Another review from three years ago:

“I really thought I will suffer through this book. The second part is usually less interesting, repetitive, or just trying to keep the story along. But nope, this one was none of the above and that’s what made it great.”

I must agree with what I thought this book would be. Re-reading I thought I would hate the second book. But no, the story is still interesting, the romance is still ever-present.

But… In this installment, the story seems to drag a lot more than in the first book. There is still almost no development from the main character.

Others around Kylie seem to be more real. Lucas, Derek, Miranda, and Della seem to grow more on every page that Kylie does herself.

The only development we see in Kylie is her supernatural powers, but even these have no explanation for the time being.

The romance might be the only thing that guides the story and keeps the reader interesting.

As with the first book, this book is a light read to enjoy over tea after a long day.

This was a review of mine from three years ago:

“Damn… Making a love triangle in the first book… I am more curious about how C.C. Hunter will get out of this than who the main character will choose.

Now, concerning the book… Fresh, interesting, exciting, but… Too many boys. The story seems to be turning around this all the time. I would be more interested in other supernatural beings of the book than to learn for a tenth time that Derek’s eyes had specks of gold.”

So, when I read this book now, I knew what I was coming to. A light fantasy book that is not based on discovering the supernatural, but more on the romance.

I like the way C.C. Hunter writes. Each of the chapters of the book is a cliffhanger, that will make you turn the pages. The problem is that sometimes the story between just drags on.

There is enough of the story to keep turning the pages and keep the reader interest, but at the same time, it’s too flat. The main character doesn’t evolve after 300 pages.

Having said all that, I must add that I’ve read the book in a matter of hours. It is a light read that you might enjoy when you are searching to take your mind off things.

Attraction, Penny Reid

This starts in an interesting place, figuratively and literally.

And that’s about everything of interest there is in it. Because right after a few pages, we are in the middle of the story with no introduction whatsoever.

And yeah, the book ends in a cliffhanger for no reason, because let’s be clear this is just slicing a book in seven parts to get more copies sold.

It would be better to make it one, longer book, for a higher price, than just 160 pages that might interest you, but with no actual story, conflict, or the resolution of said conflict.

My Possessive Bodyguard, Jamilexis Gallardo

Sloppy, childish, predictable, boring.

This pretty much resumes it.

Beauty and the Professor, Skye Warren

This book had no interest whatsoever. More than half of this book is just sex scenes, and not even attractive enough. So yeah, I skimmed through half of them, and most of you will.

The characters are plain and even feel stupid, the premise is as old as any fairytale, but the author doesn’t manage to make it exciting.

For anyone who is interested in this, I discourage you from reading it.

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.