Category Archives: 3 Flames

THE BEGINNING OF AFTER
Author: Jennifer Castle
Source: Amazon Vine
*I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review*

Reading level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 432 pages
Publisher: HarperTeen (September 6, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0061985791
ISBN-13: 978-0061985799

Anyone who’s had something truly crappy happen to them will tell you: It’s all about Before and After. What I’m talking about here is the ka-pow, shake-you-to-your-core-and-turn-your-bones-to-plastic kind of crappy. 

Sixteen-year-old Laurel’s world changes instantly when her parents and brother are killed in a terrible car accident. Behind the wheel is the father of her bad-boy neighbor, David Kaufman, whose mother is also killed. In the aftermath of the tragedy, Laurel navigates a new reality in which she and her best friend grow apart, boys may or may not be approaching her out of pity, overpowering memories lurk everywhere, and Mr. Kaufman is comatose but still very much alive. Through it all there is David, who swoops in and out of Laurel’s life and to whom she finds herself attracted against her better judgment. She will forever be connected to him by their mutual loss—a connection that will change them both in unexpected ways.

 

After all of the hype involved with this book that I have seen around the world wide web, I was a little hesitant on reading and reviewing this book.  I wanted it to be as great as what I have heard and didn’t want to be disappointed.  How can you go wrong with tortured teen angst involving death, forbidden love and life changing events that will shape a teen into a young adult?

The first part of the book was slow in pace for me.  I kept wanting it to pick up and move on already.  I started to lose interest in Laurel almost halfway through the book because of the constant reminders that her life is lonely without her family.  I can understand the devastation that can be involved when you lose your entire family at once due to some horrible accident, but I was getting a little tired of reading her sob story every few pages.  I wanted to shake her and tell her to get a grip and move on!  There is still life out there that she needed to be living.

I also wanted to read more about David but the author kept writing him out of the story over and over again.  Maybe having David travel was in the best interest of the character, but it wasn’t in the best interest to keep the reader interested in the story.  I needed more interaction between Laurel and David to keep me interested and would have loved to have seen them work through this crisis together.  Instead, both characters had to work through it alone with the exception of Laurel’s Grandmother.

Overall it was just an okay book that might appeal to readers of slowly paced angst.  I prefer a little more action and dialogue between the two main characters to keep me interested for a long story.

ONE GRAVE AT A TIME
Night Huntress #6
Author: Jeaniene Frost
Source: Amazon Vine
*I received this ARC free of charge in exchange for an honest review*

Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Avon (August 30, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0061783196
ISBN-13: 978-0061783197

The grave is one wrong step away.

Having narrowly averted an (under)world war, Cat Crawfield wants nothing more than a little downtime with her vampire husband, Bones. Unfortunately, her gift from New Orleans’ voodoo queen just keeps on giving–leading to a personal favor that sends them into battle once again, this time against a villainous spirit.

Centuries ago, Heinrich Kramer was a witch hunter. Now, every All Hallows Eve, he takes physical form to torture innocent women before burning them alive. This year, however, a determined Cat and Bones must risk all to send him back to the other side of eternity–forever. But how do you kill a killer who’s already long dead?

I am a little upset about the cover for this book.  I can understand that the original cover model had to change because the previous one was no longer doing it anymore.  What I can’t understand is the reasoning in using a model that looks to fragile and puny to be our beloved Red Reaper.  She is pretty and such, but she is not fierce looking like the original one used.  Aside from the cover being what it is, the story was still a great read.  So the cover will be overlooked on my part since the story proved to be better than the artwork.


While I loved the action filled story, I felt that this book was more of a filler book.  Something to appease the fans until the next big book.  Yes, there is a plot and story filled with action, but at times it did get to be a little repetitive.  Find the ghost, chase the ghost, ghost gets away, then repeat.  It got a little frustrating for this reader.  Add on top of that only one great sex scene between the two great characters of Bones and Cat.  I needed some more sexiness that I have grown to love between the two.  Yes, I understand they have grown in their relationship and true love is more present between the two in this book, but only Bones can bring out the fierceness of bedroom sexy we crave! Bring it to us Bones!


While some characters from previous books are present in the story, I was a little heartbroken for their brief page time.  Vlad was mentioned once, but never seen and Tate was only shown for a small few pages.  I wanted the author to bring back the witty fierceness and romantic sexiness that we crave when reading a Night Huntress series.


Overall, it was a good book to build the next storyline that the author will reveal.  I am just disappointed that we have to wait yet again for the Cat and Bones we have grown to love.

WHEN YOU DARE
Men Who Walk the Edge of Danger #1
Author: Lori Foster
Source: Personal Purchase

Mass Market Paperback: 448 pages
Publisher: HQN Books (April 26, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0373775717
ISBN-13: 978-0373775712

The tougher they are, the harder they fall…

Professional mercenary Dare Macintosh lives by one hard and fast rule: business should never be personal. If a cause appeals to him and the price is right, he’ll take the mission he’s offered. But then the lovely Molly Alexander asks him to help her track down the men who’d had her kidnapped—and for the first time, Dare’s tempted to combine work with pleasure.

Fiercely independent, Molly vows to trust no one until she’s uncovered the truth. Could the enemy be her powerful, estranged father? The ex-fiancé who still holds a grudge? Or the not-so-shy fan of her bestselling novels? As the danger heats up around them, the only anchor Molly has is Dare himself. But what she feels for him just might be the most frightening thing of all…

It has been a while since I have read a book by author Lori Foster.  When I saw various reviews popping up about this series though, I got sucked back into her world of suspense and romance. 


When Dare goes on a rescue mission to find his best friends sister, he comes across the beautiful Molly as well.  At first he considers her a complication to the mission, but quickly discovers the beauty within Molly along with a mysterious cover-up.  I loved Dare in this book.  He was strong, sexy and independent.  I loved his ferocious protectiveness of the people he cared about.  I also loved his friendship with his assistant, Chris. Chris had the perfect balance of smarts, sexy and humor that this book needed. 


Molly was not one of my favorite characters.  I felt she was too needy and weak.  While she tried to come across as a strong woman, she was always relying on others to lead the way.  I wanted her to stand on her own two feet and learn to protect herself in certain parts of the books.  She whined quite a bit which became annoying as well.  I wanted her to get a spine and be as strong as Dare when needed.  


Overall, while this wasn’t my favorite book by this author, it was one that kept me interested enough to continue on with the series.  I am looking forward to see how the other characters will evolve in the next books.  Hopefully, we will get to see more of Chris as well and maybe even get his own book in the series!

WATCH ME
Author: Lauren Barnholdt
Source: Personal Purchase

Reading level: Young Adult
Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Simon Pulse (July 6, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 9781442402553
ISBN-13: 978-1442402553

She thinks she has nothing to hide…

Ally has everything under control. She’s about to move into a house full of strangers and have her life broadcast to the world, but as long as she still has her long-distance boyfriend, Corey, nothing can go wrong. Nothing, that is, until Ally starts spending time with her housemate Drew, the hot and sensitive guy who always seems to be around when she needs someone the most.

As suspicions and lies start pulling Ally and Corey apart, she’s not sure if she can trust anyone, not even herself. Ally is about to learn the hard way that life is what happens when everyone is looking, and it doesn’t always capture her good side…

Books by author Lauren Barnholdt are always hit and miss for me.  I love some of her books, but others tend to fall flat for me.  In the case of Watch Me,  this is not one of my favorites.  While I liked the idea of the whole reality TV show,  the execution of it in this book was not well thought out.


Ally decides on a spur of the moment to try out for a TV reality show.  When she is accepted as one of the college roommates for the show, she has no idea how it is going to change her life.  She is in a dorm with several stereotypical housemates that are chosen to create some drama for the show.  Ally is also dealing with the fact that her boyfriend of two years, Corey, is also away at college.  Long distance romance proves to be hard, but also being on television all the time proves to put the biggest strain on their relationship.


I don’t know what to say about Ally.  When she was around her other roommates, she seemed to actually care about their feelings.  Yet, at other times I felt she was a snob and not worth reading about.  I did like the character of Drew, but we didn’t really get to see him interact that much with Ally and the rest of the cast.  Their budding romance that is suppose to happen in the book felt forced and didn’t have much substance for the reader to grab onto and enjoy.  The reality show is also like an afterthought in the story.  The author throws it in whenever the story starts to drag in hopes that it will help.


Overall it is a quick and easy read, but not one to get your hopes up for.  Like I said, her books are hit and miss for me so this might be the hit for you.

LOST VOICES
Author: Sarah Porter
Source: Amazon Vine
*I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review*

Reading level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Harcourt Children’s Books; None edition (July 4, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0547482507
ISBN-13: 978-0547482507

Fourteen-year-old Luce has had a tough life, but she reaches the depths of despair when she is assaulted and left on the cliffs outside of a grim, gray Alaskan fishing village. She expects to die when she tumbles into the icy waves below, but instead undergoes an astonishing transformation and becomes a mermaid. A tribe of mermaids finds Luce and welcomes her in—all of them, like her, lost girls who surrendered their humanity in the darkest moments of their lives. Luce is thrilled with her new life until she discovers the catch: the mermaids feel an uncontrollable desire to drown seafarers, using their enchanted voices to lure ships into the rocks. Luce possesses an extraordinary singing talent, which makes her important to the tribe—she may even have a shot at becoming their queen. However her struggle to retain her humanity puts her at odds with her new friends. Will Luce be pressured into committing mass murder?

I have mixed feelings about this book.  There were parts that I liked and parts that were not my favorite.  I loved the darker feel of Mermaid lore in Lost Voices.  I loved how the mermaids are like Sirens in a way that they sing for their victims to lure them into the sea.  I liked the characters of Luce and her spirit.  I was happy when she got away from her abusive Uncle who didn’t deserve the right to take of her.  


The author does go into quite a bit of details in the book. At times it was great, but most of the time it was too much.  It slowed the story down at times.  At times, the book dragged so much that I almost gave up on the whole story.  I didn’t like the treatment of the imperfect mermaids that they call Larvae. It seemed harsh, even if it was to go with the theme of the book.  I felt like Luce, and just wanted to help them throughout the story.


The ending was a disappointment as well.  Ms. Porter left too many things unresolved.  It needed closure, even if it is part of a series.  I felt cheated at the end, and that is not good for the reader.  Will I read the next book? Yes, just so I can see what happens and if the story progresses at a better pace.  I also want to read more about the darker lore of mermaids after reading a lot of fluffy paranormal.  I like how the author didn’t mix in romance with the darker feel of this book.  Doing that was the saving grace in my opinion.