Margo Smythe: Retrograde

 

Margo Smythe takes readers to a dystopian world where one will go to any lengths for revenge.

I love the dystopian genre, especially when the author goes on the darker side of things and I was really excited to read this book and I was into this book, plot world and characters until I wasn't. I enjoyed the world and political overtaking that Smythe has. I enjoyed the capturer/captive aspect and the hate that they have for each other (really him more than her) but some how along the way I feel like Smythe lost her way and who the characters are as well as if felt rushed.

The world that Smythe has created is a bleak one, but nothing really new in the dystopian genre. Those in power are hungry for more of it and will do anything to achieve it. We mainly see what they have done through the back story POV for both Aron and Riley and it is not pretty. And the world has suffered, there are areas that are so badly contaminated that people cannot go near them or they die. It has become a very much a scavenger culture of those outside of power.

This will be a first for me when reading in this genre but I felt like we got to know Aron more than Riley. Don't get me wrong Smythe does a good job with Riley's backstory but I just felt like more effort was put in to creating Aron as a character and I was here for it. Normally it is the FMC who shines in these types of books but for me this book was all about Aron. He was such a verging on black MMC and they way he would put fear into the enemy is first class. I just wish that Aron's character Arc was better and didn't stray from who he actually was.

I thought the additional of Riley being a photographer in order to show the horror's of the war and what was really happening on the battlefields was unique and well done. It is often through these means of media that people really see what is happening, especially the atrocities so I think it was fitting for Riley to have this profession.

While I stated above that this book was on the darker side of things, I think there were times when Smythe could have pushed the envelope a little further, but that is more a personal preference than anything. If you are going to tell me this book is dark then I want dark but what is dark to one person may not be dark to me.

So this book was good, but I think it suffers when it comes to the characters in the latter part of the book as well as the ending. The ending felt rushed and like Smythe just wanted to get it done. I believe this is going to be a series and I am on the fence whether I would continue on.

Cheers!!!!

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Kelley Armstrong: Writing Mr. Wrong

 

In Writing Mr. Wrong, Kelley Armstrong asks the question, Would you use someone from your life to feature in a story you are writing?

If you have been around here for awhile you will know that I am a BIG fan of Kelley Armstrong. I love her writing style and they way she presents each of her stories. She writes in multiple genre, but this is the first time that I have read something by her in the romance one. This was a fun, cute, easy read that had Armstrong's strong writing ability to draw a reader in.

Gemma is a relatable and likeable character. Though she, in a way, is stuck in the past with her still feeling hurt from high school with what Mason did to her, I like that she was able to channel those feelings into her writing. I did want more from her though, I mean she is in her mid thirties, still stinging over something that happened in High School and especially when it came with dealing with her ex and the whole book scandal. I wanted retribution, and just felt like I never really got it.

Mason is a Hockey play MMC, who is trying to learn from the things that he did wrong in the past. You can see him struggle once he realizes how Gemma saw him and what occurs in the book she wrote. He actually is very reflective as a character (something you don't always see in an MMC) and wants to not only do right by Gemma but make things better for her and himself.

This book had a lot of the tropes that I enjoy, hockey romance, fake dating, great banter, second chance and no third act. And just overall is a cute read, that has you rooting for the romance between the two main characters. Now that I have read one romance book by Armstrong, I'll try her other ones as well.

Enjoy!!!!

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Christina Lauren: The Unhoneymooners

Christina Lauren shows what happens when two people who don't like each other take an unexpected Honeymoon to Hawaii.

This is the first book that I have read by Lauren and it was so much fun. Yes, it may have the miscommunication trope throughout the book and the history between Olive and Ethan but they way that it plays out in this book is probably the one time that I have enjoyed it. This book also made me want to go back to Hawaii as I think that Lauren did a great job of describing what one can do there without making a story all about it. 

I personally loved how Olive and Ethan's relationship developed with having it start as a fake marriage, from realizing that Olive is a horrible liar and that maybe they do have some for of attraction to each other. Honestly, I laughed so many times when reading this book, especially when they go out to the excursions while in Hawaii. Olive and Ethan really are amazing with each other, as their personalities may be different but they fit so well together.

I think the one thing I did not love about this book was the third act and the way that no one even tried to believe what she was saying. That she was making it up, or misinterpreting the actions that happened to her and the information that she found out.

I know after reading this book that I will be reading more by Lauren. This was such a fun, cute and easy read that one needs to read every once in awhile.

Enjoy!!!

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Matt Dinniman: Dungeon Crawler Carl

 

In the first of a series Matt Dinniman takes readers into a game show where you either survive or die:

Dungeon Crawler Cark has certainly been making the rounds on all the Book accounts this past year and I totally get the hype. This is not something that i would typically read as in the video game aspect of the book, but I would read a dystopian book so i figured i would enjoy this book. Yes I did enjoy it. It was fast paced, funny but still full of heart. You see the good and the bad of Human Kind through out this book and I think Carl really feels like your an average person.

Carl feels like the perfect person to focus on in this book. He is feels like your average male who is just living a basic life with his girlfriend and her cat. There is really nothing special about Carl and this is exactly what makes him special. He doesn't go into the dungeon with any special skills, he can stomp things, and kind of throw a punch. The one thing he does have is basic video game knowledge which he uses throughout the book to help explain aspects of the game to other players, Doughnut and the readers too. 

I would be remiss not to mention Doughnut. Doughnut has become a phenomenon of her own (I do not joke, I saw a decal of her on the back of a truck the other day) and Doughnut is awesome for just being Doughnut. I appreciate that she tells it is like it is, from what was happening in their lives before they entered the dungeon (Poor Carl) and in the dungeon itself. She is selfish like a you would expect a talking cat to be and doesn't really have an inside voice or comments that she make.

You can also tell that there is more to come than just Carl and Doughnut navigating the game. There are not only Human rivals but the tension outside of the game as well. The whole social media aspect was very interesting as well and very on pace for people of Earth. Good to know we are not the only one addicted to social media.

The one thing that i found annoying in this book was all the loot opening boxes. it got really repetitive really fast and could have done without it after the first few. I understand they are important to the video game aspect of the book, I just found i was skipping those pages as mostly the received the same thing or something cool but you really didn't know how it was going to come into play right then anyway so the descriptions felt a little bit pointless. I feel if you took out the parts, the book would be around 30ish pages less.

I'm sold, I really enjoyed this book, it was fresh to me with the videogame aspect and I want to read more. I think that Dinniman has created a unique dystopian world and a cast of characters that are not only loveable but real as well (as real as a talking cat can be). I look forward to continuing on with this series.

Enjoy!!!

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Noelle W. Ihli: Ask for Andrea

 

Noelle W Ihli takes readers on a heartbreaking read as those murdered try to prevent it from happening again:

This is the first book that I have read by Ihli and though this book is short is certainly packs a punch. Ask for Andrea is a code for when someone needs help from a bartender or server when they dont feel safe. This would be similar to an Angel Shot that women can order at a bar. This book is heart breaking and at time graphic as you live the last moments of three women in this book and having them experience time outside of their bodies. It continues to be heartbreaking when the women are trying to prevent their murder.

You really feel the urgency, frustration and desperation that the women go through as they try to prevent others from being taken. They find things they are able to manipulate along the way but it never seems to be enough. They also take different path in finding James after he has murdered them so there is not a duplication after they are murdered, they each need to find their own paths.

I appreciated that Ihli would circle back to the living, what the family of the missing/murdered women as well as the investigation into what happened to them. I also enjoyed Ihli's perspective of what happens after we die. I like the idea that we find the family members from before, going back in generations so that one can feel their love.

Ihli has something different here with who is telling the story here and that can be something hard to come by in thriller genres. I look forward to checking out more books by Ihli.

Enjoy!!!

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Elsie Silver: Wild Love

In the first of a series, Elsie Silver shows that you never do forget those you always loved:

This is the first book that I have read by Silver and I get it. I get why lots of people love her books, this book was a fun read in a small town with some great banter between the characters that kept me engaged in the story from start to finish. I'm also kind of a sucker for the Grumpy/Sunshine Trope.

My favourite part of this book was how, Rosie and Ford interacted with each other. From the funny emails to what they were like together in the flashbacks, I felt really invested in their relationship right from the beginning. I loved that Ford needed to get away from the city and go back to the place that truly felt home for him. I loved that they were friends growing up but secretly loved each other all along and I loved that they knew how to push each other buttons for knowing the other person so long. I really enjoyed that Ford also forcibly becomes a single Dad and how he handles finding out that news and what he does after it as well.

The side characters in this book were also well done from Cora, the angsty teenager to Rosie's brother West I felt like I got to know those characters really well. Also, I mean a Men's bowling league, all with grumpy men, I'm sold.

I look forward to checking out the rest of the series and hope that Silver can capture the heart and fun that she has in this one.

Enjoy!!!!

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