Book Reviews – Page 19 – Zakiya N. Jamal

Book Review: Big Rock

Posted on January 14, 2016January 22, 2016 by Zakiya N. Jamal in Book Reviews, Books to Buy

Synopsis from Amazon:

It’s not just the motion of the ocean, ladies. It’s definitely the SIZE of the boat too.
And I’ve got both firing on all cylinders. In fact, I have ALL the right assets. Looks, brains, my own money, and a big c&$k.

You might think I’m an as%*$le. I sound like one, don’t I? I’m hot as sin, rich as heaven, smart as hell and hung like a horse.
Guess what? You haven’t heard my story before. Sure, I might be a playboy, like the NY gossip rags call me. But I’m the playboy who’s actually a great guy. Which makes me one of a kind.

The only trouble is, my dad needs me to cool it for a bit. With conservative investors in town wanting to buy his flagship Fifth Avenue jewelry store, he needs me not only to zip it up, but to look the part of the committed guy. Fine. I can do this for Dad. After all, I’ve got him to thank for the family jewels. So I ask my best friend and business partner to be my fiancée for the next week. Charlotte’s up for it. She has her own reasons for saying yes to wearing this big rock.

And pretty soon all this playing pretend in public leads to no pretending whatsoever in the bedroom, because she just can’t fake the kind of toe-curling, window-shattering orgasmic cries she makes as I take her to new heights between the sheets.

But I can’t seem to fake that I might be feeling something real for her.

What the hell have I gotten myself into with this…big rock?

After reading a lot of YA, which I love, I decided to step out of my regular reading zone and jump into some erotica. The last romance/erotic novel I read was Fall With Me by Jennifer L. Armentrout in May, so it’s been a while.

I don’t remember how this book crossed my radar but I do remember reading the description and being intrigued. Give me a best friend relationship that turns into something more and I’m automatically hooked.

This book was everything I wanted (and expected) it to be. Lauren Blakely chose to tell this story from the guy’s, Spencer, point of view and I liked that a lot. This is the first erotic novel I read from the guy’s point of view and I liked it. I don’t know if this is true of all guys so I don’t want to say it is but in this case Spencer didn’t spend too much time dissecting what everything meant. He keeps things pretty straight forward and I liked that a lot.

He was attracted to Charlotte, they started hooking up, and then he starts to think maybe they should be more than friends. It’s that simple. Of course he questions whether being more than friends with her is the right thing to do but we don’t get chapters and chapters of him worrying about it, which I appreciated.

Also, I liked Spencer as a person. I think it was a little much that Blakely basically made him into the perfect guy who’s rich, hot, and well mannered, but this is fiction so I went along with it. Besides, it was nice to read about a guy who didn’t need to be fixed or had some crazy, dark secret that his love interest would have to get past in order for them to be together.

Instead, Spencer is just a regular guy who is a bit cocky but besides that is funny, kind, and loves his parents and younger sister, Harper, which I found to be cute and endearing. And I really liked his relationship with Charlotte. They play well off each other and although I think the pacing of the novel was a little fast and I found Charlotte’s quick preposition to be “friends with benefits” with Spencer a little unbelievable, I still enjoyed the novel.

As far as the erotic parts go, they were good and steamy as well. This is probably the best erotic novel I’ve read so far. The erotic scenes weren’t too much and I actually liked the plot too. Plus, Spencer and Charlotte are really cute together. Definitely check out this book if you want to dip your toe in erotic fiction. It’s a good gateway book into the genre.

Also, if you read this and love it there’s a sequel coming out this summer! It’s titled Mister Orgasm, which will make more sense once you read Big Rock (although, let’s be real, it’s already kind of self explanatory). I’ll probably read the next one because I’d like to enter this world again and it stars Spencer’s best friend, Nick, and Spencer’s sister, Harper, and I could already sense the sparks between them in this novel. Plus, the “dating the sister of my best friend” trope is also a favorite of mine.

Borrow or Buy: Buy!

Stars:

Favorite Line:

“My heart trips over itself in a race to get closer to her. Something is happening. Something strange and completely foreign. My heart is speaking a language I don’t understand as it tries to fling itself at Charlotte. Great. Now, that’s two organs I have to do battle with every day.”

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Book Review: Let It Snow

Posted on January 12, 2016January 11, 2016 by Zakiya N. Jamal in Book Reviews, Books to Buy

Synopsis from Amazon:

A Christmas Eve snowstorm transforms one small town into a romantic haven, the kind you see only in movies. Well, kinda. After all, a cold and wet hike from a stranded train through the middle of nowhere would not normally end with a delicious kiss from a charming stranger. And no one would think that a trip to the Waffle House through four feet of snow would lead to love with an old friend. Or that the way back to true love begins with a painfully early morning shift at Starbucks. Thanks to three of today’s bestselling teen authors—John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle—the magic of the holidays shines on these hilarious and charming interconnected tales of love, romance, and breathtaking kisses.

*This book is part of my POPSUGAR 2016 Reading Challenge.*

Although the holiday season is now over I couldn’t let that stop me from finally reading this book. Therefore, when I got the email from the library saying I got it I couldn’t wait to read it so I just did.

Although each short story is it’s own story they are all interconnected and take place in the town of Gracetown. Due to a massive snow storm Jubilee, the protagonist of the first story by Maureen Johnson, gets stuck in Gracetown, on her way to Florida to be with her grandparents since her parents are in jail. Yeah, it’s a long story.

Jubilee, who had big plans of spending Christmas with her always busy boyfriend, is devastated that she not only won’t be with her boyfriend but she won’t be with her family either. Thankfully, there’s a nice guy from Target with an overbearing mother there to help get her in the holiday spirit.

The next story is by John Green and although I loved each of these stories, I have to say Green wins it for me. This story follows Tobin and his best friends, the Duke and JP, as they try to make it the Wafflehouse in an effort to spend the night with some cheerleaders. However, due to the massive snow storm this is easier said than done and these three quickly realize sometimes the journey is way more fun than the destination (although the destination is definitely much warmer). Oh, and of course there’s a cute little romance going on as well.

Lastly, is Lauren Myracle’s story, which is the perfect conclusion to the book. Addie is devastated that she’s spending her Christmas alone because she thinks her boyfriend, Jeb, hasn’t forgiven her for the terrible mistake she made. But Addie soon realizes that maybe she hasn’t really been looking at the big picture of what went wrong in their relationship. In an effort to change, Addie tries to step outside herself and care more about the people around her than just her own issues. Also, both couples from the first two stories make an appearance, which is amazingly cute.

Overall, this is the perfect holiday novel to read. Each story is cute, funny, and heartwarming and I’d definitely read it again during the next holiday season.

Borrow or Buy: Buy!

Stars:

Favorite Line:

“Christmas is never over,unless you want it to be…Christmas is a state of mind.”

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Book Review: Seven Ways We Lie

Posted on January 7, 2016March 22, 2016 by Zakiya N. Jamal in ARC Reviews, Book Reviews, Books to Buy

*I received a free advanced reader’s copy of this book from Amulet Books. This did not influence my review of this book in anyway. This is an honest review of the novel as I saw it. This novel will be on sale on March 8, 2016.*

Synopsis from Amazon:

In Seven Ways We Lie, a chance encounter tangles the lives of seven high school students, each resisting the allure of one of the seven deadly sins, and each telling their story from their seven distinct points of view.

The juniors at Paloma High School all have their secrets, whether it’s the thespian who hides her trust issues onstage, the closeted pansexual who only cares about his drug-dealing profits, or the neurotic genius who’s planted the seed of a school scandal. But it’s Juniper Kipling who has the furthest to fall. No one would argue that Juniper—obedient daughter, salutatorian, natural beauty, and loyal friend—is anything but perfect. Everyone knows she’s a saint, not a sinner; but when love is involved, who is Juniper to resist temptation? When she begins to crave more and more of the one person she can’t have, her charmed life starts to unravel.

Then rumors of a student–teacher affair hit the fan. After Juniper accidentally exposes her secret at a party, her fate falls into the hands of the other six sinners, bringing them into one another’s orbits. All seven are guilty of something. Together, they could save one another from their temptations—or be ruined by them.

When I was first told about this book I was very interested in the concept. Add in the fact that the author, Riley Redgate, is still in college and this book instantly became a must read for me.

Why does the author’s age matter, you ask. It’s simply because I love YA novels that are written by people who are young adults themselves. Don’t get me wrong, adults are great YA authors, obviously. But there’s something so open and genuine about someone who’s a young adult themselves writing about young adults.

Going into this book I didn’t have any expectations other than I liked the concept and I was excited to read it. Therefore when I did read it I got so sucked in that I finished the whole novel in a day.

The novel follows seven high school students: Olivia, Juniper, Matt, Valentine, Lucas, Kate, and Claire. Each of these students represent one of the seven deadly sins in some way. First, I just want to share who I think each one represents and I’d love to hear your opinions once you read the book.

Olivia = Lust
Juniper = Gluttony
Matt = Sloth
Claire = Envy
Kate = Wrath
Lucas = Greed
Valentine = Pride

Honestly, I have no idea if these are correct. Valentine threw me off a bit because he doesn’t seem to represent any of the sins to me. Still, this is my best guess.

Now that that’s out of the way, let’s talk about the novel. I really enjoyed this story. I liked the mystery of the whole teacher-student sex scandal (you don’t discover who the teacher is until close to the end). Although I guessed correctly pretty early on who it was but it wasn’t so blatantly obvious to me that I was 100 percent sure and the story behind the scandal was unexpected.

Additionally, I really liked that this book wasn’t all about the scandal. Don’t let the synopsis fool you. For one thing all these characters don’t really come all together until closer to the end of the book. There’s so many things going on before they end up keeping a shared secret.

Olivia, Juniper, and Claire’s friendship is on the rocks because they all have issues and secrets they’re not sharing with each other. Olivia and Kat are twins who are barely speaking and have serious familial troubles. Speaking of familial troubles, Matt’s household isn’t fairing that well either. Lucas has a big secret that could change his whole world if it comes out. And Valentine…well, he was probably my favorite character but he has his own issues as well.

The plot of this novel was well driven and the changing of point of view between the seven characters was very well done. Redgate skillfully changes the voice of each character so they all stand out. This is especially seen in the way she writes Juniper’s POV, which to me read kind of like an Ellen Hopkin’s novel, in that it was less prose and more poetry.

As much as I did enjoy this book, I still had some issues with it. First, unless I missed it, we don’t discover Valentine’s gender until page 110. Up to that point in my head I thought Valentine was a woman and so when it became evident he wasn’t I was a little shocked and had to change my whole perspective.

Secondly, although I liked that each character had their own voice I couldn’t stand the overuse of “like” in Matt’s POV. Also, in his sections all conversations were said in whole paragraphs. For example, rather than splitting up lines of dialogue someone would say, “Hi,” and then I was like, “Hi,” and then he says,”What’s up,” and I’m like, “Nothing. You?”

I don’t know why but that infuriated me. Especially the “likes.” I know we use it in normal conversation but I hated reading it in a book when it wasn’t part of the dialogue. Speaking of dialogue, Matt and Olivia’s use of “Yo,” didn’t sit right with me. It always seemed out of place every time they said it.

Lastly, Claire does something in the novel and we don’t really know if she gets punished for it or not. I wish that could’ve been resolved more. Also, I just genuinely didn’t like Claire as a character and couldn’t muster any sympathy for her.

Still, despite these very small things, I was totally sucked into this novel and couldn’t put it down. I’d say it’s a must read!

Borrow or Buy: Buy!

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Book Review: Clockwork Princess

Posted on January 5, 2016May 19, 2016 by Zakiya N. Jamal in Book Reviews, Books to Buy

Synopsis from Amazon:

A net of shadows begins to tighten around the Shadowhunters of the London Institute. Mortmain plans to use his Infernal Devices, an army of pitiless automatons, to destroy the Shadowhunters. He needs only one last item to complete his plan: he needs Tessa Gray.

Charlotte Branwell, head of the London Institute, is desperate to find Mortmain before he strikes. But when Mortmain abducts Tessa, the boys who lay equal claim to her heart, Will and Jem, will do anything to save her. As those who love Tessa rally to rescue her from Mortmain’s clutches, Tessa realizes that the only person who can save her is herself. But can a single girl, even one who can command the power of angels, face down an entire army?

The tangled threads of love and loss intertwine as the Shadowhunters are pushed to the very brink of destruction in the breathtaking conclusion to the Infernal Devices trilogy.

*This book is part of my POPSUGAR 2016 Reading Challenge.*

This was book was everything I needed and more. It concluded the trilogy perfectly and even though I knew how it would end there were still some things that took me by surprise.

This novel starts off a few months after Clockwork Prince. We begin with Tessa preparing for her wedding to Jem and Charlotte being forced to convince her superiors (mainly the Consul) that she’s not only capable of doing her job but that she’s right about Mortmain and his plans (although he has been MIA for a while).

Of course, as a woman in the 19th Century, Charlotte is being constantly underestimated so this causes many problems. Meanwhile, Will and Tessa are still dealing with their feelings for each other by basically not dealing with them at all.

What I really loved about this novel, though, was the major appearance of the Lightwoods. Gabriel and Gideon took more of a center stage in this novel, as did their love interests, which I really like. I also find it interesting learning more about Izzy and Alec’s ancestors and I’m curious to find out if they’re descendants of Gabriel or Gideon.

All in all, just like every other book Cassandra Clare has written, this novel was filled with fight scenes, lots of love, the same old love triangle, and a magical world that us mundanes could never truly understand.

My only issue, and I had this issue with the first two books, is as much as I love Jem personally it always felt like Tessa really loved Will and she felt more of a kindness to Jem. For example, her scenes with Will always seemed more passionate and intense, like she literally keep herself from loving him. Whereas with Jem she loved that he was kind and sweet but there was no scorching hot passion there. He didn’t make her heart race.

Still, overall, I really enjoyed this book. Truly, I don’t know how Clare continues to expand and stretch this world she’s created but I hope she never leaves it because I’m always excited to learn more about these Shadowhunters and my favorite warlock, Magnus.

Also, be sure to check out the extra epilogue to Clockwork Princess on Clare’s Tumblr page. If you’re a Jem fan like I am, you’ll love it.

Borrow or Buy: Buy!

Stars:

Favorite Line:

“Of course you can have a true Shadowhunter name.You can have mine.”

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Book Review: Paulina & Fran

Posted on December 31, 2015December 31, 2015 by Zakiya N. Jamal in Book Reviews, Books to Borrow

Synopsis from Amazon:

A story of friendship, art, sex, and curly hair: an audaciously witty debut tracing the pas de deux of lust and love between two young, uncertain, conflicted art students.

At their New England art school, Paulina and Fran both stand apart from the crowd. Paulina is striking and sexually adventurous—a self-proclaimed queen bee with a devastating mean-girl streak. With her gorgeous untamed head of curly hair, Fran is quirky, sweet, and sexually innocent. An aspiring painter whose potential outstrips her confidence, she floats dreamily through criticisms and dance floors alike. On a school trip to Norway, the girls are drawn together, each disarmed by the other’s charisma.

Though their bond is instant and powerful, it’s also wracked by complications. When Fran winds up dating one of Paulina’s ex-boyfriends, an incensed Paulina becomes determined to destroy the couple, creating a rift that will shape their lives well past the halcyon days of art school.

Crackling with bon mots and knowing snapshots of that moment when the carefree cocoon of adolescence opens into the permanent, unknowable future, Paulina & Fran is both a sparkling dance party of a novel, and the debut novel of a writer with rare insight into the complexities of obsession, friendship, and prickly, ever-elusive love.

I received this novel as a gift and honestly I don’t think I would’ve picked it up on my own. Paulina & Fran by Rachel B. Glaser is not by typical book but that’s mostly because it’s not your average novel.

Filled with details about crazy college parties at an art school that seems like a whole other world, this novel drew me in from the first page. It’s a short, quick read that follows the lives of the sexually adventurous Paulina and the elusive Fran. Paulina is who really drew me in. She’s all about having a good time and she’s constantly obsessing about how she appears to other people and in the same vain, who she surrounds herself with.

Although this is truly the story of Paulina and Fran, to me it felt more like Paulina’s story. Just as she has the ability to command a room, Paulina commands this story. At times I both wanted to be Paulina and pitied her. I wanted to know why she was so sexually curious and also wanted to shake her and make her see that the way she behaved and treated people clearly stemmed from some deeper issues she really need to deal with.

Similarly, Fran’s inability to act and go after what she wanted frustrated me. Everything she wanted was within her reach but time after time she was too scared to reach for it.

Overall, this novel was well written and the plot was perfectly paced, making me want to keep reading and know what happened next. However, the inconclusive ending left me feeling unsatisfied and angry. It was as if Glaser had set up the novel for a particular ending and then changed her mind at the last second leaving me with more questions rather than answers. I would have been fine with one loose end but instead there were 10 loose ends that had no resolution, leaving me unsettled and wishing for an epilogue or sequel.

Borrow or Buy: Borrow. Although I enjoyed this novel I don’t think I’d read it again.

Stars:

Favorite Line:

All month she’d camped out by his heart with little love of her own, but a stubborn need to star in someone’s life.

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Book Review: What Was Mine

Posted on December 29, 2015March 22, 2016 by Zakiya N. Jamal in ARC Reviews, Book Reviews, Books to Buy

*I received a free digital advanced reader’s copy of this book from Gallery Books via NetGalley. This did not influence my review of this book in anyway. This is an honest review of the novel as I saw it. This novel will be on sale on Jan. 5, 2016.*

Synopsis from Amazon:

Lucy Wakefield is a seemingly ordinary woman who does something extraordinary in a desperate moment: she takes a baby girl from a shopping cart and raises her as her own. It’s a secret she manages to keep for over two decades—from her daughter, the babysitter who helped raise her, family, coworkers, and friends.

When Lucy’s now-grown daughter Mia discovers the devastating truth of her origins, she is overwhelmed by confusion and anger and determines not to speak again to the mother who raised her. She reaches out to her birth mother for a tearful reunion, and Lucy is forced to flee to China to avoid prosecution. What follows is a ripple effect that alters the lives of many and challenges our understanding of the very meaning of motherhood.

Honestly I requested this book on a whim and when I got it I had forgotten what it was about. Despite this I immediately dived in and I was hooked from the very first page.

Told in various point of views, including Lucy’s, the baby girl she kidnaps, and the woman she stole the baby from, Marilyn, you get every angle of this story. There was one quote I loved from this novel about how Lucy doesn’t see things black and white and constantly lives in a gray area. That’s how I felt about this book.

Helen Klein Ross doesn’t choose a side in the novel. She doesn’t tell you who’s right and who’s wrong. She let’s you decide that for yourself. For me, I couldn’t decide. There’s so many aspects to this story and although obviously kidnapping is wrong and doing it was a terrible thing, Lucy was still a good mom who loved her child, and how she came to have her didn’t change that fact.

I really appreciated the little stories and side notes we got in this book as well. Because we’re given so many point of views you really get to see how this kidnapping affects everyone, not just Lucy, Marilyn, and their daughter. Ross also shows us the girl’s nanny’s backstory and both Lucy and Marilyn’s husbands get a chapter or two. We even get a little tidbit from the detective on the case and some chapters from Lucy’s sister, Cheryl.

Although at first I was worried that having all these point of views would make this story confusing and hard to follow it actually did the opposite. By changing the point of view Ross added to the story, filling in blanks the reader didn’t even know needed to be filled. Ross could’ve written this story in third person but instead she gives a first person view of characters that readers may have otherwise ignored but now see how they play a role, whether it’s big or small, in the bigger story.

What Was Mine is definitely a must read. It’ll keep you hooked until the very end and you may even find yourself wanting to know more. Make sure to pick a copy when it’s released on Jan. 5, 2016.

Borrow or Buy: Buy!

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Book Review: Not Okay, Cupid

Posted on December 24, 2015March 22, 2016 by Zakiya N. Jamal in ARC Reviews, Books to Borrow

*I received a free digital advanced reader’s copy of this book from Entangled Publishing via NetGalley. This did not influence my review of this book in anyway. This is an honest review of the novel as I saw it. This novel will be on sale on Jan. 11, 2016.*

Synopsis from Amazon:

Hazel McCallister loves her life. Perfect grades. Perfect best friend. Perfect boyfriend. Until her perfect boyfriend cheats on her with her perfect best friend. Now Hazel’s in free fall—until her best friend’s brother, Felix, gives her the perfect idea. Reclaim her power by taking revenge on her cheating ex.

Felix James loves his life. Casual relationships. Loads of surfing. He’s as drama-free as they come. But he can’t stand by when his sister steals her best friend’s boyfriend, and the dude insists it was Hazel’s fault. So Felix vows to help turn Hazel into a girl her ex can’t resist—so then she can break his heart.

With an alliance in place, Hazel’s revenge is all but assured. But with each piece of payback, she feels a stronger attraction to Felix, even though revenge will turn her into a girl Felix could never be with. And soon Hazel has to make an impossible choice: revenge…or Felix, the boy who’s stolen her heart.

This book had the potential to be great if Hazel and Felix’s “revenge” wasn’t so ridiculous.

First of all, there was no evidence to prove that Hazel’s boyfriend, Jay, was “perfect” to begin with. Literally, the first time Jay shows up he’s flirting with Hazel’s best friend, Kimmy. On a similar note, I have no idea how Hazel and Kimmy are BFFs. Other than the fact that they’ve been friends since they were kids, it seems they don’t really know that much about each other.

Moreover, Kimmy and Jay didn’t even try to hide the fact that something was going on. They were caught in the lunch room. I don’t even think the word “caught” qualifies here because they were flirting out in the open.

I just think if I’m supposed to believe Jay is a “perfect” boyfriend and Kimmy is Hazel’s best friend there should’ve been more build up to this whole thing. Jay and Kimmy should’ve at least tried to keep this a secret and then be more apologetic about it happening.

Instead, Jay doesn’t seem to feel sorry at all and Kimmy, for reasons I couldn’t understand, seemed to think she was in the right.

Also, don’t worry about spoilers. All of this happens in the first three chapters or so.

Then we have Felix who of course is great but he’s a “bad boy” who dates multiple girls instead of settling down. And why is Felix so repulsed by the idea of getting close to anyone and being in a serious relationship you ask? Because he had his heart broken…IN FOURTH GRADE! Yes, that’s right. Felix has sworn off commitment because in the fourth grade a girl broke his heart.

I’m sorry but that’s some nonsense. Seriously? The fourth grade. I’m supposed to believe that a heartbreak in the fourth grade makes a guy give up on love completely. That makes no sense. And I’m not saying you can’t have your heart broken when you’re that young. I still remember the crushing feeling of having the boy I liked in kindergarten tell me he didn’t like me back. Those feelings are real and valid.

But I also remember quickly getting over it because I was young and I was still at an age where there was recess and another boy would give you flowers soon after and everything would be right in the world again. I can’t honestly understand how a heartbreak at the age of nine could make someone swear off love and I didn’t buy it in this book at all.

Lastly, of course readers are meant to come into this novel expecting Hazel and Felix to end up together. That’s a given. But at least build up to that. In the first chapter rather than seeing Hazel with her “perfect” boyfriend, it’s Felix she’s talking and joking around with. They even have pet names for each other. How am I supposed to believe they hate each other and don’t get along when they have cute little nicknames for each other?

I think if this book was developed more and things took more time and were drawn out a little bit I would’ve liked it more. But Hazel and Felix’s whole revenge plot seemed absolutely ridiculous to me and I just had trouble believing anything the author was trying to sell me with this book.

Still, Hazel and Felix were really cute and I think if this novel was sold to me as a “they’ve been friends for a long time and when Hazel’s boyfriend cheats on her Hazel suddenly realizes the perfect guy for her was there all along” kind of story I would’ve like it a hundred times more. But the way it stands now I didn’t believe it and I also kind of didn’t like that the book is told in Hazel and Felix’s POV. I didn’t want to know how Felix really felt about Hazel. I wanted to me surprised just like Hazel was. Instead, I just wanted to slap both of them and say, “Open your eyes. You’re in love idiots!”

Honestly, if you’re looking for a quick romance this will do but it’s not the best.

Borrow or Buy: Borrow.

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Book Review: Oblivion

Posted on December 22, 2015December 22, 2015 by Zakiya N. Jamal in Book Reviews, Books to Buy

Synopsis from Amazon:

I knew the moment Katy Swartz moved in next door, there was going to be trouble. Lots of it.
And trouble’s the last thing I need, since I’m not exactly from around here. My people arrived on Earth from Lux, a planet thirteen billion light years away. Plus, if there’s one thing I know, it’s that humans can’t be trusted. We scare them. We can do things they only dream about, and honestly, we make them look weak as hell. ‘Cuz they are.

But Kat is getting to me in ways no one else has, and I can’t stop myself from wanting her – or wanting to use my powers to protect her. She makes me weak, and I’m the strongest of our kind, tasked with protecting us all. So this one simple girl…she can mean the end for us. Because the Luxen have an even bigger enemy – the Arum, and I need to stay on my game.

Falling for Katy – a human – won’t just place her in danger. It could get us all killed, and that’s one thing I’ll never let happen…

First, if you’re going to purchase this book please purchase the eBook version. I wasn’t paying attention and neglected to realize the paperback was only Daemon’s point of view (POV) of Obsidian whereas the eBook version also includes his POV of Onyx and Opal.

And honestly I don’t think this book is worth it unless you get all three books. As much as I love Daemon I don’t really like the first two books in this series and although I definitely liked hearing the story from Daemon’s POV more than Katy’s I still didn’t like those books. Opal was definitely my favorite to read mainly because there were moments in the book I’ve always wanted to see from Daemon’s POV and they were just as fun to read as I expected.

My biggest issue with this book was the way in which Daemon’s character was written. Having read Daemon’s POV in Origin and Opposition I knew he had a dirty mind but I think having a whole book of his thoughts was just too much. I’m not a dude but I just feel like their whole thought process isn’t focused on sex. Literally, the amount of times Daemon would talk about Katy’s butt and how it did things to him was too much. It’s like okay we get it Katy’s hot and you’re into her, let’s move on.

Also, on a smaller note, there were just a lot of editorial mistakes in this book. Either the wrong word was used or there’d be missing punctuation. For example, there was one line in the book where it was supposed to be “we’re” but instead it said “were.” I can understand this happening once or twice but there was at least 10 different spelling or grammar mistakes in this novel. Having spent a little time in publishing I know a book goes through A LOT of edits before it finally makes it to print so I found it a little disconcerting that there were this many mistakes.

Despite these issues, Jennifer L. Armentrout’s ability to drive a plot continues to work for this series. Although I was often thoroughly annoyed by Daemon’s wayward thoughts and may have started to skim those parts, I still wanted to keep reading. Armentrout was able to once again hook me on a series of books that I had already read just in a different POV. I found myself wanting to know what would happen next even though I, in fact, already knew how it would all end.

Overall, this was a great read and although I had no intention of buying two versions of this book I’m glad I have both.

Borrow or Buy: Buy. Honestly, I’ll probably only reread the Opal part of Oblivion but that’s still enough to make this worth the buy.

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“I’ve always found that the most beautiful people, truly beautiful inside and out, are the ones who are quietly unaware of their effect. The ones who throw their beauty around, waste what they have? Their beauty is only passing. It’s just a shell hiding nothing but shadows and emptiness.”

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Book Review: The Girlfriend Request

Posted on December 17, 2015March 22, 2016 by Zakiya N. Jamal in ARC Reviews, Books to Borrow

Synopsis from Amazon:

Emma has been best friends with Eli since she moved to his neighborhood ten years ago. Tired of being cast in the role of the girl next door, Emma creates a fake Facebook profile in the hopes of starting an online friendship with Eli, which would hopefully lead to more. Like…way more. From friend request to In a Relationship–it all seemed so completely logical when she’d planned it.

Eli can’t figure out what Emma is up to. He’s pretty sure she’s the one behind the Facebook profile, but then again, why would she do something so drastic instead of just admitting she wants to be more than friends? And who the heck is this new guy he saw her with? Eli starts to think that just maybe…he missed his chance with the girl next door.

Two best friends, one outlandish ruse. Their status is about to become way more than It’s Complicated…

I have so many mixed feelings about this book.

First of all, when I read the synopsis I was hesitant because in my head I already knew Emma’s plan was terrible and destined to fail. However, I figured I’ve read a bunch of good books where the protagonist doesn’t have the best plan but that’s what makes it funny and interesting and I was curious how this would all play out.

Before I go into what I didn’t like let me say what I did. I liked how the author, Jodie Andrefski, decided to write this in both Emma and Eli’s point of views. Granted it’s mostly Emma’s point of view but we also get chapters of Eli’s perspective. I thought that was a great way to do it because that allowed this story to go in a different direction than I was expecting.

Moreover, I liked the addition of another love interest for Emma. I thought that was another good twist to an otherwise cut and dry romance novel because, let’s face it, we all know how this story ends based on the blurb.

And that’s about it, unfortunately.

I really wanted to like Emma because I get it. It’s hard to tell someone you’ve been friends with for a while that you have feelings for them and on some crazy level I understood her whole “fake profile” idea. I thought it was a bad idea, but I understood.

But Emma just made way too many mistakes for me to forgive. And then on top of that I was excited to get Eli’s point of view but it turns out I don’t actually like Eli. I don’t understand why Emma went through all this trouble to “take their relationship to the next level” because he’s not that great. He doesn’t handle things with Emma well at all. Instead of being clear about what he wants he’s very cryptic about his feelings and yet somehow expects Emma to just know how he feels.

Truthfully, I liked Emma’s other love interest better until I didn’t because his personality suddenly took a nosedive for what I can only assume to be plot reasons.

Overall, I honestly think the concept of this novel isn’t as bad as I’ve seen others make it out to be. Yes it’s crazy but that’s what makes fiction great. Fiction’s allowed to be crazy. If you don’t believe me just read Fake Boyfriend by Kate Brian. That’s a good crazy book.

I was more disappointed in the characters and how they were developed. I also didn’t really believe Eli and Emma’s relationship and found it confusing. Maybe it’s because I’ve never been in love but I can’t understand how Emma believes what she feels for Eli is real love when it’s really just a very long, drawn out infatuation, which at one point she does say but then dismisses the idea entirely.

I wanted to like this book because it seemed like a cute, simple romance. Sadly, although it was simple and took me less than a day to read, it didn’t leave me with the butterflies in my stomach that I have come to expect from a good romance novel.

Borrow or Buy: On the one hand, this book is only $2.99 on the Kindle. On the other hand, you probably won’t be rereading it. Borrow it.

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Book Review: Remembrance

Posted on December 15, 2015March 22, 2016 by Zakiya N. Jamal in ARC Reviews, Books to Buy

*I received a free digital advanced reader’s copy of this book from William Morrow Paperbacks via Edelweiss. This did not influence my review of this book in anyway. This is an honest review of the novel as I saw it. This novel will be on sale on Feb. 2, 2016.*

Synopsis from Amazon:

All Susannah Simon wants is to make a good impression at her first job since graduating from college (and since becoming engaged to Dr. Jesse de Silva).

But when she’s hired as a guidance counselor at her alma mater, she stumbles across a decade-old murder, and soon ancient history isn’t all that’s coming back to haunt her. Old ghosts as well as new ones are coming out of the woodwork, some to test her, some to vex her, and it isn’t only because she’s a mediator, gifted with second sight.

From a sophomore haunted by the murderous specter of a child, to ghosts of a very different kind—including Paul Slater, Suze’s ex, who shows up to make a bargain Suze is certain must have come from the Devil himself—Suze isn’t sure she’ll make it through the semester, let alone to her wedding night.

Suze is used to striking first and asking questions later. But what happens when ghosts from her past—including one she found nearly impossible to resist—strike first?

What happens when old ghosts come back to haunt you?

If you’re a mediator, you might have to kick a little ass.

I was so excited when I received the ARC for this novel because I loved the Mediator series when I was in junior high/high school. I read the whole series at least twice and it was always my go to series when I was in a reading slump.

It was so great to see Suze and Jesse again, especially now that they could really be together. It was also interesting to see so many familiar characters, including Father Dom., Debbie, Kelly, all the step brothers, and of course, Paul Slater.

I really liked how Meg Cabot set up this sequel. It was crazy seeing how all the stepbrothers turned out and what they’re doing in the present. A lot of it was unexpected and some of it didn’t surprise me at all.

At first I was worried I wouldn’t like Suze and Jesse as much as I used to. I forgot how old fashioned Jesse is and how stubborn Suze could be. But as I kept reading the traits that I loved about them shined through and I remembered why I fell in love with this series in the first place.

Jesse is just as sweet, overprotective, and a gentleman as he always has been and Suze is just as smart, kind, and kick ass as always. I loved getting to see them in the present and being in an adult relationship.

This is a very cute and fun read, and I wouldn’t mind another book about these two. I definitely think there’s room for at least one more book and I’d love to read that but I am also very satisfied with this ending.

If you loved the Mediator series anywhere near as much as I did then you definitely have to pick up this book. If for no other reason than for nostalgia. But honestly, it’s a great read on its own.

Borrow or Buy: I know I want a copy of this for my own shelf so I guarantee you’ll want one on yours. Buy it!

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