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Beckie Shelton (40 KP) rated If You Dare (The Lightkeepers, #2) in Books
Feb 8, 2018
🌟🌟🌟🌟 Fabulous Stars.
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Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm
https://www.beckiebookworm.com
I didn't realise If You Dare (The Lightkeepers #2) By Erica Splinder was the second book in this series.
It probably would have been better to read book one first despite this "If You Dare" was very easy to interpret and told the back-story of this series splendidly.
Now You could technically read this as a standalone, but my recommendation would be start at the very beginning, it's a very good place to start usually ha ha.
<a href="http://s1376.photobucket.com/user/rosella1974/media/images%203_zps3qrbdz7u.jpg.html"; target="_blank"><img src="http://i1376.photobucket.com/albums/ah5/rosella1974/images%203_zps3qrbdz7u.jpg~original"; border="0" alt=" photo images 3_zps3qrbdz7u.jpg"/></a>
Now after playing some catch up I quickly fell into the story of dark and light bearers and the age old battle of good versus evil.
<a href="http://s1376.photobucket.com/user/rosella1974/media/Starved-Rock_zpse4w1zaf3.jpg.html"; target="_blank"><img src="http://i1376.photobucket.com/albums/ah5/rosella1974/Starved-Rock_zpse4w1zaf3.jpg~original"; border="0" alt=" photo Starved-Rock_zpse4w1zaf3.jpg"/></a>
Erica Spindler has really managed to create a vivid world that was so easy to get absorbed into, immersing myself fully into this other domain.
The book picks up where the previous one leaves us.
we have Our two detectives, Mikki, who has recovered from her injuries but is feeling that a lot is being kept from her, she feels on the outside partially, out in the cold, but not understanding exactly why.
Then there's her partner Zach who is half/ half lighter but is much more in the picture regarding information sharing and has been ordered to keep stum. keeping his partner in the dark is something he struggles with as well as certain feelings towards Mikki he so shouldn't be entertaining.
There's also Angel eighteen and struggling with her independence and Mikki's set boundaries, A Rebellious teenager in love for the first time with the mysterious Seth who comes with a very creepy but rich uncle.
This whole story is a puzzle with the pieces just waiting to be slotted together and everybody has a part to play in the bigger picture.
There are so many interesting and diverse secondary character's in this tale as well as the three main players Mikki, Zach and Angel. I love that we get to crawl inside this trios heads seeing different interpretations of events as they unfolded.
All the characters here were fleshed out well and the story just flowed for me effortlessly, keeping my attention throughout.
I found reading If You Dare an enjoyable experience and I would be happy to recommend it to others, my only advice would be Start at book one first before proceeding to the Finish line makes things a whole lot easier overall.
<a href="http://s1376.photobucket.com/user/rosella1974/media/start-and-finish_zpsnsodo1jc.jpg.html"; target="_blank"><img src="http://i1376.photobucket.com/albums/ah5/rosella1974/start-and-finish_zpsnsodo1jc.jpg~original"; border="0" alt=" photo start-and-finish_zpsnsodo1jc.jpg"/></a>
Thank you to the Publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an arc of If You Dare, this is my own honest and unbiased opinion.
Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm
https://www.beckiebookworm.com/
https://www.facebook.com/beckiebookworm/
<a href="http://s1376.photobucket.com/user/rosella1974/media/one-way-or-an-author-review_zpsphyl14uy.png.html"; target="_blank"><img src="http://i1376.photobucket.com/albums/ah5/rosella1974/one-way-or-an-author-review_zpsphyl14uy.png~original"; border="0" alt=" photo one-way-or-an-author-review_zpsphyl14uy.png"/></a>
Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm
https://www.beckiebookworm.com
I didn't realise If You Dare (The Lightkeepers #2) By Erica Splinder was the second book in this series.
It probably would have been better to read book one first despite this "If You Dare" was very easy to interpret and told the back-story of this series splendidly.
Now You could technically read this as a standalone, but my recommendation would be start at the very beginning, it's a very good place to start usually ha ha.
<a href="http://s1376.photobucket.com/user/rosella1974/media/images%203_zps3qrbdz7u.jpg.html"; target="_blank"><img src="http://i1376.photobucket.com/albums/ah5/rosella1974/images%203_zps3qrbdz7u.jpg~original"; border="0" alt=" photo images 3_zps3qrbdz7u.jpg"/></a>
Now after playing some catch up I quickly fell into the story of dark and light bearers and the age old battle of good versus evil.
<a href="http://s1376.photobucket.com/user/rosella1974/media/Starved-Rock_zpse4w1zaf3.jpg.html"; target="_blank"><img src="http://i1376.photobucket.com/albums/ah5/rosella1974/Starved-Rock_zpse4w1zaf3.jpg~original"; border="0" alt=" photo Starved-Rock_zpse4w1zaf3.jpg"/></a>
Erica Spindler has really managed to create a vivid world that was so easy to get absorbed into, immersing myself fully into this other domain.
The book picks up where the previous one leaves us.
we have Our two detectives, Mikki, who has recovered from her injuries but is feeling that a lot is being kept from her, she feels on the outside partially, out in the cold, but not understanding exactly why.
Then there's her partner Zach who is half/ half lighter but is much more in the picture regarding information sharing and has been ordered to keep stum. keeping his partner in the dark is something he struggles with as well as certain feelings towards Mikki he so shouldn't be entertaining.
There's also Angel eighteen and struggling with her independence and Mikki's set boundaries, A Rebellious teenager in love for the first time with the mysterious Seth who comes with a very creepy but rich uncle.
This whole story is a puzzle with the pieces just waiting to be slotted together and everybody has a part to play in the bigger picture.
There are so many interesting and diverse secondary character's in this tale as well as the three main players Mikki, Zach and Angel. I love that we get to crawl inside this trios heads seeing different interpretations of events as they unfolded.
All the characters here were fleshed out well and the story just flowed for me effortlessly, keeping my attention throughout.
I found reading If You Dare an enjoyable experience and I would be happy to recommend it to others, my only advice would be Start at book one first before proceeding to the Finish line makes things a whole lot easier overall.
<a href="http://s1376.photobucket.com/user/rosella1974/media/start-and-finish_zpsnsodo1jc.jpg.html"; target="_blank"><img src="http://i1376.photobucket.com/albums/ah5/rosella1974/start-and-finish_zpsnsodo1jc.jpg~original"; border="0" alt=" photo start-and-finish_zpsnsodo1jc.jpg"/></a>
Thank you to the Publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an arc of If You Dare, this is my own honest and unbiased opinion.
Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm
https://www.beckiebookworm.com/
https://www.facebook.com/beckiebookworm/
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Whatchareadin (174 KP) rated Crazy Rich Asians in Books
May 10, 2018
Nick Young and Rachel Chu are both professors at NYU and have been dating for a couple of years. With the summer off, Nick invites Rachel home with him to Singapore to attend his best friend's wedding and spend the summer exploring the place he grew up. Nick hasn't told Rachel much about his family and she has only met his cousin, Astrid, but she is ready to take this next step in their relationship. What Rachel doesn't know is that Nick's family is among some of the wealthiest in Singapore and when Rachel steps off that plane, her life will never be the same.
I feel as though I cheated myself a bit when I read this book because, I had already read the sequel [bc:China Rich Girlfriend|22674105|China Rich Girlfriend (Crazy Rich Asians #2)|Kevin Kwan|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1419179404s/22674105.jpg|42179165] so I knew what was going to happen. Although it was very interesting at this point to get the back story. I'm not quite sure what I would do if I were in Rachel's shoes. Nick didn't tell her about the status of his wealth, because he was sure she would be able to handle it. But after being constantly asked about her family and where she comes from and finding fish guts in her hotel room, Rachel decides that she might not be cut out for this kind of life. She loves Nick a lot, but having to deal with his family is a whole other ballgame.
I really like the characters Kevin Kwan has created in this series. The book made me laugh out loud and cry to myself. It make me want to travel to Singapore or China and see this first hand. Although, with my financial status, I would never be able to come close. I hear there are talks of a movie for this http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/bookmark/crazy-rich-asians-author-kevin-804381 and I would definitely go to see it. Not sure if there are more books to come for this series, but I'm looking forward to reading more by Kevin Kwan.
I feel as though I cheated myself a bit when I read this book because, I had already read the sequel [bc:China Rich Girlfriend|22674105|China Rich Girlfriend (Crazy Rich Asians #2)|Kevin Kwan|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1419179404s/22674105.jpg|42179165] so I knew what was going to happen. Although it was very interesting at this point to get the back story. I'm not quite sure what I would do if I were in Rachel's shoes. Nick didn't tell her about the status of his wealth, because he was sure she would be able to handle it. But after being constantly asked about her family and where she comes from and finding fish guts in her hotel room, Rachel decides that she might not be cut out for this kind of life. She loves Nick a lot, but having to deal with his family is a whole other ballgame.
I really like the characters Kevin Kwan has created in this series. The book made me laugh out loud and cry to myself. It make me want to travel to Singapore or China and see this first hand. Although, with my financial status, I would never be able to come close. I hear there are talks of a movie for this http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/bookmark/crazy-rich-asians-author-kevin-804381 and I would definitely go to see it. Not sure if there are more books to come for this series, but I'm looking forward to reading more by Kevin Kwan.
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graveyardgremlin (7194 KP) rated The Other Countess (The Lacey Chronicles, #1) in Books
Feb 15, 2019
THE OTHER COUNTESS is a sweet and harmless love story set in Tudor England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, in the year of 1582 to be exact. Lady Eleanor Rodriguez, Countess of San Jaime, is our penniless heroine who is saddled with her absent-minded alchemist father; the roles of child and parent have been long since been reversed. The preface, which takes place in 1578, gives us our first glimpse of William Lacey, the new Earl of Dorset at age fourteen, as he throws a twelve-year-old Ellie and her father off his land.
The story itself isn't exactly original and doesn't go into any unfamiliar territory, but it's ably told and fairly inoffensive, making it suitable for older teens (there are numerous allusions to sexual situations but that's as far as it goes). The dialogue and sensibilities are more modern in nature and don't always ring true to the era, but some liberties are always taken in young adult fiction, therefore making it something I can forgive. Very light on historical content, this is more for the romantics out there who like a historical backdrop to a love story. For the first half, I wasn't very involved into either the characters or their story, and it didn't help that it moved at a slow pace, though at the halfway point it picked up and started charming me. However, the hero and heroine were a little too perfect, more so in Ellie's case, as she didn't seem to really have any negative attributes other than she has a bit of a temper. Maybe if they had a few more rough edges I would have rooted for them to have their happy ending, as it is, I wasn't that invested. I do think that the secondary character, Lady Jane Perceval, has promise on that front since her narrative had a more realistic feel to it, so I may just pick up her story when it comes out ([b:The Queen's Lady|8805112|The Queen's Lady (The Lacey Chronicles, #2)|Eve Edwards|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1327950501s/8805112.jpg|13679272]). The resolution to Will and Ellie's story came far too easily and some more conflict would have made it much better. Still, as I said, it's a sweet story, even if nothing sets it apart from other books. An easy read that should appeal to teenage girls.
The story itself isn't exactly original and doesn't go into any unfamiliar territory, but it's ably told and fairly inoffensive, making it suitable for older teens (there are numerous allusions to sexual situations but that's as far as it goes). The dialogue and sensibilities are more modern in nature and don't always ring true to the era, but some liberties are always taken in young adult fiction, therefore making it something I can forgive. Very light on historical content, this is more for the romantics out there who like a historical backdrop to a love story. For the first half, I wasn't very involved into either the characters or their story, and it didn't help that it moved at a slow pace, though at the halfway point it picked up and started charming me. However, the hero and heroine were a little too perfect, more so in Ellie's case, as she didn't seem to really have any negative attributes other than she has a bit of a temper. Maybe if they had a few more rough edges I would have rooted for them to have their happy ending, as it is, I wasn't that invested. I do think that the secondary character, Lady Jane Perceval, has promise on that front since her narrative had a more realistic feel to it, so I may just pick up her story when it comes out ([b:The Queen's Lady|8805112|The Queen's Lady (The Lacey Chronicles, #2)|Eve Edwards|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1327950501s/8805112.jpg|13679272]). The resolution to Will and Ellie's story came far too easily and some more conflict would have made it much better. Still, as I said, it's a sweet story, even if nothing sets it apart from other books. An easy read that should appeal to teenage girls.
graveyardgremlin (7194 KP) rated Unsympathetic Magic (Esther Diamond, #3) in Books
Feb 15, 2019
Here we are in the third entry into the Esther Diamond series. UNSYMPATHETIC MAGIC doesn't feature the zany characters that the previous two books had, which is a nice shift, and the focus on Esther and Max that was lost in [b:Doppelgangster|6678045|Doppelgangster (Esther Diamond, #2)|Laura Resnick|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1275658691s/6678045.jpg|3150652] is back. The plot about Vodou*, zombies, and bokors is okay, but gets a little too predictable for my liking. Luckily, the author writes well enough to lift it up a level and ends up entertaining, and at times interesting.
Now for the bad news: the humor isn't as fresh or funny and I can't remember once laughing aloud during the book. Some of the scenes felt too forced to be funny, and one scene in particular had me cringing because of a character that got hurt. Maybe that scene wasn't supposed to be funny, but it seemed as if that was it's purpose before the injury happened. Basically all the humor in the book is a comedy of errors, and that's fine, as long as it's humorous and not as repetitive as it's been in these three books. Next, the length of the story needs a drastic paring down. While the book moves at a fairly brisk pace, I can't help but feel that another go or two with an editor was needed and the plot should have been tightened so it's more cohesive. I think it'd be a much better book with at least fifty pages less and I wouldn't get as tired of the plot or characters by then. There's a reason for the phrase "too much of a good thing" and both DOPPELGANGSTER and UNSYMPATHETIC MAGIC fit the bill. Still, I didn't hate the book and thought it was a small step up from the last, so I'll give the next book a shot because I enjoy the characters a lot (sorry for the unintentional bad rhyme). Even if the series hasn't hit the mark for me since the first, I have hope yet. Besides, how can I pass up a book called VAMPARAZZI? 3.5 stars
*Apparently Vodou is not pronounced like 'voodoo', it's either vo(like in toe)-dow(cow) or vo-doo, but I'm not sure which is right, from what I've figured out online. The book has a glossary, which is rather unnecessary since everything is explained in text, but not a pronunciation guide.
Now for the bad news: the humor isn't as fresh or funny and I can't remember once laughing aloud during the book. Some of the scenes felt too forced to be funny, and one scene in particular had me cringing because of a character that got hurt. Maybe that scene wasn't supposed to be funny, but it seemed as if that was it's purpose before the injury happened. Basically all the humor in the book is a comedy of errors, and that's fine, as long as it's humorous and not as repetitive as it's been in these three books. Next, the length of the story needs a drastic paring down. While the book moves at a fairly brisk pace, I can't help but feel that another go or two with an editor was needed and the plot should have been tightened so it's more cohesive. I think it'd be a much better book with at least fifty pages less and I wouldn't get as tired of the plot or characters by then. There's a reason for the phrase "too much of a good thing" and both DOPPELGANGSTER and UNSYMPATHETIC MAGIC fit the bill. Still, I didn't hate the book and thought it was a small step up from the last, so I'll give the next book a shot because I enjoy the characters a lot (sorry for the unintentional bad rhyme). Even if the series hasn't hit the mark for me since the first, I have hope yet. Besides, how can I pass up a book called VAMPARAZZI? 3.5 stars
*Apparently Vodou is not pronounced like 'voodoo', it's either vo(like in toe)-dow(cow) or vo-doo, but I'm not sure which is right, from what I've figured out online. The book has a glossary, which is rather unnecessary since everything is explained in text, but not a pronunciation guide.
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