Review for The Moment We Began (Fairhope #2) by Sarra Cannon

TITLE: The Moment We Began
SERIES: Fairhope #2
AUTHOR: Sarra Cannon
PUBLICATION DATE: September 15, 2013
PUBLISHER: All Night Reads
PAGES: 247 pages
FORMAT: ebook
SOURCE: Publisher via NetGalley
RATING: 3 bows

Penny Wright has loved Mason Trent for years. He is her twin brothers best friend and, as a result, also a close friend of hers. When things between them shift to friends with benefits territory, she is sure she can handle it. Having part of him is better than none, right? Until she sees him with other women, which breaks her heart. Now, after too many months of torment, she is determined to win him over, to have him all to herself, no more sharing…and she is willing to do whatever necessary to make it happen.

Penny was a character that instantly got on my nerves and it doesn’t really improve throughout the novel. She has some growth, but I had a hard time believe anything she did that didn’t fit into my mental image of her. On page 1, she is a spoiled rich girl with little care for anything besides her brother and winning over Mason. After that point, we get to see various other talents and interests, but they just didn’t quite match my grasp of the character. My grasp could have been way off, but it is still how I felt. Every time she’d give a business suggestion or do something seemingly nice, I felt like it was the author trying to give us a reason to sympathize with Penny instead of hate her and it didn’t work for me. I have a hard time giving sympathy to…this is going to sound so bad, but to the poor little rich girl dramas. Money can’t buy everything, boohoohoo. As any bookworm can tell you, money can’t buy happiness, but it can buy books and that’s really the same thing. I realize there are a lot of problems money can’t solve, but when this brat is given everything she could possibly want or need and she still has the need to complain about everything? She eventually gets a $100 spending limit and goes ballistic. Mommy and Daddy cover everything from the roof over her head to her food and college tuition and now she can only spend $100 a week on extra?!? Who could possibly get by on that paltry amount?

After this point, I can’t sympathize any at all. Sorry chica, but you get nothing from me by irritation and anger. Then she finds out that she has done irresponsible things and now has to deal with a very big consequence and goes nuts. Beyond the irritation at the rich snob, I also have no sympathy for those people who put themselves in the situation she is in. Mason makes it perfectly clear that he doesn’t want a relationship with her and yet she sits pining away and allowing him to use her body. Have some goddamn self-respect woman!

And she goes on and on about how she is an adult and should be treated as such but then acts so immature and irresponsible that it’s no wonder her parents want to control her. Sorry, but you’re an idiot who apparently doesn’t know any better.

Then we have Mason. This “dreamboat” is suppose to inspire me to swoon, but really, I don’t like him much more than Penny. Selfish and stupid and just plain cruel and I’m supposed to buy that he loved her all along?

Sorry, but no. He’s been too much of a jackass to forgive. Either that or he is the retarded level of blind. Either way, it induces no love from me.

Plot and writing-wise, this was fine. Okay, writing-wise, it was fine. Because these two were morons that I couldn’t care much about I had a hard time to loving their story…it felt a bit too easy. Boy + Girl + Drama + Running away + More Drama = Happily Ever After?

Yeah, I’m not sure I can get behind that.

This is one of those reviews I hate to write. I wholly enjoyed Sarra’s Beautiful Demons novel (yes, Kandice, I know I need to finish that series) and I really want to read the rest of that and her other works, but this just wasn’t the novel for me. It gets 3 stars because the writing was good and I think if the characters were different, I would have enjoyed it, but Penny just wasn’t someone I could love.

I’ve harped endlessly about the importance of characters for me. Good or bad characters maker or break novels for me. I can love a novel that has horrible writing if it has characters I can really get behind or hate a novel with amazing writing if it has characters I can’t stand. This falls pretty close to that. I wouldn’t say I hated Penny and Mason, but they did irritate me a great deal. That being said, I still want to go back and read the first novel in this series and I would be interested in trying the next one. I refuse to let this one dud tarnish my joy for Sarra’s other works.

****Thank you to All Night Reads for providing me with an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review****

Review for Beautiful Demons (Peachville High Demons #1) by Sarra Cannon

TITLE: Beautiful Demons
SERIES: Peachville High Demons #1
AUTHOR: Sarra Cannon
PUBLICATION DATE: October 29, 2010
PUBLISHER: Dead River Books
PAGES: 136 pages
FORMAT: Ebook
SOURCE: Purchased
RATING: 4 stars

Man, it feels like forever since I’ve posted a review. Life has just been hectic lately. But fear not, I will never give up reading/reviewing. I started this book because my baby sister has been singing its praises and quite honestly, I saw that the first one was free on Amazon and figured I had nothing to lose. I had seen this book before, but the cover didn’t really grab my attention and I don’t like downloading books I’m not sure I want to read. Well..that’s not entirely true, I download WAY too many free amazon books because I mean they are free and I’ll get around to them eventually, right? I’m one of those crazy people who searches the interwebs for lists of new free ebooks (but hey, I’ve gotten some great deals, I got Cold Kiss by Amy Garvey for free and many other things). But for what ever reason, this one just didn’t grab my attention. I’m glad I gave it a try though. This book is a rollercoaster ride wrapped in a mystery dipped in intrigue and romance. So what’s not to love?

Harper Madison has been deemed a troubled case. Given up for adoption at birth, she went into foster care and lived with her adopted family for 8 years…until a tragic fire that she accidentally started ruined everything. Since then, she has bounced from home to home always being thrown out for one reason or another. Shadowford Home for Girls in Peachville GA is her last chance. If she fucks this up, she’ll be put in juvenile detention until her 18th birthday. She’s trying to put her best face forward but when she ends up being connected to the murder of a classmate, things slide out of control.

I loved Harper instantly. She was quirky, troubled, and rebellious in her own ways. She had no desire to become a cheerleader and fall into the popular crowd. Instantly crushing on the incredibly hot Jackson who is by far the most interesting character in the book (and sadly you don’t get to see enough of him.) For the first half of the book, I was in love with all of it. The mystery of what was happening, who Harper’s birth mother really was, would she end up with Jackson, and what the hell was up with all the secrets. Then, almost at the midway point exactly, everything turns. Harper starts forgetting important things and completely changes. She starts hanging out with the popular cheerwhorecheerleaders, develops a crush the assholequarterback of the football team and looses every quality that I liked about her.

WHAT THE FUCK? I was equally tempted to stop reading out of sheer annoyance and continue reading to find out what the hell happened. Obviously the latter won out. Sadly, things are rocky from that point out. The oh so delicious relationship with Jackson goes out the window and no one will explain what is going on to her. You hear snippets from her eavesdropping, but no one will answer her questions outright. Then it ends brutally with a cliffhanger.

So why four stars?

Put simply, I couldn’t put it down. Once I got past the first few chapters, I had to keep going and now I desperately want to buy book 2. Yep, that’s right folks, queen of kindle freebies is going to actually buy a kindle edition. I realize it’s only a dollar, but it’s a big accomplishment for me to pay for a digital copy when I typically like to get something physical for my money. Another reason is that the story felt entirely unique. I’ve never read a story with similar to this and I didn’t see the twist coming at all, like not in my wildest dreams did I think it would end the way it did. Shock and awe, people, shock and awe.

I feel very proud after reading this, not only because I have gained a new author to follow, but I have officially read my first book by an indie author. That’s right Sarra, you are my first. I intend to read many many more indie books now. 🙂

For all those who read ebooks, I highly recommend this one. It’s the first in a series of six, I believe and it’s well worth your time. It’s free on amazon, barnes and noble, and smashwords, so what have you got to lose?