EARLY REVIEW: Fault Line by Christa Desir

Fault Line by Christa Desir

Genre: Young Adult Contemporary

Release date: October 1st 2013

2 STARS

Goodreads Blurb:

Ben could date anyone he wants, but he only has eyes for the new girl — sarcastic free-spirit, Ani. Luckily for Ben, Ani wants him too. She’s everything Ben could ever imagine. Everything he could ever want.

But that all changes after the party. The one Ben misses. The one Ani goes to alone.

Now Ani isn’t the girl she used to be, and Ben can’t sort out the truth from the lies. What really happened, and who is to blame?

Ben wants to help her, but she refuses to be helped. The more she pushes Ben away, the more he wonders if there’s anything he can do to save the girl he loves.

My Review:

After shocking intro, readers are taken 6 months back in time. You will witness how Ani and Ben met and how they grew close only to be driven apart after one ill-fated night. Ben watches Ani change and wants her to be this cheerful girl she used to be. But can he save her? And most importantly, does she want to be saved???

My Ben and Ani:

I loved how they met for the first time, how feisty both main characters were and how much fun their happy banters were. I really liked narrator's "voice" at the beginning. If only it lasted for more than first couple of chapters...

This story deals with heavy topic - rape. I have to admit that approach to this topic was quite original. Instead of "victim" POV, readers see everything through her boyfriend's eyes. But once shock from what happened faded away, everything felt forced and not realistic at all.

So what ruined this book for me? Unstable "performance" of the hero and narrator. While I liked him at the beginning, I grew confused and didn't understand him at all by the end. Plus I wasn't rooting for the main couple at all.

Faul Line is weird story in which both main characters are depicted as quite bad people, making terrible choices, behaving badly and selfishly. Who to blame? Only themselves and their decisions.

If this book was supposed to leave some kind of message or affect me, it didn't... I was just weirded out with so many things... But at least I was never bored when reading it. I am glad I finished it, even though it left me with very confused feelings. Still, I wouldn't recommend it to my friends.

*ARC provided by publisher as an exchange for honest review*

REVIEW: Lash by L.G. Castillo

Lash by L.G. Castillo

(Broken Angel #1)

Genre: NA Paranormal Romance

2 STARS

Goodreads Blurb:

Decades after being banished from Heaven for saving a life he shouldn’t have, Lash is given a chance to redeem himself. His mission: protect Naomi Duran, a young woman who has lost her faith. The assignment proves to be anything but simple when his superiors, the Archangels, withhold key information about Naomi and refuse to restore Lash’s powers. When an unexpected source reveals centuries-old secrets, his trust is shaken to the core, and he begins to doubt those whom he had once considered to be his greatest allies.

Determined to avoid anything that would risk his chances of returning to Heaven, Lash struggles with the greatest obstacle of all—his growing feelings for Naomi. But when her life is threatened by an unknown source, Lash questions the wisdom of the Archangels and his ability to keep her safe.

Soon, Lash will have to choose where to place his faith—in the home he has fought so hard to regain or in the forbidden love he can’t bear to lose.

My Review:

Lash is a seraph angel. He is regularly given assignements to which he always does adjustments, deciding to go his own way, even if it means going against directs orders. But going against God's wishes has huge consequences and big punishment. So when after decades of exile he is given a chance to redeem himself, he is determined to do anything to fulfill his assignement. What he never expected was to fall in love with the object of his assignement - Naomi.

I really liked the premise of this story. However, execution was not so great. I didn't like the way angels were depicted here. I wasn't sure what to think about these modern name-changing/poker-playing/hooker-f*cking archangels and seraphs. They were too much like humans, they had too many vices for my liking. I understand that author was aiming for something unique and original, but it just didn't work for me at all.

This book is written in multiple POV. Unfortunatelly, I didn't feel any connection with heroine and her POV wasn't interesting for me at all. I like to read about broken characters. But Noami was never broken, she was just extremely weak character who was getting on my nerves all the time.

On the other side, I enjoyed reading Lash POV much better. But still, for a rebellious angel, he was very lame alpha male. And there is nothing more disappointing than weak alpha male character. Moreover, he and Naomi, were so boring as a couple.

Now when it is all said and done, I think it is quite clear that I don't plan on reading sequel and I would not recommend this book to my friends.

THANK YOU GIVEAWAY: 1000 Facebook Likes

My little blog reached its first milestone yesterday - 1000 Facebook Likes!

I would like to thank all of you who have supported me along the way, to every single person who follows my blog one way or another. I really appreciate it and it means a lot to me!

As a thank you, I have a giveaway of my last 5 STARS read for you. 

You can check my review of I Stand Before You HERE.

Thank You Giveaway:

OPEN INTERNATIONALLY!

One lucky winner will win:

(1) Digital copy of I Stand Before You donated by author S.R. Grey

(2) A set of Bookmarks
-Tangled by Emma Chase
- Wait For You by J. Lynn (aka Jennifer L. Armentrout)
- Frigid by J. Lynn (aka Jennifer L. Armentrout)

- Whispers in the Dark by K.I. Lynn

- Obsession by K.I. Lynn

a Rafflecopter giveaway

REVIEW: Origin by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Origin by Jennifer L. Armentrout

(Lux series #4)

Genre: YA Paranormal

Purchase: Amazon / B&N

Goodreads Blurb:

Daemon will do anything to get Katy back.

After the successful but disastrous raid on Mount Weather, he’s facing the impossible. Katy is gone. Taken. Everything becomes about finding her. Taking out anyone who stands in his way? Done. Burning down the whole world to save her? Gladly. Exposing his alien race to the world? With pleasure.

All Katy can do is survive.

Surrounded by enemies, the only way she can come out of this is to adapt. After all, there are sides of Daedalus that don’t seem entirely crazy, but the group’s goals are frightening and the truths they speak even more disturbing. Who are the real bad guys? Daedalus? Mankind? Or the Luxen?

Together, they can face anything. 

But the most dangerous foe has been there all along, and when the truths are exposed and the lies come crumbling down, which side will Daemon and Katy be standing on? 

And will they even be together?

  * 5 STARS * Review:

Origin is a turning point in Lux series. This is not a childlish game anymore. Everything is more dangerous and more serious than ever before. Everyone had to pick sides and say goodbye to the content life they once had known. Full of action, Origin is the best part in series so far!

My Daemon:

My Katy:

I loved dual POV. In this book, Daemon is in his best confident-self. He is snarky. He is determined. He will do ANYTHING to get his Kitten back. I absolutely loved how badass Daemon was in this instalment, he is definitely one of my all time favourite bookish heroes, if not the best!

I was shocked and speecheles once I found out what "origin" truly means. Action in this book blew my mind! Lux series is without a doubt the best YA paranormal series I have ever read, it is just so epic! I could not put it down, Origin was pure perfection.

And Katy's and Daemon's relationship? It matured, got stronger and I was swooning over them all the time. I loved everything about this book. The good, the bad, everything. Kudos to Jennifer L. Armentrout for creating this amazing story. I wish I had final instalment already!

REVIEW: Hydraulic Level Five by Sarah Latchaw

Hydraulic Level Five by Sarah Latchaw

Purchase: Amazon / Omnific Publishing 

Genre: Contemporary Romance

SYNOPSIS:

How does a woman get over her one great love? With whitewater rafting, bluegrass, and a touch of revenge…

Kaye is an extreme sports addict with a kind heart and an axe to grind with her childhood sweetheart and ex-husband, renowned writer Samuel Caulfield Cabral. While Samuel enjoys a celebrity life in New York, Kaye remains in their hometown of Lyons, Colorado, running her PR agency and chatting daily with Samuel's family, the beloved Cabrals—first-generation Mexican-Americans who have embraced Kaye as their own.

But when Samuel returns home for his sister's wedding with a new love interest, stunning editor Caroline Ortega, the gloves are stripped off. Kaye is determined to unearth the reasons behind the death of their marriage and why two people who lived to love each other were driven apart, all leading to startling revelations about Samuel, about life...and about herself.

  My Kaye and Samuel: 

 

* 5 STARS * REVIEW: 

This is The book that you will never forget once you read it. This story will make you feel everything from anger, hurt and despair to love, passion and hope. A MUST-READ!

Childhood friends, highschool sweethearts, early marriage, quick and ugly divorce. Now, seven years later, Kaye and Samuel have to meet again - at his sister's and her best friend's wedding. Seems like now is best time for Kaye to get answers and revenge...

Kaye, even after so many years is still questioning herself where did their relationship go wrong. She is blaming herself and she is unable to move on with her life. Samuel is famous successful writer with a new girlfriend by his side - seems like he moved on without problems. But reality is that he has his own demons which are very hard to fight against. 

Hydraulic Level Five is one of the BEST stories I have ever read! It was so good that I am not able to praise it enough. This story literally owned me and completely captured me right from the very beginning. It was totally addictive reading with excellent style of writing. Main themes of Hydraulic Level Five are forgiveness, honesty, new beginnings, dealing with the past. So beside the perfect storyline, some heavy and serious issues were discussed in this book, which made this story very real and special for me.

We get a glimpse of their childhood times and let me tell you, little and young Samuel is so adorable in this novel. I had no other choice than to fall in love with his young as well as adult version. And I truly liked Kaye too. She was unhappy but strong and willing and I could definitely understand her reasons for her behaviour.

No one is ideal in this story, no one is either black or white, good or bad and this story shows us that people change during their lives. I loved everything about this story! There were parts that left me swoon, parts that made me laugh or parts that left bittersweet sad feeling in me.

This is not a standalone. But a great thing is that there is absolutely no cliffhanger! I highly recommend you to read this book, it has everything a great realistic emotional contemporary novel should have had. I LOVED IT!

About Author:

Sarah Latchaw was raised in eastern Iowa and appreciates beauty in mud-splattered gravel roads, weathered farm faces, and combine harvesters powering through cornfields. She also loves to explore the world, thanks to countless family minivan trips across the States to coastal cities and national monuments. This passion for finding stories led to college adventures to Israel and Palestine, Jordan, Slovakia, Germany, and other European countries. Each place’s story rests in the back of her mind and in her childhood photo albums.

In 2002, Sarah received her BA from Wartburg College in public relations and media, and entered the workforce, ready to climb the ladder. However, when researching MBA applications evoked feelings of dread, she realized a corporate marketing career wasn’t for her. With the unfailing support of her loving husband, she chose to pursue a career in freelance and creative writing, and received her MA from Iowa State University in 2009.

These days, Sarah wakes every morning thrilled to cuddle her small children, show them the world, then capture that world and shape it into stories on paper. She also enjoys her piano, volunteering in her community, and reading anything with a cohesive plot. She and her family reside in Des Moines, Iowa.

 

Giveaway:

US Residents ONLY

$25 Omnific gift card, 

Five (5) signed, paperback copies of Hydraulic Level Five, 

Ten (10) eco-friendly Duck Duck Farms totes containing signed books, music, and other Colorado-centric items.

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