Review: All of It

All of It by Kim Holden
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

To start off with, I LOVED "Bright Side". I ADORED "Gus". And I ENJOYED "All of It".

I read the books out of order based on when they were published. Maybe this would have changed my rating of "All of It"? I don't know. I liked this novel, I really did. But it's not one that I will purchase for my own collection. And it probably won't be one that I re-read either. Now, Holden's other two novels? Totally bought all versions and will re-read when I can handle the mental abuse again.

Veronica. Man, she is something else. For the first 50% of this book, I flew through it and loved the story. I loved how Dimitri threw Veronica for a loop, making her stumble over her normal, everyday routine of life and got Veronica to live out of her box. But the second Veronica started doubting her life and decided that she needed to make a major change in order to keep the balance? Then I started to drag throughout the novel.

The "twist" of the novel was very obvious to me. (This is totally a spoiler to anyone who has read the series I'm about to mention...sorry about that!) Maybe because I just finished reading the Fallen series by Lauren Kate? Or maybe because it was supposed to be obvious to the reader. Either way, I almost wanted Dimitri to blurt it out and fess up way before he did, so Veronica would understand how much he really loves her, instead of letting her do her own thing for all those months.

I love Dimitri. He is so dedicated. So loyal. So mysterious, yet not. He has the patience of a saint, and with all of his knowledge, he still lives life to its potential, which I admire so much.

So overall, I enjoyed this novel. I probably should have read it before "Bright Side" to get the whole effect of the novel, but I can't change what happened so I'm enjoying this novel for what it is now. Kim Holden is one of my all-time favorite authors and I'm very excited to see what else she has in store for us next, because knowing her talent, it will be beyond believable!

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Review: Whisper to Me

Whisper to Me by Christina Lee
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received this free eARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

This was such a good book! I didn't think I would like it as much as I did, but I really liked Kai and Rachel's characters. I can not even imagine what Rachel went through when she was thrown from the motorcycle with Miles - her ex-boyfriend. The rehab that she had to go through was so intense and long and discouraging, but Rachel dived right into the challenge to become herself again. I am so angry at Miles for the way he acted after the accident. And then to want her forgiveness again after 3 years?? No! He should be groveling at her feet, begging her to show mercy when she gives him what he deserves.

But that's just me. I'm a bit harsh and vindictive, apparently.

Kai. Sweet, sweet Kai. I dearly love him. He is so loyal to Rachel and only wants the best for her. Even if that means it's not him in the picture with Rachel. I loved how he took care of her but didn't use her or take anything too far with her. Instead, he treated Rachel with the respect she deserved. Gah, he touched my heart and I'm extremely jealous of Rachel. I loved that he was his own person and defied all odds against him to come out winning in the end.

I didn't think I would enjoy this book at the beginning. I'm so glad I finally got around to reading the eARC file I received (even though my review isn't "advanced" anymore...sorry!). Tons of readers will enjoy this story, I think, and I'll be looking out for more novels by Christina Lee!

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Review: He's Come Undone

He's Come Undone by Theresa Weir
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received this free eARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

This was a quick read - flew through it and enjoyed Ellie and Julian's story. I really liked that the author wrote in both characters viewpoints so we were able to see what both Ellie and Julian were thinking.

I felt for Julian. He went through a terrible experience back in New Hampshire and still wasn't himself when he was "using" the girls. In most cases, I would say it's because he's a guy and doesn't think like a girl, but he really was going through a hard time and really should have been helped more. And what he went through? Gah, that must have been terrible.

Ellie's mum is a prick taking all of her money that she earned. And poor Ellie is just trying to get back to college so she can start her life with the job that she wants. I do think that getting a new hair style and clothes does not make a person more attractive. In fact, it demeans the person doing it because it's not really them - not in the way Ellie changed herself that is.

And Julian noticed the original Ellie and was intrigued by her much faster than the "new and improved" Ellie, so that's something to think about...

I enjoyed this story. I liked the running bit that Julian was determined to succeed, only because I love running. I don't like the way Julian ran his marathon because he could have died, but I could comprehend how he was feeling when he described what running was like. Glad I got an eARC, even though this review isn't "advanced" anymore... I think loads of other readers will enjoy this story!

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Review: Beloved Enemy: a young adult paranormal romance

Beloved Enemy: a young adult paranormal romance by Lacy Yager
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received this free eARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

So, just going to say this, the first line of the synopsis? "She's the unlikeliest vampire hunter ever. A scientist."? Totally misleading! Genevieve is so not a vampire hunter. She is, in fact, a scientist who is trying to find a cure to kill the inhumane vampires (also called Cats) in the world. But the hunter ya'll are thinking of? The one that can kick ass and use weapons and run fast? Yeah, that is totally not Genevieve. Which is quiet all right, but I was waiting for her to sprout some ninja moves and that never happened. I'm actually glad it didn't happen. I loved the sciencey, geeky Genevieve so much! She was brave but so so smart and was extremely into science it was adorable.

And Chad, the vampire, was trying so hard to stay away from normal, human Genevieve but seemed to always be stuck with her throughout their mission to kill the Cats. And he kept trying to ignore his feelings for Genevieve, but that didn't really work out too well for him.

I really liked this novel. I was a bit confused when I first started reading it and everything probably would have made a lot more sense if I had read the other novels in the series, but I wasn't aware that this was the 3rd novel until much later. However, I did catch on pretty quickly and fell into the story pretty well to understand what was going on.

So glad I got this eARC and am very sorry it's not so much of an "advanced" review as it should be. But I am glad that I got a chance to read this and I think a lot of readers will really enjoy it as well!

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Review: Her Royal Masquerade

Her Royal Masquerade by Natasha Moore
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received this free eARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

This was a cute novel. There was a point where I about lost it because of Mia's decision to stay with Vittorio as his mistress because I believe that everyone should have free will when it comes to their life, but Mia, while she didn't like the term "mistress" very much wanted to be with Vittorio and their time together wasn't necessarily forced.

I loved how Mia changed things around at the palace. She was disrupting every historical aspect of that place and making it 10x better for everyone who was involved in the palace. And I especially loved the story time with the kids in the kitchen - sitting on the floor in a circle. Made me smile!

Vittorio needed his butt kicked and I think Mia did a fantastic job doing that. Once he realized who Mia really was and made his blunder about keeping her in the palace, he didn't realize how drastically his life was about to change. And his reaction around Birgette? Priceless!

So, yes, I very much enjoyed this story and I think I would very much enjoy the rest of the novels in the series. I may just have to go find them and purchase them...maybe :)

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Review: Liam: Branded Brothers

Liam: Branded Brothers by Raen Smith
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received this free eARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this novel, which for some reason I thought I wouldn't. Charla is an awesome character who I would love to meet in person. She is feisty and sweet and brave and loyal. I loved her with Jack. Most family members - blood-tied - wouldn't want to be with an old man with Alzheimer's, but Charla stuck with Jack for 2 years with this disease.

And I loved it when Charla tried to hard to convince herself that Liam was not the person she needed to be with, only to fall down that rabbit hole the next week. And I liked Liam too. He's pretty much everyone's fantasy in one body, making Charla's attempt not to fall for him hysterical.

This had just enough suspense and mystery in the story to keep the reader guessing, which was refreshing for a novel. I'm kicking myself because I didn't read this when it was still "advanced" part of the eARC, but I am glad that I got around to finally reading it. And I may even have to find the other novels in the series to see how the other brothers fall to the woman of their dreams :)

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Review: Broken by M. L. Young

Broken by M.L. Young
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

I received this free eARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

The synopsis was amazing when I first got this book. It sounded very similar to "Beautiful Disaster" by Jamie McGuire, which I absolutely love, so I was very excited to read another novel like that.

This is nothing like BD... First, I really dislike the dialogue in this book. It's stilted, awkward, and sounds like they are learning English as a second language and not sure which words to use in their sentence. Second, I don't really like Bailey. I mean, she's fine I guess, but there's no personality to her. She's just there and going through the motions, but not really getting into anything. Kyle is alright, but again, no feelings when it comes to him.

It's almost like the author knows how to write when they are doing, but not what they are feeling and doesn't know how to put it down in words to make it flow better.

So, yeah, this book. I just couldn't. I really wanted to like it, but definitely didn't, sadly.

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