This week I managed to finish six books. One physical book(my most anticipated book of life). And five e-books; two being e-ARCs and two being library books.
Black Rainbow by J.J. McAvoy **.5
I'm glad I got this one from the library. I was seeing great reviews from my Goodreads friends these past few months, so I had highish expectations. I wanted an intense forbidden student/teacher romance. And really it wasn't so much. The story was decent. Thea's past and the reason she's becoming a lawyer was good enough. Thea was a strong lady. But the writing, lack of stimulating dialogue and Levi really killed this one for me. Fell totally flat. I almost DNF'd. Levi was this super hard ass in the classroom and as some super scary lawyer. But outside of that he does 180 in his personality and is quite boring. I know McAvoy is a well loved author, so I'll eventually give her another go.
Fan Art by Sarah Tregay ****
After the reading brilliance that is Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda earlier this year, I was on the look out for something to compare(although nothing ever will). So Fan Art has been on my radar for months. I was just waiting for my library to get it in. So as soon as it did last week I grabbed it up. Fan Art had a rocky start for me. There was something missing in the dialogue and conversations. They felt a little off. And I didn't immediately click with Jamie. But once Jamie's hesitance with publicly coming out and than one day realizing he's falling for his best friend, Mason became the main focus I was hooked. Jamie was very relatable, even though I never faced his emotional struggles of being gay. His feelings were still very human. And his fight for something he believes, to essentially be himself was awesome. Plus the relationship between Jamie and Mason was sweet and adorable. I always say how I need more strong lady friendships. But really the same could be said for the guys. I just want a same sex friendship that is real and not fake. Although it's pretty obvious what would happen between the fellas; I was so shipping them. Definitely cute.
Trust the Focus(Focus #1) by Megan Erickson ****
Being in a M M romance mood, I decided to pick up something that has been on my Kindle for a while. Trust the Focus is another long harbouring feelings for my best friend romance. And I tend to really like those, and this one was no exception. I really liked how comfortable Justin and Landry were around each other. Being attached at the hip for over ten years really shows through in their relationship. Landry has always seemed confident in his skin. Being gay doesn't define him, he's just Landry. Justin finds himself jealous of that. He can't be himself or he thinks he can't. He's loved his best friend as more than a friend for years and it's sad that he felt he could never act on those feelings. As much as this is a romance it's also really about Justin becoming himself on the outside. He's dealing with loss, the pressure from his mother and pursuing his passion not his mothers expectations. Plus just growing up and learning to be confident in who you are no matter what everyone else will think. Good self discovery story, with a sweet romance.
Queen of Shadows(Throne of Glass #4) by Sarah J Maas *****
What am I supposed to say? I've waited over a year for this beast. And once again Maas has me feeling lost. She is the master destroyer of feels and she hit me once again. Throne of Glass is my series. If someone asks me my favourite series or for recommendation it will forever and always be Throne of Glass. The books continually get more intense and just everything(please excuse my lack of proper sentences). I would have punched the world if I was spoiled on anything to do with Queen of Shadows, so I won't say much; not that I can. I'm still trying to process life. Celaena is fucking fierce. She always has been but holy shit never have I wanted to be a fictional character so much. I want to be her. She's a phenomenal character. All the ladies are. Manon is still boss. And I knew their eventual "meeting" would be everything. Easily one of my favourite scenes. I did have some major grievances but that's mostly because my ship died. I knew it would but I was still holding out hope and will continue until I have read the last page of the series. I believed Maas and Celaena when she said she'd pick him and I was lied to. Lied to. My poor sweet guy. He just couldn't catch a break. Needless to say that I sobbed, laughed, raged(I uh may have had a lot of anger at certain bits), and just about any other feeling that one can feel I showcased. Queen of Shadows could possibly be my favourite of the series but it's a hard toss up between it and Crown of Midnight. I loved the ending. How it felt like the end but really felt like the beginning of the real meat of the story. It's going to be a long year. I guess it gives me time to try and put my soul and heart back together. Which let's face it will just die again when ACOTAR # 2 is released in the spring.
Flaw(Flaw #1) by Ryan Ringbloom **
Uh, there's not much to say here. Meh pretty much sums up my feelings. Besides the flat writing and even flatter characters, the change in the number of POV's did not work for me. What started as a dual POV with the two male MC's switched to the two female MC's POV's halfway through. It felt like I never got closure as it switched mid way in the story. And it also caused me to hate Jordyn. I thought she was alright, not even looking twice at Aidan's obvious scar. But once I got her POV and knew her feelings, her behaviour became despicable and I would never have forgiven her words. Aidan just kind of felt there. He was a good guy. I had no qualms against him. But his facial scar seemed to be his only purpose. Actually Josh turned out to be the best of the lot. Which is funny as he was this spoiled, immature asshole to begin with. And his 180 was believable and easily the only thing I really enjoyed about Flaw.
Books, Blogs & Reality by Ryan Ringbloom ***
Now this is a book written for book bloggers. Not to say a non-blogger wouldn't enjoy it. Just the us book bloggers would relate wholeheartedly with these characters. Especially heavy romance readers. This is a cute story about four ladies who have become fast internet friends through blogging and their similar taste in the books they read. It's really true how I talk and disclose more with my internet friends than people in my real life. These four ladies showcased how it doesn't matter how the friendship started. I concur. Some of my closest friends I have meet through blogging and books. As for the romance factor; I also agree that the lines between fictional romance and reality can blur. These four ladies definitely started to blur those lines. The book boyfriends, relationships and sex in our favourite romances are unfortunately not mirrored from real life. But I can imagine how one might confuse the two realities. I wouldn't mind living my favourite romance either. Books, Blogs & Reality spoke to my inner thoughts and wishes. It wasn't anything mind blowing. It was just a very quick fun read.
Black Rainbow by J.J. McAvoy **.5
I'm glad I got this one from the library. I was seeing great reviews from my Goodreads friends these past few months, so I had highish expectations. I wanted an intense forbidden student/teacher romance. And really it wasn't so much. The story was decent. Thea's past and the reason she's becoming a lawyer was good enough. Thea was a strong lady. But the writing, lack of stimulating dialogue and Levi really killed this one for me. Fell totally flat. I almost DNF'd. Levi was this super hard ass in the classroom and as some super scary lawyer. But outside of that he does 180 in his personality and is quite boring. I know McAvoy is a well loved author, so I'll eventually give her another go.
Fan Art by Sarah Tregay ****
After the reading brilliance that is Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda earlier this year, I was on the look out for something to compare(although nothing ever will). So Fan Art has been on my radar for months. I was just waiting for my library to get it in. So as soon as it did last week I grabbed it up. Fan Art had a rocky start for me. There was something missing in the dialogue and conversations. They felt a little off. And I didn't immediately click with Jamie. But once Jamie's hesitance with publicly coming out and than one day realizing he's falling for his best friend, Mason became the main focus I was hooked. Jamie was very relatable, even though I never faced his emotional struggles of being gay. His feelings were still very human. And his fight for something he believes, to essentially be himself was awesome. Plus the relationship between Jamie and Mason was sweet and adorable. I always say how I need more strong lady friendships. But really the same could be said for the guys. I just want a same sex friendship that is real and not fake. Although it's pretty obvious what would happen between the fellas; I was so shipping them. Definitely cute.
Trust the Focus(Focus #1) by Megan Erickson ****
Being in a M M romance mood, I decided to pick up something that has been on my Kindle for a while. Trust the Focus is another long harbouring feelings for my best friend romance. And I tend to really like those, and this one was no exception. I really liked how comfortable Justin and Landry were around each other. Being attached at the hip for over ten years really shows through in their relationship. Landry has always seemed confident in his skin. Being gay doesn't define him, he's just Landry. Justin finds himself jealous of that. He can't be himself or he thinks he can't. He's loved his best friend as more than a friend for years and it's sad that he felt he could never act on those feelings. As much as this is a romance it's also really about Justin becoming himself on the outside. He's dealing with loss, the pressure from his mother and pursuing his passion not his mothers expectations. Plus just growing up and learning to be confident in who you are no matter what everyone else will think. Good self discovery story, with a sweet romance.
Queen of Shadows(Throne of Glass #4) by Sarah J Maas *****
What am I supposed to say? I've waited over a year for this beast. And once again Maas has me feeling lost. She is the master destroyer of feels and she hit me once again. Throne of Glass is my series. If someone asks me my favourite series or for recommendation it will forever and always be Throne of Glass. The books continually get more intense and just everything(please excuse my lack of proper sentences). I would have punched the world if I was spoiled on anything to do with Queen of Shadows, so I won't say much; not that I can. I'm still trying to process life. Celaena is fucking fierce. She always has been but holy shit never have I wanted to be a fictional character so much. I want to be her. She's a phenomenal character. All the ladies are. Manon is still boss. And I knew their eventual "meeting" would be everything. Easily one of my favourite scenes. I did have some major grievances but that's mostly because my ship died. I knew it would but I was still holding out hope and will continue until I have read the last page of the series. I believed Maas and Celaena when she said she'd pick him and I was lied to. Lied to. My poor sweet guy. He just couldn't catch a break. Needless to say that I sobbed, laughed, raged(I uh may have had a lot of anger at certain bits), and just about any other feeling that one can feel I showcased. Queen of Shadows could possibly be my favourite of the series but it's a hard toss up between it and Crown of Midnight. I loved the ending. How it felt like the end but really felt like the beginning of the real meat of the story. It's going to be a long year. I guess it gives me time to try and put my soul and heart back together. Which let's face it will just die again when ACOTAR # 2 is released in the spring.
Flaw(Flaw #1) by Ryan Ringbloom **
Uh, there's not much to say here. Meh pretty much sums up my feelings. Besides the flat writing and even flatter characters, the change in the number of POV's did not work for me. What started as a dual POV with the two male MC's switched to the two female MC's POV's halfway through. It felt like I never got closure as it switched mid way in the story. And it also caused me to hate Jordyn. I thought she was alright, not even looking twice at Aidan's obvious scar. But once I got her POV and knew her feelings, her behaviour became despicable and I would never have forgiven her words. Aidan just kind of felt there. He was a good guy. I had no qualms against him. But his facial scar seemed to be his only purpose. Actually Josh turned out to be the best of the lot. Which is funny as he was this spoiled, immature asshole to begin with. And his 180 was believable and easily the only thing I really enjoyed about Flaw.
Books, Blogs & Reality by Ryan Ringbloom ***
Now this is a book written for book bloggers. Not to say a non-blogger wouldn't enjoy it. Just the us book bloggers would relate wholeheartedly with these characters. Especially heavy romance readers. This is a cute story about four ladies who have become fast internet friends through blogging and their similar taste in the books they read. It's really true how I talk and disclose more with my internet friends than people in my real life. These four ladies showcased how it doesn't matter how the friendship started. I concur. Some of my closest friends I have meet through blogging and books. As for the romance factor; I also agree that the lines between fictional romance and reality can blur. These four ladies definitely started to blur those lines. The book boyfriends, relationships and sex in our favourite romances are unfortunately not mirrored from real life. But I can imagine how one might confuse the two realities. I wouldn't mind living my favourite romance either. Books, Blogs & Reality spoke to my inner thoughts and wishes. It wasn't anything mind blowing. It was just a very quick fun read.
What did you guys read this week?
Happy reading!
Brittany
EmoticonEmoticon