Dec 30, 2013

Hiatus - Duration Unknown

Yep, you read the title right. I'm taking a hiatus. Not sure for how long, though.

Here's the reason why: right now it feels like blogging has taken the ultimate back seat. It's something I have to remind myself to do. And when I actually sit down to do it it feels slightly forced. So I want to take time away to focus on other things. School, friends, family. Finding Waldo. Stuff like that, y'know?

All quirkiness aside, this doesn't mean I won't be reading every single day. I don't think anything could stop me from doing that. But I just need a breather from the pressure and resulting guilt of abandoning my blog for weeks at a time. Hope you guys can understand.

Until next time, blogosphere!


Dec 15, 2013

Life of a Blogger - TV SHOWS

http://novelheartbeat.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/lifeofblogger.png Life of a Blogger is a super awesome new meme started up by Jessi over at Novel Heartbeat. This week's topic is: TV Shows.

I don't watch TV as much as I used to. Which kinda sucks 'cause I feel like they keep getting better. Back in the day, I had an entire list of shows I watched and could rattle off but now I either 1) Don't have time for TV or 2) Forget that the show exists, miss several episodes, and never catch up. It's a sad endless cycle, really. As of right now, these are the shows I'm trying to consecutively watch:
  • The Vampire Diaries (CW) - Ever since I read the books, I've yet to miss an episode. Okay. That's a lie. I'm totally slacking right now, and I still have to watch the past 2 (?) episodes. BUT that might be because this season kinda blows so far
  • Awkward (MTV) - I'm a comedy addict. I need to laugh and this is by far the most hilarious show on TV right now. I thought it was totally stupid before I actually got into it, but I'm SO GLAD I did. It has such weird, yet relatable humor.
  • Nikita (CW) - ...I feel like the last person in the universe who still watches this. It's probably THE MOST UNDERRATED TV show out there. I know there's only like 6 episodes left until it's done forever, but I can't NOT watch it. So much action and guns and romance and complexity AHHH!
  • Witches of East End (Lifetime) - Seriously, everytime I sit down to watch this show I wonder why. The graphics suck. The acting is...meh and so is the plot. I think I still watch it for the love triangle and the deliciousness that is Killian. Call me shallow, but DAYUM that man is all kinds of attractive. 
 
  • Drop Dead Diva (Lifetime) - Back when I thought I wanted to be a lawyer (I think I still do?) this show was like my Holy Grail. It's funny, has a slightly fantasy-esque romance that's so sweet, and has the sassiest, most sophisticated protagonist I've seen in a while. I've NEVER BEEN BORED with this show and I always hate it when I miss an episode. It's on hiatus right now, though, but I won't be missing it when it comes back on.
  • True Blood (HBO) - Vampires. I know. But it's just so good! I'm still kinda pissed with how the last season ended. I won't spoil it if you haven't seen it yet, but GAHH! This show can be so gruesome and then so raunchy, but I keep watching it. Anywho, Eric Northman. YES. Did that make sense? No? K.
  • The Legend of Korra (Nickelodeon) - As an addict of Avatar: The Last Airbender, OF COURSE I'd watch this too. I mean, it's not as good, but I like it. The only thing is I have to watch nearly all of the episodes On Demand 'cause it comes on on Friday at around 6 or 7-ish? (correct me if I'm wrong lol) and I'm usually either eating, sleeping, or relishing my freedom from the monotonous prison that is high school.
  • Devious Maids (Lifetime) - I was iffy about this show at first. I'm not a big fan of whodunit plotlines. But now it has me hooked. Each maid's story is so complex and I find myself rooting for them and getting scared because I didn't know what would happen next. My favorite characters have to be Valentina and Remy. I loved their sorta-forbidden romance.
Then there's the shows that I don't currently watch, but turn to whenever they come on:
  • Big Bang Theory - Quirky geniuses & Sheldon Cooper. 'Nuff said.
  • The Voice - Singers who can actually sing. 'Nuff said.
  • Law & Order: SVU - SO DRAMATIC AND MOVING! *clears throat* ...'Nuff said.
  • Modern Family - Entertaining and strangely addictive. 'Nuff said.
  • One Tree Hill - Grew up with this show! 'Nuff said.
  • Pretty Little Liars - Intense and mysterious. Plus, I want their closets. 'Nuff said.
  • Family Feud - I seriously wanna go on this show someday!! 'Nuff said.
  • Fresh Prince of Bel-Air - Um. Will Smith. 'Nuff said.
And just for the hell of it, there's the shows I used to watch when I was younger & sometimes turn to whenever they happen to show up because I still enjoy them (and I'm a giant kid) :
  • Charmed - Badass witches.
  • Zoey 101- This show was the reason I wanted to go to boarding school in Malibu. Alas, that never happened and I never got over it. Le sigh...
  • Drake and Josh - Friggin' legendary show, and the definition of my childhood!
  • Danny Phantom - I had the hugest crush on Danny Phantom. Don't judge me! Oh, and the theme song was cool and fun to sing.
  • Avatar: The Last Airbender - If I could be a water-bender, I would. No question.
There's probably about a million more shows that I'm missing, but these were the ones that came to mind. So whadya think? We share any in common? Or do you just want to commend my taste in TV? Or do you want to recommend any shows? Or do you want me to stop asking questions that start with "or"? Okay. I'm done. :P

Dec 1, 2013

Review - Shadows - By: Paula Weston


Title: Shadows
Author: Paula Weston
Publisher: Tundra Books
Release Date: September 10th, 2013
Series: The Rephaim #1
Add to Goodreads | Purchase

Synopsis via Goodreads


Love. Nightmares. Angels. War. A fast-paced, compelling debut novel from a fresh new voice in YA.

It’s been almost a year since Gaby Winters was in the car crash that killed her twin brother, Jude. Her body has healed in the sunshine of Pandanus Beach, but her grief is raw and constant.

It doesn’t help that every night in her dreams she kills demons and other hell-spawn. And then Rafa comes to town. Not only does he look exactly like the guy who’s been appearing in Gaby’s dreams, he claims a history with her brother that makes no sense.

Gaby is forced to accept that what she thought she knew about herself and her life is only a shadow of the truth – and that the truth is more likely to be found in the shadows of her nightmares.

Who is Rafa? Who are the Rephaim? And most importantly – who can she trust?

My rating:

This book was surprisingly good! From the synopsis, I thought it'd be fairly cliche. You know, girl is in car accident. Car accident kills family member/friend. And then she spends her every waking moment moaning and groaning about the unfairness of it all and pushing everyone away. AND SUDDENLY...a boy--who is unbelievably attractive, of course--swoops into her life and fixes everything and they live happily ever after.

Go on, tell me that that's not how nearly EVERY story goes these days.

Fortunately, this was not that story. I was impressed with how it quickly picked up from it's slow start and completely engaged me. It's one of those books that you never want to put down, and for all the right reasons. Badass characters. An intriguing mystery. Intricate, masterful worldbuilding. Smexual tension galore! (Yes, I meant smexual). And a hero to swoon over.

Gaby's one of the most amusing, engaging and interesting heroines I've read in a while. She actually had a brain, guys! Halle-freaking-lujah. She perfectly balanced her grief with her sense of self, even though she didn't fully understand who she was. And Rafa. Gorgeous, hilarious Rafa. He exceeded all of my expectations. Usually, I have to brace myself when it comes to the males in this particular YA genre. Brace myself for the inevitable douchebags that try to come off as redeemable in the end but sort of just make me want to facepalm. I didn't really have that issue with Rafa. He was a smartass, but not a dick. Badass, but not unbearably arrogant.

Really, this book seemed to be set up for hundreds of cliches, but it avoided them all and turned out fabulous. Easily a 5-star-er.

**A copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.**

Nov 27, 2013

Waiting on Wednesday #8

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event that is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine and spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

MY PICK FOR THIS WEEK:

Title: Bitter Sweet Love
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Release Date: December 1st, 2013
Series: The Dark Elements #0.5

Synopsis via Goodreads


Dez wasn't just Jasmine's crush. A gargoyle Warden like Jas, he helped her come to terms with her destiny—fending off demons and maintaining balance between good and evil. He was her everything...right until the moment he disappeared without a trace. It didn't help that Jas's father had just announced that she and Dez would one day be mated. Hard not to take that personally.

And now he's back, three years older, ten times hotter, ready to pick up exactly where they left off. But Jas isn't taking that risk again. Dez has seven days to meet all her conditions and earn back her trust. Seven days filled with terrifying danger and sweet temptation. Seven days to win her heart—or shatter it all over again...

WHY I'M WAITING: 
I know, I know. You're probably thinking Damn Taylor, another JLA book? (Oh, and if you weren't thinking that, well, take a seat, stay a while, and browse my past WOWs 'cause I think like three of 'em are JLA books.)

Anyway, it's not my fault! She just...Keeps. On. Writing. I have a conspiracy theory about that, you know. It may or may not involve cyborgs. (Did I spell that right lol?)

Back to the book. I'm waiting on Bitter Sweet Love by the lovely Jennifer L. Armentrout. Guess what? It's YA. Totally wasn't expecting that. The cover's kinda...*shivers* HAWT.

Nov 23, 2013

Life of a Blogger : Favorite Bands

http://novelheartbeat.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/lifeofblogger.png Life of a Blogger is a super awesome new meme started up by Jessi over at Novel Heartbeat. When I came across her post about starting the meme, I thought it was an amazing idea. I thought it'd be a great way to share a bit more about myself outside of the bookish memes I usually do as well as a way to get insight into my fellow book blogger's lives. Plus, I kinda like talking about myself. ;) Even better, the first post is : Favorite Bands! There was no way I was gonna pass up an opportunity to talk about music. It's my life. Aside from books. And food. And coffee. So without further ado...

1) Sleeping With Sirens



Favorite Song:

 

    Satellites

 

Favorite Album:

 

    With Ears to See, and Eyes to Hear 

"I fell in love from the moment we kissed. Since then we've been history." 


2) Florence + The Machine



Favorite Song:

 

    Girl With One Eye

 

Favorite Album:

 

    Ceremonials

"Regrets collect like old friends. Here to relive your darkest moments."



3) The Civil Wars



Favorite Song:

 

    Poison & Wine

 

Favorite Album:

 

    Barton Hollow

"Your mouth is poison, your mouth is wine. You think your dreams are the same as mine."




4) Demi Lovato



Favorite Song:

 

    Warrior

 

Favorite Album:

 

    Demi

"Your love lifts me out of time. And you know my heart by heart."




5) Paramore



Favorite Song:

 

    Let the Flames Begin

 

Favorite Album:

 

    Brand New Eyes

"And when I get there, it won’t be far enough. I’m a renegade. It’s in my blood."





6) Jessie J



Favorite Song:

 

    Mamma Knows Best

 

Favorite Album:

 

    Who You Are

"Seeing is deceiving, dreaming is believing. It's okay not to be okay. Sometime's it's hard to follow your heart. Tears don't mean you're losing, everybody's bruising."


7) Kate Voegele



Favorite Song:

 

    Angel

 

Favorite Album:

 

    A Fine Mess

"Oh and just when I believe you've changed for good. Well you go and prove me wrong just like I knew you would."




So...if you hadn't noticed by now: I have a thing for strong, unique vocalists with huge ranges and emotions that pour into their music. I like to feel when I hear music. Each of the Favorite Songs made me pause once (likely midsentence since I talk so much) and go: Who the HELL is that and where can I find more of their music?!

**Note: The quotes beneath the info are just a few favorite quotes from different songs, not exactly the songs I listed as my favorites.



Oct 29, 2013

Teaser Tuesdays #4


Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. To play along with Teaser Tuesdays, you just need to: 
  • Grab your current read.
  • Open to a random page.
  • Share two "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page.
  • Be careful not to include spoilers! (Make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away! You don't want to ruin the book for others!)
  • Share the title & author too so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers. 

This week's teaser comes from Abbi Gline's The Vincent Boys. The last time I've seen anything by Ms. Glines was when I was putting the last book in her Existence trilogy down. And honestly, I never really actively planned on reading something by her again.

When my Adult reading tastes shifted more to New Adult rather than Paranormal Romance, The Vincent Boys was one of the first books to pop up on my radar. It had high ratings all around, and there was nothing demanding on my TBR list at the time. So I picked it up, and whadya know...it's the shit! I don't know if I'm going to be doing a full review of it yet, so just in case I don't, I highly recommend it!

Teaser :
"The moment she stepped into the clearing holding Sawyer's hand my heart sped up. Just seeing her made me a little crazy."

 Synopsis via Goodreads


Ashton is getting tired of being good, of impressing her parents and playing ideal girlfriend to Sawyer Vincent. Sawyer is perfect, a regular Prince Charming, but when he leaves town for the summer, it’s his cousin Beau who catches Ashton’s eye. Beau is the sexiest guy she’s ever seen, and even though he’s dangerous, Ashton is drawn to him.

Beau loves his cousin like a brother, so the last thing he wants to do is make a move on Sawyer’s girl. Ashton is off-limits, absolutely. That’s why he does his best to keep his distance, even though he’s been in love with her forever. When Ashton wants to rekindle their childhood friendship in Sawyer’s absence, Beau knows he should say no.

Ashton and Beau don’t want to hurt Sawyer. But the more they try to stay away from each other, the more intense their urges become. It’s getting way too hard to resist....
 

Oct 2, 2013

Waiting on Wednesday #7

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event that is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine and spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

MY PICK FOR THIS WEEK:

Title: Sentinel
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Publisher: Spencer Hill Press
Release Date: November 2nd, 2013
Series: Covenant #5

Synopsis via Goodreads


It's a beautiful day for a war.

As the mortal world slowly slips into chaos of the godly kind, Alexandria Andros must overcome a stunning defeat that has left her shaken and in doubt of their ability to end this war once and for all.

And with all the obstacles between Alex and her happily-ever-after with the swoonworthy Aiden St. Delphi, they must now trust a deadly foe as they travel deep into the Underworld to release one of the most dangerous gods of all time.

In the stunning, action-packed climax to the bestselling Covenant series, Alex must face a terrible choice: the destruction of everything and everyone she holds dear… or the end of herself.

WHY I'M WAITING: 
I feel like I should re-dedicate my blog to pimping out JLA's books. Really. I swear she's a lean-mean-writing-machine. She writes more books in a year than I could even think up a concept for one. The best part? THEY'RE ALL AWESOME BOOKS. I'm certain she has magical powers. There's just no other option.

Anywho, back on topic. I'm waiting on Sentinel.

Okay, not really. I'm more sobbing myself to sleep every night & trying to fill the void with other books. There's not much actual waiting involved. (I'm melodramatic. Sue me.)

Sep 21, 2013

Stacking the Shelves #6

Stacking the Shelves is a  weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews where we share books we're adding to our shelves, be they physical or e-copies.


BOUGHT/BORROWED

VIA NETGALLEY
Okay. It's official. I have no self-control. I actually should be doing my homework right this second, because I hate putting it off until Sunday--BAHAHAHA! Ah, okay, I tried! The beauty of the internet is that if you knew me in real life you'd realize: That's a total lie. I procrastinate like nobody's business. I NEVER do my homework on Saturdays. That's my bookish time. Somehow I still manage to get shit done. Not sure how, but that's how it usually goes. (Don't be like me!)

Back to bizniz: there's twelve books this week. Count 'em, TWELVE. Not the one or two I thought I'd end up buying or dragging my lazy ass to the library for. Where'd my self-control go, then? Welp, that's an easy question!

Probably the same place my hopes and dreams went. LOL. No. I kid, I kid.

The real answer is that I'm not entirely sure. All I know is, I was checking goodreads, realized a bunch of stuff I'd been waiting months for was coming out, and suddenly I was purchasing it all. I have a problem, guys. Seriously. No credit or debit card is safe with me. The only good thing to come out of this situation is the fact that I'll be comforted by my lack of money with new awesome books.

Totally worth it.

Anywho, enough about me. Did you do a Stacking the Shelves post? Leave me a link in the comments, and I'll stop on by!

Sep 14, 2013

Review - Ten Tiny Breaths - K.A. Tucker


Title: Ten Tiny Breaths
Author: K.A. Tucker
Publisher: Atria Books
Release Date: December 9th, 2012
Series: Ten Tiny Breaths #1
Add to Goodreads | Purchase

Synopsis via Goodreads


Kacey Cleary’s whole life imploded four years ago in a drunk-driving accident. Now she’s working hard to bury the pieces left behind—all but one. Her little sister, Livie. Kacey can swallow the constant disapproval from her born-again aunt Darla over her self-destructive lifestyle; she can stop herself from going kick-boxer crazy on Uncle Raymond when he loses the girls’ college funds at a blackjack table. She just needs to keep it together until Livie is no longer a minor, and then they can get the hell out of Grand Rapids, Michigan.

But when Uncle Raymond slides into bed next to Livie one night, Kacey decides it’s time to run. Armed with two bus tickets and dreams of living near the coast, Kacey and Livie start their new lives in a Miami apartment complex, complete with a grumpy landlord, a pervert upstairs, and a neighbor with a stage name perfectly matched to her chosen “profession.” But Kacey’s not worried. She can handle all of them. What she can’t handle is Trent Emerson in apartment 1D.

Kacey doesn’t want to feel. She doesn’t. It’s safer that way. For everyone. But sexy Trent finds a way into her numb heart, reigniting her ability to love again. She starts to believe that maybe she can leave the past where it belongs and start over. Maybe she’s not beyond repair.

But Kacey isn’t the only one who’s broken. Seemingly perfect Trent has an unforgiveable past of his own; one that, when discovered, will shatter Kacey’s newly constructed life and send her back into suffocating darkness.

My rating:

4.5 Stars

Someone please slap me silly for putting this book on the backburner for so long. For real. How did I manage to skip over this book in favor of all the lesser ones that made me want to cry murderous tears? (You ever get that feeling? Where you hate a character so much—who isn’t the villain—that you wish you could just strangle them?)

Ten Tiny Breaths gives the phrase “beautifully broken” a whole new meaning for me. I don’t think I’ve enjoyed a good tortured heroine book in a long time. But that’s exactly what this was, and it was all so perfectly executed. Not once did I wish for the protagonist, Kacey, to get hit by a car and have the story *cough*mercifully*cough* end. And man am I making myself sound like a crazy for willing sudden death upon fictional characters, but it’s been a bad week in terms of finding half-decent books for me, all right?

I think it’s been a year since I’ve found a character that I love this much. Kacey Cleary is one sarcastic, hilarious, all around badass chick. The catch, then? She's got some issues. Some emotionally repressive issiues. When she was 16, she was involved in a car accident. An accident that killed her parents, her best friend, and her boyfriend. Not to mention two of the three drunken guys that caused the accident. Her sister, Livie, is all that she has left. And that accident caused more devastation than anyone thought. It left her numb.

Broke and in a new city, Kacey and Livie find a home in this dingy apartment complex and simply try to survive. There they meet their neighbors. A single mom and her daughter. And a super hot guy who goes by the name of Trent.

Trent and Kacey’s attraction happens fast. Like, really fast. By their second time meeting, before I even really get a sense of who Trent was beyond the fact that he was sexy, had dimples, and blue eyes, he was already up close and personal with Kacey. Despite that, though, it was easy to like him. He played the savior role flawlessly, even though Kacey didn’t really need it. Have I mentioned that she's badass?

One of the best parts about Kacey was how she carried herself. Confident, even though a lot of it was bravado. On the inside, she’d be anxious, and you’d never know it by the strange and amusing things that came out of her mouth. You could tell that she had issues, but the way she dealt with them was all apart of her charm. (Not that I’m saying it was particularly healthy.) She effortlessly pulled off the snarky, tough-chick vibe without being annoying at all.

I came to love the rest of the side characters as much as I did the main ones. There’s little more than half a dozen. Livie. Storm. Mia. Dan. Ben. Tanner. Cain. Nate. If you haven’t read the book, then they’re just names. But if you have, then you know that each character has their own voice and serve as more than plot devices. And damn if I didn’t enjoy the fact that none of them seemed to embrace the stereotypes surrounding them. Storm was smarter and more talented than anyone gave her credit for. Cain wasn’t as sleazy as I—and Kacey—thought he’d be with the type of business he was in. Each of them was unique and interesting, and they all became vital parts of Kacey’s life as she learned to heal from her past.

Another vital part of Kacey’s healing process was her actual romantic relationship with Trent. Or, well, it was more like the catalyst. She fought tooth and nail to not fall for him. Which, I guess, it was pretty hard to do since that man made it his life’s mission to make her happy. To make her laugh and smile. Sounds pretty sappy, but when you learn the real reason behind why…wow. I literally put my Nook down and said into the empty air: “I cannot believe this shit!” Shout out to K.A. Tucker for delivering the best spinning-kick-plot-twist I’ve read in a while.

Their HEA happened so close to the end, I never thought it’d happen. But when it did, there were tears in my eyes. And I learned a very, very valuable lesson: For the love of chocolate sauce and steaming hot coffee, the next time I put a book this good off for more than a week, someone reach through their computer screen and give me a good shaking!

Or just send me an email recommending it. That works, too. ;)

**ARC received via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**

Sep 8, 2013

Review - No One's Angel - By: Kelly Walker


Title: No One's Angel
Author: Kelly Walker
Publisher: All Night Reads
Release Date: September 6th, 2013
Add to Goodreads | Purchase

Synopsis via Goodreads


Tess used to spend more hours than she’d care to admit playing her favorite computer game, using the nickname Angel. She could pretend her life was different, and she could pretend Arion was just a friend. But a girl needs more to keep her warm at night than pixels and she traded her virtual heaven for a real life hell. Now she’s on the run from a past she won’t talk about, and the only place she has to go is the doorstep of the friend she’s never actually met.

When Angel disappeared from their nightly games, it nearly destroyed Arion. He threw himself into work and women, but he can’t help knowing the one night stands will never compare to the angel who haunts his dreams. At first, when she shows up soaking wet and scared-shitless on his doorstep, he thinks his prayers have been answered.

But the more Arion tries to keep Angel close, the more her fear drives her away. If they are ever going to have a chance for a future, they’ll first have to deal with the past that hasn’t forgotten her any more than she’s forgotten it, and Arion will have to learn how to let her go.

My rating:

Damn. Fooled by the synopsis again. Be careful, guys. It sounds way better than it actually is. When I requested it, I thought I’d be getting an exciting, original story with complex characters and a heart-swelling romance.

Exciting, it ain’t. Original? Not quite.

Wanna know what sucks the most? I thought it was going to be a 5 star-er. It started off so strong. Kelly Walker pulled me into the story from page one with her fluid, angsty pace. The first chapter opens with Angel (Tess) in the rain, broke and shivering, and looking for a specific place. When she gets there, we learn it was not the place exactly that she was searching for, but a guy named Arion. A guy she’d never met, but had forged an online connection with in a game.

So, yeah, it seemed like it’d be all kinds of unique. Except it fell flat. Really, really flat. The uniqueness wore off in about four chapters when all Angel and Arion did was lay around his home and sleep and have a bunch of meaningless conversation. I kept waiting for something to happen, something to spice up the monotony.

I waited a long time.

I think there was supposed to be a plot, but I didn’t find one. Seriously. This book flipflopped between Arion and Angel doing absolutely nothing with their lives, him trying to get her to open up about why she sought him out in the first damn place, and Angel trying to figure that out for herself.

Angel had been in an emotionally and physically abusive relationship with her boyfriend, Nick. When she decided she’d had enough, she ran to Arion. (It’s not a spoiler; you figure it out pretty quickly.) From Arion’s preconceptions of her, she was supposed to be this feisty, sarcastic, smart girl. I didn’t see that at all. I mean, I get it. She was vulnerable and trying to put herself together after being in such an abusive environment, so I didn’t expect for her to be those things for a while. The thing was…they never showed up. And all the while Arion was thinking ‘Gosh, she’s so strong and beautiful and stunning and awesome and spunky and blah blah blah.’ I got HOW they fell in love. I just couldn’t understand WHY. Maybe I just didn’t see it, but the only character traits I got from her were annoying, indecisive, and unnecessarily stubborn the few times that she stood up for herself.

As for Arion…he was mediocre. That’s all that comes to mind when I think of him. He had a bit more substance than Angel, but not much. The occasional funny line thrown here and there. A few times, he showed traits of being this sexy, charming guy. But the way his internal monologues went on and on and on about how Angel had wrecked him on the inside made him seem less like a tortured hero and more like a desperate, weak man with controlling impulses. For example, when he destroyed his house in a tantrum because he thought (with no proof) that Angel had left after the first night of him ever seeing her in real life. He could’ve handled that so much better. By, say, actually searching for her instead of being immature. Seriously, she ended up being in the next room. You can’t justify that.

Their romance was dead to me. It lacked everything. Trust. Steam. Emotion. Angel was much too concerned with getting away from Arion and then wanting to jump his bones and then running scared again for me to even consider it love. And Arion was too hung up on his mommy issues to ever let Angel be independent like she needed to be in the aftermath of her abusive relationship.

The side characters were actually, surprisingly, well done. There was Chelsea, Arion’s step-sister and Lexi, a girl who worked with his family that stood out the most. Their portrayals actually did ambitious, intelligent women justice. Chelsea came off as this stupid blond bimbo initially, but then we realize that that’s not entirely true. And Lexi was this bright, horse-loving girl with a dream to study Equine Science. They were both equally supportive of each other and Angel. There was none of that petty drama and slut-bashing that you see so prominently nowadays.

The end was unbelievably predictable and awfully anticlimactic, much like the entire book. The bad guy went down, and Arion and Angel lived happily ever after. Congrats to them, but I just could not muster a single crap to give at their HEA.

Why did I give it two stars instead of one, then? Simple. It made me cry.

Angel’s recounts of Nick’s abuse brought tears to my eyes like nothing else. Each snippet was heartbreaking:

“Nick took my innocence, and my hopes for the future, and my chance at college and everything I’d wanted for myself the first time he held me down and told me I could either agree to let him fuck me, or he’d dope me with ecstasy until I did.” 
__________________***___________________
“My fingers absentmindedly trace the scar behind my elbow, one of the few outward ones I have. Most of the time, Nick was careful not to leave visible evidence; he liked to believe people were fooled into thinking he was a good, upstanding guy and a bruised-up girlfriend might complicate that. Maybe they were fooled. I sure was. I don’t remember what I said that made him send me crashing through the glass coffee table, but I’ll never forget the bite of glass as it seared my flesh.”
__________________***___________________
“Last night, I dreamed Nick killed my mom. I found her lying on the cold tile floor of her kitchen, the words ‘come back’ pained into the pool of her blood beside her.”

The bottom line is, while I didn’t like the characters or the plot, the meaning stuck with me. It touched upon some very serious topics, and didn’t make light of them by overshadowing/ignoring the issues with the romance. I can respect that.

“I know I’m no one’s angel, because if I had wings I’d fly away, and I wouldn’t stop until I eventually soared above the pain.”

**ARC received via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**

Sep 7, 2013

Stacking the Shelves #5

Stacking the Shelves is a  weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews where we share books we're adding to our shelves, be they physical or e-copies.


BOUGHT/BORROWED

VIA NETGALLEY
I thought it'd be a while before I did another Stacking the Shelves post. Two weeks in, I'd still been adjusting to school. Blogging had been put on the backburner. But I just couldn't resist. These lovelies were calling to me.

I'd like to think I was super duper selective this week. At least, that's what I told myself I'd try to be. I thought I'd stick to only getting the books on my most-anticipated shelf. Things I'd waited months for and would die to read. Alas, that was not the case. While I was more selective than usual, all those pretty covers still managed to reel me in.

Anywho, enough about me. Did you do a Stacking the Shelves post? Leave me a link in the comments, and I'll stop on by!