ARC Review: Tin Star (Tin Star #1) by Cecil Castellucci

The blurb as seen on Goodreads:
Release Date: February 25, 2014
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
240 Pages

On their way to start a new life, Tula and her family travel on the Prairie Rose, a colony ship headed to a planet in the outer reaches of the galaxy. All is going well until the ship makes a stop at a remote space station, the Yertina Feray, and the colonist's leader, Brother Blue, beats Tula within an inch of her life. An alien, Heckleck, saves her and teaches her the ways of life on the space station.

When three humans crash land onto the station, Tula's desire for escape becomes irresistible, and her desire for companionship becomes unavoidable. But just as Tula begins to concoct a plan to get off the space station and kill Brother Blue, everything goes awry, and suddenly romance is the farthest thing from her mind. 

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Tin Star is a story about revenge – plain and simple. Normally, I like me a good revenge story. However this one made me want to gouge my eyes out from sheer boredom. Couple that with the fact that I have to finish a book once I start, this read for a loooong read with my pal Emily. 

Tula has sworn revenge on a man named Brother Blue, a man she trusted, but who left her for dead on an alien space station. As Tula learns to survive amidst this alien race, she unravels more of the secrets Brother Blue was keeping, along with the secrets hidden within space station. She makes friends, allies – basically becomes one of them. Then a group of humans arrive and throw everything into chaos.

This book was roughly 240 pages long and I felt every page. I love sci-fi and fantasy books. One of the best parts is learning new worlds and seeing how they work. This is where Tin Star failed, horribly. There was no world building. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. The beginning opens up with us on the Yertina Feray (the space station) where Tula and Brother Bear, along with a colony of humans, are getting ready to set sail onto another planet to set up a new home. That’s pretty much the only backstory we get on anything. Nothing about how the world came to be this way. No explanations on all of the different species. What little information Castellucci gives, she shoves into one lengthy paragraph that leaves your head spinning because it literally makes no sense. 

On top of the nonexistent world building, there’s also the lack of likeable characters. I’m not saying that all of the characters were unlikeable, it’s just that we’re never given the chance to get to know them. We’re told who they are and what species they are, but we never get a real feel for them. In the beginning, I felt horrible for Tula but as time went on, I forgot why. 

I couldn’t connect with anything or anyone in this book. It almost felt like this entire book was just a summarization of someone’s life, not a story. If you want people to care, you need to put effort into it. I just didn’t feel like there was any here. 

I received an e-copy of this novel from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion and review.

ARC Review: Song of the Fireflies by JA Redmerski

The blurb as seen on Goodreads:
Release Date: February 4, 2014
Publisher: Forever
464 Pages

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author J. A. Redmerski of The Edge of Never brings us a heart-wrenching New Adult novel.

Elias Kline and Brayelle Bates have been inseparable since they were kids. When Bray moves to South Carolina, separating the two for the first time, they realize that their innocent childhood friendship has developed into something much more. So when Bray returns to Georgia -and to Elias-four years later, things between them couldn’t be more perfect…until one fateful night changes everything.

Desperate not to go to prison for a terrible accident, Elias and Bray decide to run. As they try to make the most of their freedom, the two find themselves relying on a rebellious group of people who tempt the duo into a wild and daring new life. But they can’t run from their troubles forever.

As the consequences of their past catch up to them, the couple must face reality. Even if they can make it through the unimaginable, Elias knows the truth about Bray’s painful history, and in the end he may not be able to save Bray from herself…

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There were so many things wrong with this book, I don’t even know where to begin. Let’s just start with the one quote that’s said multiple times throughout this book, “If you’re not guilty, then why did you run?” At least 75% of the trainwreck revolves around that question. I’m going to try to make this review as spoiler free as possible, but I may need to reveal a few details so to understand my position.

Let’s start with our cast: First, there’s Elias Kane. He falls in love at a very early age only to have the love of his life bail the minute they decide to have a real relationship. He tries to move on, only to end up back in the arms of the girl who caused him so much pain. He’s fiercely loyal to the extent that his personality resembles a lost puppy following around their master. 

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Then there’s Brayelle Bates. She’s obviously the love of above said puppy. Bray, as everyone calls her, runs so hot and then so cold that it’s really hard to tell where she stands on anything. Everything is always about her – no one understands her, the darkness follows her, she can’t live like this, blah blah blah. I get that she has a mental disorder, but the author set her and her disease up horribly that the whole time I was reading, I was like

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Then there’s the plot – or lack thereof. Bray and Elias end up together after Bray flees the state to get away from her feelings. She comes back and everything is ok, they’re in love after all. Then there’s a party that ends up with a dead girl at the bottom of a cliff. Bray, convinced that she’s going to prison, decides to run and Elias goes with her. They pack up their car and hit the road. Side note: I’ve decided that Redmerski is incapable of writing a story without the main characters living out of a car or on some roadtrip. Anyway, I digress. Along the road, more drama happens and they find themselves without a car, money, or even clothes. But never fear, there’s a group of strangers that let them freeload off of them for months. Months spent partying on the beach just doing drugs and having sex. Literally, that’s the story. Oh wait, there’s a police standoff at the end – can’t forget about that.

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There was just so much wrong with the writing and with the plot that I ended up skimming the last 20% because I was bored and annoyed. I understand that as a NA novel the characters have more freedom, but the amount of drug use in this book bordered on extreme. Same with the amount of sex. Sex was used as a transition. The author needed to end a scene but didn’t know how – sex. End of a chapter – sex. End of a fight –sex. And not even good sex scenes, I skimmed over those as well. And I’m sorry, but if you’re doing anal for the first time, there needs to be prep, you can’t just stick it in and have it be pleasurable for the girl. I figured that was common knowledge. 

This is this third book I’ve read from Redmerski and despite my hopes that maybe it will get better, it just keeps getting worse. Needless to say, I will not be reading anything else by this author.

I received an copy of this novel from the publisher via Netgalley for my honest opinion and review.

ARC Review: Happy New Year, Baby Fortune! (The Fortunes of Texas: Welcome to Horeseback H #1) by Leanne Banks

The blurb as seen on Goodreads:
Release Date: January 1, 2014
Publisher: Harlequin Special Edition
224 Pages

Lullabies and cowboys? USA TODAY bestselling author Leanne Banks kicks off the new Fortunes of Texas continuity with a story of a single mom and the sexy rancher who sweeps her off her feet!

As she rings in the new year in Horseback Hollow, Texas, single mom Stacey Fortune Jones tries to count her blessings. She has an adorable baby girl, Piper; supportive parents; good friends. Best of them all is Colton Foster, her longtime neighbor from the ranch next door. He always seems to be around when she needs him. Trouble is, she may be starting to need him a bit too much.

She's off-limits, Colton keeps telling himself. The tall, muscular rancher turns to mush every time he sees Stacey. But falling for his little sister's best friend seems wrong on so many levels. She's on the rebound. She's got a baby. She's...complicated. What's a big-hearted cowboy to do?

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Not going to lie, but this book drove me up the wall. I knew reading the description (and the fact that it was Harlequin) that it was going to be a cheesy romance, but sometimes you need that in your life. And there was a baby. Nothing I love more than a strong man with a baby, especially when said boy is a cowboy. But this…this was just hard to get through.

Stacey Fortune Jones is a single mom trying to raise her daughter is a small Texas town. Her ex ran off before she had the baby leaving Stacey to move back in with her parents as she tries to rebuild her life. Colton Foster is her neighbor and longtime friend, also used to be the best friend of Stacey’s ex. When he starts spending time with Stacey, he realizes he wants more but he’s hesitant because he doesn’t want to be a rebound and because of the baby.

The story itself wasn’t bad. There were cutesy parts, parts that made you go “aww”, but there were also parts that made you roll your eyes and want to bash your head against a wall. What killed me though was the writing. It was very inconsistent. There were parts where the writing was extremely choppy and very blunt. He drove. He knocked. She answered. Then other times, there were pointless additions to the sentences almost as if to make them longer and up her word count. “I’ll see you at the wedding and reception.” Nobody talks like that. Almost all of the dialogue seemed so forced and unnaturally that it was hard to read. “You can put your meetings with Piper on your schedule on your smartphone calendar. You put your other appointments on there, don’t ya?” There’s just so many better ways to say this. And this isn’t the only time, it happens constantly. Actions were also very inconsistent. Colton drives to Stacey’s house for a date and she decides to take her car because the car seat is in there, but in the next scene, Colton is pulling the car into the diner parking lot. I mean, I guess Stacey could have let Colton drive her car, but there was no mention of this and from the previous scene it sounded like Stacey was driving. 

But the main thing that bothered me was the overuse of full names and relations. This was a book set in a small town where everyone knew everyone else. While I get when setting up the characters you need to describe their relationships to each other, but why on earth would you say “my brother Liam” or “my mother Joanne” every time you talk about them, especially when the person you’re talking to knows them? They would know how you’re related, no need to point it out constantly! Also, why must you say everyone’s full names when discussing them? Jeanne Marie Fortune Jones. Stacey Fortune Jones. AHHHHHHHH! All of this just took me out of the book and made me extremely frustrated. 

All in all, definitely could have skipped this one.

I received an e-copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in return for an honest review.

Book Review: Beautiful Disaster (Beautiful #1) by Jamie McGuire

The blurb as seen on Goodreads:

Release Date: August 14, 2013
Publisher: Atria Books
418 Pages

The new Abby Abernathy is a good girl. She doesn’t drink or swear, and she has the appropriate number of cardigans in her wardrobe. Abby believes she has enough distance from the darkness of her past, but when she arrives at college with her best friend, her path to a new beginning is quickly challenged by Eastern University's Walking One-Night Stand. 

Travis Maddox, lean, cut, and covered in tattoos, is exactly what Abby needs—and wants—to avoid. He spends his nights winning money in a floating fight ring, and his days as the ultimate college campus charmer. Intrigued by Abby’s resistance to his appeal, Travis tricks her into his daily life with a simple bet. If he loses, he must remain abstinent for a month. If Abby loses, she must live in Travis’s apartment for the same amount of time. Either way, Travis has no idea that he has met his match.

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I hate this book. I truly hate this book and everything for which it stands. I had heard many things about this book before trekking through it myself. It got to the point where I had two reasons for reading this: 1) I requested a review copy before it received a ton of negativity, and 2) morbid curiosity. So reading Beautiful Disaster was less a matter of if I should read it, but rather when should I read it. Either way, I'm scarred for life and angry at myself for wasting my time. (But at least I didn't waste my money, AMIRITE?)

Beautiful Disaster reads right out of a police report when Abby Abernathy, who is a "good girl" meets Travis Maddox, who is a serial killer (or just a terrifying, man-whore, violent college student--same thing). They don't get together for awhile because both of them are determined not to, for annoying and overused reasons. When they do get together, they go through all of these trials that are over-exaggerated to make the book and relationship more dramatic, including mobsters, fist-fighting, fires, new boyfriends, parties, etc. And then they lived happily-ever-after (until Travis kills her in a fit of rage after another guy held the door open for her…because really.).

The characters were horrid. Not only were they only partially formed, but the parts of them that were developed made me want to sharpen my shank. Even the minor characters lacked the qualities needed to consider them "good people." The only character with a lick of sense was Abby's roommate, and I can't even remember her name, but I do remember that everyone hated her. All of the other females (besides Abby, America and Abby's roommate) in Beautiful Disaster were labelled sluts and shoved into a corner to be shamed. SHAME ON YOU FOR BEING ATTRACTED TO A GUY, HAVING SEX WITH HIM AND HOPING THAT HE WOULD CALL YOU THE NEXT DAY. WHAT IS THE THE 1800'S? Then there is Travis, who represents the worst kind of man. He's abusive, violent, crude, disgusting and just plain despicable. Yet every female on campus, except for Abby's roommate, thinks he's a hottie and would drop their panties for him. Because that's definitely realistic, everyone likes that same kind of man. Abby isn't much better. She's judgmental, hypocritical, and absolutely obnoxious. Abby's behavior about ninety percent of the book is appalling and immature. I wanted to kick her in the face. She also has the worst taste in friends because America, "Mare," or "Horse" as I prefer to call her, is horrid. If there was an award for worst fictional BFF, Horse would be in the top three (if she didn't win it all). And her boyfriend, Shep? He has no personality. He has no real part in the story, except (again) to enhance the drama the occurs for Travis and Abby. Shep could've been completely wiped off of the map and no one would've noticed. 

Not only were the characters awful, but the plot was completely unrealistic. The author seemed to just throw things into the book to cause more drama for the characters and she couldn't pull it off at all. Sometimes, simple is best. And I don't know about everyone else, but when I'm reading a contemporary novel about people in college, I like the book to actually be about the characters in college rather than them say… Taking a trip to absolve a debt for the main character's drunkard father. Because really when they go to Vegas and gamble with mobsters? I laughed my butt off because that was so unbelievably far-fetched. And what started it all? A bet. On what planet is someone like, "Oh, I lost a bet to you? Let me live with you and your cousin for a month." NEVER. THAT'S WHEN. Plus the pacing of the story was horrendous. The book immediately dove into the story, giving us no background and no chance to get to know our main characters. (Not that I really wanted to know them.) And then it dragged on f-o-r-e-v-e-r. I got to 52% and literally cursed aloud because I thought I was almost done. But no, the author wanted to suck the life from me completely. And then we get to the end and I almost did a double-take. YES, LET ME TATTOO MYSELF WITH YOUR NAME BECAUSE I AM YOUR PROPERTY, MASTER. YESSS. (Also, getting a tattoo does not hurt to the extent that the author writes. It feels more like you are repeatedly being scratched, so it's a bit tedious. I have three (including one on my hip) none of which were painful. So that annoyed the hell out of me.)

I'm just tired when it comes to Beautiful Disaster. It didn't make me feel anything but annoyance. I was so bored with the writing style and sickened by the characters that I couldn't find it in me to be angry throughout the entire story. That anger was reserved for a few specific parts, which if you've read the story, I'm sure you know exactly what I'm talking about. I'm actually quite disappointed that it didn't evoke a deeper emotional response from me.

I can't say much more that hasn't already been said, but I will say that I do not understand how this is so popular. And now I'm even more offended that my cousin, who read this before me (and loved it--I judged her so hard) said that she was surprised that I hated this because it, and I quote, "seemed like my kind of book." Be right back, crying my eyes out due to the shame I feel.

I received an e-copy of this novel from the publisher for my honest opinion and review via Netgalley.

ARC Review: A Million Dirty Secrets (Million Dollar Duet #1) by C.L. Parker

The blurb as seen on Goodreads:
Release Date: August 27, 2013
Publisher: Random House
368 Pages

For fans of Fifty Shades of Grey and Bared to You comes a wickedly erotic new novel of innocence, desire, and unbridled pleasure.

Delaine Talbot has a secret. When a matter of life and death threatens to tear apart her family, Delaine makes the ultimate sacrifice. She auctions herself off at Chicago’s most exclusive erotic club. Now she belongs to Noah Crawford, a wealthy mogul who introduces her to a seductive feast of the senses, awakening desires she only dreamed about. 

Noah doesn’t know why Delaine sold her body for a cool two mil. But it’s the perfect business arrangement. The inexperienced beauty will learn to satisfy his every sensual need, yet never touch his heart. Almost immediately their relationship generates heat—in more ways than one. When they fight, they take no prisoners. When they love, they show no mercy. When they’re together, they never want to leave each other’s arms. But soon, their intense, physical bond will take an unexpected turn—evolving into something neither has bargained for: the promise of a lasting love.

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There’s this little issue with pulled to publish fan fictions – no matter how much (or how little) you change it, it’s still taking someone else’s characters and trying to pass them off as your own. This is a major problem and the reason why it’s hard for me to support any of these. When you write fan fiction, you’re writing with a set group of characters that many people know going in, you get a little bit a leeway when writing because you don’t really need that much characterization. People already know them. However, when writing original work, you’re introducing brand new characters to people who have never heard of them. There needs to be strong characteristics and development throughout the book. The latter was lacking here.

A Million Dirty Secrets is the story of a millionaire buying a sex slave and despite all the odds, they *gasp* fall in love. Aside from this having been a Twilight fan fiction, I have no idea how this even got published – and by an actual publishing house. It’s so ridiculous and over the top, not to mention highly offensive and absurd. I didn’t honestly read the last half of the book, I skimmed it. I just couldn’t do it. 

Delaine sells herself to Noah to get money for her mother’s heart surgery – apparently not ever having heard that there’s something called a donor list that her mother would have to go through first. 

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After being “purchased”, Delaine proceeds to be a complete bitch to Noah. Mind you, I do not agree with, nor do I remotely like anything Noah does, but her snotty attitude and “poor me” whining needs to go. Are we supposed to feel sorry for her? You did this to yourself; I have no pity for you. 

Delaine and Noah were very one dimensional characters, and not even original one dimensional characters. Delaine was the sweet innocent virgin who was just trying to do the right thing, but once she has an orgasm – WATCH OUT! A ‘sexual beast’ is born and she’s perfect at everything she does. Just a natural. (Fancy that.)

And Noah? Well, he’s the sex god who awoke the beast (as only he could). The perfect male specimen: rich, gorgeous, scared to love again because he’s been burned, and a penis that changes chaste virgins into horny sex kittens. 

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None of this is original. It’s all been done before. Multiple times. Please let’s move away from this. 

The actual writing itself was another issue. The inner voices and dialogue between the characters felt forced, like the author was trying too hard to be witty and funny. Instead, it came across as childish and immature.

“…licking my chops when I poured the moo juice over the cocoa yumminess and it turned all chocolaty.”

“I mean, crotch docs saw a lot of snatch, so you had to wonder if yours looked any different…”

“He’s got some real potential to be all that and a bag of chips…”

That’s just a few.

The sex scenes were even worse:

“He pressed his hips forward and that thing in his pants nudged the girliest part of me.”

“…my tongue got its swirl on.”

How is that sexy?

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This was supposed to be an erotica/love story, but how do you fall in love with someone you haven’t even had a real conversation with? The only thing that happened in this book was sex, snarky comment, sex, snarky comment, sex, poor me, sex, predictable angst, cliffhanger ending. 

Your love is invalid.

I received an e-copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.