This was so much fun! I love Bliss Edwards. She's awkward. She's hilarious. She's so adorably childish. She's amusing. She's quite the drama queen. ShThis was so much fun! I love Bliss Edwards. She's awkward. She's hilarious. She's so adorably childish. She's amusing. She's quite the drama queen. She's sweet. She's ridiculous. And she's totally endearing.
She's me.
Except she gets an amazing British boy named Garrick and I get high school boys who still insist on pulling my hair. How does that work? ...more
I don't know why, but this one didn't connect with me as much as the first two in the series did. :( Does that make me crazy? Maybe a little bit (or aI don't know why, but this one didn't connect with me as much as the first two in the series did. :( Does that make me crazy? Maybe a little bit (or a LOTTA bit!) considering that this one is a million times less dark than the first two.
Even though this was told completely from Caleb's first person point of view and CJ Roberts did an awesome job with it, it just didn't feel like Caleb to me. He wasn't the character we grew to know in the first two books; he didn't act or think like someone with his past ever could. Not because he wasn't as twisted -- because he definitely had his fair share of Caleb-worthy comments that were admittedly what I was looking for! -- but because nothing that he thought or said or did seemed to be who he was. After twenty-seven years of being who he was, it seemed so easy for him to flip a switch and think COMPLETELY different. To be someone more vulnerable than even the nicest guys I've read about.
And it felt so forced to me. Like the author was trying to make him witty and sarcastic because it's a popular quality in book boys now (and she succeeded!). Maybe if this was simply another book about two characters I didn't know yet then I'd have loved this, but after just finishing the first two literally within the past few days, it doesn't feel anything like the characters I knew at all, or even characters that they could've grown to be so fast, so soon.
STILL. If you liked the first two books, then you definitely won't want to miss out on Epilogue! I don't think I'll ever get enough of being able to get a glimpse into the male mind ;) (view spoiler)[And I love knowing that Livvie and Caleb -- or Sophia and James -- get to have their HEA of sorts <3 (hide spoiler)]...more
LIVVIE IS SO FRUSTRATING IN THIS ONE. And yet... Oh gosh, does this series ever get to me! Dark. Captivating. Disturbing. Ruthless. BREATHLESS.
BasicaLIVVIE IS SO FRUSTRATING IN THIS ONE. And yet... Oh gosh, does this series ever get to me! Dark. Captivating. Disturbing. Ruthless. BREATHLESS.
Basically, my review of the first book combines my thoughts on both of them since I read them back-to-back. Otherwise, the only thing I have to say is that I loved the way this was written, alternating between the present (where Livvie has escaped and is being interrogated by the FBI for her story) and the past (which takes off where the last book left off: with Livvie in Caleb's capture, both of them fighting their emotions and what's right and clearly wrong).
That, CJ Roberts is nothing short of an evil genius.
I JUST REALIZED I NEVER READ THIS ONE BEFORE AND I THOUGHT "WHY WHY WHY" BECAUSE I LOVE COLLEEN HOOVER! And so I did. And I loved it. And I loved remeI JUST REALIZED I NEVER READ THIS ONE BEFORE AND I THOUGHT "WHY WHY WHY" BECAUSE I LOVE COLLEEN HOOVER! And so I did. And I loved it. And I loved remembering Will and Lake and Kel and Caulder and Eddie and Gavin (HA! You sneaky surprise!) and yes, especially even Kiersten! x)
A friend of mine (Hi, Heidi!) wrote in her review that this plays a lot like a movie reel, and it totally does! It was nice to reminisce back to key points in this beautiful love story from Will's perspective. I didn't realize how much I missed these characters :') <3...more
OH MY SWEET GOODNESS. This was just... so beautiful. Perfect. Painful to read, yet a true not-true love story.
Let me get this straigRating: 4.5 stars
OH MY SWEET GOODNESS. This was just... so beautiful. Perfect. Painful to read, yet a true not-true love story.
Let me get this straight first: Cheating is my hard line. With my boyfriends, I make it clear it's the one thing I won't stand for. If they want someone else, break it off first. If it's a single mistake, that's different. If they want an open relationship, that's different too, although I don't know many girls who would agree to that. I'd rather you be up front about no commitment than lie to me any day at all, no matter how much it hurts.
HOWEVER. The way that Willow Aster writes her story -- first when Ian and Sparrow meet again years after he broke her heart, then traveling back in time to explore the way they fell in love -- it was sort of perfect. The character development is flawless; the prose beatific; the love so bloody true. You can feel everything through Sparrow's heart, and you root for them even when they don't know to root for themselves.
I don't know if I can write a full review for this. I just finished it this morning, after all, and I'm still kind of reeling. But I can without a doubt say that this is one of the only stories that includes some sort of cheating where I truly believe the characters are meant to be together. Ian is just... I LOVE HIM. (I love even more how he calls her Little Bird!) And Sparrow is one of my favourite NA characters from start to finish! And her best friend Tessa -- she's totally me! Love love love them all (except Laila, of course).
This is just what I needed to fall back into reading. :)...more
I thought this was going to be another one of those jackass-pays-girl-to-be-his-pretend-girlfriend-for-a-small-moment-in-time-and-they-end-up-falling-I thought this was going to be another one of those jackass-pays-girl-to-be-his-pretend-girlfriend-for-a-small-moment-in-time-and-they-end-up-falling-for-each-other-for-real-and-live-happily-ever-after -- but it absolutely wasn't! It was a million times better and more original than I ever would have expected from this kind of premise, and with that, Monica Murphy has definitely swept me off my feet!
For one thing, Drew is sweet -- sweet like you don't get very often in NA (we tend to be stuck with arrogant assholes LOL). He's still sexy as hell and has his own set of mind-blowing issues, but when he loves, he REALLY loves, and seeing that with Fable is honestly the most swoon-worthy thing ever.
I love how he sees her strength and uses it to inspire his own. Fable has a screwed-up life, having to take care of her adorably rebellious younger brother Owen (SO excited for his book later on!!!!) while her mother continues to waste her life away. Drew and Fable are the perfect mix of unbalanced perfection that click instantly and never once give you the urge to pull your hair out with impending insanity.
(Another NA stereotype that this book skillfully avoids!)
I've already read the sequel (both in one day!) and I have to say that I'm dying to continue their FANTASTIC tale! The only reason this review isn't longer? Because I seriously want to start the rest ASAP!!
So in summary?
Yeah, you should definitely read this book!!!! :) <3...more
Judging by the GR rating, I may be alone in my thoughts for this. I just felt like the first eighty peRating: 2.5 stars
I didn't like Kacey. At all. :(
Judging by the GR rating, I may be alone in my thoughts for this. I just felt like the first eighty percent of this book was all about how much she was lusting after Trent -- even though she repeatedly reminded us how she NEVER feels that way about a guy (of course, because anyone who feels attracted to hot guys regularly is a slut...) -- and I usually don't mind bitchy badass heroines, but Kacey was so frustratingly similar to all those girls in horror movies who make me want to pull my hair out... even though there were no horror movie scenes in this book.
There's a very good chance my low patience for this book was because I was just on an epic-book epic-binge (reading SERIOUSLY ADDICTING new adult romances like candy) and my standards were a little through the roof.
Maybe I'll come back to this one day and re-read it and change my mind, but for now, I don't think I'll be reading the sequel anytime soon. ...more
I loved this little-sister-in-love-with-her-older-brother's-best-friend-thing even more than I thought I would! They were so amaziPRESTON + AMANDA = ♥
I loved this little-sister-in-love-with-her-older-brother's-best-friend-thing even more than I thought I would! They were so amazing together, and I love how Amanda was with Preston's adorable little siblings that I literally want to cuddle up and kidnap.
Plus, the whole gigolo thing? Super original, I'd say! My Abbi Glines Binge is coming to an end and I'm dreading it like crazy, but I have to admit that it's been a whoooooooooole lot of fun.
Sweet, if not a little cliche and instalove-ish -- which I normally wouldn't mind... if it was believable. After reading so many fun books with narratSweet, if not a little cliche and instalove-ish -- which I normally wouldn't mind... if it was believable. After reading so many fun books with narrators and twists I don't expect, I almost couldn't finish this. There were too many monologues and confessions of love when characters first meet. Jax was adorable though!
BUT: I'm a stubborn teenager, and I will be reading the rest of the series :) ...more
WOW! I'm so surprised by how much I loved this! I didn't think I'd be convinced of the aspect of a kill gene, but I am SO in love witRating: 4.5 stars
WOW! I'm so surprised by how much I loved this! I didn't think I'd be convinced of the aspect of a kill gene, but I am SO in love with the way Sophie Jordan handled it. And the whole idea of them being sent to concentration camps reminded me kind of like The Darkest Minds except not -- but only in the awesome ways!
Plus, I LOVED Davy and Sean and Davy and Sean together! And you can't forget nerdy sweet Gil, of course. ;) I can't wait to see what's going to happen next! <3...more