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!!!

If You Like This,

Check These Out Too:

    

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!!!

If You Like This,

Check These Out Too:

    

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!!!

If You Like This,

Check These Out Too:

    

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!!!!

If You Like This,

Check These Out Too:

    

V. E. Schwab: Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil

 

V.E. Schwab takes readers on a journey of if one lives forever, what efforts will one go to survive but to also love:

I have not read too many books by Schwab, but like the other books that I have read by her this one was beautifully written. I felt transported into the different timeline that Schwab presents here and I love that we get to know each of the characters at the beginning of their transformations into vampires. I enjoyed that Schwab used some of the traditional vampire lore but not all and had some of her own in there as well. She was able to put her own stamp on vampires especially how becoming a vampire really heightens an individual’s personality/who they are before they are turned.

Yes, Thank you Schwab for making the vampires deadly and cruel and gruesome at times and using their powers not only to survive, but thrive and to terrify. I enjoyed that for the most part they do not shy away from the predators that they are and that they are the top of the food chain especially at night. I also enjoyed that each of the women are different and that their voices are different that you know who you are reading. 

I do hope that Schwab does a spin off series for this with either some of the characters or who is left at the end of this book. I know I want more of these types of vampires and the span, scope and journey that the women in this book go on.

This book makes me want to read more by Schwab and I completely understand the hype around her books and writing.

Enjoy!!!

If You Like This,

Check These Out Too:

    

Jennifer Hillier: Heart of Glass

Jennifer Hillier takes readers back to Seaside and Wonderland, where nothing in the small town is what it seems:

I will start with saying I have not yet read Wonderland before reading this book and while I do not think it is required reading (this book can be read as a standalone) I wish I would have had more background about seaside as a town. All that said, I enjoyed this book. I loved that there was more than one mystery that is played out in the book as well as the differ t POV. I was shocked and happy when Hillier change to POV that I did not expect.

I’m a sucker for small towns with even bigger secrets and I think that Hillier does a great job with both here. Hillier was able to keep me guessing on both fronts of the mysteries in this book. You wonder what happened not only years earlier with Barb and Cole but also the missing women. And that end twist I did not see coming.

I will say there were a few things that by the end that were left unanswered, maybe this is on purpose, maybe not. Hillier released this Wonderland in 2015 so maybe there might be another story based on Seaside coming our way eventually, as it seem Hillier is okay to play the long game.

Hillier is one of my favourites for thriller and suspense books. I’m still working my way through her backlist but Wonderland has moved to the top of the list for me. I can’t wait to read more by her

Enjoy!!!!

If You Like This,

Check These Out Too:

    

Lynette Noni: The Prison Healer

 

In the first in a series, Lynette Noni show the length a girl has had to go to to survive ten years in prison.

I had not heard of Noni or this series before, but I am extremely happy that I picked this book up and that the trilogy is completed as you better believe I will be picking the next book up ASAP. This book had me hooked from the beginning mainly with Kiva's character and what she has been forced to do and then as the plot unfolds I could not turn the pages fast enough. There are deadly trials in this book, but I found they were secondary to the overall plot as Kiva waits to be rescued (she has been waiting for ten years) and her dedication to figuring out a deadly illness that has appeared in the prison. The ending of the book, the twist I don't think anyone will see it coming, it was so well done.

Kiva is both liked and hated within the prison as she has had to do anything to survive in a prison since she was seven. This means that she has spied for the warden, been loyal to the warden therefore against the prisoners, manly those who are part of the rebellion. But Kiva is also the prison doctor so those who hate her also need her and Kiva does everything in her ability in order to help them.

This book is considered YA but due to the fact that Kiva has had to grow up really fast in order to survive in the prison, I do not feel like she reads as a teenage character. She is wiser than her years and you can tell that she has seen some things and survived a lot of things.

The world building is okay. I understand most of it, but due to the fact that Kiva was 7 when she was imprisoned, we don't get much about the outside world. We know there is a rebellion going on, that would seek to usurp the current ruling family and that members of the royal family have elemental powers. So the world building that we do get is that within the prison and the lives that people have there. I think the farther we get into the trilogy more will become known, so this did not take away from my overall enjoyment of this book.

I really enjoyed this book. It is fast paced YA fantasy that I think adults will also enjoy. It's a completed trilogy so no waiting for the next books to come out and you'll want to next book on hand after the cliffhanger at the end of this book. To me this is YA fantasy done right.

Enjoy!!!!

If You Like This,

Check These Out Too:

    

Freida McFadden: The Inmate

 

Freida McFadden show that one night of love can turn to horror in a heartbeat:

This is the first book that I have read by McFadden and I get why people flock to her books if they are like this one. This book was very much a popcorn thriller, one where a reader is kept guessing as to what happened in the past and what is going to happen in the present. I personally am one that enjoys two timeline and each gets equal time in the book. I also think that McFadden does a great job with the pace of the book and giving nuggets of information each time.

I don't think that i was the biggest fan of Brooke, but I think that she does the best that she can when she was younger, but I am not going to lie a totally question most of her decisions as an adult. I can understand moving back to her hometown and why she chose that but her choice of where to work was just crazy to me. I felt like Brooke did not question anything enough, once again as an adult and not when she was a teenager. She should have known better as an adult.

One thing that i guess that you need to dispel belief a bit is that they would let Brooke work as a nurse in a place where the person who attempted to kill her in. I feel like there are way too many red flags and liability issues before a prison would let her work there. And this point is not consistent in the book at times it seems like where she works is aware of her past but then it changes at a different time. I will say that nearing the end of the book, I was starting to get the "just get on with it" feeling. Though I really enjoyed the epilogue, that was a nice twist that McFadden threw in there.

I think that this was a good introduction for me to McFadden and I look forward to reading another book by her.

Enjoy!!!

If You Like This

Check These Out Too:

    

K.L. Speer: Bones

 

In the first in a series, K.L. Speer shows the strength of a woman who is just trying to survive and maybe just maybe heal:

I read this book a few months ago and I am still thinking about it. I think that tells you how much I enjoyed this book. I did not know what to expect when I picked up this book, I was craving a dystopian book. This book deserves so much more hype that it has gotten, it had me on the edge of my seat from start to finish and going through all the feelings within this book. This book is also Dark, with little signs of hope along the way but mainly a dark. If you ever thought that healing powers could not be used for darkness, this book is going to change that perspective. 

Bones is such a strong character, where there are times you love her, hate her and just feel horrible for her and what she has experienced in her life starting as a child. You can understand why her mental health is not good and how she is just trying to protect herself, she is broken for most of the book. She does have a heart though when it comes to trying to protect children. In all, all Bones wants to do is survive and she does whatever she can to do that.

My one criticism is that there is a lack on world building, so if you need a book with strong world building you will want to skip this one. I am hoping more of the world is explained in book 2. I mean we don't even get an explanation as to why or how Bones has received the powers. This makes the book much more character driven.

I think this will be one of my top reads for this year. I love the Bones as a character and the darkness that Speer has throughout this book. I cant wait to read the second book in the series.

Enjoy!!!!

If You Like This,

Check These Out Too:

    

Elise Kova: Prince of Swords

In the second book in her Arcana Academy series, Elise Kova show what it takes and the sacrifices that need to be made when you want to remake the world:

I really enjoyed the first book in this series, it was probably one of my favourite reads last year with the extremely unique magic system set around the tarot cards and how they are wielded. That said I felt like this book fell short for me. The beginning and the last 25% were very strong but the middle aspect is where Kova lost me.

This book lacked the political intrigue that i really enjoyed in the first book as well as the suspense with Clara not wanting to be found. Is there some of these aspects in this book yes, but they are very much at the beginning and end of the book and they fall to the background in the middle. The main aspect of this book is the relationship between Clara and Kaelis and while this is important, especially with the ending, I found it cause the book to drag a bit for me.

Clara’s resilience is tested multiple times within this book and her ability to adapt is her new reality and situations is astounding. As much as this book was about Clara’s and Kaelis' relationship. I still feel like I don’t know him as a characters I do wish we had some  POV from him.

I honestly adore the magic system in this book and I love that Kova has a glossary in the back of the book that explains which each card can do and what each set has an affinity for. I loved that we get even more cards in this book.

While this book did not meet my expectations, I will for sure be reading the next book in the series. I can’t wait to see how Kova will have the ending of this trilogy play out. I think there are some interesting aspect coming and I for one cannot wait to read them.

Enjoy!!!!

If You Like This,

Check These Out Too:

    

Ana Huang: The Striker

 

The first in a series Ana Huang shows that the one you're not supposed to want may just be the best person for you:

This is the first book that I have read by Huang and I really enjoyed this story, and to make it better I read it during the World Cup, so it was just a fitting time to dive into it. This is a fun easy read, that had just the right amount of spice and while this book is on the longer side for a sports romance book (it's just shy of 600 pages), I did not really notice it's length until the very end.

For some reason I keep finding romance books where the FMC is a ballerina and for me other than Scarlet's injury, a lot of the women in this industry are portrayed the same and have very similar storylines. So while I enjoyed Scarlet as a character and her perseverance through all that has gone through, I felt like I had read her character before.

Asher was a surprise, I loved him as a character and he is so much more than the playboy that he is portrayed as. He is totally a golden retriever of a man and I loved every second of him. To top it off, he has such a huge personal journey in this book and you cant help but love him more. My one thing that I could deal without is the amount he calls Scarlet Darling, but that is just a me thing.

This book has some great tropes in it; Rival's sister, forced proximity, trainer and trainee, he falls first.

If you are looking for a sports romance, that is not hockey but still has similar flare of sports and MMC attitude then I recommend this book. I really enjoyed it and looking forward reading the next book in the series featuring Scarlet's brother.

Enjoy!!!

If You Like This,

Check These Out Too:

    

Elliot Ray: Heist in Paradise

 

In the first in a new series Elliot Ray some thieves get more than the bargained for on an Island Heist:

The Premise of this book got me. I mean who wouldn't want to read a book about an unhinged merry Band of thieves, that are okay with doing some bad things but at the same time end up having some heart as well. I enjoyed how Ray brought Jax's team and Olivia together on the island, as i didn't expect that to be the set up that Ray went with. I also appreciated that Ray went for a darker subject manner a few times in the book which I was not expecting. I was also not expecting how Ray had the plot unfold there are a few surprises along the way.

This book is very much insta-lust between Jax and Olivia so if that is not your thing you will want to avoid this book. I will say that while you feel the tension between Jax and Olivia and at a later point Olivia and Madoc, the true tension is between Jax and Madoc. I personally wish that this was more of a Jax and Madoc story and just left Olivia out of it. Does she add to the story, yes her reasons for being there are solid, but I think that Ray could have had a similar plot without her. Now this book does end on cliffhanger, so I feel like the next book will explore this relationship more.

Madoc is by far my favourite character. He is the unhinged secondary MMC in the book, who has the darker side and knows how to get things done. Also to me it seemed like most of the banter in the book is associated with him or about him. Other than Madoc, I you don't really get to know the secondary characters, even though we get Jax's POV, the side characters are just there. I wish we got more information about who they are and how they ended up being in Jax's crew.

Overall, this was a fun quick read, that is fairly spicy and a bit of mystery throughout with a cliffhanger ending that will want you to pick up the next book.

Enjoy!!!!

If You Like This,

Check These Out Too:

    

Stephen King: Mr. Mercedes

 

In the first in a series, Stephen King puts solving a mass murderer in the hands of a retired Detective:

This is the first book that I have read by King (shocking I know) so I had some expectations but more about the content than the actual writing. I thought that this book would be darker and more scary that it was but this was much more a police procedural/PI book than anything else. I appreciate the cat and mouse aspect of this book but it is underplayed at times as we get POV from Hodges and Brady.

I enjoyed that King decided to have the two main characters have the POV in this book. Through Hodges we get to see how even retired a police officer never really gives up the hunt for those who got away and the need to have a puzzle in their life. Through Brady we get an a look into the mind and life of the killer and the Why and High that he wants to get through the mass murder. We also get to see the depraved life that Brady had growing up (very much a nature vs nurture aspect). You can also tell that Brady needs to have someone know what he did and needs to have some attention on him. I also enjoyed the two side character of Jerome and Holly as they add more 21 century to the book, I think that Hodges would have been lost without them, especially Jerome.

I appreciate that King did not feel the need to keep adding up the bodies in the book. The first mass murder at the beginning is enough to set up the book and the motive for why Hodges wants to find Mr. Mercedes.

My one problem with the book is with Janey. Before we know Janey's age, I thought she was closer in age to Hodges and she is written as such from how she acts and the language that she uses.

For my first book by King I would say that it was a success. Though it was not dark or scary like it thought it would be, I enjoyed Hodges hunt for Brady and I look forward to continuing on with this series.

Enjoy!!!!

If You Like This,

Check These Out Too: