Walking Disaster
(Beautiful Disaster, #2)
By: Jamie McGuire
Publisher: Atria Books
Published: April 2, 2013
Genre: New Adult
Rating:
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Finally, the highly anticipated follow-up to the New York Times bestseller Beautiful Disaster. Can you love someone too much?
Travis Maddox learned two things from his mother before she died: Love hard. Fight harder.
In
Walking Disaster, the life of Travis is full of fast women, underground
gambling, and violence. But just when he thinks he is invincible, Abby
Abernathy brings him to his knees.
Every story has two sides. In Beautiful Disaster, Abby had her say. Now it’s time to see the story through Travis’s eyes.
Okay,
I think I was given the wrong book for review. Have you ever had one of
those "Am I reading the same book as everyone else?" moments? Well, I'm
having one right now and it has me extremely perplexed. Usually when I
don't like a book that everyone else loves I think, "I guess it's just
not my cup of tea" but when it's a spin off of a book that I love, I get
really confused. I mean, I've read Beautiful Disaster at least 3 times.
I've pushed review books aside to get re-inspired to read, by
re-reading Beautiful Disaster, so why did I not like Walking Disaster,
which is the exact same story but from Travis' point of view? I'll tell
you why, it seemed more like a poor attempt at fan fiction than
something that's being published by NYT best seller.
The story
is choppy and seems to jump ahead in time with little to no warning. I
thought we would get the same story we got from Abby, but in Travis'
point of view. You know, like how we followed Abby around on day to day
life both when she was with and without Travis? Well I thought it would
be the same thing but nope, we basically get the moments that they
shared together in Travis point of view. So time literally jumps forward
a lot in the book. This story is so choppy that it made a story that I
loved, painful to read. It was like reading a facts sheet. I very rarely
don't finish a book and I'm astounded that this one is sadly being put
on that list. I've tried, unsuccessfully, for 5 days to finish this book
and I've only made it about half way. I can't do it any more.
LAS VEGAS!
"The streets were lines with Elvis, Michael Jackson, showgirls, and cartoon characters, all readily available to take a picture for a price. At one point, I kept hearing a flapping noise, and then I pinpointed where it was coming from. Men were standing on the sidewalk, snapping a stack of cards in their hands. They handed one to Shepley. It was a picture of a ridiculously big-breasted woman in a seductive pose. They were selling hookers and strip clubs. Shepley tossed the card to the ground. The sidewalk was covered in them."
I never understood all the hype over the Vegas strip. It's filthy,
people are trying to sell you something at every corner and there are
literally at least 3 people on every corner trying to hand you these
nudie cards, sometimes there's more than 3 of them. Not to mention that
you have to battle drunken crowds just to get to your destination. It is
a disgusting, chaotic mess and the author did a fantastic job painting
an accurate picture of what it's like to walk the strip.
Naked
(The Blackstone Affair, #1)
By: Raine Miller
Publisher: Atria
Published: Dec. 21, 2012
Genre: Erotica
Rating:
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Brynne Bennett is
living the good life. An American art student at the University of
London and part-time photographic model, she’s putting her life back on
track with school and lots of hard work. When ultra successful London
businessman, Ethan Blackstone, buys her nude portrait, he isn’t taking
‘no’ for an answer. He wants Brynne in his bed and makes plans to keep
her there no matter what. His dominant nature captivates and ensnares
despite the demons she carries inside her. But there are secrets in this
relationship. Huge ones. Can Ethan free Brynne from the past that has
marked her? Will Brynne let him or will the specters tormenting her
resurface to destroy them both.
My thoughts...
Not sure why but I didn't
fall into this story like I thought I would. It started out good but it
felt like the author was trying too hard and the story seemed a bit
choppy at times. The sex scenes were nice but I found that a lot of
Ethan's "dirty talk" was a bit too much. He would go on and on about how
he felt and what he wanted to do with her that I sort of forgot what
they were talking about originally and not in a swoon worthy way. I also
found what I would consider a nod to 50 Shades (which for me isn't a
good thing) with an insane amount of texting back and forth.
It
wasn't a horrible read but I wasn't clamoring to read what happened
next. However, I will still give it a go because at the end we are left
with a spin that may help change the way the book was going and give it
more back story.
All In
(The Blackstone Affair, #2)
By: Raine Miller
Publisher: Atria
Published: Dec. 21, 2012
Genre: Erotica
Rating:
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The second part in The Blackstone Affair series! Looming danger. A love worth fighting for. A man who’ll go all in.
Ethan
Blackstone has a problem on his hands. He’s broken Brynne’s trust and
she’s left him. He’s unwilling to live without her and isn’t giving
up—he’s dead-set on getting his beautiful American girl back. The
passion between them was explosive, but the secrets they hid from each
other are dark and chilling and are powerful enough to destroy their
shot at a life together. With political threats now directed at Brynne,
Ethan is running out of time and he’ll need to gather all his strength
and agility to protect her from the dangers that could take her away
from him forever. Will Ethan be able to save Brynne from a past that
keeps her locked in fear? Will he ever feel the warmth of her touch, the
solidity of her trust again? This is a love-struck man who is willing
to do whatever it takes to possess the heart of the woman he loves.
He’ll go to any lengths to protect her. He’ll go all in.
Here is
the fiery story of what happens when two people surrender to a love so
great it can heal the scars of the past and give way to a life of pure,
rapturous ecstasy.
My thoughts...
In
book one we read through Brynne's point of view but in All In, it's all
done in Ethan's point of view. I was hopeful that I would enjoy the
second story more than the first since we start off with Brynne knowing
that Ethan was hired to protect her. However, it isn't long that they
are back together and everything is back to where it was before. Not
only is the dialogue still choppy but Ethan is a simpering jealous mess.
What was once a rough Special Forces vet, is now more like a 19 year
old boy. Not to mention his bedroom lines read more like something from
"Smooth Talking for Dummies". And I think that's what got me. The
dialogue seemed incredibly fake that I found myself skipping over the
long talk sessions and just trying to get back to the story and that is
when I decided to just stop.
What little bit of story it did have was not for me. It consisted of bedroom talk and
play rather than an actual storyline. Had I known that beforehand, I wouldn't have read it. I like a solid story with my romance/erotica.
Favorite quote...
"It
happens that way sometimes. You find the one for you and that's all
there is to it. Men have been falling in love with women since time
began, son. You just finally made it to the head of the queue."
By: Mette Ivie Harrison
Publisher: EgmontUSA
Release Date: Oct. 11, 2011
Genre: YA
Source: NetGalley
Format: eBook
Pages: 272
Rating: I didn't like it.
A modern retelling of the German fairy tale "Tristan and Isolde," Tris and Izzie is about a young witch named Izzie who is dating Mark King, the captain of the basketball team and thinks her life is going swimmingly well. Until -- she makes a love potion for her best friend Brangane and then ends up taking it herself accidentally, and falling in love with Tristan, the new guy at school.
My thoughts...
Oh man, I tried, I really did. I wanted to like it, it sounded like a great book but sadly it failed for me. I couldn't stomach it long enough to finish it, I only made it to page 160. The writing is lacking and the characters and story line are undeveloped. One minute Izzie is in love with Mark, her super hot, popular b/f (gag) and the next minute she is shacking up with Tris. Not to mention at that time, her BFF confesses her love for Mark, to which he professes his feelings for her in return. Badda Bing Badda Boom, swapparoo! Uh... excuse me, what just happened? No joke, this all went down in about a few pages, and that was pretty much how the entire books consistency went.
Izzie is superficial and shallow, so much so that she makes the Housewives of Orange County seem humble. I don't know who talks or even thinks like this but all the references to "exile" a kid from their group of "popular" friends just because you don't get like them seems a bit extreme and unreal. Another thing that irritated me was that Izzie does a love potion for her friend, Branna, because she doesn't think that she can attract any guys on her own because she doesn't wear make-up, dresses or do her hair. REALLY!? Not to mention her and Branna's bullying scene where they smash this kid's magic wine bottle while he is pleading with them. I just could not seem to get around the pettiness of this book.
Even with the bad guys attacking Izzie and Tris, I just could not seem to care. I kept reading hoping that at some point it would get better but it got to a point where I realized that nothing was going to change and it just was not going to happen for me.
Favorite quote
I HATE to do thins but I honestly could not find anything. I tried and I searched but I could not find a quote that I liked :o( But instead I added a quote that highlights Izzie's character.
"Mel was short and had spiky blond hair and a goatee. He had joined Mark's posse this year, but I wasn't sure why Mark had let him. Mel annoyed me with his stupid sly jokes. Mark had told me that if I really disliked him, he would "exile" him, which meant that no one would speak a word to him without Mark's permission. I was still thinking about it." -Izzie
