Tag Archive: romance



Legend (Legend, #1)Legend by Marie Lu

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I am SO impressed with this series! Especially since I had to read it backward. For the most part, I read it on my local library’s Kindle and listened to the library Overdrive version. This last book, book one, I actually had had the chance to buy the Audible version. I figured I will eventually buy all of this series (Kindle and Audible) so that someday I would read it in the correct order. If it is good and held together reading it the way I did, imagine how good it is reading it the right way!

Spoilers are hard to avoid as I write this. In fact, I thought by knowing what was to come I wouldn’t be able to continue. Then something happened between Metais and Day. Something seemed off as I remembered what was to happen in book two. Luckily, by the end of book one that issue revealed itself properly. Everything else held together very well. Again, I am so impressed with the world, characters and story that Marie Lu (author) built.

In this first book, you get to see how June and Day meet and start falling for each other. I had wondered about that. You get to see how Day meets Tess. You actually meet Day’s family. You meet all the people who play crucial roles later in the series and now you know why (if you read it back to front, that is).

Yesterday, I saw that Legend is on sale on Amazon. It is $3.00. If you can, I suggest you buy it. If I had more than a dollar to my name, I would buy it now. Alas, that will have to wait.

Now a comment on the narration by Mariel Stern and Steven Kaplan who play June and Day respectfully. I don’t know if this is their first narration gig or if they were finding their voices to these characters, but this one felt like they were new. Especially, Mariel Stern, whose voice appeared higher and a little crackly in comparison to the later books. Maybe she was attempting to sound younger? And, of course, if they recorded them in order that would still be the case, right? But as this story continues both voices become stronger and true to the characters. I was often in a situation where wearing headphones and listening were impossible and I had to read the book strictly by sight, and there were times my eyes were tired and I just listened, either and both methods hold up and maintain a fantastic story. An author who writes very well, combined with narrators who read very well, makes a wonderful experience, even in a dystopian world.

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The Dangerous Thaw of Etta CapstoneThe Dangerous Thaw of Etta Capstone by Karen J. Hasley

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I want to thank my friend, Kimberly, for suggesting this read to me. I didn’t think I would like it. I’m not into cowboy westerns. Even though the main character is a strong female, this felt like the shows my dad used to love to watch. Those made me feel gritty, dusty, and tired. But I think the book is fairly close to how it must have been back then (1870?) in a Texas town. Had Kimberly not been the kind of reader I respect and share common tastes in literature, I might not have tried. I’m glad I followed through, though, and read it.

Kindle Unlimited is a wonderful feature on Amazon. You can borrow up to ten ebooks and there is no expiration date. When my friend suggested this one I was able to grab it and save it for when I was ready to read it.

Still, the old dusty-gritty feelings followed me into the book. Thank goodness I loved the characters. Etta, main character, is the kind of woman that protects those she loves but take no guff from anyone. It is obvious she grew into the person she is when we meet her. I like how we learn her history and are witness to her present growth.

Though there is a little romance in this story, that is a minor storyline. And it isn’t all squishy or angsty like a lot of modern books portray it. Just two grown ups who respect each other and their pasts and care for each other deeply. It’s a more natural flow of things, I think. And the story is much more about Etta and her friends. Looking at what I just wrote makes it look boring. But this story is strong. It leaves you feeling good, which is rare. Ms. Karen J. Hasley (author) made sure that all the threads winding through the book are all tied up at the end so you don’t feel a need for a book two. The only reason I might want one is that I will miss Etta and friends.

I think anyone, male or female, would like it.

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Outsider: The Flawed Series Book TwoOutsider: The Flawed Series Book Two by Becca J. Campbell

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was given the ARC by the author for an honest review. Because of it being an ARC, I will not count into this review any of the editing errors that I did pick up. In fact, the story caught me up so firmly that I hardly noticed these oopsies.

About that story! Wow! Told from the viewpoints of the main character, Josh, and his female interest, Alex, and their nemesis, Nic who is out to kill Alex. I like that you can get into the heads of each of these people. Sure, one could guess at the insecurities young people have about starting a new relationship, but Ms. Becca Campbell (author) gives us deeper insights than those surface issues. Put into that mix suddenly awakening abilities and one can understand the deep confusion. And seeing what was motivating the bad guy was ingenious!

This series is so much fun! It keeps one on the edge of one’s seat wondering what is going to happen? How will they get out of this one? Try to read this one so that the last half is long before bedtime. I was lucky that I was able to finish long before sleep. There are nightmare elements that I didn’t want to have entering my subconscious. (Course the next book I picked up then was by Neil Gaiman, gulp!)

It had been a long time since I read the first of the Flawed series, Flawed. Even so I found a reread wasn’t necessary. Enough review is set up in this book two that one wouldn’t feel lost. In fact, one could read this without having read the first book. But the depth you would have from reading the series in order is unbeatable. I highly recommend reading this series if you are inclined to read fantasy books about new or young adults. This one was more contemporary than other fantasies. In that way, it is fun to visit Colorado and California as they are.

I can’t wait to read the next in the series!

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COME, THE DARK: (Forever Girl Series Book Two)COME, THE DARK: by Rebecca Hamilton

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A while back I picked this Kindle edition for free from Kindle Unlimited. I was lucky to find book one for free soon after. I’m glad I was able to work it out that way. This was a fun read.

This book two, could have been read separately as the main characters from book one are not in this book. The concept of “Forever Girl” is explained fairly well. So I don’t think anyone would feel lost if they had to read these out of order.

One of the things I felt most off with this book, that didn’t occur in book one, is the language and historical issues feel unmet. Our main character is able to smoothly make the process from modern-day Georgia to the years of the Salem Witch Trials with no one noticing her modern speech or clothing. But if you get used to that kind of thing and remember it only as a story, that isn’t a problem.

The book begins with a rape/incest trigger warning. If you have had these things happen to you, then be warned. Even though the main character is able to leave the situation it is always in her mind and is brought with her, as such a situation would live within anyone. One of the things that bothers me is: If you go back in time and hopefully fix the problems of the past, you could cease to exist, and the newborn babe you’ve left behind. If Pa had remained a loving father the babe would cease to exist, too.

Though the main character remembers a time when her parents and life were happy, before the darkness, why does she never wonder if she could go back and help her folks by her newfound abilities? Maybe the baby she only knew one day would cease to exist, but she could save the lives of those she once loved. But this poor girl only remembers her one-day-old baby.

Regardless of the problems I mentioned above, the story is suspenseful and is quite the adventure. Ms. Rebecca Hamilton is quite the writer. There were editing errors, but the story kept me involved so I couldn’t get involved with the mistakes. And I can’t wait to see if there is more to the series, even with the problems I’ve mentioned.

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The Forever Girl (The Forever Girl #1)The Forever Girl by Rebecca Hamilton

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I became aware of this book one when I picked up book two for free with Kindle Unlimited. Notwithstanding the inside out reading of Marie Lu’s Legend series, I prefer to read books in their prescribed order.

As the title ‘Forever Girl’ implies, this is a young adult book. And though I loved the storyline and the characters, I just got ill with the sexual teen-angst. If you don’t want to have sex with the guy, don’t sleep with him and then dwell on all things sexual. And, okay, the main character is out of school, in her twenties, still a virgin though I can’t see how. She seems immature. Oh, but don’t get me started on the centuries old vampire with another label. Why has he no more self-control than a child especially when he says he cares for her and wants to wait until she is ready to go adult? But vampires and sexual ambiguity seem to be the theme in young adult books these days.

Had I realized that I would be reading about vampires I might not have read this. It is a worn-out cliche, to say the least. But the drawing card, for me, is the awakening of the witch. Even then the main character was so wishy-washy about moving forward.

Don’t get me wrong. I didn’t hate this story. The writing was well-done. The story carried me past any errors that might have been there. This next problem I put on me. I started getting mixed up by the extras in the story. It was near the end of the book that the name Paloma came up. I still can’t quite figure out who she was.

It was four o’clock in the morning when I finished the story and quickly opened the next book. So that interest in the story kept me from going to sleep. Read this during the day. The end is hair-raising.

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Review: Prodigy by Marie Lu


Prodigy (Legend, #2)Prodigy by Marie Lu

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have never read a series of books so out of order as I have had to with this series. It was too expensive to buy each of the three books so I consulted the library. They had the large print hardback book and the CDs to listen to available right away. They didn’t have the first book and the second was already borrowed. So I read/heard book three first. I was very impressed with the author that the story line and characters held together without the background of the first two books. Soon the second book became available in only the OverDrive (audio) version. So I took my chances.

Once again, I am impressed with how well the story holds together even reading it so out of order. As with book three the narrators: Mariel Stern (June), Steven Kaplan (Day) keep the story moving from within the characters’ points of view. Though the ending of book two felt like the narrators were hitting their stride, the beginning felt a little unrehearsed. Still, I think this is a great way to tell a story from the male and female viewpoints. I think it makes the book more accessible to both genders. That’s my guess. I wonder how males react to this way of telling a story. Both June and Day are fearless and human and show they deeply care for each other and their people. Both are trying to make a dystopian world a little more livable for all. I imagine that the audio versions of this story add so many more layers of believability to the story.

This was the first book I have had to rely strictly on the audio version. There was no Kindle or tree-book available to read along on. With my ADD that made it hard to stay within the story. But I limited my visual stimuli to crocheting a mundane pattern or closing my eyes. I think if I had a car, this would be a great ride along story. It isn’t so exciting as to make the drive dangerous, but it keeps your attention.

Now that I know how the story ends, and how the middle is told, I will have to read the first part. I found I had one credit on Audible so as to ‘buy’ book one. Once my finances are better I will grab the Kindle version to go with it. I may eventually reread the story in the right order to see how much different it comes across. I highly recommend these books for young adults and older. The romance isn’t horrible sticky. Rather it adds another layer of depth to the story. Enjoy!

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Taxi - Tuxedo (Book 6)Taxi – Tuxedo by Sophia DeLuna

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I love visiting with my friends, Carmen and Ulrike. In this episode, Carmen has tickets to the opera and as the title suggests a tuxedo is involved. Some of us just can’t do dresses!

Do you want to know why I love these little book events? The writing is so flawless. The dialogue and situations are quite realistic. The troubles this couple encounter are also lifelike. And the way the author handles these situations are sometimes mature and responsible, sometimes not so much, but, real. What couple handle things beautifully every time? Most of us just muddle through our problems. We learn to talk it out, but some of us are better at that communication thing than others.

Most often I relate to Carmen in her ways of dealing with things. But in this chapter I related more to Ulrike. For me that is a grand feeling as I wish I was more like Ulrike and the ways she deals with the world.

Anyway, I highly recommend this series to those who want to read of lesbian relationships. The erotica is minimal, so if that offends, don’t worry. Some of us would like more, but that kind of book is a dime a dozen. These gems are about how this couple navigate being in a relationship. I was fortunate to have received the last few from the author but, when I get a few dollars ahead, I will buy them for others. After all, you can tell the work Sophia DeLuna puts into each and every story. By the way, you can find them on Smashwords. Most are $.99 or less. Check ’em out!

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Review: Champion by Marie Lu


ChampionChampion by Marie Lu

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Five stars! And that’s with me starting to read it on book three! I never do that. I like to start at the beginning and read a long series to the end. Starting in the middle or later can be chancy at best. But there was no choice. I saw such high ratings and I think a GoodReads friend recommended it. So I jumped over to Amazon. WAY too expensive for me right now. So I went over to my library website to see if they had it. The had the regular version of book two and this third book. BUT with this large print book I was able to land the audio-CDs. How lucky was that?

Let me take a moment out for a font complaint. Why is it that large print versions don’t give spaces between lines? Even with the larger font I still couldn’t read it straight through. I needed to use my trusty dusty bookmark to keep track, like a first grader! Old eyes, what can I say?

What kept me going, though, was the audio version. The voices of June and Day were read by Mariel Stern and Steven Kaplan respectively. They were wonderful narrators! I must make sure when I finally get this series for myself that I get the Audible Whispersync with the Kindle version.

I must marvel at the writing of Marie Lu. That I can come into the story this late in the game and not feel lost is to her credit. Sure, I felt like I was missing a little background on how it all started and how relationships grew, or didn’t, but I felt I already knew, somehow. There wasn’t a lot of background descriptors dragging the story out, so I assume Ms. Lu snuck it all in there somehow. Magic!

And I am surprised that coming out of the book I have a hunger to read the entire series, real soon! I put all the books on all my wishlists. Just reading a book three should have had me feel I was finished, ya know?

Oh, and if you read this one, have some Kleenex on hand near the end. It’s not horrid, but I haven’t cried like that near the end of a book for a long time. But that shows the amount of truth that this story held for me. No, I am far from being a teen–65, but I could still relate to all that was going on with these characters.

Oh, and this is the first book in a long time that felt that either guys or girls could read it with equal fervor. Each chapter is either June or Day (Daniel) and both are tough but caring human beings.

As I have said before, where were authors like Marie Lu when I was a teen? This book kept my interest from beginning to end. And I think that if you are unlucky enough to not get the first two books you can start here and still have an active adventure!

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Taxi - Talk (Book 5)Taxi – Talk by Sophia DeLuna

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Remember when I read the first four episodes of Taxi? Well, I got a welcome surprise after the review of the fourth one. Ms. Sophia DeLuna, the author of these great stories, sent me a sweet email that included coupons for the next three books in the series. Yay! Thank you so much. With my tight budget, it is often hard to decide if the next dollar is for food or reading. I hate to admit that I don’t look like I would if I chose books more often. Or maybe it is the fact that one can do both eating and reading comfortably at the same time?

At any rate, I got to the reading as soon as I could. And I think that Taxi 5, Talk, is one of my favorites. It is so real and honest. It touched deep emotional threads for me. This book deepens the relationship of Carmen and Ulrike. You see Carmen, still dealing with her bit of PTSD, or maybe there is a deeper issue going on, like social anxiety, depression, or other mental problems. I found I related to Carmen very much, phone phobia, isolation, etc. And Ulrike is fleshed out in how she and Carmen’s cat bond over yogurt, sharing a spoon. Carmen cringed and so did I. But as different as Carmen and Ulrike are, you see them working hard to communicate and deepen their love for each other.

By the way, I just did a review of New Hire: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show…, where my complaint was that the characters weren’t deep at all. In comparison, this Taxi series has what I think give fictional characters real life. In this series, I was surprised at how well I had pictured the two characters. It had to be how the author described them. I went to the author’s website: http://www.sophiadeluna.com/ and under the Taxi category I found the author’s rendition of her characters. I would have known who they were had I met them on the street. That is how good Ms. DeLuna is creating her characters. She’s quite the artist, as well! I can’t wait to read #6!

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TriptychTriptych by Java Davis

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In the GoodReads blurb, it says, “Triptych, a Mechanical Romance Tongue-in-cheek love triangle spanning from New Jersey to Arizona!” Let me show my stupidity here. I was able to get this ebook for free way back in 2012. Yikes! And I’m sorry it took so long for me to get at it. But in my own defense: The title didn’t grab me. That blurb line didn’t grab me. So it kept falling down me ‘read it’ list. And now that I have read it I find I don’t understand the title or that first line any better.

Having had it so long, it was hard for me to know where I got it from. I couldn’t find it on my Amazon or Smashwords lists. Finally, I located the email from GoodRead where the author, Java Davis, advertised her giveaway days for this book. Thank you, Ms. Davis. And I’m sorry it took so long.

As for the story itself, I found it fun and interesting. I found that Java was able to write interesting characters. The love triangle wasn’t as angsty as other books make it. These characters were established adults growing through the experiences of their lives. Even the less-savory people in this book were real and in that case rather likable. As in real life, there are people that just have a hard time figuring out how to be adults. There are others who are forced to grab life and do their best for others and themselves. That is proven once again in this story. Religion or philosophies are analysed as truths the characters lived by and how everyone can find something useful in another person’s point of view. There was no preaching. Just people adjusting to each other. I like that. I felt I learned something about life from these characters.

This was a fast read with depth. Here is where you can find it on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Triptych-ebook/… It is free for Kindle Unlimited and only $1.99 for the Kindle version. I think it is worth the read. Try it!

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