JennyJen

I'm not one for a witch hunt, so I'm going to give this book a shot. It's free on Amazon right now (today is 4/13/14), but I don't know for how long.

You know a book is boring when I choose to read [b:The King|17703290|The King (Black Dagger Brotherhood, #12)|J.R. Ward|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1373647589s/17703290.jpg|24749971] instead.

Spoilers clearly marked.




I'm so sad about this one and I so looked forward to it. Why an author would take an unconventional, strong, ballsy, in-your-face heroine from a place of strength and rebellion to a place of constantly fussing and obsessing over some dude is beyond me. This series went from kick-ass, adventurous Sci-fi with a side of romance to Cheesy Generic Romance with a side of Sci-fi.

I read 30% of this and 26% of it was spent focused solely on relationship drama. I had hoped that the focus would shift to more pressing matters from then on, but from what I'm hearing around the way, it doesn't get much better. There's a very big focus on this very flat romance that overpowers all the other elements.

But there's more than that. There's also a random "love triangle" thrown in there. Although, I guess I shouldn't call it random, because it wasn't anyone new. I'm also loathe to call it an actual triangle, because Devi wanted nothing to do with the guy. She proved that by being a complete dick to him. So, I'll just call it a three-person sitamation.

When Devi was in a very desperate place in book one and she was in danger with no one to turn to, she called Anthony. It took a while, but now he shows up for her in a big way. He risked his life to come for her. She was involved with this man for years! Does Devi show a lick of gratitude? No. Not even a lick.

Fine, Devi. You don't love Anthony. Fine. But he loves you. He came for you when you called in desperation. He even stood up to Rupert, a symbiont. The very creature that Anthony fears. This guy has big balls and he's got heart. You repay him for his love and loyalty by treating him horribly and mocking him for having his ship confiscated by Rupert? You MOCK him? That wasn't just "petty," as you called it. That was FUCKED UP.

Fucking dick move, Devi. I honestly couldn't believe she behaved this way. I couldn't let it go. I haven't let it go. It's left such a bad taste in my mouth. That one incident managed to shit on everything good I felt about Devi throughout the series. I hate that it's happened this way, but I can't help it. There are things you should do and things you shouldn't do. That was fucked up.

Am I the only one who really liked the other dude? It's very telling that the other dude made a more lasting impression on me in a few pages than wet blanket Rupert does in 3 books. Not to mention that Rupert killed Devi in the last book. FFS.

And then. Lawd, and then, to add insult to injury, we get treated to never ending comparisons between the two dudes. Just ridiculous comparisons made only to try and endear the reader to Rupert who's not that fucking likable, dammit. You know how I know he's not that likable? Because so much frikkin time has to be spent trying to convince you that he's awesome so late in the series. It's the last book. Rather than go on and on in book 3 about how great he really is, why weren't we just shown throughout? Blergh.

Rupert is so romanticized, that he's reduced to this weak-ass, sniveling, crying fool that is the complete opposite of the supposed badass Rupert of the first two books.

I can't begin to tell you how incredibly disappointing all of this is. Specifically, because book #1 was so good. It was unique, interesting, fun, suspenseful and riveting. No exaggeration. It was a really good book. I was really excited to recommend it to everyone, but now, I'm not so sure. Not when disappointment is just over the horizon. =/

Two things I failed to realize:

- this is a short story
- this is a short story set in a well-established series

The latter is totally my fault. My brain skimmed right over the fact that the blurb says the protagonist is the hero of 2 other novels. The first isn't clear. Not my fault. My rating isn’t taking either of these things into account, though. That wouldn’t be fair. Also, the story appears to be a standalone. I could be wrong, but it reads fine on its own.

The premise is awesome. You have a private detective who’s also a mutant shapeshifter with a “badass” vibe. Then you have a prison (that exists in its own pocket universe) full of prisoners that are different types of life forms/aliens. There are a number of gory murders and shit that our cool cat MC, Stake, gets roped into investigating. Recipe for awesomeness, no? Unfortunately, the execution is seriously lacking. There just wasn’t enough time to build up the intrigue, before the MC easily figures everything out.

I haven’t read any of the other books in this series, but I get the impression that Stake is a bit of a Gary Stu. There’s a character that is hard to talk to due to a physical condition. No problem. Stake figures out how to calm him and get him talking coherently the first time they meet. This dude has a large group of friends who aren’t able to properly communicate with him, but Stake does it right off the bat. Ok.

On his second (maybe third?) day in the prison, Stake gets randomly tipped off. This is bizarre, because the “tipper” has been at this prison for some time. The killings had started before Stake arrived, so why hadn’t they divulged info to anyone before? Unless Stake is speshul.

Finally, nearly immediately, Stake knows whodunnit. It’s not like this is some obscure conclusion, either. When he first hypothesized, I thought that it was a logical guess, but way too obvious. And yet, he was right. He asked one witness one question and very soon after figured out whodunnit. How immensely stupid is everyone else at this prison that no one made the connection sooner? He walks in and in no time, he figures it all out. C’mon. Really? Where’s the suspense? There isn’t any.

There’s also little action. There were a couple of scenes that had the potential to be really good, but they flew by in a minute. Other than that, it was basically Stake having the villain info dump him.

This is a super-quick read, but, unfortunately, not a great one. Admittedly, I was enjoying it until I realized that the climax I had been anticipating had already passed. Big disappointment that. I would have been disappointed sooner had I known it was a short story. I thought I was maybe 25% into a book and so, I was intrigued at where the story was going. Instead, the story was solved and nearly over. Wtf.

Despite my dissatisfaction with this one, I may be picking up the first book in the series. The premise and the writing were admittedly good. I just think this would have made a better full-length book, so that the story could be fleshed out a lot more. The MC in this one isn't the MC of all the books in the series, so there's potential there.

This may be more enjoyable for already-established fans of the series and/or hero, but I wouldn’t bet much on it. It read like it was supposed to be a standalone and as such, it just wasn’t up to snuff.

ARC recieved for review via Netgalley.

2.5 Stars.

Two things I failed to realize:

- this is a short story
- this is a short story set in a well-established series

The latter is totally my fault. My brain skimmed right over the fact that the blurb says the protagonist is the hero of 2 other novels. The first isn't clear. Not my fault. My rating isn’t taking either of these things into account, though. That wouldn’t be fair. Also, the story appears to be a standalone. I could be wrong, but it reads fine on its own.

The premise is awesome. You have a private detective who’s also a mutant shapeshifter with a “badass” vibe. Then you have a prison (that exists in its own pocket universe) full of prisoners that are different types of life forms/aliens. There are a number of gory murders and shit that our cool cat MC, Stake, gets roped into investigating. Recipe for awesomeness, no? Unfortunately, the execution is seriously lacking. There just wasn’t enough time to build up the intrigue, before the MC easily figures everything out.

I haven’t read any of the other books in this series, but I get the impression that Stake is a bit of a Gary Stu. There’s a character that is hard to talk to due to a physical condition. No problem. Stake figures out how to calm him and get him talking coherently the first time they meet. This dude has a large group of friends who aren’t able to properly communicate with him, but Stake does it right off the bat. Ok.

On his second (maybe third?) day in the prison, Stake gets randomly tipped off by a malfunctioning robot guard . This is bizarre, because the “tipper” has been at this prison for some time. The killings had started before Stake arrived, so why hadn’t they divulged info to anyone before? Unless Stake is speshul.

Finally, nearly immediately, Stake knows whodunnit. It’s not like this is some obscure conclusion, either. When he first hypothesized, I thought that it was a logical guess, but way too obvious. And yet, he was right. He asked one witness one question and very soon after figured out whodunnit. How immensely stupid is everyone else at this prison that no one made the connection sooner? He walks in and in no time, he figures it all out. C’mon. Really? Where’s the suspense? There isn’t any.

There’s also little action. There were a couple of scenes that had the potential to be really good, but they flew by in a minute. Other than that, it was basically Stake having the villain info dump him.

This is a super-quick read, but, unfortunately, not a great one. Admittedly, I was enjoying it until I realized that the climax I had been anticipating had already passed. Big disappointment that. I would have been disappointed sooner had I known it was a short story. I thought I was maybe 25% into a book and so, I was intrigued at where the story was going. Instead, the story was solved and nearly over. Wtf.

Despite my dissatisfaction with this one, I may be picking up the first book in the series. The premise and the writing were admittedly good. I just think this would have made a better full-length book, so that the story could be fleshed out a lot more. The MC in this one isn't the MC of all the books in the series, so there's potential there.

This may be more enjoyable for already-established fans of the series and/or hero, but I wouldn’t bet much on it. It read like it was supposed to be a standalone and as such, it just wasn’t up to snuff.



ARC recieved for review via Netgalley.

Dat cover tho.

DaaaaFuq.

*No spoilers.

Give me a minute.



I just needed to marvel for a moment.

YA is not dead. At least, not if authors continue to churn out books like The Winner’s Curse. For starters, it’s beautifully and poignantly written. It also has not one, but two strong and likeable main characters. Full of suspense, action, and believable character interactions, yet devoid of the typical tropes and the usual angst found in most YA these days. This book is a real gem.

Kestral isn’t your typical TSTL YA heroine. Not by a long shot. She’s the daughter of a General and has a head for strategy, but the last thing she wants is to become a soldier. Instead, Kestral has a passion for music. Although her father relentlessly badgers her to join his army, she holds strong in her convictions. Music isn’t exactly celebrated amongst her people. It isn’t valued very highly and it’s seen mostly in a frivolous light. This doesn’t deter Kestral. She does her best to strategize a way to avoid giving in to her father’s demands, so that she can live the life she really wants. I really respected her for this. Having a particular skill shouldn’t be a life sentence to using it against your wishes. For example, I’m a Scrabble wizard (a humble one), but I’ll be damned if someone is going to force me to use my bountiful skills for evil. *fist shake

Having been a rebellious teen and having had a rough time dealing with my own father, made me feel an appreciation for the way Kestral and her father's relationship was portrayed. He was overbearing, but only as much as any stern, doting parent would be. He wasn’t overly and comically villainized simply for the sake of adding conflict and I applaud Rutkoski for that.

Despite her flaws and missteps, I really liked Kestral. I love a heroine who stands her ground, who refuses to conform and who marches to the beat of her own drum. All of this despite living in a society that values military experience above all things and being constantly scrutinized because of who her father is. Falling in line is easy. I'd rather applaud a heroine who rebels and for all the right reasons.


Kestral is also not your typical slave master. Never having had any intention of owning a person, she's reluctant to abuse or even use her power over her new slave. He uses her hesitance to his advantage every chance he gets.


That slave is Arin. Strong, unruly Arin, who has been enslaved since childhood, when he was ripped from his family. Ungovernable Arin, who has watched his people be systematically torn down and torn apart. Full of justifiable, seething rage, he is more than a handful for Kestral, who purchased him only on a whim, likely because his streak of rebellion resonated with her.

I loved and respected Arin. He was of the mindset that one might be a slave, but one didn't have to play the role happily. He didn't always make the right choices, but given the hand he was dealt, it's difficult to fault him for thinking with his heart instead of his brain. Sometimes, your emotions overpower your rational thinking and you do things that aren’t in your game plan. Things like that made Arin even more likable. I felt for him and found myself warring with my feelings for him as the story unfolded. There was a lot of grey in this book and Rutkoski doesn't make it easy to take sides.

I loved Arin and Kestral together. I loved to watch their relationship grow and the slow burn with which it progressed made me swoon like a schoolgirl. I hadn't swooned in a long, long time. Usually, when I read books, I wish that I could cut the corny romance right out. This book just left me wanting more. Way more. Sigh.

I've seen mention around the way that there is a love triangle in this book. Allow me to refute those claims with a resounding hell no. Although, I guess it all depends on your definition of a love triangle. For me, a love triangle is when one person is sought by two other people and they entertain both of those people's affections. Yes, there is a second option for Kestral, but she isn't interested in him in the least. She doesn't lead him on and she wants nothing to do with him. That a love triangle does not make. IMO.

Side note: It was so refreshing to have the MC’s hands touch and for neither to have spontaneously combusted due to having felt an “electric jolt” or a literal “spark.” Corny things like that do not happen here.

But enough about romance. This is a story about politics, friendship, war, family and loss. This is why I enjoyed this so much. There is a plot here and there is a much bigger picture than just two teens falling for each other. I didn’t expect to do this book justice with my review and I haven’t, but I highly recommend this one.


I have a new favorite author. ^_^



Edit: DAT ENDING.

ALL BAD, this book. MOSTLY BAD, this book.




Review to come, I guess.

*Spoilers clearly marked

2.5 stars

So, this was, mostly, a decent book. Mostly. In true Halle fashion, the creepy bits were super-creepy. Unfortunately, they were too sporadic to make up for the flat, unbelievable, and overpowering romance that, frankly, left a bad taste in my mouth.

WHOA. Dat blurb is a seizure-inducer. My eyes hurt. And can I just say that it's ASTOUNDING that the entire blurb has only 4 periods. +_____+

If one can barely get past the blurb, one should run screaming from the book. *runs screaming

Blurb:

THIS BOOK HAS BEEN UNPUBLISHED BECAUSE AFTER TALKING WITH BOOK BLOGGERS I RESPECT I HAVE ADDED SOME THINGS AND DECIDED IT WOULD BE BEST SUITED TOGETHER WITH THE WHAT WAS 2 OTHER BOOKS.

SO I PRESENT FAITH AND TRUST ON 4-10-14 (THERE ARE NEGATIVE REVIEWS REGARDING A BUNCH OF THINGS BUT I ASK YOU TO DECIDE FOR YOURSELF, YOU CAN TALK WITH SOME OF MY BETA READERS AND LOOK AT THE 4 AND 3 STAR REVIEWS, THOSE WERE THE REVIEWS I USED WHEN MAKING THIS DECISION FOR FAITH AND AND TRUST A THREE PART NOVEL.

I AM CHOOSING TO LET GO THE NEGATIVE REVIEWS. BECAUSE THEY HAPPEN.



A thank you note from author:

"To all of my English teachers and Communications from middle school through college whether it was writing, being behind the camera, or being talent in front of the camera thank you all for teaching me the value of the creativity I have inside of me"

In a parallel universe, that sentence is still running on.

Gah. That blurb. Just a terrible as the blurb for book one.

Based on what I read of book one - the terrible writing, the horrible plot, and the hateable characters – I won't be wasting any money on this book. That horrible blurb alone is enough to make me want to run screaming.

That fucking blurb. My eyes. +___+

I read the first chapter of this, which the gracious author was kind enough to post on her Facebook page. Thank you! Too kind.

I hated it. The writing was terrible and trite. It was pretentious and wordy, just like the blurb. The plot, what I read of it, was boring and not engaging. My biggest gripe is the main character. Complete asshole.



I'm so glad I didn't waste any money on this book.

*Spoilers clearly marked

2.5 stars

So, this was, mostly, a decent book. Mostly. In true Halle fashion, the creepy bits were super-creepy. Unfortunately, they were too sporadic to make up for the flat, unbelievable, and overpowering romance that, frankly, left a bad taste in my mouth.

If you feel compelled to add a note to the book's blurb to try to explain things away, it's becasue you know full well that those things are problems. You can't blame the issues I had with the story on the time period. That would be what is called a cop-out.

Moving on.

Our MC, Eve, was likable enough. I felt like I could relate to her, if I channeled a much younger and much more naive me. She's had some hard knocks in life and she's stuck in a very depressing familial situation. For the most part, I thought she stayed true to the role of a young girl with grand illusions of what love is or should be. I was a foolish teen once, so I totally get it. I also totally get it when Eve meets Jake and immediately assesses him as a man. A real man, unlike the boy she's been fawning over.

Jake is a man. He's hard, weathered, rough around the edges and exudes danger. I can get down with a man like that. But then Jake opens his stupid mouth. Turns out he's a complete twat. And you know what? I'm pretty sick of that trope. I'm pretty sick of the asshole who is rude and jerky to the woman, only to come back later with a fucking sob story that is supposed to redeem him. It just doesn't work for me anymore. If I had some asshole treat me extremely disrespectfully in real life, that asshole would no longer be eligible to become my love interest - especially not within days of meeting him. I am not so forgiving. As for Jake, I'm not going to immediately forgive him for the way that he acted towards Eve, because it wasn't just simple douchebaggery and there wasn't enough time (or effort from him) for redemption.



I understand that racism was prevalent during this time, but that doesn't mean that it's okay for him to make such derogatory comments to her. I'm pretty fucking sure that most people that were suffering at the hands of racists then, didn't just turn around and fall in love with their tormentors just because they fucking kissed them or had a sexy body.

I'm Hispanic. If I met some dude that disrespected me by making comments about my heritage or my people, or called me a spic, it would take a HELL of a lot more than some abs for me to ever look at him as more than a fucking racist asshole. I don't care if a Hispanic killed your mom or if a Hispanic person stole your car. This is not about all Hispanic people. This is between me and you. If you want to behave that way because you have a thing against Hispanics, that's fine. You can do that. But there's no fucking way that I'm going to pretend you didn't do that me and allow myself to fall in love with you.



Everyone's mileage may vary, but me, personally, I can't deal with that. There are some things that are too unacceptable in my eyes.

It would be one thing if some time had passed. If a lot of time had passed. Months. Years. A long enough time to have really gotten to know Jake - but that's not what happens. They go from disliking each other one day, to suddenly being practically in love the next. That's just another trope. And that's just not good enough.

And can we talk about the nickname? I was pulled out of the story every single time I read the nickname. Every time. I had to roll my eyes each time. Why are corny nicknames even necessary? If you're going to have a nickname, why make it one that is really weird and unconventional as well as highly offensive for it's reasoning? I'm sorry, but the reasoning behind the nickname is offensive and ties into everything that was wrong with the hero.



Let me see if I have this straight. Jake generalizes that all Injuns eat pine nuts in a derogatory comment towards the two men. He says "they look like they eat pine nuts just like you" to Eve. A couple of pages later, and he's calling her Pine Nut.. —_— How is this endearing exactly? What part about that is cute? Is that supposed to tug on my heartstrings?

Again, I'm Hispanic, and if some dude started calling me "Bean" after mockingly saying that Hispanics sure love their beans, I would probably punch him in the face. At the very least, I sure as hell would never entertain the idea of dating dude. Not just because of the words themselves, but because of the context in which he used them. Jake wasn't being playful. He was being racist and disrespectful to her, those men and all of their people. So he... nicknames her based off his blatant disrespect?



Before someone tries to say that this is just the nature of the time and that racism was rampant then, or that I need to understand that that's just how things were, let me say this: it's not the fact that he was racist that bothered me. I am a logical person and can understand a character being racist, because that is just reality. The part that bothers me is the part where I'm supposed to romanticize this man after all of his bullshit. I don't give a shit what sob story he gives later. All I know is that he treated Eve in a disgusting way and this poor, naive girl falls for him and lets him get away with it. She doesn't even think about it. She doesn't even take time to reflect. The falling for him part happens in no time. Nothing happens to redeem this man and yet, I'm expected to swoon when they start making declarations of love after mere days? I'm not buying what you're selling.

I think this could have been remedied with the book having been longer. Maybe. I just don't think enough time was provided for these two people to have a meaningful and realistic relationship. Had there been more time or had I been convinced that there was something real making this relationship happen, I would have rated this higher.

Moving on. There were very creepy bits to this story. The entire premise of the story is kind of corny and nonsensical, but the reality of what it's based on is very cool. There is gore and all I could think of while it was happening was that it was frikkin awesome, but that there just wasn't enough of it in the book. There were some periods of tediousness where I would be wishing more of the scary things would happen. This was more in the second half of the book, after the romance nearly completely took over.

There were definitely horror elements in this book, but ultimately, this is a romance. As I stated in the beginning, the horror was just not abundant enough to overcome the overpowering and flat romance.

I still think that this is a mostly decent read, especially due to the short length. The fact that it was short made me push on and kept me more interested, but the length was also detrimental to the romance. I think the relationship needed more time to develop. Then again, it being longer might have just dragged out the flat romance. Bit of a catch-22.

I find it interesting that the amount of pages isn't listed on the book info page. Why don't we have this information? I almost think this is a novella-length "book." That's how incredibly short this was. I don't know how any relationship can be properly fleshed out in such a short story. Especially one that starts off in as volatile a place as this one does.

If you can get past my complaints, it's worth a shot to try this one. It wasn't really awful. It just wasn't up to par the in romance department and being that it is mostly romance, that made it a fail for me. I'm pretty sure that diehard Karina Halle fans will be eating this one up, though. They seem to be undeterred in their love of all things Halle, so if you're one of them, you absolutely should read this one.


Are provided for review by Rock Star PR.

I know I read this one as a kid, but I don't remember a damn thing. I should revisit some of King's works.

Not quite as good as book #1, but still good. Gonna sit and think on this one before I decide on a rating.