Review: Tattoos and Tatas

Tattoos and Tatas by Tara Sivec

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Cried some, laughed some and 100% of the proceeds goes to breast cancer research. Win/win situation.




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Review: Innocents

Innocents by Mary Elizabeth

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I reviewed this already, when it was originally the fanfic Dusty and I believe I gave it 4 stars. Those primarily because I found it to be absolutely horrible, but completely unputdownable. That opinion still stands now.

Dusty: Innocents is not a book that you can like. It actually pains me to read reviews talking about how much they love Dusty and Bliss. It worries me that anyone would find anything lovable about the relationship between those two. It also worries me when I read reviews talking about how unrealistic they seem. The lives that they lead may be hard to accept, but it's not unrealistic. And that scares the shit out of me. Innocents follow Dusty and Bliss from the early stages of their friendship at 11 & 13 through some semblance of a relationship, albeit hidden, at 15 & 17. It also follows the relationship Dusty has with his other bliss....drugs, alcohol, and sex. I know people don't want to think that young teens think and act like Dusty does, but they do. I've seen it firsthand. It's not pretty but The Elizabeths really nail the harsh realities of it. And somehow they do it with a lyrical style to the writing that makes you continue reading even though every bone in your body wishes you could stop. It's kind of fitting that way since you are reading a book about addiction in all forms. Addiction to the high, addiction to a person, addiction to appearances, all of which does harm to the person dealing with it and those around them.

Anyway.

Innocents sets the tone for the series as a whole. It gives you a peak into the monster that is Dusty & Bliss. It hints at things to come with their relationship and you know that it isn't going to be good. You can feel it throughout the entire book. It gives the perfect set up to leave you wanting to find out when all hell is going to break loose and wonder how it is going to happen. It's a massive mindfuck and I can't wait to see what is going to happen. And I'm probably going to hate every moment of it and that makes me love it. Dusty and Bliss are obviously not the only ones with problems.



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Review: The Science of Loving

The Science of Loving by Candace Vianna

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



2.75 to 3 Stars

This is one of those situations where an editor could work wonders. I really liked what this book could have been. It has quirky characters, humorous situations and a decent flow along the plot line. It's definitely what I would consider one of those beach reads. It kind of follows the fairly predictable pattern for that type of book, but when you are looking for that, this one definitely hits the mark. The downside of all of that was the editing though. It isn't really grammatical errors, though they are there, but more of the general feel of some sections of the book. I do feel that those sections are something that could be corrected and make this book truly enjoyable. On an even better note, the author did suggest contacting her with any typos or inconsistencies, so kudos for her being willing to take help when offered. I love that in a new author. =)

So, overall opinion is that I really liked potential of this book. It's there in spades, it just needs to be fully realized..



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Review: Gone Girl

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



"Because I feel sorry for you.
'Why?'
Because every morning you have to wake up and be you."

Well doesn't that just sum up this book perfectly.

This was just a bunch of crazy. What is wasn't, though, was full of "twists and turns that you'll never see coming". Especially for someone who watches way too much Investigation Discovery, Criminal Minds and goes into those odd Wikipedia binges where you want to look up something innocent and then somehow spin into in-depth researches on every sociopath/serial killer from the last 500 years. This has been so hyped up to me by friends that I was so ridiculously excited that maybe, just maybe this would rock in a creepy I am going to never trust anyone again way. I didn't get that though.

That doesn't mean that it wasn't well-written, well-researched, and well-fucked up. It was, seriously. Even though nothing ever really gave me that holy-shit moment, it kept me fully intrigued in finding out just how crazy this people were. So, while it wasn't all that I was hoping, I am definitely not completely disappointed and definitely curious to see what else Gillian Flynn can throw at me.



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Review: Deacon

Deacon by Kristen Ashley

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Honestly, I should just copy and paste my last several KA book reviews here. Change the names and it would apply. I'm obviously a little burnt out on the KA style.

On a plus side, KA definitely made an effort to push her limits a little further. I loved that, even if I didn't love the book. We need a little more limit pushing in the KA world.



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Review: Get in the Van: On the Road With Black Flag

Get in the Van: On the Road With Black Flag by Henry Rollins

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I think this has been one of the hardest books that I have read in a long time. It isn't the writing that makes it hard, however, I will say that it is all taken from Henry's journal entries so the flow is rough. No, the reason why it is such a hard read is that Henry's depression, self loathing and general hatred to the world is SO palpable that you can feel it wafting off the pages. He literally gave everything he had to his music and performances that there was nothing left for himself or anything around him. You also have to keep in mind that this was the punk scene throughout the 80s. Black Flag is on the cover of magazines, Henry is considered a rockstar, and yet he lives in a shed when he is in LA. Their shows are a mass of hatred and abuse (literal, they are attacked, urine thrown at them, etc) hurtled at them, they go hungry, they sleep in their bus or squat with fans. It's insane and insanely hard to read how shitty the conditions were for a band that you absolutely love. It's even harder to read that even despite that, being in the van and on the road and miserable is the only time that Henry ever really feels whole.

Too add insult to injury, it's also hard to read the inner thoughts of a musician that you love who is so addled with loathing, depression, and violence. They aren't pretty thoughts..killing the pigs, killing the fans, killing the pigs' families, mutilation of himself and others. And as you go further in the years, it only gets worse. Henry could have made an outstanding horror novelist. Or serial killer. Whichever.

Overall, this is an incredibly painful and real portrait of Henry's life at the time. His thoughts are blunt and pretty flipping horrid at times. There is no sugar coating of anything. More like rusted barbwire coated. Don't read this expecting to see a feel good story of a man's rise to fame. It's not there. You are actually really grateful that he got out of that van by the end of it. It was an interesting ride while you were there though.



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Review: Scarlett

Scarlett by Alexandra Ripley

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



I finished this late last night and I'm still not 100% sure on my feelings about it. I guess the best that I can say was that it was okay. I wasn't overly wowed with anything, but I don't feel a complete resounding hatred toward the author for butchering two of my favorite literary characters. I definitely cannot say that I'm happy with Ms. Ripley's take on Scarlett or Rhett either. They both were just missing that spark that made Gone With the Wind the book that it was, but I don't think that ANYONE other than Margaret Mitchell is capable of writing those two properly.

If I try to look at Scarlett as a separate entity from Gone with the Wind it comes just comes across as middle of the road fan fiction. And let's face it, that is pretty much what it was. I was happy to see Scarlett finally grow into a woman and a mother, but it was also sad for me to see her lose that stubborn drive to always get what she wants. The only thing I ever really saw from her in Scarlett was her running. She runs from Atlanta, then Charleston, then Savannah, then Ireland. She sets goals , and when they didn't happen, she accepts defeat. Scarlett does not accept defeat, she may lick her wounds for a bit, but she always jumps back in. She fights and will do it dirty if necessary. I missed that in her. As for Rhett. Well, I won't even go into that one.

Anyway, back to the point. By the end of this, I definitely realized that I needed to forget that this is a sequel. It isn't a sequel, in my opinion. There really can't be a sequel that isn't written by Margaret Mitchell. However, it was interesting to read someone else's opinion to how their love story ends up. It was a little cheesy, and definitely not how I would have ever ended things for Rhett and Scarlett, but it was okay entertainment.



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