Sherrilyn Kenyon

I have gotten really behind on reading (becoming part of a book club has really slow me down). So, instead of reviewing a book I want to talk about an author.

The author who got me started reading adult romance (as opposed to YA) is Sherrilyn Kenyon. When I was reading more YA, I was obsessed with anything paranormal. Harry Potter got me started reading about witches and wizards and I never wanted it to end. I started reading the Dark Hunters series in college and I gobbled them up. But she doesn't just write paranormal, but also science fiction, and if you read under her pen name, historical romance.

I love how she is able to take characters from the pits of hell, bring them out of their shell, and teach them how to love. And without Sherrilyn Kenyon, I never would have even started reading new adult books.

If if you haven't read any of her books, I urge you to check them out. I read them out of order in the beginning, but I wouldn't recommend it if you want to be able to keep all those characters straight.

What's your favorite Sherrilyn Kenyon book? Mine is Acheron!

****I'm thinking about writing more blogs where I do more than review the books, but talk about authors, themes, or the book industry. What do you think? Shoot me an email, or leave a comment below.

Crown of Midnight by Sarah J Maas ♡♡♡♡♡

Crown of Midnight by Sarah J Maas is the second book in the Throne of Glass series. If you have not read Throne of Glass, you need to go do that right now! But you also shouldn't read this review because it will contain SPOILERS for the first book.

Crown of Midnight starts after Celaena has healed from her battle to become the King's Champion, and she has started her new job of killing the people he believes are traitors to the crown. We watch as she deals with her duties and struggles with her feelings for Chaol.

This book was even more action packed than the first. Since I had some time in between reading the two books, there were a few things I had forgotten (like Celaena telling Dorian they couldn't be together). So I would brush up on book one before starting the second. The pace was faster in Crown of Midnight (I couldn't put it down because I needed to know what happened next!), and the story was darker. I loved every second of it.

I am starting Heir of Fire right away. Crown of Midnight ended on a bit of a cliffhanger, and now I need to know what happens next. If you're not reading this series, then you should be. It is beautifully written, and has a bit of a darker element.

Are you reading these books? What have you been thinking so far? Let me know in the comments or send me an email.

Crown of Midnight on Goodreads

Bully by Penelope Douglas ♡♡♡.5

Bully by Penelope Douglas has been sitting on my Nook for some time now. I thought the premise sounded enticing when I bought it, but when I needed something new to read, I wasn't really interested. I've never read anything by Penelope Douglas before, and I was a bit on the fence about this book.

Bully tells the story of Tate. She was off in France for a year, and now she's back home for senior year, and her tormentor, Jared, didn't just forget about her while she was away. We watch as Tate attempts to figure out why Jared started hating her before high school, and if she can ever trust him again.

There are some pretty great reviews of this book on Goodreads, and I'm glad I'm not the only one who can't decide of they like this book. It's easy to sympathize with Tate as she deals with rumors and pranks at the hand of Jared; he pretty much controls her life. And once you know Jared’s back story, you can't help but feel sorry for him. But people with bad childhoods do not always become bad people, and people with bad childhoods don't have the right to take out their anger on the people who love them.

It took me some time to really get into the story. The writing included a lot of unwanted details, and it was slow moving at first. Maybe the moral of the story was that everyone deserves forgiveness, but I can't get on board with that.

I was also disappointed that this book took place in high school. It was a YA book in that the characters live at home and have a different kind of school setting that high school offers. But it was new adult in that both sets of parents were gone (so some of the thing we see in NA books like house parties, drinking, bad decision making are included), and the story deals with more adult themes. Overall, I wanted the setting to be college, because it would have added more to the story than a high school can, and it would have shown that bullying doesn't stop when high school ends.

In the end, I would say this book was middle of the road for me. I liked the characters, but seeing them do a 180 all of a sudden was not my cup of tea. I also wish the writing had been tighter; I think it would have held my interest more.

Thoughts? Do you think bullies should just be forgiven?

Bully on Goodreads

Untamed by S.C Stephens ♡

Untamed by S.C Stephens is the fourth book in the Thoughtless series. It was my least favorite so far, and probably one of the worst books I've read this year.

Untamed follows a character we met in previously in the series, Griffin. He is the least likeable member of the band D-Bags, and we get to watch as he makes a fool of himself and attempt to become a redeemable character.

The main reason I finished this book is I thought I thought it might turn around pretty quickly and actually turn into a story that would be interesting to read. But it was almost 400 pages of reading about a selfish guy try and get everything he wants, fail, become unselfish, and the get pretty much everything he ever wanted. I don't think Griffin is redeemable, and he was extremely annoying and overly explicit about so many things.

I think writing another book for this series was overkill. I would have been much happier if the story was left with Kiera and Kellan. Untamed left a bad taste in my mouth, and I'm not sure I would read books by S.C Stephens again.

Have you read the Thoughtless series? What did you think of Untamed?

Untamed on Goodreads