Sweethearts by Sara Zarr

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SWEETHEARTS
Author: Sara Zarr
Source: Purchased

  • Reading level: Young Adult
  • Paperback: 224 pages
  • Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; Reprint edition (January 1, 2009)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0316014567
  • ISBN-13: 978-0316014564

SYNOPSIS:


As children, Jennifer Harris and Cameron Quick were both social outcasts. They were also one another’s only friend. So when Cameron disappears without warning, Jennifer thinks she’s lost the only person who will ever understand her. Now in high school, Jennifer has been transformed. Known as Jenna, she’s popular, happy, and dating, everything “Jennifer” couldn’t be—but she still can’t shake the memory of her long-lost friend.

When Cameron suddenly reappears, they are both confronted with memories of their shared past and the drastically different paths their lives have taken.

MY THOUGHTS:

Boy was I fooled into thinking this was going to be a sweet little romance about reunited childhood friends.  This was definitely not an easy read.  It was more serious than I thought it was going to be and left me with a heavy heart when I finished it.

Cam and Jennifer were best friends growing up and also social outcasts.  Jennifer was teased for being heavy and sensitive.  Cam was also teased and bullied by the other children in school.  Together they become the best of friends.  When Cam disappears, Jennifer believes he is dead.  She deals with the loss and slowly transforms herself into Jenna.  She is now popular, skinny and has tons of friends at a new school.  Then Cam reappears and turns her world upside down.  She hides from all of her friends that she knows Cam.  She doesn’t want to be that same girl again that Cam knew when they were little.  Together they struggle with dealing about the past and what happened to them before Cam disappeared. 

Don’t expect a teen romance with this book.  It deals with deeper emotions and real life situations that most people don’t have to deal with or even want to think about.  The writing was great yet at the end I wanted more.  I wanted a few more chapters to get a better closure.

MY RATING:

 
Okay book, but it left me wanting more! 3 STARS

(ARC Review) Hero by Cheryl Brooks

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HERO

The Cat Star Chronicles #6
Author: Cheryl Brooks
Source: Sourcebooks
* I received this book free of 
charge in exchange for an
honest review*
  • Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
  • Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca (August 1, 2010)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1402229410
  • ISBN-13: 978-1402229411
SYNOPSIS:
He is the sexiest, most irksome man she’s ever encountered…
Micayla is the last Zetithian female left in the universe. She doesn’t know what’s normal for her species, but she knows when she sees Trag that all she wants to do is bite him…
He has searched all over the galaxy for a woman like her…
Trag has sworn he’ll never marry unless he can find a Zetithian female. But now that he’s finally found Micayla, she may be more of a challenge than even he’s able to take on…
MY THOUGHTS:
This series, for me, has been one that I am on the fence about. It has been hit and miss with each one of them.  I loved a few of them, but some of them just don’t do it for me.  While I love the way the author can write and stretch the imagination, sometimes I feel they are a little too out there for me.  In this installment of the series, I am in the middle.  
I loved Micayla. She was a character that kept you interested throughout the book. She was funny and I loved the way the author presented her. Trag is sulky and brings the opposite of Micayla to the table. Together they are great with lots of steamy moments to keep the pages hot! 
While I am still on the fence about this book, it would be a great series for the people who love sci-fi, fantasy, and paranormal romance rolled up into one!  Even though this book in the series was not one I enjoyed as much, I am still looking forward to the next one in the series by this author!
MY RATING:

 
Okay book, but it left me wanting more! 3 STARS

(ARC Review) Delirium by Lauren Oliver

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DELIRIUM
Author: Lauren Oliver
Source: Around The World Tours
  • Reading level: Young Adult
  • Hardcover: 320 pages
  • Publisher: HarperCollins (February 1, 2011)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0061726826
  • ISBN-13: 978-0061726828
SYNOPSIS:

Before scientists found the cure, people thought love was a good thing. They didn’t understand that one love -the deliria- blooms in your blood, there is no escaping its hold. Things are different now. Scientists are able to eradicate love, and the governments demands that all citizens receive the cure upon turning eighteen. Lena Holway has always looked forward to the day when she’ll be cured. A life without love is a life without pain: safe, measured, predictable, and happy. But with ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena does the unthinkable: She falls in love.
MY THOUGHTS:
I loved the author’s first book, Before I Fall.  I was so excited to be picked to be on this tour because I couldn’t wait to see what this author could bring to us to follow the first amazing novel.  I have to say though, that I am going to be in the minority with this book.  I wasn’t a huge fan of it.

It is set in the future where society believes that love is a sickness. All those diseases like hypertension, stress, and depression are all symptoms of the true disease.  They have found a way to rid the population of this disease at age 18.  At eighteen you are required to undergo the treatment  to remove love from your life.  Arranged marriages are the norm and anyone who refuses to have the disease removed becomes marked for termination.  I couldn’t bring myself to care about Lena.  She always wanted to please everyone and be the good girl.  I wanted her to wake up and realize that what they were doing is wrong and listen to her gut!  Also, how are your suppose to have a successful marriage and family without love?  That is basic nature!  

While the writing was beautiful, I thought the execution of the story was not.  I liked the book, but I am not a huge fan of the book.  

MY RATING:

 
Okay book, but it left me wanting more! 3 STARS

MY DANGEROUS DUKE by Gaelen Foley

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MY DANGEROUS DUKE

Author: Gaelen Foley
Source: Publisher
* I received this book free of 
charge in exchange for an
honest review*
  • Mass Market Paperback: 400 pages
  • Publisher: Avon (June 29, 2010)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0061733970
  • ISBN-13: 978-0061733970
SYNOPSIS:
The Inferno Club: In public, this scandalous society of London aristocrats is notorious for pursuing all manner of debauchery. But in private, they are warriors who would do anything to protect king and country . . .
They say that the very name of Warrington is cursed . . . 
From a time as old as the cold stone of the duke’s ancestral castle, the Warrington men have been plagued by tragedy. But Rohan Kilburn, the Duke of Warrington, has vowed to escape the predestined torment by forsaking love and devoting his life to the Inferno Club and its secret mission. 
And then she is brought to him unbidden by cutthroats hoping to calm the duke’s infamous temper—a sacrificial virgin of sorts. But even overpowered, Kate Madsen will be no man’s sacrifice. And the duke’s price for claiming her may be what he has sworn never to give—the heart he has so long and fiercely guarded—to the beautiful hostage he was never meant to love. 
MY THOUGHTS:
I am very picky about my Historical and Regency Romance books.  I have slowly started reading more and more of these type of books recently and was thrilled when the publisher sent me this book for review. 
First of all, lets go over the good points.  The story seemed to be like a retelling of Beauty and the Beast.  I love it when authors do this intentionally or not even realizing they are doing it.  When a book is an adaptation of some of my favorite fairy tales, I am instantly attracted to it. We have the beautiful bookworm Kate, who is kidnapped and given as a gift to The Beast Rohan.  Now even though they call him The Beast, it is not because he is ugly or anything. In fact, he is very handsome.  He has a reputation though of killing, being hard core, and cursed to boot!  The treasure hunt near the end of the book was fascinating and fun.  There is witty dialogue that made some fun moments mixed into the serious moments.
Now for the bad of the book.  While I like the characters of Rohan and Kate, I just couldn’t get the two to click when put together.  There didn’t seem to be any sparks between the two.  The only time I really liked them together was when they were bickering and when they were on the treasure hunt.  The steamy scenes were in fact hot, but it felt too forced between the two.  I also couldn’t stand all the filler in the book.  I don’t want a crash course in history when I am reading the book.  Yes, some of it pertained to the plot, but a lot of it just filled like the author was trying to fill the pages to meet a page count.  Also, why do we have to hear the titles so many times? I know he is a Duke, and his friends are of royalty titles as well, but do we have to be reminded of it every time they are reintroduced in a chapter or scene? 
Overall, the book was good as a stand alone even though it is part of a series.  The plot was fun, the bickering was fun, but the rest was just okay.  I would still read something else by this author, but I would be hesitant in buying it first.
MY RATING:

 
Okay book, but it left me wanting more! 3 STARS

WICKED PLEASURE by Lora Leigh

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WICKED PLEASURE
Author: Lora Leigh
Source: Library Loan

  • Paperback: 368 pages
  • Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin; 1st edition (May 13, 2008)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0312368720
  • ISBN-13: 978-0312368722

SYNOPSIS:

Jaci Wright has been running from the Falladay twins, Chase and Cam, for seven years now.  Fears of the desires they arouse in her, and the knowledge of the relationship they wanted with her, spurred her to run, to find a life that kept her traveling the globe and out of their reach.
 
But now life has come full circle.  A new job has placed Jaci in the Sinclair mansion with Chase and Cam.  And they’re tired of waiting.  It’s hard enough to face accepting a relationship with two men rather than just one, but gossip and the tattered tales of juicy secrets fill the society she now moves within.  Can Jaci face the world knowing she’s a lover to both men, or will her hesitancy and her fears destroy her chance of happiness forver?
 
MY THOUGHTS:
I was in the mood for a smutty sexy read and I have heard that this author knows how to write it. Well, this was the only book by this author that my library had available and I thought I would give it a go. Whew, thank goodness our air conditioning works!
This author can write the steamy sex scenes that could actually start a fire on the pages.  I was enjoying those scenes so much, that I almost forgot that there was a plot involved as well!  Basically, Jaci is hired to redecorate a mansion for a private club. Now I am not talking about a private gambling or drinking club. It is a sex club.  She also is working with Cam and Chase. Cam is the one man she saved herself for and has always loved.  The only problem is Cam insists on it being a packaged twin deal in the bedroom. Yes, we have to find out why Cam is like this and why Chase allows it, but with all the steamy sex that goes on, I forgot about it. I did not however, like the way Cam was so possessive and how Jaci was strong one chapter and weak the next. I also wish there was more focus on the buried plot.
Overall, if you are looking for some steamy smut, then this book will definitely fit into that category.  If you are looking for a book that has a story included, well this one has it, but you might be sidetracked with the fantastic smut that this author can write!
MY RATING:

 
Okay book, but it left me wanting more! 3 STARS