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erinarkin20
These stories provide good backstories for some of the characters. I think I liked Queen song a bit more but both provided some interesting content and I can't wait to read books 2. Definitely consider reading these...from what I can tell you won't necessarily miss anything if you don't but you will learn a bit more about the whole story.
I loved everything about this book. Review to come.
Fantastic and once I started I didn't want to put it down. Full review to come.
This was one of those books that I couldn't put down. Well, I won't give any of this away...just read it.
First, male point of view and dystopian. I was intrigued. Second, there is a bit of a mystery...what is the heist and where are all of these 18 year old boys going?
For me, the characters are what make a book and I have mixed feelings on these. The characters in this book are interesting - one of the first things the main character, Gray. does in the book is punch a girl. In my opinion, it was an odd introduction to someone we were supposed to like...don't get me wrong - she deserved it but still... Emma, I don't even know if I liked her at the end of the book and that is all I have to say about that. I am curious to see what happens in book 2 considering. Other than being an integral part of Gray's life, Blaine seemed like a non-important character...yes, he was the catalyst to Gray finding out more about himself, but that was all driven by Gray.
I will be watching for book 2 of this series and look forward to learning more about the societies as the group searches for allies.
First, male point of view and dystopian. I was intrigued. Second, there is a bit of a mystery...what is the heist and where are all of these 18 year old boys going?
For me, the characters are what make a book and I have mixed feelings on these. The characters in this book are interesting - one of the first things the main character, Gray. does in the book is punch a girl. In my opinion, it was an odd introduction to someone we were supposed to like...don't get me wrong - she deserved it but still... Emma, I don't even know if I liked her at the end of the book and that is all I have to say about that. I am curious to see what happens in book 2 considering. Other than being an integral part of Gray's life, Blaine seemed like a non-important character...yes, he was the catalyst to Gray finding out more about himself, but that was all driven by Gray.
I will be watching for book 2 of this series and look forward to learning more about the societies as the group searches for allies.
3.5 stars.
Tangled Webs by Lee Bross was a book I had my eye on and I knew that as soon as I had this book in my hands I would have to read it. I mean, it is historical (which I love), has a bit of swoon (which I love), and the underlying story has characters I find interesting (which I also love).
Bross starts this story by creating a world where the rich pay to keep their secrets hidden away…unless someone pays more for that secret. Mixed up in that world is Lady A and she is the face of an operation that certain individuals in society would love to see go down. But underneath her disguise, Lady A is really Arista who happens to work for a man named Bones. He is cruel and abusive and Arista doesn’t see a way out of the life she fell into and now has no choice but continue living.
Two things happen that change things dramatically for Arista. First, she ends up going to a party that wasn’t arranged by Bones and comes face to face with Jonathan Wild (a notorious thief), who offers her a deal she needs to think about. Second, Arista also meets Grae Sinclair, the son of a local merchant, and is immediately drawn to him and the life he has sailing around the world and experiencing things she has only ever dreamed about.
I liked Arista. She is willing to stand up for the people who are important to her. She has never had an easy life and as she struggles to survive working for Bones, she has to make a decision about her future but before she can, things get a bit out of control. When Arista is rescued from a fire by Wild, she agrees to work with him and is sent to live with a local merchant that owes a debt to Wild. I won’t say anymore here but this is the catalyst to Arista learning more about what kind of deal she really made and what that might mean for her.
There were some swoony parts to this story and I enjoyed that piece but I also liked trying to figure out what Wild was really up to and how it all tied back to Lady A. I found that I didn’t want to put this one down because I needed to know what was going to happen next and Bross does a great job of putting action into the right places.
If you like an interesting story that blends intrigue and deception combined with solid characters and a historical spin, definitely check this one out. I will be patiently waiting to get my hands on the next book of this series!
Tangled Webs by Lee Bross was a book I had my eye on and I knew that as soon as I had this book in my hands I would have to read it. I mean, it is historical (which I love), has a bit of swoon (which I love), and the underlying story has characters I find interesting (which I also love).
Bross starts this story by creating a world where the rich pay to keep their secrets hidden away…unless someone pays more for that secret. Mixed up in that world is Lady A and she is the face of an operation that certain individuals in society would love to see go down. But underneath her disguise, Lady A is really Arista who happens to work for a man named Bones. He is cruel and abusive and Arista doesn’t see a way out of the life she fell into and now has no choice but continue living.
Two things happen that change things dramatically for Arista. First, she ends up going to a party that wasn’t arranged by Bones and comes face to face with Jonathan Wild (a notorious thief), who offers her a deal she needs to think about. Second, Arista also meets Grae Sinclair, the son of a local merchant, and is immediately drawn to him and the life he has sailing around the world and experiencing things she has only ever dreamed about.
I liked Arista. She is willing to stand up for the people who are important to her. She has never had an easy life and as she struggles to survive working for Bones, she has to make a decision about her future but before she can, things get a bit out of control. When Arista is rescued from a fire by Wild, she agrees to work with him and is sent to live with a local merchant that owes a debt to Wild. I won’t say anymore here but this is the catalyst to Arista learning more about what kind of deal she really made and what that might mean for her.
There were some swoony parts to this story and I enjoyed that piece but I also liked trying to figure out what Wild was really up to and how it all tied back to Lady A. I found that I didn’t want to put this one down because I needed to know what was going to happen next and Bross does a great job of putting action into the right places.
If you like an interesting story that blends intrigue and deception combined with solid characters and a historical spin, definitely check this one out. I will be patiently waiting to get my hands on the next book of this series!
3.5 stars
Only Everything by Kieran Scott had a slow start for me but I have to say, once it started moving a bit faster, I found myself enjoying the story. I think what really did it for me were the characters more than anything. Yes, the story is interesting but the way the stories of these characters are intertwined was done well and I found myself really liking each of them.
As the story begins, Eros – the Goddess of Love – has fallen in love with a mortal (Orion) and through the help of her mother, Aphrodite and her sister, Harmonia, she manages to keep him a secret but eventually her father Ares finds out about him and brings them both to Zeus for punishment. As part of her bargain with Zeus, Eros offers to do anything if Zeus spares Orion and he comes up with the idea that he will banish her to earth where she will be mortal and tasked with making three couples fall in love…without using any powers.
Eros definitely struggles as a mortal. She doesn’t quite get that she can’t just do whatever she wants without there being consequences. As she begins her first day of high school, she meets Charlie, another new student and they slowly become friends. This is also right about the same time that True (Eros’ name on earth) decides she is going to help Charlie find a girlfriend. Overall I liked True – she was absolutely not in her element but she has a good heart and was doing what she was for all the right reasons.
Charlie is used to moving around and this is just another school in the list of schools he has already attended. Because his father is a pretty big deal as a high school football coach, the family tends to move every few years. The thing is, Charlie has always been a different than his dad and brothers. They are all athletic and he loves being a musician and happens to be a pretty great drummer. As Charlie begins his first day, he is immediately pulled into the popular crowd because of who is responsible for touring him around and gets talked into trying out for Cross Country. When he makes the team, Charlie realizes things can be different and he can be a “cool” kid but he struggles with the fact that this means he probably can't be himself (according to others).
Katrina has had a really rough year since her father died and while her mother copes by working a lot and making Katrina feel like she isn’t even important to her anymore, she has come to rely more and more on her boyfriend, Ty. Unfortunately, he isn’t the best guy ever and takes advantage of her all the time in addition to treating her like crap quite a bit. Every time I got to a chapter from Katrina’s point of view I just wanted to crawl inside the book and give her a hug.
As the story progresses and these three characters’ stories are woven together, we find out more about each and how they all will have an impact on each other. I really did find myself rooting for all of them and wanted them to get what they wanted/needed. While Charlie and Katrina always tiptoed around the fact that they had feelings for each other, True realized it (after some trial and error) and forced them to see it as well. The addition of Hephaestus to help True get things done was great and I think he created a good balance to the story as well as got True beyond the whole, “I don’t know how to act human” thing.
Obviously this is only one match that True has made so she has two more before she can go back to Mount Olympus. I will definitely check out book two in this series to see what happens next. It appears Zeus has put a little spin on things based on how this book ended so I am curious to see what his real motive is and what he is up to.
Definitely check this out if you are looking for a cute YA romance.
Only Everything by Kieran Scott had a slow start for me but I have to say, once it started moving a bit faster, I found myself enjoying the story. I think what really did it for me were the characters more than anything. Yes, the story is interesting but the way the stories of these characters are intertwined was done well and I found myself really liking each of them.
As the story begins, Eros – the Goddess of Love – has fallen in love with a mortal (Orion) and through the help of her mother, Aphrodite and her sister, Harmonia, she manages to keep him a secret but eventually her father Ares finds out about him and brings them both to Zeus for punishment. As part of her bargain with Zeus, Eros offers to do anything if Zeus spares Orion and he comes up with the idea that he will banish her to earth where she will be mortal and tasked with making three couples fall in love…without using any powers.
Eros definitely struggles as a mortal. She doesn’t quite get that she can’t just do whatever she wants without there being consequences. As she begins her first day of high school, she meets Charlie, another new student and they slowly become friends. This is also right about the same time that True (Eros’ name on earth) decides she is going to help Charlie find a girlfriend. Overall I liked True – she was absolutely not in her element but she has a good heart and was doing what she was for all the right reasons.
Charlie is used to moving around and this is just another school in the list of schools he has already attended. Because his father is a pretty big deal as a high school football coach, the family tends to move every few years. The thing is, Charlie has always been a different than his dad and brothers. They are all athletic and he loves being a musician and happens to be a pretty great drummer. As Charlie begins his first day, he is immediately pulled into the popular crowd because of who is responsible for touring him around and gets talked into trying out for Cross Country. When he makes the team, Charlie realizes things can be different and he can be a “cool” kid but he struggles with the fact that this means he probably can't be himself (according to others).
Katrina has had a really rough year since her father died and while her mother copes by working a lot and making Katrina feel like she isn’t even important to her anymore, she has come to rely more and more on her boyfriend, Ty. Unfortunately, he isn’t the best guy ever and takes advantage of her all the time in addition to treating her like crap quite a bit. Every time I got to a chapter from Katrina’s point of view I just wanted to crawl inside the book and give her a hug.
As the story progresses and these three characters’ stories are woven together, we find out more about each and how they all will have an impact on each other. I really did find myself rooting for all of them and wanted them to get what they wanted/needed. While Charlie and Katrina always tiptoed around the fact that they had feelings for each other, True realized it (after some trial and error) and forced them to see it as well. The addition of Hephaestus to help True get things done was great and I think he created a good balance to the story as well as got True beyond the whole, “I don’t know how to act human” thing.
Obviously this is only one match that True has made so she has two more before she can go back to Mount Olympus. I will definitely check out book two in this series to see what happens next. It appears Zeus has put a little spin on things based on how this book ended so I am curious to see what his real motive is and what he is up to.
Definitely check this out if you are looking for a cute YA romance.