2.85

I feel like the first line in the blurb describes Leon perfectly...

"The world is an ugly place, and I can tell you now, I fit it just fine."

Leon is such a sad man. It's hard not to pity a man who has but one ray of sunshine in a very bleak existence. Lily, Leon's sister, disappeared 10 years ago, presumed to be dead, until a cryptic anonymous message from someone saying that Lily was in New York city and in desperate need of help. From there this story evolves in to something very dark. The things Leon finds are not pretty, and the things he does in the name of love are even worse.

"The world was not as we had imagined it to be, sister, not even close. The world is a cruel, bastard place, inhibited, every last inch, by predators and runners, Lily cold and lost somewhere, me hot and bleeding and swinging a hammer. Life as it is, not as we wish it to be."

The world that Mr. Rose paints is indeed this dark and terrible beast, living, breathing, and devouring all the goodness inside of it. Leon stumbles across much more than he bargained for, but will stop at nothing until he finds his dear sister, or avenges her. Any in his wake will parish. As things go on this reads much like a shoot 'em up type script. Lines of right and wrong seemed blurred. While Leon certainly can not be considered a "hero" in the typical sense, he is definitely a dark avenger of sorts. And if he's the "good guy" all should tremble before the bad ones. They were a sick bunch of people, and it was hard not to root for Leon to unleash his street justice upon them all.

My only real complaint about Noise was that while I did feel pity for Leon, it was hard to feel much else, and forget about feeling anything for much of anyone else, sans disgust. I felt a little disconnected from the characters. I could clearly see their story, but I just couldn't invest much in any of them. No one was very fleshed out. You got a basic sense of the character, and that was it. Even the victim, Lily, was not enough to engage me fully. I felt bad for her plight, but she almost seemed surreal. Like she could just as easily been a figment of Leon's imagination, perhaps the better part, the last of his humanity.

This was a heavy duty terminator type of story. A man on a mission, that made anyone in his way meet their maker. Lots of action in a relatively short amount of time. Fans of high adrenaline, shoot 'em up, blood and guts , and vigilante justice will most likely really enjoy this book. I mostly enjoyed it, the writing was quite beautiful, in a dark way, at certain parts. But I need a little more connection with characters to rate a book any higher than this.

I received a copy of this book from Velocity Imprints via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

I read Antigoddess as my first book club book with the fantastic ladies over at bookishlydelighted.blogspot.com. I have had this on my to-read shelf for awhile now, and was thrilled when I saw it would be the book of choice when I joined! And it did not disappoint, but it is from Kendare Blake so I really didn't expect anything less than amazing.

I absolutely love mythology, and am always game to read from authors who take that basis and bring it to a modern setting with their own personal flare. I loved the way Blake put her stamp on this story. The gods are long past being relevant in this modernized world, add in the fact that they are also approaching the Twilight, which for them could mean an end to their existence completely. There is still a lot of mystery behind what this Twilight really entails, but it is slowly draining and torturing these once immortal beings and making them vulnerable to all sorts of things....even death. Of course Gods being Gods, they are rather adverse to seeing the end of their very long existence, and most of them are willing to do whatever it takes to stop this agonizing process.

It ultimately comes down to two different groups of gods, one side mad with the will to live and ready to destroy anything that is in their way, and the other side that are essentially the lesser of two evils. You can't quite say they are the "good guys" for they aren't your typical heroes. But when faced with impossible situations, they try to make the best decisions they can. You also get to see them struggle a little with their humanity and the repercussions to a lot of choices, some not very good, that they have made over the years. It's always fun to see that internal struggle in a character. It feels very relatable, for who amongst us has not made poor decisions or acted unfairly to others at one point or another? But you get to see that transition into actually taking responsibility and dealing with the regret and how it shapes the hard decisions they have to make now. The characters were so rich and multidimensional, it was a joy watching them grow and progress throughout the story.

There were many twists thrown in, and some pretty awesome battle scenes. I have to say that every time I thought I knew what was going to happen next, I was completely wrong. EVERYTIME! This book never stopped keeping me on my toes. It was a great first book in what appears to be an incredible series. This was quite clearly only the beginning, and I can't wait to see where things go from here!

I have to say Odd Thomas had a name befitting of the person. I'm not quite sure it gets more odder than Odd. He made for a most interesting character, even the parts of him that weren't supernaturally other set him apart from the rest. He seemed like a slightly innocent but old soul. Almost as if he was born in the wrong era. I could see him fitting in a lot better somewhere in the 50's. I liked it though. He was odd in a lot of charming ways. I really enjoyed Stormy too. Even though at times she seemed a little haughty, in the sense that you definitely knew she was the shot caller in that relationship.

I really liked the supernatural element here. Odd Thomas's gift for seeing the dead was amazing, and I really appreciated how he always thought of it as a gift rather than a curse. And he took this gift and tried to help those he could and just generally do right by everyone. There were a few twists and turns in this book that constantly had you on your toes. I was surprised quite a few times. I do think some of the middle leading up to the disaster could have been trimmed a little. It kind of dragged on a little there, and then the thing that the whole book was leading up to seemingly passed in the blink of an eye. I still thought this was an enjoyable read and after that ending I'm very curious to see where things go from here. I think the next book could make or break this series for me. I'd like to see which it is.

Wow. The writing in this book was masterful. Leah Raeder is a seriously talented story teller. Unteachable was dark, in your face, unashamed and also managed to be beautiful and hopeful at the same time. I can say that I went through a whole spectrum of emotions while reading this book. The cover is absolutely gorgeous too, and totally fits this book.

The characters and the story are pretty screwed up! You can't help but to get completely wrapped up in it though. Maise was everything Evan thought of her, she was enigmatic, a lioness, she lived fully in a moment with a child's regard, or rather lack there of, of the repercussions for anything.

"I can't hold on to you. You're like that shooting star. Just a trail of fire in my hands."

She was so many contradictory things at the same time sometimes, and I loved every minute of it! Maise had a terribly sad life, which aged her far beyond her 18 years, in some ways. But in others she was crippled by them too. Most obliviously emotionally. One of the things I loved about Maise was her tenacity, and her unabashed way. She knew she had some deep seated issues, and by god she OWNED them. She did some brow raising things at times, shit most of the time, but the way she owned them so unapologetically and fiercely just demanded that you respect her.


After getting to know Maise, it was quite easy to see why she would engage in the affair with her teacher.

"There are moments, when you're getting to know someone, when you realize something deep and buried in you is deep and buried in them too. It feels like meeting a stranger you've known your whole life."

Let's face it, Evan was pretty incredible for the most part. He managed to charm you (the reader) right along with Maise. As he broke down her walls of emotional solitude, he was simultaneously chipping away at yours too. The lines of right and wrong quickly blurred. I would have said I loved him as much as Maise, or at least close to, but his past....that ONE thing, if/when you read it, you will know what I'm talking about. It DESTROYED me. I can never look at him as I did through most of this book. That thing. UGH. WHY??!! This book would have been flawless if not for that, at least to me. It slightly cheapened it. If that was not in here I would have rated Unteachable 5 stars easily. Everything else in this book was incredible, but this moment, it made me want to throat punch someone. It doesn't belong in here.

When you think of a teacher-student sexual relationship, lets just admit that two things instantly pop up....firstly for any parent especially is, that's freaking sick and wrong and "if that were my kid, I'd kill him", and then there's the fact that this is the "plot line" for about a million different pornos. Those are two completely opposite thoughts that come up, and both of those came into play here. There were times you were going "Oh this is wrong..." but that combated so hard with the "Holly shit this is wicked hot!". It was all incredibly confusing! Amazing....but my thoughts and emotions were all over the place! And at the very end of it all, I can't say I'm any clearer than when I started. I still don't know what is right or wrong, or what's best for anyone. But sometimes that's life, and Leah Raeder makes you think a lot about that.

"You should love something while you have it, love it fully and without reservation, even if you know you'll lose it someday. We lose everything. If you're trying to avoid loss, there's no point in taking another breath, or letting your heart beat one more time. It all ends." His fingers curled around mine. "That's all life is. Breathing in, breathing out. The space between two breaths."

There was a lot of other things besides the affair going on here too. Which I loved almost as much. All Maise's relationships had be enamored. I couldn't get enough. Wesley, his mom, Maise's mom, Hiyam, just every one. These characters were all so layered and I loved exposing them all along with Maise.

One other thing I loved about this book, it was a standalone. All by itself, and I dug that immensely. Don't get me wrong, I loved series too, but sometimes it's magical to read a full story, with incredible range, with such depth and growth, all in one book. This feels very rare to me these days. I was grateful for this. I could seriously go on gushing about this book forever, if you have not read this yet do yourself a favor and pick it up. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for anything else I can from this author.

This was my first John Connolly book, and it certainly won't be my last. It took me a little bit to get into the story, but once the creepiness came into play I was hooked! Things definitely got really creepy, and I enjoyed it! My only real complaint is that the ending is very abrupt. Just when things got really good, it just ended, no resolution. It left it open for you to fill in the blanks I guess, and I'm not really a huge fan of that. I really wish there were a companion full length novel to go along with this novella, I would have bought it on the spot after finishing this. I am really curious to see now what John Connolly can do with something more substantial than a novella. I added a few other of his books to my to-read list and look forward to reading them.

Another great addition to the Outlander series. I have a lot of the same feelings after finishing this book, that I did after finishing the first book, Outlander. I am first and foremost WOWED by Diana Gabaldon's obvious extensive amounts of knowledge of history, and her absolutely breathtakingly beautiful writing. She is a glorious story teller, and paints such a thorough, detailed picture with her words.

"I found myself thinking that I had always heretofore assumed that the tendency of eighteenth-century ladies to swoon was due to tight stays; now I rather thought it might be due to idiocy of eighteenth-century men." haha probably Claire, probably.

Dragonfly in Amber started out a little different than I was expecting. I wasn't quite sure where Roger Wakefield fit into this story. All was eventually revealed by the end, like seriously, the very end. It was a cool twist, one I did not see coming. I will be rather curious to see what this development will have to do with the future books. We really only just met Roger and Brianna (Claire's daughter) before we were transported back to the past with Clair and Jamie to hear the full story of the events that occurred and led up to Claire being transported back to the present. Of course that means we get ample amounts of Claire and Jamie, which I adored.

"No," he said shortly. "I don't. And what would ye do if I had lain wi' a whore, Sassenach? Slap my face? Order me out of your chamber? Keep yourself from my bed?"
I turned and looked at him.
"I'd kill you," I said through my teeth.
Both eyebrows shot up, and his mouth dropped slightly with incredulity.
"Kill me? God, if I found you wi' another man, I'd kill him." He paused, and one corner of his mouth quirked wryly.
"Mind ye," he said, "I'd no be verra pleased wi' you either, but still, it's him I'd kill."
"Typical man," I said. "Always missing the point."

I love these two, whether they are fighting, conspiring together, or gushing over each other, they are always entertaining and it's heartwarming how fiercely they love one another. Sometimes even at the expense of other people. I seriously can not get enough of them!

It's funny how much I enjoy these books, considering I am not always the biggest fan of historical romances. There are a few that I love, but for the most part, I'm a more contemporary kind of gal. There is just something so demoralizing in the way that women were viewed back then. It's sad to think how little opportunities there were for woman back then, it seemed the most important thing one could do is marry wealthy and produce heirs. I commend Gabaldon on how she writes her women though, she focuses a lot on a few of them, not just the main character. The secondary ones get to shine too, in different and wonderful ways. I also find that at times all the trickery and double agent work is exhausting to keep up with! It's so intricate and there are so many players, each with their own secret agendas, it can be hard to remember, or know for sure, who is a friend or foe.

My only real complaint is that, my goodness these books are ENORMOUS. They are the kind of books that once you finish you almost feel like you've conquered an enemy lol. I know I threw my arms up, and said "Hell ya! I did that! Done.". I felt quite accomplished. Now the length itself isn't really my complaint, so much as, that I feel that if things were trimmed down in quite a few areas, there would still be an AMAZING story here. Gabaldon is so detailed in everything, which can be a blessing and a curse, for there are times where after having finished the beast of a book, you can't help but think the same outcome could have been received sans 200 or so pages. I will say where Outlander does this a lot more just building up the scenery and general atmosphere, Dragonfly in Amber doesn't do that as much, still slightly, but it's more some extra scenes, or conflicts altogether could have been removed with no real affect to the story as a whole. But that's just my opinion on it anyway.

All together this was a great second book in the series, and I do look forward to reading the next book and seeing where the story goes from here. Although I think I might take a break in between these mammoth novels by filling it with a few other books that aren't as hefty. Thank goodness my next read is a novella, just what I need after this big boy.

The Bridesmaid was pretty much exactly what I was expecting. It was short, light and fluffy romance. Joe and Kate were your average everyday people that met during a flight to Seattle, where pretty much anything that could go wrong with their trip, did indeed go wrong. Or in their case maybe kismetly right. It has that charming notion of fate at play here, where your left dreamily wondering if all these roadblocks and chance meetings are there just to bring these two crazy kids together. The ending was, although completely predictable, maybe just a smidge disappointing in the sense that it all seemed too much too soon. But alas it's a novella, and it was kind of expected to all be wrapped up in a pretty little bow of sparkily joy.

I really enjoyed Clipped Wings. This book made me think about much more than just the, will they or won't they. There were a lot of different issues that Helena Hunting brought up while telling this story of two broken people finding each other, and I really enjoyed thinking about them. I'll even go as far as saying that while I am not a fan of co-dependency type relationships, the way that Hunting portrayed this one definitely had me re-thinking some of my notions on the subject. While I still don't find it healthy to NEED someone else to heal you, or make you better/whole, I can see what Hunting did here as being something that I could understand and appreciate. I can absolutely see where two people who have lost so much could relate to one another. There is something to be said about someone understanding the hurt you feel, and who better to understand your tragic loss than someone else who has lost so much as well. I could get that, and that made the whole co-dependency issue much more palatable for me.

Tenley and Hayden were, judging by outward appearances, complete opposites, but underneath that they had much more in common than anyone could imagine. At a glance Tenley was what one would probably describe as a "good girl", she fit into a nice little box of normal, straight laced, smart, beautiful, well educated. But there was much more going on there then met the eye, she had been through a horrific accident and lost everything because of it. Furthermore she had this incredible artistic side, which was dying to get out but after a lifetime of people making her feel like it was silly, not important, and god forbid....outside of that pretty little normal box, she mostly kept this part of her inside or dismissed it. It was awesome seeing some of the real her come out piece by piece as the story progressed. It was also kind of sad to think that before Hayden no one else had ever cherished or praised these things about her. Tenley did what so many young people do, she was living up to other people's expectations of her, and not living for herself. It made me wonder where she would have ended up had she not lost everything that day.

Hayden's story while different than Tenley's had a lot of similar undertones. He appeared to the a tattooed tough guy. And if we're being honest, there is a certain stereotype that goes along with people that are covered in tattoos and piercings, it's that bad boy stigma, they scream trouble. I liked how much this came into play in this story. People were constantly judging Hayden on his appearance, when in reality this was someone who owned his own business, car and home, was smart and well read and mannered. It was sad, but also very realistic, to see how others judged him just by how he looked. And that really only intensified when he and Tenley got together, it seemed as if just about everyone though him lesser than her and excused anything they could have together as being "a phase" Tenley was in. Although Hayden did currently have his shit together, he was someone who had a past, one that he wasn't necessarily proud of. He struggled through quite a few years of his life dealing with a tragic loss of his own. He battled with addiction in various forms, whether it be drugs, alcohol or just people, all of which were damaging to him in different ways.

It made for an interesting story, these two guarded, damaged people coming together while only sharing bits and pieces of themselves in the process. The secrets between them were so many and large that they felt like living, breathing, destructive organisms. You were constantly left just waiting for the inevitable crash of everything coming out. I loved watching this process of them getting together, and them growing together slowly. I am honestly glad that their story didn't end by the end of this book. It's got a cliffhangery ending and this is one of the only times that I am truly glad for it. Their story has been a slow journey into them opening up and accepting themselves and each other, and they've only just started in this book. I'm really looking forward to see them, hopefully, moving forward and healing in the next book! I can't wait to see where these two crazy kids end up. I'm really rooting for them.

I received a copy of this book from Gallery, Threshold, Pocket Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Well that was just all around creepy. This was a lot darker than I had anticipated, but I kind of dug it. It was a novella so it was very short, but there was definitely enough there to unnerve you. I never really connected with any of the characters, but that was ok. Instead I was mildly freaked out and pretty impressed with how well this short was put together. While I am not usually a fan of ambiguous endings, I think this one TOTALLY worked for this particular story. The main character Gillian was struggling with whether she was going crazy or not, and in the end it was left up for you, as the reader, to decide what you thought. This might have been one of the only times that I was actually glad a book ended like that. Which is probably why I bumped the rating up to 3 stars rather than 2-2.5.

I can't help but feel disappointed by Inked Armour. I really enjoyed Clipped Wings, the first book in this series, so when I saw this second book up for grabs in NetGalley, I was pumped! I was so excited to start it, and then very let down once I was into it. I don't know if I just wasn't in the right mood to enjoy this story, or what the deal was, but ultimately I found myself increasingly annoyed while reading this.

I swear if either Tenly or Hayden had one more breakdown, I was going to loose my cool. Enough is enough already. I wasn't expecting no problems from them, considering how "damaged" they came off in the first book....but I was not prepared for Inked Armour to be busting at the seems with over the top drama. It ruined a lot of my enjoyment in reading this book.

I was glad to see Tenly and Hayden not keeping anymore secrets, I thought that was a nice development. But I don't know that there was much more positive than that. I felt like most of the healing that we saw with both Tenly and Hayden was kind of vague and unrealistic. One therapy session seemed to work wonders for Hayden, as did hiding the things that he was so proud of that set him apart from everyone else. And Tenly just seemed to come back home, emotionally, exponentially ahead from where she was the last time we saw her. It just didn't feel real to me. I also would have liked to see the deal with Hayden's parents be more of a surprise, it was rather obvious to me. And was anyone shocked at how well Hayden appeared to handle that information?? He freaked out through this whole book thinking about this situation, and then when he figures it all out he was more composed than I had ever seen him be. WTF??

I think I might need to take a slight break from the NA/romance books. I desperately need a great fantasy or maybe horror book to read next. Just something different. I don't know that I have the patients to suffer anymore emotionally stunted cry babies and their extreme outbursts right now.

This book was provided to me by Gallery, Threshold, Pocket Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review