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A Bride of Convenience (The Bride Ships Book #3)
A Bride of Convenience (The Bride Ships Book #3)
Jody Hedlund | 2020 | Fiction & Poetry
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
https://travelingwife4life.wordpress.com/2020/06/30/a-bride-of-convenience-book-review/

This is my first time reading a book by Jody Hedlund (I can hear the gasps of some of you even now), but it is the truth. For some reason, I have just never picked up a book by her. A Bride of Convenience is the third book in her Bride Ships series, I was not lost at all, so the book can be read at a standalone. However, I liked this one so much I ordered the first two books already and I am eagerly anticipating their arrival
  
Entice (The Violet Eden Chapters, #2)
Entice (The Violet Eden Chapters, #2)
Jessica Shirvington | 2011 | Young Adult (YA)
8
9.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
I really enjoyed this.

This series is very complex in some respects but oh, so good when it's on a roll.

I'm still half in love with both Lincoln and Phoenix <spoiler>though now Phoenix has gone all serious bad guy and wanting to revive Lilith</spoiler> - I shouldn't like Phoenix as much, though he doesn't always seem like he's enjoying the stuff he's doing.

The soul mates thing sounds amazing, though it also sounds heart-breaking/soul destroying :/ I hope they make the right choice for each other

Can't wait to read the next book in the series (just not quite yet :))
  
Fracture
Fracture
Callie Hart | 2014 | Crime, Erotica, Romance, Thriller
9
9.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
4.5 stars.

ARGH!!! What is it with authors lately and cliff-hanger endings?!?! First the Gypsy Brothers series and now this one.

BUT I love Zeth. He's not your typical bad guy; he is the baddest bad guy who's sexy as hell and into some rather kinky stuff.

Yeah, erotica is not my favourite genre ever but sometimes...well I find the perfect blend of erotica and budding romance and that is this series. You can just tell that something amazing is going to happen between Sloane and Zeth.

Can't wait to read the next book in the series.
  
Population Zero
Population Zero
Fran Lewis | 2021 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
A thought provoking, dystopian world.

Our planet, inhabitable and dying. Population Zero pushes you to think about the future, about how our actions have consequences that reach far beyond our own front yard.
    It made me feel sad and had me thinking of how easily things can change.
     I'll be honest, none of the possible worlds described held any appeal at all. None of them hold hope of any type of survival but all of them get you to question your actions in the here and now.

An ideal young adult read to open up discussions about the future of our planet.
  
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Kristy H (1252 KP) rated Haunt Me in Books

Dec 17, 2020  
Haunt Me
Haunt Me
Liz Kessler | 2016 | Horror, Young Adult (YA)
5
5.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This is the eighth book in my #atozchallenge! I'm challenging myself to read a book from my shelves that starts with each letter of the alphabet. Let's clear those shelves and delve into that backlist!

Teenage Erin's family moves after a difficult time. Erin surprisingly feels solace in her new room--where she soon realizes she isn't alone. It's occupied by the spirit of Joe, the teenage boy who lived in the room before her. At the local school, Joe's brother Olly is struggling with being left behind. Until he meets a girl--different from anyone he's ever dated before. Now, Erin finds herself torn between two brothers. One living, one caught between two worlds. How can she choose?

It's probably my fault for choosing a book with such a plot, but this one is pretty silly. To say it's cheesy and schmaltzy is putting it mildly. I kept thinking about if you could read a book like this without having to abandon all realism... I'm not sure. But, Erin accepts the fact that there is a ghost in her room without any issue at all. Which, um, okay? Even better, she falls in insta-love with this ghost.

There's very little character development here. We get light background on Erin and what seems like even less on Joe (in fact, it seems like his personality switches halfway through). So we're supposed to believe they are two flawed teens, and Olly is a happy go-lucky guy, without much evidence at all. There's insta-love everywhere you look. A preposterous plot. And no one is willing to use Google, apparently.

Still, it's a teen read, so I can see how they might enjoy some of this craziness. It's a fast read, and I won't lie, I was caught up in the story at times. And the ending really was pretty perfect. Still, as much as I hate to do it, as I've read some of Kessler's other books and loved them, I think this was a 2.5-star read for me.
  
Small Great Things
Small Great Things
Jodi Picoult | 2016 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.7 (19 Ratings)
Book Rating
I read this book (a while back now!) as part of a readalong with lots of bookish friends on Instagram! It was called it #TheSmallGreatReadalong… see what we did there! Anyway, this review is coming so late compared to when I actually finished, but at least it’s here now!

My overall opinion on this one is that I liked it, but mainly because it was such a good discussion book, not because of the actual story. Now, that may sound controversial, that I didn’t enjoy the bulk of a book all about racism, but that’s not what I mean. Let me explain…

I think this book did an amazing job at opening up the topic of racism to the reader. As a white woman, living in a pretty middle class existence, I know for a fact that I have unfair privileges and I will never fully understand the complexities of racism, as much as I try to educate myself. This novel certainly has opened my eyes to the some of the more subtle aspects of racism that I hadn’t even thought about before. While there were the obvious racist themes in this novel, it wasn’t those that shocked me the most, it was the parts that you don’t often think about when you think of racism. So for that, for opening my eyes and my mind, I applaud Picoult for writing such a difficult and controversial book.

However, I think the teachings of this book could have been done in a more compelling story. At the end of the day, there was nothing inherently wrong with the plot, but I didn’t quite connect with it. I found a lot of it unexciting and the “twist” at the end, that Picoult just has to add into each one of her books, was so blatantly obvious it didn’t surprise me at all and kind of made the rest of the book feel a bit cheap?

Picoult’s writing isn’t my favourite, it doesn’t suck me in as much as other authors, but its still weaves a pretty interesting story. I think the characters in this book were far stronger than the plot.

My favourite part of this novel was watching Ruth and Kennedy’s relationship grow. I loved seeing how Kennedy steadily grew to understand Ruth’s frustrations and her plight to bring race to the forefront of people’s minds.

Overall, I did enjoy this book, mainly because of what it taught me and how it’s made me see things in a different way. But, it’s not the most exciting story I’ve ever read and I’m not big on the writing style.
  
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Whatchareadin (174 KP) rated Vengeance in Books

May 10, 2018  
V
Vengeance
Zane | 2016
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Wicket is a world famous performer. She dazzles crowds wherever she goes and she's sold more albums than most artists. She is known to her friends, which are very few as Ladonna Sterling and even fewer know her as Caprice Tatum. When Caprice was 15 years old, she was brutally attacked by the people she trusted. Having been cut as a young girl by her mother her life hadn't been the easiest, but she never thought anything like that would happen. Now as she approaches her fortieth birthday she hopes to get vengeance against those who wronged her.

It has been a while since I've read one of Zane's books. I used to read her books a lot when I was in my early twenties. This book took quite a different turn that I wasn't expecting. There is always sex involved in her books, but this one was not the same.

Wicket has a lot of issues that have stemmed from her childhood. She has never gotten the kind of therapy necessary for the type of trauma she has experienced in her life. Now she has issues with intimacy and finds it difficult to connect with people in general. Sure her fame as a little to do with it, but trust is not something that comes easily.

The book started out slowly for me. But once Wicket made her big move, it started to pick up. This young lady had been through a lot of hardship in her life. Without those things, she may not have made it this far in her life, but no one should have to go through all of that to find happiness. Zane always made me look at events in my life to know that things can be much worse and for a lot of people out there they are.

Zane had a new book released earlier this year that I can't wait to read [b:Three-Piece Meal: A Novel|32920252|Three-Piece Meal A Novel|Zane|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1482355789s/32920252.jpg|53537928]
  
Another winner from the uberly talented Roseanna M. White. I sat down to read this book, coffee in hand (singing 'the' coffee jingle.....perhaps someday you blog readers will know just what that means!) to myself, and relaxing into my recliner. I was so reading to dive into this book. It was long awaited after reading A NAME UNKNOWN and falling in love. This book couldn't come fast enough for me. Did it disappoint? Oh no. No it did not. It gripped me, sent me spinning like I was on a tiltawhirl, and left me feeling breathless by the last page.

Willa and Lukas....oh Willa and Lukas. What can I say about this tenderly created characters? They are real to me. They came alive with each page turn. Their story, their music, flowing together, each strand of their being becoming mine. I loved that feeling! Their feelings wrapped me up, making me a part of their lives.

The faith and hope that is woven among these pages is beautifully done. I could heard the strands of the music coming from Willa's violin. I could feel the harmony of the love blending perfectly. Oh what a feeling that was! God's unending grace and mercy were the cords to this fantabulously written story.

I absolutely recommend that you stop what you are doing right now, find a retailer and click on the "buy now" option. While it could be read as a stand alone, I still recommend you read book 1, A Name Unknown, to feel the depth, the fullness that these books can leave you with. This 5 stars times 50 worthy. This is two thumbs up, hats off, mountain top shouting worthy. Ms. White has once again fulfilled her duties of bringing forth a novel that her fans, old and new alike, will forever talk about. Well done, Ms. White! Well done!

*I received a complimentary copy of this book from CelebrateLit/Publisher and was under no obligation to post a review, positive or negative.*