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I mean come on with a title like Good Wood....can you really go wrong?! This was a great contemporary romance. The first novel in what looks to be a very promising series! One of the things I enjoyed the most was how both of the main characters were dealing with a their own individual, and very serious, issues. Joe dealing with an unimaginable loss, and Molly just leaving a very rough marriage. They were both, in different ways, running away from things that went wrong in their lives and just so happened to run into each other.
These characters were so rich, their stories grabbed me from the first page, and didn't let go even after the end! Lets start with Molly, she was such a great leading lady! I absolutely loved her strength, and her back story was so much better for it! So many times when I read stories where abuse is involved, it seems like the victim is portrayed as this broken, fearful, timid kind of person, while that makes sense SOMETIMES, it's not always the case. Even the strongest and best of us can get caught up in a situation like Molly's. I was so glad that really came through in this story. She didn't take a lot of crap from people and had a temper, which made for some hilarious outbursts, mostly involving her older brothers. She was also talented, ambitious, kind, funny and completely her own person. She was hands down my favorite character in this book, and that's saying something because even the secondary characters were fantastic in Good Wood!
Joe was almost as terrific as Molly....almost. His story was one of the saddest I have read in awhile. My heart instantly broke for his terrible loss. I have to say here too just how well done his dealing with his issues was done, well when he actually started trying to heal that is. I wasn't a huge fan of his man whoring ways, I think that element could have been left out and he still had enough other issues to deal with that would have been more than enough to keep his story interesting. I feel like this is such a typical thing in contemporary romance/ NA now a days, that quite honestly I'm tired of. But that's just my opinion on it. I really liked seeing Joe start living his life again, and I like that while Molly might have been a catalyst for this, SHE didn't fix him. He worked on his issues, he wanted to be better for her, and for himself, and all his loved ones. I so appreciated that this wasn't yet another co-dependent type relationship where he completely changed all his wicked ways for his one true love whom he just can't live without. He wasn't perfect, but either was she, and they weren't all completely transformed into perfect people in the end. It just made me want more and more of their story! And the chemistry between these two....WOW!
Good Wood dealt with some serious issues, but still managed to be light and fun, and quite funny at times. This was the first book I've read by these authors, but I know it won't be my last! I'll definitely be here waiting for book 2 in the Carved Hearts series!
This ARC was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review
Anyone interested in purchasing this....the ebook is on sale right now for only 1.99 @
Amazon....http://amzn.to/1riZw6a and
Barnes and Noble...http://bit.ly/UmCtKu
The Mister Trophy was a well executed novella. It was a great fantasy short. You were given a full story, just enough to spark interest in reading more from the series. It had trolls, vampires, magic, and a witty, sarcastic, brave and honorable main character that you couldn't help but want to see more of. I enjoyed this tale and will definitely be checking out the other books in the series.
3.5 stars
Well The Bell Witch was not at all what I was expecting, and I liked it so much more for it! I was totally thinking this was going to be your typical haunting ghost story, the title, the creepy cover, the real history at play here, everything leads you to believe that's exactly what you will get. Even the beginning of the book starts out giving you what you thought you wanted, random objects moving on their own, a voice rambling out of no where. The poor inhabitants of the Bell manor are being accosted by something they can't see or touch, unfortunately for them the "witch", as the entity ultimately becomes known as, can see and touch them, and she does so menacingly.
What started as the usual haunting symptoms quickly escalated and went far beyond anything I could have foreseen. What the witch ended up being was something I've never quite seen before. It was crazy how her presence, and her antics, quickly became a source of relief from the heavier undertones of the question, and answer, of WHY she was there to begin with. It was an interesting read for me in that sense, to have something so awful, I mean completely stomach turning going on, but have this witch, the character that you would think would be the source of this turmoil, end up instead being an antihero of sorts and your only reprieve from the unjust situation that lead to this haunting. It was amazing to me to actually laugh out loud at some of the things this witch would do or say! It was hard to think that was possible with the heaviness of the other things going on. I really appreciated this aspect of the story.
Although the witch could be humorous and insightful at times, she also made it clear from the beginning that she was there for retribution of sorts, to right a wrong that had been done. She was not shy about voicing that she was there for certain members of the Bell family, and to ultimately kill the patriarch, Jack Bell. Even with that being known, she left the why of it as a journey they would all take together and that some parties would also endure individually too. This witch ended up becoming a mirror of sorts, where some of these characters had to take a long hard look at themselves, and those around them, and start to realize and accept things that had been going on unacknowledged for awhile. Terrible, damaging things. I'd say that there was a clear message here of the potential dangerous repercussions from not expressing one's true feelings. The very real sense that things like anger, bitterness, hatred, etc. can all fester and build into something we might not recognize within us anymore, and even take on a life all it's own. I love the way the author brought those ideas to life, it was wonderfully done.
While there are obviously quite a few things to gush about here, there were also some things that were not as thrilling too. I was honestly pretty underwhelmed by almost every character in this story, other than the witch that is. The witch stole the show here, and I felt that everyone else was playing second fiddle to her orchestra. There were also times where things seemed to drag out and the story wasn't progressing as much as I wanted it too. I figured out what was going on here pretty early on, and it became frustrating at times that the characters were taking such a long time to come to the same conclusions. I get that their acceptance was the journey, but after awhile I couldn't help but to want someone to shout it from the roof tops and for some justice to be doled out. Although I suppose the slow building torture, the witch being there day in and day out may have been the ultimate form of justice, for no one could take a day to try and forget the horrors of it all when it was so clearly in their faces. Still, after so much I was as eager as the Bell's to see it all come to an end. All in all it was an intelligent and fresh take on a rather famous documented ghost story. It was a great blend of fact and fiction and an interesting journey.
Well The Bell Witch was not at all what I was expecting, and I liked it so much more for it! I was totally thinking this was going to be your typical haunting ghost story, the title, the creepy cover, the real history at play here, everything leads you to believe that's exactly what you will get. Even the beginning of the book starts out giving you what you thought you wanted, random objects moving on their own, a voice rambling out of no where. The poor inhabitants of the Bell manor are being accosted by something they can't see or touch, unfortunately for them the "witch", as the entity ultimately becomes known as, can see and touch them, and she does so menacingly.
What started as the usual haunting symptoms quickly escalated and went far beyond anything I could have foreseen. What the witch ended up being was something I've never quite seen before. It was crazy how her presence, and her antics, quickly became a source of relief from the heavier undertones of the question, and answer, of WHY she was there to begin with. It was an interesting read for me in that sense, to have something so awful, I mean completely stomach turning going on, but have this witch, the character that you would think would be the source of this turmoil, end up instead being an antihero of sorts and your only reprieve from the unjust situation that lead to this haunting. It was amazing to me to actually laugh out loud at some of the things this witch would do or say! It was hard to think that was possible with the heaviness of the other things going on. I really appreciated this aspect of the story.
Although the witch could be humorous and insightful at times, she also made it clear from the beginning that she was there for retribution of sorts, to right a wrong that had been done. She was not shy about voicing that she was there for certain members of the Bell family, and to ultimately kill the patriarch, Jack Bell. Even with that being known, she left the why of it as a journey they would all take together and that some parties would also endure individually too. This witch ended up becoming a mirror of sorts, where some of these characters had to take a long hard look at themselves, and those around them, and start to realize and accept things that had been going on unacknowledged for awhile. Terrible, damaging things. I'd say that there was a clear message here of the potential dangerous repercussions from not expressing one's true feelings. The very real sense that things like anger, bitterness, hatred, etc. can all fester and build into something we might not recognize within us anymore, and even take on a life all it's own. I love the way the author brought those ideas to life, it was wonderfully done.
While there are obviously quite a few things to gush about here, there were also some things that were not as thrilling too. I was honestly pretty underwhelmed by almost every character in this story, other than the witch that is. The witch stole the show here, and I felt that everyone else was playing second fiddle to her orchestra. There were also times where things seemed to drag out and the story wasn't progressing as much as I wanted it too. I figured out what was going on here pretty early on, and it became frustrating at times that the characters were taking such a long time to come to the same conclusions. I get that their acceptance was the journey, but after awhile I couldn't help but to want someone to shout it from the roof tops and for some justice to be doled out. Although I suppose the slow building torture, the witch being there day in and day out may have been the ultimate form of justice, for no one could take a day to try and forget the horrors of it all when it was so clearly in their faces. Still, after so much I was as eager as the Bell's to see it all come to an end. All in all it was an intelligent and fresh take on a rather famous documented ghost story. It was a great blend of fact and fiction and an interesting journey.
Well....that was....interesting. Honestly I'm kind of torn about my feelings on The Fever. There were some things I really liked, but the pacing was kind of a big time buzz kill. All together I guess I'm somewhere in the middle.
The Fever was pretty scary in a lot of ways. You're really left floundering through much of the story. As the characters start getting more frantic in their search for answers, so are you. I really loved the way the author took so many real, relevant things, and brought them out to play here. What would you do if some kind of unnamable illness suddenly debilitated your perfectly healthy child? As a parent I can say that I would damn sure want to know what it is, and why it's happening. What started with one girl, started spreading to more teenage girls in the same school. As this scary illness is spreading, and none of the school officials or doctors have any real answers, parents and students alike start panicking. I could see most of the way that things went down in this book as something that could definitely happen in real life, and that made the whole thing quite frightening. People, especially when they are scared, can be quick to point fingers at others, and this came into play here. I absolutely loved the whole vaccination scare....this is something that you can't help but to hear about now a days. I know I scroll through my Facebook newsfeed and see a few anti-vacs posting their views all over the interwebs. And with big name celebs jumping on the bandwagon, it's become a rather big and controversial issue. People seem to feel very strongly about it on each side. I really like to see real issues like this come up in books!
I also liked the portrayal of the teenagers and the whole high school experience in general in The Fever. It felt familiar and also far away at the same time. I can still remember lots of things about being a teenager in high school, but thank goodness I don't recall it with the same extreme pubescent emotions that I had back then!
"And so," Tom said, "marked for life."
"That's what high school does."
"And everything else." he said, smiling.
It's true though...whether it be the good or the bad, or some combination of both, high school marked everyone in their own ways. There was beyond, the scholarly knowledge gained, some social and personal knowledge gained in those walls too. This is something universally relatable and I enjoyed that element as well. You saw the kids living through it, and also the parents from their side of it too.
What I didn't care for was the extremely slow pace of the story. I can appreciate a slower build, but it just seemed too long a wait in between things happening. For me it was a little too much with all the internal monologues. I was always eager for the next thing to happen, and for answers, and was left waiting a lot of the time for those things.
I did enjoy this story for the most part, and would be curious to read more from this author. The end really surprised me too, which is always pretty nice. If you're looking for lots of action, then this isn't the book for you. But if you are looking for something a little different, with a slow building mystery, that brings some real life scary things to the table for you to think about, then you'll probably enjoy this book.
3.75 stars
Well that's it, Experiment in Terror has come to an end, at least Perry and Dex's story. There will be some spin-off books with Ada which I will be looking forward to! But man am I going to miss Perry and Dex, This series as a whole as been one hell of a ride. Halle has put me through the ringer time and time again throughout this series, and managed to do so again in this last book. And I thoroughly enjoyed it. I absolutely LOVE how everything really came full circle here at the end. Things that we believed dead and buried came back for one last goodbye, which was awesome! There were some pretty freaky parts..*shudders* giant, cat sized spiders.
There was still some classic Dex one-liners, although not quite as much humor in this book as was in others. It was also nice to see this book pick right up from where it left off in Ashes to Ashes. I was kind of dying after that cliffhanger so it was good to jump right into the action in this last book. Dust to Dust was pretty fast paced, and didn't really slow down.
If you have made it to this book, I'd say that you, like me, are probably pretty smitten with this series, and Dust to Dust fits right in with the rest. So why not 5 stars?? Well, I guess it was a case of expectations vs. reality for me. I was thinking this last book was going to be EPIC with the likes of which we haven't seen yet in the series. It's just Halle has surprised me time and time again, taking this series to all new heights with each next addition, so I kind of had some outrageously high expectations for this series finale. It's kind of like trying a new recipe, does it look just like what I was hoping for? No. But....is it still going to be delicious either way? Abso-fucking-luetly!
Well that's it, Experiment in Terror has come to an end, at least Perry and Dex's story. There will be some spin-off books with Ada which I will be looking forward to! But man am I going to miss Perry and Dex, This series as a whole as been one hell of a ride. Halle has put me through the ringer time and time again throughout this series, and managed to do so again in this last book. And I thoroughly enjoyed it. I absolutely LOVE how everything really came full circle here at the end. Things that we believed dead and buried came back for one last goodbye, which was awesome! There were some pretty freaky parts..*shudders* giant, cat sized spiders.
There was still some classic Dex one-liners, although not quite as much humor in this book as was in others. It was also nice to see this book pick right up from where it left off in Ashes to Ashes. I was kind of dying after that cliffhanger so it was good to jump right into the action in this last book. Dust to Dust was pretty fast paced, and didn't really slow down.
If you have made it to this book, I'd say that you, like me, are probably pretty smitten with this series, and Dust to Dust fits right in with the rest. So why not 5 stars?? Well, I guess it was a case of expectations vs. reality for me. I was thinking this last book was going to be EPIC with the likes of which we haven't seen yet in the series. It's just Halle has surprised me time and time again, taking this series to all new heights with each next addition, so I kind of had some outrageously high expectations for this series finale. It's kind of like trying a new recipe, does it look just like what I was hoping for? No. But....is it still going to be delicious either way? Abso-fucking-luetly!
3.5 stars
Well this book was definitely interesting. The cover is gorgeous and the blurb was super intriguing, and my library had this in, so I figured, why not? I am glad I did pick it up. This book grabbed me from the first page and had me hanging in the wind throughout the whole darn thing. I was racing through this so I could finally have some answers!
I loved trying to guess and figure out what exactly was happening to/with Mara. I had a whole slew of theories and to be quite honest I'm still not exactly sure if I was right or wrong about a few of them! There was a super cool story here, and the way it came out, almost painfully slow, just amped me up and made me not want to put this book down until I figured it all out. It was brilliantly done. I was up until 2am last night before I forced myself to put it down so I could sleep a little before waking up and being a responsible member of society.
Mara was interesting to say the least. I'm not sure if I really like her or not so much yet though, if that makes any sense. She had some great moments, but she also spent a majority of this book being pretty obsessed with Noah. I felt like at times, with all the crazy shit going on with Mara, ya know, hallucinations and numerous deaths piling up around her, that maybe she would have been a little more concerned with figuring that stuff out rather than how hot Noah looks today and whatnot.She could be mildly frustrating at times with all her pushing big things aside and dismissing them. But then she had some pretty awesome moments when she was dealing with Noah in the beginning.
Noah was a pretty good character. Although I really wondered through a good chunk of the book what it even was that made him want to get to know and be around Mara. All became a little clearer by the end though. I was surprised with what his deal ended up being. I really had no idea that was coming, and that was a nice thing. There were some nice secondary characters too, Jamie was usually good for some comedic relief, I only wish there would have been a little more of him. Daniel, Mara's older brother, was also a nice addition to the story, he was sweet and always looked out for his little sister.
There was a nice creepy element at play here with Mara's hallucinations causing some chilling scenes. I loved all the mirror play! That stuff freaks me out! I will definitely be reading the second book. My only hopes for it are to have a little more creepy and a little less teenagery boy obsession. There is a lot of potential for really good story here and I would hate to see that buried under all the trivial fluff.
Well this book was definitely interesting. The cover is gorgeous and the blurb was super intriguing, and my library had this in, so I figured, why not? I am glad I did pick it up. This book grabbed me from the first page and had me hanging in the wind throughout the whole darn thing. I was racing through this so I could finally have some answers!
I loved trying to guess and figure out what exactly was happening to/with Mara. I had a whole slew of theories and to be quite honest I'm still not exactly sure if I was right or wrong about a few of them! There was a super cool story here, and the way it came out, almost painfully slow, just amped me up and made me not want to put this book down until I figured it all out. It was brilliantly done. I was up until 2am last night before I forced myself to put it down so I could sleep a little before waking up and being a responsible member of society.
Mara was interesting to say the least. I'm not sure if I really like her or not so much yet though, if that makes any sense. She had some great moments, but she also spent a majority of this book being pretty obsessed with Noah. I felt like at times, with all the crazy shit going on with Mara, ya know, hallucinations and numerous deaths piling up around her, that maybe she would have been a little more concerned with figuring that stuff out rather than how hot Noah looks today and whatnot.She could be mildly frustrating at times with all her pushing big things aside and dismissing them. But then she had some pretty awesome moments when she was dealing with Noah in the beginning.
Noah was a pretty good character. Although I really wondered through a good chunk of the book what it even was that made him want to get to know and be around Mara. All became a little clearer by the end though. I was surprised with what his deal ended up being. I really had no idea that was coming, and that was a nice thing. There were some nice secondary characters too, Jamie was usually good for some comedic relief, I only wish there would have been a little more of him. Daniel, Mara's older brother, was also a nice addition to the story, he was sweet and always looked out for his little sister.
There was a nice creepy element at play here with Mara's hallucinations causing some chilling scenes. I loved all the mirror play! That stuff freaks me out! I will definitely be reading the second book. My only hopes for it are to have a little more creepy and a little less teenagery boy obsession. There is a lot of potential for really good story here and I would hate to see that buried under all the trivial fluff.
For all those curious on my feelings regarding this book, or those suffering the same post traumatic stress after having read this (you are not alone!), please refer to my letter to Devon Ashley on my blog.....http://bookwormcoalition.wordpress.com/2014/08/25/nearly-mended-by-devon-ashley/
Anyone that has read any of my previous reviews on this series knows, I love the On Dublin Street series. I have continuously been blown away by Samantha Young. I had some really high hopes for this book. Unfortunately, I was mostly left feeling, just MEH.
I absolutely adored seeing the time jump in this book. A few years has passed by and there is a ton of new developments and additions with all the old beloved characters we've read before. But considering that this was Hannah's book, and quite honestly, hers was the least interesting story going on here. I just couldn't connect with her like I did in the previous books. The lack of connection to the main characters ultimately made me kind of disinterested in hearing their story, which made the book seem like it dragged on for a while and I was just dragging my heels through the mud to get to the end.
The back and forth drama between her and Marco was just too much for me. I missed the surprisingly fearless Hannah. The shy bookworm who came out of her shell for the boy she liked. She just wasn't here anymore. Instead we got this scared girl, who hurt people, people that she cared about immensely. I know things happened along the way to make her into what she was, but I still couldn't help being disappointed by it. Regardless of her inner reasoning, she did and said things that hurt people, and had little or no qualms about doing so. It was hard to begrudge Marco too much once you learned his reasons, well for most of the things anyways. It was hard to see Hannah being the one to shame him and continuously make him feel just as his abusers had in the past.
I did appreciate the little plot twist, with the secret that Hannah was holding on to. That at least put things a little more in perspective for me, just not as much as I had hoped. I also liked seeing the relationship between Hannah and Cole. I love how close they have become over the years, and it just amped me up for Cole's book! I can't wait to get my hands on that one. I did enjoy seeing Hannah in a more adult setting. The Hannah at her job helped you see the more sympathetic side of her that I sorely missed from the past books. I couldn't help but like her interactions with her students, especially the high school kids. I was a big Jarrod fan! I definitely teared up at one of the ending scenes with him.
This certainly wasn't my favorite book in this series, but there have been so many other AMAZING ones, that I will most certainly be continuing on with the following book. Not a bad book by any means, but just not on the same level as the previous books, for me. I have a good feeling about Cole's book though, I highly doubt that one will disappoint.
2.75 stars
I swear I had Gangsta's Paradise on a loop in my head while reading this. It was hard not to compare this book to Dangerous Minds. Don't get me wrong, there was more going on here, but the whole teacher out of her element trying to connect to some hardened, troubled kids through some poetic type means....it screams for a leather jacket and a soundtrack, just sayin'.
I liked the greek tragedies and the way they were not only in the story, but ultimately came through as the story as well. That was nicely done. I find all those interesting, so it was easy to see why some wayward older kids might have as well. There are a lot of elements in them that an audience like that can relate to.
What really fell short for me though, was the characters. I was as uninterested in her as she was with pretty much everything in general. She was so detached from life, and I get it, she was struggling with some serious stuff, but in turn I was detached from her. The most interesting people in this story to me were the misfit kids, and even they never seemed fully developed. I really just felt bad for them for their lots in life, and for being stuck with yet another person that was only half there in their lives. Alex had her moments of helping them, but she was way too far into her own troubles to help anyone else with theirs.
All in all it was a decent story but I think it had some real potential to be more if the characters could have been a little more.....something....just more than they were. The detachment there, for me, just seemed to make this story drag on a little.
I received this book from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
I swear I had Gangsta's Paradise on a loop in my head while reading this. It was hard not to compare this book to Dangerous Minds. Don't get me wrong, there was more going on here, but the whole teacher out of her element trying to connect to some hardened, troubled kids through some poetic type means....it screams for a leather jacket and a soundtrack, just sayin'.
I liked the greek tragedies and the way they were not only in the story, but ultimately came through as the story as well. That was nicely done. I find all those interesting, so it was easy to see why some wayward older kids might have as well. There are a lot of elements in them that an audience like that can relate to.
What really fell short for me though, was the characters. I was as uninterested in her as she was with pretty much everything in general. She was so detached from life, and I get it, she was struggling with some serious stuff, but in turn I was detached from her. The most interesting people in this story to me were the misfit kids, and even they never seemed fully developed. I really just felt bad for them for their lots in life, and for being stuck with yet another person that was only half there in their lives. Alex had her moments of helping them, but she was way too far into her own troubles to help anyone else with theirs.
All in all it was a decent story but I think it had some real potential to be more if the characters could have been a little more.....something....just more than they were. The detachment there, for me, just seemed to make this story drag on a little.
I received this book from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review