January 2014 AOTM + A Few Fun Things

Just a couple fun things. 'Few' implies more than two and I don't even think there are three fun things going on in my life.... *Crickets* Yeah. Probably not.

So. I trust you all have been having a stellar new year and brought it in SAFELY.  *Gives best mom-stare...watches everyone cower behind their monitors until they nod obediently* Now that my mother complex has been eased...I come to you today with your January Author Of The Month. And she is..... *Drumroll*

CHLOE NEILL!!!!

Isn't she perty? I'd never saw her face before tonight and I thought she'd be a blonde....dunno why. Just did.

Anysnooch, I do plan on reading her other series as well but for now, I'm starting with Chicagoland Vampires. Have you heard of it? I bet ya have. I admit, I'm behind in my reading but I went through this funk thing...where I only finished 27 books last year. Yeah. Sad. BUT, you can check my last post of 2013 for a recap on those books HERE.

I'm on book three now, at the present moment but I'm moving through them rather quickly. Much faster than I imagined I would....ya know. Since that whole funk thing I mentioned. *Shivers* Reading ruts are no fun and I feel for my bookish peeps who've been there. I KNOW YOUR STRUGGLE MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS!!

Yeah...come to think of it...I don't even have a couple fun things. But enjoy this gif! =D

Isn't it DARLING?! I like to think of it as an improvement on the original. What do you think?

Reading Recap Of 2013: My Year In Books

Told ya I'd get this up, now didn't I? *Winks*

Anywhoozlebees, as per my Goodreads, I've finished a whopping 31 27 books this year! Yes, I know. Don't get yourself too excited. I've started TONS more but didn't finish them all and certainly wasn't moved to write a review for them. Alas, for the ones I did, I will give you their title, a link to their corresponding review if I've written one and a sentence from said review to sum up my feelings for it.

In no particular order:

The Darkest Pleasure: Lords Of The Underworld #3 - 

"Such a shame that this book didn't get interesting until about 66% in."

Review HERE.

The Darkest Passion: LOTU #5

"The last three chapters or so were one of the only redeeming qualities for this book. It draaaagged 85% of the way through!"

Review HERE.

Lover At Last: Black Dagger Brotherhood #11

"Meh."

Review HERE.

Ever After: The Hollows #11

"For me, three stars for Ever After is generous."

Review HERE.

Twice Tempted: Night Prince #2

"How many books is she trying to squeeze out of this? I don't want to read the same book three-five times. It's exhausting."

Review HERE.

Desolate City: Albertos #1

"Yeah. Still confused. And not a single page feels like it is connected to the next."

Review HERE.

Charmed : The Charmed  #1

"Isnt this awkward? Infuriated. I want to be in love with this book but the emotional leaps are wigging me out. "

Review HERE.

Under Wraps: Underworld Detection Agency #1

"Sophie is an idiot. Just when I start to like her, too. Smh."

Review HERE.

Birth Of The Nyxian: The Immortal Choice Series # 1

"Oh. Insta-love. Cool."

Review HERE.

Prayer For The Dead: Revenants In Purgatory #1

"Olivia's voice is incredibly entertaining and likable. This hardly feels like a debut! It's fantastic."

Review HERE.

In doing this, I've realized that a few of the books I enjoyed the most aren't on this list. So they get a special shoutout! 

FAVORITE books of 2013:

Prayer For The Dead

Poison Princess

Endless Knight.

Funny how Kresley Cole has two of the three fave titles, huh? Lol A very close runner up for fave is:

Under The Never Sky.

My review for Endless Knight will be up shortly-ish but for now, I'm going to enjoy my NYE. 

HAPPY NEW YEAR! And a HUGE thank you for tagging along on this ride with me. I am so thankful for anyone reading this, there aren't words. I appreciate you very much and expect big things from me in 2014! I feel very good about this year <3 div="">

--Amiya <3 div="">

Prayer For The Dead by Nicki Scalise Book Review

**Spoilage**

**4 Stars**

Wow. For starters, let me just say that I started this book thinking it was an Urban Fantasy and there would be action, a badass antagonist and the occasional love scene. What I got was almost the exact opposite. But I was SO okay with that. More than okay, actually.

That's not to say that this wasn't chock full of win at every turn of the page. It was. But this was a love story through and through. I won't even go into how I feel about books that are primarily about love....because we'd be here all friggin' day. What I will say is that they are not my first choice of reading material by far. I do not do well with love stories without some form of action. You can tell I didn't read the blurb all the way through....Sue Me.....That being said...I adored this story.

Prayer For The Dead is Nicki Scalise's debut novel. I've read my fair share of debut novels and lemme tell ya', this does not read like a debut. It reads like a seasoned author who know what she's doing, knows exactly who her characters are, where she is taking them, and has a kick ass editor on staff. 

Olivia, our MC, is SUPER likeable. She's funny, down to earth and as I read from her perspective, I felt I could really connect with her...ya know, if she were a real person living in the real world versus purgatory. Speaking of, let's get into that briefly....world building. In the book, purgatory exists parallel to our world in geography and aesthetics only. The people that occupy this world...are all dead. I know. Bummer, right? These are all the people that get "stuck" in limbo. Allow me to break it down.

When you die, you do not automatically get to pass on to heaven. You need the people who loved you in your living state to mourn you and/or pray for you. IE, give you a proper funeral, cry and express their want for you to go to heaven, etc. If you do not get enough prayers in a specific amount of time....you remain in purgatory like Olivia, her brother, her best friend and everyone else. Ergo, Prayer For The Dead. I think that is the coolest shit ever. I've NEVER read a book like that and it made the romance-fest that followed durable.

Now, for the things that stopped this from being a five-star rating. The romance. It's just not my thing.They fell for each other a bit fast, IMO. Time passed  for the charries, but not on the pages where I could witness. We got one of those "It had been five weeks and..." so on and so forth.The big-bad was a little predictable, the love interest, Drake wasn't my idea of a heart-throb, and some of the things that happened after Drake's past was revealed just didn't really do much for me. BUT, if I still enjoyed it through all that, it's a damn good book. Haha. Usually I get really spoiler-y but I won't go too far because I want anyone gearing up to read this to enjoy it as much as I did. 

Happy Reading!

One And Two Star Book Reviews: Useless?

Evening! Fancy seeing me here again, eh?

Anyway, I was involved in a heated discussion on a bookish page from my personal fb last night - and this morning - and the question was:

"Those of you who write book reviews, will you NOT leave a review if you rate it less than a certain number of stars? Authors, do you prefer that readers/reviewers not leave a review if it's less than a specific number of stars? What's the "cut off point" for you?"

I was astonished to see quite a few reviewers - some well known among the fb AND goodreads bookish circles - saying that they don't post reviews under three stars. 

What? Well, why the hell not? 

As a reviewer, is it or is it not your duty to inform me - the reader - of the contents of a book BEFORE I read it? Isn't your purpose to tell everyone how good - OR BAD, which was where the problem arises - this book was before I go and spend X amount of dollars and numerous hours I cannot get refunded on this beast? Why be a book blogger if the only reviews you post are for "good" books? How can you consider yourself a reviewer if you never have a negative opinion about a book you read? We know all of them aren't gems. We're reading bad books, too! And as the consumer - the most important person in this whole publishing/reading scenario - we owe it to the author to tell them whether or not their books need work. If we don't, they'll never grow and continue to write crap books.

Am I the only one outraged over this?!

I must be. Because when I mentioned that I don't descriminate between good and bad books; that they alllll get a review posted, most of everyone there almost shat their pants. You do everyone involved a disservice when you only post 4 or 5 star book reviews. Because to the unsuspecting public, it looks like you LURVE all the books you read. How am I susposed to believe the word of someone who doesn't dislike anything? We don't get to see that email you send to the author giving them your thoughts and critiques. We don't know any of that is happening. To us, you just look dishonest. And to be frank, your opinion on every book you've ever read has just been called into question. You've taken the honesty out of book reviewing. And I shant read another you write.

So, readers and reviewers alike, I ask you now.....would you review a book you rated less than three stars? And if not, why? 

--A.

Twice Tempted by Jeaniene Frost

**Spoilage**

3.78 Stars. A very high 3.78 stars.

As much as I wanted to give this 2 stars, I just can't. No matter how little I like a plot she does, which characters she decided to fuck over or tweak their personality, or which one she ultimately decides to kill give a spin-off series to, this woman is a PHENOMENAL writer. She obviously cares about what she sells or else we'd be getting a new Night Huntress book every six-nine months. And that, above book sales, book signings, appearances, movie deals and all that shit lots of other "authors" are doing is what I respect and love the most.

It is no secret that the Night Huntress series isn't my favorite of all time. Sometimes the plot....eh. I just don't always get it but her characters - I always love.

That being said, I will repeat an earlier opinion of mine and say I wish she would have just left Vlad in Night Huntress. Sometimes. Yes, even Dracula needs love but he just felt better as a supporting role in NH. He was SO badass - still is, but I just don't like him in this role of savior and protector as much as he is in both the Night Prince books. And Leila and her family are always needing protecting. I just...more abduction, Frost? Really? I thought we were done with that. I want us to be done with that. I NEED us to be done with that.

Anysnooch, Leila has never been my favorite female. But then again, neither was Kira at first and I really grew to love her. But no, Leila still hasn't grown on me completely and I think that's partly because of her waffle-like personality. One minute she's balls to the wall bossing around the scariest motherfucker in the world, and the next she's crying because he won't tell her he loved her. I mean, part of it is understandable but c'mon dude. You're having sex with Dracula. You had to know it wasn't gonna be all lollipops and rainbows and he wasn't going to fawn all over you, telling you he loves you every second of every day.

For that, you might want to go see Spade. He's in the spin-off series right before yours. Book one. Now, don't dawdle visiting hours are almost up.

A few things really ground my gears for this book. Like, how Leila actually believed Vlad would try and kill her after she refused his offer to turn her in front of his line. Please. Just please, human you are inconsequential. Even with your business hand flowing full of electricity.

And how obvious it was that the vamper from the circus bombing was the bad guy/bitch/culprit behind the attack and Leila conveniently forgets to mention she saw her at the scene of the crime. Throughout the entire book, we read about this "thick brown/chestnut hair" on this vampire whose face she can't see and when it really counts, she never connects the two.

WHAT THE FUCKETY FUCK?!?!

It was just too obvious to the readers. I feel that if Frost was going to give us hints about the big bad, they should have been more subtle and more infrequent. Because she made her MC look dumb as a box of rocks. And since she hangs around vampers for the better part of her life, one would expect her to be a wee bit smarter.

I expected her to somehow become a vampire, so I wont bother putting spoiler brackets around this. We all knew she'd be Vlad's HEA and being human, she has an expiration date so...yeah. She had two options : Ghoul or vamper. Not that hard to figure out.

One Two Three more things I didn't like:

One: The fact that Vlad is supposed to be this big imposing vampire and he has all these traitors among his own people. Nope. I don't accept it.

Two: Vlad really jumped up the overprotective/borderline abusive vampire ass for this book. Waaay too much. Don't threaten to lock me up for using my own abilities because you don't like it. So what I hemorrhage from my facial orifices like I've contracted Ebola and have actually died once from it. Don't get your fangs in a snit.




Three: This Sziglayi or whatevaaa is name is, is still a factor. No! I'm over it and him. This is basically, book one with some stranger bitch using magic, an explosion, a wedding and a hell of a lot less sex between Vlad and Leila.  We're still being kidnapped and used for our seeing abilities, we're still crying cause Vlad won't tell us he loves us, We're still impaling folks - nothing has changed! How many books is she trying to squeeze out of this? I don't want to read the same book three-five times. It's exhausting.

Aye dios.

Lover At Last by J.R Ward

Whaaaaat?! TWO simultaneous posts? HOW FRIGGIN COOL AM I?!

Answer: SHE'S B-AWESOME!

Anywhoo, here ya go. Make of it what you will and bother me not with foolish questions. For I do it all for thou.

**Spoilage**

**2 GENEROUS stars**

Lover At Last in ten lines - More or less:

The Omega: "Make more impotent, pigment challenged men so we can sell drugs."

Qhuinn: (While crying) "Blaylock is having sex with my man-whore cousin and I seemed to have lost my ability to function because of it."

Layla: (after declaring herself a Fallen Chosen) "I can do naught but think of him...and berate myself for thinking of such a traitorous male."

Assail: "I am a cheap Rehvenge reboot with two "twins" I call Trez 2 and iAin't." [Instead of iAm. Get it?]

Qhuinn: (As he begs Blay to have sex with him.) "I'll take you any way I can have you."

Blaylock: "Too bad. I really love you, too but our author placed all these unnecessary plot devices in my way so I can't tell you."

Xcor: "I long for my dearest Chosen who is too good for me but continue to plot against her King who shelters, feeds and protects her."

Qhuinn: "FUCKIN' RIGHT, I'm inducted to the Brotherhood! But Blay still hates me so I'll go drink myself into oblivion."

Blaylock: "You're in love with me Qhuinn? Really?"

Ward: "And they lived happily ever after."

Meh.

But seriously, though. This is basically it. That last line, the happily ever after one, is REALLY in the book. Like Ward couldn't figure out another way to end it. I was all




I didn't really have high expectations of this book because come on, were her last two really that good? But, somehow I still found myself disappointed.

Not a single line in this book did Qhuinn any justice. Every page in this book made him sound inept, stupid, incapable and whiny. Although I was less than pleased with most of this book, it did help me see that I don't really like him and Blaylock together like I thought I would. Three books ago, I was all for "Qhuay" and I was up in arms when two other books came, went and SUCKED and there was nothing even remotely indicative of Qhuinn and Blaylock even being friends much less starting a relationship. But now, I'm all




It just doesn't work for me. Or at least, it doesn't now. How it was written just made Qhuinn so codependent and blah if he wasn't with him. Which, for me just didn't do much. What happened to the strong males who lived up to their Vampire names? Protected the King of the race with their own lives? Ripped lessers to itty bitty pieces for their mates and plow through anything and anyone to get them?

And just generally kick ass?! Where have they gone? Has me feeling like this



If you don't know that song...go to google and search Rihanna. Cause she's fuckin' awesome.

Anysnooch, Blay was a mountain of dicks throughout the entire book. Treated Qhuinn like a common whore and not his former best friend....And that's really all I have to say about that. Oh, and he came out to his parents. That part was awesome. His parents rock.

Saxton...meh. He never was a favorite of mine so I wasn't particularly broken up about his hurt feelings.



Layla's pregnancy bits are one of the few aspects of this book that I did like. I kept skimming through most of everything else to know what happened and I must admit, I'm happy with how it turned out. I also really liked her little bit with Xcor. I don't know what it is, but I really like those two together. Xcor would just be so appreciative of her love and Layla would be absolutely doted on. Aside from the issue with him being a Bastard and her being a Chosen living in the King's house and all that, I think he'll somehow end up her HEA. Ward is very hush hush on the matter but if enough fans express their liking for that particular pairing, she'll make it happen. Wanna know how I know? Because we have Qhuay. Even though Ward said she already knew who Qhuinn's female would be like, five books ago. *Shrug*

Wrath, Payne, some Trez and Selena and the Layla/Xcor bits are probably the only redeeming qualities for this book. Most of it really dragged for me.

It wasn't all bad, though. This book really put into stark relief how much I dislike her writing style. All the "Umm...Yeah"ing, the "What do you know"s and basically the little bits that just make you think her characters are just so cool get on my nerves. It was okay in the beginning but ten books later and I'm over it. One of my main issues with Ward is her timelines. She waffles on them and confuses her readers. It's also very obvious that no one bothers to edit this woman anymore. So many pages and too much of it did nothing to push the plot along. We got almost nothing about the lessers and what they're doing besides working with a vampire to sell more drugs. It's old, dude. Can we do something else?

I won't even bother to get into the bad missteps concerning her M/M love scenes. I'm sure you'll read many a ranting review about the absence of lube or finger prep all on your onesie sabby. [Sorry, Watched some Jack Sparrow lately.]

She has so many characters and side storylines that I'm confused about why she even bothers with the lessers anyway. Trez and his issue with his people, Sola and her grandmother, Assail and his Shadow dopplegangers, The Bastards and their quest for the throne that Ward seems to be hellbent on giving to Xcor. It's just so much that I find myself not caring about more than half of it.

All in all, I give this book a shrug. I'm so dangerously close to dropping the series that I kind of don't care whose book is next. Undoubtedly, it'll be full of more romance than action. Which sucks. She's lost so much of the war with lessers to the romance, that I don't know if she can make this next book magic enough to save this series.

**Images Copyright to their Respective Owners

The Misunderstood "Alpha Male"

Essentially, this post is just a branch off my last post about a particular subset of romance novels that have taken the reading world by storm in the last year or so.

The post in question can be found HERE. Peruse it, get familiar with it if you like. If you do not care to read it, then I'll paraphrase as best as I can. 

Abusive books, blahblahblah, Young women being misled in the ways of romance, blahblah. I'm appalled that people read these kinds of books and praise them as much as they do when they live unhealthy relationships and know how uncool it is, blahbleeeblooo. Authors using BDSM as a smokescreen for abusive 'heroes' - and I use that term loosely. My hero doesn't need to know my bank account number or need me to sign a contract before we engage in physical activities. - blah. You get the picture.

Yes. I can "blah" myself. I wrote it. :P

Anywho, I've been cruising Goodreads aimlessly. Ya know, because the idea of sleeping is a joke. And I've come to realize that people have been shelving these books as "Alpha Male". 

I don't understand. There's being an Alpha Male and then there's abusing folks. BIG difference to the women who've been on the business end of a fist or verbal rant. But we won't go there. That's a topic of a different sort.

Wait. I'll break it down.

**Alpha male

An alpha male is the top-ranking animal in a social group.

OR

**Human examples

Alpha male can also refer to an aggressive, highly-ranked man in a human group – usually in a business setting.

Alright. I got that. Here's what I'm getting an ear and eye-full of.

**Abuse

Abuse is a term used for the use or treatment of something which causes hurt. Abuse is generally done by another life form. For example, animal abuse is normally done on animals, by humans. Drug or alcohol abuse is the misuse (especially overuse) of drugs or alcohol. Abuse can also occur when somebody of a higher class thinks they are better than another and hurts them to make their status clear.Abuse can be raping, or sexism.

Yep. Sounds about right. Abuse covered by a smokescreen deemed "alpha male".

What I want to know is, in what world do these two terms meet in the middle? 

And will we ever call bullshit on what seems to be the new fad in books? --A.

**Source: Wikipedia.com

Charmed by Lindy Zart

****Spoilage****

***2.5 Stars!***

From the rash of amazing reviews of this book, I went in assuming reading it would be time and money well spent. It was...to a point. I'll insert my 'updates' on this book into this review to give you a sense of what I mean.

3/09 12%: "Yep. Seems legit."

3/11 16%: "Not really liking how we just got thrown into the thick of things with absolutely no set up or background on our MC. I assumed I'd be let in on her secrets int he next coming chapters...nope. As long as I ignore the fact that I'm reading about a perfect stranger who was attracted to he sort-of abductor, I think I'll be okay. Must suspend reality a touch and a half more."

3/11 24%: "I don't like Creed. He's arrogant and entitled. Not a flattering mix."

3/12 32%: "Isn't this awkward? Infuriated. I want to be in love with this book but the emotional leaps are wigging me out. I still like the book but I just wish there was more...just MORE. Ay Dios."

3/12 38%: "This love triangle is tap dancing on my last nerve. It feels kind of forced."

3/13 49%: "Aaaand there it is. Something shifted. And NOT in a good way. *Groans* This book is tap dancing toward he dnf shelf. *Spoiler* It's been like a week and a half- give or take - and already Taryn is acting like a lovesick schoolgirl. I dislike this."

3/14 55%: "Now I'm solidly in the 'Not Feeling it' column. It's melodramatic, extremely rushed, a little all over the place and I just don't feel the drama going on, on the pages. And it was doing so well, too."

3/14 64%:"Yeah. I don't want to read this anymore. So rushed. And it's only 265 pages ffs! There's no reason this wasn't taken slower."

I have no idea what happened past 64%. There was nothing that inspired me to keep reading.





Let's take it from the top....ish, shall we?

Rokie Dokie.

Taryn is our MC. Orphaned, just turned 18, sarcasm embodied - which was a plus, in my eyes. But that's really all we know about her. Oh, and apparently she has bad birthdays. All the time. Whatevs.

From the start, we're thrown right into the middle of stuff going on. I say stuff because that's what it felt like. Like, Zart had an entire two or three chapters before this and just decided to cut them out and start off a book with strange men luring her with their eyes and denting the roof of her car. There's some running, some questioning, some checking out of the douche who trashed her car. But ultimately Taryn goes with him.

As if she has no job, no apartment, no parents and evidently, no sense, either. Still, I didn't care. Taryn's voice in this book was so strong and SO likeable, it made of a lot of the other boring stuff tolerable because she is such a joy to read...to a point.

There are Manang's - which is exactly what they look like. Man-Angels. Let me just tell you how much this term/identifier for this race of beings GRINDS my forking gears. It's almost like, really Zart? Is that what you're giving me after you introduce one of the best MC's/Protagonists I've read in good while?



Disappointing to say the very least.

Anysnooch, Taryn allows Stranger to drive her out of the state and eventually they make it to a house full of other strangers where they tell her she is a Charmed. And Of COURSE she is the strongest/best/last hope/ final Charmed to walk the earth. She'll save them in an upcoming war...yadda, yadda, yadda. You catch my drift.

Some things happen, she gets trained - OH! I'm forgetting the part where Creed - Stranger Who Dented Our Car - Claims her. Which would technically make her a Pitied [Don't EVEN get me started on that term, either.] which is also what it sounds like. Basically, a brainless slave to their Man-Angels who basically are a source of sexual entertainment that eventually die because the Man-Angels have siphoned off their life force and used it to extend their own. Sounds SUPA FUN, right?



Yeah. Any-hoot. Taryn gets trained, starts falling in love with Luke - her Guardian who does what a Guardian should - starts falling for Creed - her sworn Protector who also does what a Protector should. Although he's an arrogant ass. - Whom she barely likes on a regular basis but somehow she manages to fall for them both.



 This is where the aforementioned forced love triangle comes into play. Taryn has been at this house full of STRANGERS for only a few weeks - give or take - and she's managed to find time to fall for both of them, train physically, feel like she's always being watched, learn about her heritage, make friends, find out her dad is a traitor, find out she has a twin sister, TRUST these strangers implicitly - blabiddy blah. It was just SO much crammed into the book, I couldn't help but roll my eyes for over half of what I read.

Throughout all this, I don't feel like any of it pushed the plot along any further. There's supposed to be a war coming but I just didn't feel the urgency that the writing implied I should be feeling.

Okay, the writing. It was really, really well written, most of the characters were engaging, minimal grammatical errors and I almost immediately fell in love with the MC. But that was really all I liked. It felt like she had a good premise going but not enough was happening to make me believe shit was about to go DOWN and that I should be on the edge of my seat wondering what happens next. I had to suspend reality too much to believe this and I just can't be bothered to do it. I wasn't inspired to keep reading and that really sucked. Because it started out so promising.

Image Copyright to its Respective Owner. No Copyright Infringement intended.

Writing w/Your Reader In Mind

What exactly do I mean, you ask? I mean write a book you want to read. One that you can follow easily but it will still keep you wondering what's going to come next. One that will keep you on the edge of your seat wondering if s/he really will kiss her/him or whip out a knife yelling - SURPRISE! I'm the bad guy! One where - if you're into that sorta thing - the frigid and hulking vampire actually has a softer/secret side and knits little bunny mittens for underprivileged inner-city children.

Okay, maybe I took that a bit too far. My apologies.

But never one where you're reading one sentence and the very next one has nada to do with the previous. As the author, we know everything that happens in our books; we know that nothing is said errantly, everything means something in the end. BUT our readers do not. We can't have them playing too much of a guessing game during their reading or else their attentions will stray. Instead of reading, they'll stop and wonder what we mean or make up explanations of their own in their mind. And as writers, I feel it is our responsibility that any leaps in logic our readers have to make are just and not big enough to fit inside the grand canyon.

Thankfully, there's a somewhat easy fix.

Read. 'Tis all. Read lots and lots of books. Read great books. See how the words flow, observe how the author segues into different chapters. See what their grammar looks like and take note of their writing style. Read bad books so you know what doesn't work. So you know what you don't want your book to sound like.

Writing is not a sprint. It's a marathon. And how many times have I told you that you can't run a marathon without putting a couple band-aids on your nipples?*

Sorry, I was watching Horrible Bosses earlier. Kevin Spacey rocks. And Jason Bateman is one of the handsomest men I've seen in a good while.

Moral of the story: Take it slow. Your novel will not decrease in awesomeness or value if you spend more time to "perfect" it. Do your research, get to know your characters inside and out and TRUST in your own creative voice. That is the most important, I believe. You could write one of the most amazing and insightful books ever but it means nothing if you don't believe in it.

*Quote copyright to their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended.

Desolate City by Raquel Jones

**SPOILERS AHOY!**

**2 Stars**

I'll start off by saying that this book is a grammatical mess. There are gaps in the plot, one dimensional characters, words being used in the wrong context, typos and just - it was too much for a 238 page book.

I wanted to like this book soooo much. But sadly, I didn't like it very much at all. This book started off promising. High school setting, the characters seemed interesting enough, albeit I was only about five pages in. But it didn't stay that way.

Albertos isn't in the USA but Jones never mentions where exactly it is. Whether it's even on Earth or in this universe. It's just kind of there. Which is a no-no. It's necessary for world-building. Especially when you have elements in your book that are Supernatural. That should have been hashed out. Before this was published.

Instead of calling supernatural creatures supernatural creatures, Jones calls them Haydens. I don't understand it. I think it's a really cute effort to be different but it was kinda just...yeah. Calling them Haydens didn't and doesn't make much of a difference because a few characters refer to Haydens as supernatural beings anyway.

There is a fine line between babying your readers and expecting them to be able to read your mind. Which is ANOTHER topic all together. That being said, I don't feel like this book was written with the reader in mind. In the first few chapters the writing takes leaps in logic that the reader is supposed to be able to follow but it doesn't get explained until ten or so pages later. Which was a turn off.

Seiren - which I've been pronouncing like Siren. Pardon me if I'm wrong. - is the MC/Protagonist. She doesn't have much of a voice to me. She just felt like she was there. I didn't get a sense for who she was so much as what she does. She apparently likes to run, scale buildings, work in bars with these creatures she supposedly hates, work at hot dog stands and a few other places just so she can afford her crappy apartment with her sperm donor. But there wasn't much character development at all. For any of the characters. We get a bunch of tell but not nearly enough show. I think Jones intended for Seiren to be a strong, independent sort of MC but I didn't get any of that. It felt like she spent a great deal of the book trying to convince us that Seiren is strong and fearless but in reality, that just didn't come across in the writing.

Seiren is supposed to be 17, a student in high school and we're supposed to believe she can hold down three jobs - enough to pay the bills single-handedly - scale buildings in her free time and maintain her school life.

No. I do not accept that.

With her leaping tall buildings, climbing walls, and being able to run faster than "normal humans", she should have known she was something more. Like a Hayden. I would've expected her to be suspicious of it, especially since she knew nothing of her mother but no. It went right over her head.

Luann, Julius, Echo, Tracie, Cece, Vinul, Kilik, Don, Ereshkigal - I'm pretty sure there were more characters introduced after I stopped reading - There were just entirely too many things going on for such a short book yet not much of what was happening did anything to push the plot along. The plot is a bit thin to begin with, anyway but still. I felt the beginnings of some romance between Echo and Seiren but nothing that made me feel it was genuine between them two. Like, the author added it in as an afterthought.

Ereshkigal is a group of Haydens that no one likes. Just because. No real reason, no one knows their origins, no one knows much of anything but everyone knows that no one gets along with them.

What?

These characters go here, they go there, get a bit of info from so-and-so, Seiren chants "Show no fear" to herself about thirty times, passes out more than any MC I've ever read about and throughout it all, not much of anything was really happening. There were A LOT of unnecessary filler-like events going on throughout the entire book, a lot of things being mentioned that had no impact on the plot and some anti-climactic fight/action scenes. I read up until about 64% and still didn't get a clear sense of what the big-bad was. I could probably guess but I didn't feel inspired to keep reading to find out.

All in all, I don't know if I'd recommend this book to many people because it reads like a rough draft; like the author needs to have some drinks with her girlfriends, hand out copies of the MS and discuss that they did and didn't like and what needs to change/be refined. It's a great first shot, but it's kind of all over the map. And not necessarily in a good way, either. Also, the name of the book is "Desolate City". Nothing in this book - that I've read - even suggests that any part of any city is desolate. Maybe I have to read to the end to understand....*Shrugs*

Image/Cover Photo Copyright to its Respective Owner
No Copyright Infringement Intended

The Darkest Passion by Gena Showalter

First off, yes. I'm late in reading this series. I avoided it because I was trying to venture out into something different than PNR but...what are ya gonna do, right?

I just feel like I need to do a little mini review-ish kind of thing.

**2 Stars**

I didn't accept a great many things that happened in this book. Granted, some things were great and unpredictable, for me. But too many things were just not good.

I didn't like Olivia. I didn't find her character likeable, believable, or intriguing in the least. She was very beige and kept doing things outside of her character parameters, IMO. She was a walking, talking contradiction. In every sense of the word.

Aeron. He was just...there. Why be labeled such a fierce warrior throughout the first 5+ books [I'm including Novellas] only to fall flat in your own? Gideon and Strider were the most interesting things about this book.

Lies and Defeat. Doesn't really inspire much confidence for me in the writer. I find myself growing bored with their demons and their one word demands. VERY staccato and just...generic "evil-demon-softening-for-a-female" kind of feel, to me. I was excited for Aeron's book because he seemed the most interesting to me. With his black wings, tattoos and tortured eyes, he really seemed like It'd be time well spent reading his book. But it totally wasn't.

I've also noted a lot of inconsistencies with Showalter's work; not to mention repetitiveness. Gideon has his hands chopped off in the last book, but in this one - before they grew back - he was interrogating a...let's call her a prisoner, and he "fisted his hands". Um, hello. Two sentences later, his "stubs collided with metal" and started hurting. Something any editor worth their salt should have picked up on. Also, what in the fuck happened to the other two Harpies that were at the Fortress? Did I miss the part where she said they were gone? Completely plausible, of course. As I was half-assed skimming most of this book. Also, the gods be damned teeth scraping when people kiss. It. Is. Not. Sexy. The sound teeth make if they scrape against another.... *Shudders* and the echo it will cause in your head. Yeah, that can put a damper on a boner quickly.

One last rant: WHYYYYY on earth do all of her virgin heroines - thus far - enjoy having their hymen jack-hammered by these well-hung warriors?! IT MAKES NO SENSE.

Query Revisions?

Lately I've been thinking very seriously about revising my queries for The Descendant and Selene. The way I see it is that the agents haven't read the MS, so they can't possibly hate it. It HAS to be my query letters that's turning them off.

So. Caylee's query letter gets a revision. I have also been thinking about submitting my query letter to Query Shark to be possibly ripped apart and reviewed. And I have to say, I've never been more excited to get rejected publicly. Janet Reid, [Click HERE to view her blog.] if you don't know, is a literary agent with FinePrint Literary Management in NYC who runs Query Shark. [Click HERE for the Query Shark blog.] For those of you who may not know, Query Shark is exactly what it sounds like. You send your query, if she approves it, she will post it with her critiques. Because authors, writers, aspiring authors and everyone in between could ALWAYS use input from literary agents, I find this insanely helpful. If you don't and you would like to have a career in writing, reevaluate your career choices.

I know my query needs work, so I will be working on it for some time. 

--A.

Ever After By Kim Harrison

*Spoilage*

***Three 1/2 Stars!***

For me, three stars for Ever After is generous. I am a bit let down and disappointed in this book. Although I do not recommend anyone skip this book if they plan on reading anymore of this series. LOTS of things happen that will surely have you lost with the next book if you skip this one. So. Read this shit.

From the opening paragraph, something about this felt different to me. Rachel seemed off, a touch more wordy and emotional than she'd been in the last book, A Perfect Blood. I overlooked it. Then things kept being mentioned, events that apparently had happened in past books, people I remembered almost nothing about and major plot points I felt had no place in this book kept popping up. I was con-freaking-fused for a great deal of it but still, I credited it to me not having read any of the past Hollows books in a while; I was just a little misty on the past details.

Ku'Sox reprised his role in Ever After, making big waves and causing poor Trenton HUGE problems. Kidnapping his daughter and her Stand-In mommy made the big bad Elf vewy angwy. Nick and a few other almost-forgotten characters also popped in to say heylo, too.

Al seemed a little less snarky than usual, the snap and bite gone from his words. Jenks...ahh, he was still Jenks, I suppose. Just not...Jenks. I wish I could explain it better, but I can't. Ivy was absent for almost all of this book, hopping in for the last seven or so chapters but playing as small a role as Harrison dared without cutting her out of the book entirely. Which vexed me greatly. And she fxcking killed Ceri!! BY TINK'S LITTLE PINK NIPPLES, WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?!

*Breathes deeply* Okay. I'm sorry for snapping. I just...It was stupid. And I was enjoying the book up until then. First Piscary, Kisten, Matalina, and NOW Ceri. Oh, and Pierce - who was technically already dead but you catch my drift. Obviously Harrison has no qualms about killing off her characters. As quiet as kept, I like her all the better for it. I love a good ballsy author who isn't afraid to kill off a few people. Keeps things lively.

Trenton was a bit too mushy-romance-y for comfort, IMO anyway. It seemed to be a bit out of character for him but then again...this book kinda flip flopped around. Everybody felt a little disjointed. To me at least. Al....gosh. Rachel didn't get slapped or hit on by him once in this entire book. NOT. ONCE. I didn't get it. By all rights, Al should be such a pig, I'm forced to find him nothing but dangerously, wittingly charming in a weird sort of I'm-So-Obtuse-And-Offensive-With-My-Completely-Garish-Flirting-That-I've-Looped-Back-Over-To-Sexy kind of way.

Hey, don't judge me. Al is badass.

Rachel's favorite new word was Sorry. She said it to every single person besides herself in the damn book. If I never ever read the word 'Sorry' coming from Rachel's mouth again, it'll be too soon. Rachel seemed to break off her tough-ass-kicking-demon self and flush it down the toilet before this book because not an ounce of her HAPA and Coven ass kicking self shown on a single page of this book. Nick was able to get the drop on her and give her a good smack. Nick. Does no one else see the problem with this? Alas, I was disappointed.

Ellasbeth gave me a good giggle, though. Man, she is just awful. But I love her as a character.

The whole big-bad/antagonist/oh-shit-we've-got-trouble factor in this book was reallyyyy good. The whole Rosewood baby kidnapping thing - friggin GENIUS. But I feel it was played all wrong. Harrison could've taken it to unforeseen heights, built a platform/big-bad for the next book kind of branching off this, but it just didn't do it. I kind of feel like she's setting things up to pull Ivy completely from the series and leave Rachel with just Jenks and a handful of his kids. Oh, and Belle. Can't forget the Fairy. But, no more Ivy? Is she INSANE?!

ALTHOUGH, I DO feel like that ending with Trent just might have made Ceri's death tolerable. Maybe.

**Image Copyright to Kim Harrison, No Copyright Infringement Intended**

Why I've Been So Quiet

My sincerest apologies for being silent for more than a month but the month of December is always monstrous for me and things tend to slip through the cracks. This past December was a bit more time consuming for me because my best friend in the entire world got married! *Claps* And I was actually her Maid of Honor. It was a beautiful day, she looked breathtaking and by the end of the month, I was pooped.

Anywho, I haven't really been writing much but lately, that has changed somewhat. I've added another couple thousand words to a bit of Caleb and even some to Caylee. A few of my other WIP's are coming along as well. Slowly, but coming along nonetheless. Usually, for me, writing is an escape from my daily monotonous life. Breaking up the tedium with pockets of creativity and new secret worlds no one knows about, can criticize, poke holes in or destroy because it is all in my head and generally, what I say goes. . And I love that I am able to step back from my life and live this other full and complete life without even having to leave the safety of my own home. But some time ago, writing became something of a chore. Not a bad chore per say, but I wasn't sitting down to write for pleasure so much as 'needing' to get it out. Other writers understand me when I say that. Alas, for the past couple of weeks, I've been feeling excited about getting home and sitting down at my laptop and spending time with these wonderful people inside my head. It would be sacrilege not to tell their stories.

So I've drawn the conclusion that I will just keep writing There is no 'until'. I write, therefore I am. And there is nothing more beautiful than that. -- A.

P.S. A little teaser/snippet of Caleb will be coming soon! Next blog post is alllll about Caylee!

Roadblocks =x

I find that once I'm in a writing rut, it's damn hard to dig myself out. With that said, I feel like I'm pulling my hair out trying to drag more than five to six hundred words out of myself. It is damn frustrating. And discouraging.

It sucks.

Also, I've stopped writing queries for a while now. For about two-three months, at least. I'm not exactly sure why, but I'm trying to focus on a couple different things right now. I will be attending the Winter/Spring 2013 Semester at my local college and I still have TONS of things to do for that so I apologize right now for my lack of blog posts/updates. I think I've been successfully pulled from my reading rut, too.

Currently, I'm reading Glory In Death by J.D Robb. For those of you who may not know, J.D Robb is a pseudonym for Nora Roberts. The first in this series, I have to admit, didn't really do much for me. I didn't hate it but I wasn't in love with it either. The first book was published in the late 90's and as of now, there are 40-plus books planned for this series with no end in sight. For me, that is a bit excessive. How many books do I want to read about a Cop finding murderers in the year 2058 with her rich, ex-badass man on her arm? Yeah. I don't really want to read more than ten, to be completely honest.

Anysnooch, I'll update as much as I can. No promises, but I will try.  --A.

Muse by Susie M. Hanley

****4 STARS!****

**SPOILAGE**

I don't think there are enough nice things I could say about this book. It was well written, the characters were like-able, - with maybe one exception - I very much liked the concept and premise to this book and I really loved that I didn't have to try so hard to suspend reality to make this believable. It did take me a while to finish but it is not for lack of interest in the book. I'm kind of in a stinky-rut I-don't-wanna-read-anything phase. Meh. Hopefully, it'll pass.

The world of Muses and Guardians sucked me in from the moment I read the blurb about Muse. With so many books out there about vampires, werewolves, shifters - the list goes on and on. I was SOOO refreshed and excited to finally read something different.

Shelby is our lead. As a protagonist, I really liked her. She was relatable, sassy, smart - I could talk about her all day. I felt like the author really knew what/who to write about and how to enable readers to identify with Shelby. She really felt like a real woman with real issues you could sit down and have a drink with, [Probably not too much. Shelby's kind of a lightweight. Lol] talk about men with and bitch out your professor with when they give too much homework.

Cal - my G-d, I was really rooting for him. *Sad face* I won't give too much away, but despite his tool-ness, I really did like him, I understood him in some aspects and I *whispers* may have gotten lady wood for him a bit. *Giggles* Shhh. 'Tis a secret. ;]

I really liked how the existence of Muses and Guardians wasn't a secret in Muse. Ya know how usually in most - almost all - books the magic or supernatural element[s] in the story are secret and it's super important that no humans know about it. *Rolls eyes* No, I was so relieved and excited that it was known to the public. I sort of felt this book was a little - and I do mean just a touch - slow-going. And at first, I couldnt really pinpoint what the big-bad was going to be but when it hit, holy nucking futs, I was like "Ohhhh, snizap. This dude is INSANE." Yeah. It was that good. For a second there, at like 74% I got thrown. Maybe it was earlier....I don't remember but I *ALMOST* rolled my eyes.

One of the only things I couldn't really gel with in this book was the love/romance element. It felt a bit coerced. Like, the love triangle thing wasn't really thought out and just added in later. I just think a week is a bit too soon for anyone to fall in love with someone new. Especially since Malcom is a Guardian and Shelby has a bad history with Guardians. I just think she should have been less accepting of him in her life.

The other thing I didn't really like was how she treated Cal. Yes, he was a tool - when you read it, you'll see just how big of a tool - but he's the father of her children. Even when things with Tiffany - one of our big-bad's - and her plotting got better, she was still dismissive and I'd go so far as rude. Still, a full length novel and I only didn't like two things? Great book. Really great book.

I just hope theres a part two or something. The ending left it open to suggestion a little bit.

Click HERE to visit Ms. Hanley's website.

Click HERE to go to Ms. Hanley's Goodreads.

Click HERE to purchase Muse on Barnes and Noble.

Click HERE to purchase Muse on Amazon. 

I was given this book in exchange for a review but as always, all thoughts and opinions are my own and are really how I feel. As you may have read, I don't give reviews for the fork of it.

Organized writing? What of it?!

Morning, morning. *Chugs coffee* OR good night/afternoon, whatever the case may be in your neck of the woods.

Book outlines? What are these things? And does everyone do them?

From my understanding, book outlines are the just that. The general...outline of what is going on in your book. Characters, setting, naming the big-bad, naming the protagonist, tossing in a few stumbling blocks here and there for good measure - things of that nature. I've even seen an author outlining major scenes that happen in her MS. Like dialogue and everything. Frankly, this scares me. I prefer something a bit more...spontaneous. Almost, "live" writing, if you will. Planning an emotional scene or an excited fight scene kind of takes the fun right out of it for me.

Do I do book outlines?

I don't. The whole idea of organized writing... *Shudders* No. I can hardly stomach the thought. Personally, I don't "outline" anything. I don't do "rough drafts". I don't plan out how many words I'd like to get done in a certain amount of time. I don't decide which WIP I want to work on, on that particular day. I sit and I write. And whatever may come to me about whichever WIP - and believe me, I have about six currently going at once - is what I will sit down and write on.

Why, you ask? I never ever ever ever want to set limitations for myself and I think writing an outline, setting a word-count goal, or even telling yourself which WIP you're going to start on are ALL limitations.

Not to get all science-lesson on you guys, but the human mind is an exceptionally amazing thing. You limit yourself every single day without even knowing what you're doing. Some commands get processed so fast, our conscious never even has a chance to analyze it before it gets done. Prime example: breathing and blinking. Your eyes get dry so your body tells it to blink. Your brain needs oxygen to to function so your lungs work. -- DONE SCIENCE LESSON.

I always want to do better. If I think my last book was amazeballs, then this next one has to be better. I want to excel past my own dreams. Now, what I think and do for myself may not necessarily work for anyone else on this planet. But it does for me and by golly gee, I refuse to limit myself. When you limit yourself you get comfortable. You start to slack off, think you're still at the top of your game. Tell me something readers and writers alike: Pick up your favorite author's first major-selling book; their first NYT's bestseller. Now, pick up their latest work. Even if it isn't part of the same series. I promise you that there is a difference in the way they write. Whether it is better or worse, they've became comfortable.

That first book, that first WIP, finding an agent and a publisher, that first manuscript you bust your ass to get out there I can almost guarantee that you may never work as hard for anything else as you have that. This may not be a bad thing because there are some people who have, like, goldmines at their fingertips and every word is like swiss chocolate on the palate and we just gobble every word, paragraph, comically infused metaphor like they're candy. Yes, 'tis true.

BUT as I've said before. Comfortable can be scary. Your writing absolutely has to, has to, HAS TO improve, evolve or grow over time or else you run the risk of all of your books sounding the same. In my opinion, anyway.

*Drum rolls* 

AND NOW, A MESSAGE FROM CAYLEE AND NOLAN!

From pages 69-71 of the MS, The Descendant.

    A loud boom of a knock sounded at the front door as soon as the dishwasher turned on; startling me so much I stubbed my toe on the dishwasher. Jeeze, I was a scaredy-cat. Imagining a knock on the door when some punk just crank called me saying he would do just that. Hopping on one slippered foot, I removed the fluffy yellow duck from my injured foot and examined my toe. It looked like it would be good and swollen in about ten minutes. I groaned, limping to the fridge and pushing the button for - The knock came again and this time I was sure I hadn’t imagined it.

    Stubbed toe forgotten, I stood slowly and slid my foot out of my other slipper, grabbing my phone off the counter as I went to the door. Who knocks like that when we have a painfully obvious doorbell all but glittering with a RING DOORBELL HERE sign? My hand was reaching for the doorknob when a voice rang out.

    “Caylee are you there?” Flinching, I released the breath I was holding in and yanked the door open, glaring at my guest.

    “How do you know where I live?” Nolan’s hair was wet from the drizzle that had started about twenty minutes ago and I noticed he wasn’t wearing a jacket. Still, he smiled unapologetically and ran his fingers through his hair, the wheat colored mane refusing to look anything less than perfect.

    “Nice pj’s,”

    “How do you know where I live?” I repeated trying to distract myself from being embarrassed that he’d seen me in my pajamas and messy bun.

    At least I didn’t still have my retainer in.

    “I do teacher’s aide work at school for extra credit. I have access to the records.” I arched my eyebrow at him and cast a fleeting glance at the umbrella stand just to my left, preparing to use it as a weapon if need be.

    “Are you stalking me?” I asked shifting closer to it. “Because I can tell you right now that I’m not an interesting person. What you see is what you get with me – well not literally.” I amended at his amused look.

    “No, I am not stalking you. I actually need a favor.”

    “You need a favor? The guy who lives in one of the biggest houses in this city – maybe even the state – needs a favor from me?” I shook my head and shifted closer to the umbrella stand again. “I don’t buy it. What is the real reason you’ve shown up on my doorstep dripping wet?”

    “Okay, you got me.” He admitted flashing those pearly whites again. “I wanted to see you and I figured when you didn’t call me you probably lost my note.” I barked out a laugh and folded my arms. “Oh that’s nice; you’re laughing in my face.” I gave him an apologetic brow wrinkle around my next laugh. “No, that’s great. Guys love that.”

    “Listen Nolan,” I started still unconvinced of his story. “Are you physically hurt?” he shook his head. “Has your car broken down?” he shook his head again. “Has your cell phone died and you need to make a call?” Another head shake. “Then I have to say goodnight and I hope you make it home okay before this storm hits.” I went to close the door when his next sentence sent a shot of ice down my back.

    “I’ve seen your eyes,” his voice was slightly muffled through the large door and I swung the door back open, folding my arms defensively now. To my surprise, there was no censure, no judgment and most of all no fear in those brilliant turquoise depths as he looked at me.

    “They’re gray. What about them?” I shrugged one shoulder, baiting him to see if he really saw them or was just messing with me. The arch in his light brown eyebrow said more than he could’ve vocalized.

    “They aren’t gray all the time.” He said plainly then an expectant look crossed his face. “Kind of like right now.” I ducked my head behind the door and glanced in the mirror in the foyer.

    Damn it, he was right. They were starting to glow right now. 

Copyright 2012 Amiya Liccian, All rights reserved.

Faefever by Karen Marie Moning

***** FIVE STARS! *****

**Review Originally posted 7/4/2012**


Oh my gah, oh my gah, OH MY FECKING GAHHHH!

THERE SHALL BE SPOILAGE ALL UP AND THROUGH THIS REVIEW!!

This book rocked my little normally-fae-hating-world guys. And when I say rocked, I mean I wanted a cigarette after reading it and I've never smoked a day in my life.

If there ever is such a thing as the best book ever - And I really don't wanna oversell this but - THIS book is IT. And I seriously mean it.

Mac has really grown into a woman to fear and if you should see the blazing lights of her MacHalo, then you better tuck ass and book. It was no secret that Mac wasn't my favorite person in the world, she probably still isn't. But by G-d she's clawing her way up that list.

This book slayed me. SLAYED. ME. I used to get upset because I thought Moning should've added more action in her books since we're starved for romance and even with this book, I was finding myself upset and kind of let down because there were some places where we were hurting for descriptives and needed a bit more action. HOWEVER, the last 80 pages or so really made up for that. There was soooo much action in those pages that it was enough for the entire book. And everything that happened - Ahhh! I loved every damn second of it.

Mac has wisened up quite a bit although I feel she is still a bit slow on the uptake. Some things she still should be seeing obviously, elude her until she gets smacked it the face by it and damn. She got fuuuucked up with a mean backhand this time. BUT, my fellow Goodreaders, this is what makes for a really good book. Angst, anger at your protagonist, frustration because you can see the things she/he so clearly can't. Yes. Good books indeed.

Barrons...still don't know what he is but man, is he ever. Dear heaven on earth he certainly is.

Still don't like Rowena or many of the many other bitches sidhe-seers she's brainwashed. Although, the foul-mouthed Dani is growing on me a bit. Christian...meh. Don't trust him as far as I can throw his Hot Scottish ass. But, that's cool. Because in the Fever series we are hardly in want of men we cannot trust. One more won't break my heart.

I don't want to give too much away because I feel that this is one of those things people need to read themselves and because this is my new favorite book of 2012, I'll be passing out copies of it on the street next time you see me.

P.S. I'm 5'9 with large boobs and dark brown hair. If you should see me with a HUGE shit-eating-grin on my face, just take the book and leave me with promises of reading it.

Editing Rants, ahoy!

Honestly, I can be critical - very critical apparently - about grammatical errors, etc. and I promise you I have a reason for it. I, myself am an aspiring author. I take writing very seriously and each sentence I write is just an extension of my soul. When editors are called in to do what? - EDIT someone's baby, in my eyes they should do just that. Edit it.

In more and more of the work I'm reading now, someone is sleeping on the motherfluffing job and that is unacceptable. Every author I know spills their heart out onto a blank page and fills it up with amazing writing that leaps off the page at you and burrows into the heart of the reader, taking them off to a far away land where they don't have to deal with their own real life problems. If only for a minute. And when an editor doesn't catch the typos, mistakes, misuse of grammar or lack thereof, you are doing the author and readers a serious disservice.

I know I don't like to feel as if I'm editing a book as I read which makes me anal to the point of obsession with my own works and any typos/errors that pop up. I know, almost counter-productive, but by golly gee I HATE a typo!

*Exhales* Sorry. Rant over.

Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning

Very recently, I've started writing reviews of a few books I read. And really, just a few.

In no way am I a "professional" book reviewer as I only write reviews when and if I feel like it and only for books I want to. There are only a few ways to get me to write a review for anything.

I was given a free book in exchange for a review, I loved it soooo much I might have peed myself if I didn't share, I disliked it immensely or it confused the ever-living crap out of me so much I felt inclined to share.

Well, the entire Fever series just rocked my world and I feel that its only right to share some of the awesome between the pages. I was sooo psyched when my library had all but Shadowfever out on ebook loan. So I highly suggest checking your libraries for books you haven't read. It is infinitely better than pirating books. *Wags finger*

*Review originally written 7/17/2012*

**Spoilage**
4 Stars

Pink. Blonde, big boobs and an uncanny knack for getting herself into trouble because we haven't thought things through. This, my good people, is the essence of Mac.

This is not to say that I hated her. On the contrary, I actually started to feel very fondly for the pink loving, sort of on the airhead-y side blonde who turned into ass kicker. BUT, we're here to be honest with one another. And honestly, I don't know how I feel about her now.

In the beginning, I grew weary of her airhead comments about her life and how easy and simple it was, her love for the color pink - mind you, I shall never look at the color the same again - and her slow processing skills. Or lackthereof.

In the middle, I gained more respect for the wizened up little cookie. Grew to like who she was becoming and how diligently she was trying to avenge her sister's death even though every time she flipped her hair, there was a big-bad-ugly or evil genius hottie Barrons there to capture her attention by endangering her life and divert her attentions elsewhere. Needless to say, she handled them well - albeit, some better than others.

NOW, however....I'm still not sure. I had an opinion of her but it's wilted somehow. *Shrug* I dunno. I figure going into book two with a clear head will be best as to not pre judge the blonde-no-longer Mac.

I wasn't sure how much I'd actually like this book once I realized it was about Fae. Seelie, Unseelie, Sidhe, Sisar-Dubh's, Seers and whatnot....not really my thing. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that I thoroughly enjoyed reading about ugly things that can eat my pretty and fuck me sideways hypnotize me into a sexual need so strong and debilitating that I'd strip in a street and beg it to hump me into submission. [Was that any better?] Which - lemme tell ya, is not something I thought I would ever like to read about.

The world Moning builds for this series is astounding and I seriously cannot wait to see what else she can reel me in with because really, I'm a hard gal to please when it comes to books. I've read many a crappy book in my day and I'm positive I'll encounter quite a few more before I'm through.


Now... DUNN, DUNN, DUUUUUUNNNN onto what I didn't like:

The prologue. I feel this book would've been great without it. I kind of didn't need it. It was extra info given that I picked up as I read through the book anyway, so Mac's little story-telling intro didn't quite do it for me.

Sometimes her writing style has me pausing to sigh, sort of like wishing she'd gone in with an eraser and erased some of Mac's pink-tinted thoughts from the book. Seriously, Mac had the world casted in a pink glow, seeming too daft to process things as quickly as she should have. Mac admits to not being the smartest and getting mediocre to nasty grades in school...yet she wants us to believe that she'd do all this cool shit that clearly requires her to use that pretty blonde head? No. No.

Where there's smoke, there's Mac. Probably thinking too hard about something dangling right in her face.

The ending battle scene or whatever it was. Anti-climactic. I don't see Mac fighting off hundreds of Rhino-ugly Fae and a vampire, ALONG with the "Lord Master" dude in the same room with only mysterious Barrons to protect her ass. No. There would've been pretty pink pieces of boobs and Ice Princess Blush pink nails with gold frosted tips littered with Barrons's huge ego as a border. Just ain't happening.

I kind of wish Moning would've written a bit more action in this book. Like, I dunno, I wanna read Barrons ripping someone's head off or something. *Shrug* He could make green Fae blood-slime sexy. I'm a firm believer in that.

All of Mac's incessant ramblings around her silver sandals, pink nail polish, capri pants, gold sandals - we get it Mac. You like clothes. And pink nail polish. Not exactly sure how you found the time to give yourself nail - and toe - polish changes six times in a two week span [give or take] but by golly gee, you did it blondie. I take my pants off to you.


Things that had me on the fence:

Barrons. I admit to not knowing how I like him...yet I know that I do like him. He was an enigma. Still is, actually. Sent to challenge my way of thinking and judging books and their characters. I sort of wish we'd gotten a bit more of a background on him but at the same time, I'm glad we didn't. Good books will tell you secrets slowly. Great books make you work for them. And though it infuriated me to the point of bated breathing, I enjoyed the vague-ness of Barrons. How secretive he is. Calculating and hot. Strong and hot. Hot. Hot. Did I say hot already? No...? Right, HAWT!

The romance aspect. Alrighty, seriously on the fence about this part.
I simply ADORED that this book was mainly about Mac learning to live with her grief over Alina's death and the fact that she was adopted to the fact that she'd been responsible for the deaths of sixteen henchmen. Really, I do. In the back of my mind somewhere - in the mushy, sappy recesses - I kind of wished I'd gotten more of a connection with Barrons and Mac. NOBODY SHOOT! Just know, that although I'm pleased this wasn't a sappy mock up of some serious bad Fae bullshit, some small part of me wanted romance. But the bigger half was THRILLED that the romance was muted and it was more about something useful.

Like avenging the gruesome death of one's Sidhe-seer sister for a book that you can't even touch because it'll make you evil.