The First True Lie by Marina Mander Review

Title: The First True Lie

Author: Marina Mander

Published: January 21, 2014

Format Read/Pages: eBook/102

How I Acquired It: NetGalley

Date Finished: January 16, 2014

Find at: Amazon | B&N | Goodreads

*This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Meet Luca, a curious young boy living with his mother, a taciturn woman who every now and then tries out a new father. Luca keeps to himself, his cat, Blue, and his favorite toys—words. One February morning his mom doesn't wake up to bring him to school, so Luca—driven by a deep fear of being an orphan—decides to pretend to the world that his mom is still alive. At first it's easy. Luca dresses himself for school, makes sure Blue gets his dinner, and manages to avoid nosy neighbors. He and Blue camp out in the living room and embark on imaginary expeditions to outer space, and Luca dreams about marrying his school crush, Antonella. Soon, however, the laundry starts piling up, the fridge emptying—and the smell of Mama's decaying body begins to permeate the apartment.

As Luca grapples with what to do, we ultimately witness something much more poignant than the morbid circumstance—a young boy's journey to the point at which he can say: “I am no longer an orphan. I am a single human being. It's a matter of words.”

~

I really don’t know how to feel about this book. Mander provides a very well written story, but I found myself just skimming the pages at times trying to find the next important detail. One thing that I think really dissuaded me from being able to get into the story was the fact that Luca’s voice was written in such an adult way and he made references that I really don’t think a boy  that young would know. But then in the next sentence we have the thoughts and actions that remind us that he is still very young. I believe the contradictory nature of the writing is really what threw me off. 

I also found myself worrying more about the cat than Luca. I am a sucker for animals and to think that Blue was not going to be getting something to eat was really sad for me, most people would help a child when they need it, but they wouldn’t care about a cat. The story really was very beautiful, I just could not get into it. 

3 Stars

Elevator Heat by B.D. Rowe Review

Title: Elevator Heat

Author: B.D. Rowe

Published: December 17, 2013

Format Read/Pages: eBook/128

How I Acquired It: NetGalley

Date Finished: January 16, 2014

Find at: Amazon | Goodreads

*This book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Twenty-year-old Maddie has had a crush on Colin, her studly internship supervisor, for three long months. She struggles focusing on her work, and always finds herself gazing at his wavy brown hair, his chiseled cheekbones, his kissable lips. 

Little does she know, however, that he has feelings for her, too.

The problem is no matter how much time they spend together in the office, neither one can ever make the first move.

That is, until they both step into the old, rickety elevator late one Friday night. And things start to get a little steamy...

~

If you have read any of my previous reviews, you may have come across one that I did for Rowe’s Crashing Into You. I will admit it was not a glowing review in the slightest, but it is truly how I felt about that story. I requested this via NetGalley without realizing that it was the same author and I am glad I was unaware, as I probably would have skipped over this title had I known. My second venture into Rowe’s writing was much more pleasant than the first and I am glad I got to give it another chance.

Elevator Heat was a lighthearted, less steamy than I would have liked but fun all the same, read. I enjoyed both of the main characters; they had some pretty good chemistry and were not annoying in the slightest. Some of the scenes were funny and I found myself laughing, but in the best way. One thing I have some to realize is that the Rowe uses car accidents quite a lot in both the works already published. I don’t know why this is, but I can see it getting a bit old if it continues.

Overall, reading Elevator Heat was enjoyable. I sort of with that this was the full length novel and not Crashing Into You. I would have loved to see this story fleshed out a bit and I think it had some great potential to go somewhere.

3 Stars

Becoming Alpha by Aileen Erin

Title: Becoming Alpha

Author: Aileen Erin

Published: December 17, 2013

Series?: Alpha Girl #1

Format Read/Pages: eBook/267

How I Acquired It: NetGalley
Date Finished: December 23, 2013

Find at: Amazon | B&N | Goodreads

*This book was provided for free in exchange for an honest review.

Tessa McCaide has a unique talent for getting into trouble. Then again, it isn’t easy for a girl with visions to ignore what she sees. Luckily Tessa and her family are leaving California and moving halfway across the country, giving her the perfect opportunity to leave her reputation as “Freaky Tessa” behind.

But Tessa doesn’t realize that kissing the wrong guy in her new Texas town could land her in far more trouble than she ever imagined. Like being forced to attend St. Ailbe’s Academy, a secret boarding school for werewolves.

Even if the wrong guy did accidentally turn her into one of “them” and doom her to attending the weirdest high school ever, Tessa can’t help her growing attraction to the mysterious Dastien Laurent.

When vampires attack St. Alibe’s and her visions pinpoint an enemy in their midst, Tessa realizes that boy drama and her newfound canine tendencies might just be the least of her problems.

~

This review was hard to start. It wasn’t because I did not like the book, I did enjoy it, but there was no wow factor to it. For me, this story was something that I have read in many different forms, but all have the main aspects in common. Becoming Alpha introduces us to a young girl that has problems before meeting a boy that changes her life in a drastic way.

Erin created interesting characters, I actually enjoyed Tessa and the relationship she had with her family. The close bond she has with her brother makes sense in the way that he is always trying to look out for her and shield her from things that will set off her ability. I am pretty sure this is one of the first characters that I have read about that has the ability to see memories through touch, or at least the first in a long while.

Tessa’s interactions with Dastien annoyed me at times. They just felt really generic and clichéd. His actions after infecting her also really made me mad. He knew what he had done, so why didn’t he take her to Dawson right away instead of letting her deal with all the people that will shun her for associating with him.

As the rest of the story unfolds it adds some elements that could have been interesting if they were expanded upon more. I am curious to see how her heritage plays a part in the next book in the series, so I might tune in for that. Overall, it wasn’t a bad read; it had a lot of potential that I think needed to be a bit more developed to make it a great story. 

3 Stars

Books in this series:

1. Becoming Alpha
2. Avoiding Alpha (expected pub. May 2014)

Crashing into You by B.D. Rowe

Title: Crashing into You

Author: B.D. Rowe

Published: October 1, 2013

Format Read/Pages: eBook/212

How I Acquired It: NetGalley
Date Finished: December 26, 2013

Find it at: Amazon | B&N | Goodreads 

Bookish college sophomore Sydney Baker wants Evan Taylor with every ounce of her being. The hottest stud on campus, Evan is six foot four, ripped, stacked with muscles. He's even easy to talk to.

There's just one problem: he's her roommate Melanie's boyfriend.

But when Melanie tragically dies after a night of wild partying, Sydney and Evan turn to each other in a time of intense grief. And it doesn't take long for their close friendship to blossom into something more.

Unfortunately for Sydney, secrets from the past soon put her relationship with Evan to the test. Especially when a sexy blonde freshman makes her way into Evan's life, and tries to rip away everything Sydney holds close to her heart.

~

This book made me sooooo mad. I was on the verge of ripping my hair out while reading this. Sydney has to be the most unlucky person to ever be written into this world. So unlucky, that it starts to be very unbelievable. I am not going to get into too much detail, because then it would spoil the whole story, but I will outline some of my greater frustrations.

How do you not check on your roommate, who has been sleeping in the bed above you, for DAYS!?!?!? Taking one little glance at a foot sticking out of the covers is not the same as checking on a person when they are sick. I had mono my freshman year of college and was stuck in bed for almost two weeks straight. Everyday my roommate made sure that I was okay and would ask if I needed anything while she was out, that is what people do. Okay, so you didn’t check on her, fine. But when the room started to smell wouldn’t you think something was really wrong? Or try and find the source of said smell? The idiocy this girl possessed made me question how she got into college in the first place.

The relationship between Syd and Evan left me feeling unsettled. I understand that traumatic experiences pull people together, but I don’t know if I could be in a relationship with a boy if I had a hand (although unintentional) in killing his girlfriend. Or, if I found out that he was one of the main reasons that she drank so much in the first place and that he had been lying to me about it for months.

Crashing into You was not an enjoyable read in the slightest. The story was not the most horrible thing I have ever read, but for all this to happen to one person seems really improbable. The absurdity of it all was what really turned me off and I think that if things were less dramatic that it all would have been easier to swallow. 

2 Stars

Defy by Sara B. Larson

Title: Defy

Author: Sara B. Larson

Published: January 7, 2014

Series?: Defy #1

Format Read/Pages: eBook/336

How I Acquired It: NetGalley
Date Finished: January 3, 2014

 *Thank you to Scholastic for the chance to read an ARC.

A lush and gorgeously written debut, packed with action, intrigue, and a thrilling love triangle.

Alexa Hollen is a fighter. Forced to disguise herself as a boy and serve in the king's army, Alex uses her quick wit and fierce sword-fighting skills to earn a spot on the elite prince's guard. But when a powerful sorcerer sneaks into the palace in the dead of night, even Alex, who is virtually unbeatable, can't prevent him from abducting her, her fellow guard and friend Rylan, and Prince Damian, taking them through the treacherous wilds of the jungle and deep into enemy territory.

The longer Alex is held captive with both Rylan and the prince, the more she realizes that she is not the only one who has been keeping dangerous secrets. And suddenly, after her own secret is revealed, Alex finds herself confronted with two men vying for her heart: the safe and steady Rylan, who has always cared for her, and the dark, intriguing Damian. With hidden foes lurking around every corner, is Alex strong enough to save herself and the kingdom she's sworn to protect?

~

There have been a lot of comparisons made to Mulan and there really shouldn’t be. The only thing that is similar is the fact that a young woman pretends to be a boy and joins an army. The two young women have completely differing reasons to hide their identities and really should not be placed in the same boat. I was excited when I received this ARC via NetGalley, I had read about it beforehand and it seemed like a promising start to what could turn out to be a great series. In the end I must say that I was disappointed with what was presented in Defy.

Some of my first thoughts were that even though the concept is something that has been around and used quite often, there are still a number of ways that it could have been spun to create something highly suspenseful and entertaining. I was most looking forward to the reveal, how Alex let everyone know that she was in fact, Alexa. When the time came, the way that it was handled really annoyed me. There were so many other ways to have it play out, rather than both love interests having known for years. It makes sense that Rylan might know, but I would have liked to see Damian be surprised by the news, there were also spaces for some moments that could have been added for some comic relief, given that she is pretending to be a boy with the feelings of a young woman, that Larson did not capitalize on. I understand that it is a serious story, but it was a bit flat at times and a bit of lighthearted fun could have been added.

The love triangle was very predictable and quite annoying at times. Given the fact that both boys have been in love with her, without her knowing, for years there was no real development in any of the relationships. It just seemed that one second the prince is letting her think she has fooled him into believing she was a boy and the next they are kissing. And don’t get me started on Rylan; could Larson make him into any more of a chump? Telling Alexa he will wait for her and still love her even after she has clearly chosen Damian. Alexa needs to stop being a baby and take what she wants, even if that person happens to be a prince. “Oh, I will never be good enough for him; it won’t be accepted… blah, blah, blah.” Girl, shut up. You just saved a country, take what you want! 

I really had no emotional investment in any of the characters and the one that I did like, got killed off quite early on in the story. The only thing I could really relate to with Alexa was the fact that I too would have disguised myself as a boy to avoid being raped daily and used as a brood mare. This brings me to something that was not all that necessary, in my opinion, the breeding house. I understand it was used a tool to make us hate the king more than we already did, but it really was not needed and I find it hard to believe that the people living in the vicinity of the castle, seeing what happens to those girls everyday would actually allow that to go on. I really think that there would have been a revolt before, had any of them been thinking compassionately at all.

Overall, I really don’t know how to feel about this story. I really, really wanted to like it, but it just rubbed me the wrong way. In this day and age, where there are so many strong female protagonists out there and Alexa just did not match up. If after reading the plot of the next book, I find myself intrigued, I may check it out; but I have no idea where the story could go from here without introducing a random antagonist that will threaten the lives of our characters, making them act on all the love that is flowing between them. And at this point it would probably just continue to annoy me. Good thing I have another year, to maybe revisit Defy and change my opinion, before Larson gives us another entry into the series. 

2.5 Stars

Full Blooded by Amanda Carlson

Title: Full Blooded

Author: Amanda Carlson

Published: September 1, 2012

Series?: Jessica McClain #1

Format Read/Pages: eBook/259

How I Acquired It: NetGalley
Date Finished: December 17, 2013

Born the only female in an all male race, Jessica McClain isn’t just different—she’s feared.

After living under the radar for the last twenty-six years, Jessica is thrust unexpectedly into her first change, a full ten years late. She wakes up and finds she’s in the middle of a storm. Now that she’s become the only female full-blooded werewolf in town, the supernatural world is already clamoring to take a bite out of her and her new Pack must rise up and protect her.

But not everyone is on board. The werewolf Rights of Laws is missing text and the superstitious werewolves think that Jessica means an end to their race. It doesn’t help when Jessica begins to realize she’s more. She can change partway and hold her form, and speak directly to her wolf. But the biggest complication by far is that her alpha father can't control her like he can the rest of his wolves.

When a mercenary who’s been hired by the vampires shows up to extract information about the newly turned werewolf only days after her change, they find themselves smack in the middle of a war and there's no choice but to run together. When it’s up to Jessica to negotiate her release against her father’s direct orders, she chooses to take an offer for help instead. In exchange, Jessica must now swear an oath she may end up repaying with her life.

~

I am a sucker for urban fantasy. I try and limit myself on how many I read at any given time so I do not tire myself of them. Full Blooded was one of the best UF stories I have read in a long while. I really, really enjoyed it.

Carlson created characters that were well developed and fit together. Jess was a really likable character, while it would have been easy to create a female werewolf that came off as too tough or too dependent; there was a good balance between vulnerability and strength. Normal clichés were avoided by having Jess be the daughter of the pack alpha, where as many authors would have had her as the mate. To me, this gives a whole new range of conflicts and problems, that move away from the usual, you are my mate, no other man may look at you, type stuff.

The world that was fleshed out was a very interesting one in the fact that it introduced us to many different types of supernatural without being overwhelming in any sense. There was mention of a number of different groups, while some were not explored in any depth, it left possibilities open for the future. We got to meet quite a few different supernaturals, but I never felt that I was being bombarded with names and descriptions and had an easy time keeping them all separated. I also really enjoyed the dichotomy between Jess and her wolf. It was handled in a very believable way; most boys go through puberty with their wolves giving them time to make the necessary adjustments, it would definitely be harder to develop a working relationship with another being, which happens to be in your head, later on in your adult life. There was a balance between the two that worked in the story and I would be interested in seeing how that develops.

The story that Amanda Carlson gave us was a great way to start a series. Interesting characters, fast paced action, and budding romance will definitely have me reading farther into this adventure. 

4 Stars

Current Releases in the Jessica McClain Series:

1. Full Blooded
2. Hot Blooded
3. Cold Blooded
4. Red Blooded *to be released 2014