Fantasy/Paranormal · Romance · Young, New adult/College

Fear University – Meg Collett

26038790| GOODREADS | AMAZON | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: I’ve always known I was a monster, and I don’t mean some teenage vampire shit either.

My mother abandoned me when I was ten years old because I have a freakish mutant disease that makes me incapable of feeling pain. I bounced from one foster family to another because too many people like to test my medical condition in a game of “Try To Make Ollie Scream.” At sixteen, I killed a man for taking that game too far.

Two years later, I’m still on the run in Kodiak, Alaska. Here, I’m the most dangerous person around, until I come face to face with a creature that should only exist in folklore. The monster is an aswang, and I, with my medical anomaly, am uniquely qualified to hunt the beast that haunts the night. At least, that’s what the two scarred, mostly crazy ‘swang hunters tell me when they kidnap me and take me to Fear University, a school where young students learn to hunt and kill aswangs.

I arrive at the university a prisoner, but I stay because I finally find my freedom.

For once in my life, I belong. I’m needed. I make a home for myself inside the university masquerading as an old Alaskan prison. Something close to happiness warms my icy heart when I’m with my scarred, still mostly crazy tutor, Luke Aultstriver. For a murdering runaway like me, Fear University is a haven where I can put my skills to good use hunting monsters in the night.

But when certain truths come to light and even more lies are exposed, I fear that I, Ollie Andrews, am the worst kind of monster of all. And, maybe, they should be hunting me.

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My thoughts: First off, before I start to talk about the book itself. I don’t know if it is the authors fault or someone else but either way. Do not, I repeat, PLEASE DO NOT end the e-book under 90%. It makes you as an reader feel cheated, and that is not a good feeling to have your reader sit with at the end. Even more important so if the book ends on a cliffhanger. It happened with this book. Ended on a cliffhanger when I thought I had at least 10% left of the book to read. Not a good feeling at all. An quite frankly, it makes me a little pissed off and not wanting to read the second book. I will of course someday read it, because I need to know how it will end, but it will probably take awhile.

So what about the book itself? It is really good. Fresh and quite imaginative. Asuwangs is from an old Filipino folklore and I have seen and heard a lot about it from the movie world. But really not read anything. So I did not know exactly what to expect. But the story is exciting and filled with lies, mystery’s, really good characters and suspense. I like the dynamic and I like what the book is starting to build up. It’s twisted and you think you know how it all is put together but in the end that is just wrong. I do not, however, like Ollie that much. Well I like her fine, but for a girl who has been through everything she has been through, she is quite naive and really childish sometimes. And it does not get any better. I do hope she grow up some in the next book because if not, I don’t know if I want to continue reading.

I do not know the history with Asuwangs but have read a little about it now after the book and if I get it right, Collett (Which is not of Filipino descent) has done a great job with mixing the history with her line of the story and make it believable.

So as soon I have forgotten the “betrayal” I will read the second book and I really hope it is as good as the first one.

How do you feel about books ending before you think it will and cliffhangers?

Thriller/Horror

To keep a secret – M. M. Wedin

37551431| GOODREADS | AMAZON | MY RATING: ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: A well needed week away from the mainland sounded like a great idea. But this innocent trip to a private island won’t end as well as it began. Tracy finds herself in a situation she could never have imagined as she gets to know the secrets of her love – Ryan Bailey.

The question is: when love turns to fear, how will you survive?

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My thoughts: I got this book from the author against a honest review, and even though I’m not much for short stories, the synopsis intrigued me and I wanted to give it a shot. I feel a little bad that I did not find this book as great as those others at GoodReads find it, but that’s the thing, we all do not like the same thing and that is a good thing. Right? Anyway, I will explain my thoughts about this book.

First of, I really like the cover. It gives the viewer (me) an eerie feeling and it is matching the story. The title of the book though makes no sense compared to the story. Who is keeping a secret and you can’t keep a secret you don’t know about? Right?  Anyhow, this is a book in the genre horror/thriller, but I personally feel that it is more Thriller than Horror. Specially since all the horrific stuff happens when our protagonist is elsewhere. So you do not get to know about it until it is done and done. There was however one part of the book that really made me cringe and that is an indicator of good writing. One other thing I also liked is that the author makes it clear already on the cover that the book is an short story. Not all do that and I hate to by a book and then find out it is just shy of 100 pages.

The story felt a little forced to me. It was stuff that just didn’t make sense. Like for an example Ryan’s history or Tracys history for that matter. You do not get to know the characters as much as I would like and the storyline is, by that result, somewhat broken. The other characters in the book are not that interesting either, but really could have been. I would have loved to get to know some things more deeply. What really happened then and what happens now?

I’m aware that the story is told after the fact that it already happened and it may explain the broken pace. And it is just so short, and I really would expect more fight from the protagonist than it was. 

The storyline is intriguing and the characters could be really great. Just a little more time and work in the backstory and a little longer I think it would be a lot better. I can see that Wedin has the knowledge to write and writes really well. It was easy to read and understand and I feel that the book can suit several different type of people. Even if this one not was one in the top for me, I do like her way of writing and she has another book, that also is a little longer, that i’m looking in to.

Contemporary · Romance

Dark Horse – Jessica Gadziala

35228953| GOODREADS | AMAZON | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: He needed it.
The new job.
The new city.
The new life.
The second chance.
And nothing could stand in his way.
Except, maybe, the sexy as hell spitfire he found himself suddenly in competition with for a job he thought was his.
Amongst trying to begin again, office politics, and a case that wasn’t quite what it seemed, he needed to try to keep his mind off the spirited Espen, a task that was going to prove extremely difficult…

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My thoughts: This is the third book in the Dark series by Gadziala and so far, my favorite. It is funny, exciting and the characters, OH wow. Enzo has been a character that just has lurked around in the background in several other books. But you haven’t gotten a god read of him and at first I thought he was a bad guy. Well he was but not that type of bad guy as I first thought. And he is so much better.

And Espen. Ooo I like Espen. (Not the name though. In my country that’s a guy’s name. :P) She is one of those “Take no shit”, kind of girls who stands on her own two legs and can take care of herself. I think she goes a little too far sometimes but then Enzo comes in and bring her back to earth. And it is just wonderful.

However, I did miss some suspense. I feel that Gadzialas books have changed and there is no real suspense anymore. It is a nice story and all, but I also want that feeling when you can’t put the book down and hardly breath and you just want, NEED, to know how it will end. Did not quite get that feeling here.

Fiction/Science Fiction · Mystery/Crime · Suspense · Thriller/Horror

Intensity – Dean Koontz

33297557| GOODREADS | AMAZON | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: Edgler Vess is a sociopath intent on murder. He lives for one purpose only: to satisfy all appetites as they arise, seeking ever more outrageous experience. To live with intensity.

When he attacks her friend, Laura, Chyna Shepherd is saved by the instincts developed during a dark and turbulent childhood. Not knowing Laura is already dead, Chyna follows, hoping to save her friend, as Vess carries her body to his motor home – a dungeon and morgue on wheels. The killer, unaware of her presence, drives away. But Chyna is now trapped in his dangerous orbit.

Her sole aim is to get out alive, but when she learns the identity of the killer’s next intended victim, she knows she must act to save that precious life – and take risks beyond any that she ever imagined she could endure.

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My thoughts: It is funny how years and experience can change your point of view and how you perceive the world. I read this book for the first time when I was like 11-13 years old. I think it must have been wrongly placed in the library because they where really strict about children under the age of 15, reading this types of books. And even now, I don’t really see this one as an young adult book. But anyhow, it was the first book I ever read by Koontz and it mesmerized me. Terrified me. Woke my love for thriller, horror and the mystery that is serial killers. Now, like 17 years later, I still like it a lot, but I do not feel the same mesmerized feelings for it as I did when I was younger.

And that is what I mean about how different your point of view gets with age and experience. I remember a lot from the book but there was some really important details that I did not remember an actually surprised me. It was nice to read a book, where I did not remember it all, but still did. Do you know what I mean? And I perceive the book completely different now and what I did then. And in my opinion, there is no horror. It is an thriller and it is great. But I have probably read and seen to much, gotten to jaded, to feel that this is an horror. It does not mean it isn’t good. But I just don’t see it as an horror anymore.

I have read a lot by Koontz but here you can really see that it is his earlier work of art. I feel he writes his book different nowadays and that his older works, usually is better. More real and terrifying. Vess is just such an weird killer, so different from what you usually read about in books. He is just so much more down to earth, smart and not insane and very logical. And THAT is certainly terrifying. Chyna is a little gray and I think that really was the point with her history and all. But it made it a little boring and somewhat repeatable until she got her fighting spirit going and refused to let some asshole decide over her life. Overall a great book, worth to be read by those who likes thrillers and getting in the mind of the characters and see the actions through the killers mind, not only the good guys.

Classic/Historical · Fantasy/Paranormal · Fiction/Science Fiction · Young, New adult/College

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe – C.S. Lewis

100915| GOODREADS | AMAZON | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy find their way through an old wardrobe into the world of Narnia. There, they unite with Aslan to fight the White Witch and save Narnia from perpetual Darkness.

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My thoughts: This is the second book (chronological order) in the children series about Narnia. I have never read the books before but I have seen some movies, which this is the one I remember the most. I did not expect that the book would be so short and actually a little meager. I remember the movie as so much more and even better now after I’m done with this book. I do not know if that is true so I need to watch the movie again.

But yeah, it went to fast, was a little meager and actually a little bizarre. I feel that the emotions of the children that was in the first book was more realistic and here, this kids just took it all a little to easy. But I do have to say that the movie (as I remember it) is a great and match the book perfectly.

I have to remember that these books are written for children and that I am not a reader of the genre children and young adult. I try but I cant lie to my self and you when it comes to the rating, just because everyone else loved it. I do however think that children to appreciates this book so much more than me, and that I will read this for my children in the future.

Classic/Historical · Non-fiction/Biography · War/Military

War’s unwomanly face – Svetlana Alexievich

4025275.jpg| GOODREADS | AMAZON | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: This book is a confession, a document and a record of people’s memory. More than 200 women speak in it, describing how young girls, who dreamed of becoming brides, became soldiers in 1941. More than 500,000 Soviet women participated on a par with men in the Second World War, the most terrible war of the 20th century. Women not only rescued and bandaged the wounded but also fires a sniper’s rifle, blew up bridges, went reconnoitering and killed… They killed the enemy who, with unprecedented cruelty, had attacked their land, their homes and their children.

Soviet writer of Bychorussia, Svetlana Alexiyevich spent four years working on the book, visiting over 100 cities and towns, settlements and villages and recording the stories and reminiscences of women war veterans. The soviet press called the book”a vivid reporting of events long past, which affected the destiny of the nation as a whole.” The most important thing about the book is not so much the front-line episodes as women’s heart-rending experiences in the war. Through their testimony the past makes an impassioned appeal to the present, denouncing yesterday’s and today’s fascism…

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My thoughts: I feel bad for giving this book only an three in rating. But it is not like I rated the history or something like that. It is the books broken structure that bugs the hell out of me. Let me start from the beginning.

In 2015 Svetlana Alexievich won the Nobel price in literature. I bought this book back in 2014 (yeah it as been in my bookshelf for 3+ years) and that she later on won a Nobel price has just gone pass me. Maybe I would have read it earlier if I knew it but oh well. Got to it eventually.

It is hard to write a review on a non-fiction book. This is history. This is true stories from a female perspective. Stories about how they stood at the front line with all the male soldiers and fought for their land. It is hard to believe. Some of them wasn’t even older than 16 year. I’m lucky enough to be born in a time where the war still was “fresh” and people who survived it still live and remember. In a time where most followers on Instagram, biggest lips or most money not was the most important in the world. I do, however, regret that I did not ask them more about that time. How was it for my family? Now, I have the stories in books and movies and it is not until now that I realized that all those stories is mostly told by men. And non of them is told by my family. So I will probably never know.

I’m not gonna talk so much about the books contents. It is hard stuff to read, hard stuff to hear and terrible. Just so terrible that there is no words to describe it. It gives you nightmares and it is hard to image a time like that. Hard to image that type of patriotism where you fight until death for your country. I left my country on my own free will, I don’t even know if I would be willing to fight for it if it ever came to that. That is how different our countries and time has taken us. We women (and men) today, should respect and celebrate those women who stood up like that, with fear and children on there backs. Fighting for what was theirs. Fighting for there country and a future for their children.

The big problem I have with this book, and the reason for its low score, is the structure. It was hard to remember who is who, it kept jumping back and forth in time and place and was just mostly confusing. Eventually, so that I would not quit the book, I started to ignore names. I started just to read the stories and listen for the history. Now I can’t say who did and said what. That is to bad, but the stories and history that these women told, is forever lodged in my head. And even if the structure is bad, I feel that everyone should read the book. Not for the history of it but for the perspective. And to have something who weighs against all the stories out there, who have been told by men.

Fiction/Science Fiction · Mystery/Crime · Romance · Suspense

Blue Smoke – Nora Roberts

114184.jpg| GOODREADS | AMAZON | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: Reena Hale grew up with an intimate knowledge of the destructive power of fire. When she was a child, her family’s restaurant was burned to the ground, and the man responsible was sent to jail. The Hale family banded together to rebuild, and Reena found her life’s calling. She trained as a firefighter and then as a cop, always with the end goal in sight: to become an arson investigator. Now, as part of the arson unit, she is called in on a series of suspicious fires that seem to be connected-not just to each other, but to her. And as danger ignites all around her, Reena must rely on experience and instinct to catch a dangerous madman who will not stop until everything she loves has gone up in smoke.

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My thoughts: I have said before that my biggest problem with Roberts books, is that they often start of slow. And we do not talk about just a couple of chapters but like 1/3 or 1/4 of the book is Slow. No difference here either, but this time it did not bother me as much. Maybe because it still happens a lot even though we have like 20 years to get through before we are the ace of the book. Or maybe it is because I was so prepared on the fact that it would start slow and I just need to have patience.

The story is great and as always I love all of the characters. That is something Roberts are very good at. Writing good and alive characters. And I love Bowen and how well he fit together with Reena and she is all thorns on the outside but he manages to sneak in between without getting stung to bad and that just makes it all so much better. But I have a huge problem with this book. And that is the red thread, the ending, the answers or what not I should call it. I knew it all from the start, and I mean all, through out the book but often thought for my self that, soon it will come an curveball. Soon something will happen and my thoughts will change drastically. It just can’t be this obvious. But yeah, it is that obvious which gave me an anticlimactic feeling in the end of the book.

To know it all, from the start off the book, and hope you are wrong, but are not, is just not a good feeling for me. And that only took of an star/heart in my rating of this book. That is how much it effected me. The story is still god and if I would have been prepared that it is somewhat clear water, it would probably not have affected me as much. But yeah, nothing to do about it now. Still a good book and I can still recommend it.

Contemporary · Humor/Funny · Mystery/Crime · Romance

Spotless – Camilla Monk

30197979.jpg| GOODREADS | AMAZON | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ |

Goodreads synopsis: Island Chaptal—nerdy IT engineer by day, romance novel junkie by night—just walked into her messy New York apartment to find Mr. Right waiting for her. No, wait…Mr. Clean.

A gentleman professional killer with a bad case of OCD and zero tolerance for unsorted laundry, March isn’t there to kill her…yet. He wants the diamond her late mother stole for a sinister criminal organization. Island agrees to help him find it, facing the kind of adversaries who dismember first and ask questions later. Good thing she’s got March to show her the ropes. And the guns. And the knives.

The buttoned-up Island is soon having a blast racing from Paris to Tokyo following the clues in her mother’s will, and for the first time, she’s ready to get close to someone. But falling for a hit man may be the very definition of loving dangerously.…

Spotless marks the beginning of Island and March’s ongoing adventures.

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My thoughts: This is the first book of an series that an friend have recommended me. I finally got to the first book and I do not have words for what I’m feeling right now. I’m in love. In love with March and his bad OCD. He is such an broken soul and my heart cries for him. There is an little story in the book (about how he was caught and thrown in prison as an teenager) and it made me cry. It is so bad. Maybe it effected me so much because I have been there, but no longer are. Not as bad anyway. And I can still understand and relate. I really like Island even though that she is a little stupid. Or no, not stupid, but naive is probably the better word. It was some bits in the book that I was just angry at her and her actions. Come one, use your head. You are suppose to be smart. But yeah, if you are a little naive maybe it isn’t that easy.

The story is exciting, speedy and really cliffhanging. I could not stop reading and read this book in one go. I only stopped to eat and use the bathroom. That is how good this book was. But afterwards my head hurt a lot and that I cried to the ending did not help. I can’t handle this long reading sprees as well anymore. I’m getting old. 😉

There is 3.5 more books in this series so I know I will get to meet them all again, but I have had trouble to decide if I should continue the series right away or wait a bit. I chose to wait. Mostly because if the second book is as good as the first, I do not want to start it right before a new work week. I need some free time if it will be the same again. That is how good this book was. 😀

Everyday things

What you think?

I have decided to “move” my blog from the free section of WordPress to the Personal (pay) section at WordPress. With this, you my dear readers don’t have to see any more advertising and I got myself a much simpler adress.

Since I updated that, I though I also should update the pages design. To something happy and fun, but still be me.

So what I want to know from you. Do you like it? Is there something you are missing or wish that I changed? Maybe you got some constructive criticism you wish to share with me. Please, give me feedback’s if you have any. All I want is for the page to be better for you.

 

Contemporary · Romance · Suspense

On the chase – Katie Ruggle

34006761.jpg| GOODREADS | AMAZON | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ |

Goodreads synopsis: After witnessing a horrifying crime, Kaylee is forced to flee to a small Colorado mountain town and take on a new identity. There she becomes Grace, a dog kennel worker trying to avoid the dangerously attractive K-9 Officer Hugh Murdoch.

When an accident leaves Hugh and his K-9 partner, Lexi, on desk duty, both are anxious for Hugh to heal. Until then, the highlight of his day is teasing the beautiful but mysterious new kennel employee. Their simmering attraction fuels a passionate kiss—interrupted by a sniper’s bullet. With targets on both of their backs, Grace and Hugh will do whatever it takes to stay alive…not realizing the most dangerous threat of all is hiding right in front of their noses.

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My thoughts: I’m having a super great start on the new year with an other really good book. This one is about Kaylee who has to run for her life after witnessing something she should not have witnessed. At her new town she meets Hugh. We met him in the first book “Run to ground“. This is an series and you should really read that book first before you read this one.

I really, really liked this. Much better than the first book in my opinion. But then again, I’m a sucker for story’s with strong women’s who have to run for their lifes, are terrified, but still meet that perfect guy, who sweep them of there feets and in the end “Saves” them.

Kaylee is a little of an “Princess” but only on the surface and when you really get to know her, she is an really down to earth person I just love. And Hugh. O my, he is funny, really funny and sweet and just great. You do know that I’m still talking about fictive people here right. Haha. But the characters are great and even if I did not like the first book as much as this one, it was nice to meet all the characters again and get to know them more.

Anyway. The book is great and I can strongly recommend it, but you need to read the first book first. 🙂