Book Review: Altered by Marnee Blake

 

When "normal" ends, survival begins...
The sickness came on suddenly and violently. When it was done, waitress Blue Michaels was different in a really strange way. And the entire town of Glory was dead...except for her.

Only that's not exactly true. A handful of people made it, including U.S. Army Specialist Seth Campbell, who was caught in the wrong town at the worst time. He's fierce and protective, and way too good-looking. As much as they need a leader—as much as Blue wants to trust him—there are too many questions and not enough time for answers. Now they are hunted. But what their pursuers don't know is each of them has strange new powers. And they'll use their "gifts" to survive...no matter who stands in their way.

 

I am a big fan of the Science Fiction genre so when I was offered the chance to read Marnee Blake's New Adult Sci-Fi book, Altered I jumped at the chance.  I dived straight in and things started out well.  A deadly virus sweeps through a small American town leaving the inhabitants dead.  Only a handful of people who catch the virus survive.  After hours of pain and suffering, they wake up to find that they are not only alive but have developed superhuman powers.  The first chapter brought all of this to life in a very cool and vivid way but it was not to last.  The more I got into this book the more my original excitement about it fizzled away.

 

I really wanted to like this one, I truly did, but, in the end, I didn't like it at all.  I had several fairly substantial problems with it.  Firstly, I couldn't shake the feeling that the author didn't really know what she wanted this book to be.  It jumps between action, Science Fiction, emotional drama and romance at a dizzying speed.  I do not believe that books should be put in one genre, sometimes blurred lines are good but there has to be some kind of flow and that was distinctly lacking in Altered.  This jumping around led to me feeling like there was no substance to either the characters or the plot.  There are a fair few characters in this book and I felt like I knew none of them.  They felt more like shadowy stereotypes than real fleshy characters.  There was no personality, no individuality and nothing for me to relate to in any of them.

 

I wasn't particularly fond of the writing either.  It is fine to have unrealistic aspects of your book, it is Science Fiction after all, but for it to work the creator has to be able to sell it.  They have to find a way to make their audience suspend belief.  Marnee Blake couldn't do that for me. The descriptions of the powers and the action sequences did not work at all.  I found them awkward and at times bizarre.

 

There were some good ideas here and I do admire Marnee Black for taking a massive swing at it, but something was lost in translation and it fell short of my expectations.

2 star

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Published December 28th 2015 by Entangled: Embrace.

 

A free copy of this book was provided in exchange for an honest review.  Image courtesy of Goodreads.

Book Review: Unfixable by Tessa Bailey

 

Willa Peet isn’t interested in love. She’s been there, done that, and has the shattered heart to prove it. Ready to shake the breakup, she heads to Dublin, Ireland. But there’s a problem. A dark-haired, blue-eyed problem with a bad attitude that rivals her own. And he’s not doling out friendly Irish welcomes.

Shane Claymore just wants to race. The death of his father forced him off the Formula One circuit, but he’s only staying in Dublin long enough to sell the Claymore Inn and get things in order for his mother and younger sister. He never expected the sarcastic American girl staying at the inn to make him question everything.

But even as Willa and Shane’s fiery natures draw them together, their pasts threaten to rip them apart. Can Shane give up racing to be with the woman he loves, or will Willa’s quest to resurrect the tough-talking, no-shit-taking girl she used to be destroy any hope of a future together?

Unfixable is not normally the type of book I like. The New Adult genre and me have not really hit it off, I can count the number of New Adult books I have liked on one hand. I don't really get it if I am honest, they are just like adult romances but with more angsty drama and I am not really a big fan of angst especially if it is over done which appears to be a must for New Adult. One look at the description for Unfixable and I was sure I was going to hate it. A doomed romance between a trapped boy and a girl who hates herself, sounds like pure angst to me. No, I should not have liked Unfixable. Yet somehow this book got under my skin and I couldn't put it down and I fell in love with it.

I have only read one Tessa Bailey book before this. I gave His Risk to Take three stars but I struggle to remember anything about it. Even looking back over the blurb and my review I am coming up blank. Unfixable will not be as unforgettable. Tessa Bailey really did a good job of writing this book, everything was thought out, the characters, storyline and relationships were all structured and well built and the writing was descriptive. Reading Unfixable was easy, I picked it up and within moments I was lost in the story. I felt maybe that the ending was a bit rushed like Bailey realised the was running out of room but that's the only complaint I have.

What I really enjoyed about Unfixable was it's storyline. Sure there was drama but for the most part it was believable. For me this was more than a romance, it was almost like a coming of age novel, the characters take a journey of personal discovery along side the romance. Tessa Bailey managed to sneak a little bit of everything into Unfixable, it was at times happy and sad, it made me laugh, it filled me with wonder and at times despair. It was a well balanced book full of ups and downs, it flowed well and I never found myself bored with it.

Tessa Bailey's writing and Unfixable's story line both helped to make this book great, but what made me fall in love with this book was it's characters. Shane was a tempestuous man, he was stubborn and angry but behind that there was a guy that truly cared, that didn't know how to go about doing the right thing. He was very much a secondary character to Willa but that didn't make him less important. Shane was the only one who could and would challenge Willa's perception of the world and herself. I liked Shane a lot but it was Willa that truly made this book a joy to read. I fell in love with this girl from the beginning, and I related to her in quite a few ways. Willa does not have the best opinion of herself, she feels like she is broken and unfixable but she never wallows in self pity, she wants to live and to love but she doesn't know how. I found her honest and real, she's had it tough but is determined to make it through. It is rare to come across a new adult character with this much baggage and not have them be an angsty, dramatic mess. Sure, Willa was not perfect, she made mistakes but she owned them. Self pity really wasn't her style and I loved her for that.

The romance was fantastic. The chemistry between Willa and Shane sizzled and jumped off the pages. They didn't fall into bed quickly and the sexual tension Bailey created was almost unbearable. Sometimes books heavy with sexual tension can fall flat once the characters give in but not Unfixable. Tessa Bailey kept the tension high and I must say that she sure knows how to write a sex scene. This book is seriously hot, none of the love making was casual, it meant something to these characters which made it even hotter. Out side of the physical the romance still worked, animosity turned to lust, lust to respect and respect to love. These characters learn to love each other and themselves, they learn that it is ok to lean on others when you need to, that it is ok to share your bad thoughts and your good ones, your hopes and your fears. Everything about the romantic aspect of this book worked for me, I truly have nothing negative to say about it.

Unfixable was like an unexpected gift. It has made me look into the new adult genre again, and has introduced me to an author that I cannot wait to read more from. It was more than I thought it could be and I am so very glad I've read it.

4 stars

 

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Unfixable by Tessa Bailey.  Published April 14th 2014 by Entangled Publishing (Embrace)

 

A free copy of this book was provided in exchange for an honest review.  Image courtesy of Goodreads.

BOOK REVIEW: House of Royals by Keary Taylor

 

Every town has its history and skeletons, but Silent Bend, Mississippi’s are darker than most. Ruled from the shadows by the House—the immortal Born and their aging, enslaved Bitten—everyone knows not to go out after dark and that the police will never look into crimes involving blood.

Alivia Ryan didn’t know the man who claims to be her father through a will even existed until she inherits the Conrath plantation. Instead of the sleepy house she expects, she finds a mansion and a staff who look at her with fear in their eyes.

Ian Ward tried to kill Alivia the first time they met, and then insisted he train her to defend herself against the House, who he claims will try to manipulate and take her in for their own political reasons. And the growing attraction between them will threaten their lives—Ian is a sworn enemy of the House.

In Silent Bend, people disappear, the threat of a demented King and the legend of his resurrecting Queen hang over everyone’s heads, and proving loyalty means far more than blood. You’d better watch who you trust in this town.

 

Sometimes I read a book that just makes me want to cry. Not because it is sad, or because it made me laugh too hard. Sometimes books make me want to cry because I really, really wanted then to be great and instead they ended up being the opposite. This is where I am with House of Royals, I am in a land of bitter disappointment. It wasn't supposed to be like this. I am a fan of Keary Taylor and I thought the description for this book sounded epic yet somehow it all went wrong. I am saddened to say that I didn't like anything about this book.

A while back I read a book by Keary Taylor called What I didn't Say. It was a beautiful book full of emotion and gorgeous writing. I feel like The House of Royals is the complete opposite. It had none of the magic I found in What I Didn't Say.

I thought this book was all over the place. I found the writing stale and confusing. I felt like nothing was explained properly and that not enough time was given to important things. The time line jumped constantly, in the middle section of the book it felt like you couldn't read a paragraph without it jumping forward two weeks. This utterly devastated the romance and gave it no real chance to grow. On top of that I found the whole thing boring.

Unfortunately the characters were no better. There was nothing to them, no real personality. The romance lacked chemistry, structure and sparks of any kind.

I could go on but I don't really want to. It really upsets me to write such a scathing review of a book written by an author I truly respect.  

1 star

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House of Royals by Keary Taylor book 1 in the House of Royals series.

 

Published June 21st 2015 by CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 224 pages.

 

A free copy of this book was provided in exchange for an honest review.  Image courtesy of Goodreads.