Tuesday, May 28, 2013

A Shade of Vampire (A Shade of Vampire #1) by Bella Forrest

A Shade of Vampire (A Shade of Vampire, #1)
Read in: May, 2013
Format: eBook
Source: Author

Star Rating: ★★★★

Synopsis: 
Sofia Claremont has just landed herself in a predicament. While taking an angst ridden stroll along the shoreline, she's taken away by Lucas Novak, an Elite Vampire. Waking up in a dungeon, she faces near death before being delivered to the freshly awaken Derek, who's been slumbering for 400 years. Shaking with terror herself, Sofia comforts the shaking girl next to her, which Derek takes notice of. With this small act of compassion and humanity, she is chosen by Derek as his favorite. But is this enough for him, and ultimately, for their destiny? 

Prosecution:
Lucas...honey, were you meant to be a supporting character, or a major player, because I'm a little confused. You were taken out of the spotlight but then thrust back in with attention seeking antics, it felt a little like A Shade of Amanda Bynes, except y'know, you were more deadly. Vivienne, Ice Queen, I would have liked to see more of you!! 

Defense:
I gotta say, the beginning was a little shaky, but the ending, oh lawdy. Those cliff hangers, I just hate to love, when done properly. This was angsty, emotional, dare I say...sexy? Yes very very good, sexy. Sofia was the apple to Derek's butter, which I loved. It was obvious from the beginning that these two would be together. 
The writing flow was even! I can see why this novel made it to #1, it was readable! The characters were great! The story wasn't too long or too short, but I still read it in a little over a hundred minutes! 
Do you catch my drift? The tree houses were so vividly described, I'm ready to go off to Vamp Land. Can we talk again about Sofia and Derek? Le sigh. The attraction, the angst, the he said-she said, it doesn't get any better than this, people! The harem (ooh la la), the suspense,thrill,angst,tears. You won't be disappointed; I sure wasn't.

Verdict:
Four stars, yet oh so close to five! While it takes a little to get into, you're soon sucked in. (pun intended c;) The characters, descriptions, just enough angst and emotions, ahh. It was a properly done Young Adult, friends. Not too clean, but just clean enough. 

Eternal by Chantelle Nay

Eternal
Read in: May, 2013
Format: eBook
Source: Author
Star Rating: ★★★
The author provided me with a copy of this novel. This has in no way altered my opinion of the novel, along with the following review. If you have any question or concerns, please message me here

Synopsis: 
17 year old Emma has floated through life in a small town as a loner...until she starts hearing a voice in her head. Now, some people might find this a little majorly strange. How does a seventeen year old even begin to describe this? Well, her guardian angel, Micah, sure enough has all of this answers. Emma happily floats through her last few months of senior year talking to Micah in her head, until Destry asks her to Prom. With Micah encouraging her to get out and talk to humans, can Emma shake the feeling of betrayal she feels about her feelings towards Micah or will she give it all up for Micah?

Prosecution:
Ah, love triangles. All of the wonderful things in life have involved a love triangle (or two). Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, JFK and Marilyn, even Princess Di and Prince Charles (actually, all of this things have been tragic, oops). So whats so different about Emma's? Well, its between an angel and a human. Yeah, no biggie. Except, sometimes the entire thing seemed a little too rushed. Emma, a typical loner, has an overly attached personality (which who can blame her, affection starved thing) becomes quite a predicament for solid Micah, who just wants her to form a human bond with Destry. If you read the novel, you'll find out why. 
What I really wish I could tweak is to make the writing not quite so formal. It would be readable for a few chapters, yet then break up and become rocky. It was distracting and I would find myself skimming through paragraphs waiting for something anything to happen. 

Defense:
While love triangles can be messy, I found this one to be pretty clean cut. I mean, hello, MAJOR PLOT TWIST. Seriously, never saw it coming (except for that little hint of foreshadowing, dun dun dun). Emma was likable and I found myself finding more than a few similarities between our personalities (Introverts, unite!). Destry was the perfect gentleman, if a bit short tempered and easily frustrated (no go man, no go). But the ending, like...whoa. It completely MADE the novel. There weren't really any loose ties or a suspenseful cliff hanger. Just the way I like things. 

Verdict: 
Barely squeaking into third. While the plot twist was pretty great, it basically saved the novel. The triangle was to the point and not messy. Emma battles her feelings of guilt while hers and Destrys' relationship is awkwardly sweet in that only adolescent way. Micah, eh. I wasn't really rooting for him as much as I thought I would, but that's okay, it'll work out, eventually. 

Sunday, May 5, 2013

True by Erin McCarthy

True
Read in: April, 2013
Format: eBook
Source: Netgalley.com
Star Rating: ★★★★

Synopsis (from Goodreads.com): 
When Rory Macintosh’s roommates find out that their studious and shy friend has never been with a guy, they decide that, as an act of kindness they’ll help her lose her virginity by hiring confident, tattooed bad boy Tyler Mann to do the job…unbeknownst to Rory.

Tyler knows he’s not good enough for Rory. She’s smart, doctor smart, while he’s barely scraping by at his EMT program, hoping to pull his younger brothers out of the hell their druggy mother has left them in. But he can’t resist taking up her roommates on an opportunity to get to know her better. There’s something about her honesty that keeps him coming back when he knows he shouldn’t…

Torn between common sense and desire, the two find themselves caught up in a passionate relationship. But when Tyler’s broken family threatens to destroy his future, and hers, Rory will need to decide whether to cut her ties to his risky world or follow her heart, no matter what the cost…

Prosecution: 
As much as I loved Tyler, he could have had a little more common sense, along with development. He was just this stereotypical bad boy from a bad home, trying to take care of his brothers...and that was it. There were no little quirks. No other sides. I was a little disappointed, but this didn't take away from the story. The ending was a little rushed, too. 

Defense:
Well, what can I say? I'm a sucker for a good GREAT romance! It was right up my alley with the falling in love in college with the bad boy. There were the added kicks of her little sorority sisters (still not really understand THAT friendship) friends and their random hook-ups (and hook-downs) along with the wild and crazy emotions of first love. Rory reminded me (not only because of her name) but of Rory from Gilmore Girls (who couldn't love that??). A few mishaps here and there spiced up the story, but its so worth the afternoon to read it. 

Verdict: 
Four stars! It was cute, it was fun, but the ending was just a little too rushed. I'd have preferred the ending to be way longer and not as rushed. 
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