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Review: Vanishing Girls by Lauren Oliver .. why must authors be so inconsistent?

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Vanishing GirlsVanishing Girls by Lauren Oliver

My rating: 1 of 5 stars

— warning this post contains spoilers —

This definitely goes into the category of “I suffered so you don’t have to” books. I usually like Lauren Oliver’s books but not always. I think Rooms was boring and pointless, although I really liked Before I Fall and the Delirium trilogy. I thought Panic was “eh” with moments of greatness. Unfortunately Vanishing Girls is closer to Rooms in the pointless and ridiculously loquacious writing than it was to the books I actually like of Oliver’s. I’m frustrated by the change in her writing to awkward and unpleasing analogies and the over use of cliché plot points that other books have done better and more successfully. I can’t say I loathed Vanishing Girls but I did hate on it pretty hard. I wanted to quit so many times but I also wanted to see if I was right about everything (sadly I was. STOP BEING PREDICTABLE!). Even die-hard fans should avoid this one. Continue reading →

Review: Outlander .. and it’s not pretty

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Outlander (Outlander, #1)Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Every so often a book comes along that I loathe to the core of my being. I can give low ratings to books I dislike but sometimes there are books that deserve negative scores, if such a thing was possible. To say I hate this book is a bit of an understatement. To even say that negative passion rivals a thousand suns doesn’t quite match my feelings. I will attempt not to rant forever but I apologize in advance if I can’t seem to shut up. It’s that kind of review. I’ll summarize to say that the book has a myriad of technical problems, plot holes and inconsistencies, however, the worst offense is the loathsome main protagonist, Clare Beecham. She offends me on just about every level. I am utterly horrified there is actually a TV show staring this pitiable character.
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Review: The Submissive

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The Submissive
The Submissive by Tara Sue Me

My rating: 1 of 5 stars

I wish there was a zero star rating sometimes. I read this book on recommendation from a friend and I knew nothing about it. Unfortunately I truly hated this book to the depths of my soul. I spent much of my reading time gasping out loud at the ridiculousness of the story and characters and reminding myself that throwing my reader would only hurt me and not the book that so richly deserved destroying. My problems with this book are many and very layered. I honestly have nothing positive to say about this book at all. Well that’s not true; I found the best friend the least reprehensible of the entire cast. Faint praise to be sure and not exactly positive so take that, as you will. Continue reading →

Review: Cooking Up a Storm

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Cooking Up a Storm Cooking Up a Storm by Ashley Ladd
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

This was just … bad. There are bad books where you wonder how anyone could have liked them (Outlander!) but usually those are about taste. Then there are books where you wonder how anyone could have published them. It’s not that this particular book was eye-searingly bad and will haunt me for the rest of my life. I’ve read those and while bad, this doesn’t quite reach that category. It’s more so that I’m confused how no one pointed out the numerous problems with the writing and plot. There are certain details- such as continuity, flow, changed character names- that I’d think someone, somewhere would have pointed out as problematic. Apparently not though and so the finished product, such as it was, leaves a lot to be desired unfortunately. Continue reading →

Review: A Nightmare Come True

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A Nightmare Come True
A Nightmare Come True by Sage Marlowe
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

A Nightmare Come True is basically porn in written form. It has a weak storyline to set the two men up but the focus is on the sex and an equally weak ending to give the characters some kind of an ending. Or not an ending since I guess this is a series. It’s not the worst thing ever but it’s inane and boring and lacks any kind of plot structure. It’s a vehicle for lots of sex, which may be what some readers want. I’ve reader hotter and better erotica/porn in the genre so I wouldn’t recommend this. However I also didn’t want to throw it across the metaphorical room so that’s why I gave it another half star, rounded up. Continue reading →

Review: Vaulting

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Vaulting
Vaulting by Megan Slayer
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

While this wasn’t a terrible book I kind of want to scrub my brain after reading it. It’s just so banal and ridiculous. The writing is tedious and the characters are silly. The short story is mostly sex scenes with instant “I love you” declarations between them. Oh and a totally unnecessary possessive ex-lover threat thrown in for absolutely no reason. I even went back and re-read parts just to ensure I was right about the changing details. This is probably a prime reason I don’t read Total-E-Bound as I don’t think their books are quality stories or all that well written. No doubt that description doesn’t cover every m/m book of theirs but it’s a rare book I pick up from TEB that is well written, fully developed, and worthwhile reading. Sadly this author won’t make my list of new authors to check out. Continue reading →

First up…Men with clits!

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17788192Star Crossed by Astrid Cooper
My Rating: 1 of 5 stars

So my first foray was not an auspicious start and it wasn’t because the aliens were men with clits. I didn’t mind that, but what I disliked was kind of everything else. I chose this one because I liked the name, I’ve read several good books with the same title, which invoked a positive association,  and I thought the blurb sounded light but fun, sexy times in space with some built in cross species tension. If only I’d looked at the cover because really, has any book ever been good with a cover like that? I hate to be superficial but I can’t think of a single book I loved with such a bad cover. It’s like no one cares about the aesthetics because the content must be crap too. Even though I had a bad feeling about this once I saw the cover, I tried to go in with a more open mind. Perhaps it’s not great literature but maybe it’ll be smutty fun. I already had the book after all. Continue reading →