is a cute story and it was definitely worth the read. I just found a lot of issues with it and that's why it's getting the 3 stars. I was expecting a lot more from this book based on peer reviews. I just didn't see it.

Ahhh.. So my co-worker (Teen librarian) asked me to read this. She has tons of books that she reads and sometimes asks me to help read some. This one sounded interesting enough but it has been sitting on my table for a couple months. I just got my glasses, so I picked it up today and jumped in!

4.5 stars!

Wow. I have honestly never read anything like this before. Never. I could not put this down. I literally sat at my couch and didn't move for almost 3 hours. This book is fantastic. While reading this book, I kept having flashes of Orange is the New Black. lol Maybe that's all I will think about now with books that take place in prison. Well sorta.



Anyways, Minnow has grown up a bit differently than most. She was forced to move into the wilderness to follow a "Prophet" when she was five years old. She grows up there never quite believing and always questioning. There are some really unfortunate things that happen in this "cult" group. She ends up losing her hands by her own father. It AMAZES me the lengths people will go to, to follow a leader. Who chops off their daughters hands just because the leader says that's what should be done? Don't you need to take a minute and rethink things? I don't think that God would ever condemn this kind of behavior. Not only that but murder is definitely a NO. Anyways, I'm not going to get all religious. Now, let me tell you the reasons I love this book.



I honestly, still don't completely understand why she did what she did to Philip. I have an idea but maybe I'm wrong. It's something that you can just ponder, I guess. The Minnow you see at the beginning of the book is a completely different by the end. The transformation this girl goes through, is outstanding. The way this girl has picked herself up from the horrible things she's had to face is impressive. Then to rethink everything and even make the decision to take a hold of her own future. To learn how to think for herself.To be thrust into a new world and know nothing. To think that the boy she loves is dead then finds out he isn't. Jude.. oh Jude. How I'm still wondering if he will make it.



I don't know about you but this author had some amazing moments in this book that completely grab you. When Jude is telling Minnow about his mother, when he finds her after she's lost her hands, when they meet face to face when she's in prison and when she sees the doctor one more time before her parole hearing. The way that Stephanie Oakes writes, will completely take a hold of you. They are such powerful moments and they stay with you. It's really a talent.



All the characters in this book are fantastic. I loved them all and I really think that Angel was the perfect person for Minnow. She took her under her wing and watched out for her. Not only that, she taught her how to think for herself. Even Benny, the guard was a great character.



I can go on and on. Really, this is just a great book and you should definitely read it!

I want to thank Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group for a copy of this book to review. My thoughts and my opinions are my own.

This book had so much promise and started out with a bang then it fell apart.
Deb’s kids receive a box, intended for her, from Jack’s girl on the side. Kay is trying to hide it from her mom but once her brother sees it, he shows Deb immediately. So this is a story about Jack’s affair and the fallout from it. The author breaks it up into four different parts. After I read the first part, I was completely hooked. It was just so good and I wanted to know more. Then I was completely bored and looking for some kind of resolution throughout the rest of the book.

It’s written really well. The author really does have some talent but her story just didn’t flow. It got boring and dull. What on earth was the point of hearing about Jack’s visit to his mother? It took away from the story. If you like to read books where you are so interested and then get absolutely no resolution, this is it. This book just tells the story of what happens after the fallout and that is it. You don’t get to wrap anything up. The characters are just selfish and so lost. To me all of them were so unlikable. Jack just wanted to pretend like this was a thing that happened and it was no big deal. Really, lame. Deb is just lost and I don’t know what she was thinking about spending so much time with Gary. If it wasn’t for Kay interrupting, you know what would have happened. I get she’s upset and all but come on!
I don’t understand all the good reviews and that it was funny. I must have missed something because I didn’t think it was funny at all. I didn’t think this was a complete story, I felt like something was missing. A very unsatisfactory middle and ending to this book.

I was hoping for so much more and maybe that is why I was disappointed.

3.5 stars...

I want to thank St. Martin's Press for reaching out to me to read and review this book. I was given a copy of the book through netgalley. I'm also part of the blog tour and it's the second one I've done for them.

I really enjoyed this series. All three books have beautiful covers and these were all published in the same year! That's no easy feat but it was pretty awesome. I really like Amanda Hocking and have read a couple of her other series. This one was such a fun world. The writing was great and there was so much detail to help you have a vivid image in your head.

Even though, I liked this series, this book was a bit of a let down for me. It was fun and definitely a good read but I have some issues...

First, is Konstantin Black. REALLY?! So, he and Bryn have to pretty much partner up for most of this book. He's an awesome character and you will love him. The downside to that is that I think maybe Hocking started to wonder if she made a mistake with the love interest? I mean, for the first two books Bryn is completely in love with Ridley, which is great. I don't always need a love triangle. It's refreshing to not have one these days. Anyways, then in this third book, you totally feel it. You can tell that Konstantin and Bryn have feelings for each other and it's so obvious that he's fallen in love with her. I actually think that Bryn has fallen in love with him too but just ignores it. Then within about 5 pages, they kiss and it's amazing, but then he dies. What?! I mean, she could have just said.. I'm in love with Ridley.. Hocking didn't have to kill him! He added so much to this book! At some points, I was even rooting for him. I felt like the connection in this book was not with Ridley at all. I felt like Bryn and Ridley were siblings and the actual love interest was with Konstantin. So sad because he is actually my favorite character. I liked him more than Ridley.

Secondly, is the ending. This was a fast read. There is a lot that is going on and it keeps you really interested in the story. As I'm about 70% of the way through, I kept wondering how this was going to wrap up. This book has so much set up and the conclusion happens so fast. I mean they are at the battle and won in just a handful of pages. I feel like the author had a page limit and then just hurried up the ending. I didn't feel satisfied because I felt completely rushed. It was an okay ending and I guess I'm okay with how it all wrapped up. Well minus the fact about Konstantin.

I think that Hocking did an amazing job with all the supporting characters. I really loved Ember and her letters in this book. Those letters were a great way to keep her story going throughout this book, even though Bryn wasn't there. I also really liked Finn and Tilda. Even some of the characters that Bryn meets for a short time are great. They all add so much to this series and I think that's why these books are so fun to read. I never got bored because there was always someone new or something going on.

Overall, this is a fun read. I would recommend this series to anyone who wants something similar to the Trylle world. Bryn is a great character and I think many will really like her. She's your typical heroine but she isn't whiny. I really liked her and I did like the fact that there wasn't a love triangle. Well until the last book.

Amazing.

Warning: I have a slight obsession with MK. I will do my best to not be too biased.



I read her first book and I believe that is when I started to follow Mindy Kaling. I then watched the first episode of The Mindy Project and I was in love. This book was fantastic. It was also my first audiobook! I usually cannot stand to use audiobooks because I can't concentrate enough to just listen. I absolutely had to listen to this book because I knew that Mindy reading it would just add something else to this book. Oh boy, was I right. Her reading this really put this book over the top. I couldn't stop. It followed me around everywhere. I would play it when I was washing dishes, doing the laundry and even hooked it up to my Bluetooth for my showers. It was like I was living in a world where Mindy's humor and stories followed me around everywhere for two days. I am so glad that I listened to the audiobook, instead of reading the book. So thank you Mindy, for breaking my audiobook virginity. I didn't think it would ever happen!





This book was much better for me than her last. Don't get me wrong, her last book was good but this one is great. I love how open she is about her work and her life. She can be real and then throw in a joke like it's not a second thought. It's one of the reasons I love, The Mindy Project, so much. She knows how to add all these lines but make it flow, like it's so natural. I can't tell you the number of times that she made me laugh. Really, I had such a hard time not waking my husband up from my laughter. I like how she doesn't hold back and tells you what she really thinks. It's like she has no filter when it comes to certain things. I think one of my favorite chapters was her explaining her relationship with BJ. If you are looking for a great and fun read, this is for you. If you are just obsessed with Mindy, this is definitely for you.

Sigh.. I'm being SO generous with 2 stars.



What a disappointment. I didn't expect much because come on, these things never go well, but I was so hopeful. I LOVE Lisbeth Salander and was excited to hear more about what she's been up to and have her use her awesome skills for justice. She MAKES these books and sadly, she was hardly in this book. What?! Yes, it's absolutely crazy. The Millennium series is one of my all time favorites. I know that it was a lot to live up to, but Lagercrantz didn't even come close.



First, I want to start off saying that this will definitely be a spin-off trilogy, not just one book. It has to be, because more than half of this book, was just character introductions and set up for the future. I cannot tell you how much I was bored with all the extreme character information. I'm not kidding. You get all this background and irrelevant information about characters that even die. I don't care. All I wanted was to be reading about Lisbeth and her awesomeness. I mean, I would even settle for Blomkvist too. He just seemed so different and not the same person from the previous books. There is no one more important than Lisbeth. The cover even says, "A Lisbeth Salander novel." Yet, she wasn't hardly anywhere to be found.



Back to the plot. It was just so boring to me. I'm a third of the way through this book and nothing has really happened. I kept thinking that the ending would just get better, right? Something amazing would happen to make me forgive 3/4's of this book. Nope. Lame and really not all that interesting. Honestly, I don't even know what the author was trying to do with this book.

The writing is just not there. Lagercrantz isn't even on the same plane as Larsson's books. I would not be surprised if he didn't even read the first three books. I mean, I'm sure he did but it doesn't seem like it.



It was so much set up that it was too much. I will say that maybe a whole chapter could be Lisbeth's part in this book. This author breaks up a chapter and has a lot of different characters in them. There was too much hacker lingo. Don't get me wrong, it's a huge part of most of this book I'm not a hacker. So all this extreme amount of information was just overkill. I felt my eyes glazing over and just zoning out. I'm pretty sure this book was about AI intelligence and it got away. Someone has it and will take over the world.. blah blah blah. Is that all that authors think of this day and age? AI? Larsson had deep, meaningful plots and that's what I loved about him. He could write a 2,000 page book and I wouldn't want to put it down. I mean, some of his previous books were pretty long and I devoured them. I had to force myself to finish this book. Oh yeah, this is also about a boy that is a savant. He was more of a main character than Lisbeth. Okay, okay, you get my point. I'll stop saying it already.



Another thing that I hated. Wasp being defined by Marvel. ARE. YOU. KIDDING. ME?!?! I always figured it to the fact that she was small and loved to take her time and then strike fast. She would strike so fast that you wouldn't even know it until it was too late. I mean, like a wasp, ya know?! Now, all this Marvel stuff was just annoying. Not everything in this world has to be about Marvel.



Overall, this was just not a good book. Even if I didn't know anything about the previous books, it would still be bad. It was just so slow and boring. The author took so many liberties with changing things that it doesn't even seem like it's connected to the series. I will not be reading the next one..

Review to come.

First, just let me say, I LOVE Sparks and his books.. except this one.

I am so disappointed in this book. I have two theories: One- this is Nicholas Sparks real writing and TWO- his wife had a MAJOR part in his previous writing/books. Get what I did there? Both theories are the same: his wife had a hand in his previous work. Is it pure coincidence that he gets a divorce, writes his longest book yet and it sucks? If you gave me this book, didn’t tell me the author/title was and told me to read it, I would be shocked that it was by the great Nicholas Sparks.

He’s the type of romance that makes you all gooey and then BAM hits you with real life. It’s amazing and you are usually left in a trance of, how did he do that again?! You are then unable to think about anything else for a few days, obsessing over it. Well not this time. To me, this was more of a mystery and not a good one at that.

Basically, half the book is so slow and drags out. I mean, you get half way through and we are on like the second date. What! Then it starts to pick up and the rest of the book is about finding Maria’s stalker. It then turns into a mystery novel, where you are trying to figure out (along with the characters) who is after her. Except that you know who it is pretty quickly. I mean this book is predictable! I figure it out, while they are constantly going around in circles and missing the obvious clue that is sitting right in front of their face. I am really good at figuring out mysteries and so it’s kinda hard to pull one over on me. I was trying to give them the benefit of the doubt. I know that not everyone is as skilled at figuring out the one clue that pinpoints everything. Still… it’s not until the very last second that it’s figured out and I’m yelling FINALLY!

Then there is the chase against time…. Will they be able to save her or will they run out of time. Then lets drive 120mph with the so-called love of my life, in the passenger seat, while she is having a panic attack. I’m sorry, it’s just madness and not even the good kind. Totally, not even realistic.

Then all the crazy happens and that is it. (trying not to give away too many spoilers) The ending was horrible! You have no idea who lives and dies... but then there is an Epilogue.. Honestly, it might have been better if he just left it and you have to wonder who lived and who dies. Wouldn’t that be just a crazy twist?! Instead we get the Epilogue and everyone. Lives. Happily. Ever. After. Sigh… maybe this is the twist? It never happens in his books. Someone important that you absolutely do not want to die, dies. It’s part of the BAM that hits you! Something that just makes your heart .. ache.
This book had a lot of the corny factor too. I mean.. you can only take so much. I know that his books can always have some, but it’s a good amount. It’s expected but this was just a bit too much for me to take. There’s also some weird lines and references that just don’t make any sense. I did not appreciate the Walmart plug, I hate Walmart.

The supporting characters were way more likable that the leading. I mean Serena, Maria’s sister, is just way more interesting and not as clueless. I loved Jill, Maria’s best friend from work. She was fun and didn’t put up with sexual harassment. Colin was just so annoying with all his “okay” answers. You barely get to know anything about him because he will answer every question or remark with an “okay.”

Sorry, Nicholas Sparks but John Green already took the “okay” and he did it fabulously, while you did not. Even though, I gave this book an “its okay” rating, don’t read anything into that! Haha.

I would definitely recommend skipping this one. Worst one I have read so far.