Book Review: These Broken Stars - Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner

Title: These Broken Stars

Author: Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

Synopsis from Goodreads:   

Luxury spaceliner Icarus suddenly plummets from hyperspace into the nearest planet. Lilac LaRoux and Tarver Merendsen survive -- alone. Lilac is the daughter of the richest man in the universe. Tarver comes from nothing, a cynical war hero. Both journey across the eerie deserted terrain for help. Everything changes when they uncover the truth. 

The Starbound Trilogy: Three worlds. Three love stories. One enemy.

My Review:

These Broken Stars was a good adventure of twist and turns, a new planet, and budding love, and I look forward to reading the remainder of The Starbound Triliogy.  At the start of the book I almost felt like I was back on a cruise ship with all the different decks, entertainment options; but I felt the book really took off once Lilac and Tarver landed on the unknown planet.  As for the characters, I really enjoyed Lilac and Tarver’s relationship, it was fun at the beginning with each of them trying to display disinterest and indifference, and then growing into fondness with obvious attraction into something more.  In the end, I think the best aspects of this book was the world building and the story line/emotional roller coaster that the authors takes you on.

Rated:  PG 

Genre: Young Adult

Rating:  3.5 Stars - While I did love the world building, the travel time/time between action seemed kind of lengthy

Book Review: The Law of Moses - Amy Harmon

Title: The Law of Moses

Author: Amy Harmon

Synopsis from Goodreads:   

If I tell you right up front, right in the beginning that I lost him, it will be easier for you to bear. You will know it’s coming, and it will hurt. But you’ll be able to prepare.

Someone found him in a laundry basket at the Quick Wash, wrapped in a towel, a few hours old and close to death. They called him Baby Moses when they shared his story on the ten o’clock news – the little baby left in a basket at a dingy Laundromat, born to a crack addict and expected to have all sorts of problems. I imagined the crack baby, Moses, having a giant crack that ran down his body, like he’d been broken at birth. I knew that wasn’t what the term meant, but the image stuck in my mind. Maybe the fact that he was broken drew me to him from the start.

It all happened before I was born, and by the time I met Moses and my mom told me all about him, the story was old news and nobody wanted anything to do with him. People love babies, even sick babies. Even crack babies. But babies grow up to be kids, and kids grow up to be teenagers. Nobody wants a messed up teenager.

And Moses was messed up. Moses was a law unto himself. But he was also strange and exotic and beautiful. To be with him would change my life in ways I could never have imagined. Maybe I should have stayed away. Maybe I should have listened. My mother warned me. Even Moses warned me. But I didn’t stay away.

And so begins a story of pain and promise, of heartache and healing, of life and death. A story of before and after, of new beginnings and never-endings. But most of all...a love story. 

My Review:

I’m a fan of paranormal books, although I usually like to know when I’m reading one, The Law of Moses took me by surprise in that area, however the way that it is lightly paranormal mixed with real life written so well makes this book exceptionally awesome. Additionally Moses and Georgia's relationship unfolding scene by scene made this book very difficult to put down.  At first I thought the book was going to take the well worn story line of bad boy, trouble maker chasing after and ultimately winning over the nice, ‘perfect,’ innocent town girl; so I was happy when the story started down a different road all together and was filled with love, heartache,  mystery and suspense.  In this story it was Georgia doing all the initiating, making all the first moves and practically throwing herself at Moses, to which he eventually relents.  The “bad boy” persona of Moses is all drummed up gossip while he’s truly a stand-up guy who just wants to protect those people he actually cares for, and this makes him all the more appealing. Though, what I absolutely loved were the words forming the sentences making the book; this book was like reading one of the paintings Moses was plastering to the wall – very lyrical and colorful, one of those books that is very easy to picture in your imagination.

Rated:  Pg-13; some sensuality a bit of cussing I think…the rest of the book was so entrancing I can’t remember much cussing.  Any and all scenes of intimacy are spoken of emotionally rather than descriptions of the act.

Genre: New Adult 

Rating: 5 Stars - Beautifully Written

Book Review: Jackaby - William Ritter

Title: Jackaby

Author: William Ritter

Synopsis from Goodreads:   

“Miss Rook, I am not an occultist,” Jackaby said. “I have a gift that allows me to see truth where others see the illusion--and there are many illusions. All the world’s a stage, as they say, and I seem to have the only seat in the house with a view behind the curtain.”

Newly arrived in New Fiddleham, New England, 1892, and in need of a job, Abigail Rook meets R. F. Jackaby, an investigator of the unexplained with a keen eye for the extraordinary--including the ability to see supernatural beings. Abigail has a gift for noticing ordinary but important details, which makes her perfect for the position of Jackaby’s assistant. On her first day, Abigail finds herself in the midst of a thrilling case: A serial killer is on the loose. The police are convinced it’s an ordinary villain, but Jackaby is certain it’s a nonhuman creature, whose existence the police--with the exception of a handsome young detective named Charlie Cane--deny.

Doctor Who meets Sherlock in William Ritter’s debut novel, which features a detective of the paranormal as seen through the eyes of his adventurous and intelligent assistant in a tale brimming with cheeky humor and a dose of the macabre.

Review:

I picked up this book because I loved the idea of a paranormal Sherlock Holmes, however it took me quite a while to really get invested in this book.  I think that was because this felt more like watching a TV series than  a movie.  As a reader you get a pretty basic idea of the characters and who they were, Jackaby being the easiest since we all know Holmes pretty well, but I didn't really feel like I got any character depth on any of them.  Jackaby's character was my favorite because while he did echo all the parts of Sherlock everyone loves, he was very much his own character exhibiting a bit more compassion and personable attributes that Holmes lacked.  I enjoyed the diversity of characters and the legends/theories/stories presented; they made the discovery of 'who-did-it' part of the book more enjoyable.  I believe that people who enjoy Sherlock Holmes, and (in my opinion a better comparison than Dr. Who) the TV Series Grimm, this book (series) will have a lot of appeal.

Rated:  PG

Genre: Fiction - Mystery

Rating: 4 Stars

Book Review: Roomies - Lindy Zart

Title: Roomies

Author: Lindy Zart

Synopsis from Goodreads:  

Graham Malone is my roommate, my personal eye candy, the reason I get up in the morning smiling (that could be from the illicit dreams I have about him too, I suppose. Let's move on.). He's also beautiful to look at, but his heart is where his true beauty lies. Take away the exterior and the interior still shines. 

I love him. I mean, I'm pretty sure I do, having never been in love before. Anyway, it seems legit. 

And now his brother Blake is here, and, well, he's the complete opposite of Graham. Sarcastic, brooding, and totally available. But he's leaving soon, and Graham's the one I want. I shouldn't have to remind myself of this, right? I wouldn't have to if Blake would quit looking at me like I'm something yummy and he's starving.

Here's a toast to roomies; the ones you should never fall in love with. Or something.

My Review:

Roomies was “laugh-out-loud” fun, romantic read; filled with plenty of sarcasm, wit, antics, broody jealous guys,  strange parents, a love triangle, and a bit of forgiveness and reconciliation.  The voice of this book, Kennedy, is self-proclaimed immature (and she is), she is very ‘blonde,’ can’t drive worth a lick and deflects meaningful conversations with banter and sarcasm; but she becomes very insightful at moments as well, which would usually seem strange but somehow worked for her character very well.  It actually redeemed her, because let’s face it; she sometimes even got on my nerves, especially when she was absolutely oblivious to Graham’s  (roommate) obvious adoration for her.  Graham was likewise just as oblivious, which resulted in a lot of heated moments, and even a macho “you’re mine” up against a door; but with every two steps forward it seemed like we took three back on the whole “I don’t want to mess this up” train.  Of all the characters, Blake was the only one who wasn’t actually blonde (ditzy, or otherwise…what’s up with that, Lindy Zart….why was nearly everyone blonde?), this dark brooding male was equally as appealing as Graham, and he basically knew what was what from the very first day.

Rated: PG-13 – sensuality, cussing (actually, if this were a movie it would be R, because the F word was used multiple times… in one paragraph), alcohol

Genre: New Adult

Rating: 4 Stars

Book Review: The Kiss of Deception - Mary E. Pearsons

Title:  Kiss of Deception (The Remant Chronicals - Book 1)

Author: Mary E. Pearsons

Synopsis from Goodreads:

A princess must find her place in a reborn world.

She flees on her wedding day.

She steals ancient documents from the Chancellor's secret collection.

She is pursued by bounty hunters sent by her own father.

She is Princess Lia, seventeen, First Daughter of the House of Morrighan.

The Kingdom of Morrighan is steeped in tradition and the stories of a bygone world, but some traditions Lia can't abide. Like having to marry someone she's never met to secure a political alliance.

Fed up and ready for a new life, Lia flees to a distant village on the morning of her wedding. She settles in among the common folk, intrigued when two mysterious and handsome strangers arrive—and unaware that one is the jilted prince and the other an assassin sent to kill her. Deceptions swirl and Lia finds herself on the brink of unlocking perilous secrets—secrets that may unravel her world—even as she feels herself falling in love. 

My Review:

Kiss of Deception is a little bit hard for me to rate, because while part of me felt just a bit “eh” about the whole thing, another part of me could NOT.STOP.THINKING.ABOUT.IT.  I love the concept, the story of a young adult standing up for her rights and even wants and need; but then having to face the consequences of those actions. Lia was a strong and growing character, and I felt like I grew right along with her – I felt the injustice of an arrange marriage, her confusion as she was starting to discover her gift, and then her devastation at realizing the chain of events that has followed as a result of her running away.  The LOVE TRIANGLE (yes, of course) was beautiful, I was trapped between Rafe and Kaden, and had a very difficult time “choosing” a side, because throughout the first half of the book, both boys kind of made my heart melt.  All of that sounds great, so I’ll tell you what was wrong;  this book felt like it just draaagged on forever without a whole lot of action, and even that little bit kind of felt flat to me, which could have been the result of how long it took to get from Point A to Point B.

Rated: PG

Genre:  Young Adult - Dystopian, Romance

Rating: 3-Stars