tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83048861053447019282024-02-07T10:53:28.835-06:00Abstract AbyssThe wandering mind is a dangerous place to be...anicheunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04354599944470683233noreply@blogger.comBlogger236125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304886105344701928.post-12604202756272280432016-03-05T11:39:00.001-06:002016-03-05T11:39:25.447-06:00My TBR List -- March 2016 Voting<div style="text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://www.becausereading.com/my-to-be-read-list-lets-vote-6/" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglFOy9oZaK_DGRYrsGVxstVWkzhoPjCJmPp77oMkm1HTLMiFbecdPGVwDLMGQAlSZNIZP8Kdu1s_gM7Bp5GIii8s1Ap8lYlj0LkCI_1zi35YXgBASlrUL-jnbdzOjMQ09X_i_qhTC-sAaV/s400/MyTBRList-1024x661.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<strong><em><a href="http://www.becausereading.com/tbr-list-meme/" target="_blank">My TBR List</a> is a monthly meme hosted by Michelle @ <a href="http://www.becausereading.com/" target="_blank">Because Reading</a>.</em></strong></div>
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<em>The basic gist of this activity is to have others help decide on which book out of three I'm selecting from my TBR pile I should read for the month via votes. Posts for voting, the winning book, and the final book review will go up on Saturdays.</em></div>
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<em>Click on the above links for more information.</em></div>
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<strong><a href="http://www.becausereading.com/my-to-be-read-list-lets-vote-6/" target="_blank">Join This Month's My TBR List -- March 2016</a></strong></div>
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<strong>First of all</strong>, I have done something I should have done a long time ago: I have disabled the Facebook comments section on my blog. When I realized that I wasn't getting notifications whenever people commented through Facebook, I started googling and reading FAQs and discussions around BL and FB and finally found out that there's some sort of problem with the Facebook comments plugin... or something and that it is currently a work in progress.</div>
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If anyone else has any ideas, feel free to let me know. Thanks in advance.</div>
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For anyone who is not a BL member and prefers commenting through the Facebook comments plugin, I apologize. I just like to be able to know when someone comments on my posts so that I don't look like I'm deliberately ignoring people. I found a comment from a blog post from months ago and felt kind of bad that I never saw it.</div>
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<strong><em>Anyway</em>... moving along to the actual reason for this post now!</strong></div>
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I'm trying to kill two birds with one stone with this month's My TBR List meme. The three books I'm selecting will be books I intend to read this year anyway, but I couldn't quite decide which book to pick; and I also wanted to continue participating in the My TBR List meme each month. It looks like it'd be quite a bit of fun if I decided to stick with it, and, again, it'll also help me satisfy my Bonus Blogging Goal for my <a href="http://anicheung.booklikes.com/post/1309129/2016-bookish-resolutions" target="_blank">2016 Bookish Resolutions</a>.</div>
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This month's My TBR List will be a <strong>March 2016 Reading Assignment</strong> <strong>edition</strong>; I've already my first three books to read for March for this challenge and need a fourth one, so I decided to have everyone help me choose from three other books I would like to read from my <a href="http://anicheung.booklikes.com/post/1299106/2016-reading-assignment-challenge" target="_blank">2016 Reading Assignment</a> list. Because my own personal book draw revealed that I'm still indecisive as heck, I decided it might be a good idea to let someone else to choose one of these books for me.</div>
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Don't worry, either way, I will be reading all of these books at some time this year. It's just a matter of when, and I'm at a standstill on which one I want to get to first.</div>
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Thank you in advance to everyone voting!</div>
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<strong>The Books</strong></div>
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Again, I also went ahead and put in a personal vote for one of these books, so I'll get to see how majority turns out in comparison to my own personal vote. Exciting! :D</div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36190.Whirlpool" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg16EjNz3gQBvOj_SxrIHeaaF4qCXdNjx15MQ5cEdFEgZAkthw6P8EsUHnqnAW1skDaUW9lNiEUNNjeLZLv7pV2-g7THuUUhu6ROzFmXZpF9xiPEhysofz7NxpnbSRwfCox7glXHYJKVPY-/s400/Lowell%252C+Elizabeth+-+Whirlpool.jpg" width="242" /></a></div>
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<strong>Whirlpool by Elizabeth Lowell</strong></div>
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<em>As a child, Laurel Swann barely knew her father. Always an enigma, intriguing and inscrutable, he was an elusive shadow flitting in and out of her life. Even now, years later, he remains a stranger to her. Still, when a mysterious parcel arrives containing a priceless Fabergé egg, Laurel is certain it came from him. But she doesn't realize that her father's gift has brought death and terror into her world...</em></div>
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<em>Against her will, Laurel is being dragged down into a swirling vortex of betrayal and violence. And there's nowhere to turn for help--except to Cruz Rowan, an ex-FBI agent and her father's sworn enemy. A strong, secretive, and dangerous man, Cruz has his own agenda and is spinning his own webs.</em></div>
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<em>And he is her last and only hope...</em></div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/68496.Un_Lun_Dun" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbo39haiby6FPZQGiUvx8_cQcBHlxOkMSe1B27rUeNuO7mjBhO7Koo96spyRADm00-GxyrGwzKYye8UvaylTJIeKRCMc5VmSfeH3Go7a0pp8GEr7AsPRcYYgQUrHs-ybTYcj-2d0ooHnyg/s400/Mieville%252C+China+-+Un+Lun+Dun.jpg" width="262" /></a></div>
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<strong>Un Lun Dun by China Miéville</strong></div>
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<em>What is Un Lun Dun?<br /><strong><br /></strong>It is London through the looking glass, an urban Wonderland of strange delights where all the lost and broken things of London end up . . . and some of its lost and broken people, too–including Brokkenbroll, boss of the broken umbrellas; Obaday Fing, a tailor whose head is an enormous pin-cushion, and an empty milk carton called Curdle. Un Lun Dun is a place where words are alive, a jungle lurks behind the door of an ordinary house, carnivorous giraffes stalk the streets, and a dark cloud dreams of burning the world. It is a city awaiting its hero, whose coming was prophesied long ago, set down for all time in the pages of a talking book.<br /><br />When twelve-year-old Zanna and her friend Deeba find a secret entrance leading out of London and into this strange city, it seems that the ancient prophecy is coming true at last. But then things begin to go shockingly wrong.</em></div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18816308-the-carriage-house" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuy7inyN0YzPGkg6aBRIy-oD2q9vmh8W2g-1pZPXkRsAlgLED1p-eLu0hsbGv1RsXj1zB6dGlskVLWfgK30vKLLtmNzBO9YSlrGZIzL2e7VYKA5zIKlr2PvltVHOjaCEhO4iYhnsuIXWxS/s400/Neggers%252C+Carla+-+The+Carriage+House.jpg" width="242" /></a></div>
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<strong>The Carriage House by Carla Neggers</strong></div>
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<em>Fun and a little hard work. That's all Tess Haviland has in mind when Ike Grantham pays her for her graphic design work on the run-down nineteenth-century carriage house on Boston's North Shore.<br /><br />Then Ike disappears and Tess finds herself with much more than a simple weekend project to get her out of the city. It's not just the rumors that the carriage house is haunted—it's the neighbors: six-year-old Dolly Thorne, her reclusive babysitter, Harley Beckett…and especially Dolly's father, Andrew Thorne, who has his own ideas about why Tess has turned up next door.<br /><br />But when Tess discovers a human skeleton in her dirt cellar, she begins to ask questions about the history of the carriage house, the untimely death of Andrew's wife…and Ike's disappearance. Questions a desperate killer wants to silence before the truth reveals that someone got away with murder.</em></div>
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<strong>Let's Vote!</strong></div>
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<strong>For Booklikes members</strong> reading this in dashboard view, I don't know why the voting thingy doesn't show on dashboard view... at least it doesn't for me. If you see it, then go ahead and put in your vote, otherwise, my voting form appears in blog view just fine... So<strong> for everyone else</strong> reading this post, just ignore this little tangent. >.<</div>
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Or I guess you could <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1f7D_ZSG-oNDibO7rP2hGUDoz6XkrT1ERDxCjb8x3hnk/viewform" target="_blank">click here</a></strong></span> to generate the voting box on a different page.</div>
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="600" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1f7D_ZSG-oNDibO7rP2hGUDoz6XkrT1ERDxCjb8x3hnk/viewform?embedded=true" width="500">Loading...</iframe></div>
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This post originally posted at <a href="http://anicheung.booklikes.com/post/1329983/my-tbr-list-march-2016-voting" target="_blank">My TBR List - March Voting @ Ani's Book Abyss</a></div>
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anicheunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04354599944470683233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304886105344701928.post-90062017542504437102015-06-02T09:57:00.001-05:002015-06-02T09:57:13.245-05:00Not a Review... More like Fangirl Squee: Neil Patrick Harris: Choose Your Own Autobiography <style> .set-middle { vertical-align: middle; } </style> <p> <strong>Review:</strong> <img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_a.png" /><img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_a.png" /><img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_a.png" /><img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_a.png" /><img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_a.png" /></p> <p> <a href="http://booklikes.com/neil-patrick-harris-choose-your-own-autobiography-neil-patrick-harris-neil-/book,13001796"><img src="http://booklikes.com/photo/max/100/0/upload/books/1/3/13c607f58d366e1bd56b3d2bf8612118.jpg" style="vertical-align: middle; width: 100px; min-height: 100px;" title="Neil Patrick Harris: Choose Your Own Autobiography - Neil Patrick Harris, Neil Patrick Harris" alt="Neil Patrick Harris: Choose Your Own Autobiography - Neil Patrick Harris, Neil Patrick Harris" /></a> </p> <div><p>Let's just start off with this:</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>NPH did this thing! NPH did lots of things! NPH gave us a life story! And it is so damn AWESOME! Because then he went and narrated it and made it even more AWESOME!</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>Ahem... Moving along now.</p> <p> </p> <p>I don't often read (or rather in this case, listen to) autobiographies. In fact, I'm sure I haven't touched a non-fiction book since I graduated from college years ago. Fiction is just so much easier to just melt yourself into. Which is probably why I chose to listen to NPH's autobiography rather than sit and read it, even <strong>IF</strong> I had a good inkling I would enjoy it whether I read the written book or listened to the audio book.<br /><br /><strong>Because, let's face it, Neil Patrick Harris is all sorts of charming and funny and fun and entertaining and charismatic and so, so AMAZEBALLS!</strong> (I don't think I've ever actually used the word "amazeballs" in a review before... not that this is really a review, because I had so much fun listening to NPH narrate his book that I really don't know if I have all the right words to describe how much I loved this autobiography.)<br /><br />And honestly, despite some moments that I thought kind of dragged a bit, I still thoroughly enjoyed NPH's life story--how much of it is true and how much of it is exaggerated and how much of it was simply a part of his humorous "Choose Your Own Adventure" formatting to elicit loud guffaws from me doesn't even matter. The entire telling of his life story was entertaining at all the right points, hilarious at all the right points, and even managed to make you seriously think about his life and your own life and lots of other people's lives around you because a lot of the things he presents are very insightful.<br /><br />And to be honest, I have never really followed pop culture and the only thing I truly know about Neil Patrick Harris is whatever I've known about his fictional characters from Doogie Howser to Barney Stinson. I knew that he hosted award shows, but because I don't really follow many actors or actresses or their careers, I didn't know that he'd been a big hit in on-stage theater or Broadway. But it's extremely impressive and made me very glad I picked up his autobiography. I knew the name of the man he'd married, but I hadn't know that he had a set of twins (one boy and one girl) and that he's so sweet around them.<br /><br />I love his natural comedic timing and wit, I love his random, sometimes bemusing side quips, and I loved that even Neil Patrick Harris isn't immune to tacky dialogue or lame jokes. It all shows in his book. All of which just further made me love NPH and love his autobiography so much more.<br /><br />I haven't laughed so hard at a book in a long time.<br /><br />And my only conflict about this book right now is whether or not I should just go ahead and get the actual hard copy format and read NPH's "Choose Your Own Autobiography/Adventure" the way it had been intended to be read. Except that I don't regret listening to the book in audio form because between the anecdotes told and NPH's narration, the entire thing was just a delight.<br /><br />This is definitely not a critical review; this is just me squee-ing about how much I loved and enjoyed this book and how much I think it is the most awesome of awesome!<br /><br /></p> <p> </p> <p><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/b/c/bc4b956616287a8639d7080d5b460e68.gif" alt="" width="431" height="232" /></p> <p> </p></div> <p> <strong>Original post:</strong> <a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1178868/not-a-review-more-like-fangirl-squee-neil-patrick-harris-choose-your-own-autobiography">anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1178868/not-a-review-more-like-fangirl-squee-neil-patrick-harris-choose-your-own-autobiography</a> </p> anicheunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04354599944470683233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304886105344701928.post-37274086297634814682015-05-26T09:00:00.001-05:002015-05-26T09:00:19.340-05:00Top Ten Tuesdays: Summer Beach Reads <div><p><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/c/3/c34e35e3cfc8214ea7e53fa456e75e71.jpg" alt="" width="261" height="201" /></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><em><a href="http://www.brokeandbookish.com/p/top-ten-tuesday-other-features.html" target="_blank"><strong>Top Ten Tuesdays</strong></a> is an original and weekly feature hosted by <strong><a href="http://www.brokeandbookish.com/" target="_blank">The Broke and the Bookish</a></strong>.</em></p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Ten Books I Plan To Have In My Beach Bag This Summer</strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>- OR - </strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Ten Books I Think Make Great Beach Reads</strong></p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">I think the best way to look at this topic would be as a <strong>Ten Books That I Think Would Be Good Summertime Reads</strong>. Or something to that extent. Because, to be totally honest, I don't really read too many books based on the seasons, or even holidays. If I really want to read a book, I will read it even if it's a Christmastime book and it's the middle of June.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">But here's a list anyway: (and, just so everyone knows, there is no rhyme or reason to this list, really)</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <blockquote> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>THE BOOK I Will Definitely Be Reading This Summer, On The Beach Or Off, Because Author!</strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;">And also because I fell for the main character in this book already when he was a side character in a previously novel where he very readily said the word "penis" before the first chapter was even over.</p> </blockquote> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/6/5/65170529d9a8ededed395cabece42aa3.jpg" alt="" width="93" height="150" /></strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Suddenly One Summer by Julie James</strong></p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <blockquote> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Books I Have Read That Would Make Great Summertime R&R Reads... on the Beach, I guess..</strong></p> </blockquote> <p style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/4/3/431a0971637dc8c02cbbca075323045f.jpg" alt="" width="95" height="150" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/7/e/7e2005a1023fae804b482b57ef0ba1a8.jpg" alt="" width="92" height="150" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/c/5/c57b6d0f9afb2834d6b5fabdde104dbf.jpg" alt="" width="96" height="150" /></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/3/2/329ce95515e37d93143cec66d2aa6d33.jpg" alt="" width="100" height="150" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/1/0/10e1c1f92c852c26402dfa4dd236449d.jpg" alt="" width="97" height="150" /></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>She Drives Me Crazy by Leslie Kelly</strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>She's Got the Look by Leslie Kelly</strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>And One Last Thing... by Molly Harper</strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>On the Fence by Kasie West</strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares</strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <blockquote> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Books I Have Not Read That Would Make Great Summertime R&R Reads... on the Beach, I guess.</strong></p> </blockquote> <p style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/b/7/b7b1640af0c86834fa9243f6fc564d47.jpg" alt="" width="100" height="150" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/c/7/c71bbad6cb4873d9f31d73657eda4a8f.jpg" alt="" width="98" height="150" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/b/4/b44b1aec1295fb81934ea8725fe853ea.jpg" alt="" width="99" height="150" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/d/7/d736eec2735048962ad52be8c9d62f4b.jpg" alt="" width="94" height="150" /></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You by Ally Carter</strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdoch</strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Also Known As by Robin Benway</strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Wife by Wednesday by Catherine Bybee</strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <blockquote> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>And A Few Extras Just For the Heck Of It, 'Cause, Hey, I'd Read Them On the Beach Anyway For A Good Summertime R&R Even Though I Hadn't Already Listed Them When I First Read This Topic...</strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Because I Can.</strong></p> </blockquote> <p style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/f/7/f7d521b40063c3a66eed55461cb7b2eb.jpg" alt="" width="62" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/6/4/649667518ef622257619ca3bdf1038b9.jpg" alt="" width="57" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/3/c/3c4e4987892041c756f8ad3fe96332eb.jpg" alt="" width="60" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/6/b/6b1adb187e07c45c3576cab646b17f9c.jpg" alt="" width="61" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/8/a/8a7b762c3226aefc190dcadb9549998f.jpg" alt="" width="58" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/d/f/dfd85fe0b7d2856bf5cb1ae06d9ae043.jpg" alt="" width="58" height="100" /></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/5/1/51f472a10afe44b371636bb0da85e6ec.jpg" alt="" width="61" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/6/8/685f8952c692acf1e54d3ee4decf9c30.jpg" alt="" width="62" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/0/a/0a849189afcb8a941792dbd44844f2f1.jpg" alt="" width="62" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/8/b/8ba359d7ed51544b0ae652e99c68eda6.jpg" alt="" width="62" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/c/4/c4a96d1fd351e59ee7d35b4a30e1648f.jpg" alt="" width="62" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/6/c/6cdeaf3fa593b5812da674a480645ff5.jpg" alt="" width="62" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/d/7/d740e84391d6c7a01b0fbfa9ed3a4b57.jpg" alt="" width="62" height="100" /></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/d/7/d7f3e3b6bc05533cd9876da9dd3f1959.jpg" alt="" width="62" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/b/e/be78360ca5e7793a6ca94fdcc93f14a5.jpg" alt="" width="65" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/7/1/717be8c8fb2e9dddf6b2b65d6d351213.jpg" alt="" width="61" height="100" /></p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">Given the choice of laying around on a beach all day to do nothing but rest, relax, and read, I would totally pack all of my Cindy Gerard books, start from the beginning and read them all over again and then finish the <em>One-Eyed Jack</em> series while I'm at it. But this is entirely a personal preference and does not mean I think they would make great summer beach reads for anyone else.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">Then again, it's not like any of the other books I chose would make the best summer beach reads, but they DID happen to be the first books that came to mind. </p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">I know, this week's Top Ten Tuesday was totally half-assed.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">I'm sorry.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p></div> <p> <strong>Original post:</strong> <a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1148846/top-ten-tuesdays-summer-beach-reads">anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1148846/top-ten-tuesdays-summer-beach-reads</a> </p> anicheunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04354599944470683233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304886105344701928.post-10603185342830857012015-05-21T15:00:00.001-05:002015-05-25T17:52:27.937-05:00Three Book Thoughts: KGI series 1, 2, 3<style> .set-middle { vertical-align: middle; } </style> <br />
<strong>Review:</strong> <img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_a.png" /><img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_a.png" /><img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_a.png" /><img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_h.png" /><img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_i.png" /><br />
<a href="http://booklikes.com/the-darkest-hour-maya-banks/book,5506172"><img alt="The Darkest Hour - Maya Banks" src="http://booklikes.com/photo/max/100/0/upload/books/55/98/9cbaee3b8c4234b08b43b29646ad20ab.jpg" style="min-height: 100px; vertical-align: middle; width: 100px;" title="The Darkest Hour - Maya Banks" /></a> <a href="http://booklikes.com/no-place-to-run-maya-banks/book,6087180"><img alt="No Place to Run - Maya Banks" src="http://booklikes.com/photo/max/100/0/upload/books/59/79/c9d8baf513bec06612dda536223557fc.jpg" style="min-height: 100px; vertical-align: middle; width: 100px;" title="No Place to Run - Maya Banks" /></a> <a href="http://booklikes.com/hidden-away-maya-banks/book,6357415"><img alt="Hidden Away - Maya Banks" src="http://booklikes.com/photo/max/100/0/upload/books/85/89/a7852f638d493f0bf9922464ba58b4a2.jpg" style="min-height: 100px; vertical-align: middle; width: 100px;" title="Hidden Away - Maya Banks" /></a> <br />
<div>
<strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">KGI</span> series -- Maya Banks</strong><br />
<strong>Book 1: The Darkest Hour</strong><br />
<strong>Book 2: No Place to Run</strong><br />
<strong>Book 3: Hidden Away</strong><br />
<strong>2010 - 2011 -- Berkley Sensation</strong><br />
<br />
<strong>Adult, Romantic Suspense, Contemporary, Crime, Military</strong><br />
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<strong>Average Rating for all three books: 3.66 Stars</strong><br />
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<br />
I’m going to have to admit that I’m having a hard time detaching myself from the Kelly family and the <em>KGI</em> world. If there is anything in fiction that gets right at all my <strong>FEELS</strong>, it’s family interaction. I’m a character-biased reader and live for fun, witty, entertaining quips and banter between characters in any book. Friendships, romances, family, siblings… if the interactions are good, I eat it all up.<br />
<br />
But nothing gets me like family interaction, whether they be family by blood or family through adoption or even unofficially family through association. It was one of the reasons why I loved reading Jill Shalvis’ <em>Simply Irresistible</em> (three half-sisters with excellent banter and strange interactions) as well as all of Cindy Gerard’s Romantic Suspense books (the Garrett family and extended family in the <em>Bodyguards</em> series, and the extra extended family of the BOIs in the <em>Black Ops, Inc.</em> series).<br />
<br />
But I hadn’t been prepared for the tumult of <strong>FEELS</strong> hurtling at me from the random collection of the extremely large Kelly family in Maya Banks’ first three <em>KGI</em> books. Especially the second book, <em>No Place to Run</em>, which had angst <em>and</em> <strong>FEELS</strong> up the wazoo! And it wasn’t even the lame, eye-roll-worthy type of angst, but a <em>feel good</em> kind of angst.<br />
<br />
And that family interaction between the Kelly brothers, their parents, their significant others, their team members… and also with Rusty. I never thought I’d love seeing angsty teenage drama in an adult book, but it was there and it somehow melted my dark pit of a heart.<br />
<br />
<strong>So even though the <em>KGI</em> series was just your typical Romance novel with a dash of Suspense to bring a little substance to it, tacky dialogue and declarations of unity and love, and fairly standard Romance plots, it hooked me into it <em>BIG TIME</em>.</strong><br />
<br />
The books are more Romance than they are Crime Thriller or Suspense. Book #2, <em>No Place to Run,</em> was probably the only one that even had a more equal balance of both worlds with the constant intensity of our characters being in danger and a somewhat angsty, yet sweet romance to tie things together. But the other two were pretty mellow for a Romantic Suspense, not that I’m complaining or anything, because stories were told and enjoyed by all and they kept me reading. I don’t know that I would change the story outlines for any reasons.<br />
<br />
However, I <em>would</em> suggest a more meticulous editor as well as some beta reading to sniff out all those grammar errors, typoes, and repetitive dialogues. More than once in each book, the same fact would be repeated within pages of each other using the same words and sentence structure. At least once, a phrase was repeated in the same sentence using the same words. And each time these phrases or facts were repeated, they made it sound like it hadn’t already been said moments ago.<br />
<br />
It struck me more as an editing error rather than the character trying to emphasize a point, mainly because the sentence sounded awkward.<br />
<br />At the very least, a really good editor would have made Book #3, <em>Hidden Away</em>, more enjoyable; the grammar, punctuation, and missing pronouns and missing words in a sentence errors were more pronounced in this third <em>KGI</em> book and DID bug me just a little bit.<br />
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<a href="http://booklikes.com/the-darkest-hour-maya-banks/book,5506172" target="_blank"><img alt="" data-aff="" data-book="5506172" src="http://booklikes.com/photo/max/120/180/upload/books/55/98/9cbaee3b8c4234b08b43b29646ad20ab.jpg" /></a><br />
<strong><a href="http://booklikes.com/the-darkest-hour-maya-banks/book,5506172">The Darkest Hour</a></strong><br />
<strong>3.5 Stars</strong><br />
<br />
Ethan Garrett has been living in a depressed funk for the past year after the announcement of his wife’s death--her incinerated remains along with her wedding band, the only part of her left after a plane crash in South America while she was on a mercy mission. But on the anniversary of her death date, Ethan receives a mysterious package that hints that Rachel may not be dead after all; instead, she’d been held prisoner in Colombia in a drug cartel camp all this time.<br />
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Knowing he has no other choice, Ethan enlists his brothers and the KGI to help bring Rachel back home. As for Rachel, her memory of her life before imprisonment has dwindled to nothing but a few selected faces and names; she has blocked out everything else, including why she’d been held captive for so long in the first place... as well as any inkling of the crumbling marriage between her and Ethan before she disappeared.<br />
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<strong>My Thoughts:</strong><br />
<em>The Darkest Hour</em> was a pretty strong springboard for the rest of the <em>KGI</em> series, but to be totally honest, if not for the characters, the Kelly family, and some unknown source of <strong>FEELS</strong>, I may not have liked it as much. As is typical of any first book in an extensive series, the author introduces, not only the main players of this book and series, but also various side characters as she works to build back story for other books later down the line.<br />
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We get a glimpse of all the six Kelly brothers (which was a given), as well as several of the KGI team and some local family friends such as Sean Cameron, the young sheriff (whom all fans are apparently screaming for him to have his own book presently). <br />
<br />
Fortunately, the character intros are neat and clean and not awkwardly forced; all the brothers have a place in the story line of <em>The Darkest Hour</em>, all the side characters part of the KGI team have their significance, and even the stray teenager, Rusty, has her own role… even if it might have been slightly awkward. The important thing is, it makes you want to keep reading the series so you can see for yourself how the rest of side characters and their stories will turn out.<br />
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The only thing that DID bug me about <em>The Darkest Hour</em> was the relationship between Rachel and Ethan. As sweet as they were together after being reunited, I’m almost thinking that things might have been a little bit smoother and a lot of unnecessary angst (the eye-roll-worthy type) could have been avoided if the couple would have just learned to communicate with each other. Also, the way in which Rachel’s memory loss was played out was also a bit sketchy and felt a bit forced at times.<br />
<br />
Then again, her memory loss was caused by psychological trauma rather than any kind of head injury. And the human brain is a complex thing, so...<br />
<br />Otherwise, all is well and the book was highly enjoyable.<br />
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<a href="http://booklikes.com/no-place-to-run-maya-banks/book,6087180" target="_blank"><img alt="" data-aff="" data-book="6087180" src="http://booklikes.com/photo/max/120/180/upload/books/59/79/c9d8baf513bec06612dda536223557fc.jpg" /></a><br />
<strong><a href="http://booklikes.com/no-place-to-run-maya-banks/book,6087180">No Place to Run</a></strong><br />
<strong>4.0 Stars</strong><br />
<br />
Sam Kelly uncharacteristically involves himself in a spontaneous relationship with a girl he thought was just a poor, sweet waitress during one of his undercover ops. But after the mission is over, it seems that so is his affair with Sophie Lundgren, who has mysteriously disappeared. Over the following months, however, Sam realizes that he hasn't been able to get Sophie out of his mind. So it comes as a shock to him when this same woman appears in Kentucky Lake right behind his home, half-dead and carrying, five months pregnant, and on the run. What comes as an even bigger shock to him is that Sophie isn't simply the sweet little bar waitress, as he’d thought.<br />
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Sophie Lundgren is the daughter of Alex Mouton, a ruthless baddie that the KGI had been tasked to help take down five months ago during Sam’s last KGI operation. Having killed her heartless father and stolen his vault key, Sophie is now on the run from her father’s assassins and her Uncle Tomas who means to make an example of her for betraying her father and his organization. Mainly, Tomas wants the vault key that Sophie has kept hidden because it is the only way into Alex Mouton’s stash of wealth.<br />
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<strong>My Thoughts:</strong><br />
Okay, so I suck at creating my own short, paraphrased summaries. But <em>so much</em> happens in <em>No Place to Run</em> that it's hard to figure out what to say and what NOT to say so that a fairly accurate synopsis is presented, but not too much of the plot twists are given away. From the short-lived romance between Sam and Sophie, to Sophie’s betrayal of her father and his organization, to Sophie’s subsequent reappearance in Sam’s life to warn him of danger as well as beg for protection because she’s not sure she can continue to protect herself and her unborn baby… then more stuff just keeps happening with a presence of danger continually looming in the background…<br />
<br />
The Kelly family is in danger, the Kelly brothers are all suspicious of Sophie because she’s still keeping secrets, and now the CIA wants in on all this action.<br />
<br />
It was quite a bit to take in, while at the same time, it kept the book propelling forward at a fast-paced, action-filled read.<br />
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This second book of the <em>KGI</em> series is probably the better of the first three books, with the right balance of romance, suspense, angst, and <strong>FEELS</strong>. Because the progress was nonstop, the love story was sweet, the characters were their usual kickbutt selves… And as a reader, you've already gotten to know enough about the main players of <em>KGI</em> to relate and feel for them when all the shit hits the fan.<br />
<br />
Also, there was no holding back on the shit hitting the fan. When you thought things couldn't get worse<br />
[spoiler]<br />
<span style="color: white;">Frank Kelly goes and has a heart attack while Marlene Kelly gets abducted, and all our Kelly boys are now simmering in turmoil, and things just keep getting more and more personal and more and more effed-up.</span><br />
[/spoiler]<br />
<br />
So, yeah. I enjoyed the hell out of <em>No Place to Run</em> even <em>if</em> things tended to start getting a little out of control. It was pleasurably entertaining and enjoyably addictive to read.<br />
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<a href="http://booklikes.com/hidden-away-maya-banks/book,6357415" target="_blank"><img alt="" data-aff="" data-book="6357415" src="http://booklikes.com/photo/max/120/180/upload/books/85/89/a7852f638d493f0bf9922464ba58b4a2.jpg" /></a><br />
<strong><a href="http://booklikes.com/hidden-away-maya-banks/book,6357415">Hidden Away</a></strong><br />
<strong>3.5 Stars</strong><br />
<br />
Sarah Daniels witnessed her half-brother, Marcus, murder a man in a fit of rage after learning what that man did to her. Not wanting to be used against her brother by the law, knowing that he’d only acted to protect her, Sarah flees the country to go into hiding. But now there are a plethora of agencies searching for her, whether to try to use her to lure Marcus out, or to silence her for whatever reasons.<br />
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The CIA, among others, is particularly interested in using Sarah as bait to lure Marcus Lattimer into the open so they can arrest him for all the crimes he’s committed over the years. Garrett Kelly, who has his own personal agenda against Marcus Lattimer volunteers his help to get close to and keep an eye on Sarah so that he can personally bring Marcus Lattimer to justice. What he didn't expect was how quickly he’d become drawn to Sarah, developing a primal protective instinct towards her, a fast attraction, and then falling hard for the girl with a haunted past.<br />
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<strong>My Thoughts:</strong><br />
There are several things about this book that bothered me. So it’s probably a good thing that <em>Hidden Away</em> also had a lot of superficially good things going for it that worked for me--I’m easily, and readily, pleased by a lot of specific things in Romance novels.<br />
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For one, the character interactions, relationship interactions, and family interactions in the book were excellent. Despite the main conflict taking place on the Isle de Bijoux (which I assume is in France?) with Sarah and Garrett, we still get a good glimpse of what’s concurrently going on with the Kelly family (Sophie’s pregnancy and labor, Rusty’s adjustment to life in her new family and school, Rachel’s continued recovery of her emotional mind and memories…).<br />
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Secondly, Garrett Kelly has very easily become my favorite Kelly brother. I believe “soul mate” and “swoon-worthy” came up in some of my thoughts about him. I mean, any guy who leaves a present of books, chocolate, and wine on a girl’s doorstep to make her feel better gets at least 10,000+ points.<br />
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Also, this:<br />
<blockquote>
<em>”Let me guess. You’re scared of children too?”</em><br />
<br />
<em>He scowled. “Not scared. Cautious. Maybe a little apprehensive. Okay, terrified. I mean, they’re terrorists disguised as cute little people.”</em></blockquote>
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I’m going to start using that description on all kids from now on. Because it’s true.<br />
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If this were a Contemporary Romance, it would totally rate high in the few Contemporary Romances I've come to love. If this book hadn't included subterfuge or a murder or the CIA, Garrett’s and Sarah’s relationship development might have simply been a sweet, cute, and fun love story as a simple Contemporary Romance about a girl recovering from a tragedy and a man taking some time off from work after an injury. They meet on an island getaway, are attracted to each other, and help each other heal.<br />
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Of course, this book may as well have been a Contemporary for the first half; much like <em>The Darkest Hour</em> very little Suspense happens until well into 50% of the book. We spend a lot of time watching Garrett snuggle his way into Sarah’s secluded life and doing a very good job of it as well. Very simplistic, mundane scenes unfold slowly in the "Getting to Know You" phase of Garrett's and Sarah's love story. <br />
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Then the Suspense part of the book rears it's head and everything just starts rushing forward at an awkward pace of trying to balance the Romance with the Suspense, and things start to stammer out of control a little bit. <br />
<br />
Not to mention the big ball of angst just waiting to happen because this <em>is</em> a book filled with murder and subterfuge, after all, and Garrett <em>isn't</em> just some random guy taking a break from overworking himself. Despite gaining Sarah’s trust in sincerity, Garrett has omitted information and told the biggest lie bound to push the poor woman off her final edge. <br />
<br />
I know he meant well, and I know that Sarah probably wouldn't have let him protect her if she knew the truth. And you'd think that keeping her alive, time and time again, would have mattered more to her in the grand scheme of things. But in the long run, she was still being used to lure her brother (whom she loves dearly) out into the open. It was still a bit disconcerting considering one of the Kelly clan mottoes is to defend and protect the weak; but here they are, lying to and using Sarah when she’s just now starting to recover from her most recent tragedy that caused her to lose all faith and trust in people, specifically men.<br />
<br />
No one likes being unknowingly used as bait.<br />
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On a side matter, despite how sweet their love story was starting to turn out, there is still a semblance of insta-love in there that is a little hard to ignore. Garrett Kelly was always described as the cranky, “don’t-give-a-shit” type who lives for his job. He was the first person to go into extreme suspicion mode when he first met Sophie, and also one of the first to reject Rusty’s sudden appearance in the Kelly family. Obviously he doesn't warm up to people easily. But the first time he lays eyes on Sarah, his softened, protective instincts are rearing like crazy.<br />
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It just felt a little out of character, is all.<br />
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And I don’t even know if I should get into all the typos and editing errors and repetitive dialogue throughout the book. It almost felt like this was the last book on Ms. Banks’ yearly contract and she just needed to get it done and screw all those sentences missing proper pronouns or transitions. Or the fact that the same issue got repeated in the same sentence twice. Or that we've got run-on sentences, fragmented sentences, and strangely structured sentences all over the place.<br />
<br />
Not that I’m really complaining all THAT much, but this book would have been a lower rating if I hadn't fallen in love with Garrett Kelly after his little books, wine, and chocolate peace offering, right off the bat.<br />
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Yes. I'm shallow like that. So sue me.<br />
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<strong>Overall Thoughts:</strong><br />
The <em>KGI</em> series is proving to be highly addictive and entertaining, even if it isn't the best written Romantic Suspense in the world. I've already, very easily, fallen in love with the Kelly family (and extended family) and continue to look forward to reading the rest of the books in this series.<br />
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I have to admit, even if the story lines or the writing or the ideas aren't much to write home about, the lovely character interactions will always do it for me if everything else is done decently enough to like.<br />
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</div>
<strong>Original post:</strong> <a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1169921/three-book-thoughts-kgi-series-1-2-3">anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1169921/three-book-thoughts-kgi-series-1-2-3</a> anicheunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04354599944470683233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304886105344701928.post-48607115081286549452015-05-20T15:00:00.001-05:002015-05-20T15:00:28.445-05:00Thoughts: The Boyfriend App <style> .set-middle { vertical-align: middle; } </style> <p> <strong>Review:</strong> <img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_a.png" /><img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_a.png" /><img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_a.png" /><img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_i.png" /><img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_i.png" /></p> <p> <a href="http://booklikes.com/the-boyfriend-app-katie-sise/book,9575920"><img src="http://booklikes.com/photo/max/100/0/upload/books/4/b/azure_4b211ef8c750ca5caa3199862fd076f5.jpg" style="vertical-align: middle; width: 100px; min-height: 100px;" title="The Boyfriend App - Katie Sise" alt="The Boyfriend App - Katie Sise" /></a> </p> <div><p><strong>The Boyfriend App -- Katie Sise</strong></p> <p><strong>Book 1 of <span style="text-decoration: underline;">App</span> series</strong></p> <p><strong>2013 Release -- Balzer + Bray</strong></p> <p><strong>Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance</strong></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p><strong>**There might be some spoiler bombs here and there... but I'm not certain which ones are. I got a little carried away writing this post. Just read at your own risk.</strong><br /><br /><br /><em>The Boyfriend App</em> had a completely interesting premise that promised all sorts of potential for Contemporary Romantic goodness in a YA. Before reading it, I foresaw all the possibilities you could think of for growth and development for our main female character, Audrey McCarthy as a non-standard geeky high school girl who has techie skills like none other, who’s going through a hard time in her life, and who is also kind of caught up in finding a boyfriend. After all, most girls in YA are pretty carbon copy across the board with their girly and their pretty and their flirty and their “speshul” statuses despite being a plain and ordinary girl.<br /><br />Instead, Audrey has a penchant for computers and tech and has been learning the basics since she was a child from her father who is also a computer geek. She’s smart and she knows it. She even hacks into other computers effortlessly and creates apps with so much ease you’d think she was simply doing basic arithmetic.<br /><br />I think it’s pretty cool and it made Audrey a unique character all on her own.<br /><br /><em>The Boyfriend App</em> is one of those cute and breezy types of YA Contemporaries that you enjoy mainly because it’s refreshing and cute and adorable. And I will admit that despite the craziness that was the latter half of this book, I DID thoroughly enjoy <em>The Boyfriend App</em> and was mildly entertained.<br /><br /><br /><strong>The Story:</strong><br />Ever since her father’s death, Audrey McCarthy has not only fallen out of friendship with former best friend Blake Dawkins, but managed to get on Blake’s daily hit list due to a misunderstanding. Because Blake’s father is a bonafide asshole, he took advantage of Blake’s and Audrey’s slowly crumbling friendship to blame Audrey for the fact that he knew Blake was being sexually active. For this, Blake believes her father and decided to take the Mean Girl persona to an all new cruel level. As Blake is the most popular, most powerful girl in school, it doesn’t take long for Audrey to fall into the category of those students constantly being bullied.<br /><br />Because of this, Audrey can’t wait to finish high school, go away to college, and hope for a brand new start. But college requires money, which is something Audrey and her mother do not have ever since her father died and his name was slandered (by the ever constant evil ass, Blake’s father, because he’s rich and he can… of course). Audrey’s chance comes when there is a competition to design the best app with a $200,000 scholarship reward.<br /><br />And what does Audrey choose to design? The Boyfriend App that will help all people find a significant other within a 500 mile radius. And then hijinks ensue with the designing and testing of the app… followed by even more hijinks as the story progresses.</p> <p> </p> <p><br /><strong>Overall Thoughts:</strong><br />I’ve gotta say that while <em>The Boyfriend App</em> wouldn’t have been the most unique or innovative creation in today’s society, Audrey’s got a good idea going on. After all, one of the largest consumer bases in America happens to be young teenage girls, so what better way to win “The Most Popular App” category than with an app design that would absolutely appeal to young, hormone driven teenage girls? It’s a smart idea. And it helps to catapult a YA Contemporary Romance to create interesting dynamics among the high school population.<br /><br /><em>The Boyfriend App</em> is an interestingly insightful story on some levels, bringing to light the continually growing market of smart technology, easy to access media files, and innovative and popular apps to go with all of it. On other levels, the book actually ended up getting a little silly with a big conspiracy of some tech company taking place in the second half of the book; which is kind of disappointing considering how strong of a start <em>The Boyfriend App</em> had begun with.<br /><br />Audrey’s relationships with the people around her are, for lack of a better word, very interesting to witness as they play out (between her and her mother; between her and Blake; between her and the rest of the geeky tech students called <em>Trogs</em>; between her and her love interest, Aiden; and between her and her cousin Lindsay). This book could have been a really insightful Contemporary with all the relationship dynamics fighting to surface and needing some sort of resolution or closure.<br /><br />So it’s a bit disappointing that we don’t really get that in the end, and instead, we get some sort of strange, out of context tech conspiracy with even more bizarre happenings after Audrey uncovers this conspiracy. Her <em>Boyfriend App 2.0</em> required a <em>lot</em> of suspension of disbelief to follow along with (as did the tech conspiracy and subsequent conclusion of said conspiracy).<br /><br />In a word, things got crazy and I don’t know how to feel about it. Because while things got crazy, things also kind of got humorous while trying to propel Audrey’s little bit of personal growth along the way.<br /><br />The subtle romance between Audrey and Aiden was low key and cute and actually quite adorable because the two of them are adorable. It’s nice that our main couple are just two nerdy tech geeks who are too shy for their own good, and are trying so hard to preserve their friendship that they don’t know how to take their relationship beyond that. And that’s what I loved about Aiden--that he isn’t the typical broody YA, popular boy with Daddy Issues™ or the like. He’s just a normal kid going through high school, trying to make it into college and start his life; he’s shy and introverted and a nice guy. <br /><br />The other guy, Xander (who really pales in comparison as a potential love interest) got that part of the stereotype covered and I’m kind of glad that he wasn’t the main love interest (or anywhere part of love interest territory).<br /><br />As for Blake… I don’t know what to say about her. To be honest, she has potential for a lot of story, a lot of growth and development, and has the backstory and family life to work with. The second book in this series is about her, and there were a lot of underlying “Blake’s cruddy family life drama” being hinted at that I’m sure will be addressed in that second book. But to be honest, I’m not sure if I’d be able to bring myself to read about Blake. I just don’t like her and I’m not even sure an explanation of her insecurities, her crappy family life, her unhealthy relationship with her parents, or <em>anything</em> will make up for the fact that she just isn’t a good person.<br /><br />Blake Dawkins really <em>does</em> bring the whole High School Mean and Popular Girl to a whole new level of cruel and unacceptable. And I know that some kids can be mean little assholes because they’re young and they don’t consider consequences until it’s too late. That’s why we have literature detailing these issues to help the world understand how devastatingly dramatic, yet miserable high school can be if you get an unlucky draw. That’s why we get second chances in life and that’s why kids are encouraged to make mistakes so that they can learn from them. (Keyword: <em><strong>learn</strong></em> from them.)<br /><br />I just can’t bring myself to let Blake’s horrible actions be justified by her lousy upbringing. And I can’t let myself allow those justifications with Blake’s own superficial reasonings. Which, I know, contradicts my entire “Kids will be kids” declaration from above, but at some point you <em>have</em> to draw a line and make them accountable for their own misdeeds.<br /><br />Her father tells her that Audrey ratted out her sexually active behavior and so now Blake’s on an extreme vendetta to make Audrey’s life miserable by hurting her <em>and</em> her mother. Honestly, I think that Blake’s behavior was too over-the-top for one little betrayal she believed Audrey had done to her. So your father found out that you’re sexually active and you got in trouble. Get over it and move the eff on!<br /><br />Now, even <em>if</em> it had been true, and even <em>if</em> Audrey had been the one to get her into trouble with her father, there was absolutely no reason to drag Audrey’s family members into the whole little spoiled princess war. Blake had no right to make light of or use Audrey’s father’s death to hurt her; Blake and her stupid friends had no right to carry out the bullying to Audrey’s mother (they practically assaulted the poor woman in the cafeteria), who is nothing but sweet and nice. Those actions were uncalled for. I’m not saying that Blake should be bullying Audrey at all, but her ire shouldn’t have included assaulting an adult who had done nothing to her, and knowing full well that, because of her status, said adult can’t do anything about it.<br /><br />It’s kind of disgusting.<br /><br />There are even instances of Blake’s bullying just being delinquent behavior--stealing some poor girl’s wheelchair and riding it down the hall? I’m not even sure how to respond to that one.<br /><br />But I think the final straw was how, even at the end, Blake continued to grasp for reasons to explain away her mean behavior. That she was forced to act like a bitch because her hand was forced. That she continued to make Audrey’s life miserable because Audrey got too cocky about creating a popular app. That she had always tried to make Audrey’s life miserable because she envied Audrey’s loving family life. That she kept using Audrey’s father’s death to hurt her because Audrey had betrayed a friendship secret to Blake’s father.</p> <p> </p> <p>Are these really good enough reasons to continually hurt someone and their family? Is she really going to use these reasons to explain away her terrible behavior?<br /><br />Because it just feels like she’s still unrepentant and doesn’t believe that she’s ever done anything wrong. A sad and terrible homelife does not justify treating other people like dirt and it sure as hell doesn’t get you a “Get Out of Jail Free” card for committing murder. If that ever happens. Just saying.<br /><br />Anyway, climbing back down off of my “Blake Dawkins could have had more potential for story” soapbox that had come spontaneously bursting out…<br /><br /><em>The Boyfriend App</em> is actually quite cute and entertaining once you turn your brain off. I enjoyed it. And that’s what matters.</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>***</p> <p> </p> <p>This book is a pre-chosen participant in the following Reading Challenge(s):</p> <ul> <li><a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1059330/2015-reading-assignment-challenge" target="_blank">2015 Reading Assignment Challenge</a> hosted by <a href="http://www.becausereading.com/" target="_blank">Because Reading</a> and <a href="http://fantasyismorefun.com/" target="_blank">Fantasy is More Fun</a></li> </ul> <p> </p> <p> </p></div> <p> <strong>Original post:</strong> <a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1169949/thoughts-the-boyfriend-app">anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1169949/thoughts-the-boyfriend-app</a> </p> anicheunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04354599944470683233noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304886105344701928.post-13223692054500604932015-05-14T15:00:00.001-05:002015-05-14T15:00:08.370-05:00Briefly Scattered Thoughts: Crazy Hot <style> .set-middle { vertical-align: middle; } </style> <p> <strong>Review:</strong> <img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_a.png" /><img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_a.png" /><img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_a.png" /><img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_h.png" /><img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_i.png" /></p> <p> <a href="http://booklikes.com/crazy-hot-tara-janzen/book,12382057"><img src="http://booklikes.com/photo/max/100/0/upload/books/84/9/f9f3d0cef24699b0d098e83c9b7bb903.jpg" style="vertical-align: middle; width: 100px; min-height: 100px;" title="Crazy Hot - Tara Janzen" alt="Crazy Hot - Tara Janzen" /></a> </p> <div><p><strong>Crazy Hot -- Tara Janzen</strong></p> <p><strong>Book 1 of <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Steele Street</span> series</strong></p> <p><strong>2005 Release -- Bantam Dell Publishing</strong></p> <p><strong>Adult, Romantic Suspense, Special Ops, Cars</strong></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>I read a short story by Tara Janzen in the <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12908930-seal-of-my-dreams" target="_blank"> <em>SEAL of My Dreams</em></a> (<a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1101922/anthology-review-seal-of-my-dreams" target="_blank">see my review</a>) anthology and found her work had enough of that rapid-fire excitement factor to be attractive and enjoyable. Then I decided to look her up and found a fairly long looking series to do with some Special Ops men, found that at least the first five books were available at my local library, and went from there.<br /><br />While exciting and fun and fast-paced and similar to a lot of what I enjoy in a standard Romantic Suspense, the story was a little haphazard. But the progression of the story was quick enough that you don’t have time to dwell on anything BUT the forward progress of the story line--an entertaining, mindless read to enjoy without analyzing it to death, if you will. Because it isn’t until you let yourself think back on the book that you realize that nothing really stood out, save for a couple of details: cars, guns, a strangely eccentric old paleontologist with an obsession with Cretaceous era nests, people who make bad decisions, and sex (lots of sex).<br /><br /><br /><strong>The Story in Brief:</strong><br />Regan McKinney’s grandfather, a well known paleontologist, has gone missing and despite what everyone else thinks, she knows this isn’t normal of the older man. But he’s left a cryptic message on his calendar pointing to Cisco, Utah and a man from Regan’s past, Quinn Younger, and she hopes that finding Quinn will help her figure out what happened to Wilson McKinney.<br /><br />Quinn Younger is hiding out in the rundown, abandoned town of Cisco while he recovers from an injury he sustained on an ongoing mission. But then Regan appears with the bad guys tailing her and he knows that he needs to jump back into action if he wants to keep her safe and alive, while finally bringing the bad guys to justice.<br /><br /><br /><strong>Overall Thoughts:</strong><br />I’m sitting here trying to recall bits and pieces of <em>Crazy Hot</em>’s story line and unfortunately cannot pull the bad guy’s identity out of my head on a whim, with only the name Roper floating around. I don’t even remember what kind of bad guy he is (gang leader, mob boss, business man, random crazy guy with minions…) and can only remember that he’s brutal to everyone and doesn’t hesitate to kill, even his own men if they screw up. And he’s got a reward out for Quinn’s head because Quinn stole from him as part of the mission that landed Quinn in hiding at the beginning of the book.<br /><br />I know I enjoyed the book while I was reading it, but I also remember thinking that the balance between Romance and Suspense was teetering on a very thin line. Our couple would spend monologues lusting after each other, then the Suspense part of the story would pick up with stuff to do with dinosaur fossils, stolen weapons, and hitmen out to make trouble for our good guys. Then we’d have another random, but steamy, sex scene. Then we’d go into more of the bad guys and the good guys and “The Plan” to capture the bad guys (which was flimsy at best). Then more talk about emotional feelings, physical feelings, lusty feelings...<br /><br />And then there’s the short-lived “bodyguard” side plot that introduces one of the series’ main couples, Kid Chronopolous and Nikki McKinney (Regan’s little sister), when the guys of Steele Street learn that Bad Man Roper might be watching the entire McKinney family for one reason or another; which also ended up being more Romance with more sex scenes (not that the sex scenes weren’t welcome, ‘cause they were pretty steamy).<br /><br />Anyway, I’ve yet to figure out the roles of all the Steele Street guys, or what kind of an operation they are aside from some sort of secret unofficial government Special Ops group. There’s Dylan Hart, the leader; Christian Hawkins, who feels like second-in-command as well as maintains undercover op roles; Kid Chronopolous who is simply described as “the sniper”; some other guys I may have missed; and finally Quinn Younger who, despite his juvenile life of crime, is the golden boy and heroic public face of the Steele Street secret operatives… or something like that.<br /><br />And then there’s history between the boys and it sounds like they all either grew up together, or met up at some point in time when their lives converged and linked up with car theft, chop shops, and other stuff to do with juvenile delinquency and some remediation program working for Wilson McKinney digging up bones in a valley… or something to that effect. I don’t know. I got a little lost with all the backhistory of these boys.<br /><br />What I DID learn, as I read <em>Crazy Hot</em>, however, was just about how <em>little</em> I understand about cars. Either the author has some sort obsession with American muscle with lots of power, or she went a little overboard in her research, because there was A LOT dealing with cars (and guns, but this is a Romantic Suspense, so I expect there to be talk of guns). If the guys weren’t thinking about sex with the ladies or fighting with the bad guys, they were monologuing about their cars.<br /><br />Being that the first book in this <em>Steele Street</em> series is actually quite enjoyable and entertaining for a summertime R&R read, I am very much interested in continuing on with the rest of the books. I’m just also crossing my fingers for some girl power as well… and maybe less about cars… and more sold storylines? <br /><br /><br /></p></div> <p> <strong>Original post:</strong> <a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1165857/briefly-scattered-thoughts-crazy-hot">anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1165857/briefly-scattered-thoughts-crazy-hot</a> </p> anicheunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04354599944470683233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304886105344701928.post-37060349419583182522015-05-13T15:00:00.001-05:002015-05-13T22:04:19.997-05:00Thoughts: Champion<style> .set-middle { vertical-align: middle; } </style> <br />
<strong>Review:</strong> <img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_a.png" /><img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_a.png" /><img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_a.png" /><img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_h.png" /><img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_i.png" /><br />
<a href="http://booklikes.com/champion-marie-lu/book,12885864"><img alt="Champion - Marie Lu" src="http://booklikes.com/photo/max/100/0/upload/books/a/6/a6b6edd2fe049bc10149bc693a0e7e3d.jpg" style="min-height: 100px; vertical-align: middle; width: 100px;" title="Champion - Marie Lu" /></a> <br />
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<strong>Champion -- Marie Lu</strong><br />
<strong>Book 3 of <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Legend</span> trilogy</strong><br />
<strong>2013 Release -- Putnam Juvenile</strong><br />
<strong>Young Adult, Dystopian, Science Fiction, Romance</strong><br />
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<strong>**The spoiler is hidden. Please DO NOT read it unless you've read the book already, or you just like spoilers for some strange, twisted reason. This isn't a challenge of some sort. You have been warned.**</strong><br />
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<br />
I am conflicted.<br />
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On the one hand, I want to really love <em>Champion</em> so that I can really love the entire <em>Legend</em> trilogy equally. It is definitely a fascinatingly creative dystopian (for trendy dystopian standards), and well-written (save for some unnecessarily clichèd tropes dropped into the crux of the story that reminded me too much of how K-dramas use some of the same tropes to elicit those FEELS from the fans). The Antarctican culture was definitely an interesting set-up wherein the people are pretty much living in a virtual reality MMORPG or something like that as a means to determine rank and jobs and whatnot in their society (I feel a potential new book idea coming about using a society of this fashion, though I’m not certain dystopians will be trendy for much longer, so someone needs to jump on that one ASAP!) And the story progress was pretty intense when it needed to be.<br />
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On the other hand, even though the book had its exciting moments and even though I certainly DID get pulled into it, there were also a lot of monotonous draggy tangents and scenes, the conclusion felt a little open-ended and rushed, and a lot of end-hour details didn’t really make much sense (and in fact, I felt like the story was in a hurry to wrap itself up because there was only so much time left).<br />
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And then those tropes...<br />
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It wasn’t like they were really THAT bad, what with<br />
<b>[SPOILER ALERT]</b><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: white;">Day’s deadly brain condition that is pretty much untreatable unless he wants to end up dead--which forced him to push June away as decreed by the familiar <strong>Trope: Noble Idiocy™</strong> usually found in standard Asian drama storylines; but then he ends up almost dying anyway, because he’s a compassionate hero who doesn’t think his actions through and tries to get himself killed on too many occasions (also part of the <strong>Trope: Noble Idiocy™</strong>) and one of those occasions finally grants his wish, and so the docs decide to operate on him anyway at the eleventh hour (what more damage could be done to him, after all, since he's been shot twice) and he turns out just fine, physically and he’s going to live, after all, after months of being ill and then being in a coma; but <em>now</em> he’s forgotten everything he went through with June (though, conveniently still remembers his family and Tess, a la an <strong>Amnesia Twist™</strong>) thus catapulting the typical <strong>BIG SEPARATION™</strong> which can only be salvaged by a <strong>Heart-Wrenching The-End-Reunion™</strong> after a somewhat necessary but also somewhat choppy <strong>Time Skip™</strong></span></span><br />
<b>[SPOILER ALERT]</b><br />
<em> <strong>at</strong> </em> the <em>very</em> end of the book -- <b>highlight the space above to see spoiler <i>only</i> if you don't care that I just gave out the entire ending of the book</b><strong>.</strong> Just saying.<br />
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I just felt like all that angst was unnecessary (even though some of the FEELS created by all that angst DID get to me at one point). And I hate to say this, but when the conclusion rolled around, I pretty much saw all of that stuff coming and wasn't the least bit surprised by them. Still... it's a lot of action to happen during the end-hour of the story.<br />
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Champion had it’s moments, really, and I had my hopes when the book jumps right into the heart of the story without any pretense of set-up. The conflicts (yes, plural) got rolling immediately and away we went. And there certainly were many lines of story to connect and finish while at the same time introducing even more potential plot to be used if we ever decide to re-visit the world of <em>Legend</em> in the future.<br />
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And then there’s <strong>Metias</strong>, who’s ever present presence still manages to wrench a ton of <strong> <em>FEELS</em> </strong> right out of the black pit of my heart--once again, is it strange that my favorite character in this entire series is one who didn’t even last past the third chapter of the first book? (Maybe Metias is the “Legend”, because he was always the one June looked to for strength when she most needed it.) <br />
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And then there are more FEELS that were wrenched from me due to <em>other</em> FEEL-worthy moments in the book. Oh, there were <strong>so many</strong> FEELS!<br />
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<br />
<strong>Official Blurb:</strong><br />
<blockquote>
<em>June and Day have sacrificed so much for the people of the Republic—and each other—and now their country is on the brink of a new existence. June is back in the good graces of the Republic, working within the government’s elite circles as Princeps-Elect, while Day has been assigned a high-level military position. <br /><br />But neither could have predicted the circumstances that will reunite them: just when a peace treaty is imminent, a plague outbreak causes panic in the Colonies, and war threatens the Republic’s border cities. This new strain of plague is deadlier than ever, and June is the only one who knows the key to her country’s defense. But saving the lives of thousands will mean asking the one she loves to give up everything.</em></blockquote>
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<br />
<strong>Overall Thoughts:</strong><br />
The blurb pretty much sums up exactly what happens to get the ball rolling in <em>Champion</em> and the story doesn’t stray far from the advertised plot. Aside from some details (Day’s high-level military position? June is the only one who knows the key to her country’s defense? I must have missed something.) the book wastes no time introducing the plague and an imminent war, and then introducing the conflict created <em>by</em> this new knowledge of the plague--that Eden’s bloodwork might have the answer to a plague cure, and Day needs to turn his brother over to the Republic if he wants to save his country.<br />
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Of course, we know how well <em>that</em> request goes over since Day’s trust in the Republic’s governing class is flimsy at best.<br />
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<em>Champion</em> was a big ball of rolling intensity as it ploughed onward towards the not-quite-so-well-rounded ending. There were moments of monotony that gave me pause, and then the story would pick right back up and continue on in its same, excitingly intense fashion.<br />
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There were more political conflicts than I would have liked. Then there was more plotting, more war, more fighting, more battles... a very typical final book in a dystopian trilogy, where we pretty much just back our heroes into a corner until everything explodes and ends the conflict, whether for better or for worse, but usually in favor of our heroes.<br />
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It's unfortunately not all too unique from other dystopian conclusions. It's just written better than a lot of others I've read.<br />
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The one thing that still bothers me about the entire trilogy is how very little I’d been able to relate with either June or Day. They are the heroes of this story and we follow their narration, back and forth, throughout three full-length novels. But I have to admit that when it comes to characters, it just didn’t feel like they stood out much despite their unique-ness and their non-standard developments.<br />
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I just could not see them as more than the two narrators piloting our journey through a typical dystopian story line. And at the risk of repeating myself, Metias is my favorite character in this book if only because he’s the only one who managed to wrench the FEELs out of me because of him, as Metias. The other FEELs that surfaced throughout <em>Champion</em> had more to do with the situations that June and Day were thrown into rather than for them, as June and Day, alone.<br />
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I know it doesn’t make any sense, but that’s the forefront thought in my mind about the <em>Legend</em> trilogy.<br />
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Nonetheless, the series. the books, the story… all excellently exciting and decently enjoyable. And I’m honestly just ecstatic that it isn’t “just like every other dystopian out there”. Because Marie Lu really DOES have quite the creative imagination and great attention-to-detail and it DOES make a difference in making <em>Legend</em> <strong> <em>her</em> </strong> unique dystopian out of hundreds.<br />
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***<br />
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This book is a pre-chosen participant in the following Reading Challenge(s):<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1059330/2015-reading-assignment-challenge" target="_blank">2015 Reading Assignment Challenge</a> hosted by <a href="http://www.becausereading.com/" target="_blank">Because Reading</a> and <a href="http://fantasyismorefun.com/" target="_blank">Fantasy is More Fun</a></li>
</ul>
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<strong>Original post:</strong> <a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1163804/thoughts-champion">anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1163804/thoughts-champion</a> anicheunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04354599944470683233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304886105344701928.post-19308001939426344912015-05-12T09:00:00.001-05:002015-05-12T09:00:07.566-05:00Top Ten Tuesdays: Ten Authors I REALLY Want to Meet <div><p><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/c/3/c34e35e3cfc8214ea7e53fa456e75e71.jpg" alt="" width="261" height="201" /></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><em><a href="http://www.brokeandbookish.com/p/top-ten-tuesday-other-features.html" target="_blank"><strong>Top Ten Tuesdays</strong></a> is an original and weekly feature hosted by <strong><a href="http://www.brokeandbookish.com/" target="_blank">The Broke and the Bookish</a></strong>.</em></p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Ten Authors I REALLY Want to Meet</strong></p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">I figure this list is as good as naming some favorite authors, because I've never really given too much thought to actually meeting them. But then I read about someone's trip to BEA and how she was able to meet Maggie Stiefvater and I felt a bit jealous. So maybe there ARE author's I'd like to meet.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">If only because I'd like the fifteen second chance to tell them how much I love their books and their writing styles and their wit and humor... and other things.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong>1. J.K. Rowling -- </strong>Two words. Queen Rowling.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong>2. Maggie Stiefvater -- </strong>I'd like to think that having a conversation with Maggie would be as much fun as reading her news/blog posts and her books. She's got a natural comedic wit to her words that you can't help but be charmed by.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong>3. Julie James --</strong> As one of my auto-buy, auto-READ-RIGHT-NOW! authors, I would definitely love to meet Julie James. Maybe hear from her, personally, how she made the jump from lawyer to writer and tell her how much fun I have reading her books.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong>4. Kasie West -- </strong>I love her books and I love the dry humor she infuses into her characters and I love that a lot of her characters are nerdy types and so I would love to meet her.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong>5. Dean Koontz --</strong> As one of my all time favorite authors, I felt he needed to be on this list.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">I suppose a list of five is better than nothing. I might as well have skipped this week's Top Ten Tuesday since it feels so skimpy. Ah well.</p></div> <p> <strong>Original post:</strong> <a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1148839/top-ten-tuesdays-ten-authors-i-really-want-to-meet">anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1148839/top-ten-tuesdays-ten-authors-i-really-want-to-meet</a> </p> anicheunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04354599944470683233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304886105344701928.post-5162018736385456442015-05-07T15:00:00.001-05:002015-05-07T15:00:27.793-05:00Thoughts: Freefall <style> .set-middle { vertical-align: middle; } </style> <p> <strong>Review:</strong> <img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_a.png" /><img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_a.png" /><img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_a.png" /><img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_a.png" /><img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_i.png" /></p> <p> <a href="http://booklikes.com/freefall-jill-sorenson/book,9642589"><img src="http://booklikes.com/photo/max/100/0/upload/books/8/b/azure_8ba7a88e0c1296575323bea5296a2ee6.jpg" style="vertical-align: middle; width: 100px; min-height: 100px;" title="Freefall - Jill Sorenson" alt="Freefall - Jill Sorenson" /></a> </p> <div><p><strong>Freefall -- Jill Sorenson</strong></p> <p><strong>Book 2 of <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Aftershock</span> series</strong></p> <p><strong>2013 Release -- Harlequin HQN</strong></p> <p><strong>Adult, Romantic Suspense, Mystery, Crime, Sports</strong></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>I like that the <em>Aftershock</em> series is a different brand of Romantic Suspense than what I’m used to--the stories base themselves around situational happenings, such as certain disasters, nature expeditions, sporting activities… etc. The first book in this series, <em>Aftershock</em>, was centered around a natural disaster, an earthquake, that stranded our heroes under a collapsed freeway. Of course, things would have been bad enough, but the author also had to include in the dangers of bad people trying to take advantage of bad situations for their own benefit.<br /><br />Even so, I still enjoyed it a lot even if it wasn’t incredibly awesome. (<a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1042439/review-aftershock" target="_blank">Link to my review of <em>Aftershock</em></a>.)<br /><br /><em>Freefall</em> was just as exciting and enjoyable, with so much forward progression that you don’t really have time to stop and think about the few quibbles that arose due to logical questioning of the happenings in the story itself. The book went by so quickly that I simply enjoyed it for what it was: an entertaining Romantic Suspense based in a national park where natural dangers can lurk around every corner.<br /><br />As I had stated, sometimes nature is unforgiving enough without a dangerous human presence to make the situation even more frantic; but that is how this book was written and I’ll go with it. Honestly, I would have liked a book focused more on how our heroes would cope with surviving a natural disaster, or being stranded on a mountain, or something of the like, without human baddies to contend with.<br /><br /><br /><strong>The Story in Brief:</strong><br />A plane has crashed on top of a remote mountain, cutting short Hope Banning’s plans for white water rafting with her sister. As the only park ranger available at the time who can climb to the summit to assess the situation, she heeds the emergency call to investigate. Unfortunately, the only climbing partner she can find is none other than Sam Rutherford, a man she would rather not have contact with again due to a night spent with him six months ago, which followed with him practically throwing her out of his home without explanation.<br /><br />Sam Rutherford’s memory of losing his girlfriend in a climbing accident is gone after the San Diego earthquake knocked him unconscious (from the first book). Ever since then, he has insisted on climbing solo and braving dangerous expeditions in order to <em>feel</em> anything. The last thing he wants to do is climb to the summit of any mountain with a partner, especially Hope; he still feels a sizzle of chemistry between them and he doesn’t like it (since he has confusing, lingering feelings for the deceased girlfriend, Melissa, and hasn’t been able to remember the period in which he’d been grieving).<br /><br />But Hope has to do her job, with or without him, and he can’t leave her hanging on her own. But as soon as they reach the site of the plane crash, it turns out that there is something much more dangerous going on: a killer is now wandering the mountainous national park, the plane belonged to that of drug smugglers, and the person who owns that plane has dispatched his own minions to retrieve both the drug cargo and the man who escaped the plane.<br /><br />So now Hope and Sam must track down the killer in the unforgiving terrain of mother nature’s playground as they attempt to put their own personal issues aside.<br /><br /><br /><strong>Overall Thoughts:</strong><br />Yeah, I know. Not the best summary ever, but the official blurbs I’ve found really are a little misleading. At first, I had been expecting a commercial or private plane crash wherein the survivors (yes, plural) are stranded at the summit of a remote mountain and there’s a killer amongst them. I figured that Sam and Hope would climb to the top of the summit and become stranded with the survivors and a killer and must figure out who the baddie is before everyone dies. And then at the same time, they’d have to figure out how to survive on the mountain until reinforcements arrive.<br /><br />That’s what I had <em>thought</em> the story would be about and got really excited about it. <br /><br />Instead, it turns out, in the actual story, that the plane was a cargo plane, there were only two passengers, Hope finds the pilot with a hole in his chest from a gunshot wound, and the only other passenger is AWOL. And so Hope trudges through the mountain tracking down the killer on a rather TSTL mission. But I forgive her for making bad decisions because she <em>is</em> tough as nails and <em>can</em> take care of herself… and a multiple of other reasons.<br /><br />But I still wish she would have called for help. Because man or woman, it’s still a bit dangerous to be tracking down a killer in a humongous, mountainous national park alone; the terrain is bad enough to travel over even when you’re just going on a leisurely expedition with no killers running around. So it was fortunate that Sam felt obligated to follow her and keep her out of trouble--still, he’s not law enforcement and shouldn’t have had to keep an eye on Hope. Hope should have known better.<br /><br />Then again, if our park ranger had been a man and had done the same things that Hope did, lots of people would have been applauding his heroic behavior. This is why I don’t give Hope any crap about her actions. But, I honestly think that even if the park ranger were a man, he would <em>still</em> have been better off waiting for a partner to help him.<br /><br />So, anyway, it wasn’t the story I was hoping for, but I don’t deny that I enjoyed it nonetheless. There’s a deeper emotional tension between our main couple that seemed to pluck at all the right places in my non-existent heart. The personal drama going on between Hope and Sam was enough to propel the development of their relationship in a good progressive direction.<br /><br />Mainly, I liked the characters, even Hope’s sister, Faith. And I’m also glad we get to see more of young Owen and see how much he’s grown since the events of <em>Aftershock</em>.<br /><br />Like <em>Aftershock</em>, the imagery and descriptions in <em>Freefall</em> were dark and vivid. The tone was gritty and extreme. The romance wasn’t all that great and the sex scenes were a little bland and raw, but the friendship-non-friendship-romance between Sam and Hope was intense enough and emotional enough that I liked it. Their unsatiated chemistry was actually a lot more full of FEELS than when they finally got together in the end to have their Happily Ever After™; not that I don’t like a happy ending, but it <em>did</em> get a little tacky.<br /><br />And a short, brief thoughts review turned into a rambling, so I’m going to have to stop typing now. <br /><br /></p></div> <p> <strong>Original post:</strong> <a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1159106/thoughts-freefall">anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1159106/thoughts-freefall</a> </p> anicheunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04354599944470683233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304886105344701928.post-9326707630438898322015-05-06T15:00:00.001-05:002015-05-06T15:00:34.972-05:00Brief Thoughts: Killjoy <style> .set-middle { vertical-align: middle; } </style> <p> <strong>Review:</strong> <img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_a.png" /><img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_a.png" /><img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_a.png" /><img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_h.png" /><img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_i.png" /></p> <p> <a href="http://booklikes.com/killjoy-julie-garwood/book,738799"><img src="http://booklikes.com/photo/max/100/0/upload/books/2/e/azure_2eb5801c2971506d1cd337f8a5eaa939.jpg" style="vertical-align: middle; width: 100px; min-height: 100px;" title="Killjoy - Julie Garwood" alt="Killjoy - Julie Garwood" /></a> </p> <div><p><strong>Killjoy by Julie Garwood</strong></p> <p><strong>Book 3 of <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Buchanan-Renard</span> series</strong></p> <p><strong>2002 Release -- Ballantine Books</strong></p> <p><strong>Adult, Romantic Suspense</strong></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>I was surprised at how much I enjoyed reading <em>Killjoy</em> despite the meandering plot-line, the focus on the resident “baddies” every other chapter, and the strange and somewhat tacky dialogues and monologues. I think that one of the things Julie Garwood does well in her stories is the insertion of very natural, very realistic, yet mundane actions and scenes, with a very subtle hint of an amusing, comic undertone.<br /><br />The setting felt dark, like any gritty Romantic Suspense, but I couldn’t help finding certain exchanges and behaviors between the characters a bit chuckle-worthy.<br /><br />It’s strange, because I’m not quite certain I <em>know</em> how I feel about this book except that I enjoyed it despite all its flaws.<br /><br /><br /><strong>The Story:</strong><br />Avery Delaney’s mother is an evil maniac who walked out of her life when she was a baby. Being raised by her Aunt Carolyn, Avery is, presently, a typist and data analyst working for the FBI. On a planned vacation with her Aunt Carrie to a spa in Colorado, Avery arrives only to find that Carrie never made it to their planned destination and now seems to be missing. Almost immediately, the kidnappers contact Avery to let her know that if she wants to find her aunt alive, she’ll have to play their game of cat-and-mouse.<br /><br />Or something to that extent.<br /><br />John Paul Renard has been on the hunt for a killer-for-hire named Monk ever since the man tried to kill his sister (previous book <em> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/107773.Mercy" target="_blank">Mercy</a></em>). He’s tracked Monk down to the Utopia spa resort in Colorado, one of his fake credit cards having been used to book a stay for Carolyn Delaney Salvetti. Instead, John Paul comes across Avery.<br /><br />And now the two of them must hurry off to play this cat-and-mouse game if they want any chance at all of either saving Carrie (and two other women taken with her) or bringing Monk (and his new partner) to justice.<br /><br /><br /><strong>Overall Thoughts:</strong><br />To be totally honest, there was a LOT of story going on in this book in a rather haphazard fashion. There were too many tangents with POVs that seemed unnecessary, and even a lot of focus on both Monk’s and Jilly’s mindsets that I could have done without. After all, while it’s interesting to see into the mind of the antagonist every so often, I don’t need (nor do I care for) a play-by-play of our bad guys justifying their actions and intentions with twisted logic and a horrible lack of human consciences.<br /><br />What I DID love, however, were the interactions between John Paul and Avery, and following along on <em>their</em> little quest to save the hostages. Because Avery is just a regular young woman with a regular job, thrown into a situation in which she needed to figure out how to save her beloved Aunt Carolyn. And John Paul happened to be there with her--and of course, he’s not a regular guy because he’s a Romantic Suspense hero.<br /><br />Avery, however, was an interesting personality to follow, and I can’t quite explain it very well, but I just loved her down-to-earth reactions, her calm-as-you-please demeanor, and her tough-as-nails projected personality. And her weird quirks. I loved her weird behavioral quirks as well.<br /><br />While John Paul was the usual, standard broody male hero, he still had his moments that made me like him. Of course, nothing made me like him more than when he was with Avery and trading verbal wits and barbs with her. That was tons of fun.<br /><br />Also her typist/data analyst co-workers working with her; they were quite amusing as well, in an old-fashion comic-humor type of way.<br /><br />In a nutshell, I think the undertone of light humor and Avery’s character and personality made it very easy to enjoy reading <em>Killjoy</em>.<br /> <br /><br /></p> <p>***</p> <p> </p> <p>This book is a pre-chosen participant in the following Reading Challenge(s):</p> <ul> <li><a href="http://delightedreader.com/series-never-ends-reading-challenge/" target="_blank">The Series That Never Ends</a> hosted by <a href="http://delightedreader.com/" target="_blank">Delighted Reader</a></li> </ul> <p> </p></div> <p> <strong>Original post:</strong> <a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1159077/brief-thoughts-killjoy">anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1159077/brief-thoughts-killjoy</a> </p> anicheunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04354599944470683233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304886105344701928.post-16410398620273215162015-05-05T20:17:00.001-05:002015-05-05T20:17:11.716-05:00Thoughts: Simply Irresistible <style> .set-middle { vertical-align: middle; } </style> <p> <strong>Review:</strong> <img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_a.png" /><img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_a.png" /><img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_a.png" /><img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_a.png" /><img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_i.png" /></p> <p> <a href="http://booklikes.com/simply-irresistible-jill-shalvis/book,6104311"><img src="http://booklikes.com/photo/max/100/0/upload/books/e/3/azure_e33cd7e37c330283780fe13347ad77ba.jpg" style="vertical-align: middle; width: 100px; min-height: 100px;" title="Simply Irresistible - Jill Shalvis" alt="Simply Irresistible - Jill Shalvis" /></a> </p> <div><p><strong>Simply Irresistible -- Jill Shalvis</strong></p> <p><strong>Book 1 of <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Lucky Harbor</span> series</strong></p> <p><strong>2010 Release -- Forever (Hachette Book Group)</strong></p> <p><strong>Adult, Contemporary Romance, Humor, Chick Lit</strong></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>A friend once told me that, when it comes to family, the definitions of and lines between love, hate, resentment, caring, and any other emotion you can think of tend to get really blurred. The love that you have for a family member can be very different from that of a friend; because while you choose the friends in your life, you’ve never really had a choice in the family who are there as well.<br /><br />Family are those people you can live without, but you can’t live without. Like I said, it’s a very blurry line. Because these people have always been around, it’s hard to imagine them NOT being around, no matter all the negative feelings you may have developed about them over the years. Because these people are always around, you sometimes wish that they were somewhere else, no matter how much you love and care for them.<br /><br />These are people who are dropped into your life, outside of your own control; however, these are also the very people who continue to be a part of your life by choice--whether yours or theirs.<br /><br />A friend once told me that when it comes to family, it is perfectly normal to <em>love</em> one of them, but at the same time immensely <em>dislike</em> that same family member.<br /><br />It’s <em>all</em> about the blurry lines that makes a family unit such an interesting dynamic.<br /><br /><br />Back to the book, <em>Simply Irresistible</em> certainly manages to portray very fun and intriguing relationships between the characters, specifically the three estranged half-sisters, Maddie, Tara, and Chloe. <strong>Because while the storyline itself was standard Contemporary Romance formulaic drivel it had been the humorous quips, crazy personalities, and yes, the fun and intriguing character interactions and interesting relationship dynamics that made the book so much more enjoyable than it might have turned out.</strong><br /><br />Fun and breezy, this book set out to be, fun and breezy this book accomplished. And then some.<br /><br />Because I simply loved the weird straddling of those blurred family love/hate definitions presented by the three sisters. They haven’t spent much time together, they are estranged, but at the same time, they are family and they both love and loathe each other for multiple reasons. They spend time trying to annoy the hell out of each other like teenagers, but when it really counts, the three of them are there for each other.<br /><br />The following quote doesn’t quite describe the full extent of the loving relationship between Maddie, Tara, and Chloe, but I found it amusing. And also, even after all that craziness, at the end of the day, the sisters are still there for each other and love each other enough to continue being there for each other.<br /><br /></p> <blockquote><em>Maddie tipped her face up to the stars as if looking for divine intervention. “Some people have normal families,” she said. “They get together once a month or so and have dinner. My family? We have pancake batter food fights, steal each other’s footwear, dye our hair green, and yell at each other over loudspeakers in public.”</em></blockquote> <p><br /><br /><br /><strong>The Story:</strong><br />Told in Maddie Moore’s perspective, three estranged half-sisters arrive at Lucky Harbor Resort, a beachside inn that their equally estranged, free-spirited mother has left to the three of them in her will. With lives of their own to get back to, there was no doubt that Tara and Chloe wanted to get in, divide up the assets for the inn, then get back out.<br /><br />Maddie, however, was hopeful for more. Having lost her job and her boyfriend recently, she’s looking for a fresh start. And having been the odd-one-out among her sisters and family, she also subconsciously held onto the hope that maybe the three of them could spend some time together being sisters and getting to know each other.<br /><br />And so Maddie does what she can to convince Tara and Chloe to give the inn a chance before selling it off and going their separate ways. They’re knee deep in debts and Lucky Harbor Resort has certainly seen better days, but with a little work and determination, Maddie is convinced they can make the entire deal work out.<br /><br />Which is how we factor into the equation the good-looking, “tall, dark-haired hottie” carpenter, Jax Cullen.<br /><br /><br /><strong>Overall Thoughts:</strong><br /><em>Simply Irresistible</em> is an amusing, fun read with very enjoyable character interactions and relationship dynamics. Those were the very things that kept me loving the book, because, as I’d stated already, <em>Simply Irresistible</em> would have otherwise been a boring Contemporary Romance with the same formulaic story with the same formulaic outline.<br /><br />Klutzy girl, down on her luck attracts broody alpha with a dark and troubled past. Klutzy girl is actually resourceful and has a heart of gold and her shining spot of development involves growing a backbone and figuring out where she “fits-in” in life (as defined by <em>everyone else</em> in her life). Broody alpha is also a golden boy who has many, many secrets that, when shared with the rest of the audience, just makes him all the more perfect as a typical Romance novel hero.<br /><br />The two have a sweet, adorbs romance, with obviously mind-blowing sex (that they keep having at the most inopportune times or “just because” since characters in Romance novels are always horny, 24/7). Then there’s the obligatory angst, reconciliation, BIG MISUNDERSTANDING™ with more angst and obligatory sort-of-break-up, and then the standard Happily Ever After™.<br /><br /><em>Simply Irresistible</em> is a typical love story that <em>could have</em> been boring and it <em>could have</em> been that one Romance story that has been told hundreds of times. After all, I DID feel as if the romance in this book could have been curbed a little in favor of the character dynamics, specifically the development of the relationship between our three half-sisters.<br /><br />We spend so much time with Jax and Maddie, and we spend so much time watching their love story develop from 0 to 100 within the first couple chapters that the Romance in this Contemporary, in my opinion, lacks originality and inspiration. Don’t get me wrong, Jax and Maddie were adorable together (and I somehow found Maddie’s klutziness kind of endearing despite the fact that I normally hate when female characters are like that).<br /><br />And I know that this book is a Contemporary <em>Romance</em> first and foremost; however, I repeat, I think I would have liked to put more exploration into the relationship between Maddie, Tara, and Chloe, as well as dive into their issues about their mother and their separate lifestyles before coming to Lucky Harbor.<br /><br />Unfortunately, this book focused a bit more on Maddie and Jax than I would have liked, without actually getting into a more maturely developed relationship between them. But I’m going to let that go.<br /><br />Because, fortunately, it turned out to have a little more substance than the standard formula, and for that, I found myself enjoying the heck out of it. With humorous quips, strange antics, small town warmth, and sweet, heart-warming relationships, I think it’ll only be a matter of time before I come to fully fall in love with the people of <em>Lucky Harbor</em>.<br /><br />The reason this book didn’t get a lower rating is because I’m having one of those moments where, whether or not this book is an objectively good one, <strong>I found personal enjoyment, and dammit, that’s all that matters to me right now!</strong><br /><br /></p> <p> </p> <p>***</p> <p> </p> <p>This book is a pre-chosen participant in the following Reading Challenge(s):</p> <ul> <li><a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1059330/2015-reading-assignment-challenge" target="_blank">2015 Reading Assignment Challenge</a> hosted by <a href="http://www.becausereading.com/" target="_blank">Because Reading</a> and <a href="http://fantasyismorefun.com/" target="_blank">Fantasy is More Fun</a></li> </ul> <p> </p> <p> </p></div> <p> <strong>Original post:</strong> <a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1158948/thoughts-simply-irresistible">anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1158948/thoughts-simply-irresistible</a> </p> anicheunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04354599944470683233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304886105344701928.post-33484207163228810962015-05-05T09:00:00.001-05:002015-05-05T09:00:42.330-05:00Top Ten Tuesdays: Books I Will Probably Never Read <div><p><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/c/3/c34e35e3cfc8214ea7e53fa456e75e71.jpg" alt="" width="261" height="201" /></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><em><a href="http://www.brokeandbookish.com/p/top-ten-tuesday-other-features.html" target="_blank"><strong>Top Ten Tuesdays</strong></a> is an original and weekly feature hosted by <strong><a href="http://www.brokeandbookish.com/" target="_blank">The Broke and the Bookish</a></strong>.</em></p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Top Ten Books I Will Probably Never Read</strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">There is probably no rhyme or reason for this list. These are just the first books that popped into my head as books that I will mostly probably never read... for one reason or another. Either the premise is something I'm not interested in, community reviews have aided my decisions, or I was just never interested in the genre or type of book in the first place.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">A lot of times, there are just certain subjects that I don't bother considering at all just because I've never been interested... like Paranormal Romances, specifically with vampire themes. This has nothing to do with <em>Twilight</em> or even the influx of YA vampire books--since the beginning of time, this was just a genre or subject in books I'd never been interested in. With my interests laying in so many other directions, why force myself to consider reading a genre I've never really cared for?</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">There are other genres I don't care for either--there was an obsession with something called Monster Porn for a while, I think... or something like that. Amusing as that sounds, my answer is "No."</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">But let's be honest: There are probably hundreds of books out there I will probably never read if only because of all the reasons I have listed, but most importantly because they didn't grab my attention. And realistically, I can't read every book ever written.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">Here is just a list of the ten that happened to ping on my radar and I indefinitely tacked a "Not Interested" sign on them, or an "I am interested, but I honestly don't think I'll ever pick it up" stamp on them.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <blockquote> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Vampire Themed Books</strong></p> </blockquote> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">As stated already, I've never been all that interested in vampire-themed books. I've seen plenty of vampire-themed movies, this is true, but they've never really been my favorites. These particular five vampire-themed books are the ones that stood out in my mind when I was pondering this week's Top Ten Tuesday topic.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">Ever since the big influx of vampire books when <em>Twilight</em> was popular, I've always been asked about other, similar-themed books or series: Have I read such and such series? Is it good? Why haven't I read such and such series? They are popular and they are trendy and they are what a large target audience like now-a-days, so how come I haven't read them?</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">If anyone is ever curious, I've found that I have been on shaky ground with certain types of paranormal genre-based books that are focused on romance (Paranormal Romances, if you will). And if they have vampires in them, it most likely will NOT draw my interest. Of course, that doesn't mean that I will NEVER read a book with vampires in it--I'm sure there are a few out there that may interest me at some point in my reading journey.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/2/6/263eaeaca8b1eba83fbdf8e8a3915580.jpg" alt="" width="91" height="150" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/1/b/1bcde0ee168c0a66e3bc6527f1eb4535.jpg" alt="" width="90" height="150" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/a/0/a0d750ef3e2e413447d93e4b78df42b9.jpg" alt="" width="100" height="150" /></strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice</strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Guilty Pleasures by Laurell K. Hamilton</strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead</strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <p>I had borrowed <em>Interview With the Vampire</em> from a friend who loves Anne Rice. I tried reading it twice, but just never managed to get into it. Whether it was the subject matter, the way the book was written, or maybe even just that I was in college and had a busy schedule and just wasn't interested in making time for this book... I don't know. But I'll probably never read it.</p> <p> </p> <p><em>Vampire Academy</em> is just one of those popular series books that people always ask me if I've read. The answer is no. Will I ever read it? Probably not. I'm just not really interested. The same goes with <em>Guilty Pleasures </em>and the rest of the <em>Anita Blake</em> series; I'm just not interested.</p> <p> </p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/7/3/73bdbc0194980af3437e2dcfdc420c6f.jpg" alt="" width="100" height="150" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/b/8/b87df4e3021e3ddd09bc00ab6b09800d.jpg" alt="" width="91" height="150" /></strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>New Moon by Stephanie Meyer</strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Club Dead by Charlaine Harris</strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">I read the first half of <em>Twilight</em> and got bored and frustrated with it, so the likelihood of reading <em>New Moon</em> is fairly close to zero percent. I may or may not pick up the first <em>Twilight</em> book and try to read it again one of these days to finish it and give it a fair chance (I have since read and finished many other books far worse), but the chances of continuing the series is pretty slim considering my humongous reading list at present. </p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">Same goes for <em>Club Dead</em>--I have read the first <em>Sookie Stackhouse</em> book and didn't much care for it; I might read the second book in the series, but I really doubt I'll get any further in the series than that.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <blockquote> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Other Types of Books</strong></p> </blockquote> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/5/7/57b28bef1624a3c9d23b7d9a9cda70b2.jpg" alt="" width="100" height="150" /></strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James</strong></p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">I started reading books containing erotica about two years ago and found that a lot of them really aren't as bad as I used to think they were. Some are breezy and cute and fun. I don't specifically pick up books that are 100% Erotica or Contemporary Romance with Erotica or the like. I've become hugely obsessed with Romantic Suspense novels that have a healthy dose of explicit sex scenes--sometimes these Romantic Suspense books are really Erotica that uses Romantic Suspense as a springboard.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">But I'm not sure I'll ever be able to get into BDSM type Erotica. That would be reason number one as to why I'll probably never read <em>Fifty Shades of Grey</em>. Reason number two would be the community reviews wherein a lot of trusted reviewers I follow have noted that <em>Fifty Shades</em> is <em>Twilight</em> fanfiction with characters who have the same personalities... it just happens to be an adult book with sex and BDSM.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/2/5/250e977800a7a353349feb03953b29bb.jpg" alt="" width="99" height="150" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/0/b/0b2f1613e895839c1d6e2aff98ee8b8c.jpg" alt="" width="103" height="150" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/4/1/41e41602103e70b9523e0a028ae9c874.jpg" alt="" width="96" height="150" /></strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Anything else by Nicholas Sparks that I have not read</strong></p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">I have a read a total of three Nicholas Sparks books. Two were enjoyable (though I don't want to test my luck by trying a re-read of them and would really rather just stick with the memory of having liked them). The third was kind of crappy. By that time, my naive teenaged-self realized that there was a pattern to a Nick Sparks romance... and I didn't like that pattern.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">So after committing one of my big "no-no's" for book reading (skipping forward to the end to see how everything turns out) when I had gotten <em>At First Sight</em>, I finally decided that Mr. Sparks' books just are NOT for me and I have since moved on and gotten rid of all but one of my Nicholas Sparks books.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">After all, why read books if you know you're not going to enjoy them?</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/4/e/4ee965f0752a3bd7912563486cde44b3.jpg" alt="" width="99" height="150" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/c/9/c9f3e36e15fede8972a9849ea5cee913.jpg" alt="" width="104" height="150" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/d/2/d2fe807766253f9c33c6fb32c2ecb677.jpg" alt="" width="99" height="150" /></strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>The Princess of Landover by Terry Brooks</strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Stone of Tears by Terry Goodkind</strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Lair of Dreams by Libba Bray</strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">Terry Brooks is an author I enjoyed for a good while. I have plans to read a lot of his <em>Shannara</em> series (and sub-series and sub-trilogies and etc...). I had gotten into the <em>Magic Kingdom of Landover</em> series and breezed through the first four books pretty quickly. I haven't read the fifth book because I needed a hiatus from <em>Landover</em> as the stories started becoming kind of repetitive. Chances are, however, that I may pick up that fifth book, read it, then stop there. <em>The Princess of Landover</em>, then, will become an unfortunate casualty since I'm not sure I care to read it.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">I read Terry Goodkind's first <em>Sword of Truth</em> book; while it was enjoyable to an extent, I honestly didn't find it intriguing enough to read through an entire series surrounding the same two people with, as my brother had put it, the same repetitive story lines (yes, he's read all the books and didn't much care for them and I trust his judgment). So I won't be reading the next book or following the series at all.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">Finally, we come to Libba Bray. I have a love/hate relationship with Libba Bray's <em>Gemma Doyle</em> trilogy. It was actually an interesting story, well-written, and after the initial struggle at the beginning of the first book, got me hooked. So I thought that maybe I'd give her another go with <em>The Diviners</em>... I haven't finished <em>The Diviners</em>. I have restarted it three times and got as far as a little under midpoint. </p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">The one thing I struggle with in a Libba Bray book, I've realized, is that she more often than not <em>does <strong>not</strong> get to the point of her story</em>. Too many things were happening in <em>The Diviners</em> and I <em>still</em> had no idea where the story was headed even after half the book was read. And sometimes, even when you can kind of see where the story is headed, it takes its sweet time getting around to it. Thus, even if I manage to go back and finish <em>The Diviners</em> in the future, I will probably just stop there. So that's a no go on the second book, <em>Lair of Dreams</em>.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">***</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">No Honorable Mentions this time. If I had to list every other book I possibly won't read, the list could go on. There are a lot of books that I sometimes will just glance at and go "Nah..." And then there are some genres that I won't even touch, if only because they definitely aren't my cuppa.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p></div> <p> <strong>Original post:</strong> <a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1148833/top-ten-tuesdays-books-i-will-probably-never-read">anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1148833/top-ten-tuesdays-books-i-will-probably-never-read</a> </p> anicheunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04354599944470683233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304886105344701928.post-87823447295961420612015-05-01T02:00:00.001-05:002015-05-01T02:00:21.483-05:00Reading Wrap Up -- Looking Back At April <div><p>Okay. So this month officially "launches" my attempt at some monthly reading wrap-ups where I look back at the past month and make some lists--cause we all know how much I love my lists!</p> <p> </p> <p>I have formatted and re-formatted this post until I liked the way it looks. I sometimes tend to get a little obsessive about the strangest things.</p> <p> </p> <p>April was a really good month in a lot of ways. Aside from completing my April books for the 2015 Reading Assignment Challenge, I also managed to read two books for this year's TBR Pile Challenge (granted, one of those books was part of both challenges). This month I started a total of six series, one of which I finished (<em>Morgan's Mercenaries: Love and Glory</em>), and one that I put a small dent in (<em>Bulletcathers</em>), and one where I have only read the first book (<em>Dept 6 Hired Guns</em>). I finished one series I'd been reading this year (<em>Deadly</em>), and finally tackled Marie Lu's <em>Legend</em> trilogy, of which I still need to finish the big concluding third book, <em>Champion</em> when I can get a hold of it.</p> <p> </p> <p>In a strange way, I have managed to tackle all of the books I set on my April reading list with the exception of <em>Champion</em>--which has been bumped to my May reading list due to library availability. And so then I had to make use of my Book Roulette (for probably the first time since I created a new Book Roulette system--color coordinated post-its in a jar), and got myself <em>White Heat</em> (read via Scribd book service platform).</p> <p> </p> <p>I'd say I've made a lot of progress considering the chaos that is Real Life--busy, busy work schedule just makes for little time for reading and blogging... which means I snatch those moments right before I go to sleep or when I'm waiting around for other things to happen. Which probably means I've gotten less sleep this past month than I should have.</p> <p> </p> <p>Anyway...</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <blockquote> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Books Read</strong></p> </blockquote> <p style="text-align: center;"><a title="The School For Good and Evil by Soman Chainani" href="http://booklikes.com/the-school-for-good-and-evil-soman-chainani/book,9578944" target="_blank"><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/c/8/c8811aa85677fbc7cd26173ae1de6a1d.jpg" alt="" width="99" height="150" /></a><a title="Kill Me Twice by Roxanne St. Claire" href="http://booklikes.com/kill-me-twice-roxanne-st-claire/book,12970423" target="_blank"><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/e/0/e0aeba4bbbca42a2b9ad1b60e3c91568.jpg" alt="" width="93" height="150" /></a><a title="Thrill Me To Death by Roxanne St. Claire" href="http://booklikes.com/thrill-me-to-death-roxanne-st-claire/book,1071386" target="_blank"><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/8/8/88afa424daf542d50ea2a04bb55b395e.jpg" alt="" width="93" height="150" /></a><a title="I'll Be Home For Christmas (anthology)" href="http://booklikes.com/i-ll-be-home-for-christmas-linda-lael-miller-catherine-mulvany-roxanne-st-c/book,12360025" target="_blank"><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/3/e/3eb01765f277b4358b0793b1fdbe066d.jpg" alt="" width="93" height="150" /></a></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><a title="Legend by Marie Lu" href="http://booklikes.com/legend-marie-lu/book,6610392" target="_blank"><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/9/b/9bb2222864c7330a0f02b6f8aa467b16.jpg" alt="" width="99" height="150" /></a><a title="Take Me Tonight by Roxanne St. Claire" href="http://booklikes.com/take-me-tonight-roxanne-st-claire/book,1071091" target="_blank"><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/8/b/8b4016c9e6dae7eb95b92942ce67ec97.jpg" alt="" width="93" height="150" /></a><a title="What You Can't See (anthology)" href="http://booklikes.com/what-you-can-t-see-allison-brennan-karin-tabke-roxanne-st-claire/book,1377473" target="_blank"><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/b/9/b90aeaf5e9441f25856949e6fb36226d.jpg" alt="" width="92" height="150" /></a><a title="A Question of Honor by Lindsay McKenna" href="http://booklikes.com/a-question-of-honor-morgan-s-mercenaries-1-lindsay-mckenna/book,1632033" target="_blank"><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/d/b/dbf1fae3aa41a6f21383507cc650fb54.jpg" alt="" width="103" height="150" /></a></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><a title="No Surrender by Lindsay McKenna" href="http://booklikes.com/no-surrender-lindsay-mckenna/book,3677429" target="_blank"><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/1/8/1883f202775b202619665d080bdba06b.jpg" alt="" width="103" height="150" /></a><a title="Life Before Legend (Two Legend short stories) by Marie Lu" href="http://booklikes.com/life-before-legend-marie-lu/book,10199171" target="_blank"><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/8/8/8896c4015dc5c726c24c3f868a93d453.jpg" alt="" width="98" height="150" /></a><a title="77 Shadow Street by Dean Koontz" href="http://booklikes.com/77-shadow-street-dean-koontz/book,7262835" target="_blank"><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/3/d/3d60cb391dfcb3e1e10c6f7b6c47da63.jpg" alt="" width="99" height="150" /></a><a title="Investigating the Hottie by Juli Alexander" href="http://booklikes.com/investigating-the-hottie-juli-alexander/book,10172926" target="_blank"><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/d/d/dda5ec681ea4095d63b26b185d4964ec.jpg" alt="" width="117" height="150" /></a></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><a title="The Moonlit Mind (a Pendleton novella) by Dean Koontz" href="http://booklikes.com/the-moonlit-mind-a-tale-of-suspense-dean-koontz/book,7944650" target="_blank"><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/4/a/4ac79a2d8b1f5fd63ce8d838aff5c8e0.jpg" alt="" width="98" height="150" /></a><a title="Prodigy by Marie Lu" href="http://booklikes.com/prodigy-marie-lu/book,8138174" target="_blank"><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/9/e/9e92bc29108e154be739ab73e8eb569b.jpg" alt="" width="97" height="150" /></a><a title="Deadly Lies by Cynthia Eden" href="http://booklikes.com/deadly-lies-cynthia-eden/book,6625165" target="_blank"><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/6/8/68f195081b2bb7cf0b7d91ff07b56856.jpg" alt="" width="94" height="150" /></a><a title="Return of a Hero by Lindsay McKenna" href="http://booklikes.com/return-of-a-hero-morgan-s-mercenaries-lindsay-mckenna/book,3714048" target="_blank"><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/7/3/73250d264a390302ea74a1ea12d055c7.jpg" alt="" width="103" height="150" /></a></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><a title="Dawn of Valor by Lindsay McKenna" href="http://booklikes.com/dawn-of-valor-morgan-s-mercenaries-lindsay-mckenna/book,2559992" target="_blank"><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/5/2/52f360f4e929cf723fdb433fa88119be.jpg" alt="" width="103" height="150" /></a><a title="Freefall by Jill Sorenson" href="http://booklikes.com/freefall-jill-sorenson/book,9642589" target="_blank"><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/0/5/05c08a239dd44ba2a0d254e17252cf4a.jpg" alt="" width="95" height="150" /></a><a title="White Heat by Brenda Novak" href="http://booklikes.com/white-heat-brenda-novak/book,6081057" target="_blank"><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/b/0/b075655250a262f5abb2573310f9c5a1.jpg" alt="" width="95" height="150" /></a><a title="Killjoy by Julie Garwood" href="http://booklikes.com/killjoy-julie-garwood/book,738799" target="_blank"><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/3/d/3d4ba83522549a648c50f18394a09a9d.jpg" alt="" width="91" height="150" /></a></p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16248113-the-school-for-good-and-evil" target="_blank">The School for Good and Evil</a> by Soman Chainani</p> <p style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/221661.Kill_Me_Twice" target="_blank">Kill Me Twice</a> by Roxanne St. Claire</p> <p style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/221659.Thrill_Me_to_Death" target="_blank">Thrill Me To Death</a> by Roxanne St. Claire</p> <p style="text-align: left;">You Can Count On Me by Roxanne St. Claire - novella (<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/699199.I_ll_Be_Home_for_Christmas" target="_blank">I'll Be Home For Christmas</a> ant.)</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9275658-legend" target="_blank">Legend</a> by Marie Lu</p> <p style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/221662.Take_Me_Tonight" target="_blank">Take Me Tonight</a> by Roxanne St. Claire</p> <p style="text-align: left;">Reason to Believe by Roxanne St. Claire - novella (<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/432808.What_You_Can_t_See" target="_blank">What You Can't See</a> anthology)</p> <p style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/652026.A_Question_of_Honor" target="_blank">A Question of Honor</a> by Lindsay McKenna</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3218522-no-surrender" target="_blank">No Surrender</a> by Lindsay McKenna</p> <p style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17235347-life-before-legend" target="_blank">Life Before Legend</a> by Marie Lu - two short stories</p> <p style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11166890-77-shadow-street" target="_blank">77 Shadow Street</a> by Dean Koontz </p> <p style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17187773-investigating-the-hottie" target="_blank">Investigating the Hottie</a> by Juli Alexander</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12993603-the-moonlit-mind" target="_blank">The Moonlit Mind</a> by Dean Koontz</p> <p style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13414446-prodigy" target="_blank">Prodigy</a> by Marie Lu</p> <p style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9314030-deadly-lies" target="_blank">Deadly Lies</a> by Cynthia Eden</p> <p style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3271169-return-of-a-hero" target="_blank">Return of a Hero</a> by Lindsay McKenna</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1778640.Dawn_Of_Valor" target="_blank">Dawn of Valor</a> by Lindsay McKenna</p> <p style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16160034-freefall" target="_blank">Freefall</a> by Jill Sorenson</p> <p style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7811455-white-heat" target="_blank">White Heat</a> by Brenda Novak</p> <p style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/107790.Killjoy" target="_blank">Killjoy</a> by Julie Garwood</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <blockquote> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Reading Wrap Up</strong> </p> </blockquote> <p><strong>20 total books</strong> were read in April, three of which were technically short stories/novellas. Dean Koontz's <em>The Moonlit Mind</em> is categorized as a novella, but it felt long enough to be a book on it's own anyway, even if not his usual book length.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>My favorite reads in April</strong> were plenty. <em>The School for Good and Evil</em> was a surprisingly pleasant enjoyment with its strange, nonsensical, laugh-out-loud humor and it's clever parodying of classic fairy tale tropes. <em>Legend</em> was un-put-down-able (as was <em>Prodigy</em>) even if both books border on typical YA dystopian formulas. I DO look forward to finishing off the trilogy though. <em>Deadly Lies</em> was the most enjoyable and emotionally intense of the <em>Deadly</em> series and despite the disconnecting imbalance between romance and suspense, the overall story was very riveting. </p> <p> </p> <p>Jill Sorenson's <em>Freefall</em> was intense and gritty, with excellent attention to all the gory details and a consistently forward-moving progression. There were moments of "yeah, this doesn't really make any logical sense, but whatevs", but I found the story very enjoyable nonetheless. Julie Garwood's third <em>Buchanan-Renard</em> book, <em>Killjoy</em>, was surprisingly fun and enjoyable, probably my favorite of the series so far based solely on how the book itself was presented.</p> <p> </p> <p>Finally, <em>Investigating the Hottie</em> was a cute, short-length story for a very, <em>very</em> young target audience requiring an immense will for suspension of disbelief, but I still enjoyed it on a "Turn off your brain and just enjoy" type of way.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>I was slightly disappointed</strong> by Roxanne St. Claire's <em>Bulletcatchers</em> series--while the first book, <em>Kill Me Twice</em> was exciting and enjoyable, rest of the books following (so far) have been a bit hard to enjoy due to certain elements that trigger my rolly eyes. </p> <p> </p> <p>Lindsay McKenna's first four <em>Morgan's Mercenaries</em> books came to me unexpectedly when the library e-book catalog picked up my requested recommendations faster than I'd ever had happen before... Unfortunately, I just didn't seem to be able to enjoy them too much--possibly the old-timey romance with very old-fashioned ideals and thinking with characters deliberately trying to <em>be</em> forward thinking and failing at it didn't really work out for me very well. Also, everyone was so hysterical and dramatic, but I suppose that was how old-timey romances were written. </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>While I read a lot of books this month, my Real Life obligations didn't leave much time to review every one. I would like to write a short review for <em>Freefall</em> and for <em>Killjoy</em>, but that decision is still up in the air.</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <blockquote> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Reviews & Notable Posts</strong></p> </blockquote> <ul> <li><strong>Reviews</strong></li> </ul> <p><a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1141863/a-review-of-random-bullet-pointed-thoughts-the-school-for-good-and-evil" target="_blank">The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani</a></p> <p><a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1141872/thoughts-legend" target="_blank">Legend by Marie Lu</a></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1141876/thoughts-kill-me-twice" target="_blank">Kill Me Twice by Roxanne St. Claire</a></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1141886/brief-thoughts-thrill-me-to-death" target="_blank">Thrill Me To Death by Roxanne St. Claire</a></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1141889/brief-thoughts-you-can-count-on-me-bullet-catchers-novella" target="_blank">You Can Count On Me by Roxanne St. Claire</a></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1143667/thoughts-take-me-tonight" target="_blank">Take Me Tonight by Roxanne St. Claire</a></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1143555/brief-thoughts-reason-to-believe-bullet-catcher-s-novella" target="_blank">Reason to Believe by Roxanne St. Claire</a></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1148952/brief-thoughts-investigating-the-hottie" target="_blank">Investigating the Hottie by Juli Alexander</a></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1150698/thoughts-prodigy" target="_blank">Prodigy by Marie Lu</a></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1150650/brief-thoughts-deadly-lies" target="_blank">Deadly Lies by Cynthia Eden</a></p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p> </p> <ul> <li><strong>Top Ten Tuesdays</strong></li> </ul> <p><strong>4/7/2015:</strong> <a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1139140/top-ten-tuesdays-characters-to-check-in-with" target="_blank">Top Ten Characters You'd Like to Check In With</a></p> <p><strong>4/14/2015:</strong> <a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1139141/top-ten-tuesdays-inspiring-quotes" target="_blank">Top Ten Inspiring Quotes from Books</a></p> <p><strong>4/21/2015:</strong> <a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1139143/top-ten-tuesdays-all-time-favorite-authors" target="_blank">Top Ten ALL TIME Favorite Authors (top 20 or narrowed genre optional)</a></p> <p><strong>4/28/2015:</strong> <a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1139150/top-ten-tuesdays-something-about-characters" target="_blank">Top Ten Books Which Feature Characters Who ________</a></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <ul> <li><strong>Other Posts</strong></li> </ul> <p><a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1154104/a-word-from-maggie" target="_blank">A Word From Maggie...</a></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <blockquote> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Currently Reading</strong></p> </blockquote> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <p style="text-align: center;"> <img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/1/0/10e011643023bbd1d36fe7545faac644.jpg" alt="" width="100" height="150" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/5/2/527e68db02ec8c5c43343c24b68ac1eb.jpg" alt="" width="94" height="150" /></p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <p> </p> <blockquote> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Coming Up Next (tentative scheduling)</strong></p> </blockquote> <ul> <li><strong>Tentative TBR for This Month</strong></li> </ul> <p style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/b/3/b34ac1482fe43a6c97b09b215d004c61.jpg" alt="" width="99" height="150" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/3/d/3db8d8681ab8c34aa2f7fc68250dcde2.jpg" alt="" width="105" height="150" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/2/8/28448749626f4be3ec1ebdf6bfdf07fc.jpg" alt="" width="100" height="150" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/1/e/1e1c07710a2cb8db13f2aa202f749812.jpg" alt="" width="99" height="150" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/b/e/be09d46798697fe48c068f2a0b2a14fe.jpg" alt="" width="99" height="150" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/2/8/28215a9c1df7adfbd997e5d63be2b09b.jpg" alt="" width="99" height="150" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/7/b/7b674ac2767148959a79c22e07e85003.jpg" alt="" width="95" height="150" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/a/7/a771f36ee825b7dc16a5282ccb9cefa3.jpg" alt="" width="95" height="150" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/8/9/89fe5569e0e39604306bdbc0407e9212.jpg" alt="" width="93" height="150" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/d/7/d7f3e3b6bc05533cd9876da9dd3f1959.jpg" alt="" width="93" height="150" /></p> <p> </p> <ul> <li><strong>Tentatively Planned Posts/Reviews</strong></li> </ul> <p>Review: Killjoy by Julie Garwood</p> <p>Review: Freefall by Jill Sorenson</p> <p>Review: Cress by Marissa Meyer</p> <p>Review: The Boyfriend App by Katie Sise</p> <p>Review: Simply Irresistible by Jill Shalvis</p> <p>Review: Champion by Marie Lu</p> <p>Review: An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>-- May Top Ten Tuesdays --</strong></p> <p><strong>5/5/2015: </strong> Top Ten Books I Will Probably Never Read</p> <p><strong>5/12/2015: </strong> Ten Authors I REALLY Want to Meet</p> <p><strong>5/19/2015: </strong> Top Ten Tuesday Freebie</p> <p><strong>5/26/2015:</strong> Ten Books I Plan To Have In My Beach Back This Summer <strong>- OR -</strong> Ten Books I Think Make Great Beach Reads</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <blockquote> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Book Haul / TBR Additions</strong></p> </blockquote> <ul> <li><strong>Amazon Kindle Deals (free)</strong></li> </ul> <p style="text-align: center;"><a title="Fools Rush In: An April Fools Day Anthology" href="http://www.amazon.com/Fools-Rush-April-Day-Anthology-ebook/dp/B00UW5D9O2/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8" target="_blank"><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/3/7/3767179d6d07f9ebcb7b271a803996a5.jpg" alt="" width="100" height="150" /></a><a title="The Navy SEAL's E-mail Order Bride by Cora Seton" href="http://www.amazon.com/SEALs-E-Mail-Order-Heroes-Chance-ebook/dp/B00Q92RXJO/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8" target="_blank"><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/7/1/719d4d45b80787910de26cac41738906.jpg" alt="" width="100" height="150" /></a><a title="The Cowboy's E-mail Order Bride by Cora Seton" href="http://www.amazon.com/Cowboys-E-Mail-Order-Bride-Chance-ebook/dp/B00CJJ91VE/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8" target="_blank"><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/3/f/3f14c5a57a53bfe9f041e3fc7f38e029.jpg" alt="" width="100" height="150" /></a><a title="Secrets On the Sand by Roxanne St. Claire" href="http://www.amazon.com/Secrets-Sand-Barefoot-Billionaires-Book-ebook/dp/B00H59M0NE/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8" target="_blank"><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/f/f/ff7be45e67e3a53a7f0c643bf00d9ef3.jpg" alt="" width="100" height="150" /></a><a title="This Doesn't Happen In the Movies by Renee Pawlish" href="http://www.amazon.com/This-Doesnt-Happen-Movies-Investigator-ebook/dp/B005DJHWRW/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8" target="_blank"><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/b/1/b14e0f7b3f34570a5a075cdeffca3e8e.jpg" alt="" width="105" height="150" /></a><a title="Dying for a Living by Kory M. Shrum" href="http://www.amazon.com/Dying-Living-Jesse-Sullivan-Novel-ebook/dp/B00IRIAA84/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8" target="_blank"><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/2/e/2e0b9ba77ffe69484c7c0e4f5e031b20.jpg" alt="" width="94" height="150" /></a><a title="Chez Stinky by Susan C. Daffron" href="http://www.amazon.com/Stinky-Alpine-Grove-Romantic-Comedy-ebook/dp/B00E40H4JC/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8" target="_blank"><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/3/9/391bc0502fdf6af83992f87a0a2242a8.jpg" alt="" width="95" height="150" /></a><a title="Kiss a Girl in the Rain by Nancy Warren" href="http://www.amazon.com/Kiss-Girl-Rain-Take-Chance-ebook/dp/B00IDFHIVS/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8" target="_blank"><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/1/4/14c0688eb5c507158f56066866645860.jpg" alt="" width="100" height="150" /></a><a title="Set Me Free by Jennifer Collin" href="http://www.amazon.com/Set-free-Evans-Trilogy-Book-ebook/dp/B00CKN505A/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8" target="_blank"><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/8/2/822e830c10213f6c747f80f19256e940.jpg" alt="" width="100" height="150" /></a><a title="Bringing Down Sam by Leslie Kelly" href="http://www.amazon.com/Bringing-Down-Sam-Contemporary-Temptation-ebook/dp/B007YUYWPS/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8" target="_blank"><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/2/b/2b04747246c6a7a1302328c86f797af4.jpg" alt="" width="100" height="150" /></a><a title="Blowback by Lisa Hughey" href="http://www.amazon.com/Blowback-Black-Cipher-Files-Book-ebook/dp/B005D76F4U/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8" target="_blank"><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/1/2/1241cac7642af374eda6040ddf59486e.jpg" alt="" width="100" height="150" /></a><a title="Evidence of Trust by Stacey Joy Netzel" href="http://www.amazon.com/Evidence-Trust-Colorado-Book-ebook/dp/B00IZMQJXM/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8" target="_blank"><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/4/e/4e9cbc09c38a2b5a34ae0436a8643c6b.jpg" alt="" width="100" height="150" /></a><a title="Frosted Shadow by Nancy Warren" href="http://www.amazon.com/Frosted-Shadow-Toni-Diamond-Mystery-ebook/dp/B006HCTWVS/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8" target="_blank"><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/0/7/07b02575b3279ee9bf4638ff0e2da0eb.jpg" alt="" width="94" height="150" /></a><a title="Stone Cold Heart (novella) by Lisa Hughey" href="http://www.amazon.com/Stone-Heart-Family-Romantic-Suspense-ebook/dp/B00HI56L8U/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8" target="_blank"><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/7/2/720e49278f98b528ae4b46591983f336.jpg" alt="" width="100" height="150" /></a></p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">Obviously I'm building my Reading List for next year's Mount TBR Challenge...</p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <ul> <li><strong>Amazon Kindle Deals (discounted)</strong></li> </ul> <p style="text-align: center;"><a title="Of Metal and Wishes by Sarah Fine" href="http://www.amazon.com/Metal-Wishes-Sarah-Fine-ebook/dp/B00FNVSTOU/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8" target="_blank"><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/7/7/771f0d9df370df0aa34146f80381ee26.jpg" alt="" width="99" height="150" /></a></p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <ul> <li><strong>Used Book Buys</strong></li> </ul> <p style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/5/6/569001f7e90defe965917d50d7768aca.jpg" alt="" width="93" height="150" /></p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <ul> <li style="text-align: left;"><strong>Checked Out From the Library</strong> </li> </ul> <p style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/d/b/dbf1fae3aa41a6f21383507cc650fb54.jpg" alt="" width="103" height="150" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/1/8/1883f202775b202619665d080bdba06b.jpg" alt="" width="103" height="150" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/7/3/73250d264a390302ea74a1ea12d055c7.jpg" alt="" width="103" height="150" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/5/2/52f360f4e929cf723fdb433fa88119be.jpg" alt="" width="103" height="150" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/0/5/05c08a239dd44ba2a0d254e17252cf4a.jpg" alt="" width="95" height="150" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/8/8/8896c4015dc5c726c24c3f868a93d453.jpg" alt="" width="98" height="150" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/9/e/9e92bc29108e154be739ab73e8eb569b.jpg" alt="" width="97" height="150" /></p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <p> </p> <blockquote> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Reading Challenge Updates</strong></p> </blockquote> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong><a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1060138/2015-reading-challenges" target="_blank">Original 2015 Reading Challenge Post</a></strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <ul style="list-style-type: square;"> <li> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong>General Reading Challenge</strong></p> </li> </ul> <p><strong>Goodreads Reading Challenge</strong> -- <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user_challenges/2119845" target="_blank">GR list</a>/<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/5709636?shelf=2015-reading-challenge" target="_blank">shelf</a></p> <p><strong>BookLikes Reading Challenge</strong> -- <a href="http://booklikes.com/apps/reading-challenge/28470/2015" target="_blank">BL list</a>/<a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/shelf/232859/2015-reading-challenge" target="_blank">shelf</a></p> <p><strong>My Goal: </strong>150 books</p> <p><strong>Progress:</strong> 64/150 books read</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <ul style="list-style-type: square;"> <li><strong>Outdo Yourself Challenge</strong></li> </ul> <p><a href="http://www.thebookvixen.com/2014/11/sign-up-2015-outdo-yourself-reading.html" target="_blank"><img title="2015 Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-5deSFgJkD9E/VFwNZhtTwfI/AAAAAAAASGc/OlRVLQ57e8I/s288/OY2015_banner.png" alt="2015 Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge" width="217" height="125" /></a></p> <p><strong>Hosted by</strong> <strong><a href="http://www.thebookvixen.com/" target="_blank">Book Vixen</a></strong></p> <p><strong>My Goal: </strong><strong>Getting My Heart Rate Up: </strong>read 1 - 5 more books</p> <p>(I read 154 books for this challenge in 2014 / My goal will be 155 - 159 books in 2015.)</p> <p><strong>My Progress:</strong> 56/155</p> <p><strong>See Also: <a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/shelf/232863/2015-outdo-yourself-challenge" target="_blank">2015 Outdo Yourself Challenge shelf</a> for list of books</strong></p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p> </p> <ul style="list-style-type: square;"> <li style="text-align: left;"><strong>Romantic Suspense Challenge</strong></li> </ul> <p><strong> -- <span style="text-decoration: underline;">CHALLENGE COMPLETED -- 4/9/2015</span></strong></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong><a href="http://www.thebookvixen.com/2014/11/sign-up-2015-romantic-suspense-reading.html" target="_blank"><img title="2015 Romantic Suspense Reading Challenge" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-AeJ50WyPW2w/VHXXp0JPa3I/AAAAAAAASNY/Wc0rbqN-szs/s288/2015RS.png" alt="2015 Romantic Suspense Reading Challenge" width="216" height="125" /></a></strong></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong>Hosted by</strong> <strong><a href="http://www.thebookvixen.com/" target="_blank">Book Vixen</a></strong></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong>My Goal: SWAT:</strong> read 21+ romantic suspense novels</p> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong>My</strong> <strong>Progress: </strong>29/21</p> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong>See Also: <a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/shelf/232861/2015-romantic-suspense-challenge" target="_blank">2015 Romantic Suspense Challenge shelf</a> for list of books</strong></p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <ul style="list-style-type: square;"> <li style="text-align: left;"><strong>Men in Uniform Challenge</strong></li> </ul> <p><strong> -- <span style="text-decoration: underline;">CHALLENGE COMPLETED -- 3/17/2015</span></strong></p> <p><strong><a href="http://www.thebookvixen.com/2014/11/sign-up-2015-men-in-uniform-reading.html" target="_blank"><img title="2015 Men in Uniform Reading Challenge" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-w5-kdHhgLto/VFwNZVftTDI/AAAAAAAASGc/5M6BKFKT_hQ/s288/MIU2015_banner.png" alt="2015 Men in Uniform Reading Challenge" width="217" height="125" /></a></strong></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong>Hosted by</strong> <strong><a href="http://www.thebookvixen.com/" target="_blank">Book Vixen</a></strong></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong>My Goal: Chief:</strong> read 16+ men in uniform novels</p> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong>My Progress:</strong> 26/16</p> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong> <strong>-- 16 books read --</strong> <strong>COMPLETED -- 3/17/2015</strong></strong></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong>See: <a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/shelf/232862/2015-men-in-uniform-challenge" target="_blank">2015 Men in Uniform Challenge shelf</a> for book list</strong></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong>See: <a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1060925/2015-men-in-uniform-reading-challenge" target="_blank">2015 Men in Uniform Challenge post</a> for detailed list</strong></p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <ul style="list-style-type: square;"> <li style="text-align: left;"><strong>2015 TBR Pile Challenge</strong></li> </ul> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong><a href="http://roofbeamreader.com/2014/11/24/announcing-the-official-2015-tbr-pile-challenge/" target="_blank"><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/d/2/d2bd2c7099eb8989a4019f06b9fe3b0b.jpg" alt="" width="188" height="125" /></a></strong></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong>Hosted by <a href="http://roofbeamreader.com/" target="_blank">Roof Beam Reader</a></strong></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong><a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1057732/2015-tbr-pile-challenge-roof-beam-reader" target="_blank">My 2015 TBR Pile Challenge Summary Post</a></strong></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong>My Progress: </strong>6/12</p> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong>See Also: <a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/shelf/232860/2015-tbr-pile-challenge-rbr" target="_blank">BookLikes shelf</a> / <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/5709636-anita-truong?shelf=2015-tbr-pile-rbr" target="_blank">Goodreads shelf</a></strong></p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <ul style="list-style-type: square;"> <li style="text-align: left;"><strong>2015 Reading Assignment Challenge</strong></li> </ul> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong><a href="http://www.becausereading.com/2015hw/" target="_blank"><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/7/3/73b716842f30e0dfb41c92ae162657e0.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a></strong></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong>Hosted by <a href="http://www.becausereading.com/" target="_blank">Because Reading</a> & <a href="http://fantasyismorefun.com/" target="_blank">Fantasy Is More Fun</a></strong></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong><a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1059330/2015-reading-assignment-challenge" target="_blank">My 2015 Reading Assignment Challenge Summary Post</a></strong></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong>My Goal: Reading Level 5:</strong> 48 books (4 books/month), 4 Extra Credits, 1 Pass</p> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong>My Progress: </strong>16/48 (No Extra Credits or Passes used)</p> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong>See Also: <a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/shelf/233092/2015-reading-assignment-challenge" target="_blank">BookLikes shelf</a> / <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/5709636-anita-truong?shelf=2015-reading-assignment" target="_blank">Goodreads shelf</a></strong></p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <ul style="list-style-type: square;"> <li style="text-align: left;"><strong>Mount TBR Reading Challenge</strong></li> </ul> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/4/3/43e2b5e2b3ae9170b6dbd432e5ce5c38.jpg" alt="" width="128" height="150" /></strong></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong>Hosted by <a href="http://myreadersblock.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">My Reader's Block</a></strong></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong>My Goal: Mt. Ararat:</strong> Read 48 books from your TBR pile/s</p> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong>My Progress:</strong> 18/48</p> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong>See: <a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/shelf/232864/2015-mount-tbr-challenge" target="_blank">2015 Mount TBR Challenge shelf</a> for book list</strong></p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <ul style="list-style-type: square;"> <li><strong>The Series That Never Ends Challenge</strong></li> </ul> <p><strong><a href="http://delightedreader.com/series-never-ends-reading-challenge/" target="_blank"><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/8/a/8a5621ed81941942617ba4fe4dfdc409.jpg" alt="" width="181" height="150" /></a></strong></p> <p><strong>Hosted by <a href="http://delightedreader.com/" target="_blank">Delighted Reader</a></strong></p> <p><strong><a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1060947/the-series-that-never-ends-reading-challenge-2015" target="_blank">My 2015 The Series That Never Ends Challenge Summary Post</a></strong></p> <p><strong>My Goal: </strong><strong>Surviving the Book Tsunami -- </strong>5 - 9 books</p> <p><strong>My Progress: </strong>8/9 books</p> <p><strong> -- </strong>0/3 chosen series completed</p> <p><strong>See: <a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/shelf/233515/2015-series-never-ends-challenge" target="_blank">2015 Series Never Ends Challenge shelf</a> for book list</strong></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <blockquote> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Final Thoughts</strong></p> </blockquote> <p>Aside from the general challenges, my Reading Assignment Challenge, and the TBR Pile Challenge, I've made little progress with my other two, more specific challenges, Mount TBR and The Series That Never ends. There were a lot of library check-outs this month as well as the use of Scribd. Only one of the books I read qualified for Mount TBR; the other books I read that are owned were bought this year. And because of certain reading list decisions I made, I didn't even touch any of the pre-chosen books for The Series Never Ends Challenge.</p> <p> </p> <p>We're not quite at half-point yet, so I still have hope that I can fulfill all of my challenges.</p> <p> </p> <p>There were several 2015 books I've been pushing back on my reading list... for reasons... which doesn't make me happy, but circumstances and situations require tough decisions, right? =P</p> <p> </p> <p>I DO, however, have plans to read a few 2015 releases this month though. At the very least, there's already an auto-read being published this month that I will definitely get into.</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <blockquote> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Previous Wrap-Ups</strong></p> </blockquote> <p> </p> <p><a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1127116/reading-wrap-up-2015-so-far-jan-feb-mar" target="_blank">Reading Wrap Up: 2015 So Far (Jan., Feb., Mar.)</a></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p></div> <p> <strong>Original post:</strong> <a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1137968/reading-wrap-up-looking-back-at-april">anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1137968/reading-wrap-up-looking-back-at-april</a> </p> anicheunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04354599944470683233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304886105344701928.post-43650197596863811612015-04-28T15:00:00.001-05:002015-04-28T15:00:28.751-05:00Top Ten Tuesdays: Something About Characters <div><p><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/c/3/c34e35e3cfc8214ea7e53fa456e75e71.jpg" alt="" width="261" height="201" /></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><em><a href="http://www.brokeandbookish.com/p/top-ten-tuesday-other-features.html" target="_blank"><strong>Top Ten Tuesdays</strong></a> is an original and weekly feature hosted by <strong><a href="http://www.brokeandbookish.com/" target="_blank">The Broke and the Bookish</a></strong>.</em></p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Top Ten Books Which Feature Characters Who ________</strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">Another "choose your own topic" Top Ten list. I spent a whole month and then some really contemplating this one and came up with another lame little easy topic to use:</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Top Ten Books Which Feature Characters Who <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Investigate... Stuff... Mainly Mysteries of Some Form... in Both Criminal and Non-Criminal Capacities</span></strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">I had a list of ten different topics I could have used for this week's Top Ten Tuesdays, but in the end, I randomly glanced at my list and just said, "Yeah, let's do this one." This is not to say I didn't put any effort into writing my list and it's not that I don't like this topic either--after all, it was one of many I'd written down as a possibility.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">In this instance, I like a good mystery and I like following a good investigation, whether criminal or not, so I have a ton of books to choose from for characters who simply investigate stuff.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">And I can categorize them too, if need be... but I won't. At least not in a way that makes sense to anyone other than myself.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/1/9/19f8a4c4ed4aa3eb24b5e63a120e24cc.jpg" alt="" width="96" height="150" /></strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith</strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Special Mention: The Cuckoo's Calling</strong></p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Investigators:</span> Cormoran Strike and Robin Ellacot -- Private Investigators (PI)</p> <p style="text-align: left;">Cormoran, a war veteran, runs his own private investigating firm, but also has a great head for criminal investigations. His receptionist slash assistant Robin is making her way up to becoming his investigating partner as she hones her natural skills in this particular field.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">Robert Galbraith, a.k.a. J.K. Rowling, is an excellent author and <em>The Silkworm</em> is a genius book that not only presents a mystery, but also some inspiring human drama and thought-provoking ideals.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/0/a/0ac2547f207098d1860fbd44e46a2759.jpg" alt="" width="91" height="150" /></strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Out of the Shadows by Kay Hooper</strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Investigators:</span> Noah Bishop, Miranda Knight, et al -- Law Enforcement</p> <p style="text-align: left;">Noah Bishop is an FBI agent who heads the Special Crimes Unit, a team of agents who specialize in "less orthodox methods of criminal investigating"--which is basically the publicly acceptable term for psychic investigators.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">This is Book 3 in a long running series that is at Book #15 now, each book focusing on another set of psychic investigators with a handful of law enforcement who don't have psychic abilities as well. But since <em>Out of the Shadows</em> is the strongest of the books I have read (so far) in this series, I figured it could represent all of them--it also helps that this is Noah Bishop's specific book and he's the head of the Special Crimes Unit.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">The books are enjoyable and well-written, sometimes with left-field conclusions, but great build up and a good balance of mystery and romance. And there are a lovely group of likable characters both part of the SCU or just local law enforcement, or not even law enforcement at all who all investigate the cases in their own ways.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/6/4/649667518ef622257619ca3bdf1038b9.jpg" alt="" width="86" height="150" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/6/b/6b1adb187e07c45c3576cab646b17f9c.jpg" alt="" width="92" height="150" /></strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>To the Limit</strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Over the Line</strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>by Cindy Gerard</strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Investigators:</span> Eve Garrett and Tyler "Mac" MacClain in <em>To the Limit</em>; Dallas, Noah, and Ethan Garrett in <em>Over the Line</em>. While these are technically bodyguard-themed books, they both have a sense of criminal mystery as the background (which is why they're my favorite of the six <em>Bodyguard</em> books). Mac is technically the only traditional investigative profession presented as a private investigator and ex-police detective. The Garrett siblings do investigative work based on their current client necessities as well as based on personal interest.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">Eve Garrett used to be Secret Services which makes her a tough cookie, and whether teamed up with Mac or by herself, she shows great potential for investigative work as she tries to hunt down the truth about what happened to her dear friend, a young girl she used to be security detail for before she got kicked out of Secret Services because some rich guy believed she'd screwed up when she still did her job properly. In <em>Over the Line</em> the Garrett brothers team up to investigate the unfolding mysteries which had started off as protection detail of a rock star, that slowly became a murder mystery.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/8/f/8f7ce2541c7dc4611d2f7c9fdb109a0a.jpg" alt="" width="93" height="150" /></strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Deadly Dreams by Kylie Brant</strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Investigators:</span> Marisa Chandler and Nate McGuire -- Mindhunter criminologist and Law enforcement. Marisa, or Risa for short, used to be a police detective with the Philadelphia PD until the former FBI agent, Adam Raiker recruited her as an expert criminologist. Nate McGuire is currently part of Philadelphia PD, and teamed up together, the two make an excellent investigative unit.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">The entirety of the <em>Mindhunters</em> series is dark, gritty, and intense with a great balance of romance and suspense. <em>Deadly Dreams</em> is my favorite of the entire series with <em>Waking the Dead</em> as a close second and <em>Waking Nightmare</em> having sentimental value as the very first book in the series.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">The criminologists of Adam Raiker's <em>Mindhunter</em> organization are all well-versed in every form of criminal investigation, with a strong emphasis on crime scene processing and profiling. Each of the women in these stories also have their strengths and weaknesses.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">The rest of the series investigators:</p> <ul> <li style="text-align: left;"><em>Waking Nightmare</em> -- Abbie Phillips, Mindhunter; Rine Robel, Police Detective</li> <li style="text-align: left;"><em>Waking Evil</em> -- Ramsey Clark, Mindhunter; Devlin Stryker, parapsychologist (yes, he does investigative work on the paranormal)</li> <li style="text-align: left;"><em>Waking the Dead</em> -- Caitlin Fleming, Mindhunter with a specialization in Forensic Pathology</li> <li style="text-align: left;"><em>Deadly Intent</em> -- Macy Reid, Mindhunter with a specialization in handwriting analysis; Kellan Burke, Mindhunter</li> <li style="text-align: left;"><em>Deadly Sins</em> -- Adam Raiker, Mindhunter (yes, the Grand Poobah of Mindhunters); Jaid Marlowe, FBI agent</li> </ul> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/8/7/87b69da3422fa37b828330ea50c0b2c8.jpg" alt="" width="93" height="150" /></strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Something About You by Julie James</strong></p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Investigators:</span> Jack Pallas and Sam Wilkins, FBI agents.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">By all rights, this is technically a poor choice for this category, but it's a great book with fun narration and witty dialogue and banter, excellently created characters. The investigation part of the book is minimal because the killer is revealed at the beginning anyway, but I'm biased (because I love this series) and Jack and Sam are FBI agents and DO present some short scenes of FBI investigating work...</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">But like the rest of the series, this is more of Contemporary Romance based on FBI/US Attorney workplace stories more than anything. And no, Cameron doesn't do any investigating as a prosecutor, so she doesn't get to be called an investigator, not really, but I love her all the same.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/f/1/f109f339ffe2beafbd4d0aafb2388137.jpg" alt="" width="99" height="150" /></strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers</strong></p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Investigators:</span> Ismae Rienne, <strong>NUN ASSASSIN</strong>!! And Gavriel Duval, some guy at court working for his sister who happens to be the Duchess of Brittany.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">I guess this book doesn't have any type of typical criminal investigations or whatnot, but there is <em>some</em> investigating going on as Ismae and Gavriel work together to uncover the secrets and plots of treason, as well as who is behind all the wrongs committed against the Duchess Anne. And believe me, even if the tone isn't suspenseful or exciting, the story was clever and gripping and thought-provoking all the same.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/6/f/6f643c74e41647f7200c2c43b68b0f34.jpg" alt="" width="99" height="150" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/9/9/993fd80a73f9c2e7049c8b7f4109c962.jpg" alt="" width="99" height="150" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/4/5/45d22ca35273d68141bd48b57e8b1ef3.jpg" alt="" width="100" height="150" /></strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Pivot Point by Kasie West</strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater</strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>The Archived by Victoria Schwab</strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">With these last three books, we know that I truly am being biased. Here's the honest truth, these three books are my favorite recent reads and even though they aren't typical investigation books with typical investigative story lines, there are some forms of some kinds of "investigating" going on.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">In <em>Pivot Point</em>, Addie uses her ability to see into two possible futures dependent on a big choice she must make. Amidst all of this, there are some strange things going on in both futures and some investigating going on by herself, her friends, and her parents about some random mystery that is actually lurking in the background compared to the main story line.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">In <em>The Raven Boys</em>, Gansey and his crew are kind of seeking the whereabouts of a Welsh King so that he may grant a favor to the person who wakes him. In a way, they're "investigating" the secrets of the Welsh King, the ley lines, and other paranormal stuff going on.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">In <em>The Archived</em>, Mac's actual job is sending Histories back into the archives of the dead--backstory: when people die, their entire life is recorded in body-shaped records called Histories and shelved accordingly in the Archives, guarded by Librarians; but every so often a History will wake up and try to find his or her way out into the real world, but are trapped in a hallway in-between instead. In <em>The Archived</em>, there is something mysterious and sinister afoot among the Archives and Mac finds that she needs to figure out what it is.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>-- Honorable Mentions --</strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/3/6/36798f1b3bf808a15f2572ec0dd70118.jpg" alt="" width="69" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/c/8/c8c3c4a1a27829d6c3cd454f1fddb669.jpg" alt="" width="67" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/5/c/5cff8432c1c9ea95aa13ae47da569c5c.jpg" alt="" width="62" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/c/3/c3f340ea37856267d17c175413361b31.jpg" alt="" width="62" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/b/e/bed93bbb37cecee02e13a4f8ab258226.jpg" alt="" width="70" height="100" /></strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <ul> <li style="text-align: left;"><strong>The Nightmare Affair by Mindee Arnett</strong>: Dusty and Eli help investigate the murder of a fellow studen via psychic dreams that Eli has that only Dusty can enter and investigate.</li> <li style="text-align: left;"><strong><em>Omens by Kelley Armstrong</em></strong>: Olivia learns that her real parents are infamous cultist serial killers and so she leaves her comfortable adoptive home and investigates both her past and a possible truth behind the serial killings.</li> <li style="text-align: left;"><em><strong>The Restorer by Amanda Stevens</strong>:</em> Amelia Grey is a graveyard restorer who can see ghosts and is tasked to voluntarily assist Detective John Devlin in a brutal murder that may be linked to headstone symbolism--something she is an expert at.</li> <li style="text-align: left;"><em><strong>Cold Sight by Leslie Parrish</strong>:</em> Former psychic detective Aiden McConnell is asked (or rather begged) to come out of his hermit's shell by investigative news reporter Lexie Nolan to uncover what she believes is a string of serial kidnappings/serial killings of teenagers; because no one else in the town will believe her, she needs Aiden to help her find proof with his psychic abilities to save these teenage girls.</li> <li style="text-align: left;"><em><strong>The Dollhouse Murders by Betty Ren Wright</strong>:</em> Amy studies the ghostly happenings of a by-scale, intricately detailed, exact replica dollhouse of her Aunt Clare's home to find out what really happened in the murders of her paternal grandparents over twenty years ago. She even runs off to the library to do her own research using old newspapers on microfilm (that stuff makes me seasick!).</li> </ul> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>-- Honorable Mention Runner-Ups --</strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/7/e/7e2005a1023fae804b482b57ef0ba1a8.jpg" alt="" width="61" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/2/1/21c37f298e1f69cbb8a66cc81139d388.jpg" alt="" width="63" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/d/d/dda5ec681ea4095d63b26b185d4964ec.jpg" alt="" width="78" height="100" /></strong></p> <ul> <li style="text-align: left;"><strong>She's Got the Look by Leslie Kelly</strong>: The day before Melody Tanner's wedding, her friends convince her to make a "Sex List" of five men she is allowed to sleep with even after she's married. Fast forward into the present, Melody has finalized her divorce from a cheating husband and her best friend wants her to follow through with said "Sex List" in order to rebound from her ugly marriage/divorce. But the men on her list have all coincidentally started dying off, with one of them being an obvious murder; and so now Nick Walker, police detective (who is also on Melody's list), must look into a possible connection as he investigates his murder case.</li> <li style="text-align: left;"><strong>Heartbreaker by Julie Garwood</strong>: A serial killer challenges the FBI by openly threatening Nick Buchanan's best friend, Father Thomas Madden, telling the priest that he has his sights set on his sister Laurant. Now Nick must hunt down this serial killer as well as keep her protected.</li> <li style="text-align: left;"><strong>Investigating the Hottie by Juli Alexander</strong>: Amanda finds out that her aunt is part of a spy agency working for the government and that she has been recruited as part of the teen spy program. Her first assignment is to investigate hottie teen Will Middleton who may or may not be a threatening hacker, who may or may not have something big planned for the cyber world that could affect millions of people.</li> </ul> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">***</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">And there we have a ton of books with one aspect of investigating a mystery of some form or another. Case in point, I love mysteries and I love reading about the investigative process by which out beloved characters go about searching for the truth.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p></div> <p> <strong>Original post:</strong> <a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1139150/top-ten-tuesdays-something-about-characters">anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1139150/top-ten-tuesdays-something-about-characters</a> </p> anicheunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04354599944470683233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304886105344701928.post-74774961881714895012015-04-22T03:00:00.003-05:002015-05-13T22:00:54.329-05:00Thoughts: Prodigy<style> .set-middle { vertical-align: middle; } </style> <br />
<strong>Review:</strong> <img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_a.png" /><img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_a.png" /><img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_a.png" /><img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_a.png" /><img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_i.png" /><br />
<a href="http://booklikes.com/prodigy-marie-lu/book,8138174"><img alt="Prodigy - Marie Lu" src="http://booklikes.com/photo/max/100/0/upload/books/60/88/0b6e24964787dae0b6ef03e63b6256b3.jpg" style="min-height: 100px; vertical-align: middle; width: 100px;" title="Prodigy - Marie Lu" /></a> <br />
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<strong>Prodigy -- Marie Lu</strong><br />
<strong>Book 2 of <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Legend</span> trilogy</strong><br />
<strong>2013 Release -- Putnam Juvenile</strong><br />
<strong>Young Adult, Dystopian, Science Fiction, Romance</strong><br />
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The intensity of <em>Prodigy</em> is much more prominent in this second book of the <em>Legend</em> trilogy; though I have to admit, it took some time to get the excitement of the story going. While the first book lacked a solid world history and building, <em>Prodigy</em> makes up for it by finally giving us an idea of how the United States of America ended up in the chaos that is a divided country--The Republic to the west and the Colonies of America to the east. And fortunately, the history lesson we get through Day’s and June’s separate respective parts of their journey don’t feel like a textbook infodump. <br /><br />Some of it still feels a little sketchy and requires a stretching of one’s willingness to suspend disbelief--such as the sun going haywire for a few years and melting all of the Antarctic’s ice and snow, thus causing a savage flood of the eastern coastline of North America, with a domino effect leading to the chaos that eventually required martial law to control the mass of panic from the people… (Yeah… I’m still processing that one.) … And then creating what is now an American broken into two separate countries, each with their own fallacies. <br /><br />But at least the world of <em>Legend</em> now has some solid background to stand on so that the rest of the story can move forward; now we can know what June and Day will be fighting for after learning why the States are in such a terrible mess.<br /><br />Unfortunately, <em>Prodigy</em> slightly suffers from what I like to denote as either the “Sequel Syndrome” or the “Hardships of the Bridging Book in a Trilogy”. As the second book, <em>Prodigy</em> not only needs to pick up where <em>Legend</em> left off and take the entire trilogy where it needs to go, but it must also give us that open-ended conclusion that tells us that there is still a final conclusion to be had in another whole book of 300+ pages or more (and do it without dragging or ending in an abrupt cliffhanger).<br /><br /><em>Prodigy</em> felt slightly directionless after June and Day arrive at the Patriot’s headquarters despite the fact that the action never ceased moving forward. But the beginning of this book simply felt like it dragged on for quite some time until both June and Day were deposited in their respective assigned roles in the pending revolution against the Republic.<br /><br />Afterwards, everything rushed forward in an extremely fast-paced, exciting adventure for our heroes, and I will admit that I finally got to the point where I couldn’t put the book down. It was unfortunate that we get a <em>too</em> open-ended conclusion--despite NOT being an abrupt cliffhanger, the end was still a cliffhanger, nonetheless.<br /><br /><br /><strong>An Official Blurb via Amazon:</strong><br />
<blockquote>
<em>June and Day arrive in Vegas just as the unthinkable happens: the Elector Primo dies, and his son Anden takes his place. With the Republic edging closer to chaos, the two join a group of Patriot rebels eager to help Day rescue his brother and offer passage to the Colonies. They have only one request—June and Day must assassinate the new Elector.<br /><br />It’s their chance to change the nation, to give voice to a people silenced for too long. <br /><br />But as June realizes this Elector is nothing like his father, she’s haunted by the choice ahead. What if Anden is a new beginning? What if revolution must be more than loss and vengeance, anger and blood—what if the Patriots are wrong? </em></blockquote>
<br /><br /><br /><strong>Overall Thoughts:</strong><br />I’d hate to admit that the plot was quite predictable from the moment that June and Day set foot in the Patriot’s headquarters, but it most certainly was. It wasn’t difficult to sum up exactly what would happen from that moment forward and determine who June and Day could trust and who they couldn’t trust and what they needed to do to move forward for the greater good of the common people.<br /><br />Because as exciting and suspenseful as all the fast-paced events leading up to the ending hour were, <em>Prodigy</em> proved to be little different from the typical dystopian bridge book in any of the currently trending Young Adult dystopian trilogies. The only thing that sets <em>Prodigy</em> apart from the rest is that it DOES indeed have a solidly built foundation and extremely good writing to take us through the story. The descriptions and imagery are excellently done and the characters are unique, even if they seem insignificant.<br /><br />The only complaint I have (aside from the slow start) are the typical, standard YA tropes thrown in for a nice angsty feel and further complicated messes of relationships. While it’s not a big one and while it doesn’t really bother me too much, there is a full blown love rectangle inserted, however insignificant it may be and however useless it actually feels. <br /><br />I get the reasoning behind turning the young Tess into a potential love interest for Day, as well as Anden for June. There’s a social divide between Day and June consisting of money, family status, and how both of them grew up. But was a rectangle really necessary, because I don’t see any reason to insert romantic interests just to hammer home the fact that June and Day are from two different worlds; they do a good enough job of struggling with this on their own, and in the end, the entire ideal is moot anyway.<br /><br />And then there's the ending of the book which <span style="color: white;">filed for a noble idiocy award with some cliched end hour tearjerker trope a la tragic K-drama fashion where someone is probably dying</span>.<br />
(<b>highlight the space above to see a somewhat spoiler</b>).<br />
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Yes, Ms. Lu definitely went there, using a typically exhausting reason to separate our couple. Again, was this really a necessary development? I don’t know and I guess we’ll have to find out in the last book.<br /><br />Although I’m going to flat out admit that those angsty tearjerker moments throughout really did work, even if the ending one didn’t. <br /><br />Mainly, I have this love for the constant presence of the deceased Metias throughout the book in June’s dreams and memories--one of few occasions in any story where a beloved character is one who is only physically present for an extremely short time, but whose essence continues to linger through his loved one and still manage to evoke a waterfall of <strong>FEELS</strong> from me in waves.<br /><br />Is it strange that one of my favorite characters in this entire trilogy so far (and probably my most favorite character overall) is one who barely showed up in the story and dies within the first few chapters of the very first book? Maybe it helps that Metias’ life and his death catapulted almost everything that drives June’s actions.<br /><br />Finally, a cliffhanger. Yeah. I should have seen in coming because the cliffhanger from the second book in a trilogy is always the one that hurts the most. <br />
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***<br />
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This book is a pre-chosen participant in the following Reading Challenge:<br />
<a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1059330/2015-reading-assignment-challenge" target="_blank">2015 Reading Assignment Challenge</a> hosted by <a href="http://www.becausereading.com/" target="_blank">Because Reading</a> and <a href="http://fantasyismorefun.com/" target="_blank">Fantasy is More Fun</a><br />
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<strong>Original post:</strong> <a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1150698/thoughts-prodigy">anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1150698/thoughts-prodigy</a> anicheunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04354599944470683233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304886105344701928.post-78862733676841558872015-04-22T03:00:00.001-05:002015-04-22T03:00:25.199-05:00Brief Thoughts: Deadly Lies<style> .set-middle { vertical-align: middle; } </style> <p> <strong>Review:</strong> <img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_a.png" /><img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_a.png" /><img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_a.png" /><img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_a.png" /><img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_i.png" /></p> <p> <a href="http://booklikes.com/deadly-lies-cynthia-eden/book,6625165"><img src="http://booklikes.com/photo/max/100/0/upload/books/83/64/284623fe51b8b16d4785ea04b1272b6f.jpg" style="vertical-align: middle; width: 100px; min-height: 100px;" title="Deadly Lies - Cynthia Eden" alt="Deadly Lies - Cynthia Eden" /></a> </p> <div><p><strong>Deadly Lies -- Cynthia Eden</strong></p> <p><strong>Book 3 of <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Deadly</span> series</strong></p> <p><strong>2011 Release -- Forever; Grand Central Publishing</strong></p> <p><strong>Adult, Romantic Suspense, Erotica, Mystery</strong></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>Just as suspenseful, thrilling, and romantically heated as Cynthia Eden's first two <em>Deadly</em> books, <em>Deadly Lies</em> was very much intense and un-put-down-able. I believe that I had picked it up thinking to just read a few chapters to get started... then I ended up a lot further than expected.<br /><br />Once again, another Cynthia Eden book that hooks you from the start, with likable characters and an intriguing criminal mystery. The dark tone of the story helps too. And once again, the focus is really more on the Romance and the steamy sex than was really necessary. <strong>However</strong>, I flew through this book so quickly that I didn't even really take note when or if the romance scenes felt inappropriately placed.<br /><br /><br /><strong>The Story in Brief:</strong><br />Samantha Kennedy was introduced in the first <em>Deadly</em> book, <em>Deadly Fear</em> and suffered a tragic, deathly torture at the hands of the killer called "Watchman". Using her fear of water against her, the twisted killer would drown her and then resuscitate her just to turn around and drown her again--it was an endless cycle of hell for Sam until she was finally rescued by her fellow SSD agents.<br /><br />Unfortunately, Sam has not been able to recover from this incident. She's worried that she never will and that her SSD boss will see through her anxiety and that everyone will think that she is incapable of continuing to do her job. In order to forget, Sam chooses to lose herself in no-strings passion. Which is how she meets Max Ridgeway.<br /><br />At present, the SSD is investigating a string of serial kidnappings--young college boys from well-to-do families are being taken. And the stakes are starting to become higher when two of the most recent kidnapping victims get sent back to their families in pieces.<br /><br />The next kidnapping victim turns out to be Max's younger step-brother, Quinlan Malone. And on top of that, the SSD have learned that the game is changing for these kidnappers--their patterns are changing and their crimes are escalating.<br /><br /><br /><strong>Overall Thoughts:</strong><br />As per usual, there are Romance elements spread throughout the story at some of the most inopportune spots. Sam will be in the middle of investigating a lead, but then she'd run into Max and the two get sucked into their whirlwind passion of lust and sex. And then the reader is left wondering, "Wait, what about that lead you were in the middle of following? What about the kidnapping case? What about the victims and the murders?"<br /><br />And then almost immediately--after a quick scene of fast, steamy sex--we get right back on track: another victim gets kidnapped, calls are made, and Samantha slips into the Malone household, undetected even though the kidnappers specifically specify that there are to be NO COPS INVOLVED or else Quinlan will die.<br /><br /><br />I think why I liked this last <em>Deadly</em> book more than the previous two had to do with two things: <br /><br /><strong>1st)</strong> I've come to like the world and the characters, because even the supporting characters have mysterious pasts and lives of their own to pique my curiosity; <br /><br /><strong>2nd)</strong> Sam and Max's relationship was strewn with angsty emotions of a good kind of feel that I can't describe, because both of them are damaged individuals fighting their own demons alone until they meet each other. Sometimes I hate these tropes... sometimes, I guess depending on the characters and the focus of the story line, they work for me.<br /><br />It probably also helped that we've known Sam since the beginning and have watched her struggle through her terror with the promise of finally being able to let go and move on with her life now.<br /><br /><br /><em>Deadly Lies</em> is fast-paced and exciting, and as I had already mentioned, you just didn't have time to dwell on the disconnects between Romance elements and Suspense elements, because both aspects are written very well, even if their continuity is a little bit stunted. As in the first two books, it was hard for me to reconcile the case investigations suddenly taking a turn into steamy sex being had and then back again.<br /><br />But, honestly, did that really bother me at all? No. Not really.<br /><br />Again, if it's one thing that Cynthia Eden does quite well it's Romantic Suspense. And despite the fact that this is the last book in the <em>Deadly</em> series (as of present, because who knows what will happen in the future) I really WOULD love to continue following the FBI team of Serial Services Division agents. There are still so many more stories to tell (Kim Daniels and Jon Ramirez are stellar side characters who need their own books) so will happily welcome a continuation of this series if it ever happens. <br /><br /><br /></p></div> <p> <strong>Original post:</strong> <a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1150650/brief-thoughts-deadly-lies">anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1150650/brief-thoughts-deadly-lies</a> </p> anicheunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04354599944470683233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304886105344701928.post-43912686239486921342015-04-21T21:14:00.001-05:002015-04-21T21:14:44.977-05:00Top Ten Tuesdays: ALL TIME Favorite Authors <div><p><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/c/3/c34e35e3cfc8214ea7e53fa456e75e71.jpg" alt="" width="261" height="201" /></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><em><a href="http://www.brokeandbookish.com/p/top-ten-tuesday-other-features.html" target="_blank"><strong>Top Ten Tuesdays</strong></a> is an original and weekly feature hosted by <strong><a href="http://www.brokeandbookish.com/" target="_blank">The Broke and the Bookish</a></strong>.</em></p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Top Ten ALL TIME Favorite Authors</strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>(or Top Twenty)</strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <p> </p> <p>ALL TIME Favorite Authors can mean a lot of things for me: 1) Authors I love whether or not I have read all of their works; 2) Authors I love but have not necessarily loved all their work; 3) Authors I love BECAUSE I love all of their work (that I have read); 4) Authors that may not have written the best work, but have story formulas or writing styles I love; 5) Authors whom are auto-buys for whatever reason I cannot pinpoint; 6) Authors I love "just because", if for no other reason.</p> <p> </p> <p>And then there are also those authors who have made this list if only because they hold sentimental value because I DID like them when I was younger, but find no joy in reading new works or re-reading old works.</p> <p> </p> <p>And then sometimes there are those authors which I love merely because of one particular book I have read that I have loved immensely... but no other books written by that author have given me the same kind of pleasure.</p> <p> </p> <p>This is, of course, different from when I have one particular book that I love, but that I have not quite declared the author a favorite yet.</p> <p> </p> <p>These ALL TIME Favorite topics are too broad for my own personal listings.</p> <p> </p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <blockquote> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>ALL TIME Favorites</strong></p> </blockquote> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong>1. Michael Crichton</strong></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong>I have read the following: </strong></p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/7/b/7b60ec194dfe1330553619ba8489a04c.jpg" alt="" width="66" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/5/7/570c90fbf5b6c53f1403d490d02b8108.jpg" alt="" width="69" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/4/2/42bf2b26784b150fe301359b4a497b86.jpg" alt="" width="66" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/9/c/9cf283561d4d26715877d1565353a1c1.jpg" alt="" width="66" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/6/2/626148d5173e2c4ee4303d849eb7348e.jpg" alt="" width="63" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/4/b/4bc8d87c43e04b6e59a45abc097a350a.jpg" alt="" width="61" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/b/b/bb62258263fa6619016e9d19464da437.jpg" alt="" width="60" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/e/8/e8af83c46aee9c46786523c554b58f01.jpg" alt="" width="66" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/5/0/504ec091826fc8774afcc4769722de98.jpg" alt="" width="66" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/b/a/ba4c14a09bb66bea9694874c98632093.jpg" alt="" width="60" height="100" /></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><em>Jurassic Park, The Lost World, Timeline, Sphere, The Andromeda Strain, Congo, Rising Sun, Next, Micro, A Case of Need</em></p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">Michael Crichton has always been a personal favorite ever since the first time I read <em>Jurassic Park</em> and <em>The Lost World</em> back in the good old teenage days of high school. While I haven't enjoyed (or read) every book he's ever written, he easily became a favorite author of mine wherein I automatically paid attention every time he published a new book.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">Thought provoking and controversial, I don't think I've ever been bored with any of Crichton's novels. In fact, a lot of personal research into certain subjects and a lot of high school essays may or may not have been inspired by a Crichton work. I know a lot of ongoing debates between my brothers and myself usually surrounded a Crichton book--my brothers aren't really bibliophile that I am, but Michael Crichton was one author they didn't mind diving into.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong>2. Dean Koontz</strong></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong>I have read the following:</strong></p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/d/a/da4af97987aab8f0f2732cc539a1fe90.jpg" alt="" width="60" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/2/7/2760fafcb4fa1ba3d8785757e7c71438.jpg" alt="" width="67" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/d/f/dfd5307387fbcb7a80d03a219506e7a6.jpg" alt="" width="60" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/5/f/5fa479128f734d691db0e22a10cbe537.jpg" alt="" width="61" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/8/f/8f50de5a354959710f017d511c94b1fa.jpg" alt="" width="61" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/3/d/3d60cb391dfcb3e1e10c6f7b6c47da63.jpg" alt="" width="66" height="100" /> <img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/4/a/4ac79a2d8b1f5fd63ce8d838aff5c8e0.jpg" alt="" width="65" height="100" /></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><em>Phantoms, Strangers, The Door to December, Intensity, Cold Fire, 77 Shadow Street; <strong>novella:</strong> The Moonlit Mind</em></p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">Dean Koontz is another author I've admired since I was a teenager. His story formulas evoke a sense of semi-happily ever after, even if it's not the same kind of Happily Ever After™ I've come to love in the books I read now-a-days. At the very least, I've always found that Koontz has a great sense of suspense and knows how to hook a reader--it's always his endings that irk the heck out of me because they have either dragged on as if he's trying to reach a specific required page number, or they end abruptly like he's hit that required page number and is in a hurry to find a stopping point.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"><em>Phantoms</em> is actually one of my most favorite books and definitely my favorite Dean Koontz novel. Dean Koontz himself has such a large listing of works that I doubt I'll ever be able to finish reading every single one. But ever since <em>Phantoms</em> as well as several other books I had read, he readily became an author on my favorites list; for a while, he was even an auto-buy author. I still have a handful of his books sitting on my shelf I haven't gotten around to reading yet.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong>3. J.K. Rowling</strong></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong>I have read the following:</strong></p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/6/7/67692c88990c68d42af94ef09d87d906.jpg" alt="" width="66" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/8/1/81337480087bc890ddc1cfc4e8453265.jpg" alt="" width="67" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/e/6/e6b7272cf15f6875f1fd1180af2f7c90.jpg" alt="" width="67" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/1/6/1641c88690e23b3e0b1b433bff38b966.jpg" alt="" width="67" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/3/5/3535f6ef4dc652332a44fb1e063f8eef.jpg" alt="" width="68" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/4/5/45c9a8b387091c4277280ab66b01b55a.jpg" alt="" width="67" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/c/c/cc27b662ccbdf7d84d6292aa0b738d91.jpg" alt="" width="67" height="100" /></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><em><strong>Harry Potter series: </strong>The Sorceror's Stone, The Chamber of Secrets, The Prisoner of Azkaban, The Goblet of Fire, The Order of the Phoenix, The Half-Blood Prince, The Deathly Hallows</em></p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/4/0/4038a7e5eec85d651d2ac6c79daa9e5a.jpg" alt="" width="65" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/1/9/19f8a4c4ed4aa3eb24b5e63a120e24cc.jpg" alt="" width="64" height="100" /></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><em><strong>Cormoran Strike </strong>(written as Robert Galbraith)<strong>:</strong> The Cuckoo's Calling, The Silkworm</em></p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">It took years of being a blind fangirl of J.K. Rowling's <em>Harry Potter</em> series before I could look back with a more critical, more objective eye and realize the genius that is truly J.K. Rowling. Back then, I simply enjoyed the <em>Harry Potter</em> series as a young boy's adventure as he grows up in a magical world. But the series itself and the issues and concepts it brings up are indeed thought-provoking and clever.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">Even if I didn't like <em>all</em> of the <em>Harry Potter</em> books; even if I have my reserves about how Rowling twisted some of her plot lines throughout the series; and even though I'm not a hundred percent satisfied about how the entire series ended; there is no doubt in my mind that <em>Harry Potter</em> is one of the better top quality childrens/middle grade/young adult series out there.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">And then I read <em>The Silkworm</em> and further cemented in my mind the state of Queen Rowling's pedestal in the writing world. <em>The Cuckoo's Calling</em> might have started the series off on shaky footing, but <em>The Silkworm</em> is <span style="text-decoration: underline;">so much genius</span>.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong>4. Shannon Hale</strong></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong><strong>I have read the following:</strong></strong></p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/f/e/fe13c264d13b9c6b709d14a96c320f9e.jpg" alt="" width="66" height="100" /> <img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/4/2/42f2bc4f81a5ffa0c52a3abe4ff1f534.jpg" alt="" width="65" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/f/4/f4be6811625417a8c845bfa2f34d67cb.jpg" alt="" width="65" height="100" /> <img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/a/7/a71d94bfa37751c160c7ef96cc73cae3.jpg" alt="" width="66" height="100" /></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><em>Book of a Thousand Days</em></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><em><strong><strong>Princess Academy: </strong></strong>Princess Academy, Palace of Stone</em></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><em><strong>Books of Bayern:</strong> The Goose Girl</em></p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">The first Shannon Hale book I picked up was a discounted <em>The Goose Girl</em> at a Target. In the same week I followed up by picking up <em>Princess Academy</em> because I thought the concept was interesting. The books were read very quickly and I followed with <em>Book of Thousand Days</em> which then became one of my most favorite books... EVER... and of which I have read at least three times already and listened to once as an audio book.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">I have plans to read more Shannon Hale books as I love her attention to world-building and culture-building details a lot. It's just that I'm probably still looking for that next <em>Book of a Thousand Days</em> in the rest of her books, and I'm worried the rest won't stand up to it.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">Still, I'd be hard pressed NOT to insert Shannon Hale into my ALL TIME Favorite Authors list.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <blockquote> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Recent Favorites</strong></p> </blockquote> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong>5. Julie James</strong></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong>I have read the following:</strong></p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/8/7/87b69da3422fa37b828330ea50c0b2c8.jpg" alt="" width="62" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/1/4/1423b2f6a9721d9f0ca1a26e9d38cf1e.jpg" alt="" width="62" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/c/d/cd1aff9f9bf9c4149b4f719031df6a24.jpg" alt="" width="62" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/f/5/f5b815eaa40207a9b9ec302133ba5396.jpg" alt="" width="62" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/1/5/1530eaeb3e3b09afa97dbd80e6e24a6d.jpg" alt="" width="62" height="100" /></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><em><strong>FBI/US Attorney: </strong><a href="http://anicabyss.blogspot.com/2013/07/review-something-about-you.html" target="_blank">Something About You</a>, <a href="http://anicabyss.blogspot.com/2013/09/review-lot-like-love.html" target="_blank">A Lot Like Love</a>, <a href="http://anicabyss.blogspot.com/2013/09/review-about-that-night.html" target="_blank">About That Night</a>, <a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/976620/sort-of-a-review-but-really-just-mindless-babbling-and-worship-love-irresistibly" target="_blank">Love Irresistibly</a>, <a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/992400/brief-thoughts-it-happened-one-wedding" target="_blank">It Happened One Wedding</a></em></p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/f/b/fb4c59b1856aead5665bb6e8cc33245f.jpg" alt="" width="62" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/4/a/4a2175cf28c3d7014a23773aefc1770a.jpg" alt="" width="62" height="100" /></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><em><strong>Stand alone novels:</strong> Just the Sexiest Man Alive, <a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1088821/brief-thoughts-practice-makes-perfect" target="_blank">Practice Makes Perfect</a></em></p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">Julie James has become an auto-buy, auto-Read Right Now author. Ever since <em>Something About You</em> and <em>A Lot Like Love</em>, I've come to love her witty characters and breezy, sweet romances. <em>Love Irresistibly</em> was the one that sealed the deal for me and after that, I become determined to read every book James has written... and so far, I have.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">Which is interesting considering I'm not really into Contemporary Romances unless they're written a certain way--maybe Julie James just writes them in the way that I happen to love.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"><em>Suddenly One Summer</em> will be her newest addition to her Contemporary collections and will be published this summer.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong>6. Cindy Gerard</strong></p> <p><strong>I have read the following:</strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/f/7/f7d521b40063c3a66eed55461cb7b2eb.jpg" alt="" width="62" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/6/4/649667518ef622257619ca3bdf1038b9.jpg" alt="" width="57" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/3/c/3c4e4987892041c756f8ad3fe96332eb.jpg" alt="" width="60" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/6/b/6b1adb187e07c45c3576cab646b17f9c.jpg" alt="" width="61" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/8/a/8a7b762c3226aefc190dcadb9549998f.jpg" alt="" width="58" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/d/f/dfd85fe0b7d2856bf5cb1ae06d9ae043.jpg" alt="" width="58" height="100" /></strong></p> <p><em><strong>The Bodyguards: </strong> <a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/873025/review-to-the-edge" target="_blank">To the Edge</a>, <a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/873755/review-to-the-limit" target="_blank">To the Limit</a>, <a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/874783/review-to-the-brink" target="_blank">To the Brink</a>, <a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/876446/review-over-the-line" target="_blank">Over the Line</a>, <a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/878078/review-under-the-wire" target="_blank">Under the Wire</a>, <a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/879225/review-into-the-dark" target="_blank">Into the Dark</a></em></p> <p> </p> <p><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/5/1/51f472a10afe44b371636bb0da85e6ec.jpg" alt="" width="61" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/6/8/685f8952c692acf1e54d3ee4decf9c30.jpg" alt="" width="62" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/0/a/0a849189afcb8a941792dbd44844f2f1.jpg" alt="" width="62" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/8/b/8ba359d7ed51544b0ae652e99c68eda6.jpg" alt="" width="62" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/6/c/6cdeaf3fa593b5812da674a480645ff5.jpg" alt="" width="62" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/d/7/d740e84391d6c7a01b0fbfa9ed3a4b57.jpg" alt="" width="62" height="100" /></p> <p><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/f/3/f39799aa592f3334d46360816586e7f4.jpg" alt="" width="64" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/8/b/8bf6c7869589d514e2ff86853267a758.jpg" alt="" width="67" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/b/8/b884f5c288d40e1655c0cca6b1f9d0b3.jpg" alt="" width="67" height="100" /></p> <p><em><strong>Black Ops, Inc: </strong> <a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1089306/review-show-no-mercy" target="_blank">Show No Mercy</a>, <a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1089307/review-take-no-prisoners" target="_blank">Take No Prisoners</a>, <a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1089310/review-whisper-no-lies" target="_blank">Whisper No Lies</a>, <a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1091675/review-feel-the-heat" target="_blank">Feel the Heat</a>, <a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1092704/review-risk-no-secrets" target="_blank">Risk No Secrets</a>, With No Remorse, <a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1101931/review-last-man-standing" target="_blank">Last Man Standing</a>; <strong>novellas/short stories: </strong><a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1092715/review-leave-no-trace-a-black-ops-novella" target="_blank">Leave No Trace</a>, SEALed With a Kiss, Dying to Score</em></p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">Cindy Gerard is also an auto-buy author, even if she's not an auto-Read Right Now author. While I love her characters, her world, and she does great suspense, she also incorporates a bit of cheesy, tackiness that would make some people roll their eyes. But I love her just the same and currently own every single one of her Romantic Suspense books in paperback; from the six <em>Bodyguard</em> books, to all seven <em>Black Ops, Inc.</em> books, and her most recent <em>One-Eyed Jacks</em> books (yes, all three of them too).</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">And yes, <a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1089310/review-whisper-no-lies" target="_blank">Johnny Duane Reed</a> is an alpha male standard I will begin to hold all other alpha males in Romantic Suspense up to. I love him THAT much. And I <i>will</i> compare and similar romances to the lovely one that is Johnny and his Tinkerbell, Crystal Debrowski.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">I haven't read any of her older Romances, but one of these days I may give them a go.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong>7. Kasie West</strong></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong>I have read the following:</strong></p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/6/f/6f643c74e41647f7200c2c43b68b0f34.jpg" alt="" width="66" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/1/b/1b011028c1736f9ed8644e13256de8b4.jpg" alt="" width="66" height="100" /> <img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/c/d/cda442473cfded1afae9d6a242e097eb.jpg" alt="" width="66" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/3/2/329ce95515e37d93143cec66d2aa6d33.jpg" alt="" width="66" height="100" /></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><em><strong>Pivot Point:</strong> <a href="http://anicabyss.blogspot.com/2013/08/review-pivot-point.html" target="_blank">Pivot Point</a>, <a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/788132/review-split-second" target="_blank">Split Second</a></em></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong><em>Stand alone novels:</em></strong><em> <a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/774319/review-the-distance-between-us" target="_blank">The Distance Between Us</a>, On the Fence</em></p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">I have this fear that Kasie West will become a one-hit wonder for me (or rather three-hit), but with her nerdy characters and dry sense of humor, I've loved her ever since being pleasantly surprised at how much I loved <em>Pivot Point</em>. And then I read <em>The Distance Between Us</em>, and despite it's fluff factor and lack of a real story line and the uninspiring conclusion, I fell in love with Caymen and had a girl-crush I hadn't had in a long time.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">As it stands, <em>The Distance Between Us</em> is one of my favorite YA Contemporaries even though there are others out there that are probably better--<em>The Distance Between Us</em>, however, has charm and character and a sarcastic heroine with my kind of humor.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">But then <em>On the Fence</em> came around and felt a little off for a Kasie West book and now I panic just a little bit... maybe.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"><em>The Fill-In Boyfriend</em> will be Kasie West's newest Contemporary, to be published at the end of this spring season.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong>8. Maggie Stiefvater</strong></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong>I have read the following:</strong></p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/9/9/993fd80a73f9c2e7049c8b7f4109c962.jpg" alt="" width="66" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/9/b/9bb9f652fe7768c3442afa080eda3b6b.jpg" alt="" width="66" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/c/e/cef36182353ec3f3fa6e16ccb9075045.jpg" alt="" width="66" height="100" /> <img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/6/4/641472ff1c52fd1494d61140c2d8644d.jpg" alt="" width="66" height="100" /></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><em><strong>The Raven Cycle:</strong> <a href="http://anicabyss.blogspot.com/2013/08/review-raven-boys.html" target="_blank">The Raven Boys</a>; <a href="http://anicabyss.blogspot.com/2013/10/review-dream-thieves.html" target="_blank">The Dream Thieves</a>; <a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1027370/a-quote-bombed-somewhat-of-a-review-blue-lily-lily-blue" target="_blank">Blue Lily, Lily Blue</a></em></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong><em>Stand alone novels:</em></strong><em> The Scorpio Races</em></p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">One word: Gansey!</p> <p style="text-align: left;">Two words: Maggie Stiefvater!</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">Maggie is magic, is all I have to say. I didn't think that I'd love a paranormal genre-book as much as I do <em>The Raven Cycle</em> books, but I most certainly do. Nonsensical humor, fun and genius one-liners, unique and intriguing characters... And a group of friends who love each other so much that even life-long grudges and lies and jealousies can't seem to break them apart.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">Maggies charming writing draws you right in, even with a rather mediocre book like <em>The Scorpio Races</em>.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">And, oh yes, I'm setting myself up for heartbreak, but I just so LOVE Gansey.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"><em>The Raven King</em> is the fourth and last book of <em>The Raven Cycle</em> quartet and will be published this September.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <blockquote> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Favorite Mangakas</strong></p> </blockquote> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong>9. Motomi Kyousuke</strong></p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/f/4/f4351fc26e82c60119330ac655dea0f1.jpg" alt="" width="67" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/d/1/d1e650d1d2ca8027a840a94c98f1b519.jpg" alt="" width="65" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/3/a/3aa556bd1f861d4a1982af169ee78e7d.jpg" alt="" width="63" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/d/7/d7e8d008f2e3f07cd13bf26a8dd10895.jpg" alt="" width="69" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/a/b/ab9e5c526d80e52074026307f3fef25c.jpg" alt="" width="63" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/1/b/1b63f9aaca9f96b79561847d7e371823.jpg" alt="" width="66" height="100" /></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><em>Beast Master, The Beads Club, Youth Survival, Penguin Prince, Love Arrow, Dengeki Daisy</em></p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong>10. <a href="http://anicabyss-animanga.blogspot.com/2008/08/spotlight-on-nakahara-aya.html" target="_blank">Nakahara Aya</a></strong></p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/f/f/fff1dd831acf7ea3a6b4389f3ad6774a.jpg" alt="" width="67" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/8/0/80129c13b8aa0f2aa0f63809b7909fea.jpg" alt="" width="64" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/7/e/7efa47c1fe3b37e0895b2026b823505b.jpg" alt="" width="65" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/e/b/ebdc6f87efade16a3003eff665c46a39.jpg" alt="" width="64" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/e/c/ec719952f3838147f042ebc6f7dbe6ac.jpg" alt="" width="67" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/b/9/b9631e9fcb6b09c73c5d282df2f20282.jpg" alt="" width="63" height="100" /></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><em>Lovely Complex, Secret Base, Nanaco Robin, Ringo Nikki, Tokimeki Gakuen Oujigumi, Hanada</em></p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">Manga are still considered books in some aspects and mangaka are their creators and in a way, authors. Both mangakas listed above have a sense of silly humor and stories that have fairly non-standard male/female roles and love stories, which is why they became two of my most favorite mangaka.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">Despite the fact that I haven't really touched manga for some time, I am still intrigued to hear of any new works created, and would really love to continue reading Motomi Kyousuke-sama's <em>Dengeki Daisy</em> series.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <blockquote> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>-- Plus Ten Honorable Mentions --</strong></p> </blockquote> <p style="text-align: center;">(Because I can.)</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <ul> <li style="text-align: left;"><strong>Juliet Marillier</strong></li> </ul> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong>I have read the following:</strong></p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/1/9/195c8db15b1329c9c0b1d059542e199a.jpg" alt="" width="66" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/8/9/893494f74b4cecebe489c428e2ff4b73.jpg" alt="" width="66" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/7/8/787fd7aee0595ce79e8e794311661cee.jpg" alt="" width="66" height="100" /> <img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/a/a/aaefcee7590ff3c721773ce882701e11.jpg" alt="" width="66" height="100" /> <img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/1/a/1a85a112ddd8f30a8facd38f5a69ba1d.jpg" alt="" width="63" height="100" /></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><em><strong>Shadowfell: </strong><a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1112286/thoughts-shadowfell" target="_blank">Shadowfell</a>, <a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1117378/thoughts-raven-flight" target="_blank">Raven Flight</a>, <a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1118573/thoughts-the-caller" target="_blank">The Caller</a></em></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><em><strong>Wildwood:</strong> <a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1134442/review-wildwood-dancing" target="_blank">Wildwood Dancing</a></em></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><em><strong>Stand alone novels:</strong> Heart's Blood</em></p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">Juliet Marillier is fast become one of my favorite Young Adult high fantasy authors. Her writing is magical, her worlds are beautiful, her characters inspiring, and just... so much more praise. Slow starts though... but once you get past those first few chapters of story building, the rest of the book progresses fantastically!</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <ul> <li style="text-align: left;"><strong>Victoria Schwab</strong></li> </ul> <p><strong>I have read the following:</strong></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/4/5/45d22ca35273d68141bd48b57e8b1ef3.jpg" alt="" width="67" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/5/a/5ab7ed2914d70eca987634d10d9fbd04.jpg" alt="" width="67" height="100" /> <img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/0/d/0d6ad68bf309087147f364b9c6f7c75a.jpg" alt="" width="67" height="100" /></p> <p><em><strong>The Archived: </strong>The Archived, <a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/779832/review-the-unbound" target="_blank">The Unbound</a>; <strong>novella:</strong> Leave the Window Open</em></p> <p><strong><em>Stand alone novels:</em></strong><em> The Near Witch</em></p> <p> </p> <p>Victoria Schwab has great imagination and I probably love her mainly because I loved <em>The Archived</em>. This is an instance where I know she's an excellent writer, but where I'm wary about reading her other works because I've put <em>The Archived</em> at an extremely high spot on my "Favorite Books" pedestal.</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <ul> <li><strong>Maria V. Snyder</strong></li> </ul> <p><strong>I have read the following:</strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/5/2/5275517125282a790a786ecbcf28a2e0.jpg" alt="" width="64" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/4/7/4737504cd9b239d7ba6fb1bd366d0c31.jpg" alt="" width="64" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/4/6/46072fbb229b6d8b5fa7db809722b8a8.jpg" alt="" width="64" height="100" /> <img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/8/a/8a5ffb769e03a2ab329c18aa8bea5fa7.jpg" alt="" width="65" height="100" /> <img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/e/2/e23f2f890e494047398eb8c7c19982e7.jpg" alt="" width="64" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/d/9/d937a6301f60d33e84d57ff3353a4050.jpg" alt="" width="63" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/8/8/883860f794030c4b6ca29ce21223af7d.jpg" alt="" width="62" height="100" /></strong></p> <p><em><strong>Study: </strong><a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/813068/review-poison-study" target="_blank">Poison Study</a>, <a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/816091/review-magic-study" target="_blank">Magic Study</a>, <a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/820001/brief-thoughts-fire-study" target="_blank">Fire Study</a>; <strong>novella: </strong>Assassin Study</em></p> <p><a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/852974/series-review-glass-series" target="_blank"><em><strong>Glass:</strong> Storm Glass, Sea Glass, Spy Glass</em></a></p> <p> </p> <p><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/9/f/9f73d85e4baf23dfcb1c31d8d09f30d4.jpg" alt="" width="69" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/b/e/be0c37c6e12c5f5c3be6eda2adf7e5a1.jpg" alt="" width="64" height="100" /> <img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/8/e/8e7439b9b1330f99f46b6a8a1dfff15b.jpg" alt="" width="62" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/3/9/39417b2c765d0f1bdaaa4214a875b4d4.jpg" alt="" width="67" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/a/d/adda96456fa9af91030fad151f19ac8f.jpg" alt="" width="65" height="100" /></p> <p><em><strong>Insiders:</strong> Inside Out, Outside In</em></p> <p><em><strong>Healer:</strong> Touch of Power, Scent of Magic, <a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/825876/brief-thoughts-taste-of-darkness" target="_blank">Taste of Death</a></em></p> <p> </p> <p>I believe I have almost read every single Maria V. Snyder book. I am still finding a place in my extensive and ever-changing reading list to insert her newest book, <em>Shadow Study</em>. Even if Maria isn't the best writer, and even if a lot of stories have strange progression, logic, and haphazard conclusions, there is just a certain charm to her stories and characters that have hooked me to her.</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <ul> <li><strong>Marissa Meyer</strong></li> </ul> <p><strong>I have read the following:</strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/f/1/f1e708c6e5df637cad8214ac70ab1d0b.jpg" alt="" width="66" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/8/0/805f2a11071907620dd18111f464c99b.jpg" alt="" width="67" height="100" /> <img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/f/e/fed1060f0c5b5d1e1d394f1629a32964.jpg" alt="" width="67" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/3/0/307fbaa40eb904611ba817e8e4206dcb.jpg" alt="" width="67" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/0/1/01fc2438c233df62a1ea2409b9ec2fec.jpg" alt="" width="64" height="100" /></strong></p> <p><em><strong>The Lunar Chronicles: </strong><a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/665305/review-to-come-cinder" target="_blank">Cinder</a>, <a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1118001/a-random-bullet-list-of-thoughts-and-stuff-scarlet" target="_blank">Scarlet</a>; <strong>novellas:</strong> Glitches, The Queen's Army, <a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1110448/short-novella-brief-thoughts-the-little-android" target="_blank">The Little Android</a></em></p> <p> </p> <p>I would love to add Marissa Meyer to my ALL TIME FAVORITES list, but while I've gushed over the two <em>Lunar Chronicles</em> books I've read, while I was reading them, whenever I look back, it just feels like there's something missing. And it's probably also a new one that my favorite of this series so far is the novella <em>The Little Android</em>.</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <ul> <li><strong>Rae Carson</strong></li> </ul> <p><strong>I have read the following:</strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/e/2/e266d25f6582798268367bdaf591b464.jpg" alt="" width="66" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/4/8/489329fc5d8ca495c3d6c45b23364460.jpg" alt="" width="66" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/3/1/31e0c5bdf9280d14eab7ec9322790b33.jpg" alt="" width="67" height="100" /> <img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/5/1/51e9ac5d17473dd3e0c46af78066c290.jpg" alt="" width="66" height="100" /></strong></p> <p><em><strong>Fire and Thorns: </strong><a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/951610/review-the-girl-of-fire-and-thorns" target="_blank">The Girl of Fire and Thorns</a>, <a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/955026/more-of-a-fangirl-squee-than-a-review-the-crown-of-embers" target="_blank">The Crown of Embers</a>, <a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/956533/more-squee-and-somewhat-of-a-review-the-bitter-kingdom" target="_blank">The Bitter Kingdom</a>; <strong>novellas:</strong> The Shadow Cats, The Shattered Mountain, The King's Guard</em></p> <p> </p> <p>I loved <em>Fire and Thorns</em>, and thus I probably love Rae Carson because of <em>Fire and Thorns</em>. But have no fear, she's publishing a new series soon with it's first book out in Septemeber, <em>Walk On Earth a Stranger</em>. I'm looking forward to it.</p> <p> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <ul> <li style="text-align: left;"><strong>Leslie Kelly<strong> (Leslie A. Kelly, Leslie Parrish)</strong></strong></li> </ul> <p><strong>I have read the following:</strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/c/3/c3e10245186f943f7cbbf37840ef7373.jpg" alt="" width="67" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/8/e/8e00ef3d6effcdbcb887e6f8c87790f4.jpg" alt="" width="67" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/6/8/68954e7ec0f230d813005ba8afa60290.jpg" alt="" width="67" height="100" /> <img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/8/0/80ca9f494b0944a25fdd1fdab0bcb998.jpg" alt="" width="62" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/d/a/da53ee237379470508369f3cdc4465f8.jpg" alt="" width="62" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/d/d/dd0583f19e8e59cb6a6c7110e2fa8af8.jpg" alt="" width="62" height="100" /></strong></p> <p><em><strong>Black CATs: </strong>Fade to Black, Pitch Black, Black at Heart</em></p> <p>(second set of covers uses one of Leslie Kelly's pseudonyms, Leslie Parrish)</p> <p> </p> <p><strong><em><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/c/3/c3f340ea37856267d17c175413361b31.jpg" alt="" width="62" height="100" /> <img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/4/3/431a0971637dc8c02cbbca075323045f.jpg" alt="" width="63" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/7/e/7e2005a1023fae804b482b57ef0ba1a8.jpg" alt="" width="61" height="100" /></em></strong></p> <p><strong><em>Extrasensory Agents: </em></strong><em> Cold Sight</em></p> <p><a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1010822/series-review-walker-brothers" target="_blank"><em><strong>Walker Brothers: </strong>She Drives Me Crazy, She's Got the Look</em></a></p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">I got into Leslie Kelly because of her three <em>Black CAT</em> Romantic Suspense books. But it was surprisingly one of her Contemporary Romances that got me to definitively love her. Strange how things work. I have plans to finish the only other <em>Extrasensory Agents</em> book as well as get into the <em>Veronica Sloan</em> duology with hopes that she'll be writing more Romantic Suspense soon. Otherwise, this is one author I have actually considered diving into her old Harlequin romances (since I've never really been a straight-up Romance-only genre reader).</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <ul> <li style="text-align: left;"><strong>Kylie Brant</strong></li> </ul> <p><strong>I have read the following:</strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/7/b/7b22705f1e485728801f9e364c4dd5da.jpg" alt="" width="62" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/8/c/8c1013a03cc4eafb9f62c5ab9ce9cf23.jpg" alt="" width="62" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/e/6/e60015ca63f941319b1c48ace4e9ec0a.jpg" alt="" width="62" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/f/6/f60feca8e3e55a0859917d5de71aa5bd.jpg" alt="" width="62" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/8/f/8f7ce2541c7dc4611d2f7c9fdb109a0a.jpg" alt="" width="62" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/2/f/2fa522febf5c01fa552c2a997181c315.jpg" alt="" width="62" height="100" /></strong></p> <p><em><strong>Mindhunters</strong>: <a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/882644/brief-thoughts-waking-nightmare" target="_blank">Waking Nightmare</a>, <a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/885581/very-brief-thought-waking-evil" target="_blank">Waking Evil</a>, Waking the Dead, Deadly Intent, Deadly Dreams, Deadly Sins</em></p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">The <em>Mindhunters</em> caught me by surprise and became one of my favorite Romantic Suspense series. With strong, independent, skilled, and resourceful women in each book, what's not to love? It's because of this series that I grew to admire the job of criminal profiling. Kylie Brant presents fairly balanced stories of equal parts Romance and Mystery Thriller. And then I found that Kylie Brant may be returning to the <em>Mindhunters</em> series at some time with more books. I am so, totally on board with that. (As am I on-board with going back and reading the rest of her earlier work.)</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong>Pamela Clare</strong></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong>I have read the following:</strong></p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/9/5/9534e7c1727f07d47fcaab06174fde9d.jpg" alt="" width="62" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/4/f/4f7d2ed2336896b50beb3292a80cf7e3.jpg" alt="" width="62" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/5/e/5ed59c6ca72913e9c65bccdd918391c5.jpg" alt="" width="62" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/2/f/2ff28acc34e6e46328ce4561a40c8331.jpg" alt="" width="62" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/c/f/cf5e1cf25e798fdb69e9cdb2599c7096.jpg" alt="" width="62" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/b/9/b985f00b056b95a910c661ef9dfbc9ba.jpg" alt="" width="62" height="100" /></strong></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/2/f/2f9af0ed6286ccbf4295d17faee7ce46.jpg" alt="" width="74" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/3/5/35537915bce230fd7c548f65ae1d1dd1.jpg" alt="" width="63" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/5/7/57b34bdf0529531c148b7f0afe658c62.jpg" alt="" width="67" height="100" /></strong></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><em><strong>I-Team:</strong> <a href="http://anicabyss.blogspot.com/2013/04/review-extreme-exposure_21.html" target="_blank">Extreme Exposure</a>, <a href="http://anicabyss.blogspot.com/2013/04/review-hard-evidence.html" target="_blank">Hard Evidence</a>, <a href="http://anicabyss.blogspot.com/2013/05/review-unlawful-contact.html" target="_blank">Unlawful Contact</a>, <a href="http://anicabyss.blogspot.com/2013/05/review-naked-edge_12.html" target="_blank">Naked Edge</a>, <a href="http://anicabyss.blogspot.com/2013/07/review-breaking-point_12.html" target="_blank">Breaking Point</a>, <a href="http://anicabyss.blogspot.com/2013/11/review-striking-distance.html" target="_blank">Striking Distance</a>; <strong>novellas/short stories: </strong>Heaven Can't Wait, Skin Deep, Marc & Julian Make a Beer Run, First Strike<strong> </strong></em></p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">Pamela Clare could probably be my first foray into racier types of books with the side bonus of a suspenseful crime thriller to give me some thought-provoking substance. And Pamela Clare was probably my first experience with wonderfully created, good guy, respectful alpha-males who don't just stand around and glower at everyone. I've loved all of her books and all of her characters despite the fact that they just don't do the same thing for me as other favorite Romantic Suspense books do.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">Pamela has a new <em>I-Team</em> novel in the works.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <ul> <li style="text-align: left;"><strong>Harper Lee</strong></li> </ul> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong>I have read the following:</strong></p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/8/a/8af0b6f50b4066e45b819a3786e2419c.jpg" alt="" width="65" height="100" /></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><em>To Kill a Mockingbird</em></p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">To be honest, I only remember that <em>To Kill a Mockingbird</em> was one of the many required classic literature reads in high school that I actually enjoyed (aside from Mark Twain).</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <ul> <li style="text-align: left;"><strong>Amy Tan</strong></li> </ul> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong>I have read the following:</strong></p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/5/f/5f3e14f3ef738ab2a3031f5ce370904a.jpg" alt="" width="58" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/9/b/9bdce662f15e050e9089bfd518a900df.jpg" alt="" width="61" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/4/1/41741f5999636b778ff3253514986cf9.jpg" alt="" width="68" height="100" /><img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/e/a/eaae79e42522f95b665b2b29b040cb17.jpg" alt="" width="67" height="100" /> <img src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/5/0/50178d7ff6d1cf17f6a6496f63568cd8.jpg" alt="" width="66" height="100" /></strong></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><em>The Hundred Secret Senses, The Joy Luck Club, The Kitchen God's Wife, The Bonesetter's Daughter, The Opposite of Fate</em></p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">Back when I was a lot younger, Amy Tan was one of a very sparse selection of minority authors--Asian authors, to be specific. And during my young pre-teen and teenage years, the books written by Amy Tan just felt like they spoke to me, even if none of the stories she's written really coincide with anything similar in my own real life; the only similarities between me and an Amy Tan heroine was the fact that these were women raised in American, fairly Americanized, with parents and relatives who are still very much traditional Chinese all-around whom they struggle to understand and cope with in their daily lives.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">Amy Tan holds sentimental value for me and I may or may not continue to read her books.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">***</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">And there we have a BIG LONG LIST of ALL TIME FAVORITE AUTHORS. </p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p></div> <p> <strong>Original post:</strong> <a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1139143/top-ten-tuesdays-all-time-favorite-authors">anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1139143/top-ten-tuesdays-all-time-favorite-authors</a> </p> anicheunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04354599944470683233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304886105344701928.post-39947576673094191522015-04-18T19:27:00.001-05:002015-04-18T19:27:46.594-05:00Brief Thoughts: Investigating the Hottie<style> .set-middle { vertical-align: middle; } </style> <p> <strong>Review:</strong> <img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_a.png" /><img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_a.png" /><img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_a.png" /><img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_i.png" /><img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_i.png" /></p> <p> <a href="http://booklikes.com/investigating-the-hottie-juli-alexander/book,10172926"><img src="http://booklikes.com/photo/max/100/0/upload/books/a/0/azure_a044221bd0d146590e7f89cbe2674b9b.jpg" style="vertical-align: middle; width: 100px; min-height: 100px;" title="Investigating the Hottie - Juli Alexander" alt="Investigating the Hottie - Juli Alexander" /></a> </p> <div><p> </p> <p><strong>Investigating the Hottie -- Juli Alexander</strong></p> <p><strong>Book 1 of <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Investigating the Hottie</span></strong></p> <p><strong>2012 Release -- Createspace/Smashwords -- Indie author work</strong></p> <p><strong>Young Adult, High School, Romance, Mystery, Espionage</strong></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>Despite the set-up being a bit confusing, I have to admit that I found <em>Investigating the Hottie</em> to be quite enjoyable in that “Turn your brain off and be amused by all it’s strange quirks” type of way. It’s not the best book in the world and it’s not the most insightful nor the most inspiring story ever, but it was cute and entertaining--a fun type of “I’ve got a little extra time to kill” sort of read; very quickly devoured in one sitting.<br /><br />The writing isn’t the best, and the context of our main character, Amanda Peterson’s narration came off kind of juvenile and nonchalant (her voice sounds much younger than sixteen.. or is she supposed to be fifteen?), but she’s got an amusing sense of humor, and some of the one-liner quips DID manage to bring out a few laughs in me.<br /><br />Again, the telling is extremely juvenile without a wit of seriousness; it reminded me of a made-for-television family movie with a comedic flair that wouldn’t remotely be taken seriously because of how unrealistic all the situations and all the characters’ actions were. In which case, it was entertaining <em>because</em> of all that.<br /><br />Amanda comes off as that awkward teenager at an awkward phase in her life who let’s her imagination run a little too wild, though in an entertaining, enjoyable way. She reminds me of me when I’m just sitting and letting my thoughts wander, starting with an imaginary scenario that <em>could</em> happen in my life that gets more and more out of control as my mind stops making logical sense--the next thing you know, you’re angry at an imaginary friend or family member who said or did something in your convoluted reverie because you tend to get really pessimistic and cynical in your own mind-ramblings. <br /><br />She is definitely an interesting character to follow.<br /><br /><br /><strong>The Story in Brief:</strong><br />Amanda is spending fall break with her Aunt Christie as a means to “de-stress” from the knowledge of her parents’ divorce. But Amanda learns, upon arrival at her Aunt Christie’s home, that her aunt is actual an agent spy working for the government and that Amanda, herself, has been secretly trained via school courses and activities (such as a technology based camp or specialized physical education courses) for the past few months.<br /><br />And now Amanda is being offered her first mission as a teen spy. There’s a hacker at Princeton Academy who has been wreaking havoc on a fairly small scale, thus far. But said hacker has promised an even bigger act that could “affect millions” in America. Amanda’s job is to get close to Will Middleton and determine whether or not he truly is a hacker and what his plans for that bigger act consists of.<br /><br />Unfortunately, she realizes that her first act as a teen spy could very easily be road-blocked by her inability to NOT fall for the “hottie” hacker.<br /><br /><br /><strong>Final Thoughts:</strong> The story is very straight-forward with no unpredictable twists and turns. In fact, even the one little, itty, bitty surprise twist at the end wasn’t too awe-worthy and you kind of see it coming miles away.<br /><br />This book was mainly a “The Day in the Life of Amanda Peterson, Teen Spy In Training” as well as a cutesy high school romance folded into it. The tone of the story was consistently mild and almost comically humorous in a strange way. Where I would have expected a little bit of seriousness, I instead felt a sense of inappropriate nonchalance… but the cutes-y factor of the story and our teenage characters made it manageable.<br /><br />Other side and supporting characters were pretty flat and one-dimensional and extremely stereotyped as the “typical” high school students. Even Will was pretty boring and standard teen high school boy material.<br /><br />Amanda, herself, had her quirks and was an enjoyable character to follow. But she, unfortunately, didn’t stray far from the usual teenage girl stereotypes found in YA lately: cynical about her looks and very, very boy crazy. I lost track of how many times she drools or fawns over Will and his “yummy hotness”. Although I DO give props to the fact that Amanda shows a few moments of interest in things that are NOT Will Middleton or any other hot boy, and that’s quite alright with me.<br /><br />To be honest, the romance was lacking (and juvenile), focused a LOT on how Amanda was very attracted to Will’s hotness--and I was a little disturbed her her consistent description of Will’s “yumminess” because it feels very non-teen to me. You don’t see much romantic chemistry between the two, but maybe that’s the whole point of this quick and easy read.<br /><br />And then there’s Christie and Nic (who act like teenagers at best); they were actually a pretty intriguing pair; if ever written in a more mature fashion, I would be interested in seeing how some of their spy missions pan out and how their bickering love story unfolds. <br /> <br /><br /></p> <p>***</p> <p> </p> <p>This book is a pre-chosen participant in the following Reading Challenges:</p> <p><a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1057732/2015-tbr-pile-challenge-roof-beam-reader" target="_blank">2015 TBR Pile Challenge</a> hosted by <a href="http://roofbeamreader.com/" target="_blank">Roof Beam Reader</a></p> <p><a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1059330/2015-reading-assignment-challenge" target="_blank">2015 Reading Assignment Challenge</a> hosted by <a href="http://www.becausereading.com/" target="_blank">Because Reading</a> and <a href="http://fantasyismorefun.com/" target="_blank">Fantasy is More Fun</a></p> <p> </p></div> <p> <strong>Original post:</strong> <a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1148952/brief-thoughts-investigating-the-hottie">anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1148952/brief-thoughts-investigating-the-hottie</a> </p> anicheunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04354599944470683233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304886105344701928.post-63871310057946102962015-04-14T12:18:00.001-05:002015-04-14T12:18:15.037-05:00Top Ten Tuesdays: Inspiring (?) Quotes <div><p><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="http://booklikes.com/upload/post/c/3/c34e35e3cfc8214ea7e53fa456e75e71.jpg" alt="" width="261" height="201" /></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><em><a href="http://www.brokeandbookish.com/p/top-ten-tuesday-other-features.html" target="_blank"><strong>Top Ten Tuesdays</strong></a> is an original and weekly feature hosted by <strong><a href="http://www.brokeandbookish.com/" target="_blank">The Broke and the Bookish</a></strong>.</em></p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Top Ten Inspiring Quotes from Books</strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">I can't say that I've found quotes that are extremely inspiring. A lot of times I highlight quotes and dialogue in the books I read because they stand out for one reason or another. A lot of other times, they're just really witty one-liners that made me smile or laugh out loud.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;">I really doubt the legitimacy of how inspiring I found a lot of these quotes, but they were certainly some of my favorites.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <blockquote> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong>"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."</strong></p> </blockquote> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>-- From <em>Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban</em></strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>by J.K. Rowling</strong></p> <p> </p> <blockquote> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong>"'Begin at the beginning,' the King said, very gravely, 'and go on till you come to the end: then stop.'"</strong></p> </blockquote> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>-- From <em>Alice in Wonderland</em></strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>by Lewis Carroll</strong></p> <p> </p> <blockquote> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong>"My mama used to say, 'Are you sad? Then just wait a minute.'"</strong></p> </blockquote> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>-- Dashti from <em>Book of a Thousand Days</em></strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>by Shannon Hale</strong></p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <blockquote> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong>"Silence was never a wrong answer."</strong></p> </blockquote> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>-- From <em>The Dream Thieves</em></strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>by Maggie Stiefvater</strong></p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <blockquote> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong>"A lot of people don't get my humor. My mom calls it dry humor. I think that means 'not funny', but it also means I'm the only one who ever knows it's a joke."</strong></p> </blockquote> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>-- Caymen from <em>The Distance Between Us</em></strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>by Kasie West</strong></p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <blockquote> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong>"I don't care when people think I'm an antisocial, controlling bookworm because that's what I am. It's when they interpret me wrong that I have a problem."</strong></p> </blockquote> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>-- Addie from <em>Pivot Point</em></strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>by Kasie West</strong></p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <blockquote> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong>"You have a big decision and it will not make itself."</strong></p> </blockquote> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>-- From <em>The Raven Boys</em></strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>by Maggie Stiefvater</strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <blockquote> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong>"My words are unerring tools of destruction, and I've come unequipped with the ability to disarm them."</strong></p> </blockquote> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>-- Gansey f</strong><strong>rom <em>The Raven Boys</em></strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>by Maggie Stiefvater</strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <blockquote> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong>"She wasn't interested in telling other people's futures. She was interested in going out and finding her own."</strong></p> </blockquote> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>-- From <em>The Raven Boys</em></strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>by Maggie Stiefvater</strong></p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <blockquote> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong>"I'm perfectly capable of being stupid on my own."</strong></p> </blockquote> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>-- Alina from <em>Siege and Storm</em></strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>by Leigh Bardugo</strong></p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>-- Honorable Mentions --</strong></p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <blockquote> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong>"My bookcase is all yours."</strong></p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong>"I've just decided that those are my favorite five words in the world."</strong></p> </blockquote> <p style="text-align: center;">-- (Trevor and Addie) From <em>Pivot Point</em> -- Kasie West</p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <blockquote> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong>"It takes at least three assassination attempts to scare me off. And even then, if there are baked goods involved, I might come back."</strong></p> </blockquote> <p style="text-align: center;">-- (Wesley Ayers)From <em>The Archived -- </em>Victoria Schwab</p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <blockquote> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong>"Fairy's Side Note:</strong></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong>Mortal girls will overlook a piñata full of faults if a guy is considerate enough to be handsome."</strong></p> </blockquote> <p style="text-align: center;">-- (Chrysanthemum Everstar) From <em>My Unfair Godmother</em> -- Janette Rallison</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <blockquote> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong>"Dreaming led to disappointment, and disappointment to a kind of depressed funk that wasn't easy to shake. Better to stay in the gray than get eaten by the dark."</strong></p> </blockquote> <p style="text-align: center;">-- (Ruby) From <em>The Darkest Minds</em> -- Alexandra Bracken</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <blockquote> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong>"You know how sometimes you tell yourself that you have a choice, but really you don't have a choice? Just because there are alternatives doesn't mean they apply to you."</strong></p> </blockquote> <p style="text-align: center;">-- (Cassie) From <em>The Fifth Wave</em> -- Rick Yancey</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <blockquote> <p style="text-align: left;">"<strong>I think it's very healthy to spend time alone. You need to know how to be alone and not be defined by another person.</strong>"</p> </blockquote> <p style="text-align: center;">-- Oscar Wilde</p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"> I also wanted to include a quote from a K-drama series I especially liked:</p> <blockquote> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong>"Do You know what I mean by 'we're all human'?</strong></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong>We all become the same thing when we die."</strong></p> </blockquote> <p style="text-align: center;">-- (Arang) From <em>Arang and the Magistrate</em> -- 2012 Korean Television Drama</p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p></div> <p> <strong>Original post:</strong> <a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1139141/top-ten-tuesdays-inspiring-quotes">anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1139141/top-ten-tuesdays-inspiring-quotes</a> </p> anicheunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04354599944470683233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304886105344701928.post-77092417137285464872015-04-10T15:05:00.001-05:002015-04-10T15:05:21.748-05:00Brief Thoughts: Reason to Believe (Bullet Catcher's novella)<style> .set-middle { vertical-align: middle; } </style> <p> <strong>Review:</strong> <img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_a.png" /><img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_a.png" /><img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_a.png" /><img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_i.png" /><img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_i.png" /></p> <p> <a href="http://booklikes.com/what-you-can-t-see-allison-brennan-karin-tabke-roxanne-st-claire/book,1377473"><img src="http://booklikes.com/photo/max/100/0/upload/books/3/4/azure_3410c952e407d547ba2fd62f11eb72fa.jpg" style="vertical-align: middle; width: 100px; min-height: 100px;" title="What You Can't See - Allison Brennan, Karin Tabke, Roxanne St. Claire" alt="What You Can't See - Allison Brennan, Karin Tabke, Roxanne St. Claire" /></a> </p> <div><p><strong>Reason to Believe -- Roxanne St. Claire</strong></p> <p><strong>Part of the <em>What You Can't See </em>anthology</strong></p> <p><strong>Listed as <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Bullet Catchers</span> #3.5</strong></p> <p><strong>2007 Release -- Pocket Books</strong></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p><strong>**I only read Roxanne St. Claire's <em>Reason to Believe</em></strong>.<br />I may or may not come back and read the rest of the novellas at another time.<br /><br /><br /><strong>Review for <em>Reason to Believe</em></strong></p> <p> </p> <blockquote> <p><em>”You weren’t paying attention to Protection 101. I go where you go.”</em></p> </blockquote> <p><br />Yes. Thank you. I was wondering about that exact thing on certain occasions (**cough**cough**<em><a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1141886/brief-thoughts-thrill-me-to-death" target="_blank">Thrill Me To Death</a></em>**cough**cough**), and was delighted that at least <em>someone</em> realizes that bodyguard work does not equate to “wandering off alone on independent investigations” or “asking <em>the bodyguard</em> to go somewhere else because it seems more important”.<br /><br /><br /><strong>The Story in Brief:</strong><br /><em>Reason to Believe</em> was a decently told short novella featuring Chase Ryker (who was first introduced in the second book, <em>Thrill Me To Death</em>, and actually drew my attention with his subtle, yet charming personality). The assigned principal is a TV psychic, Arianna Killian, who has hired the elite Bullet Catchers because she has been receiving malicious visions of a murder; however, Chase is under the impression that Ari has requested a guard due to nasty, threatening e-mails, which is also part of the problem, but not her main problem.<br /><br />Someone out there wants Arianna to stop doing her psychic thing, and Ari knows that this person is willing to kill her if she doesn’t comply. But her first hurdle is to figure out how to get Chase to believe that she is truly psychic so that he will take her seriously about this ethereal threat to her life.<br /><br /><br /><strong>Overall Thoughts:</strong> <em>Reason to Believe</em> is intriguing and exciting, much like all of Roxanne St. Claire’s works that I have read so far. Well written and decently suspenseful, even if some things don’t make sense, I still find myself properly entertained by each story. This short novella was no different, though I will admit that it was somewhat more exciting than the previous two full-length novels--only the ending seemed to screw up the progressive flow of the storyline for me.<br /><br />Ari and Chase are both likable, relatable characters; and I love that Ari comes off blunt, straight-forward, no-nonsense, and pretty outspoken. While she and Chase have their face-palm-worthy moments, I wasn't really too bothered by them as I have been for other characters from other books in this series.<br /><br />The novella presented a sweet romance (though a bit too insta and too abrupt for my liking, but I’ll take it) and a good crime mystery and enough of a twist that I found that I really DID like it enough to overlook the unfortunate ending hour quibbles that surfaced--the closing chapters of this novella felt rushed and made little sense. The paranormal aspect of this book was typical psychic investigation formulas, but an irksome deux ex machina in the last chapter really didn’t do much to help matters.<br /><br />Nor did the throwing out of “Protection 101” that made me groan and roll my eyes.<br /><br />Otherwise, I was satisfyingly entertained.</p> <p> </p> <p><br />***</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Other stories in this anthology:</strong></p> <ul> <li><strong>Deliver Us From Evil by Allison Brennan</strong></li> <li><strong>Redemption by Karin Tabke</strong></li> </ul> <p> </p> <p> </p></div> <p> <strong>Original post:</strong> <a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1143555/brief-thoughts-reason-to-believe-bullet-catcher-s-novella">anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1143555/brief-thoughts-reason-to-believe-bullet-catcher-s-novella</a> </p> anicheunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04354599944470683233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304886105344701928.post-57093167392138006012015-04-10T15:00:00.001-05:002015-04-10T15:00:27.962-05:00Thoughts: Take Me Tonight<style> .set-middle { vertical-align: middle; } </style> <p> <strong>Review:</strong> <img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_a.png" /><img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_a.png" /><img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_i.png" /><img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_i.png" /><img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_i.png" /></p> <p> <a href="http://booklikes.com/take-me-tonight-roxanne-st-claire/book,1071091"><img src="http://booklikes.com/photo/max/100/0/upload/books/6/4/azure_646ba317010ceda080cb7ccefca39336.jpg" style="vertical-align: middle; width: 100px; min-height: 100px;" title="Take Me Tonight - Roxanne St. Claire" alt="Take Me Tonight - Roxanne St. Claire" /></a> </p> <div><p><strong>Take Me Tonight -- Roxanne St. Claire</strong></p> <p><strong>Book 3 of <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Bullet Catchers</span> series</strong></p> <p><strong>2007 Release -- Pocket Books</strong></p> <p><strong>Adult, Romantic Suspense, Mystery, Bodyguards</strong></p> <p><br /><br />I'm going to call it what it is and say that I had a few superficial reasons for anticipating the third installation of the <em>Bullet Catchers</em> series, <em>Take Me Tonight</em>. And these reason really only make sense to me, so I discourage anyone from trying see any normal logic in them. Pretty much everything should have aligned properly to make this Ani’s favorite <em>Bullet Catchers</em> book:</p> <p> </p> <ul style="list-style-type: square;"> <li>The summary blurb, as per usual, was intriguing.</li> <li>Our Bullet Catcher’s name is Johnny and he’s a playful, flirty, Italian who can cook. (Have I ever mentioned before that a lot of the previous fictional male characters I’ve fallen in love with always got extra points for being able cook?)</li> <li>There was an underlying “cyber crime”-ish base to this <em>Buller Catchers</em> installment’s mystery.</li> <li>The beginning of the book was equal parts intriguing and exciting and came on strong enough to hook me right into the story.</li> </ul> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>But in the end, while the beginning was decently laid out, the rest of the book started to teeter on typical clichéd scenes that readily made me frustrated and roll my eyes. Things did not play out productively, the progression was haphazard, and our main female character turned out NOT like the spunky, smart heroine I had been anticipating. Because, of all the TSTL things a heroine can do in any storyline, I think that Sage Valentine pretty much does it all:</p> <p> </p> <ul style="list-style-type: square;"> <li>Knowingly walking right into danger without any security or back-up plans.</li> <li>Pushing away her personal protection for the sake of her own stubborn grudges.</li> <li>Trusting all the wrong people and forcing away all the right ones.</li> <li>Continually painting a target on her own forehead when she <em>knows</em> someone is out to harm her.</li> </ul> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>There is a time and a place to bravely do your job and be fiercely independent and search out the truth. But then there’s also knowing how to be smart about being fiercely independent. Because I don’t hate that Sage is a smart, resourceful woman who can take care of herself and can get out of certain sticky situations; I don’t rebuff the fact that she is independent and a skilled investigator. I just always take issue whenever smart women become incompetent at keeping themselves safely out of danger when they have a world of resources to turn to for help, due to whatever misguided ideals they have about the meaning of being a strong, independant woman.<br /><br />Why does being strong always have to equate to being stupidly heroic, or stubbornly martyr-ish?<br /><br />Anyway...<br /><br /><br /><strong>The Story:</strong><br />Sage Valentine’s roommate has died and Sage suspects foul play to do with a thrill-seeking website that Keisha Kingston has been participating in: <em>takemetonite.com</em>. Apparently there’s a new trend of role playing in real life and real time where women pay to get the full package thrill of being kidnapped and then rescued--they also come with some sexual perks on the side, of course. (Yes, I’m rolling my eyes too, but it’s a good concept for a Romantic Suspense/Crime Thriller, especially when these games lead to dead people and murder mysteries. I promise, I’m not morbid or psychotically twisted in any way--I just enjoy my crime thrillers as proper crime thrillers with intriguing premises.)<br /><br />In order to find out what happened, Sage pleads with her estranged aunt, Lucy Sharpe, to help her investigate the matter. But Lucy claims that she has found nothing illegitimate or sinister behind the <em>takemetonite.com</em> website and that Sage would be best to leave the investigation to the police, especially since Keisha’s death has been ruled as a suicide.<br /><br />Unable to let it go, and convinced that Keisha would have never killed herself, Sage books her own kidnapping with plans to question the site’s “kidnappers” and “rescuers” until she can figure out the truth about Keisha’s death (in an utterly TSTL move without telling <em>anyone</em> what she’s planning to do, despite knowing that her life could be in danger). And of course, being the all-knowing leader of the Bullet Catchers, Lucy knows what Sage has planned and she’d be damned if Sage ends up hurt, or worse, dead, because of her dogged investigations (which made me scratch my head about this since Lucy was fairly adamant that the whole <em>takemetonite.com</em> experience was a hundred percent legitimate and <em>not</em> life-endangering, but whatevs, now we have a legit reason for a bodyguard to grace the scene).<br /><br />Enter Johnny Christiano, a young man Lucy had saved from his previous life of darkness and crime and turned into an elite Bullet Catcher. As someone who will follow Lucy blindly because of what she’s done for him, Johnny asks no questions when Lucy sends him to security detail on Sage without so much as an explanation or a fully-loaded file on the client and their principal.<br /><br />And yes, of course, there are much more sinister workings going on to do with Keisha’s death as well as her fellow dance team members, the Snow Bunnies. And then on top of that, we’ve got a side conflict involving back-history between Lucy and Sage and betrayal and how Johnny is highly loyal to Lucy and thus we also get some typical “Romantic Angst” at play.<br /><br /><br /><strong>Some Thoughts:</strong><br />The biggest surprise twist in this story was why the kidnappings were ending in dead women--why there was a crime thriller to begin with and why our resident “bad guy” was doing what he was doing. It’s not the best surprise twist, but I would have never guessed the motive even if I managed to guess the culprit--it was... strange, really. The biggest disappointment (aside from Sage’s TSTL moments) was that the entire mystery was pretty predictable as to who was the “ultimate evil mastermind”--the guy practically flashes neon when he’s introduced for the first time in the story.<br /><br />And then the rest of the book teeters into typical Romantic Suspense formulaic outlining.<br /><br />The only saving grace of this book was probably Johnny as well as the excitability factor. Because even though the crime thriller was predictable and even though I really, really tried to like Sage but failed, the book was written well and I DID like Johnny. I mean, he’s not really unique or outstanding or anything; and he’s definitely no <a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1089310/review-whisper-no-lies" target="_blank">Johnny Duane Reed</a>, of course (but that’s an unfair comparison, because no one could EVER be Johnny Duane Reed, really), but he’s an adorable sort of broody alpha male and <strong>he can cook</strong>.<br /><br />The romance was all over the place, but the development wasn’t too bad. The rest of the background characters came off kind of insignificant and flat, or boring and annoying and irritating.<br /><br /><br /><strong>Overall Thoughts:</strong> I’m sorely disappointed that this third installation of the series didn’t really do anything for me. The first book of the <em>Bullet Catchers</em> was a real hook, line, and sinker; however, the books just keep getting more frustrating as the series progresses. Fortunately, they are written well and have a good enough dream team for me to still be considering following the rest of the series.<br /><br />I suppose we’ll just see where it all leads. </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p></div> <p> <strong>Original post:</strong> <a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1143667/thoughts-take-me-tonight">anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1143667/thoughts-take-me-tonight</a> </p> anicheunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04354599944470683233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304886105344701928.post-36391347810525444702015-04-09T15:11:00.001-05:002015-04-09T15:11:00.582-05:00Brief Thoughts: You Can Count On Me (Bullet Catchers novella)<style> .set-middle { vertical-align: middle; } </style> <p> <strong>Review:</strong> <img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_a.png" /><img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_a.png" /><img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_a.png" /><img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_i.png" /><img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_i.png" /></p> <p> <a href="http://booklikes.com/i-ll-be-home-for-christmas-linda-lael-miller-catherine-mulvany-roxanne-st-c/book,12360025"><img src="http://booklikes.com/photo/max/100/0/upload/books/24/31/2d1f80dfb220ce3b812828aeaf943357.jpg" style="vertical-align: middle; width: 100px; min-height: 100px;" title="I'll Be Home for Christmas - 'Linda Lael Miller', 'Catherine Mulvany', 'Roxanne St. Claire', 'Julie Leto'" alt="I'll Be Home for Christmas - 'Linda Lael Miller', 'Catherine Mulvany', 'Roxanne St. Claire', 'Julie Leto'" /></a> </p> <div><p><strong>You Can Count On Me -- Roxanne St. Claire</strong></p> <p><strong>Part of the <em>I'll Be Home For Christmas</em> anthology</strong></p> <p><strong>Listed as <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Bullet Catchers</span> #2.5</strong></p> <p><strong>2006 Release -- Pocket Books</strong></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>I only read Roxanne St. Claire's <em>You Can Count On Me</em> from this anthology, so the rating only applies to that individual novella. Since I was on a short <em>Bullet Catchers</em> binge for the weekend, I didn't bother reading the rest of the novellas/short stories in this anthology. I may or may not come back to them at some point in time.<br /><br /><br /><strong>In Short:</strong><br />Bullet Catcher Raquel Durant is finally ready to take on her first field assignment and she's been assigned as bodyguard for the eight year old daughter of Grigori Nyekovic while he's in New York for business. Of course, being a Romance novella, it doesn't take long for sparks to fly, and apparently, while a sweet, gentle father, Grigori (Gregg), comes on quite strong when he knows what he wants. And obviously, he's found that he wants more from Raquel than just guarding his daughter.<br /><br /><br /><strong>My Brief Thoughts:</strong><br />This was a fun and cute little romance novella with a short side of suspense to keep the theme going. Gregg is in New York to procure a Fabergé egg which ends up being stolen in some convoluted plot that seems more complicated than it really is (or really needed to be). This couldn't be just a cute little Christmas story, we have to have something more happen for action... which I normally don't mind for a full-blown novel, so the extra suspense seemed a bit much.<br /><br />Nonetheless, I really did find the story enjoyable, that is, if you ignore some of the logic failures such as why Raquel would willingly wander off with Gregg on spy missions when she's supposed to be guarding eight year old Kristina. I get that she was excited about learning investigative skills and espionage, but her first and foremost priority was supposed to be Kristina's safety, no matter <em>what</em> else the father asks her to do.<br /><br />Besides, I was of the impression that Raquel already had pretty good investigative skills, so what gives?<br /><br /><br /><strong>Final Thoughts:</strong> Simple and cute. I had been hoping for more of a full-length novel for Raquel, being the only female Bullet Catcher aside from the head honcho Lucy. So I'm a little disappointed that she gets stuck into a short novella where not much really happens. Enjoyable nonetheless. <br /><br /></p> <p> </p> <p>***</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Other stories in this anthology:</strong></p> <ul> <li><strong>Christmas of the Red Chiefs by Linda Lael Miller</strong></li> <li><strong>Once Upon a Christmas by Catherine Mulvany</strong></li> <li><strong>Meltdown by Julie Leto</strong></li> </ul> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p></div> <p> <strong>Original post:</strong> <a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1141889/brief-thoughts-you-can-count-on-me-bullet-catchers-novella">anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1141889/brief-thoughts-you-can-count-on-me-bullet-catchers-novella</a> </p> anicheunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04354599944470683233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304886105344701928.post-64565748600237688092015-04-09T15:10:00.003-05:002015-04-09T15:10:58.217-05:00Brief Thoughts: Thrill Me To Death<style> .set-middle { vertical-align: middle; } </style> <p> <strong>Review:</strong> <img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_a.png" /><img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_a.png" /><img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_a.png" /><img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_i.png" /><img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_i.png" /></p> <p> <a href="http://booklikes.com/thrill-me-to-death-roxanne-st-claire/book,1071386"><img src="http://booklikes.com/photo/max/100/0/upload/books/35/98/089a63859ae6ffb997a27bcf34f113f7.jpg" style="vertical-align: middle; width: 100px; min-height: 100px;" title="Thrill Me to Death - Roxanne St. Claire" alt="Thrill Me to Death - Roxanne St. Claire" /></a> </p> <div><p><strong>Thrill Me To Death -- Roxanne St. Claire</strong></p> <p><strong>Book 2 of <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Bullet Catchers</span> series</strong></p> <p><strong>2006 Release -- Pocket Books</strong></p> <p><strong>Adult, Romantic Suspense, Mystery, Bodyguards</strong></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>The second book in the <em>Bullet Catchers</em> series proves to be quite exciting with a very strong start and a set of interesting characters. It's only unfortunate that a few logic fails in the realm of bodyguard-landia makes some of the eleventh hour plot a little hard to accept.<br /><br />Also, the concluding mystery of billionaire William Peyton's death was explained away in a too convenient, left-field sort of way and kind of didn’t really make much sense.<br /><br />Nonetheless, the excitement of the investigation and some other weird suspense stuff kept me hooked, even if some aspects were a little irksome to me (more on this later).<br /><br /><br /><strong>The Story:</strong><br />Bullet Catcher Max Roper has been assigned to protect billionaire widow Corinne Peyton. Being the Bullet Catcher boss and manipulative fearless leader that she is, Lucy Sharpe has reasons for everything she does and this assignment isn't merely a bodyguard and security detail task.<br /><br />Corinne Peyton was formerly Cori Cooper, Max's ex-lover and ex-fiancé until a DEA mission went awry and Cori's father died in the line of fire. For this, Cori blames Max and the two have been split up since.<br /><br />Now, Max's mission is not only to provide security to the billionairess, but at the behest of the insurance company, to investigate whether or not Cori had a hand in her husband's death. After all, a young, beautiful, and smart woman would have never willingly married a much older, sixty-something year old billionaire if not because of his money and his status… right? And so the sudden heart attack that killed William Peyton may or may not be suspect.<br /><br />On the other hand, Cori already suspects that William didn't die of a natural heart attack, but she doesn't know who she can trust to help her find out who murdered her husband. And with her digging for answers as well as a suspicious attempt on her life, she believes there is something much more sinister at hand.<br /><br /><br /><strong>Brief Thoughts:</strong><br />The story starts out very strong and I was hooked by the mystery. While the story tries to create a plausibility that Cori is hiding a terrible secret, that maybe she is the one who murdered her husband, the attempts are only half-baked and we, as the readers, know that she is obviously NOT the one who killed her own husband for money or power or whatever else. So I give the book kudos for making me wonder what it was that Cori was hiding from everyone about her husband’s death since she was obviously keeping secrets; however, I frown at its attempt to paint Cori in the greedy, manipulative murderess light while giving caveats to her personality as a good person.<br /><br />The romance was okay, though I liked the friendship and romantic tension flitting between Max and Cori. It wasn’t the best romance in the world, but it worked just fine. The side characters had their fair share of unique intrigue as well, which made for a really good "Whodunnit".<br /><br />Unfortunately, as I'd already mentioned, there were logic fails that I had a hard time accepting. The conclusion of the billionaire's death was a bit left-field, for one.<br /><br />But the biggest problem I had was between Cori being determined to get herself killed in typical TSTL fashion, and Max not doing his job to keep her from getting herself killed. For all the crap that Max gives Alex Romero in the first book about doing his job properly, I honestly feel like Max really screws up as a bodyguard and at least Alex didn’t consistently make bad decisions that would keep putting his principal in danger just because he couldn’t handle his own personal emotions or the sexual tension.<br /><br />Sure, Max would make an excellent investigator--he was a former DEA agent after all. But as a bodyguard, his job is to keep his principal safe, not chase after bad guys or go off doing his own investigation. A bodyguard is pretty much <em>ON</em> his client like white on rice, especially when you <em>know</em> that her life is being threatened. It probably doesn’t help that Cori kept sending him away when she was the one who requested a bodyguard in the first place, but more than once, Max goes off to investigate William Peyton's murder, leaving Cori completely unprotected, and I really don't think that's okay.<br /><br />The romance between Max and Cori was lukewarm and their chemistry as lovers left much to be desired. Their chemistry as friends with an underlying sexual tension, however, was actually pretty damn good.<br /><br /><br /><strong>Overall Thoughts:</strong> <em>Thrill Me To Death</em> does require a little bit of leeway in suspension of disbelief to be acceptable. However, once you get past the frustrating logic fails, the rest of the story really isn't all that bad and actually extremely entertaining, exciting, and enjoyable.<br /><br />I was looking forward to reading Max’s <em>Bullet Catcher</em> Romantic Suspense, but it turned out that it wasn’t really what I’d been hoping for.<br /><br />HOWEVER, we’ve been introduced to two new Bullet Catchers who have caught my attention and THAT is definitely a good way to keep me attentive! </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p></div> <p> <strong>Original post:</strong> <a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1141886/brief-thoughts-thrill-me-to-death">anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1141886/brief-thoughts-thrill-me-to-death</a> </p> anicheunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04354599944470683233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304886105344701928.post-29372304971599224572015-04-09T15:10:00.001-05:002015-04-09T15:10:54.821-05:00Thoughts: Kill Me Twice<style> .set-middle { vertical-align: middle; } </style> <p> <strong>Review:</strong> <img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_a.png" /><img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_a.png" /><img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_a.png" /><img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_h.png" /><img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_i.png" /></p> <p> <a href="http://booklikes.com/kill-me-twice-roxanne-st-claire/book,12970423"><img src="http://booklikes.com/photo/max/100/0/upload/books/e/1/e19f2ccd43c6f1d21d3198e957fa1ab3.jpg" style="vertical-align: middle; width: 100px; min-height: 100px;" title="Kill Me Twice - Roxanne St. Claire" alt="Kill Me Twice - Roxanne St. Claire" /></a> </p> <div><p><strong>Kill Me Twice -- Roxanne St. Claire</strong></p> <p><strong>Book 1 of <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Bullet Catchers</span> series</strong></p> <p><strong>2005 Release -- Pocket Books</strong></p> <p><strong>Adult, Romantic Suspense, Mystery, Bodyguards</strong></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>As the first book in Roxanne St. Claire's <em>Bullet Catchers</em> series, <em>Kill Me Twice</em> was decently enjoyable, entertaining, and exciting. It's not the most outstanding Romantic Suspense I've ever read, but it does involve a clichéd trope that I've always had a soft spot for as well as a decidedly nice spin to make said trope more fun.<br /><br />And since the entire series pretty much hinges on this particular trope--Bodyguards in a Romantic Suspense--I’ve been very much looking forward to this series for some time now.<br /><br /><br /><strong>The Story:</strong><br />Alex Romero is one of Lucy Sharpe's best Bullet Catchers (aren't they all) who is actually on probation from a slightly messy screw-up trickling in from a previous mission. Apparently, Pretty Boy Romero has a problem keeping his passionate charms to himself when guarding the clients (of which they term “principal”), and brings on the flirt and the seduction in waves. Not that he does anything to keep himself from falling for seductions, really, according to all his fellow Bullet Catchers, but it’s not like he goes into the mission <em>trying</em> to seduce his clients… or their wives. <br /><br />But that's a moot point because now Alex has been sent on his new mission to babysit a top news anchor at the request of a friend of Lucy's--kind of like a chance to redeem himself. Eager to get his messy reputation behind him, Alex agrees to be the bodyguard for one Jessica Adams who has recently seen a string of nasty stalker letters that her boss doesn't think she's taking seriously.<br /><br />Of course, being a Romantic Suspense, it would be totally obvious that Jessica Adams is pretty much a gorgeous, refined woman with the body of a supermodel. I think it’s safe to say that Alex is not amused with this “test” his boss is giving him. After all, it’s not like he doesn’t know how to appreciate a beautiful and sexy woman, right?<br /><br />Jasmine Adams is a private investigator who was once in the news, media, and journalism field some time ago. But the spotlight and the politics of public television never sat well for her and so she took up a less attention-grabbing job--and to her a more satisfying career--as a PI. Always feeling like the needy, helpless younger twin sister to successful and ambitious Jessica Adams who has her entire life together, Jazz practically jumps at the chance to help her twin out when Jessica sends her a request.<br /><br />The idea is that Jasmine needs to fall off the grid for some time in order to follow a big, network-breaking story, but no one is to know that she's gone. Jasmine's role, as the identical twin sister, is to pretend to be Jessica for about a week until she's done.<br /><br />Except when Jasmine arrives at her sister's home, Jessica seems to be nowhere to be found. Instead, Jazz must work with her twin sister's new bodyguard as they begin to uncover some sinister plot that Jessica managed to stumble into, leading Jasmine further and further into dangerous territory.<br /><br /><br /><strong>Some Thoughts:</strong><br />As I had already stated, <em>Kill Me Twice</em> isn't the most outstanding Romantic Suspense in the world, but it was definitely exciting (to an extent), entertaining, and enjoyable. There were moments when things felt a little flat and mediocre, but I take that as part of the whole "Getting to Know You” dance that we get to play with the usual “First Book in a Series”. If I continue to enjoy the rest of the series (which I have every intention of continuing), I might feel a little different about this book a couple weeks down the line.<br /><br />For its part, <em>Kill Me Twice</em> introduces, quite smoothly and tactfully, a group of interesting characters in the Bullet Catcher's organization. Lucy Sharpe is ex-CIA and manages the Bullet Catchers as their fearless leader--she comes off cold and calculating, but deep down, it seems that she truly DOES care about her little Bullet Catcher family… even though she is one hundred percent willing to manipulate her own people to get results. The names of other agents are also dropped along with interesting descriptions and their own unique personalities: Dan Gallagher and Max Roper, as well as a female Bullet Catcher named Raquel who hasn’t yet graduated outside of deskwork, but who is described as a genius with a computer. I suspect we will see more of these characters soon as I flip through the rest of the series' books' summary blurbs in curiosity.<br /><br />Alex Romero is the typical alpha male with a hot-head and a no-nonsense attitude when it comes to his job, but with a suave and charming personality that women fall head-over-heels in love with--though I must say, I’ve never really been much taken with the whole “sexy Latin lover” thing myself. Some of his antics come off a bit cheesy to me, but I can see the appeal for lots of other women. And so to make his job harder, he's apparently also got a pretty face and a very active libido (refer to the messy previous mission wherein a problem with seduction happened). Enter Jasmine Adams who is not only NOT the woman he's supposed to be guarding, but also a woman who is fiercely independent with the ability to take care of herself just fine, thank you very much, and Alex pretty much has his hands full.<br /><br />While Alex didn't necessarily stand out too much, he was also a pretty good equal to Jazz. However, it truly is Jasmine that stood out for me despite having unfortunate TSTL moments where she just needed to admit that there are other options besides walking right into danger when she knew it was there. Other times, however, I DO agree that Alex's overbearing intimidation got a little paranoid and out of hand. But otherwise, I liked that Jazz was a competent investigator with great computer skills and the ability to kick some butt when it's necessary.<br /><br />And I liked that Alex admitted and respected that about her and stopped trying to get all manhandle-y (yes, I know that's not a word) with her. Which brings us to the Romance part of the story, which I thought was done quite well, if you can see past the end-hour unnecessary angst. The insta-lust was strong, but the romance didn't overpower the rest of the book's storyline and it didn't get in the way of our main couple's ability to get things done. <br /><br />The relationship's chemistry was pretty good, but I'm more satisfied with the equal-opportunity partnership between our lovebirds as they worked together investigating Jessica's strange disappearance than I was with their abilities to romance each other.<br /><br /><br /><strong>Overall Thoughts:</strong> <em>Kill Me Twice</em> definitely DID impress as a first book in a series. At least it was exciting enough with intriguing enough characters to lure me into continuing on with the rest of the books. If the rest of the <em>Bullet Catchers</em> series has the same vein of spunky heroines and respectable alpha heroes, then I'm totally game.<br /><br />I certainly became interested to see what kind of woman it takes to turn the straight-laced, rule-following Max Roper into putty. </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>***</p> <p> </p> <p>This book is a pre-chosen participant in the following Reading Challenge:</p> <p><a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1059330/2015-reading-assignment-challenge" target="_blank">2015 Reading Assignment Challenge</a> hosted by <a href="http://www.becausereading.com/" target="_blank">Because Reading</a> and <a href="http://fantasyismorefun.com/" target="_blank">Fantasy is More Fun</a></p> <p> </p></div> <p> <strong>Original post:</strong> <a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1141876/thoughts-kill-me-twice">anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1141876/thoughts-kill-me-twice</a> </p> anicheunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04354599944470683233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304886105344701928.post-66800028043518480122015-04-08T15:00:00.001-05:002015-04-08T15:00:55.576-05:00Thoughts: Legend<style> .set-middle { vertical-align: middle; } </style> <p> <strong>Review:</strong> <img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_a.png" /><img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_a.png" /><img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_a.png" /><img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_a.png" /><img class="set-middle" src="http://booklikes.com/include/template/www/img/star_i.png" /></p> <p> <a href="http://booklikes.com/legend-marie-lu/book,6610392"><img src="http://booklikes.com/photo/max/100/0/upload/books/3/c/3c3afdb60238a68e918ca1f1a5a01ae7.jpg" style="vertical-align: middle; width: 100px; min-height: 100px;" title="Legend - Marie Lu" alt="Legend - Marie Lu" /></a> </p> <div><p><strong>Legend -- Marie Lu</strong></p> <p><strong>Book 1 of <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Legend</span></strong></p> <p><strong>2011 Release -- Putnum Juvenile</strong></p> <p><strong>Young Adult, Dystopian, Science Fiction, Romance</strong></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>I had been swaying back and forth between a <strong>4 Star</strong> rating and a <strong>3.5 Star</strong> rating--which, now that I think about it, is a fairly stupid battle. Because I can’t deny the fact that <em>Legend</em> was definitely an exciting page-turner and that I definitely, really, really enjoyed it a whole lot. It’s not a perfect book, of course, but if you can look past a few things that I wished <em>Legend</em> could have covered in more detail (world-building, world history, political aspirations), then I might have bumped the rating up a little higher.<br /><br />Which is strange considering those types of info-dumps are usually what breaks a book for me. But in this case, <em>Legend</em> started off slightly slow and I spent a good amount of time trying to figure out the history and politics of this futuristic Republic nation that used to be the far western half of the United States. And it took me some time to determine that the Republic was a nation, all on its own, rather than just an isolated region of the United States in a futuristic dystopian society.<br /><br />On top of that, the Republic is at war with the Colonies, whose origin I’m still a bit sketchy about (though I think we’ll learn more about in the next book). Then there are the Patriots whom I assume are a secret rebel group who are not so secret. I’m not quite sure I know what their origin is either. And in the end, I don’t know who’s fighting for what and why everyone’s at war, though we DO know that the entirety of the former United States lands is now a big dystopian mess.<br /><br /><br /><strong>As the Official Blurb Goes:</strong></p> <blockquote> <p><em>What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors.</em><br /><br /><em>Born into an elite family in one of the Republic’s wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic’s highest military circles.</em><br /><br /><em>Born into the slums, fifteen-year-old Day is the country’s most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem.</em><br /><br /><em>From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths -- until the day June’s brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect.</em><br /><br /><em>Caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family’s survival, while June seeks to avenge Metias’s death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths their country will go to keep its secrets.</em></p> </blockquote> <p> </p> <p><br /><strong>My Thoughts:</strong><br />Aside from the world-building being a little fuzzy, one of other few quibbles that disappointed me about <em>Legend</em> was the “ultimate game of cat and mouse” plot device between Day and June. The actual happening in the story just didn’t seem as intense and suspenseful as I would have liked for it to be.<br /><br />If anyone has ever seen the Hong Kong movie <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Running_Out_of_Time_(1999_film)" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> <em>Running Out of Time</em> </a>, <strong>THAT</strong> is definitely a <em>classic</em> “Ultimate Game of Cat and Mouse”. <br /><br />But I digress…<br /><br />I was looking forward to this, even without reading the summary blurb, when it first came up in the story itself. Without knowing who he is, June must hunt down Day and bring him to justice for her brother’s death. Without knowing that he’s being hunted, Day must continue on and find a way to save his youngest brother from the plague. I mean, there was <em>all sorts</em> of potential for this kind of plot device to spiral in in an anxious mess of suspense, excitement, angst, and <strong>FEELS</strong>.<br /><br />The game of wits that June plays while hunting down Day is clever, but it felt under-utilized. There was little suspense, and while the two realistically remained wary of one another and were able to maintain their anonymity even as they traveled together, and while both are show-cased as highly intelligent and able… the so called “cat and mouse” game actually came off a little flat.<br /><br />I would have liked to see more of that particular plot device used to build the tension and the suspense for <em>Legend</em>. The time that June and Day spend together, traveling and keeping secrets from each other, getting to know each other, just felt too short to feel too significant.<br /><br />Instead, we simply fall back on typical clichéd dystopian building blocks.<br /><br />Because the moment that June’s brother, Metias was killed--<strong>which was a surprisingly emotional vat of <strong>FEELS</strong> for me that I hadn’t expected, and which also dragged on those vat of <strong>FEELS</strong> for a good long burn for a huge chunk of the book</strong>--I already knew how the rest of the story would go down. What was left was seeing how June and Day would meet and join forces to bring down our currently corrupted, secretly evil government that everyone’s been worshipping for the past few hundred(?) years. <br /><br />The whole “cat and mouse” game just felt moot, in that sense--in contrast, the amount of time that June spends in the slums by herself (though short) seemed like it was more significant in showing June the flip-side of her beloved nation and propelling her personal character development--although, <em>that</em> part of the book could have been expanded a little bit more as well.<br /><br />These particular anecdotes were like teasers of something that could have been much more exciting.<br /><br />A few other twists included at the turning point of this story were actually good twists, even if they weren’t the gasp-worthy types of surprising.<br /><br />What worked for <em>Legend</em>, I think, was the smooth progression of the storyline that was constantly forward-moving, the little side plot devices that had immense potential if they’d been expanded upon (June’s days in the slums, the “cat and mouse” game, Metias’s discoveries about the Republic and how June puzzles them out, etc…), and the characters of Day and June--these two were definitely fleshed out and created to be as likable and relatable as possible. <br /><br />However, I can’t say the same for the rest of the characters. I loved Tess and I even loved the deceased Metias even if he barely had any scenes. But side characters and even our main “villains” seemed slightly one-dimensional and I hope that the following books will give them a little more depth.<br /><br />June was a conflict for me: I wasn’t sure whether to like her for being so capable and strong and intelligent, or to be frustrated with her for being so slow on the uptake when she was supposed to be such an intelligent and capable person. I couldn’t help but to think that either she remained in a state of denial about her beloved Republic for much too long, or she just wasn’t as smart as she was supposed to be, piecing together all those loose ends and strange pieces of the puzzle that pointed at the Republic being a pretty evil nation.<br /><br />I mean, for crying out loud, her Commanding Officer brutally executed innocent people just for protesting. I would think your faith would be shaken a bit more than simply to a state of confusion and you’d start questioning what you believed in more vehemently.<br /><br />Then again, the people were taught to believe that the Republic did everything for the greater good and everyone else were the bad guys.<br /><br /><br /><strong>Final Thoughts:</strong> <em>Legend</em> is a page turner. And despite all the faults and flaws I found myself nit-picking about, and despite the fact that neither June nor Day really stood out as outstanding characters, for some reason, I just really, really, really, wholeheartedly liked reading this book. It was entertaining, enjoyable, exciting, and I just can’t seem to find a reason why I shouldn’t really like this book, even though I’ve already pointed out a lot of little things that struck me as irksome.<br /><br />I’m strange like that, I suppose. I guess when you like something, you just like something. <em>Legend</em> had a sort of charm to it; an atmosphere of an epic dystopian adventure that could live up to its titular grandness given the right amount of hype, and maybe a few tweakings to the storyline and the world-building.<br /><br />And I’m of the absolute certainty that Marie Lu is an excellent storyteller.<br /><br /></p> <p> </p> <p>***</p> <p> </p> <p>This book is a pre-chosen participant in the following Reading Challenge:</p> <p><a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1059330/2015-reading-assignment-challenge" target="_blank">2015 Reading Assignment Challenge</a> hosted by <a href="http://www.becausereading.com/" target="_blank">Because Reading</a> and <a href="http://fantasyismorefun.com/" target="_blank">Fantasy is More Fun</a></p> <p> </p></div> <p> <strong>Original post:</strong> <a href="http://anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1141872/thoughts-legend">anitactruong.booklikes.com/post/1141872/thoughts-legend</a> </p> anicheunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04354599944470683233noreply@blogger.com0