I have decided that this series is like a bag of starbursts with the same wrapper. You don't know what you're going to get. You might get red or pink I have decided that this series is like a bag of starbursts with the same wrapper. You don't know what you're going to get. You might get red or pink (awesome!). You might get yellow or orange (not awesome!). But it's still a starburst. I mean, no one likes the orange starbursts but you eat them anyway and it's fine. You don't stop eating starbursts because some of them are orange. You don't start chewing the orange starburst and say "Oh, god!" and spit it out and rub it in the dirt and drink whiskey until the flavor is gone. It's still delightful candy, for heavens sake!
So yeah. This was an orange starburst. Frankly there was not a single thing about this book that worked for me, but it didn't actively offend me, so 2 stars instead of a DNF....more
Full disclosure - my rating is a "fan fiction" four stars, which is not necessarily judged on the same scale as professionally edited books that one pFull disclosure - my rating is a "fan fiction" four stars, which is not necessarily judged on the same scale as professionally edited books that one pays for.
Also, another full disclosure - I feel a little guilty saying I "read" this book since there was much skimming involved. This is not because it wasn't good, but because I was just in the mood to get straight to the "good stuff" and so I did.
That said, I really enjoyed this book. The author is very forthcoming about the fact that was originally a piece of fanfiction, and it reads like one. I mean that in the very best way possible - there is something special about fanfiction. I believe this stems from the fact that it has no real basis in reality, no obligation to be at all plausible, it is just the ultimate in fantasy where anything can happen and because of that there's just a certain romantic feeling to fanfiction (good fanfiction, anyway) that can't be found elsewhere. And that quality is what this book has in spades.
...I may have to create a new shelf called "I'm just following Ami around."...more
I'm having a hard time figuring out how to rate this. I was really excited to read it because of how much I loved Something Like Summer. And because II'm having a hard time figuring out how to rate this. I was really excited to read it because of how much I loved Something Like Summer. And because I loved that book, and anything extra having to do with that book is a bonus, I liked this book.
But on its own merits, this book was very disappointing. It felt rushed and thrown together, and I didn't feel that the character of Tim was redeemed at all. Not having his POV in Something Like Summer, I was able to give him the benefit of the doubt. But having his POV in this book, he's just selfish and immature and absolutely doesn't deserve Ben. So that's frustrating.
The other problem is that I felt like there was a big wall between these characters the whole time. Ben was very difficult to see as a person, he was really just this smoky idea in Tim's head. There was no connection between them. I couldn't understand what either of them saw in the other. For Ben, Tim was the hot guy he fooled around with in high school, and I get that, but there was nothing beyond that. I don't think Ben ever really knew Tim at all, even at the end of the book. And for Tim, Ben was this idea of what he wished he could be. I don't see enough there to base a relationship on so it was very difficult to be engaged in wanting to see them together. I mostly wanted Tim to grow up and figure out life without Ben.
I felt a lot better about these characters in Something Like Summer. Something Like Winter was just... less. So much less. And yet I enjoyed reading it, was willing to ignore a lot of issues... So yeah. I really can't rate this....more
Second book in a row I'm finding impossible to rate.
I can't decide if I liked this book, or if I just liked what the book was trying to be. I just reaSecond book in a row I'm finding impossible to rate.
I can't decide if I liked this book, or if I just liked what the book was trying to be. I just really don't know what to think.
A few random thoughts:
1. This book suffered from what I have dubbed "The Happening Syndrome", wherein you hear/read so many people talk about the Big Twist You'll Never See Coming, that you then are looking for it and of course since you're expecting it, you do see it coming. Not sure if that makes you so much smarter than everyone else, or just overly warned.
2. I really liked that this wasn't just a paint by number mystery, but it also included a lot of interesting commentary about gender dynamics and also the inner workings of marriage. It had a lot to say, which I appreciated.
3. I both loved and hated the ending. The part of me that likes things tied up in a nice bow was not satisfied and said "What? Seriously?" The part of me that likes to be challenged, that likes a book to require me to do some independent thinking and figure some things out for myself thought it was perfect.
I'm still letting this stew around in my brain. But I think ultimately, I admire what Gillian Flynn has done with this book, and I flew through this book with a desperate need to find out what was going to happen. But I don't know if I actually liked it. I love the idea of these horrible, vile characters dragging each other down in this big old train wreck of a book. But did I enjoy it? Still not sure....more
Apparently I didn't write a review when I read this back in 2012.
I'm in a phase of re-reading old favorites. This is my third one so far and the onlyApparently I didn't write a review when I read this back in 2012.
I'm in a phase of re-reading old favorites. This is my third one so far and the only one that didn't disappoint. I honestly didn't remember a thing about this story, so it was like reading it for the first time. (I did re-read One Small Thing recently in French, so I was familiar with Dusty and the others.)
I might even give this 5 stars for the second read. I don't know if I've ever read a book where I fully bought into the MCs' connection like this. Soooo romantic. These two just belong together and I loved reading their story, and how hard they worked to support each other and take care of their relationship.
Granted, there's some over-the-top, not-very-realistic stuff here but it's just window dressing to a really solid love story, which is all I really care about.
Not sure why MJ and Piper aren't writing together anymore. They were such a dynamic duo. I have to assume they intended to write a third story about Lane and Josh. Maybe, if we're lucky, they'll get back to it one day....more
Mostly I liked this book. I liked the idea behind it - the opposites attract relationship, and that the scope of the book was the growing of it. It waMostly I liked this book. I liked the idea behind it - the opposites attract relationship, and that the scope of the book was the growing of it. It wasn't one of those angst, angst, angst, hurried HFN at the end kind of books. It was the natural progression of a regular sort of relationship and we got to spend plenty of time with the characters, seeing them fall in love gradually. I love when I get to see the characters in my romance be happy together.
Unfortunately it was just a little too uneven to be 4 or 5 stars. The writing needed to be tighter; which doesn't mean I thought the book was too long, it was a good length, but there were a lot of places where I thought the author kind of lost track of herself and it took awhile to find her way back. It was also just missing that certain "je ne sais quoi" that some authors have. That special edge that makes you fall in love with the characters.
Decent read, and I would recommend it, but not one of those awesome books I'll come back to again and again....more
I guess you would have to know me and my tastes to be able to determine if "BDSM lite" is an appropriate tag for this book. It is for me, maybe not foI guess you would have to know me and my tastes to be able to determine if "BDSM lite" is an appropriate tag for this book. It is for me, maybe not for everyone. But I don't really see this as a BDSM book. Kind of a kitchen sink book with a few BDSM scenes that in my opinion were lite.
Anyhoo.... this was a really enjoyable WIP - lucky for us, Isa is a fast writer so it wasn't torture waiting for each new chapter. I didn't get enough Harry and Logan for my tastes, the wrap-up was a bit hasty, but the experience was fun....more
I was really loving this, and then it just sort of turned on a dime and had it's nice sappy ending and I felt like there was a huge chunk missing fromI was really loving this, and then it just sort of turned on a dime and had it's nice sappy ending and I felt like there was a huge chunk missing from the middle. Not to say that I didn't like the ending, I just had a hard time following the leap. This needed about 20 more pages.
5/17 re-read: I liked this better the second time, I think. Gave me lots of warm fuzzies, though I do see what I was talking about before. There could have been a little more communication before the HEA. Both characters needed to earn it just a bit more but it didn't bother me too much this time around. 4 stars....more
This one wasn't so good. It could have been, but I just didn't really get the characters. I didn't understand what the conflict was. Was it the fact tThis one wasn't so good. It could have been, but I just didn't really get the characters. I didn't understand what the conflict was. Was it the fact that Cal used to be Ty's RA? Because that made no sense. Was it that Cal didn't really want to admit he was gay? If so, that wasn't made very clear. The blurb would have you believe that Cal is engaged and Ty is his dirty secret on the side, but that's not the case. Cal was never engaged and he and his girlfriend break up at the very beginning, so that's not the conflict here.
And Ty - why was he interested in Cal? We're never really shown. As far as I could tell, Ty was desperate to have someone show some interest in him other than getting a blow job in an alley. It seemed to me that he only liked Cal because Cal liked him, not for Cal himself.
The basic structure of this story was very unclear which made it very difficult to enjoy....more
I really really liked this one. More like 4.5 stars, but I told myself I wouldn't give half stars anymore so I'm giving it 5.
Re-read 2/14: Still likedI really really liked this one. More like 4.5 stars, but I told myself I wouldn't give half stars anymore so I'm giving it 5.
Re-read 2/14: Still liked it, but I don't know if I'd give it 5 stars again.
Re-read 5/17: Yeah, not sure why I thought this was 5 stars. There's really not that much relationship development. I think I'm just a sucker for this trope, and of course the end (view spoiler)[where they get engaged (hide spoiler)] is up my alley. But ultimately... there's really not much here. 3 stars....more
Ultimately this was a 4 star read, even though it ended too soon. It had somewhat of a rocky start but I'm giving the book the benefit of the doubt beUltimately this was a 4 star read, even though it ended too soon. It had somewhat of a rocky start but I'm giving the book the benefit of the doubt because it may have probably had more to do with my mood at the time than any actual problem with the writing. I'm a Marie Sexton fangirl so I feel okay pretending that didn't happen.
The relationship itself had low angst, and I loved the way El was hopelessly in love with Paul and just waiting for him to clue in. I also loved the rich secondary characters, particularly the subplot of El's hoarder mother. Recommended!...more
This was very disappointing. It felt like L.A. said "Crap, I have to get that vampire book done" and just threw something together as fast as she coulThis was very disappointing. It felt like L.A. said "Crap, I have to get that vampire book done" and just threw something together as fast as she could. The plot was... well.. .. it picked up where the last book left off and then didn't go anywhere. They're on the run. That's it. And the chemistry between the characters was almost non-existent, which is very unlike L.A. Witt. I don't know if I'll read the third one. Maybe. But this book took all the promise of the first one (which I expected to not enjoy and ended up loving) and flushed it so we'll see....more
This installment had a tendency to be a bit boring in parts. On the other hand, it also had the most quiet moments that gave our characters some time This installment had a tendency to be a bit boring in parts. On the other hand, it also had the most quiet moments that gave our characters some time to breathe. I liked it overall but had to downgrade it a star because of all the times I put it down because I wasn't interested....more
Nichole (DirrtyH)
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Books:
2012
(89)
