5 star 1st person guy's POV writing but 3 star storyline. I didn't like the weak heroine (she had to try too hard) or the love story that was based so5 star 1st person guy's POV writing but 3 star storyline. I didn't like the weak heroine (she had to try too hard) or the love story that was based solely on sex IMO. It needed more emotional development between the h/h to hit a real chord. The hero was great though and the author did a fabulous job with his character. ...more
This was pretty good but not as much of a crazy 2am page turner as I thought it would be. It’s very brutal and at times quite chilling which isn’t somThis was pretty good but not as much of a crazy 2am page turner as I thought it would be. It’s very brutal and at times quite chilling which isn’t something I’d expect for your standard YA novel, but the writing tone is distinctly YA so you wouldn’t be mistaking it for a dystopian adult read.
Set in a very bleak future where everyone is terrified of the oppressive, ever-watching government and the majority of people struggle just to eke out a tired living, “The Hunger Games” is about a girl named Katniss Everdeen who volunteers to take her sister’s place in the government sponsored Hunger Games. It’s a kind of reality show to the extreme (like “Survivor” say) only the participants are children aged 12-18 and only one survives. They have to kill each other to win which makes it all the more disturbing because they're children. Horrible things happen to them during the games as the Game Makers try to liven things up a little throughout the show. There’s your fair share of blood and gore and gruesome endings but it’s smartly written sucking the reader in as you go deeper into the story.
The novel is told in the first person present from Katniss’ point of view which really made the action move. You feel like you’re running right alongside her or seeing things as she sees them. I’m not a fan of first person POV and even less of present only writing, but Collins did a very good job of not making the novel feel overly one sided and flat. The pacing is well-done starting with the world they live in, then how people are chosen for the dreaded games, preparation for the games, the games themselves and finally the winner. It was interesting that the author chose to tell the story like a reality show in progress which gives it it’s unique feel. Be forewarned that the ending is one where you may want to have the next book on hand if you find yourself enjoying the read at the halfway mark.
What’s missing from the book though is happiness and a fulfilling love story that’s sort of started but you don’t really know if it’s a serious one or not. It’s very action packed and go-go-go but that human connection isn’t there enough which is why it wasn’t a five star book for me. There's something emotionally vacant about Katniss that made it hard to "feel" her character.
This is definitely a different, more original take on a theme that’s been done countless times but it can leave you with an unsettling feeling because of the audience it’s geared to. ...more
If it weren’t for the hero this book would be like any other vampire PNR, this poster boy for “hot honeyness” totally steals the show from page 1. TheIf it weren’t for the hero this book would be like any other vampire PNR, this poster boy for “hot honeyness” totally steals the show from page 1. The writing overall is quite good with strong characters but the best thing about it is the Brit speak. Those one liners from the hero will either have you laughing your head off (though I wonder if the Brit speak would be as funny for someone from the UK?) or melting in a little puddle of goo :)
The series starts out with the heroine, Catherine, who’s half vampire. She’s made it her mission in life to kill all vampires as revenge for what they did to her mother. During one of her killing sprees she meets Bones, the oozer of sex hero. Bones is a vampire bounty hunter. They lock horns and end up having a “jolly good” time together as the story goes on.
Bones reminds me of JD Robb’s Rourke in a way. He’s got the quiet mystery about him, he adores the heroine and is always there when needed. Yes he’s one of those heroes who ends up getting the heroine out of more than one bind, but it’s well done so that you don’t feel like she’s only got the role of damsel in distress. If you mess with her in any way whether you're weak or strong he’ll kill you without batting an eye and he does it all with the most brilliant bit of funny/menacing lingo.
Though there is romance, it’s more PNR with romance than romance within a PNR framework. It reminds me a bit of Katie MacAlister’s Aisling Grey Guardian series with a splash more romance. There could have been more development we’ll say when they’d “get down to business” instead of making it a quick paragraph or two and the focus could have been more on the h/h than the vampire hunting at times. This happens more at the end so I felt a bit short changed there which was why I couldn’t give it a 5 star rating. Some of the action packed scenes at the end were also a bit too long I thought -got a little UF-y. It’s also written in the first person which is not a favourite of mine but it didn’t bother me here. You had enough of the hero’s side to get a good feel for his character. I wasn’t too keen on Cat’s decision at the end –very frustrating which of course goes to show that the author wrote a good book if they can get such a rise out of you (lol!)
If you do decide to pick up this book, a word to the wise: get book 2 with it otherwise you’ll be pulling out your hair what with the ending. It’s pretty much a guarantee that you’ll be itching to know what happened. One of the best endings I’ve read in a good while.
So it’s quite a good start to the series. No excessive world building, original writing, laugh out loud scenes, a hellcat of a heroine and a jalapeno hot hero –good thing books 2 to 4 have already been published ;) ...more
Hard book to rate. In terms of thought provoking issues, learning quite a few things that I didn’t know before about some interesting American historiHard book to rate. In terms of thought provoking issues, learning quite a few things that I didn’t know before about some interesting American historical figures and sparking a lot questions and discussions, the book is a 4. When it comes to reading pleasure though it’s a 2 because it’s written in an extremely dense prose that sometimes has too many perspectives and makes the story a bit confusing to follow. Publishers Weekly compares the novel to Dan Brown's The DaVinci Code in terms of entertainment value and this was one of the reasons I was keen to read the book: mixing historical fact with a fast paced good story, but it couldn’t be further from the mark. Sure you learn things from this book but it’s not what I’d call entertaining.
The story is part fiction part historical fact about the Mormons and the First Latter Day Saints. It’s told in the past and the present always in the first person without any third person narration. Ann Eliza Young, one of Brigham Young’s many wives, is the main voice for the past and Jordan Scott is the excommunicated FLDS voice for the present. There are other accounts in the past and the present through diary entries, letters, newspaper clippings, internet info etc etc. It’s all quite original if a bit confusing because you don’t really know what’s real and what’s not but the author does say that he’s writing a story and not a history book. Using these different perspectives makes the book interesting but because there is virtually no dialog in the story the reader is faced with a lot of dense prose to slog through that sometimes makes it really boring and tiring to read.
Ann Eliza Young’s story was more interesting than Jordan’s. Jordan’s story felt simplistic in comparison the way it was handled. He’s trying to solve a murder mystery and his mother is the supposed guilty party. The way he uncovers the story didn’t seem all that believable and his ending with his lover was a bit too sticky perfect. The ending with his mother however was much more believable and certainly gives you chills.
The book is packed with lots of strange things that the reader may or may not know about from knowing how the Mormon religion first started to why they instituted polygamy and how it still survives today within the FLDS. Ann Eliza Young's recounting of her life as Bringham Young's 19th wife is a very sad story in itself. If the novel were presented in a more reader friendly way (ie fewer consecutive pages of thick dull prose) then I think it would have had the potential for being better book. ...more
The title of this book is what drew me to it. It’s unusual to say the least and I wanted to know what it meant. This is the kind of book you take withThe title of this book is what drew me to it. It’s unusual to say the least and I wanted to know what it meant. This is the kind of book you take with you on a weekend retreat in the spring up at a secluded country cottage and you read all day long. The entire book is written as a series of letters between the main character, Juliet Ashton, and all the people in her life at home in the UK and on the Island of Guernsey. Even though it’s in book form you really feel like you're reading old family letters that have been kept in a box forever just waiting for you to read a piece of history.
It’s a lovely story with a bit of humor, dry wit and lots to tell in little snippets that somehow come together to form a novel. There is virtually no dialog as it’s all narration. I for one don’t like lots of narration but I didn’t feel that heaviness you sometimes get with books like that. In a way it reminded me of Nick Bantock’s Griffin & Sabine books only without the mystery. The author writes in such a way that makes you want to know what’s going to happen (and what did happen) to the people on Guernsey and how the heroine of the story ties into all this. The horrors of WWII are told in a very human and everyday manner. Though horrific, it’s certainly a testament to the triumph of the human spirit. The people living in Guernsey during the German Occupation come together as friends for one reason and from that springs their “Literary Society” which continues to unite them post war. It’s really well-done because the author makes you feel connected to the heroine, the odd potions maker, the grannies, the kids, the quiet men, the concentration camp survivors and the dead. I got choked up a few times, and to think that the story telling is very brief. All this might sound boring but it’s surprisingly not nor is it about misery. It’s really about moving on with life despite the hell that you were forced to go through before and everyone does it as best as they can.
This is one of those books that teaches you a thing or two about history that you may not have known. I’m glad I satisfied my curiosity in the end and actually picked it up. I really felt like I was reading about an old family member’s losses, joys and everyday life. It’s a happy story when all is said and done. When you finish the book you’re left with a warm, good feeling. Nice to get to read a book like that every now and then :) ...more
A very dense and sometimes difficult read. More than once I was close to just giving up for how dry it was at times. The “mysterious” title is what drA very dense and sometimes difficult read. More than once I was close to just giving up for how dry it was at times. The “mysterious” title is what drew me in as did the back blurb but they’re both somewhat misleading.
The book reads more like literary theory mixed with memoir and endless pages of heavy narrative --not quite what I expected. If you haven’t read the majority of the classics dissected in the book I don’t see how you could enjoy it or appreciate what the author is trying to convey. The stories about the women and how they got together to read these banned books lacked feeling. I didn't really feel like I knew much about the people after having finished the book.
Nafisi raises some interesting questions about literature and it’s role in society. Though well-written with interesting insight and interpretation of Western classics, be prepared for a slow academic read that can sometimes feel like slogging through mud up a steep hill. ...more
This is a blisteringly hot sizzler of a novel that has a very unusual plot. There’s a lot of sex but it’s appropriate and what makes it appropriate isThis is a blisteringly hot sizzler of a novel that has a very unusual plot. There’s a lot of sex but it’s appropriate and what makes it appropriate is the very unique kind of writing. For the first 30 odd pages you get the impression that this is a sex with no story kind of book, but that couldn’t be further from the truth so pay attention from page one.
Told in the first person, Broken is the story of Sadie Danning whose once idyllic and just beautifully perfect life has been shattered in a way that I’ve never read before in Romanceville. In order to escape the hell that her life is she meets up with Joe Wilder for lunch on the first Friday of every month and he tells her about his latest sexcapades. Joe holds back nothing. Every vivid and lurid detail is described. As he’s telling his stories Sadie imagines herself to be the girl he’s doin’ the ol’ nasty with. Sadie’s dilemma is that she’s stuck between a rock and a hard place –does she continue meeting with Joe once a month to get her fix or does she drop him and do the “right thing”? But throughout the novel the author asks the question: What’s the right thing? And that’s a really hard question to answer because nothing in this book is black and white.
The story itself will throw you for a loop more than once and make you feel really conflicting feelings towards the heroine and the two heroes. There is some ménage and f/f/f and it all fits in well with the story. Some readers might think that the whole thing is just too depressing and that in essence there’s adultery involved even if it isn’t physical. I didn’t see it that way. This is your more serious kind of erotica that takes you waaaay out of your comfort zone, makes you feel gypped, at a loss, mad, hurt but also relieved, happy and, well, you name it, Hart runs the gamut of the emotional spectrum.
I can’t say I liked either of the heroes, they just suck you dry and beat you down emotionally. Joe is a bastard in every sense of the word and Adam is a selfish, ungrateful sonofabitch but Hart makes you understand why they are the way they are so you can excuse them all the while hating how they behave sometimes. As for the heroine, sometimes you want to smack her and say “just do it!” but then you think what if you were the other person? The guilt just eats away at you in this book but you feel so ripped up for her. It’s like whatever she does is wrong.
Megan Hart is a brilliant writer. She describes the mundane as something new and really makes you feel in a gut wrenching kind of way what it might be like to be the heroine. This is a very strong first person kind of writing where all the other characters are in the background but you can still appreciate them. I don’t think it would have packed as much of a punch if it wasn’t written in the first person. LuAnn McClane (though a completely different kind of writer) also writes in the first person where really there is only the one character but I didn’t like her writing. Hart puts your nerves on edge, gives you goosebumps (the bad kind), makes you catch your breath and gasp all at the same time. The sex scenes are very hot without being icky physically but they’re emotionally draining, sometimes mean spirited and at times very satisfying.
The ending of the novel has the heroine come full-circle and I thought it was very fitting, touching and rewarding. This was very tricky because it seemed that no matter how she’d end it the reader wouldn’t be happy so I was very surprised and thought she handled it exceptionally well. It brought closure and a new beginning. Not only do you get a good feeling at the end of the novel but you feel hope for Sadie where there was really only hopelessness.
If you’re looking for an emotional roller coaster erotic read that will pack a punch right to the gut and throw you off kilter as well, then pick up Megan Hart. When you're done though, plan for a nice happy-go-lucky, light Julie Quinn read after as a kind of vitamin C to kick start your system and make everything right again in Romanceville ;) ...more
Really good start to the series. More build up between Drake and Aisling would've made it a 5 star. Drake and Fiat are two very "intense" dragons ;)Really good start to the series. More build up between Drake and Aisling would've made it a 5 star. Drake and Fiat are two very "intense" dragons ;)...more
Disappointing ending to the series. Seemed like the author didn't have any direction and just wrote for the sake of finishing. Drake is still fire engDisappointing ending to the series. Seemed like the author didn't have any direction and just wrote for the sake of finishing. Drake is still fire engine hot though!!...more