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I knew from the first few pages that this book was going to be a tough read, but I didn't expect it to be so bad. There was so much going on and none of it ever stuck. Nothing ever landed hard enough to make an impact. I felt no sizzle or connection between Chase and Tommy (I felt more between Chase and Dex, Donnie, and Cameron). Their "I love you's" and immediate end-game devotion was almost absurdly abrupt. I'm usually pretty defensive of books when people say the declarations come too soon, because romance is so much about bodily cues and words unsaid, but I just didn't get that from these characters. And, this isn't even a spoiler--this book revolves around an extended and hurtful affair. I've read a lot of books with a protag who is coming out and must explain that to a significant other, but none that treated the poor girl this brutally. As a gay person myself, I completely sympathize with people who come out after they are in significant heterosexual relationships. That's really hard, and it can be life-ruining, but it happens, and it must be dealt with. However, the circumstances Lane built up for Chase not just breaking it off with Mercy felt really flimsy, even after the climax of the book. It just never settled with me, and I never felt as bad for Chase as I did for Mercy. The idea that Chase and Tommy's relationship existed around cheating, and that it was the least of their many problems, soured the entire book for me. (view spoiler)[And the big twist at the end when Mercy revealed she tampered with her birth control to get pregnant was so ridiculous. I felt like Lane just wrote it to both demonize Mercy, a character who was basically a saint throughout the book, and to give Chase and Tommy a convenient baby despite their glaring relationship issues. I would not give my baby to these two. I'm also wondering--does Lane think this is a normal thing women do? Mercy was totally sound of mine and seemingly stable; maybe she was a little frustrated with Chase's distance. And then to do a thing like that, and then not want the baby? It makes zero storytelling sense to me. Lazy, lazy, lazy. (hide spoiler)] The pornography was almost completely pointless. It served only as a "sexy" backdrop to ease Chase into a life of gay sex, which would've felt much more organic and erotic if he'd just met Tommy at school or a club. In the end, we're explained to in an almost insultingly lazy manner (right from the therapist's mouth) that Chase went into porn because it was a pretty, neat way to be gay without all the baggage. The thing is, I get that, but the effect is lost after it is deconstructed right in front of us. Me might be romance readers, but we're not simpletons. We can extrapolate. I always try to find the good with the bad, but I struggle with this one. Since it is a technically sound piece of writing, it gets a default two stars instead of one. Let's see...I did like the easy camaraderie between the guys on the porn set. I liked the intimate scene of Chase and Tommy looking at the stars outside after the barbecue. I really liked Chase's line about a quarter through the book about wishing he could live a life without wondering if people know he's gay--it rang true. But these small, well-done scenes got bogged down with melodrama, tearful monologues, misogyny, and bad plot devices. It's a shame, since Amy Lane is a very prolific M/M writer. She seems to be a decent writer on the technical level--this book did have a flow, and the imagery was good. But judging by this book, I'm not leaping towards her other works.

This is certainly one of the more popular gay romance reads, both here on Goodreads and on Amazon. I'll be honest, I sort of searched the book based on the title alone--come on, it's a gay romance with "bear" and "otter" in the title, what the hell did you think I was looking for? But instead, I got something else...a found-family love story. Was it a great book? Eh, not really. First of all, you have Bear, the narrator--early twenties from a small seaside Oregon town, forced by his deadbeat mother to take care of his genius little brother Ty ("The Kid") after she walks out. Bear lives and breathes for Ty, he loves him with every ounce of what he has, and I definitely think that's a strong point of the book. Bear's devotion to Ty is deep, deep enough for him to make rash and difficult decisions (this will come to bite me in the ass, but I'll get to that later). Bear really only has a few people in his life he really loves--Ty, his best friend Creed, his on-again-off-again girlfriend Anna, and his neighbor Mrs. Paquinn who babysits Ty. And he also has Otter. Oh, Otter. Otter (Oliver, but who's even asking) is Creed's older brother, sort of one of those groanworthy "oh no he's hot" older brothers who is both a protector and a massive crush, the life-ruiner kind. He and Bear are close, but Bear considers himself tragically heterosexual (because remember, folks, bisexuality doesn't exist in romance novels) and freaks out after an ill-fated kiss with Otter. Otter leaves, three years pass, Otter comes back, and here we are. So, it's a compelling story. The stakes are high, the drama is intense, and Klune certainly knows how to build tension. But there's just too much building! The first three-fourths of the book go at a snail's pace, and Bear constantly cycles between wanting to be out and not wanting to be out, wanting to tell people and not wanting to tell people, wanting to take care of himself and wanting to accept help. It's page after page of a deep breath as we wait for Bear to have some sort of breakthrough, then a lousy exhale when he backs out again. We don't get into the real drama until the last 20% of the book, which is seriously no way to pace commercial fiction. But, pacing issues aside, I only have one other main issue, and that's The Kid himself. I'm beginning to think Klune has never spent any time with children because Ty is one of the most oddly, inconsistently characterized fictional children I've ever read. There are just too many contradictions. He's intensely sheltered by Bear, yet he swears freely with no admonishment. He speaks like a complete adult (logic, diction, voice, everything) yet he is nine years old and still picked up and carried around like a toddler. The Kid is amusing, he's not an irritating or grating child character--he's just not real. It was hard to pin him down. The ending of Bear, Otter, and the Kid was satisfactory enough for me to want to read the sequels, though the middle of the book had me wanting to quit it right then and there. This is one of those books you just have to take a chance on and see for yourself if it's your style.

I can relate to this book on a spiritual level...this is my second year going to a small-town college, and holy crap, can I relate to Carol. Hopefully I have a few more options and the social ability to show a backbone once in a while. All in all, I really did love this book--funny, smart, and good for a Minnesota girl like me.

I didn't love this book, but it certainly made me not hate Hemingway's writing, which I always have ever since high school. I loved "Hills Like White Elephants" because I love good dialogue, but so much of his stuff is just lost on me. He's really the only expat I don't read. But there were some good parts of the The Sun Also Rises that only book lover can appreciate. The dialogue is really amazing; I honestly think it's Hemingway's strong point. He's repetitive and often nondescript in his scenes and characters, but his dialogue is realistic and it flows so neatly. I also liked the bull-fighting, although that seemed to be the only thing Hemingway wanted to describe and he went into hell of a lot of detail. My issue is that I can never stay interested long enough to get a good grasp on his characters. And characters are pretty important. I know they drank and traveled and slept a lot, and that's pretty much it. Couldn't the whole book just be Jake, Mike, Cohn, and Brett talking?

I could spend the next ten years getting three different degrees and I will never be smart enough for this book.

Books like Misery almost make me want to create a "books about writing" bookshelf, or maybe "books about books." Because that's how I read this book. I nearly overlooked my horror shelf--I'm used to horror, horror is comfortable. I watch Nightmare on Elm Street when I'm trying to doze off, I finished Misery alone in the house and I slept soundly. I already knew the ending to the book--who wouldn't? It's a prolific novel. There is a different sort of horror that lurks in this novel, one that gets under my skin a little more--the horror that happens when the line between fan behavior and obsessive behavior is blurred. And as a die-hard fangirl, this book had me sweatin'. Especially since I'm at the junction in my life between avid reader and avid writer, and that's a weird line to straddle, too. There were a few parts and passages that especially yelled out to me: "Annie Wilkes was the perfect audience, a woman who loved stories without having the slightest interest in the mechanics of making them. She was the embodiment of that Victorian archetype, Constant Reader." (King 57) What reader hasn't felt like this at some time or another? Like we want a storytelling machine, a person who can produce book after book on a timely basis, who is nothing but a photo on a dust jacket? I want that out of myself sometimes...I have ideas and plots and words and phrases, but the mechanics of writing them coherently become overwhelming, so I just sort of tell them to myself (when I'm eating breakfast, when I'm trying to sleep, when I'm spacing in class, etc.). Stories are an entity of their own--a book or novel isn't a story. And the fact that Annie Wilkes really cannot grasp that sends chills down my spine. It makes writers less human. "Over the years Paul had grown more and more resigned to the fact that he could not read stories as he had when he was a kid; by becoming a writer of them himself, he had condemned himself to a life of dissection." (151) This is really one of the only painful parts of being a mature writer and reader--you can never go back to those glory days where books were still so new and mindblowing. Sure, my life was pretty much shot for a month after I read Gone With the Wind my senior year of high school, but it didn't even come close to the way I felt after I read The Secret Garden or Little Women for the first time when so much of life was still a mystery. You just can't get those reactions back as an adult--which makes Misery a very adult book, in my opinion. I'm glad I didn't try to read it when I was younger. On pages 230-231, there are mentions of fannish obsession in the past--Sherlock Holmes being brought back to life, a man coming out of his coma when his friends read him Lord of the Rings. There were moments when I wasn't sure if King was joining or beating--has he had an obsessive fan experience that threw him off the culture, or has he been an obsessive fan himself? At this point in the game, I'd guess both. He's far from straddling the line between writer and reader, but writers still read. It was because of these little quirks, these little inside moments that I enjoyed this book. King knows his craft, and he has obvious affection for it. There were some parts I wasn't fond of--I thought Annie's backstory was an odd choice (she seemed to play "angel of death" as a nurse, which has little to do with her obsession with Paul, though King seemed to try to force a correlation), and I'm overly keen on the ending. But all in all, this was an engrossing read, and a must-read for authors, budding and seasoned alike.

Last weekend, I found myself in one the sweetest, most comfortably situations one can find themselves on a calm, cool summer Saturday after a long week of work: I was home alone, and I had a new book to read. The neighborhood was practically silent--it was two in the afternoon, the sun was out but not too hot, there was a light, chilly breeze that blew from blocks away off the lake. My neighbors on every side were on camping trips or cabin stays, or gone to play tennis or go to the movies or the mall. I was surrounded by this deep, calm sense of complete loneliness, but it was the best way to be alone. These days don't happen very often, but when they do, they are special. I settled myself out on the deck, in the triangle of shade given by the green porch table umbrella, moving every half hour or so along with the slant of shadow. I poured a cup of coffee with a tooth-rotting amount of sugar, put my feet up in the sun, and opened Stephen King's 'Salem's Lot to the first page. And I instantly fell in love. There is a small town called Jerusalem's Lot full of people who know everything about each other--one of King's trademarks, and as a small-town girl from rural Minnesota, I know a thing or two about towns like that. There is the sharp sense of stillness and stagnation in the town--you have the girl who's in a loveless marriage and takes it out on her newborn baby, the electric worker having an affair with a married woman, the drunken old man who shoots rats at the dump, the widow woman running the boarding house--but nobody is seeing these dirty little affairs because they are too busy having their own dirty little affairs. Every day is the same. And for the first 200 or so pages of the novel, this is what happens. You get glimpses at these very average people, you get to know them, and then all of a sudden the foundation is shaken and you're in a nightmare. King isn't a great believer in symbolism, but there are many little details about his writing that resonate as symbolic to me--the cheap, drugstore-bought crosses, the very subtle homosexual subtext noticed/discussed by the townspeople that parallels the disgust we feel towards the vampires--this is the sort of story where the details matter, the little things are what makes the story. I wasn't very scared by this story, but I was on edge, because the major bulk of the story (and the most interesting scenes) are all build-up and anticipation of the climax, which was never quite as big and booming as I expected it to be. This is no Carrie, the town doesn't go down in a bang of fire and blood--it leaves us with a whimper, a whisper, of more agony to come. As I sat out alone in my quiet neighborhood, listening only the wind shuffle through the giant cottonwood out back and my cats yowling for their dinner inside, I realized the most frightening part of 'Salem's Lot was the silence--the way the town drifted into hell and nobody on the outside batted an eye. Everything happened to quickly, so quietly, and then the book was done. Our fears come to us in the quietest parts of our days, in the quietest parts of the world. The silences between actions in this book were the most horrifying parts of all.

I'm a huge film fan, and for whatever reason, my cousin and I decided to rent The Room and watch it on my high school graduation night. It will forever go down as one of my fondest movie-watching memories--I've never laughed so hard and felt so uncomfortable at the same time. So once I saw that this book was coming out, it was instantly ordered on Amazon. This is one of those train-wreck books...you read it and you're cringing the entire time, you're groaning, the content of the book is so steeped in secondhand embarrassment and frustration that you're white-knuckling the pages and you don't even realize it, but you just can't put it down. I think the main reason why this book worked so well was the contrast between author/actor Greg Sestero and the man himself, Tommy Wiseau. Sestero is patient, affable, friendly, and genuinely kind--he pities and sympathizes with Wiseau, even when Wiseau treats him like garbage. Sestero seemed to take the horror show that was The Room's production in stride, doing anything to help out fellow miserable cast and crew members while working to keep Wiseau content. Wiseau himself was so much worse than I ever thought a human being could be...delusional, greedy, vain, tactless, crude, ugh, he just comes off as the worst person in the world. And the biggest thing is that Sestero doesn't paint him as a villain! He never vilifies Wiseau, even though many of his actions could be cause for a huge conflict (not paying his workers, wasting time, showing up late, tricking and manipulation Sestero). In fact, Sestero worked pretty damn hard to convince us Tommy had a rough life and was only following his dreams...but I still don't know how nobody socked Wiseau in the face. I also liked how this wasn't just a book about The Room, it was a book about a struggling actor and what he did to make it in the business. Sestero worked pretty damn hard to make it in Los Angeles, and he took his career quite seriously, which is why it was so sad to read how he couldn't even fake it onscreen towards the end of filming because he hated the project so much. It amazes me that Wiseau managed to create such a toxic work environment. It was like he almost tried to sabotage his cast and crew. Cringe-inducing details and anecdotes aside, the only reason I didn't give this book 5 stars is because I would've liked to learn a little bit more about the snowballing cult success of The Room. Chronologically, the book ends at the movie's premier, giving no real insight as to how The Room became such a cult success, when Sestero started being recognized by fans, how the film affected his career in the long run, etc. I liked Sestero so much that I wanted to know more about the personal damages and successes the film caused him.

So I'm not a huge romance reader. Never have been. I liked it a little when I was younger, but I realized that I just couldn't get into most of the plots--guy is mean to girl, girl falls for his rogue-ish bad-boy charm, guy jackhammers girl into wall while moaning about how she is "his"--yuck. Not for me. And especially after the great 50 Shades of Grey debacle of 2011 and the subsequent aftermath, romance wasn't in the books for me (pun intended). But then I took a chance on Wallbanger, and I loved it. You know why? Quite simply, this book just made me feel good. We have Caroline, who is a content young career woman working as an interior designer for a boss she totally loves and admires. She has two best friends, Mimi and Sophia (who get their own awesome and adorable sub-plots when they meet their picture-perfect dream men and end up falling for each other's perfect man) and a hilarious cat named Clive. A few nights into living in her new apartment, she starts hearing some mysterious thumping on her wall, accompanied by spanking one night, giggling another, and is that...meowing? Clive seems to think so. Yep, she has a wallbanger, and oh no he's so hot. Simon is no Christian Grey, that's for sure. He's funny, sweet, kindhearted, a good listener and a loyal friend, and he has three women he sleeps with on a rotation...which initially turns Caroline off. But after several nights hanging out with Simon, watching movies, baking for him, learning more about his job as a photographer, Caroline starts falling for her wallbanger. I do want to talk about the way Simon's "harem" is treated in the novel. This is one of the first romance novels where the ex-girlfriends or former flings are treated respectfully as fully-characterized people. They aren't filthy disgusting whores (see the abomination that is Beautiful Disaster, they aren't jealous queen bees, they aren't painted as useless and antagonistic, they are people, women with careers and ambitions and personalities. And I enjoyed the hell out of them! I actually wished I could see more of Katie, Nadia, and Lizzie...but that's not the point. The point is: Simon and Caroline. They laugh together. They joke like best friends. They cook and clean up together. They talk about their careers. They go on trips with friends. And this is all before they even hook up! Clayton has this way of making us settle into their relationship without forcing it--we never feel forced. We fall in love with Simon the same way Caroline does--slowly, but with heat. And the sex scenes? Yep, alright, they'll do. Shamefully enough, I'm not a huge fan of steamy heterosexual love scenes, just because they are so poorly written most of the time. But hot damn, Miss Caroline, when you got your O back, mine was peeking out as well. That Simon is quite the naughty boy. Read this if you're sick of the BDSM romances hitting the shelves lately...you'll leave this one feeling good about yourself. This is a book that focuses on female pleasure, sexual rejuvenation, slow romances based on trust, and a whole shitload of laugh-out-loud scenes (mostly involving Clive the cat and well-placed sections of the novel that are entirely text messages or stream-of-consciousness). Even if this isn't your cup of tea, it won't leave you feeling like crap.

With about 40 pages left to go in this novel, I was left wondering how the fuck is he going to pull this off. You know, he's the King, so I should've just stopped right there. But I still had my doubts, because this novel was buildup and buildup and buildup and the ending just popped out and smacked me across the fucking face. I love it. Yeah, I definitely love it. Joyland is certainly one of King's tamer novels, but that doesn't mean it's bland. It follows Devin and the summer/fall he spent working at Joyland, a small amusement park in oceanside North Carolina where he dresses up as Howie the Happy Hound, piles the rubes onto the chump-hoister, makes two life-long friends, and tries to forget how Wendy Keegan broke his heart. He also saves two lives in the process--and due to the startling accuracy of Rozzie Gold, the Joyland fortuneteller, Devin decides to stay in Joyland during the fall off-season to dig in deeper to the mystery of Linda Gray, a young woman killed in the Joyland Horror House a few years prior. As Devin spends the off-season in Heaven's Bay, working at taking down the rides and cleaning up Joyland for the next season, he meets Annie and Mike Ross, a beautiful young mother and her sickly son. Mike has a special gift that eventually helps Devin figure out what happened to Linda Gray, and Annie has a special gift that saves Devin's life in more ways than one. I enjoyed the carnival lingo and the amazing research King put into this novel so much that the actual supernatural/mystery elements seemed like subplot. I didn't hate them, but they didn't hit as hard as many of King's horror elements have in the past. Joyland is the perfect novel to close out the summer--you feel the tides change along with the characters, and suddenly you're back in a time where the college boys are wholesome, the carnies are generational, and the little kid just wants to be on top of the world before he has to leave it. This may be a crime novel, but it will leave you smiling at the end.

This one was kind of strange and not at all what I expected. After reading the summary on Amazon, I figured it would be a sweet little story about two men from different backgrounds who overcome the barriers of the class system and find love. Instead, it was about a tiny posh English don who falls in love with a man who has the mind of a child. I don't mean to imply a character with a mental illness is unable to find a loving and rewarding relationship. But the problem is that it goes unacknowledged. The character in question is Al Fletcher, a giant hulk of a man who works on punting boats and paints in his spare time. He seems to be a nice enough fellow, but we figure out right away that he's not very bright. And that's fine. But as we read more, he gets less and less bright. He doesn't understand sarcasm, he can't really relate to his lover Larry, and when he's insulted or upset, he either doesn't understand the offense or he acts out in violence. The problem here is that we are just supposed to accept that Al is, in non-PC terms, slow. But that's bullshit, because he obviously has a mental disability, and it is never discussed! Larry is a college professor and he and Al are on completely different levels in all aspects of life, and to read a sex scene between them just gave me a weird vibe--like the power balance was way off. If this was a sweet and fluffy romance story, I would have been more comfortable with it. But after reading pages of Al's childish ramblings and observations and then reading about him sucking cock, it doesn't feel right and it isn't a great example of a healthy relationship. There was nothing wrong with the technicality of the writing, and the characters were likeable (especially Al's awesome mom, who reminded me of Jackie Tyler from Doctor Who), but it really wasn't the story for me.

Ugh. Bad. Terrible. Embarrassing. Offensive. I could have stopped my review there, but there is so much shade to be thrown right now. Here is the entire summary of the incredibly thin plot: College athletes Maverick and Duke are in love but they will never admit it because THEY ARE NOT GAY. THEY ARE NOT GAY. NO GAY HERE. NOPE. WE ARE STRAIGHT. WE LIKE TITS AND PUSSY. But...if you want to, we can sleep in the same bed and cuddle. Or hold hands. Or make out. Or give each other handjobs. Or blow each other. We love and care about each other BUT ONLY AS FRIENDS. So let's spend literally an entire novella playing Gay Chicken, because that makes so much sense. This story just made no sense. It was actually embarrassing to read because these two guys acted so disgusted by each other until they were literally jerking each other off. Every other sentence was just denial, denial, denial. ENOUGH ALREADY. This is not a PSA, this is a fluffy erotica novella. We do not want to read some dumbass college kid's diatribes about how he looooooves the pussy so he CAN'T POSSIBLY BE GAY. This short, short story was SO trope-heavy, too. So many tropes in one tiny novella. We had Gay for Pay, Gay for You, Only Gay If I Take It Up the Ass, Doing it On a Dare, Camp Gay, Skin the Color of Food Racism, Big Gay Panic, Homophobe Bully, Homophobic Until Proven Gay... The list goes on and on. This story was a waste. It wasn't sexy. It was poorly written, insensitive, offensive, and oftentimes sexist, racist, and homophobic. It is written in a juvenile way with no narrative drive, no creative devices, and very little background info or subplot for either characters. Skip this and read something better. It is total shit.

If I thought "Scrap Metal" was heavy on the schmoop, I don't know how I handled "Family Man." This novel is a bona fide schmoopfest and not even I am immune to it. So we have our narrator, the young Trey Giles, who has a sweet old granny and an alcoholic mother. He has a "no sex" rule even though he is out and proud, and he doesn't feel bad for being a virgin (you go glen coco). He meets the closeted but questioning Vinnie Fierro at a gay bar and they leave together to... ...slow-dance at a jazz club until they both pop a boner. To me, that's the sexiest part of the book. The build-up is scorching but the pay-off left me cold because I was more interested in the plot and character development. Oh-ho, look at me, I'm doing romance novels completely wrong. But seriously. Both characters are interesting and multi-faceted. I loved Vinnie's honest talks over cigars and scotch with his bad-ass sister Rachel and Trey's support from his good-natured put-upon old grandmother. The end was intense and left me scrambling to finish the book. One way this book impressed me was through the discussions of sexual identity and what it means to be a man surrounding Vinnie. He was never homophobic or judgmental towards gay men, which is rare for closeted men in gay romance novels (in the really shitty ones, they spend two chapters stewing in internalized homophobia before fucking the ingenue). In fact, he dealt with his emotions maturely and at a pace he set for himself, confiding in both his sister and his new lover and making sure they understood his apprehensions about coming out after three failed marriages. He had issues with the fact that he craved receptive penetrative sex with another man, questioning traditional gender roles. This novel made it clear that however a man has sex does not change his gender identity, which is an important point to make because so many people pass judgment. In a same-sex relationship, there aren't clear roles and stereotypes set up through a history of patriarchy, and I hope one day all relationships will be based on mutual respect, pleasure, and equality. It was also refreshing to see positive female allies and minor characters like Rachel, Lisa, and Sophia. Many gay erotica or romance novels are incredibly misogynistic, pinning the problems of closeted gay men on their past relationships with women. Vinnie spoke frankly to Trey of his prior marriages and made it clear that his own confusion over his sexual identity was what made his heterosexual relationships fail. It wasn't being spurned by a lover or being cheated on (believe me, this is a very common plot device). The only big problem I had was with the narration style. It was told in first person through Trey, but we also got Vinnie's perspective through third person omniscient. So for awhile it felt like Trey was inside Vinnie's head, which was confusing. This was a cute, fluffy, surprisingly intelligent, quick romance read. Much like "Scrap Metal," it is very Erotica Lite with more plot and romance than sex.

After it took me like a year to finally hammer this one out, it sucked me right back in at the end. I've already started the second book. Damn you, Ty and Zane! -shakes fist at sky-

Oh, the melodrama. Oh, the buckets of tears. Oh, the raging erections. Welcome to gay erotica. It is no secret I'm a fan of these dirty little Kindle books, especially ones from Samhain Publishing. But quite often, after reading them, I get this weird feeling like "that was fun while it was happening but jeez, that book was total shit." There have only been a handful I didn't feel that way about (ex. "Hot Head" by Damon Suede...yowza). "Scrap Metal" is on the border. Give me a few days to make a final decision. But in all seriousness, this wasn't a bad book if you are looking at it from a literary perspective. Nichol Seacliff is a young Irish man who is helping his elderly grandfather on their family sheep farm after the loss of Nichol's mother Caitlin and brother Alistair in an accident. Nichol can get the job done but he'd rather be studying linguistics in the city and partying with cute boys than taking care of a farm. One night, a boy named Cameron breaks into their barn after being on the run. After the fear and suspicion wears off, Nichol and his grandpa take Cameron in as help on the farm. Then, of course, the boys fall in love. If you're looking for a book that is all hot sex and no plot, this one isn't for you. Labeling it erotica almost seems to cheapen it because it is mostly a steamy, plotty soap opera with buckets of schmoop. I don't mind the schmoop, but I'm not much for melodrama, which this novel is steeped in. It just feels wrong to read a great sex scene and then have death and gang fighting two chapters later. And there's always that climax point of drama that comes after the first sexual encounter that kind of puts you on ice for awhile, which is good for some readers but tends to bore others (like me). This book will really suck you into the plot and I guarantee you won't be able to put it down. But it certainly isn't the Dickens of gay erotica. I made a little pun there. "Hot Head" is the Dickens of gay erotica and I am sticking to it until I read something better.

Whew, I sure went through this one fast! I bought it last night and finished it this afternoon. This is a super hot little story about two men in stereotypically masculine careers who love each other and have hot sex. I can't offer much else because this is an incredibly short little story and I don't want to spoil anything. Basically, expect masturbation then crying, aka my usual Friday night.

**SPOILERS THROUGHOUT REVIEW** I'm a big fan of the character-driven novel, and "Red Dragon" had three of the best, most well-written characters I've ever read in a crime novel: Francis Dolarhyde, Reba McClane, and Freddy Lounds. Too bad the main character--Will Graham, a disturbed semi-retired FBI agent--was too boring to keep my attention for the first half of the novel. If you're looking for a Hannibal Lecter book, this isn't it. In fact, he is only a bit character who corresponds with the real villain of the novel, Francis Dolarhyde, aka The Tooth Fairy, aka The Red Dragon. Lecter and Graham had a run-in three years prior to when the novel takes place that left Graham nearly killed and Lecter is high-security prison (think much more "Silence of the Lambs" and much less NBC's "Hannibal," the latter which was apparently inspired by this novel with very little similarities). Lecter sends advice to Dolarhyde, who has killed two families through his evil alter-ego The Red Dragon. I separate this book into thirds. The first third is dry and dull, a lot of detailed descriptions of crime scenes and DNA samples and fingerprints, stuff that ceases to interest those who have read hundreds of crime novels or watched hundreds of episodes of CSI. We get to know Will Graham and his long-suffering young wife who seems way too patient for him. The second third is when things get interesting- we get a full overview of Dolarhyde's absolutely painful, miserable life and childhood and we actually start to sympathize with him, a feat that has to be done carefully in crime novels. He was abused physically, emotionally, and somewhat sexually by his grandmother and taunted endlessly by his peers due to being born with a cleft palate and a speech impediment. I couldn't put the book down during this part. We also view the demise of the wormy Freddy Lounds who, although an awful man, is a really interesting character. He's gross, rat-faced, and cruel, but he's also ambitious, cunning, and incredibly cutthroat. His death is pretty gruesome and I wish we got more of him before he had to go. And then we meet Reba McClane. Oh, Reba, how I love you. You're this funny, smart, confident woman who is thrust in this absolute shitstorm and you fell in love with this insane man and he loved you and we all wanted this happy ending where you fixed this man and you helped each other survive in this fucked up world. But "Red Dragon" isn't that kind of book, and even though Reba made it through the flames, I still shed a tear for her. Don't read this book if you're looking for an experience like the TV show "Hannibal." The characters aren't the same and the tone is completely different. But this book will really surprise you with emotion, and some of the characters are intensely memorable.

You can't argue against Shakespeare. I've learned this throughout my term as a literature student. If you don't get Shakespeare, it isn't a flaw on the Bard's part...you need to re-read, close-read, and check Spark Notes until you get it, then you'll love it. It's fact. And there's no shame in getting outside help to understand difficult texts. Literature is hard sometimes, but it is also rewarding. This is my first time reading Hamlet, and I'm a sophomore in college. Most of the people in my Critical Approaches to Literature class have already read it, a few even acted in the play. But it was all new to me. My only two other Shakespeare tragedies are Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth, which I read years ago, and I loved both of them. Hamlet is more than a tale of revenge--it is an antihero story, a descent into madness, a character study. The women are treated like garbage and the sexism alone is enough to write a thesis on ("frailty, thy name is woman"). I hated Hamlet and Claudius throughout, I pitied Gertrude and especially Ophelia, who comes off as one of the most tragic and truly odd Shakespeare women I've read so far. What else can be really said about Shakespeare? He's lasted this long for a reason, and my words won't make or break the future success of the play. It is a part of our culture. Read Hamlet. Get the Spark Notes, listen to the audiobook, take notes. It'll take you a long time, but in the end, you'll be happy you did it.

I know people have been reviewing this just with their favorite kennings...not sure I have one yet, but I have to admit, one day I hope to be known as a "monstrous hell-bride" like Grendel's mother.

Another notch on my Stephen King reading list! I'm really keen on the idea of reading his books in order, so I bought his first collection of short stories at Barnes & Noble (even though the idea of buying Stephen King books full-price blows my mind because he seems to be the most popular author at secondhand stores). The stories were mostly written in the late 70's and encompass some of his most widely-known works, such as "Children of the Corn" and two stories set in the same universe as "'Salem's Lot." The works range from generally weak to absolutely brilliant, and there is an excellent forward by King himself included in my 2012 Anchor Books copy. For a well-rounded review, I'll give a little blurb about each story. "Jerusalem's Lot"- This one is the precursor tale to King's popular novel "'Salem's Lot." It takes place in 1850, where a man and his loyal servant visit a strange church and start hearing noises in their walls at home. The beginning is a little dry but King knows how to lay on the macabre- I'm not usually afraid of vampires, but these ones were gross! This one is also the longest story in the collection. "Graveyard Shift"- YUCK. GROSS. UGH. HORRIFYING. If you have a paralyzing fear of rats, skip this story! I kept thinking, "no, King won't subject us to this...he'll stop here...or here...oh my god he's really doing this to us." It is a really gross story but I actually loved it- as a horror junkie, I am always fascinated by critters and such. "Night Surf"- I thought this was one of the weakest ones. It was mean-spirited and for whatever reason a little misogynistic. I liked the idea of this disease that is wiping everyone out, and how these teenagers have such a live-and-let-die mentality about it, I just thought it needed a broader scope to portray such a theme. It is loosely related to King's novel "The Stand." "I Am the Doorway"- This story seemed to be a little out of the way of King's usual themes, since it was a science-fictiony. A former astronaut notices some very odd and unwelcome bodily changes upon his return home, culminating in a very chilling conclusion. I like how King can incorporate a broad theme like space travel into such a short story and still make it easy to understand. "The Mangler"- One of the more gruesome stories on the collection, but also one of the silliest. An automatic laundry machine at a work warehouse seems to have it out for the employees, and not even an exorcism will stop it from tearing the town apart. If you have a fear of being steamrolled flat...uh, just take this one with a grain of salt. "The Boogeyman"- This was a well-written and very sad little story, with a chilling ending. A man has lost all three of his children at separate times due to a mysterious terror in the bedroom closet, but nobody (including his estranged wife and his psychologist) believe him. The male protagonist is really awful but you still feel for him and your understand his fear. "Gray Matter"- My least favorite story in the collection, mostly because I thought it was boring and didn't translate well to print. It would be shocking and scary as a film, but a short story about a man's gruesome transformation after ingesting a can of rotten beer just seems silly in words on a page. Great concept, bad execution. "Battleground"- Also, not my favorite. The exposition was poor and it jumped right into this ludicrous action of tiny toy soldiers attacking an adult man with toy-sized weapons. Seemed more like slapstick than horror. Sorry, King, but not even the Horror Master can make EVERYTHING frightening. "Trucks"- A very original story about a group of people trapped in a truck stop while the trucks outside come alive and terrorize them. Too bad this got turned into one of the worst horror films of all time. "Sometimes They Come Back"- This was such a sad, scary, unique story and I was sucked into it instantly. A timid high school English teacher has returned to work after a breakdown and soon notices some familiar faces in his classroom- the gang members that terrorized him and killed his brother when he was a child. One of those stories that make you wonder if it is a supernatural situation or if the protagonist is just crazy. Great characterization for such a short story, too. "Strawberry Spring"- I normally love serial killer stories, but this one was predictable and employed too much summary and not enough scene. But I did enjoy reading it because of the calm-yet-eerie atmosphere. One of the shorter additions. "The Ledge"- Another very original and suspenseful tale. A man has been caught sneaking around with a powerful man's wife and if he can skirt the ledge around a penthouse apartment, he won't get his ass handed to him. Super tense story! "The Lawnmower Man"- This story did not go in the direction I thought it would...I was picturing a "Trucks"-type story, but this one was a truly shocking and hilarious story that I had to read twice to understand. It doesn't need a summary...just read it. "Quitters, Inc."- Undoubtedly my favorite story in the collection. It is well-written, well-crafted, clever, chilling, suspenseful, and the ending made me throw down my book and gasp. A man makes a drastic, last-ditch effort to quit smoking, and you realize by the end that he will never, ever smoke another cigarette again. A true example of King's genius. "I Know What You Need"- Another one of my favorites in the collection. A college girl meets a strange yet attentive guy and starts a relationship with him, despite his odd way of always knowing exactly what she wants all the time. More romantic and subtle than King's other stories, but creepy nonetheless. "Children of the Corn"- Everyone knows this story. I might be a bad King fan, but it really isn't one of my favorites. I think the corny movie had me expecting a corny story, but the story is much darker and more serious than the film. I'm not a huge fan of "creepy kid" stories, so I skimmed over this one pretty quick, but I know it is a popular one. "The Last Rung of the Ladder"- This story is not a horror story, which is obviously unique to King. It is also the story that should cement into opponent's of King's work that King is a true artist. He's not just a genre writer (which is not a bad thing), he's a master at his craft. Beautiful. "The Man Who Loved Flowers"- I was bored by this one as well, but some people might like the twist ending. I've noticed King likes to put his serial killers in the springtime, which is interesting to me for some reason. "One for the Road"- Whereas "Jerusalem's Lot" was the prequel to "'Salem's Lot," this one is the sequel. The vampires were back and creepier than ever, but again, I'm not a fan of "creepy kid" horror. I probably don't appreciate this because I have yet to read "'Salem's Lot". It is coming soon, I promise! "The Woman in the Room"- Another non-horror story, also sad and well-written. A good ending to a set of stories that were all so unique. It is hard to give this collection a solid rating because the stories varied so much. Some were really funny, some gruesome, some somber. But this is a great introduction to King's spectrum of work- there will be something for everyone.

Who would've thought that I would read my favorite book of 2013 only days before the new year? I cut it close, but holy shit, I'm glad I read Fangirl when I did...curled up in bed over Christmas Break, finals done, no homework or class for three weeks. Just me and a book. A wonderful, wonderful book. Oh god. I have to start with my own personal feelings, of course. I'm a fangirl. I always have been, from middle school afternoons spent on FanFiction with my Twilight fic writing pals to my early high school bandom years obsessed with Fall Out Boy and Panic on LiveJournal, to my short-lived Glee fic-writing phase and my currently-living Teen Wolf and Orphan Black obsessions. My life has consistently included one fandom or another for the past ten years--and you know what? It's nice. I understood Cath's feelings perfectly, the way she wanted to step out of reality and into a fictional word for a while because it was easier. Cath did this when her mom walked out and she had nothing to count on but her sister and her bipolar father, and I did this when my parents got divorced and my dad moved out in a matter of weeks. I also sort of dealt with the college transition, even though my schedule made me put fandom on the backburner (breaks are reserved for marathon fic reading and writing). But the very best thing about this is how Rowell totally, totally understand this. I was worred starting this book that by the end, Cath would've ditched fandom forever by deleting her FanFixx account, throwing away her precious Simon Snow books, and moving forward with her handsome boyfriend in the much-nicer real world. Because that's what is usually expected of us fangirls at some point, right? Fandom is fun for kids, but women need the real world. I'm not sure why I expected this after reading Eleanor & park, because I know how well-equipped Rowell is to write sympathetic stories about realistic teenagers. And she sure as hell didn't disappoint me. Cath grew so much throughout the novel--with her sister, her father, her friends, her boyfriend, her writing--but the one thing that remained consistent was her devotion to fandom, because it makes her happy. And Rowell doesn't take it away from her. That's pretty refreshing. I loved pretty much every character (even though it took me a long time to warm up to Wren). Reagan reminded me exactly of my best friend's freshman year roommate to a T, from the two jobs, the small-town upbringing, the snark, and the Adele-like looks. Levi is another wonderful male character who is sweet, attentive, kind, patient, and loving without being overbearing or dominant (I'm so down with these new gentle YA love interests, it isn't even funny). Cath's father is a refreshing character because it twists the trope in the bipolar mother archetype (come on, you know it's true...I can name a dozen books that feature a mentally ill mother character and about two that have a non-abusive mentally ill father character...it isn't a matter of taste, just trend), and he's the perfect characterization of an imperfect but endlessly loving fictional father. I was actually a little surprised about halfway through the book when Levi ended up being the love interest rather than Nick, but thank go we dodged that bullet. There are a few little inconsistencies, but I'm just being nitpicky. From my own experiences, the way Cath flaunts her fandom love is a little unrealistic. For me and my friends, even my real-life fandom friends, it was always an under-wraps online deal. I would never talk about it with my family or my new roommate. And everyone seemed pretty chill discussing it, which I wish was true. But this wasn't a bad thing--it gave me hope, actually. As did the end--Simon and Baz realized they did not want to live in a world without magic right as Cath finds magic in the real world: magic in fiction, magic in writing, magic in family and friends and Levi. What a wonderful story for a wonderful character. Not only is Fangirl my favorite book of the year, I think it is one of the most important and most relevant YA books I've read in a very long time.

I love stories like these- big, loud, dysfunctional family dramas where no problems are solved and nobody ends up happy. Call my cynical, but I really love those stories. This one pretty much takes the cake.

This one definitely surprised me! I am continually impressed with the plays I've been reading for my World Drama class...I want to be a novelist and a fiction writer, so I never paid much attention to plays before. I was depriving myself of so many funny, witty, touching stories! I laughed so hard at this one...what started as a stuffy and tedious story about two arrogant men who want to lie around and eat and look at beautiful women all day turned into such a clever comedy. My first Oscar Wilde experience, too! Just read it...I don't want to spoil anything. It's short, you'll like it,

**SPOILERS THROUGHOUT THE REVIEW** I think I may have read this book wrong. I loved it, yet it is #1 on the GoodReads list of of "Worst Stephen King" books, which I truly cannot understand. One, "Cell" is obviously his worst book, and two, "Gerald's Game" is a horrifying psychological novel about a woman who survives and lives to tell her story- and she is NOT lying. Jessie Burlingame is 39 and married to Gerald, an overweight borderline-alcoholic lawyer who is looking to spice things up in the bedroom. They take an off-season retreat to their summer home where Gerald handcuffs Jessie's wrists to the headboard and intends to have his wicked way with her. Only Jessie changes her mind before they can begin, causing a row between the couple that leaves Gerald dead on the floor of a heart attack and Jessie still chained to the bed. This situation would be horrifying enough on its own- being completely stuck in an abandoned home, unable to break free or call for help. But soon, Jessie begins to hear conflicting voices telling her what to do- the bold, honest one is Ruth, her college friend whom she later records this story for, and Jessie's alter-ego, the mild "Goodwife" Burlingame. Jessie alternately takes comfort in these voices and shuns them until she realizes they are trying to get her to recall her repressed memories of childhood sexual abuse because it will reveal a way to break loose from the handcuffs. And to top it off, someone is there in the room with her at night. We don't think he's real, sometimes Jessie doesn't think he's real, but by God, he's real. This was a page-turner from start to finish. Jessie was an interesting and reliable narrator who had a real story to tell, and the recollection of her sexual abuse at the hands of her father during the solar eclipse in 1963 was painful to read, but King handled it with grace and understanding. We were always on Jessie's side- we never doubted her pain, anguish, and torture, and we felt every cramp and every jolt of terror as she lay handcuffed in that room. I was absolutely terrified during the last 50 pages because I thought for sure King was going to make Jessie a madwoman who saw shadows that gave her the creeps. But no, everything that happened to Jessie was real- from the dog eating her husband to the wicker basket of bones and jewels. This book may have been a little scattered, but I think it came together in the end. It did have a lot going on- Jessie's ordeal was enough, and then adding a necrophiliac serial killer just seems unfair!- but like I said, I think it all worked out. I will always be confused as to why people seem to hate this book so much, but I guess it all depends on taste. **SPOILERS END*** If you do plan to read this, go into it without knowing anything about the book. It could have ended any way, and it is best to be surprised.

This was another play I read for my World Drama class. It is not my favorite from the course so far but I certainly enjoyed it- it transcended my expectations, that's for sure! The play is about Nora Helmer, a married woman whose husband Torvald is patronizing, controlling, and obsessed with being in charge of everything around him. Nora plays the roll of sweet, meek, dutiful housewife to appease him, but really, she is stashing money away that he gives her to pay off a debt to Krogstad, a banker who has her hands tied. Nora, needing to pay for a vacation for Torvald years prior that saved his health, borrowed money from Krogstad by forging her deceased father's signature. She is proud of what she's done, but she is desperate for Torvald not to know. When her secrets are finally revealed, Nora has a revelation about her role as a wife and finally sees things for what they really are- she is a doll being controlled by her puppet-master, and she's sick of it. I love Nora as a character. So many "strong heroines" in literature from the past 150 years are simply seen as strong because they make so many sacrifices for other people. Women are constantly giving and giving and giving, and in the end of this play, Nora finally stops giving. And that is still pretty shocking to read, even during these modern times. I thought the ending was perfect. We have just started watching a movie adaptation in class (1992 with Juliet Stevenson as Nora) and I already love it. It makes me long to see the play on stage...after all, plays aren't meant to be read, they are meant to be seen.

Like everyone else has said before in so many reviews, I'm shocked that this was written in the 17th century. The humor translates so well to modern day that it almost seems like a rewrite or a satire of older, stuffier plays. I know that the language was shifted and modified during the later translation, but even the themes of the play translate well to modern times. I also love how the women are portrayed. Elmire doesn't fall for Tartuffe's shit and she proves to her husband that she was right all along. And finally, a young women who gets the man in the end! And Dorine! Who is made of win! I'm not usually a fan of the comedy of characters, but I was continually amused by this play (even the deus ex machina business at the end). I'm glad my World Drama class covered it.

I will most likely write a review later this Spring when I have read the play once more and have gotten a better hold on it. I am acting out part of a scene for my World Drama class (the very first exchange between Thomasina and Septimus in Act 1, Scene 1, right up until Jellaby enters), so I had to read the play quickly along with my other assigned plays. I simply can't write an intelligent review for such an intelligent, funny, and heartbreaking play without re-reading it. I just know that I closed my book and had that niggling feeling of, "God damn it, why did I wait so long to read these words?" Stunning. Amazing story, excellent characters, and a perfect concept for a stage play. I, a reader and writer who has no aspirations to EVER take the stage, cannot appreciate a play the same way an actor can appreciate it, but it still makes my chest ache when I think of it. If this ever comes to the theaters in my city, I'll be in the front row. (By the way, I'm playing Septimus).

I'd rather just learn the mythology than read the play, but I'd be intrigued to see a modern adaptation done on stage. This was the first play I read for my college World Drama class this semester.

I just wasn't feeling the first third of this book. Maybe I set my expectations sky-high because of the stellar ratings, I don't know, but I just wasn't getting a great feel for these characters. The last third of the book swept that all away, though, and I couldn't help but get caught up in the humor, sweetness, and action of it all. As far as gay romances go, this one starts out pretty simple--Austin Glass is a detective who is engaged to Angelica, a lawyer. I'm a little hazy on the beginning exposition because I started this one last year and finished it this week, so I don't want to lead astray, but the gist of it is that Austin stops at a diner and meets Peter, an adorable red-haired dude who wears bunny-slippers. And then, since this is the genre, Austin is instantly gay for Peter and spends 15% of the novel tackling that, and so on and so forth, etc. I'm a 21-year-old queer girl, the identity politics can be glossed over at this point. But then things get tricky--Peter and his two brothers, Darryl and Cai, are deeply involved in some not-so-savory trafficking operations Austin and his partner Luis have had on the radar for years. It culminates in Austin housing Cai, the main suspect, during his trial, which entails housing Peter and Darryl and Cai's Albanian mother Rosa (?). I'm trying to be as a clear as possible but this book's strengths aren't plot, let me tell you that. What this book excels at is humor, something sadly missing in so many gay romance novels. Austin's an asshole, and we get his POV, so we hear all his asshole humor and groan along with the other characters. Peter is clever, Cai is adorable, Luis is long-suffering, and Darryl is a pill, and they all carry their own brand of humor that jumps off the page. It's definitely ham-fisted in some spots, but there's something undeniably funny about Austin seriously considering using the cherry-flavored lube he got as a homophobic gag gift as syrup on his lunch, or an old Albanian lady saying how gay men don't have to be lonely because "Elton John and Doogie Howser" aren't lonely. This book may take itself seriously as a romance, but it doesn't take itself too seriously as a whole. Everything that irritated me so much about the characters became significant plot points, which I liked. I really hated how Austin kept calling Peter a whore so callously, but it was definitely addressed, which I wasn't expecting. Austin may be a dick, but he shows so much growth by the end. And the idea that Austin seemed sort of okay with Peter using sex as gratitude sort of squicked me out before that was addressed. The sexual politics and stigmas are present throughout the novel, but the characters feel mature and rounded enough to deal with them in a way that satisfies the reader. To be honest, my favorite parts of the novel were the non-romance elements. I loved the relationship between Cai and Austin and the ending turned me into a puddle of goo--let's just say I can't wait until the next book! Cai might be a bit cutesy for my taste, but he brings heart to the this story, and I'm glad he's the focus of the next book. All in all, this book's sweet and funny exterior is worth the rough start. I'm more excited for the sequel, though!

I've had this one on my shelf for a few months now, but I wasn't in a huge rush to read it. My goal this year is to read all of Stephen King's books in order, but when I couldn't find "Salem's Lot" at the thrift store (which is King's second book), I just started reading the books I already have. So "The Dark Tower" novels are apparently King's magnum opus; his life's work. I can tell that this is the series that took the longest to write because it is confusing AS FUCK. I'm not saying I didn't like the book- some parts were chilling, enthralling, and intriguing- but there were just so many gaps in the plot that I wanted to be filled! Where is Roland, the mysterious and haunted Gunslinger? What shook his foundation and made the light go out in his world? Who is Susan? What happened with Roland's mother? Who is the Man in Black? What is the Dark Tower and why does Roland need to visit it so bad? I know this is a series, but I just needed something! Which is why I'm glad to know King had no idea what the fuck was going on when he was writing this first part of his mega-series. Who is Susan? He didn't fucking know. What the hell is up with this Roland fella? Beats me, King said, as he merrily typed away and confused the masses (not a direct quote). Well, now I'm curious enough to keep reading. YOU HAVE MY ATTENTION, MR. KING.

I've had this one on my to-read shelf since it came out, and when I saw it on sale at Barnes & Noble, I knew it was time to get it. I'm glad I did--I came down with the stomach flu that week and read this in two days in bed, and it put me in a pretty good mood. I like Tomsky (or "Tommy Jacobs," his subtle pseudonym for legal purposes) as a narrator, because he's believable--he's a decent guy, does his work, learns at his job, but also fucking hates his job sometimes. That's the kind of person that needs to write a career memoir, because you'll always get the good stuff. And this book sure does have the good stuff--nasty anecdotes (things left in hotel rooms), helpful tips (did you know you never have to pay your mini-bar charges? Read to find out how), hilarious work-related mishaps (choking someone out over valet parking), and a generally awesome glimpse behind the scenes to a life we've all lived. It's a good book, and just as interesting, funny, and fresh as you'd think. Tomsky did come off as a little bit of a douche sometimes, and he wasn't the most affable narrator. And his ending was damn near depressing. But this isn't the sort of book that needs a happy ending--it's all about the journey.

I stand corrected...this series defied my expectations and actually got WAY better than the novella that kicked it off. I am DEFINITELY impressed! My main objection to "Blooded," the Orbit short fiction piece that took place seven years prior to this novel, was that our heroine Jessica McClain was the only non-werewolf in a compound of werewolves. That just irked me because I want to see more bad-ass supernatural ladies. And lo and behold, "Full-Blooded" kicked off with Jessica experiencing her first werewolf shift at the age of twenty-six. I really, really like Jessica as a main character. She's tough, sexy, caring, easygoing, funny, and she won't let you hurt her pack or her friends. I love her relationships with all of the secondary characters, too. She has a wonderful friendship with Nick, which I hope stays in the platonic zone because they have such a great dynamic, and I can't wait to see her female friendships blossom with Marcy and Juanita in the next novel (even though Carlson can certainly leave out the racist Spanish accent language for Juanita's speech...quirky chicanas are allowed to be quirky chicanas without sounding like Charo). I also adore that Jessica had a super sexy hookup in the beginning of the novel before finding her true werewolf mate, avoiding all the Twilight cliche crap about waiting for the right one. The woman just found out she's a werewolf, and she feels strong and powerful and sexy--thank you, Carlson, for letting her get some! Okay, I guess I should backtrack and sum up the plot a little. Jessica McClain is the only girl born to the all-male race of werewolves, making her an unprecedented anomaly in the culture. Due to old werewolf lore, she supposedly carries the Mark of Cain, which means she will bring the doom of the entire werewolf race. She goes without signs of being a werewolf until she is twenty-six and shifts unexpectedly, alarming her father Callum (the Northern Pack Alpha), her twin brother Tyler (who she can communicate telepathically with), her best friend Nick (a shapeshifter werefox), and her father's pack associates, Danny and James (who Jessica has a steamy hook-up with). To top it off, Jessica can half-shift while keeping her composure and fighting skills, making her the mythical Lycan--she had the potential to be more powerful than any werewolf in the world. This, of course, causes chaos in the pack and in her profession. One of my favorite characters in the book is Ray, a bastard cop who Jessica has been at odds with for years after he found her super-speed and super-strength to be highly suspicious. His suspicions only intensify after he's assigned to her case after her shift trashes her apartment. I like how Ray's mistrust of Jessica does not stem from her gender like the pack's mistrust does--he literally thinks she's a monster with a secret, and by the end, I think Ray will either become a great ally or a great villain. I don't know why, but I like him. I need to know more about Rourke to really get into his character, mostly because Jessica is too strong of a character to fall prey to the "you're my mate so you're MINE" jealous boyfriend trope. Sometimes a man's jealousy or possessiveness can be sexy in a story, but it just doesn't work with the super-independent Jessica. In fact, when SHE started getting possessive over HIM, I found it much sexier, because she seems so in control. I hope she works on her relationship with her wolf before she gives up everything for her mate (there is a lot of room for both in the next novel). One of the downsides: I still need to know more about the supernatural world in general! I want more details about werewolves, imps, vampires, and witches. The ending with the vampire queen felt so rushed that I had a hard time keeping track who was who and what the vampires were like. I need a better sense of the ways of these creatures, and I hope the next book will expand on them. I also really want to find out what Rourke is. I also wish Carlson wouldn't give Jessica so much internalized misogyny. When she faces off with Selene, who had a previous relationship with Rourke, she just calls her bitch and slut and wants to beat her up for all the wrong reasons. Come on, we're better than this! We're past this junk! All in all, I recommend this one to urban fantasy and werewolf fiction fans. It delivers on everything--action, romance, and fantasy alike. I hope the next novel is even better and expands more on the world.

Even though I am skirting the outer edges of the YA target audience, I just had to read Gail Carriger's new book the very second it came out. I'm a huge fan of Carriger's "Parasol Protectorate" series (an steampunk Orbit saga for adults), and I was elated to find out that "Etiquette and Espionage" not only takes place in the same universe, but includes many of the same characters! "Etiquette and Espionage" takes place about 25 years prior to the "Parasol Protectorate" novels with Sophronia Temminnick as the young heroine. She has been sent to a rather odd finishing school where, along with learning how to curtsy and plan a dinner party, she will learn hand-to-hand combat with werewolves and the fine art of fainting to gain sympathies. She is to be a student of both etiquette and espionage. Sophronia wasn't characterized as strongly as many of Carriger's other characters- she came off as Young Alexia basically, which isn't a bad thing, but she just didn't seem to be a terribly original character. She's not a flat character- I just wanted to know more about her. Sophronia is joined in Miss Geraldine's Finishing School by Dimity Plumleigh-Teignmott, a smart girl with a penchant for flashy, gaudy jewelry (reminds me of Ivy Hisselpenny's hats) from a family of troublemakers. They become close friends and their relationship is one of the cutest parts of the book. Also, much to my delight, Sidheag Maccon makes an appearance as their uncouth classmate and friend. Before Sophronia and her new friend arrive to school (which, by the way, is a huge dirigible), they are jacked by "flywayman" and their escort Monique de Pelouse seems to be up to some fishy behavior. She has a prototype to something important that she has hidden, but because she could not complete her mission, she is sent back to beginners classes with Sophronia and Dimity. She becomes the antagonist of the story- Monique is that older, snotty girl you always wanted to kick in the face. With the help of Soap, a cute boy who works in the boiler rooms at the school (with a racist name...this is me giving Carriger the side-eye), and a little androgynous girl named Vieve (and her aunt Madame Lefoux, who appears as a person and not a ghost in this novel), Sophronia gets to the bottom of this mysterious prototype- and learns some tricks of the trade along the way. This was a very cute book, good for girls 9 and up (depending on reading level). But fans of Carriger's adult books will love it as well. Her sense of humor is present and so are her kick-ass, take-charge female characters, something we can never have enough of in YA books. I love how Sophronia and Dimity's friendship mirrors Alexia and Ivy's, and I really love how there can be a little romance on the side without that being the main plot. I would definitely encourage young girls to read this book- it can introduce them to sci-fi and steampunk as well as provide a gateway to Carriger's adult series.

In one of the best bits of literary contrast I've observed in a long time, I read the first three books in Michaels' "Faith, Love, & Devotion" series right after reading Jane Kindred's "Demons of Elysium" series, hopping from one end of the M/M romance spectrum to the other. I went from hardcore BDSM, angels and demons, and an intricate fantasy world to single dads, sexual awakening, and cop shenanigans. I must say, it was a nice switch. Evan and Matt feel like real men, real people in a big city, which made this book an easy and comfortable read. I felt Evan's reservations about changing his family dynamic and Matt's discomfort with his newfound attraction to men are dealt with organically and not melodramatically--there's drama, sure, but it feels realistic. I enjoyed the supporting characters as well, which is always important to me in romance. What can I say? Sometimes you just need a book like this to cleanse your palate.

I think the word I would use to describe this romance is light. Not in the ooey-gooey-fluffy way of novellas with no action or conflict, or in the dull way with zero sex or passion. There's plenty of all that in this book. But it is still a romance, and all throughout the book, I knew Jared and Matt would make it. That's definitely not a bad thing! I don't normally go for the gay-for-you type books, but I feel like Matt's gay panic was more due to his fear that his sexuality could not be hidden anymore than to his fear of being gay in general. He obviously adores Jared, and the build-up to their first romantic encounter is so steamy. This book starts really fast and glosses over Jared and Matt's first meeting (no meet-cute), which put me off at first, but it slows the pace and fleshes out the characters as it goes. In this edition of Spunky Female Supporting Character, Jared's sister-in-law Lizzy takes the wheel, but I didn't find her at all forced or irritating. She doesn't exist solely to provide pep talks and gossip, and she's often the tough love Jared needs. As far as the leads go, I was more attached to Jared than Matt. I really understood his small-town dilemma--he's comfortable being out, but when he's confronted about being out with a relationship, he wants to creep back into a different sort of closet. I find that totally relatable and quite refreshing for a main character. I also liked Matt's bravery and his willingness to go the whole nine yards with Jared, though I did feel it went a bit fast, and his drama with his father was neatened up pretty quickly. Is there melodrama? Hell yeah. Someone gets shot. Don't worry, it's a whole thing, you'll read about it. It's still a light read. In a way, this book is already a little dated--the characters worry that their mothers will be sad that they can't provide grandchildren, which is not so much an issue these days, and the idea that a teacher can get fired for being gay is absurd in America now (though they ret-conned this idea pretty quickly towards the end). It's not a book that I think will stay in my memory for long, but I'll definitely invest in the sequels and recommend it to anyone wondering where to start with M/M romance.

It has been a long time since I've sat in a classroom ten minutes before class and laughed my ass off while reading a great book. The worried looks were definitely worth it this time. I'd never actually heard of Moran before the buzz about this memoir, but I decided to take a chance on it after seeing it in my college bookstore. I picked it up on Friday and finished it by the following Monday. The book is split into chapters that each cover one stage or step in a woman's life, such as having your first period, encountering sexism for the first time, and having your first child. Moran writes with such hilarious wit and self-deprecation that it is impossible not to adore her. But she also can write about the toughest, scariest subjects with such emotion that you can laugh out loud one moment and get the chills the next (especially in the chapter about the harrowing, traumatic birth of her daughter that left her in pain and completely shell-shocked even years later). I don't agree with all of Moran's feminism, but there are many types of feminism that people apply to. I don't think Moran has much stock in transgender issues or racism. I also don't agree with her stand that women can be assholes to each other and still be feminist with each other. But feminism is tricky, and the fact that Moran has at least brought it (in some shape or form) to the mainstream is very refreshing (but Lady Gaga as a feminist icon? Really? She's a fab pop star but she's no feminist icon.) I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is very much a women's book written by a hilarious woman, and I want all of my friends and my mother and my aunts to read it.

I couldn't wait to get my hands on this book after reading "Divergent," but I had my apprehensions that the plot would slow down after the factions started falling apart. My apprehensions were realized, but "Insurgent" is still an action-packed, intelligent YA novel with a tough-as-nails heroine, and I can only see this series getting better and better. Tris, who is divergent and immune to the serums and simulations of the factions, has escaped from Jeanine's army of mind-controlled Dauntless soldiers with her brother Caleb, her boyfriend Tobias, and Tobias' abusive father Marcus. She is traumatized and exhausted after getting shot and watching her friends and family die, but she must keep her wits together and get her loved ones to safety inside the Amity compound. While resting there, Tris realized that whatever Jeanine and the Erudite are brewing, it is much larger than Tris ever believed, and it has to do with the divergent population. Not knowing who to trust, Tris' relationships with everyone around her are tested, and she has to exercise her Dauntless traits along with traits of the other factions to found out what Jeanine is really hiding. I loved learning about the other factions in this novel, especially since we got to see everyone interact with each other. We learned how the factions solve problems and deal with conflict, and we start to piece together the push-and-pull of the faction system. I really admire Tris after this novel, because she never sits back and whines about her problems, she immediately takes action. This doesn't always bode well for her, but it proves that she is not one to be messed with. Tobias was starting to irritate me a little in this book, even though he redeemed himself at the end. Every time Tris was on a roll, saving her people and getting stuff done, he had to get in her face and push her back. He wasn't forceful or mean, but he just made me think, "Sheesh, bro, this girl is the boss, you need to sit down and trust her." He was starting to come off as a little alpha-male, which isn't my cup of tea, but in the end, I realized that he loves the hell out of Tris and sometimes that overshadows the immense amount of trust he has for her. Tris did get stuff done, with and without his help, and she is proving to be near the ranks of Lisbeth Salander in the "Females Who Will Cut You" heroine category. Love it! Some may think this book was a little slower than the first, which might be true, but I didn't mind that. A lot of people said the same about "Mockingjay" and I loved that book. I definitely recommend this series. The first book was a thrill ride, and this book is an intrigue.

Is it bad that I wanted Jack to get it on with Churchill rather than with D? Yeah, probably. But I guess that's what happens when one half of the main relationship is super snooze-fest annoying. Zero at the Bone opens up with our first protagonist, a hardened hit-man named D (and we can't know his real named right away because that is who he used to be and he's doused in a heavy glaze of man-pain) who is heading off to a job. Little does he know, the target is a dapper young surgeon named Jack Francisco, who ends up talking D out of the hit with D's gun pressed to his head (that is not a euphemism, I promise). To escape untimely death, D gets the hell out of dodge with Jack, who is in Witness Protection for seeing a crime that shouldn't have happened. D has a lot of walls up, Jack is lonely, so they fuck, in a perfectly Brokeback-esque first sex scene that shuns such sexual standards like proper anal stretching and lubricant (ouch, let's use common sense). It isn't a smut book--there are some brief, romantic sex scenes, but most of the "romance" is made up of back-and-forth arguing due to Jack's pushiness and D's condescending over-protectiveness. Like, 70% of the book is them bitching at each other. And most of the problems come from D, who is a total self-sacrificing macho-man stereotype. I was also totally bothered by the way his speech patterns were written--we don't need to read hafta and cain't and ta to realize D has a regional accent, and the alternate spellings make D sound stupid. But, lame parts aside, Zero at the Bone has some real moments of tension, action and character growth. This novel could easily be turned into a decent TV movie or something--the action and plot is tight but intense enough to keep readers guessing. I also loved the conversation towards the end where Megan, D's hit-man Guardian Angel, confides to a brokenhearted D how he saved her family years ago and she has devoted her life to protecting him. It is such a sweet, believable male-female relationship that hinges on trust, honesty, and honor rather than romance. This isn't my favorite M/M romance I've ever read, but as an action/crime novel, it was not bad at all.

I bought this a few days ago while on my crazy hunt for good M/M romance novels after finishing the smoking "Hot Head" by Damon Suede. This wasn't a bad book, but it lacked the slow build-up, oozing sexual tension, and tenderhearted romance of "Hot Head". I really, really need to stop comparing all M/M books to "Hot Head"...it is ruining this whole experience! "The Tin Star" was a pretty quick read. Jamie, the foreman of his father's ranch, Quadruple J, is kicked out of his home after coming out to his bigoted father. His older brother John goes to vent to his best friend Ethan, a closeted cowboy who owns the Tin Star ranch. Ethan takes Jamie in, gives him a job and a home, and is very quickly smitten with him. The two men start a romance and fall in love, but they have to battle the homophobia of Jamie's father and the rest of the small-minded town. I liked the characters, especially John and their sister Julia. It was a really sweet dynamic between the siblings and Ethan, because they all got along and looked out for each other. Jamie and Ethan's first kiss was so hot and sexy but I didn't think the smut improved after that. It was lazy and repetitive to me, and I was more invested in the plot than the porn, which is really weird. I was also annoyed by the useless "Blanche was not your mother" plot, it was a little too soap-opera for me. But all in all, "The Tin Star" was a sweet country-western romance with fun characters. Will please fans of the M/M romance genre. I've heard J.L. Langley is a pretty good M/M author; I will have to check out more of their work.

Oh. My. God. What the heck am I supposed to even do with my life right now? I am seriously at a loss. This is LAST SUMMER ALL OVER AGAIN, when I finished the entire "Harry Potter" series in like three weeks, and I pretty much was dying for an entire evening BECAUSE IT WAS OVER AND NOW I FEEL LIKE THAT AGAIN. I just...how can this end? How can my beautiful Alexia and Conall and Lord Akeldama and Professor Lyall and Ivy Tunstell and Madame Lefoux be OVER?! You know you've read a winning book series when it makes you want to curl up in the fetal position and sob at its finish. Now, I will try to collect myself and give some semblance of a review, but I'm so bereaved that I may have to take periodical crying breaks. Alexia and Conall begin this novel several years after the end of "Heartless" (a longer break than the previous novels), trying desperately to get their little skin-stealing toddler Prudence to take a bath. Even though she is in the doting care of Lord Akeldama, she has two parents who love her in their own Victorian ways- with adult-like affection and mild distance. Alexia is a cool mom. She treats Prudence like a human being and a friend first and a baby second, and she isn't afraid to take you down if you mess with her offspring. After a night at the theater, Alexia receives a summons to Egypt to see Queen Matakara, the oldest living vampire and one of the most powerful supernaturals in the world. Not about to ignore such an important request, she must take her sought-after young daughter, her husband, and the Tunstell's entire acting troupe (their cover for such a strange journey) off to Egypt, where they meet the queen- and the God-Breaking Curse, which renders the supernatural powerless, and mysteriously repels Alexia, which can only mean that the bodies of other preternaturals are put into play. Then there is a part with a giant snail and then CONALL YOU BASTARD DON'T EVER DO THAT TO US AGAIN and okay, here come the tears...give me a sec... Back in London, a romance buds between Professor Lyall and Biffy, but they must deal with the death of the Kingair Pack's Beta, Dubh, and the wrath of Lady Kingair. Biffy eventually figures out what the past meant for the former Woolsey Alpha, Alessandro Tarabotti, Floote, and even Lyall himself, and how it will effect their future as a pack. I thought I was spoiled enough with the adorable, well-written, and believable romance between Lord and Lady Maccon, and then Carriger throws these two men at us like HERE, HAVE SOME SUPER SWEET WEREWOLF LOVING WITH AWESOME CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT, and then secrets come out, and they THE END OH MY GOD, and I need to take one of those crying breaks again...but in all seriousness, Carriger absolutely rocks and developing her characters. I read too many books with these characters who never evolve or change or learn, but even the stubborn Alexia and the seemingly flighty Biffy end up growing so much, and we know so much about them. When you finish a book and feel like you've said goodbye to your close friends, then the author has done her job. I love these books. I'm so glad I took a chance and bought "Soulless", because these books really soothed some of my pre-college jitters, and they gave me a place to escape to. I'll undoubtedly re-read them in the future, and I'll always cherish this time I've spent with preternaturals, werewolves, vampires, ghosts...and of course, parasols. Thanks so much, Miss Carriger. You've pretty much made my summer. <3

**Spoilers throughout review** Wow, I must say, after the original "Soulless", this one is definitely my fave book in the series. I mean, c'mon- an action-packed steampunk romance with bisexual werewolves and pregnant preternaturals, all on top of political conspiracy and a suffragette sister. There is nothing about this book that I do not love and/or actively seek out in reading material. "Heartless" begins some months after "Blameless" left off, with an extremelty pregnant Alexia Maccon trying to solve the mystery of a ghost telling her that there is a plot out to kill the queen. Being Alexia, she has to get down to the bottom of it, eight months pregnant be damned! She eventually finds out that there may be some connection to the murder plot against the queen brewed by the Kingair pack (her husband's original pack) some twenty years ago, and even more shocking, her father Alessandro might be involved. Alexia is an extremely harried woman- she must also deal with an unsettled new pack member (poor Biffy), the fact that she must let Lord Akeldama adopt her future child for the sake of her and the child's lives, and her friend Madame Lefoux's crazy octomaton contraption that just can't mean anything good for anyone. To top it all off, she is just so dang hungry ALL THE TIME! Poor girl can't catch a break. I loved the insight into Professor Lyall's background, since he is one of my favorite characters. It almost made me cry when Alexia found out that the love of his life was her father, because it mirrors her relationship with Conall- a preternatural and a werewolf, one who lives forever and one who is unquestionably mortal. I know this is a light and humorous series, but I thought that was such a well-written part, and it really shows how good Carriger is at making us love and feel for her characters. I also love how Alexia got everything done, solved every problem, and landed on her ass a few times, all while pregnant. It is a rare literary example of a woman who is her own person and has her own problems and issues while still being a mother, and how woman are not made of glass when they're pregnant. I think Alexia would be a kick-ass mom- a little strict, not overly affectionate, but fiercely protective and always loads of adventure. Loved this installment, took me about two days to read. I'm starting the last one and I will cry buckets when this series is over!

**Spoilers Throughout Review** Now, I'll admit, I was a little worried starting out with this one, because I don't like when my Alexia is having a bad day. And this novel, the third installment of the "Parasol Protectorate" series, pretty much started as one long, sad, unfair bad day. I sorely missed the sweet and funny moments between Lord and Lady Maccon, absent due to a certain newfound infant-inconvenience, but once the action started to pick up and the lovely Madame lefoux was back in the game, I was drawn into this series once again. Alexia, after her insensitive werewolf husband slandered her and her pregnancy and cast her out of the Woolsey pack, is staying with her insufferable family before being cast off by them as well. She decides to accept her powerful vampire friend Lord Akeldama's offer to come live with him, but when she arrives at his manor, he is mysteriously missing. And to make matters worse, on the way to her androgynous inventor friend Madame Lefoux's hatshop, she is attacked by mechanical ladybugs that want to kill her with poison. So what's a girl to do? She takes Madame Lefoux and her trusted butler/secretary Floote and heads off to Italy, where she will try to find out her history and learn about her mysterious pregnancy. But along the way, they meet a German associate of Madame Lefoux's, Mr. Lange-Wilsdorf, who tells Alexia (or the female specimen, as he so kindly calls her) that her prospects are grim. Oh, and the vampires want her dead, and once they get to Italy, the religious vigilante group, the Templars, kidnap the trio and intend to experiment with Alexia's soulless state. None of this is good and funny and happy like the other books, but for some reason, Carriger just makes every madcap adventure awesome, and I always enjoy the situations Lady Maccon finds herself in. This book has more of Alexia doing bad-ass things than the previous two novels, even though she has been consistently bad-ass throughout, which is great, because she's pregnant and can still take you down like a champ. There is a lot more action in this one, and it always keeps you on edge. But my favorite part of the novel was the subplot back in London, with Professor Lyall assuming alpha duties after Conall decides to inebriate himself with formeldahyde. Professor Lyall is my favorite character after Alexia (and Madame Lefoux...come on, who doesn't love that sexy beast?) because he is so calm and mysterious and classy even when all hell breaks loose. When he was left in charge of a newly-werewolfed Biffy, it really made me hope for more subplot of Lyall being a bro and taking care of business. I gave four stars to this installment because I longed for more banter between Alexia and Conall, but accusations of infedilty often dampen the banter, and I think Conall has a lot more 'splainin to do before he'll fully be on his forgiving wife's good side again. I also missed the always-lovely presence of Lord Akeldama (because he brings the sass) and of Ivy Tunstell, nee Hisselpenny, even though she had a really revealing conversation with Professor Lyall that proves she is not just a ninny in crazy hats. Carriger's characters, storytelling, and humor continue to amaze me. I love her intentive steampunk world and I love how she carries her plots from one book to the next. Another fine installment- I'll be very unhappy when this series is over! New Characters: Monsieur Trouve, Mr. Lange-Wilsdorf Body Count: Biffy (in human form), the vampire potentate

Ah, another fine, messed-up novel by the great and twisted V.C. Andrews. While the last novel ("Petals on the Wind") in the Dollanganger series was more of a family epic, spanning over a decade of Cathy's life, this one took place over one summer and it was much more of a horror novel. Cathy and Chris are now living as husband and wife with their two children, Jory and Bart, who don't know about their parents' sordid past. The youngest child, Bart, is a jealous and bratty little boy who is clumsy and awkward compared to his graceful dancer brother. After Chris and Cathy adopt a little girl, Cindy, and then a mysterious old woman and her manservant move in next door, Bart starts to change in a frightening and dramatic way (the parts with him and his dog are so fucked up). I thought this was a really good addition to the series, but I hated the parts that were in Bart's POV (the story switched between Bart and Jory, with two blurbs from Cathy in the beginning and end). He was such an annoying and bratty narrator, and even though he was a troubled child manipulated by the crazy, religion-crazed adults next door, he was too easy to hate. For most of the story, I just wanted to slap him. I also think "If There Be Thorns" had more character development and introspection than most V.C. books. I liked Jory and I loved reading about Chris and Cathy's relationship, because c'mon, no matter how fucked up it is, we all want to see those two crazy kids happy together. Even though V.C. still avoided contractions and wrote like Charlotte Bronte's 20th century cousin, the book was entertaining and a good addition to a guilty-pleasure series. Too bad I hate annoying child narrators, or this would've gotten 4 stars.

Affinity is my first Sarah Waters novel and I was expecting something different. Three or four years ago, I saw the "Tipping the Velvet" mini-series on TV and fell in love with it. It was a dramatic and sometimes tragic story, but it was also outrageous, erotic, bright, and creative. Best of all, it was a Victorian lesbian love story with a happy ending. I was expecting "Affinity" to be a similar story in tone, but I didn't exactly get that. The novel is told through two narrators, neither who are very reliable--Margaret Prior and Selina Dawes (Selina's entries are epistolary and are mainly very brief). Margaret Prior is a widowed lady who has started visiting the women in Millbank prison as a way to keep her busy after a suicide attempt. There, she meets the meek, captivating Selina Dawes, who is imprisoned for murder. Selina is said to be a spirit-medium who caused the death of a woman through a spiritual meeting gone wrong. Margaret's spirits are lifted as she becomes closer to Selina, but as we read incidents from both women's point of view, we start to question if Selina is really what she says she is. I just couldn't connect to this book. I never felt close to the characters, and to be honest, I was quite bored by it. There were some scenes--such as when Margaret visits a museum and learns about Selina's past, and when she imagines the room flooding with Selina's spirit wax--that were dark and well-written, but I felt my eyes glaze over for the better part of the novel. The dialogue was especially dull--the courtroom flashbacks show Waters' is capable of compelling dialogue, but so much of the dialogue is sparse and stiff, never revealing much about any of the characters. The ending was cruel, as well. I feel like Vigers' role was poorly executed (or maybe I just didn't care enough about the story to figure the mystery out). The reader was alienated at the end because we got no closure and no growth for our more reliable narrator, Margaret. She was right where she started--and that isn't a Gothic story, it is just depressing.

**Major Spoilers At End of Review, First two Paragraphs Safe** I'm so, so glad I ordered all of the Parasol Protectorate novels from Amazon, because I can tell that they will be this summer's obsession. I seriously have to pace myself, though- I've already started the third novel, "Blameless," and it has been less than a week since I finished the first! I like these books so much; I don't want to burn through them so fast! "Changeless" continues some time after "Soulless" ended, with Alexia Maccon, nee Alexia Tarabotti, happily married to her werewolf husband Connall and assuming the role of Alpha female at the Woolsey Castle. One morning, she awakens to discover her husband angry and leaving for Scotland, trying to find some sort of explanation as to why the supernatural set suddenly are turned mortal, first in London and then in his homeland. Alexia, always curious in regards to science and the whereabouts of the supernatural and preternatural world, is considered suspicious, due to her "humanizing" effects. She, along with her maid Angelique, her dejected sister Felicity, her best friend Ivy Hisselpenny (neither actually invited), and Connall's valet Tunstell (who is enmored with Miss Hisselpenny), travel to Scotland, to see what has gotten into Conall and to get to the bottom of the mass humanization of the supernatural. They are joined unexpectedly by Madame Lefoux, a mysterious French inventor and scientist, whose beauty and masculine dress charm Alexia but leave her suspicious. And after Alexia's first frightful trip on a dirigible, it seems that someone is out to get her...and it might be Madame Lefoux. Alexia also meets her husband's former pack, and learns why he left in the way he did. She meets Sidheag, Conall's only living ancestor, and the unoffical pack Alpha, although she is not a werewolf yet. Her involvement in the end of the novel made me smile- she may be a tough old broad, but I was rooting for her. I absolutely love the way Carriger has her characters interact. Lady Maccon loves her sister and her friend but is constantly irritated with their chittering, and she puts up with their follies out of sisterly affection. Her relationship with Conall, although sorely tested at the end of the novel with a huge *but heavily foreshadowed) plot twist, is the true heart of the story, portrayed with real love and humor and showing that Alexia may be soulless but she is not heartless. There was a sad lack of the efficient Professor Lyall and the fabulous Lord Akeldama, but even their small appearances make the novel shine. I'm obsessed with the supernatural plotlines and the way Carriger portrays her urban fantasy world (the aethographor was genius and way cool), but the fact that the characters are all multi-dimensional and interesting in their own ways keeps me reading. The ending worries me. I hope this revelation won't permanently change Alexia and Conall's relationship, and I hope Alexia will remain as hard and logical as ever. The plot of "Blameless" sounds great, and I can't wait to dig in! New Characters: Channing Channing of the Chesterfield Channings, Madame Lefoux, Quesnel, Sidheag Body Count: Angelique

I liked "Ash" but it left me wanting more. Unfortunately, "Huntress" didn't deliver as much as I hoped it would. It was a pretty novel in a sparkling fantasy world, but I felt that the characters were one-dimensional and the writing was often dry. "Huntress" takes place in the same universe as "Ash" and includes many of the same elements, like the King's Hunt and the fairies (the "Xi"). Kaede and Taisin are students at an academy for young sages. Kaede does not have much magical skill, but Taisin sees her in a dangerous vision and insists on taking Kaede and Prince Con with her across the border to the Xi lands for a special task. Along the way, the two young women face harsh tasks and end up falling in love. I love how LGBT relationships in this book are actually discussed and seen as normal and functional. They are a part of the universe and they aren't ignored or belittled. I also love the strong female characters. But what I didn't like was the pace and the lack of action. I was bored towards the end and the last climax was very rushed.

Loved the movie, and the book didn't disappoint. It's rare to watch the movie first and still enjoy the book while knowing the ending, but I was completely enthralled in it nonetheless.

It has been almost a year since I read the awesome first novel of the Paranormals series, "Jenny Pox." I was surprised by the well-crafted horror, the maliciously wonderful villain, and the original story, and I couldn't wait to read the next one. I put it on hold for awhile, but I'm glad I've finally gotten around to "Tommy Nightmare." I just wish I could give it the same amount of praise as "Jenny Pox," despite the fact that we now have a guy who makes zombies, which is always a plus in my book. In the first novel, we were introduced to Jenny Morton, a teenage girl who has the power to give people a horrible disease just by touching them. Her boyfriend Seth has the opposite power--healing--which balances them out and allows them to touch each other safely. The villain was Ashleigh Goodling, a horrific and nasty young woman who has the power to make people love her with just one touch, who used her powers to further conservative propaganda, literally just because she could. If you though Ashleigh was dead, think again. She's back, and she's the best part of this book. Again. In this next installment, we meet three new characters. Tommy is Ashleigh's opposite--he can instill fear in people. But he's no match for a character like Ashleigh. He's passive where she's dominant, dim where she's sharp. He's also a totally skeevy potential rapist who has been in and out of prison since childhood. He realizes he's Ashleigh's opposite so he follows her call to revive her, and to help, he calls for the attention of Esmeralda, a girl who can listen to the memories of the dead. I like Esmeralda. She has potential to be a great character, and she could use her gift for good. But the poor girl is used as Tommy and Ashleigh's tool to resurrect Ashleigh in another's person's body, that person being Darcy Metcalf, a pregnant girl from the poor side of town who used to be Ashleigh's best friend (Ashleigh, in fine form, treats her body horrifically, ex. punching Darcy's unborn fetus when it moved inside her stomach). I like that these books take risks. Jenny starts seeing glimpses of her past lives and sees that maybe Seth isn't the paranormal person she's meant to be with, which opens up a lot of room for many more books and plot-lines. The mythology sets a pretty high goal for these books, but I can see an author like Bryan handling such themes. My main problem with this book was that it was very rushed. In "Jenny Pox," we spent much of the book just getting to know Jenny and her way of life and reaching deep into Ashleigh's psyche. Bryan realizes that a good villain needs to be multi-faceted, and Ashleigh delivers in spades. We don't see one touch of tenderness in her but we do see ambition, clarity, cleverness, and strength. The problem with Tommy is that we simply don't like him. His backstory wasn't all that interesting and his relationship with Ashleigh and Esmeralda would be more interesting if it was simply between the two girls. We never really get to know him like we know Jenny and Ashleigh. I'm also confused as to why Alexander was introduced in this installment. His chapters just seem out of place. I see why he was needed in the book to wrap up the conflict at the end and introduce his special power, but I don't think a book with so many characters (old and new) needed another point of view in there. I wish Bryan would have just waited until the next book to formally introduce his character. Unlike the introduction of another minor character, Dr. Heather Reynard, who furthered the plot by explaining some of the science behind the Jenny Pox, Alexander's introduction seemed unneeded and only slowed the pace of the story. There are also some confusions and inconsistencies, but they were minimal. For example, as Tommy started falling in love with Esmeralda and realized Ashleigh was cruel and manipulative, he could have simply removed the bone from Esmeralda's necklace and severed the connection between Ashleigh's soul and Darcy's body. All in all, "Tommy Nightmare" was smart and well-written and features the best character, Ashleigh, in even more malicious, amazing ways. But the pacing of this one took away some of the depth and charm that made me love "Jenny Pox."

I devoured these books when I was in middle school. I've read them all multiple times. But that doesn't mean they're good books for young girls- they made me think I had to have designer clothes and a boyfriend at age 13. They're entertaining, but a bad influence.

Probably one of my favorite books about the craft, which is saying a lot, because I have an ironic dislike for the "on writing" genre. It's hard to write about writing without sounding pretentious. Because only the best writers deserve to instruct, and depending on what sort of reader you are, opinions differ drastically. I think we all can agree King has earned his right to write about writing (ugh, gag me with that sentence). I would've liked two different books, actually--a memoir and a craft book. I got whiplash here and there while reading. But it was fast, modest, honest, and informative--what else could a writer want?

I read for the mom in class...good times. :-)

Not my first King novel, but the first I've truly enjoyed. "Carrie" is more like a novella than a full novel since it reads so fast and has a condensed, to-the-point plot, but it doesn't pull any punches and it really provides the scares. This was a really intelligent and well-written read. Carrie White is a telekinetic teenager who is bullied in her small-town high school in the fictional Chamberlain, Maine. Raised by her religious fanatic mother, she never learned a thing about real life and is subseqently humiliated when she gets her first period at the age of 17 in the school locker room. The mean girls, led by the shockingly sadistic Chris Hargenson, throw pads and tampons at her, and get only a slap on the wrist, which makes intelligent Sue Snell feel guilty for participating in the act. She asks her popular boyfriend Tommy to take Carrie to the prom to make her feel popular and beautiful, which he does, and finds she is quite nice and funny. But Chris and her psychopath boyfriend Billy pull a terrible prank on Carrie, which sends her telekinesis into a tailspin, wreaking havoc on her tormentors and the entire town. This was not just a horror novel, even though my lame synopsis may make it sound like such. Carrie was raised in a strange hell, by a mother who was afraid of her own shadow and her own child, and the shameful religious zeal Carrie was bred in only served to strengthen her telekinetic muscles. Can you have a relationship with God when you hold a weapon of mass destruction in your mind? What surprised me most about this novel is how well King, a male college graduate with a wife and young children at the time he wrote this novel, channelled such intense young female emotion, and how well he portrayed a young woman who had been destroyed by her classmates and chose to destroy in return. Carrie was anger personified, and King wrote her beautifully.

**Spoilers Ahead, further in the Review** Oh, good lord, are these books bad. But at the same time, they are oh so wonderful. How does that even work? I don't know, but Andrews (who must've had one messed-up childhood) certainly knew the secret formula. This is the second book in the Dollanganger series, after the renowned "Flowers in the Attic," which I read last year. I had no plans to continue the series, but I saw the rest of the set at a garage sale, and just had to buy them. And to be honest, I'm pretty glad I did, although the quality of writing and the one-dimensional characters are pretty cringe-worthy. "Petals on the Wind" starts off right where "Flowers in the Attic" ended and spans about twelve years, with brother and sister Cathy and Chris leaving their prison of Foxworth Hall with their little sister Carrie, who is sick and dying of arsenic poisoning at the hands of their evil mother and grandmother. The meet a kind woman named Henny on the bus (who is a great character written in a pathetically racist way by the Southern Andrews) who takes them to the doctor's house where she works. There, they meet Paul Sheffield, who treats Carrie and takes the children in as his own. This is the first time they have a real family who loves them, which is a sweet turn from the dark tone of the first novel. But Cathy doesn't know how to love in healthy ways from being locked in the attic for so long, deprived of love for so long. She begins to make advances towards Paul, who is about 25 years her senior, and eventually, they fall in strange, May-December love. But Cathy feels like she is an evil woman, a sinner, like her grandmother told her, and when she founds out that Paul kept secrets from her, she marries an abusive man and moves to New York. This was the most frustrating part of the novel- Julian, a talented but tortured male dancer, rapes and beats Cathy and ruins her things, but she stays with him and insists she loves him. Unfortunately, Andrews doesn't have the writing skill to portray complex and damaged relationships, and Cathy's devotion to him only makes it seem like Andrews sympathizes with and promotes violent relationships. Instead of being emotionally effected by it, I felt like I was supposed to be getting off on it, which totally skeeves me out. During this time, Cathy slowly plots her revenge against her mother, much to her brother's chagrin. He wants to let things go and have an incest-filled future with Cathy, but Cathy wants justice, and will do anything to get it. Obsessed with being better than her mother, she transforms herself into a vampy sex kitten, vowing to steal her mother's young husband and ruin her life. But my favorite part of the novel was Carrie, the young, small sister whose body never grew after being deprived of sun and warmth all her young life. She was a tragic young woman whose sadness and guilt really carried the story, and as she grew from a weak ten-year-old to a solemn and wary twenty-year-old, you can tell that she is the true victim of those attic years. She could never really get past that time, and her suicide was the catalyst that made Cathy enact her revenge in the most dramatic, flashy way possible. I'm not going to lie- I liked this book. It is so ridiculous and the plot is like a crazy all over the place soap opera, but it drew me in. You get involved in the characters and their lives, and I couldn't wait until the end to see what happened. You have to really appreciate Andrews' campy stories and weird fetishes to like these books, and you certainly can't take them too seriously. The problem with the writing is that it is way too one-note. There is no introspection whatsoever and you have no idea what Cathy is thinking unless she states her feelings in dialogue, and there is so much repetition and flip-flopping ("I don't love you! I hate you! I love you! Make love to me! Don't kiss me! I don't need you! I can't live without you!") that Cathy comes off as totally mental. Like I said, it is pretty much a crazy soap opera. But there are some real sad parts, and the revenge at the end is pretty kick-ass. If you like Andrews' books, this one will please you. Just be cautioned- Andrews has a crazy things for rape and sexual assault. Most of the assault is written off as nothing serious or even consensual, when it obviously isn't. The books are super sexist as well, all about Cathy wanting to please men and not be the "liberated type of woman". Again- camp and trash. Pulp fiction. Not healthy, but amusing as hell. You either love it or hate it.

Well. I'm pretty sure this book completely, utterly, and irreparably destroyed me. Let it be known right now that I have such a soft spot for erotic novels. I'm a busy gal- I'm in college, I work two office jobs, I have friends and family and homework and writing. I don't have a significant other and I don't often want one, because I live an amazingly fulfilled life without being in a relationship at this point. So I love to indulge in these dirty little books. I love reading, and I love reading hot sex, because it is a fantasy. That's all. A hot fantasy to entertain and make me happy. "50 Shades" is a fantasy. Fan-fic is a fantasy. There isn't much more to it than getting off. But good fucking lord..."Hot Head" has sure thrown a wrench in that formula. This book was so deliciously hot and steamy and sweaty and dirty and so fucking EMOTIONAL that I read the entire thing in one day, re-reading some parts at two in the morning. I literally lost sleep over this book. I haven't read too much published M/M erotica, but I'm pretty sure the genre is ruined for me after this one. This book takes the (sexy) cake. I'm not normally a proponent of the "gay-for-you" type plots, but Griff and Dante were two well-fleshed and characterized men who transcend sexuality and are simply sexual for each other. They live in working-class Brooklyn at the same fire house and have had only heterosexual relationships in the past. Griff is hopelessly in love with Dante, but Dante is the typical ladies' man. After Dante confides that he is strapped for cash and is doing solo-jerk porn on the side, Griff is terrified of having access to his best friend like that. The book is Griff's constant battle- keep the friendship and hide the feelings, or let it out and lose Dante forever. This isn't really a coming out story so much as a coming together story. The buildup of Griff and Dante's relationship is so slow and passionate and filled to the brim with sticky sexual tension, keeping me on the edge of my seat (for multiple reasons) the entire time. I like M/M fiction because it is a break from inserting myself into the story- so much erotica with women turns me off with the jerky men and the quickie sex. I am specific about M/F erotica because when reading it, I turn into the heroine, and I want to be treated a certain way. If the man is a cocky jerk to the heroine, I am not interested, even if the sex is great. But with stories like "Hot Head," I feel like a naughty voyeur on the side. I can enjoy and take pleasure because this is two men and I am just along for the ride. Sometimes, that is so much sexier than inserting yourself into the story. A few things I didn't like- This book was DEFINITELY written by a man, and I say that with cautious humor, not disdain. There were so many euphemisms for masturbation and balls that I was giggling at times. Girls just don't think like that, and it was a new perspective. Also, I'm glad that I can pull myself away from the story, because Suede treats women like garbage in this story. That is one thing M/M fiction needs to improve on- women can be awesome even if they don't turn you on. Trust me, because I'm a fucking catch and pretty much the coolest person I know. But back to the positives- guys, this is such an amazing romance novel. It is well-written and professional, you care about the characters, and the sex is just SCORCHING. To anyone cautious about the M/M romance genre, read this first. It'll blow your mind. If anyone has some good recs for more M/M published fiction, drop me a line!

I'm in a huge werewolf kick right now so I was pretty excited to read this little piece of wolfy Orbit Short Fiction I've had sitting on my Kindle for a few weeks. Female werewolves, fuck yeah! But alas, I was mighty disappointed to see that the main character is, ironically, the only non-werewolf on her Compound. Well, great. I just lost interest. But don't lose hope yet! Jessica McClain is the daughter of the Pack Alpha werewolf and she has been branded "The Daughter of Cain" because she is the only female born to the all-male werewolf race. This is a great chance to examine some parallels to reality, such as the virgin-whore complex, the long-held ideology the women are inherently the evil sex (some of the wolves in the compound see Jessica as some kind of evil, flaunting temptress who will bring down their entire species), and what it means to be female in a world that caters to powerful, strong men (even more so in Jessica's world, as she is a soft, pink little human living alongside literal animal-men). Jessica is no waif, either--the story opens with her bare-knuckle fighting with a beta wolf and ends with her fighting a half-shifted wolf underwater. That's bad-ass. There were a lot of interesting tidbits in this story that I'm eager to explore more in "Full-Blooded," which is sitting on my bookshelf. Some unanswered questions: 1) Nick! Nick is Jessica's best friend who was adopted into the pack as a child. He is a werefox, which I've never heard of before and I'd like to read more about. 2) So the werewolves are an all-male species. Alright. So do they mate with/marry only human females, creating half-human/half-werewolf children? Speaking in fantasy terms, wouldn't that dilute werewolf blood, like, a lot? Is there a high rate of homosexuality in the werewolf packs due to the lack of women who can match them in strength and manner? I definitely need more of an explanation on this, because it seems like this theme could cause a lot of sexism in the book. Why can't we just have books about powerful werewolf women kicking ass? Why are our girls always just climbing this never-ending ladder of sexism? *whines forever* 3) So does Jessica live in a world full of out-and-about supernatural beings? Werewolves and vampires are mentioned among others, but are they hidden from humans or do they live alongside humans? 4) Why doesn't Jessica just get her ass out of dodge and say "fuck you" to her seemingly dickish father? 5) The system of Pack dynamics seems a little off. Why would the majority of werewolves be alpha wolves? That sounds like a recipe for infighting disaster. The story mentioned how alpha wolves are constantly trying to move up in rank and outdo each other, but that sounds like a horrible way to have a Pack. And the betas are seen as weak werewolves? I thought that was omegas. Many questions for such a short little story! I guess I'll just have to read "Full-Blooded" to figure it out. 4 stars for potential, 3 for the story itself, 1 for the total lack of information about this world.

I read the fourth novel in this series, "City of Fallen Angels", last winter, and I was worried that the little things I really loved about these books would be hazy, and the magic would be lost. But I think this is one of the best yet in the series- maybe because I feel like I'm revisiting old friends, or maybe because, unlike the two before it, "City of Lost Souls" does not bite off more than it can chew. The novel begins after Clary's beloved boyfriend Jace and her evil n'er-do-well brother Sebastian have mysteriously disappeared after an unfortunate scuffle with the demon Lilith. With the help of her best friend Simon, Clary is able to join Jace in another dimension of their world, where she discovers that he is inextricably bound to Sebastian by an evil bond. Therefore, if she tries to kill her brother, she will kill Jace, and vice-versa. As she attempts to act like she is down with Sebastian's plan for dark Shadowhunter domination, her merry band of chums (and Magnus Bane) back home attempt to find a way to bring Jace home safely without throwing him or Clary to the wolves (aka crazy-ass Sebastian). There was more character-driven connection in this novel than there was in the last. While we got valuable glimpses into the romances between our favorite characters (Clary and Jace, Isabelle and Simon, Maia and Jordan, Alec and Magnus), those romances revealed the dark and foul themes of the series as a whole- dark vs. light, mortal vs. immortal, selfishness vs. sacrifice, and the classic good vs. evil. We love these characters, and we want to know about their lives and their emotions. And that fact that Clare can give us that while supplying those themes and showing intense, harrowing scenes of action and horror (especially Clary's nightmarish hallucinations at the club) shows that she is a writer with multiple goals and multiple ways of telling a story. I also like that we got to see an awesome BAMF!Clary. She kicked ass like a pro in this book. It has taken her awhile, but she has proven to be an admirable young heroine- totally in control of herself and ready to save the lives of those she loves. Sebastian and even evil!Jace made attempts to control her mind and violate her body, but she wasn't going to put up with that crap. Sebastian was truly an evil villain, vile and corrupt, but Clary used her emotions and her smarts to deal with him accordingly. The novel before this one made me wish the series was coming to a close, but this book reminded me why I loved them so much. Even though this novel held my attention, it didn't pack in too much plot or information in too short a volume like the last books. This just makes me want more!

I remember this one was much slower than the first three, but I still love reading about my girls.

Pretty generic story but I liked it at the time. I can't say I remember anything about it, though.

I read "Weetzie Bat" for the first time when I was fourteen, during my freshman year of high school. I hated it, then warmed to it, then thought about it for weeks, then read it again, then loved it so much it brought tears to my eyes. I have faithfully read all of Block's "Weetzie" books since then, loving every single one more and more for her colorful characters, glittering landscapes, and dark themes veiled in bright magic. I haven't read any of her works in months, and I was glad to dig into "Pink Smog" after getting it for my birthday in October. I was trapped right from the beginning- Weetzie as a child almost feels darker and sadder than Weetzie as an adult, because she is fighting with that self-doubt and fear that we all struggle with, all while growing up in LA. But there is still that hint of pink-sugar sweetness, of the Weetzie who will always be the Queen of LA, even though she is only in junior high in this book. I could read Block's descriptions of Los Angeles for days. I literally would read an entire novel of her beautiful descriptions. I wish I knew any place as well as Block knows Los Angeles. She can write about tar pits and salons like they are paths of gold and palaces, drawing us into this grimy fantasy land that only exists in these books. Block's characters always end up getting to me. She knows how to deal with the worst issues of our generation with tenderness and tact in ways we can relate to. Lily and Bobby were tragic from the start and it makes my chest hurt to even think about our beautiful, glowing, head-held-high Weetzie going through so much loss at such a young age and growing up to be the woman we know and love. Ultimately, this is a novel about loving yourself and keeping yourself afloat. Take yourself on a date. Get a haircut. Sew yourself a new wardrobe. Pick some flowers and cook a meal. But never stop believing in the magic that is in everything you touch.

This is my favorite book I've read so far in my Introduction to College Literature class because it was the only one whose characters have really spoken to me in a way that wasn't preachy or highly metaphorical. Birdie, the main character, is a young mixed race girl growing up in Boston in the late seventies with her white mother, black father, and sister Cole, who is darker than her. Birdie can pass as white, and she feels like she doesn't fit in anywhere or in any race. Her mother, a radical activist who is involved in some sort of dangerous activity we are never fully informed about, ends up having to leave, and she takes Birdie with her. Birdie's father, a Black Power activist and scholar, takes Cole and leaves to Brazil. The sisters are seperated, and Birdie is taken from her only friend and the only role model she has. She discovers the hard way that she does not look like Cole, and Cole is not a mirror for her like other sisters. Nobody looks like Birdie and she is very alone. She goes through experiences with poverty, homelessness, her mother's deep paranoia, and her own sexuality as she tries to discover her place in the world. This book gets you really close to Birdie and her narration is so believable and at times really heartbreaking. I love the way she reacts to people, to their racism and ignorance and misguided kindness, and she is one of my favorite protagonists that I have read in awhile. This is an important book. I've never read a fiction book on the topic of what it is like to be a mixed race child and not having a role model who looks like you, and I thought it was such a vast and interesting story. I definitely recommend it to everyone looking for a book on a topic they may not have read much about.

This book has evoked some pretty strong emotions- not all positive. It started slow, made me apprehensive, and often made me angry. But by the end, I was left feeling an exhausting mixture of inspiration, confusion, exasperation, sadness, and skepticism. It is exceptionally written, I'll give Irving that. "In One Person" follows the life of William Abbott, a boy from Vermont who began attending the Favorite River private school after his mother married one of the teachers. His new step-father, Richard, along with the small-breasted librarian Miss Frost both seem to shake Billy up, making him discover his bisexuality. Billy is a frustrating narrator- he is not exceptionally clever or intelligent or tortured, there is nothing truly special about him that makes us want to be on his team. He often comes off as whiny and condescending. I enjoyed him as a part of a relationship more than I enjoyed him. His grandfather Harry, his best friend Elaine, and his various lovers are what make him interesting to read about. But this is a story about finding your identity through your sexuality, so I supposed a colorful cast of family, friends, and lovers was needed. What was hard for me to really get he hang of was the fact that nearly every person Billy grew up with ended up LGBT. This just seems very implausible to me, especially with the time period and the setting. I especially didn't understand Kitteridge's role- I re-read so many parts and did not understand why Kitteridge's sexuality took so long to be discussed. That doesn't make sense to me. He was the forbidden fruit, and by the time he was attainable, it was too late. Billy really didn't suffer any hardships for his sexuality, besides some skeptical lovers and some nosy, judgmental family members. I known older LGBT people and those times were not so kind to them- society wasn't so eager to look the other way. One huge highlight for me was the last quarter of the novel, which touched on the AIDs epidemic. This is one of the most harrowing and depressing fictitious accounts of the AIDs virus for the LGBT community in the 1980's, and the part about Tom Atkins broke my heart. I was apprehensive about this novel because it is written by a straight man. I am not going to be ashamed for being worried about that. Although I found Irving's treatment of women to be so-so at best, I thought he wrote Billy's sexuality with fairness and kindness. I don't think a gay writer would spend so much time justifying the sexuality of his characters, or explaining the mechanics of various conventions of gay sex, but Irving certainly threw all he had into understanding his characters. This isn't a groundbreaking novel about sexuality, but it was a damn good read filled with memorable characters.

I definitely prefer this fantasy world to that of Miller's other fantasy series "Empress", but the pacing and the focusing on too many characters at once made me long for grim Hekat and tortured Vortka. That being said, this first novel in the "Kingmaker, Kingbreaker" duology was a great, fun, intriguing piece of high fantasy, and I was really impressed with it. The story begins by introducing the first of many characters- Asher, a young Olken man from the fisherman's coast town Westwailing, who is setting off to the metropolis Dorana to make some money for his overworked father. Asher is an uncommon character in that he is proud and stubborn and quite capable, seemingly the likely hero. He knows what he wants and he'll stomp and swear to get it. He is quite the alpha male, but we do get to see his vulnerable side later in the novel, which is a relief. While in Dorana, he meets many new friends- the lovely but stern Dathne, the caring palace stable master Matt, and the prince of Dorana himself, Gar. After saving Gar from a startled horse, Asher is appointed as his official assistant, despite their glaring differences. Gar is a fair-haired Doranen royal, though he is cursed with a lack of Doranen magic, and Asher is a magickless Olken. I was really drawn into the novel because of their friendship and their buddy dynamic. Gar's cautious and studious attitude and Asher's brash gruffness really work well together, and Miller has such a flair for witty dialogue. But there is a lot of trouble brewing in Dorana as the delicate balance of magic, set by their goddess Barl, starts to tip. Dathne, an Olken, is a part of a secret magic circle of gifted Olkens, and as Jervale's heir, she is blessed with the prophecy that Asher is their Innocent Mage and his time will come to be their hero. And in the palace, Gar continues to struggle with the fact that he is not gifted in magic and will live in the shadow of his little sister Fane, who will be chief Weather Worker and queen of the city that should be his. A lot of the story focuses on keeping this magic in perfect alignment, and seeing what happens what that alignment shifts. Miller has weaved a really intricate fantasy world that is quite comforting- magic, taverns, family drama, all the works for a great classic fantasy setting. It is much more light and fun than the dark "Empress" setting. But with this new setting comes a lot of characters, too many subplots, and a strange way of organization. Too much time was spent on Gar's family dramas, even though I love the closeness he shared with the king and queen, and not enough time was spent on the seemingly abandoned romance between Asher and Dathne. Too many subplots were introduced and few questions were answered. A lot of negative reviews for this book say that nothing really happened and it kind of dragged on, which I can understand. But I'm definitely reading the next one...the ending was a shocker, and I need to see what happens!

This series was weird for me. I don't really have another way of explaining it. It took me forever to read all three of these books, for one thing, and there were times when I was reading and rolling my eyes and so completely bored and annoyed but then there were times when I was panting and clutching the book like the safety handle on the bus and squawking like a goose. I don't think it's an issue of consistency, because these books have been pretty consistently ambitious, pulpy, and eye-roll-inducing all at once. I'm pretty sure, for me at least, the issues lie with the fact that I really don't like the characters but Grant really, really wants us to. Now, this series is a prime example of plot-driven fiction--tons of action, tons of tech-talk, tons of "witty" dialogue. I'm normally not a purveyor of plot-driven literature, but, alas, zombies. I love zombies. Movies, TV shows, video games, it doesn't matter--I've always had a major zombie jones. And the "Newsflesh" series was the best way to fill that jones because the books are crazy long and full of diverse characters but also jammed with world-building, new technology, and intense history (the Kellis-Amberlee backstory is the best part of the series, IMO). I liked the first book, but it was never a favorite. I really got into the second book, especially that jaw-dropper of an ending, but that is when my love for Shaun definitely started to wane (view spoiler)[My love for Georgia never left, and I guess Shaun's didn't, either...was I the only one who was not expecting the pseudo-incest, like, at all? (hide spoiler)]. Shaun is a polarizing character. I've never experienced a loss akin to the way Shaun lost Georgia, but I'm decently sure that judging by the friends and family we all have who have had their hearts ripped out by grief do not suddenly turn into giant raving psychotic assholes who everyone politely side-steps while he goes on a path of destruction. I literally thought he was going to kill someone a few times, and I really hoped it wouldn't be Becks, who I wished had a little more to do (view spoiler)[besides, like, die (hide spoiler)]. By the end, I was sort of done with Shaun, but I still felt like Grant was pushing him at us as the woobie. As a longtime fan of the woobie character, I know that if you want us to love the woobie, don't push them at us and expect us to cry on cue (see Isaac Lahey). Now, a little spoilery business: (view spoiler)[I really loved the cloning plotline. A lot of people have pointed out how far-fetched it is, and I totally agree. But I know we were all waiting for the moment in the book when Shaun and clone!Georgia would meet again, and it explosive. I read that scene holding my breath. There are fantastic sci-fi elements to these books, and I wish they weren't watered down with the melodrama and bad dialogue. (hide spoiler)] In the end, I'm honestly glad this series has wrapped up. It was long as hell, I was getting tired of the characters, and I wanted so badly to just know how everything ended. I came out of this series knowing more about journalism and blogging than I did before, which is good, and I can honestly say this is the most in-depth zombie universe I've played in. The "Newsflesh" experience was an odd one, but I'll look back on it fondly.

I had a harder time getting into this novel than I did with the first in the "Infernal Devices" series, but by the halfway point, I was roped into it once more. Tessa, a shape-shifter who still doesn't know who or what she is, is still living at the London Institute with Charlotte and Henry Branwell, Jessamine Lovelace, and her two male paramours, Jem Carstairs and Will Herondale. After an ill-fated meeting with Will where he basically compared her to a prostitute, Tessa's heart is broken, but she finds solace in being around Jem, who is a great friend (and quite the catch). Tessa's evil brother Nate is still on the loose and so is Mortmain, who wants to kidnap Tessa and take her for his wife, and the entire household must find them both because Charlotte's position as head of the institute depends on it. The plot of this novel took awhile to pick up and I found myself growing more and more bored with it. But then the action started and the storyline between Sophie and Gideon Lightwood was introduced, and I started growing more invested in the characters. I also love the way Clare wrote the loves scenes between Tessa and Jem and Tessa and Will. She has a knack for really bringing you to the forefront of the scene and developing relationships slowly. In the end, I was definitely rooting for Jem and Tessa, but Will's secret really broke my heart. I think I still like "The Mortal Instruments" a little more because it is fantasy, but at the same time I can relate to it. As I get more interested in steampunk fiction, I do indulge in Tessa's world a bit more. I can't wait for the next book- what a cliffhanger!

Hoo, boy. WHY. Why must you do this to us, George R.R. Martin? Why must you craft these baffling novels, each one better and more depressing than the last? Why must you suck me into this painstakingly handcrafted world only to spurn me in the end? Why must you make me feel akin to these characters and then slay them brutally before my eyes? You're brilliant, that's why. George R.R. Martin is a brilliant author. I loved the first novel in the series, was quite bored by the second, but this book..."A Storm of Swords" fucking blew me away. I simply cannot fathom Martin's ability to keep track of all his characters- I have this idea that he knows each one personally, knows what they look like and where they are from and what their voice would be like. It is INSANE how many characters are in these books, but that is what makes me keep reading. There is no way I can summarize this book, so I suggest heading to Wikipedia and checking out the very SPOILERIFIC synopsis if you want one. All you need to know is that Walder Frey is a fucking jerk-off, Jon Snow knows nothing, Sansa is an ungrateful child yet the most sympathetic character in the book, and nothing will be alright. Ever. This book is by far the best in the series that I've read- I still have two more, and I'm dying to devour them! Please, read these books. The situations are so realistic it hurts, even if the genre is high fantasy- we all know that the good guy doesn't always win and the maiden doesn't always get her dream wedding. But it will always be heartbreaking seeing your heroes cry and crumble. You have a dark gift, Mr. Martin.

I've come to realize that the free Kindle books I download from Amazon are really hit and miss. "Agartha's Castaway" was terrible. "Fool's Eye" and "Jane Millionaire" were just so-so. But "Jenny Pox", a story about a teenage girl from a small Southern town who is cursed with the power to spread an infectious plague with just her touch, is an inventive, disturbingly good read. I'm glad I took a chance on it! Jenny Morton has had to be careful her whole life because she can kill people with the smallest touch. In first grade, she hit the mean girl Ashleigh Goodling in the face and gave her a permanent "Jenny Pox" scar, branding Jenny as some mysterious outcast. Jenny has to keep her little secret from others, so she covers up her skin with gloves and long clothes, and the only other person who knows is her father, a loving but troubled addict. Jenny thinks she will be alone forever until she meets Seth Barrett, Ashleigh's wealthy boyfriend, who has the power to heal with his touch. Since they balance each other, Seth and Jenny can touch, and they fall in love, much to bitchy Ashleigh's chagrin. Now with all good horror and fantasy novels, the villain is the most interesting character. Ashleigh is downright evil and she knows it, but she is also connivingly brilliant and has no trouble getting what she wants due to a secret power of her own. She is able to make people love her and everyone around them through touch, and she uses it to her advantage. Ashleigh is the best character because she is the perfect example of the good little Christian girl who actually has the mark of the beast. To further her own conservative political aspirations, she starts an erotic abstinence campaign which her principle denies. She then proceeds to trick her classmates into getting pregnant, and uses their conditions as a platform for her manipulative schemes against the "loopy left" and her poor principle. She also tricks her best friend into giving Seth a blowjob, because she loves her boyfriend, but she's too much of a good girl to ever do something that dirty. That being said, bitch be crazy and bitch be evil, and I loved it so much. Love love love those crazy villians. Note for those with weak stomachs- "Jenny Pox" is NOT your book. It is definitely a horror novel. Jenny can get pretty gruesome with her pox, especially in the climactic ending scene, and it can be pretty stomach-churning. There is a lot of sex and violence between teenagers, in case you don't like reading that kind of thing. But the violence seemed to come all at once and I think it served a purpose in the story. Jenny is a very conflicted character. She is a good person with an evil power, and she has to struggle to maintain a balance. The ending was a twist, a little too dramatic and overly ambitious for a teen novel, but I'd like to see where the rest of the series goes. I definitely recommend this book. I don't think it is free anymore, but it isn't too expensive on Amazon. It is a good one for Stephen King fans- a great story with those chilling horror twists that keep you up at night.

I was certainly not expecting to enjoy this book as much as I did--this is the first novel I read for my American Lit class, one of about twenty, which made me a little nervous. And this was not an easy read--it took me about a week with an hour of careful reading every day, and quite honestly, I enjoyed every page up until the last dozen or so. It's no secret that I love family epics. Sure, The Jungle doesn't exactly reach epic proportions--it stays on one generation and one man in particular, Jurgis Rudkus, who, suffice to say, has a crazy shitty life. I'm not one to mince words when it comes to the oppression of the proletarian. Not only does this novel show the dismal, disgusting, and horrific insides of Chicago's "Beef Trust" canning and meat-processing plants, it shows how it directly destroys an entire family due to greed and selfishness. It kills me that the book starts with Jurgis and Ona's wedding--cheer, innocence, optimism ("I will work harder"). This one will crush your soul, but it's a fantastic read. Don't get too attached, is all I'm saying. And yeah, I skimmed the last dozen pages, because I really cared about Jurgis and Marija and Elzbieta, then Sinclair ended it with a political sermon. No thanks. I preferred the human aspect of the novel.

So Mira Grant is pretty much the boss of zombie fiction right now, and rightfully so. She doesn't just write about nasty zombie attacks, she writes about nasty zombie attacks WITH a super-creative and intensely indepth backstory and multidimensional characters. This little e-book novella answered a lot of my questions about the series. The Alexander Kellis storyline broke my heart! I can't wait to read "Blackout", and this satisfied my craving for more Grant zombies. I wish this was expanded into an entire prequel novel- I'm just greedy, I want more! I know the focus is on the aftermath and the rising, but the story about how it all began is so interesting as well, and Grant has enough writing talent to expand her universe even more.

**Spoilers towards the end of the review** I was not expecting to fall in love with this book, but then again, all great loves begin with some level of surprised skepticism. "Life of Pi" just slammed into me full-force and swept me off my feet. Colorful and soaked in magic through-and-through, "Life of Pi" is a story about a young man named Piscine Molitor Patel, nicknamed Pi. His father owns a zoo in India and Pi learns to love and trust the animals. In one of the early highlights of the novel, Pi's father warns him that even the sweetest and cutest animals have the capacity to kill, and he should always be reminded that humanizing animals is dangerous business. During his childhood, Pi also forms a deep spiritual connection with God but cannot choose between different denominations of religion. He is attracted to the vast miracle of Christianity, the intimate prayer of Islam, and his familiar roots of Hinduism. When asked to choose one religion, he cannot, citing that he just wants to love God (a humorous scene quite literally involving a priest, an Imam, and a Hindu teacher). I think it is the smartest answer he could have given. After Pi's father decides to relocate the family to Canada, some of the animals come with them on a ship across the Pacific to be traded and sold. On the way there, the ship capsizes, taking most of the animals and Pi's family with it. But somehow, Pi finds himself alive and in a life-boat with a hyena, an orangutan named Orange Juice, a zebra with a broken leg, and a tiger named Richard Parker. Pi's story of survival is not like other survival/castaway stories you may have read. Pi is still a child, a young man who loves animals and God, and he does not see the darkness of solitude or the sadness of the unknown. He feels the physical first- the thirst, the hunger, the heat- and then he calmly awaits his death. He does what it takes to survive, and that includes forming a relationship of mutual respect with Richard Parker. I could chalk this up to a story of beast vs. human. I could chalk it up to a story of boundless faith. And it is a story about both of those things. But this is also one of the most horrific books I have read in awhile, and it takes a lot to frighten me. Pi's unassuming, intelligent outlook on survival only makes it harder to keep reading- especially when he discovers the carnivorous island. He does not gag as he consumes Richard Parker's feces, only spits it out after realizing the lack of nutrition. Pi cannot recoil when he guts a turtle and eats the eyes of a fish raw. He just does it, because he has to. This is what makes the religious aspect of the novel so interesting to me- Pi has a bag of resources at his fingertips, prayers and gods and goddesses who will help him pull through, and it may have given him peace of mind. But this was truly a story about saving yourself. When you are trapped in a nightmare, your own ability to make sense of the situation is your only salvation. That ending- oh man, that ending. I do not have any other option than to believe Pi really was on that boat with that tiger, and that he survived it. If I broke my childish bias, it would destroy me. In a way, that is my personal salvation- I am choosing to believe Pi's unbelievable story. This novel isn't for the faint of heart. But it is also colorful, fragrant, magical, humorous, dark, ambiguous, and tragic. No matter who you are, you will love this book.

I bought this book at my campus bookstore last night, along with a medium pumpkin spice latte and a $25 iTunes gift card, which I used to buy the "Magic Mike" soundtrack. I was depressed as hell yesterday, homesick, stressed out, low self-esteem abound, and I bought "Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?" as a little pick-me-up. It sure as hell picked me up. Mindy Kaling, a super funny actress whose new sitcom "The Mindy Project" is cracking me up so far, is very much a put-together and down-to-earth woman who I could relate to on such a crazy level. Her funny stories include her wild revenge fantasies (NFL husband gunned down in park, she must avenge his death), her fun times with her college best friends writing plays about Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, and her traumatic instances of being bullied for her weight by a Senegalese exchange student in high school. She didn't devote endless chapters to men and she complained about the fat-phobic fashion industry. She loves her parents and genuinely enjoys their company (and also spent a large amount of her teen years in their company, which I could personally relate to). Besides being a funny girl who tells stories with such easygoing humor, Kaling excels at being herself. She isn't trying to be anything in particular- a fashion icon, a feminist icon, a women-in-comedy icon. There is nothing wrong with any of those things, but I feel like so many people try to label themselves as the voice of a certain group (Caitlin Moran springs to mind) and in doing that tends to alienate that group. Kaling just loves comedy, fashion, film, friends, and sexy men, and she is totally happy with herself. This was a great beach read, despite it being October, and the pace is perfect, with brief chapters and "pliests," a coin Kaling termed herself on the spot, meaning "list piece". There were also great anecdotes about her career as a staff writer for "The Office" and all of the stars. But what I loved the most were those little things Kaling revealed about herself that I could totally relate to. It made me a little misty-eyed when she said that she has certain albums and songs that remind her of her childhood with her parents. Let me just say that I tear up whenever I hear The Carpenters or Fleetwood Mac while in the car with my mom. I love that Kaling is so unapologetic about her well-to-do, easy upbringing, while still talking about shitty times and making us laugh all at once. I just love how Mindy Kaling doesn't try to be anyone but Mindy Kaling.

After reading rave review after rave review, I was so excited for this novel. I'm growing out of the YA Fantasy genre, but I can still appreciate great fantasy settings (like Cassandra Clare's books). "Daughter of Smoke and Bone" is not a bad book, but seriously, it is nothing special. I don't want to sound like a pretentious asshole writing that, but I think it is true. The book's biggest flaw is that there were so many cool details and the world-building was great, but it got souped up in a sappy and overreaching romance that I just didn't care about. Karou is a young girl going to art school in Prague while living a mysterious secret life in another world with her half-monster family (chimaera). She doesn't really know who she is or where she came from, but when she meets an angel named Akiva, she starts figuring out her lengthy past. The fantasy elements of the novel are original and fun to read. I like how the chimaera are not typically beautiful, lovely, delicate creatures. They are pure fantasy beings and Taylor recognizes that we don't have to make someone beautiful to fall in love with them (except for the two main characters, they are flawless, of course). The problem is, I wanted more world-building and I wanted more history on the chimaera and the serpah and their world. I was SO bored with the romantic storyline between Karou and Akiva. It was contrived, melodramatic, and not at all believable. I wanted a fantasy book with a romantic subplot, not a romance novel with a fantasy backdrop. I will read the next novel in the series, but I still don't get the hype. Worth a shot but it won't knock your socks off.

I really, really wanted to like this book, but I think my favorite part was when I hit 90% finished and I realized I was almost done. That usually isn't a good sign, is it? This is a ebook-exclusive novel by Lilith Saintcrow (whose previous novels I have not and probably never will read) about a young woman named Vianne Frenchy-French-Fancy-Name who is a practicing hedgewitch and close courtesan to the princess Lisele. Hedgewitchery, a vague and oft-used type of peasant sorcery, was what I was so excited about reading this book, because I love books that build new types of magic and I like seeing how that magic works with the characters. But unfortunately, hedgewitchery wasn't really explained enough. Can everyone do it? Why are some better at it than others? What is its intended or common use? And how does it differ from the fancier court sorcery? All questions I had that were never really answered, which ticked me off. I can't envelope myself in the story if I have so many basic, unanswered questions. One day, Vianne has a run-in with Tristan d'Arcenne, one of the king's Guard and his trusted Left Hand. He kills a man in the palace, shocking Vianne, who goes to the king, but the king just tells her everything is fine. Vianne flees, but later, she discovers her dear princess, all of the court ladies, and even the king had been violently murdered. As her last dying wish, Lisele gives Vianne the Aryx, a magical royal medallion that basically makes Vianne queen, since it awakens to her ownership. Vianne saves Tristan from the dungeon and they meet up with the rest of the guard and flee for Arcenne, where Vianne can be safe. Along the way, Vianne discovers that she is the only living royal blood left, since the rest of the king's distant relations were being systematically killed by d'Orlaans, who wants the kingdom. She can either marry the evil man who killed her loved ones, or rule as queen in Arcenne and take Tristan as her trusted Consort. It is a great fantasy plot- young woman must use her untapped talents to make a great journey while falling in love. Unfortunately, Vianne spends most of her time whining, swooning, and falling ill with fever. She was so unpleasant to read as a heroine because she really WASN'T a heroine at all, only a spoiled, weak little girl who keeps trying to throw the amazing power she's been given off on someone else. I want to read about strong and capable women getting shit done, not girls who only wish to wear dresses and fiddle with herbs and books (both are fine, but do it with a little passion!). The entire first 3/4 of the novel are devoted to the Guard having to stay behind in small cities while Vianne sleeps and rests from a fever. And then she plots ways to get rid of the Aryx and give up. I just don't identify with characters like Vianne, and even after she accepts her role as queen and takes charge, she still has that resisting, whiny way about her. One major thing that turned me off from this novel was the language. The dialect is some weird, bastardized pseudo-French with words like "m'dmselle" instead of mademoiselle, "Palais" insead of palace, and "m'chri" instead of "mon cherie". The names are also WAY too complicated and wordy, which would be alright if we had more backstory on the families, but since we don't, they just confuse the reader. It took me halfway through the novel to know the differences between the guard members. The language may be pretty, but it didn't add anything to an already muddled novel. I wanted to get into this book. The plot was enticing, the romance between Vianne and Tristan had its moments of sweetness and sexiness, and I enjoyed the parts when Vianne bonded with the R'Mini people, but too many annoying things just got in the way of my enjoyment. I don't think I'll read the sequel.

I did not start this book with high expectations. Beautiful Disaster is right on par with 50 Shades of Grey for me- meaning I bought it for the hype. If this is one of the most popular Kindle books, it must be good, right? I won't trash the writing in this book. The writing is just fine for a YA romance-type novel. Few grammatical errors, a couple of typos, but I've seen much worse. The thing about this book is that it is supposed to be a fantasy, a getaway. When high school and college girls read these types of books, we are looking for our perfect romance and our perfect mate. We are looking to be teased, tickled, cuddled, caressed, wined and dined, mooned over like lovesick puppies, swooned over and in the end, made love to like a champion. We want these books to make us feel like we're soaring. That is the point of romantic fiction. We read adventure stories to go on an adventure. We read horror novels to be afraid. It isn't any different for romance (this is not an erotic novel, in my opinion). And that is just fine. But what happens when a young girl, looking for that lovely getaway, opens a book like this and expects to be in for a treat? Bad fucking things happen, that's what happens. Because this book is not inviting us to love and laugh and kiss and fuck and touch and smile. This book is not inviting us to get intimate with a sexy, funny, brave, handsome, kind, trustworthy, honest character. This book is inviting us into a romantic relationship that is based on possession, anger, mistrust, domination, and all-around ill feelings. And ladies, we all know that these relationships never, ever, EVER lead to something good, no matter how hot the sex is for the first couple of months and no matter how much he gets our names inked on his skin. Abby Abernathy is our main character- a competent, intelligent girl with a checkered past ready to turn over a new leaf at Eastern college. She isn't typecast as anything- the nerd, the priss, the party girl. She's kind of an every-girl and I think she is generally easy to relate to. She can drink and she's a great poker player but she also goes to underground fights in a sweater set. Abby is not our problem, because Abby is a girl like us. The problem with this novel is some douche-bag fucker named Travis Maddox. Travis is an underground fighter and he loves him some whores (never mind that the author absolutely has no tolerance for blond, large-breasted young women who want to sleep with Travis- they are the scum, the slag, and the absolute rot of the earth, and they do NOT deserve to be treated as anything other than "random sorority bitch"). His cousin Shepley is dating Abby's best friend America. Abby meets Travis at a fight as blood sprays across her cardigan, Travis takes a liking and nicknames her Pigeon for a still-unknown reason, and the rest is history- she's the one, he's done with the whores, and two months later, his family is calling her "sis". Travis is attractive, strong, and sullen. He is tatted up and drives a motorcycle. He fights and plays poker and has 4 older brothers. He is also in a fraternity and gets straight-A's without seemingly ever cracking a book. Travis Maddox is supposed to be our wet dream. He's rugged but stylish, strong but intelligent. He's the best of every single world known to women (except for the fact that he's too damn good to give you his number after fucking you- you should know better, you filthy skank). But if this book was written realistically, and Travis' actions and words and relationships were portrayed the way they happen in the real world, he would be the fucking abusive stalker on a "Degrassi" episode who shoots up the school after breaking his girlfriend's head open on a rock. HE would be the scum, HE would be the villain. After he decides to fight one of Abby's old Vegas acquaintances after Abby begged him not to, they break up. And Travis turns fucking batshit psychotic. Here are some lovely Travis quotes. Some are contextual, some are not. It doesn't matter. "Just tell me you love me." "I don't think so, Dr. Chaney. Have you gotten a good look at my girl?" (After being asked to stop classroom PDA) "Don't start this, Pigeon."(After Abby voices practical relationship concerns) "You'll quit being mad when I buy you a Lexus." (After Abby asks him not to fight her father's enemy for money) "I just want to take care of you." "I don't envy your life for the next week or so. I can't imagine breaking up with someone that refuses to stay away." (About Travis after his and Abby's breakup) "I KNOW you love me." "I wanted to show him that you were still mine." (After punching Abby's male friend) "Because I'm her husband. I can answer her phone now." Things that Travis does to humiliate Abby: Makes a drunken toast about girls who break hearts, throws her over his shoulder at a party and bodily removes her when she dances consensually with other guys, makes her change her clothing before going out in public, generally patronizes her and treats her like a toddler. In the real world, Travis is that guy who makes your skin crawl when you see him at a party. He's the guy who makes your breath stop when you see his long-deleted phone number popping up on your screen over and over again. He's the guy who makes you turn the other way in the hallway, who your friends bodily shield you from, who humiliates you in front of your parents and best friend and future boyfriends. Travis is not a hero in the real world. And when young girls seek to model their real world off the fantasies they read in their romance books, this kind of fiction turns dangerous. Because in the real world, we want girls to run from these kind of men. The men who sleep with other girls to make you mad. The men who use fists to solve problems. The men who will not let you wear the clothes you want, see the boys you want, hang out with the people you want. We do NOT want our girls to marry and love and defer to men like Travis Maddox. Don't tell me that this is fiction and real-life is real-life- I know that. But writers try to write what they think we want, what they think we need. McGuire seems to think that girls want and need a man like Travis Maddox. McGuire wants Travis to be our fictional dream. But in the real world, too many of us girls know that Travis is our fucking nightmare.

"The Thirteenth Tale" is the kind of book that will ruin your life. Fangirls and fanboys, you all know what I mean. It will ruin your life, but you'll love every second of it, and you won't regret it at all. I knew it from the first page--this book sucked me in from the very beginning until I was neck-deep in cold water in the bathtub, yawning and turning into a prune, whispering to myself five more pages as my mother wondered why I was still washing myself at 11:30 at night. I just knew it, right away, that this was a story worth reading. Margaret Lea is our narrator, a woman of indeterminate age or creed, whose life has been one long love affair with books. She works at her father's antique book shop and spends all of her life reading and soaking in all of the words she can get. She is especially interested in stories about siblings, and she has written several pieces that could qualify her as an amateur biographer. Margaret also has a secret--she is one half of a set of twins and her sister died at birth, leaving her with the permanent cold feeling of constant loneliness. One day, Margaret receives a letter from Miss Vida Winters, a celebrated and successful novelist who has written fifty-seven novels in fifty-seven years and may or may not have outsold the Bible in terms of book sales. Winters is also quite an eccentric--she is famous for giving out many different stories about her life and childhood, so nobody knows who she really is. She is heading towards the end of her life and contacts Margaret, asking her to come and write her life story for her. I won't give too much away, but Vida Winters' story is heartbreaking and frightening and nothing like the cozy, warm family tales were are so used to in fiction. We're always given three types of stories--the happy one that ends in tragedy, and the tragic one that ends with hope, or a mix of the two. Her story is none of the above--it just makes you hurt. She tells Margaret about twin girls named Adeline and Emmeline, about a housekeeper and a gardener, about a brother and sister who were so deeply ill in the mind that their lives amounted to dirt and seclusion. And along the way, Margaret combs records and old towns in search of the truth about who Vida Winters really is. First of all, this novel gifted me three of the most amazing characters I have ever read in a fiction book: Vida Winter, Margaret Lea, and Hester Barrow (a more minor character, but one whose story reduced me to tears). They are interesting. They are mysterious. They have their own stories and none of them are love stories (well, for the most part). They all made me cry. And I fell in love with them. This book warmed me up inside and had me reading from dawn 'til dusk, drinking cup after cup of coffee, wondering how the hell such a great mystery could possibly end. Just like everyone else had said, "The Thirteenth Tale" is a book for bibliophiles. Setterfield knows that readers take in the feel of books, the smell of them, the fine print and color of the cover, and she knows we hoard them like candy and consume them in the same manner. I think most of the people who read this can put themselves in Margaret's shoes--her curiosity, her skepticism, her faith in words. I love this book. I will, without a doubt, be reading it again and again. Prepare yourself for this one--I have nothing but good things to say about it, but it will break your heart.

I don't know if I can describe the magnitude of what I feel about this book, nor do I think my words of praise will give it justice. I know I will have to read this novel at least four times to truly understand what is going on, what is real and unreal, what is true and untrue, who is good and who is bad, why this happened and what it represents. This was a tangled messed-up epic of a novel that predicted the future and stunned every notion I ever had about fiction. The novel follows thirty-year-old Charlotte Swenson, a former model whose lovely face was detroyed in a car accident and then fixed to look lovely still but nothing like her old self. Charlotte relays the ruined relationships she'd gone through over the years and wonders why she cannot ever seem to find happiness and why nobody can see her for who she truly is. She goes back to her hometown and meets a teenage girl named Charlotte, the daughter of her former best friend, and the rest of the novel splits up in POV between the two Charlottes and their very messed-up lives. This novel is a masterpiece, it transcends any kind of standards I've ever had for books, and I will be thinking about it for the rest of my life. I have never felt so much like a character is in the same room as me, like he or she is watching me and waiting for my reaction, than I felt with Charlotte and Charlotte. I love the ambiguity that Egan instills in us, the way she makes her characters so absurdly different from each other in every way but still makes it hard for us to choose how we feel about them. I still have no clue how I am supposed to feel about this book. What kind of story was even told? What does Egan want us to take from this? I don't know, and I don't care, because I took from it something that made me cry in my basement as I finished this novel. It made me believe that brilliant stories can still be told. If anyone else has words, please, share them. Because I don't know what else to say.

Godbersen really has some writing chops, and I knew that "Bright Young Things" was going to be a good read right from the well-written and engaging prologue. And I was right- the characters were interesting, especially Astrid, and the scene of 1929 New York City was well-set. But after reading Godbersen's excellent "Luxe" series, I found that I identified more with the Luxe girls than with the BYT girls, and I enjoyed crawling into their lives more. First of all, some of the situations in BYT were a little far-fetched. I thought the relationship between Cordelia and her long-lost father, although sweet, was a little hokey, and the situation with Max Darby at the end was nuts. And by the end of the novel, I didn't really feel for Letty much. But that's what I like about these books- the characters are rich and spoiled and childish, but they eventually learn. So far, I enjoyed the "Luxe" series much more. But I will definitely read the next book in this series.

This is another book I read for my college Intro to Literature class, and it has definitely been my favorite. I wasn't super excited to read it since I've never been a fan of war literature, and this book obviously focuses on the damaging effects that war has on young soldiers. But I was in for a surprise when I started it, because it was so honest and raw that it made me identify with Tim O'Brien, a Minnesotan man who was forced to fight in the Vietnam war when he was only 23 years old. The novel made me identify with a situation I have never been in and probably will never be in, which is quite the accomplishment. I sat down and read about 150 pages of this book in no less than three hours. It is fast-paced but insightful, and I find that it reads more like a collection of loosely-related short stories than a solid novel. My favorite section was "Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong" because not only was it an interesting story, it was a raw war story on an uncommon and rarely discussed participant in war- a young teenage girl. This was a really good book, and it felt more like a pleasure read than a literary novel, but I think all circles of readers will get something out of it.

Fresh off a two-week "Downton Abbey" DVD marathon, I was starving for whatever new piece of elegant historical fiction I could get my hands on. I got this book for Christmas but it sat on my shelf for a few reasons. One, I have about 20 books I have yet to read. Another reason was summed up well by my friend Heather- she said she hasn't read this book because it will be hard to read the mythology of Cassandra Clare's "Mortal Instruments" series with a whole bunch of new, non-Clary, non-Jace characters. I love "The Mortal Instruments" and I was afraid of losing them by reading this one. But really, I had nothing to worry about. "Clockwork Angel", the first book in Clare's newer Shadowhunter series "Infernal Devices", is set in 1870's London (now you know why it fed my need for something Downton-esque) and introduces Tessa Gray, a young American heroine who, unbeknowst to her, is a shapeshifter. Upon her arrival at London, she is snatched into the dark Downworld, only to be saved by a Jace incarnate named William Herondale (who is actually an ancestor of Jace, so yeah, there you go) and his pale, shivery friend Jem, and a guy named Henry who reminds me of Arthur Weasley. Shenanigans and banter ensue and I am drawn into a new story in one of my favorite 'verses. It has the beauty and circumstance of a Victorian setting along with the intelligence and bad-assery of the Shadowhunter world, along with unique characters who make me smile (even if Jace and Will are a bit too alike). I love Charlotte and Jessamine as diverse heroines and the setting is darkly engaging. And, Magnus Bane. Enough said. I love historical fiction and I love the world Clare has created. I also feel like this book flowed a little better than the first couple of "Mortal Instruments" books. Not too many complaints about this one.

This book was our "feminist lens" novel for my college Literature class and I enjoyed the book but did not find it to be the best example of feminist lit. The female characters were all unique and interesting, and I enjoyed reading them, but it was another book where the men were never brought down and it didn't seem like any of the women were truly happy at the end. I need to keep an open mind, though. I am not African. Dangarembga wasn't writing for the white Western audience, she was writing what she knew. And I appreciate that. I feel like this book will grow on me. (2015: Oh my god just looking at this review that I wrote like five years ago is making me cringe...hello there, white feminist here, reporting for duty! I need to read this book again from a non-douchebag perspective.)

I read this in ten minutes last night and I was very amused by it. I was quite smug because I predicted the ending, teehee. Mira Grant's writing is so fun and cool, and I have liked everything I've read, including this little short one. I hope she writes a sequel! I do feel a little lame adding a tiny short story to my shelf, but I'd love if other people read it, so here it stays.

**SPOILERS AHEAD** This was definitely the best book in a really well-written, interesting series. I think that these books are underrated and written off as cheesy teen romance books, but "Splendor" was deep and honestly, quite heartbreaking. It didn't have a happy ending and nothing was written off as a fairy tale. My least favorite character- Henry- didn't get his dream girl, and my favorite character- Lina- didn't get her dream man. It was realistic and poignant and relatable, despite being set at the turn of the 20th century. I liked the way it ended and I'm sad that the series is over. It had a rare ending which I appreciated- it actually provided closure! This only made me feel closer to the characters because at least I know now that they're safe. I can't wait to read Anna Godbersen's "Bright Young Things", set in the roaring 20's. I hope it is just as colorful, extravagent, and well-written.

Well, jeez. What can I say about this novel that hasn't already been said? I loved it. It was a great, thrilling, exciting, fresh YA joyride, and I can't wait to pick up "Insurgent" and continue being lost in this world. "Divergent," if you're one of twelve people like me who has not read it yet, is a dystopian novel set in future Chicago in a world where the people are divided into five factions with five different belief systems- Abnegation (selflessness), Amity (peace and kindness), Candor (honesty), Dauntless (bravery and fearlessness), and Erudite (knowledge). Beatrice, a sixteen-year-old girl who has grown up in the Abnegation faction, feels like she is forcing herself into the selfless role of her family, but she's wondering who she really is and where she really belongs. When the ceremony that decides her future comes up, she must take the aptitude test, which shows which faction she is most suited for. But her test proves inconclusive and she shows aptitude for several factions- Beatrice is Divergent, and for some unknown reason, this must be kept a secret. When the ceremony commences, Beatrice decides to live as a Dauntless, which will change the way her family and her former faction think of her forever. As Roth powerfully wrote, Beatrice- renamed Tris by her own choosing- is selfish, and she is brave. In her new, rough-and-tumble, crass faction, Tris meets Four, an older member and a trainer for the new Dauntless initiates. Tris toughens up, learns how to fight, and proves to herself and everyone else that she is not to be underestimated. But through all of her strength, Tris is still vulnerable. And as she gets closer to Four, she finds out how vulnerable she is, and how vulnerable and special this seemingly rock-hard boy is as well. Together, they learn one of the hardest Dauntless lessons- how to face your fears head-on. Because really, that is the main theme of this novel- overcoming your biggest fears. Last night, I was awakened by a severe thunderstorm, and instead of pulling my pillow over my head, I sat awake in bed and listened to the thunder and counted the lightning. I breathed in and out slowly. It wouldn't hurt me. I felt damn Dauntless, and I loved it. That's all I'll reveal about the novel- the last 100 or so pages are action-packed and extremely hard to stomach, and there is more sacrifice and sadness and violence than most YA novels, which is actually quite refreshing. Tris is a believable and completely heroic heroine. She can give and take a punch and she wears her flaws with pride. Also, she is not Katniss, in the fact that she IS selfish and unforgiving in many ways. Often, she does things for herself, and for her own well-being, which I really admire, because it teaches girls that they own themselves and sometimes you have to put yourself first. We're not all Abnegation, and that's okay. We can still be good, multi-faceted people. When starting this novel, I was skeptical about the motives for the "faction" society. It seemed a little silly and far-fetched at first, but as I read more, I really understood the ideas behind Roth's choice of a dystopian world. It is true dystopia- they really tried to make a perfect world, but along the way, they really set themselves up for failure. I can't wait to read the rest of the series! I can see why everyone obsessed over this book- I read it in less than two days!

This was a cute book, but I enjoyed the "Percy Jackson" series a little more because I am familiar with the mythology. I think that if I brushed up on Egyptian mythology before I read this one, I could have appreciated it more. Not to say that this wasn't a good book. It is perfect for all ages, modern, funny, witty, and I loved the character Bast.

I know there are people who loved this book, because it appeals to a certain audience in a certain age group who live in a certain part of the world. I am not in any of those groups, therefore I found this book to be pretentious, dividing, and completely unnecessary. Nick is the only straight member of a queercore band and he was recently dumped by Tris, the apparent she-devil from hell, who had the gall to DUMP A BOY SHE WAS NO LONGER INTERESTED IN DATING. Someone just kill her with fire already! The first half of Nick's POV chapters in the book revolve around how devastatingly hot and devastatingly evil Tris is, which is, of course, the unholy duo of Crazy-Ex characteristics that only men seem to miraculously know how to write. There is nothing wrong with Tris other than that she didn't want to devote her life to Nick, which immediately makes her a fucking witch. Whatever. I was already over this book by the second chapter. Norah is a busty, studious Jewish girl who is "frigid" because she can't suck dick like a champ and won't sleep around, which also gives her a pass to judge every other female in the room and constantly call Tris, a girl who has wanted to be her friend since they were young, a bitch and a slut and a skank. Norah is the kind of girl I stay so far away from, because she thinks she is a special little snowflake when she is really just like the rest of us- confused, sad, and wanting to find a place for herself in the in-between world of child and adult. Yet she thinks she knows everything about everything. She is pretentious and judgmental and her only saving grace is that she loves her best friend and doesn't put up with men's shit- oh wait, she has a borderline-abusive ex-boyfriend who she pines over and almost followed to Africa. Oh boy. So they find each other, soulmates, yaddah yaddah. I was so bored and the writing was laughably pretentious. It was rampant with misogyny, slut-shaming, unnecessary excessive use of the word "fuck", and it catered to a rich hipster audience who are always, always looking for someone to impress with their annoying wordplay and introspective yearnings. Gag me. Seriously.

There is a quote that's been rolling around Tumblr for a year or so, hailing from this novel. I didn't remember reading it before but it certainly rang a bell when I finally came across it while Cat's Eye: "And yet it disturbs me to know I have hurt someone unintentionally. I want all my hurts to be intentional." A short quote, but biting, full of scorn and honesty. After re-reading it a few times, working the words over in my head, I came to a realization. I realized what this means. This is what girlhood is. And, really, underneath all of the middle-age self-misery and careless, wistful affairs with older art professors, Cat's Eye is all about how a woman's girlhood shapes the way she lives the rest of her life. The pain we feel follows us into adulthood, and the wounds we inflict leave their mark as well. We never want to cause those real wounds, but by God, we all did. Elaine Risley, a controversial painter, has returned to Toronto to attend a retrospective devoted to her work. While back in the city, Elaine reflects on her relationships and friendships she had as a child and teenager, especially the one she had with a girl named Cordelia, whose influence followed Elaine for her entire life. We see Elaine make a bold transition from a tomboyish little girl who traveled with her family all over Canada for her father's science career to a clueless school-aged girl who is thrust suddenly into the world of other school-aged girls. Girl culture is a prominent theme in this novel, the culture of fashion scrapbooks and makeup and stealing things from drugstores, of dating etiquette and relationships with brothers, of knowing your place in the hierarchy of female friendship. Atwood knows, as all women do, that the cruelest people on this plant are young girls. If you have ever been a female between the ages of 9 and 18, you have survived hell. This is also a novel that touches on human consumerism, a theme popular in many of Atwood's environmental/sci-fi novels--Elaine realizes that she needs things; she needs purses and nightgowns and makeup. In the crux of her relationship with these three cruel girls--Grace, and Carol, and the worst perpetrator, Cordelia--Elaine starts consuming herself, chewing on her hair, biting the skin around her nails and the hard flesh on the bottoms of her feet. Elaine stays with these girls because as we all know, a childhood spent with shitty friends is better than a childhood spent alone, especially for girls. There is a part of the novel where after the girls pick on Elaine, Elaine takes all of her hard-earned babysitting money, quits her babysitting job, and spends all the earnings on candy, which she gives to the girls. They consume it, and in a way, Elaine feels consumed, and she mistakes this for love. Girlhood literally eats away at a child until she is nothing but the product of her environment. Elaine hardens to this girl culture, becomes a sharpened and bored high-school girl with a "mean mouth," not impervious to this culture of catty women but simply afraid of it. The most emotional parts of the novel are when Elaine recalls events with her older brother Stephen, when times were simpler and she could focus on the hands-on activities and tasks she liked without having to worry about what she looked like from behind or how she spoke (this may be because it almost feels like Atwood saw the relationship between my older brother and I and fictionalized it, the stories are so eerily similar, Stephen's fate notwithstanding). Elaine doesn't really trust women but she doesn't really trust men either--the hurts inflicted on her from those girls when they were kids destroyed her ability to trust anyone. This book is the "cat's eye" of Elaine's life, the entire scope of her experience, and it is an interesting read with rich detail, full of Atwood's sharp eye for the realities of being a girl. That is part of the problem, though--these characters are just like you and me, too similar, until you wait and wait for a climax and nothing ever really happens. This just isn't a very exciting book, which is disappointing, because many of Atwood's novels have left me completely breathless. I understand her growth and change as a writer--I am much more fond of her later novels than her earlier ones. Even though this was an ambitious, well-written work of a fiction, I guarantee I will forget almost everything about it within a month, because it was a hyper-realistic account of a person's experience--it wasn't really a story. I also know that some people really love this. I totally get it. It just wasn't what I was expecting. I'd still recommend it, though, and I think it might be interesting to read as a teenager and then again as an adult. I wonder if I will read this again someday and see if any of those girlhood wounds have healed.

This little novel reminded me of why I love Francesca Lia Block. It's pretty, short, and full of Los Angeles imagery that I can only get through Block and Janet Fitch. I love how Block's novels always read like children's fantasy stories but are really about things that affect teenagers all over the world- beauty standards, sexuality crises, and being molested as a child, to name a few. I loved how this book was the perfect mix of sweet and sour and how everyone got a happy ending.

I was really intrigued with the topic of this little novella. With a title like "Rape: A Love Story", who wouldn't be? Too bad that the most interesting thing about it was the title. For such a heavy topic this was a shallow, short little book. I know absolutely nothing about the characters. I didn't really care much about them. It was extremely formulaic and it just didn't hit me emotionally as it was supposed to, because there was nothing built up. It was like reading a news report on a rape--I don't feel like I knew Teena as a woman, just as a rape victim. It may be controversial, and I respect the message in the novel because it conveyed a lot of frustrations that many women and assault survivors face. Update 2/3/14: I re-read this for a class and I don't have much more affection for it, but I understand it a little better. It was hard to take in that pain, it was hard to believe that there are people out there who would not be on Teena's side. Unfortunately, I've seen harsher parts of the world since then.

I have a confession- I lied in my last review. I said it was hot and sexy and had a cool plot, even though I only gave 3 stars. To be honest, I didn't really get much out of this book. The writing wasn't stellar, the sex wasn't special, and I didn't fall in love with Christian Grey. I have read way too much amazing erotica for free online that I am just not impressed by this book. I gave it a superficial review because I thought I was missing something important- I was wondering when the amazing would happen, and for me, it really didn't. I'm not saying this is a shitty book, though. The characterization was actually pretty decent for an erotic novel, and I actually couldn't put it down in some parts. James isn't the worst romance writer by far. I just really don't understand the hype.

I was laughing so hard throughout this whole book! I love how Tina Fey is so honest about the industry and about her life, and I love that she can totally laugh at herself. I've always known she's super smart and cool, but she's also a hilarious writer who makes me feel like I can be as witty and awesome as she is someday. Also, she's a feminist bad-ass. I LOVE it!

A lot of people didn't like this book, and I totally understand that. I can even agree in some part. I will say right away that the second quarter of the book is nearly insufferable in how pretentious it is, enough so to nearly put me off the entire novel. But this novel is about touching what is foreign. It is about tasting something unfamiliar. And sometimes it can burn your tongue. But if you have patience, it will just hold you close in the end, or it will at least grasp your hand. "The Marriage Plot" centers on three characters- Madeleine Hanna, Leonard Bankhead, and Mitchell Grammaticus, who all graduated together from Brown University. Madeleine, the central narrator, comes from a posh background with wealthy parents. She is obsessed with books, especially the classic novel, but she becomes interested in semiotics after taking a class at Brown. There, she meets Leonard Bankhead, a highly intelligent science student known around campus as a ladies' man (and also for being a severe manic depressive). Much to the chagrin of Madeleine's good (platonic) friend Mitchell, she and Leonard start a relationship. Most of the novel centers around fussy, naive Madeleine taking care of Leonard, who wavers dangerously between mania and depression on and off for years, before Leonard fucks with his pills and asks Madeleine to marry him during a manic stage. Mitchell, the more detached narrator, is heartbroken after Madeleine's rejection and decides to take a European trip with his friend Larry after graduation. As a religious studies major, Mitchell doesn't seem to connect to any specific religion until he volunteers with Mother Theresa in India and connects to Christianity. Mitchell finds himself in foreign land after foreign land, but his mind always seems to wander back to Madeleine. Is this a groundbreaking novel? No, not by any means. It certainly isn't about a teenage hermaphrodite or 5 suicidal sisters. But it does draw the reader into the uncomfortable, stifling world of living with a mental illness (either having the mental illness or staying by the side of someone who has it). The characters make poor decision after poor decision, which seems odd because these are the three most academically brilliant young adults ever to grace the face of this earth (Eugenides needs to visit a REAL college campus). We know the end is going to blow up in everyone's face, but we're still rooting for everyone. The thing is, I don't really get involved in stories that have relationships like Madeleine and Leonard's- volatile, lacking in communication, and completely stifling. Let's just day I'm more of a Bill than an Eric (many will know what I mean by that). Madeleine deserves happiness, and she kept grasping for it with a man who cannot give her the things she needs. And it is just painful to read. I'm not that kind of masochist when I read fiction, but I know some will shed a tear for that kind of love- the love that can't be saved. "The Marriage Plot" is really, well, all about the marriage plot. Madeleine learns in class that after the marriage plot of classic novels dissipated in the 20th century, there were no more true conflicts in fiction. There was nothing to talk about. And this novel certainly furthers that theme...a young woman wrestles through a difficult relationship only to find herself in the kind of marriage plot that won't end well for anybody.

This is certainly a series of epic proportions, and "A Clash of Kings" is only a dent in the beautiful clusterf**k that is "A Song of Ice and Fire". It seriously took me like two months to read this monster and about 20% of it could've been edited out. Things I liked: -The shifts between characters...love this style of writing. Keeps me on my toes. -Sansa and Arya for being strong young women are a million times braver than I will ever be. -Oh Asha Greyjoy, where have you been all my life? -Tyrion Lannister, because he is one of the deepest characters I've read in a long time. -How much of an evil person Cersei is -How I can completely relate to Brienne -TONS of action Things I didn't like: -The lack of Daenarys doing anything interesting/cool/bad-ass -The horrifying mistreatment of women as a whole (I can't get past one page without a woman being raped. Is the village being pillaged? Rape the women. Are you big and strong? Rape the women. Are you bored? Rape the women. Angry mob full of political turmoil? Rape the women. I mean, come on, GRRM. This is ridiculous.) -The uselessness and boringness of Davos' parts (I still don't know who the hell he is) This was an interesting book and I easily got swept away in the scenery and the storylines. A bit long and ceaselessly problematic, but I still like it as a guilty pleasure.

I LOVED this silly little book! I read the whole thing cover to cover in less than two days and I was laughing my ass off the whole time. I never read dry humor like this in American books, and I'm surprised at how timeless it is after more than thirty years. I haven't read a lot of sci-fi yet, but this is such a good introduction. It is creative, hilarious, imaginative, smart, and so surreal, all of my favorite things in fiction. And I think anyone would enjoy it. I see so many things in a whole new way now. Towels, whales, mice, the number forty-two. I devoured this book. But the thing I like most about it is how Adams makes fun of everything. Nothing is sacred. There is no history or future, there is just a bunch of idiots and assholes, just like here on Earth. Nobody is safe. I suppose Adams is making fun of us, too, in a way, but I was laughing as hard as anyone. I can't wait to read the rest of the trilogy!

I didn't really enjoy this book because I didn't really understand it. We learned about the premise too late in the book to really get into it, and we never got too close to the characters. I felt like the whole carer and donor plot was interesting but we never learned a whole lot about it, which stinks, because it could've been good. I could relate to Kathy but she was boring, and I didn't care about Ruth or Tommy because they were just so unlikable. I just found the book boring. I can give it three stars for the sheer inventiveness of the plot, but other than that, no worth it. I think I might see the movie instead. Andrew Garfield...yum.

This was a good story and extremely emotional, but I didn't really like the style it was written in. I wish it took a more traditional approach. The story felt too short and I wanted to know more about Lakshmi and her family. To read something this evocative, you need to be submerged deeper. And this tiny little book was just too shallow.

One of the better vampire books I've read, that's for sure.

This novel was somewhat a disappointment after reading its wonderful predecessor, "Matched". I always enjoy dystopian stories because I love fantasy. I love learning about the way these fictional cultures work, who is in charge, how the citizens react with one another, and eventually how the protagonists break through the binds. "Matched" was interesting and fun to read because it detailed a rich and imaginative culture in a place called Oria, where a young girl named Cassia is forced to choose between her given "Match" and the boy she feels she belongs with. I loved the conflicts of the first book and the mystery surrounding Ky, the boy she is forbidden to love. It filled my need for a dystopian novel from the point of view of a girl my age. But I was left bored and unsatisfied with "Crossed". I was waiting for intense conflict and escape after Cassia is basically sentenced to die by her own Officers. But the book sort of reminded me of "Lord of the Rings"- a lot of walking, a lot of mountains and rivers, some new characters, but very little action. I found the new characters Vick, Eli, and Hunter a little dull, and even the new girl Indie left me wanting more. There were just more and more realizations and dreams and hopes and maps and nothing really happened. I also did not care for the new POV chapters with Ky. I feel like this is Cassia's story, and Ky should be a part of it, not the storyteller. This wasn't a terrible book, but it was an anticlimactic sequel. Good news is that the end was really promising, so the next book in the series is bound to be better. I'll keep reading!

There were a lot of things I loved about this book and a lot of things I hated about this book. Things I loved: -The elaborate and beautiful setting -The including of children as reliable and interesting narrators -Daenarys Targaryen aka The World's Greatest BAMF -Political uprisings -An elaborate backstory that really draws you into the world -Shifting point of views -An absolutely epic ending Things I hated: -Blatant, rampant, and archaic misogyny and sexism that even comes off as threatening and SUPER offensive, mostly regarding the Dothraki stuff. I completely understand the world of fantasy fiction, and I know sex plays a huge part of it. But do we have to constantly mount, rape, and repeat? It gets old. Fast. But Martin does condemn it in later chapters, so I can ease off a bit. -It got slow for a few parts -VERY long, but not excruciatingly so. -Some very obvious fantasy cliches and stereotypes. (the girl who wants to be a knight, the pompous king, the wise sage, the bastard, the cruel prince, the noble king, the barbarian, etc.) Overall a totally solid and wonderfully imaginative fantasy read. I can see myself getting lost in the world, and I will definitely read the sequels.

This isn't really the type of book I usually go for, but I'm glad I did. It is truly charming and funny and Bridget Jones is an incredibly realistic protagonist. This was a silly, naughty, sweet romp but if you don't take it too seriously, you'll love it.

A huge ending to a huge series. I was pretty much in tears for the epilogue, because I knew that it was all over. I'm so glad I took this past month to read this series that I'd never bothered to pick up before, because now I know of its power. Harry Potter is truly charming, enchanting, and oh so magical.

This one was hard for me to get into and it started off really slow, but the ending was like BAM! The last hundred or so pages had me curled in a ball and holding my breath as I read. It was worth the slow start!