Madame X (Madame X #1) by Jasinda Wilder

Title: Madame X
Series: Madame X
Author: Jasinda Wilder
Genres: Romance/Drama/Dark/Adult

Maturity Rating: 17+
*WARNING: TRAUMA TRIGGERS* 

Overall Rating:

My Quickie Synopsis: Madame X lives in a plush world of sophistication where she caters to only the privileged and most elite of society-but it's not in the way that you might expect. She's a mistress in the art of class, confidence and control; her job is to impart this knowledge to the entitled yet thoroughly ignorant sons of her clientele. However, her carefully constructed reality and identity threaten to come crumbling down when a few chance encounters force her to question her lifestyle and circumstances.

Micro Review: I typically don't like doing micro reviews because I feel that they do a disservice to the book and author. That being said, I also realize that most people don't give two flying craps about technicalities. I get it and I can appreciate it. So, I'll try the condensed version out for a while. We'll see how long it lasts!
On to the juicy bits though-
Madame X is probably going to be unlike anything you've read in a while and I say that purely from the standpoint of the writing style. There are certain aspects of the story told in a kind of diary-style second person; it takes a while to get used to, but it certainly adds a richness to the story. On top of that, I can't think of many authors that would be brave enough to tackle that point of view and then go on to excel with it.
That's just the tip of the iceberg here; the most compelling aspects of the book are the characters themselves. The titular character, Madame X, is a veritably complex woman and you can't help but to feel an emotional connection to her the deeper you find yourself immersed in her world. The supporting cast of characters each come with their own skeletons and emotional baggage, and X's interactions with each of them spark a slow shift in her perspective. These interactions alone will probably have you reading all night just to see what X will get herself into next.

You're hurting my heart, X!

I will say that I personally was disappointed with a few of X's choices, but the fact of the matter is that everything made perfect sense, And honestly, as a reader, you can't really ask for anything more. There are several difficult topics explored within Madame X, and each one is handled with a certain poise alongside a dose of harsh reality that you just don't see as often in modern romance novels. Don't get me wrong; there's plenty of romantic fantasy to be had within the story, but it's grounded by the heavier issues that Ms. Wilder introduces in a seamless way.
In line with the majority of reviews that are already out regarding this book, I too do not want to give too much away. It's a book that has to be experienced with a fresh pair of eyes.

My Icing on Top:
It's really rare for me to rate a book at five stars. This is only the second book I've rated as such for books I've read in 2015. To put that in a bit of perspective, I've rated 83 books this year. I know that this book won't be for everyone, as the subject matter is on the graphic side; however, if you're up for reading a superb modern drama with a twist of dark romance and plenty of thought provoking moments, please pick up Madame X the next chance that you get.

Check out my informal review on goodreads!

As always, happy reading!

-K

One More Night (One Night #2) by A.M. Willard

Title: One More Night
Series: One Night #2
Author: A.M. Willard
Genre: Romance/Adult

Maturity Rating: 17+
*WARNING*: VERY GRAPHIC SCENES

My Quickie Synopsis: Angela is finally back home and she's ready to figure out where things stand with her husband. But Christopher isn't being as receptive as she would have hoped, and his secretive behavior isn't helping matters. As Logan's determination to see her again increases, Angela quickly finds herself at a cross-roads. Is her marriage worth saving, or is her future with Logan?

Enjoyment Factor: 
As a quick recap, I did a review of the first novella for this series here. I've opted to not do an overall or technical rating until the series is complete because of the length of these novellas. On to the review!
I'm still not overly impressed with the editing, but it is a lot better! My main concern is the lack of semicolons! Don't be afraid of them; they are your friend! See what I did there? I'm a semicolon pimp, and possibly a little neurotic. I'll give an example because the teacher in me demands it. I'm pulling it from the first page, so you don't have to worry that I'm spoiling anything.

"I can't think straight, I thought I would never see him again after he left my room last night."

There are a few different ways that the above comma splice can be fixed. Obviously, as a semicolon pimp, my number one fix would simply be to change the comma.

"I can't think straight; I thought I would never see him again..."

The next fix would be to use a subordinate conjunction. The semicolon actually implies it, but sometimes it's better to show the relationship between the two clauses.

"I can't think straight because I thought I would never see him again..."

Finally, you could separate the two independent clauses. I would only use this fix if the two clauses weren't related at all. That isn't the case here, but I'll show it for the sake of the example.

"I can't think straight. I thought I would never see him again..."

But enough about that! On to the good!

How I wanted Angela to respond at the end!

The writing flowed much better this time around. Instead of spending time explaining what characters were about to do, we got right into the action. And there was quite some steamy action there! The dialogue felt a bit more natural, and it was easier to focus on the story as it developed. I'm rooting for Angela; I'm not sure how I'd react in such a situation!
The ending made me laugh a little though; the word "examine" in the last sentence felt a little clinical and cold. It would have worked if I thought that Angela was truly that detached from it all, but considering the fact that she responded, I think a warmer phrasing could have been used. I know that's vague as hell, but I'm trying to avoid giving anything away; buy One More Night so you can see what I mean!


My Icing on Top:
One More Night is an example of why I generally enjoy reading from new authors, and I do mean that sincerely. When it comes to a dedicated author, you get to see incredible development sometimes. There is a great deal of improvement between the first novella of the series and the second. Could it still use work? Absolutely. However, I'm happy to see growth already! It's my hope that this pace of refinement continues into the third novella and onward. I look forward to the conclusion of the One Night series; let's hope Angela gets what she wants!

Check out my informal review on Goodreads!

Happy reading!

-K

Blood Shadows (Blackthorn #1) by Lindsay J. Pryor

Title: Blood Shadows
Series: Blackthorn #1
Author: Lindsay J. Pryor
Genre: Romance/Paranormal/Adult/Urban Fantasy

Maturity Rating: 17+
*WARNING*: VERY GRAPHIC SCENES
Overall Rating:

My Quickie Synopsis: Caitlin Parish is running out of time; she knows that whatever killed her parents is going to come after her next, even if no one believes her theories. Her best bet is to get answers out of the elusive vampire, Kane, a being notorious for his cunning brutality and irresistible charm. But Kane has his own agenda concerning Caitlin and it may not include playing nicely.

Enjoyment Factor:
For the most part, Blood Shadows is a very engaging read. I enjoyed the world-building immensely, although I do wish that Ms. Pryor went into more detail about the lore surrounding it. However, as it is with most paranormal/fantasy series, I'm sure that she'll reveal more over the span of the next installments.

You've been warned.

The sensuality of this book is through the roof; I will admit that some of said sensuality is a little questionable (slightly dubious on the consent at times). Kane is quite the persistent vampire and Caitlin, in my opinion, is just a tad unstable.
I originally wanted to give Blood Shadows a four out of five. I finished this book a couple of days ago and was all set to give it a nice and glowing review. But now that I've come back to it and reviewed my notes, I had trouble justifying the rating. That's never a good sign! The story is memorable, but it sometimes drags. A great deal of the book is spent solely on the interactions between the main characters in one locale; it gets old pretty quickly. Yes, I enjoyed the steamy bits, but give me more non-sexually-charged action, please!

Technical Rating:

Character Building:
Every scene, in its own way, lends a hand to building the personalities of the characters, and it's extremely well done. The only character that could have used more work was Xavier; I understood Rob and Max in their supporting character roles, but Xavier felt a little incomplete.

Plot Strength:
While I don't necessarily believe that there's such a thing as the over-development of characters, I did see a lack of balance between their build and the strength of the plot. Ms. Pryor has such a great concept in Blood Shadows, but her focus on the growth of the relationship between Caitlin and Kane drowns it out. A lot of the heavier plot driving doesn't come into play until the book is nearly over.

Sincerity:
My heart went out to both Caitlin and Kane numerous times! Their situations felt very real and it was absolutely heartbreaking. It's not an easy feat to humanize a story that's set in a world steeped in fantasy, but Ms. Pryor successfully did so.

Editing:
There were a few minor glitches here and there, such as misplaced words. For example, there was a sentence that said "within in" instead of "within it." So, like I said, little things. But, if you haven't noticed already, I'm a little neurotic when it comes to errors! However, they're so few and far between in Blood Shadows, so it doesn't really affect the story.
As a side note, I am far from perfect, and I make mistakes all the time. In fact, there are a few in this very blog! Don't worry; I'm just as harsh on myself, guys!

Pacing:
Because the character development and the plot development weren't balanced, the story dragged at times. Instead of character growth being woven into the plot, Ms. Pryor seemed to take a series of character time-outs. It almost felt like each character interaction had its own little time bubble surrounding it, where the plot slowed down considerably.

My Icing on Top:
I'm not going to lie; I want more Kane and Caitlin! But, guess what? The next books aren't even focused on them! Believe me when I say that I was not a happy camper when I found out. Blackthorn is one of those paranormal series that bounces around between different couples until the story lines converge. Alas, I was not looking for that kind of commitment! These series can become incredibly long, and if you become overly attached to one couple over the others, it can quickly become very frustrating and expensive to keep up. But, if you love these kinds of series and are looking for a hot paranormal read, look no further! Blackthorn is shaping up to be a solid series, and Ms. Pryor is now on my list of authors to follow.

Check out my informal review on Goodreads!

Happy reading!

-K

One Night (One Night #1) by A.M. Willard

Title: One Night
Series: One Night #1
Author: A.M. Willard
Genre: Romance/Adult

Maturity Rating: 17+

My Quickie Synopsis: Angela Stephens is beginning to realize that she's at a standstill in her marriage with Christopher; their jobs have them constantly traveling, and they rarely see each other these days. Planning on rekindling her relationship with Christopher, Angela is derailed by a handsome stranger she meets on a business trip. Will she be able to resist his charm, or will she succumb to an offer of one night?

Enjoyment Factor:
I want to tackle a couple of things before I get into the reasoning behind this rating. First and foremost, I probably would not have had this novella on my radar if it weren't for a friend's recommendation. This is a new author, and I'm going to go on a limb and say that my friend is acquainted with Ms. Willard and wanted to help spread the word about her debut. Secondly, I'm not going to give One Night an overall rating or a technical rating; it isn't because I don't think it's deserving of one, but rather that I don't think there's much to go on at this point. If I read the next two novellas I'll give the full series an overall rating and a true technical rating.

I'm not trying to be a jerk; I really do understand that it's not easy to write a book!

So, why did I give this only two stars? The writing, the writing, the writing. I think the plot itself has potential, and the characters are likable enough; however, it's all wrapped up in some very awkward and stiff writing. Honestly, it was to the point where I had difficulty reading through. There was a great deal of telling instead of showing. Don't tell me what your character is going to do, just show the action. It's a waste of valuable page real estate to have a character explain what they are going to do before they do it, especially if it's something as mundane as taking a shower. The dialogue wasn't as consistent as it could have been; there were times where contractions weren't used and they should have been. It would be one thing if you had a character who never used contractions because they're supposed to be "proper," but when the voice of the character isn't consistent, it creates a stilted read. I do feel that One Night could benefit from another round of editing; misuse of commas, missing commas, run-on sentences, and a slew of other grammatical errors plagued the story. Regardless of the length, I just can't get into a story that has such rough writing.

My Icing on Top:
I really don't like giving books low ratings, especially when it's a book that comes recommended. It makes me feel like I'm being so disloyal! That being said, I do believe that Ms. Willard has potential. I think that with a bit more polish and more writing under her belt, she could really go far. I would recommend this book to fans of the adult romance genre who aren't particular about grammatical errors; as I said before, the story itself is okay, it was just the presentation that I took issue with.

Check out my informal review on Goodreads!

Happy reading!

-K

Drawn by Lilliana Anderson

Title: Drawn
Author: Lilliana Anderson
Genre: Adult/Romance/Dark

Maturity Rating: 17+
*WARNING*: VERY GRAPHIC SCENES
Overall Rating:

My Quickie Synopsis: Henrietta is suffocating under the overprotective thumb of her father. However, she finally gets the chance to make her own rules; when she turns 18 her father agrees to let her leave the nest. While enjoying her freedom, she meets the highly attractive Damien and sparks fly. But, is Henrietta simply trading in her new-found independence for the shackles of lust?

Enjoyment Factor:
Oh, boy. What the hell did I just read? I'm not going to lie; I skimmed through portions of this book (namely the multitude of sex scenes). I can't recall being this incredibly naive when I was 18. I don't even recall anyone I knew at the time being this dense. I honestly just wanted to slap Henrietta. And her mom. And her dad. Just line them up and we can get this over with quickly. The book started off okay and it seemed like it had some good material to work with. But then it just kept devolving until it was unbearable. The sad thing is, I can still see why others would enjoy this read. For that and the ending alone, I give Drawn two stars.

How I felt for at least 75% of the book.

I understand that the story is supposed to be dark, but I didn't see a point to any of it. I didn't care about these characters. At all. If they have any redeeming qualities, they're all lost in the swamp land of a plot.







Technical Rating:

Character Building:
Ms. Anderson's characters do have potential. There are the faint beginnings of foundation elements for her main heroine/hero, but they aren't as strong as they could be. A lot of their personality traits feel forced on the reader, to the point where I was more annoyed than sympathetic. The supporting characters are full-on terrible though; Aaron's role didn't sit well at all.

Plot Strength:
Was there really a plot? If so, I missed it. Maybe their relationship in itself was the plot? Seriously, I'm at a loss here; why did I just spend time reading about a naive girl and her controlling boyfriend? There's nothing there to keep a reader engaged (unless you're reading it for the smut). The attempts at plot elements were weak and uninspired; I'm honestly surprised I finished the book.

Sincerity:
I still have a difficult time believing how someone could be so naive, but it works (to a point) in terms of how Henrietta grew up. The "darker" parts of the story felt the most sincere, oddly enough. But everything else just seemed so shallow and fake. I had a hard time believing that Henrietta's father would condone Damien being around his daughter at all. And Aaron was just so lackluster! So much for having someone to root for!

Editing:
There was a lot of awkward wording and dialogue in Drawn. Sometimes I wonder if it was due to a cultural disconnect; the author is Australian, so I did stumble over some of the slang. I'm not discrediting the editing for the slang though; it's always interesting to learn new things. However, I think overall Drawn was just a little too verbose in places and stiff in the presentation.

Pacing:
Too much smut and too little story-telling made the book drag in a bad way. There were spots where Ms. Anderson did okay keeping the book moving forward, but it's hard to keep a good pace when there are so many plot holes to stumble on.

My Icing on Top:
The epilogue felt a little rushed and jumbled; it seemed more like a preview into the next book instead of an actual epilogue. That being said, apparently Ms. Anderson is writing two separate concluding books in a "choose-your-adventure" kind of fashion. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about that; although, then again, I'm not sure I care enough to read on anyway. I'd suggest Drawn to readers who want their fix of dominant male smut, but don't necessarily want to be bothered with too much story.

Check out my informal review on Goodreads!

Happy reading!

-K

Darkness Falls (Reveler #1) by Erin Kellison

Title: Darkness Falls
Series: Reveler #1
Author: Erin Kellison
Genre: Adult/Urban Fantasy/Romance/Science Fiction

Age Recommendation: 17+
*WARNING*: VERY GRAPHIC SCENES
Overall Rating:

My Quickie Synopsis: Lucid dreams are now all the rage, but Jordan Lane isn't convinced that it deserves the hype. She is eventually cornered by her sister into trying lucid dreaming at a host party, where she meets the handsome and mysterious Malcolm Rook. Together they find pleasure beyond their wildest dreams, but also find terror rooted deeply within the shadows of their nightmares.

Initial Rating:

My Initial Response: Again, this comes from the anthology that I've been reading over the past week. It's called Dark and Deadly: Eight Paranormal Bad Boys of Romance. Click the link to buy it from Amazon; it's still only $0.99, so it's quite the steal! Anyway, this was a nice surprise. This is the first time I've read anything by Ms. Kellison and I enjoyed all eight chapters of Darkness Falls. Yep, you read that right. It's only eight chapters, but quite a bit can happen in such a short span! This is the main reason why I have to say hats off to Ms. Kellison. Somehow she built a complete world, full of rich characters and an intriguing plot line, within a few keystrokes (or penstrokes, if you will). Not an easy feat, by any means!

What I imagine the Reve island to feel like. So peaceful!

One of the other reasons why I'm rating this as a four is because she actually left me wanting for more. As I've said before, I don't like novellas; they are generally lacking in multiple areas that are important to me. But! I am slowly warming up to the idea of reading more novellas, and Darkness Falls has a lot to do with that. The first thing I did after I finished reading it was to check to see if the next book was already out. Color me surprised when I found out that it didn't center on Malcolm and Jordan. Very disappointed! However, upon checking again just now (just to make sure!), it looks like all information about the story has been pulled, so who knows what's in store. If you do end up purchasing the anthology, there is a snippet from the supposed next book Lay Me Down, and you'll see what I mean about it being centered on other characters.

Technical Rating: 

Character Building: 
It's interesting to me that Ms. Kellison was able to build her characters so well in such a short span when other established authors struggle to give life to their characters with twice, three times, four times, the span of what Ms. Kellison used. Not only do you connect with her main characters, but you develop a connection to some of the supporting characters as well.

Plot Strength:
There are a couple of glaring holes that cannot be ignored; however, a lot of them have to do with the overall series' plot from what I understand, so my assumption is that they will be answered as Ms. Kellison moves through the series. But, the ending was extraordinarily abrupt, and not in a good, "edge of your seat," what-a-cliffhanger sort of way.

Sincerity:
The only thing that really threw me was how quickly Jordan accepted everything. It makes sense if you think about it overly much, but I think that in this case, it was only done to save page space. Other than that, the world feels genuine and the plot seems organic.

Editing:
Full star!

Pacing:
This novella is very fast-paced, but it has to be for the amount of material that it covers. It works well with the plot though, because it makes it an action-packed thriller of sorts. Would I necessarily say that this fits in the thriller genre? Not so much. But, it is a thrilling read!

My Icing on Top:
I like this author! It actually had story to it and it wasn't just about the romance. Actually, even if you took the romance angle out of it, it would still be a highly entertaining read. There's really only one scene of steaminess, and it doesn't take up 75% of the book. Sorry, I'm still disappointed about the last couple of romp-fest novellas I forced down. I would love it if Ms. Kellison took these ideas and expanded them into a full-length novel, but as it stands now I think she's going to stick with a novella series. Only time will tell, though! If you're looking for a romance story but want something that has a well-thought out plot that doesn't heavily rely on the romance, pick up Darkness Falls!

Check out my informal review on Goodreads!

Happy reading!

-K

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Title: Gone Girl
Author: Gillian Flynn
Genre: Mystery/Suspense/Thriller/Contemporary

Maturity Rating: 17+
Initial Rating: 5/5
Technical Rating: 5/5

My Quickie Synopsis: Nick Dunne finds himself in a whirlwind of trouble when his wife, Amy, goes missing from their quiet town. Although they played the picture perfect couple, Nick quickly arouses the suspicion of both local authority and former friends alike. But he stands by his innocence, even as his world is crumbling around him, and his daydreams turn slightly psychotic. What happened to the beautiful Amy Dunne, and who is to blame?

My Initial Response: Gone Girl is one of those polarizing books. You'll either love it, or you'll hate it. Do you remember when I reviewed Avoiding Commitment by K.A. Linde? Well, this story is somewhat like that in the sense that the concepts that Ms. Flynn writes about aren't the normal, fluffy, light crap. Which is understandable for a Mystery/Thriller. But the main reason why I compare the two is because the main comment against the books are their gross levels of wrongness. The difference for me, however, is that the level of wrongness in Gone Girl feels undeniably right for the story.

My dual reactions upon figuring it out

I don't want to get into too many specifics; with any mystery review, I feel you run the risk of spoiling the plot. That being said, once you figure out what's going on, be prepared to feel at least a tiny twinge of "What the hell?!" That's a sort of hallmark for a good mystery book, don't you think? I feel at odds for enjoying this book though. It's so dark and depraved, that you begin to wonder about the state of your own mind when you can be entertained by such things. There's a saying for that; "I looked into the abyss, and the abyss looked back." That's probably a bastardization of the actual quote, but you get what I mean. On to the technical side!

Character Building: 1/1
All of these characters are incredibly flawed. Every. Single. One. And yet, Ms. Flynn somehow miraculously makes it all work and makes it so the reader understands these flaws with what seems like little effort. The characters in Gone Girl are not the kind that you actively want to feel a connection to, but you can't help it. It's the same idea of not being able to pull away from some horrifically terrible scene unfolding. The level of magnetism that these characters have is outstanding, and I have to applaud Ms. Flynn for her terrific character building.

Plot Strength: 1/1
Any mystery or thriller is made or broken by the strength of its plot. Too much information too early, and readers already know what's going to happen and are more likely to become bored. Too little information too late, and readers can't even begin to understand what happened or why. Gone Girl finds the happy medium, and as a reader, you can follow right along, gobbling it all up. Granted, I know a few people who figured it all out a little sooner than maybe Ms. Flynn would have liked, but that happens. You can't fool them all!

Sincerity: 1/1
Ms. Flynn creates a very believable story-line. Is it crazy? Absolutely! Does it work? You betcha! The truth of the matter is that we all know people that are just like the main characters to varying degrees. It's not a stretch that such events could happen. I mean, turn on your local news, or simply peruse the bizarre stories posted to online newspapers. Stranger things have happened!

Editing: 1/1
No complaints here. The language is a little rough sometimes, but it goes with the story, so it's more than acceptable.

Pacing: 1/1
I think that the pacing here is just right. It can be frustrating at times though when you want Ms. Flynn to reveal everything, but patience is a virtue. The build-up is for a reason, and it's worthwhile in the end.

My Icing on Top:
I haven't been into mystery books really since my days of reading Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys and The Boxcar Children. That was quite some time ago! But Ms. Flynn here may have thrust me back into the genre full force. This isn't quite the sleuth-tale that I was used to, but it really worked for me. And beyond that, it must have worked for quite a few people since a movie is currently in the works. I'm not entirely sure how they'll nail down the feel for the book since a great deal of it is internal storytelling, but I look forward to seeing it, nonetheless. I would suggest this book if you're in for a new mystery/suspense book to read; just be warned that it isn't going to be a smooth ride getting to the conclusion!

Check out my informal review on Goodreads!

Happy reading!

-K

Bewitch (Vampire Erotic Theater #5) by Felicity Heaton

Title: Bewitch
Series: Vampire Erotic Theater #5
Author: Felicity Heaton
Genre: Erotic Romance/Adult/Paranormal

Maturity Rating: 17+
*WARNING*: VERY GRAPHIC SCENES
Initial Rating: 3/5
Technical Rating: 3.5/5

My Quickie Synopsis: Payne, both vampire and incubus, is on the hunt for a solution to his friends' problem. He quickly realizes that the charming witch Elissa may hold the key to uncovering what he seeks. Elissa is harboring secrets of her own and agrees to help Payne only to aid in her own quest. After an explosive night of passion, the pair must work together to overcome the obstacles standing not only in the way of their goals, but each other.

My Initial Response: Have you ever read any of the stories posted on eHarlequin or in the romance section of Literotica*? No? Oh, yeah. Me neither, ha!

I need a break from all that hot steaminess!

Ah, but in all seriousness, this story feels a lot like those stories. Don't get me wrong; there's some pretty good writing to be found throughout, but it's with one heck of a sexual charge. There's a time and place for that; better yet, there's a mood for that. Honestly, I just wasn't into it. There are a lot of graphic scenes, and for a book that's so short, it feels like it monopolizes the story. They were well-written, but I found myself skimming over a lot of it towards the end.
I read Ms. Heaton's first book in this series a long time ago, but I couldn't remember my impression of it. However, after finishing this story, I understood that my lack of recollection was due to how overly blase Ms. Heaton's writing can be at times. Bewitch just isn't, well, bewitching. It's simply a nice light read for those in the mood for smut with a paranormal edge.

*Literotica is most certainly a soft-core erotic story website. So 18+ only! Don't stray too far from the romance section if you visit, because some of the stuff on there is more than a little shocking. Just a warning!*

Character Building: 0.5/1
Payne's character is fantastically built. He's understandable. I think Elissa's character could have used more work though. For a story that really only focuses on two characters, I don't think that it's much to ask that those characters both have strong presentations. There aren't any supporting characters that can really fill in the blanks either, which is unfortunate. There's an expansion of the character base towards the end, but it's just frill by that point.

Plot Strength: 0.5/1
The plot isn't terrible, but some of the elements felt slightly underdeveloped. It's not the most interesting story to follow along with, but then again, I think this book is mainly out there for erotica fans. I can't give it full marks, but I also can't completely discredit a book simply for sticking to what it does best.

Sincerity: 1/1
I'll say this; it's not as if anything in the story was unbelievable, I just ultimately didn't care. Perhaps it's because I didn't make a good connection with the characters, or perhaps it's because I found the story generally lacking. Either way, I know the sincerity was there, so full point there.

Editing: 1/1
Editing was fine; nothing was glaringly awful.

Pacing: 0.5/1
My only issue here is that I wish that sex wasn't the name of the game in this story. Yes, the hero is a partial incubus who thrives on passion. Yes, the heroine seemed hot and randy for the hunky male.Yes, it makes sense, I know! But don't jump down my throat just yet! I think the pacing got bogged down by the lengthiness of some of the sexcapading. Were the more intimate scenes important to the overall story? Absolutely. But it just needed to be a little bit more balanced in terms of how it drove the plot, that's all.

My Icing on Top:
Don't read this for the plot, read this for the smut. I think there's really nothing else to be said for Bewitch. Although, what is up with her covers for this series all being the same? For some reason, that kind of irks me. It doesn't have any bearing on how I read the book, but sheesh. At least have them in a different position from book to book ;-). I may try Ms. Heaton's full length novel series though, just to see if there's any improvement there. Fingers crossed, right?

Check out my informal review on Goodreads!

Happy reading!

-K

Alejandro's Sorceress by Alyssa Day

Title: Alejandro's Sorceress
Author: Alyssa Day
Genre: Paranormal/Romance/Adult

Maturity Rating: 17+
Initial Rating: 2/5
Technical Rating: 2/5

My Quickie Synopsis: Garden-witch Rose Cardinal has a problem of the paranormal variety; a family of basilisks has taken over her garden! When her mother calls in the help of a federal agency, Rose quickly finds that she may have a bigger problem on her hands. Agent Alejandro is too tall, dark and handsome to be ignored and his sights are set on her. Opposites attract in this quirky, light novella.

My Initial Response: Whew! I made it through in one piece! Meet one of the prime reasons why I normally don't read novellas: Alejandro's Sorceress. I found myself rolling my eyes all too often, shaking my head every other sentence and feeling generally detached while reading.

The range of emotions I went through while reading

The writing reminds me of watching a sitcom. I could picture this being on TV, me watching for all of a few minutes, and then swiftly changing the channel. Why? Because it's shallow. I generally don't take issue with instant love syndrome, but this was just ridiculously unbelievable. I think overall that I just wasn't the right audience for this book. I'm guessing Ms. Day wrote this for her established base of fans who already know her world and her style of writing; maybe this was just a quick appetizer to whet the appetites of her fans waiting for her next full-length book. Who knows? The writing wasn't altogether terrible though, so maybe I'll give one of her novels a try in the future. Maybe.

Character Building: 0.5/1
I have to give Ms. Day some credit here because she did try to flesh out her characters. I'm not saying that it was a masterpiece by any means, but I could see the beginnings of some concrete building. Overall though, I didn't really care about the characters. I didn't hate them, I didn't love them. They were just there. Some of the interactions were amusing, some even steamy, but most were very awkward.

Plot Strength: 0/1
There was a plot? If there was, I missed it. Completely. There isn't any major conflict, unless you count the cat and mouse game of the instant love syndrome. There are a few cool ideas introduced along the way though and my bet is that those ideas come more into play in Ms. Day's other books. But these ideas were mere decoration and really didn't add on to the story at all. Highly disappointing.

Sincerity: 0.5/1
I struggled with this rating a bit. To be perfectly fair, I didn't want to give any points for sincerity at all. However, I think that the events of the book fit in with the world that Ms. Day created at the very least, so I had to give some credit. I don't want to spoil the story, but if you read it, you'll understand why I was hesitant to give it credit at all.

Editing: 1/1
There were a few minor errors here and there, but they didn't detract from reading.

Pacing: 0/1
This story is a little all over the place. The progression didn't feel natural at all, especially with the insta-love element added into the mix. Beyond that, there wasn't even an actual plot.

My Icing on Top:
I didn't get much out of this book. As I said earlier, I think those who already read books by Alyssa Day would probably enjoy this more than I did though. Aside from that, I suppose if you love crazy instant love syndrome, this story may be up your alley as well. Anyway, this was the second book in the anthology that I mentioned in the last post, so if you really want to give it a try, I'd suggest heading over to Amazon to buy the set. It's currently on sale for the low price of $0.99 so you can't go wrong! Dark and Deadly: Eight Bad Boys of Paranormal Romance

Check out my informal review on Goodreads!

Happy reading!

-K

Bodyguard (Shifters Unbound #2.5) by Jennifer Ashley

Title: Bodyguard
Series: Shifters Unbound #2.5
Author: Jennifer Ashley
Genre: Paranormal/Romance/Adult

Maturity Rating: 17+
Initial Rating: 4/5
Technical Rating: 4/5

My Quickie Synopsis: After Ursine-shifter Ronan comes to her rescue, Elizabeth Chapman's life is turned upside down. Not only is the would-be robber gunning for her life, but her past threatens to catch up with her. Will Elizabeth trust Ronan enough to protect her, or will she have to go on the run again?

My Initial Response: I don't usually read novellas in a series, and I definitely don't start series out of order. That being said, I recently purchased a boxed set of paranormal bad boy stories by various authors and Bodyguard was in the lineup. I was pleasantly surprised! The story was short and sweet, but even more than that, it was extremely well written. There were a couple of plot elements that I was slightly uncomfortable with, namely the state of affairs of a world aware of shape-shifters. And the cover doesn't line up with the description of Elizabeth. But, overall, this book was great. It was a nice light read to enjoy on a rainy Sunday.

Character Building: 0.5/1
I know that this story was short which means there isn't as much opportunity to ground all characters, but I felt slightly underwhelmed at how some of the characters were written. Ronan and Elizabeth were the best in terms of the strength of their build, and maybe that's all that was necessary. But call me greedy; I wanted more out of them as well as some of the other supporting characters. Bear in mind (ha! no pun intended), this is a book within a lengthy series, so a lot of these characters have an entire book devoted to them. So, perhaps I would've been a little better satisfied if I had read the first books in the series before I tackled this novella.

Plot Strength: 0.5/1
Again, this all comes back to the length of the story. It isn't long enough to go into too many details. I would have loved to know a little more about the back story of Elizabeth, but I think Ms. Ashley did a pretty good job at delivering the most important information about the character's history. Beyond that, Bodyguard had a great story that surprisingly had some depth to it. There's a reason why Ms. Ashley is a bestselling author!

Sincerity: 1/1
Although I can't say I was a complete fan of the world that Ms. Ashley has built in Bodyguard, it was compelling and honest. Bodyguard was superb in terms of its sincerity. Never once did I question the events that happened because they flowed so intrinsically within the story.

Editing: 1/1
I think that I may have noticed one error, but I can't discredit the entire novella. Ms. Ashley has been publishing stories for a while, and she clearly knows what she's doing.

Pacing: 1/1
For such a short story, it sure felt like a lot happened. In hindsight, it wasn't necessarily that a lot happened; Bodyguard simply had really good pacing. It was beneficial in this instance because it made the book feel fuller overall.

My Icing on Top:

Bodyguard gets my stamp of approval

I'm always pleased to find another good author; it makes my hunt for the next book all the easier. As I said before, I generally don't read novellas within a series, or the ".5s." They usually end up forcefully dropping a reader into an already established world (if they haven't read the rest of the series), or they end up being simple extensions of a numbered book in the series. The latter has always been a peeve of mine; it always makes me feel like either the author was lazy (why not write these extra concepts into the original books?) or that the author was just looking for extra money. Either way, this clearly was not the case with Bodyguard. If you're looking for a light, paranormal/romance, give this book a try!

Happy reading!

-K

Beauty and the Beast by Shoshanna Evers

Title: Beauty and the Beast
Author: Shoshanna Evers
Genre: Erotic Romance/Fantasy/Re-Telling

Maturity Rating: 17+
*WARNING*: VERY GRAPHIC SCENES
Initial Rating: 3/5
Technical Rating: 3/5

My Quickie Synopsis: In this highly adult re-telling of the fairy tale classic of Beauty and the Beast, the Prince of the realm has been cursed by his wicked stepmother. He must live alone in an enchanted castle, trapped in the form of a Beast unless he can find a woman to love him as he is.

Initial  Response: Okay, so this was pretty much what I'd like to call a "Cotton Candy Book." It looks so pretty, and it seems like there's a lot to digest, but once you bite into it, you quickly discover that it's really nothing but a lot of empty calories that you probably could have done without. Does that mean I regret it? Nah. This book was entertaining and I liked it for the most part. I usually try not to read books that are under 300 pages, but I was on a fairy tale kick and I couldn't resist! However, I have to say that I'm not entirely sure that I can ever watch the Disney movie again without blushing. This book is definitely XXX rated in a major way! It wasn't perfect, but it was a good light read, giving it a deserved 3/5 initial rating stars.

Character Building: 0.5/1
One of the great things about creating a re-telling is the fact that the main characters are generally already well-known. Most readers come into the book already having a preconceived notion about how they act and how they think. I think that benefits Ms. Evers' story because she doesn't spend too much time making sure her reader base connects with the hero and the heroine. However, because the basics of the story are so familiar, she can get away with that for the most part.

Plot Strength: 0.5/1
The book makes sense and is easy to read, but sometimes the scenes start to feel repetitive. This is extremely bad in a story of this length. I found myself wishing that some of the ideas presented were fleshed out a bit more. I think Ms. Evers has a good idea, it just got stuck in the land of smut.

Sincerity: 1/1
The story is believable; Ms. Evers even goes as far to explain the plot hole that plagued the Disney movie-how could an entire town forget about its royalty? And again, with this being a re-telling, there's already an established fictional world that a reader can pull from.

Editing: 1/1
Great editing; just write more!

Pacing: 0.5/1
Everything felt a little on the rushed side. 150 pages of potential great story rushed with lust at the reins made for a bumpy read.

My Icing on Top:

It could have been worse

I think this book was the reason I fell off of the re-telling wagon. It wasn't that it was a bad book, but simply that my expectations were too high. I was looking forward to the more adult angle of the story, but the level of X-rated material was actually a little too much at times. Don't read this book if you're looking for an awesome re-telling of a fairy tale-this isn't it. I would suggest this book as a rebound book, meaning the following: if you're waiting for the next book in your series and need something new to read, read this as a little light fluff. But be warned, this is a very adult book with erotic content.

Check out my informal review on Goodreads!

As always, happy reading!

-K