REVIEW; Girl Undone (TJ Peacock and Lisa Rayburn Mysteries #3), by Marla Madison

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Genre: Suspense, Mystery

Recommend: Yes

Book 3

NO SPOILERS

Summary:

Private Investigator TJ Peacock, and psychiatrist Lisa Rayburn, are hired by Ms Petretti to solve the mystery surrounding her niece’s disappearance. Kelsey Blasko went missing on Tuesday, and turned up in the mall on Friday with no memory of her abduction or what happened.

Meanwhile, criminal blogger Bart Kosick, is being harassed by a persona Headliner. Leaving threats and breaking in, Bart realises the danger when a young girl’s dead body is placed on his property. Both crimes soon interlink as the danger increases and creeps closer to home.

My Thoughts:

Story: Breaking it down simply, this was a good story. I read it within 24 hours so there was definitely an element that drew me in and kept my attention. There were good plot twists and often parallel story lines were interlinked, making a few pieces fall into place. However, at times, some plot holes were answered but I was left unsure of what this meant for the parallel story line. I like in a series when there is a bigger plot going on across the books with an individual “front plot” per book, and I am presuming that was the case for this – Kelsey’s disappearance was the front plot and Bart being harassed the bigger plot. I’m still uncertain how these two plots truly interlinked at the end though due to the sort of cliffhanger ending…

There was multi POV, the reader seeing events unfold from numerous persona’s which kept the pace of the novel alive and moving appropriately.

There were a few typos which broke up the pace here and there, mostly grammar ones that could’ve been noticed with perhaps another read through?

Characters: A negative in this were the quantity of characters. This is book 3 in the series so I assume the rash introduction and background of a few characters was for a speedy introduction to get the reader up to date. But it did become a little confusing. Halfway through the book a girl called “Shannon” was present and I’d to search back to recall who she was by re-reading her introduction at the beginning. 

Overall:

I would recommend this book for anyone requiring a quirky mystery read that isn’t too heavy. If you can get to grips with who is who early on, it’s an extremely easy read! 

Goodreads

REVIEW; I Am Not A Serial Killer (John Cleaver #1), by Dan Wells

Rating: ★★★★☆

Genre: Suspense, Thriller, Supernatural

Recommend: Yes!

Book 1

NO SPOILERS!!! 

Summary:

John Cleaver is 15 and helps his mother in the morgue. With a penchant for serial killers, he feels alive when there is a monster active in his neighbourhood. He's aware he isn't like the other kids; he has a list of rules to make sure he doesn't let the monster within him to take over. But as the serial killer becomes more active, John can't help but hunt him, allowing his own demons to come to life. 

My Thoughts:

John: I think he is one of my favourite characters from any book. He was absolutely fascinating and the story is told from his POV and we get an insight into the mind and thought process of someone strongly resisting what he believes to be an internal demon. John is convinced it is his destiny to be a serial killer and so has a list of serious rules he sticks to in attempts to remain "normal" and not become the heinous monster he believes resides deep within. This includes not focusing on anyone doing anything for any length of time to avoid noticing any detail about them and prevent becoming obsessed. If someone makes him angry he will compliment them to remain positive. The main hook for me was definitely exploring John's psyche over the actual plot. 

Writing: This was written fantastically. The whole pacing of every snippet of information and plot twist worked so well. I've been in such a reading slump lately due to life events and this book hooked me in, I was back to sacrificing sleep to read. 

Story: The premise of this novel was brilliant. It was a thriller wrapped up in focusing on the internal battle of John as he yearns to solve the crime and work out who's responsible for the killings, while attempting to manage his own instincts. However, the big plot twist is the supernatural twist in this novel. I am undecided as to if it works or not. In one way, the supernatural theme ran deep enough to be able to wrap up the story well, but it sort of came out of nowhere at the same time. 

Overall:

I loved this so much. Would definitely recommend to anyone who lives a thriller but with a twist. The insight into a teenager's mind who is convinced he is destined to be a serial killer is enthralling and the overall story is brilliant. 

Goodreads

REVIEW; Pieces of You & Me (Pieces #1), by Pamela Ann

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Genre: New-Adult, Romance

Recommend: No

Book 1

SPOILERS!!! 

Summary:

Olivia and Greyson fell in love in third grade. Until Olivia broke his heart and a mutual hatred began. After returning home following a summer in Sydney, Olivia discovers her mother's new boyfriend is Greyson's father, and they will be living together. All Olivia has to do is get through her final year of high school before returning to Sydney for University with her boyfriend Liam. 
But Greyson won't let Olivia slip through his fingers again and will do anything to make her acknowledge their mutual feelings. 

My Thoughts:

Olivia: I didn't like her... Sorry! Back in third grade she was blackmailed into breaking Greyson's heart and causing the hatred between them for the remainder of their school years. Seriously?! Grow a back bone. Ok, as a young child you don't really know how to react but surely going through the teen years she could've just explained to him! She also gave in so quickly even though not giving in. Like, she agreed to be his date, asked him to sleep in her bed, asked to go with him racing - there was no real effort of rebelling against the feelings. 

Greyson: I didn't like him much either to be honest. I didn't think we got much of an insight into his character, other than his apparent disregard for every other woman except for Olivia who he was in love with - with no reasons really given. There was a lot of telling us that he loved her but, for me, no real signs to make me believe him one bit. He was such a possessive arrogant egotistical boy who tried to act alpha male as a romantic gesture and just no! I despise this in a male character we are meant to be rooting for. 

Story: I think there's a good premise of this story but for me it lacked. Maybe if I had been 16 or 17 reading this I would've soaked it all up, but I'm past all this empty romance. The book ends on a cliffhanger - something I don't mind - but again the drama was focused on miscommunication and that's such a pet peeve of mind in books (I think due to being my pet peeve with people in my life) and I just couldn't enjoy the book. I wasn't racing to pick it up and delve into their world. I didn't care about the characters. 

Also, read on kindle, the story ends at 82% and with a cliffhanger, and in that case I hate it. I never read excerpts of other books that are added at the end so just another negative for me! 

Overall:

Overall, probably wouldn't recommend this due to the lack of connection with the story and the characters. I just couldn't follow it or the drama/twists. 

Goodreads

REVIEW; Unsteady (Torque #1), by Shey Stahl

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Genre: Romance, New Adult

Recommend: No

Book 1 (Individual Story)

SPOILERS 

Summary:

Lenny is in an abusive marriage and one night she is pushed so far, that she packs her bag and leaves during the night. Contacting an old friend, she manages to get herself a job as a mechanic. 
The garage is owned by Red. Red's wife was murdered a few years previous and since has not even glanced at another woman. Until he meets Lenny. The pair fight their attraction for a while, but all becomes unsettled when Lenny's husband follows her and brings trouble with him.

My Thoughts:

I don't know where to begin. 

The writing was way too much tell and no show. At the beginning we are introduced to Red and his entire backstory just plonked on the pages in front of us. Then we meet Lenny and we get her backstory on a plate. There was no gradual finding out of information and read as if both characters were giving a speech on their lives. 

Secondly, the sexual attraction between the pair did not feel genuine. Red was still mourning his wife and by the sounds of it saw a lot of hot ass in shorts - what was it about Lenny that got his attention? Yeah she was good with his daughter but he acknowledged she was the first female that his body reacted to and that's bull. We are meant to believe the thing between them is the real deal or whatever but we only get physical assessments about her ass, legs, boobs etc. 

Now onto the automotive element. I have a degree in automotive engineering and work on my own car and with friends on theirs, so I know a thing or two about an engine. When I find a book remotely concerned with cars/racing, I want to read it! However, I end up being disappointed. The fact Lenny is a mechanic is fact enough. We do not need to be baby fed info about cars;

"Then she takes the shock in her hands and compresses it. Usually, a shock will take some effort to compress, and this one glides freely in an up and down motion"

Alright, so not everyone would know how a shock works, but this could've been written so much better. Like having a character comment on it rather than TELLING the reader a shit ton which breaks up the fantasy element of a reader spying on the characters. 

"...flipping the page to the repair order where the customer is complaining about having an oil leak for the last three months. People are idiots when it comes to cars. There's just some things that should be common sense. Like oil leaks. If you have one, get the damn thing looked at before it destroys your engine." 

What is the purpose of that other than informing the reader about oil leaks? I'm meant to be reading a romance, not a Haynes manual. It just offsets the pacing horrendously. 

"Daniel's working under the hood of that car checking the oil by pulling out the dipstick." 

We don't need to know what Daniel was doing on the car, and ending it at checking the oil would have sufficed. 

"People and their goddamn rattles. They sometimes forget these are cars made of metal and plastic and when you're going down the road and all that plastic is flexing, it's going to fucking rattle." 

Lol what?! Car manufacturers (designers and engineers) invest a shit ton of money into getting the NVH of all materials used in cars optimised to prevent rattles. The flexing of any material is assessed and hence so many polymers are now used, where plastics are reinforced with fibres to provide adequate strength but remain light weight to decrease "flexing". Secondly, manufacturers will also assess the joining compatabilties of any materials in contact, to minimise, but hopefully eradicate, any rattles. Now, older cars are more prone to rattles due to aging of materials and being produced before the recent material and testing developments. However, as an owner of car older than myself, which rattles, I can sympathise with the people Lenny hates on, as they are extraordinary undesirable. In most cases, these rattles are simply components having come partially lose, and if ignored can cause further damage to vital components and affect the road worthiness of a vehicle. Why would any mechanic turn down payment for simply the tightening of a few screws or nuts? 

Apart from that, the story was ok. However, the writing needs work. I'm by no means faulting the knowledge on cars, I've read about the author and she says she grew up in a mechanic environment and fair play to her for incorporating her experience and knowledge into a novel, but when you go overboard in displaying this research forcefully in a novel, it becomes boring. 

Overall:

I had such high expectations but honestly, I skipped so much of the dialogue and sped-read towards the end just to complete it. So, as a result, I wouldn't recommend this 

Goodreads 

REVIEW; Falling To Pieces, by Leddy Harper

Rating: ★★★★☆

Genre: Romance, New Adult

Recommend: Yes

Book 1 (Individual Story)

SPOILERS 

Summary:

At nearly 17 years old, Aubrey is solely focused on her studies so she can go to college and escape her mother. That is until after Christmas break she returns to find a new History Teacher - Mr Taylor. For the first time in her life, someone cares for her. After noticing bruising and facial injuries, he gets involved in her life and vows to protect and help her. But soon lines become blurred and the boundaries between student and teacher waiver. Mr Taylor wanted to save Bree, but it's possibly she who saves him. 

My Thoughts:

There is something about the student-teacher romances that intrigue me and I love seeing how different authors treat the subject. This was probably one of the best executions as lines were barely crossed. 

Bree: For the most part I really liked how strong she was, even though not realising it. She flipped when Axel tried to just help her and she had a mindset that she had to help herself. I loved that she constantly reminded him of the boundaries and set out her feelings from the get go. 

I don't know if the split time frame worked for me. The first half was told 6 years before present time and from Bree's POV. The latter half was then presented to the reader from Axel's perspective and I really enjoyed this dual POV as we find out the information from both sides and we got an insight into how much Bree really meant to him. I just didn't like the storyline of Bree having a daughter. There were just too many coincidences occurring for me to truly believe it all. 

For the first half of the story I could usually completely understand Bree and her reactions to everything. But in the second half she had clearly grown and changed through the six years but I felt like I was missing some pivotal information to understand her older self. I just didn't get her and the dancing around Axel and the unnecessary drama. I get that there was massive miscommunication on both sides, however it felt like Bree was a totally new character. 

Pace: one aspect of the writing that I applaud is the pacing. Every time Bree faced drama we weren't told immediately what had occurred or happened but found out as Axel did etc. It worked in adding another dimension to the story and prevented it from sounding like Bree was just retelling a story. 

I like how Axel didn't directly go after Bree either. Their connection wasn't based on flirting and attraction but a deeper concern and genuine care of her wellbeing, with the feelings growing from there. 

Overall:

Not your typical forbidden romance but a beautiful story nonetheless. Definitely recommend. 

Goodreads 

REVIEW; Shh! (Oxley College #1), by Stacey Nash

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Genre: New-Adult, Romance

Recommend: Meh

Book 1 of 4

SPOILERS 

Summary:

Olivia Dean had the perfect university life until her boyfriend breaks up with her and sends an embarrassing rumour around about her. Now all she wants to do is hide in her room and get on with trying to salvage her reputation and keep her grades high to please her overbearing parents. 
But Logan Hays is doing everything to win her over and get to know the girl she's trying to hide. As much as Olivia loves being around the one person who sees past the rumours, she is terrified to get close to someone and risk it all.

My Thoughts:

Hmm... This sounded like such a unique story and held a lot of promise but it didn't really draw me in.

Olivia: There was nothing really different about Olivia to make her memorable (beyond her sex issue) - she was a typical uni student with strong parents forcing good grades and pushing heavily a high expectation. Considering she wanted to be a lawyer she wasn't very good at standing up for herself.  As far dealing with her issue... she didn't exactly face it head on - just took the route of denial. 

Logan: While there wasn't exactly insta-love, there was nothing to really hint at why Logan took an interest in Olivia. It all seemed too convenient that he developed interest from hearing the rumour about Olivia. For that reason, I didn't warm to him. He just didn't come across like a realistic guy that I would know and that made everything lack credibility. Other than that, he filled the typical role of hot rebel who just miraculously understands heroin and lives happily ever after... 

It really didn't blow me away. Told from Olivia's POV it all read like internal dialogue rather than a story. The plot was huge and the author dealt with bullying and pressures but it all fell flat somehow and I think that's down to the characters. Ultimately I didn't care much for them, I felt sympathy for Olivia but also thought she was a bit shallow - now, of course characters have flaws but I really felt like nothing  redeemed her for me to care.

I was also surprised that the rumour was related to sex but yet this was not at all steamy or explicit. This makes it read as a YA novel although realistically being a NA. It just seemed odd to me that it read like a very innocent and young read.

Overall:

This wasn't a bad read - and it's free. Simply, I didn't think it was up to much. Characters were all too flat and mediocre and unfortunately, it's not a story that will remain with me for long.

Goodreads