Review: Pressure Point by Olivia Luck

Title: Pressure Point

Author: Olivia Luck

Genre: romance, new adult, contemporary

Reviewed by: Cassie

Summary (from goodreads.com)

I know what you're thinking. It's unconventional to want a man nine years older than you. It's inconvenient to crush on your dearest friend's older brother. It's silly to pine after a man for six years. It's cliche to lust after a celebrity. It's pathetic to fall in love with a man who barely knows you exist.

I know what you're thinking because I've thought it all, too. And yet that hasn't stopped me from wanting Blake Campbell. Charming, gorgeous, brilliant, kind, selfless- Blake is everything I've ever wanted, but he doesn't see me that way. In fact, he hardly noticed me until one night.

When his eyes finally open and he finds out I've left, will it be too late?

I was hooked after reading that summary. It was like getting every possible romantic tension/problem and smooshing it into ONE AWESOME SITUATION/COUPLE. I REALLY WANTED TO LIKE THIS!

After reading it though, I was extremely disappointed. So many reviews complimented Olivia Luck on her artistic writing style, and said it was very beautiful, that the story was lovely, and blah blah blah. 

That's probably what got me so intrigued- not only was this storyline promising, but a writing style to drool over? Sign me up!

How it went down is another story.

I was expecting a dramatic and potent love story- forbidden love, a scorned woman, and a man who will do anything to get her back- but she won't let him because she's SCORNED!

Isn't that a delicious?!?!?! That's what I thought I was going to get after reading this.

I thought I was going to get a suave and devilish guy who was swoon-worthy and spicy and everything nice, and . . . I didn't.

What I got instead was this:

-a lead woman (Stella) who annoyed me to no end. She pretended to be confidant and loving and tried to be the "perfect woman" (imma stab someone for all that sexism). In reality, she came off as unrealistic, somewhat delusional, overly emotional, and weak. She did NOT stick to her guns. She was in no way BA. And she was way too accepting of Blake's jerkface ways.

Have a backbone, woman!!

-Blake. At first, I was interested. Detached yet sexy, cool yet charming. James Bond may or may not have come to mind whilst reading about him.

Then his immature and so, SO not cool personality came to the surface. No, he was not sexy. He was selfish and unapologetic and rude and annoying. If I was Stella, I would have taken my four-inch stiletto heel and stabbed him mercilessly while laughing my butt off.

THAT'S RIGHT.

-no plot, save for pointless melodrama

Basically, yeah. Blake/Stella's relationship did NOT give me the tingles or warm fuzzies or anything. I didn't think it was love, and I was SERIOUSLY DISAPPOINTED. It wasn't intense like I thought it would be, nor forbidden, and it wasn't even close to being cute or lovely or anything good.

Ugh. It makes me cringe knowing that there are relationships and couples out there just like this. Relationships should be a partnership, where both people equally contribute and share. I personally do not believe a relationship is good OR healthy where one person is continuously selfless and giving, while the other partner is taking and taking.

Therefore, I did not like the romance portrayed in this story in any way. I found it too traditional (in the sense that the male is overly dominant and alpha and the female just goes with it and likes it) and in no way appealing.

Hugs and kisses~~ 

Cassie

Review: The Last Hour of Gann by R. Lee Smith

Title: The Last Hour of Gann

Author: R. Lee Smith

Genre: Science Fiction, Romance, Fantasy

Summary (from goodreads.com)

It was her last chance:

Amber Bierce had nothing left except her sister and two tickets on Earth's first colony-ship. She entered her Sleeper with a five-year contract and the promise of a better life, but awakened in wreckage on an unknown world. For the survivors, there is no rescue, no way home and no hope until they are found by Meoraq-a holy warrior more deadly than any hungering beast on this hostile new world . . . but whose eyes show a different sort of hunger when he looks at her.

It was his last year of freedom:

Uyane Meoraq is a Sword of Sheul. God's own instrument of judgment, victor of hundreds of trials, with a conqueror's rights over all men. Or at least he was until his father's death. Now, without divine intervention, he will be forced to assume stewardship over House Uyane and lose the life he has always known. At the legendary temple of Xi'Matezh, Meoraq hopes to find the deliverance he seeks, but the humans he encounters on his pilgrimage may prove too great a test even for him . . . especially the one called Amber, behind whose monstrous appearance burns a woman's heart unlike any he has ever known.

Whoa.

Whoa.

Like, WHOA.

Completely disregard that summary, and just trust me when I say this: YES YES YES. 

Yes, this is a HUGE book. Oh, some 1277 pages, no biggie. Right?

Yes, we are talking alien romance here. Like, legit alien-human romance. Not aliens who just so happenly look like us (cough cough Jennifer Armentrout), but like LIZARDS. 

And, um, it works.

Just saying.

Yes, I am basically fangirling over this monster of a book AND IT DESERVES MORE ATTENTION!

_______________________________________________________________

The plot:

You would think a book this long would get majorly boring after a while, right? WRONG. Now, yes, it might be cliche at points, but it ain't boring. Frustrating? Yes. Boring? No.

Because it takes you on a roller coaster of a ride and doesn't give a flying poop about whether or not you scream your head off. Ups and downs and loops and sudden, potent, pivotal moments- oh yes, it's ALL there.

The romance:

Like I warned previously before, it is lizard/alien and human romance. Skeptical?

As was I . . .

BUT.

But.

But.

It really, really, reeeeeally worked. It was a perfectly slow build, and while I didn't really feel the sexual tension (eh . . . sorry, I just couldn't. Lizards don't have that effect on me.) it was all good in the hood!

The characters:

Oh, man. I have conflicting feelings here.

First off, they are (for the most part) deep, complex characters. Many facets to them that Smith slowly but surely polishes and reveals to the readers.

Secondly, I commend Smith for creating characters that are real and not entirely 100% likable.

Now that that's done:

Amber, our main character, started off REALLY strong. Like, I felt strong and empowered just by reading about her! But then her flaws came out (i.e. her complete inability to see how her fellow humans used and abused her) and at times she seemed very weak. I hated those moments of hers; I got so frustrated and wanted to knock some sense into her! 

I mean, seriously! When you're stranded on an alien planet with no laws to guide you, you slap the shit out of men who annoy you! Assert your dominance, and then beat them with a sharp stick just to make your point again. (If you're really feeling feisty, I advise sitting on them as well. Just for kicks.)

Meoraq, our alien paramour, fell kind of flat for me. While reading, he worked. He really did. But if I thought about having to deal with a Meoraq in real life, I'd be hopelessly bored and frustrated. Why? Because he's so stubborn and set in his ideas and won't listen to any outside reason (90% of the time). While that's all fine and dandy for a male lead in a romance novel, I was kind of hoping for something more. Everything else was so GOOD and then Meoraq was so stereotypically MALE.

The rest:

Satisfying. 

One wee concern:

I'm no feminist (ughhh bring on the hate) by any means, but the society of Gann was SO. DANG. SEXIST!

I don't even want to explain how annoying and angry it made me.

Seriously.

I mean, I get it I guess, but . . . REALLY?!?

NO. NONONONO!

It's not unbearable, but it did raise my hackles. I also may have wanted to slap someone (repeatedly), but whatever.

IT'S A GREAT BOOK EVERYONE. Seriously, go out and read it if fantasy or sci-fi is your thing!! If you like the first few chapters, you will devour the rest of the it. Trust me, and all the many, MANY others, when we say it's fan-freaking-tastic. Lizard aliens and all.

Hugs and kisses~~~~

Cassie

Review: The Queen of All that Dies by Laura Thalassa

Title: The Queen of All that Dies

Author: Laura Thalassa

Genre: new adult, romance, dystopia/science fiction

Reviewed by: Cassie

Summary (from goodreads.com)

In the future, the world is at war.

For the last decade, King Lazuli of the Eastern Empire has systematically taken over the world. No one knows much about him other than a series of impossible facts: he cannot die, he has not aged since the conflict began, and he wants to rule the world.

All Serenity Freeman has known is bloodshed. War has taken away her mother, her home, her safety. As the future emissary of the Western United Nations, the last autonomous region of the globe, she is responsible for forging alliances where she can.

Surrender is on the horizon. The king can taste it; Serenity feels it deep within her bones. There is no other option. Now the two must come face to face. For Serenity, that means confronting the man who's taken everything from her. For the king, it means meeting the one woman he can't conquer. But when they meet, something happens. Cruelty finds redemption.

Only in war, everything comes with a price. Especially love.

Basically I was scrolling through the new releases in new adult recently and I stumbled upon this little gem. I saw the cover, spazzed a little because it was so pretty, and decided to go for it. (I mean, heaven knows I've been trying to find a good read with well-known and well-liked books . . . and FAILING mind you). So I did what I usually don't do: I went for the lesser known book that was kind of a gamble.

The plot starts off very fast. (It is my personal opinion, however, that the summary is misleading about the story) So many things happening, so many different emotions, as well as deliciously dark little flashbacks.

The plot:

ACTUALLY had one, unlike many new adult books. Then again, I'm not sure if you can do dystopian/science fiction and get away with not having a plot (though there ARE such books and they should be ashamed of themselves).

Thankfully, it didn't follow cliche plot devices and actually went the opposite way than expected.

The characters:

Ehmmmmmmm I had high hopes for the male lead (aka Mantes . . . whose name reminds me of praying mantis)

DANGGGG GURL, look at that mantis werkin' it!!!!

. . . Don't worry, I have long ago accepted the fact that I'm messed up.

ANYWAYS. Mantes kind of disappointed me, not gonna lie. It's not his fault though!! He had big shoes to fill (cough cough the Darkling) with his whole "I'm an evil/tyrannical/immortal/mysterious ruler who will SMITE THE WORLD!! FEAR MY FURY! AND MY EXTRAORDINARY PULCHRITUDE!"

So, in regards to that delicious and tantalizing idea, Mantes fell short (but then again, who wouldn't??? We can't all be Darklings . . .)

*fangirl scream* - Sean O'Pry is ;akljdf

Yes, yes I just did that. I slammed some Darkling in your face and you liked it.

(Don't even try to deny it)

Anyways, as for Serenity (her name bothered me) she was cool. She really was. Kind of irrational at times, and inconsistent, but who cares!!

The romance******

Annoyed me. Don't get me wrong: it was cute. But it didn't give me the tingles, nor did I like the fact that it was so instantaneous! It wasn't QUITE instalove, but it was pretty darn close to it.

FINAL WORDS!

Intriguing story, entertaining, and a promising read.

But that cliffhanger though.

Hugs and kisses~~

Cassie

Review: Dominic by L.A. Casey

Title: Dominic

Author: L.A. Casey

Genre: new adult, romance

Summary (from goodreads.com)

WARNING: If you don't like a leading male that is a possessive pr**k, Dominic is NOT for you. If you don't like a leading female that is a stuborn bi**h, Dominic is NOT  for you. If you don't like over the top drama and characters who have bad tempers, Dominic is NOT for you. Most of all, if you don't like characters who CURSE A LOT and say EXACTLY what they feel and are thinking without sugar coating it then Dominic is REALLY NOT for you.

After a car accident killed her parents when she was a child, Bronagh Murphy chose to box herself off from people in an effort to keep herself from future hurt. If she doesn't befriend people, talk to them or acknowledge them in any way they leave her alone just like she wants.

When Dominic Slater enters her life, ignoring him is all she has to do to get his attention. Dominic is used to attention, and when he and his brothers move to Dublin, Ireland for family business, he gets nothing but attention. Attention from everyone except the beautiful brunette with a sharp tongue.

Dominic wants Bronagh and the only way he can get to her, is by dragging her from the boxed off corner she has herself trapped in the only way he knows how . . . by force.

Dominic wants her, and what Dominic wants, Dominic gets.

Admittedly, that warning was like a neon flashing challenge to me. It was like saying to me, "hey, you! Yeah, you! You don't have the balls to read this nasty book!" So of course, I then had the strong urge to do just that.

Initially I was turned off by some of the REALLY really hateful reviews. I thought to myself, if this book is so good, why is there so much HATE??? Buuuuuut I eventually caved.

. . . And let me just say, it was a RIOT of a read!!!

It was vulgar (in its language), crazy, exciting, and undeniably funny. It was a lose-your-inhibitions kind of book. If you go in judging and looking to find fault, you ain't gonna like this.

Call me crazy, but I devoured this book.

Bronagh and Nico were an intensely amusing couple- their relationship was a bit toxic (okay, like a LOT toxic) but it was also extremely hot with rampant sexual tension . . . Umm slash pseudo-hate. Yeah, there was a lot of name-calling. A lot of it I breezed over, but a few I raised my eyebrows at. It was a bit excessive, but I guess it's a part of the book's charm.

As for the plot?
Eh. I've come to not expect much from new adult. While I guess there was an underlying plot/backstory going on, the real conflict was how Bronagh was bullied at school and slowly letting people in.

Disregarding that . . . It was still strangely compelling! I couldn't put it down and was hooked.

One minor annoyance:
Bronagh and her booty issues. Let me just say this: if you've got booty, YOU FLAUNT IT. Don't be ashamed, alright?!? You are wasting prime booty gifted to you by the booty gods, and all of us average-bootied gals are insanely envious of your bootilicious behind. So don't go telling me that you're self-conscious about your fabulous butt, okay? BECAUSE YOU DON'T KNOW SELF-CONSCIOUS UNTIL YOU KNOW FLAT BOOTY SYNDROME (also known as FBS).

It's a serious condition that Bronagh and her fellow bootilicious friends will never be concerned with.

That's right, Anne Hathaway, you tell 'em.

Besides that, Bronagh was a badass. Just thought I'd say that. And so was Dominic in general. It was wild and a hoot.

Hugs and kisses~~
Cassie

Review: Reasonable Doubt by Whitney Gracia Williams

Title: Reasonable Doubt

Author: Whitney Gracia Williams

Genre: new adult, romance

Reviewed by: Cassie

Summary (modified from goodreads.com . . . you know, to prevent scarring innocent eyes)

I have an appetite.

A huge and very particular appetite: Blonde, curvy, and preferably not a fucking liar . . .

(Although, that's a story for another day.)

As a high profile lawyer, I don't have time to waste on relationships, so I fulfill my needs by anonymously chatting and sleeping with women I meet online.

My rules are simple: One dinner. One night. No repeats.

This is only casual sex. Nothing more. Nothing less.

At least it was, until "Alyssa" . . .

She was supposed to be a 27 year old lawyer, a book hoarder, and completely unattractive. She was supposed to be someone I shared law advice with late at night, and someone I could trust with details of my weekly escapades.

But then she came into my firm for an interview--a college-intern interview and everything changed . . .

* *Book 1 in a three part Erotic Romance Serial.* *

I had been eyeing this book for months, literally MONTHS. The cover? Amazeballs. The summary? (The unfiltered one which you can find on goodreads if you truly desire) Extremely interesting. The hype? Intriguing, yet also made me wary.

How could so many people like this series? There HAD to be something wrong with it! I was very cautious going in, because I was so afraid of being majorly disappointed.

. . . 

Which I wasn't!!

So it wasn't the five star read I was secretly hoping for, but it was very entertaining! Made me smile at times, really pulled me in, and I found myself hooked!! 

The characters:

Mainly focuses on Alyssa and Andrew, both of which are hot messes. Alyssa is a liar (at least, to Andrew) and is only pursuing law because of her parents. Andrew is an emotionally distant and top tier jerk who has serious commitment issues.

How it all came down:

Started off very strong. It continued at mid-strength-you know, some plot holes and character meh-ness. At times I felt like Alyssa was a very blurry character: at one point she would be a bold and assertive and spicy woman, while at another moment (usually around Andrew) she would become this dependent and silly and immature girl.

The ending of course was a cliffie, 

Side note:

Andrew is a VERY dirty talker. And it actually works! Some male leads are called "dirty talkers" but fall flat of the label. The things they say are so awkward and clunky that I just can't get in the groove of the dirty, ya know? It annoys me to no end, because let's face it: if you can't dirty talk, don't even TRY. It's cringe-worthy! And it's an automatic DNF.

THANKFULLY, Andrew does not fall into that category and Williams manages to flawlessly interweave his jerk-face personality with dirty, dirty words that make readers blush, smirk, and swoon just a tad. (no really, a supersupersuperSUPER small amount . . . but it's still a swoon)

(insert swoon here . . .)

Welp, that's all I can say. I wasn't disappointed, it was steamy with a lovely dirty talker, and it was intriguing!

Hugs and kisses~~

Cassie

Review: Rusty Nailed by Alice Clayton

Title: Rusty Nailed

Author: Alice Clayton

Genre: New adult, romance

Reviewed: Cassie

Summary (from goodreads.com)

In this sequel to Wallbanger, the second book in the Cocktail series, fan favorites Caroline and Simon negotiate the rollercoaster of their new relationship while house-sitting in San Francisco.

Playing house was never so much fun-or so confusing. With her boss on her honeymoon, Caroline's working crazy long hours to keep the interior design company running-especially since she's also the lead designer for the renovation of a gorgeous old hotel on Sausalito. So with her hotshot photographer boyfriend gallivanting all over the world for his job, she and Simon are heavy-duty into "absence makes the heart grow fonder" mode. Neither has any complaints about the great reunion sex, though! Then Simon decides he's tired of so much travelling, and he's suddenly home more. A lot more. And wanting Caroline home more, too. Though their friends' romantic lives provide plenty of welcome distraction, eventually Caroline and Simon have to sort their relationship out. Neither wants "out of sight, out of mind," but can they create their own happy mid-ground cliche?

USA TODAY bestselling author Alice Clayton delivers another delicious, frothy cocktail of a book, shaking up her characters, stirring in laugh-out-loud humor, and serving sizzling romance straight up!

After reading Wallbanger, I was both dreading reading the sequel, and drooling over the possibilities it presented. So after putting it off for a few months, I finally caved.

And I was extremely relieved!

(Can I get a "hollah!!" for some Tom Hiddleston love???? He's adorkable.)

Rusty Nailed was funny, cute, and just what I hoped for. While I don't think it was as good as Wallbanger, it was still a solid follow-up. Personally, I thought Caroline and Simon were just fine in their relationship, and that this was a somewhat unnecessary and drawn-out resolution to their hidden problems. HOWEVER. I am soooooo not complaining. It was a refreshing read--and quite frankly, a reprieve from the onslaught of "meh" books before it.

While I found it satisfying, I must point out the one major flaw I found with it.

TOO MUCH DRAMA.

And it wasn't even because of moody, broody, and delicious guy-feelings. You know, those love interests who go "oh but I don't know if I deserve this..." or "I don't know if this will work..." or "Well you see I forgot to mention I have a crazy ex..." (<-- HA.)

No, it was actually Caroline! And I had so many feels for poor Simon.

Alsooooooo. On a side note, it's not really as... steamy? as the first. Which is both bad and good, because exorbitant smut is annoying, but less is not always more.

Anyways, go forth and enjoy! Or start the series if you haven't, because it's totes worth it. Especially if you need some Valentine's Day cheering up!! This'll do it <3

Hugs and kisses~~

Cassie