Axel by Harper Sloan [Spoilery Rant]

Axel by Harper Sloan 
Series: Corps Security #1
Source: Free kindle copy
Publication Date: July 7th 2013
Age Genre: Adult

Isabelle has learned the hard way how hard life can be when fate isn’t by your side. It can hand you dreams on silver platters, but it can snatch them right back and hand you nightmares. One thing Isabelle knew for sure fate was consistent with was taking away everything she ever loved.
For the last two years Isabelle has been slowly clearing the clouds of her past. Happiness is finally on the horizon. She has a thriving business, great friends, and her life back. All she has to do is jump over the last hurdle…her ex-husband.
When problems start causing her to fear her new life, and memories that are better left forgotten start rushing to the surface the last thing she needs is a ghost from her past to come knocking on her door.
Axel never thought he would look into the eyes of Isabelle West again, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to now. He’s carried his anger for so long he isn’t sure he can just turn it off, but when he is faced with protecting her and an unexpected desire to have her again, life gets a little more complicated.
How will Axel and Isabelle deal when all their cards are put on the table and everything they thought was true blows up in their faces?

This book makes me want to curse until I'm hoarse. This is my way of warning you guys that there is going to be a lot of those in this review. So if those bother you... please don't read on.

The thing that got me so fucking frustrated was the fucking "misunderstanding" that the author fucking refused to solve, no matter how ridiculous it got. In the core of things, you've got two characters who've been fed wrong information that caused their long separation.

Everyone around them sees their two versions don't match up so something's up. But does anyone come up to them and say "Hey, dude, she thought you were dead/Hey girl, he thought you left him?" Err, no. They just sprout some nonsense bullshit about this not being their story to tell and the two "need to talk". This crucial plot point could've been solved eons ago instead of after 70% of the novel if some of their "friends" got over themselves. 

Or if the stupid as fuck couple involve in this got over their shit. I mean, seriously, Izzy. Someone told you he was dead but lo and behold he's alive. Wouldn't you want to figure the fuck out? To talk to him and see what the hell happened because obviously someone lied to you? Instead you get it into your head that he abandoned you? And you refuse to talk about it because it seems cut and dry to you? Even when people are vaguely hinting that it's really not? Are you fucking kidding me? 

And you, Axel--what. the. fuck. First you're angry at her because after four and a half years of no communication she got married to someone else. Four and a half years. Are you off your freaking rocket? But okay, at least you demand the two of you talk--oh fuck me, you just want to talk about the husband situation. Not the whole what happened twelve years ago. Right.

If you'd just opened your fucking mouths and talked then this book wouldn't have been the nightmarish experience it was. 

Seriously, I can't handle this bullshit. Especially because the moment they finally put all that crap behind them and talked (a conversation that needed only a minute and a half for both of them to figure out they've been lied to, so why did it have to drag the entire book is beyond me!) the book got good. They got good.  I could actually enjoy and occasionally smile at the remaining 25% of the book. It's the only reason I considered maybe giving this three stars.

Even though I hate Axel's entire attitude, and can't understand how a woman who's been through what Iz has can even deal with his possessiveness and jealous-ness. There is sexy alpha-male and then there is taking that a level too high... If I had an abusive husband, I'd probably shy away from other controlling men, even if I knew deep down that they won't hurt me.

But I guess a woman like Izzy, who hasn't overcome one single issue on her own and all her problems simply go away with a man, needs that?

Speaking of which, I didn't find his dirty talk hot in any way. It felt kind of weird and too forced to me, not to mention highly inappropriate considering how Brandon used to talk to Iz. But whatever, whatever floats your boat... 

Will I read more books from this author? Maybe. Ultimately, I hated her method of milking the stupid misunderstanding dry, but I had no issue with her writing and I liked the characters. In fact, they interested me ten times more than the sex scenes, all of which I skimmed, and that's actually a good thing.

Nitzan★

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The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting

The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting
Series: The Body Finder #1
Source: Kindle copy
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication Date: March 16, 2010
Age Genre: YA

Violet Ambrose is grappling with two major issues: Jay Heaton and her morbid secret ability. While the sixteen-year-old is confused by her new feelings for her best friend since childhood, she is more disturbed by her "power" to sense dead bodies—or at least those that have been murdered. Since she was a little girl, she has felt the echoes the dead leave behind in the world . . . and the imprints that attach to their killers.
Violet has never considered her strange talent to be a gift; it mostly just led her to find dead birds her cat left for her. But now that a serial killer is terrorizing her small town, and the echoes of the local girls he's claimed haunt her daily, Violet realizes she might be the only person who can stop him.
Despite his fierce protectiveness over her, Jay reluctantly agrees to help Violet find the murderer—and Violet is unnerved by her hope that Jay's intentions are much more than friendly. But even as she's falling intensely in love, Violet is getting closer and closer to discovering a killer . . . and becoming his prey herself.

Okay, I'm a little angry too...

This book just might be the biggest disappointment of my year. Seriously, I expected this really interesting mystery with a paranormal twist, a race against time to find a killer, with a side-dish of awesome friends-to-lovers romance.

What I got?

The exact opposite; a bland romance with the whole awesome body finding bit being just an after thought, just something the author throws in to make things a little bit more exciting and unique.

BUT IF THE WHOLE THING IS MENTIONED ONCE IN FOUR CHAPTERS BETWEEN moans and groans about Jay and their relationship and his turning hot, and how she's worried about ruining them, and gasp other girls are noticing him too, the vain, stupid imbeciles! look at them fawning over him--oh, hello Jay *fawns* then IT'S NOT REALLY GOING TO WORK.

Seriously! You can see how unimportant Derting found the whole murdering girls thing by how the murderer has no identity whatsoever. She didn't ever design to give him a name. Seriously, at all times, even after being caught, the characters in the books refer to him as the killer/the murderer/insert other title.

And he has no background, no added information to his character aside for the whole "I like killing girls" bit. Where are the motives, how he came to do it, the little things that make his brain tick, all the things real, exciting murder mysteries have?

And the romance itself? There was nothing to it! I love the friends-to-lovers theme, it's my favorite, but here, I didn't feel it was well done at all. First of all, it seems like Violet only woke up to Jay's romantic appeal when... well, when he became hot.

And then... well, it's just... there wasn't very much of them here. Big parts of this book showed them fighting, tying to make each other jealous, or Jay kind of being the really overbearing boyfriend (without him actually being a boyfriend...)

Which is the main problem, really. Before all the drama started, they were already acting like a couple. Why couldn't it be just a natural progression, without all the BS and drama? Because they were really cute and sweet without all that..

And then, there is the matter of Violet's powers. We don't explore them, at all. There is no real background to them, nor even a curiousness about them from our characters. Violet has powers, and that's it. And everyone freakin' accepts this. No one but the killer even wonders what the f the police captain doing bringing a 16 year old to a crime scene!

There were a lot of interesting concepts in this book, but the execution, or lack of thereof, made this book so very meh. 

Sadly, the only way I'll be reading the next books, is if they're at bargain price, like this one was...

Nitzan★

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Moon Dance by J.R. Rain (SPOILERS)

Moon Dance by J.R. Rain
Series: Vampire for Hire #1
Source: Free Kindle book
Publisher: Self Published
Publication Date: August 10th 2009
Age Genre: Adult

Mother, wife, private investigator...vampire. Six years ago federal agent Samantha Moon was the perfect wife and mother, your typical soccer mom with the minivan and suburban home. Then the unthinkable happens, an attack that changes her life forever. And forever is a very long time for a vampire.
Now the world at large thinks Samantha has developed a rare skin disease, a disease which forces her to quit her day job and stay out of the light of the sun. Now working the night shift as a private investigator, Samantha is hired by Kingsley Fulcrum to investigate the murder attempt on his life, a horrific scene captured on TV and seen around the country. But as the case unfolds, Samantha discovers Kingsley isn't exactly what he appears to be; after all, there is a reason why he survived five shots to the head.

THIS REVIEW IS A RANT AND CONTAINS SPOILERS. CLICK THE "READ MORE" BUTTON ONLY IF YOU DO NOT MIND THAT. 

Sooo... Moon Dance. Where do I start? I guess by saying that I read this book in pretty much a day, so it wasn't that bad. The writing was good. It was sweeping, and I did want to see what happened next.

Buuuut... I had a ton of problems with it.

Samantha Moon has been a vampire for six years now, but she reads like someone who's newly undead; a) she barely knows anything about her powers. I mean, even freakin' Bella Swan did research when it came to Edward's vampirism, so this hotshot PI doesn't?

b) She suddenly wonders about God and whether she's evil (as if she's thinking about it for the first time). Those are things you would probably think about looong before the six year mark. I mean, it's a recurring theme in vampire literature. You'd probably wonder on it just because you've read/watched a book/movie that touched on it, even if you aren't religious.

Then there was Samantha's husband Danny. I felt like his entire character was there to move the plot, with his personality and dialogue coming just to create certain conflicts. Because why would a guy who we're told did so much to help Samantha and stand by her when the attack and it's consequences happened turn into this doucheface?

First, he cheats on Samantha, and he's not even trying to hide it (which brings me to a different problem I had with the plot - why did she stay with him, when obviously their marriage is long gone).

Second, he calls Samantha a freak, a creep, is repulsed by her and treats her like an unfit mother... when, for all intents and purposes, he's the unfit father; he is the one who never comes home and instead bangs his secretary. He doesn't pick them up for school, doesn't take them to their activities, doesn't play with them. So where did this "unfit mother" idea came from, to him and to Sam's sister?

Third, there were all the allegations he threw at her at the end. How he is scared of her and for his children. Did we miss something? Has Sam ever been violent with them, ever, before he announced he was taking her children? Because the story doesn't seem to indicate so. So where does this idea come from, to a man who was willing to cover for Samantha and do anything to help her when her condition first happened?

I'd say that if Rain didn't want to cause some conflict and make the vampirism deal seem like a "curse" to Sam, or if Rain didn't want the story to have the (questionable) benefit of Sam developing a relationship(s), none of this would've happened.

In short, Danny was just a plot device, changing his form for the convenience of the plot. 

I would have been much happier to hear a story with the supportive Danny and a healthy relationship despite the vampirism, than I would've this turn of events. I could accept this storylineif Danny has been unsupportive and scared of her from the get go, or if there had been a reason for him to turn like this.

Speaking of possible relationships... Insta love. Yuck. And a love triangle in our future. GAG. Seriously, worst place this story could've went to. And a really weird concept of manliness, probably steaming from a male author writing in a female's mind.

And finally, the world was... sketchy, at best. I mean, vampires and werewolves are still in the closet. People don't believe in them. And yet... it seems awfully easy for many of the characters to accept it all. Or they all suspect it extremely fast. I mean, if you met a PI that only worked nights, would your first thought really be "vampire"?...

On the bright side, I did get rid of one of my oldest oldies on kindle. So... yay me! :D

 Nitzan★

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Dark Lover by J.R Ward

So as you guys know, I wasn't always part of The Book Babe's Reads. I had my own personal blog before - which now lies abandoned... alongside all my old reviews. But because I feel like some of them don't deserve such an awful treatment, I'm going to slowly move my favorite reviews here! (though some editing may occur, as I'm a little OCD about my reviews, and the older they originally are, the more likely I am to have things I want to rephrase). 

Dark Lover by J.R Ward
Series: Black Dagger Brotherhood #1
Source: borrowed from library
Age Genre: Adult
Original Review: April 12, 2013

In the shadows of the night in Caldwell, New York, there's a deadly turf war going on between vampires and their slayers. There exists a secret band of brothers like no other-six vampire warriors, defenders of their race. Yet none of them relishes killing more than Wrath, the leader of The Black Dagger Brotherhood.
The only purebred vampire left on earth, Wrath has a score to settle with the slayers who murdered his parents centuries ago. But, when one of his most trusted fighters is killed-leaving his half-breed daughter unaware of his existence or her fate-Wrath must usher her into the world

I'm going to be completely honest and start by saying that originally, I gave this book three stars. But reading through my review, I kept thinking to myself... whhhy? So, there goes half a star. Bye! 

If we're already being honest with each other, I will also admit that while this review is mostly a rant - I have continued with this series, and I even loved some of the books in it. So... don't judge the series based on the first book!  

The first of this (currently) thirteen long series is, unfortunately, completely underwhelming. I had this nagging sense of deja vu the entire read, like... been there, read this, and considering this was way back when I'd just started with adult books and these type of romance-centered fantasies, I cannot imagine how I'd feel about this now. 

The characters were alright. I loved being inside Wrath's head, seeing the duality of his thoughts vs. words first hand, even though the guy got on my nerves sometimes. I loved seeing this really outwardly strong, big, tough guy turn out to be a sad, self doubting and loathing person who can't show his warmth to anyone. Call me sadistic. 

What I didn't like was how the realization he loved Beth did a 180 degrees turn on his personality, suddenly making him show his emotions easily and whatnot. It doesn't work like this. Love is not an immediate cure-all medicine, it just serves to be the catalyst and the support system you need to help you bring the change.  

As for Beth herself.. she was just a kind, strong, sweet girl, who is (for once, and thank god) aware of the fact she is beautiful but never uses it. 

But it wasn't really Beth or Wrath who shone in this book and made me read the next one. Nope, that honor lies within the side-characters, all of whom I adored (Butch, V, Z...) 

Then there were the villains, plural, because we have two types: The Lessers; soulless humans who kill without second thought and The "Righteous"; the vampires who think they're better than the brothers. 

The ones that really pissed me off and brought emotions out of me is the second one (mainly, Marissa's brother). they are basically stuck up a-holes snobs who jump to their own (wrong) conclusions at the drop of the hat. As for the first group, the traditionally evil... I felt like they weren't well done, because ultimately, I didn't care a whit about them. They didn't generate any emotion out of me. 

NOW FOR THE REAL RANT.

The romance in this book is pretty much goddamn awful. 

Case in point: a humongous guy armed to the teeth breaks into your apartment in the middle of the night. You: 

a) Call the police.

B) Run the hell away.

C) Try to knock him out with something.

D) Have wild, unprotected sex with him.  

Do I really have to tell you which option Beth chooses? 

There is absolutely no process of falling in love, no feeling of love. It's just... lust. They're declaring being madly in love when they know nothing of one another, their only base for a relationship their physical attraction.

Once they settled into the relationship, they're adorably sweet, I won't deny that. But as much as I tried, I couldn't shut up the nagging voice that kept reminding me of all the above points. That asked where does this relationship even come from. That kept doubting it.

And the writing... it's good, don't get me wrong, but there were so many povs my head was spinning. I wish Ward would have just focused on a few and discarded of the rest. 

Nitzan★

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Brotherhood by A.B. Westrick

Brotherhood by A.B. Westrick
Series: N/A
Source: Bought
Publisher: Viking
Publication Date: September 12, 2013

The year is 1867, the South has been defeated, and the American Civil War is over. But the conflict goes on. Yankees now patrol the streets of Richmond, Virginia, and its citizens, both black and white, are struggling to redefine their roles and relationships. By day, fourteen-year-old Shadrach apprentices with a tailor and sneaks off for reading lessons with Rachel, a freed slave, at her school for African-American children. By night he follows his older brother to the meetings of a group whose stated mission is to protect Confederate widows like their mother. But as the true murderous intentions of the brotherhood—-now known as the Ku Klux Klan—-are revealed, Shad finds himself trapped between old loyalties and what he knows is right.

A powerful and unflinching story of a family caught in the enormous social and political upheaval of the period of Reconstruction.

All I feel about Brotherhood is conflict. On one hand, I liked learning more about the Civil war era South, and the rebuilding of it after the war, but on the other hand, I didn't really care for the actual story. Or the main character, Shad. And I sort of have a clear reason to why I dislike him - he's a jerk.

"Oh, it's fine to associate with them in private, but I gotta snub my nose at 'em in public." I didn't like that about him. He spent so much of his time worrying about what other people thought - which meant he didn't even think about what he thought. He was so conflicted inside about it that it just tore him up! While this is very historically accurate, I didn't really like the thought of it.

I did notice another thing about Shad, though. No matter how badly his big brother treated him, he wanted to grow up and be just like him. He's doing what he thinks his dead daddy would want, and he's also doing what he feels is right by joining the KKK. Which I do understand on one level, I'd just like to know how he got to be so easily lead around.

He definitely needed to sort out his priorities. His brother was all meanness and spite, so I'm not sure why anyone would wanna be like him. Seemed like he was all trouble. All in all, this was a mostly character driven book, so I don't have much else to say. It was okay, but not fantastic or anything. The history was interesting. I guess it just wasn't really for me.
 

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Broken Hearts, Fences, and Other Things to Mend by Katie Finn

Broken Hearts, Fences, and Other Things to Mend by Katie Finn
Series: Broken Hearts & Revenge, #1
Source: Netgalley (Thanks, Fiewel & Friends!)
Publisher: Fiewel & Friends
Publication Date: May 13, 2014

Summer, boys, and friendships gone sour. This new series has everything that perfect beach reads are made of!

Gemma just got dumped and is devastated. She finds herself back in the Hamptons for the summer—which puts her at risk of bumping into Hallie, her former best friend that she wronged five years earlier. Do people hold grudges that long?

When a small case of mistaken identity causes everyone, including Hallie and her dreamy brother Josh, to think she’s someone else, Gemma decides to go along with it.

Gemma's plan is working (she's finding it hard to resist Josh), but she's finding herself in embarrassing situations (how could a bathing suit fall apart like that!?). Is it coincidence or is someone trying to expose her true identity? And how will Josh react if he finds out who she is?

Katie Finn hits all the right notes in this perfect beginning to a new summer series: A Broken Hearts & Revenge novel.

Let's just be honest here: doesn't this just look like the cutest summer revenge read? It does. But it really fell short of it's potential for me. For me it's sometimes just a little too hard to understand the motivation for revenge, and BHFaOTtM just didn't have a very plausible plot for me. Why spend most of your life plotting revenge for something that happened when you were a kid? You should just build a bridge and get over it!

Once I finished reading it, all I could think was "bleh, this is a series? Why?" Because it seemed like this all should have ended in the first book, since it was stupid to begin with. But I digress. BHFaOTtM was pretty cheesy on top of being dumb... which kind of upset me. It was easy to guess what would happen next, and I found myself predicting everything before it happened.

And don't even get me started on the characters! BLEH. First, we have the boy that Gemma is hopelessly in love with - Teddy. Who is a crunchy hippy who keeps all of his ducks in a row, does everything right, and is the perfect person. Except he's boring as all get out, is one of those people who has to be involved in anything (even things that don't concern him), and has to have the perfect, sweet, innocent girlfriend. Ick.

I like him already, don't you folks? Besides the debatable love interest, we also have Gemma herself. I'll tell you straight up that she's a liar, and that she has to have everything her way... which I just couldn't stand. She whines too much, schemes a lot, and doesn't really appear to be very smart. Not only is she decidedly not-smart, she's also extremely dense.

Basically, Broken Hearts, Fences, and Other Things to Mend was really not for me. I couldn't get into the plot or the characters, and the revenge angle of the story seemed very one-sided to me. But who knows, this just might be your cup of tea!

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