Texas Gothic (Goodnight Family #1) by Rosemary Clement-Moore

If someone had told me that once I was able to finish this book's first chapter, I would be indecisive between giving it a 3.5 stars or a 4 star rating, I would probably tell her/him to get a grip! ~by then I was blowing a gasket!~

And the story starts out really good!

"The goat was in the tree again.
I hadn’t even known goats could climb trees."

But then Amy "opens" up her mouth...I mean, her mind to us...

"The only thing that might keep her from getting a Nobel Prize someday was her field of study.
Switzerland didn’t really recognize paranormal research."

Sweden! Not Switzerland!

“What the blue blazes are you doing to that cow?” he said.
“Me?” My voice went stratospheric with outrage. “That calf was violating my Mini Cooper.”

Sorry, my sense of humour is non-existent when it comes to some things. I don't think that certain words should be used lightly _ I know this was supposed to be funny... and if I was younger I probably wouldn't think anything of it _ so yes, you can say that I overreacted with this, and  that I have the humour of a troll.

A bad tempered one.

This means that, after such a promising first page, I really lost my patience for this book. There were also some mentions of bra number sizes, and descriptions of hunky guys... which are typical of YA books, but for which I honestly couldn't care less, so my will to read this really deflated.

Therefore why it took me almost two months to finish reading this!

But, you know what, this does get better. A lot better!! And those things that I disliked are never mentioned again!

The characters end up being well developed. I just had to get to know them...

There's a strong sense of family in this story. For once don't expect to read about teens who seem to have sprouted from cabbages, and whose parents are MIA. Sisters, parents, cousins, grandparents _the deceased and the living ones _ they're all here.

One thing I especially liked is how grounded Amy turns out to be! She can't figure out the difference about stalagmites and stalactites for dear life, but she's such a pragmatic young woman... for someone with her family, and for someone who ends up having to deal with ghosts.

Here is one of the story strongest points: She knows what she has to do. She doesn't want to do it, but throughout the story we see her _ one step at a time _ trying to deal with something that has scared her for her entire life.

Her sister Phin _to whom I also had some problems warming up to _ ends up being quite a character.

She's the prototype of the obsessed scientist for whom personal issues seem to be placed in the background... seem being the correct word.

She reminds me of a young blond Temperance Brennan (the one from the tv series, not the one from the books).

The romance is very low key... which is a good thing, since the guy most of the times comes out as an idiot when dealing with Amy. But most importantly I loved the fact that she never comes out with excuses for this kind of behaviour:

(...)because what I wanted to say was Please don’t go back to being an ass because I like you, and I’m not the kind of girl who likes guys who are asses."

Now, if only we could make all YA and New Adult novels follow this reasoning ~sigh~

The last part of the story is a page turner, four stars rating page turner, and I liked it so much that I can't wait to read the second book of the series.

I guess I could give this a 3.5 star due to its rocky start _for me! _but I can't help feeling that the narrative's pacing, the plot, and the way the characters turned out to be, more than redeemed it!

Definitely another author for me to follow! :)

"Spirit and Dust" (#2) apparently features Daisy _another of the Goodnight family members _ as the main character.

I was reading the author's acknowledgements about Texas Gothic, and she mentions the character Abby from the series NCIS (one of the series that I follow... because I love Gibbs and the whole gang!) and I couldn't help thinking that that is how is see Daisy... as a young Abby. I can't wait to read it.

You know what?

There better be some proper libraries up in heaven, because I am never going to make it through my TBR pile during this lifetime.

Author's Official Site

Buy "Texas Gothic"

@Bookdepository.com (With Free Wide World Delivery!)

The Asylum For Fairy-Tale Creatures by Sebastian Gregory

                 

 

ARC provided by Carina UK through Netgalley

Missing commas, missing words, and missing sense... maybe they're keeping the insane fairy tales company?

What in the blazes happened with this?

You know how, in some stories, you can't help noticing that the authors don't have an actual plot, so they just focus on filling pages with endless, useless words, joined by a parade of never ending adjectives?

Verbose, that's what we call them, right?

On the other hand there are times when we feel like we are reading pages that have been ripped of a phone book... a scary and dark phone book, as turned out to be the case for this story.

The writing was that basic :/

Okay... this is the second book in a row to which I give a one and half star.

I may be turning mellow with my old age :/ because other people would probably give it a star, if that much.

Let's call things as they really are: This is a novella, and even so, a poorly developed one.

My conscience is battling with me, forcing me to admit that I gave my previous read 1.5 stars, and that in terms of writing quality that one, was unquestionably better than this!

The only reason this even gets this rating is that it, at times, did manage to be original and creepy as hell! Too bad those moments were just too few.

And this had an original concept!

So why wasn't it developed? I am sincerely flabbergasted about it! Was this edited?

If so, the author should definitely ask for his money back.

Let's talk about how it begins...

The introduction to the "major" fairy tale creatures that we will be reading about was just too poor, character wise. It was just your basic fairy tales stereotypes. Especially with the first character: Red Riding Hood.

The creepiness factor was not enough to keep me reading the story, especially not with the headache that the writing was giving me.

There were some original points that I appreciated, _ the asylum per se, the guards_ but the writing was so basic! There were so many missing words, and the characters were so undeveloped, than honestly reading this became  a chore.

Here, I'll leave you with some examples:

"To be poor abandon children in the forest, left to the whims of the nearby witch in her gingerbread house (pg. 8)

 What?!

"She felt so at home here, the other children of the village thought her strange and sneered when they saw her go by" (pg 11)

Did you mean to say:  She felt so at home here, despite the fact that the other children found her strange, and sneered at her, whenever they saw her go by. (??)

I can ignore a certain amount of things in arcs. I am not that of a literary snob.

There will always be some grammatical mistakes in texts that are going to  be ignored.

Hey, I make them all the time!  But this was just too much! And if I excuse the occasional error, I don't want to have anything with stories that don't seem to have been edited...

"Ever since her father had succumbed to a wasting infection the previous year, her mother’s wits were lost to everlasting grief; the girl had found refuge in solitude"

wow...

"The girl losing her father and her grandma a son gave strength to the other."

Headache.

About the Author

Kindle Edition

Kobo Edition

Dark Paradise ( Dark Paradise #1) by Angie Sandro

 

Arc provided by Forever Yours through Netgalley

Let it be known that so far I think I've only mildly enjoyed a single New Adult novel.

So yes, you can say that this genre isn't my cup of tea... well not so much the genre per se, but one of its leading characteristics: The high level of drama and angst that these stories normally possess.

This story, despite the initial fluidity of the writing and despite having nailed a perfect ambience setting, ends up being just another carousel of feelings, with the plot being removed out of the spotlight.

And it's a shame because this had so much potential! I can't help feeling that this could have been great, if the plot hadn't been smothered by so much emotions going rampant all over the place!

The story is told through dual points of view: _Malaise (Mala), and Landry...

Landry is a twenty one year old guy, whose voice tries to come out as sensitive and all that... but who just ends up sounding like a judgemental girl... with a penis!

Because c'mon!! 

"She frowns but is not deterred. You’d think she’d finally get a clue that I don’t find her remotely attractive. It’s not that she isn’t beautiful, she is. Stunning, if you like her type, but her pale skin and willow—that’s what they call model skinny girls—willowy frame isn’t what I crave. I want a girl with meat on her bones. Okay, I’m only obsessed over one girl’s curves,(..)"

And then there's the fact that he's a ladies man (is this the male equivalent of slut? Because this sounds so much better!),  but who gets tongue tied in the presence of one special girl... whom he apparently has been stalking for some time now... but of course in a non threatening way *pulls hair*.

Glaring Mistake #1: Stop making these obsessive/insane characters feasible love interests!

You know what ends up happening to women who get involved with guys like these?

Most of them end up dead.

I could go on and on about all the things that should make all girls run the other way when a guy like Landry appears. Yes, there are plenty of them, but you get the type right?

Spoiler!!! Landry's sister is found dead. The guy has just basically seen her corpse opened up in the autopsy room, and one minute later (fine, 2 minutes tops!! I am not kidding!)  the guy is already thinking about how wonderful and beautiful Mala is??

This is just wrong!

Doesn't he have feelings at all?? And I am not talking about those!

"God, she’s beautiful. I pluck a jasmine blossom from her hair and tuck it behind her ear. My heart stops beating for a few seconds when my fingers brush her earlobe. It’s soft, ah, silky. I stiffen my knees and focus on breathing in one slow breath at a time. If I dare touch her one more time, I’ll die, and she’ll have no idea she killed me."

Oh, my God...

And to say that he spend four days secluded in his apartment... drinking... and playing video games??

Video games?? Are you serious? (at least he didn't share his results on FB)

He could at least have been seeing some family movies with the sister in it... or something like that, it would probably help make him look a little more mature.

Okay, it's true that in the beginning on the book he claims that he's not the "sharpest tool in the shed" o_O but this does not excuse the idiocies he says. *shakes head*

"No wonder Dad wanted me to stop in to check on her. She’s not handling Lainey’s passing well after all."

Really Sherlock?? A mother isn't dealing well with her daughter's death?

On and on, this ends up being an overly dramatization of a southern soap opera!

  The author starts by having  a good grip on the story's pacing, _although, later on, the thing is just lost between all the hormones floating around_ but the characters and situations are so overly dramatized that this honestly become painful to read.

Glaring Mistake #2

I don't know about you guys, but I'm getting really tired of reading about girls in books that only know to call themselves names, and who only know how to fight one another over boys _as if they're starving dogs!_ and as if they have no pride whatsoever.

Girl on girl hate and slut shaming should just be forbidden in YA books.

"Clarice stands with her hands on her hips. “Seriously, Landry,” she yells. “You’re gonna ditch me for that slut?”

(..)

"I whirl in Landry’s arms, fed up. “I’m not the one begging like a bitch for a bone,” I say to her, shaking my head in disgust.
“Show some pride. He’s obviously not into you.”

I would like to be able to say that eventually the story gets better.

But I would be lying. In fact it only gets worse :/ and I so regret the time I wasted on this.

The writing style that, at the beginning, seemed so promising becomes so packed with clichés, and the sentences are so short and brisk, that instead of reading a book, it feels as if I'm listening to some crazy people talk. There's no fluidity, there's no nothing! Only dialogues thrown in like paint to the walls. Some hits, others don't...

Most of the characters behave as some sort of Tasmanian Devils on steroids! It's insane!

And draining to read!

As if all the drama, drama, drama wasn't high enough, we get human sacrifices and amnesiac characters _how soap operish is this?

And, as if all of this wasn't enough, the author also had to throw in a love triangle... because... who knows, not enough balls in the air?!

Or is this a New Adult pre-requisite? 

Honestly I just picked this up because due to same crazy assumptions I thought this would be something along the lines of Tami Hoag's books.

Next time my brain concocts such an idiocy I'm just going to re-read Tami Hoag's Cry Wolf or Between The Lines.

Now that's a dark, intense story!

p.s- Oh, and calling a character Georgie? Georgie?

What is she? Five years old? 

Author's Official Site

Buy (more like borrow it if you can) Dark Paradise:

@Bookdepository

Ahahah...that's supposed to be funny... right? ;)

When you buy some books through online stores, hopefully, there won't be a whole lot of room for surprises, right?

Let's face it: the only thing we want is the book we ordered _not some crazy thing that you have no idea how it was published in the first place... I'll share this story some other time! _ in pristine condition, and preferably with some cute bookmark! :)

p.s- Also, Bookdepository? Wasn't it a bookmark for each and every order that you guys were to send? Because I am only getting one bookmark for every two orders!

And I am always getting the same ones! o_O

But I digress... surprise, no surprises...

What I wanted with this post was basically to share the insane sense of humour that BD apparently has!

In one of my latest orders I bought the book "Drink, Slay and Love" _which I loved :)

The cover design is very appropriate, since it shows part of a girl's face _a very whitish face due to vampirism _ drinking "something" red out of a bottle!

And no, it isn't red wine ! :)

So, what do I get along this book in my BD package?

Can you not get guess?

Okay, I'll show you!

A WINE VOUCHER!! LOL IRL!!

Guys!! You're so sweet and considerate!! "This one ordered a book that has a bottle on its cover... I know, lets' send her a wine voucher!"

LOL Thanks guys, but I don't drink alcohol!

I do however read books! *hint, hint*

In The Mail Today:

 

The book... not the cat ;)

The cat as you can see, is already claiming possession of it.

It only took me more than a month after the book's release date to get it!

Lovely :/...and it wasn't the online bookstore's fault.

Next time an author says she is going to send me an arc, I'm just going to say: no thank you.

That way I can buy the book while it's in pre-order _less expensive _ and also I'll be able to get it sooner... since I am not waiting like an idiot, for something that ends up never being sent.

Brimstone and Marmalade: A Tor Original by Aaron Corwin

An imaginative short story about a little girl who wanted a pet pony, but who got a fierce cute demon instead.

 DESTROY THE INTERLOPER!
“Miss Hoevener says he’s just being a boy. She said . . . that’s what boys do when they like you. She says if I just ignore him then he’ll stop.”
Ix’thor looked down for a moment, then raised his sword over his head. FEED HIM TO THE RAVENOUS TONGUE-BEASTS OF GARAKH’NURR!
Mathilde sniffed. “I would, but I don’t know where that is.”

Loved the writing, and the fact that, despite its reduced number of pages, the story managed to be such an engaging read!

The end, howeve,r felt a little rushed, therefore my three star rating. But do not be fooled, a three star rating means that I liked it!

So yes, I will be definitely be checking this author's future works.

You can read it on Tor's site: Here!

Apart at The Seams by Melissa Ford

Arc provided by Belle Books through Netgalley

This is the first book that I have read by this author, so I had absolutely no idea of what to expect writing wise.

Honestly, I just wanted an engaging contemporary romance to read, while I chose my next fantasy book.

I'll come out and say it, _since this affects great part of the story_ but I almost DNF this one.

The beginning was troublesome, the middle was long...ish, so the only thing that redeemed it was basically the final part.

How it starts:

Normally we have some sort of "info dump" regarding the characters on the beginning of the stories. Why they behave like this, and that, something to which a reader can hold on to, while we're trying to get into a story.

(...)

Not this one.

There were things about Arianna that I only found out almost at the end of the story!

For instance I thought she was quite younger than she actually was! Therefore I could not understand why someone in their twenties would have undergone fertility treatments... not that there was an appropriate age, or anything, but it just didn't resonate with the character I was seeing!

It also became a little difficult to like a character who all the sudden starts behaving like an brainless teenager with a crush. Even weirder is the fact that about the only thing I felt sure of was of the fact that Arianna was someone with both feet solidly on the ground.

 Because of that, her reactions to a complete stranger (given to us at the story's very beginning), with her being a responsible grown woman, and one committed into a relationship, were just nose twitching...

 In fact I almost gave up on it on the spot because I was afraid this was going to turn out into some cheaters' story.

Long, long unnecessary descriptions.

The story was already dragging by then, my patience was already running thin, because this is basically one of the more realistic contemporary novels I've ever read, and I was being treated to a lot of unnecessary info.

For instance, I don't need to know every single detail of what Arianna was cleaning in the kitchen!

The boyfriend is a slob, just say it! And instead of her behaving so passive aggressive, here's an idea... why not speak to him and confront him about his slobber..ish ways??

It's not as if the guy is a sociopath!

Okay... I am aware that this is how most people deal with these types of things. The thing is that I on one hand, don't want to read about the "thorough integration process" that a couple goes through when they decide to live together.

For me this just became boring to read.

Also, her dialogues, strike that, her talks with her BFF often involved an array of awkward moments, that just felt too strange to read! For instance, there's this "scene" in which her best friend knocks on her door, tells her that she's engaged, and you keep waiting for Arianna to react! But no, only after a few pages does she speak... a whole sentence of it! o_O

I was like: Say, something! She's your best friend, make some sort of eye contact, whatever... but no, she immediately picked up that story thread and turned it to herself!

Something along the lines of: Oh, my God, she's going to remarry? But now, Ethan is going to be even more insistent with the whole marriage thing!

Hmm, egocentric much?

With things such as these I feel as if the author forgot all about this story's pace.

Another not very well played plot, is the" boyfriend moving in thread", and having awkward conversations about marriage and kids. Didn't these two talk before they decided to live together?

Especially since she is a single mother! And supposedly they've known each other for ages now!

But no, it seems as if they never properly addressed the subject, before deciding to move in together.

%&//((!!!

The single mother aspect:

I have no idea why it was used. We aren't given any kind of background information on why Arianna decided to choose fertility treatments (okay besides the obvious fertility issues!) ...is she so keen on having her own family?

Because (at the beginning) it doesn't look like it.

 Instead it seems as if the kid is just a story accessory (in the beginning). Ready to be used to fill in some phrases, while the kid does what kids his age normally do.

I guess this was meant to give more depth to the character... see, this is what single mothers go through.

But, the thing is _for me - Arianna started out as such a cardboard character, that I couldn't got why she wanted a child.

Later on this does get better, and finally we are able to see Arianna's more emotional side.

It's a pity that it took it so long.

But the worst of it all is that most of the story is given to us through this boring monologue that goes on, and on, in Arianna's mind!

And she is a boring, dull, passive aggressive, at times selfish and egocentric person!

She treats her friends like crap and she's always whining about something.

Okay, her friends aren't much better... but we _mostly _ don't see the friends whining about her, but we're constantly hearing her complaining about something!

Something that each of us would probably do, if we were in her shoes, BUT, after a while too much whining... becomes a whine feast?

Why would I want to read about her?

For instance her situation with the boyfriend... after a while she describes the relationship as akin to having another kid!

I don't get this: she was used to living alone with a toddler, and she has a demanding career, do you want to tell me that, prior to the guy moving in into her house, he never spent a couple of days there?

Why didn't domestic chores ever get discussed between them?

Hey, here's an idea: There are couple who discuss this... others just get a divorce!

Look I couldn't be more feminist than what I already am! So finding myself in this position defending a guy who basically doesn't do anything around the house, is weird to say the least!

But I can't help feeling that Arianna, in this situation, has a big part of the responsibility!

She hints... that help would be appreciated... hints, for crying out loud!

Where have hints ever worked with guys???

They don't take hints!

Just tell him: I am not your F*****G  MOTHER, and I will not up clean after you!

 Also, once again, I can't help thinking that in this situation of an almost love triangle (I mean in adult contemporary this term isn't used right?) the author is trying to force the readers into liking the outsider...

Oh, her boyfriend is a good guy, but he doesn't grow up... as she would have liked.

The other guy is a great guy, and he had cancer, and you can see that he likes her... and did I mention that he had cancer, poor guy?

Enough.

So how does this end up with a 3 star rating?

As you can see, I didn't have all that much fun while I was reading this.

 I didn't like the way it started, and in the middle I just felt that it dragged on and on, without anything of particular relevance happening. But, towards the end, I really felt that the author nailed it!

Why?

Because towards the end Arianna's cardboard character finally disintegrates, and I finally saw a real life person there. I liked her through her errors, and mistakes, because she finally lets us see her in her vulnerabilities!

I liked how she makes a mess out of things, but I also saw why she is the way she is!

“You lived through it, Ari. Because that’s what we do. We live through things. "

Oh, and I loved this!

"Maybe you’re more my little cat than you are an island; when you want a cuddle, you crawl in my lap. But then there are times when you need to be left alone to do your Arianna-thing. And I’m not very good at leaving you alone. Maybe I’m a little dog, slobbering all over you, wanting more than a cat can give. But I know you. I get you.”

To finish this up I'll just say that I really liked the story's last part, so if you like contemporary novels, do come share your opinions of it. I would really like to know what you people think of it.

Author's Official Site

Buy "Apart At The Seams"( With Free Wide World Delivery!)

@Bookdepository.com

Slightly Married (Bedwin saga #1) by Mary Balogh

This was such a nice surprise!

The first book I have read by this author, and I loved it!

I've just finished it, and I have this big stupid smile on my face, because the story was that cute, and interesting, and the final pages of it had just the right amount of sweetness!

“There is something infinitely better than happily-ever-after. There is happiness. Happiness is a living, dynamic thing, Eve, and has to be worked on every moment for the rest of our lives. It is a far more exciting prospect than that silly static idea of a happily-ever-after. Would you not agree?"

Aidan Bedwyn

I think this calls for a "Aww" moment ;) here it goes:

 

Yes, I know that "this is" Mr. Thornton from "North and South" ;)

Author's Official Site

Buy "Slightly Married"

@Bookdepository.com (With free Wide World Delivery!)

More book pictures...

Unfortunately neither Isa nor I, are currently in the necessary disposition to review books as frequently as we used to.

That is not say that this situation will not suddenly change, but as far as I am concerned, my concentration these days is missing in action :/ which makes it extremely hard to concentrate on what I am reading.

But since I don't want our readers to think that we've gone on extended holidays (WE WISH! lol), I decided to share with you guys some book pictures!

Like I had mentioned in a previous post, I was waiting to receive some new goodies :) through the mail.

Some of them, I had previous read as arcs, others, I have been hearing about "how amazing they are" for ages, and others are the culmination of favourite stories.

 

Cassandra Rose Clarke's "The Pirate's Wish"

 As you well know, Strange Chemistry is no more, so I decided to finally order this duology, not only to support the author, but also in the reasoning: get it while it's still available!

For those of you who've read my review of the first book The Assassin's Curse, you know how much I enjoyed reading it . That left "The Pirate's Wish" to be ordered ;)

This means that, of course, I'll try to read it as soon as possible, because I am looking forward to see/read what is going to happen with our characters!

You can also read Isa's reviews on these two books here on the blog:

The Assassin's Curse

The Pirate's Wish

Rebecca Hahn's  A Creature of Moonlight

I first read this story, as an arc through Netgalley; and I loved it so much, that I just had to buy it!

You can read my review of it here!

Truth be told, I am not a big fan of hardbacks _unless they're the library binding editions _ but it has come to my knowledge that the year that we readers normally wait for the paperback editions to be released, can be too much for the "survival" of an author in a publishing house.

So if, like me, you liked this book, why not support Rebecca's Hahn début story?

 

Diana Wynne Jones' Howl's Moving Castle

Okay, so apparently everyone I talk to about _book related stuff_ has read, and loved this book!

Apparently I am one of the few people who has neither read it, or seen the movie! o_O

This is the library binding hardback edition: You should have seen me trying to decide which edition to buy! o_O paperback or this one? But the paperback is a little bigger... but this one is Library Binding... what do I do? 

The cover is beautiful, but this is really small sized library binding hardback.

In fact it's more mass market sized so if, like me, you're a little peculiar with your book sizes, pay attention to the book data.

It was a little expensive (almost the same price of a Creature of Moonlight), but hopefully it will be worth it, regarding it's durability.

Of course I also expect to love it, reading wise! 

P. G. Wodehouse

A couple days back I also got these two books in the mail. 

As you can read they're by P. G. Wodehouse, and the original titles are: "The Mating Season (Jeeves #9)" and "The Code of The Woosters (Jeeves #7).

Now I just have to read all the previous stories! lol

In case you're wondering why I got these books without having bought the previous ones, all I can say, is that they were so cheap (and in hardback edition!) through online bookstores such as Fnac and Wook, that they were almost being given away for free!

Of course they're in Portuguese! ;)

p.s- the books are not on the ground. This is just what happens when your desk is made out of glass o_O you basically see the floor o_O... and if you're not careful, you almost take pictures of your own shoes!

Rocket Girl #1 (Rocket Girl #1) by Brandon Montclare (Writer), Amy Reeder (artist)

Rocket Girl vol. 1 provided by Image Comics through Netgalley

This is the review for vol. 1, collecting issues 1-5.

Rocket Girl had a bit of a rocky start for me, Dayoung was too much of a Mary Sue - admittedly, most super-heroes are, but I tend to prefer a more realistic approach even within fantasy/sci-fi.

Issues 2-5 were a bit better, there were new interesting characters, so the focus wasn't solely on how amazingly awesome a 15 year old cop was.

I really, really liked the artwork, and the colours were gorgeous!

Brandon Montclare's site

Amy Reeder's tumblr

Buy Rocket Girl vol. 1

@ The Book Depository (with free worldwide delivery!)