I love fantasy. I love YA stories. And I love light-romance. So, I absolutely loved this book.
From the first pages, I was drawn to the characters and their lives.

There were a few confusing moments in the book when all the explanations of the good/evil, light/dark are given for the first time, but that is normal when the author creates a world and a new extraordinary one at that.

I was surprised to see where the story led when the antagonist made the appearance and the main battle of the book came to pass, it was a wonderful resolution for the book.

I’m eager to see on what journey S.V.Filice will lead her characters, and I hope to be able to read the second book!

Dirty Little Secret, Kendall Ryan

In my opinion, this book is a good example of romance/erotica fiction. It has its story arc, and the characters are well developed, do unexpected things that are still in accordance with their behavior.

It might be among the very few romance books that I actually enjoyed. And I recommend to everyone who is searching for a steamy, light, exciting read.

The Deal, Elle Kennedy

I managed to finish this book on the second try. Because after reading the first few pages, I wanted to forget I ever started it.

The repetition of the same things happening, but from a different perspective, in the sake of getting all the points of view done is annoying and boring.

The romance is good-ish, but I will never understand why sexist and misogynistic remarks are supposed to be sexy and hot.

So, if you are just hoping for a book with a few steamy scenes and a lot of romance that is based on the fact that the girl thinks she is broken and in need of a fix, this a book for you.

Decidedly Off Limits, Stina Lindenblatt

As per tradition with the romance books I lately read, I can’t get past 10% of the book, then I say to myself that it isn’t fair to the author and I keep reading it, trying to find something of interest in it.

Well, there was nothing in this one. The story is dull and boring, the characters are annoying and plain.

And I understand that this is a romance book, but not all humans on this Earth think about sex all day long. And if the characters in the book I’m reading are this way, it makes the story even more childish and boring.

Hello, everyone!

I’ve been working on a completely new project for the past month, but I haven’t forgotten about the already existing one. For now, I don’t want to share any information on what I’m working on besides the upcoming book, but I am really excited about it!

…

Read the rest here:

I’ve read this books over the period of few weeks in March, but I didn’t have time to write a proper review. Looking back at it, I’m not sure if all of them are worth a full review. So, I decided to put some of them here, the other reviews coming soon.

Pestilence, Laura Thalassa

Interesting premise, tri-dimensional characters, exciting setting.

Pestilence is a dark, paranormal romance done very well.

The read was light and fun, and even though the male MC is evil and bad and does horrible things, it certainly is an interesting character.

The female MC not so much, but that is usually the case with romance. Female MCs tend to be stupid and dull, here she was just dull. Even though, it didn’t destroy the world built in this book.

Alpha’s Temptation, Renee Rose & Lee Savino

This book was weird on so many levels. From insta-love from male MC towards a lot of illogical moves from both the female and male MC.

The writing in itself was interesting and compelling, but at the same time, the characters weren’t as much. The story didn’t have an attractive hook, to the point of being foreseeable.

The romance in itself, when it is based on insta-love doesn’t feel exciting, so the steamy scenes didn’t attract much of my attention.

But, I must say, it felt nice to have a romance book that has something else in the story besides sex, thus the 3*.

Defaced, Marissa Farrar

I liked the blurb of the book, I liked the cover and I thought this was the book that would get me excited for the dark-romance genre. Well, it wasn’t.

Monster as a character was deep, and even though he does a lot of despicable things, he is still interesting for the reader.

On the other hand, Lily was annoying, stupid, and undeveloped. Everything she did felt off, counting her fear of being touched that felt weird when she explains the reasoning behind it.

It had an interesting premise that wasn’t explained to the extent that it should have been.
So, overall, this book is medium on every level.

A 4*

Caution, mild spoilers ahead.

I got a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. The opinions included in this review are my own and are in no way affected by the exchange.

From the first pages of this book, I was immersed in the story and the characters’ lives. There was no character who felt too simple or too perfect. They have their flaws and I loved them for that.

The story in itself had different aspects to it. Fantasy, steampunk, adventure, and even some history.

It was engaging, to the point where when the ending, I was a little disappointed because now I want to know what will happen next.

The only thing that is frustrating is that some of the storylines are not completely developed, creating potholes.

You want to convey strong emotions to your reader with your writing. Then there are a few things you need to change in your manuscript.

Here, we will talk about different ways of making your writing stronger and your manuscript compelling.

Replace weak verbs

Let’s talk about to be. “am,” “is,” “are,” “was,” “were,” “been,” and “being” have stronger alternatives.

Andy was enjoying herself at the party.
Andy loved the party.

But you can make your writing even stronger if you show it:

Andy danced until the last song ended and laughed until her stomach hurt.

Change uncertain language

Another way of weakening your manuscript is to use words such as “seems to be” or “could be a reason for”.

She seemed to be crying.
She was crying.

Yet again, try showing it:

Her voice trembled as she spoke and tears slid down her cheeks.

If you want to keep the meaning of what you already wrote in your story, replace it with a stronger version. The version that will put the image inside the reader’s head.

And here are some other tips, already mentioned in Do You Really Need These Words?

Very

First, it is not needed and cumbers your writing. Second, if you want to infuse more meaning into your sentence, replace it with a more powerful adjective.

Very funny? Use hilarious.
Very scared? Petrified.
Very skinny? Skeletal.
Very wet? Soaked.

Check 147 Words to Use Instead of “Very” for an extensive list.

Really

It is used either as very (so really mean should be replaced by cruel) or as a redundant word in a sentence.

She really wanted to shoot him.

And you don’t need it there. So drop it.

She wanted to shoot him.

And I cannot stress this enough, show it:

Her gun pointed at him, her finger itched to pull the trigger and be done with it.

Check out other posts about editing here.

A 4*

Caution, mild spoilers ahead.

I got a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. The opinions included in this review are my own and are in no way affected by the exchange.

I loved this book.

I love it when the author takes an already existing myth or story and turns it on its head. And I also love when the author manages to make an exciting and enticing story about an absolutely character.

Because the main character is exactly that, ordinary and boring. But what happens to him is not.

The book follows a character on his daily routine and through the events of his collaboration with Pacific, or Lord of Time, or whatever you want to call him.

There were parts that were too tedious, or too long. Parts that I wanted to skip.

But all in all, this was a fantastic read. One that made me think even weeks after I finished reading the story.

It has been a while since I did one of these posts to help the writers with some of the intricacies of writing fiction or  non-fiction.

So today, let’s talk about the Point of View in your writing.

To understand what is it in a story, let’s start with a few examples.

“I DON’T CARE!” Harry yelled at them, snatching up a lunascope and throwing it into the fireplace. “I’VE HAD ENOUGH, I’VE SEEN ENOUGH, I WANT OUT, I WANT IT TO END, I DON’T CARE ANYMORE!”
“You do care,” said Dumbledore. He had not flinched or made a single move to stop Harry demolishing his office. His expression was calm, almost detached. “You care so much you feel as though you will bleed to death with the pain of it.”

― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Here we have a narrator that tells the story that is external to him. He is merely an observer of the things that happen.

“Somewhere inside me is a merciful, forgiving person. Somewhere there is a girl who tries to understand what people are going through, who accepts that people do evil things and that desperation leads them to darker places than they ever imagined. I swear she exists, and she hurts for the repentant boy I see in front of me.

But if I saw her, I wouldn’t recognize her.”

― Veronica Roth, Divergent

Here we have the character telling his own story.

As you can see these two books are written in a different point of view. So, let’s talk about the points of view most commonly used in writing.

First-person singular

“I’ve found that human beings learn from their misdeeds just as often as from their good deeds. I am envious of that, for I am incapable of misdeeds. Were I not, then my growth would be exponential.”

― Neal Shusterman, Scythe

As in the previous example from Divergent this piece of text is written in first-person singular. The narrator of the story is the main character. Usually, but not always. 

The character narrates their experience, but also their view on things.

This Point of View can be unreliable. It can lead the reader to see things differently from what they truly are. It is also limited as it will only talk about the things the character saw or did.

Mistakes:

While writing in the first person you have to watch out for these things:

If your character is not interesting and detestable, no one will want to stick with it for 300 pages or even 20.

And you should avoid telling all the things that happen, all the feelings and thoughts that  cross the character’s mind. In other words telling, not showing. A post about this trap for writers can be found here.

Second-person singular

Ana Iris once asked me if I loved him and I told her about the lights in my old home in the capital, how they flickered and you never knew if they would go out or not. You put down your things, and you waited and couldn’t do anything really until the lights decided. This, I told her, is how I feel.”

― Junot Diaz, This Is How You Lose Her

Here, the narrator is speaking with the reader. This way, the story becomes very personal to the reader because he is the protagonist of it.

But even if you don’t write in the second person, breaking the fourth wall can be exciting. It happens when the writer briefly uses the second person in a narrative that is in the first or a third person point of view.

The most fun usage of it that I have ever seen is in Deadpool. Each time, he turns and looks into the camera and speaks to the viewer, he is breaking the fourth wall.

Third-person

“The lockpick gaped up at Adamat from his knees. “You’re making enough noise, you might as well have knocked on the front door,” Adamat said.”

― Brian McClellan, Promise of Blood

The narrator is outside the story. He is not one of the characters, and he is only telling what happened to the protagonists.

The third person can be limited or omniscient.

Third-person limited

The narrator is either an outside observer, unaware of the thoughts and feelings of the protagonists, or he follows one of the characters closely and has access to his/her thoughts.

Third-person omniscient

The narrator knows everything. He is the God of your book. He knows every thought, every feeling, every hope, and shame, desire and fear of the characters.

But this distinction is too black and white. There are a lot of grey areas. The writing in the third person can be more or less omniscient. Hide more of the characters’ feelings for the sake of creating a mystery for the story.

Mistakes:

The most common mistake made in the third person omniscient is head-hopping. 
This refers to the writer hopping from one characters’ head to the other. Thus, the head-hopping. This will break the intimacy created between the reader and the character.

In conclusion. You should use any point of view you prefer. The first person or third person limited are the easiest to understand and get right when you are a starting writer. But you should always try new things, push the boundaries and most importantly write.

Check out other posts about writing!

A 5*

“On a scale from one to ‘invade Russia in winter,’ how stupid is this plan?”

First disclaimer, I haven’t read the most famous book by Andy Weir, The Martian.

Second disclaimer, I did see all the bad reviews this book has gotten.

And I must say, this was an awesome read. The bad reviews I saw were mostly about the immature, childish and annoying main character and a bit too much wielding and too much science in this sci-fi book. But, even if sometimes I would agree, for me it didn’t change anything about my impression of this book.

At around 50% I asked myself wasn’t all of this too easy, too predictable and going too fast, knowing that I had still more than 100 pages left to read. But boy, was I wrong. A few explosions, a few murders, and an incredible plot-twist happen.

The story is interesting, with a lot of turns and developed characters, especially Jazz. We know her flaws, we see her fight for what she wants and deal with difficult situations she finds herself in.

For a first-person POW, that I don’t usually like, this was an exciting, snarky and enticing story.

There is a lot of work done behind the pages, to present the reader with interesting science that you wouldn’t even doubt for a second.

Even if sometimes there are one too many stereotypes, especially about Ukranian scientists, but those stereotypes do get born somewhere.

In any case, this was an incredibly good sci-fi, with a differently constructed society.

This was a first book in a while that made me shed a tear, when you are so invested in a character, that you are surprised how selfless and deep she can be.

I recommend this book to anyone who hasn’t yet read it and I would advise keeping an open-mind while reading it.

A 2*

I got a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. The opinions included in this review are my own and are in no way affected by the exchange.

I regret to say that I didn’t like this book. I didn’t like the story, I didn’t like the characters and I didn’t like the way the story was told. That doesn’t mean the writing was bad per se.

M. McCartney builds a world and inhabits it with characters with a few strokes of a pen.

But…

I found that the characters were presented in an incredibly fast fashion and each detail of their stories told starting on the first pages.

The story flows slowly, too slowly and the constant switch between the characters didn’t help with me being already bored with the story.

I want to say again that the writing was good, but it is the story that didn’t click with me and I just wanted to skip through it all to get to the end of the book.