Source: Won

Review Round Up #9

Posted November 19, 2019 by Lily B in Reviews / 14 Comments

Full Blooded by Amanda Carlson
Series: Jessica McClain, #1, #1
Published by Orbit on September 11, 2012
Genres: Paranormal, Paranormal Romance
Pages: 352
Format: Paperback
Source: Won
Buy on Amazon
Rating: 3 Stars

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Born the only female in an all male race, Jessica McClain isn’t just different—she’s feared.
After living under the radar for the last twenty-six years, Jessica is thrust unexpectedly into her first change, a full ten years late. She wakes up and finds she’s in the middle of a storm. Now that she’s become the only female full-blooded werewolf in town, the supernatural world is already clamoring to take a bite out of her and her new Pack must rise up and protect her.
But not everyone is on board. The werewolf Rights of Laws is missing text and the superstitious werewolves think that Jessica means an end to their race. It doesn’t help when Jessica begins to realize she’s more. She can change partway and hold her form, and speak directly to her wolf. But the biggest complication by far is that her alpha father can't control her like he can the rest of his wolves.
When a mercenary who’s been hired by the vampires shows up to extract information about the newly turned werewolf only days after her change, they find themselves smack in the middle of a war and there's no choice but to run together. When it’s up to Jessica to negotiate her release against her father’s direct orders, she chooses to take an offer for help instead. In exchange, Jessica must now swear an oath she may end up repaying with her life.

Phew. I had this book forever, or what feels like forever. My son picked a wrapped book for me and this was the choice. The book follows a girl named Jessica McClain and she is the world’s only female werewolf and because of that, there is a prophecy that says she will bring some sort of destruction to the wolves and now every werewolf is on edge and there are some out to get here.

I found this book okay. Just okay. It wasn’t great and reminds me of a bit of Bitten, the other only one female werewolf read. I think my issue with this was entirely Jessica. I found her aggravating and falls victim to the trope of too stupid to live. Luckily for Jessica, she is a werewolf so she isn’t killed easily and has a support network of males who would put their life on the line to protect her.

It just drove me nuts with all the stupid decisions she made and flying off the handle without considering how it affects others, and her family and friends screaming at her to get away and it took some time for the repercussions to sink in but even when they do, she still learns very little.

As of right now, I don’t have plans on continuing with this series. I gave it a generous 3 stars.

Spellbound by Tricia Drammeh
Series: Spellbringers,
Published by ATW Publishing on August 2, 2014
Genres: Paranormal, Paranormal Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 263
Format: Kindle Edition
Source: Freebie
Buy on Amazon
Rating: 3 Stars

The Demon Re’Vel stalks his prey in the forest of dreams, slowly gaining control over the mind of his victim. Rachel doesn’t realize the Demon is real. In fact, she doesn’t believe in magic, Demons, Hunters, or any of the other things the Alexanders have warned her about. She resists their protection, but can’t resist her overwhelming feelings for Jace.
Alisa has been drawn to Jace since the day she saved him from a Hunter attack. A mere human in a world of Spellbringers, Alisa has been embraced by the Alexander family as a hero, but not everyone is willing to accept her. Jace’s intimidating older brother, Bryce, keeps his emotions and his secrets hidden. When Bryce confides in Alisa, it puts her relationship with Jace and the entire Alexander family at risk.
Danger, secrets, and betrayal collide, and when the Demon makes his claim, the small, southern town of Oaktree becomes a battleground for Rachel’s life.
Formerly published under the title 'The Claiming Words,' Spellbound is a completely re-written, re-vamped novel featuring added scenes, additional chapters, and a new ending.

A cute YA paranormal that follows two girls. Alisa and Rachel in a dual POV. Rachel is a gifted Spellbringer, Alisa is a normal girl that somehow gets involved with the Alexander family - who are also a family with special powers.

This wasn’t bad. I liked the plot. I thought it was interesting. It did drag a bit at times and it felt repetitive. The girls sounded way younger than their 17 years of age. There was a lot of teenage boy swooning going on and falling madly in love way too quickly and thinking about marriage at such a young age. I don’t know how realistic this is for 17 year olds, maybe fanciful for someone young, like the age of 14 and 15 who don’t have a better understanding, but not many 17 year olds I feel still act like that. I could be wrong, but that’s not how my experience was.

I found Rachel to be an infuriating character. She had these Hunter’s that were looking for her and she was constantly rejecting trained professionals to protect her and kept putting the Alexander boys and her best friend in danger and it kept happening, so you’d think she’d learn? nah..

Like I said. It’s cute for a YA read, but I feel like it should be on a younger side.

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Guest Review: The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware

Posted October 7, 2018 by Lily B in Guest Post, Reviews / 22 Comments

The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware
Series: standalone
Published by Gallery/Scout Press on July 19, 2016
Genres: Psychological Thriller
Pages: 352
Format: Paperback
Source: Won
Buy on Amazon
Rating: 3 Stars

In this tightly wound, enthralling story reminiscent of Agatha Christie’s works, Lo Blacklock, a journalist who writes for a travel magazine, has just been given the assignment of a lifetime: a week on a luxury cruise with only a handful of cabins. The sky is clear, the waters calm, and the veneered, select guests jovial as the exclusive cruise ship, the Aurora, begins her voyage in the picturesque North Sea. At first, Lo’s stay is nothing but pleasant: the cabins are plush, the dinner parties are sparkling, and the guests are elegant. But as the week wears on, frigid winds whip the deck, gray skies fall, and Lo witnesses what she can only describe as a dark and terrifying nightmare: a woman being thrown overboard. The problem? All passengers remain accounted for—and so, the ship sails on as if nothing has happened, despite Lo’s desperate attempts to convey that something (or someone) has gone terribly, terribly wrong…

I took one look at the quote on the back cover “if you’re a fan of Agatha Christie…” and read a few of my favorite book bloggers talking this one up and I just had to read it. I was unfamiliar with the author until this book released so I was eager to give her a try.

Well, I really wanted to say I loved this one and I was riveted, but that turned out not to be the case. I think I went in with incredibly high expectations and an expectation of a Christie whodunnit when this wasn’t Christie and it wasn’t fair to give it such a high standard to reach. This one was by no means lousy and the writing was strong and good. The setting of a cruise off the coast of Norway and the assembled group of high flyers and travelers was a nice International Intrigue feeling. There is a sense of wondering if the narrator is reliable or not which I do love. I liked the ‘did it really happen that way? Was it even real?” Quite a clever premise and set up.

But, when it came down to it, The Woman in Cabin 10 turned out to be a so-so read for me until the last third when it finally grabbed me. If I hadn’t seen others I trust loving on it, I might very well have stopped reading early on.

I didn’t connect with the female protagonist, Lo. I didn’t hate her, but I didn’t exactly like her or admire her either. She’s not a nice person and she drinks enough to destroy her liver and is definitely an alcoholic which is nuts since she’s got an anxiety disorder and is on medication. I think I was meant to be wary of connecting with her and wondering about her part in all this.

No, what almost had me it setting aside was me impatiently waiting for something to happen between little blips of action or suspense. I found the action-suspense points good, but the slow built to each one had me drifting as I flipped pages waiting for the next intense moment. I didn’t feel like there was a point to much of it like it was treading water until the next momentous event could occur and I spent a lot of time in Lo’s head which wasn’t interesting to me and was frankly annoying because she dwells on stuff and leaps with her logic. To be fair, I might not have been in the right frame of mind for this style of psychological thriller. I think I was looking for a more pounding pace which is why the last portion was when I finally clicked with this book. It just took off like a rocket and left me breathless and twitching for what would come next.

So, in the end, I was glad to have read this one and I do want to read more of the author’s books, but now I know what to expect and I think that will make all the difference in the world.

About Sophia Rose

Sophia is a quiet though curious gal who dabbles in cooking, book reviewing, and gardening. Encouraged and supported by an incredible man and loving family. A Northern Californian transplant to the Great Lakes Region of the US. Lover of Jane Austen, Baseball, Cats, Scooby Doo, and Chocolate.

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