Unbridled Murder by Leigh Hearon

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 

Annie Carson wants to save as many horses as possible after she visits a feedlot located in Eastern Washington. She’s set to take home a handful, thus saving them from slaughter, when a murder on the feedlot throws a wrench into her plans. All she wants to do is take her horses and go home, but the mystery just keeps becoming more and more complicated. Now she must focus on staying alive on top of solving the mysteries surrounding her if she wants to make it home.

I didn’t necessarily dislike this book. I think is just really wasn’t for me. I requested it because I wanted to try something a little different, and I haven’t read too many mystery books. This is also the third book in a series, and having not read the first two, that may have made it harder for me to connect with the characters.

I did enjoy the mystery of the book. There were a lot of good twists and turns that I didn’t see coming. That said, I did feel like the book was drug out a little too much. There was a lot of little extra details thrown in that felt unnecessary that really bogged down the book and made it seem to drag on. Again, this may have been more because this book just really wasn’t for me than anything.

I give it 3/5 stars.

Unbridled Murder was released December 26, 2017.

 

 

Not If I Save You First by Ally Carter

I received an ARC of this book at YALLFest.

Maddie and Logan were set to be friends for life. But things can become complicated when one is the daughter of a secret service agent and the other is the president’s son. But then an incident has Maddie’s father moving them into the middle of nowhere: Alaska. Where there is no contact with the outside world other than letters. But when your best friend doesn’t answer your letters, it’s hard to keep in touch. Six years later, Logan shows back up and all Maddie would like to do is kill him. But when the president’s son is taken, Maddie must push aside her want to kill Logan in order to save him.

I need to add a disclaimer here. I absolutely love Ally Carter’s books. I began reading the Gallagher Girl books early on in the series, and I credit them for getting me into reading YA. It’s the first series where I followed when the next book was coming out (other than Harry Potter, but at the start I was too young that I didn’t follow that and a new book would just one day magically appear in my hands). After I read and fell in love with I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have to Kill You, I found myself scouring book stores for more similar stories. And thus I discovered YA. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Back on topic.

I loved this book. Often when I go into books with high expectations, I end up disappointed simply because I’ve set the bar too high. But I enjoyed this book just as much as I thought I would. There’s something about Ally Carter’s writing that I just absolutely love. It flows so easily, and the narrative always gives you a good feel of the characters.

Okay. I have to make an awful confession. I have no read Heist Society. Yet. I have it. I just haven’t read it for reasons I cannot name.

In true Ally fashion, this book takes many twists and turns to keep you on your toes. The pacing is very well done, especially for this being a standalone novel (according to my research, this is her first standalone, correct me if I’m wrong). To me, condensing a story into a single book, especially when you are used to writing series, can be a challenge. A lot of times, too much detail tends to be crammed in, but I think this one was done well. But that doesn’t mean I wasn’t left wishing there was going to be more.

For now, I will impatiently wait for her next book (which at this time, has not been announced yet, but I know she’s working on something — this is being written on November 16, 2017, to date it.) There’s no telling what her next book will entail, but I can guarantee it will have a kick-ass heroine.

I give it 5/5 stars.

Not If I Save You First will be released on March 27, 2017.

Blood Will Out by Jo Treggiari

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Ari lives the life of a typical teenager until one day, she wakes up at the bottom of a well. Unable to remember how exactly she got there, she must figure out a way to escape, because no one can seem to hear her. The killer has a plan. For her. For others. The safe town of Dempsey Hollow is no longer safe – and Ari must find out who the killer is before it’s too late.

I have mixed feelings about this book. I wanted to enjoy it, and at times did, but for the most part it came off as lackluster. I liked the mystery of wondering who the killer was, and I enjoyed the flashbacks we got of the killer. But other than that, I found the killer to be a disappointment. The big reveal didn’t wow or shock me, and to me, didn’t even really make much sense.

I didn’t connect very well to the characters and found them flat at times. There was a lot of telling instead of showing with the writing. Usually I wouldn’t notice this too much, but there seemed like a lot of good chances to show the reader what was happening that was missed. I didn’t really feel like I was going through the story with the character- I was just reading it.

But, as I already said, I did enjoy the mystery, and I kept reading because I just had to know who it was. And I liked how loyal Ari and Lynn were to each other. Ari was brave for what she did for her friend, even though she wasn’t always smart about it.

I give it 2/5 stars.

Blood Will Out will be released on June 5, 2018.

 

Wicked Torture by J. Kenner

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Noah is fighting to live a normal life ten years after the abduction and deaths of his wife and daughter when an old girlfriend shows up and turns his life upside down. Kiki thought she had moved past Noah, but once she runs into him again, life quickly grows complicated. Throw in trying to balance working together while their past attraction begins to resurface, and things become complicated. And when someone else from Noah’s past shows up, he must decide what’s most important to him, and what he’s willing to sacrifice for love.

I’m going to start this review by stating that I haven’t read many romance novels, so I was a little skeptical when I started this book. But I ended up enjoying it very much. I enjoyed watching the relationship up and downs between Noah and Kiki. I will say, the book summary is a little deceiving, because it makes it seem like Noah and Kiki meet for the first time in the book, but they already know each other and have a past.

The relationship between Noah and Kiki had a natural flow. In a lot of books, the romance between two characters seems forced, but not in this one. Everything progressed at a believable pace, and the problems that arose between them made sense.

I did feel like the whole book was leading up to the ending only for it to seem a little rushed. It would have been nice if it had caused a little more conflict for a little longer. But other than that, I enjoyed this story and I look forward to reading other books that are set in this world.

I give it 4/5 stars.

Wicked Torture was released on November 14, 2017.

Cold Hard Truth by Anne Greenwood Brown

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 

Emmie O’Brien’s life hasn’t been easy. After a year of living with her mom and getting involved with her drug dealer, Emmie has moved back home with her dad and attempted to return to normal life. But that’s hard to do when she regrets her time spent with Nick. Enter Max Shepherd, a senior varsity hockey player who has some demons of his own. Max is drawn to Emmie and her ability to stay calm, but after Nick, Emmie just wants to keep her distance. But Max makes that hard to do, and when Emmie’s past comes knocking, both she and Max must face their demons, but that takes trust, and Emmie is just about out of that. Can Emmie let go of her past and let Max closer to her? When past acquaintances come seeking revenge, can Emmie trust Max enough to allow him to help her, or will she face the danger alone?

I enjoyed reading this book. I was hooked on it right away. I wanted to know more about Emmie, which kept me reading for more. And the same happened with Max when we met him. Both of their pasts were a mystery, and I wanted to know more about them. I liked how mellow Emmie was most of the time, and I loved her line about how panicking doesn’t do a situation any good. I have learned in life that keeping a level head even during stressful situations can lead to much more efficient decisions.

I liked how we got to know both of them slowly. Many authors try to info dump and give you too much at once, and it can be challenging to slowly introduce things about a character without making it seem like too much at once. It was done in this book slowly enough that I kept reading to find out more, but not so slow that it became boring.

The only big issue I had with this book is the time frame. I feel like Max and Emmie (but mostly Max) fell for each other a little too hard too fast. Emmie at least fought it and resisted a little more, but Max liked her right away. This most comes from me being a skeptic of love at first sight and not loving insta-love stories. There was more development in their relationship than most stories that I would consider insta-love, but I still feel like it would have been better spread over a longer period of time. Again, this more personal preference than anything. It certainly didn’t ruin my enjoyment of the book.

I give it 4/5 stars.

Cold Hard Truth will be released on April 3, 2018.

Enchant by Micalea Smeltzer

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 

Mara Pryce lived a normal life up until Theodore appears. And then her whole life changes. Mara is what is known as an enchanter, and currently, a war between good and evil is raging. The evil-the Iniquitous-want her dead, and it is Theo’s job to protect her. A story of forbidden love, Theo and Mara both struggle with their feelings for each other and the knowledge that they are not to be together. With the threat of the Iniquitous looming on the horizon, they are running out of time to prepare. And the danger may turn out to be a lot closer than it seems.

I’m going to start by saying that I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. I became invested in the characters and the story, and am actually sad that there is not a second one all ready and waiting for me to read right away. I think I have a huge weakness for protector stories.

So what elements did I not like? First of all, Mara is referred to as a ‘Chosen One’. Apparently there are more than on in this world, which is a change, but the idea of a chosen one is an overdone idea. If the idea is to be used, I think forgoing the name ‘chosen one’ would be best. But that is only my opinion. There is also the mean girl and beautiful teacher than one finds in almost any story that has anything to do with school, those these elements didn’t bother me as much. I did find the mean girl’s part in the story to be unnecessary, and it would have been the same story if she had not been in it at all.

I also found the dialogue to be cheesy and unrealistic. There would be lines I would read, and then I would have to pause and go, “Wait, how old are these people again? What century are we in?” I just felt like conversation didn’t always flow naturally between characters, and that has a way of taking the reader out of the story.

I never understand forbidden love stories. Now, I’ve never been in love, but I just imagine if there’s a really good reason for a relationship to not happen, it shouldn’t be that hard to avoid it. But I’ve never been in such a situation, so what do I know?

Parts of the pacing were off. They would walk into a classroom and after a few lines, class was getting let out with no indication that more than five minutes have passed. And the ending, which the whole book was leading up to, felt a little rushed and chaotic. Again, it’s a rushed and chaotic moment in the book, so this is not necessarily a big issue, just something that I noticed.

Those things aside, as I said, I did enjoy reading this book. I read this book in two days, which is pretty fast for me. I found myself invested in the characters, and I wanted to learn what was going to happen to them. And despite my reservations on forbidden love, I did enjoy watching Mara and Theo’s relationship grow. I look forward to the next installment of this series to continue these characters’ stories.

I give it 3/5 stars.

Enchanted was published on November 17, 2017.

The Girl and the Grove by Eric Smith

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 

Leila has a lot going on in her life. She’s grown up moving around between foster homes. She lives with seasonal affective disorder. She’s recently been adopted, She has a passion for saving the environment. And she hears voices in her head, that continue to grow louder, calling out for her help.

I ended up enjoying this book a lot. It has many different elements that it touches upon. The main character has grown up in the foster system and does not know who her parents are. In the book, she has recently been adopted and we see her struggle with that. She has a type of depression that is actually fairly common. There are many environmental issues that are brought up throughout the story. And then there’s a dash of supernatural and romance to top it all off. All of the elements work together well in the story. The flow is natural and doesn’t feel forced at all.

And the main character is a POC, which is always awesome.

This was a well-written book that maintained a good pace without feeling rushed. There were elements between each chapter of social media interaction, which usually feels forced and fake, but it was well done in this book. They helped to move the plot along and even contributed to a little twist towards the end of the story.

All in all, this is a great book that I would recommend to anyone. It seems to have a little something for everyone in it.

I give it 5/5 stars.

 

 

General Update #2

So.

Long time, no see.

My last update was over two years ago. A lot has changed in my life. I have a job I love at the hospital. I have bought my own house. My mother died in July 2016, which stopped me in my tracks. I stopped writing. And hopes to pick reviewing and blogging back up were gone.

But I’m doing better now. I’m seeing a counselor. I’m slowing picking writing back up. My reading never slowed, but now I’m wanting to pick reviews back up.

So I’m going to give this another go. I’ve dusted off the old NetGalley account and I’m just going to take it one book at a time and see how it goes. I really do miss doing this.

Also, I’m going to Y’all Fest this weekend.

See you!

General Update

Just stopping by to say that I’m still alive and well! I started a new job back in July and it’s taken over my life. I’m still reading, and I have a couple of books I need to get reviews written for. I plan on trying to find an easier balance between work and writing book reviews, but starting a new job is time consuming.

I miss writing reviews regularly, and I hope to get back at it soon!

Awake by Natasha Preston

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Due to a trauma from a house fire, Scarlett doesn’t remember anything from the age of four and before. It’s a fact that’s always bothered her, but her family has done their best to fill in her memories, so she grows to accept it. Until the car accident. Unexplainable memories come after the car accident, making Scarlett question everything her family has ever told her. And she won’t stop until she finds out the truth of her past.

The story itself was an interesting concept, and certainly original. I was excited to read this book, but it unfortunately turned out to be mediocre.

I never grew attached to any of the characters. They just came off as flat and one-dimensional. There’s hardly any development. At the beginning of the story, Scarlett and Noah meet and then they’re dating. And then they’re in love. There’s no development to the relationship. It just kind of happens.

The whole premise to the story is that Scarlett can’t remember anything before the age of four, and this is something that has bothered her her whole life. She feels like she’s missing a large part of herself. But….she was only four? Most people don’t have a lot of memories before the age of four, so it really wouldn’t be a big deal to not remember them. She’s talking about them like she’d remember every moment of that age, but that’s not how it works. It was a little odd. I think it would have worked better if she had been a little bit older when she lost her memory.

It wasn’t even until about halfway through the story that the real plot started to come about, and before that there wasn’t much except listening to Scarlett and Noah tell each other how much they loved each other.

The entire book was predictable, all the way through to the big plot twist at the end. The story itself was original, but when you take too many over-used elements, it turns out to be the 50th time you’ve read the same story.

I give it 2/5 stars.