Firebolt by Adrienne Woods Review

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest opinion.

This book had so much potential to be something amazing and it really fell flat for me. It had terrible execution with such a great plot line. The cover was also gorgeous. The story was very confusing and slow to start even with the action scene in the beginning chapters. I found it hard to continue reading on, mostly because I did not care about what was happening. I love dragons and the fact that I lost interest is really sad.

The main character, Elena (I had to look up her name since I forgot it), is not very likeable and constantly portrayed as being very weak. She cried a lot and was shown as a damsel in distress too much. Elena did not question anything that happened to her and never once grieved over the loss of her father, instead, she got herself a boyfriend.

The romance was forced and there was no spark or connection between the characters at all. It was hard not to groan or wince at some of the dialogue. Both characters were boring and dull. There was also a lot of dialogue that didn’t even make sense. For example, “What was your favorite subject back home?” “Art, the drawing type.”
“You’re really funny. I love that part of you.” There was no joke in that exchange at all. There was nothing funny about any of it. There was also way too many adverbs in every paragraph.

Overall, the main character whined and complained before going on a suicide mission that came out of nowhere and made no sense to her character development.

I would not recommend this book, just because of how much trouble I had finishing it and getting through it. It’s unfortunate because I was really excited for a new dragon fantasy YA…it just fell really really short.

In Safe Hands by Katie Ruggle Review

This is the fourth book in the Rocky Mountain Search & Rescue series by Katie Ruggle. It continues the story right where Gone Too Deep left off. Out of the past few Katie Ruggle books that I have read this was my least favorite, but it was still very good.

I really liked the characters, Chris and Daisy (especially because I love that name), but I did not feel their chemistry as much as I felt characters have in the past books that I read. The relationship between the characters also has a slow build up that suddenly just ends, which seemed kind of forced but it worked for the fast-paced nature of the story.

This story also had really good girl bonding and the entire series has really strong females, kicking ass, and standing up for themselves which is really refreshing and awesome to see.

I would still recommend this book to any avid romance, suspense, mystery readers, but the mystery was basically removed from this book since they added other characters POV that took away from the mystery.

Gone Too Deep by Katie Ruggle Review

Absolutely loved this book! This is the second one I have read by Katie Ruggle and it did not disappoint. I would highly recommend this to anybody who likes romance and mystery books. While the mystery is a minor plot line, it was still very interesting.

I loved the characters and really felt their connection to one another. This book is a part of a series and characters from the next book and the first book are constantly present, which makes reading the other books very easy. This is the third book in the series and to be honest, I did not read the first two, and it did not matter at all.

I loved the world that Katie Ruggle created that I have already finished the next book in the series and I can promise that it did not disappoint either. I am so excited that I found an author that writes romances in such a refreshing and exciting way.

On The Chase by Katie Ruggle Review

 

I randomly downloaded this book since I was looking for something different to read and the cover drew me in. This book was such a pleasant surprise. It was fast-paced, humorous, and a decent love story with characters that had serious chemistry from the beginning. It had a predictable plot for the most part, but there were some surprise twists thrown in that I was able to foresee.

There is just something about an attractive K9 Officer and a mountainous setting that really works well for a romance novel. This book is a part of a series and characters from the next book and the first book are constantly present, which makes reading the other books very easy. The third book does not come out until February 2018 and I will definitely be purchasing it.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes short romance novels that allow you to get lost in the characters and the plot for a short while.

Roseblood by A.G. Howard Review

I liked this book, but I didn’t love it like I really wanted to. It was very hard to follow along with the story and the story started off very slow. It took half of the book for me to even want to find out what was going on. The last few chapters felt like they were rushed.

The story and concept had so much potential, especially since a Phantom of the Opera retelling is not very popular. I guess I expected more from the author considering how much I loved Splintered.

The characters fell flat for me and I could not find myself caring about any of them which was very disappointing. It was an interesting read though. I would probably recommend it to Phantom of the Opera fans though.

Thinking about getting back into book reviewing…

Now that I’ve graduated from law school and have studied, taken, and passed the bar exam, I am thinking about getting back into reviewing books for this blog. I need suggestions for books, friends.

Queen of Hearts Book Review

Queen of Hearts

(Queen of Hearts Saga #1)

Author: Colleen Oakes
Rating: 3 1/2 stars out of 5

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Retellings, Fairy Tales

Review: To start, I actually enjoyed this book. I was sent a copy through a Goodreads Giveaway. It was not what I thought it was going to be, but that being said, it could have been a lot better. It had a lot of potential.

I was disappointed in a lot of the plot and a lot of the characters. It is an Alice in Wonderland retelling, but I failed to see where the connection to Alice in Wonderland was aside from the characters names.

Dinah, the future Queen of Hearts, is a bratty, selfish, and sometimes cruel main character. She makes stupid decisions without thinking them through and sometimes she was downright mean which was unnecessary. I felt like she had no character development in the whole book.

What I really loved about this book and showed me how much potential it had, was the world building. It was very descriptive and very easy to imagine. Some of the descriptions were also very unique. The book was also very short and a quick read, I finished it in one day.

The storytelling felt very childish to me and things were being told to the reader instead of shown through dialogue. It seemed very unfinished, in my opinion. I also did not have any desire to read about the semi-romance between Dinah and Wardley. He felt uninterested and she came across as a whiny girl obsessed with her childhood crush.

It was an enjoyable read and I would read the next in the series, but I probably would never recommend it to someone over the age of 15 because of how the story is written.

Overall, it was interesting, but it definitely had potential to be something more and definitely did not to anything as an Alice in Wonderland retelling.

Unmasqued by Colette Gale Book Review

Unmasqued

(An Erotic Novel of The Phantom of the Opera)

Author: Colette Gale

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Pages: 352

Genre: Adult Fiction, Erotica, Retelling, Historical Romance, Classics, Fiction, Historical, Romance

Review: This book was recommended to me by a friend Goodreads who knew I loved everything to do with The Phantom of the Opera. This person did not read the book, just came across it in passing and mentioned it to me. That being said…this book was a train wreck.

I finished it in one day, but only because I wanted to get through it. Erotica is not really a genre I enjoy, but because it was Phantom I decided to give it a try. This book had one bad thing happen after another and really  veered from Leroux’s version and Weber’s masterpiece that I love. The story itself was interesting and unique, but the erotica part was way too much and at random times that were unnecessary and complete fillers.

Everyone in this story is basically addicted to sex or using sex in some way to gain power over another. If that was only one character I could understand, but it is the majority of characters, except maybe one. I found no redeeming qualities to any of the characters except Erik, the phantom. Christine endures sexual trauma constantly and has no psychological issues to speak of? Really? Even Erik bored me with his lack of character development and his lack of passion for music (other than a few mentions). Music is the main reason behind the Phantom’s obsession with Christine and it did not show here.

This story had the potential to be very unique and different from any other erotica out there and it fell flat. It was finally giving some fans what they wanted when they believed that Christine chose the wrong man at the end of the story. Gale does have Christine end up with the Phantom, but not in a way that was satisfying.

I would not recommend it to anyone, because it was hard to get through and I found myself skipping all of the sexual encounters because they became meaningless. I did not care what happened to anyone.

P.S. If anyone wants to see a true passionate/ heartbreaking relationship between the Phantom and Christine, watch the Royal Albert Hall version of the Phantom of the Opera starring Ramin Karimloo and Sierra Boggess (it’s on youtube)…it is truly a work of art.

This review can also be found on my Goodreads page! Feel free to add me on there!

Also if anyone has any other recommendations that are based on the Phantom of the Opera, please pass them my way!

 

Newest Obsession (and its for a good cause!)

I’m taking a small break from posting book reviews to post about my newest obsession, RHInoHOPE!! It’s a small company that is donating 10% of their profits to support the protection and conservation of Rhinos through the International Rhino Foundation! Rhinos are some of the most endangered species in the world and constantly being poached for their horns.

I’m not usually a fan of posts like this, but since I already ordered two shirts, I figured I would share the word about this brand. It is slowly growing and with a limited number of t-shirts in stock, I had to purchase a few different colors! It helps out a great cause which was even more of an incentive for me!!

Go check it out!!! You won’t regret it!

RHInoHOPE Website

 

Huntsman’s Prey (Kingdom #7) by Marie Hall – Book Review

Huntsman’s Prey

(Kingdom #7)

Author: Marie Hall

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Pages: 200

Genre: Fiction, Adult Erotica, Fantasy, Fairy Tale, Retellings, Paranormal, Magic

Review: This is another review I’ve had waiting to finish since I finished the book in August.

This story makes more sense if you read the previous two books in the series first.

Marie Hall did not lack on her ability to create an amazing setting with the use of her writing. Her settings, locations, even people feel amazingly real and are easy to picture.

I personally enjoyed this book more than the last because this took place in Wonderland and obviously, I love all things associated with Wonderland. That being said, I found myself losing track of the story and what was going on throughout this one. I think it was the complexity of the back story and the locale and various characters that really threw me off.

The plot was fast faced and filled with many secrets and mysteries. I figured out one of them, but not the others, which was awesome. I definitely enjoyed the ending, it was a pleasant surprise.

This review can also be found on my Goodreads page! Feel free to add me on there!