I love books, and will give most genre's a shot. I favour fiction of all genre's, but lately I have been reading more YA and NA, Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Sci-fi, and dystopian novels with some contemporary and mystery thrown in to round it out.
Maybe it an Irish thing, but I love books that tell a good story. If I get swept away by the characters and the world the author created, those books will be among my favourite reads.
If I could: 5 Million Stars! That ending! Brutal doesn't even come close to describing it... I'm completely speechless! This books is slightly better than Lying Season for me, but both books being the best in the series so far. Excellent book, *lots of applause for Karina Halle*
5 Stars It's such a treat to read a novel that has such well developed characters along with a really well developed world. I have to say, this one wasn't as captivating as The Hunger Games was for me. It didn't have the same "boom" factor as the first installment did. Catching Fire was more subtle in a way, but just as captivating. I still loved the book overall though, and am really looking forward to getting my hands on the final one.
2.5 - 3 StarsThis is a tricky one for me to rate: I hated parts, and I really liked others. I just felt it was a little over dramatised and that stopped me enjoying the story fully. Both Deuce and Eva felt a little bit distant, I couldn’t fully connect with either of them. The story itself had me hooked, and I found myself just having to find some time to continue to read. I think I was trying to find that one thing that would seal the deal and have me loving the book and the characters, but it just didn’t happen. Would I continue the series? I probably will. I did like elements of this, so I might give the next book a shot … eventually.
3.5 Stars This was a nice, sweet read – even sickly sweet at times. I did like the story, but I felt it was a bit over insta-loved for my tastes. If the timeline was fleshed out a bit I would have enjoyed and believed the story more. I really liked Abby at the beginning of the book. She was spunky and appeared to have a mind of her own. But as the book went on, she seemed to lose that and become a bit of a doormat for Jake… I can’t help but be disappointed in her character.
4.5 Stars Ok, I’ll admit. I had one person in mind for the male protagonist, and my mind didn’t change at all from the first chapter of the book. Let me introduce you to someone. This is Brian “Synyster Gates”, lead guitarist from Avenged Sevenfold. Now the two main characters in the book – Myrna Evans and… Brian Sinclair. See any familiarity in the guy's name yet? I couldn’t help smiling. A coincidence, but I couldn’t help keep Syn in mind during this very lust filled book. And yes there was a LOT of sex. Sex really was the storyline if I’m being really honest, with any event building I guess being second in line, but heck, I really enjoyed the story overall. Definitely a really good fun and very sexy read.
4.5 Stars It surprised me how much I enjoyed this book. I went into it blind, not having read any reviews, and I wasn’t expecting such a gripping story – I really liked it. I found it really engaging and absorbing, with both well-developed characters and plot.
1.5 StarsIt wasn't terrible exactly, but I personally didn't enjoy the story at all. There was a lot of editing errors and what I suspect is auto-correct on steroids, replacing words incorrectly.
I'm hovering between a 2.5 and a 3 star rating. I felt the book was a bit too long - on more then one occasion I lost interest in the story and had to put the book down. The flow just sort of ebbed half-heartedly at times. One big plus was that the vampires actually behaved like vampires and were believably portrayed. All of the characters with the exception of Violet, were developed well. I couldn't connect with Violet, or be sympathetic toward her. Overall, the book is good... Just good. Nothing exceptional for me unfortunately.
Victoria has just emerged from the foster-care system on her eighteenth birthday, alone and scarred from her past with multiple abusive foster families. Her lifeline is her passion for flowers, and the unspoken language that has slowly been forgotten and overlooked since Victorian times. The story follows her journey in overcoming her past, and realising she has a future to grasp onto and grow into. I enjoyed this book, especially the first third. I really liked the way the author mixed her childhood memories with the present – they each had dedicated chapters. It made it clear and easy to follow and absorb the story. There isn’t anything I can say negative about the book, not specifically, but it just lacked something. It lacked a “spark” for lack of a better term. I can’t put my finger on it, but I just wanted… more. I have read a few books that have blown me away recently, and I fear that it’s because of this I didn’t find this on the same level. I honestly liked it, and would recommend it to everyone, but on a personal level it didn’t blow me away.
