Category Archives: 2 Flames

NUMBERS
Author: Rachel Ward
Source: Publisher
* I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review*

Reading level: Young Adult
Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: The Chicken House; Reprint edition (February 1, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0545143004
ISBN-13: 978-0545143004

SUMMARY:

Ever since the day her mother died, Jem has known about the numbers. Numbers that pop into her head when she looks into someone’s eyes. They’re dates, the numbers. Dates predicting with brute accuracy each person’s death. Burdened by such horrible knowledge, Jem avoids relationships. Until she meets Spider, another outsider, and takes a chance. Maybe they can find happiness together, if only in the brief time that remains before his expiration date. But on a trip to London, Jem foresees a chilling chain of events: The city’s a target. The clock’s running out. The countdown is on to a blowup!

MY THOUGHTS:

Jem’s mother died from a drug overdose when Jem was little.  After her death, Jem was forced to live in foster homes.  She has not only had a hard life, but she also has a hard time dealing with the fact that she can look at a person and see the date of their death in her mind.  Spider has also had a rough life, but he tries to be a little more upbeat about it.  


When Jem and Spider are in London, she notices many of the people with the same date for death.  She knows something bad is going to happen and she begs Spider to leave with her.  What happens next is explosive.  The explosion occurs and many people die.  When the police are after Spider and Jem, they decide to go on the run and try to have a better life.  


While I enjoyed the premise of the book, I couldn’t find myself enjoying the book.  Jem was always on guard, which I could understand, but she was so much on guard that she had no warm personality traits for me to cling to.  She was cold and distant and didn’t fit together with Spider.  Spider being the complete opposite emotionally, I found him to be the better character of the two. 


The story started out strong and had me intrigued.  Then when the explosion occurs it starts to take off but fizzles out too quickly for my taste.  It did have some eerie moments that left me wondering, but not enough to keep me satisfied.  


MY RATING:

SWOON AT YOUR OWN RISK
Author: Sydney Salter
Source: Purchased

Reading level: Young Adult
Paperback: 360 pages
Publisher: Graphia; 1 edition (April 5, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0152066497
ISBN-13: 978-0152066499

SUMMARY:

You’d think Polly Martin would have all the answers when it comes to love—after all, her grandmother is the famous syndicated advice columnist Miss Swoon. But after a junior year full of dating disasters, Polly has sworn off boys. This summer, she’s going to focus on herself for once. So Polly is happy when she finds out Grandma is moving in—think of all the great advice she’ll get. 

But Miss Swoon turns out to be a man-crazy sexagenarian! How can Polly stop herself from falling for Xander Cooper, the suddenly-hot skateboarder who keeps showing up while she’s working at Wild Waves water park, when Grandma is picking up guys at the bookstore and flirting with the dishwasher repairman?            

No advice column can prepare Polly for what happens when she goes on a group camping trip with three too many ex-boyfriends and the tempting Xander. Polly is forced to face her feelings and figure out if she can be in love—and still be herself.

MY THOUGHTS:

I tried really hard to enjoy this book.  The summary sounded fun and swoon worthy, but to me the story fell flat.  With too many characters, too much whining, and not enough substantial plot, I felt the book was lacking what it was implying in the summary.

I hated how Polly was constantly whining and how stuck up she could be at times.  I couldn’t warm up to her personality at all.  Xander was in the picture but when he was, he hardly got to speak as much as I wanted.  The little Dear Miss Swoon columns at the end of each chapter were annoying as well. Sometimes they had nothing to do with either the chapter we just finished or the one that follows it.

While the writing was good with great structure and flow, the story itself was bland and forced.  Would I read another book by this author? Of course I would.  Her writing does have great points about it, but this one lacked the feel that I was craving at the moment.  Not a bad book, but not one I would reread.

MY RATING:

DAKOTA CHILD
Author: Linda Ford
Source: Harlequin Ambassadors
*I received this book free of charge
in exchange for an honest review*

Mass Market Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: Steeple Hill (September 8, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0373828209
ISBN-13: 978-0373828203

SUMMARY:

Trapped in a North Dakota blizzard, single mother Vivian Halliday’s prayer for herself and her child is answered. Rescue comes in the seemingly terrifying form of Billy Black, the hulk of a man feared by all the townsfolk. Yet in the home he shares with his ailing mother, the handsome, gentle giant warms her baby’s bottles and sings sweet lullabies that lull even Vivian to peaceful sleep. When the storm abates, will she still seek the life that led her back to the village?

MY THOUGHTS:

This was my first read in the Love Inspired Historical line by Harlequin.  While the book featured great writing skills by the author, Linda Ford,  I will say that I don’t think I will be reading anymore from this line.

The author has a wonderful gift for writing.  The book flowed great and the story was heartfelt.  I really loved the character of Billy Black.  He was so sweet and patient with the baby that it melted my heart! Here was this large man with a heart of gold, sitting in a rocker and humming the baby to sleep.  Vivian was an okay character for me.  She just wasn’t outstanding in my mind.  She was ordinary and the same type of character found in most books. While I enjoyed her being paired with Billy Black, she just didn’t have the wow factor that I like.  The one thing that I did not enjoy about this book was the constant reference to religion.  While I understand that this book is in the Christian Romance line, I have read other Christian Romance books that didn’t have this much preaching.  I think the author could have written the book with the same impact if she would have cut out a lot of the bible quoting.

While this book was just okay at most for me, I think it is because this type of book is not my style.  I just couldn’t bring myself to enjoy a book that had to force bible scriptures to me in every chapter.  If you like these types of books, then I do urge you to read it.  :Like I said, the author does of wonderful job with the writing skills.  But, if you are not a fan of this sort of genre, or if you don’t like to be preached to within each chapter, then I suggest holding off on reading this book right away.

MY RATING:

BANISHED
Author: Sophie Littlefield
Source: Personal Purchase

Reading level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers (October 12, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0385738528
ISBN-13: 978-0385738521

SUMMARY:

There isn’t much worth living for in Gypsum, Missouri—or Trashtown, as the rich kids call the run-down neighborhood where sixteen-year-old Hailey Tarbell lives. Hailey figures she’ll never belong—not with the popular kids at school, not with the rejects, not even with her cruel, sickly grandmother, who deals drugs out of their basement. Hailey never knew her dead mother, and she has no idea who her father was, but at least she has her four-year-old foster brother, Chub. Once she turns eighteen, Hailey plans to take Chub far from Gypsum and start a new life where no one can find them.

But when a classmate is injured in gym class, Hailey discovers a gift for healing that she never knew she possessed—and that she cannot ignore. Not only can she heal, she can bring the dying back to life. Confused by her powers, Hailey searches for answers but finds only more questions, until a mysterious visitor shows up at Gram’s house, claiming to be Hailey’s aunt Prairie.

There are people who will stop at nothing to keep Hailey in Trashtown, living out a legacy of despair and suffering. But when Prairie saves both Hailey and Chub from armed attackers who invade Gram’s house in the middle of the night, Hailey must decide where to place her trust. Will Prairie’s past, and the long-buried secret that caused her to leave Gypsum years earlier, ruin them all? Because as Hailey will soon find out, their power to heal is just the beginning.

MY THOUGHTS:

Banished, to me, left me scratching my head at the end.  I was confused and I felt my reading appetite had been unsatisfied. While I like the idea of The Banished, I still haven’t quite got the understanding of the history.  I had to reread a bunch of parts in this book because it tended to go off onto another subject before explaining the first thing that was introduced.

The author has a wonderful idea for the book.  I loved the characters in the story, but I couldn’t get invested in them as much as I like to because there were so many questions left unanswered.  I loved how the women have the ability to heal and the men have the visions.  I thought this makes for a perfect love connection some how between The Banished. 

I really wish the author would keep in mind though that when you are writing a book that is part of a series, spread out the history.  I was bored halfway through the book because it was so slow in taking off.  Then it peaked midway and fizzled towards the end.  The pacing needs to be fine tuned for the follow up books.

I might read the next book in the series, but it isn’t one that I will be rushing out to buy on release day.

MY RATING:

FAMILY AFFAIR
Author: Debbie Macomber
Source: Publisher
*I received this book free of charge
in exchange for an honest review*

Hardcover: 112 pages
Publisher: William Morrow (January 4, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0061997129
ISBN-13: 978-0061997129

SUMMARY:


Rediscover the joy of #1 New York Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber’s delightful tale of unexpected love, second chances, and a cat named Dog.

Lacey Lancaster has always longed to be a wife and mother. However, after a painful divorce, she decides it’s time to lay low for a while in her charming San Francisco apartment with her beautiful Abyssinian cat, Cleo.

Everything would be wonderful, except for her utterly impossible neighbor Jack Walker. When he’s not arguing day and night with his girlfriend, begging her to move in with him, he’s chasing down his cat named Dog, who seems determined to get Cleo to succumb to his feline advances.

Then Lacey discovers the awful truth – Cleo is in the family way and Dog’s to blame. She’s furious that neither Jack nor his amorous animal seem too upset about the situation.

But Lacey learns that things are not quite as they seem. Jack’s “girlfriend” is really his sister – and his intentions toward Lacey are very honorable. And though she’s not quite sure about Dog, Lacey begins to discover the tender joy of falling in love all over again. 

MY THOUGHTS:

This was my first book by this author even though I had heard wonderful things about her books.  While I enjoyed the characters of Lacey and Jack, I felt the story had some problems along the way.

Let me first start off by saying that this is a fairly short and quick read at only 99 pages.  I was able to read and finish this book within an hour.  Seeing how it is a short read, maybe the author intended it to be rushed and fast paced.  I just couldn’t see Lacey, who has just recently divorced, rush into the relationship with JAck as fast as she did. Jack was very patient with Lacey and had been trying to pursue her for a year, yet within a matter of weeks of their cats doing the deed, they fall in love with each other.  I would have liked to have seen the romance build a little more instead of within a few chapters. 

As for side characters, we don’t get much interaction with them. A phone call here and there and a few meetings between Lacey and Sarah, who happens to be Jack’s sister. The saving grace of this book, in my opinion, was the author’s humor that she portrayed in the characters.  I loved how Jack wanted a dog but ended up with a cat that he names Dog!

Even though this isn’t a great book in my opinion, I would still read more by this author just by the fact that everyone raves about her writing.  Maybe a longer novel by her is what I need to get hooked on her books.  If you are a fan of hers though, I say give it a go.  If you are like me and reading her for the first time, I would go for one of her longer novels before deciding on this one.

MY RATING: