Review: Say the Word

Say the Word by Julie Johnson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Say the Word was super heavy on the dialogue, but still a fairly strong book with its focus on second chance love, awesome friends, with a dash of crime drama tossed in. It was kind of predictable and like I said before, really heavy on the inner dialogue, but it still flowed well and kept me engaged the entire time. That tends to be a hard task to accomplish as of late. It was still missing that "something" though. I can't quite nail what exactly that was though.

3.5 to 4 Stars..



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Review: Infinity + One

Infinity + One by Amy Harmon

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Infinity + One, the story of the modern day Bonnie and Clyde. A suicidal country music princess and a ex-con math genius from Boston (cough Will Hunting cough) meet and proceed to fall in love during a cross country crime spree...no wait, that's not it. A cross county do-gooding spree. Yep, I said that. While on the run from the evil stage grandmother, they embark on a cross country spree of good deeds. Helping a stranded mother with her two children (one of whom has leukemia and a love of Miss Bonnie Rae), picking up a scraggly haired hitchhiker, helping ensure a granddad and his grandson safe passage home, and secretly slipping some monetary donations along the way. All of this while they are on the run from the law (evil stage-grandmother, yeah) for kidnapping, grand theft auto, attempted murder, etc etc etc. Sounds a little fantastical, yeah?

Well, it was. Maybe I'm too cynical to see the awesomeness in this, but it just didn't hit the mark for me. I went into this thinking, Amy Harmon (Making Faces & A Different Blue), this is bound to be good even if it doesn't sound like my cup of tea. And to a point, it was. The writing is what I would expect, it was good. It started out pretty slow, but I became slightly more invested by the half way point. I KNEW they weren't going to end up like their namesakes, I mean let's face it, this isn't a Tarryn Fisher novel. They are going to have a happy ending and it's going to be disgustingly happy in which everything works out peachy keen, jelly bean. If that is your cup o' tea, you are going to love this. It WAS well written. It was an interesting story despite the mushy-ness. You did care what happened to Bonnie and Finn (Clyde that is. Infinity Clyde, hence the title), even if you really didn't want too. I just wanted a wee bit more out of the book, because I expected more out of Amy Harmon.

So, if you are looking for a feel good book that is a little different at the same time, this is probably a good choice. If not, feel free to come back when you are.



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The Princess Bride by William Goldman

I wish that I could say that I loved this book.  Especially since the movie is nothing short of amazing.  I wish I did, but I just didn't.  

The heart of the book is awesome. Everything that made the movie so great was there.  The humor, the satire, the romance, and Inigo.

Anyway.  The issues I ran across were all centered around Goldman's "abridgment".  His commentary was amusing, until it wasn't.  In the end, it just started to eat away at the story itself.  It was genius in the way that it was written, really, especially for the time it was written in.  A story within a story within a story.  I can recognize all of that, I just can't bring myself to like it.   

Overall, I guess I'm a little..disenchanted?  The thing that made me love the movie so much was the wonderfully sarcastic take on the fairy tale.  The commentary made me lose sight on that at times.  Thankfully, it wasn't enough for me to be completely disappointed though.  I just know to what to skip over when I do a reread.  

3.5 out of 5 stars

Review: The Promise

The Promise by Kristen Ashley

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



I love Kristen Ashley books. I really do. Sometimes I just don't know why I love them anymore. There is such a stark difference in my opinions of her books from when I first started reading them to now that it is kind of depressing. Everything is just starting to bleed together, I guess. But at the same time, when she does attempt change things up I wax poetic about somebody I used to know and not knowing what I've got until it's gone. So, who knows.

I'm assuming based on the above rambling, you can kind of see where my brain is at with The Promise. It was typical KA. Excessive descriptions, man-whore turned one woman man when he finally finds "the one" that he was meant to have, and woman who fights that love tooth and nail before she finally realizes the error of her ways and 180's and since this is the 'burg series, a dash of crime drama tossed in. Does that meant that I didn't like it? No, because I'm a sucker for all of that crap. I love it, even if I have to skim good chunks of it. The formula she uses works. It especially works when you learn really early on to skip all of the outfit and room descriptions.

On the plus side of all of this (and it's a really big plus for me), we had all kinds of side story with Joe (and Vi), otherwise known as Erika's number one KA dude ever with no hopes of that title being given to someone else. I could have skipped the rest of the book in it's entirety and just read about Joe and Vi's wedding/children's birth and would have been content with life. And writing this review now, I honestly can't think of any thing in Frankie and Benny's book that I deem more important that Joe's bit parts other than the chapter that also included Luke Stark in it.

I think that has been the biggest issue with KA's books for me. There has only been one other book in all of her new to me releases that can compete with being as good as her earlier stuff. I keep reading and keep trying though.



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Scoring Wilder by RS Grey.

After reading this, I decided to find a gif of some sort to properly express my feelings.  I wanted to find some relatable soccer ones since, you know, this book was about soccer players.  I got sidetracked.  I'm kind of wishing I actually watched soccer now.  

I'm not sure who the top two guys are, wait I take that back.  The first one is Cristano Ronaldo, correct? Anyway.  Soccer dudes.  And David Beckham (who has aged really well, I must say).  And now to research more throughly.  

Oh, Scoring Wilder. 

Honestly, it is just one of many in the NA genre.  I've never read a book centered around soccer players, so I decided to give it a try.  It started off okay given that the MC is actually a driven and self-confident girl working her ass off to make the US Olympic soccer team.  Kudos to the author.  But then she falls in love with the reformed bad boy, star soccer player that everyone wants and then falls prey to the bullying of the girl whom he shunned years earlier.  Waa waa waa.  

I guess I'm going to have to add New Adult to my list of genres that I should back away from.  

2.5 out of 5 Stars

Henry Rollins on the Ramones

This is just an article I ran across written by Henry Rollins today discussing the death of Tommy Ramone.  As per the usual for Henry Rollins, it was worth the read for me.   It's kind of crazy to know that all of the original Ramones are dead now.  Their music has been such a huge part of my life for years and I definitely have to agree with Henry that their music rescued Rock and Roll. Hopefully it will continue to do so as parents pass it on to their kids for years to come.  

As a side note, if you have Sirius/XM and haven't caught Marky Ramone's punk rock blitzkrieg on Faction, you are missing out.  

Henry Rollins: The Ramones Rescued Rock and Roll

Review: The Seduction 4

The Seduction 4 by Roxy Sloane

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Well that ending was kind of a letdown. And after all of that build up. Vaughn would not approve.


Okay, so it wasn't that bad. It was good, but in comparison to the rest of the books, I was left feeling a little...unsatisfied. Spoiler alert, yo. No real bad guy caves that easy. Dude was supposed to be some kind of mastermind and he blabs? Nope. Killed my buzz. I don't dig things wrapped up with a pretty bow. Maybe that's just me though. Anyhoo. Overall, this was a great serial, with the exception of this one. Three stars for the serial as a whole.


Side note. Am I the only one who really, really wanted to find out Vaughn's first name?



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Review: Just One Night, Part 6

Just One Night, Part 6 by Elle Casey

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



*This 'tis be a review for the completed serial. I'm too lazy to review them all separately. 3.5 stars for it as a whole.


I don't know why, but I have been on a huge serial kick lately. Even though I hate them, as a general rule. They make me feel like I'm being productive in my whole reading obsession, I guess. I still kind of wish they would disappear though.

So. Just One Night Parts 1-6. Hilarious. Seriously, I was dying laughing. That could also be from the fact that I was delirious with exhaustion, but can't sleep though. I'm going with the being funny as hell though. It was chock full of quirky ridiculousness, which is my cup of tea.

On the downside of that, beyond said quirky ridiculousness, there wasn't much else. I skimmed over bits of pieces of it because outside of the humor, I wasn't impressed with chunks of the storyline. Which, again, seems to be my biggest issue with serials. They just never seem to be enough to fully connect me with the characters.

But for a serial, Just One Night is one of the better ones that I have read which really is a glowing compliment from me.



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Review: Rock, Rattle and Roll

Rock, Rattle and Roll by Taryn Elliott

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



*Arc provided by Netgalley for a fair and honest review.

This novella from the Lost in Oblivion series was a quick and hot view into the life of Harper and Deacon, post-wedding. On their honeymoon, no less, so you know that it is at least going to be interesting on one area. As you can tell from the title, it does delve into more than just sex though. On that note...

I wish I could say more than this novella was more than just okay. That's all it was for me though, just okay. I am a little over the unplanned pregnancy trope rampant in this genre of books. It was handled slightly differently in this book, which was a good thing though. It added something that makes it stand out a little more. It's hard to write book that stands out despite following the same basic formula, but this author does manage to do that. Interesting characters and good writing make a huge difference.

Anyhoo. If you were already a fan of the great chemistry inspired by Harper and Deacon, you'll dig this novella. It's just enough to keep your appetite going for more of the series.



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Allure by Lacey Weatherford.

Tattoo artist by day, exotic dancer by night, 22 year old Six has been fighting his attraction for the girl of his dreams. Why? She's the high society daughter of the Mayor. Oh, and she's only 17. But what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas...right?

Two out of Five stars.  I don't know what exactly possessed me to one-click, but yeah. Not my scene.

Review: The Demonologist: The Extraordinary Career of Ed and Lorraine Warren

The Demonologist: The Extraordinary Career of Ed and Lorraine Warren by Gerald Brittle

My rating: 2 of 5 stars



This book is definitely one of those "did I read the same thing as everyone else?" books.

I'm just going to throw it out there that, according to a search, there are 272(!) exclamation points used. In a book primarily about demoniacal (I will never use demonic again) possession. Suffice it to say, I had some issues with the writing of the book.

But even as frustrating as the writing was, it had nothing Ed Warren. I guess I should have assumed that it was going to focus heavily on the Warrens themselves, rather than the cases they worked on. Some of their cases are discussed, but it is less on the people directly involved with the activity, but instead the repercussions that the Warrens faced. And the fact that they constantly put themselves in danger of being killed, but they help anyway--of course. Not to mention that, Ed particularly, is incredibly well known amongst demonic entities, almost every religious community in the US and the UK, and can pretty much blink and exorcise (albeit temporarily) an entity from someone. He is just that amazing!

So, I'm probably making the book seem worse than the it actually is. There are moments of it being genuinely interesting and creepy. There were a couple of cases that were new to me and gave me a starting point to actually look into them. But for the most part, it was all about how amazing Ed Warren was from the man himself(!), with a little touch of Lorraine (who in my opinion is far more interesting, but I digress) added in. When it was all said and done, it was a not so well written account of a man who probably did amazing things, but just read as being so annoyingly pompous that it was detrimental to the book as a whole.



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