Wild Man Review

What did I think of...

Wild Man by Kristen Ashley

 

Description:

She's about to walk on the wild side . . .

While filling the display case in her bakery, the bell over the door sounds and Tessa O'Hara looks up to see the man of her dreams. Within thirty seconds he asks her out for a beer. But after four months of dating, she discovers he's an undercover DEA agent-and he's investigating her possible role in her ex-husband's drug business. For Tess, this means their relationship is over.

Brock disagrees. He's committed to his anti-drug mission, but he's fallen in love with the beautiful woman who's as sweet as her cupcakes-and he'll do anything to win her back. Standing between Tess and Brock are their own exes, one of them a drug lord who's determined to get what he wants. Now as danger threatens, can Brock break the rules he's lived by and let loose his wild side to protect the woman he loves?  

 

 

 

Genre: Romantic Suspense/ Abuse/ Chick-lit/ Dirty Romance
Series: Dream Man (#2)
Published on: December 11, 2012
Pages: 528 pages
Format: Paperback
Source: Library
Average rating: 4.21 
My rating: 5 stars!

 

Gosh, Wild Man has got to be one of my favorites in the Dream Man series! From the growly, wildness of Brock Lucas, to the sweet and sugariness of Tess O'Hara's mountainous swirl, this series has always made me feel the feels, laugh and truly escape my reality and delve into the world of Dream men.

 

In case you don't know, our sweet Tessa is a baker, and owns her own bakery. Her sweets (or so I read) are absolutely to die for, and Tess has many cake rack's at home that are known for never being empty. While we're on the subject of Tess, I just have to say, that she has got to be one of the sweetest Kristen Ashley heroines of all. Of course, the book three of this series, Law Man, features Ten Point Five Mara, and she definitely gives our sweet Tess a run for her money. But, I am of the opinion, that Tess is definitely still the sweetest, and most non-confrontational.

 

 

 

Brock Lucas, is one of the more growly heroes, and also one of the most caring, as he likes for his Tess to live a Teflon coated life, and doesn't ever want her to worry about anything, or need to; she must always feel safe. Which made him all the more endearing to read.

 

 

 

You have to know, that Brock Lucas in Wild Man, is Skull, from Mystery Man. Yes, I hated him in Mystery Man, too. But, after reading this book, that anger and hate immediately evaporated!

 

Poof!

 

I know that this review was more of a character analysis, but really, for me, this book was all about the characters. But don't worry, there's plenty of action, sass, and wild hairs to go around!!

 

Highly recommended, but you do need to read the perquisite to this book, Mystery Man before you start Wild Man.

 

XOXO,

Kat

 

 

Motorcyle Man review

What did I think of...

Motorcycle Man by Kristen Ashley

 

Description:

 

Get ready to ride . . .

Tyra Masters has had enough drama to last a lifetime. Now, she's back on track and looking forward to her new, quiet life. Until she meets the man of her dreams. The tattooed, muscled biker plies her with tequila-and the best sex of her life. She knows it isn't the tequila and hot sex talking. He's the kind of man she's always wanted. Unfortunately, he's also her new boss . . .

Kane "Tack" Allen has a rule. He doesn't employ someone he's slept with. So when he learns he spent last night in bed with his new office manager, he quickly fires Tyra. Yet when Tyra stands up to him and fights for her job, Tack is intrigued. He tells her she can keep her job on one condition: no more sex. Ever. But as things heat up between them, Tack finds that he'll be the one breaking all the rules...

 

 

 

Genre: Adult Contemporary/ Romantic Suspense/ Biker/ Humor
Series: Dream Man (#4)
Published on: December 11, 2011
Pages: 489 pages
Format: Paperback
Source: Library
Average rating: 4.45 stars
My rating: 5 stars!!

Wind. Fire. Live free. Be wild. Raise hell. But stay safe. You don’t, the reaper’ll get you, one way or another.” He paused then finished, “That tat’s a reminder. Balance. Raise hell but stay safe.”

Motorcycle Man is definitely one of my favorite biker books ever... followed closely by Kristen Ashley's sister-series, Chaos, as in the Chaos MC.

Did I mention Biker Love was the best? Damn, all growly orders and general panty-melting hotness all around!

After a night of hot, tequila induced sex, Tyra, "Red", "Cherry", shows up for her new job in the morning, a secretary job at Ride, Chaos base, to find that her tequila lover, Kane "Tack" Allan, is her new boss.

“Now, you listen to me, scary biker dude,” I snapped. “I need this job. I haven’t worked in two months and I need this job. I can’t wait two more months or longer to find another job. I need to work now.” His blue eyes burned into mine in a way that felt physical but I kept right on talking. “So you’re good-looking, have great tats and a cool goatee. So you caught my eye and I caught yours. We had sex. Lots of sex. It was good. So what? That was then, this is now. We’re not going to play, not again. We’re done playing. I’m going to come in at eight, leave at five, do my job and you’re going to be my scary biker dude boss, sign my paychecks, do my performance evaluations and maybe, if you’re nice, I’ll make you coffee. Other than that, you don’t exist for me and I don’t exist for you. What we had, we had. It’s over. I’m moving on and how I’m moving on is, I’m working… this… job.”

You may have noticed all the apostrophes after Tyra's name. This is because everyone engrossed into the fold at Chaos has a nickname, or a Biker Name. Tack called Tyra "Red", because of her hair (and it's hot!!), but forbids anyone else to use the same name. So, the rest of the Brotherhood call her "Cherry".

See, after Tyra's spitfire rant (above), Tack is now interested. The night before; she was easy, she was drunk, and they had good sex. But now, Tack sees the Spitfire underneath all the innocence, and he's very interested. Especially now that she declares that sex is off the table, and she's throwing sass? Irresistible.  

Fine,” I repeated to the computer screen then went on to explain to the monitor, “Eloise didn’t have enough time to teach me the ropes. I don’t know what I’m doing. You’re going to figure that out in thirty minutes. You don’t like me. I really don’t like you,” just my eyes slid to him, “so, fine. I’ll finish out the day and then you won’t see me again.”
Tack’s brows went up. “You slap me with attitude twice for this job and then you give in, easy as that?”
“I’m not going to work in a place where I can’t eat donuts,” I informed him, looked back at the computer screen and started tapping away. “You crossed the line with that one. So, yeah, easy as that.”
Then I took another sip of coffee.
“I thought you needed this job,” Tack said.
“I’ll find another job where I can wear my fabulous pink sling backs without putting up with annoying, unnecessary, scary biker dude hassle.”
“So, you’re sayin’, you get in my face about keeping this job and then you give in ‘cause you can’t wear sex kitten shoes and eat donuts?”
My eyes moved back to him. “Yeah, handsome, that’s what I’m saying.”
...Then he forbids her to quit, tearing up her Resignation Letter and her Notice everytime she tries to hand it in. But that's not all there is to the story...

Three words: The Russian Mob.

Sometimes it happens in weird ways that included fights, blood, drunkenness, kidnappings and pregnancies.
But dreams do come true.

 

XOXO,

Kat

 

 

Black Rainbow

Black Rainbow

by JJ. McAoy

 

Is it bad that I read this book awhile and just noticed that I haven't reviewed it yet? Alas, it is far to late to write a dependable review on this book, but I do highly recommend it! I enjoyed the hell out of it, and read it as fast as I can.

 

For those of you know me, you know I adore the student-professor love story trope, and this one was no different, and even better. Because that wasn't even the main, or second conflict! I also adore the Lawyer books, even in the form of The Pact by Jodi Piccoult. But this book was really awesome, and I highly recommend it!!

 

Here's the link to this steamy, New Adult Romantic Suspense novel!

 

 

XOXO,

Kat

 



Alpha Review

What did I think of...

Alpha by Jasinda Wilder

Description:
The first time it happened, it seemed like an impossible miracle. Bills were piling up, adding up to more money than I could ever make. Mom's hospital bills. My baby brother's tuition. My tuition. Rent. Electricity. All of it on my shoulders. And I had just lost my job. There was no hope, no money in my account, no work to be found. And then, just when I thought all hope was lost, I found an envelope in the mail. No return address. My name on the front, my address. Inside was a check, made out to me, in the amount of ten thousand dollars. Enough to pay the bills and leave me some left over to live on until I found a job. Enough to let me focus on classes. There was no name on the check, just "VRI Inc.," and a post office box address for somewhere in the city. No hint of identity or reason for the check or anything. No mention of repayment, interest, nothing…except a single word, on the notes line: "You." Just those three letters.

If you receive a mysterious check, for enough money to erase all your worries, would you cash it?

I did.

The next month, I received another check, again from VRI Incorporated. It too contained a single word: "belong."

A third check, the next month. This time, two words. Four letters. "To me."

The checks kept coming. The notes stopped. Ten thousand dollars, every month. A girl gets used to that, real quick. It let me pay the bills without going into debt. Let me keep my baby brother in school and Mom's hospice care paid for. How do you turn down what seems like free money, when you're desperate? You don't. I didn't.

And then, after a year, there was a knock on my door. A sleek black limousine sat on the curb in front of my house. A driver stood in front of me, and he spoke six words: "It's time to pay your debt."

Would you have gotten in?

I did.

It turns out $120,000 doesn't come free.

Genre: Erotic Romance/ Contemporary Romance
Series: Alpha
Published on: April 29, 2014
Pages: 450 pages
Format: Kindle ebook
Source: Amazon Kindle
Average rating: 3.7 stars
My rating: 2.5 stars

Wow, that description from above sounds juicy doesn't it? I though so, too. When I saw this on the Kindle Deals on BookBub for free, I was absolutely thrilled that I was able to get my dominant kink fetish in for free... but it was better than that. The description... mm-mmm. I get shivers just reading the description... which usually heralds very good things!

 I immediately started reading, causing the avalanche of a traffic jam in my Goodreads account when I was reading three books. Doesn't that gif above just make you want to smile? It has more truth to it than I care to admit, and not just with this book...

However, once I started sporadically reading this, bouncing around between three + books... reality slowly sank in. Our main character, Kyrie, was a source of constant frustration. I can put up with a lot from my characters. Fucked up, whacked thinking; twisting shit in their heads; refusing to see what's right in front of them; foolishness; blind faith; almost anything.

Except, total naïveness. Is that how you spell it? Naïvness? Naïve-ness? Whatever. Anyway, Kyrie knew she was being impractical, and fell in love with a guy, blindfolded, having never seen him, without knowing his name, the color of his eyes, whether he was 80, 12, or 36.

Kyrie, also, had these loooong stretches of contemplation, and explanations of her actions and thoughts. This, I know, was the writer's fault, not the characters, but this caused skimming.

I've only read one other book by this author, Stripped. It, much like this book, was very entertaining, but entirely impractical and frustrating. Jasinda Wilder seems to have a gift. She writes shitty books with interesting plots... and manages to have the reader coming away with a smile, and uplifted mood, and positive thoughts on the book.

I almost didn't rate this book due to my indecision, but when in doubt, talk rant it out with others who understand. Literally, this is the life of a bookworm.

I can't say if I recommend or not, but I will tell you that there was a complete sex overload, was very smutty, leading to uncomfortable reading ;), but I still enjoyed it, despite it's crappiness.

Yes, I think I'm mad too.

XOXO,
Kat

Golden Dynasty Review

What did I think of...

The Golden Dynasty by Kristen Ashley

 

Description: Circe Quinn goes to sleep at home and wakes up in a corral filled with women wearing sacrificial virgin attire - and she is one of them. She soon finds out that she’s not having a wild dream, she’s living a frightening nightmare where she’s been transported to a barren land populated by a primitive people and in short order, she’s installed very unwillingly on her white throne of horns as their Queen.

Dax Lahn is the king of Suh Tunak, The Horde of the nation of Korwahk and with one look at Circe, he knows she will be his bride and together they will start The Golden Dynasty of legend.

Circe and Lahn are separated by language, culture and the small fact she’s from a parallel universe and has no idea how she got there or how to get home. But facing challenge after challenge, Circe finds her footing as Queen of the brutal Korwahk Horde and wife to its King, then she makes friends then she finds herself falling in love with this primitive land, its people and especially their savage leader.

 

 

Genre: High Fantasy/ Magic/ Paranormal romance/ Adult/ Supernatural/ ** Romance/
Series: Fantasyland

Published on: August 22nd, 2011

Pages: 485 pages

Format: ebook- Kindle

Source: Amazon Kindle

Average rating: 4.5 stars
My rating: 5 stars

 

Golden Dynasty was pure gold. Yes, I'm saying that because of the title, but I'm also saying it because its true. The writing, as usual, was so smooth, and so real, and so raw, enabling me to feel this book deep. \

 

Golden Dynasty had a lot of themes that I, and fellow readers, I'm sure, will struggle with. Such as men holding power over their women, rape, and other culturally and morally offensive themes.

 

When reading this book, you do have to remember that the culture of this book, Korwahk, is totally different in all ways and is meant to be more primal and animalistic, and in some ways, it made this book infinitely sweeter, and raw.

 

I'm writing this review some two weeks after I read the book, and I'm still having trouble getting my thoughts together, (and remembering things I wanted to say), but all I can really tell you with this one, is it is totally worth it. This is one of those books that you just delve into, neglect the world, and don't come up for air until its done (or your bladder demands you to). Some readers, I know, struggled with some of the context, but I was not one of those. I think some people need to remember, that these contexts are part of the book, and you and the character's struggle with them is the whole point of the story!!

 

This is definitely one of those magical Kristen Ashley reads, that I just can't even articulate how amazing it was...

 

I leave you with a few quotes from the book! Enjoy and read it tomorrow!

 

 This is my Circe by the way!! ;)

 

 

 

 

 

XOXO,

Kat 

 

 

Short Story Erotica Reviews

Short Story Erotica Reviews

 

Hey guys, due to my impromptu holiday that I took this last month, I've been reviewing in bundles. For this post, I will be reviewing all of the short story erotica reviews that I never reviewed this past month, leaving me uncomfortably aroused ;)

Enjoy

 

Orgasmic Anthology

This book, was probably the most interesting of the bunch, which is what I start with. It sprung from a delicious idea- a book that explores every type of orgasm! Not read as a theology paper, instead a series of short, sexual encounters, it was very interesting and filled this dirty mind with dirty ideas.  

 

Goodreads Link: Read about this book!

 

Roid Rage by Alice May Ball

This book, I read based on curiosity. Turns out, it was a complete sex-novel. Belle's boyfriend abandoned her, so she takes up a Biker's proposition to service them at their clubhouse in the middle of the desert, and then about what happens. It's not there wasn't any other choices! But, shocker!, she finds she enjoys her new job!  

 

Goodreads Link: Read about this book! 

 

Owning his Bride by Sue Lyndon

Disclaimer: I know how this sounds, but Owning his Bride is actually a science-fiction novel. Our heroine is a prisoner on a planet for a crime she didn't commit and the warden of the prison beats her (lots)! When a warden or guard completes five years serving at the prison, they are rewarded with large sums of money, and they get to choose a female from the prison to be his wife. This wife would have no rights and the male could do whatever he chooses to this prisoner. Our heroine, Becca, is terrified that the Warden will choose her after his month is up, and he would, but our hero, Hunter, chooses her instead. This a romance, not a macho "I own you", but there is lots of spanking for disobedience, and a doctor's examination based mostly on sexual preferences to see if she was a good choice for our guard. This a hot, hot, hot short story romance, with not great writing.  

 

Goodreads Link: Read about this book!  

 

Huddle: Sex with Sporty Queers Anthology

This book was entirely guy-on-guy, and some of them were just strange, however there were one or two that were fairly enticing to read....  

 

Goodreads Link: Read about this book! 

 

 

XOXO,

Kat 

 

 

Huntress of Thornbeck Forest ARC Review

What did I think of...

Huntress of Thornbeck Forest by Melanie Dickerson

 

Description:

 

"Swan Lake" meets Robin Hood when the beautiful daughter of a wealthy merchant by day becomes the region's most notorious poacher by night, and falls in love with the forester.

Jorgen is the forester for the wealthy margrave, and must find and capture the poacher who has been killing and stealing the margrave's game. When he meets the lovely and refined Odette at the festival and shares a connection during a dance, he has no idea she is the one who has been poaching the margrave's game.

Odette justifies her crime of poaching because she thinks the game is going to feed the poor, who are all but starving, both in the city and just outside its walls. But will the discovery of a local poaching ring reveal a terrible secret? Has the meat she thought she was providing for the poor actually been sold on the black market, profiting no one except the ring of black market sellers?

The one person Odette knows can help her could also find out her own secret and turn her over to the margrave, but she has no choice. Jorgen and Odette will band together to stop the dangerous poaching ring . . . and fall in love. But what will the margrave do when he discovers his forester is protecting a notorious poacher?

 

Genre: Hic-fic, Romance, Fairy Tale Retellings, Christian Fiction
Series: Medieval Fairy Tale Romance
Published on: May 12th, 2015
Pages: 320 pages
Format: Digital ebook -Kindle
Source: NetGalley
Average rating: 4.03 stars
My rating: 4 stars

I've read every single one of Melanie Dickerson's works (at least I think so), and even though I don't always agree with the ways of the time period she writes (my feminism was screaming at me the entire book), and I don't like reading Christian Fiction, I've always enjoyed the stories she spins, and her writing never fails to capture one's attention.

Melanie Dickerson retells Fairy Tells in such a realistic and rustic way, that you can't help but be captivated. I never read Christian Fiction, and a Historical Fiction book is a rarity to see on my shelves, but Melanie Dickerson never fails to disappoint on neither her stories, her characters or her writing!

There's a reason Dickerson continues to be one of the most preferred voices in retellings, and her books, well-placed in their time period, each offer a both unique and historically accurate glimpse of a time undiscovered by her intended audience. Challenges woven throughout the piece force deeper thought and introspection through subtle weaving rather than italicized prayers. Dickerson has found a strong audience with her young adults, but are equally gobbled up by adults.

The Huntress of Thornbeck Forest was a somewhat more mature read that allows itself to unwind slowly, and ponderously, focusing on different, yet equitable strengths of a remarkable young woman, consumed by the need to help the poor, and a very loyal and honorable male lead that I just gobbled up!

Medieval romance with cross-dressing heroines is Kat catnip, as a tale that praises the virtues of women outside of their traditional roles at the time. Dickerson plays to her greatest strengths in this novel, and results in a well-realized tapestry of a world so extraordinarily different from our own, yet contemporary in its questions of faith, identity and finding God outside human expectation.

This read, while well outside my usual preference, had me absolutely captivated from the beginning.

XOXO,
Kat

 

 



World After ARC Review

What did I think...

World After by Susan Ee

 

 

Description:

In this sequel to the bestselling fantasy thriller, Angelfall, the survivors of the angel apocalypse begin to scrape back together what's left of the modern world.

When a group of people capture Penryn's sister Paige, thinking she's a monster, the situation ends in a massacre. Paige disappears. Humans are terrified. Mom is heartbroken.

Penryn drives through the streets of San Francisco looking for Paige. Why are the streets so empty? Where is everybody? Her search leads her into the heart of the angels' secret plans where she catches a glimpse of their motivations, and learns the horrifying extent to which the angels are willing to go.

Meanwhile, Raffe hunts for his wings. Without them, he can't rejoin the angels, can't take his rightful place as one of their leaders. When faced with recapturing his wings or helping Penryn survive, which will he choose?

 

 

 

Genre: Science Fiction
Series: Penryn and the End of Days
Published on: November 21st, 2013
Pages: 438 pages
Format: Digital copy (PDF) - Kindle
Source: NetGalley
Average rating: 4.28 stars
My rating: 4.6 stars

I have to admit, I read World After forever ago (like a couple of weeks) and totally spaced on a review for it, but I'll do the best I can.

This is the second time I've read this book. Once last year from the library, and once now, as an ARC. Backwards, I know.

For my characters, I have a serious thing with names. They really have to fit the character. I almost never read books with "Emma's" or "Sarah's" because those names are very common, much like my own name. Of which I shorted to a rebellious and mysterious "Kat". Yes I am kidding. -ish.

 

Back to the conversation at hand. Raphael is a name I never thought I could get with. Good thing he went by Raffe, because it totally worked for me.

 

Raffe totally unbelievably worked for me. He was perfectly written, full of flaws. At the beginning, haughty and condescending, angry and hurting. Then he got caring, Penryn before himself... and it was really beautiful to watch the transition, watch him fall in love with a Daughter of Man, though.

 

Penryn was my favorite kind of character. She was proud, stubborn and strong, and has a bleeding heart. All she wanted was her sister back, and she was willing to do anything, sacrifice everything to get her back, until she realizes the one person she can't sacrifice is the one she needs to... Raffe.

 

Penryn's mother was a joy to read about. She was completely insane and maniacal. She totally is completely duped in the brain, but was still a joy to read, I enjoyed the hell out of reading about her, even if she was completely fucked in the brain.

 

I was completely hooked by the writing, the characters and the plotline... and I can't wait to read The End of Days .... which came out yesterday !!!

XOXO,
Kat

Lion Heart ARC Review

What did I think of...

Lady Thief by A.C. Gaughen

Description:

The eagerly-awaited conclusion to the Scarlet trilogy delivers another action-packed
and romance-filled adventure.

 

Scarlet has captured the hearts of readers as well as the heart of Robin Hood, and after ceaseless obstacles and countless threats, readers will finally find out the fate of the Lady Thief.

Imprisoned by Prince John for months, Scarlet finds herself a long way from Nottinghamshire. After a daring escape from the Prince's clutches, she learns that King Richard’s life is in jeopardy, and Eleanor of Aquitaine demands a service Scarlet can’t refuse: spy for her and help bring Richard home safe. But fate—and her heart—won’t allow her to stay away from Nottinghamshire for long, and together, Scarlet and Rob must stop Prince John from going through with his dark plans for England. They can not rest until he’s stopped, but will their love be enough to save them once and for all?

 

 



Genre: Historical Romance/ Adventure/ Fairy Tale retelling/ YA
Series: Scarlet
Published on: May 19th, 2015
Pages: 348 pages
Format: Digital Copy- Kindle
Source: NetGalley
Average rating: 4.28 stars
My rating: 2 stars

I first read Scarlet about 6 months to a year ago, and immediately fell in love. But, when I started Lady Thief, I was disappointed, and DNF at 70%. It wasn't bad, it just... stalled for me. Then a better book came along, and I switched. It wasn't so much of a "I'm not reading this anymore" as a, "I'll pick it back up later". When I saw Lion Heart was on NetGalley, I was thrilled! Because I was still in love with the heart of the story, the one in Scarlet, and hoped that Lion Heart would have gained some of that spark... but it didn't, and today, I officially marked this, too, a DNF, albeit reluctantly.
Don't mistake me for saying the book wasn't bad, because it wasn't. The story just, couldn't capture my attention, and couldn't hold me down to the pages like so many others- and the first book- have done.

I was SUPER disappointed when, at the beginning, Scarlet turned into a lady. I don't mean that she was treated as such because her secret was out, I mean this as her thoughts and her actions were all defeated and broken, and as such she was treated like such, let others defend her. There's a difference between being weak from imprisonment, and being broken and dispirited.
This ruined the book for me, and I couldn't get past it.

Some of you might get past it, recognize it as the landmark on the journey that it was, but that person was not me.

XOXO,
Kat

Outside the Ropes ARC Review

What did I think...

Outside the Ropes by Ashley Claudy

 

Description:

 

In the ring, Regan has control. Outside the ropes, she fights to survive.

Regan Sommers spent her life fighting. Fighting foster parents, kids in the group home, and classmates. But the night she has to fight for her life changes everything.

Now, she's fighting for money in the ring, and from the first punch she's addicted. Every addiction has a price though, and this one is the gym's star boxer, Gage Lawson. He may come in an enticing tattooed package, but his demands are more than she can handle.

The responding officer from that night, Anthony Fields, comes with no demands. He wants whatever she's willing to give, and Regan can handle that. She can definitely handle him.

But no help comes string free, and Regan's not the only one with a hard past and scars to cover. The life she was trying to escape is nothing compared to the danger she's in the middle of now, and she can't fight her way out.

***Reader please be aware: Story contains mature content such as: Drugs, sex, abuse, and explicit language that may be upsetting for some.****  

 



Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Outside the Ropes
Published on: January 1st, 2015
Pages: 438 pages
Format: ebook, Digital PDF
Source: NetGalley
Average rating: 4.13
My rating: 1.5 stars

This is going to be a short one...

I'm going to start by saying that I did not enjoy Outside the Ropes in the least, and after two weeks of forcing myself to pick it up, only to set in back down in favor of actually doing work (I know, it says a lot, doesn't it?), I will officially mark it as a DNF.

The description sounded very interesting, but even after I clicked the "Request" button of NetGalley's, I started second guessing myself.

The main reason I didn't like the book: The writing.

The writing in a story is everything. I've read books where the plot wasn't very good, but the writing was amazing, and I still thoroughly enjoyed the book because the writing was making me laugh my ass off  *cough* Charley Davidson *cough*.

The writing in this was just very... flimsy and non-genuine. Instead of being immersed into the story, I felt like I was staring at a drawing of a rectangle and being told it was a cube.

 

The Characters are a different story. I've never read anything from this author before, so I have nothing to compare it to, and I don't know if she procrastinated until two days before the deadline to write the parts of these books, but I felt the authors desperation for the writing and the characters big time.

 

The characters seemed very superficial, in the way of personality, and the "passion" (or lack thereof) between Gage and Regan just seemed very surface an overdramatized, not to mention how tired reading about them made me. Gage, as both a character and a lover, was very disappointing. Miss Claudy tried very hard to make him this solid, unmovable force of closed-offness, to make him seem like the biggest jackass ever and made him the "cute off from the world by his own making" kind of guy. Yes, you know the type; very cliché. Sometimes this works, and sometimes it doesn't. This didn't. Unfortunately, her efforts were very obvious in the writing and instead of trying to develop her characters as people, she wrote them as puppets. Gage just sounded and looked so ridiculous in reading and mind, that I'm almost embarrassed to admit that anytime he opened is mouth, my eyes were rolling- rotten teenager style. I have to admit, when I started this book, I was worried about Regan. The really strong, fighter chicks are often over-written and very unenjoyable... which is exactly what happened. She tried so hard to make Regan this strong, surviving person that she came across to me (on the "inside) as impetuous, needy and fake, which was very much unenjoyable.

 

I also like to be able to differentiate between my characters... but Regan and Gage were so similar... that I could never picture them together, doing anything but maybe having sex... even when scenes were written where they were doing other things, which is never good.

 

Bottom line, I didn't even pay much attention to the content here because the writing makes of break a book... and I'm afraid this book is pretty broken.

 

XOXO,

Kat

Crown of Midnight Review

What did I think...

Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas

 



Description:  

"A line that should never be crossed is about to be breached.
It puts this entire castle in jeopardy—and the life of your friend."

From the throne of glass rules a king with a fist of iron and a soul as black as pitch. Assassin Celaena Sardothien won a brutal contest to become his Champion. Yet Celaena is far from loyal to the crown. She hides her secret vigilantly; she knows that the man she serves is bent on evil.

Keeping up the deadly charade becomes increasingly difficult when Celaena realizes she is not the only one seeking justice. As she tries to untangle the mysteries buried deep within the glass castle, her closest relationships suffer. It seems no one is above questioning her allegiances—not the Crown Prince Dorian; not Chaol, the Captain of the Guard; not even her best friend, Nehemia, a foreign princess with a rebel heart.

Then one terrible night, the secrets they have all been keeping lead to an unspeakable tragedy. As Celaena's world shatters, she will be forced to give up the very thing most precious to her and decide once and for all where her true loyalties lie...and whom she is ultimately willing to fight for.

 



Genre: High fantasy
Series: Throne of Glass
Published on: August 27th, 2013
Pages: 418 pages
Format: ebook- Kindle
Source: Amazon
Average rating: 4.5 stars
My rating: 5 stars

Genre's:

 

 

This is the second time I've read Crown of Midnight, and it was almost as good as the first time, now that that "big twist" has already been revealed. 



In Crown of Midnight, Celaena Sardothien, Adarlan's resident Assassin and King's Champion, is serving the King's wishes, by offing his competition, but in her own way.
After dealing with the evil in the castle with Cain from Throne of Glass, something new and far worse comes to light... the king's plans and Celaena's deepest secrets are revealed... and someone close to her heart leaves Celaena forever, and the True, Darkest part of Celaena Sardothien is revealed. Through saving the kingdom, herself and the people from the King's plans.

 

Celaena Sardothien is probably one of my favorite character's I've ever read. She's so complex in her layers, such a contradiction and made more real in her flaws and emotions than any other I've read. Sarah J. Maas truly knew what she was doing writing Celaena, and must have uncanny knowledge of how people's brain think, what makes humans be humans.

There was the slightest attempt at a love triangle in the first book, Throne of Glass, but here, in Crown of Midnight, and I say slightest because you could tell romance was definitely on the back burner, there. Here, it was a little different (you'll have to read it, hehehe!). Chaol, the rugged, capable Captain of the Guard, of which Celaena feels inexplicit feelings for. Prince Dorian, the Crown Prince, and a Havillard, one of the name Calaena despises most, yet feels drawn to, nonetheless.

 

Did I mention I'm totally Team Chaol... with Dorian as the best friend.

 

I've never read a series quite like Throne of Glass, and now that I'm reading it for a second time, I agree even more adamantly.

 

This is how serious I am: I would trade Throne of Glass/Crown of Midnight/Heir of Fire for a Kristen Ashley book, any day.

Yes. I said it. I know. I might cry, too. Because I never thought the day would come.

 

 

Highly recommended!

 

XOXO,

Kat