Forbidden (Book I The Arotas Trilogy) - Amy Miles

Roseline Enescue didn't ask to become an immortal, to have all of the guests at her wedding slaughtered, or be forced into marriage with a man whose lust for blood would one day ignite the vampire legend.

Willing to risk everything for a chance at a normal life, Roseline escapes to America, but her transition into the human world isn't easy. Mortal men flock after her while cutthroat girls plot her demise. Yet she remains relatively unfazed until she meets Gabriel Marston. As their lives entwine, Roseline realizes he is more than he seems. His ability to grind concrete into dust pales in comparison to the glowing cross tattoo that mysteriously appears on his forearms.

Despite the forbidden bond between them, Roseline can't help wondering what Gabriel is. He's not human. He's not immortal. So just what is he? 

So, this was my first Amy Miles book.  In a quest to read more of the authors attending the Boston Author Event, I found her name and recognized it from the Facebook group for the event and decided she would be next.  Also in her favor was the fact that I’ve been a complete cover whore lately and I loved the cover for this book.   

While there were some grammatical issues with the book, overall I was pleasantly surprised at how much I wound up liking this book in the end.  Part of the way through, I wasn’t sure if that would be the case.   

I liked that the story started out different.  Yes it was a “vampire” story of sorts but it was a different take on it.  Here is a girl who is supposed to be getting married (though she’s not happy with who she’s getting married to – arranged marriage and all), which you would think should be the happiest day of her 17 year old life, but instead she has to watch her husband and brother-in-law kill all of her family and wedding guests for the fun of it.  Everyone she’s ever known and loved has been taken away from her, and then on top of that he takes away her life by making her immortal.  After 300 years, who wouldn’t want to run away? 

Past the prologue, the story moved a little slowly for me in the beginning.  It was sometimes confusing and other times just felt a little flat.  I liked the characters Amy introduced and how they were different from typical storybook characters, I just needed a little more drama or something, I think.  Sadie seemed like a great friend, and while she was different, I think that’s what made their friendship work.  Poor William, he never really stood a chance, but I really liked him and I wanted him to find a happiness.  I was definitely invested.   

Once Gabriel became a bigger part of the story, things picked up for me and that’s when the story really kept my attention.  With a  paranormal story, I need the action.  I need the unanswered questions.  What was happening to him/them? Why? How? What would happen? Would her husband find them? I needed these things to keep me going and was thrilled when they started to happen and my questions started to fall into place.   

I’m still confused about some things.  How her sister played a part in this? What is going on with Gabriel? What will happen now? I am hoping some of these things get settled in the next book, which of course I already bought.  I will definitely be going back to this series and I am hoping to build on the second half of the book.   

Overall I would have to say it was a good first impression for me with Amy Miles!

 

 

Never Too Far (Fallen Too Far) - Abbi Glines

The story that started with the New York Times Bestseller FALLEN TOO FAR continues...

Rush withheld a secret that had destroyed her world.

Her entire life had all been a lie.

Blaire couldn’t stop loving him but she knew she could never forgive him.

Now, she was back home and learning to live again. Moving on with life… until something happened to send her world spinning once again.

What do you do when the one person you can never trust again is the one that you need to trust so desperately?

You lie, hide, avoid, and pray that your sins never find you out.

 

Okay, let me start by saying I fell in love with Fallen Too Far.  Truly, I loved the book and even though I preferred Woods personally, I understood her attraction to Rush and I definitely fell for him too.  I felt like that book had everything except the HEA wrapped up in a nice bow, which is why I was dying for this book to come out.   

I stalked Amazon like a creepy person all day long waiting for this book and silently cursed Amazon for their “server problems.” Didn’t they know I needed to know!  All the teasers were leading me to believe she was pregnant and when she dropped the first chapter in our laps, I was seriously like a drug addict needing more… and then we got it… and now, I’m disappointed.  (Queue things being thrown at me).  I am so torn as to how to rate this book! 

So let’s start with the things I did love… I loved Bethy! She’s great and I love that she’s moving forward and she’s taken her lessons from Blaire and is sticking to them.  I’m not sure how things will work out for her and Jace in the long run (based on something Rush said) but I liked that she was holding her own in that relationship.  I loved the friend she was to Blaire… Bethy is just awesome!  

I also L-O-V-E-D Woods in this book.  I adore him honestly.  He truly looks out for Blaire and there is still a piece of me that wishes he had gotten the girl because I think he deserved her.  “If you aren’t going after her I am.  She needs someone right now.  As much as I don’t want it to be you because I don’t think you deserve her it needs to be you.” Plus side, he’s getting his own book and I can’t wait to read that!  

I also loved their steamy scenes… Abbi Glines definitely turned it up a notch in this book.  I’m thinking she should write a book for characters over the age of 25 because she had definitely got a way for making things H O T!  

I still love Rush, not as much as I loved Woods but I loved him too.  I loved that she didn’t try to make him perfect in this book and she let him mess up on some little things that he wouldn’t normally have known because he wasn’t a dating kind of guy.  His mess up toward the end though drove me crazy…CRAZY! I was (and might still be) so PISSED at him! 

Here’s some things I didn’t love.  There was clearly a formatting problem because the words kept running together andit was drivingme crazy (annoying right?).  I’m not sure if that’s Amazon or what but it was distracting while I was trying to read.   

I honestly didn’t love Blaire in this book.  I know, I know but I didn’t.  Gone was the girl who taught Bethy to stand up for herself and hello to this girl who was driven by insecurities and hormones.  I know, she’s been through a lot but she finally had enough in her to tell Cain what she hadn’t for so many years, so why is she not doing that with anyone else? And after Rush’s mess up toward the end, how could you sit back and say nothing…for God’s Sake you are pregnant with his child!!! DAMMIT WOMAN! And as for the hormones, I wanted more from their relationship and I felt like a lot of what I got was that they couldn’t live without each other because of the sex.  I know that’s not what was implied but that’s all there seemed to be.  I know it seems contradictory because I loved the steamy scenes, but that is because I thought they were well written, I just wanted more than just that! 

I loved Grant in the first book and in this book I was confused by him.  Was he Team Blaire or Team Nan? Still not sure to be honest.  He definitely didn’t seem to be Team Rush! I feel like there is more to that story that we either just didn’t get, or maybe that’s another book after Woods’ book that we don’t know about yet… I don’t know it just left me confused, but not in a good way.   

The story felt rushed (haha, rushed) to me.  When I was almost halfway through the book and they still hadn’t talked, I knew it was going to end badly for me personally (not the characters).  I feel like this book was unfinished.  I felt like things came together quickly at the end (and by a surprise character no less), and then there were still so many things left unresolved.  It was like we were three quarters of the way through the story and then it just stopped… What? I don’t want to wait for an epilogue or extra chapter or now from what I’ve seen a third book, I want this book to be finished.  UGH!!  

Will I keep reading, of course because I truly like the characters and have come to want some closure with this storyline… but I’m left feeling like Blaire from one of her dreams, worked up with nothing to make it better!

 

A Song for Julia (The Thompson Sisters) - Charles Sheehan-Miles

Everyone should have something to rebel against.

Crank Wilson left his South Boston home at sixteen to start a punk band and burn out his rage at the world. Six years later, he's still at odds with his father, a Boston cop, and doesn't ever speak to his mother. The only relationship that really matters is with his younger brother, but watching out for Sean can be a full-time job.

The one thing Crank wants in life is to be left the hell alone to write his music and drive his band to success.

Julia Thompson left a secret behind in Beijing that exploded into scandal in Washington, DC, threatening her father's career and dominating her family's life. Now, in her senior year at Harvard, she's haunted by a voice from her past and refuses to ever lose control of her emotions again, especially when it comes to a guy.

When Julia and Crank meet at an anti-war protest in Washington in the fall of 2002, the connection between them is so powerful it threatens to tear everything apart.

 The Thompson Sisters

A Song for Julia is part of a series of novels centering around the Thompson sisters. Though the books center on the same family, they are standalone novels and can be read in any order.  

First let me start by saying, I think this author tells a very well thought out, well written story.  It was easy for me to get swept up in it.  I loved all the characters but felt a special love for Sean and Jack.  They burrowed into my heart and between them and Julia and Crank, I read this story pretty quickly and pretty intently…until I got a little more than halfway through the book.  It was Sean and Jack that kept me reading at this point!

Sean is unlike any character I’ve read and between his own dialogue and his interactions with Crank and Julia, it felt very real to me.  I wanted to reach into the book and hug him, even if he would have hated it.   

The relationships between Crank and his family were so perfectly written, it was like I was a part of the room when they were all together. 

One thing I’ve been lacking in lately, is reading the synopsis of a book before I read it.  I’ve been more of a dive right in kinda girl.  I hear about a book, or a friend says I have to read a book, and I just buy it – no questions or synopsis first.  Here is where that kind of bit me in the butt though because at 60-something% into the book, I realized I knew this family.  And that’s when I also realized, I already knew how the book would end. 

UGH! So frustrating!  While the author notes above that you can read these in any order, it is always my personal preference to read them in chronological order (not by when it was released, but by when the story happens).   

Yes, sometimes it’s nice to read a prequel novella that is only a few chapters just to get a little more background, but to read an entire story and kind of already know the end result (maybe not the nuts and bolts of how, but the gist of it), to me took away from the story.   

I personally wish I had been able to read this first and then the next Thompson sister story that happens further into the future, after this book.  Of course, that will not stop me from reading more of this series because I love the story telling that goes along with it…but it’s like knowing how the magic trick happens, and then watching it anyway, it changes things.   

Up until that point in the book, I was thinking it was about a four star books, so I feel like that’s the fair rating to give it now.  I am just personally a little frustrated, and if you are the type of reader I am, and haven’t read either of the books yet, my suggestion would be to read this one first. 

 

 

Playing For Keeps - A Neighbor From Hell Novel - R L Mathewson

Done with being the world's biggest pushover, Haley decides that things are going to change starting with the aggravating neighbor who has too much charm and not enough restraint. What she didn't expect was to sucked into his world, but Haley has a game plan and she won't let herself forget just what the bad boy next door is capable of.

The last thing Jason expected was for his little shy neighbor to go Rambo on him over some ruined flowers. After he decides to take her under his wing he can't help but that notice that she fits very nicely in his life. Now the only left is to convince her that this is anything but a game.

 

This book for me was a classic case of don’t judge a book by its cover…but in a good way!

In my attempt to read more authors before the BAE, I bought this book by R L Mathewson thinking it would be a light slutmance (thank you Georgia Cates for this new to me word).  The typical - guy meets girl, guy seduces girl, there is lots of sex, then some angst, and then a HEA - story.  I apologize to the author, because I was definitely wrong. 

6% into the book, I decided I loved it – both characters living in New England (Red Sox Country) are Yankee fans, we have found a winner!!  

My attempt at joking aside, this book was full of humor.  There were many times I found myself laughing out loud along with the story, which was completely unexpected and which made me fall in love with the characters a little more. 

I loved that Haley was a bit of a nerd.  She wore glasses (which is almost a never for female main characters), she loved sports and she was a fangirl for Derek Jeter (as so many of us are).  She definitely wasn’t perfect but she was likeable to read.  I love that we get to see where she came from, and how much different she is than her family (except her grandmother).   

Jason is your typical bed hopping bad boy.  He uses girls and doesn’t believe in commitment.  He’s been tormenting Haley by just existing in her space both as her neighbor at home and at school.  He doesn’t take care of his personal space and doesn’t seem to mind invading hers.  He loves food.  The boy has a bottomless stomach and he doesn’t like to share (remember that episode of Friends, “Joey doesn’t share food” – that’s Jason, and apparently for him, it’s genetic).  At least that’s Jason, on the outside.  When we get to know Jason, he is all about trying to get Haley to channel the part in her that stands up for herself and doesn’t let anyone take advantage of her, especially the losers (as he calls them) that she typically dates.  He is smart, passionate and cares about his friends and family.   

I loved the banter and back and forth.  I loved watching their relationship go from non-existent, to friends, to more.  This book being told from the third person, really helped to understand both characters, even though it’s mainly told from Haley’s POV. 

I so wanted her to just be able to tell him how she was feeling, or why she was holding part of herself back.  I read this book in one sitting and thoroughly enjoyed it!! 4 stars for R L Mathewson.  I look forward to reading more of this series as well as some of her others books. 

 

Tempted by Evil - Shannon Morton & Amber Lynn Natusch

"He eyed me wildly from the floor below, and I watched as an unmistakable shift occurred in his gaze―concern bled to ambivalence, then nothing at all. His expression was cold as stone. Within seconds I was sprawled on the floor, pressed heavily against it by the weight of his body.
Escape was futile.
I could not fight the Shadow away."


A sheltered girl.
The perfect boy.
A mysterious stranger.
Random messages delivering a sobering prophecy plague Aspen's existence. With every curious encounter, her sanity waivers further. Before long, Aspen finds herself balancing the fate of humanity on her shoulders, until a single act turns her world upside down. She finds herself alone, isolated from those she thought she could trust.
Alone to damn the world.

First let me say this is definitely on my list of favorite covers! Is that because she has red hair? Probably.  But that’s the best part about all of this being subjective, I can love this cover just because she’s a redhead!

But why does the redhead have to be potentially crazy?!? J

“My redheaded temper has gotten me into trouble yet again.” – I know how she feels, mine is always getting me into trouble too!  

I made a list of authors attending the Boston Author Event whose books I hadn’t read yet.  When I looked at the list of books and realized two of them wrote this book, it was a no brainer.  I love a good paranormal story, the main character was a redhead and I hit two authors in one read, win-win-win!  

 

I really wanted to love this book.  And it definitely had the potential.  Good vs. Evil, humanity to potentially save or find out you’re really just not all there upstairs.  Sounds exciting… 

I loved the idea of this story… Aspen, a girl who is orphaned as a baby, and raised by nuns.  Julian, the cute guy that wants to help take care of her when, at 18 she has nowhere to go - who has a seemingly amazing family except his overprotective sister.  And then Merrick, a mysterious, sexy guy who shows up at a lot of the same places she goes, and who you can’t quite get a handle on through most of the book.  Love triangle perhaps?  

In addition to the underlying potential love triangle, there are all these strange messages that Aspen seems to get throughout the story.  Talking about the end of humanity and evil overtaking good.  They kept me interested to see what was going to happen. 

For most of the story I read it thinking, this is okay, I’m not falling head over heels like I’d hoped to, but I like it enough to keep reading.  I knew the other two books of the trilogy hadn’t been written/released yet but I wasn’t too upset about it thinking I wasn’t really reading as voraciously as I have other books and I could wait if I decided to continue at all.  It’s not that it’s a bad story, it just felt a little flat to me at times.   

That was until I got to the very last chapter of this book.  I’m not going to pretend like I couldn’t see the writing on the wall and figure out what was going on previously, because it was fairly obvious to me (with one exception), but it’s this very last chapter, hell it may even be the very last sentence that hooked me and will get me to read the next book.    

I’m looking forward to seeing if the momentum built in the last chapter of this book will spill over into the next book.  I can definitely say for book 2, I’m in! Bring on the crazy redhead…oh, well, the other crazy redhead!