37/50: Lover Revealed by JR Ward

Lover Revealed by J.R. Ward
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The 4th installment of the Black Dagger Brotherhood follows Butch, the human brother. Cast out from his old life, he lives with the Brotherhood and assists them anyway he can. We saw in previous books that he was falling hard for Marissa, one of the aristocrats of the vampire society.

Butch and Marissa have an interesting story. As a human and a vampire, it's frowned upon that they should be lovers. I found that their love was juvenile. Not in the way they loved, but the way they went about it. There was so many misunderstandings between the two of them that at some points in the book I wanted to scream. If Butch would have just gone and talked to her, if Marissa would have just gave him a look. However, without the not knowing what was really going on with them, we wouldn't have had this book, and we wouldn't be able to see a love between two people like this.

Aside from the love story, we see Butch in a new light. As a cop who was called on to help people in need, he is always on the sidelines when it comes to the Brotherhood and their fights. A fighter by nature, he has this burning need to help and fight the Brotherhood. He goes out of his way to fight the Lessors without any help and it gets him into a lot of trouble. Trouble that nearly kills him.

Marissa, with the help of Vishious are the only two that can help save Butch. Marissa with her love will heal his heart and give him the will to fight for his life, and Vishious with his curse will heal Butch's body.

This book wasn't as sexy as the first three, but it definitely dove into the Vampire VS Lessor Society far more than the rest. I will definitely have to continue with the series. Interested to read more about the Brotherhood.
View all my reviews

36/50: Pink by Wilkinsen

Pink by Lili Wilkinson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Pink was a great story about Ava trying to figure out who she really is. Is she emo? Is she really a lesbian? Does she have some underlying girly-girl begging to get out?

Moving to a new school gives Ava the ability to explore all this. Ava starts out at a school where you control your own destiny. She is the smart one in class but feels like she needs more. She doesn't know if she really fits in or if who she is now, really is her. The new school is private, expensive and has a couple cliques. The Pastels, where she longs to belong, and the Screws - Stage Crew. The Pastels are pretty, perfect, and Ava thinks that's where she wants to be with her pink, soft, cashmere cardigan. They are the ones in the school musical that are brilliant singers, dancers and actors. Who wouldn't want to be a part of that? Ava ends up in Stage Crew and as much as she hates it, she realizes that even if the Screws aren't Pastel material, they are truer friends, more welcoming and they don't care about your past, present or secrets.

I love that even though Ava went to a new school, she was in the same prediciment. What group does she belong in? Does she really fit in where she longs to be? Are the Pastels really where she wants to be? This book is a good illustration of the "grass is greener on the otherside". No matter what group you're in or think you're supposed to be in, there is always some hidden secret, good or bad.

I'm definitely going to keep this book around for when my nieces get older and aren't sure who they are. Books like this are the kind that parents should give their daughters when they go through an identity crisis. It's got great morals and really shows that it doesn't matter.
View all my reviews

35/50: Sweetly by Jackson Pearce

Sweetly by Jackson Pearce
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Sweetly was a good, well written book. I couldn't give it 4 stars as much as I wanted to. Hansel and Gretal, from what I remember was about a cannabalistic witch in the woods. There was no witch in this book at all. That's the biggest hang up I have.

Aside from that, the book was great. The characters were good. Gretchen was weak at the beginning as a scared girl and developed into this strong defiant woman. She stood up for herself and that's what I love about Pearce's books. The women are strong. They are characters that people can identify with on a base level and grow with. Gretchen, put through a trauma of losing her twin sister grew to be not just half a sister, but into a person all herself.

I also like the guys in her books. Samual wasn't fawning over Gretchen, but there was this care he had for her that seemed real. There wasn't a "poof we're in love" thing going on. There wasn't a "omgheissohotiwanthisbabies" thing happening. I get the teenage love thing, it's in a lot of books and it does reflect a lot of today's teens. What I love about Sweetly is that although Samual had this care for Gretchen, it's as if he knew she had to collect herself and get herself together and would wait for her patiently. He wasn't obsessive, pushy or anything like that. Just a guy, who cared about her in the only way she needed.

As I said above, I liked the book, but it wasn't nearly as good as Sisters Red.
Having said that, I still can't wait to read the next book Jackson Pearce releases.
View all my reviews

33/50: Feed by Mira Grant

Feed by Mira Grant
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I wasn't sure I'd like this book. I'm not a politics fan at all. In fact I have an aversion to politics altogether. If someone says "here read this, it's about a presidential campaign", I'll say "No thanks". I was blown away by how much I enjoyed this book.

Shameless book club props: The amazing thing about having a book club pick a book is that you expand your reading base. My Nest Book Club has brought me to books that I never would have picked up on my own and they are some of my favorites.

Feed grabbed me from the beginning and didn't let go even when I finished. I have plans to read the next one for sure. I even got my husband to read it and I swear he likes it more than I did.
This isn't a zombie book in the way you might think. It's more about a political campaign and the zombies are just... there.  (yes this is a political book and I really liked it) The zombies have been around for so long, people are able to live their lives with all the blood tests, regulations and paranoia. Some people hide, others face it full force.

The characters are believable. Shaun, Buffy, Rick and Georgia are perfect for their roles. They are all so different, yet work so well together. They have such drastically different personalities it's interesting to see how they react to each other.

The world that Grant created was incredible. She didn't set the world up all at once. She gives you a little, then continues with the story until something needs to be explained. You get the full idea of the world they live in throughout the book and never feel like you're missing anything. You get the information when it comes up and not any sooner. You remember the details because you go them when they were relevant. The history lessons on how the world got to where it was made sense. Sure there were lots of questions in the beginning, but the big ones were answered quickly.

I read this book as if it was a movie. In fact, there are a few people who read it that think it SHOULD be a movie. A lot of times we say that and the book wouldn't translate well. This one would.

I recommend picking this one up. As I said, it's not really about zombies, it's about a presidential campaign, the scandals, lies and truth. Zombies are just there to mess with your day and maybe eat a few people.

Summer Book Challenge: Book Club choice - 10 points
View all my reviews