[Snapshot] Bonds of Desire

. .Snapshots sind kurz-Rezis zu gelesenen Büchern, die einen Einblick geben sollen, was mir an dem Buch gefallen hat und was nicht, oder ob es empfehlenswert ist.

.

.

‚Bonds of Desire‘ by Lynda Aicher

Wicked Play # 3

.

(© goodreads)

Synopsis: Lawyer Allison English never planned to return to The Den—despite her naughty fantasies about being bound by owner Seth Matthews. But when club guest Tyler Wysong is injured in a scene, Seth turns to Allie for help. Aroused by both men, Allie should turn the case down. But she can’t….
After his bad experience, Tyler has no interest in being with another Dom. Yet he can’t deny his attraction to Master Seth. When Seth offers him a place to stay, Tyler agrees—if Allie will stay too. But what good is a chaperone who adds to his temptation?
Living with two subs brings out Seth’s protective instincts, though Allie insists she’s not into the lifestyle, and Tyler swears he’s done with it. But the chemistry between the trio prompts them to agree to submit to him for one week, and he’ll show them both the true pleasure that a Dom can provide. The intimacy could break them all, or bind them together foreverst. (Source: Goodreads.com)
.

My thoughts about it: (Deutsche Rezension weiter unten:)
As usual, the erotic part with the different sex scenes were made really good and also how I’ve expected them, before I started reading it. Unfortunately the rest of the story couldn’t keep up any more with the other books in this series, particularly with the first one. For me the characters were too pale and flat, the only attributes which were described a little stereotyped, were their looks, which were repeated constantly… till the read knows every small detail of it.

Also the development of the characters wasn’t surprising and was presented without any creativity, what I found that it was a great pity – just as it has happened with their relationship -> just too simple and uncreative. Just send a prude lawyer back in her hopeless everyday life, until she gets frustrated and creeps back or just put the ill-treated man-prostitute in a therapy, until he is healthy and happy again – oh, why can’t be real life be so easy? – very realistically and sooo sophisticated. *snort*

Especially also the resolution with the politician and how the situation with the club of The Den was resolved, wasn’t at all described properly and reminded me of ‚Mimi plays in the garden‘ – just too simple. It seemed to me as if the author herself didn’t know exactly how she should solve her problems and so she just wrote only two/ three sentences for an explanation. Thereby this series, well, rather this book, hast lost the last rest of her genuineness. A great pity, because the erotic part wasn’t bad… but the only good think in it and that’s not enough for a whole book. So then it’s just a typical, stereotyped, simply knitted sex-book just for the short pleasures – but unfortunately not more.
.

Meine Meinung:
Wie immer war der Erotikteil mit den verschiedenen Sexszenen gut gemacht und das, was ich erwartet habe. Leider konnte aber der Rest der Geschichte nicht mehr mit den anderen Teilen, besonders mit Band 1 mithalten. Die Charaktere waren für mich zu blass und flach, die einzigen Attribute, die ein wenig stereotyp-mäßig beschrieben waren, waren die äußerlichen Vorzüge, die ständig wiederholt wurden… bis man jedes kleinste Detail davon auswendig kannte.

Auch die Entwicklung der Charaktere war nicht überraschend und ohne jegliche Kreativität präsentiert, was ich sehr schade fand. Genauso wie es zu dieser Entwicklung gekommen ist – noch einfach und unkreativer hätte es nicht mehr werden können. Schicken wir halt die prüde Anwältin zurück in ihren trostlosen Alltag, bis sie frustriert zurück kriecht oder stecken den misshandelten Prostituierten in eine Therapie, bis er gesund und wieder glücklich ist – ach, das das Leben schön und einfach sein – sehr realistisch und sooo durchdacht. *snort*

Besonders auch die Auflösung mit dem Politiker und wie sich die Situation mit dem Club The Den wieder aufgelöst hat, war erstens gar nicht richtig beschrieben oder geklärt und erinnerte an ‚Mimi spielt im Garten‘ – so einfach wurde es präsentiert... Mir kam es vor, als ob die Autorin selbst nicht genau wusste, wie sie es wieder gut stellen sollte und hat dann nur zwei drei Sätze zur Erklärung geschrieben, bei denen sie sich nicht sicher war. Dadurch hat die Reihe, na gut, eher dieses Buch den letzten Rest an Originalität verloren. Sehr schade, denn der Erotikteil war nicht schlecht… nur eben das einzig Gute daran. Also dann wohl ein typisches, klischeehaftes, einfach gestricktes Sexbuch zum Vergnügen – mehr leider nicht mehr.

.

Succession:
#1: Lynda Aicher – Bonds of Trust »»
#2: Lynda Aicher – Bonds of Need »»
#3: Lynda Aicher – Bonds of Desire »»
#4: Lynda Aicher – Bonds of Hope
.

.

.

A huge Thanks for the eBook to:

© netgalley.com

.
.

[Review] Losing Hope

English Cover

.

.

‚Losing Hope‘

by

Colleen Hoover

Hopeless # 2

.

.

 

.
.

Synopsis:
In Hopeless, Sky left no secret unearthed, no feeling unshared, and no memory forgotten, but Holder’s past remained a mystery.
Still haunted by the little girl he let walk away, Holder has spent his entire life searching for her in an attempt to finally rid himself of the crushing guilt he has felt for years. But he could not have anticipated that the moment they reconnect, even greater remorse would overwhelm him…
Sometimes in life, if we wish to move forward, we must first dig deep into our past and make amends. In Losing Hope, bestselling author Colleen Hoover reveals what was going on inside Holder’s head during all those hopeless moments—and whether he can gain the peace he desperately needs. (Source: Goodreads.com)

My thoughts about the book:
I admit that I didn’t wanted to read this book at first and only the spoiler scene of the ‘best non-kiss’ from Holder’s POV (here on Hoover’s website) has convinced me to try it nevertheless. Also at the beginning I was still sceptical because I thought it would become boring, because I already knew the plot and the secrets – but I lost this feeling more and more with every page I read. It was great how Hoover has begun this book and could present it really independent, even if much was already clear for the reader of ‘Hopeless’. Nevertheless it was entertaining, very rousing again so that I simply couldn’t put it aside anymore.

First I wasn’t convinced because the plot begins some time before the meeting with Sky, but later I recognised, how important this ‚prehistory’ is to understand a lot in the later action and to fully understand Holder’s behavior and his torn feelings. He has broken my heart during reading this book (just as Sky did in the first book) – even several times and I’ve suffered every page with him, like I hoped, cried and smiled alongside Holder. Together, I think, we’ve endured almost all emotions, which a book can offer and I was grateful for every single one of them. A very touching and emotional book!

I’ve fallen for Holder/Dean in the second book even more than in the first and also had to cry again at the end several times, but also for other reasons. It was great, beautiful and sad at the same time. Moreover I’ve liked that there were scenes, which weren’t written in Skys book, like the meetings with Brekin or the letters to Les. I don’t really know for whom I felt sorrier for or with whom I’ve suffered more – Sky or Holder … but yes, I suffered more with/ for Holder. *sigh*

Also the end was also really great and it was very nice that I could read on a little longer and get to know what happened afterward – like the thing with his mother and Sky, or the college … just a little forecast on their future lives together. I like such a thing very much and here I got it! *sigh*double sigh* 😀

With this book Colleen Hoover has written herself even further in my heart by her soulful, emotional kind of telling stories and now I will read every book of her that I get in my hands. I highly recommend it to all fans of part one and to the others –> please, please – get your copy of ‘Hopeless’!

Cover:
The Cover is perfectly suitable to the story and the first book, although I see Holder a little bit different. Nevertheless it is really nice made.

All in all:
Although I already know the plot, it has gripped me nevertheless and I couldn’t get enough of it. Holders POV is nearly even better than Sky’s and I’ve fell for Holder here even more than in the first book. I’ve no idea how Hoover made and she is my new idol – but it was stunning, beautiful and incredible. I’ve no more words for it! But just please, please, READ it!

Rating:
5 of 5 points – (I LOVED it – BUY it!)

.

Quotes (© Colleen Hoover):

Holder: I casually lean against the mailbox and pretend to ignore the fact that she totally just checked me out. I’ll ignore it to save her embarrassment, but I’m definitely not going to forget it. In fact, I’ll probably be thinking about the way her eyes scrolled down my body for the rest of the damn day.
.

Holder: It’s only been a few days, but since the moment I met her, no matter where I am, I’m constantly wondering about her. My attention is constantly homed in on her like I’m a compass and she’s my North.
.

Holder: I can’t even explain to you how perfect this girl is. And when I say perfect, I mean imperfect, because there’s just so much wrong with her. But everything wrong with her is everything that draws me in and makes her perfect.     She’s flat-out rude to me and I love it. She’s stubborn and I love it. She’s a smartass and she’s sarcastic and every witty thing that comes out of her mouth is like music to my ears because that’s exactly what I want. She’s what I need and I don’t want her to change at all. There’s not a single thing about her I would change.
.

Holder: A huge internal part of me was lost when I lost Hope, and I was convinced Les took the very last contents of my chest with her when she died last year. After being with Sky these last two days, I’m not so sure about that, anymore. I don’t think my chest has been empty this whole time like I thought. Whatever is left inside me has just been asleep, and she’s somehow slowly waking it up.    With every word she speaks and every glance she sends my way, she’s unknowingly pulling me out of this thirteen-year-long nightmare I’ve been trapped in, and I want to continue to allow her to pull me.
.

I lift away from her cheek and look down at her.
Holder: „Thank you.“
She smiles. „For what?“ For being alive, I think to myself.
„For being you,“ I say out loud. Her smile fades and I swear she looks right through my eyes and straight into my soul. „I’m good at being me,“ she says. „Especially when I’m with you.“

.

Thanks to netgalley.com for the reviewer’s copy!

© netgalley.com

.

Succession:

#1: Colleen Hoover – Hopeless »»
#2: Colleen Hoover – Losing Hope (Holder’s POV) »»
.

.

(© goodreads)

About the author – Colleen Hoover:
She is addicted to diet pepsi and could tell you in a taste-test which restaurant it came from.
She gets stoked whenever she gets a message from goodreads saying I have a new friend request.
If you want to know when she have new books out or just want to be inundated by random, pointless blog posts, follow her at www.colleenhoover.com.
(Source: Goodreads.com)

Visit her Website »».

.

[Review] Hopeless

English Cover

.

.

‚Hopeless‘

by

Colleen Hoover

.

.

.

 

Synopsis:
Sometimes discovering the truth can leave you more hopeless than believing the lies… That’s what seventeen-year-old Sky realizes after she meets Dean Holder. A guy with a reputation that rivals her own and an uncanny ability to invoke feelings in her she’s never had before. He terrifies her and captivates her all in the span of just one encounter, and something about the way he makes her feel sparks buried memories from a past that she wishes could just stay buried.
Sky struggles to keep him at a distance knowing he’s nothing but trouble, but Holder insists on learning everything about her. After finally caving to his unwavering pursuit, Sky soon finds that Holder isn’t at all who he’s been claiming to be. When the secrets he’s been keeping are finally revealed, every single facet of Sky’s life will change forever….. (Source: Goodreads.com)

My thoughts about the book:
I’ve read the book in buddy read, although I actually had no time for it. Do I regret now that I’ve inter-pushed the book? Oh God – no – no way! The book was just so great and I‘ve no words for how thrilled I’m about it. *sigh*

However, I would like to start at first with the things, which have disturbed me and which are the reason, why it ‘only’ got 4.5 points, instead of the full five points. It is due to the fact that on the one hand some things in it were very foreseeable and most of my forebodings has turned out almost exactly like I’ve imagined it (the thing with Dean Holder, Karen, her father, … ). But nevertheless I’ve read it with great pleasure and have loved every chapter.
Moreover the book has dealt with a subject that I never really like to read and I also didn’t like it to read here about that, but now I won’t say too much about it, because I don’t want to spoil something. But it was tough stuff and not easy to swallow. But therefore I thing, Hoover made a good job and have treated the subject sensitively and in a way, that it was still okay for me.

In general Hoover has a great way to describe feelings and emotions and to express them, so you can really understand how you feel, when everything is just and on the other side, when everything falls apart and shatters you, as if you would life through it by yourself. All that was really awesome and I like her writing style and dialogues – now she is my new idol! 🙂
Particularly her dialogues were just perfect and well suited – maybe sometimes too perfect and beautiful, but I can ignore that fact. *lol*

And now to the characters, who I BOTH LOVE, which is very rarely the case, because I often fall for the boys, but then I’ve problems with the girl. But here I’ve also loved Sky and I found it so refreshing and exciting, that she simply always has babbled off about what she really thinks – without whining along and thinking everything till to the end… she was authentic and after some little difficulties at the beginning, she was through the whole book very likeable.

Now to Dean/ Holder – I just love HOLDER *sigh*
Again a guy, who goes straight on my Book-Boyfriend-List … slowly, it gets really crowded there, but I’ve to put him there as well. Holder hast just everything: From the appearance, sportiness, character, charm, humor, assertiveness, directness, strength, sensitivity … I could still babble on about what he has and how great he is, but I don’t want to take away everything from you, but I advise you to read the book and discover him for yourselves. I love Holder, although sometimes he is just too perfect and also always does the perfect things or says the perfect words, but that’s okay for me – sigh, if there were really guys like him. *sigh²* 😉

Moreover, I found great that the drama was not really between the two main characters, but because of other things and that they have always held together and got through it as a couple, as a unit. They have each other mutual strength and could hold on each other! I found this great and their chemistry together was simply unbeatable!
I also found even the sex scenes suitable, although I didn’t have thought about them in these exact moments in which they sometimes happened, but then, it was just right and I could understand it. *great*

Though the end was a little slower and unspectacular to the rest of the book, I still liked the last chapter because it was sweet and for me – this was the PERFECT last sentence. *beautiful*

Cover:
Wonderful cover and for me, this is the perfect Sky.

All in all:
An amazing book which I’ll definitely read again sometime and I can recommend it to everybody, who likes Contemporary Romances. It’s not a YA book, but New Adult and therefore also a little more steamy – which I liked very much. A Must-Read for all fans of this genre and this was certainty not the last book of Colleen Hoover – I want more books by her! 🙂

Rating:
4,5 of 5 points – (soo awesome!)
.

Thanks to netgalley.com for the reviewer’s copy!

© netgalley.com

.

Quotes (© Colleen Hoover):

Karen: „Dammit,” she says, “I could have sworn I heard boys in here.”
Sky: “And you seem disappointed because…”
Karen: “You turn eighteen in a month. I’m running out of time to ground you for the first time ever. You need to start screwing up a little more, kid.“
.

Breckin: “I’m new here. And if you haven’t deducted from my impeccable fashion sense, I think it’s safe to say that I’m…  Mormon.”
Six: “And here I was thinking you were about to say gay.”
Breckin: “That too.  In all seriousness, Sky. I noticed you in class today and it’s obvious you’re new here, too. And after seeing the stripper money fall out of your locker before fourth period, then witnessing your non-reaction to it, I knew we were meant to be. Also, I figured if we teamed up, we might prevent at least two unnecessary teenage suicides this year. So, what do you say? Want to be my very bestest friend ever in the whole wide world?
.

Holder: „Let me inform you of something. The moment my lips touch yours, it will be your first kiss. Because if you’ve never felt anything when someone’s kissed you, then no one’s ever really kissed you. Not the way I plan on kissing you.“
.

Holder: “I told myself to just stay away from you and let you be mad at me, because I do have so many issues that I’m not ready to share with you yet. And I tried so hard to stay away, but I can’t. I’m not strong enough to keep denying whatever this is we could have. And yesterday in the lunchroom when you were hugging Breckin and laughing with him? It felt so good to see you happy, Sky. But I wanted so bad to be the one who was making you laugh like that. It was tearing me up inside that you were thinking that I didn’t care about us, or that spending that weekend with you wasn’t the best weekend I’ve ever had in my life. Because I do care and it was the best. It was the best fucking weekend in the history of all weekends.”
My heart is beating wildly, almost as fast as the words are pouring out of him. He releases his firm hold on my face and strokes his hands over my hair, dropping them to the nape of my neck.
He keeps them there and calms himself with a deep breath, then continues. “It’s killing me, baby,” he says, his voice much more calm and quiet. “It’s killing me because I don’t want you to go another day without knowing how I feel about you. And I’m not ready to tell you I’m in love with you, because I’m not. Not yet. But whatever this is I’m feeling—it’s so much more than just like. It’s so much more. And for the past few weeks I’ve been trying to figure it out. I’ve been trying to figure out why there isn’t some other word to describe it. I want to tell you exactly how I feel but there isn’t a single goddamned word in the entire dictionary that can describe this point between liking you and loving you, but I need that word. I need it because I need you to hear me say it.”
He pulls my face to his and he kisses me. They’re short kisses, mostly pecks, but he kisses me over and over, pulling back between each kiss, waiting for me to respond.

...

Succession:

#1: Colleen Hoover – Hopeless »»
#2: Colleen Hoover – Losing Hope (Holder’s POV) »»
.

.

(© goodreads)

About the author – Colleen Hoover:
She is addicted to diet pepsi and could tell you in a taste-test which restaurant it came from.
She gets stoked whenever she gets a message from goodreads saying I have a new friend request.
If you want to know when she have new books out or just want to be inundated by random, pointless blog posts, follow her at www.colleenhoover.com.
(Source: Goodreads.com)

Visit her Website »».

.

[Snapshot] Bonds of Need (en.)

 

‚Bonds of Need‘ by Lynda Aicher

Wicked Play # 2

.

(© goodreads)

Synopsis:
When Kendra Morgan attends a party at an exclusive sex club, she’s not driven by mere curiosity. Hoping to prove she’s put the past behind her, Kendra must instead face up to needs she’s denied for too long. Despite her lingering fears, she can’t resist the temptation to play…
Deklan Winters has had his eye on his attractive neighbor for months, but only senses Kendra is no stranger to the BDSM scene when she walks into his club. And he can tell that’s not her only secret. What surprises him is his own overwhelming desire to give her what she craves—and to show her a side to the Dom/sub relationship she’s never known.
With Deklan’s guidance, Kendra begins to accept her forbidden needs and to recognize the fine line between pleasure and pain. But when her former Master returns to reclaim her, it will take all her courage—and all of Deklan’s love—to defy her past. (Source: Goodreads.com)

My thoughts about the book:
Actually, I had to read another book when I opened this one and I only wanted to take a short look into the first pages, which was a big mistake and not because it was so bad – on the contrary – but because after the first few pages I was immediately caught again into the story.

Although the couple Cali and Jake took a part in this book, they only appeared shortly, because this book now was about the second owner of the club. He is called Deklan and he lives in the same residential complex like Kendra – Cali’s friend. On one evening Kendra visits with two of her friends his club and at this evening it happens, that Deklan leads her through a scene in which she gets confronted with her violent past. But Deklan gets her out of her fear and her cocoon, right into a new perception and together they build up trust and safety.

I found the dynamic between the couple really great and I could feel the attraction between them from the first pages on, although they both acted coyly and were afraid of a firm relationship, for reasons which the reader finds out later in the course of the story.
Certainly, now there weren’t absolutely astonishing idioms and it was also a little foreseeable, but it has fulfilled all my expectations and I also got some – maybe not completely profound – but in exchange really sweet, nice, erotic reading hours, which made me happy and were exactly that what I have needed right then.

What I like at Aicher’s books, is that there are up and downs in it, but that you always now, from the first pages on, that in the end you’ll get your deserved Happy End – very good for my nerves, if you’re looking for something like that -> a Happy End, which leave you smiling. Is a little like with the Black Dagger books and although there were a few clichés in it and sometimes foreseeable, it has never disturbed me much, because I just liked the characters – I got a connection to them – and if this happens, nothing can go wrong. Often it is not logical why I like some books or don’t – it is often just a gut feeling and here I had a good one 🙂
So who would like to read a good erotic book, without supernatural beings, but in the genre ‘Contemporary Romance’, with a little BDSM in it, that I can highly recommend you this book/ series – but if you don’t like ‘harder scenes’ or BDSM then you should rather read a different book.

.

Succession:
#1: Lynda Aicher – Bonds of Trust »»
#2: Lynda Aicher – Bonds of Need »»
#3: Lynda Aicher – Bonds of Desire »»
#4: Lynda Aicher – Bonds of Hope
.

Quotes:

Cali: „I get it. I understand exactly what you mean.”
Kendra: “You do?”
Cali: “Yeah, I do. I struggled with that for years, thinking there was something wrong with me.”
Kendra: “And now?”
Cali: “And now I understand that something that feels so right and so good with Jake can’t be wrong.”
.

Deklan: „And there is nothing wrong with that. We all like different things. Some people hate chocolate or bacon. Can you believe that?“
She smiled at the look of complete disbelief on his face and swerve in conversation. Kendra: „No,“ she answered around a small laugh. “I can’t believe that.“
„Do you think they’re weird?“
She laughed again. „Yes.“
„Do you think they care what you think?“
„No.“
„And will your opinion of them make them suddenly start liking chocolate?“
„No.“
„Exactly,“ he said with triumph.
.

.

A huge Thanks für the eBook to:

© netgalley

.
.

[Review] Walking Disaster

Simon & Schuster UK Cover

Atria Cover

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.
‚Walking Disaster‘ by Jamie McGuire

Beautiful # 2

.
Synopsis:
How much is too much to love?
Travis Maddox learned two things from his mother before she died: Love hard. Fight harder.
In Walking Disaster, the life of Travis is full of fast women, underground gambling, and violence. Just when he thought he was invincible, Abby Abernathy brings him to his knees.
Every story has two sides. In Jamie McGuire’s New York Times bestseller Beautiful Disaster Abby had her say. Now it’s time to see the story through Travis’s eyes. (Source: Goodreads.com)

My thoughts about the book:
Immediately at the begin I would like to mention that I loved/ adored ‚Beautiful Disaster‘ and the book has got almost the whole rating numbers. The only reason why the first part got only four points, instead of the whole five, was quite easy to say -> Abby.

And this is also the main reason why this book has also gotten only 3 points. Abby was here even worse, now when we see everything out of Travis’ point of view. Not only, that I can’t understand why he falls so hard for Abby, from his POV she also behaves really very mean and bitchy, particularly in the phases in which they have problems or break apart again. And the times/ parts, which would have been actually nice and were the good aspects from book one were supposed to be, they were describe only briefly/ short, or were rather let out completely because they were already to be read in first book.

Hence in there were much less time with both figures together this book, but it was mostly the time described when Travis was alone, what he did between the times when he wasn’t with her or how he has suffered when she dumped him twice or left him alone.
Thereby it was also not a linear, steady story, but it looked fragmentary and bumpy, because the good scenes weren’t described. Thus there were often jumps in the time of an event to the next and it made everything very choppy.

Also I missed the great emotions and the big GOOD feelings while reading. Often I was only sad and have suffered with Travis and could have strangled Abby, instead of drool over Abby and miss her constantly.

The only good thing in the book was that it went on a little further and didn’t ended right after the wedding. Here I found the epilogue good, although I know that this could be too much and too kitschy for some readers. But after the exertion and the constant suffering in the book, the big kitsch at the end, was exactly what I’ve needed to close the book happy.

But nevertheless, for a real fan it’s of course a must to read it, even if it didn’t offered a lot new … – who loves Travis, will read it. 🙂

Cover:
I find the cover with the biceps quite good, but I would like it even better if the proportions would fit. ^^ Therefore the second cover is made well and fits also better to the cover of part one.

All in all:
Although I had big problems with this book, here above especially with the plot which was torn and was built up rugged, I nonetheless give another 3 points, because I completely fell for Travis and he’s my kinky hero, who has hard earned his happy end. But Abby – I couldn’t care less about her, but as long as Travis is happy, I’ll go along with her. 😉

Rating:
3 of 5 points – (I liked it)
.
.

Quotes:

Travis and his mother: She was looking down at me, her lids two slits, just enough to let me know she knew I was there. That’s what I loved about her. When she looked at me, she really saw me. She didn’t look past me to the other dozen things she needed to do with her day, or tune out my stupid stories. She listened, and it made her really happy. Everyone else seemed to nod without listening, but not her. Never her.
.

His mother to Travis: „One of these days you’re going to fall in love, son. Don’t settle for just anyone. Choose the gilr that doesn’t come easy; the one you have to fight for, and then never stop fighting.“
.

Travis: „There’s a girl, Dad.“
He smiled. „A girl.“
„She kinda hates me, and I kinda…“
„Love her?“
„I don’t know. I don’t think so. I mean .. how do you know?“
His smile grew wider. „When you’re talking about her with your old dad because you don’t know what else to do.“
.

Travis: „You know why I want you? I didn’t know I was lost until you found me. I didn’t know what alone was until the first night I spent without you in my bed. You’re the one thing I’ve got right. You’re what I’ve been waiting for, Pigeon.“
.

Travis: Even though we’d put each other through hell, we’d found heaven.

.

.
Succession:
#  1:    Jamie McGuire – Beautiful Disaster »»
#  2:   Jamie McGuire – Walking Disaster »»

.
…

(© goodreads)

About the author – Jamie McGuire:
Jamie McGuire was born in Tulsa. She was raised by her mother Brenda. Jamie attended the Northern Oklahoma College, the University of Central Oklahoma, and Autry Technology Center where she graduated with a degree in Radiography.
Jamie now lives in Enid, with her three children and husband Jeff, who is a real, live cowboy. They share their 30 acres with four horses, four dogs, and Rooster the cat.
Books published by Jamie include the Providence trilogy, and The New York Times best seller Beautiful Disaster, a contemporary romance.
(Source: goodreads.com)

Visit her Website »».

.

Thanks to netgalley.com for the reviewer’s copy!

© netgalley

[Review] Truly, Madly, Deeply, You

English Cover

.

..

‚Truly, Madly, Deeply, You‘
by Cecilia Robert

.

.

...

Synopsis:
Four days before Valentine’s Day, Liese Hansfeld is determined to shut the door to her house, as well as her heart, for her annual four days of mourning her one true love. Little does she know her best friend Freytag Meier is just as determined to keep her from her ritual. He’s ready to pick the lock to her apartment door and camp in her living room if that’s what it takes.
What Freytag isn’t prepared for is the surge of deep-rooted emotions he feels for Liese, but two things stand in his way: the grief and guilt she still clutches close to her heart, and a man who threatens to snatch Liese from under Frey’s watchful eye. Frey is determined to distract her into forgetting her pain. But is that enough to ease her grief, or help her see he can be more than her best friend?  (Source: Goodreads.com)

My thoughts about the book:
This short story is about love, friendship, big feelings, but also about loss, grief and forgiveness – specifically to yourself.

Hence here it isn’t the plot in the foreground and a story full of actions, but the figures in it, and how they feel in each respective situation. Here are the characters in the foreground and here are the people who count.
The beginning was great and has pulled me immediately into story. Unfortunately Liese was sometimes too blue-eyed for me or seen a lot or wanted it to see what happened right before her eyes. Therefore I was also frustrated a little bit by her. In comparison to her, Frey was really great and I really liked him, but he also made me desperate with his caring and thinking always first of Liese and his very slow approach to her. He has fulfilled all her wishes, particularly concerning their two friends Ben and Carmen and this was really annoying, and I would have said Ben my opinion about him much earlier.

In spite of all, it was a honey-sweet story which I could read fast and easy. The writing style was sensitive and written detailed figuratively, which I really liked and has suited the story very well.
Unfortunately it was just a short-story and hence it wasn’t very long and just a short read. 😉 But I will read again something of this great and sensitive author.

Cover:
The cover is wonderful and shows for me also perfectly the two main characters. *beautiful*

All in all:
A good idea and a sugar-sweet transformation, which could have been longer! A short-story for romantic hearts. ♥

Rating:
3,5 of 5 points – (I really liked it)

..

.

About the author – Cecilia Robert:
Cecilia Robert lives in Vienna with her two children, has an incurable obsession with books, anything romantic, TV and medieval architecture. When not working in her full time job, catching up with her two children, writing or reading, she can be found, knitting or crocheting, taking photos of old buildings…  (Source: goodreads.com)

Visit her Website »».

.

[Review] Bared to You

German Cover

English Cover

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.
.

‚Bared to You‘ by Sylvia Day

  Crossfire # 1...

Synopsis:
Our journey began in fire…
Gideon Cross came into my life like lightning in the darkness—beautiful and brilliant, jagged and white-hot. I was drawn to him as I’d never been to anything or anyone in my life. I craved his touch like a drug, even knowing it would weaken me. I was flawed and damaged, and he opened those cracks in me so easily…
Gideon knew. He had demons of his own. And we would become the mirrors that reflected each other’s most private wounds… and desires.
The bonds of his love transformed me, even as I prayed that the torment of our pasts didn’t tear us apart…
(Source: Goodreads.com)

My thoughts about it:
Right from the first pages on I could see that Day doesn’t empathize much on the current stylistic writing manners. Her formulations are all extremely exaggerated and drips with adjectives that often I had to shake my head. Don’t get me wrong, in general I’ve nothing against adjectives or I’m also not the same opinion like Stephen King, that every author should delete most of the adjectives/ adverbs … but if you read Day’s book, then you see again, what King meant with that and you also acknowledge, how uncreative Day used them and you notice the bad writing style of her.
Luckily soon I got dragged into the story and also into the life of Ana… ups, sorry – I meant Eva. Therefore you could try to ignore the writing style, even if it hasn’t always worked.

But also the plot and the idioms were not exactly brilliant. And several times I had to ask myself ‚where is here the plot?‘, because after the second or third encounter of Ana Eva and Christian Gideon, it was only just a see-saw between them. One moment they had the best, most unrestrained sex on God’s earth and in the next something happens, so that Eva becomes sad/ disappointed/ sour and simply runs away without saying a word. And then Gideon runs after her like a well educated Golden Retriever/ apologizes to her/ calms her and the endless loop begins/ ends again with the greatest sex you can imagine. This goes on through the whole book – until I was only frustrated and didn’t know what to do against it.

Furthermore instead of adding more action in the story, Day rather described which clothes Eva, Gideon and Cary wore every day. And here I mean really – always and everything! Okay, I also like stylish clothing, but this was a ‘tick’ too much. Also I didn’t get a lot of insights of Eva’s work, which she has started just in the beginning, because everything was described only very short and also the communication with other characters, except with Gideon, was rare. So that, as already said, there were only arguments/ misunderstandings and sex scenes in this book. That’s all!

But regardless of everything, it was also not so, that I didn’t want to read on. To declare, in spite of all my criticism, the book has also pulled me in its spell and above all, also the characters didn’t let me go any more, so that I was tied up wiht them and I simply wished them a happy end.
Even if I had my problems with Eva, I was a fan of Gideon and from the first page on I’ve fallen in love with Cary. He is great and has amused me through the whole book, which has made it lighter for me. Unfortunately he is also a relationship-destroyer like Eva, but I hope that will change in the following books and that he will be even more present in the story.

After all the emotional rollercoaster and constant up and downs, we finally got a pleasant ending for which I was happy and which, to be honest, would have also been enough for me. I would be satisfied with it, if the story of Gideon and Eva has ended now or okay, some little more background information would have been nice too, but all in all, it would have been better to put everything in one book, at most into two (but not in three).
But because nowadays everything goes in the direction of trilogies, we also get here another two books from Day and I’m skeptical what she’ll still present us of Eva and Gideon in two further parts. I’m very doubtful whether it’ll functions for me or not and I fear that it’ll be a duplication of the first book, only with other conflicts, but from the style exactly the same. But we’ll see. 🙂

German Cover:
I like it from the style and it fits also perfectly to the contents of the book. Well selected and I think it’s great that the English Hardcover version was used.

All in all:
Seldom I‘ve liked parts in a book so much and at the same time others convinced me so little. I still want to read book 2, but if this won’t be better, then I’ll stop to read this series.

Rating:
3 of 5 points – (I liked it)
.

A huge Thanks for the reviewer’s copy to:

© Random House

..

Succession:

#1: Sylvia Day – Bared to You »»
#2: Sylvia Day – Reflected in You
#3: Sylvia Day – Entwined with You

.

.

© Sylvia Day

About the author – Sylvia Day:
Sylvia Day is the #1 New York Times and #1 international bestselling author of more than a dozen award-winning novels translated into over three dozen languages. She has been nominated for the Goodreads Choice Award for Best Author and her work has been honored as Amazon’s Best of the Year in Romance. She has won the RT Book Reviews Reviewers’ Choice Award and been nominated for Romance Writers of America’s prestigious RITA® award twice.s.
(Source: Goodreads.com)

Visit her Website »»

.

[Snapshot] Easy (eng.)

 .

‚Easy‘ by Tammara Webber.

.

(© goodreads)

My opinion:
Actually, at first I didn’t wanted to write a review to this book, but because there are too many and too good reviews out there, which are floating around on the internet, and so I couldn’t resist to get rid of my critic. Due to the fact, that I want to reach here with my review the people, who have already read the book or who want to read it, therefore I won’t say much about the synopsis.

I’ve to admit, that it was a quick and easy to read and it could also be convincing at certain places, but, unfortunately, they were the exceptions.
On one hand the writing manner was too ‚slang-like‘ for me and above all, the dialogues have snapped me totally out of my reading rhythm, with these endless ‘slang words’ and ‚cool‘ abbreviations. I found this not great or even perfect youthfully, but just irritating and often I had to roll my eyes. Moreover, after short passages there is always a time jump over and over again, without any marks or indication, which has extremely confused me, particularly at the beginning and it led to the fact that I had to read some phrase twice.

Adding to that, I couldn’t stand Jackie very much. She has irritated me so much, like no other character did for a long time, and her actions were absolutely contradictory to her experiences and thoughts. Though I’ve tried and she even stirred my interest at the beginning, because of her almost-rape, but then it got constantly downwards and I couldn’t stand her. As mentioned, Jackie almost got raped in the first chapter and escapes only, because another guy saved her. What I found very awkward and very idiotic afterwards was, that only few days after the attack she runs around totally unconcerned and she even buys herself a sexy little dress, short and a cut up till to the hips … to look sexy and ‘easy to have‘… and I don’t know how think about that, but if I just escaped an almost-rape, than I probably would be a little inhibit. But not Jackie, except if she meets briefly once again her almost-rapist – then it seems, as if she remembers again, what almost could have happened.
Don’t misunderstand me, I wouldn’t want, that she is frightened all the time or doesn’t dare to leave her room any more, but if such a brutal thing almost happens, you would thinks, that one handles oneself with a little more carefulness and has to thinks about other things, than how to the hot guy, who has saved her…

Moreover, the love story between Lucas and Jackie doesn’t develop as usually slow, by talking and where they get to know each other – but the other way around – by snuggling. Because there are almost no talks and they even don’t get along in their ‘normal‘lives, but instead they only function, while they are together to make out. I found that a great pity and I also didn’t like it at all. Though there were many love scenes in the book, but because I didn’t like the characters (except Lucas), hence the romanticism also made no difference to me and I’ve read it rather uninterested.

Furthermore the plot was very predictable (Lucas/Landon), Hello?? And all the time I‘ve guessed long in advance what will happen next and there were no real plot-highlights in the whole book. The plot simply meandered along without a central theme and that was it.

Just the end with Lucas and his background was surprising, but it was presented in a way that it hasn’t fitted for me. His stroke of fate was tragic and could have built up great emotions, but even that has the author ruined. It’s really a pity.
The longer I write, the more I notice how much this book, the plot and the characters did annoy me, so that I must reduce my rating from 3 to only 2 points. Unfortunately it didn’t function for me at all and I also wouldn’t recommend it to anybody.

If to you want to read books in the genre ‚Contemporary Romance’, please rather read ‘Beautiful Disaster‘ or as a YA version of it: ‚Pushing the Limits‚ – there are characters with brain and charm, who will move you and don’t frustration you.

.

Quotes:

Lucas: „The night we met-I’m not like that guy.“ His jaw was rigid.
„I know tha-“ He placed a finger over my lips, his expression softening.
„So I don’t want you to feel pressured. Or overpowered. But I do, absolutely, want to kiss you right now. Badly.“

.

A huge Thanks for the ebook to netgalley:

© netgalley.com

.
.