Review for Wilde’s Army (Darkness Falls #2) by Krystal Wade

TITLE: Wilde’s Army
SERIES: Darkness Falls #2
AUTHOR: Krystal Wade
PUBLICATION DATE: July 3, 2012
PUBLISHER: Curiosity Quills Press
PAGES: 317 pages
FORMAT: E-ARC
SOURCE: Publisher via NetGalley
RATING: 3 bows

Katriona Wilde’s life was turned upside down in the last novel. Now, she’s trying to live with that, rescue her love, and build an army to fight a war. She feels ill prepared, but pushes forward. She is forced into a shakey alliance with Perth, the man she is supposed to marry due to a betrothal beyond her control. That isn’t ever going to happen. She will be with Arland, as soon as she rescues him and Perth can either deal with it or not. But Perth isn’t really the problem. The feud between the people of this magical land is. She has to unite them. She has to have an army to fight a war. How will she ever make that happen?

Instead of doing my usual spiel about each important character, I’m going to…..


Well I don’t know what I’m going to do, but not that. I feel like I can’t really go in depth about any particular character because I don’t really care about any of them. Or maybe that’s not true. Maybe I’m just irritated about them. Kate has that special little snowflake thing going on, which is fine…except I’m incredibly tired of that. There’s one person who can save us all or we all die painfully. Oh? She fell in the tub and pushed her head and is now dead?
Well, fuck. I never truly loved them, but now there are so many that you can stand in a book store and point in any direction and I assure you there will be a book in that area about a special little snowflake.

The only character I really liked a little was Perth, which I don’t think was the intended reaction. He is the only one that shows growth. He is genuinely trying to help and improve even though it goes against everything and it could get him killed. He is also witty and funny and I felt so bad for him because we know he’s not getting the girl.

One of my issues, besides the special little snowflake thing, was the way it was written. This is the second book in a trilogy. I have read the first one, but it was a llllllllooooonnnnnnnggggggg time ago. This isn’t really written in a way that makes it easy to understand if you haven’t either just finished the first one or don’t have enough braincells to accurate remember the majority of the first one, regardless of when you read it. This is a problem for me. Upon finishing the first one, I found I didn’t like it overly much. That was back when I first started reviewing and I requested the second one mainly to give it a chance to improve and then the third one because, hey, might as well finish the series, right?

But then life happened and I got approved for more books and these kinda feel by the wayside because I wasn’t really overly enthused about them. My very convoluted point is that these can definitely not be read as stand-alones. You need the first one and since my recollection of Wilde’s Fire is fuzzy at best, I was more than a little lost many times.

I had to listen to this thing entirely on audio. Had I needed to actual read to get through it, I have a feeling it would have taken me a lot longer to get through. I feel like not only is it plagued with SLS syndrome, but it’s also got that middle book thing going on. Things happen, but not a lot….besides lots of character death. Which usually bugs me, but since I couldn’t remember who half the people where or Kate’s connection to them, I was mostly okay with them. There is some fighting and stuff, but nothing that felt like it mattered.

It gets three stars because there is nothing specifically wrong with it, I just didn’t care much for it on a whole. What I’m trying to say is that if you didn’t love the first book, this one isn’t going to be an improvement. It’s more of the same. If you loved the first one, I see no reason you won’t love this. I already have the audio for book three, so hopefully I’ll get to that sooner rather than later. I don’t hold high hopes that I’ll love it, but anything is possible!

****Thank you to Curiosity Quills Press for providing me with an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review****

Review for So Into You (The Jane Austen Academy Series #2) by Cecilia Gray

TITLE: So Into You
SERIES: The Jane Austen Academy Series #2
AUTHOR: Cecilia Gray
PUBLICATION DATE: July 15, 2012
PUBLISHER: Gray Life LLC
PAGES: 216 pages
FORMAT: E-ARC
SOURCE: Publisher via NetGalley
RATING: 3.5 bows

Ellie has always been the calm, go with the flow girl. Daughter to yoga fanatics, she’s sensible and caring. But when fate decides to take her away from the academy just as things are starting to get interesting with her crush, she is determined to fight back. Scholarships and work study, whatever it takes to buy her just one more semester. But is there enough to keep her classes paid for or will she wind up in Guatemala with her family?

We get the same group of characters from Fall For You, with a few new additions and obviously a bit more focus on Ellie. She’s so sweet and caring and I just felt so bad for her in this whole situation. I also felt a bit annoyed at Lizzie. I expected her to fight tooth and nail to find a way to keep Ellie in school, but she just accepts it. I found that a bit uncharacteristic after the fire she showed in Fall For You. I’m still not Emma’s biggest fan. She really fights for Ellie, but she seems to be on the shallower side of things and oh so dramatic. I tend to avoid drama. As for the new additions, I loved Knight. He seems like such a sweetie and I hope he can win Emma over easily enough.

It was nice to see Ellie put up some effort to stay where she wanted. I really rallied behind her efforts and hoped she’d find a way to make it work. She really deserves the chance to excel in this school that she loves so much. I found it a little selfish of her parents to try to take it away from her. In fact, I found her parents to be a little selfish in general. Who forgets to pay their bills and then lets their child take the heat? That’s just irresponsible and a bit infuriating. I came from a household where I was in charge of the majority of the bills for my teen years. I understand that it teaches money management and allows teens to learn and I’m all for that. But if that is what you want, hand over the checkbook. Don’t just attempt to pay for it and then let bill collectors hassle your kid because you are forgetful.

This novel is a bit more pulled together than the previous one. We already know the cast, so we don’t waste any time introducing characters. I love getting to see the group band together. In book one, there is a lot of tension because of the new roommate situation. Here, they aren’t completely over it, but they are on the way to becoming a fearsome foursome. After all, part of the draw of this series is seeing how Austen’s character interact and there is a great joy in that. None of these characters are perfect, or maybe they are. They are perfectly flawed and I love all of them. Reading this makes me want to go and pickup Sense & Sensibility and dig in. I know, I can’t believe I haven’t read it either considering how much I love Pride & Prejudice, but I just haven’t gotten around to it. I fail, I know.

This is a fun, fast read that will make you smile and giggle along with the group’s antics. It will also have you feeling Ellie’s heartbreak. I enjoyed it quite a bit and I can’t wait to read the next one!

****Thank you to Gray Life LLC and Cecilia Gray for providing me with an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review****

Review for Fearless (Elemental #1.5) by Brigid Kemmerer

TITLE: Fearless
SERIES: Elemental #1.5
AUTHOR: Brigid Kemmerer
PUBLICATION DATE: July 31, 2012
PUBLISHER: Kensington Teen, a division of Kensington Publishing Corp
PAGES: 59 pages
FORMAT: Ebook
SOURCE: Purchased
RATING: 4 bows

Hunter Garrity has always been picked on in school. He knows how to defend himself, but doesn’t really want to fight so mostly avoids the bullies. So when Clare approaches him wanting help, he’s a bit off kilter. She claims she just wants information, but is she telling the truth?

I’ll admit I’ve been avoiding this. I should have read it when I read all the previous books, but I’m not exactly Hunter’s biggest fan. Now, since I am going to read Spirit, which is also about Hunter, I thought I just read this novella first to gage how bad it’s going to be. The answer? Not so bad. Hunter’s past is bad enough that, once you get past the bullshit, you can’t help sympathize with the shit his been through. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still not in love with him, but I do like him a bit better now and I’m not as apprehensive about reading Spirit now. I’d still rather skip to Secret because I’m dying to read Nick’s book, but maybe Kemmerer will surprise me by making me love a character I don’t really like now.

Anyway, this short novella follows Hunter as he tries to educate a classmate about gun safety. It’s obvious there is more going on than she’s admitting too, but with his Elements, he can’t help wanting to help her. Even after she fucks with him, he still runs to her aid when she’s in trouble. So, maybe I can see the appeal of Hunter. Despite the dickish things he does in Storm/Spark, maybe he’s not so bad. I’ll let you know for sure after I finish Spirit!

Review for The Forsaken (The Forsaken #1) by Lisa M. Stasse

TITLE: The Forsaken
SERIES: The Forsaken #1
AUTHOR: Lisa M Stasse
PUBLICATION DATE: July 10, 2012
PUBLISHER: Simon Pulse, a division of Simon & Schuster
PAGES: 375 pages
FORMAT: Ebook
SOURCE: PulseIt
RATING: 3 stars

Before I read this book ,as I do with many books, I browsed some reviews to see what people where thinking. The consensus was that it was something that anyone who enjoyed The Hunger Games would enjoy. I definitely enjoyed HG, so I gave it a try. It was definitely interesting and I can see where the comparison comes from, but it just doesn’t live up to the awesomeness that is The Hunger Games. That being said, though I had a few issues with it, it was still a good read and I do think most HG fans will enjoy it.

This story follows Alenna Shawcross in the UNA, which is a new country made up of Mexico, America, and Canada. This new government is highly controlling of it’s population and at 16 everyone must be tested for their unconscious inclination towards violence and aggression. This isn’t a test you can study for, you just go in and sit down and they put straps to your head to see what’s going on in there. Alenna has no fear of failing the test, she has always been shy and quiet and though she doesn’t agree with everything the UNA does, she certainly doesn’t harbor any rebellious tendencies towards them. So she is beyond shocked when she wakes up on Island Alpha, the place where the rejects are sent. Island Alpha is a barbaric island where the kids literally kill each other to survive. And so begins the fight of her life.

There were a few things about this that irritated me. The main one being the main character. She reminded me a great deal of another main character from a highly popularized book series…

Though there are some differences, they are both “plain” girls with a shy, mouse-y personalities who change locations and suddenly are hailed the crème de la crème because all the guys want them. Then, they both go all badass battle mode within an unbelievably short amount of time and with very little training. It really does irk me. And this book contains that horrid insta-love because of a “connection” both parties feel.

Beyond those two things, this novel was a pretty good read. It kept me interested and I was fascinated by the world as I am with almost all dystopian novels. I won’t give away too much, but I will say it had a twist I didn’t see coming. I found the dynamic between Alenna & Gadya a little boring because of the whole “we’re in love with the same guy” bit, but I was glad that they do overcome it in the end.

I enjoyed this novel and think plenty of people will love it, but it just didn’t spark my love. I don’t know if there was something wrong with the book or if I’ve become more difficult to please because I’ve not read a book recently that’s left me completely satisfied, but either way, I felt it was good, but not great.

Review for Mothership (Ever-Expanding Universe #1) by Martin Leicht & Isla Neal

TITLE: Mothership
SERIES: Ever Expanding Universe #1
AUTHOR: Martin Leicht & Isla Neal
PUBLICATION DATE: July 10, 2012
PUBLISHER: Simon Pulse, a division of Simon & Schuster
PAGES: 308
FORMAT: Ebook
SOURCE: PulseIt
RATING: 5 stars

I’ll be totally honest, when I started this novel I didn’t have a clue what it was about beyond the vague notion that it would involve aliens. I never read the synopsis. The thought process was simple, I just finished Second Chance Summer and while it was good, it was a bit of a downer and I wanted to read something uplifting and funny. I saw this little novel up on PulseIt and vaguely remember reading various reviews proclaiming it to be laugh out loud funny, so I thought I’d read it while I had the chance. I’m glad I did. The reviews were right, this book is one of the most original, funny stories I’ve read in a while.

Elvie Nara is in a fairly common situation, she’s knocked up and the father disappeared right after hearing the news. She finally fesses up to her father (who I adore by the way) and she decides that the best thing for her is to enroll her in this new school for pregnant teens make on an abandon party cruiser that is orbiting the earth (which is possible because this book takes place in 2074). Perfect solution, right? WRONG. Everything goes rather smoothly for the first few months, or as smoothly as things can go for an expecting teen mother who’s ex lover also happens to have father a kid with her archnemesis who is stuck in the same floating school and determined to make her life hell, until…..Cue the dramatic music: ALIENS ATTACK! From that point on, Elvie’s world gets turned upside down, which she didn’t think was possible at this point. I can’t really go into detail with the plot after this point because there are too many potential spoilers, but suffice to say that you’ll never see a lot of it coming and you’ll be rolling on the floor laughing if you figure it out. Everything that can go wrong does and Elvie ends up face to face with Cole (aka the father of “Goober”).

I cannot say enough good things about this book. All the character’s were completely perfect. Ducky is an amazing best friend and they could have easily pushed that into love triangle land but thankfully they don’t. Instead of trying to be all Jacob and “I love you and I’m better for you”, Ducky never confesses his love and just supports Elvie in every endeavor, no matter how deranged. Cole was the perfect leading man. He’s hot and dimwitted and completely sincere in his affection for Elvie, though it’s not apparent in the beginning. Then there is Elvie, who though I was irritated with in the beginning, turns out to be a completely badass lovable character. She’s been dealt a shitty hand (though by her own admission, it’s for choices she made) and instead of whining and moping about what could have been and how things should be, she just rolls with the punches makes sarcastic jokes as the goes. Thanks to all her younger years being raised by her father, she is a mechanical genius and that skill comes in rather useful for what’s in store for her. Speaking of her dad, I love him. He’s doesn’t have a huge role in this novel, but the small amount you see of him makes me wanna give the guy a big hug. He’s got a plan for any (well almost any) worst case scenario and when Elvie confesses that she is knocked up, his response isn’t anger, but just acceptance and then he proudly digs out his “teen pregnancy” contingency plan and starts dealing with the current dilemma.

The plot keeps you guessing until the end. Just when you think it’s all over, something else happens. Just when you think they are all doomed, Elvie pulls a new plan out of her ass and saves the day. It’s a delightful read and anyone looking for a kickass novel that will have you snorting for hours, this is your book!

Quotes:
“Ducky seems intent on working on a strictly psychological level. Like sneaking into Britta’s house every morning to swap out her bra with a series of nearly identical brassieres with infinitesimally larger cup sizes, causing her to believe her boobs are shrinking.”

“If anyone can ever find a way to explain to me how carrying around a sack of flour with a diaper on it is supposed to prepare you for motherhood, I will personally bake that person a chocolate cake with my practice baby’s insides.”