Author: Arielle (Page 23 of 35)

BOOK REVIEW: Brooklynaire (Brooklyn #1) by Sarina Bowen

BOOK REVIEW: Brooklynaire (Brooklyn #1) by Sarina BowenBrooklynaire (Brooklyn #1)
by Sarina Bowen
Purchase on: AmazoniBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:

A sexy new standalone from USA Today bestseller Sarina Bowen.

You’d think a billion dollars, a professional hockey team and a six-bedroom mansion on the Promenade would satisfy a guy. You’d be wrong.

For seven years Rebecca has brightened my office with her wit and her smile. She manages both my hockey team and my sanity. I don’t know when I started waking in the night, craving her. All I know is that one whiff of her perfume ruins my concentration. And her laugh makes me hard.

When Rebecca gets hurt, I step in to help. It’s what friends do. But what friends don’t do is rip off each others’ clothes for a single, wild night together.

Now she’s avoiding me. She says we’re too different, and it can never happen again. So why can’t we keep our hands off each other?

It is universally acknowledged that I am something of a badass.

So again, like I said in my review for Overnight Sensation I knew part way through this book that I had made a mistake in reading these all out of order. I knew even more so when I went back and read books one through three after this one and saw a bit of a mysterious build up between Rebecca and Nate. Even the progression of getting to know both of these characters. Don’t get me wrong, I still was obsessed with this book but I think the anticipation of seeing these two finally get together could have been even greater if reading them in order.

Now there’s a document my HR department doesn’t want in the world. Dear Diary, it wasn’t until I snuck into Rebecca’s hotel room and screwed her seven ways till Sunday that I realized I was in love with her. Not helpful.

BUT ANYWAY. OMG. On to me blabbing on about how much I love Rebecca and Nate. And who DOESN’T love a good “H taking care of h” storyline. Even though I have an unhealthy obsession for hockey players in romances (like I have never been to a real hockey game, what the fuck, Arielle?!) I also love a good hot nerd. And badass heroine. And friends to lovers, especially when the one friend is clueless about it even though the signs have always been there. Lol I love the shit that Lauren gives Nate about it, too. So again, great book. Great sexy times. Great everything.

“Wait.” I sit up. “Did you bring me empanadas and tequila?” 
“Yeah,”
 she says softly. “It’s nothing, really, but…” 
I interrupt her. “Do you know I love you?”
Her mouth slams shut and her eyes get damp. “No. I didn’t.” 
“It’s true, Bec. I’ve got it bad.”

Side note: It should be mentioned that every book in the Brooklyn Bruisers and Brooklyn series can be read as standalones.  In my own personal opinion though, once you read one, you won’t stop until you read the rest.

BOOK REVIEW: A Court of Wings and Ruin (A Court of Thorns and Roses #3) by Sarah J Maas

BOOK REVIEW: A Court of Wings and Ruin (A Court of Thorns and Roses #3) by Sarah J MaasA Court of Wings and Ruin (A Court of Thorns and Roses #3)
by Sarah J Maas
Purchase on: AmazoniBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:

Looming war threatens all Feyre holds dear in the third volume of the #1 New York Times bestselling A Court of Thorns and Roses series.

Feyre has returned to the Spring Court, determined to gather information on Tamlin's manoeuvrings and the invading king threatening to bring Prythian to its knees. But to do so she must play a deadly game of deceit – and one slip may spell doom not only for Feyre, but for her world as well.

As war bears down upon them all, Feyre must decide who to trust amongst the dazzling and lethal High Lords – and hunt for allies in unexpected places.

In this thrilling third book in the #1 New York Times bestselling series from Sarah J. Maas, the earth will be painted red as mighty armies grapple for power over the one thing that could destroy them all.

“This is Velaris,” I explained. “The City of Starlight.” 
His throat bobbed. “And you are High Lady of the Night Court.” 
“Indeed she is.” 

My blood stopped at the voice that drawled from behind me. 
At the scent that hit me, awoke me. My friends began smiling.

Out of the blue last week at work I was suddenly in the mood to pick up on where I had been on my ACOMAF audiobook, just to have some familiar noise playing in the background while I was working on a few mindless tasks. Well, SURPRISE surprise, one thing led to another and I was suddenly sucked back into the world of some of my favorite characters in the ENTIRE UNIVERSE. I realized while I had been finishing ACOMAF, though, that I had started to become a bit jaded. You see, this book did not live up to what I wanted it to be. Yes it is amazing and intense and features some GREAT scenes but it was almost too much. I think it fell into this trap of being a final book while also….not being a final book. Even though ACOWAR is the final book in Feyre’s trilogy, as we all now know, Maas is writing a few more books and novellas in this world, with these characters. In my opinion, she threw in wayyyy too many new plot points in order to end this trilogy but also set up for things to come in future books. UGH. I get it but again, I was disappointed and I don’t think I wanted to admit it to myself until I just started re-reading it.

“Because the books were full of magic, and things they wanted to keep humans from knowing.”

Because I don’t really even know how to begin reviewing this book, the “final” book in this series that has meant so much to me, I might just start by listing things I loved.

-Since the book was again in Feyre’s POV but there were so many things going on with so many characters that Maas let us see these other interactions through Feyre’s daemati powers (or through other things as well). I thought that was really well done and interesting!

-How sassy Az is. LOVED that he was the one to teach Feyre to fly. Good lord I loved getting to know him better. P.s. I ship him with Elaine x1000

-Getting glimpses into the other courts….how I need a story about Kallais and Vivienne and her becoming High Lady of Winter….we all know it’s going to happen

– Tarquin saying they’re alternating holidays with Amren and Varien..I died

-Getting kind of more Lucien again…also I want a book featuring him and perhaps Vassa???? Maybe?????

-THE FUCKING BATTLE SCENE ESP WHEN THE LAST GROUP SHOWED UP. FUCKING SOBBED MY EYES OUT.

He said at last, “I’m a warrior. I’ve walked beside Death my entire life. I would be more afraid for her, to have that power. But not afraid of her.” He considered, and added after a heartbeat, “Nothing about Nesta could frighten me.”

Aaaaand then there were the things I didn’t like as much:

-As much as I am dying for all the rest, how I think Sarah added too much. I felt overwhelmed with the ending and all of the new characters and possibly threads and directions that she possible could go in

-Elaine…lol seriously though I was sick and tired of her until the very end when she did ~the thing~

-Jurian having this weird bullshit redemption arc….didn’t buy it AT ALL.

“One life may change the world. Where would you all be if someone had deemed saving my life to be a waste of time?” 

And other, long and random/not so random thoughts:

Mor.
I fully enjoyed seeing her more vulnerable in this book. As for her whole reveal, guys, I am 100% fine with her being gay and I don’t know how more people weren’t. Didn’t feel “thrown in” like so many people are saying, wasn’t a “plot twist” –people were just calling it that on Tumblr. You guys, we only have ever gotten FEYRE’s perspective on things. And she’s been a part of the inner circle for a few months…how would she have picked up on anything but the very basics of all of their complicated relationships??? The only thing that REALLY bothered me about the whole deal is that Mor thought that she couldn’t have told any of them. ESPECIALLY AZRIEL. I’m pretty sure if it came down to it, he would have wanted her to just tell him so that he didn’t have to sit around pining for her, hoping that someday she’d change her mind. But now 500 years have gone by and he’s going to be fucked up when he finds out (even if he does start some tentative thing with Elaine). They all love her so much, there isn’t a doubt in my mind that they won’t accept ever bit of her, especially after she tells them.

CASSIAN AND NESTA.
HOLYYYYYYYYYYYYY CRAPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP. They are my ship of ships. My OTP. My heart yearns for them. I had FORGOTTEN all of the little moments they share in this book. S:DLGJSODGJSEIOGJSEOPGJE$O. BUT. That being said, I recently, quickly re-read ACOFAS too and reading all of this good stuff just makes all of their interactions from that book even more fucked up. I mean I get it. Nesta 100% has a baaaaad case of PTSD after what happened with her father, after seeing this war. But fuck. It’s Cassian. If anyone knows what she’s dealing with, it’s going to be him. I am dying to any information on their book. Dying to know if they’re mates or if have always just had this weird bond because they have found each other worthy opponents from the very beginning. Sighh….

So yes. I did love this book. I love this book 4.5 stars worth and that missing .5 star was still almost enough to break my heart. I love these characters and I will happily re-read ACOMAF which is still my favorite until the day that I die. Thank you Sarah for introducing us to this court of Dreamers. I will never forget them.

Only you can decide what breaks you, Cursebreaker. Only you.

BOOK REVIEW: Overnight Sensation (Brooklyn #2) by Sarina Bowen

BOOK REVIEW: Overnight Sensation (Brooklyn #2) by Sarina BowenOvernight Sensation (Brooklyn Bruisers #5)
by Sarina Bowen
Purchase on: AmazoniBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:

Everyone knows the girl is off limits. But it's so good to be bad.


There's this girl...
Heidi and I have been trading hungry looks all year, and everything she does makes me smile. But I don't do girlfriends, and I certainly can't get involved with the league commissioner's daughter. I need shots on goal, not a hookup and a widely misunderstood paparazzi photo.
Can I resist her, though? The way she teases me should be a game penalty for interference with my libido. 


There's this guy...
Jason wants me, but he won't admit it. That man looks at me the way a hockey player eyes the lunch buffet after practice--and I love it.
But when victory is finally within my grasp, I blow it and humiliate myself. Even then I can't even avoid him--as the team intern, I'm in constant view of his hard body and cocky smile.
I need another chance. Jason Castro is about to learn the true meaning of an overnight sensation.

*Disclaimer: So I read this entire on vacation but in a super random order.  I wrote the reviews in the order I read them so that’s how I’ll be posting them, too!

Review:

“Here we are!” the driver announces cheerfully.
“My body is ready,” she whispers. I wonder if they teach that at charm school.

Ughhhh guyssss. Time to do some not-so-serious complaining before I actually start my review. Okay, I knew when I started this binge that this was going to be a problem…I read all five of the books in this series when I was on vacation in Florida last week with no computer. I SHOULD have just written a mini review for each on my phone but I didn’t want to waste any reading time because let’s face it….I NEVER am able to read that much anymore. The last time I accomplished it was two years ago when I was a library conference with no baby or husband to interrupt me lol. Anyways, SO HERE I AM, desperately trying to remember all of what I loved about each of these books. Bare with me….

“Hi Pete!” she greets the gray-haired bartender.
“Hello, miss.” He gives her a big smile. 
“I’d like a shot of tequila with a whiskey chaser,” she says. 
Pete rolls his eyes. “You’re underage. We’ve been over this. Besides—nobody orders that. We have to work on your smack talk.” 
“What do I order if I want to make a statement?” she asks, pulling out a barstool and plunking her cute butt onto it. 
“A buttery nipple,” Pete suggests. 
“What if I’m avoiding dairy?” 
The bartender laughs so hard he practically has an aneurism. That’s the thing about Heidi. Once you’ve noticed her, it’s hard to stop noticing her.

First of all, I need to throw it out there that these should be read in order. They don’t *have* to be BUT I did NOT read them in a really ass-backwards way and ended up meeting all these characters that I didn’t know and that didn’t seem as special to me because I hadn’t met them yet. (also as a side note, reading this one first ruined a bit of the anticipation on whether or not they were going to win the series or not during the first few books. In this one we find out right away that they had lost..) My favorite part of a sports series, or even any romance series, is when you get to meet this huge group of friends and they eventually wind up feeling like family. This series is no exception. I love all of these guys so much and am so glad I FINALLY took the time to read them all.

I can’t quite decide if this one was my favorite or if Brooklynaire was….either way they were all incredibly good. I loved the bossy and macho Castro and Heidi was fucking hilarious (and equally bossy). The sexual tension between them was delicious and their banter and the way their relationship began and then progressed was just…ugh perfection.

I also really liked how Heidi just didn’t quite know what to do with her life and didn’t even really figure it out by the end. I think it’s complete and utter bullshit that we as young people are supposed to just all suddenly KNOW what we want to do when we grow up. I mean I LOVE being a librarian but even I wonder sometimes if that’s exactly what I’m meant to be doing (I know I’ve got the surrounded by books daily part right at least lol). Her dad may have been a complete dick to her, and basically prevented her from initially taking that job with Rebecca but it was so satisfying, seeing her do all of the jobs that she was assigned to without any complaints. She is amazing and I love her to bits. 100% will go back for a reread at a later time.

“I love you against reason, against promise, against peace, against hope, against happiness, against all discouragement that could be.”

Side note: It should be mentioned that every book in the Brooklyn Bruisers and Brooklyn series can be read as standalones.  In my own personal opinion though, once you read one, you won’t stop until you read the rest.

BOOK REVIEW: LIFEL1K3 (Lifelike #1) by Jay Kristoff

BOOK REVIEW: LIFEL1K3 (Lifelike #1) by Jay KristoffLIFEL1K3 (Lifelike #1)
by Jay Kristoff
Purchase on: AmazoniBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:

On a floating junkyard beneath a radiation sky, a deadly secret lies buried in the scrap.

Eve isn’t looking for secrets—she’s too busy looking over her shoulder. The robot gladiator she’s just spent six months building has been reduced to a smoking wreck, and the only thing keeping her Grandpa from the grave was the fistful of credits she just lost to the bookies. To top it off, she’s discovered she can destroy electronics with the power of her mind, and the puritanical Brotherhood are building a coffin her size. If she’s ever had a worse day, Eve can’t remember it.

But when Eve discovers the ruins of an android boy named Ezekiel in the scrap pile she calls home, her entire world comes crashing down. With her best friend Lemon Fresh and her robotic conscience, Cricket, in tow, she and Ezekiel will trek across deserts of irradiated glass, infiltrate towering megacities and scour the graveyard of humanity’s greatest folly to save the ones Eve loves, and learn the dark secrets of her past.

Even if those secrets were better off staying buried.

Review:

“Leave it alone,”
 Cricket warned. 
Eve’s eyebrows hit her hairline. “Crick, are you smoked? Can you imagine how much scratch this thing is worth?” 
“We got no business with tech that red,” the little bot growled. 
“What’s the prob?” Lemon asked. “He looks armless to me.” 
Eve glanced at the severed shoulder. Up at her friend’s grin. “You’re awful, Lemon.”

Lol ummmmm. I don’t even know where to begin after an ending like that, lol WOW. I mean UNFORTUNATELY one of the regular patrons at my library spoiled one of the biggest reveals for me a few weeks ago (which really was crappy, like wtf lol) but STILL. I feel like it was just one thing after the other for the last 25% of the book like I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO BELIEVE ANYMORE, WHAT IS HAPPENING!?

“So. You wanna play?” the skinny boy asked again. Lemon looked the kid in the eye. Fingered the stolen creds in her cargos.
“All right, you little snots,” she muttered. “Let’s dance.” 
“What’s your name?”
 Stinky asked as Lemon pulled up a chair. The girl cracked her knuckles. Picking up the cards, she fanned them out over the table, swept them up into a riffle shuffle, dovetailed them into a perfect stack and set them down before the wide-eyed children. She dropped her stiks on the table and smiled. 
“You can call me Daddy.”

The first thing I want to mention about this book is that I am obsessed with its characters. Lemon, especially, is hilarious. Eve was BA and I loved the friendship between her and her bestest. Ezekiel was….intriguing. I don’t know my full thoughts on him and the relationship there just yet. I’ll be excited to see how certain things progress in DEV1AT3 though, that’s for sure. Cricket and Kaiser though…*sobs* perfection. Two cutest bots on the block.

Overall this book was both weirdly not what I expected and exactly what I expected. I was thinking it was going to be a little more sci-fi when really it was a lot more dystopian. Kristoff painted a picture of a world that was ugly AF if I’m being honest. All of that machinery and not one blade of green grass or clean water was mentioned. The thought it horrifying. After I got a better grip on the world building though, everything flowed better for me. A lot of really horribly visceral things happened but since I’ve read The Illuminae Files and Aurora Rising I had kind of expected it. The writing, even though it was solely his instead of also with Kaufman’s, was very familiar to me and I appreciated the consistency of it. What I thought was super interesting was that even though it’s mentioned that this was “part Romeo and Juliet, part Terminator” that this is like 100% an Anastasia parallel. Like….that could kind of be a spoiler I guess (?) but…It’s still true haha. Once I realized it I was like OMG YES. SO MANY CONNECTIONS! I cannot wait to see what ends up happening in DEV1AT3, wow.

“We can’t just leave her in there alone, Freckles. You know that.” 
“We lied to her. She hates us now.” 
“It’s simple to love someone on the days that are easy. But you find out what your love is made of on the days that are hard.”
 The lifelike held out his hand. “And we still love her,” he said simply. “Don’t we?”

This final part I think I’ll put under a spoiler tag so I can talk some things out…
View Spoiler »

“Stronger together, together forever, right?” 

BOOK REVIEW: This Shattered World (Starbound #2) by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner

BOOK REVIEW: This Shattered World (Starbound #2) by Amie Kaufman & Meagan SpoonerThis Shattered World (Starbound #2)
by Amie Kaufman, Meagan Spooner
Purchase on: AmazoniBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:

The second installment in the epic Starbound trilogy introduces a new pair of star-crossed lovers on two sides of a bloody war.

Jubilee Chase and Flynn Cormac should never have met.

Lee is captain of the forces sent to Avon to crush the terraformed planet's rebellious colonists, but she has her own reasons for hating the insurgents.

Rebellion is in Flynn's blood. Terraforming corporations make their fortune by recruiting colonists to make the inhospitable planets livable, with the promise of a better life for their children. But they never fulfilled their promise on Avon, and decades later, Flynn is leading the rebellion.

Desperate for any advantage in a bloody and unrelentingly war, Flynn does the only thing that makes sense when he and Lee cross paths: he returns to base with her as prisoner. But as his fellow rebels prepare to execute this tough-talking girl with nerves of steel, Flynn makes another choice that will change him forever. He and Lee escape the rebel base together, caught between two sides of a senseless war.

Review:

“What do you know of souls and hearts and how they break here? You don’t know me at all.”

“Oh, Jubilee.”
My resolve shatters, and my hand slides toward hers. She doesn’t pull away, but she doesn’t look up either, watching my fingers curling through hers.
“Hearts and souls and how they break? That’s all Avon teaches anyone.”

Man I am just so happy that I decided to re-read this series. I forgot how much I truly loved it and that’s saying something considering the fact that I first read it quite a while ago and have grown as a reader a lot since then. Going into this in the back of my mind I was thinking that this was my favorite book of the series. While I’m not sure if I in fact liked it more than book one, I think that overall the story line is a lot more solid and intense than book one. Even the romance develops a bit more realistically (though let’s be honest, I’m usually not a judger of insta-love….usually).

“I’m not special,” I snap. “I’m no more important than anyone else.”
“You’re the most important thing in this universe. You; this vessel; the people of this planet; lovers, warriors, artists, leaders, dreams more numerous than stars. Each mind unique, each thought created for an instant and then broken apart to form new ones. You don’t understand the unbearable beauty of being you.”

While this is a continuation of another planet that has been affected by the Whispers, it’s more of a story about the people of Avon and the soldiers that occupy it and their power struggles. It’s about peace-keeper Finn, who is part of the local group of people and the brother of the women who tried starting a huge rebellion, failed, and was executed for it and Jubilee, or Captain Lee Chase who is obviously part of the military force occupying Avon. The two meet when Finn captures Jubilee, hoping to find information on this mysterious base he finds deep in the swamp. He ends up eventually letting her go and the two wind up forming a tentative relationship for the sole sake of finding out what in the hell is going on with the slowed terraforming and this mysterious “fury” that used to only affect soldiers but spreads to more people.

This book is just so much…more (?) than the first book. Finding out about the struggles of the local people versus the soldiers and hurting for them. Talk of change, of rebellion, of just spending every day trying to survive. It’s pretty heavy honestly. There is one scene involving death that just fucking ripped my heart out and stomped all over it. I forgot how intense this book was at times, honestly but that’s what made it so good. I loved reading about Finn’s love for his people and how all he wanted was peace and to find out why his planet wasn’t doing better. I loved reading about Jubilee’s strict moral code and how she eventually had to change what she thought because she realized she didn’t have the whole picture and that sometimes you need to break the rules in order to help people and actually do the *right* thing.

Their relationship, too, was just so good. Watching it develop was so satisfying in the end and I wouldn’t have changed anything about it at all. Overall, like I said, I am so happy to have re-read this. It’s of the good ones.

ALSO, SIDE NOTE, the audio of this is AMAZINGGGGGG. Between every chapters is a few pages of what we find out later to be Jubilee’s dreams that are being “stolen” from her. They are read buy this guy who does this soft, voice that honestly creeped me out while you can hear people whispering in the background. Like holy shit. So eerie and so amazing. HIGHLY recommend.

He can’t take his eyes off the stars, but I can’t take mine off his face.

« Older posts Newer posts »

© 2024

Theme by Anders NorenUp ↑