Category: New Adult

Fantasy · Magic · New Adult · Romance

The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black

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This is just going to be really quick since I wasn’t really planning on writing a review for this book because I wasn’t really looking at any of it’s flaws while reading it. I was just reading in bliss, happy to finally have this book in my hands, but after I was done with it I couldn’t tell if I had book hangover from this book or something else, and I think it’s something else.

I loved this book and it’s series. It’s the only book series by Holly Black that I like, but I have only read one other book by her. In that book I found the same problem, most of it was good, but I found something lacking. For that book I wasn’t really sure what it was, but for this one I am, and that’s Cardan.

Now don’t get me wrong, I LOVED Cardan. I loved him since we saw him in the first book and he was this horrible character. It wasn’t that Cardan, as a character was lacking, but content of him was lacking. Cardan. Most of the time in this book Cardan is not there. You see him, and then poof he’s gone. You read more about Cardan from other characters then you see him. You do see more of Cardan’s good side, but again you rarely see him. In the other books you see Cardan a lot. I just reread The Wicked King and you see Cardan plenty, but in this book I rarely ever saw him.

Other then my sadness over the lack of Cardan, I loved this book. It had it’s moments were I was bored, not gonna lie, but I’m pretty sure all books do that so I can’t fault that. Most of the time I didn’t want to put this book down. Once I got halfway through the book I had to force myself to put it down and read the other half tomorrow. I’m honestly sad it’s over. I want more. It’s a rare type of book that I don’t see a lot of it and I want more of. I NEED more of. I’m very sad this journey is over. I’m still stuck in the book hangover and have no idea how I will get out of it.

P.S. This book scared me for the characters many times. I had no idea how it was going to end to be honest.

Adult · Contemporary · Music · New Adult · Romance

Rhythm, Chord & Malykhin

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By Mariana Zapata

  • Publisher: Mariana Zapata
  • Year Released: 2015
  • Date Read: December 12th, 2018
  • Genre: Music, Romance, Contemporary, New Adult, Adult
  • My Rating: B/ 4 Stars


“I wouldn’t trade you for a million dollars, Mase.”
His reply was to beam at me.
“But for ten million, I’d work out some kind of visitation schedule” 
― Mariana Zapata

Devastated, and feeling pathetic, Gaby is stuck back home with nothing going for her. Then she gets a call from her twin brother who is known for trouble. He needs someone to sell his merch while he is on tour and since Gaby has nothing to do, he wants her to go with him. Gaby agrees to travel with him and their two best friends, but then finds out it’s not just them she’ll be on tour with. They have another band traveling along with them. She’ll be stuck with eleven boys for three months and all the trouble they bring with them.

I liked Rhythm, Chord & Malykhin, but it wasn’t my favorite Mariana Zapata book, it’s probably my least favorite so far. It’s not bad, just compared to her other work it feels somewhat lacking.  For one, the romance in the book was trumped by Gaby’s relationship with her brother and their two best friends. Once again, this isn’t bad to me since I like seeing bonds that aren’t in a romantic setting, but people who came for the amazing romance wouldn’t probably be that happy that you’re getting sidetracked by people who get along better. Sacha and Gaby were nice to read together. They were together literally all the time and at first I thought it was going to be an insta love story, glad that Zapata hasn’t failed me with one of those yet.

Pros

  • Gaby, her brother Eli, Mason, and Gordo. The four of thems relationship was the best part of the book. It is what makes this book likable to the extent that I do. If they weren’t in this book I’m not sure I would of finished it. The four of them have known each other since they were children and it’s very clear. They all tease each other and get along well well. We see moments of Gaby laying on Mason comfortably even though he jokes about her about marrying her. We see the more quiet Gordo joking around with her like by putting a sign on her back, and then we see her with Eli who treats her as his best friend. Their relationship is very close and I loved it. They were twins who grew up together without leaving each others side for too long, and it really showed in the writing. It’s clear they need the other in each others lives. I also loved the fact that none of them cared that Gaby was a girl. They don’t treat her like a girl at all, expect when Mason jokes about marrying her or to defend her. They treat her literally as if she was one of them. I also like how Zapata didn’t just say the group of boys were trouble and make them not trouble at all. She backs it up by mentioning things like how they got detention in kindergarten, and also when they ask Gaby to play a game with them she instantly starts saying no because she knows what it will lead to. The four of them were my favorite part of the book. I knew their relationship was going to trump the romance once you saw Eli and Gaby together once again. Everyone around was looking at Eli like he was a star because he was in a rock band and all Gaby could see was her brother who she called Eliza and would find in her bed in the middle of the night randomly because they were also close with each other.
  • The book was funny, obviously because of the three boys. They act like idiots so there was a lot of moments that had me laughing.
  • Zapata always has a more serious topic in her novels, and this one is pretty much body dysmorphia. The character had a part of themselves they didn’t like and hid from others. In the book we start way after her surgery to change that part of herself that she wanted, which sets up new problems for her that she thought would be fixed with changing her body. Now she has to learn to accept that’s the new her and that the people around her or people she invites into her life, will have to aware of it too and be ok with it. We also get to see that it’s all still a sensitive subject for her, showing that just because you get the change you want, while you will most likely be happy in the long run, it won’t always be immediate. These are usually my favorite parts of Zapata novels. I like seeing that the characters aren’t bland and go through real problems that aren’t mentioned and then thrown away. These problems stay with them just as real problems in real life tend to do.

Cons:

  • I know I had cons for this while I was reading it, but for some reason my dumb ass didn’t mark them as I read them so I can’t fully remember them. The one I can remember is this is not the best Zapata romance novel. Out of all her romantic relationships I liked this one the least. They kinda seemed like teenagers half the time and while it’s still a slow burn romance, they bonded and got real friendly within a few chapters. Like stuck with glue kinda friendship. I guess I’m just used to Zapata’s enemy to lovers novels that when I read the one that isn’t, it’s more off putting to me. I don’t know if it’s just me, I just personally cared for the friendships in this and didn’t care as much for the romance. The romance wasn’t bad. It’s just that the couple kinda reminded me of the teenage couples I used to see in school who were literally always touching as if their bodies were magnets. I mean even when eating they were hugging each other(talking about real life, not the book.). It’s kinda too much, especially when it’s supposed to be a slow burn.

I’m saying I don’t like this book that much, but only because I have high expectations for Zapata novels because I’ve read her newer and better work. For a normal romance novel, this is still a four star book. I don’t really like straight up romance novels but I liked this book and continued it because it was still good, it just isn’t as good as Zapata’s other works. It probably also doesn’t help that I have been reading Zapata novels back to back to where I know the set up and structures of her books. But also at the same time, this is the book she wrote after Kulti, but right before the Wall of Winnipeg, which are two loved books made by her, so I can’t just say that it might because it’s one of her first books. It isn’t. Kulti was good and the Wall of Winnipeg was amazing, and this lacks compared to both of them.

If you enjoy books with good bonds, read this. You will love Gaby and the boys. If you want romance and don’t care that it’s clingy in a way, you will also probably like this. If you’ve read many Zapata novels right before deciding to read this, probably don’t do that. Wait a month or so and come back. Maybe it will be better that way.

“My brother had pulled one of our mom’s largest crucifixes off the wall and held it in the air at me while he hissed, “I banish thee!” 
― Mariana Zapata

Adult · Contemporary · New Adult · Romance · Sports

From Lukov with Love

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From Lukov with Love
Mariana Zapata

  • Publisher: Mariana Zapata
  • Year Released: 2018
  • Date Read: December 7, 2018
  • Genre: Romance, Contemporary, New Adult, Adult, Sports
  • Grade: 4.8/ A+


“You say nobody remembers second place, but no one remembers the girls that win once and disappear afterward either.”

-Mariana Zapata

Jasmine has been skating for seventeen years, but those years are about to be over. Jasmine career in figure skating is about to come to a close with nothing but bad partnerships to show for it. She has worked hard, but because of her honesty no one wants to work with her, until Ivan, the star of figure skating, brings her an offer. Be his partner for a year to get the gold she wants, and afterwards he’ll help her find another partner. Only one problem, Jasmine and Ivan can’t stand each other. After years of insulting and jabbing at each other they will have to learn to get along enough to trust each other on the ice.

This book had me rolling in little fits of laughter. I loved it, every part of it. This is Mariana Zapata’s newest book, not counting the one that hasn’t been released yet. You can tell while reading it that her writing has most definitely improved along the years. The main character’s inner thoughts to herself were just as amusing as when she was speaking. There was little difference in it. I also noticed some little call backs or little traits Zapata puts in every book. Like how all her characters like the other character’s booty, she likes to talk about shanking people, and she even used a reference from Under Locke, which is comparing the main character and the love interests to oil and water to show that they don’t go together. The main reference that I caught and enjoyed was when Jasmine says she isn’t afraid of spiders, flying roaches, mice, the dark, clowns, and heights. I don’t know if the rest of them come from other books but I know the bugs were a mention of fear in Under Locke, and the dark and clowns were mentioned as fears in The Wall Of Winnipeg and Me. Zapata definitely has a style to her writing and puts her own love of things into a book, which isn’t always a good thing, but I enjoy in her case.

Pros

  • Jasmine and Ivan. From their first interaction of each other I knew this was going to be good. The second they started flipping each other off and mouthing insults to each other I knew this was going to be a damn good read. They had me laughing. There’s also them hitting each other under the table and the little ways they challenged each other. Even when they were rivals, they went together very well. They acted like friends who bantered and teased each other even though they were rivals who didn’t like each other. There’s also their little insult nicknames they have for each other. Them mouthing or whispering insults at each other as if they were children trying to hide from their mom they were fighting.
  • This is the first Zapata novel I read where the families didn’t have an asshole nature. There was Jasmine’s dad, which I will touch more on, but other then that, the families in this were sweet. I loved reading Jasmine interact with her family just as much as I loved reading her with Ivan. Jasmine’s interactions reminded me of how my family interacts. The way they all make fun of each other and are ready to call you out on things. You could see the love they all had for each other, that they were willing to do anything for each other. I also loved that we got to read her group text messages with families. They were never not funny.
  • Jasmine’s relationship with her dad. It wasn’t as bad as the two other Zapata novels I read, but I really love how this one was handled. Throughout the novel it’s clear that Jasmine doesn’t have the best relationship with her dad and it shows that it’s because of her being a figure skater. Zapata is really good at writing things that people go through with their parents not being there. In The Wall of Winnipeg and Me, we see the relationship of a intoxicated mother who neglected her children and denied their other children abusive actions. In Under Locke, we see the relationship of a father never being there when he is needed and just being awful in general. In those two books it shows relationships that can’t be repaired. In this one, Zapata goes the other route and shows that a bad relationship between children and parents can be fixed, though generally it’s still toxic and will never be perfect. Zapata has said in all three of these novels how someone can love someone, but it’s a toxic love. That they know their parents think they love them, but what they really feel is this toxic kind of thing. Each book has its own quote about love and how it’s such a complex feeling that people just throw around. In this book, when Jasmine’s dad asks if she knows he loves her she thinks to herself, “Love is a weird word. What the hell was love? Everyone had such a different opinion on what it meant to them; it was hard to figure out how to use it.” If there’s something that Zapata can write as well as her slow burn romance, it’s character’s relationship with parents and how damaging it can be when it’s not a good one. Jasmine’s break down in this actually had me in a little bit of tears, especially since she was written as such a strong person. Zapata writes these moments very well and it makes the books more serious than just a book about a girl who is falling for a boy.
  • In these last three books Zapata has also had something that the main characters hated or tried to hide about themselves. One was student debt and her sister abusing her, one was her arm from cancer treatments, and this one was a learning disability. Jasmine has a learning disability that she is sensitive about. She had trouble with school because of it and doesn’t like others to find out about it because they will assume she is stupid. Throughout the book Jasmine talks about it and the problems she has faced with people and school. It’s not something that is mentioned and then thrown away because it was only used for a scene. It’s a part of Jasmine.
  • I also really loved how the author talked about perverts on the internet, because that is a real gross problem. How people, especially those with fame, get disgusting messages and comments sent to them and how degrading it makes them feel. We see it in people’s comments all the time, about how someone wishes they could screw the person who is in the picture or video. It’s disgusting and not flattering to think that someone out there is getting off on something you didn’t want them too, or you sending them picture or videos of it. It’s something that is gross and needs to stop, and she talked about it, letting us see through the stars point of view of how it makes them feel. This doesn’t just go for men doing it either. I’ve heard plenty of women degrade men in a way they wouldn’t want to be talked about. Zapata talks on this also. In the women’s locker room, Ivan gets talked about in that way, by teenage girls of all people. It’s not cute, it’s not funny, it’s gross and if not something you would say to the person to their face you shouldn’t say it at all, maybe not even if you would say it to there face. If it something about their body, keep that shit to yourself.
  • Ivan and his farm, because the image of him holding a bunny all day and talking to his animals is honestly the cutest thing in this book.

Cons

  • I wished there would of been more skating. They were always practicing, and the author did use figure skating terms, but when they were practicing it never went into depth about the practice, just that they practiced and they did this move or tried to get in sync with each other. It was always just, oh we practiced but now we’re done. There was moments of when Jasmine would skate and we would see her fail over and over when she was stressed out, and those were the most in depth scenes of them skating. But I can also understand that figure skating is probably very hard to write about compared to other sports. This one is more artistic and to describe it would probably be very hard and take a lot of length up of a story that is already  very long.


“I was honestly worried you were going to do some John Wick shit with the comb I left on the counter.” 
― Mariana Zapata

I can’t choose if I prefer this one or Winnipeg. They were both very good, though I will say this one was a lot more funny, but Winnipeg’s characters were more serious acting so that makes sense. I honestly want to see this book though as a movie(Yes I know there is an old movie that is just like this. But I want to see THIS story as a movie.), even though generally I think book to movie adaptations are awful.  It reminds me of a romance version of the comedy movie, Blades of Glory(Though it’s not the movie I was talking about above. I actually have not seen that movie). Out of the three of her novels I’ve read, I would want this one to be a movie. Winnipeg was a lot slower in getting things going also, while From Lukov with Love, while still having that slow burn romance, was a lot faster at getting the plot and ball rolling. It had more things happen in it and was fun. I have so far enjoyed all the Zapata novels I have read. I would one hundred percent recommend this one to people. Ivan and Jasmine are the ultimate enemies that care for each other and are there to comfort each other in their times of need. Their chemistry is there from the moment Jasmine sees him in the office. The way she walks into the room and he just stares at her blankly, as if he doesn’t care that she’s there and he doesn’t want any part in it. They were the perfect match and made this story amazing. I’ve always loved the artistic side of figure skating. I know that people think the guys are all frilly or whatever they think about it, but Ivan shows that they aren’t. They are just someone who really loves the sport and that makes them in no way girly. It’s an artistic sport and it’s beautiful and takes talent. I’m glad Zapata wrote a novel about it and I read it


I blinked. “I hope you get abducted by aliens.”

Ivan laughed, and the sound of it made me smile. “You would miss me.”

All I said, while shrugging was, “Meh. I know I’d get to see you again someday—”

He smiled.

“—in hell.”

-Mariana Zapata

Adult · Contemporary · New Adult · Romance

Under Locke

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Under Locke
Mariana Zapata

  • Publisher:  Mariana Zapata
  • Year Released: 2014
  • Date Read: December 5, 2018 – December 6, 2018
  • Genres: Romance, New Adult, Adult, Contemporary
  • Grade: B-/ 3.8 Stars

“Unfortunately, you don’t get to choose family, Sonny had told me this once. But you do get to choose everyone else.”

-Mariana Zapata

After losing her job, Iris had one choice, move in with one of her siblings. Her sibling of choice, her half brother that is part of the same motorcycle club as their shitty dad, which leads her to getting close to the people her mother didn’t want her to know. After running out of the money she had left from her previous job, her brother gets her a job with one of his friends and members of the club who runs a tattoo shop. Iris was happy to have a job again, except she quickly learns that her new boss, Dex, is a jerk. She can either quit and leach off her brother, or she can try to learn to deal with Dex, but she learns quickly that patience is a virtue, and she is starting to lack it.

After reading reading The Wall of Winnipeg and Me I came to this book, and it became clear as I was reading it that this was one of her first books. This is not an insult to her in anyway, it isn’t bad for a book in the beginning of an author’s career. It just lacked some of the things The Wall of Winnipeg and Me had. It wasn’t as smooth. I can’t point out why, but there was definitely a difference in reading Winnipeg and this one. I’m even reading one of her newest ones at the moment and she has clearly grown in her writing since Under Locke. I will say also it became clear Zapata’s books have a similarity to them, again, not an insult. The books were not the same, just that some minor things where, such as the slow burn romance, the relationships with family, the relationship between boss and employer, and the enemy to romance. Also the length of Zapata’s novels deserve an applause. Most romance or contemporary books are around three hundred pages,  Zapata’s are way above that. They are long and give you time to really get to know the characters. Thank you for this Zapata.

Pros

  • Never once was I bored or wanted to put the book down. In most books, there are scenes, that while necessary, are not entertaining to read. Never once did I want to stop reading this book. I actually stayed up till eight in the morning and had to force myself to stop reading and got to bed. Usually by that time I can feel myself getting tired, but I felt wide awake and wanting to finish the book. I needed to finish the book. I save reading till later at night, but during that day I wanted nothing more then to just not do anything all day and finish that book.
  • I liked the biker club and tattoo shop part of it. I’m someone who has always been interested in books or movies about clubs because of the whole bonding and friendship part of it. Also a lot of people assume that biker gangs are full of awful people when that’s not the case anymore. Most bikers actually give to charities and such so it was nice to see that their gang wasn’t full of drug users, drunks, and assholes. Did they fight and talk shit to each other, yes, but they didn’t act like thugs. Also I loved that Iris worked in the tattoo shop and a lot of the book was centered about her time in the shop. I’ve always loved tattoos for the artwork and love hearing and imagining the tattoos the characters have. Like Dex’s Uriel tattoo.
  • Iris and her brother Sonny. Even though they were half siblings who share a dad they don’t care for, and didn’t see each other a lot as kids, they loved and cared for each other. Sonny protected Iris whether it was from other people’s choices or someone’s words. They had a really nice relationship to read.
  • Dex and Iris. I liked their relationship when it turned into the friendship part. There was many funny or sweet moments between them. They for the most part did well together. Dex was an asshole and Iris kept challenging him. It worked.

Cons

  • Dex’s possessive attitude. I know this is a turn on for some people. Having they guy say that every part of the girl is there’s, EVERY part, but for me it was a little over the top. I get it when characters or people in real life say that their girlfriend is there’s, because yeah, unless you are in an open relationship they are there’s. They don’t usually mean it as you can’t leave me or I own you, just that they are with them and theirs unless they say else wise. Dex was a little too possessive, which I guess matched his character, but it was still a turn off to me. Dex says in one part, “…and i’m gonna take everythin’ you want to give to me and everythin you don’t.”… that doesn’t sound sweet to me, that sounds over the top and kinda creepy. I liked Dex a lot. I really liked his character, but when he started to get possessive it started to make me not like him as much.
  • Sometimes it got repetitive with it’s wording. For example every kiss scene was this, ”We kissed and kissed and kissed.” That sentence was worded like that practically every time.
  • Just little things. Like the character not knowing what a fake ID is even though she’s in her twenties. The characters saying pop for soda even though they live in Texas. I don’t understand what “My inner nosey hooker…” means. It was just little things that made me just sit there and stare at the book wandering what they were saying and why.

“You couldn’t control or anticipate a person who didn’t ca
“There it was. That fierce loyalty. He didn’t have a clue how that was the most attractive thing about him. It trumped his face, his ink, his body, everything. Dex Locke was true. He was grounded.” 
― Mariana Zapata,

After reading these two books and reading right now one of her newest books, I can say that Zapata is probably my favorite romance author. I don’t really read adult romance novels. They aren’t my cup of tea. I’m not into how they usually turn into erotica or are cheesy. Zapata doesn’t really do that, or at least I haven’t read any books of hers yet that she has done it. Under Locke did have a lot more sex scenes then Winnipeg’s like one sex scene, but it wasn’t to the point where it was half sex half story. It wasn’t even until closer to the end so I will allow it for not turning into an eroitc novel. I mainly read fantasy novels with contemporary novels as a break, but right now I only want to read Mariana Zapata’s novels. They are well done and I love every second of reading them. It is very rare I find contemporary novels or romance novels that I fall in love with. Under Locke wasn’t as smooth or good as The Wall of Winnipeg and Me but I still loved it. It was great with a good storyline and characters. Her characters seem real and well crafted. Zapata has earned herself a new fan who will be waiting for any new novel she puts out.

Adult · Contemporary · New Adult · Romance · Sports

The Wall of Winnipeg and Me

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The Wall of Winnipeg and Me

Mariana Zapata

 

  • Publisher: Mariana Zapata
  • Year Released: 2016
  • Date Read: December 4, 2018- December 5, 2018
  • Genre: Adult/New Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Sports
  • Grade: A+/ 5 Stars


“When I was a kid, I learned the hard way how expensive the truth was. Sometimes it cost you people in your life. Sometimes it cost you things in your life. And in this life, most people were too cheap to pay the price for something as valuable as honesty.” 
― Mariana Zapata

Vanessa has been the assistant/ housekeeper to the pro-football player Aiden Graves for two years but enough is enough. She’s done everything for him that he has asked with never a thank you in return, just a nod and the next demand. Vanessa is done and doesn’t want to deal with it anymore. She quits and is ready to work on her own projects, but when Aiden comes to her, asking her to come back with a new job and an offer she would be an idiot to refuse, how can she say no.

I LOVED this book. It is the best adult/new adult contemporary I’ve ever read. The book is long with around 700 pages, but I loved every page of it. It let everything go at it’s own pace and not be rushed. The description of this book doesn’t say it, but this book is like the movie, The Proposal. Vanessa is Aiden’s assistant but she quits. Aiden is Canadian and wants to live in America even after his work visa expires. It’s pretty easy to see where this is going. It’s the plot of the movie, but done in a better way with a different story entirely. It’s not some cheap remake but a remastered version. It’s been a few months since i’ve really craved a book. I just wanted to keep reading it, even if that meant me staying up until nine in the morning. If you like romances this is a must. I’m not a fan of most adult romance stories because they all basically turn into erotica’s and ignore the actual plot, but this one isn’t that at all. It doesn’t need sex to keep people reading. After reading a really bad book about awful characters I was so happy to have struck gold with this book.

Pros

  • This a slow burn romance story. No cliche insta love. Some of the greatest things in life take time to develop and this story is a perfect example. You can literally see the characters slowly starting to get closer to each other. I loved how long it took the characters to make it noticeable they liked each other. Considering that Aiden used to be sort of cold to Vanessa and while Vanessa liked him, thought he was an asshole, it would of been awful to see them start to like each other any faster than they did. This was a true slow romance at it’s finest.
  • The sweet moments. Since this is a slow burn, it isn’t them making out every chapter or anything near that, which makes those little sweet moments worth so much more and warm your heart. Those little moments of comfort or being close build tension for later on and give you a nice feeling. It shows that romances don’t always have to written in a erotic style for them to be good. You can make a story where character touch in the simplest of ways and it still just as good as a sex scene.
  • Vanessa. I loved that Vanessa was not written as this perfect beautiful women, but she also isn’t described as a dump truck. She is your everyday average women. I’ve seen of authors writing characters who describe themselves as ugly. Vanessa never really thinks about her own features, just what color her hair is at the moment, her glasses, and that she isn’t a size four. Most of what we learn about Vanessa is what she’s like as a person. I’ve never seen or read someone as patient as Vanessa. When she is angry about something she actually counts in her head to try and calm herself down and then rationalizes why she shouldn’t smother someone with a pillow or push them in front of a moving car. There’s also the fact that she thinks of doing things like that a lot in a comedic way. Vanessa’s thoughts are far from boring. She was very entertaining to read. She had this sarcastic way of thinking. She also wasn’t some innocent girl. She could hold her own. She came from a bad family who did bad things to her which shape her into who she is now. Her thoughts aren’t this generic sweet character. She is usually flipping people off or thinking about how much she wants to hit them.
  • Aiden is the asshole character but he isn’t that true asshole douchebag character. Aiden is mostly just unfriendly and quiet. When Vanessa would say hi to him he would either ignore her or nod. He wasn’t going out of his way to be an asshole to her, he just wasn’t friendly with her. Even in the beginning when he is like this, the asshole vibe isn’t strong. Even Vanessa doesn’t fully think he is an asshole, just not appreciate of everything she does for him. Aiden was very well written. Even after Vanessa and Aiden start to like each other he doesn’t become a whole new person. He is still Aiden, he just acts a little different and opens up to her more.
  • The way abusive families are written. It seems real. It wasn’t, my mom is a single mother who also is strongly an alcoholic but still is around to be there for us. It is my mom is an alcoholic who leaves and does her own things and the kids are left to fend for themselves. It shows what a bad alcoholic family is like and the different ways it affects the children. Mainly that they either follow suit of their parents and become horrible alcoholics who might also do drugs, or that they swear to be better then the family they were raised in and do everything they can to be so. This part of the story is relatable for many people who grew up in this kind of family. It’s not the pretty picture of people repairing, but the damage and the reality of what that life can lead to. It’s better than any PSA out there, it’s real and something I see many authors try to glamorize or only put in for a backstory but not implement into their characters.

Cons

  • The only real con I have is that it would be easy to tell what was going to happen at many parts. It would be kinda like if you saw someone in a movie turn on the stove and walk away from it. You know what the next scene is going to be. Fire and then firetrucks as the house burns to the ground. The question is, did this take away from the story or make it less enjoyable? No, it did not, at least not for me. It’s a romance, not a mystery/thriller. What’s going to happen next doesn’t have to be a complete secret. It’s ok that I could tell a little of what was going to happen. Foreshadowing isn’t always hidden and that’s ok. The writing was still done well and that’s what matters.
  • I wish it would of expanded on the domestic abuse of one of the character more. You got a glimpse into it, what happened because of it, but no real resolve. I wish there would of been a little more there than just the main character feeling heartbroken for that person. It kinda makes it where that part in the story isn’t needed. You could take it out and the story wouldn’t be much of a difference. It was kinda like a sentence fragment where you have it there and it’s getting there, you just need a final piece to make it whole.


“I’d learned what love was from my little brother, from Diana and her family, and even from my foster parents. It wasn’t this distorted, terrible thing that did what was best for itself. It was sentient, it cared, and it did what was best for the greater good.” 
― Mariana Zapata

This is a book of two people who aren’t friendly, becoming friends, and slowly fall in love with each other. It’s a story of two people who are basically alone in the world finding something to make them happy. It’s sweet and not at all cliche. I don’t tend to reread contemporaries since they something I read when I want to step away from an intense fictional world, but I do one hundred percent plan on reading this again. I plan on buying my own copy to read it whenever I want a book like it again. I’m not the biggest fan of adult romances because they basically turn into sex stories that are the equivalent to watching porn, but I loved this one so much. If you want a long romance story that resembles the proposal but better, then read this. This story is a gift to adult contemporary.


“Which basically showed how amazing the human mind was; how you could care about someone but want to slit his or her throat at the same time.” 
― Mariana Zapata

Adult · Contemporary · Erotica · New Adult · Romance

The Deal (Off-Campus #1)

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The Deal

Elle Kennedy

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Publisher: Independent Publishing.

Date Released: The Kindle version was released February 24th 2018

Date Read: October 31st

Genre: New Adult, Erotica, Contemporary, Romance, College

Grade: 3.8 Stars/ C+

 

“Sometimes people sneak up on you and suddenly you don’t know how you ever lived without them.” 

― Elle Kennedy

Everyone but Hannah practically fails the classes midterm, including Garrett Graham, captain of the Briar University’s hockey team. Scared that he won’t be able to play anymore, he tries to convince Hannah to tutor him after he sees the A on her paper. Hannah wants nothing to do with Garrett, but she can’t resist his offer when he tells her he will help her win her crush over. Tutor sessions turn into a strange friendship and leaves them possibly wanting more.

I didn’t think I was going to pick this series up after reading the first book of it’s new spin off series, The Chase. But as I was looking through my library’s catalog I couldn’t help but wonder if they had the off-campus books. Surprisingly they did, and I couldn’t help myself. Something about these books had me wanting more, which really surprised me considering I thought I thought the Chase was a tinge cringy. Nether less, I couldn’t stop myself from getting The Deal. Now it’s safe to say the writing isn’t any better, which I assumed it wouldn’t be considering the Off-Campus series came first, but it wasn’t cringy, at least not what they were saying. They both talked normal and while the writing did take me a minute to get used to, when I finally got into it, I didn’t want to stop. I loved Garrett and Hannah’s story way more than I did Summer and Fitzy’s. From the first time these characters meet they have chemistry going for them. They work so well together. They were cute and i’m not sure how the rest of the series will top Garrett and Hannah.

 

Pros

  • Hannah is very relatable, and maybe that’s just because I act like Hannah. Hannah likes loyalty, even if she doesn’t outright say it. When a girl goes behind Hannah’s back and helps to screw her over, Hannah tells the girl that she will not be friends with her, at least not any time soon. Hannah is somewhat on the anti-social side, but she refuses to let anyone walk over her, which makes a great match for Garrett. Hannah was willing to challenge him and others when she feels she is right. I liked reading Hannah’s character a lot.
  • Garrett is incredibly charming and I loved every second he was in the story. Garrett has a big ego, basically every girl at school wants him and he knows it, but he’s an not asshole. He doesn’t want to hurt people. He is never really mean to Hannah and just wants her to enjoy herself. He is also very flirty, but in a good way. It didn’t seem like he was trying to hard, it was natural for him. I also liked reading his reactions to Hannah. How quickly he is ok with her just being in his company. Garrett had all the means to be a douchey asshole, but wasn’t. Instead the author took the guy with a big ego, and made him sweet and charming, which worked out amazingly well. I thought Fitzy was the dream boat, but Garrett kinda stole the thunder there. There’s also the fact that Garrett was the incredibly nice to Hannah when Hannah was out of it, I was scared something was going to happen to make me hate him, but it just made me love him more.
  • The book takes serious issues such as rape and abuse and doesn’t make a mess of it. They explore both of them and show that neither of them are your fault, and that can be something you can overcome. I really liked how Hannah’s issue with rape was handled. Hannah is ok with men and doesn’t blame herself, but she does struggle with a different side effect of rape that therapy can’t exactly help her with. And no, it’s not a story of a girl falls in love with a guy and they’re cured of all of their problems. Hannah was already getting help for it all before she even meet Garrett, and had mostly come to terms with all of it and accepted that she was a survivor and she wouldn’t let it cripple her anymore. The abuse isn’t explored as much as Hannah’s past is, but I do like the way it is handled still. The author also doesn’t make it to heavy with the past trauma’s, so the story is more heart warming, instead of heart breaking. It’s a cute fun read that is realistic, not a sad read that takes a lot out of you.

 

Cons

  • This book is nowhere near as cringy with the wording as it’s spin off was, but there was still a few things that made me cringe inside a little. I kept questioning how old the author was when I kept reading about how her characters love Selena Gomez, One Direction, and Justin Bieber, but then I remembered that I know girls who are in college right now and still cry when Justin Bieber is coming to our city, so I guess I can’t full on fault her for it, but it’s still something I personally find cringy, but at least this time I don’t feel like the character needs to be wearing Ugg boots and carrying a pumpkin spice latte. There is still some wording though that makes it hard to read at times. The author likes to abbreviate some words, and as someone who isn’t really into texting, and when I do I don’t tend to use a lot of abbreviations, it gets annoying having to stop and google what they mean. If she had wrote the abbreviations when it was characters texting, there would of been nothing I could complain about since people do text like that, but in the actually writing, having to stop mid paragraph to look up what a abbreviation means does make it harder for me to read. Luckily she doesn’t put to many in this book. I think there was only two I had to google.
  • It once again had info dumping. Within the first page of the first chapter, the author tells you out of nowhere that Hannah was raped. There was no building to it, she just threw it out there that she was raped. It is literally the starting sentence of the third or so paragraph, She was talking about her crush and then just dropped the bomb that she has only loved two people since she was raped. It was literally just a bomb that was thrown on you, and I can tell author the knows how to not info dump, because she doesn’t do it with Garrett. She lets it unfold. Know, I can tell why she info dumped about Hannah’s rape. It plays a big part in Hannah’s story. She doesn’t like to go to parties, drink, or be around people in that situation because of what happened to her, it’s just the way it was thrown out there. It was basically Hannah going, “I have a crush on this football player. He’s really cute. Oh and i’ve been raped.” It is very important from the beginning of the story to know what happened to Hannah, it was just the way it was presented maybe messed it up.

 

The writing is still awkward at times. It does take a few chapters to get used to it, especially if you were reading a very thorough boo before coming to this one, but once Garrett and Hannah start talking to each other, the story flows a lot better. It happened in The Chase. The books just seem to have a little bit of a rocky start, but once they get the flow on it is smooth sailing from there. In both of the books of these I have read so far, I have stopped taking notes half way through the story about any weird writing. It’s possible it was there, I was just so in the story that I wouldn’t have noticed. You get so caught up in the characters and then trying to figure out their feelings, that you ignore how the story is written.

“What is wrong with you? Why aren’t you freaking out right now? Garrett Graham is sitting in your booth. He talked to you.”

“Holy shit, he did? I mean, his lips were moving, but I didn’t realize he was talking.” 

― Elle Kennedy, 

I loved reading how comfortable Garrett and Hannah were together. Before they even started to have feelings for each other you could see how they just enjoyed being in each other’s company. Just chilling out and watching movies together, even laying in the same bed without touching each other or trying to have sex with each other. They were content in just being there. They worked together very well. I enjoyed The Deal a lot. It satisfies my contemporary need, but I still plan on reading the rest. This book is still very sexual. It is classified as an erotica, but it’s also not the most descriptive or erotic book I’ve read and I tend to stay away from erotica’s. I think the most sexual book I’ve read is the Sookie Stackhouse series, and this isn’t as bad as that, at least not to me. They also did have sex a lot, like almost every time they saw each other after they had sex the first time, but it didn’t take over the story, so it wasn’t a con for me. I do plan on reading the rest, and I hope they can beat Garrett and Hannah, but I really loved them so I don’t know.

‘ “Don’t worry, I’m beating him up in my head, baby. That counts, right?”

She laughs. “Sure. I’ll allow it.” ‘

-Elle Kennedy

Also while reading I was scared that Garrett was going to be like Fitzy and Hannah was going to be like Summer. They were not from the very start. Garrett was nothing like Fitzy, and Hannah is nothing like Summer. I was scared that the author was going to have a hard time making her characters different but as soon as I started reading through Garrett’s point of view I knew instantly that was not the case. Garrett was most definitely his own character.

Contemporary · New Adult · Romance · Sports

The Chase (Briar U #1)

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The Chase

Elle Kennedy

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Publisher: Elle Kennedy Inc

Date Released: The Kindle Version was released on August 4th, 2018 and the paperback was released on the 26th.

Date Read: August 29, 2018

Genre: Romance, Contemporary, New Adult

Grade: 3.5 Stars/ C+

“What do you have against colors, Colin? Did red bully you as a child? Did green steal your girlfriend?”

-Elle Kennedy

 

When Summer’s housing plans don’t work out, Summer is stuck finding a place to live. Luckily for Summer, her brother knows a few friends from hockey that are in need of a roommate. Unluckily for Summer, one of them is Colin Fitzgerald, an artist who programs video games and prefers to sit at home watching movies. Summer had a crush on him, but he made it very clear he thinks of her as some shallow girl. Fitzy isn’t her only problem though, along with starting at a new school, she has a biased dean watching over her, a touchy professor, and essays to write.  

 

When I first start reading this book I wanted to stop. I had a bunch of notes already written about how awful the character’s inner and outer dialogue was, but we’ll touch up on that later. Reading it at first was not the easiest. It was cringy, but i decided to give it a chance and continue and I’m honestly glad I did. If you are looking for a serious book with a serious plot, I would look somewhere else. If you want a funny, romance book to read just for fun then I would recommend this one. After I got a few chapters in I started to like it. After reading some of the main character talk more and actually interact with each other, I got past the cringy way the main character talks at times and started to enjoy the book. I wanted an easy fun read and this book accomplished that.

 

Pros

  • The dialogue and the characters could be funny. It wasn’t written like someone trying to replicate friends talking, but seemed like how actual friends talk. They would pick on each other and would all laugh at it. A lot of their dialogue had me laughing even. Brenna, Summer’s friend and the coaches daughter, especially had me laughing. As soon as Brenna popped up in the first few chapters I decided I would keep reading. The characters interacted very well together and had a good bond with each other before the story even started.
  • One of the problems that Summer has to deal with in the book is her ADHD. She can’t stay focused at times, and has problems with writing. Because of this she sees herself as stupid and hates on herself for it. The way the author writes Summer’s struggle with ADHD is done well. I have seen a lot of my friends with it struggle and think the same way. It is nice to watch her start to come to terms with it and accept the fact that she isn’t stupid. She is good at knowing things she loves like the fashion industry, she just isn’t a good writer. The author also kept Summer’s ADHD consistent. Summer would lose her focus a lot in the middle of conversations and go on tangents about something else if something caught her eye. The author didn’t just say that Summer has ADHD and then do nothing with it. Even if the author hadn’t made Summer state she has ADHD, it would of been easy to notice based on how she acted.
  • The characters were done well. I liked Hollis, one of the other roommates that people in the story deemed annoying. He is the chatty goofy friend that I always adore. Hunter didn’t have much going on for him other then he liked Summer and was flirty with her. Brenna has funny and very outgoing. Summer was a party girl, but other then some of the stupid things she says, she isn’t a annoying party girl, and then there’s Fitzy. Fitzy is honestly the man of my dreams. A hot, nerdy, tatted, artist gamer who is also very nice and doesn’t like fighting and wants to stay at home watching Netflix He is a dream. I liked Fitzy, though he did talk about his dick a lot, and I mean a lot, to the point where I feel like his brain is being taken over by his dick.

 

Cons

  • Like I have been mentioned, there is some cringy dialogue. Summer says things like, “Jee-zus”, “get her Prada on”, “that’s so not my scene”, “groucho”, “I propose we make up”, and “I can’t even”. It was like reading a badly written sitcom. I guess the author was going for a millennium vibe, but it was over doing it. It made Summer seem ‘basic’, and I don’t blame Fitzy for seeing her as shallow when she talks like that. She also mentions things like Snapchat and Uber. Might as well put her in Uggs and give her a pumpkin spice latte. It’s ok to like and say some of those things, but it’s literally like the author took the basic white girl meme and give it a character. Fitzy says some cringy things to, it’s not just Summer. Though his is usually about his penis, he does say things like “Drama-llama.” I think the most cringy part was when Summer referred to Fitzy as a Unicorn. Out of all things, a Unicorn. I glad that doesn’t last long. That line alone made me want to stop reading the book.
  • The writing wasn’t the greatest. Summer would say that Fitzy isn’t very talkative, and then have a lengthy conversation with him about things they like. Yes, it would be small talk at times, but that’s still very talkative. There was also a little bit of info dumping and they kept referring to Fitzy’s tattoos for a while as if they were a problem, like tattoos on a college student is unheard of. There was also some awkward sentences that should made the pacing go off track. I would have to stop and try to read the sentence again because my brain didn’t want to comprehend it. What the author had written wouldn’t be bad towards the story’s plot, but it was awkwardly phrased which hurt it’s writing. Also the author would abbreviate certain words like “W” for I think win, and “D” for defense. I’m not into sports so if I hadn’t read The Foxhole Court, and watched some sports anime, it would of probably took me a few minutes to think that D stood for defense. When I think of defense I don’t think of sports. I know it’s written that way to come off as relatable, and people who play sports might talk like to say something faster, I don’t know. To me though, it hurt the story more than it made it relatable.

 

Summer’s cringy way of talking at times did get annoying, but overall I will give her a pass for it. She’s not a bad character. I actually liked her, and I don’t usually like the preppy girl characters. She was very friendly and there was scenes that I commended her for. She would slut shame a girl for talking to Fitzy and immediately retract that and say that, no that girl isn’t a slut, i’m just being jealous. She would also help other girls when they needed it. Summer was nice and she proved that she is not just some shallow preppy girl who loves fashion. She had her faults, and she knew it. Now there is the other note of, this book is very sexual. I don’t know if I would label it erotica because no sex happens till way into the book, but they do reference to it a lot. They also reference Summer’s boobs and legs and Fitzy dick a lot and what they would want to do with said parts. It’s a new adult book and isn’t for younger people, though that’s really up to your parents I guess if you’re under eighteen. Just putting it as a warning that this book is very sexual and sex is mentioned A LOT. It’s that’s not your taste, then isn’t for you. I will say, i’m not someone for erotica, I think it’s too much, but I was fine with this book. I did think it was over done, but I also knew it was before I read it so I can’t fault it for that.

 

If you want a good, easy, mature, romance to read I would recommend this one. It’s not something you would want to read if you’re looking for something that is more serious like a John Green book. There is some serious topics in this book, but it’s not talked about a lot so it’s not something that is too important to the book or gives it a more serious tone. The book does feature drugs and inappropriate touching of other people, though the drugs are only mentioned a few times, it’s nowhere near a major topic of the story.

 

Also this book is a spin off of another serious that deals with Summer’s brother Dean, and some of his friends on the hockey team. I have not read those books, but I would check them out to see if they are written in the same way and have similar cringe dialogue moments. I personally wouldn’t buy the books myself, but if I would check them out from the library if I saw it on the shelf. They are the type of books series that I don’t like, which are when each book follows a new couple set in the same world, and same place. I don’t tend to like those book, but it’s also something I knew before I read this book, so once again, I can’t fault it for that, plus it’s set up to where I don’t need to read the next book in the series. The way this one ended I can just leave it there if I want. I really did enjoy it and might read the first serious when I need a break again from serious heavier books.

“What’s the charity?”

“Oh” Bianca looks sheepish. “We’re raising money to renovate the basement here in the mansion.”

Oh my God. They’re the charity? 

-Elle Kennedy