I read another book by Debra Anastasia, which means I loved another book by Debra Anastasia. This is a short story that I got for free on the Omnific Publishing website.
Princess Aeliea is a spoiled, mean, evil Princess. Her parents give her everything she wants except their love and attention. So Aeliea has found other ways to occupy her time. She loves to pour fear into her subjects. Punish them for the smallest infractions, and kill them to make examples out of them. It brings her pleasure to see her orders carried out. But one day, one man stands up to her. Markus is beautiful man with hatred in his eyes that are directed right at her. Aeliea has never encountered someone so bold as to defy her, so she must have fun with this new toy she has found. She takes him back and throws him in the dungeon. She can't wait to break this man. But Markus is not so easily broken.
I was so impressed with this book. I always think it is an amazing feat for an author to make you dislike a character so much at the beginning and then change your feelings so completely by the end of the book. That can't be an easy thing to do, but it especially can't be easy to do in a short story. A lot happened in this story, but it never felt rushed. The story flowed really well.
Surprisingly, one of my favorite characters was Sylo. I can't say that liked him personality wise, but some of the things he said cracked me up. Like when they were in the coliseum and he slaps Aeliea for outsmarting him and then praises her for being so evil. I loved that. Good villain. Good story.
This review is on a short story I read about a opposites attracting. Sinthia (Sin) has always known what she wants. She just wants to get through college with good grades and hopefully meet the man of her dreams. That man is clean cut and work driven, ready to settle down and have 2.5 kids and work his 9-5 job. But after Collin, the resident bad boy, with a reputation for fighting and womanizing, enters her life and strikes up an easy friendship, she starts to realize she has been dreaming of the wrong man this whole time. Despite the cover, this was a pretty tame book. Just some strong language in spots, that actually surprised me. I wasn't expecting the f-bomb to be dropped from the "good girls" mouth, but I think she said it the most.
The song I picked was actually from a scene in the book. Sin and Collin dance to it. It seemed pretty fitting, since Collin was, in fact a guy with the reputation of a "Wild One."
Ugh, I hate it when the cover models don't match the descriptions of the characters in the book. At first glance, the male cover model looks good, but if you really look, the guy is kind of scrawny with an oversized head! That is NOT how I pictured Collin at all! Come on, he could walk into any bar and girls would practically throw themselves at him. He was a bad boy with tattoos covering his arms (cover model does not have those either), a sexy smile and striking green eyes, who threw punches every time he was mad. This cover model just does not fit the bill. No sir.
OK, so this was kind of a shorter version of Beautiful Disaster. A little less extreme, but the similarities were so great that I even pictured some of the locations the same, like the inside of his apartment, I pictured it too look just like I pictured Travis'. Collin is a womanizer, different girl every night, just like Travis. Sinthia and Collin sleep together platonically as friends just like Travis and Abby. Collin is pretty possessive of Sin and defends her with his fists even when she doesn't need defending. Sound familiar? There are more things like that, but I'm not going to go on and on because the thing is, I loved Beautiful Disaster, which means this book was right up my alley. I still really enjoyed it despite the similarities.
I did think that Sin's best friend Taylor sort of sucked as a best friend. When Sin left because she was heartbroken over Collin, Taylor should have been there for her. But she stayed with Collin and his friends and sort of drifted away from her friendship with Sin. She even encouraged Collin to go out with some other girl. But when Sin sees this other girl Taylor acts like it pains her to see him with her. I don't get it. If Taylor wanted to help, why the heck didn't she tell Collin get his act together and quit messing with every girl that shows him a little bit of interest. He didn't think he was good enough for her, well he didn't act good enough for her. If he was so in love with Sin, then he should have kicked his man whoring ways to the curb and started BEING the man for her. Thats what I think anyway. That part of the story kind of ticked me off.
Also, I wish there was a little more to the ending. I would have liked to bask in their unity and happiness a little longer. I waited the whole book for them to get past the "friends" stage. I wanted to read some more words from the heart before it all ended. Same with the epilogue, I probably would have felt more satisfied with the ending if the epilogue was a little longer. Or maybe what I wanted was for there to be a scene where Collin turned away the ever present girl that was always at his side. I think that would have been a pretty important part of the story, for him to publicly choose Sin. Let everyone know he was unavailable. I think that was needed.
But all in all, I still liked it a lot. I loved Collin's immediate attraction to Sin. For example, how he would watch her and flirt with her from across the bar like she was the only girl in the room when in reality there was a girl hanging all over him. Most of the time his arms were around the girl too. He was physically with another girl, but mentally he was always with Sin, watching her, wanting her and defending her. It was hott!
It's Mason's turn. And since this is Mason's day I'll use his favorite song.
Yes. That is his favorite song. :(
So Mason was outside playing with Lexi and Gabe, a couple of neighborhood kids today. Lexi is 10 years old, and Gabe is 6, Mason, unfortunately, is 4 almost 5, so he's the youngest in the group.
Mason told me tonight that they told him they had a sleepover a couple of nights ago, and played xbox, and got ice cream and did all these fun things that would make Mason wish he had been there. So obviously I knew they were lying and were just being mean. I told Mason "They did NOT have a sleepover." Lexi is way to old to be having a sleepover with Gabe not to mention she's a girl and Gabe is a boy. "Their parents wold not let them have a sleepover." Then I started to say "They only told you that because they were trying to make you jealous." But I only got to "They only told you that because they were trying to-" before Mason cuts me off and says "BREAKED MY HEART!"
BWAHAHAHAHA McKayla and I burst into laughter. Breaked my heart? Oh Mason, so dramatic.
Since this post is all about my favorite first born daughter, I will use her favorite song.
McKayla is making me laugh more and more these days. Today she walked into the living room playing with the camera on Parker's iphone. She held it out and said "There is an app that always makes me look fat whenever I use it... it's called the camera."
Alright this is the last chance to vote for my nephew Jared's film. He entered this competition with about 50 other people and he has made it to the final 7. First place wins a full scholarship to Regent. But if he doesn't get that, audience favorite will get 70% scholarship. Please vote for Dave. And keep an eye out for the bully Angus Sue. She's awesome... and pretty... really she made the film what it is. So, you won't want to miss her. :)
Also for your viewing pleasure, here is a little behind the scenes video my nephew made. We also did interviews, but I think that is still being edited.
I have 2 songs that I picked for this review. I thought they both were equally perfect for this book and I couldn't pick one over the other. The first song is an oldie.
Sometimes you find a book that effects you so much, that you eat, breath and sleep it for the next days or weeks after reading it. I found one of those books. It stuck with me. I finished it and immediately turned back to my favorite parts and started rereading it. I absolutely loved this book. It evoked so much emotion out of me that I felt like I was living the events with the characters. Parker said something to me that totally hit the nail on the head for me. I was reading him some of my favorite parts of the book last night when he was trying to go to sleep. I was cracking up and saying how funny I thought some of these parts were and he made the comment "She writes conversations that sound real." He was so right. The conversations and actions described during the conversations are so real. It doesn't sound like a story, it feels like it really happened. Like people really said these things. What a talented author she is to be able to do that. Before I post my review I'm gonna post the synopsis from Goodreads.
He counts her smiles every day and night at the train station. And morning and evening, the beautiful commuter acknowledges him—just like she does everyone else on the platform. But Blake Hartt is not like the others . . . he’s homeless. Memories of a broken childhood have robbed him of peace and twisted delusions into his soul. He stays secluded from the sun, sure the world would run from him in the harsh light of day. Each day, Livia McHugh smiles politely and acknowledges her fellow commuters as she waits for the train to the city. She dismisses this kindness as nothing special, just like her. She’s the same as a million other girls—certainly no one to be cherished. But special or not, she smiles every day, never imagining that someone would rely on the simple gesture as if it were air to breathe. When the moment comes that Livia must do more than smile, without hesitation she steps into the fray to defend the homeless man. And she's surprised to discover an inexplicable connection with her new friend. After danger subsides, their smiles become conversation. Their words usher in a friendship, which awakens something in each of them. But it’s not long before their bond must prove its strength. Entanglements from the past challenge both their love and their lives. Blake’s heart beats for Livia’s, even if her hands have to keep its rhythm. Love is patient. Love is kind. Love never fails. Love never fails, right? In an interwoven tale of unlikely loves and relationships forged by fire, Debra Anastasia takes readers into the darkest corners of human existence, only to show them the radiant power of pure adoration and true sacrifice. Complicated families and confused souls find their way to light in this novel, which manages to be racy, profane, funny, and reverent all at once.
You know the gist of the story. Now you can read how much I loved it. But first my next song.
Read at your own risk. There may be spoilers to certain events.
I was hesitant about this story. Mostly because the love story was between a normal girl and a homeless man. I kept thinking, 'how can I relate to that?' And I guess part of me kept picturing a dirty old man with a beard, whenever the word homeless entered my mind. Well, I'm SO glad that that didn't stop me from reading this book.
I fell in love with Blake and Livia almost immediately. But especially Blake. He had such a tender, pure heart and every time he opened his mouth you could hear it, which made him even more endearing because he had such a quiet almost shy way about him sometimes. With every word he spoke, his heart was on display. Most especially when he talked to or about Livia. A perfect example of what I'm talking about is the fact that he kept count of how many times she smiled at him. Ugh, it's almost heartbreakingly sweet. I love how he interpreted actions with music. He heard music through his daily life, like he had his own soundtrack. I loved it. In fact, one of my favorite scenes is when Livia gets him to play her little electric key-lighted keyboard that she got as a child.
Listening to him play was like discovering an eagle in the wild. It was tumblingly bewitching. She could feel and hear genius-she knew it.
"Blake." She didn't have to say more.
He locked his emerald eyes on hers, and she could not look away. Not for anything. He let his happy song trickle into a more intimate one. Blake's fingers moved as he held her gaze. "I wrote this one while we danced the other night," he said softly.
The music washed over her. It changed her. Refreshed her. Made her more than she was. Blake stood and twisted the keyboard around, still playing with one hand. He motioned for her with the other. She nearly ran. He scooped her up with one arm and set her on the table next to the keyboard.
"This is what nibbling your ear sounds like." Blake created a soundtrack for his teeth.
"This is what looking into your eyes sounds like." The notes were deep and beckoning.
"This is what my mind hears when my tongue is in your mouth." The kiss sounded steamy and delicate. The rhythm was her heartbeat as he sampled her mouth.
"But when you smile. When you smile it's..." Blake scooted the keyboard around behind her. He needed both hands.
She put her hands on his face and smiled in amazement as the music exploded. She couldn't imagine how her simple facial gesture could inspire such a majestic sound.
He smiled back. "One thousand nine hundred and ten."
"So many? Really?"
"Yes, really. And it's not nearly enough. I want to lose count, Livia. Make me lose count."
I just love that scene. I want to hear the music he is playing.
I really enjoyed all the characters in this book. They all had such individual personalities. But I think my two favorites, besides Blake, would definitely have to be Kyle and Beckett! OMG The two of them cracked me up. But I'll get to them in a second. I thought it was cool how as the story progressed and more characters were introduced more stories developed. By the end of the book I felt like I read 3 love stories instead of 1. I usually hate reading flashbacks and backstories in books, because I just want to get on with the story at hand. But I got so caught up in these characters lives that I WANTED to learn more about them. I wanted to know their back stories.
OK Kyle. (I've never heard that name used for a girl before, it was different. I had a hard time reading it as Kyle, because I kept thinking of a boy I went to high school with. I kept reading it as Kylie) The things that came out of Kyle's mouth were hilarious. She was so creative with her insults, she had a dirty mouth and was very R rated, but she was a ball of fire with a lot of spunk and energy. I really enjoyed her. Little example of Kyle, when Livia is having trouble pulling herself together at her wedding Kyle says "Quit being such a snot-flinging drama queen. Suck it up and marry him."
"[..] You scared the uterus out of me."
~Kyle
And Beckett. He was so charismatic, I just loved him from the start. He was a mobster/gangster with a surprisingly big heart. In fact everything he did, was out of love for his brothers. He totally went about things in the wrong way but he did the only thing he knew to do to keep his brothers safe and happy. His and Eve's story lines were the only thing I wasn't happy about at the end of the book. I realize he did it to himself by killing Chris. But I hated how it ended for him. Really, it didn't feel like an ending for him, or for Eve. It doesn't make sense for two people to both love each other, and then split. Even if it is BECAUSE they love each other that they split. That just doesn't make sense. You stick together, you find a way to get through it. They seemed so perfect for each other in so many ways, right down to the fact that they both had such a soft spot for kids. Really, when does Beckett get his happy ending. It seems like everything he does is for everyone else. He sacrifices his own happiness for the people that he loves over and over. His whole lifestyle choice was out of the love he had for his brothers. I was really hoping that there was going to be a continuation of their story, but I haven't found where Debra Anastasia has said anything about a second book. It would be hard to create a sequel I think because she wrapped up every one else's story so nicely. There was closure with everything, except Beckett and Eve. Well, thats not true either. They did get closure, but I just didn't like it. Their last scene together made my heart hurt. I'm a happy ending kind of girl, and Beckett was one of my favorites so I hurt for him in the end.
"So I'm sitting in that damn chair, ready to die, and I say to her, 'You're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. I'm so damn glad you're going to kill me instead of some brainless, toothless druggie." Beckett smiled again at the memory of his almost-murder. "Then she traded the knife for her lips, and now she works for me." Beckett put his hands behind his head and flexed his giant biceps. "She won't tell me who hired her to come here. She's the deadliest person I've ever encountered. I still think she might kill me, but I can't stop looking at her."
~Beckett
I thought Debra Anastasia was so good at writing scenes that could very easily be corny and making them beautiful. For example Blake and Livia's wedding. When I read that it was going to be at the train station, I thought that was pushing it. But having it told from Blake's point of view was perfect! Seeing it through his eyes and his emotions as he thought back about waiting in that exact train station all those hours just to get a smile from Livia, then to be standing and waiting there for her to come to him as his bride was so touching. (Since I'm talking about the wedding I want to mention now that another one of my favorite scenes was at the very beginning of their wedding and Livia wouldn't look at Blake because she knew she would start crying. So Blake got down on his knee to get her to look at him and asked her again if she would marry him. So sweet!) Or when Livia tried for the first time to get Blake to come out in the sun. The way she did it, could have been a really corny scene except the way it was written made it beautiful.
I will definitely be reading more from this author and I will read this book over and over again.
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FAVORITE QUOTES
There are so many favorite quotes and scenes in this book that I'll probably end up just copying the whole book here if I include them all, so here are just a few. It was hard narrowing it down to just a few though.
"He counts. You've smiled at him four hundred and forty-six times as of a few minutes ago. He announces the number every time I see him."
~Cole (talking to Livia about Blake)
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"Hello, beautiful Livia," Blake answered.
"How did you know it was me?" Livia saw her wide smile in the rear view mirror.
"The phone looked sexier when it rang."
~Blake and Livia
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This was after Becketts place of business blew up and he thought Eve was inside. Eve realizes this and runs to him just before he is about to run into the burning building.
"Don't ever die in my head again. Please, never again,"
~Beckett
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After soft kisses, they pressed their hands together palm to palm. The tingling scattered all over Livia's body, warming her.
"Do you feel that?" she whispered with a smile.
His lips moved in his silent count. Blake wrapped his fingers around her hand. She copied the movement. Their hands together now resembled a heart-not a cartoon rendering of the shape, but a real human heart.
He touched her lips with his and murmured, "I've been feeling it since you first smiled at me."
~Blake and Livia
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"Oh my God! I'm engaged! I'm marrying Cole!"
"What?!" Livia squeezed her sister hard. "Let me see. When did this happen? Did you tell Dad? When is it going to be? How did he propose?"
The men stopped their congratulatory handshake to stare at the speed-talking ladies.
"Last night, not yet, four weeks from today, naked!" Kyle blurted in response
The girls became a moving, jumping circle of hug.
"Cole, you popped the question in your birthday suit?" Blake teased.
Cole put his face in his hands. "Did not think she would share that bit of information."
~Kyle, Livia, Blake and Cole
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She picked up the phone and dialed Blake's number. His silky hello made her smile.
"You're smiling, right?" His voice was so intimate.
"Of course," she murmured. "Does it still count if you don't see it?"
"It counts when I feel it," he replied.
~Blake and Livia
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"Beckett's probably the hardest man there is to love," Blake said. "He does life wrong for all the right reasons."
~Blake
Believe it or not I DID narrow it down. Those were not ALL my favorite quotes or scenes. This was SUCH a good book!
After posting this review on Goodreads, I got a message from the Author Debra Anastasia, she informed me that she IS writing a sequel!!! I am so excited about this. I'm so glad the journey I experienced with the people in Poughkeepsie is not over. For more information about Debra Anastasia and her other books click the link below.
I can't believe I had 3 wolf songs on my ipod for these 3 posts.
This next series is by a new author and I was kind of hard in my reviews I think. I hate to sugar coat how I feel after reading a book, but usually more I liked the book the more passionate my reviews are. This book is one of them. There were quite a few things that annoyed me in these books so I didn't hold back on my thoughts. I don't usually have much of a filter when writing a review so I always feel a little sheepish after writing reviews like the following, and then get a message from the author. Author Quinn Loftis sent me a message on Goodreads thanking me for my review and offered her 3rd book to me for free if I would write another review. She said she could see I was on the fence about her books and thought that her writing had grown a lot with each book and hoped I would like the 3rd a little more than the first 2. How kind is that? I rant and complain in 2 reviews of her books and she offers me the 3rd book for no charge. Now I can't wait to read the 3rd book.
OK I loved the story. I really got into it, but the dialogue was really annoying sometimes, and corny. I got so tired of Jacque and her friend's comments. I think it sounds like the characters are trying too hard to be funny. Sarcasm is funny in small doses, but it seemed like every conversation Jacque had to make a sarcastic comment, and she came off sounding kind of snotty. She didn't seem mature enough for Fane. I kept cringing when Fane's father, the ALPHA, was explaining things and Jacque's friends would make stupid little comments. Ugh, could they not keep their mouths shut and show some respect for like 5 minutes. It just got so annoying. Everyone acted like the girls were funny but I think a true Alpha would have had enough and put them in their place by making them shut up. (I wish he would have. It got to the point where I started skimming the words when Jen or Sally spoke.) Also, it didn't seem very realistic that a werewolf prince would take so much crap from some human girls and their big mouths. The scene I'm thinking about in particular is after the challenge, he was freshly healed and on his way to see Jacque and Jen and Sally stop him to give him the third degree about HOW he won the challenge. Geez, he won, yeah he had scare Jacque in order to win, but he won, he's not DEAD, back off. Ugh those stupid girls needed to be knocked down a peg or two.
I really liked Fane. He was easy to fall in love with. I just didn't see what he liked about Jacque. I realize she was his mate or whatever, but Jacque, as a person, was so annoying. I know he needed someone strong as his mate, but being sarcastic and having a temper is not the same as being strong. Her fits were more like a toddlers or a spoiled teenagers rather than a mature 17 year old, who was about to start training to become a female Alpha of the largest werewolf pack in the world. Which brings me to another thing, I don't like that she was just a human. I think it would have been cooler if once she found her mate and did the whole bonding ceremony and blood rites thing, that triggered the dormant wolf inside of her or something like that. I just think she should be a wolf too. Of course I haven't read the next book, which I think is the bonding ceremony and blood rites, but they already told her that she will not be a wolf. Thats stupid.
I was sort of surprised that her mother did not play a bigger role. It seemed like in all these conversations they had in the living room about life changing events that were about to take place, her mother would have had more to say. Her mother barely talked at all. Being a mother she should have been asking questions and letting her opinion be known. Trying to reason with her daughter when she would go into one of her childish fits. But she was very silent. It was weird.
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Despite all the complaining I just did, I DID enjoy the story a lot. So here are some of the quotes I did like or found funny.
FAVORITE QUOTES
This is right after Jacque, Jen and Sally met Fane for the first time.
"First impressions?" Jacque finally prompted.
"Oh, I don't know, maybe something like, OH MY, stutter, drool, FREAKING, pant, deep breathing, GOSH!" Jen spat.
~Jacque and Jen
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This was Jacque's response to seeing Fane jump out of his bedroom window.
"What the hell was that? Do you make it a habit to jump out of two story structures? Were you thinking, 'hey the front door is such a typical way to leave a place why not mix it up a bit and fall out of the window instead'?"
~Jacque
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This is one of the very few times that I thought Jen was kind of funny and not just annoying.
"Well, duh!" Jen responded. "Wouldn't it wear you out if you'd just met the man of your dreams? Then it turns out he's a werewolf, then it turns out you're his mate or whatever, then it turns there's this other pack of wolves with a psycho, werewolf leader who wants you as his mate, and then it turns out..." Jen paused. "You get the picture."
OK I have to say, this book was a little better than the last one as far as the annoying dialogue goes. It was still there, and about 3 pages into the book I was asking myself why I just bought another book full of Jacque, Jen and Sally. But as it turns out, Jen and Jacque are unconscious for part of the book and then separated for another good portion. So it was more bearable when it was only 2 girls making dumb sarcastic comments at inappropriate times.
First what I liked about the book. Most definitely Fane. I loved his protective nature and the love that just oozed from his pores. I loved it. This story was kind of the same plot as the first book. Another wolf wants his mate, except this one took it a bit further and actually kidnapped her. That added a different element to the book that the last book didn't have because it came down to Fane rescuing Jacque, and I'm a sucker for rescues. :)
I also liked the thing that Jen and Decebel obviously have going on. It was fun seeing Decebel start to come out his shell and start throw some zingers at Jen that left her speechless. In fact those were some of my favorite moments, when Decebel left Jen speechless. HA! The next book is about Jen and Decebel, but I'm just not sure I can stomach a whole book about Jen. I'm gonna have to think on this one.
I forgot to mention this in my review of the first book, but I loved that Quinn Loftis added a lot of Romanian into the conversations. I LOVE books with different languages in them. Hott!
And this is a minor part, but I like that Jacque's dad ended up not being a douche. I like that he saw he was wrong and his reasons for wanting to take her away were more selfish than the reasons he was given. I mean come on, poor Fane can't be held responsible for a car accident. I felt so bad for him every time someone blamed him for that. It was completely out of his control. He can't predict the future. :( Poor Fane. But like I said, I think her dad redeemed himself.
LOVED the Bonding ceremony! I LOVED that he proposed to her and she accepted and married him on the spot. I kept thinking to myself, throughout the book 'why won't she just marry him?' Well she DID!! And I LOVED how it all played out. LOVED, LOVED, LOVED IT!
Some complaints.
First, what was up with Jacques mom after the car wreck? How many mom's go into such shock that they leave their ONLY child to burn to death in a car? That didn't seem very realistic to me. I think her mom would have moved heaven and earth to get her daughter out of that car and to safety. OK lets say that she did go into that terrible state of shock and later realizes at the hospital that she left her daughters teenage friends the job of getting her unconscious daughter out of the car and out of harms way. Hello?!! What parent wouldn't be wracked with horrible guilt? Another thing about the whole car wreck thing. I thought the girls SAW Logan standing there right before the wreck. Why didn't any of them recognize him when he was introduced later in the hospital? That didn't make any sense.
Speaking of Logan, I thought it was annoying that he had to go through and explain his whole plan chapters before implementing it. It kind of made it a little redundant to read it all over again when it actually happened. I think his planning should have been more vague so when it came time to take Jacque, we didn't exactly know what to expect.
One of my favorite scenes in this book was when Fane found out Jacque's dad was invoking Alpha rights and wanted to take her. Fane went into a rage and destroyed a waiting room. I loved it!! :) (Part of that will be in my favorite quotes.) Just the thought of her getting taken from him did that. And yet, when she actually was taken from him, he was very subdued... it wasn't consistent. I kept waiting for his wolf to burst out and for him to go tearing through the city howling for his lost mate. I expected SOMETHING after the scene he created at just the thought of losing her. I was disappointed however because he kept himself in check and didn't rage at all until he saw in her dream what Logan had done to her. But even then, his father was able to calm him. But in the hospital he actually defied his Alpha's orders before Jacque was ever taken. grrrr
My final complaint is of course about Sally and Jen. Could those girls not be serious for one second. They get in a car accident, almost burn to death, 2 of them end up in a coma with most of their body covered in burns. After they wake up Jacque starts screaming in pain and is taken to ICU, she disappears for almost a week and who knows what is happening to her at the hands of this crazed wolf, and Sally and Jen are STILL joking and being sarcastic at the most somber of times. It made me so mad. Could they not show some respect? Jen said that she feels its her responsibility to joke and lighten the mood because if she can joke then it will relax every one and give them hope that everything will all work out. But I didn't see it that way. I saw at as callous. Their friend is being tortured in a sense and you're making jokes? It's just not the time. It's disrespectful. It annoyed the crap out of me.
Here is an example. They are all in a burning car that has just wrecked and flipped over numerous times. Instead of screaming and freaking out and trying to GET OUT OF THE CAR!!!!! Jen is joking while they all sit there and await their death. Lilly, Jacque's mom, and this is before she goes into such a state of shock that she is practically catatonic, tells Jen to stop with the smart remarks because they aren't helping the situation. To which Jen replies:
"It's okay Ms.P. Not many of us handle being burned alive very well, it's a little traumatic,"
What?! You're car is freaking on fire!!! Your friend is unconscious and you are joking. Ugh that is SO annoying!!
Here's another passage that didn't make sense to me, during the fire this is Jen's internal thought as she is trying to get her friend out of a burning car.
"DAMMIT SALLY JUST GO!" Jen hated yelling at her but she had to keep her focused, she was also beginning to realize that she cursed a whole lot more when she was under pressure. Oh well, could be worse, Jen thought.
What could be worse? Is she talking about the fact that she could be cursing at a worse time? That the situation could be worse? Because I see it really COULDN'T get much worse at that point. That sentence made no sense. Annoyed me!
I seem to be on a roll here, so I might as well keep going.
Jen and Jacque have finally woken up from their month long coma's... within hours of each other I might add. Convenient. They are being wheeled into their new joint room where Sally is waiting.
"Oh, come on Sal. If you keep looking at me like I'm a sick puppy you found in a ditch I'm going to smother you with a pillow in your sleep." Jacque winked at her friend despite her tough words.
"Bloody hell, here I thought I was the reigning female dog in this posse." Jen grinned at Sally.
And just like that I was already wishing their were back in their coma's. Because for the next 5 pages, it is the three of them going back and forth with comments like those. Pull my hair out ANNOYING!
Despite all this complaining I have just done I did like the book, believe it or not. I think the reason I am complaining so bad about this book is because it has the potential to be one of my favorites. I LOVED the story, I LOVED Fane's love and fierce protectiveness for Jacque. I love the whole idea the author came up with about a werewolf searching for his mate and when they find each other they are drawn to each other in such a way that other unmated werewolves want it and try to take it even though it doesn't work that way. So I want to "love" this book not just "like" it. But I can't because of all the reasons I just listed. :(
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FAVORITE QUOTES
"I don't know what idiot thought it was smarter to let a woman enter a room before him. How does he know if it is safe for her to enter if he does not check it out himself? It's actually a much more caring act to go before her, therefore ensuring that nothing will harm her,"
~Decebel
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"[...] Whatever it is, Fane is royally pissed off," she answered.
"No pun intended, but" Jen laughed, "get it? Royally pissed, cuz he's a prince... anyone, no... no takers? Okay then."
~Jacque and Jen
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OK this is a long quote. I just LOVED this scene!!! This was after Fane found out Jacque's dad wanted to invoke Alpha rights and take her away from Fane until her 18th birthday, that was 2 months away. Just to set the scene, this first quote is right after Fane was in a rage trashing the hospital waiting room and his father used his Alpha "power" to drive Fane to his knees with his head lowered not making eye contact in a show of submission.
"Înţeleg cǎ sunteţi supăraţi, am înţeles sunteţi doare, dar eu sunt încǎ în stadiul alpha-ul tău, vă va prezenta la mine, Fane. (I undersand you are angry, I understand you are hurting, but I am still your Alpha, you will submit to me, Fane). You know I will not let anything happen to Jacque, trust me. If not as your Alpha, then as your father."
After a few moments of silence Fane finally stood up and looked at his father. "I don't know if I can do that. You ask too much, Dillon Jacobs asks too much. I may not be Pack Alpha of the Romanian Greys, but I'm more dominant than Jacobs. He will not take what is mine. I'm sorry Alpha, but in this I cannot obey." Fane didn't wait for his father to respond as he turned and left the waiting area, headed back to Jacquelyn's room.
This next part is a couple of pages later in Jacque's hospital room.
(*sidenote- Alina is Fane's mother)
Jacque would have acknowledged her friends efforts to defend her had the door not flew open and a raging, pissed off werewolf prince walked in. His power swirled around them so strong that Alina let out a whine, sounding alarmingly like a wolf in pain. Even Jacque felt the dormant wolf gene in her wanting to submit to the power of the Alpha wolf in Fane. It was getting hard to breathe the air was so thick with his anger. He walked over to Jacque, whose head was bowed and turned so that her neck was bared. It was like she knew instinctively to submit so as to not provoke the dominant wolf and hopefully she would subdue him in her surrender. Fane's wolf must have been the one in control of the wheel because he leaned down over Jacque and growled low. He placed his face against her neck, breathing deep, and his voice was guttural when he spoke. "Mine."
Jacque turned her head slightly and did what no other would ever be able to do when this Alpha was at this point, she looked him in the eyes. "Yes, I am yours." As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Fane pulled his power in and all of the sudden it was like a weight had been lifted and they could breathe again.
See? With a powerful scene like that I get so excited about the story! I wish the rest of the book could have captured me like this instead of annoying me with stupid dialogue.
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Last quote, sorry I know, I'm getting carried away. This is shortly after the scene above where Jacque is still trying to calm Fane and and get him back in control of his wolf.
"You sit," his mate told him.
"No, I stand."
"Me Tarzan, you Jane," Sally mumbled.
"Snap, you beat me to it. [...]"
~Jacque, Fane, Sally and Jen (In order of which they spoke)
So thats that. As soon as I finish the 3rd book I will post my review.
I think this is a fitting song for the continuation of Werewolf week. :)
This is the final installment of the Dark Divine series. I just loved this series. Reading the last book made me want to go back and reread the first two books all over again. The reviews for the first two books are pretty short but I'll add those to the bottom of this review as well.
*My original post about the cover of this book is at the bottom, after my review.
Wow, where do I begin? This was a great ending to a great series.
BUT... I'm a little on the fence about one thing. That one thing had a major impact on a few things.
I hovered my cursor at 5 stars but I couldn't do it, I couldn't give it the full 5 stars, because of this one thing...
I hovered my cursor to check my "favorites shelf" but couldn't. This is the first book in the series that is not on my "favorites shelf", because of that one thing...
I also hovered over my "loved it" shelf, which is reserved for books that I love but just not enough to deem them a favorite. But I couldn't even put it on my "loved it" shelf, because of that one thing.
I'm going to leave that thing for the end of my review though. First I just want to praise the book.
Bree Despain did such a great job of keeping this story moving. I don't think I have read 488 pages so fast in my life. I flew through this book. I loved that I didn't have to wait until page 400 for Grace and Daniel to reunite. I will say though, that for about the first 50 pages I would tear up just about every time she mentioned Daniel. But like I said, the story moved along quickly, the main focus was not getting Daniel back into his human form like I was SO afraid it would be. He actually came back a lot quicker than I was expecting. Another thing that I thought was cool, was how connected Daniel and Grace seemed to be. I loved that they could sense what each other needed. They had some sort of muted telepathy thing going on. I love that there wasn't anything in this book that came between Grace and Daniel. Their love was solid through the book. Well once Grace turned him back into a human, that is. I loved their bond, and you could feel their feelings for one another pour off the page whenever they had a chance to be alone together. It was refreshing to not have to worry about them splitting up, or question their loyalty to one another. Again, they were very solid.
I loved the new characters introduced. The lost boys. Loved all of them, and felt my chest burn when Brent died. I knew there were going to be casualties, but I really wasn't expecting Brent to be one of them. :(
Poor Jude. That guy just couldn't catch a break. I felt horrible for poor April who just wanted to love the kid even though he wouldn't really let himself fully love her back it seemed. I kept thinking that Jude was going to come back because although the spear was thrown out of hatred, Jude threw his body in front of it out of love. I was hoping that the final act of love would be enough to kill his wolf. :( But I guess it doesn't work that way, you can't be the one to skewer yourself, it had to be from the hands of someone who loved you. That part was just so sad. :( I didn't want him to die, I wanted Jude to be able to love himself again so he could love April who stood behind him throughout the whole series.
I kind of wish that there was an epilogue or something that skipped to Grace and Daniel's wedding day or something. It feels like there was still more to come. I didn't get a lot of closure with this ending. It just doesn't feel over for me. I got closure on most of their problems, but not on their relationship I guess. They were already engaged in the last book, so ending it with them getting engaged again just didn't do it for me. Maybe she is leaving it kind of open to write a novella, or possibly revisit the series later when Talbot decides to come back. I hope so.
Well since I seem to be winding down my praising, I guess I'll tackle the thing that has left me feeling unhappy.
That one thing that threw the whole book off for me was...
Nathan Talbot.
I'm so confused about this. Obviously I didn't want him to end up with Grace, I was definitely team Daniel. And I didn't want poor Talbot to join their pack and suffer every time he saw Grace and Daniel together, but dang it, I just hated what happened to him!
I could see it coming and I kept hoping I was wrong. I kept hoping that Grace would come to her senses and stop punishing him. I wanted Talbot to be forgiven, but she was so mean to him. And really, I didn't understand how she could be SO mad at him but forgive everyone else. She forgave her brother who turned her over to Caleb in the last book without showing any remorse at the time. Talbot tried to save her. He tried to prove himself over and over, he begged for Grace to give him another chance throughout the whole book and she just kept snapping at him and lashing out at him. Every time she did it I just wanted to hug the poor guy. The only reason I can think of, that Grace would feel his betrayal so strongly above every one else's is because she had feelings for him in the last book. She was attracted to him. Not like she was with Daniel, but maybe the fact that she did have romantic feelings for him made his lies hurt worse. I hate that Despain made us fall in love with him in the last book only for him to be the bad guy at the end of this one.
I just wanted Talbot to get a second chance and be forgiven. And so THAT is the reason I could not love this book, I can't say it is a favorite and I can't give it 5 stars. Because my heart broke for Talbot. I even hoped that at the end when he threw the spear, that Grace would have jumped up and shielded Daniel. I thought that was what was going to happen before Jude jumped in the way. I didn't want Grace to die, but I thought if Talbot saw that he almost killed her, maybe that would have been enough to break him of his hatred. Talbot could have thrown the spear, Grace stopped it with her body, and then as Talbot is crying because he thinks he just killed the only person he loves, Grace forgives him for everything and apologizes to HIM for the way she has been acting the past 2 weeks. That is how I would have liked for it to end. With Talbot being loved, even if it was just a friendship.
So now, Talbot is her nemesis, and there was absolutely no closure there. What happens next? Because it's left open in a way that makes me think there must be more to come because not everyone was defeated. Not that I want Talbot defeated. :( I want him to be happy too. Even after everything he did in this book, I still have a soft spot for him. GAK! I just hated this part of the story!
Alright enough. Moving on.
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FAVORITE QUOTES
"Okay," I said. "I think Katie's had enough partying for one night." I motioned for Slade to pick her up. "Take care of her, will you?" I asked him.
Slade looked down at Katie, still clinging to his legs, and then back at me. A stricken look crossed his face. He leaned toward me and whispered, "Um. To be clear, are you asking me to kill her and dump her body?"
~Grace and Slade
haha I loved Slade. I would have liked for him to play a bigger role. Oh well.
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(First review of cover before book was released. Posted November 2011)
First impressions of the cover
WHAT?! NO NO NO NO NO! The cover is all wrong! I loved the covers of this series. They were all so pretty, but this one is so wrong. Shall, I make a list of all the things so wrong with this cover? I think I shall.
~There is too much of the body showing, it's supposed to be from the hip down.
~The body is the wrong color. She is supposed to be pasty white, not peachy flesh-toned.
~The font is wrong. It's supposed to be a curly cursive and it shouldn't touch the body, it should be in the black.
~Bree Despain is supposed to be at the bottom and should be printed in the same color of the tulle.
~Speaking of color, that color red doesn't go with the other two books. It's the wrong color palette or something, it just doesn't match.
~Also, it looks like she is running away rather than laying down. I don't like it. I liked the uniformity of the other two books. This one just ruins it.
~The toenails are supposed to be painted NOT the fingernails.
Ugh, I know this is just a book cover, but this is really bothering me. I'm assuming that all these changes are supposed to represent Grace's growth or something in this last book. But I don't care. I would have liked the cover to have stuck to the guidelines set by the first two books. :( grrrr
I loved this book. I loved the mystery. It had me guessing through most of the book. I liked Grace, I liked that she laughed and joked. Too many times I think that authors forget to add a humorous side to their main character. But Grace made fun of herself and actually cracked some jokes throughout the book.
I also loved how Daniel was so patient with her after she learned the truth about him. I felt so bad when she kept telling him to leave.
I definitely will read this book again.
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OK I have a favorite quote from this book too.
"I tried to forget you," I admitted. "I tried to forget everything about you."
"You hated me that much?"
"No." I grabbed a branch and pulled myself up, my back still to him. "I missed you that much."
Well at first I was not enjoying this book. It was moving kind of slow and I was so ready to find out what was going on with Daniel. He was very elusive and secretive, just like the first book. But the end saved the whole book for me, I loved it. When Grace and Daniel finally were honest with each other, it made the rest of the book worth the wait. I loved it. I also loved Talbot's part in the whole book. Despain made you like him, but question him through the whole book, and I just loved who he became at the end of the book. I also love that, although Grace was attracted Talbot, she never acted on it because even though her relationship with Daniel was a little rocky, her love for him never weakened. Now I can't wait to read the next book!
The good thing about this series is how Bree Despain doesn't let you get comfortable with their relationship. In the end of the first book Grace and Daniel end up together, but she didn't let you get comfortable with it in the second book. Loved it!
Alright, so I mentioned that I might start adding some of my book reviews on here since I seem to be pretty faithful about updating my Goodreads account. This week has been a big week for werewolves. I just finished 4 different books with werewolves as the main subject, and quite on accident. I wasn't looking for werewolf books but since I read so many I figured I could post a couple of my reviews on here and make it werewolf week. :)
And it just so happens that, I have a song for it. One that I have been loving lately. It's a fun song to harmonize to.
I think I need to write a warning about my reviews before I post. My reviews are less of a review and more of my thoughts on the book. I write my "reviews" like I am at a book club discussing the book.
The book I am posting a review for is Unleashed by Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguié. This is book 1 in The Wolf Springs Chronicles series. Here is the synopsis for the book from Goodreads.
Katelyn McBride’s life changed in an instant when her mother died. Uprooted from her California home, Katelyn was shipped to the middle of nowhere, Arkansas, to her only living relative, her grandfather. And now she has to start over in Wolf Springs, a tiny village in the Ozark Mountains. Like any small town, Wolf Springs has secrets. But the secrets hidden here are more sinister than Katelyn could ever imagine. It’s a town with a history that reaches back centuries, spans continents, and conceals terrifying truths. And Katelyn McBride is about to change everything.
Broken families, ageless grudges, forced alliances, and love that blooms in the darkest night—welcome to Wolf Springs.
This book started out kind of slow. There was a lot of mystery in it, and it took too long for things to be revealed in my opinion. But it started to pick up and I really got into it.
I'm so confused about the whole Trick/Jason thing. I love Trick. Although I thought it was weird that he liked Kat so much, but didn't really make much of an effort to include her in his circle of friends. He never invited her to do things with them. (There was that ONE party he invited her to go as his date, where he freaked out... which was never really explained, I didn't buy the whole "I didn't know this was going to be a memorial" thing.) But then he makes that cool sculpture thing for Kat and she gets all emotional starts making out and then she pushes him away and gives him the cold shoulder. I didn't really understand all that either. Yeah there was a lot going on in her life, but I didn't see why she had to hurt Trick. I felt bad for him. I liked it when he finally got aggressive and made her sit with him at lunch and talk with him. What does she end up doing? She starts making out with him again and AGAIN pushes him away. What the heck! What a freakin' tease.
Then the Jason thing. At first I didn't really like Jason coming in and messing things up for Trick, because she didn't once think of Trick, those first few times she was with Jason. But as you learn more about Jason and how him and Kat feel such a pull to one another even though they don't want to succumb to it, it started to intrigue me. Now I want to know what that whole situation is about, because it sounds like they are natural mates. But where does that leave Trick? I have a feeling there is more to Trick that meets the eye, that maybe he has his own supernatural secret... I can't wait to get my hands on the next book.
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Book 2 is supposed to be released this fall. The date has yet to be determined.
Before I say anything, I want to post my song. I have not been able to turn this song off lately. I've been obsessed. Actually I've been obsessed with 2 of their songs but this is the one stuck in my head now. The song is itchin' on a photograph by Grouplove
OK, 2012 is the year for my blog. I know this is sort of turning into a joke isn't it. haha Well this it. I'm serious. I'm going to blog. I will! I've been contemplating blogging my book reviews on here. I am pretty faithful about putting my book reviews on goodreads, and it always has the option to blog your review. I think I'm going to start linking them up.
I've made a new goal for this year. Last year I made a goal of reading 120 books, and I ended up reading 164. This year my goal is 150. I don't want to push myself too much. The reason I ended up reading SO much was because I was slipped behind on my goal and I started reading like crazy to catch up and then I just kept going. So I'm hoping 150 won't be too stressful.
I am a wife to a Marine, Parker. We were together for 8 years when we were married in 2006. We have two wonderful children McKayla and Mason. I hope to make their childhood as wonderful as mine. I have so many great memories of growing up.
I am the youngest of 6. I have 3 brothers and 2 sisters and lots of nieces and nephews. I LOVE my family.
I love making things. I have a lot of hobbies; sewing, scrapbooking, knitting, crocheting, baking and lately photography. I like to think I'm creative. I love craft projects.
Shackled by Debra Anastasia
