samantha_randolph's Reviews (1.59k)

When Angels Fall begins with the main character, Dani, visiting her mother's grave. When she is attacked, the angel Gabriel saves her and tells her that he must protect her, because Lucifer is out to kill her.
I received this as an ebook for an honest review, so being honest, I am not a fan of it.
The story idea seemed pretty good at first, but the more the story kept going the less I liked it. I thought the addition of vampires was very random and didn't fit well into the story (though I must say the characters of the vampires and hunters were pretty entertaining, just way out of place). While I enjoyed the different angel appearances, I felt like after a while, the whole legion might as well come down so they could stop popping up every other page. It just didn't flow well. It felt very choppy, and the plot line didn't seem logical after about halfway through the book.
Dani is not my favorite main character. She has a beyond bad temper and seems bipolar at times. Gabriel talked like a whiny child in a lot of the dialogue. The author did give them distinct personalities, and that was done well, I didn't mix anyone up. I just wish they hadn't been so childish and spastic.
With the characters not warming up to me, I just didn't feel a pull into this book. It isn't a long book, but I struggled to get to the end, though I must say, I did like the ending. It wrapped up well, and there weren't loose ends. The ending was nicely sweet and simple.
Smaller things I didn't like started with the first part of the book. For the first few chapters, Dani is constantly injured and attacked by various people (and not "people"), and it gave a very fake impression. Realistically speaking, I don't even think someone with abnormal forces against them would be hurt that repeatedly. The use of italics was also pretty overdone and distracting.
I did like the more subtle hints of the Southern dialect in the story, though the area wasn't described much. I think there might be potential here, but there's a lot of things that need to be worked through in this story.

I received a free copy of The Different Girl through Goodreads first reads.
This is a book about four not human girls on an island with their two caretakers. When a real girl washes up on shore, things start to take dramatic turns. This is a very thoughtful book, and very hard to describe. It really challenges your mind to wrap around everything that is going on, because it never fully explains everything. A part of me wishes that I knew the actual events going on, but part of the beauty in this story is that you don't know. You can make so many guesses, but no one can say who is right or wrong.
I loved the p.o.v. from the non human, Veronika. It was so interesting to read something through such a differently operated mind. You see and understand as much as and how she does. Her questions about things are surprisingly complex and even funny at times. I loved her simple logic.
The plot is good. There isn't a much physical action, but Veronika's thought process is not always passive. It all flows together and makes a lot of sense, though you will constantly have questions through out.
I won't give away the ending, but I was surprised at how it did end. It was not a bad ending at all, but I did see another course I thought it might venture towards.
If you like sci-fi, dystopian type books, I would recommend this to you. It has unique literary elements, and it's a fairly quick read.

Short review: Very beautiful language of writing, very haunting story, not for those who are made uncomfortable with the darker things in life. A short, thought-provoking read.

This book is about a girl named Eliza who discovers she is a witch when a new boy, Ren, comes to her school. You follow her on her journey of learning her powers and dealing with normal life.
I enjoyed this book. The beginning was very good and really drew me in. I like Eliza's character a lot, and she has decent development throughout the story. Her romance with Ren is cute, if a bit confusing at times.
The plot was okay. It seemed a little jumbled in parts with transitions, and the pacing wasn't consistent. I liked the overall idea of it though.
Overall, I would give it a 3.5 for a strong effort and good leading character. If you like witches and modern spins with them, I would recommend this to you.

Demons in the Big Easy is a novella about a grandmother named Cassandra trying to protect her family and world from demons.
The thing I liked most about this book was Cassandra. In her, you have both a loving grandmother, but also a kick butt witch. Focusing a story like this around someone like her was both unique and enjoyable.
The first half of the novella was excellent. It really drew me in and made me want to read more. The first parts of the plot flowed smoothly, and Cassandra's emotions were expressed very well.
The things I didn't enjoy so much were the character Jake and the further parts of the plot. Jake seemed to come from no where into the story, and I was surprised that Cassandra let him join them. When we meet his mother, I was even more shocked. He talked about his rough past with her, but then he tells her about Cassandra and that world anyway.
The ending didn't give much closure, but what it did seemed too much for a sequel possibly. It would make more sense if there is a sequel, though. The ending with this left a lot of questions.
Overall, I would give it 3 stars. I liked it and I enjoyed reading it, but some parts of it just didn't seem logical to me.