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Title: The Forest of Hands and Teeth (The Forest of Hands and Teeth #1)
Author: Carrie Ryan
Format: Paperback, 308 pages
Pub. Date: February 9th 2010
Source: Libby Blog
★★★
2.5 Stars, Rounded up.
For as long as Mary has remembered, there has only been The Forest of Hands and Teeth. There is only their village, only the Sisterhood, and the Guardians. They are all that remains since the Return. Their village is gated in, keeping the Unconsecrated in the forest. The Unconsecrated were once friends and family, but no longer. Once the bite sinks in, and the infection takes hold, it's only a matter of time before you're one of them- a zombie. But Mary's mother has told her stories, stories of a large body of water called an ocean, and men who have walked on the moon. After she learns of a few secrets that the Sisterhood is keeping from the village, she has to wonder if her mom wasn't so crazy after all. She must decide how much she's ready to risk- her love, her family, herself- in order to find out what lays beyond the forest.
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This book was very difficult for me to rate. I am not a fan of the zombie genre, as a whole, and was hoping that this would be the book that would finally satiate me. Sadly, it wasn't. The book wasn't badly written, nor was it amazing. I found it to be average, and I hope to explain why that is below.
-From the beginning, I felt a major disconnect to the main character. For this reason, I felt disjointed throughout the rest of the novel. I often disagreed with her decisions, and was more often than not indifferent to her as a whole. I found myself agreeing more often with the friends/family that told her to grow up and get real. Maybe I'm just a cynical adult these days.
+That being said, I appreciate that Mary turns into a bad ass when she needs to. When people that she know become infected, she doesn't hesitate to turn into the killer that her village trained her to be.
-I felt like this book was a prequel, not a series-starter. The first two-thirds or so passed by really slow for me, and I was bored for a long time. But in the last third, it kicked into gear, and it seemed like the story actually began.
+The story is very descriptive. I was able to picture the scenes, especially the Forest, very well, and it did help to make me commit to finishing this book. If not for the well written details, I probably would have abandoned it.
-One problem I did have with the writing was the time lapses between chapters. Sometimes it was just over night, sometimes it was a month or a week. It was easy enough to catch up on once the author explained how much time had elapsed, but the inconsistencies did bug me a bit.
Upon finishing this book, I am primarily indifferent. I won't be adding it to my list of favorite books, that's for sure. But, it wasn't a waste of time reading it either. So, my opinion is this: If this book comes into your possession, read it. If it does it, I don't think you're missing out on much. If you like zombies, you may like this book a hell of a lot more than I did. If you're a fan of dystopian books, you may be a bit disappointed. As it stands now, I'm unsure if I would like to continue the series. I think it may be better than the first one, since all of the back story appears to be out of the way.
Thank you to Libby Blog for my copy.
Title: Tart (Delicious #2)
Author: Lauren Dane
Format: ebook, 352 pages.
Pub. Date: November 6th 2012
Source: "I am a book addict...and proud of it" blog
★★★★★
4.5 Stars, Rounded up.
Juliet Lamprey is a strong, assertive woman who knows what she wants. She's her own boss- the owner of the infamous Tart bakery. Up and coming, it's growing in popularity thanks to the artwork and catering company run by her friends in the same building, but because her baking is perfection. Things are getting settled in when Gideon comes back into her life. They'd known each other growing up, but he's definitely more than the boy she remembered. When he's in town helping out with the family farm, Juliet starts a romance with the family loving cowboy that's just too good to resist. Only, one of her best guy friends since forever, Cal, isn't too keen on Juliet seeing people that aren't him. He's pined for her since they were young, but has waited too long to do anything about it. Juliet's world as she knows it comes crashing down around her with an unexpected kiss and a proposition that would leave all three of their delicious appetites satiated....
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This is a book with adult content and situations. If this offends you, please scroll along.
I am pleasantly surprised to say that I loved this book. Not afraid of sounding too shallow, I originally wanted to read this because of the cover. My regular followers know that I'm very picky but just as hopeful when I read romances. Most of the time, I'm left wanting more and regretting my book choices. However, I'm very happy to say that this Tart filled me up in all of the right ways.
+One of the most important aspects of a good romance, in my opinion, lays in the hands of the female protagonist. In Tart, this position is filled by Juliet Lamprey, baker extraordinaire. She is an alpha female who does just fine on her own. She knows what she wants, how she wants it, and just exactly how to obtain it when she needs it. This assertiveness made all the difference. She's not made of stone, and can be a bit bitchy and even weak in moments, but she's not the perpetually useless damsel in distress, and for that reason alone I cheered her on.
+The males in this book are tasty. Cal is a dark haired lawyer with designer clothes and piercing eyes who can be a bit too bossy for his own good. Gideon is a golden haired cowboy with manners and a deep love for his family and the land that he so laboriously looks after. Both men are dominant and it leads to some interesting sex scenes with their "alpha" female. I can't blame Juliet. I'd want to enter a three-way relationship with this fine gents too.
+The element that surprised me the most (in the best of ways) was the actual plot. Too many times in the past, I have picked up a romance that seems generic and weakly written, or in other cases, only sex and no plot. This book actually made me tear up at parts. There's a beautifully narrated wedding full of loving friends and family, there's a hospital scene that brought to surface extreme feelings of rage and "stabbity", as Juliet puts it. Though the sex scenes were great (and I'll get to those later), there was far more than meets the eye in this book. It's got layers to it, and it made it all the more encompassing.
+Now, the part that everyone really cares about: the sex. Lauren Dane has exceeded my erotica-reading expectations. She writes scenes between the three of them with just enough detail to leave the reader hot and bothered, but not too much detail so that it's off-putting. None of the three in their menage is ever left out, nor are any of them slacking at any point. Each of them is aggressive and sexy in their own way, and the three of them together make for steamy happenings. Props to the author for using so-called "naughty words" in her writing. I much prefer them to broad statements like "he touched me there."
+The cover, as I mentioned at the beginning, is gorgeous. It does a great job of summarizing what the book is about: a sexy baker and her two lovers.
+This book does a very good job of leading up to the next Delicious book, which isn't so much a sequel as it is a continuing story with one of Juliet's friends. The expected publication is April 2, 2013. Assuming I'm not lucky enough to snag an ARC -wink wink- (Never hurts to try), I know I'll be getting it upon release.
-One of the things that did irk me about this book was the sentence fragments. They don't occur often, namely when one of the characters is aroused. I understand the theory of characters' thoughts being muddled by sexiness, but it bothered me just a smidge.
+/ My last point is neither positive nor negative, just an observation. There are a LOT of characters in this book. At some points I found it extremely difficult to remember who was who. It wasn't a constant, and it didn't take away from the story. It did just take me a few moments, here and there, to refocus on who was involved.
This book is a very solid 4.5, rounded up. This is my warning/disclaimer: If you are offended, repulsed, or closed-minded to the ideas of polyamory, three-way sex, vulgar language, or male-male sex scenes, do NOT read this book. I promise you, you will not enjoy yourself. However, if you are like me and can't resist the idea of two handsome men together with their darling, delicious bakery owner, are impartial to homosexual scenes and dirty language, then read this book immediately. Your ovaries will thank you (Or man parts. I don't judge).
Thank you to the "I am a book addict...and proud of it" blog for my copy.
Title: Forbidden
Author: Tabitha Suzuma
Format: Hardcover, 454 pages.
Pub. Date: June 28th 2011
Source: Half Price Books
★★★★★
Five stars. I wish I could give more.
Lochan, seventeen, is the head of the Whitely family. His mom is bitter and resents her family ever since her husband left them all behind for a new woman and a new family. Eager to cling to her youth, she drinks and parties and spends her money on time with men who will never marry her, neglecting her family. Lochan has stepped up to the plate, with his year-younger sister Maya, and helped to raise their three younger siblings. Because they were thrust together as parents, they were hardly ever brother and sister. They were always equals.... The pair realize that their love goes much stronger than that of siblings. Somewhere among all of the skinned knees, overdue bills, and dirty dishes, Maya and Lochan have fallen in love. They're on fragile ground- the kids can never know, for fear of police intervention and a chance of breaking apart the family. The world can never know.... But how can a love so strong be illegal, be so wrong?
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I have never read a book that was so heart wrenching, soul crushing, tear inducing, and so utterly beautiful. Forbidden broke my heart a few times over, but is one of the best books that I have read in my twenty years of life. My review will be short and probably a bit incoherent, because I am still crying over this piece of work.
+I was hesitant to read this because of its subject matter: incest. But at the same time, that is what intrigued me enough to go out and buy this book to see for myself just how "taboo" it would be. I've read reviews that loved this book, and others that thought it was disgusting. I side with the former.
+The writing is beautiful. Tabitha Suzuma details the emotions of not just Maya and Lochan, but of all of the siblings with pinpoint precision. The book has a dark, shadowy underlying tone that makes it read a bit like a poem. You can tell that each word was picked for a reason, and it makes the book that much more real and gritty.
+The way this piece is written, I couldn't help but to mentally cheer for Maya and Lochan's relationship. Wrong as it may be, I have to admit this book made me think long and hard about what love really means, and what it means to be together. I found myself ignoring the incest part of this story at parts, just wanting them to be together and to be happy.
+Lochan is a character that I grew to love over the course of the novel. Truth be told, he would have been one of the boys I looked twice at in high school. He's studious, cares for his family. He doesn't talk much and keeps to himself, but is very smart. He has been added to my mental list of fictional boyfriends. I adored this character.
+Though my relationship is far from incestuous, I did relate to Lochan a bit. He has thoughts of bitterness and jealousy at the relationships of his classmates because they get little tokens of affection that are taken for granted; hugs in the hallway, sitting together at lunch. He can't do these things with Maya without arousing suspicion. My girlfriend and I are in a long distance relationship, and I share these bitter, envious thoughts when I see couples walking around my college campus. Even now, I am sobbing at my keyboard, and my girlfriend can't do anything about it. Passages like this definitely rang true for me, despite being in a completely "legal" relationship.
+I am writing this review with as few spoilers as possible, so I'll keep this bit to the short side. I didn't see the ending coming, at all. I probably should have, but I didn't, and it hit me with the force of a MACK truck. I have never cried so hard over fictional characters, save for maybe Dumbledore's death in the Harry Potter. I couldn't believe I was out of pages when I was. Nothing broke my heart more than seeing the words "Epilogue", knowing that that was it, there's no going back, no rectifying or fixing or problem solving.
If you have a problem with taboo relationships or if the notion of incest sickens or upsets you, then this is not the book for you. But if you believe that there is no love that is unjust or immoral, and that everyone deserves the right to be happy with the spirit of their choosing, then let this book wrench your heart and crush your soul too. It's a book that is easy to read but hard to swallow, and left me in tears.
Now, a happy reading to you all. I must fix myself a hot beverage and try to pull myself back together.
Title: Rockoholic
Author: C.J. Skuse
Format: Hardcover, 358 pages
Pub. Date: November 1st 2012
Source: Goodreads First Reads
★★★★
3.5 Stars, rounded up.
I received this book through Goodreads First Reads.
Jody lives, eats, sleeps, and breathes The Regulators. They are the single greatest band ever, and she owns it all- the DVDs, the albums, the magazines. All because of beautiful, brooding American front man Jackson Gatlin. He's so deep and gorgeous, she would give everything just to meet him face to face. One of the highlights of her life is when her best friend Mac gives her his ticket to go see them in concert.... Only things don't go exactly as planned. Through a series of mishaps, Jody... Kind of... Well, accidentally kidnaps Jackson. They hide him out in her garage, but... He doesn't want to leave. Mac and Jody have to figure out a way to discreetly get him away and avoid the paparazzi, and in Mac's eyes, Jody's hero can't leave fast enough.
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Before you get this book, you should know that it's not realistic. At all. I understand that this is a fiction book, but it's almost like superfiction. Know this before you start reading, otherwise it will skew your feelings of the book, like it did with me.
-Jody is one of the most insufferable female characters I have ever read, right up there with Bella Swan and Anastasia Steele. She is the fan girl that gets picked on at concerts, in real life. She supposedly hangs with the outcast/gothy stereotype crowd... And yet she knows nothing about drugs. Like, at all. At one point, Mac makes reference to a rock. She asks if you get high by licking it, thinking it a stone outside. I don't know if this was done to build an air of naivety or what, but it made me wish that she'd get caught in her shenanigans.
-She thinks in acronyms. Such as OMG. In her own head. This bothered me a bit, though it was easy to look past.
+Mac, on the other hand, has been added to my list of fictional boyfriends. He is constantly reminding Jody that her plans and actions are stupid. He's a great supportive friend and a great big brother to his baby sister, Cree. He's the lead in the Rocky Horror Picture Show. Ugh. He is just yummy. I pick him over Jackson any day.
+Jackson is portrayed well. He's coming down from a high at one point, and is angry and throwing things and barking orders. I feel this was at least semi-accurate, as opposed to an easy "oh, he's clean" instant fix. I give props for that. I hated him at first, and grew to love him with time.
+ There was no instant love. Thank god, a book without it, finally!
+I love the cover of this book. It's what initially drew me in, and I think it stands out on a shelf.
The only major downfall with this book is my irritation with the lead character, Jody. Other than that, this is a music fueled, quick read that any fan girl can relate to, if only a little bit. I know personally, I was imagining my own band of obsession in place of The Regulators in this story. It took me awhile to get into it, but overall I was very glad I stuck it out and finished this novel.
I recommend it for any girl who has had a celebrity obsession and fans of YA literature. If you want a realistic fiction or a strong female lead, then pass this.
Title: Death: At Death's Door(Death of the Endless #3)
Author: Jill Thompson
Format: Paperback, 208 pages
Pub. Date: July 1st 2003
Source: Borrowed from Emily
★★★
Three stars.
Death is a sibling of the Endless, a family that is older than the gods themselves. When her brother stirs up trouble, Lucifer closes the gates to hell, and lets everyone go. Because Death is a familiar, the souls flock to her for guidance. Together with her two sisters, Delirium and Despair, she must stop the insanity and save the Underworld.
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Meh. That's pretty much my unprofessional opinion on this book.
-I understand that this is simply a personal preference, but I am not a fan of using grayscale in graphic novels. It makes everything drab and it's hard for me to mentally fill in the color.
-To be honest, I found it hard to follow. Everything moved along really fast and there were too many names that started with D. I found skipping between panels to be almost random, and it didn't follow a cohesive string, in my opinion.
+ I like the concept of Death being a goth girl. It's a cool twist, and I really liked the way that she was drawn.
-This felt like a fan fiction to me, not an official manga published by DC comics. It just felt like this was done unprofessionally, and to me, that is not a very good thing.
This was my first attempt at manga. I'll give it another shot, but not from Jill Thompson. If you like The Sandman by Neil Gaiman and manga, maybe this is up your alley. If you're just starting out with this medium, I recommend getting something else first.
Title: Her Mad Hatter(Kingdom Series #1)
Author: Marie Hall
Format: Kindle Edition, 164 pages
Pub. Date: July 7th 2012
Source: Amazon
★★★★★
Five stars.
Alice Hu is something special- the great granddaughter of the original Alice in Wonderland. The new owner of a cupcakery in Hawaii, life as she knows it changes when a strange old woman enters her shoppe after hours. A fairy godmother who works for the fairy tale bad boys, this woman has searched for decades for the right Alice. If Hatter doesn't find a mate soon, he will go completely mad and Wonderland will go amok along with him. Alice is sucked into Wonderland and she's thrilled- she's been in love with her fictional Hatter since she was 13. When she meets him in the flesh, he is everything she hopes for. Tall, dark, and handsome with a sensual voice, he's familiar to her. The catch? He hates her. The original Alice hurt him bad, and her relative is the spitting image of her. Three days is all Alice has to make the Hatter love her, and to save him from his insanity.
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I was blown away by the book. It is not often that I am pleasantly surprised, but this book was far better than I expected.
+Wonderland is described beautifully. It's fantastical and maddening and gorgeous and oh, Alice, I would never want to leave there either, especially if I had a sexy Mad Hatter all to myself too.
+Hatter is yummily described. Normally when I read romance books it's the stereotypical "prince charming" features- brawny, blonde, and blue eyed. Hatter is none of things, and is far more desirable to me. I have a fictional crush on him anyway, so I was fully on Alice's side in this story and lived vicariously through her.
+This was an erotica/romance with an actual plot. The sex was steamy and well written, and the sexual tension and frustration were driving me insane. That being said, this took a back seat to the plot of saving Hatter. This is how I like my romances, as opposed to 200 pages of nonstop meaningless bedroom time.
+I was taken by surprise by the ending. I don't want to give spoilers, but I actually teared up. I probably should have seen it coming, but alas, I did not. I ran out of pages way too soon and I'm not done with their story yet, even if the book is over.
I recommend this to adult fans of Alice in Wonderland who want a bit more spice in their fairy tale. This book is not for children or for prudes. This is the first book in a series, and I cannot wait to read the rest, featuring other fairy tale bad boys.
Title: True Blood, Vol. 1: All Together Now
Author: Alan Ball
Format: Hardcover, 160 pages
Pub. Date: February 22nd 2011
Source: Half Price Books
★★★★
Four Stars.
Down at Merlotte's in Bon Temps, Louisiana, life just keeps getting weirder for the mind-reading, vampire-dating, little blonde waitress named Sookie Stackhouse. One night at work during a fierce thunderstorm, a native creature called an imp shaloop locks the True Blood regulars inside. An intense monster with fangs and tentacles, he feeds on others' shame. Sam, Sookie, Bill, Eric, Tara, Jason, and Lafayette are forced to dish out their dirtiest secrets and stories until the trickster spirit is finally tricked himself.
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First, let me say I am a basic fan of this series. I have seen a few episodes of the show, and read a few of the books. I am not the biggest fan, nor am I one who detests the franchise.
+/-That being said, I do believe that this plot does more accurately follow the TV show as opposed to the novels. That being said, this fact did not bother me in the slightest.
+The artwork is gorgeous. Modeled after the cast of the TV series, I positively loved it. Particularly the portrayal of Eric Northman, who is my favorite to look at on the show. It's dark and gritty, and illustrates the monster well.
-There wasn't really a major plot to this adaptation. It appeared to be just a way to reveal the pasts of all of the main characters in a short period of time, with no real battle or even real expansions on their tales of woe.
+/-This first collection continues in a semi-cliffhanger, no doubt leading to a second volume of the graphic novels.
I think that fans of True Blood as well as the Sookie Stackhouse novels would appreciate this artistic rendition of the vampiric story. If you're fed up with all the vampire shows or don't like True Blood- why would you pick this up? You wouldn't enjoy this either.
