Shark Bait by Jenn Cooksey

If this part actually ends up in the review, then it needs to be noted that it took 45 minutes to actually get to this point. I’m completely senseless over this book. I love this book like I love Cadbury Mini-eggs, a gift-card to Chapters, or even long-weekends. Shark Bait it better than snickerdoodles!

I had no idea that this book was going to be set in high school. For those of you who have already mentally ‘passed’ on this story because of the aforementioned, YOU SUCK!

Other then its setting, all you really need to know is that 1. There are two sisters who have been home schooled all their lives and are now going to public school for the first time; 2. Tristan is still technically jail bait in this novel (for the female readers who want to ‘swoon’ over him); and 3. Know your baseball rules.

Shark Bait is one of the funniest stories I’ve EVER read. All the characters are so lovable, even the ones you really want to hate. Combine that with dialogue that is sharp and comical, and you have a book that is PURE GENIUS.

I’ve read stories where the characters are in the same age group as those in Shark Bait. Some of them are really good, but then you get others where everything a character does manages to grate your last nerve because they are either whiny, dull, or shallow (even worse when it's all three). Not once during Shark Bait did I want to inflict bodily harm on this clever, intelligent bunch of kids. I was so impressed by the writing that I’d even read recipe cards by this author – and I don’t even cook!

Truth by Aleatha Romig

As I started reading the second book, my only thoughts were that Deuce (with his Horsemen) and Horse (with his Reapers) would be able to take care of Tony no problem. Seriously, why hasn’t anyone called them? I’m sure if they would have teamed up for that venture because this pretty-boy REALLY needed to be taken care of, if you get what I mean.

One of the first things that changed for me was that I almost instantly loved Claire. This ‘new’ version was (and I can only assume) what she was like BT (Before Tony). Though Tony tried his damnedest to extinguish that spark, it soon became evident that hell has no fury like Claire Nichols scorned. She had a good plan, had every intention to follow-through, and god knows she tried. Even though she came out fighting with everything she had, Tony was just that much better.

The moment I realized I didn’t want Tony buried in a concrete foundation or ‘accidentally’ shot to death, I began to question my sanity. I was seriously considering voluntarily checking myself into a psyche-ward. How in the name of all that is holy did I go from despising Anthony Rawlings (and all the associated lunacy that was Consequences) to actually liking him?

I hope I don’t get angry words sent my way, but I never saw Claire with Harry. In the beginning of their ‘relationship’, I had moments of “well, they would be nice together.” Those soon vanished and I realized that Claire only belonged with Tony – not to Tony, but with him; the 'new' Claire, who has the ability to bring the all-powerful Mr. Rawlings to his knees. Don’t get me wrong – I’d still like to put him in front of a firing squad for all the bull-s*** craziness he did, but the HEA-fiend in me would toss him a bullet-proof vest. If he survives, he’s managed to prove that he’s worthy of forgiveness.

Claire is definitely the heroine that I always believed her to be capable of being. Because a certain narcissistic, control freak a**hole (though he’s now trying to reform his ways so let’s give him some credit) forced her hand, Claire has now become vengeful, manipulative, and deceitful. It would almost be tragic that it appears as though she has moved onto the dark side if it didn’t play out with such hilarity. Watching her try to take down Tony and navigate through his minions at the same time is immensely comical.

Some readers might have seen what happened towards the end coming a mile away. I was blissfully unaware, and really enjoyed the build-up with the sneak peaks into the past.

While I really like Consequences, I LOVED Truth. It had the perfect mix of suspense, romance, and debauchery, that when brought together, made for a fantastic extension of the first book.

Consequences by Aleatha Romig

If you’ve read this book, you’ll probably wonder what the hell is wrong with me for thinking that this book was going to a run-of-the mill contemporary romance. Here are my excuses: I had no idea who the author was until I met her in March at the Boston Author Event (I'm fairly new to this indie-author scene); even after I purchased the book, I didn’t read the back, and I sure as hell didn’t read any reviews.

This book is a mind-f***, wrapped up in a shit-storm, sprinkled with a lot of crazy! And that’s the mildest term I could think of. It started out innocently enough. I even remember thinking ‘aww - it’s really sweet that he’s so persistent’. Right. Because I’m sure the argument can me made that even Hannibal Lecter had his decent moments in the beginning. Anthony Rawlings is the epitome of everything women are ever warned against, but he’s able to keep up appearances by maintaining a perfect facade.

There are moments when all seems better with their world, and I momentarily hoped that Tony would turn out to be some prince charming and his bat-shit-craziness would all be explained away by a debilitating medical condition. I would have even taken split-personalities. But no; just your everyday billionaire psychopath.

As much as I want to volunteer Tony as a target at a shooting-range, Claire had me wanting to claw my eyes out. In the beginning, she seemed like a strong, resilient individual. Even through everything she was enduring, the reader was able to see that the spark she was trying to contain was still there. My issue was that if you’re going to devote yourself to your captor, then don’t have moments of defiance that only end up detonating a cluster-f*** around you. I understand the first time, but there has to come a moment when you just have to survive, and not give the slightest bit of ammunition to someone who’s a loaded gun.

As I’m reading, my mind is screaming RUN! She never did. And then the internal battle would always begin:

first half of me: for the love of god woman, JUST RUN!
other half: you moron, she’s not going to run
first half: why the hell not?
other half: she’s probably afraid that if Tony finds her, he’ll chop her into pieces
first half: *sobbing*

Even just reading the words consequences, rules, and appearances has me trying to keep the bile from rising.

I’m reading on public transit as she’s grabbing the keys and in that moment, I pray I have a plastic bag in case I throw-up. The anxiety was all-consuming. I break out in a light sweat and the part of my brain that’s trying to salvage my sanity is telling me I need to stop. But I don’t. The way that Claire’s world began to fall apart during the joy-ride was nothing short of beautiful is the most perverse way (one would think that some sociopath SOB choreographed the entire thing...).

I wish I could say that the end was an absolute surprise, but I had a feeling it was heading in that direction. When all is said and done, I can’t decide who I hate more. Claire for not running, Anthony for scaring the bejeesus out of me with his incessant ways of controlling Claire, or Aleatha Romig for making me jump at the slightest beep. Pavlov would have a field day with how some readers still react to this book.

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again - hating characters in a book is an absolute compliment to a writer. It mean that the reader connected to them on an emotional level. It means that the characters were written in such a way that the reader had no choice but to feel something. It’s far worse to be indifferent because then nothing about the story was worth remembering.

Case in point - some of the awful characters in this book are what make this a really good book.

Left Drowning (ARC) by Jessica Park

Received an ARC; gave my honest opinion.

If I wanted to become an author, this is the caliber of writing I would aspire to. As a reader, Left Drowning is the reason I read; the reason I neglect my housework, deprive myself of sleep, and buy a stupid number of the same paperbacks.

This review might contain some spoilers, but I tried to be as vague with the characters as possible. That was hard because this book had me laughing and crying. It's really hard to say "BELIEVE ALL THE HYPE" and not give the whole thing away. Through Ms. Park's ability to write an amazing and captivating story, it made me consider God, love, family, and hope.

The beginning of this beautiful story permeated desolation. I have no idea how this author has such an innate ability to write depression nor do I care. Knowing these trade-secrets would almost be blasphemous.

The reader is first introduced to the main character in what could later be described as the turning point of her emotional bottom. Though the character can very well use a therapist, a prescription of antidepressants, and normal social interactions, her self-awareness is uncanny and gives the reader hope that there is an end to her self-imposed social exile.

After meeting a coffee-thief, the clouds seem to dissipate a bit for the main character. Unfortunately, in this moment of just maybe also came my moment of despair. Even through all the coffee-thief’s bravado, I can sense that not all is as it seems and my heart breaks immediately. In the first instance of meeting this thief, I fell for him hook, line, and sinker. I have no idea who this person is, and my soul is already shattered for him.

In that moment the coffee-thief seems to provide possibility of ‘more’, but it still isn’t enough. I can sense that the frail threads that are the main character are still loosening themselves. And it takes a stone-thrower to pull the few loose ends.

The life-altering tragedy of what happened to the main character and the way she unravels is so poetic that I was actually expecting an iambic pentameter somewhere in the midst of all the emotional brutality. After the gut-wrenching beat-down, it’s evident that the threads were suffocating her to the brink of nonexistence. With the help of the stone-thrower, she’s able to breathe.

About half way through, my hands begin to shake. I notice that I’m sweating, and the part of my brain that’s trying to protect my heart is telling me to put the book down. PUT THE FUCKING BOOK DOWN! It’s like having the ability to see three seconds into the future; just enough time to know, but not enough time to do anything about it. The stone-thrower is tearing my mending heart into a gazillion pieces. By the next chapter, I’m fighting nausea, wiping my tears and my snotty nose with my sleeve. There is nothing I can do to stop the destruction that’s about to occur, and I know this will only get worse.

But eventually it does get better. The main character has the unconditional love of the soccer player she reconnected with, the waitress she adores, the devoted study partner, and the coffee-thief who is the platonic love of her life.

But my original distress comes back with a vengeance and incapacitates me like a bullet through my guts.

The world of the coffee-thief, the waitress, the study partner, and the stone-thrower has been so damaged that the main character’s tragedy for a moment pales in comparison. It makes one want to inflict pain on those who wronged them regardless of their fictional status. It makes one want to take a black Sharpie and remove any mention of them. The one who wronged them is also the one that keeps everyone together and that is their only saving grace.

This is a story about bearing crosses that are too big for any one to carry alone. It’s a story about believing in the ability to just believe. It’s about love, and knowing that no matter how it’s done, it’s all-consuming and unconditional. It’s about hope for one day....

Simply, it’s a magnificent piece of fiction - one that transcends all genres.

Back to You by Priscilla Glenn

per·fect  

/ˈpərfikt/

Adjective Having all the required or desirable elements, qualities, or characteristics; as good as it is possible to be.

Verb Make (something) completely free from faults or defects, or as close to such a condition as possible.

Noun The perfect tense.

Synonyms adjective.   complete - absolute - consummate - utter - thorough verb.   improve - complete - finish - accomplish Fair warning, I like the word perfect, and I'm going to overuse it in this review. To make things fun, I will send a printed copy of Back to You the first person to tell me how many times I used the word 'perfect' (or any form of it). It might take me a while to get it to you, because it took me two weeks to get my copy. A perfect book is one that I will stand on a soap-box and hand out to the masses. It's a book I think everyone should read. It's a book that changes you; makes you look at the world just a little bit differently. It's a book that gives you hope, and one that you constantly think about. A perfect book is one that you turn to when other stories have let you down. A perfect book has you crying ugly tears from the sheer pain or hilarity of the story. It's the one you send overseas as a birthday gift so you and your best-friend can talk about it over Skype. And in the case of hopeless romantics, it's a book that you wish would be made into a movie starring Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams. I read a lot and almost anything. There are books that I would read for the next 30 years, and others that I wish I never picked up. I've experienced a 'perfect' book only a handful of times. As of 11:05pm EST on Apr.12th, Back to You became one of them. This has to be one of the best stories of friendship and love that I've read in a very long time. The retelling of Lauren and Del's story through glimpses to their past was executed perfectly. What made this story so complete and believable for me was that Ms. Glenn really developed the relationship between Lauren and Del. I felt like I understood Lauren, and even at times when he was an ass, I couldn't help but see Del the way she did. Del broke my heart, but I never pitied him. I just wished he would have figured his shit out sooner. The past and the present worked perfectly in parallel to each other to bring the reader to the pinnacle of the story. I started to hesitate as I sensed that crucial moment growing closer. I was hoping and praying that it wouldn't be a let-down. The turning point in Lauren and Del's friendship happened when they were teenagers, and quiet honestly, I was hating the possibility of an anti-climatic-angst-filled-typical-high-school-drama issue. I wanted something that had purpose. Something that made sense, especially given everything I now knew about these characters. I know one should never be happy about gut-wrenching heartache, but I think exceptions can be made when there's substance behind it. Lauren and Del were not some wishy-washy teenagers so their heartbreak shouldn't be fleeting either. Just when I couldn't love this story more, I read the lyrics to the song. That song was Lauren and Del because it was so honest and simple. If I was an author, I would write endings like this. The only thing finishing this book made me want to do was re-read it that very moment.

Connected by Kim Karr

Where to start...

fudge!shitakemushrooms!donkeyhole!mo-foandallthatisholy!*

Ok, I feel marginally better.

This book was recommended to me by someone whose opinion I hold in high regard. And now all I want to do is have a ‘discussion’ with her to find out WHY in god’s name she would inflict this kind of turmoil on me. WHY?!?

I finished this book in 6 hours and I can honestly say that I loved every second of the 360 minutes that were dedicated to the amazing story of River and Dahlia.

The beginning of the story tested my patients. Every moment after the bar, I wanted Ben gone. I didn’t necessarily wish death upon him, but he was trying my patience because every moment that he was with Dahlia meant that she wasn’t with River.

Then something shitty happens, and I feel bad for one nano-second (and only because it hurts Dahlia), but I know in my gut that what’s about to unravel will be the epitome of all that is delicious-rock-star-who can-love-like-no-other-and-makes-the-readers-want-to-kick-their-husbands-out-and-drive-to-LA awesomeness!

It doesn’t take a genius to realize that River and Dahlia are still insane for each other even after all these years. I can only speak for myself, but I really appreciated how Dahlia still had some internal struggles being with River. I think is she had been like ‘well, Ben’s not here but River is’, in a very nonchalant way, I would have actually hated this book. Sure I thought Ben was an arrogant d-bag (btw – LOVED that!), but no one deserves to be tossed aside like a banana peel after one’s demise. Even if it is for River Wilde

As for River...

Swoon. Sigh...more swooning. Looking at flights to LA. Wondering how to explain a trip to see a completely fictional character to my husband. Sigh. Swoon some more. Sigh a lot more. Try to sleep. Think how hard is it to play a guitar. Sigh. Wonder if sitting near a river this summer while re-reading about River will be poetic. Try to sleep again but realize that Holy Hell! River Wilde is now on my list of ‘Fictional Characters Who I Get a Hall Pass For’. This is huge because I’m very picky about who goes on this list.

I’m reading, and reading, and I’m starting to pick up on things that I was content to be in denial about. My mind started telling its own story about some of the things that seemed to have happened, and I didn’t like the direction it was going.

I have the paperback, and as the remaining pages begin to dwindle, I was getting frantic. Shit was about to hit the fan – I could feel it in my bones. But surely, the person who recommended this book doesn’t wish ill-will on me so there’s no way that she told me to read something that would cause me serious heart palpitations, dizziness, and nausea? WRONG!

Then Dahlia’s cell phone rang with Amazing Grace and I think ‘well, there are a few more pages to go...’, and as I flip the page and I see the chapter, I lose my effing shit! Or at least as much as I could on public transportation during rush-hour. I still hold out hope that it doesn’t go as far as it does. But it does and I’m convinced that the book-gods are conspiring against me (and all others who adore this book).

I’m so utterly angry that I love this book with such fierceness. If I felt luke-warm lust towards it, I might be able to make it through until the fall, but as it stands right now, I’m a lost cause.

*tamed the string of expletives as not to offend anyone.

The Edge of Never by J.A. Redmerski

This was a difficult book for me to get my hands on. I was told in Texas I needed to read it. I was told in Boston I needed to read it. No one told me why, just that I had to do it. My problem was that neither Chapters or Amazon.ca had the paperback, and Kobo...well, it's Kobo so lets leave it at that. Then one fateful day, instinct told me to check Amazon again, and lo and behold, there were paperbacks in stock. Fast forward almost 2 weeks, and it finally arrived on my doorstep.

This will contain a few near-spoilers, so please don't read on if you haven't read this book yet.

Some of you might disagree with the next paragraph, but it should be noted before you decide to burn me at the stake that this is a definite 4 stars on Goodreads since I don't have a numerical rating system.

So there are tragedies that have the reader reeling and feeling like they've been hit by a Mack truck. It's excruciating to breathe; absolutely difficult to concentrate; feeling of utter loss washes over you and your body experiences unreal pain that you couldn't fathom having over fictional characters in a novel.

Then there are 'tragedies' that feel like paper cuts. You feel nothing for the first three seconds, then it stings for a minute or two, and after the Band-Aid is applied, you forget about it. This is how the beginning of the story started out for me. I was honestly expecting Cam's issue to be soul-crushing. I think if there was more of Ian's story, I might have understood Cam a bit better. In the beginning, I just didn't get her.

Then about four hours before Denver, I noticed that I was devouring the pages faster, and my anxiety levels were beginning to increase. Oh thank God! The way that people speak of this book, I didn't want to be the one that didn't get it. And four hours before Denver, I began to think that this was not about Cam living with her tragic event but finally growing a figurative pair and living her life.

Andrews constant shouldn'ts gave me whiplash. I was convinced he was a psych-ward escapee. I was certain that he was a wanted man in certain states. I was sure that he somehow caused Ian's death. Then when they were in Galveston, I actually thought he might have been Ian's long-lost (but never written about) brother. Great writing causes my mind to run wild. I was so exhausted and angst-ridden. I didn't see 'it' coming, and that made me appreciate the story even more.

There are so many moments after Denver that I realized that this was going to be an epic kind of love. The story was no longer about Cam and her journey, but rather Andrew and Cam together as a single entity. New Orleans seems like the ideal setting to have significant change take place. Maybe because the city itself persevered.

When Andrew gets the call, I see the headlights in the distance. When he leaves, I finally see the 18-wheeler. I know I'm going to be crushed (I had this image of myself running down the streets of New Orleans trying to find him, and dragging his ass back to Cam - maybe my effort would keep the Mack away...). There is the moment of reprieve when the truck swerves and you sigh with relief. But something is wrong because you still hear that very distinct engine. Over breakfast, it crashes into you. It breaks you. Your lungs are about to give up and you can't breathe.

In the end, I thought it was very fitting that two people who have had their share of blight have their relationship solidified by another 'catastrophe'.

I knew there was going to be a follow-up to this novel. I finally read the synopsis to The Edge of Always after I finished The Edge of Never. The way the first book ended would have been enough for me. It gave a perfect sample of the kind of life they would have, and I was content with that. After reading the synopsis, I'm tied up in knots.

I finally get this story and the effect it has on people.