Book Review: Within A Dream by Tempest C. Avery

I'm back from vacation so first things first! I gotta put up this review!

Book received in exchange for an honest review through Lovers of Paranormal

I'm going to need some help with this review...



Much better.

I don't even know how to start with this one.

On one hand, there's an interesting premise to the book. 4 teenagers are reincarnations of magical beings and have special powers. Bad people are after them and they have to try to protect themselves and learn more about their heritage and their powers.

On the other hand, it was everything but the kitchen sink when it came to the magical/supernatural beings and I was wondering when it would stop. Shall I list them?

You know it.

1) Witches
2) Faeries/Fae
3) Werewolves
4) Aliens
5) Shapeshifters
6) Reincarnations
7) Voodoo/Hoodoo
8) Celtic Mythology
9) Viking Mythology
10) Some Wiccan incorporated



Some bonus features:

A. Insta-love
B. Insta-love + love triangle
C. Insta-love for secondary characters
D. Hot guy on a motorcycle
E. Evil ex-lover type
F. Absentee Parental Units



The characters and the story was interesting enough but there was just too much going on. Too many histories and stories getting mixed together with far too many magical beings. It works in something like Harry Potter because as far as the first book goes, there aren't major characters that are different beings from different planets. You cannot introduce all of these different creatures into a book without it looking like you are trying too hard.

I liked Lily, the main character, fine though. She wasn't completely helpless and she liked to take charge which was nice. Her love interests both occupied the dark broody boy character which was a little typical but it wasn't a bad description of a relationship. It did feel like it was trying to pull on the Shattered series a bit with the old love interest coming to you in dreams but I was able to overlook that part of it.

But there's one thing that doomed this book for me.

PROOFREAD. NOW.

There were typos or misspellings every ten pages if not more frequently. This book desperately needed some editing and a lot of love because there is absolutely no excuse for spelling "melodramatic" as two words. "Mellow dramatic".



So yeah, real rating about a 1.8 so I'm rounding it up to 2 stars. The saving grace was the interesting idea behind the book but there was just too much going on with not enough editing.

Book Review: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

I really need to read more these days. I feel like things have been turned on their head because Taylor is reading books and I'm watching TV. He's reading Red Rising and the rest of the books in the series after I basically told him to read them or else and he is loving them. I knew it. Such good books for guys and we've been having some lovely discussions about themes and characters.

But I digress.

A Court of Thorns and Roses is the first book in a new series by Sarah J. Maas of Throne of Glass fame. This one is definitely different though from that series though. This is another retelling of Beauty and the Beast but in a way that doesn't make me want to throw things and run through the streets screaming. I mean, I think we're all sick to death of the traditional story line and this book takes a different spin on it. 

Alright, before I get distracted again, I want to talk about the cover. While it is a lovely idea, I'm sick to death of black and red covers. Sometimes, they work for me but those tend to be a bit more subtle. I get that black and red are supposed to be the dangerous scary sort of combination but I wish that authors and publishers would mix it up a bit. It's all we see now! Please, I'm begging you. Some other color combination. Use orange. Use green. I'd die a happy woman if you used purple. CHANGE IT UP.

Feyre is a survivor and always has been. She doesn't remember much of the luxury her family used to live in but she does know how to aim a bow and take care of her kills. She knows that she has to work hard or her family will starve and knows equally as well that she will get neither help nor praise for her efforts. Her sisters were used to being taken care of and nothing has changed much there. Her father sees himself as a worthless cripple even though with a little effort, he could get a job. So that's why Feyre is out in the woods, alone, hunting a deer when the biggest wolf she has ever seen stalks into her life. She had heard stories of faeries turning into animals and kills the beast, not knowing what repercussions may follow. Feyre then finds herself spirited away to the land of Faeries and curses where danger not only comes in the form of her captors, but also what lurks in the woodland.

So in the beginning, we have a bit of a Cinderella situation going on. I mean, her sisters are pretty horrible. 

If you haven't seen this version of Cinderella, you're seriously missing out

They used to be a well respected family with money and power but their father lost all of their money and these girls haven't quite gotten over that. They prance around their little town like they are the best thing that ever happened to it because they were brought up with silver spoons in their mouths. Feyre never really experienced all that so she has a bit more humility. You end up hoping that something horrible happens to her sisters because they are the bullies that you always hate in life and literature. You want them to have to work and struggle when they don't seem to initially.

"Nesta cocked her head. I'd seen predators use that movement before. I sometimes wondered if her unrelenting steel would have helped us better survive - thrive, even - if she hadn't been so preoccupied with out lost status."

Moving on though to the actual fairy tale part of all of this. Feyre, in retribution for what she has done, is dragged off through the woods to live in an enchanted faerie castle with a terrifying male who seems to be lacking in the social skills department. Feyre has been told all her life to be scared of faeries. That they're wicked and they control the land and could unleash all sorts of hell on it. But this mysterious masked man isn't all thorns and snarling. And neither is his companion Lucien. 

So Tamlin (big scary fae) and Lucien and everybody else in this particular faerie realm is under some sort of curse. Tamlin and Lucien are both High Fae which means while they are handsome and powerful, they are cursed to wear masks that they cannot remove. But beyond that, both are incredibly attractive. Feyre finds herself being drawn in more and more to Tamlin, her captor, and can no longer see him as the enemy. And then...everything goes to hell in a hand basket.

The fairy tale aspect of this works really well in my opinion. It is definitely Beauty and the Beast but the beast has more personality and charm than the one we always associate with. You get to see into his mind more and understand his pain. And Feyre is more than just a Belle character. She can't read but she is an artist. She paints and tries to make the world a more beautiful place than her reality. She is bitter and cynical and all of the things that would naturally happen if you were left to fend for yourself with nobody's help. The magic works. The curse works. It all is great for me. 

And it's funny! I had some laugh out loud moments in it and the writing is actually pretty good. There's a nice balance between humor, dialogue, world building and introspection.

"He also said that you like being brushed, and if I'm a clever girl, I might train you with treats"

And it's sexy. It's so easy to try to tame fairy tales because it's what we grew up with as kids and we don't want to see them corrupted. But there's some definite tension going on here and Feyre is a mature woman. She is open and honest with herself and isn't some wilting violet. And Tamlin isn't either. He's possessive and dominant. He is fully aware of his sex appeal but he doesn't use it as a weapon. Once he gets over his supremely awkward stage, he is charming and the perfect gentleman most of the time. But when he gets pushed, he has this dark and alluring side that Feyre can't resist. 

"He took my hands. His callused fingers, strong and sturdy, were gentle as he lifted my bleeding hand to his mouth and kissed my palm. As if that were answer enough."

The biggest issue I had with this book, besides the cover, is the ending. And I'm not going to spoil anything for you but it felt a bit rushed sometimes. It had a Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire feel to it and it left me wanting more. The rest of the book had been done so well with all of the world building and character development that the ending just didn't live up to it. It felt like the author was searching for a conclusion. I'm not saying it was terrible but it was just not as good as the rest of the book. 

I will be reading the next one but I hope it builds more. The first book has established a wonderful world and an interesting plot. I desperately hope that the next one lives up to its legacy.

Book Review: The Perilous Sea (Elemental Trilogy #2) by Sherry Thomas

It's been a while but I'm here with a book review! 

The Perilous Sea is the second book in the Elemental Trilogy by Sherry Thomas. The first book was The Burning Sky and while I enjoyed it, it was a bit lackluster in the actual follow through. This was similar which is such a disappointment to me. 

This is another one of those books where you can never quite figure out what your feelings are about it. Think of it as a cross between Harry Potter, Aladdin, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and The Hunger Games. There are wands, flying carpets, bending, and all sorts of other craziness that goes on in this book.

We meet back up with Iolanthe and Titus when they go back to Eton to take on the Bane and then everything starts going a little crazy. Does anybody else remember that season of LOST where they added the flash forwards and you could tell that it was important to the story line but weren't quite sure how and you were just struggling to keep things straight in your mind? It was a bit like that to me.

This definitely had a bit of Second Book Syndrome going for it too, which was incredibly disappointing. Titus kind of turns into a royal jackass and he loses all faith in who he is and what he is supposed to be doing. I can understand having a bit of an existential crisis but to me, he basically threw his hands up and said "Fuck it, we're all gonna die anyways!" which felt weak to me.

Truly, the strongest character in this series is Iolanthe because she not only is an incredibly powerful sorceress but also puts up with Titus' waffling and nonsense. She kind of felt like the sidekick that went along behind the steamrolling main character and cleaned up their messes and got them set back onto the right path. Titus seemed to miss the logic sometimes and she was there to tell him to slow down and think things through.

BUT! Big But!
I did enjoy the book. Once the plot got rolling, it was a fun read despite Titus acting like an idiot for the majority of the book. I enjoyed the banter between him and Iolanthe and there was a healthy dose of romance and cuteness to go along with it.

There was also a bit more *actual* action to this book. The first one seemed like there was a lot of planning going on but the flash forwards allowed for there to be more magic and fighting instead of just training and preparing. They weren't just running scared and trying to figure out what was going on. Once they had a plan, they attempted to execute it.

And the world building was so much better in this book! I love a well constructed world that a series can exist in. The first book, while it was there, it didn't really have any details about the actual space that all of this happened in. There was no real sense of oppression, despite having an apparent evil overlord and the bad guy was far enough away that it didn't really impact anything. The addition of more action helped and it gave the characters more space to inhabit. However, there was still a massive lack of enough bad things going on to the regular people to justify needing a rebellion. As I understood it, only the wealthy and royalty ever felt oppressed in any way and that was because they were dealing with the drama loudly and up close. The normal people never really had anything to do with it. They are free to move about and live how they want for the most part.

The ending though...it is a cliffhanger and this doesn't need a spoiler tag since it is pretty obvious from the first book that there is going to be a battle.

The author spends all of this time and effort building up to a battle and then just stops the book. I hope the next book isn't just about three or four days of the battle and right after because I will throw something. This book covered about 7 weeks of time. It wouldn't have killed the author to just add the battle at the end and then have the next book be the aftermath. But no. Just had to be a cliff hanger. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

But yeah...it's a good book but not one of my favorites. I'll pick up the last one when it comes out so that I can have some resolution but it felt a bit like a filler book and I wanted to punch Titus in the face more than once. It's a quick read and entertaining if you like magic and stupid boys.

So three stars? Three and a half? It wasn't bad but it also wasn't fantastic, you know? I'd explain more but frankly, I have stitches in the tip of one of my fingers and this shit is starting to hurt.

Book Review: Here Be Sexist Vampires by Suzanne Wright

Recommended to me by the lovely Melissa over at Ever So Mela.

I'm sorry Melissa, I tried. Vampire books are still not my thing. It was an enjoyable read but not one that I will be revisiting in the future. It's not that they give me the creeps but I guess part of my mind is screaming at me while I'm reading saying "Vampires are dead! That limits their sex appeal!"

Here Be Sexist Vampires is about a young vampire named Sara who has extraordinary gifts. She has been basically enslaved since her "birth" and is given a chance to escape from that life and make a name for herself in the army of the Grand High Master Vampire. But she is a low ranking Sventé vampire and is looked down on by the beautiful Keja vamps and the strong Pagoris. Sara is out to prove herself in this world of sexist (but undeniably sexy) alpha males and show that everybody, no matter the station of their birth, can be a leader with enough determination and spunk.

I'm going to start off with the cover. It bothers me. So much. It looks like someone tried to render a girl and failed miserably. 

It doesn't match the feel of the book and it looks plain to my eyes. I do like that the electric whip was included (which is one of Sara's powers) but it isn't enough to save it in my mind. It looks like it was done too quickly without enough thought put into it.

I'm still struggling with what actually bothered me about this book. Vampire books that don't depict them as creatures of the night with an unhealthy relationship with blood disappoint me. I feel like part of the reason why vampires could be so interesting as main characters is because of their moral struggle with relying on cognizant beings for their survival. The other option I really enjoy is the manipulative, cruel, but engaging vampire like the ones in The Casquette Girls. Vampires are something to be feared for me but that didn't really happen in this book.

This definitely followed the path of the sexy vampire. Sara is beautiful and attractive and from the very first moment she and Jarrod lay eyes on each other, they want to jump each others bones. Which is fine. No insta-love here.

Jarrod is a Pagori vampire and that makes his strong beyond belief and gives him incredible powers. He doesn't think that Sara can handle all of these men and be a commander to them. He challenges her to take control of the group they are supposed to lead together and assumes that she will never be able to actually help them master their abilities. But she does. And he can't handle it. He likes to fight with Sara to annoy her but he also gets a thrill out of it. Jarrod knows he wants her but doesn't realize how bad for a long time.

“Whether she realised it yet or not, this betting stuff and the constant conflict between us was foreplay.”

Alright, so this is a bit of a girl power book, which is awesome. I love reading about strong women who can handle anything that is put in front of them. Sara is handling twice the derision and scorn because she is not only female but also a low ranking vampire that is considered too tame. But she is unique and pretty and perfect and already has a handle on every gift that she has been given.

I wish we had gotten to see her work harder to control her powers. She starts off perfect and the only character growth she exhibits during the entire book was learning to love again. It's a big thing but when you're about to be attacked by an army of vampires, it shouldn't be a priority.

But all of this being said, it's not a bad book. The secondary characters are fun, engaging, and add a little bit of fun to the book. It's not all about sex and fighting. There isn't excessive amounts of blood and gore like some vampire books have where everybody is always attached to the neck of someone else and making horrendous gulping noises. 

Fletcher is the secretary for both Jarrod and Sara and is the best friend that anybody could ask for. He's honest, straightforward, and amazingly sassy. 

"What? Who? Oh you mean that cross between a whippet and a witch. Personally, I don't know how he can shag something that looks like its just escaped from Azkaban."

He was honestly one of my favorite characters in the book, simply because you know that all he does all day is put up with their sexual tension laden arguments and sit at his desk and plot ways to get them together. 

Another supporting character that stole my heart is Evan, who is Jarrod's brother. He is all charm and smiles. I liked that he wasn't after Sara and was honest with himself throughout the book. Evan knows what he wants and nobody is going to distract him from it. He's still a good friend in the long run and adds a bit of tension between the brothers when Jarrod's caveman tendencies crop up.

The sexy scenes were entertaining at first but they got a little bit repetitive. Both Sara and Jarrod are experienced so there is none of that wilting virgin stuff going on here and they have heat between them. But every time they get together, it follows the same pattern. Sara is sexy. Jarrod is possessive. Jarrod has a thing for dirty talk and being the dominant one. It's fun and had some heat but I got bored with it rather quickly. Jarrod only has one trick and he uses it constantly. Jarrod needs to go read a couple of Cosmos because I would think electrocuting your partner's naughty bits would get a bit tiresome after a while. 

Post vampire sex?

Vampire sex scenes have bothered me for a long time because they don't make sense to me. In most books, vampires are dead. They don't have a heartbeat. Their blood is pretty much useless. So how are they able to get *ahem* excited? It doesn't work physiologically to me and maybe they explained it at some point during the book but I didn't catch it. In addition, if they are dead, then why do they have a thing for each other's blood? Wouldn't it be rotten? I keep imagining them drinking sludge out of each other and it isn't good. Rather gross actually. Even though their blood is clean and it seems that they do have a pulse in this book, it still just doesn't work for me.

This book is a romance at heart and the vampire stuff almost seems to be a secondary thing. The author could have picked being wizards or shifters or werewolves and I feel like the plot wouldn't have changed all that much. The powers made things interesting but it somewhat ignored the standard canon for vampires and strayed dangerously close to Twilight. 

I want my vampires to be evil or at least fighting against being evil. They're dead already. They have nothing to lose. They can do whatever they want, right? Or maybe they should have problems with subsisting off of the blood of living cognizant humans. Even if they are willing and able, I feel like at least one vampire would have issues with it. 

I guess in the end, I was expecting drama, danger, and conflict and while that's present in the book, it wasn't the way I like it. I love reading about personal struggles of right and wrong. This book was mainly romance with a sprinkling of political and military drama. So if you are reading it for that reason, it's a fun book. If you're looking for more than that, this is a bit of a disappointment.

So 2.5 stars from me. I don't like sexy vampire books and this was no exception. I'm trying to get over it but this one just didn't do it for me. 

Book Review: The Deepest Cut by J.A. Templeton

I really need to stop rating books right after I read them. I find that I am often too generous with the ones I truly disliked and later bump them down a star.

The Deepest Cut could have been great. It was an interesting idea that was held back by the writing style and the characterization of the leads. It's not often in a book where you end up truly disliking the main characters but that happened for me with this one. The characters, plot, setting, conflict, and conclusion were all remarkably lackluster.



Riley Williams and her family have moved to Scotland to escape their past. Her mother died in a car accident and ever since then, Riley has been able to see spirits of those who have passed on. So the obvious logical conclusion is to move to a place where history/bloodshed/ghosts/legends are thick on the ground and this poor girl will be tormented. Her brother and father don't believe that she sees ghosts but still, that's a bit of a dick move.



So they move into a haunted inn in the haunted countryside of Scotland where everybody is going to get along and stay out of trouble. This is where Riley encounters Ian McKinnon, a young Scottish lad that was killed around 200 years ago.



Ian is the stereotypical Scottish man we see in every book written about the Highlands. He's tall, handsome with a stunning and sweet personality but the desire to protects his loved ones. As soon as he finds out that Riley can see him, he sticks close by her, desperate to talk to someone who can hear him.



Ian catches Riley cutting herself as a way of releasing the pent up anger, frustration, and hurt of being without her mother. She's sick of being medicated and treated but is still dealing with her past. And that's when everything goes downhill.

Because Ian isn't the only spirit sticking around. There is another ghost roaming around and this one isn't nearly as charming and has a thing for homicide. Riley is determined to save Ian from his eternal wandering but that puts her in danger from being cursed or whatever herself.

The idea is good with this book. The execution is excessively awful.

Riley learns everything about ghosts through Google, a couple of books, and the crazy old ladies in the neighborhood. None of which is actually effective. They really make things worse.

There is little to no consistency about the ghosts, meaning that the author basically ignored all of the standards for ghostliness (non-tangible, mysterious, not able to talk, being tied to one place, creepy as fuck) and fits her ghosts to her standards. Ghosts are able to fly through walls but Riley is able to kiss and cuddle them?

Riley is a whiner too.



I get that you're working through your mother's death and it's difficult but stop acting like such a martyr and step up a little bit. The cutting felt like it was added on as a schtick and it never felt genuine. Her brother and her father lost someone too and it felt like they were just so incredibly done with her.



The town they move into must be the Scottish version of Hollywood because everybody there is fucking gorgeous apparently.



Except the bad guys. Because bad guys can't be pretty ever. (Except Hiddleston. Exception to every rule) The important people are pretty. It was just so over the top cliched that it made me want to throw something. A bunch of teenagers running wild, drinking, partying, and being incredibly stupid with little parental supervision. Is this the YA Paranormal version of every high school teen movie made?

And finally, the romance...



It felt stupid and fake. There are better ways to do ghostly boyfriends and this was the worst rendition of it I've ever seen. The whole point of falling in love with a ghost is that you can't fucking touch them or have any sort of physical relationship. It's supposed to torture you. That never happened in this book. The only inconvenient part of him being a ghost is that he would lost energy. They nearly had ghostly sex which would have been awfully convenient since he couldn't get you pregnant. (OMG Ghost babies)



So yeah...don't waste your time or your money. I got the box set of the series but for the first time, I'm deleting something from my kindle library. It's not worth keeping.