hot off the press

Must Love Dukes by Elizabeth Michels

 in Books / Fiction / Hot Off The Press by

“Who ever thought a duke would be so daring?”

Summary

She can’t resist a dare.
Lillian Phillips could not imagine how her quiet, simple life had come to this. Blackmailed by the Made Duke of Thornwood into accepting one wild dare after another…all because of a pocket watch. Desperate to recover her beloved father’s pawned timepiece, Lily did something reckless and dangerous and delicious – something that led to a night she’d never forget.

He has a reputation for scandal.
When Devon Grey, Duke of Thornwood, runs into the mesmerizing, intoxicating, thieving woman who literally stole from his bedchamber – with his new pocket watch – Devon plots his revenge. If the daring wench likes to play games, he’s happy to oblige. After all, what’s the use of being the Mad Duke if you can’t have some fun? But the last laugh just might be on him…

-From the back cover

Review

I’m just going to say it outright.

I thought this book was kinda mushy.

I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love mushy books and such, they are a simple read and fill your head with fluff and make you all warm and fuzzy, but for some reason I didn’t love this book as much as I thought I was going to. I guess I’m not into more….”medieval” romance literature as much as I thought, but I will try more incase maybe it was just this book.

So I’ll present what I liked and what I didn’t like in this book as there were some good things as well.

First off, what I didn’t like. Let’s rip that band-aid off. I didn’t feel like there was a lot of description. There wasn’t a ton of character development and I really dislike how it objectifies women. I’m all for woman empowerment, and I know that a woman wrote this, but it always gets on my nerves when women are treated like cattle, especially in this. The main character talked tough like she would fight back, but she didn’t do anything. She needed the Duke to come in and save her and while the ‘damsel-in-distress’ is good to read and all and many people like it, for this book…I don’t know, I didn’t work for me.

I also felt that the ending was kinda rushed. It was just suddenly all this stuff was happening, all this information was thrown at you, and BAM, the book ended. I was left sitting there like, “WTF…what just happened?”

In addition to this, this is a romance book. Most romance books either are just completely flirting and teasing or there is outright sex. This book I felt was in between. The one or two sex scenes in this book were…kind of lacking in my opinion. The description was fluffy (not saying it should be explicit, but it was too child-like) and it just got on my nerves. I’m not saying that you should use crude language or foul descriptions, but don’t make it all fluffy..it just ruins reading it. Either go for it, or don’t at all. People who usually read these types of books know all about this stuff, so just go for it in my opinion.

Now to the things that I did like.

The story overall was creative on how it progressed and the slow romance between the Duke and Lily, and it had many good qualities of him pursuing her, realizing his feelings for her, and going after her. Then there was the brother Solomon…I just wanted to smack him so much and I love when there is one of those characters. It pushes you to read on to find out if something happens to him in the end.

Overall, I would recommend this book, even though there were downsides. But these downsides pertained to me personally and my overall reading experience. I am sure that many others would like it as it has a classic love story and a male fighting for a womans love. So many would love this book and I say that you give it a shot if you’re interested in this type of stuff.

Let me know what you think and happy reading!

 

Boy Nobody by Allen Zadoff

 in Book Reviews / Books / Interesting / Young Adult by

“He is nothing. The mission is everything.”

Summary

“They needed the perfect assassin.

Boy Nobody is the perennial new kid in school, the one few notice and nobody thinks much about. He shows up in a new high school in a new town under a new name, makes a few friends, and doesn’t stay long. Just long enough for someone in his new friend’s family to die-of “natural causes.” Mission accomplished, Boy Nobody disappears, moving on to the next target.

But when he’s assigned to the mayor of New York City, things change. The daughter is unlike anyone he has encountered before; the mayor reminds him of his father. And when memories and questions surface, his handlers at The Program are watching. Because somewhere deep inside, Boy Nobody is somebody: the kid he once was; the teen who wants normal things, like a real home and parents; a young man who wants out. And who just might want those things badly enough to sabotage The Program’s mission.

In this action-packed series debut, author Allen Zadoff pens a page-turning thriller that is as thought-provoking as it is gripping, introducing an utterly original and unforgettable antihero.”

-from Amazon.com

Review

I will start off by saying that this book was quite unlike any other book that I have read. It was written differently, there were more flashbacks, and it just, overall, had a completely different feel. Now this is not necessarily a bad thing, because I feel that for this book, it worked quite well and fit in with the overall theme.

It was quite a fast paced book, even though the majority of the book only spanned over about 5 days. In those five days a lot happened…..betrayal, mysteries, rebellion, death! It definitely kept you on your toes until the very last page. The entire time you thought it was one thing, but by the time you got to the last page…you were like ‘whatttttt’.

And then after the book, you were left sitting there thinking how quickly everything escalated.

There was very little dialogue in this book which is completely different from most books. If I remember correctly, this entire book was in first person point of view, but it was mostly feeling, thoughts, and things that the main character saw. Since this was a kind of secret espionage, soldier, mysterious thing-y (yes, I used that word) book, it really did add to it.

The only thing which I found a little confusing was when there was a flashback. There was nothing to really indicate that it was a flash back; no font changes or little things in the beginning to say what year it was or where it was. If you pay attention you will get it, but if you skim chapter, then you will be lost. SO DON’T DO IT! (you probably shouldn’t be anyway)

This is a hot off the press, as it only came out in June of this year, so if you look for it, it will probably be on your new YA shelf.

You should definitely go and check this book out as it was really an extremely well written book!

If you love stuff to do with government’s (or mysterious Programs) and where the main character is a young teenager (in this case, a young boy (about 16 I believe)), then this is definitely your type book. Also it is a quick read so with all of the school work, you will still be able to finish it in a few days.

So go and check this one out and let me know what you think.

Noah’s Knits by Fiona Goble

 in Book Reviews / Books / Hot Off The Press by

Hot off the press is this new book Noah’s Knits by Fiona Goble.  Long time readers of this blog will know that we love Fiona Goble (Here, Here, and Here). She is a really creative lady (just check out ALL the crafty books she has written), and handy with the knitting needles and appears to want to create little worlds in wool. However, even though she has been featured before we haven’t actually reviewed one of her books until today.

This is a charming little book (80 pages) with the story of Noah and the animals and 16 knitted projects, very helpful instructions showing you how to knit, change wool color, turn around, finish your little piece and add embellishments and finishing touches. The back of the book has an Ark with opening doors and ramp so you can set your animals out for display. How cool is that!!! Interspersed with the patterns is the story of Noah and his Ark and his poor long suffering wife, Mrs. Noah. Animals you can knit include African elephants and lions, Arctic polar bears and penguins and regular barnyard creatures like goats and pigs. As each of the projects is small they should be able to be completed relatively quickly…….of course this depends on knitting ability. Full disclosure – this review is of the book, not the accuracy of the patterns. As it will take a little time to organize time to attempt some of these projects you will have to wait a bit for this!!

With summer just around the corner (for readers in the Norther Hemisphere) this might just be the perfect project for those lazy days. What do you think???

Just in case you aren’t sure if knitting is cool enough for you, just check this out and see what an “in” thing it is!!!!

Up and Coming….

 in Books / Movies by

This year is not even half way done yet so there is tons of time for some great books and movies to come out. I thought I would share some of the ones which I am most excited for and am counting down until they are released or published. If you have any which you would like to share, please do. I love getting feedback and thoughts from my readers.

But first let me list some books I am excited for.

Books

City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare (May 8th)

Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore (May 1st)

One Direction by One Direction (May 22nd) (I am not interested but I thought that I would share anyway)

Tiger’s Destiny (September 5th) (Already read it but the ARC does not come with the last 3 chapters – I have to wait to finish and review it  🙁 )

Until I Die by Amy Plum (May 8th)

Now let me do the movies.

Movies

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (for my mom and I am a little intrigued as well)

Marvel’s The Avengers (CANNOT WAIT – OMG)

Dark Shadows (looks hilarious)

Battleship

Men in Black 3 (who’s pumped “ME”)

Snow White and the Huntsman

Prometheus (probably won’t see it but it still looks good (dad will probably watch it))
and
G.I. Joe: Retaliation

There are many more books and movies which are coming out but if I listed everything it would take ages.
If there is a book or movie you also feel you want to see, please let me know in the comment section because I love to hear my readers tastes.

Happy Reading and Movie Watching!

A Date For The Calendar

 in Books by

Just in case you have been slumbering and aren’t aware of it, or you need to plan your reading for the rest of the year……The Casual Vacancy, the new book by J K Rowling (you know, the Harry Pottery author) is going to be released on September 27. It is available for pre-order.

It is an adult book. No wizards. Or fantasy. Looks political……..

Here.