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Talon by Julie Kagawa
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Long ago, dragons were hunted to near extinction by the Order of St. George, a legendary society of dragon slayers. Hiding in human form and growing their numbers in secret, the dragons of Talon have become strong and cunning, and they're positioned to take over the world with humans none the wiser.

Ember and Dante Hill are the only sister and brother known to dragonkind. Trained to infiltrate society, Ember wants to live the teen experience and enjoy a summer of freedom before taking her destined place in Talon. But destiny is a matter of perspective, and a rogue dragon will soon challenge everything Ember has been taught. As Ember struggles to accept her future, she and her brother are hunted by the Order of St. George.

Soldier Garret Xavier Sebastian has a mission to seek and destroy all dragons, and Talon's newest recruits in particular. But he cannot kill unless he is certain he has found his prey: and nothing is certain about Ember Hill. Faced with Ember's bravery, confidence and all-too-human desires, Garret begins to question everything that the Order has ingrained in him: and what he might be willing to give up to find the truth about dragons.

Two unimpressed faces

Captivate by Vanessa Garden
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Buy from: Harlequin Aus website

In a glittering underwater world, nothing is as it seems...For the past twelve months since her parents’ death, seventeen-year-old Miranda Sun has harboured a dark secret — a secret that has strained the close relationship she once shared with her older sister, Lauren. In an effort to repair this broken bond, Miranda’s grandparents whisk the siblings away on a secluded beach holiday. Except before Miranda gets a chance to confess her life-changing secret, she’s dragged underwater by a mysterious stranger while taking a midnight swim. Awakening days later, Miranda discovers that she’s being held captive in a glittering underwater city by an arrogant young man named Marko...the King of this underwater civilisation.Nineteen-year-old Marko intends to marry Miranda in order to keep his crown from falling into the sinister clutches of his half-brother, Damir. There’s only one problem. Miranda is desperate to return home to right things with her sister and she wants nothing to do with Marko. Trying to secure her freedom, Miranda quickly forms an alliance with Robbie — Marko’s personal guard. However, she soon discovers that even underwater, people are hiding dangerous secrets...

A copy was provided by HarlequinTEEN Australia in exchange for an honest review.

Two unimpressed faces

A Shimmer of Angels by Lisa M. Basso
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Sixteen-year-old Rayna sees angels, and has the medication and weekly therapy sessions to prove it. Now, in remission, Rayna starts fresh at a new school, lands a new job, and desperately tries for normalcy. She ignores signs that she may be slipping into the world she has tried so hard to climb out of. But these days, it’s more than just hallucinations that keep Rayna up at night. Students are dying, and she may be the only one who can stop it. Can she keep her job, her sanity, and her friends from dying at the hands of angels she can't admit to seeing?

First, sorry for the mini hiatus.

Second, I will try my hardest not be bitchy with this review.

So...

...are you looking for a typical angel book? With classic good angels and bad angels? Good as in the usual guardian angels and bad as in the usual fallen angels? Do you crave for more lame good vs evil battle where human lives are the price to pay should the evil wins? Do you mind another trashy love triangle where somehow the girl is dumb enough to choose the heartless wimp over the friendzone guy who has done nothing but saving her ass? Insta love. Don't forget the insta love. Now the ingredient to yet, another shallow YA paranormal book is complete!

Okay, maybe that was a bit bitchy.

But what do you expect? I was really looking forward to read it. A girl who spent years in the asylum, who tries so hard to live her normal life only to find out her hallucinations were actually real i.e she can indeed see angels. It breaks my heart to say this but I think Tahereh Mafi handled Juliette characterization better than Lisa M Basso handled Rayna's.

So why 2-stars, you say. It's because the first fifty pages deserved a five-stars. No kidding! Although it reads like Twilight i.e. there's a new kid in school and Rayna feels an irresistible pull towards this guy bla3, it's because she sees that this new kid has wings. Totally acceptable, right? And on that very same day, a string of mysterious suicides begin to occur on people around Rayna. I did actually feel spooked whenever the story zooms into these bizarre suicide cases.

But the rest? A total trainwreck.

If you think Bella accident prone-ness is ridiculous, wait until you meet...

Bad Luck Brian Rayna.

At 10%... I jerked back. Too hard. My chair tipped over, talking me with it. I smacked Jeremy in my mouth on my way down. My head bounced off the floor...

At 42%... I messed up orders, spilled food, and broke plates.

At 42%... He stilled. "Actually I was going to tell you the coffee pot's overflowing. You added too much water."

At 50%.... The coffee pot shattered against the tile floor, littering me with tiny fragments of glass and a hot rush of coffee.

At 50%... I pulled the mop bucket out, accidentally doubling the normal amount of solution, and turned on the hot water.


ULTRA-HIGH-ANGLE REVERSE FACEPALM.

Trust me, I have nothing against clumsy people. I'm clumsy myself. But after screwing up so many times, isn't it ridiculous that she didn't get fired?

Le prose;

He wrapped his arms around me so tight, even my pancreas hurt.

Cam was the vacuum that took the bad away...

















Meh. I don't know. If this is my first angel book then probably I'd be impressed. Sadly, it's not.

2 unimpressed faces

**The ARC was provided by Month9Books in exchange for an honest review.

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Venom by Fiona Paul
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Cassandra Caravello is one of Renaissance Venice’s lucky elite: with elegant gowns, sparkling jewels, her own lady’s maid, and a wealthy fiancé, she has everything a girl could desire. Yet ever since her parents’ death, Cassandra has felt trapped, alone in a city of water, where the dark and labyrinthine canals whisper of escape.
When Cass stumbles upon a murdered woman—practically in her own backyard—she’s drawn into a dangerous world of courtesans, killers, and secret societies. Soon, she finds herself falling for Falco, a mysterious artist with a mischievous grin... and a spectacular skill for trouble. Can Cassandra find the murderer, before he finds her? And will she stay true to her fiancé, or succumb to her uncontrollable feelings for Falco?
Beauty, love, romance, and mystery weave together in a stunning novel that’s as seductive and surprising as the city of Venice itself.

**This review contains mild spoilers. Continue at your own risk.

Had to stop at 40% into the book.

No, no, no, no, NO, NO, NO, NO!

Another interesting premise down the drain...

A historical fiction YA book set in Venice during Renaissance era? C-c-combo breaker! Sadly, the execution was done at a very sub-par level.

Okay, I believe in common sense. With that in mind, there are so many things that I found as ridiculous and non-sensible about this book. I disapprove this book until I would go to the extent of pasting Nicholas Cage picture on every single page of this book if what I have is a physical copy.

Nicholas Cage should feel so lucky because I only have a digital ARC of Venom.

Venom opens with the funeral of Liviana, a close friend of our main protagonist, Cassandra or Cass. Strangely, we weren't told of how much Liviana actually meant to Cass i.e. how Liviana was a good friend to Cass, how did they spent their times, and all the good memories. The only thing we learnt about Liviana is that she is a good girl. That's all. During the funeral, Cass seems to focus more on how tight her dress is, how the priest seems to target her personally, how her aunt is falling asleep...I mean, does she really care that her best friend is dead?

It turns out Cass likes to hang out in the graveyards. How...morbidly fascinating. I read something similar in Ember but contrary to in Venom, this kind of behaviour makes sense in Ember because the protag can actually sense death. But for an elite like Cass to actually likes hanging out in graveyards, well, I don't buy it. Let alone, when she actually had the nerve to dig out Liviana's grave.

Cass had her second encounter with Falco in the graveyard just after she dug Liviana's grave out and found the body had been replaced with an unidentified courtesan. This gets the ball rolling as Cass and Falco are set for a quest to find the murderer and Liviana's missing body.

Cass
Okay, I believe Fiona Paul had this vision of a strong, brave heroine when she wrote about Cass but Cass for me, came across only as a reckless and dumb heroine. She is so trustworthy of Falco despite having an absolute zero knowledge about him. Look, he met this guy for the first time when he somehow ran into her and he jokingly admitted that he did that on purpose. Second time they met, it was in the graveyard and Falco had Cass' journal but refused to give it back. Later, he talked Cass into not telling the authority about the murder, decided to break into possibly the murderer's lair, stole Cass' aunt gondola and claimed he has some business to tend to at 2 am in the morning. And oh, Falco also somehow knows about the secret knock to a brothel house!

Falco
Falco is not your classic 'I am a mysterious and dangerous guy', he is an immoral prick. Only idiots would find him attractive.

Furthermore, he always taunts and mocks Cass into doing all those stupid acts, challenging her 'unless you're too afraid to' or 'or you can't wait to go home to your satin sheets?'. lolwut? Was it Cass' fault that she was born into a family of elites? It was as if Falco views all the rich people as spoiled little brats. How mature!

Oh, I'm not done with Cass yet
Cass characterization can also be confusing at times. I understand that she also faces a death threat from the mysterious murderer but most of the time, her primary motivation is to find Liviana's body. Remember she acted like she didn't give much shit during Liviana's funeral? Moreover, when she found out about the identity of the murdered courtesan, she feels excitement and wonder and fear? Fear is understandable but excitement and wonder? Hate to break your bubble, girl but while you've been dumb enough to undertake this so-called little mission on your own, it doesn't hurt to react appropriately according to common sense.


So...this is a YA book, you say?

During Cass and Falco little visit to the brothel house, Cass accidentally stumbled upon a room in which a couple were you know, doing it. While of course I had issues with Cass seemingly content with watching people having intercourse and even imagining herself with Falco in their places, the narrative is kind of descriptive for a YA book.

Rich and vivid writing
Is the only thing good about this book apart from the setting (hence, the 2-stars). I could totally imagine myself in Venice during Renaissance Era while reading Venom. It's obvious that Fiona Paul put a considerable amount of efforts in putting this book together and it clearly reflected in the way she built the tone and setting of Venom.

The Verdict
I did try to reconsider taking this book back from my DNF pile by browsing through other reviewers' opinions. What I can gather is, I don't think it's worth to continue with the book. So yes, it will stay in my DNF pile for good.

Two unimpressed faces

**An ARC was sent by HarperCollins Australia in exchange for an honest review.

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Libera Me by Christine Fonseca
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

What happens when everything you’ve sacrificed for is lost?
Aydan thought Nesy’s death would be the end of him, until he meets Nessa and his hope is restored. Could she be Nesy reborn? He is certain she must be. That is, until her lack of memories and incessant nightmares begin to erode his faith.
Zane is used to trusting his mind, his wisdom and his angelic senses. But these attributes are no help with Nessa. He has no way to be certain of her identity, no way to know the truth. That is, unless he listens to the one thing he has refused to acknowledge throughout his existence - his feelings for Nesy.
Blind to both angel and demon, Aydan and Zane must figure out the truth behind Nesy's identity before all is lost, Azza discovers the truth and the Beast is again unleashed.
The lines between good and evil have never been so blurred.

I'm in agony, alright? How could I NOT LIKE any Christine Fonseca books? She's born to write for meeee!!!

Okay, that probably crossed the line but heyyyy, this woman has a gift with words. I think if I to die and reincarnated seven times as an emperor penguin, Darth Vader, an orc, a Ferrero Rocher, a bottle of mineral water, Sheldon Cooper, and Batman love interest, I still can't write as good as Christine Fonseca.

Before I decided on my final rating, I had to keep asking myself, am I being too harsh? I mean, I rated some books with sub-par writing more than 2-stars.

But girl,


And the message I got from this book was 'it's okay to cause so much destruction, to cause pain to everyone around you as long as you get to follow your heart'. For instance,

"And if she unleashes the Beast? What then? You know that it means if you can't control it."
"Oh yes, I know. And it's a risk I gladly take if it means there's a chance to save Nessa from all of this."

Wow. So every other human lives in this planet don't matter?

Okay, maybe I was being too harsh just now. But get this, the reading experience was not pleasant for me at all. But I have to applaud Christine Fonseca for her courageous attempt to make this book really different from its predecessor, Lacrimosa.

She was able to explore so many different emotions such as guilt, despair, longing and making sure you feel them too. Sadly, that didn't work for me because I kept going back to how the problem emerged in the first place and I always found the person to blame. Study these lines for example;

"What if it's a trap, Zane? Did you think about that? What if she's a demon sent by Azza?"
"Then I guess I'm going to die."

So instead of getting connected with the characters, I laughed and said 'serve you right' instead.

Yeah, I'm not a good reader in that sense.

Nessa. *sigh* Instead of being creep-ed out by a new guy who claimed he knows you all his life before, you feel guilty because you can't get your memories back? What evidence Aydan has for you to trust him that easily?

And you really need to stop crying.

Aydan. STOP CALLING YOUR GIRLFRIEND, BABY. Enough said.

Cass serves nothing more than Zane's personal angel. She has to keep telling Zane to do the right thing and sadly, Zane never listens.

But yeah, at the end of the day, if you think you like to enter a labyrinth of dreams and delusions with serious make outs in between while the actual story is static then this book is for you.

2 unimpressed faces

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Everneath by Brodi Ashton
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Last spring, Nikki Beckett vanished, sucked into an underworld known as the Everneath. Now she's returned--to her old life, her family, her boyfriend--before she's banished back to the underworld . . . this time forever. She has six months before the Everneath comes to claim her, six months for good-byes she can't find the words for, six months to find redemption, if it exists.
Nikki longs to spend these precious months forgetting the Everneath and trying to reconnect with her boyfriend, Jack, the person most devastated by her disappearance--and the one person she loves more than anything. But there's just one problem: Cole, the smoldering immortal who enticed her to the Everneath in the first place, has followed Nikki home. Cole wants to take over the throne in the underworld and is convinced Nikki is the key to making it happen. And he'll do whatever it takes to bring her back, this time as his queen.
As Nikki's time on the Surface draws to a close and her relationships begin slipping from her grasp, she is forced to make the hardest decision of her life: find a way to cheat fate and remain on the Surface with Jack or return to the Everneath and become Cole's queen.
"Everneath" is a captivating story of love, loss, and immortality from debut author Brodi Ashton.

This is one of the classic mistakes where I fell for the amazing cover. But the positive reviews had drawn me in too. Honestly, I couldn't understand what is so great about this book. I felt indifferent towards every characters. The romance was...urghh cheesy to the max!!! I could even predict what was going to happen in the end!

I silently wished the queen of Everneath would make an appearance and violently and brutally kills Nikki. *insert hysterical laugh*

I'm sorry, I just thought the story lacks depth and maturity.

Most importantly, it was so BORING!!!!


Some of the things that did not make sense;

Somehow the drunk and wasted brother of Jack cares to join in Nikki's little adventure of finding Cole's secret.

The first time Nikki came clean to Jack about why she'd disappeared, it happened in Jack's place. Specifically, in Jack's bedroom.

After six months of Nikki's disappearance, her dad didn't interrogate Nikki like err...how a father should do. I mean, he really believed Nikki was doing drugs and stuck in a rehab? Where was the rehab? In Narnia? Couldn't her father track the rehab down?

Gah! And few other bizarre moments which I couldn't bother to include because I want to jump into other books right now.

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Phantom by Laura DeLuca
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

The “Phantom” was a musical phenomenon that Rebecca had always found enchanting. She had no idea that her life was about to mirror the play that was her obsession. When her high school drama club chooses “Phantom” as their annual production, Rebecca finds herself in the middle of an unlikely love triangle and the target of a sadistic stalker who uses the lines from the play as their calling card.
Rebecca lands the lead role of Christine, the opera diva, and like her character, she is torn between her two co-stars—Tom the surfer and basketball star who plays the lovable hero, and Justyn, the strangely appealing Goth who is more than realistic in the role of the tortured artist.
Almost immediately after casting, strange things start to happen both on and off the stage. Curtains fall. Mirrors are shattered. People are hurt in true phantom style. They all seem like accidents until Rebecca receives notes and phone calls that hint at something more sinister. Is Justyn bringing to life the twisted character of the phantom? Or in real life are the roles of the hero and the villain reversed? Rebecca doesn’t know who to trust, but she knows she’s running out of time as she gets closer and closer to opening night. Only when the mask is stripped away, will the twenty first century phantom finally be revealed.

Reading this after Transcend is not a good idea.

When I decided to pick this up, I didn't know that this is a straight thriller/slasher book. I was hoping for some paranormal elements. ***Spoiler alert***Justin declared that he is a witch but hmph, it appears that he couldn't even block blows from a girl. Okay, okay, it's not an ordinary girl, it was Debbie, but still! False hope. *Crestfallen face* ***Spoiler finished*** Hence, I'm aware that my rating/review might be biased because I never like reading this genre.[(Justin declared that he is a witch but hmph, it appears that he couldn't even block blows from a girl. Okay, okay, it's not an ordinary girl, it was Debbie, but still! False hope. *Crestfallen face*) (hide spoiler)]

Honestly, the writing and the pace isn't that bad. It was really smooth, although I might add that the word building was very average. At one point, I was ready to give this book 3.5 stars! But the last quarter just ruined it for me. :/ There were so many questionable actions done by the characters! See characters analysis below.

Although many references to Grade B horror movie were made (i.e. Becca is not like that stupid heroine in the film etc), plotwise, Phantom moves like a Grade B horror movie itself. It was very formulaic, to put it simply, it was like a cross between High School Musical and Scream.

The characters. To say I'm disappointed with them is an understatement.

Becca.

Or Bella 2.0. I didn't like her from start when she easily classifies people from the way they look.

He could only be classified as a nerd, if he could be classified at all. It seemed more appropriate that he would be a flunky than a friend to the popular Tom.

He was obviously Gothic to the core, a fashion statement Rebecca had always thought was secretly a cry for attention

Imma get this straight, I understand that stereotyping is a real deal in high school. But I was hoping for a more sensible heroine with slightly elevated way of thinking. Not someone who thinks like 99% of high school girls.

Beneath the black t-shirt and black fishnet sleeves, she could see the outline of tight, firm muscles rippling through the fabric.

That was only one occassion. Becca had been caught gawking at boys for several times throughout this book.


A few of the younger girls were looking at them with envy in the eyes, but Rebecca didn't feel sorry for them. After four years of sitting on the sildelines, she felt she deserved this moment of honor, and she reveled in it.

Getting the attention of the most popular guy in school is your definition of the moment of honor? What happen to good grades? Oh wait, that's my definition of the moment of honor. LOL!

Okay, I think I had enough with the actual qoutes from the book. To put it simply, Becca is an unpopular high school girl who has a bit of obsession for all-things Phantom of The Opera. One day, she went for an audition for her high school play and landed the role of Christine. Suddenly, she had the attention of Tom, the most popular guy in her school, and Justyn, the Goth (as Becca labelled him), mysterious guy who is also a Phantom of the Opera fanboy.

*Le sigh* If I first heard a boy singing nicely, I might go swooning over him, but I won't go as far as asking him to be my boyfriend. You don't go around choosing your partner based on the voice only like what Tom has done.

Back to Becca, when she started to receive mysterious letters, packages and calls from someone who obviously familiar with Phantom of the Opera, she became paranoid of everyone. And I mean everyone!

And I really don't understand if she did suspect Tom and Justyn, why did she still want to go out with them?

Oh ya, I forgot to mention that the love triangle is really, really obnoxious. Becca dated two guys at the same time and those two guys couldn't be in the same room without ripping each other's face to shred.

Again, back to Becca. During the climax, she suddenly morphed into this suicidal martyr while she was tad scared like a few hours before. She insisted to venture to the back of the curtain even after discovering ***Spoiler alert*** Wendy's corpse ***Spoiler finished*** There's a thing call, uh, asking for help?

Justyn.

I like gentlemen. I like romantic speeches. Justin..hmm...did make my ovaries a little shaky but nah, the undying declaration of love between Becca and Justyn was AWKWARD!

Okie, I have to stop here because if I continue on, I might get meaner which is something I'd like to avoid nowadays. Hihi.


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Onyx by Jennifer L. Armentrout
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Being connected to Daemon Black sucks…
Thanks to his alien mojo, Daemon’s determined to prove what he feels for me is more than a product of our bizarro connection. So I’ve sworn him off, even though he’s running more hot than cold these days. But we’ve got bigger problems.
Something worse than the Arum has come to town…
The Department of Defense are here. If they ever find out what Daemon can do and that we're linked, I’m a goner. So is he. And there's this new boy in school who’s got a secret of his own. He knows what’s happened to me and he can help, but to do so, I have to lie to Daemon and stay away from him. Like that's possible. Against all common sense, I'm falling for Daemon. Hard.
But then everything changes…
I’ve seen someone who shouldn’t be alive. And I have to tell Daemon, even though I know he’s never going to stop searching until he gets the truth. What happened to his brother? Who betrayed him? And what does the DOD want from them—from me?
No one is who they seem. And not everyone will survive the lies…

Warning: Spoilers...spoilers everywhere.

TABLE-FLIPPING TIME!



UH, GUYS??!!! WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?? I'M IN THE 1% WHO GAVE THIS BOOK A 2-STARS OR LESS?

It took me more than two weeks to finish this. It took me overnight to finish Obsidian. Granted, I was busy for the past couple of weeks but throughout that many sittings, I stopped because I was bored not because my homework got in the way. Trust me, at one point, I rather do the house chores than continue reading. And I did. Haha!

Then, it couldn't be my fault for not liking this, right? Gah, I don't know... So many of my GR friends rated this as a 4 or 5-stars read, and some of them even said that this is better than Obsidian.

*Sobs*

I don't think this is the 'haters gonna hate' case because I absolutely loved Obsidian (I even gave Katy a nickname!). Onyx is less twilight-ish and more action-packed (at least for the last 10% of it). Oh, the irony! I just remember that I hated the last 10% of Obsidian.

If you're hoping to find Daemon as less of a douche this time, I'm sorry to tell you that he is still a douche for at least the first half of the book . Worse, he had this Edward-like over-protectiveness.

"Daemon, you can't beat up guys because they talk badly about me," --said by Katy

The horror! If you think he was over-protective of Dee in the first book, you ain't seen nothing yet! And no Katy, no. One person's bad attitude shouldn't be attributed to the stress or to one's twin brother's death. Occasional display of bad attitude, yes but definitely not all the time! And that thing with keep mistaking Blake's name. It was clearly overdone.

Moving on to Katy. Dear God, what has happened to you girl? Kind of wanted to take the cookie from Daemon's mouth? Trying to disregard the girl in your that screamed, HE NOTICED ME? You could so picture Daemon getting into that sort of thing in the library?

AND THE SELF-BLAMING!!!

*Sobs harder*

Making friends with his sister, asking way too many questions, almost getting myself killed...twice. Plus discovering their big secret, and all the times I'd ended up with a trace. I frowned as I slid out of my car and slammed the door behind me. No wonder Daemon had been such a douche canoe those months. I was trouble.

But in the way, this situation was my fault, it had been my bizzaro output of energy that had drawn the DOD here.

Wow, I can't believe Katy just thought of those. She should have a lot more self-worth than that.

THE OVERCONFIDENCE!!!

And all the talks about becoming stronger so that she can protect Daemon and Dee is just too ambitious considering she just found out who (or what?) she is. This is really sad. I'm glad to see the transition from helpless YA heroines to kick-ass heroines these days, but no need to overdo it.

THE DENIAL AND THE SKEPTICISM!!!

No Katy, no! Of course Daemon had been treating you like a slice of unwanted pizza before but you can't just keep pushing him away when he did prove himself so many times already? She even refused to be healed? Well, that's just egocentric.


Was he going to kill me and stash my body? Drastic but probable after everything I'd caused

I'm sooo hoping that Katy was joking because although I think Daemon is a scumbag, I do believe he won't go as far as killing Katy, don't you think?
[Was he going to kill me and stash my body? Drastic but probable after everything I'd caused

I'm sooo hoping that Katy was joking because although I think Daemon is a scumbag, I do believe he won't go as far as killing Katy, don't you think? (hide spoiler)]

THE CONFESSION OF LOVE!!!

The part which I'm sure many of us had anticipate. But, but...


"And what does 'us' really mean?"

"You and me"

Ultra-cheesy!!! And that's just an example. Gosh, this is not a soap opera, is it?
["And what does 'us' really mean?"

"You and me"

Ultra-cheesy!!! And that's just an example. Gosh, this is not a soap opera, is it? (hide spoiler)]

Blake. Hmm...I kinda liked him at the beginning. But after the revelation that he is similar to Katy, he changed 180 degree? Then, what's the point of making him a likable character in the earlier chapters? Just to give some hints of love triangle? Well, Blake characterization is just confusing for me. And Katy did not just found out about his true identify from Google! I actually laughed at this part. I mean, with DOD status as the super-secret, super-confidential organization, that kind of information shouldn't be able to be googled like that? I mean, they were the one who 'assigned' that task to Blake.[But after the revelation that he is similar to Katy, he changed 180 degree? Then, what's the point of making him a likable character in the earlier chapters? Just to give some hints of love triangle? Well, Blake characterization is just confusing for me. And Katy did not just found out about his true identify from Google! I actually laughed at this part. I mean, with DOD status as the super-secret, super-confidential organization, that kind of information shouldn't be able to be googled like that? I mean, they were the one who 'assigned' that task to Blake. (hide spoiler)]

Dee? Sorry to say that I can't point out her contributions to the story other than making out in public with Adam. Bizarre still, Daemon had to make out with Katy at such strange times After he'd taken over Katy's date with Blake? After Adam was killed? Luckily, Daemon had self-control for not taking it further.[After he'd taken over Katy's date with Blake? After Adam was killed? Luckily, Daemon had self-control for not taking it further. (hide spoiler)]

Bonus chapter from Daemon's POV also adds almost nothing to the story. *sigh*

Well, on the bright side, I'm glad it's over so that I can now move on to other books.

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Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Embrace the Forbidden
What if there were teens whose lives literally depended on being bad influences?
This is the reality for sons and daughters of fallen angels.
Tenderhearted Southern girl Anna Whitt was born with the sixth sense to see and feel emotions of other people. She’s aware of a struggle within herself, an inexplicable pull toward danger, but Anna, the ultimate good girl, has always had the advantage of her angel side to balance the darkness within. It isn’t until she turns sixteen and meets the alluring Kaidan Rowe that she discovers her terrifying heritage and her willpower is put to the test. He’s the boy your daddy warned you about. If only someone had warned Anna.
Forced to face her destiny, will Anna embrace her halo or her horns?

Look, I'm aware of just how many of my GR friends are fans of this book. But, Kaidan didn't work his magic on me, nor I can tolerate everything else about this book.

Buckle up, boys. This ain't going to be pretty.

The whole time, I was trying to figure out the author. What was it actually that she wanted to convey? It was as if she was drunk herself while writing this!

I'm not saying that this is a total trainwreck. My 2-stars rating proved that. Somehow, Sweet Evil managed to sustain my attention until the end, and I actually almost fell for Kaidan. Almost.

Maybe I should show a figure to illustrate how I was feeling.


The prologue was okay, unfortunately its Chapter One was the worst first chapter I've ever read.

"Kai, like Thai, only yummier. Gah! Who was this girl invading my brain?"

I asked the same question myself, Anna.

"A freckle was not beautiful. It was a small dark attention grabber. I hated the way everyone's eyes went to it when they talked to me."

Tell me people with freckles, don't you find that offensive? Dear Anna, keep your idea of ideal beauty to yourself, will ya?

"I didn't really know what gonorrhea was, except that it was an STD"

Ugh, Anna. I thought you are this good girl who always scores in class. Even if you never learn about it in school, it doesn't hurt to have broader general knowledge.

After a couple of brief encounters, Anna made promise to Patti that she'll stay away from Kaidan, but the next thing she did was to go to Kaidan's apartment straight away?



And then, that 'a half-naked half demon was burying his face in my neck' thing (I seriously don't know what to call this)...was just disturbing in the sense that Anna got all excited and had to keep her hands from going everywhere on Kaidan.

I was sitting there, dumbfounded and thought


Look, I got that this Kaidan is the son of Lust and being sexy is indeed his job on this earth, but I would appreciate if Anna had more self control, considering she is ***spoiler ahead*** a half angel. ***spoiler finished***[considering she's a half angel! (hide spoiler)]

And then the road trip! So, they were short on time because Sister Ruth was dying, why wouldn't Kaidan and Anna just take a flight then? Come on, Kaidan is filthy rich right?

Don't get me wrong, I did miraculously enjoy the road trip part except when Kaidan slept naked and all those foreplay with Anna (seriously, Wendy Higgins, why wouldn't you just rename your book as FANSERVICE). I got to learn more about Kaidan's actual stance and the other side of his personality. Also, Anna became less annoying during this part.

Then, it went downhill from there. The awkward conversation between Anna and this father, the messy introduction of the other Nephilims, Anna's obsession for Kaidan, bla3. Like I said before, some other random shits.

So, tell me again what's up with all these Team Kaidan stuff? Because he hardly made an appearance after the road trip part.

Oh well, I should have known better than to read books with highly sought after bad boys. Maybe I should steer clear from Obsidian, Existence and Perfect Chemistry series.

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Beauty Never Dies by Cameron Jace
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Peter Pan has a plan. Since it's been hundred years since his friends were all cursed by the Brothers Grimm, he is about to wake up Sleeping Beauty, his eternal lover. Oops, you didn't know that. Blame it on the Grimms.
But in the middle of the ceremony, he is visited by the Evil Queen who manipulates him into helping her with information about Snow White. This or she will expose him as he has been secretly kidnapping kids to help him rebuild Neverland in the Dreamworld.
After the deal is made, Peter continues with the ceremony, bringing Sleeping Beauty back into life. What Sleeping Beauty is capable of and who she really is are like nothing ever written in the books.

This one is very hard to rate because I really, really liked the previous prequels. It might well be a 1-star read, but I don't know, I think I might be biased due to my love for fairy tale retellings. Hurm, I would still read the subsequent prequels and Snow White Sorrow, and I may change my ratings for the published prequels accordingly.

Actually, this...did not sound like a fairy tales retelling, instead it sounded like a fairy tales parody.

And sadly, not a funny one too.

All the comments directed towards the Hunchback of Notre Dame and Count Dracula didn't get me laughing, I found some of them to be offensive instead.

I'm afraid Cameron Jace had taken the idea too far because there are simply too many characters introduced up to this novella, and some of them aren't even created by the Grimm Brothers. How do I say this...with fairy tales or classic retellings, the more alterations introduced, the more appealing they may sound, but at the end of the day, there is actually little room for dramatic changes in characterizations.

For example, Mr Darcy is my all-time favourite book boyfriend so whenever there is a book appear on the market based on Pride and Prejudice, I'd go gaga for it but I don't think I can bear the idea of reading something bad about Mr Darcy e.g. he had an affair or he has a bastard son.

Well, I'm not saying it's wrong for any authors to write opposite things about any characters we've known all our lives but I hope they'll not change the characters too much until they lost their essence and dignity (not sure if I chose the right word but that was what came into my mind).

For example
1. The Evil Queen said 'butt' and 'whateva'.
2. Peter Pan put his hand behind his neck and stretched out his body, showing off as what he claimed as the beauty of his lean and slender curves, wanting to get the Evil Queen's attention.
3. Sleeping Beauty lit 'Hunchy's' ass on fire.

*sigh* I know my review seems very personal. I still associate the Evil Queen with elegance not someone who would say words like butt and whateva, Peter Pan with innocence, not someone who would like to seduce someone else as old as his mom, and Sleeping Beauty with grace, not someone who would...ermm...lit someone else's ass on fire.

Some other issues I had with this novella;
1. Hunchy, as the term of endearment for the Hunchback of Notre Dame.
2. Peter Pan repeatedly saying he doesn't want to grow up. Well, I think we all get it the first time.

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Pandora's Key by Nancy Richardson Fischer
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

When everything you believed about yourself is a lie, how do you unlock the truth…
Evangeline Theopolis has nightmares about the violent deaths of women she has never met. Her single mother, Olivia, suffers delusions she can’t hide. And Malledy, a brilliant young man, may have a disease that will leave him paralyzed and insane. Their lives are about to collide.
On Evangeline’s 16th birthday her mother gives her a necklace with an antique key charm—a family heirloom, though no one knows what the key unlocks.
Everything changes. Her mom is hospitalized. Her godmother attempts murder. An ancient Order tries to kill Evangeline, and a lethal sect to kidnap her.
Nothing makes sense—especially Evangeline’s own face, which has morphed from geeky to eerily stunning; the ancient key that feels strangely alive against her skin; and the magical abilities she begins to possess.
Evangeline must use her wits and supernatural powers to fight her deadly adversaries and discover her true identity. But can she accept who she really is and save the world?

This is awkward. I actually don't know how to put things that went wrong for me in words. Me. Zuleeza. A reviewer who always has something to say.

Hmm...it was meh, uninteresting, plain, bland, so-so. Not particularly bad but just meh!

Dammit, I seriously don't know what to write.

The writing was good but not special. The plot made sense most of the time but blatantly predictable. 75% of the plot had actually been summarized in the synopsis itself.

*Another moment of brain freeze*

O-ooukay,...lets move on to the characters. They are uninspiring in general. I seriously wanted to punch Evangeline across the face because it took about a quarter of the book for her to finally accept who she is. And I couldn't understand why she was so reluctant! Of course, it's hard to take in the truth but she witnessed one evidence after another, what else did she want? For the Gods to come down from the sky to tell her the truth?

The rest of the characters are very one-dimensional, just functioned as fillers for me. The villain is just plain psychotic. Why can't we have dynamic villains (and don't forget psychotic) like Loki and the Joker. That would be far more interesting.

Well, this book is like someone I come across the street unnoticed. Nothing to set this apart from other mystery/thriller books lying around in the market.

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Shift by Em Bailey
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Olive Corbett is definitely NOT crazy.
Not anymore. These days she takes her meds like a good girl, hangs out with her best friend Ami, and stays the hell away from the toxic girls she used to be friends with.
She doesn’t need a boyfriend. Especially not a lifesaver-type with a nice smile. And she doesn’t need the drama of that creepy new girl Miranda, who has somehow latched on to Olive's ex-best friend.
Yet from a distance, Olive can see there's something sinister about the new friendship. Something almost... parasitic. Maybe the wild rumours ARE true. Maybe Miranda is a killer.
But who would believe Olive? She does have a habit of letting her imagination run away with her…

Mother of God...Okay, I did give 2 stars because usually I gave one star for books which I couldn't even finish.

*Sigh* It's so confusing, I mean, I finished this book within hours (which is very quick to my standard) but there was hardly any plot at all! Gosh, I should have ditch the book but there was something that drawn me into.

Answers...

...which I didn't get even long after I finish this book.

******Spoilers ahead******

What happened to the teacher?(can't remember her name, the one with a cup of herbal tea). Who is Miranda exactly? Of course she's a shapeshifter but what is her modus of operandi? What happened to Dallas? Miranda didn't take his form. What actually happened to Loony Oony? Who called Noah, Olive's boss? Why Olive's mom prevent her dad from seeing her? Why she attempted suicide in the first place?[What happened to the teacher?(can't remember her name, the one with a cup of herbal tea). Who is Miranda exactly? Of course she's a shapeshifter but what is her modus of operandi? What happened to Dallas? Miranda didn't take his form. What actually happened to Loony Oony? Who called Noah, Olive's boss? Why Olive's mom prevent her dad from seeing her? Why she attempted suicide in the first place? (hide spoiler)]

The writing wasn't bad. Just okay. Not much maturity. The characters seemed distant from the readers too (well, at least for me). The setting was kind of close to heart since the author and I both reside in Australia. Other than that, I found it hard to relate with the story. On the plus side, it feels good to read a stand-alone book. I read too many books within a series lately.

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Wilde's Fire by Krystal Wade
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

"There is no pain in this death, only peace, knowing I am going to die with the one I love the most." - Katriona Wilde. Katriona Wilde has never wondered what it would feel like to have everything she's ever known and loved ripped away, but she is about to find out. When she inadvertently leads her sister and best friend through a portal into a world she's dreamed of for six years, she finds herself faced with more than just the frightening creatures in front of her. Kate's forced to accept a new truth: her entire life has been a lie, and those closest to her have betrayed her. What's worse, she has no control over her new future, and it's full of magic and horrors from which nightmares are made. Will Kate discover and learn to control who she really is in time to save the ones she loves, or will all be lost?

This e-ARC was provided to me by NetGalley and Curiosity Quills Press.

I don’t mind lesser known books, I never mind lesser known books. In fact, by going hipster I discovered Soul Seeker and The Curse Girl :3 So, when this title was up on NetGalley, I was like

Nice cover, interesting blurb. I mean, we’re talking about portal here,
Bring it on!

Sadly, my patience grew paper end and eventually it vanished.


Usually when I did not finish a book, I’ll mindlessly give it 1 star, end of story. But I think this book deserves another star because I given up on it because it was just plain and boring, not like I hated it so much, I felt like I want to drag the author to the parallel universe and demand that she/he returns my lost time, trying to read whatever crap this author had put together.

Like, well, like what I felt and still feel towards Fallen, Shattered Souls and Die for Me.

Overall, this book sounded very armature-ish. The writing was really choppy and stiff at start but fortunately, it got better afterwards but not enough to pull me into the story.

I wished the author can come up with better materials next time because I seriously, seriously had several moments of déjà vu.

1. The main female protagonist, Katriona accidently/forcefully enters a new magical world. The Iron King anyone? To add to the shame, I found out that the humans in this book did call Arland and his people as elves.

2. Katriona is the key to defeat the Darkness, the evil force based on an ancient prophecy. Reminding me a lot of The Fallen Star.

3. Katriona dreamt of Arland even before she actually meet him. Sounded like Beautiful Darkness. =_=”

The characters! Urghh...

THE CHARACTERS!

I think my favourite was actually the potato.


Yup, seriously. Arland as the supposedly hot, smoldering love interest was stiff as cardboard. Brad? Oh, gosh! I’m sorry but this dude is one pathetic friend-zone guy. Whenever he uses line like ‘I’ve always love you and continue to until I die’ I was like, who says things like that anymore? Maybe your grandpa to your grandma (which is really sweet) but for a teenage boy? I don’t think so.

Moving on to Kate. I don’t care if she says she shared bed with her sister, Brit and Brad before, but for her to invite Arland to her bed and went to the washroom together was just inappropriate. So, she knew him very well in her dreams but she just met Arland for a few days at that time in real life! If the author thought about fanservice, I suggest she read Kuroshitsuji, this manga would make the idea of having a demonic butler as the love interest to a 13-years old boy seems viable.

Kate dreamed a tragic dream, she woke up, she cried. Kate tried a spell, nothing happened, she gave up. Kate tried to open the portal back, she failed, she got depressed. I mean, there were like few pages dedicated just to convey how helpless and defeated she felt.

Luckily, whenever she got emo, she managed to rationalize herself again. But realizing this happened cyclically, I had to given up on this book. I don’t think I can’t handle anymore of her break downs for no valid reasons.


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Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Ethan Wate used to think of Gatlin, the small Southern town he had always called home, as a place where nothing ever changed. Then he met mysterious newcomer Lena Duchannes, who revealed a secret world that had been hidden in plain sight all along. A Gatlin that harbored ancient secrets beneath its moss-covered oaks and cracked sidewalks. A Gatlin where a curse has marked Lena's family of powerful Supernaturals for generations. A Gatlin where impossible, magical, life-altering events happen.
Sometimes life-ending.
Together they can face anything Gatlin throws at them, but after suffering a tragic loss, Lena starts to pull away, keeping secrets that test their relationship. And now that Ethan's eyes have been opened to the darker side of Gatlin, there's no going back. Haunted by strange visions only he can see, Ethan is pulled deeper into his town's tangled history and finds himself caught up in the dangerous network of underground passageways endlessly crisscrossing the South, where nothing is as it seems.

Why is this happening with every second book? When I read the first book, I thought, Beautiful Creatures is for me. If I can be a writer, I would write a story like this. More condensed maybe.

Urghh...when I read Beautiful Darkness, I kept telling myself, I have to finish this, I have to finish this. It's pathetic,really. The story got so complicated but very little were being revealed (even after all 500 pages of it). I once thought, am I too stupid for this book?

No.

Urghh...definitely not a pleasant book (except for Lucille...I miss Boo by the way). Ethan still sounded like a girl (I was guessing the authors would appreciate all the comments thrown at their first book, but no, Ethan sounded more feminine than ever). Not even Link's jokes could rescue this book anymore. Lena was so irritating, uninspiring. Ok, she had her reasons, so? Those were not excuses for behaving so weak.

The climax scene seemed so rushed, I could barely get my head around what happened. I understand the book is meant to be in paranormal fantasy genre, but coming back from dead? (this applies not to only one person, but two). LOL! Too much magics, no logical explanations given.

Long story short, I won't be reading the sequel anytime soon with plenty of good books on the market right now.


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