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Collision of Lies (Amara Alvarez #1)
Collision of Lies (Amara Alvarez #1)
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I loved this book!
This was my first time reading a book by Tom Threadgill and I don’t understand how I have missed reading his books before now! Collision of Lies was such a well-crafted story, laid out in a way that kept me on the edge of my seat waiting to see what Detective Alvarez and her friends would do next. The plot was an interesting mix of intrigue, suspense, mystery, and a little romance (if you could call it that as it was a very minor detail). Detective Alvarez was a very vividly described character that I enjoyed getting to know; I think I would love to meet her in person. Tom Threadgill described Detective Alvarez’s thoughts and expressions in a way that was easy to follow and really pulled me in, the creative ideas she came up with about solving part of the mystery were thought-provoking. The side characters were also interesting people and I hope I get to know them better in the next book. Collision of Lies does have an actual ending and does not end on a cliff hanger. From the excerpt in the back of the book, we will get to see more of Detective Alverez and her colleagues in the next book as well.
I truly enjoyed this book and highly recommend reading it. I give it 5 out of 5 stars for the wonderful way in which Tom Threadgill pulls you into the story, the vivid character descriptions, and the great mystery. I cannot wait to read the next book in the series.
*I volunteered to read this book in return for my honest feedback. The thoughts and opinions expressed within are my own.
  
WOW! This book. Was kinda an eye opener for me. I honestly did not know what to expect when I picked up this book to read. Growing up I was kind of a late bloomer regarding reading. Therefore, I never (and I mean never) read any YA fiction I would only read what was required of me for school assignments. I took a chance on reading this book because I thought the description sounded good (I have been trying to pick books solely based on descriptions). It did not disappoint me. Hannah Currie did a marvelously good job conveying many different characteristics of who we are as Sons and Daughters of the King. Princess (Lady) Mackenna is a very well-developed character, who displays strength when things don’t go as expected. All the while she is still silently searching for the answers her heart seeks. She does end up finding hope when she least expects it. Personally, I can relate to this story very easily (Not that I am royalty) but, I have always struggled with finding my place in this world and how God can use me. I think Hannah Currie did a great job covering this aspect in the story. Prince Thoraben (Ben) was also a great character. Though he was not the main character of the story, we do get lots of insight into his character, which I liked.
With some very interesting twists in this book that I wasn’t expecting, a dash of a very sweet romance (I absolutely loved that part), great characters and plot development I give this book a 5 out of 5 star rating. It was so good I literally could not put it down, and I can’t wait to read more books by Hannah Currie and I highly suggest picking this book up to read.
  
Too Good To Be True
Too Good To Be True
Carola Lovering | 2021 | Fiction & Poetry, Philosophy, Psychology & Social Sciences, Thriller
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
A compelling and twisty thriller
Skye Starling is beautiful, wealthy, and smart. She has a good job and a group of close friends. But she's never found lasting love thanks to her horrible OCD, which she's suffered from since her mother's death when she was young. But when Skye meets Burke Michaels, that all changes. Yes, he's older, but Skye can't help falling for this handsome man who wants her. However, Burke has a secret of his own: he's married, and he's using Skye for her family's money.

"All I'm saying is that if he seems too good to be true, he probably is."

This is one of those fun, twisty thrillers that keeps you reading and guessing. It's filled with wild characters and if you're willing to slightly suspend disbelief while reading, it's a great ride. Skye is a sympathetic yet enjoyable protagonist, and Burke is complex in his own way. The book is told from Skye's point of view and interspersed with letters from Burke to his therapist. We also get the perspective of Heather, a young woman, speaking from her past, who knew Burke when they were kids.

The result is quite compelling, and I blew through this one in a couple of days. The first half is probably a bit stronger than the second, though the last half certainly unveils some crazy surprises. Some you can work out; others caught me off guard.

Overall, I went into this one looking for a fun thriller, and it delivered. It also has a bit of romance thrown in, too. It's crazy and twisty and an excellent distraction. 4 stars.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and St. Martin's Press in return for an unbiased review. It releases on March 2nd.
  
I got this as a freebie a few months ago as I hunted for books to finish my Paranormal Roman & Urban Fantasy A-Z challenge on Goodreads.

This starts with Avaline doing her job as a lifeguard at the lake when she is attacked with magic by two assailants who know her name. She wakes up a month later to learn she, too, has magic. A dangerous magic. She has two choices and decides to stay at the school to learn how to control her vox magic.

I can't decide whether I liked this or not.

Everything was happening so quickly in it. She meets the guys, she lusts after them, she sleeps with one of them very quickly. She gets to lessons and on her second try ever she manages to make fire. I just expected things to take time...for her to initially struggle considering she didn't even know she had magic until a day or two ago.

I struggled to connect with the characters and wasn't really convinced by their relationships. I didn't feel any real sort of chemistry going on between any of them. Once again, I feel like this bit was rushed. I get lust but... I wasn't a fan of how the author wrote the romance parts.

This story had a lot of promise but we don't really learn much of anything. Ava learns about magic in lessons but we don't get to hear it. To me it feels like a bit of paper that's been scrunched into a ball and then flattened causing creases and ripples that means some details in the story have been glossed over. It could do with expanding a little with more details on certain aspects.

At this point I don't believe I'll be reading more of this series.
  
I read the first book in this series a few months ago and really quite enjoyed it so when I got my KU subscription and saw this was in the catalogue I decided to grab this one, too.

This one picks up not long after the events of the first with Raine now being persona non grata in Dark River apart from her four guys. It's going to take some time for the townspeople to come to terms with Raine being the victim of their well-loved, long-term resident (who I won't name.) It seems that what went down in their little town has drawn the attention of the Vampire Nation and they are on their way to investigate.

I did enjoy the first one, this one wasn't quite as engaging. I felt this one was getting a little too complicated with all the new lovers she was acquiring. Four men I can cope with - and have read several books with four males in reverse harems - but I think that at the end of this Raine was quickly verging on about 7 or 8 men that she would happily share her bed with and the others not be bothered about. It was getting a little ridiculous for me.

I can't say the storyline of this one pulled me into it, either. It was rather reminiscent of the first. Someone wants her dead, various attempts on her life and then saved by her guys - only the number of them has multiplied a little. There was quite a lot of sex in this, with various partners and combinations of men. It felt rather heavy on the erotica side of romance and I wasn't entirely convinced by the feelings floating around.

As much as I liked the first book I don't think I'll be continuing the series.
  
Half Blood
Half Blood
Jennifer L. Armentrout | 2011 | Children, Fiction & Poetry
8
7.4 (10 Ratings)
Book Rating
I read a few reviews of this after I started it. I was starting Chapter 3, I think, and really enjoying it. It was the spark between Alex and Aiden. Anyway, I saw a lot of people were comparing this to Vampire Academy Well I loved the Vampire Academy series and I did see some similarities between the two: kick arse, heroine and older guard she has feelings for; school for teens; love triangle aspect, three classes of power...but it WAS different.

As mentioned above, I loved that first meeting of eyes in the first chapter between Alex and Aiden, I just knew something was going to happen between them, though it was forbidden. It was kinda slow to start with but it was nice to read it happening. The odd touch here, a look there. Awww. I'm a sucker for even the slightest chance of romance.

Then there was Seth...Well in (possible)--cos nothing's happened yet--love triangles I always want the girl to go with the first guy. And I still stand by that. Seth might be all powerful but I don't feel anything between him and Alex. So they spark off each other, literally. I don't care. In this one I'm Team Aiden!

I have to say I liked Alex. She may have struggled with the training and all the news she found out about herself but she was strong throughout it all. In the end, she pulled through and kicked arse.

I am so going to have to buy the second book so I can figure out what's going to happen next relationship wise for Alex (and to figure out what's going to happen when she turns 18, of course).

(Team Aiden, Team Aiden... ;D)<br/>
  
***ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review***

4.5 stars.

I’ll start by saying I really, really, liked Riker. He might have tried to act like a hard-ass but he wasn’t. Something right from the start grabbed me about him and I went a little mushy. Awww… :P And he was hot, too!!

Nicole turned out to be quite ballsy and I liked that about her. Riker needed someone like her in his life. I liked how she told it to him straight and if he didn’t like it, then she either fought to make him listen or walked away, making him come to her.

The secondary characters were quite fun too. Hunter, the head of the MoonBound clan, made me smile a lot. Playing is video games and saying some of the stuff he did. Myne, a fellow member of the clan, was another favourite. He might have come across at the beginning of being some rather scary ass vampire but by the end, he’d grown on me.

I feel I have to mention that first sex scene. It was HOT!! As was the second. Crikey, Larissa Ione knows how to write passionate scenes between her characters.

The storyline was different, with vampires being slaves to humans and I wondered how it was all going to work out. I wasn’t disappointed, it was a hell of a journey. I was happy, sad (I almost cried a few times), and angry at various points in this. But to me that made it goooood. Really good.

If you’re a fan of Larissa Ione then this isn’t to be missed. If you like steamy paranormal romance, again, this isn’t to be missed. I highly recommend it.

P.S. I am so going to look up what an origami vampire looks like :P
  
Play It Again, Sam (1972)
Play It Again, Sam (1972)
1972 | Classics, Comedy, Romance
6.0 (2 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"I have to include a Woody Allen film in the list. I’m not sure which one, though. I love him dearly. I mean, he’s such an inspiration to me. And again, this list could change — and particularly, his movie choice could change tomorrow or this afternoon. The one I always love rewatching for pure comedy, for just gags that really resonate with me — which he didn’t direct, but it’s based on a play that he wrote — is Play It Again, Sam, which just has a couple of comic set pieces that really amuse me. I can watch them endlessly. And it’s sort of one of those movies that I always make other people watch or I loan to people. If they take as much joy in them as much as me, then I know that we’re going to be friends for life. [Woody Allen] plays a film critic, funnily enough, and he is sort of given romantic advice by the ghost of Humphrey Bogart, and Bogie appears throughout in places to offer him love advice. But as he sort of points out, you know, “I’m not you.” It’s him trying to sort of romance girls and meet women after his marriage falls apart. But it’s very, very funny, and it just — a bit like After Hours, in a way — it sort of captures the desperation of single men, single men who don’t feel comfortable chasing girls. It has loads of very funny set pieces. It has a sequence where he’s setting up his apartment for a blind date, which is just, to me, one of the most inspired comic routines I’ve ever seen. It’s physical, but it’s verbal as well; it’s sort of him at his most charming, effortless. It’s really good."

Source
  
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Merissa (11765 KP) created a post

Mar 13, 2021  
#NEW LOVED BY A KRAKEN by Alexa Piper (@ProwlingPiper) is LIVE NOW!

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A demon and a coder find themselves falling in love while witches try to pull them apart in this adult PNR small town romantic comedy novella. So if you are looking for hot shifter demons, some wicked witches, and a quick, funny and steamy read, then Loved by Kraken will be just right for you.

It is book two in an adult PNR standalone romance novella series Demon Entanglements published by Changeling Press (@changelingpress).

A coder and a kraken demon run into one another in a dream, but can they make it in the waking world as well?

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Fian needs to find a suitable plus one for his brother’s wedding, and since his demon brother is marrying a human, Fian decides to bring a human to the wedding as well. If he gets lucky, he might even find one who isn’t dull or dumb.

Kiara gave up her life in the city to move to a small town where she sells jams, except she isn’t sure why she did that. Coding was her love, and jams were not. Then, just after she broke up with her ex because he cheated on her, a handsome stranger walks into Kiara’s store and from there straight into her dreams.

While Fian discovers humans come in more flavors than he had thought, jealous witches close in on Fian and Kiara. Will the coder and the demon be able to find love despite the wicked magic? And are tentacles still amazing outside of dreams?

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Insurgent (2015)
Insurgent (2015)
2015 | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
Not as decent as 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘻𝘦 𝘙𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳, not as horrendous as 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘎𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘴, on nearly exactly the same level as the first 𝘋𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵. I'm still shocked these still manage to be kind of entertaining even in spite of telling one of the dumbest stories to ever be translated to screen. At least half the cast just seems bored, but Jai Courtney and Daniel Dae Kim shine in supporting roles - which isn't all too hard to do here actually considering these two lead characters are inexplicably even *more* lifeless than they were in the first one. Great, we get to see more of this mid-2010s "trauma romance" crap - but at least they have the common decency to make the action sorta fun (the shameful choice to exchange Burger's visual panache [and... actual color] for this ugly ash-gray palette notwithstanding). And I'll always give credit to this one for being a lot ballsier than most of these YA copies-of-each-other - it's pretty violent and a fair amount of people get shot in the head, we even see more blood than just a nosebleed for once! Makes no human sense but that's also what makes it kind of enjoyable tbh. The Woodley character is the weakest link: emulating every overdramatic shithead teenager who thinks they're a revolutionary for making a Tweet about how much they hate 5th period geometry doesn't really help the cringe factor any (the 'dramatic haircut' smash cut into the flock of crows flying through the forest to triumphant music is one of the worst things ever). If this were made today Tris would be trying to cancel Kate Winslet's character for using the term "spirit animal" 11 years ago.