[Audiobook Review] Omens by Kelley Armstrong

Omens
A Cainsville Novel
Kelley Armstrong 

August 20, 2013

Dutton

Amazon/Book Depository/B&N

Twenty-four-year-old Olivia Taylor Jones has the perfect life. The only daughter of a wealthy, prominent Chicago family, she has an Ivy League education, pursues volunteerism and philanthropy, and is engaged to a handsome young tech firm CEO with political ambitions.

But Olivia’s world is shattered when she learns that she’s adopted. Her real parents? Todd and Pamela Larsen, notorious serial killers serving a life sentence. When the news brings a maelstrom of unwanted publicity to her adopted family and fiancé, Olivia decides to find out the truth about the Larsens.

Olivia ends up in the small town of Cainsville, Illinois, an old and cloistered community that takes a particular interest in both Olivia and her efforts to uncover her birth parents’ past.

Aided by her mother’s former lawyer, Gabriel Walsh, Olivia focuses on the Larsens’ last crime, the one her birth mother swears will prove their innocence. But as she and Gabriel start investigating the case, Olivia finds herself drawing on abilities that have remained hidden since her childhood, gifts that make her both a valuable addition to Cainsville and deeply vulnerable to unknown enemies. Because there are darker secrets behind her new home and powers lurking in the shadows that have their own plans for her.

This audiobook for me moved a little slow.  I love Kelley Armstrong's work but while this book is decent it is has not become one of my favorites.  The story starts off with Olivia, the main character, finding out she is adopted and her parents are ritualistic serial killers.  Through the help of a mysterious man she finds herself in Cainsville after leaving Chicago and everything she has ever known.  She decides to get a job and live on her own without the support of her socialite adopted mother.  Out of curiosity she decides to go to go visit her birth mother in prison.  She finds out there may be real evidence to support her birth mother's claim that they are both innocent.  With the help of her birth mother's attorney, Gabriel, she begins digging into the past.

I like that things aren't what they seem in Cainsville. I am not the type of reader to go off on my own and solve the mystery before the heroine.  There are a ton puzzle pieces that I liked reading along as Olivia put them together.  I liked being just as surprised as Olivia when all was revealed in the end.  Cainsville it's self is an intriguing town.  It reminds of that show from the 90's Twin Peaks.  Cainsville is a strange town, full of strange people, with even stranger secrets.

I could tell Omens was definitely a first book to start off a series because in the end it left with me more questions than answers.  I will be picking up the next book because I am curious to see how my questions will be answered.  The style of the book is first and third person narration.  The first person point of view is through Olivia's eyes interspersed with third person point of views from people Olivia has met or is yet to meet.  I think the third person points of views were supposed to help give clues to the reader but I found some them confusing and again leaving me with questions.  The audiobook had two different narrators for the first and third person points of view.  The narrator that read for the third POV was decent and did a good job.  The narrator that read in Olivia's POV was, for me, was not the way I think a 24 year old woman should sound.  Her voice, again for me, was kind of grating and I never got used to it.  She did a good job changed all voices to match characters but I just could not get used to her voice.

In the end I think I went into Omens with too high expectations.  It ended up falling flat was just a mediocre story.  I am giving Omens by Kelley Armstrong three laser pistols because it was just an ok listen.  It was intriguing enough that I will be picking up the next book in the series.

[ARC Review] Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Fangirl 
Rainbow Rowell
September 10th, 2013
St. Martin's Griffin


Amazon/Book Depository/B&N


 

In Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl, Cath is a Simon Snow fan. Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan, but for Cath, being a fan is her life--and she's really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it's what got them through their mother leaving.

Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.

Cath's sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can't let go. She doesn't want to.
Now that they're going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn't want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She's got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words . . . And she can't stop worrying about her dad, who's loving and fragile and has never really been alone.

For Cath, the question is: Can she do this?

Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? Writing her own stories?

And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?

I got this book at BEA and opened it up right there.  From the first chapter I was hooked.  I was in New York with all the sights and sound, but there were times I would just have to go find a quiet place to read.  So, by the time my trip was over and I had landed back in Texas I had finished Fangirl.  I devoured this book because it is such a fast, sometimes heart breaking, fun read.

Fangirl is about twin sisters named Cath and Wren.  When they were younger they both fell in with a series of books about a character named Simon Snow.  The best way to describe Simon Snow and the series is think Harry Potter or Hunger Games.  Both girls become Simon Snow fangirls but Cath more than Wren.  Cath begins writing Simon Snow fanfic and Wren helps her.  Now they are both older and starting college.  Wren sees college as a time to separate herself from Cath and the Simon Snow fandom.  Cath sees nothing wrong with the way things were and cannot understand why Wren wants a change.  So, Wren gets a separate dorm room so she can meet new people and get the whole college experience.  That is how Cath ends up sharing a room with a stranger.  Both girls at the start of the book are at cross roads.

The book focuses on Cath, whom for me is a totally relatable character. Cath's idea of good time is talk to online friends, read, write Simon Snow stories.  Cath is also shy and so full of social anxiety that is hard for her to leave her leave dorm room except for classes.  I could relate because I, too, am introverted, socially awkward and get sick to my stomach when I think about meeting new people or change. The only that helps Cath get through this time of change is losing herself in the world of Simon Snow.   I love the idea of losing one's self in a world of books and then becoming part of a fandom.  I have done that myself with books like Harry Potter.  I read a couple of reviews from other reviewers that said for them this book was hard to like because they couldn't relate to Cath but it would hit home for the readers that could.  I totally agree with that because this book hit home for me. 

This book is about change and going after what you want.  I loved watching Cath grow and making friends outside her sister.  I loved the side characters especially her roommate and her friend Levi.  They never give up on Cath and they push her to try new things.  It is Cath who in the end has to push herself to start making her dreams come true.  I love that Cath is able to find people who love her and all her little quirks.  It is about completely changing but learning to accept and find people to accept you and all the charming idiosyncrasies that go along.     

In the end Fangirl is a book to be devoured.  For me, it is an amazing read.  It is a book about hope, never giving up on the things that you love, and of course, being proud to be a Fangirl.  I give Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell five laser pistols because it blew me away this book is a supernova.  I will most definitely be reading more Rainbow Rowell books in my future.

[Audiobook Review] Sealed With a Curse by Cecy Robson

Sealed With a Curse
Weird Girls Book One
Cecy Robson
December 31, 2012
Signet
Audiobook Publisher:
Tantor Media


Amazon/Book Depository/B&N

The Wird sisters are content to avoid the local vampires, werebeasts, and witches of the Lake Tahoe region-until one of them blows up a vampire in self-defense. Everyone knows vampires aren't aggressive, and killing one is punishable by death. But soon more bloodlust-fueled attacks occur, and the community wonders: are the vampires of Tahoe cursed with a plague? Celia reluctantly agrees to help Misha, the handsome leader of an infected vampire family. But Aric, the head of the werewolf pack determined to destroy Misha's family to keep the region safe, warns Celia to stay out of the fight. Caught between two hot alphas, Celia must find a way to please everyone, save everyone, and oh yeah, not lose her heart to the wrong guy-or die a miserable death. Because now that the evil behind the plague knows who Celia is, it's coming for her and her sisters. This Wird girl has never had it so tough.

I just finished listening to Sealed With a Curse the audiobook.   Oh boy, it was an action packed thrill ride that I never wanted to end.  I really enjoyed Sealed With a Curse it was full of supernatural badies, on the seat of your pants action and hot werewolves.  The book starts off with a bang when Celia and her three sisters are on trial in vampire court for the murder of a vampire.  It turns out that they were acting in self-defense and the master vampire who accused them, Misha, is now trying to make amends.  Celia and her sisters have always lived on the fringes of the supernatural world.  Someone is infecting vampires with a bloodlust virus. Celia and her sisters find themselves knee deep in the supernatural world because they can’t walk away let the bloodlusting vampires kill innocent humans. 

I really liked how fast this book flowed and I loved that I felt like I couldn’t stop biting my nails with all the action.  Celia and her sisters were always in one scape after another as they fought to find out who was infecting the vampires and causing so much death and destruction.  I loved Celia and her family dynamic with her sisters: Taran, Shayna, and Emme.  They are all more like friends who happen to be sisters.   I loved Taran with her snarky attitude and potty mouth.  There many things that Taran said that would have me laughing out loud.

In the book were-creatures of the earth and it is their duty to protect it from evil.  Celia and her sister get involved with the werewolves when Celia is attacked after stopping to checking on some girls in an alley.  From there she meets pack Alpha Aric and his three right hand men.  While I did think it was cheesy that Aric the alpha and the other wolves are matched up Ceclia and the other girls, it worked.  Plus, the master vampire Misha is around trying to get into Ceclia’s pants as well.  The best scene is when Ceclia has dinner with Misha and Aric.  I loved how the alpha males made jabs and postured, it was very funny.

The audiobook is narrated by Renee Chambliss and while her voice took a moment to get used to it wasn’t horrible and the story more than makes up for a voice that could get on the nerves.  Overall I really enjoyed this audiobook.  I am looking forward to listening to the next book.  I give Sealed With a Curse four very solid laser pistols.  I recommend this book to anyone looking for a light romance with a lot of fun action.

 

[Review] The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

I've been participating in an impromptu book club with a few friends over facebook chat. I may move it over to Goodreads if more people join. We're kind of terrible at the whole structure thing. This was the second of our book choices. Why? Why do I read any book? Because it looks interesting. My one friend is also deathly afraid of zombies and I wanted to challenge her. I'm an asshole.

The Forest of Hands and Teeth
The Forest of Hands and Teeth #1
Carrie Ryan
July 2009
Gollancz

Disclaimer: Fry typed 'The Forest of Hands and Teats' too many times to count during the writing of this review. 

Amazon/Book Depository/B&N

In Mary's world there are simple truths. The Sisterhood always knows best. The Guardians will protect and serve. The Unconsecrated will never relent. And you must always mind the fence that surrounds the village; the fence that protects the village from the Forest of Hands and Teeth. But, slowly, Mary’s truths are failing her. She’s learning things she never wanted to know about the Sisterhood and its secrets, and the Guardians and their power, and about the Unconsecrated and their relentlessness. When the fence is breached and her world is thrown into chaos, she must choose between her village and her future—between the one she loves and the one who loves her. And she must face the truth about the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Could there be life outside a world surrounded in so much death?

This book starts out somewhat normal, as far as dystopians go. We have an isolated village, fenced off from the rest of the world. The rest of the world is full of shambling undead or, as the book likes to refer to them, the Unconsecrated. Okay, cool. Not too bad.

It only gets worse from here.

Mary's father is missing, presumed dead, possibly unconsecrated. Her parents had a loving marriage despite the fact that the marriages in the town are mostly arranged. The boys in the town get to pick which girls they wish to marry. With minimal courtship and theatrical ceremony, they are bound together in holy matrimony for the rest of their lives. Mary, of course, has a crush on a certain boy, Travis, who she wishes to catch the eye of. Unfortunately, his brother, Harry, called dibs. Harry's proposal delays her and when her undead father comes to the fence, it drives her mother into a frenzy. Her mother is bitten.

The village is run by a group of creepy nuns, they take Mary's mother in and allow her to chose if she wishes for a clean death or to become unconsecrated. In her grief, Mary's mother chooses to stay with her husband and join the legion of the undead. Mary stands vigil as she sickens and turns, out of respect. Mary is then cast into the Sisterhood by her brother as he blames her for their mother's demise.

In the sisterhood, Mary is rebellious and unbelieving of her fate and everything the Sisterhood tells her. When her crush is in a terrible accident, he is brought to a nearby chamber where Mary nurses him back to health and creates intricate stories to whisper to him in the dark. She's head over heels by the time the mystery deepens.

A stranger appears! But, there is supposed to be nothing out there, beyond the fence.

Mary, I should mention, is obsessed with the ocean. To her very core she needs to see the ocean and nothing will stop her. Knowing that people can travel about without becoming undead only adds fuel to the fire.

The evil Sisterhood eventually brings the unconsecrated down upon the village. And so, with no village to go back to, Mary heads out onto a fenced in path away from the city. Travis, Cass (her best friend and Travis's betrothed, even though she's in love with Harry), Harry, her brother, and her brother's wife all end up tagging along with. There is still plenty of mystery and tragedy during their travels.

At one point, they find another village. Upon investigating, they turn up so many undead that they are forced to take shelter. Mary ends up with Travis, playing house. Yet all she can think of is to be morose and fatalistic. Instead of spending the hours doing exactly what she wanted to do to begin with, she spends them thinking about the lives of the undead outside and how exactly to leave and get to the ocean. Seriously. She now has everything she ever wanted before they left the village and all she can think of is getting to the ocean. Someone needs to slap her.

This wasn't what I was expecting from a zombie book at all. The romance was convoluted and over-complicated. Everyone knew who liked whom. They were just making each other miserable. I have no idea why they would do that. They're supposed to be friends and relatives. Wake up and knock it off!

The action scenes were interesting. I still wanted to find out what happened next.

I want to know where the paths lead, because Mary and company only went down one of them and their mysterious stranger came from another route.

The concept was sound and also interesting. The characters were not. The romance was not. The obvious plot twists were not. The book still had a solid base to work from, the subsequent layers just seemed lazy and less thought out.

SoSo for me. I may or may not pick up the next one in the series. I am curious about the world as a whole, but I really abhor Mary.

[Arc Review] Perdition by Ann Aguirre

Perdition
Dred Chronicles #1
Ann Aguirre
August 27th, 2013
Ace

Arc won via Twitter from the Author.

Amazon/Book Depository/B&N

WELCOME TO HELL 

The prison ship Perdition, a floating city where the Conglomerate’s most dangerous criminals are confined for life, orbits endlessly around a barren asteroid. 

Life inside is even more bleak. Hailed as the Dread Queen, inmate Dresdemona “Dred” Devos controls one of Perdition’s six territories, bordered on both sides by would-be kings eager to challenge her claim. Keeping them at bay requires constant vigilance, as well as a steady influx of new recruits to replace the fallen. Survival is a constant battle, and death is the only escape. 

Of the newest convicts, only one is worth Dred’s attention. The mercenary Jael, with his deadly gaze and attitude, may be the most dangerous criminal onboard. His combat skill could give her the edge she needs, if he doesn’t betray her first. Unfortunately, that’s what he does best. Winning Jael’s allegiance will be a challenge, but failure could be worse than death…

Wow. After the last Sirantha Jax book covering turns of political and social upheaval with sparse and decimating action, this book comes roaring out of the gate. After scant chapters to set up the location and characters, the plot takes a death grip and doesn't let go. When I hear phrases like 'non-stop action', I immediately become skeptical, but Perdition's plot is constantly moving, barely offering time to rest between fights. There is even a large scale massacre within the last chapter, within the last four pages. I've never been offered that much action that late in a story without a horrifying cliffhanger. Ms. Aguirre doesn't leave us hanging, crafting it in such a way that I want to pick the next book up, but I'm not full of hatred over an abrupt ending.

Perdition takes place turns and turns after Sirantha Jax's story. It's set in the same world, mentioning events from the other series. Compared to the scope of Sirantha Jax's tale, this book is set on a singular ship in a rotating orbit. It's the most maximum security of prisons with no escape and no guards. Prisoners can join a variety of gangs depending on their personalities and murderous ideals. Each gang controls part of the ship. There is plenty of infighting in the gangs as well as territorial skirmishes.

As for the characters who inhabit this ship, they are varied and interesting. The mercenary, Jael, last seen on Ithiss-Tor, returns as one of the main protagonists in this series. He is pretty much the same, though it seems time on the bug planet has given him a chance to think over what a jerk he was. While he still harbors the notion that everyone is out to get him, he is less inclined to act upon it and quicker to apologize on the rare occasions when he does. Being what he is, he hasn't visibly aged, which is good, because he'd be very rickety and not all that great at combat.

The new protagonist, Dresdemona Davos, the Dread Queen, recently took over the territory in which she lives. Her rule is hanging by a tight thread. Her borders are threatened on both sides by two different gangs and there is dissension in her ranks. She has to navigate through an alliance with the crazy Silence, who's disillusions involve plenty of mute fighters and lots of death, in order to have the numbers in order to defeat the encroaching gangs. She also has to deal with a coup to throw her out of power in the most permanent way.

The other point of view belongs to Dresdemona's right hand man, Tam, a former political spy. While I am unsure as to what his motives or endgame is, he is both helpful and demanding. The Dread Queen is a character of his own design and he pulls most of the strings.

The other characters are just as colorful. There is a soothsaying mechanic, an innocent old man, and a huge cheerful berserker. There are plenty more, and they cover just about every creed and vice you can consider.

The romance, while hinted at being a possible love triangle or tetrahedron, turned out being not so complicated. It had it's ups and downs, but for being in a war on a prison ship, it was both sexy and sweet.

Overall, I really loved this book. It's dark, exciting, sexy and full of interesting twists and turns. I didn't want it to end. I savored it until the last possible moment and I can't wait to read the next one!

[Review] Tall Dark and Vampire by Sara Humphreys

Tall Dark and Vampire
Sara Humphreys
August 6, 2013
Sourcebooks Casablanca
320 pages

Copy provided by publisher via Netgalley


Amazon/Book Depository/B&N
She always knew Fate was cruel...

The last person Olivia expected to turn up at her club was her one true love. It would normally be great to see him, except he's been dead for centuries. Olivia really thought she had moved on with her immortal life, but as soon as she sees Doug Paxton, she knows she'd rather die than lose him again. And that's a real problem...

But this is beyond the pale...

Doug is a no-nonsense cop by day, but his nights are tormented by dreams of a gorgeous redhead who's so much a part of him, she seems to be in his blood. When he meets Olivia face-to-face, long-buried memories begin to surface. She might be the answer to his prayers...or she might be the dead of him.

So, first thing I have to say is that this book wasn't bad, but it wasn't OMG yell from the roof tops good either. For me Tall Dark and Vampire was you typical vampire romance and a bit cheesy. The book is about Oliva, a 300 year old vampire so in love with, or maybe guilt ridden, with her deceased fiance that she has been celibate since the day she turned. Then she starts dreaming about her fiance, such vivid dreams, but vampires don't dream, so she writes them off and tries to ignore them. When a guy her coven member drank from turns up dead and the cops start knocking on the door she opens the door to find the lead detective is the reincarnated version of her long lost fiance. There is instant attraction between them because they have after all been dreaming of each other. There is mystery, romance, action, and evil bad guys in this book and I really wanted to like it. It was easy to set down and parts were "come on really" cheesy. Like the ending was so over the top. I liked the message that there is bad in everyone, humans or vampires, and it's how you live that determines who the monsters are. The book did have its moments, but it was the we are destined and very tidy ending that had me rolling my eyes. So while I didn't feel like I wasted my time with Tall Dark and Vampire, it was just an ok book so that I am giving it three laser pistols for a stable orbit.

[Review] Wrong Bed, Right Bed by Katee Robert

Wrong Bed, Right Guy
Come Undone Book 1
Katee Robert
February 26, 2013
Entangled Publishing
A Brazen Novel


Amazon/Book Depository/B&N

Prim and proper art gallery coordinator Elle Walser is no good at seducing men. Heck, she’s been throwing hints at her boss for months, but he’s completely clueless. Desperate to escape her mother’s matchmaking efforts, she comes up with a plan—buy some lingerie and climb into her boss’s bed. The plan goes brilliantly…until she accidentally seduces a sexy stranger instead.

Bad boy nightclub mogul Gabe Schultz just had the best almost-sex of his life. Too bad the smoking hot blonde thought he was his brother and bolted before he could finish what they started. Though her holier-than-thou attitude puts a serious damper his mood, Gabe’s never been one to give up on something he wants. And he wants Elle. But does a man who lives on the dark side really have a chance with a proper lady?

So I just closed the page on another cute, sexy, and I can’t stop grinning romance.  This time it was Wrong Bed, Right Guy by Katee Robert.  This book is about a shy woman named Elle who works in a gallery.  She is tired of playing it safe and has the hots for her boss Nathan, the owner of the gallery.  So she decides the way to finally get him notice her is to seduce him.  But the man in the bed is not Nathan but his brother Gabe.  She of course is horrified and he of course is intrigued by the sexy woman in his bed.  I of course fell in love the characters and all the crazy shenanigans they find themselves in on the road to love.  I really liked the sizzling chemistry between Elle and Gabe.  My favorite part was when Gabe gives Elle flowers.  That scene was so cute it had me grinning like an idiot.  I liked that as story went on and they grew closer Gabe started to push to pursue her dreams.  This story was also about two people healing from terrible wrongs in their past.  Wrong Bed, Right Guy is a quick easy and very sexy read.  I could not put it down.  I am most definitely going to check the next book in the series starring Elle’s brother and her best friend.  I can’t wait to see what kind of delectable trouble they get into.  In conclusion, if you are like me and enjoy a quick romantic romp then read this book.  I give Wrong Bed, Right Guy four laser pistols.