A Quick Bite (Argeneau Vampire #1) Book Review

Title: A Quick Bite

Author: Lynsay Sands
Kindle Edition
Amount of Pages: 384 pages
Release Date: October 13, 2009
Publisher: HarperCollins e-books
Meant for: Adults
Source: Amazon


Overview:  For Lissianna's 30th birthday, her mother brings her what she considers the perfect birthday present: a psychologist, Greg Hewitt, who can cure her fear of the sight of blood so she can feed off blood-bank bags like a civilized vampire rather than from random humans. The night doesn't go as planned when Lissianna takes a romantic liking to the good doctor. Worse, the clan has trouble controlling his "strong mind" and erasing his memory of the family, putting their secret in jeopardy.


My review: I am usually up for reading any of Lynsay Sands' books as I've really enjoyed them in the past. For the new year I'd thought I'd start off by reading the Argeneau Vampire books in order of publication date although one does not necessarily have to. It was a bit slow in the beginning, but I think the pacing was just right. From reading her later novels, you can definitely tell that the author's writing has improved a great deal. Sometimes I'd have to stop reading and reread a certain sentence to see if it was really what she meant. But what saved me in those moments was the reassurance of Lynsay's writing style. It would stop and take off in just the right places. I think that the romance was spot on, and her sexy scenes couldn't have been any better as with her other books. The twist at the end was predictable, but I really enjoyed the humor of it all.


Characters: I really enjoyed Greg, psychologist and so-called birthday present. I thought he had a great mix of true qualities; independent but warm and caring, and logical though not afraid to take a chance. As for Lissianna, I thought she was a breath of fresh air. She wasn't a damsel in distress, but she wasn't all that strong either. She depended mostly on her family, but as a result she was full of love and understanding despite her affliction.


For minor characters, from Thomas to Lucian, ugh they're so entertaining. At times Lissianna's cousins got on my nerves because it always seemed that they were around, but they made this book much more of an airier and easy read. When I was feeling questionable about something, one of them would come along and it would create a foil.


Relationships: First off I have to say that the intended couple for this book was just perfect. Greg and Lissianna from the start exuded chemistry when near each other. While Greg is concerned for Lissianna's quality of life, she feels guilty that because of her weakness Greg is suffering. Together they form a bond, and while Lissianna tries to protect Greg from her suspecting family, the both of them cannot deny the attraction between them. When the plot thickens and the both of them are in the rough of it, Greg cannot kid himself. He needs Lissianna for always, and I think that's where my feelings for this book grew stronger.


End Thoughts: Overall I think that this book was a good solid start to this series, as it carries common elements that are in all of Lynsay Sands' books. Humor, romance and a bit of tragedy when it comes to that past of some of it's characters. It was a light read which I needed desperately after marathoning the Harry Potter Series in December. I will definitely be picking up the next book to read shortly (the whole series is sitting on my kindle) and give it  a shot. I give A Quick Bite a 4/5 stars.


Happy reading!

The Edge of Never by J.A. Redmerski Book Review

Title: The Edge of Never

Author: J.A. Redmerski

Kindle Edition

Amount of Pages: 427 pages

Release Date: March 12, 2013

Publisher: Forever

Meant for: Adults

Source: I received my copy of The Edge of Never from Netgalley for review.

Overview:

Twenty-year-old Camryn Bennett thought she knew exactly where her life was going. But after a wild night at the hottest club in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina, she shocks everyone-including herself-when she decides to leave the only life she's ever known and set out on her own. Grabbing her purse and her cell phone, Camryn boards a Greyhound bus ready to find herself. Instead, she finds Andrew Parrish.

Sexy and exciting, Andrew lives life like there is no tomorrow. He persuades Camryn to do things she never thought she would and shows her how to give in to her deepest, most forbidden desires. Soon he becomes the center of her daring new life, pulling love and lust and emotion out of her in ways she never imagined possible. But there is more to Andrew than Camryn realizes. Will his secret push them inseparably together-or destroy them forever?

My Review:

I had received this book for review and I didn't really know anything about it. I had seen it all over goodreads, but I didn't really get ready to sit down and read it until I saw one of my favorite booktubers say that it was her favorite book of the year . Then I went and I read this book in literally one sitting. I couldn't get enough of it. Even now writing this I need the second installment of the series, The Edge of Always. I have to wait all the way until November!

Characters:

First off I have to say I love every character in this book. Sometimes I get really turned off from a book if I don't really connect with the character's personality, or their actions. But in this book, I enjoyed both Cam and Andrew, thoroughly.

Minor characters fit well into the story, but I loved how Cam and Andrew remained in a bubble while on their road trip. No distractions, the open road before them, deciding for themselves how they were going to lose inhibitions and really just live their life. I really appreciated how real and true they were together.

Relationships:

Obviously Cam and Andrew are the main focus of The Edge of Never, and their relationship shines. Andrew helped Cam grow as a person, and taught her how to learn to trust herself and not care what anyone else thinks. She finally started to live for herself, and along the way, the reader gets to see how Cam rediscovers herself, and questions what she used to think before.

While Andrew is there to help Cam heal, she is also there for one of the hardest times of Andrew's life. More so than what the reader thinks at first, and their relationship grows stronger from what a casual one they had before.

End Thoughts:

This book really hit a place with me, I have to say. It makes me want to go out and do whatever the hell I want and really live my life. I think this book covers a lot of bases and many people will be able to get something out of it. I thought Redmerski's writing was just flawless and her style was just spot on, and made her character's all the more likeable and realistic and definitely more unique than what's out there at the moment.

I will definitely without a doubt read the sequel, and read some of Redmerski's other books while waiting. I fully recommend this book to everyone. Thanks again to Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book, it was a pleasure. I give The Edge of Never 5/5 stars.

Red Dragon by Thomas Harris Review

Title: Red Dragon

Author: Thomas Harris

eBook Edition

Amount of Pages: 434 pages

Release Date: December 24, 2008

Publisher: Berkley; Reprint edition (January 6, 2009)

Meant for: Adults

Source: Amazon

Summary:

A second family has been massacred by the terrifying serial killer the press has christened. The Tooth Fairy. Special Agent Jack Crawford turns to the one man who can help restart a failed investigation. Will Graham. Graham is the greatest profiler the FBI ever had, but the physical and mental scars of capturing Hannibal Lecter have caused Graham to go into early retirement. Now, Graham must turn to Lecter for help.

My Review:

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I always knew that I would read the Hannibal Lector books, because I had always loved the movies. But it was never on my top priority list. So when NBC made the show Hannibal, I was hooked. I watched faithfully every week. Halfway into the season, I knew I had to read what had inspired the screenplay. While it was hard to get into at first because of the detached sounding monologue, near the middle to the end, I was racing through the pages. I had to know everything about the Tooth Fairy.

Characters:

While the series is named after Hannibal Lector, there are only a few scenes with the man himself. I found that to be quite disappointing, but the scenes where he was incorporated into were very well-written and I thought really moving toward the plot itself and our antagonist of the story.

Surprisingly, the antagonist was my favorite character of the entire book. Will Graham didn't even come close. While dubbed as the 'Tooth Fairy' by police, the killers real identity is Francis Dolarhyde, a man who works developing pictures. While born with a cleft lip, he is shamed on by his mother who gives him away to an orphanage, and somehow is found and adopted his grandmother.

I couldn't help but feel so sympathetic for Dolarhyde during the sequence when his childhood is brought to life. This along with another scene involving Freddie Lounds, a crime magazine reporter, are my absolute favorite. And let's not forget about the one woman that Dolarhyde finds himself attracted to, a blind coworker who can't see his deformity.

Relationships:

While Will Graham's relationship with his wife Mandy isn't really focused on throughout the book, the tidbits of conversation between them long distance was well appreciated as our Tooth Fairy is after all looking to murder Will Graham and his family to complete his sequence of becoming the 'dragon.'

I particularly enjoyed Dolarhyde's relationship with his coworker, whose name escapes me at the moment, as even through the monster within him, he deeply cared and enjoyed her company. He even goes as much as not to kill her, even when his 'dragon' demands that he do so.

End Thoughts:

While Harris' writing was at times awkward and choppy in some sections, his story-telling makes up for it. I read this book in two sittings, completely immersed with Dolarhyde and wishing his story line could go on further than the first book.

I would definitely recommend this to anyone whose seen the movie, show and are crime read fanatics. I give this book 4/5 stars.

Backstage Pass (Sinners On Tour) by Olivia Cunning Review

Title: Backstage Pass (Sinners On Tour #1)

Author: Olivia Cunning

eBook Edition

Amount of Pages: 384 pages

Release Date: October 21, 2011

Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca

Meant for: Adults

Source: Amazon

Summary:

The first in a new erotic romance series, Backstage Pass is a sizzling mix of sex, love, and rock n’ roll

It’s been months since Brian Sinclair, lead guitarist for the famous rock band, Sinners, composed anything. Unable to write the music that once flowed so naturally, Brian is lost without his musical mojo. But when sexy psychology professor Myrna Evans comes on tour to study groupie mentality, Brian may have found the spark he needs to reignite his musical genius. When lust turns to love, will Brian be able to convince Myrna that what they have is more than just a fling, and that now that he’s found his heart’s muse, he doesn’t want to live without her?

My Review: I discovered this book while looking at my goodreads feed, and had seen that a friend of mine on the site just happened to be starting this book. I clicked on the photo, and read the summary and instantly went and snatched it up. In under five minutes I was already reading Backstage Pass, and let me tell you from then on, I was hooked!

Characters:

I absolutely loved every member of The Sinners and thought that each of them had there own certain appeal to them. I found each of them to be at times, sexy, funny and just plain adorable. I wanted to be Myrna throughout the whole book. Not to mention all that steaminess going on behind the scenes of each concert. Damn.

Relationships:

Myrna was a perfect choice for Brian. I thought that they both meddled together, and had a certain balance for each other. While Brian was more of a person to wear his heart on his sleeve and more fast going in a relationship, Myrna pushed back and reminded him that they had to slow things down a bit when she felt like he was becoming too invested into what was going on between them.

I thought that this was a wise thing to do, because usually it's always the women in these books that is expecting too much out of things, and I felt that it was very refreshing that this time it was the man.

I very much appreciated that the other guys weren't just there, but that Myrna formed a friendship with each of them.

End Thoughts:

This book was just, god, amazing. I feel like every person that is going to be writing erotica needs to read this and take some notes. I felt this had everything that a book needed, I can't even list all the things this book!

Highly reccomended, just go, seriously just go and stop reading and buy this book. You won't regret it.

I give Backstage Pass (Sinner's On Tour #1) 5/5 stars.

The Last Girl by Kitty Thomas Review

Title: The Last Girl

Author: Kitty Thomas

Kindle Edition

Amount of Pages: 114 pages

Release Date: Febuary 12, 2012

Publisher: Burlesque Press

Meant for: Adults

Source: Amazon

Summary: Six years ago strangers broke into Juliette’s house; she was home alone and only thirteen. She kept her eyes closed, praying that if she didn’t see anything, she wouldn’t be killed. No one harmed her. In fact, one of the thieves protected her. Now Juliette’s dreams are haunted by him.

Christian has waited to take her, resisting the urge each night. It always ends badly with human pets. They’re too fragile. The longer he can wait, the better, because the moment he takes her, the clock on her life starts ticking down.

Then she’ll be gone forever.
My Review:

I was so excited to get this book after reading Guilty Pleasures and The Aution by Kitty Thomas, both of which I gave 5 stars. I thought it was going to have the same feel that the other books had but unfortunately it wasn't anything of what I expected it to be.

I'm not really sure how I feel about this. I have never been disturbed while reading something that is erotica. Kitty Thomas you actually managed to disturb me, and I don't know whether or not that is a good or bad thing. I'm not sure I should have rated it 1 or 5 stars. While the things that Christian puts Juliette through are horrible, I can't help but feel that is the intention and I felt Kitty captured the emotion's anyone would feel in this kind of situation with Juliette.

Characters:

I thought Christian was cruel, and in mind that I was reading an erotica, he repelled me from ever being attracted to him. Which I think is a no-no if you're writing that sort of book. I didn't really find anything about him redeeming as Juliette did, and found that at times I just wanted Juliette to get up the nerve to kill him so that she could free herself from such abuse.

Juliette at sometimes, I thought was delusional because she stayed with Christian. She let herself be totured, and cared more about him than she did herself.

Relationships:

I thought that Christian and Juliette's relationship was really disfunctional. One minute Christian was hurting her and the next he was warning her not to be with him. Meanwhile if he really felt that way, he would have released her the first chance he got. But he prolonged the pain and made Juliette question herself and her morals.

Ramblings:

While reading I felt very uncomfortable, I found I couldn't even read the book while surrounded by other people because I thought they would lean over my shoulder at any moment and read what I was reading.

The Last Girl kind of makes me apprahensive to reading her other books that I have, Comfort Foods, and Tender Mercies. I can only hope they are better than this, and more like the other things I have read by her.

End Thoughts:

Would I reccomend this ebook to everyone? No. Would I suggest this to those who are into erotica? Maybe. Everyone has different preferences, and this just happened not to be one of mine. I can never undermine Thomas' writing skill, and found that even though I did not appreciate the themes current within this work, I love the way she pieced everything together, and created the imagery the way she did.

I give The Last Girl, 3/5 stars.

Wither by Lauren DeStefano Review

Title: Wither

Author: Lauren DeStefano

Paperback Edition

Amount of Pages: 384 pages

Release Date: December 6, 2011

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Meant For: Young Adults

From: Amazon

Summary: From Booklist:

When scientists engineered genetically perfect children, everyone thought it would ensure the future of the human race. Though the first generation is nearly immortal, a virus causes all successive generations to die early: age 20 for women, 25 for men. Now, girls are kidnapped for brothels or polygamous marriages to breed children. Rhine is taken from her hardscrabble life and sold with two other girls to Linden Ashby. Though they live in a palatial Florida home surrounded by gardens and treated like royalty, the girls are sequestered from the outside world, and Rhine longs to escape. Her growing affection for her sister wives, her pity for Linden, and her fear of Housemaster Vaughn, Linden's manipulative father, keep her uncomfortably docile, until she falls for servant Gabriel.

honeywhenyousleep's Review: I first picked up this book on a impulse buy. I had read briefly about it on a forum and thought that the summary sounded interesting. I had never read a dystopian novel that dealt with certain dying periods as this book has and decided to give it a shot. It was pleasant surprise, and I have to say this is one of my favorite books.

Characters:

I very much appreciate the narrative from Rhine's perspective and love her descriptions of things, and the way she incorporates memories within scenes, every time something triggers a thought to come to her mind. I found that Rhine was an very clever character, with the way she continuously manipulated everyone around her to believe that she wanted and did care for Linden the way he did for her.

Rhine's sister wives, Jenna and Cecily, were also amazing characters just by themselves. I loved the way they interacted with each other, handling their marriage in a way that they each accepted they were not the only ones to be with Linden, and ended up each having a different relationship altogether with him.

Relationships:

Now if you would ask me in this book which love interest I would chosen for Rhine to be with, it would be Linden. I found him to be such a sweetheart, but incredibly naive. Not to say that I did not appreciate Gabriel's character would be a lie, but I felt like he wasn't in the book as much as to lead Rhine on that they could be with one another. Sometimes I felt like the way they felt for each others was exaggerated, and that Rhine was in denial for feeling for Linden, that she chose to want Gabriel as a way to suppress her want.

Ramblings:

I finished this book within a day, and the way it is written and paced is just right for me. It wasn't too fast, but it wasn't too slow. Everything was explained in a orderly fashion and not taken to be rushed and I felt it was quite alright that at some parts it was lengthy.

I love the whole concept of this dsytopia, and feel it is much different that anything that is out there at the moment. There was a certain feel to this book that I couldn't describe. It almost felt contemporary, but it does not only talk of what is happening with the disappearing human race, but it shows how it affected everyone and the way things are viewed in this type of society. For example, a grown man being with a 13 year old is acceptable in this society, as if kidnapping to repopulate.

And sometimes it felt like a mystery book as well, as Linden's father drops hints to be deceiving his son, and everyone around them with this 'cure' he is trying to find.

End Thoughts:

After I finished this book, I just could not wait to get my hands on Fever, and I was so happy to have found out that within that week I had read Wither, that it was coming out.

I definitely recommend this to anyone, even if dystopian isn't really there thing, as it has something for everybody in my opinion.

I give Wither a 5/5 rating.

The Accidental Vampire (Argeneau Vampire #6) Book Review

Title: The Accidental Vampire

Author: Lynsay Sands

eBook Edition

Amount of Pages: 384 pages

Release Date: December 26, 2007

Publisher: Avon

Meant For: Adults

From: Library

Summary:

Ever since an accident turned her into a knockout vamp, Elvi Black's been catching her z's in a coffin, staying out of the sun, and giving up garlic. She knows there's more to being undead than what she saw in Dracula, but she can't very well ask her mortal friends about proper biting etiquette. But when her neighbors placed a personal ad for her in the local paper, she never imagined she'd meet Victor Argeneau, a vampire who could have his pick of any woman—dead or alive.

Rich, powerful, and drop—dead gorgeous, Victor's the perfect man for a novice neck—biter like Elvi. He's willing to teach her everything he knows, but he'll have to do it fast. Someones out to put a stake through her new vamp life, and only Victor can keep her safe—and satisfied—for all eternity.

honeywhenyousleeps' Review:

This is not my first Lynsay Sands book, and after reading this one, it won't be my last. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, all the way until the ending, and finished it quite fast, in about a day or so.

Relationships:

Elvi's friends decide to put an ad in the paper, looking for a single male vampire, and six men are asked to come down to her restaurant to surprise her. I loved the way Victor and Elvi were both attracted to each other instantly, but were fighting what they felt for one another, until they could deny it no longer.

I loved Victor's friend, DJ, that decided to come along with him to support him on what had originally had been a mission, for Victor and DJ believed that Elvi had broken the law of exposing them for what they were.

DJ and Mabels relationship literally had me dying. I was laughing so hard I could not stop, the whole book really.

And, be warned, they are explicit sex scene starting around the middle of the book until the end.

Characters:

They are the things I love most about Lynsay Sands books. Her characters are always making me react in some way. Either they make me laugh, angry, or smile like an idiot. My favorite though, in this book, would have to be Victor. There was just a certain allure to him, and the way he easily accepted and cared for Elvi, and how he was committed to a relationship, although she was weary.

Loved the cheesecake situation, if you read it, you'll know what I'm talking about. I had a crush on Alesandro. Just such a cute little Italian.

Ramblings:

This book flows effortlessly. I literally was like 'wow' when I saw I was almost done with it. It's so amazing, you don't realize that it's a book.

Some of the stuff, in the book, did make me go like 'what was that for, are they that stupid?' and this was mostly directed at Mabel, and Teddy. They had Elvi believing ridiculous things, that they had no evidence to back up. If you had read the books in the series before this one, you'll know what I'm talking about.

Lynsay Sands mythology is much different than other vampire books. They can be out in the sun, they do not age, and can only be killed with a stake in the heart. Basically, vampires originated from Atlantis. Nanos, these tiny cells, repair the body, and revise the aging process and those handy things, but they need more blood for the more damage that they have.

End Thought:

I'll be waiting for the 8th book to come into hands, anxiously, and will reread this rest in wait. I give this book a 4/5. Great book for a day in a bed, that's when I read it, while I had the most horrible toothache. You won't regret it.