The Festivus Miracleby Kim Fielding
My rating:
4 of 5 stars
It's not bad for a short story.
Oklahoma Christmas Bluesby Maggie Shayne
My rating:
2 of 5 stars
Nope. Not was I was looking for in a Christmas story.
Crazy for You: Christmas in Starlight Hillby Heatherly Bell
My rating:
3 of 5 stars
It's just okay.
A Holiday by Gaslightby Mimi Matthews
My rating:
3 of 5 stars
This felt like another swing and a miss on my Christmas Reading binge. It's not bad. It's just also not that great.
All I Want for Christmasby Nora Roberts
My rating:
3 of 5 stars
Cute kids. The rest was pretty meh for me.
Roseby Vanessa Vale
My rating:
3 of 5 stars
I was not completely interested in this one, but I'm going to give book 2 a try, in case it's just me.
Hyacinthby Vanessa Vale
My rating:
3 of 5 stars
Just okay for me.
The Start of Something Goodby Jennifer Probst
My rating:
4 of 5 stars
A solid read.
A Brand New Endingby Jennifer Probst
My rating:
4 of 5 stars
I'm still enjoying this series, overall.
All Roads Lead to Youby Jennifer Probst
My rating:
5 of 5 stars
It’s the animals. I loved them all, and they won me over. Plus, who doesn’t enjoy an Irish accent?
Lies by Kylie ScottMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
The premise was fantastic, and it started out great! I really enjoyed the witty banter, and the comedy paired with action-adventure. Somehow it seemed to lose luster as the story went on, though, so I definitely liked the first half the best, and then my interested faded just a bit in the second half.
Also, there were a ton of side characters that weren't very well developed. The story would have been more interesting and had a better emotional impact if we had gotten a better feel for those side characters, since they were important to the plot. But overall, it was a fun and different read, which I appreciated.
The narrator was excellent, but everyone always loves Andi Arndt. So no surprises there.
Forest Fireby Tenaya Jayne
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I wanted to love this, but it felt messy in a bad way. I'm going to give book 3 a try, but if I don't love it, I think I am done with this series. The world and concept are interesting to me, but this just isn't as well-written and well-plotted as I need to stay intrigued. Also, I wanted the character development to grow each book, as well as the world building, and I don't think there was nearly enough of either to suit me.
Verdant (The Legends Of Regia, #3by Tenaya Jayne
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This is sad and whimsical. I really wanted a stronger story, but I think it was hard to pull off the depth that I wanted from this in so few pages. That left it falling just a bit flat, when it should have been really emotional.
The Night Realm by Annette MarieMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
I liked the premise, overall concept for the world, and the cover. The actually story just fell short of what I wanted and hoped for. I think the storyline could be stronger, as well as the writing. There just needed to be some more real conflict and less melodrama.
I don't dislike this, but I also don't love it enough to move onward in the series. I could have used some stronger character development and a better developed, more believable plot. Also, there's just not as much originality in this as I hoped for, based on the premise.
The audiobook narration by Melissa Moran and Greg Tremblay was solid. I really enjoyed Melissa Moran who is clear, easy to understand, and provides just the right amount of emotion.
Serial Hottie by Kelly OramMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
On some level, character behaviors in this story are absolutely unsafe and not at all social acceptable. The problem is, that's part of the premise of the story, which is why I now feel bad that those behaviors made me so uncomfortable, as it was how the concept came to be.
If that sounds confusing and convoluted, then now you have a better understanding of my mediocre rating, because my feelings about this are all sorts of mixed up. Some parts of it are good. Others are just absolutely unacceptable and maybe sending some scary messages to women about how they should expect to be treated by the men they love.
Long story short, it was interesting, just not always enjoyable and rewarding.
Thoughtless by S.C. StephensMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Watching some of these characters, who were supposedly nice and decent people, behave so poorly and stupidly and unkindly sort of really pissed me off, and yet at the same time, I just couldn't look away from it.
The start of this book is really rocky and poorly written, so I almost DNF'd this several times in the beginning. There's tons of really poor writing behaviors like lots of tedious telling and backstory, introducing characters poorly and so many characters at once that it is impossible to keep anyone straight, etc. However, if you just hang in there for a bit, the writing becomes significantly better, and I think why I enjoyed this so much is that the writing is extremely emotional. This will put all your emotions through the wringer. Twice. In every chapter.
At the end of the day, if I knew these people in real life, I would think them very selfish and be pretty disappointed in them. But I don't, which means I could just enjoy the benefits of their indiscretions without having to feel too poorly about who they hurt in the process.
Effortless by S.C. StephensMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
This was an exhausting read that went nowhere but in circles. It could have been about 1/4 this long. I almost quit the series here, because this book was largely pointless. However, I decided to continue on and give book 3 a try.
I really like the emotional storytelling. I just wish this had an actual plot or point.
Honestly, having finished the series, you could probably skip this book, go straight on to book 3 and be just fine. You won't miss that much.
Reckless by S.C. StephensMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
This was a major improvement over book 2 and probably the best of the 3 so far, though I'm glad it is the end of these two and their story, as I think the whole series was about 2 or 3 times as long as it really needed to be.
That being said, I'm absolutely picking up book 4, because GRIFFIN. Honestly, I wish every book in this series had been about a different set of characters. That would have been more interesting and made the series stronger, as well as helped develop side characters.
Untamed by S.C. StephensMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
OMG GRIFFIN. This book is by far the best in the series. It just has so much voice. I was obsessed. Now, I am extremely happy I got over my grumpiness near the start of the series and continued onward, or I would have never read this beauty.
For anyone who hasn't read the series, I'm totally onboard with you just reading book 4 as a stand alone. Technically, you shouldn't do that. There are things that it helps to know leading up to that point, but if you start the series and get sick of the 2Ks, then just skip to the end and read this one. It's fantastic.
I enjoyed watching the long spiral downward, and the way Griffin finally picked himself back up, got his shit together, and started to grow up.
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