Review: Little Peach by Peggy Kern

Book Title: Little Peach

Author: Peggy Kern

Publish Date: March 10th, 2015

Publisher: Balzer & Bray

Genre: YA Contemporary

Standalone

Book Link: Goodreads

Pre-Order Links: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, The Book Depository

Synopsis from Goodreads:

In the tradition of Patricia McCormick and Ellen Hopkins comes this powerful novel, the riveting story of a runaway who is lured into prostitution by a manipulative pimp.


What do you do if you’re in trouble?

When Michelle runs away from her drug-addicted mother, she has just enough money to make it to New York City, where she hopes to move in with a friend. But once she arrives at the bustling Port Authority, she is confronted with the terrifying truth: she is alone and out of options. 

Then she meets Devon, a good-looking, well-dressed guy who emerges from the crowd armed with a kind smile, a place for her to stay, and eyes that seem to understand exactly how she feels. 

But Devon is not what he seems to be, and soon Michelle finds herself engulfed in the world of child prostitution where he becomes her “Daddy” and she his “Little Peach.” It is a world of impossible choices, where the line between love and abuse, captor and savior, is blurred beyond recognition. 

This hauntingly vivid story illustrates the human spirit’s indomitable search for home, and one girl’s struggle to survive.

Disclaimer: I received this e-ARC from Balzer & Bray via Edelweiss in exchange for my honest opinion.

Review:

This book left me emotionally spent, curled up in the fetal position sobbing my eyeballs out. My heart ached for Michelle, Kat and Baby, all three of them had no where to go, no one to turn to. All they had was Devon.The world of prostitution is such a sad world, but it’s often the only world these girls will ever know and that realization is hard. Unfortunately the world of prostitution is very real in all parts of the world. 

I had studied it a little bit in college, but Little Peach took me into the harrowing, terrifying world of prostitution through the eyes of 14 year old Michelle, twelve year old Baby and Kat, whose age we never learn. The girls are given drugs to relax them as they meet “tricks” in hotel rooms. When the tricks get too rough, Devon and the rest of his boys come charging in to the room to rescue the girls. 

Despite everything he makes her do, Michelle still feels a sense of loyalty to him. After all, he’s taking care of her better than anyone else ever has. Or at least that’s how Michelle feels early on.

It isn’t until the book is almost over that Michelle realizes how dangerous this world is. Girls get killed for trying to run away, to get out of this life. When girls run away from their pimps, they’re seen as disloyal and their lives are often cut short very soon after they betray their pimps.

I think this book is extremely important. It’s raw, emotional and hauntingly beautiful. It delivers a very accurate account of how pimps and their girls are. It doesn’t shy away from the scary stuff. It’s blunt and heartbreaking. It’s not a story for everyone and in fact it is very dark, but since I love dark contemporaries, it really worked for me. I loved this book and it’s getting 5 stars. Everyone should read this book.

Review: Stronger Than You Know by Jolene Perry

Book Title: Stronger Than You Know

Author: Jolene Perry

Published Date: September 1st, 2014

Publisher: Albert Whitman Teen

Genre: YA Contemporary

Standalone

Book Link: Goodreads

Purchase Links: Amazon, The Book Depository

Synopsis from Goodreads:

After police intervention, fifteen-year-old Joy has finally escaped the trailer where she once lived with her mother and survived years of confinement and abuse. Now living with her aunt, uncle, and cousins in a comfortable house, she’s sure she’ll never belong. Wracked by panic attacks, afraid to talk to anyone at her new school, Joy’s got a whole list of reasons why she’s crazy. With immense courage, Joy finds friends and grows closer to her new family. But just when hope is taking hold, she learns she must testify in her mother’s trial. Can she face her old life without losing her way in the new one? Will she ever truly belong in a world that seems too normal to be real?

Disclaimer: I received this book from Albert Whitman Teen via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Review:

Oh my goodness, this book shattered my heart and broke my feels. At the end of 2013, I read Perry’s previous book The Summer I Found You and while it was good overall, nothing could have prepared me for what this book would hold. I remember reading the synopsis on NetGalley and really wanting this book. I clicked the request button and crossed my fingers and toes. I was super excited to get approved for it and I couldn’t wait to be able to dive in.

Well, it was about 8 days ago that I finally sat down to read this book, and I read it cover to cover in one sitting. It was very different from The Summer I Found You, and actually it reminded me of some of my other favorite books, namely If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch and Fault Line and Bleed Like Me, both written by Christa Desir. All three of these aforementioned books are very dark contemporaries, and they are also ones that I really enjoyed and even loved.

When we first meet Joy, she’s settling into a “new normal” She’s now living with her aunt, uncle and two cousins. She’s still very quiet, prefers to be alone in her room. Family dinners are uncomfortable for her and her uncle Rob scares her. Soft voices are used around her so she’s not startled. She shies away from being touched and the smell of beer and cigarettes makes her nauseated and takes her back to the life she had with her mother…and those men. All of those men who hurt her. Especially Richard, the scariest one of them all.

I loved watching Joy’s journey. It’s was both beautiful and heartbreaking. So many times I wanted to reach through the Kindle and hug her. Her therapist, Lydia set these goals for her and at first Joy struggles to meet even one of them, but as she gets more comfortable, she slowly opens up a bit more. Even if it’s just to tell a lie to the incredibly cute Justin.She’s supposed to talk to at least one person at school, at first.

Her next assignment is to talk to her uncle Rob. Logically, she knows her uncle wouldn’t hurt her, but her body doesn’t realize that yet. So her anxiety manifests in strange ways, shaking being the number one way. When she first opened up to her uncle Rob, I full on sobbed. I could tell that this was a big deal for her and I was so incredibly proud of her for doing this.

“Everyone has a different normal, Joy.” -Uncle Rob-

As much as I loved Joy as a character, I loved her aunt Nicole almost as much. It was so clear to me that she blamed herself for not getting Joy out of there sooner and it killed me to see this sweet woman blaming herself. Nicole starts attending therapy with Joy’s therapist as well, which felt like a betrayal to Joy, until Nicole explains things.

“I was here for me. Because I feel like I should have rescued you a long time ago.” -Aunt Nicole-

Nicole carries a lot of guilt for not being there for Joy when she was younger. A conversation from when Joy was 8 years old still plays in Nicole’s head and she wishes she had done something more about it. I hated seeing her beat herself up about it. I wanted to hug Nicole hard.

Family has never really meant anything to Joy. She’s been abused, mistreated, malnourished her entire life, so she doesn’t really understand what it means to have a good family that loves you and protects you. Rob and Nicole give her that sense of security that she has never had before. They make her feel like she’s part of a family.

“I’m so heavy.” -Joy-

“Then you lean on us for a while. Let us carry you, Joy, until you’re not heavy anymore. That’s what family is.” -Uncle Rob-

There’s no way I could end this review without talking about Justin. YES, finally a boy who respects girls, who doesn’t push them for more when they aren’t ready and who’s willing to be friends for as long as necessary before it turns into anything more. I loved Justin for everything he did for Joy. He didn’t push her for a relationship. He respected her space, didn’t force anything, and probably most important, he didn’t run away when he learned of her harrowing childhood. He was the perfect guy to help Joy realize that, yes, there are still good guys her age out there who wouldn’t be pushing for more when they were just in a car together.

This book was amazing, absolutely beautiful, heartbreaking and awesome. I adored this book and I cannot wait to see what Perry writes next. 5 stars to this story about what it truly means to be a family, to love and to begin to heal.

Review: Where The Stars Still Shine by Trish Doller

Book Title: Where The Stars Still Shine

Author: Trish Doller

Release Date: September 24th, 2013

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Genre: YA/ Contemporary

Standalone

Book Link: Goodreads

Purchase Link: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Stolen as a child from her large and loving family, and on the run with her mom for more than ten years, Callie has only the barest idea of what normal life might be like. She’s never had a home, never gone to school, and has gotten most of her meals from laundromat vending machines. Her dreams are haunted by memories she’d like to forget completely. But when Callie’s mom is finally arrested for kidnapping her, and Callie’s real dad whisks her back to what would have been her life, in a small town in Florida, Callie must find a way to leave the past behind. She must learn to be part of a family. And she must believe that love–even with someone who seems an improbable choice–is more than just a possibility.

Trish Doller writes incredibly real teens, and this searing story of love, betrayal, and how not to lose your mind will resonate with readers who want their stories gritty and utterly true.

Disclaimer: I bought this book with my birthday money.

Review:

Oh my goodness, this story was beautiful and full of those all important feels. I was hoping that I wouldn’t be disappointed by this book and I wasn’t. It was beautifully written from start to finish. This was the first Trish Doller book that I have ever read but it absolutely will not be my last.

Callie has been on the run with her mother since she was little, so the only loyalty she feels is to her mother. Yet when her mother is finally arrested for kidnapping, Callie is forced to go live with a father she doesn’t remember and her two half brothers and stepmom, Phoebe.In Florida she also meets her cousin Kat, who is part of this huge Greek family that Callie doesn’t remember.

She isn’t ready to just abandon all thoughts of her mother and change her loyalties to her father and stepmom. Yet she cannot deny that it feels good to belong somewhere. It feels good knowing that people care about her and don’t want her running around by herself. It isn’t until she meets Phoebe’s brother, Alex, that she begins to realize that all guys aren’t like the ones she knew before.

Alex isn’t the guy who stole her innocence at 8 years old. It takes Callie awhile to believe that there are good guys out there and that every guy isn’t just after one thing. I know a lot pf people had issues with both her attitude and how she kinda just slept with any guy who wanted her.She had very little experience with guys. After all the only guys she would meet were the middle-aged pervs that leered at her.

Her attitude towards sex was pretty cavalier but I think the experience with her mother’s boyfriend had really screwed up her self esteem. Being with Alex actually raised her self esteem. By the end of the book, she knew that she deserved better. She knew that she was worth something.Watching that transformation in Callie was something really special.

I loved Alex. I mean he was wonderful and sweet and kind to Callie. My favorite part between them was near the end when she told him exactly what had happened to her. He didn’t look at her any differently. He didn’t view her as “trash” or “dirty” or “sick” He saw the same girl. He saw Callie exactly as she deserved to be seen. What he did for his mother in the end was beautiful and I cried. He had his own demons but he was able to put them aside for his mother. A guy who is devoted to his mother is something special.

While this book was pretty damn near perfection, there were lulls in the book. Parts that didn’t exactly bore me but were on the slow side. I guess that was a good thing as it gave me time to dry the tears that showed up.I really enjoyed this book and it’s seriously on the cusp of love for me. So it’s getting 4.5 stars. A near PERFECT read for me. I would absolutely recommend it to pretty much anyone.

Review: Secret Lies by Amy Dunne

Book Title: Secret Lies

Author: Amy Dunne

Release Date: December 16th, 2013

Publisher: Bold Strokes Books

Genre: YA/Contemporary/LGBT

Standalone

Book Link: Goodreads

Purchase Links: Amazon, Barnes & Noble

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Would you face your biggest fear, to save the one you love? 

Nicola Jackson escapes from her abuser, only to realize she has no one to turn to and nowhere to go. In a twist of fate, she accidentally bumps into Jenny O’Connor, the most popular girl at school. They strike up an unlikely friendship. As their trust in each other develops, they share their darkest secrets, and their relationship blossoms into a secret romance. 

Jenny loves Nicola, but she is fearful that if their secret relationship is discovered, she might lose her family, friends, and her seemingly perfect life. 

Nicola confronts her abuser and blackmails him to leave for good, but things go terrifyingly wrong. Jenny is left with a life-changing dilemma: should she face her fear and accept who she is, or let Nicola take the blame and pretend their relationship never happened?

Disclaimer: I received this e-ARC from Bold Strokes Books via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Review:

This author was a new author to me so I had no idea what to expect when I began this book. I found myself really liking the story. Yes, the timeline was a bit unbelievable but when you are in an abusive situation you’ll use any means to get out of the situation. Even if that means befriending a girl that you had hardly ever spoken to before. 

I totally understand why so many people disliked the book because of the unrealistic timeline, but for me it didn’t both me much. Maybe because the characters were so great all down the road.Out of both Nicola and Jenny, I liked Nicola more. She was resilient and determined not to play the victim which was amazing given all that she had been through in the past 5 years.

I liked Jenny too. It was hard to hear about how she dealt with things but I’m glad that it wasn’t treated as a taboo subject like so many things still are. However, it was her family that made me like her even more. Despite being very devout Catholics,they were warm and loving which was really nice to see. Even Elizabeth, who was a class A bitch initially, grew on me.

The relationship itself was a bit insta-lovey which makes me cringe but they were able to be themselves around each other which was good to see. Outside of Laura, Jenny really didn’t have any decent friends.I didn’t like how once they were together and alone together, they always went to sex. But then I had to remember that they were teenagers and many teenagers are sex-crazed.

The ending just about broke me and it only made me love Jenny’s parents more and actually made me have sympathy for Nicola’s mother, which I never expected to happen.I cried a lot of tears during the end.So the feels were definitely there. 

Overall, I really liked this one. The timeline was unrealistic and sometimes Jenny & Nicola both got on my nerves for being so sex crazed so those are the reasons I’m giving it 4 stars.I think I’ll probably read any book the author writes in the future.

Book Blogger Challenge- Week 14

This challenge comes from Good Books & Good Wine.

This week’s question is a bit of repeat of one that I answered way back at the beginning of my blogging journey. However, I’ll still answer it.

Tell Us Your Deal Breakers

~God/Religion~

This is my number one thing. I am an atheist so it would make no sense for me to read a book about a God that I don’t believe in. I am also not religious at all so anything that so much as HINTS at being religious in any capacity does not get a home on my bookshelf.

~Politics~

This one’s easy. I find politics to be boring and I will not read a book that so much as HINTS at it.However, if it’s a dystopian book, I can overlook the politics. If it’s a contemporary, then no.

~Insta-love/lust~

First of all I am not into that cheesy & corny crap. There is no such thing as insta love. There is such a thing as insta-lust and I wish people would call it that rather than calling it love. You cannot love someone you don’t know and may have never met.

~Bad Author Behavior~

If I hear a story about an author behaving badly to either another author or a blogger like myself,I will NOT pick up their book.To me it would be like rewarding them for behaving badly. No just no.

~Using Sex As The Only Plot Point~

If I have to hear someone say “Well Sex Sells” one more time, I may put my fist through a wall. Yes sex does amp up the book sales but for me if there is nothing else to the story I am going to throw it as far away from my body as possible.Even erotica has to have SOME sort of plot in order for me to read it. If it doesn’t,then I don’t read it. Simple as that.

~Steampunk~

If someone could just explain to me WHAT it is,I’d be greatful. As it is,I don’t get it and don’t understand the appeal.

~Aliens/Zombies/Werewolves & Vampires~

I threw all four of these together because I just don’t get the appeal of any of them. I like a good SciFi book as much as the next person but Aliens? No thank you. I think I’ve seen enough Vampire crap to last me a lifetime. Zombies,um no thank you. There was only one series that I loved a werewolf character and if you are as much of a geek as I am,then you’ll know what I’m talking about.

~Abuse~

Sometimes these stories are done beautifully and they tell the tale of a battered woman escaping from a violent man. But I rarely read them and that’s because usually we are forced to read about the abuse in graphic detail. I will not be okay with that. It’s like abuse is being glorified which makes me sick.

~Cheating~

This is something I don’t accept in my real life.Why should my reading choices be any different.It’s rude,disrespectful and like abuse,it glorifies the act.

~Historical Books~

I hated history in high school,hated it in college so why would I want to read anything with a historical theme? Answer is,I wouldn’t. Historical books of any kind bore the heck outta me and you won’t catch me reading them.There’s one caveat and that is, I will read fictional historical novels if they are set in the time of the Holocaust. I have a very strange fascination with the Holocaust.

Review: If You Leave (Beautifully Broken #2) by Courtney Cole

Book Title: If You Leave

Author: Courtney Cole

Published Date: August 6th, 2013

Publisher: Forever

Genre: NA/Romance

Series: Book 2 in the Beautifully Broken series

Book Link: Goodreads

Purchase Link: Amazon

Synopsis from Goodreads:

26-year old Gabriel Vincent is a badass hero. Or he used to be, anyway. As an ex-Army Ranger, Gabe never thought he needed anyone. But after one horrible night in Afghanistan scars him in a way that he can’t get past, he needs someone who can help him heal…even if he doesn’t realize it.

25-year old Madison Hill doesn’t need anybody…or so she thinks. She grew up watching her parents’ messed-up abusive relationship and she knows there’s no way in hell that she’s ever letting that happen to her.

They don’t know it in the beginning, but Gabriel and Madison will soon develop a weakness: Each other.

But Gabriel’s got a secret, a hidden monster that he’s afraid Maddy could never overcome… And Maddy’s got issues that she’s afraid Gabe will never understand. They quickly realize that they need each other to be whole, but at the same time they know that they’ve got demons to fight.

And the problem with demons is that they never die quietly.

Disclaimer: This e-book was a personal purchase.

Review:

I read If You Stay at the very beginning of my blogging endeavor and I had absolutely loved it. I wasn’t sure if If You Leave would have the same special-ness that book one had had. I needn’t have worried. If possible I loved If You Leave even more than the first book.

We had gotten snapshots of Madison in the first book but I had no idea how much alike we were until this book. Like Madison, I had to deal with my mother’s marriage to an abusive man right in my teenage years. The very time that I was starting to notice boys was the very time my mother was married for the second time. I knew that the way he was treating my mother was not okay and I got angry with her for not leaving sooner. It took her 12 years to leave the marriage, something Madison’s mother was not brave enough to do. 

Because of having to watch my mom get treated in such a terrible way, I built up walls. Walls the size of The Great Wall of China. I was not going to put myself in a position to get hurt like my mother had. So I resonated big time with Madison. I knew what it felt like to have those walls up.It’s never really said outright but I am guessing that Madison had friends that told her that she could overcome this if she really wanted to and that she was not her mother. Trust me, I had friends tell me the exact same thing. But it’s not easy. It’s not easy to let your guard down if you’ve been a witness to some truly shitty things.

“It’s because of my parents that I’m afraid to get involved with anyone.It’s because of them that I am afraid any relationship I get into will hurt me.Just like my dad hurt my mom.” -Madison

Oh sure Madison dates, like the guy Ethan who she has known since kindergarten and who had puked up chocolate milk all over her.Too bad he’s vanilla and Madison isn’t interested in him at all.

“Oh yeah,that’s just what I want. The guy who vomited up his chocolate milk on me in kindergarten doing my pap smear.” -Madison

In comes sexy as hell Gabriel Vincent.Oh man he was cocky and arrogant from the beginning but I suspected that was a facade for the demons that were buried inside of him. He definitely did not make the best of impressions the first night they met,but over time he softened up and in turn so did Madison. She got to see his softer side and his protective side as he dealt with his sister Jacey and her crazy as hell boyfriend. Gabriel began to make Madison feel safe. 

When crap goes down,Gabriel begins to realize that he cannot just push his issues aside. He’s got to deal with them. If he doesn’t he could lose Madison…forever. 

Watching Madison’s walls slowly inch down was awesome. It was inspiring and it gave me a lot of hope. Watching her let Gabe in, in every way was heartwarming and it made me cry on multiple times. Gabe’s decision to get help for his issues was awesome too. I liked that he realized that he couldn’t deal with it on his own and that it wasn’t a crime or a mark against his manhood to need and therefore get help. 

Getting to see Mila and Pax was an awesome surprise. I loved how they were still so close as they were in the first book.

This book gets 5 stars from me. If at all possible, I loved this book more than If I Stay mostly because of how well I related to Madison and how she was feeling. I cannot wait to read the next book in this series.

“Love is deathless.”

Review: A Life, Redefined by Tracy Hewitt Meyer

Book Title: A Life, Redefined

Author: Tracy Hewitt Meyer

Publish Date: June 21st, 2013

Published By: Cerulean Publishing

Genre: YA

Series: Book One in the Rowan Slone Novels)

Book Link: Goodreads

Purchase Link: Amazon

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

Seven years ago, an innocent act by Rowan Slone turned her life into a nightmare. Since the age of ten she’s lived with the burden of her baby brother’s death. Now she is seventeen and all she wants to do is graduate high school, go to college, and escape the loveless family she has endured all these years—the same family that holds her responsible for his death. But no one holds her responsible more than herself.
When long-time crush Mike Anderson invites her to the Prom, suddenly her future looks brighter. Rowan’s younger sister, Trina, however, is determined to ruin her new-found happiness, no matter the cost. And when Rowan discovers her mother’s long-held secret, she finds herself teetering on the edge of an abyss. Can Rowan find the strength to move toward the future or is she doomed to dwell in the past?

Disclaimer: I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway.

Review:

I entered the Goodreads giveaway on a whim and was stoked when I found out that I had won. It was staring at me from my desk earlier so I looked at the page number and I guessed that I could finish it pretty quickly. I was right. It was a riveting, page turner that dealt with so many tough issues. Usually when a book tackles so many tough issues,the book ends up being subpar. Not this book.This book handled such tough issues as teenage pregnancy,rape,infanticide and depression, among other issues, well.

Rowan has been living with guilt for ten years. The book says that she is the one that punishes herself the hardest but I disagree. It was her father who punished her the hardest.She,along with her sister Trina and her mother are subjected to her father’s abuse constantly. It is no secret that things would be different if her baby brother had lived. 

Not only does her father abuse Rowan and Trina,he also emotionally abuses their mother. I got frustrated with their mother. She was so far deep in her depression that whenever her daughters were abused,she only put up a half-hearted effort to protect them.Not only that but Rowan’s mother carries with her a secret that will turn everything on its head. I cannot say that the twist was entirely unexpected but I was a bit shocked. 

Mike Anderson and Jess were good characters too. I wish we had seen just a pinch more of Jess but I did like her from what I did see. Mike had everything that Rowan didn’t have and I think that’s part of what drew Rowan to him in the first place.

This book is getting 4 stars from me. I really enjoyed it but it felt like some parts were just a teeny bit rushed.I think making the book longer would definitely have fixed the issue of certain rushed parts. If you are up for a quick page turner,give this one a try. I both cried and laughed during this book and to me,that’s the mark of an amazing book.

Review: Grievous Bodily Harm: A Toni Day Mystery by Jane Bennett Munro

Book: Grievous Bodily Harm: A Toni Day Mystery

Author: Jane Bennett Munro

Published Date: June 22nd, 2013

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

Genre: Mystery

Series: Book 3 in Toni Day Mystery series

Book Link: Goodreads

Purchase Links: Amazon, Barnes & Noble

Synopsis:

When Marcus Manning is hired to help ease Perrine Memorial Hospital’s transition from privately owned hospital to part of a behemoth system that covers most of the Pacific Northwest,he immediately stirs up trouble.He begins lying, bad-mouthing and blackmailing & even threatening the hospital staff and before he can really get going, pathologist Toni Day blows the whistle.

While the hospital considers firing him,someone else comes up with a more permanent solution-cyanide. Now Toni is the number one suspect and she must clear her name and find the real killer.

Disclaimer: I received this book from the author in exchange for my honest review.

Review:

This book is set two years after Too Much Blood. Not much has changed in Toni’s personal life but things are changing at the hospital where she has been a pathologist for many years. Marcus Manning is one character that I wanted to take a shotgun to,and quickly. Usually I don’t have that vehement of a statement about characters but he was the biggest book related asshole that I had “met” in awhile.

He is the type of character who abuses his power to the point of Toni being the recipient of a serious bodily injury that eventually requires surgery.He scares her staff by blackmailing them and attempting to extort sexual favors from him. All the while hiding the fact that he is abusing his wife on a daily basis. I wanted to reach through the book and strangle him until he turned limp beneath my hands.

Someone else had the same idea as Marcus is killed in plain sight of many people at a hospital picnic. No one knows who did it. Was it the wife? Was it the wife’s best friend whom Marcus had bragged about sleeping with? Or was it Toni,fed up with the physical & emotional damage that Marcus was inflicting upon her?

I really enjoyed this book. Like Too Much Blood,I found Toni to be a badass and she was the type of woman who took no crap from anyone. Even from someone who had the ability to get her fired.In Too Much Blood,one of my only criticisms was that the secondary characters weren’t as well developed as I would have liked,particularly Hal, Toni’s husband of many years.

However,the author seemed to take these comments to heart and I noticed a definite increase in character development this time around. I got a much better picture of Hal as well as Toni’s stepdaughter & her husband Pete. Lets not forget the friends as well. They played a much more important role this time around.I was thrilled to see such commitment to better character development.

The majority of the book seemed to focus on the crap that Marcus was attempting to throw at the hospital before his untimely death. That would be my only complaint this time around.It’s not enough to change my rating though. 

This book was a throughly enjoyable book that kept me guessing throughout the entire thing. I actually enjoyed this book MORE than Too Much Blood and for that reason,this book gets a full 5 stars from me. I cannot wait to see what the author writes next.

Friday Musings #5

Okay so I was booked on Tuesday so I couldn’t do my Top Ten Things That Make Me Shun A Book like so many others in the blogging community. I needed a topic for today SO I decided to do my Top Ten Things That Make Me Shun A Book today. Hope you enjoy!

~God/Religion~

This is my number one thing. I am an atheist so it would make no sense for me to read a book about a God that I don’t believe in. I am also not religious at all so anything that so much as HINTS at being religious in any capacity does not get a home on my bookshelf.

~Politics~

This one’s easy. I find politics to be boring and I will not read a book that so much as HINTS at it.

~Insta-love/lust~

First of all I am not into that cheesy & corny crap. There is no such thing as insta love. There is such a thing as insta-lust and I wish people would call it that rather than calling it love. You cannot love someone you don’t know and may have never met.

~Bad Author Behavior~

If I hear a story about an author behaving badly to either another author or a blogger like myself,I will NOT pick up their book.To me it would be like rewarding them for behaving badly. No just no.

~Using Sex As The Only Plot Point~

If I have to hear someone say “Well Sex Sells” one more time, I may put my fist through a wall. Yes sex does amp up the book sales but for me if there is nothing else to the story I am going to throw it as far away from my body as possible.Even erotica has to have SOME sort of plot in order for me to read it. If it doesn’t,then I don’t read it. Simple as that.

~Steampunk~

If someone could just explain to me WHAT it is,I’d be greatful. As it is,I don’t get it and don’t understand the appeal.

~Aliens/Zombies/Werewolves & Vampires~

I threw all four of these together because I just don’t get the appeal of any of them. I like a good SciFi book as much as the next person but Aliens? No thank you. I think I’ve seen enough Vampire crap to last me a lifetime. Zombies,um no thank you. There was only one series that I loved a werewolf character and if you are as much of a geek as I am,then you’ll know what I’m talking about.

~Abuse~

Sometimes these stories are done beautifully and they tell the tale of a battered woman escaping from a violent man. But I rarely read them and that’s because usually we are forced to read about the abuse in graphic detail. I will not be okay with that. It’s like abuse is being glorified which makes me sick.

~Cheating~

This is something I don’t accept in my real life.Why should my reading choices be any different.It’s rude,disrespectful and like abuse,it glorifies the act.

~Historical Books~

I hated history in high school,hated it in college so why would I want to read anything with a historical theme? Answer is,I wouldn’t. Historical books of any kind bore the heck outta me and you won’t catch me reading them.Ever.

So what was on your TT list this week? Share your TT link with me so I can stop by if I haven’t already.