Review: Rush Me by Allison Parr

Rush Me by Allison Parr
Series: New York Leopards #1
Publisher: Carina Press
Source: Netgalley
ISBN: 9781426895333
Release Date: April 8, 2013
Pages: 263

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When post-grad Rachael Hamilton accidentally gate-crashes a pro-athlete party, she ends up face-to-face with Ryan Carter, the NFL's most beloved quarterback.

While most girls would be thrilled to meet the attractive young millionaire, Rachael would rather spend time with books than at sporting events, and she has more important things to worry about than romance. Like her parents pressuring her to leave her unpaid publishing internship for law school.

But when Ryan's rookie teammate attaches himself to Rachael, she ends up cohosting Friday-night dinners for half a dozen football players.

Over pancake brunches, charity galas and Alexander the Great, Rachael realizes all the judgments she'd made about Ryan are wrong. But how can a Midwestern Irish-Catholic jock with commitment problems and an artsy, gun-shy Jewish New Englander ever forge a partnership? Rachael must let down her barriers if she wants real love--even if that opens her up to pain that could send her back into her emotional shell forever.

Rush Me was a book that sounded New Adult, but in reality it read more like a chick-lit book. Our main character Rachael is on her way to a party when she loses track of her best friend and ends up at the wrong place. There she runs into a NFL player who of course despises her and they do not get along. When going back for her scarf the next day, she somehow ends up playing poker and hanging out with the guys and befriends them.

I just did not click with the book. I wasn’t a fan of either main character. Rachael was whinny and immature for most of the novel, and Ryan was not a charming guy. I don’t understand how he was supposed to be charming (as other characters mentions throughout the book). He was a complete ass and manhandles Rachael several times throughout the book. Ryan does simmer down as the book progresses, but I couldn’t get over how rude and condescending he was at the start of the book. He was straight-up rude and an ass to Rachael when he first meets her, and not in the “I’m an asshole, but look how adorable I am” kind of way.

As I said Rachael was whinny throughout most of the book. She was a bit stuck up and instead of having confidence she preferred to look down on others and make snap judgments instead of getting to know them.


I did enjoy the other teammates. They all had distinct personalities and weren’t lumped into the typical jock type of behaviour. They were sweet and treated Rachael as a sister. I wished you saw more interaction with them throughout the book as the relationship was nice. Same with Rachael’s roommate, Eva, a theatre major starting her first real performance. She was an interesting character, but after one point she kind of just disappeared. Does this mean that as soon as Rachael got a boyfriend she just ditched her friends? Because that’s just not cool in my books. Rachael whinnied about Ryan to her for weeks and then when they final hookup she disappears on her?

Review: Redemption by C.J. Barry

Redemption by C.J. Barry
Series: Soul #1
Publisher: Forever
Source: Netgalley
ISBN: 9781455577491
Release Date: October 1, 2013
Pages: 252

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Reya Sinclair is a Redeemer of Souls. Her mission is to give Earth’s most depraved sinners a shot at redemption just before they are slated to die. Her own redemption is on the line as she fulfills her duties, leaving a trail of dead bodies in her wake. It’s all going perfectly well until one detective takes notice, possibly bringing her salvation to a halt.

Thane Driscoll is a good cop who’s seen too many bad guys get away, including the man who murdered his father. He exacts his own style of justice, even if it costs him his humanity. A string of mysterious deaths leads him to a woman who’s not quite human and might hold the key to finding his father’s killer.

When death and shadows descend, New York City becomes a battleground for the forces of light and dark. As the body count rises and sparks fly between them, Reya and Thane race to uncover a terrible truth. Can one man hell-bent on revenge and one woman determined to save her eternal soul be enough to keep the planet from spiraling into darkness?

Redemption was a novel I didn’t really know a lot about until I saw it on Netgalley, but it intrigued me, so I requested. There were a lot of things/ideas that I loved about this book, but for me Redemption kind of fell flat. It’s not that I hated it, I just didn’t love it. I mean I did like it, but that isn’t enough for me.

Redemption revolves around a woman, Reya, who is trying to redeem herself and her soul in order to get to that better place. Reya meets people prior to their death and offers them redemption, but only if they are sorry for what they have done. She works with vile and despicable humans, from murders to thieving corporate CEOs to rapists. But everyone deserves redemption in Reya’s world, even if they never take it.

“Everyone screws up. It’s expected. It is how you learn and grow and evolve into a loving being.”

What did I like about Redemption? The idea behind Redeems and that humans still have free will. I loved the idea that you can mess up, but still work towards redemption. That death just isn’t black and white. That your soul recycles and with each life you learn and you try to be a better person. Redemption delves into a lot from souls to the afterlife to past lives, etc. At times it was a lot coming at you at once, but C.J. Barry did a good job at writing those parts.

“We always have a choice. We are free to choose our paths—right or wrong. And I was wrong to follow Surt.”

Then you are swamped with the mystery of who is making good people spontaneously combust? This leads me to what I didn’t love about the book. I just didn’t connect with the characters. I didn’t dislike Reya or Thane, but I just didn’t connect with them, and as a reader I need to connect to my characters. This could because Redemption is written in third person, so you don’t get that direct feel that you do with first person point of views. Sometimes I found Reya and Thane to be a bit one dimensional. I would have liked to know a bit more about them instead of just their present being focused on, and it did feel like the romance was a bit thrown together.

Redemption would be great for your traditional Urban Fantasy reader, but that just wasn’t me in this case. It reminded me a lot of a show I used to watch called Dead Like Me, (which is a great show BTW, so go watch it. You won’t regret it). In fact it reminded me so much of the show that every scene with Orson had me picturing Rube and his Post-It notes.

The ending was super cute. I mean I loved the ending. I won’t go into details so not to spoil it for you, but it will give you warm fuzzy feelings.

My Rating:

Review: The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau

The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau
Series: The Testing #1
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children
Source: Netgalley
ISBN: 9780547959108
Release Date: June 4, 2013
Pages: 336

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Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Isn’t that what they say? But how close is too close when they may be one in the same?

The Seven Stages War left much of the planet a charred wasteland. The future belongs to the next generation’s chosen few who must rebuild it. But to enter this elite group, candidates must first pass The Testing—their one chance at a college education and a rewarding career.

Cia Vale is honored to be chosen as a Testing candidate; eager to prove her worthiness as a University student and future leader of the United Commonwealth. But on the eve of her departure, her father’s advice hints at a darker side to her upcoming studies--trust no one.

But surely she can trust Tomas, her handsome childhood friend who offers an alliance? Tomas, who seems to care more about her with the passing of every grueling (and deadly) day of the Testing. To survive, Cia must choose: love without truth or life without trust.

I have been putting off reading The Testing for awhile now. I tried to read it a few times, but it just did not grasp my attention, and it turns out there was a reason for that. This book was just blah. It was very bland. I was reading the words, but did not feel a thing for the characters. I need to feel connected to the story and characters, but in this case it was just a feeling of boredom. My love for a book is purely emotional. If the book makes my heart beat a little faster, make me want to speed through to the ending, leaves my mouth hanging open by the ending, I'm going to love, and when I didn't feel one thing for the book there lies a problem.

There wasn't any one thing that I hated about this book, because I didn't hate it, I just had no feelings good or bad towards it. I think I would rather hate a book than have such neutral feelings about it, because at least I know why I despised the character or plot. But with The Testing I have nothing. It was just another dystopian that just didn't fulfill my love for the genre.

The Testing is a typical dystopian novel. You have your world ending wars/plague/etc, a new ridged government, and a lovely heroine (with a love interest of course). Cia grew up in a world after the Seven Stages of War, which decimated the planet (or at least the U.S. as it isn't exactly clear what the rest of the world is like). The United Commonwealth was put together to govern the remaining survivors. Everyone must have a purpose and those lucky enough to be chosen are picked to attempt the testing. A brutal test that will weed out the weak for the future leaders of the United Commonwealth.

When Cia finally arrives at the testing facilities I had a hard time keeping the characters straight. Her competition all sounded the same. There wasn't any defining characteristics to differentiate between them. I didn't mind Cia's character. She wasn't your typical beautiful heroine, but doesn't realize it. She is practical and ordinary, which I liked about her. The love story with Tomas did feel forced. Less than half way through the book they are proclaiming their love to each other, but I didn't get it. They seemed more like good friends than romantic partners to me. At times I almost wished there was a love triangle so something of interest would happen, but it didn't.

Overall, the book did not impress me. The world building was lacking and I did not have any emotional connection to the characters.

My Rating:

Review: City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
Series: The Mortal Instruments #1
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Source: Library
ISBN: 9781406331417
Release Date: 2007
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When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder -- much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing -- not even a smear of blood -- to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?

This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know. . . .

I've heard a lot about these books over the years, but the synopsis honestly did not interest me. I'm not a big fan of Young Adult Fantasy/Paranormal books. I usually prefer my YA to be either science fiction or contemporary fiction. But after watching the trailer for the upcoming The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones movie I was intrigued and eventually wanted to see what all the hype was about.

I know a lot of people LOVE this book, but it just wasn't for me. I didn't love this book. It was okay, but mostly I was bored throughout the book. I probably won't continue with the series or the spin-off series.

I found Clary to be a pretty weak heroine. I like a strong badass leading ladies in my books. It just seemed that she was whiny at times and too dependent on others. Also, Jace's attitude annoyed me. I get what the author was trying to do by making him arrogant bad boy, but lovable. I didn't get the lovable part he just seemed like an asshat.

I didn't hate the book, but just thought it was meh.

My Rating:

Review: XVI by Julia Karr

XVI by Julia Karr
Series: XVI #1
Source: Bought
Release Date: January 6, 2011

Every girl gets one.
An XVI tattoo on the wrist--sixteen.
Some girls can't wait to be sixteen, to be legal. Nina is not one of them. Even though she has no choice in the matter, she knows that so long as her life continues as normal, everything will be okay.

Then, with one brutal strike, Nina's normal is shattered; and she discovers that nothing that she believed about her life is true. But there's one boy who can help--and he just may hold the key to her past.

But with the line between attraction and danger as thin as a whisper, one thing is for sure...

For Nina, turning sixteen promises to be anything but sweet.

I read this book for my March Random Reads pick. Going into the book I knew it wasn't going to amaze me. I read a lot of bad reviews on this book, but of course I still forged ahead to make my own decision. Unfortunately, the reviews were right with the one. It had great promise, an interesting plot, but it just wasn't executed eloquently. So my run of mediocre books continues. I feel like I haven't read a solid four or five star book in forever!

Nina Oberon is fifteen, soon to be sixteen. In her world sixteen year olds or "sex-teens" have no rights. They are basically expected to have sex with whomever. One of the problems I had with this book is that the author didn't do a lot of background world building. The End-Of-Wars was mentioned frequently, but what were they? How did this sex-teen world come to be? The concept of the world is interesting, but it wasn't explained very well.

Girls don't have choices in this world. Women's reproductive rights are no existent. If a girl gets pregnant before she is sixteen she is forced to have an abortion and if she is sixteen, she doesn't get to decide, only the guy's opinion matters. Throughout the novel girls were either deemed virginal if they dressed conservatively or whores and deserved what they got if they dressed provocatively. There was a lot of unanswered questions I had by the time I finish the book. Hopefully, they will be answered in the next book, but I honestly don't think I will be continuing with this series.

My Rating:

Review: This World We Live In by Susan Beth Pfeffer

This World We Live In by Susan Beth Pfeffer
Series: Last Survivors #3
Source: Bought
Release Date: January 1, 2010

It’s been a year since a meteor collided with the moon, catastrophically altering the earth’s climate. For Miranda Evans, life as she knew it no longer exists. Her friends and neighbors are dead, the landscape is frozen, and food is increasingly scarce.

The struggle to survive intensifies when Miranda’s father and stepmother arrive with a baby and three strangers in tow. One of the newcomers is Alex Morales, and as Miranda’s complicated feelings for him turn to love, his plans for his future thwart their relationship. Then a devastating tornado hits the town of Howell, and Miranda makes a decision that will change their lives forever.

I had really high hopes for this book after the last sequel in this series was so disappointing. I really enjoyed the first book, Life As We Knew It. This book was slightly better than the second, but overall it was still a bit of a mess.

I found Miranda to be extremely whiny and selfish throughout the entire novel. When it finally rained she decides to enjoy it peacefully without waking her family. This could have been disastrous if the snow finally did melt and they had a drought. What if the family ran out of drinking water and they could have captured the rainfall to survive?

I didn’t feel that Miranda and Alex had any chemistry. I think they only felt romantic towards each other as they were similar in age and the only opposite sex not related to each in the vicinity. I just didn’t buy into the whole lovey doveyness that was portrayed.

I did love that the family was reunited. The characters had to make some hard decisions by the end of the book. The ending itself didn’t surprise me as this series is about surviving. Things are not going to back to normal for these characters again and the decisions that they make are going to affect the rest of their lives.

Even though the end of this series was disappointing I still love the concept of the book, where a meteor smacks into the moon forever changing Earth. I;m a sucker for a disaster novel especially one with such pretty covers. Even though the rest of the series did not live up to the potential I will still read the fourth book the author is releasing this summer.

My Rating:

Review: Empty by Suzanne Weyn

Empty by Suzanne Weyn
Series: N/A
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Source: Bought
ISBN: 9780545328821
Release Date: October 1, 2010
Pages: 159

A dystopic look at what happens to one American town when all the fossil fuels run out... It's the near future - the very near future - and the fossil fuels are running out. No gas. No oil. Which means no driving. No heat. Supermarkets are empty. Malls have shut down. Life has just become more local than we ever knew it could be. Nobody expected the end to come this fast. And in the small town of Spring Valley, decisions that once seemed easy are quickly becoming matters of life and death. There is hope - there has to be hope - just there are also sacrifices that need to be made, and a whole society that needs to be rethought.

This book had a lot of potential. I'm a huge fan of disaster and dystopian novels. I really enjoyed the premise of the book, where the world's oil is depleting. Supermarkets are unable to get their food deliveries, oil prices sky rocket, etc. However, this book just did not live up to its potential.

The book centres around Gwen Jones, a teenage girl who only has her older brother left. They don't necessarily get along, but he is all the family she has left.

Overall, I was disappointed with the book. I felt that it focused too much on juvenile love triangles and not enough on the plot. I didn't feel that the book was a realistic take on the situation. The novel ended up glossing over the negatives, and it didn't seem like a plausible disaster novel. When the world is going to shit I would think that there would be more panic and hysteria.

The ending wrapped everything up a little too neatly. I love a good happily ever after, but as this was a fairly short novel and not a series, it seemed too tidy. If the world's oil were too suddenly stop I don't believe everything will go from slight uncomfort to oh look what I found a perfect solution for the world just sitting here! One of the only realistic scenarios in the novel was the fighting between the countries that had any amount of oil left.

My Rating:

Review: The Crucible Part 1 by Ruby Barnes

The Crucible Part 1 by Ruby Barnes
Series: The Crucible #1
Publisher: Marble City Publishing
Source: Author
ISBN: 9781908943095
Release Date: July 23, 2012
Pages: 351

The world is hungry for energy. Nuclear power, wind turbines and fossil fuels are struggling to deliver and costing the earth. Greg Marshall has developed a revolutionary new way to generate electricity and the hopes of a global corporation rest upon his shoulders. Figures move in the shadows, ready to seize opportunities. When the enigmatic Thomas steals his identity, Greg is lured into a web of global corruption, conspiracy and murder.

The book starts out in Cameroon, Africa. I found the prologue to be a bit confusing. While reading this book I was often mixing up the characters as they are numerous and sometimes were only introduced briefly for one chapter. In someways the chapters we almost as individual stories that appeared to have nothing to do with the plot, only to be weaved together later.

The main problem I had with this book was there was simply too many characters and the settings jumped randomly around the world, from Uganda to Ireland to France, etc. At the half way point in the book I still did not have any connection to any of the characters, and I think this was mostly due to the multiple characters, which made it that the main characters had little time to develop.

This book was really not my style. Maybe, if I enjoyed thrillers or suspense more I would have liked it more.

My Rating:

Review: The Dressmaker by Kate Alcott

The Dressmaker by Kate Alcott
Publisher: Anchor
Source: Bought
ISBN: 9780307948199
Pages: 306

Just in time for the centennial anniversary of the sinking of the Titaniccomes a vivid, romantic, and relentlessly compelling historical novel about a spirited young woman who survives the disaster only to find herself embroiled in the media frenzy left in the wake of the tragedy.

Tess, an aspiring seamstress, thinks she's had an incredibly lucky break when she is hired by famous designer Lady Lucile Duff Gordon to be a personal maid on the Titanic's doomed voyage. Once on board, Tess catches the eye of two men, one a roughly-hewn but kind sailor and the other an enigmatic Chicago millionaire. But on the fourth night, disaster strikes.

Amidst the chaos and desperate urging of two very different suitors, Tess is one of the last people allowed on a lifeboat. Tess’s sailor also manages to survive unharmed, witness to Lady Duff Gordon’s questionable actions during the tragedy. Others—including the gallant Midwestern tycoon—are not so lucky.

On dry land, rumors about the survivors begin to circulate, and Lady Duff Gordon quickly becomes the subject of media scorn and later, the hearings on the Titanic. Set against a historical tragedy but told from a completely fresh angle, The Dressmaker is an atmospheric delight filled with all the period's glitz and glamour, all the raw feelings of a national tragedy and all the contradictory emotions of young love.

I was quite disappointed with this book. The biggest event, the sinking of the Titanic was slow and just plain boring. Considering it was the only action sequence in the book, you would think it would have been interesting.

I really wanted to enjoy this book, but it just didn't happen for me. I didn't feel any emotion that should have been there after the characters had endured a traumatic experience. Throughout most of the novel the characters didn't even sound like they were in the 1910's, but conversed as one would in modern times. Overall, the book was just drawn out and the characters felt flat.


My Rating: