Lectus

his was a good mystery but I didn't enjoy a few things:

1. At the beginning of a chapter, I was always confused with who was talking. Not a biggie, but kind of threw me off.

2. The ending. I do not like happy endings, but I do think that just and fair endings are necessary. The ending in this book was neither. Was the rich girl being punished for being born into class?

Do poor kids deserve better than rich ones? That is kind of a question implicated in the book. The way the jury went, it was like they hated the rich girl for being rich and well spoken.

3. The ending again. I really, really disliked the ending. I hope Marwood comes up with kind of a sequel because otherwise... well, I'm just ONE reader so.

4. I didn't like any of the characters at all. There was a point when I almost liked Amber, but besides that, Amber was a very dislikeable character while Kristy was all a very goody-goody lame one. They both lacked back bone.

5. The mob. WTF people? Didn't that murder happen like 20 years ago? AND in a different town? Where did all this righteous people come from? A little explanation, please?

6. I liked Vic and thought of him as a kind of Brad Pitt (don't know why), but he left me hanging. WTH was all that about? Okay, I know the story wasn't about him, but still, psycho Martin had more participation AND the story wasn't about him either.

7. Martin was an interesting character if just to complicate things. 

8. Maybe an actual court case would have led me to understand why the girls were convicted because otherwise that made little sense. Were they representing themselves? Because otherwise, they got a very inept lawyer.

In short, I found the writing a little confusing and the back and forth a bit so too, but I did like the story even if the ending was mediocre.

I loved Angelfall so much that I feel guilty for not World After five stars too. Unfortunately, I was kind of bored reading about the scorpions (their descriptions, what they could do, how they killed, and so on). 

Ee went for all she missed in the first book: the gruesome details, the constant atmosphere of danger, and Penryn's fighting skills. I didn't have enough of Raffe and Penryn here, and the little they shared was spent in a verbal war to see who could outwit the other.

I'm disappointed that Ee went for the "You're a hero, Penryn, whether you like it or not.” I didn't know the book world was searching for a hero. Okay, this is a personal taste, but I just hate when people are label 'heroes' in books... unless I'm reading Spiderman or Superman.

The last scene was kind of very unrealistic. So Paige is going Chucky on Beliel and nobody reacts? Hmmm.

If we have to wait years for the next book, it would be greatly appreciated if Ee included a cast of character in the next book to remind us who is who? Just saying. 

I still love the series because... well, is Raffe going to get his wings sewn back? What is going to happen with Penryn and Raffe since Angles and Daughters of Men cannot... make thatshould not be together, copulate, make babies and stuff?

The book had emotional parts that I absolutely loved! For instance, some flashback from Raffe's POV of their encounter and other scenes. I couldn't help but think of Stephenie Meyer'sMidnight Sun. 

I totally like Penryn's mom!

The story started out very good, but then it took a predictable turn. After page 200 everything became a typical cliche.

For instance, Sarah became the typical character that knows she shouldn't go after the killer alone, but goes alone anyways. And Sarah does this, TWICE! Way to annoy the hell out of a reader.

It is a shame that so powerful beginning had such a lame and rushed ending. Was it because the book had to fit certain amount of pages? Because books are supposed to leave you wondering? 

After her escape, Sarah became agoraphobic; and she spent 10 years living in fear of the world. However, it only took her one day to leave her apartment and recover. How was this possible? If you remember that Copycat movie with Sigourney Weaver, you know that an agoraphobic person cannot just leave their homes like that. Maybe if Zan had made Sarah's life less extreme her recovery would had been more credible.

As I said at the beginning, after page 200 the story became you typical thriller where the police does nothing and the victim saves the day which makes you question the need of having the police in the story at all.

The end had an unexpected twist that didn't amount to much. Again, maybe Zan wasn't allowed to go pass 300 pages but, what the heck? That ending felt extremely rushed and simple.

*** Possible spoiler***
There was a part that was really unrealistic. Sarah and Tracy are in a van with a bunch of girls; they start talking to one of the girls, Jenny, to find out what is going on. Obviously, Jenny explains everything to them and, at one point, tells them to shut up because the other girls will hear them and tell their captors.

What bothered me with this scene is that Sarah, Tracy, and Jenny had already been talking for a long time, with the other girls in the van. But just when Jenny finishes her story she realizes that the other girls would hear them talking? What were the other girls doing while they talked?

Right. You'd get it when you read the book.

*** End of spoiler ***

The book is still powerful with a very emotional first 200 pages. I was absolutely feeling Sarah until she became Supergirl. Tracy's character was constant from the beginning, but Christine... well, she needed a lot of development.

Still, this is a thriller that you should read because the story is something that might be happening to missing girls out there.

This story was a very fun ride. The book is funny, but don't expect funny in the sense of stand up comedy. This is.... an upscale kind of funny.

Donny doesn't get Ursula and her weird "pets," but he sticks around because he wants to have sex with her, and he knows that eventually, she will have sex with him; it's just a matter of time. Wow! That is self-confidence!

Ursula doesn't want to have sex with Donny because she can't orgasm. So, what's the point, right? Just doing it for the guy's sake? Well, no more. But that changes when Ursula starts taking belly dance classes with xxx. She helps Ursula discover her own sexuality, orgasm, and restore the balance in the universe.

Now, don't think for a minute that the world Donny and Ursula are saving has to do with sex or orgasm. Not at all. There is some threat to mother nature that is going on that Ursula feels she has to take care of, and since Donny would do anything to have sex with Ursula, he enlists in the task.

I was chuckling throughout the book. It was a fun, light read that would definitely enlighten your mood.

Hadn't I loved the beginning of the story, I would have given it 2 stars. 

I feel this book was written by two people. The beginning was one thing and the end was another. I could barely put the book down at the beginning, and then mysterious force entered the second half and the story became blah; especially the supernatural part of it.

Let me start with the character of Marissa; two complete different people at the beginning of the book and the end. I was liking Marissa so much at the beginning and then she turned out to be a typical nothing.

Nikki: I thought she was going to be the main character, but it turned out she wasn't, but that's fine. It's just that was such a strong part at the beginning, and then became... nothing. 

Marshall: absolutely the best character. When I started reading I was like "Oh my fxx god!" And then he became your typical psychopath with no explanation whatsoever.

I was also rooting for Ben and Anthem but the novel as a whole left me empty.

Nothing: that is what I got after I invested so much emotion in the beginning. As I said at the beginning, did two different people write this story? The supernatural part was interesting at first, but it turned out to be just a ridiculous thing to create some mystery.

For me, this book had a very strong and powerful beginning that turned into a crappy happy ending with a bunch of senseless murders that amounted to nothing. 

I finally gave in and read this one. Why, god, why? Should've stuck with my initial reaction: no thanks.

Anyway, it's labor day and it's raining in NYC, so here we go.

What is the statistical probability of...

1) ... Eyeing a cute guy at the airport? Hundreds. Statistical probability of actually talking to one? This book.

Hadley meets Oliver at the airport because she asked some lady to watch her luggage and the lady refused. 
Now, now… I have traveled a lot and have NEVER asked a stranger to watch my luggage while I go grab a coffee. Oh! It is possible that I haven’t done this because I am not as cute as Hadley, but I had never nearly encountered a cute guy (or ugly) guy at the airport offer his help with anything. 

2) ... Of said cute guy sitting next to you? This book. 

Oliver sits next to Hadley’s empty seat waiting for the seat’s owner to board. When that happens, the owner gives up her seat so the they can sit together. I mean, it obviously had to be this way because otherwise, how were they going to do #3?

3) ... Of two teens (was Oliver even a teen if he was already involved in doing research?) who just met discussing  Cumulus Clouds; “the definition of true love;” Dickens; favorite food, color and animal? This book. 

4) ... Of girl being claustrophobic, and the guy you JUST MET noticing and talking nonstop to distract you? This book. Sweet, but UNREALISTIC.

P. 60 – They talk about all kind of stupid shit while Hadley also has flashbacks of her father.

P. 103 – They finally arrive to London and go separate ways.

P. 108 – Hadley in cab recalling more heartbreaking conversations with Oliver.

P. 131 - Hadley wants to cry because her dad’s new wife is going to have a baby and she wasn’t told about it. “He didn’t bother to tell her” so life is soooo unfair. Right.

P. 134 – Hadley remembering more conversations with Oliver (what do you want to be when you grow up?). -- Me? I really wanted to be a tripper!

P. 143 – Hadley finds Oliver’s napkin with a drawing and she decides to leave her father's wedding to go find Oliver... in London. Do you have an idea of how big London is?

Really people? What are the odds of something like that ever happening? Oh! yes, this book.

P. 169 – Yeap, she finds Oliver. 

And this, folks, is the statistical probability of love at first sight: pure conveniently boring crap for MY heart.

First, this book is self-published; from the cover, I wouldn't have thought so. Great work!

However, Bella Forrest is said to have bought fake reviews for this book from Fiverr.

How can people say they are "addicted" to this story really escapes me because: 

#1.- The first warning that the story was going to be lame was that Sofia said at the beginning that she wasn’t really pretty. She is in love with her best friend, Ben; but Ben goes for ‘beautiful’ girls which Sofia (according to her) is not.

I totally hate when authors make characters like this: “oh, I’m not pretty;” but then every single vampire is drooling over her.

#2.- Without much ado, Sofia is kidnapped. Fine, we don’t need to know what her friends and family think of her disappearance because the story is really about Sofia and vampires. 

#3.- Why was Sofia taken? Aha, you guessed that right, because she is freaking BEAUTIFUL. Didn’t she say she wasn’t? 

#4.- Is Sofia freaking out that she’s been taken? No… she is intrigued that her captor can be so physically perfect. Okay, I guess that if I am kidnapped by Channing Tatum freaking out would be out of the question because I would be literally drooling all over the place.

#5.- When Derek sees Sofia he is instantly drawn to her beauty. Seriously? Is this Sofia the product of a milkshake of Hollywood’s starlets? 

So… Derek dismisses all the other girls that were taken for him and keeps Sofia. Three clicks later, they are in the kitchen and Derek can't take his eyes off of Sofia “in a light yellow dress clinging to her curves at just the right places” (45% Kindle). 

#6.- Beauty. Beauty seems to be the main theme of the story. Everybody is beautiful but Sofia is THE most beautiful one. So beautiful that all male vampires crave her and the females envy her. 

#7.- Oh! But Sofia is not only BEAUTIFUL, she is also fragile and virginal. Does Sofia sleep with Derek? Of course not! That would deviate from the Twilight outline. “No… I’m not that kind of girl” said beautiful, chaste, innocent Sofia. Can you explain to me what kind of girls are those?

Excuse me! Going back to my own personal fantasy: if Channing Tatum kidnapped me, I would definitely sleep with him… because I am that kind of girl. I kid you not. 

So, Derek is totally in love with Sofia just because she is beautiful. Rolling my eyes and moving forward.

#8.- Although Derek and Sofia haven’t exchanged any bodily fluids, by 61% Derek had already taken Sofia’s breath away (Hello! Bella calling Edward!). So much for loving Ben in the first three pages of the book. 

#9.- Derek, our prince in charge of a kingdom is totally insipid. Gorgeous? 100% yes! 

#10.- Derek hates being a vampire; he doesn’t want to hurt people; he really has feelings; he didn’t ask for any of this… arggg… I already read, Twilight, thank you very much. 

#11.- When Derek and Sofia get married (because, since the story seems to follow Twilight, that is what’s coming next…; also, since Sofia is not “that kind of girl” she will require a wedding before mating the prince) they will have beautiful insipid babies that the entire kingdom will die to protect! 

Questions:
What the heck is it with all these beautiful people? Couldn’t a normal 6 feet – 250 lbs girl shake Derek too? 

Do guys, vampires, or werewolves only fight for perfectly beautiful, skinny girls? When will vampires go for an average girl?

Hello! A pimple here and there won’t hurt!!!!

Why is it that the girl who thinks that she is not pretty turns out to be THE most beautiful one? 

And this vampire world with knights and all that crap… I already see an illustrated guide to explain all the vamp’s ranks and Sofia’s journal coming out. Yes, just like Twilight. 

But besides all that, I am really glad that this independent author has had such a huge success with such a simple story even if it is due to buying fake reviews.

Historians of the south might just love this book. Well, I love slave history but this one wasn't working for me. 

The book has a lot of history that I just didn't find interesting. Is the book about the murder or the history of Belle Vie? One would say both, but I didn't find the combination appealing.

Caren, the narrator, is the manager of Belle Vie, an old slave plantation that turned into a museum and event site.

 In a way, Caren is attached to Belle Vie because her family used  to be slaves there, and now, Caren freely wanders the the rooms  she wasn't allowed to step in as a child. Thus, when she finds a  migrant girl dead, although it is none of her business, and the  police is perfectly capable of taking care of the situation, Caren  becomes involved in following the hints to the murderer. The  chase takes Caren to another murder that happened decades  ago and that seem to have something in common.

 Locke’s prose is just wonderful, I just wasn't smitten by it.

 I found myself skipping pages just to get the point. But no matter  how many pages I skipped, the story seemed to have no end! So I abandoned it. 

I really wasn't interested in finding out who killed the migrant girl or why, because I wasn't attached to anybody. Who cares about a dead person if you have no idea who the person is? I was supposed to care for the murderer, I guess, but I just didn't. 

The book has a map at the beginning that is absolutely a most to help you understand the layout of the plantation. I wonder if the map comes in the Kindle version?

 Light, fresh, and funny; I found it very funny.

 Don't expect a thick plot here because there's none. Oh! There is a  plot, alright, but is not ... one of those that make you bite your nails  and wonder what the heck is going on. 

 For me, the plot here is a filler so Dante can me me laugh. And  laugh I did, indeed.

 Little sense? Absolutely! For instance, Dante decides to run away  with Charlie so he destroys his credit card to avoid leaving evidence  behind... ahem, ahem, hello! Aren't God and the Devil able to  see wherever you go without having to trace your CC? Hmmm...

Regardless little nonsense like this, I loved Dante and had a blast reading this book! 

I'm giving it 4 stars only because of the end; it was too HEA even for Dante :-)

 I absolutely loved Help for the Haunted. I enjoyed every  single moment of Sylvie’s character, Searles’s writing, and  the Mason family.

 The story is told going back and forth between the present  and the past, but it was not annoying reading so. It was  done in such a way that I really enjoyed the jumps in time.

 What I loved more was that, although Sylvie’s was bullied  (and this is NOT a story about bullying), she was not a  victim. It wasn’t like she was going to fight back, but she  knew why she was being picked on and knew that it really  didn’t have anything to do with her but her family.

 Sylvie's family, the Masons, have a reputation of …. “doing  certain things” that some people found it to be creepy, yet  others sought their help. What is it that they do? You’ll need to read the book. 

The revelation comes in little pieces and, although I though I knew, I wasn’t sure of it because the book is catalogued under ‘paranormal.’ I was right and wrong at the same time!

There’s also Rose, Sylvie’s older sister, who is kind of a brat: foul mouth and behavior. Why is Rose so unmanageable when Sylvie is such a perfect daughter? Well, Rose knows things about their parents that Sylvie doesn’t... so.

Some bloggers say that the pace of the story is too slow, but I didn’t find it to be so. I really DNF books that drag too much, but I didn’t feel like that with this one at all. Well, it could be Searles’s marvelous 
writing :-)

I absolutely LOVED how things turned out to be and how they were revealed. I give Help for the Haunted one of my precious 5-Stars!

Never heard of these! But going to fix that soon :-)

 Summary on GoodReads. 

 Firstly, the cover doesn’t go with the content of the book. They  should’ve put an angry girl on it, because that is what Taylor is,  angry all the time. She has to spend time at this special boarding  school --- read juvenile psychiatric correctional facility, after being  arrested for stealing a car and trying to run away.

 Annoying, heated and fuming Taylor is angry, well, at her parents  – mostly - and nothing that it is said to her goes through. Being  the new kid at this place comes with all the usual clichés: the girl  who doesn't like her, the girl who does, the boy who changes all  for her, her denial to be there and the fantastic reformation. 

Seriously, Counting Backwards is like a romance novel minus the romance: it starts with a conflict, it reaches its peak and then ends happily everafter.

I also felt rushed while reading it, or was it me wanting to get it over with? But what the heck! I don’t like a book if it goes fast and I won’t like it either if it is slow. Hard to please, eh?

I am a sucker for boarding schools and rehab drama but this one didn't touch my cells. Probably I have higher standards on the subjects after reading The Little Woods and Cracked, but I just wasn't feeling the Alcatraz-Girl,Interrupted scenario. 

What I liked: Sassy Margo and her ways. 

What I didn’t like: Taylor’s anger; it became old news pretty soon. A.J. and his almost instant change because of Taylor; I mean, after 2 years of being and acting a certain way a girl shows up and you just change like that? Romance old style right there. 

Different opinions here and here.

 NetGalley provided me with a free copy of this book.

 I was really into the story at the beginning as it begins with William  when he was 10 and what he and his friends did that, much later  on, changed their lives. 

 I loved William’s character at the beginning because he was a  savvy business man who had no particular education, raised from  poverty and became somebody. Unfortunately, tragedy stroke  and what was going to be a very happy and prosperous life,  turned out to be just… prosperous.

 The story is catalogued under ‘horror’ and I don’t know why. There was nothing horrific in it, at least not for me. 

Setterfield has a writing cadence that I enjoyed throughout the first part of the book. It was just the second part, when we get into the actual business of Bellman and Black, that the story became monotonous. 

The first part of the book was about setting William’s character and life to show us why he went into business with Black. Why, actually? I really don’t know. Well, I think I know, but I am not sure. It all has to do with rooks, or ravens, or owls… or beautiful black birds.

Setterfield never really says what this business was. When William made the pact with Black, I just guessed I knew what it was because, well, nothing else could have been. But it is really not clear or explained. That doesn’t take away from the story, though. It’s just that, personally, I wanted the confirmation of what really was going on rather than just ‘thinking’ that I knew.

The book is also catalogued under historical fiction; I can’t explain why here because it would give the story away, but it was interesting reading about how that particular business emerged.

I enjoyed Setterfield’s writing because I managed to read the second part of the book as droning as it was. But overall, this is an interesting story that could’ve been shorter, and that I will always remember.