Book Review: The Devil's Prayer by Luke Gracias

The blurb as seen on Goodreads:
Release Date: February 18, 2016
Publisher: Australian eBook Publisher
294 Pages

A nun commits suicide in front of thousands in Spain. In Australia, Siobhan Russo recognises that nun as her mother, Denise Russo, who disappeared six years ago.

In search of answers, Siobhan travels to the isolated convent where her mother once lived. Here she discovers Denise’s final confession, a book that details a heinous betrayal that left her crippled and mute, and Denise’s subsequent deal with the Devil to take revenge. In the desperate bargain Denise made with the Prince of Darkness, she wagered Siobhan’s soul.

As Siobhan discovers the fate of her soul, she learns that hidden within the pages of her mother’s confession is part of The Devil’s Prayer, an ancient text with the power to unleash apocalyptic horrors.

And now her mother’s enemies know Siobhan has it.

Can Siobhan escape an order of extremist monks determined to get the Prayer back? Can she save the world from its own destruction?

Explicit Content Warning: "The Devil’s Prayer" is a historical horror thriller that contains brutality, rape, sex, drug abuse and murder. Readers may find its content offensive and confronting

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Ummm...this one was kind of a mess all over.

When Siobhan learns that her missing mother has committed suicide, she begins this journey to find out why her mother disappeared many years ago. And how did she end up a nun in Spain under a different name? What or who was she running from?

When Netgalley sent me an e-mail about this book, I was intrigued. When other reviewers likened it to The Da Vinci Code, I was sold. The fact that it dealt with the devil was just a bonus. What I found was a book full of meaningless violence and revenge weighted down with historical facts.

And when I say meaningless violence - it just didn't make sense. It felt like it was there for shock value. Almost a 'how gruesome can I make this' crime. And they seemed to come from nowhere. For example, and this is a slight spoiler, girl wins lottery in front of group of friends. Group of friends then decides in a split second that they want to steal said ticket and suddenly have this elaborate plan that involves car crashes and kidnapping and escalates to rape and murder. This all happened in like 10 minutes. No, I just don't buy it.

It was such an interesting plot that just got lost. I didn't care about any of the characters. The only one who seemed likeable was Siobhan but unfortunately the only scenes we got of her were of her just reading her mother's diary. It also didn't help that there was so much historical info dumping that either didn't move the plot forward or we just dropped in such a random place that you ended up forgetting the main plot. The editor should have really helped smooth this over.

This is in no way comparable to The Da Vinci Code. And if you're looking for closure when reading this, you get none. The book doesn't have an ending. I feel that for a standalone there should have been some semblance of an ending. Instead, I was left just staring at the page, confused. Am I a little hard on it? Maybe. But I really wanted to like it and when I read adult horror/thriller, I'm holding it up to guys like Stephen King, Dan Brown, Dean Koontz, and Michael Crichton, and this just didn't hold up for me. 

<i>I received an e-copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.</i>

Book Review: Too Late by Colleen Hoover

The blurb as seen on Goodreads:
Release Date: March 30, 2016
Publisher: Self-Published

Sloan will go through hell and back for her little brother. And she does, every single night.

Forced to remain in a relationship with the dangerous and corrupt Asa Jackson, Sloan will do whatever it takes to make sure her brother has what he needs.

Nothing will get in her way.

Nothing except Carter.

Sloan is the only good thing to ever happen to Asa. He knows this and he never plans on letting her go; even if she doesn't approve of his lifestyle. But despite Sloan's disapproval, Asa knows what it takes to get what he wants. He knows what he needs to do to remain on top.

Nothing will get in his way.

Nothing except Carter.

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Oh Colleen Hoover does love her drama so.

Not going to lie, happy that this was a freebie as it seemed to lack any emotional connection that I've had with her prior works. Not sure why, but something was really off about this one. Maybe it was the absurd nature of the overall plot line. This just didn't read like a CoHo book to me.

Let's start with the characters. Carter was your classic hero of the story, literally Prince Charming. But he was very one dimensional. It seemed like Hoover just wrote him to be the glaring opposite of Asa in every way. If Asa liked up, the Carter liked down. If Asa liked black, then Carter liked white. It was a little hard to fall in love with him unless you were Sloan.

As for Sloan, we were told often how strong she was but you need to do more than tell us. You need to show this in the story. Don't get me wrong, there were aspects of her character that showed strength, but overall she was very naive and not very smart about life considering all that she had gone through in her past.

Then there was Asa. I don't even know. Were we supposed to like him? Hate him? Feel sorry for him? Obviously he was a very despicable person and was screwed up in the head. My main feeling for him was pity and disgust. So if that's what you were going for, nailed it.

The insta love was another factor that didn't sit well with me. Sloan basically fell for another version of Asa- or so she thought - but this one held her hand and told her pretty things. Wake up, sweetie. I know Carter ultimately turned out to be the good guy but you didn't know that in the beginning and were basically just repeating the cycle you had with Asa.

Also, anyone else feel like this was much more graphic and vulgar than anything else she's ever written?

I will never deny that Hoover can write, and I will probably read everything she writes. But I've noticed that it's starting to feel like drama for the sake of drama rather than natural progression.  

 

 

Book Review: Never Never: Part (Never Never #3) by Colleen Hoover & Tarryn Fisher

The blurb as seen on Goodreads:
Release Date: January 19, 2016
Publisher: Hoover Ink
77 Pages

New York Times bestselling authors Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher are back with the much-anticipated final installment in the Never Never novella series. 

Together, Silas Nash and Charlize Wynwood must look deeper into the past to find out who they were and who they want to be. With time ticking down, the couple are in a race to find the answers they need before they lose everything. Can they regain what they once had? And will it restore who they once were?

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So that ending...

Source

This series was an odd one. The first book had me confused and disliking the characters, but I was interested. The second book had me liking Silas and throwing around theories. And then the third came out.

 

Whereas the first two had intrigue and mystery, the third felt just like a sappy teen romance novel. Now, I've never read any other of Fisher's works, but I've read all of Hoover's and I know that there's talent in this writing so I expected to be blown away and shocked by the big reveal. When the "theory" of their memory loss was first presented, I scoffed. No way would the authors go that route. It's too, umm..., wishy-washy, for lack of a better term. But alas...

The reasoning behind everything just made no sense. In a sense I felt let down by it all. Here was a series that was so unique in it's plot and there's so much information being thrown around and that's what the author's chose to do with it? 

It wasn't horrible. I did enjoy the story, even if I didn't like one of the main characters. But the ending was weak.

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Book Review: That Baby (That Boy #3) by Jillian Dodd

The blurb as seen on Goodreads:
Release Date: August 10, 2015
Publisher: Self-published
405 Pages

First comes love, then comes marriage . . . and then comes That Baby.
That Baby is the final book in the That Boy trilogy by USA Today bestselling author, Jillian Dodd.

It’s amazing how a few little words can change your life.
It starts with a simple I love you.
It’s made official with I do.
And becomes incredible with I’m pregnant.
Jadyn is the girl I love. The girl I’ve always loved.
Our lives are like single threads meticulously woven together—the result an exquisite tapestry of past, present, and future.
Then there are the words that will unravel me.
A few little words that will change my life. 

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I just want to start off by saying that the authors dedication in the beginning of the book was one giant spoiler. Maybe next time wait until the end of the story to say things like that.

Now for the actual book...what did I just read? I have been looking forward to this book since the previous book ended. I fell in love with these characters in That Boy and while it diminished some in the sequel, the overall series made me happy. With the third book, it just died. I almost wish I hadn't read it and just ended it with That Wedding.
 

That Baby finds JJ and Phillip happily married and (obviously) expecting. They have their dream jobs, live in their dream house and are down the street from their best friends. Also, all of her friends get pregnant at the same time so it's just perfect *insert eye roll here*.

Throughout the series, the shining point has always been the guys: Phillip and Danny. Two complete opposites who have one of the best friendships I've ever read and they're just fun to read about. They make the scenes they're in more alive. Well, that was true in previous books but not in this one. I don't know how the author lost who these characters were but she really did. Phillip, who in the past was a best friend as well as a rock and a lover, just flat out turned into a prop here. He was only around for sex and compliments. Literally that was the extent of his character.

Danny, who believed in family and marriage and truth, became a liar and asked his friends to lie as well. Emotional cheating is still cheating and putting yourself in that position to where it happens multiple times makes you a douche. Also, shame on JJ and Phillip for allowing it to continue. And Danny, grow a freakin backbone.

Then there's the character of Lori. Oh god, what the author turned her into was horrendous. It's like she needed someone to be so horrible as to show how good and perfect that JJ was. As for Lori herself, after the things she said and did under the constant excuse of "I'm pregnant", I would never have remained friends with her. She was horrible and cruel for no reason.

Ugh, there were just so many things that didn't sit well with me in this one. The religious undertones, the "I'm so perfect" attitudes, the drama fueled by no reason. And the incident at the end - if that was supposed to give me feels...well, it kind of did, but more of the "are you effing serious?" than the ones Dodd probably wanted to create.

This finale was a major disappoint to me and has brought down my thoughts on the entire series. After reading some of Dodd's other work, I have often thought that maybe I was blinded by my love for Phillip in the first two books and that's why I rated them so high. After reading this one, I believe that is true.

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ARC Review: Sweet (Contours of the Heart #3) by Tammara Webber

The blurb as seen on Goodreads:
Release Date: April 27, 2015
Publisher: Self-Published
340 Pages

He’s the love of her life, but he doesn’t know it.
She’s his one moment of sacrifice in a lifetime of survival.

He was damaged and wild, but resilient.
She’s always been obedient. Now she’s restless.

Home for the summer between college and med school, Pearl Torres Frank knows two things: Boyce Wynn is the embodiment of everything she should run from, and everything she wants to run to. Rebellious and loud. Unconcerned with society’s opinion of him. Passionate. Strong. Dangerous.

And one more trait he hides from everyone but her:
Sweet.

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From the moment Boyce pulls Pearl out of the water when he was seven, he’s only been sure of one thing: Pearl was the girl for him, but he could never have her. They were a part of two different worlds, but what no one knew was that that they shared a secret friendship that ran much deeper than either of them wanted to admit to the other.

Boyce Winn grew up in an abusive home. His mother left when he was little, leaving him with his older brother and drunk father. Boyce’s older brother tried to protect him as much as he could, even joining the army to make a better life for the two of them. Unfortunately, fate was never kind to Boyce and he loses his brother in action. When we meet Boyce in Sweet, he’s dealing with the loss of his father – or rather, the newfound freedom he has. His life is finally his own and he has it set up pretty sweet, that is until his mother shows back up.

Pearl Torres Frank grew up in a neighborhood close to Boyce with her single mother. But when her mother marries a local doctor, her life does a complete 180 and suddenly she has the life of privilege. Everything she’s ever wanted is at her fingertips. Coming home after graduating college, she’s set to attend medical school in the fall, if she would just pick a place to go. Problem is, that’s not what Pearl really wants to do.

Told in both the past and the present, we get to really see the relationship between these two over the years. And wow, what a history. How they even kept their friendship a secret is beyond me. The electricity that’s between them anytime they were together just explodes off of the page. Their chemistry undeniable. While Boyce helps Pearl discover that she can fight for control of her own life, she helps him come to terms with his past and to be open to the future.

While this is considered part of a series, you honestly don’t have to have read the first two to understand this story. Honestly, it took me about 1/3 of the book to realize the connection to the others because I was so invested in what I was reading. (It also made me want to go reread Breakable to see more of Boyce & because I honestly don’t really remember them from it.)

Tammara Webber is just one of those authors for whom I would drop anything to read. Her books have an easy balance of romance and drama, with some lighthearted moments that just make you swoon. If you haven’t read her work, I highly recommend that you jump on that real quick. 

 

Book Review: Never Never: Part 2 (Never Never #2) by Colleen Hoover & Tarryn Fisher

The blurb as seen on Goodreads:
Release Date: May 17, 2015
Publisher: Hoover Ink
111 Pages

“Never forget that I was your first real kiss. Never forget that you’ll be my last.
And never stop loving me between all of them.
Never stop, Charlie.
Never forget.”

Silas races against time as more truths unravel, while others twist tighter together. And now, the stakes are higher as Silas’ control slips and others begin to point fingers. Charlie is in trouble and he must be the one to bridge the chasm between their past and their present. Because somewhere between I love yous and Never Nevers and Never Agains, a truth they can't imagine, beckons to be found.

“Where are you, Charlie?”

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So...I'm still confused, but I'm starting to put together little theories in my head with the little tidbits of information we do have. My theories are slightly extreme, not going to lie.

Never Never Part 1 left off with Charlie missing and Silas on the verge of losing his memories again. Part 2 picks up right where it's predecessor left off. Silas wakes in his car with no memory of who he is. Confused and disoriented, he tries to piece together the mystery of what's happening to them by going through all of the letters he wrote to himself. 

While I wasn't a huge fan of the first book, I enjoyed this one. I think it's because we actually got more out of the story here. The first was just a giant WTF moment while in the second, we know about the memory loss but now we are finding out more about their pasts and the clues are actually leading somewhere. I feel like I'm part of the Scooby gang frantically trying to solve the mystery.

There's not a whole lot of Charlie, which makes me happy. I'm still not a fan of hers and the more we learn about her, the more I just don't like her. Instead, we mostly get Silas. I feel for him, I really do. He's so obviously in love with Charlie (though I have no clue why) and so desperate to find her, even if he can't remember why he wants to do this. Helping him on his mission is his brother Landon, who is a cutie in his own right. 

The book ends on another cliff hanger which I was unprepared for. I thought this was a two-parter and the closer I got to the end, the more panicked I was because there was no way it was going to be solved with less than 4% remaining on my kindle. All in all, a much better showing with this one but still...

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10 Years Later: A Second Chance Romance by J Sterling

The blurb as seen on Goodreads:
Release Date: March 28, 2015
Publisher: Self-Published
256 Pages

Cammie:
It’s been ten years since I've seen him. Ten years. I have no idea what he’s doing,where he’s been or if he’s even still single. Have I thought about him over the years? Of course. Absolutely. But that doesn't mean anything, right? Just because you think about the boy you used to be in love with doesn't mean you’re still in love with them now. Does it?

Dalton:
I haven’t seen her in ten years. She’s the whole reason I’m even coming to this reunion. If it wasn't for her, I would have stayed home. I made mistakes back in high school. Hell, I was just a kid then. But I’m here to right my wrongs,tell her I’m sorry and win her back. She changed my whole life and she doesn't even know it. It’s time she knew.

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Some fear it, some love it. For some, it's that time to show off how far you've come. For others, it's a way to relive the glory days. It's the 10 year high school reunion.

Now, I didn't go to mine because, honestly, there wasn't anyone from high school that I really wanted to see. That was a time period that I am happy to forget. But for some, such as Cammie, it's a chance to maybe get back something that was lost.

Cammie had a rough senior year. Her life literally fell apart and the only thing that kept her going was Dalton - the boy she'd been crushing on for almost all of high school. She lived for their secret rendezvous, however, she was afraid to tell him how she really felt for fear that it would ruin what they had. 10 years later, she's regretting that decision and is hoping that the reunion will be just the place to meet up.

Dalton hasn't forgotten Cammie. Even though he's been off the social media networks, it doesn't mean that he hasn't been keeping tabs on her. He listens in to the morning radio show that she works on just for the chance to hear her voice. And like Cammie, his only reason for attending the reunion is to see her again.

While I didn't fall in love with the characters, it was a fast and cute read. I almost wish that the book had been divided into two parts: the first focusing on their high school relationship and the the second focusing on their meeting at the reunion and after. I liked reading the flashbacks throughout the story, but there were some that seemed thrown it at very weird moments and it took me out of the story a little. And there were no clear breaks at points between the past and the future.

However, I adore Sterling's witty writing. The internal monologues of her female characters are hilarious and for the most part, are relatable. Yes, there was some ridiculous drama thrown in that could have been easily avoided with just a little bit of communication, I liked the overarching feeling of hope that Sterling provided.

I definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a fast read, or something to read down by the beach.