Book Reviews Archives - Page 104 of 115

Blog Tour Stop: Psycho Inside Me by Bonnie R. Paulson Review and Giveaway – Closed

Jan 15, 2014

This is my Tour Stop for Psycho Inside Me by Bonnie R. Paulson this tour is help by Itching for books

First Published: November 30th 2013
Pages: 163 (Kindle)
Publisher: Captiva Publishing
Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

Synopsis

I killed my first victim at thirteen years old – my age, not his. He was going to rape me, him and a couple of his friends. And so, I killed him. And then… I killed again. And again.

At seventeen, I’m killing four to six times a year – maybe more. Don’t stress out. I only go after the paedophiles and rapists. There are more out there than I could cover in a lifetime.

Saying I did this on my own would be selfish. Enforcing justice holds a glory all its own. But now, my lifelong friend and backup, Deegan, has been arrested. I have to decide if I want to give myself up and take his place or leave him with all the damning evidence. I don’t want to stop killing. But if I let him take the fall, I can’t kill anymore. And I need to keep doing that.

But the worst part of it all? I love him.

Review

I received a free copy and that in no way has changed my option on the book.

I wouldn’t’ recommend Psycho Inside Me to anyone under the age of 15, even 16. I didn’t really know what to expect from this book but wow, I was expecting what I read. It was an amazing read full of raw emotions.

The book starts off with a bang, my heart jumped in my chest. I just could not believe what was happening, yes I know somewhat what the books is about but it is so much more. We first get introduced into our main character Cassie in this horrible situation, and my heart is already broken for her.

Reading Psycho Inside Me was weird and interesting all at the same time. We are in the mind of someone who kills. Kills people who are not the best people, but she still kills and it’s quite interesting to be in her mind. How one incident changed our main character or anyone in her situation forever, maybe not for the better in a way. The way that Bonnie R. Paulson writes is very intriguing, it pulled me straight in.

Other than killing people, Cassie is a really interesting character, she is so damn strong but witty at the same time. The way that Cassie speaks and acts, seem like she is so much older than she is

Deegan, let’s talk about our main male protagonist. I love him and hate him. He cares so much for Cassie but has a funny way of showing it most of time. He ignores her for so long, only talks to her when he wants to, only sees her when he wants to. I think that is the an attribute that annoyed me the most of his, also I think a lot at the start Deegan treated Cassie as a kid, yes she was 13 but he was treating her like she was 7. Other than that I really liked him. You could tell that he liked and cared so much for Cassie.

The whole thing they do, with killing these men is all wrong and horrible but so right at the same time. The first few times it was self defence but after time Cassie and even Deegan find they feel some power doing it, they feel good. Psycho Inside Me is very confronting and not for the faint hearted at all. Pyscho Inside Me is full of very raw emotions from all the characters. It’s hard to describe how you feel when reading but you feel everything the characters feel.

There is rarely a time in a YA book or any that I like the mum of our main character. But I loved Cassie’s mum, she was just so nice. She didn’t annoy me at all, she was kind, understanding but still acted like a mum. What happens to her, broke everyone apart. I disliked Cassie’s dad a lot, and when I say a lot, I mean a lot. He just got on my nerves.

I really liked the way that Bonnie R.Paulson set out the novel, how it skipped years and only lasted a few days at a certain age. It was original and different and I really liked it. Except with this it lacked a little in characterisation of both Cassie and Deegan.

I also liked that the author added that Deegan and Cassie getting tattoo’s everytime they ‘kill’ someone. I am a tattoo person all the way so it was really interesting.

The way things end before the epilogue was intense. It was full of action, creepiness. It was epic and my heart broke for nearly everyone. The epilogue was just, my heart, it made me smile a lot even though I wanted to hit Cassie’s dad. But the Deegan and Cassie moments. Just *sigh*

Psycho Inside Me was very short but very original sometimes creepy novel with a bittersweet ending that made me smile.

I Give Psycho Inside Me 4 stars out of 5

Quotes;

‘But how can what I’ve done be good, right? It’s wrong to kill. It’s wrong to feel good about it. It’s wrong to think about a possible next one”

About the Author

There are people who know a lot about a little, we’ll call them experts. Then there are people, like Bonnie, who don’t specialize, but rather gather information like pebbles in their pockets and drop them like Hansel & Gretel in the stories they write.
The question is, do you want to follow them back?
Certified as a Radiologic Technologist, Bonnie prefers a touch of medical in her storylines.
Don’t be surprised if romance somehow runs through a hospital or comes in contact with a paramedic. It’s just how she rolls. And you know there’s nothing more romantic than an 18 gauge needle poking your vein!
She and her Hubs delight in dirt biking, snowboarding, fishing, cooking, eating, spending time together and more with their adorable children.

www.bonnierpaulson.com | twitter.com/bonnierpaulson | facebook.com/bonpaulson

And Now for the Giveaways, yes I did just say giveaways. You could win $20 Amazon gift card in the tour wide giveaway which is opened to everyone. But I am also having a small giveaway. You could win an ebook version of Psycho Inside Me. There are 2 up for grabs It is opened to everyone. All you have to do is fill out the Rafflecopter. Good Luck! Also don’t forget to check out the other stops

a Rafflecopter giveaway

ARC Book Review and Giveaway: Resisting the Hero (An Accidentally in Love Novel #3) by Cindi Madsen Closed

Jan 13, 2014

First Published: January 13th 2014
Pages: 254 (ebook)
Publisher: Entangled: Bliss
ISBN: 1622662865
Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU – Kobo –

Synopsis

Faith Fitzpatrick isn’t looking for a hero. Burned one too many times in the past, she’s now sworn them off completely. And when her brother’s best friend, Connor, convinces him to join the dangerous SWAT team, Faith has never been more anti-hero. What’s wrong with having a safe job? There’s nothing safe about Connor. Confident, sexy, and sporting a six-pack that should be illegal, he’s everything she doesn’t want.

When his best friend’s sister moves to town, local cop Connor Maguire knows he’s in trouble. Faith is feisty, funny, and talks trash like nobody’s business. She’s also his partner’s sister—and so totally off limits. Working on the Fall Festival together, they agree to a truce and become friends. But the more time Connor spends with Faith, the more he’s willing to risk the wrath of her brother. If he could only convince her to take a risk on him, too.

Review

I received a free copy in exchanged for an honest review, it in no way influenced my review.

This is the second novel I read from Bliss Publishing and I have loved both. Resisting the Hero is a cute yet very emotional and moving story that traps your heart and pulls you right in from the start. I didn’t read the previous 2 novels before I read Resisting the Hero and I have no trouble connecting with the characters or the story line in any way.

I really liked practically everything about this books, from the characters to the plot to the writing. Cindi Madsen is an amazing writer, she just seems to captivate me from the start. Just the way that Resisting the Hero started off, I really cannot explain it maybe it was just me.

I loved the main character Faith, she is this strong, sassy, sometimes one minded girl that hides behind it all to protect herself from pain. I like that we get to see a vulnerable side to our main character, how she is so haunted from her past that she can’t even go to certain places or be with certain people because of what she went through. I totally understand the way she is, the reasoning to why Faith is that way is just heartbreaking and emotional. She is tormented by something that hurt her so much, also adding the fact of all the other problems.

I think you will too when you read Resisting the Hero. She builds up this wall and believes that she cannot date ‘the hero’ but then you bring Conner Maguire into the equation.

I love Conner, he is sweet and caring and yes he might be a bit of a man whore but a girl can defiantly change that. He is just amazing , he makes me smile every time he talks about Faith and just add in that he is super hot. Conner changes when he meets Faith, I love seeing this change, it’s just makes me smile. Faith and Conner are both better for each other, they help one another through the hard times.

My heart melts at so many of those cute moments between Conner and Faith, they are just so cute. Yes it might be cliche the older brother’s friend but I just love it. The little moment they have when they are getting things ready for the Fall Festival is just shfkashfh.

Anna! Oh my heart weeps for Anna and Kaleb as well. They are both just wonderful characters and they make the novel that much more realistic than it already was. I really like Anna, there was nothing that wasn’t likeable. I liked Kaleb and disliked him at the same time. The thing I didn’t like about him was his protective older brother side, he just got on my nerves and I wanted to scream at him most of the time, but then again I loved this side as it showed just how much he cares about Faith.

I wish there was some more character development in the minor characters but in saying that there was really good character development in both Faith and Conner, which I loved. Sometimes it’s really hard to find great character development in both our main characters really.

I really liked how the book was written, how we got the perceptive of both Faith and Conner, we got to see or read how they both feel, the effect they had on each other. The way they make each other feel.

The ending oh what an ending, my heart stopped for a minute there, it nearly ripped me to pieces. It brought out the best in both Faith and Conner. We witness how much Conner loves Faith, she sees it.

Cindi Madsen writes a brilliant, heartfelt, sweet novel about a girl who with the right boy can overcome heartbreak and a life that haunted her for quite a while.

I Give Resisting the Hero 4 out of 5 stars

Now Time for the giveaway. You could win an ebook of Resisting the Hero by the lovely Cindi Madsen. All you have to do is fill out the Rafflecopter. This giveaway is open to everyone.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Review: The Golden Lily (Bloodlines #2) by Richelle Mead

Jan 2, 2014

First Published: June 12th 2012
Pages: 418 (Paperback)
Publisher: RazorBill (Penguin)
ISBN: 9781921518478
Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

Synopsis

Sydney Sage is an Alchemist, one of a group of humans who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the worlds of humans and vampires. They protect vampire secrets—and human lives. Sydney would love to go to college, but instead, she’s been sent into hiding at a posh boarding school in Palm Springs, California–tasked with protecting Moroi princess Jill Dragomir from assassins who want to throw the Moroi court into civil war. Formerly in disgrace, Sydney is now praised for her loyalty and obedience, and held up as the model of an exemplary Alchemist. But the closer she grows to Jill, Eddie, and especially Adrian, the more she finds herself questioning her age–old Alchemist beliefs, her idea of family, and the sense of what it means to truly belong. Her world becomes even more complicated when magical experiments show Sydney may hold the key to prevent becoming Strigoi—the fiercest vampires, the ones who don’t die. But it’s her fear of being just that—special, magical, powerful—that scares her more than anything. Equally daunting is her new romance with Brayden, a cute, brainy guy who seems to be her match in every way. Yet, as perfect as he seems, Sydney finds herself being drawn to someone else—someone forbidden to her. When a shocking secret threatens to tear the vampire world apart, Sydney’s loyalties are suddenly tested more than ever before. She wonders how she’s supposed to strike a balance between the principles and dogmas she’s been taught, and what her instincts are now telling her. Should she trust the Alchemists—or her heart?

Review

Richelle Mead you have done it again. You have blown me away with your amazing writing that seems to captivate me. Golden Lily is much more fast paced then Bloodlines which I loved. It is more interesting and more suspenseful which I think Mead does best. There is excellent character development of pretty much all of the characters through out the whole novel, as the novel goes on each character grows more and more. I really like Sydney from the moment we meet her in the 4th Vampire Academy Book, Blood Promise and through Bloodlines I grew to like her even more, but with the confidence she grew through this book, I grew to love her. She starts to think more about the Alchemist, about how far they take things, about what they say isn’t that true. She goes against what she believes in for people she doesn’t even like that much. Adrian just, what can I say! I thought I loved him a lot already but the way he acts, especially towards Sydney makes my heart melt. I think the problem with Adrian is that he cares too much for people that let him down. He cares for Jill and then slowly for Sydney. Just all the little things he does for her and she doesn’t realise his feelings, it made my heart flutter. The interactions between Adrian and Sydney, oh my. Like the moment after they go to meet Adrian’s Dad it was just beautiful. There is so many heartfelt scenes between them. Not just romantic but those scenes that are much more. They know each other like they have known each other forever. They understand each other like no one else can. I also liked that we got to see more of the Vampire Academy character that we know and love. We got to see a lot of Dimitri, I just couldn’t keep the fangirl in myself down. I love that we got to see the side of Dimitri that we didn’t get to see that much in VA. We get to hear more about him and Rose, and their relationship and if you didn’t know it already we get to see that he really does love Rose. Eddie, oh how I feel sorry for him! Just why can’t he be happy for once, that’s all I want for him. He always wants to make others around him happy but never himself and when he does it backfires on him. Angelina became bearable to a point but then what she does, just makes me so angry and frustrated, I can’t really blame her to a point because she doesn’t really know how to live. She cracked me up so many times, she is so childlike in a way. Jill. Let’s talk about Jill. Gosh, I just feel so sorry for her. She just wants to have a normal life, have a boyfriend, have fun, but because of that fact that she is in hiding she can’t do that. She has been thrown into this world, where she really doesn’t have a say and I love that she somewhat keeps that Jill from VA that we all know and love. I loved that Richelle brought out the element of magic in the book, it was totally cool and awesome, and the fact that Sydney can use it, made it that much awesome. Richelle Mead knows how to compel an audience; she knows how to draw them in. She creates suspense. Her writing is so captivating; you are so into the story that, I felt everything. I think maybe because I have been with most of these characters for so long that I am so attached to them. I mean, wouldn’t you if you read have been reading about them for about 6 years. The Golden Lily brings out the best in Mead, there is suspense, dramatic changes, things happen that I didn’t even know could or would. She created more of this already fascinating world. Each book just seems to get bigger and better. This is an honest review and my love for Vampire Academy and Bloodlines does not influence my review it in any matter. I just cannot wait to see more Adrian and Sydney moments that make me want to laugh or cry.

Quotes;

“But … Why? Why would you want to do that” “Why?” he asked “Because it was the closest I i could get to doing this” He reached out and pulled me to him, one hand on my waist and the other behind my neck. He tipped my head up and lowered his lips to mine’ ‘But perhaps the best part of all was that I, Sydney Katherine Sage, guilty of constantly analysing the world around me, well, I stopped thinking. And it was glorious.’ “She’s not the one I’m always thinking about anymore. I don’t see her face when I go to sleep. I don’t wonder about … you inspire me in every act, every word, every glance. I look at you and you’re like… like the lights made into flesh….you are the most beautiful creature I have ever seen walking this earth.” “This ‘lifestyle’ and ‘belief system’ you’re defending, have used you and keep using you. They treat you like a machine, one that’s not allowed to think – and you’re better than that”