Sunday, March 2, 2014

"The Opportunist" by Tarryn Fisher

Genre: New Adult
Series: Love Me With Lies #1
Publication: November 14, 2011
Format: Kindle
Cover Rating: 4/5 Stars
Links: GoodreadsAmazon

From Goodreads: Olivia Kaspen has just discovered that her ex-boyfriend, Caleb Drake, has lost his memory. With an already lousy reputation for taking advantage of situations, Olivia must decide how far she is willing to go to get Caleb back. Wrestling to keep her true identity and their sordid past under wraps, Olivia’s greatest obstacle is Caleb’s wicked, new girlfriend; Leah Smith. It is a race to the finish as these two vipers engage in a vicious tug of war to possess a man who no longer remembers them. But, soon enough Olivia must face the consequences of her lies, and in the process discover that sometimes love falls short of redemption.

My Thoughts: I'm not even sure where to start with this review. I really wanted to love this book. Really, I did. I love darker NA books, so I thought I would surely love this one. Well, I was wrong.

But although, I didn't love it, it definitely had some redeeming qualities. For instance, the characters in this book were kind of amazing. Kind of. I love the fact that Tarryn Fisher wasn't afraid to write horrible human beings. Because Olivia and Caleb totally were. Both were completely terrible to each other and others around them. Possibly, some of the most selfish characters I have ever read about it. And it worked... for a while.

Here's where things started going down hill for me though, they began to feel too over the top. It felt like I was watching some daytime Soap Opera and not in the "Oh-My-God-I-Could-Just-Eat-This-Up" guilty pleasure kind of way. While I do love the darker, sometimes more far-fetched, NA books, I still prefer them to have some dose of realism. But, for me, The Opportunist went too far and completely abandoned the "real" world. This was also a major factor in the ending, which I felt was rushed and just completely ridiculous.

Which brings me to my next issue: the past/present combo chapters. I was not a fan. I felt like this book should have been split into two if we were going to be doing time jumps. Sometimes they work for authors, sometimes they don't. This was one of those times when they didn't. Had I picked up a prequel to Caleb and Olivia's story, I probably would have devoured it and given it five stars easily. Their past had just the right amount of drama and mystery to keep me intrigued. But the huge amount of time that passes (the book covers a ten year time span), just makes the whole thing feel rushed. Which was incredibly disappointing because it had the potential to be excellent. I was about 50% in when I realized that this was not going to be the awesome-sauce book I hoped for.

Overall, it was okay. I'm VERY picky these about my NA books because there is such an abundance of them out there. I like them the way I like them, and that's not always what everyone else likes. And that's okay. Would I personally recommend this book? Maybe. If I knew you well enough to know if you would like it. But other than that, no.


My Rating:


PhotobucketPhotobucket

Saturday, March 1, 2014

"Cress" by Marissa Meyer

Series: Lunar Chronicles #3
Genre: YA Fantasy/ SciFi/ Fairy Tales/ Paranormal Romance
Publication: February 4, 2014 by Feiwel & Friends
Format: Hardcover, 550 pages
Cover Rating: 5/5 Stars
Links: AmazonGoodreadsBarnes & Noble


*Spoiler Alert: Spoilers Ahead for PREVIOUS Books in the Lunar Chronicles*

From Goodreads: Rapunzel’s tower is a satellite. She can’t let down her hair—or her guard. 

In this third book in the bestselling Lunar Chronicles series, Cinder and Captain Thorne are fugitives on the run, with Scarlet and Wolf in tow. Together, they’re plotting to overthrow Queen Levana and her army. 

Their best hope lies with Cress, who has been trapped on a satellite since childhood with only her netscreens as company. All that screen time has made Cress an excellent hacker—unfortunately, she’s just received orders from Levana to track down Cinder and her handsome accomplice. 

When a daring rescue goes awry, the group is separated. Cress finally has her freedom, but it comes at a high price. Meanwhile, Queen Levana will let nothing stop her marriage to Emperor Kai. Cress, Scarlet, and Cinder may not have signed up to save the world, but they may be the only ones who can.


My Thoughts: This is just one series that just gets better and better with each book! When I first read Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles #1), I fell in love- with the world building and the characters. When I found out about Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles #2), I was terrified. For one thing, I thought the book was leaving behind the main characters that I had come to love, and with the epic cliff hanger that Cinder presented, I just was not okay with that. But as usual, I couldn't have been more wrong! While yes, Scarlet does focus on a different set of characters, we still get to "see" Cinder and the previous guys from the first book. What surprised me even more was that I ended up falling in love with the NEW characters just as much as the last ones! Then, when I read the description for Cress, I thought "Okay, there's no way I can like Cress just as much as Scarlet and Cinder. NO WAY." Well, I was proved wrong yet again. I don't know how Marissa Meyer does it, but she has me falling head over heels for this series and her characters. Never again will I doubt her awesomeness!

If you've read the previous books in this series, then I can guarantee you will love Cress just as much, if not more so. The dynamic between her and Thorne is so fantastic and their story is so gripping, it will leave you turning the pages well into the night. Not to mention, having the war between the Lunars and the Humans is gaining ground fast, and it's just one action pack adventure. I definitely recommend this series!

Oh, and just one last thing: THORNE *SWOON*


My Rating:


Photobucket PhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucket

© Whimsically Bookish. Made with love by The Dutch Lady Designs.