Day: January 12, 2015

Review: Here There Be Monsters by Meljean Brook

Posted January 12, 2015 by Rowena in Reviews | 11 Comments

Review: Here There Be Monsters by Meljean BrookReviewer: Rowena
Here There Be Monsters (Iron Seas, #0.5) by Meljean Brook
Series: The Iron Seas #0.5
Also in this series: The Iron Duke (Iron Seas, #1), Fire and Frost, Tethered (Novella), The Kraken King Part I, The Kraken King (Iron Seas, #4), Heart of Steel (Iron Seas, #2), The Iron Duke

Publication Date: October 1st 2013
Genres: Steampunk
Pages: 125
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
four-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

Two years ago, blacksmith Ivy, desperate to flee London, purchased her overseas passage by agreeing to spend the voyage in the bed of the pirate captain, Mad Machen. Saved at the last minute by his rival, Ivy scraped out a new life in Fool’s Cove…until Mad Machen finds her, forces her to accept a job that will create a monster, and reminds her that she still owes him the price of a journey…

This companion novella is the introduction to the Iron Seas series and was previously published in the 2010 anthology, Burning Up.

Here there Be Monsters by Meljean Brook is a prequel to Iron Seas series.

I’m a huge chicken when it comes to trying things outside of my comfort zone. I’m more of the go with what you know you’ll like instead of trying something new. I’m a lover of contemporary romances and that’s what I read. I know that I’ll either love it or like it and if I hate it, I have go to authors that help me forget. But 2015 is the year that I’m trying to step out and try new sub-genres. It’s the year that I get those paranormals that everyone loves read. It’s the year that I branch out and see if I’ll like steampunk and urban fantasy. So when Holly told me to try this novella out, I was game to give it a try.

I’m so glad that I did.

This book follows Ivy Blacksmith and Eben, the guy known as Mad Machen. The story opens with Ivy, on the run to the only guy that she knows who has the power to help her in the world that they live in. That guy is Mad Machen. Her life is threatened and she needs to get out because she does not want to stick around so when she shows up at Eben’s room, he’s surprised. He’s going to help her, of course. But before they can take off, Ivy gets another offer to get away and she takes it, leaving Mad Machen behind.

Two years later, Mad Machen finds the girl that got away and Ivy is scared out of her pants but when Eben forces her to accept a job she doesn’t want, she forgets to be scared and she just gets pissed.

This was a really short story so it didn’t take much time to get it read. I won’t lie and say that it was an easy read for me because I’m new to all of the steampunk romance business so a lot of the kraken talk and the metal skin stuff took some getting used to but when I finished the story, I was glad to have read it. I liked it. I liked that Mad Machen had a thing for Ivy before she got to his room that night. I liked that he never gave up on looking for her and I really liked seeing him fumble his way through each and every single conversation they had on the ship. He was the captain of the ship but he kept slipping every time he talked to Ivy. I thought it was adorable.

I liked seeing Ivy and Eben grow closer and closer with each passing day. I liked seeing Ivy struggle with what she was feeling for Eben, her confusion and seeing her come into her feelings for him. What I didn’t like? How short it was. But, that’s just me being greedy.

Ivy was a good heroine though there were times when I wanted to give her a good shake but she was strong and I liked how she made a life for herself in the town that she settled in.

Eben was a great hero. I loved how patient he was with Ivy. He waited a long time to be with this woman and every time she bought her freedom from hooking up with him each night, I groaned because he just kept right on waiting to get his hands on her. Poor guy but he cracked me up when he told her, “If courting didn’t work, abduction was next.” LOL.

I thought this was the perfect introduction into the steampunk romance genre and I’m looking forward to digging into this series even further.

Grade: 4 out of 5

four-stars


Tagged: , , , , ,

Monthly Reads: December 2014

Posted January 12, 2015 by Rowena in Features, Giveaways | 12 Comments

mr-big
Rowena: December wasn’t the best reading month for me but I still got some pretty decent reads going. I finally started the Sarina Bowen books that Holly and Ames have been going on about and I loved each and every single story. They made my Best of 2014 lists and just in the nick of time too. 🙂

Here’s a list of what I read in December:

1. To All the Boys I’ve Ever Loved by Jenny Han| 4 out of 5
2. The Unexpected Consequences of Love by Jill Mansell | 4 out of 5
3. The Secrets of Sir Richard Kenworthy by Julia Quinn | 3.5 out of 5
4. 99 Days by Katie Cotugno | 2 out of 5
5. Things We Know by Heart by Jessi Kirby | 4 out of 5
6. The Year We Fell Down by Sarina Bowen | 4.5 out of 5
7. The Year We Hid Away by Sarina Bowen | 4.5 out of 5
8. Blonde Date by Sarina Bowen | 4 out of 5
9. The Understatement of the Year by Sarina Bowen | 4 out of 5
10. Heat of the Moment by Lauren Barnholdt | 3 out of 5
11. The Originals: The Rise by Julie Plec | 2.5 out of 5
12. Gone too Far by Suzanne Brockmann | 4.5 out of 5
13. Cry No More by Linda Howard | 4.75 out of 5
14. Night Whispers by Judith McNaught | 3 out of 5

My favorite read of the month was probably The Year We Hid Away by Sarina Bowen. Bridger and Scarlet’s story was so heartbreaking and yet so satisfying as well. Loved them both. Lucy too. 🙂

My least favorite read of the month is 99 Days by Katie Cotugno. That book drove me crazy but for some reason, I kept reading it. The main character didn’t learn a damn thing until for me, it was too freaking late. But at least it ended the way that it did.

Holly: December was an abysmal reading month for me. I read seven books. 7! I blame Dead Heat by Patricia Briggs for ruining all other books for me. For at least a week after I couldn’t even look at another book.

1. The Gamble by Kristen Ashley (re-read) | 4 out of 5
2. Golden Trail by Kristen Ashley | 4 out of 5
3. No Ifs, Ands, or Bears About It by Celia Kyle | 2.75 out of 5
4. Opening Up by Lauren Dane | 4.25 out of 5
5. Blonde Date by Sarina Bowen (re-read) | 4.25 out of 5
6. The Year We Hid Away by Sarina Bowen (re-read) | 4.75 out of 5
7. Dead Heat by Patricia Briggs | 4.75 out of 5

My favorite read of the month was Dead Heat. I’ve always loved Charles and Anna, but their personal growth and the progression of their relationship really worked for me here.

My least favorite read was No Ifs, Ands, or Bears About It. It had a good premise, but it desperately needed an editor.

This month, we’re giving away the following books:

The Unexpected Consequences of Love by Jill Mansell
Dead Heat by Patricia Briggs (Pre-order, print or digital, for the March 2015 release)

If you want to be entered to win, leave a comment on this post telling us what your favorite – and least favorite – reads of the month were. Also, be sure to tell us what book you’re interested in reading. You can put your name in for more than one book, but you’ll only be allowed to win one, so choose wisely.

So…what was your favorite read of the month? And your least favorite? Use the Rafflcopter Widget below to enter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Tagged: , , , , ,

Guest Review: Contradictions by Tiffany King

Posted January 12, 2015 by Tracy in Reviews | 0 Comments

Guest Review: Contradictions by Tiffany KingReviewer: Tracy
Contradictions by Tiffany King
Series: Woodfalls Girls #3
Also in this series: Misunderstandings, No Attachments, No Attachments, Misunderstandings
Publisher: Penguin
Publication Date: January 6th 2015
Genres: New Adult
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
four-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

Three years into college, Tressa Oliver’s life is a nonstop party. She’s skating by in her classes, and there’s no shortage of drinking, dancing, and general hell-raising. The only aspect that hasn’t been much fun: She can’t shake the toxic jerks that always seem to gravitate toward her. It will take someone totally wrong;Trent James is the classic anti–bad boy: smart, boring, and way too serious. To a wild girl like Tressa, there’s no way in hell they’re compatible—especially since Trent seems to see straight through her defenses. To set her right.When a college prank goes terribly wrong, Tressa starts to suspect that her partying ways are leading nowhere fast. Now she has to turn to the last person she ever thought she’d ask for help—and quickly discovers that there’s more to Trent than meets the eye.

Tracy’s review of Contradictions (Woodfalls Girls #3) by Tiffany King

Tressa Oliver is in her final year of college but she really doesn’t care about school or class work. How she managed to get to her senior year with passing grades is a mystery to her but she’s going with the flow. She loves to party and has a great time. She knows that she’s failing out of school but she can’t seem to make herself care a whole lot about it.

Then…tragedy strikes the college and a student dies. Tressa really doesn’t know the boy who died but she had spoken to him right before it happened. She’s deeply affected by his death and starts to change in ways that neither she nor her roommate can understand – she keeps to herself and stops partying. When she’s put on academic probation and told that Trent Lawson must tutor her she’s not thrilled.

Trent is from her home town and has never made a secret of the fact that he likes Tressa. He may be a nerd at heart but he knows that if Tressa just gets to know him she’ll see something she likes. That’s exactly what happens but Tressa thinks she may be becoming someone she doesn’t know and she’s completely confused about the change in herself. How can she be with Trent when she doesn’t even know who she is?

This was an interesting insight into college partying and the ramifications of hazing. In this case Tressa was one of the girls who always enjoyed a good prank and as hazing went  it was pretty tame. Unfortunately a boy died that night and it had a deep affect on Tressa. She wasn’t in any way responsible for the prank but I think knowing how much she was enjoying it was what served as the catalyst for her change in thinking. On top of that her academic probation was pretty humiliating. She wasn’t anxious to share her probation with her roommate so Cameo wasn’t too sympathetic. I can’t say I was a fan of Cameo as she seems pretty selfish and self-centered but I could tell that losing the closeness with her was hurtful to Tressa.

The relationship with Trent was non-existent at first. I didn’t love the way Tressa seemed to almost bully Trent, at first, but I could tell it was a defense mechanism that she utilized to distance herself as her life was in flux. Soon she was treating him as a friend and their feelings grew from there. Trent was kind and I loved the way he treated Tressa as it showed how much he cared for her.

In the end the story didn’t have a major relationship issue and that was worked for the book overall. It focused on the partnership between Tressa and Trent but mostly on Tressa’s life and how it changed over the course of the semester. I really enjoyed the book and reading about these great characters.

Rating: 3.75/4 out of 5

Reading Order:

This title is available from Berkley. You can buy it here or here in e-format. This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

four-stars


Tagged: , , , , , , , , ,