When a Book Goes Terribly Terribly Wrong (a DNF)

I rant a lot when it comes to books. When reading a book I'm more than not riding that special book high that presses all the right buttons -- whether it is good or bad in my eyes. Lately, it's been mostly good and I've been fangirling all over the place with a lot of authors/ books. It's been a while where I've been so torn on just dropping the book in disgust and carrying on because the book is by a favorite author of mine. This is one such occasion. (Warning: Spoilers Ahead)


The Book: The Hellion and the Highlander (#3) by Lynsay Sands
Genre: Romance
Crime: Perpetuating rapist enabling mentality
How It Goes Down: Lady Averill (the heroine) has already had a run-in with with her husband's brother -- a well established serial rapist. An unpleasant groping that was stopped. By the main almost rape, Sands has written Averill to have overcome her timidity and a strong female ready to take most situations in hand. However after the brother beats her and it between her legs lifting up his clothing and a maid stops him by hitting him over the head... Averill begins making excuses to protect her husband.

Oh yes, as the horrified maid (and readers) listen on, Averill explains her husband will surely have to carry the guilt of killing his own brother for the crime he has committed, and Averill wishes to spare him that decision. Thankfully the maid threatens to tell the Laird what has happened if she does not. Incidentally, she tells her husband half-truths and that's only because of the nasty state of her face.

To compound this giant ball of "what the fuuuuu?" the Laird goes in to speak with his brother, figures out that he didn't just beat up his wife, but because he found his brother unconscious on the bed (and knowing his brothers previous indiscretions) comes to the conclusion of a rape attempt. Twists of all twists, the brother is not unconscious but dead. And the kicker? The kicker that seals the fury I have for this particular portion of the book? When Lady Averill is told her attacker is dead she still lies for the bastard. I'm sorry, but that's not exactly the type of heroine I want to be reading in a book. Moreover, it makes no sense! Averill has no background of being an enabler, so why would she suddenly start now when she spilled the beans the first time she was groped?

WRONG WRONG WRONG. On so many levels.

What takes you to put down a book? Have you read this one? If so, what were your thoughts?

Review: Dead Men Kill

Summary (from Goodreads): When several of the city's most respected citizens are inexplicably killed by what appear to be zombies, all Detective Terry Lane has to go on is a blue grey glove, a Haitian pharmacy bill for some very unusual drugs and a death threat from a mysterious stranger. Matters are soon complicated when a beautiful nightclub singer shows up who claims to have information that could solve the case, but whose motives are plainly suspect. Against his better judgment, Terry investigates her lead only to find himself sealed in a coffin en route to the next zombie murder—his own.

Review: Dead Men Kill was not what I was expecting and, thus, knocked me on my behind when it was deemed dead men really do kill. It quickly went from being an interesting curiosity to science fiction suspense. If the later is your thing and you would like to explore the fantastic with a slant to days-gone-past, pick Dead Men Kill for a quick saucy read to excite your day. If, however, you (like I) did not previously connect L. Ron Hubbard the author of this book to L. Ron Hubbard of sci-fi fame/ Dianetics & Scientology and are looking for a gritty detective novel, look to Raymond Chandler and the great Phillip Marlowe.


Formats: e-book, paperback, audiobook

Senator Recommends:

Book Review: Kundalini Meditation: The Path to Personal Transformation and Creativity

Summary (from Goodreads): Kundalini meditation unleashes the life force that exists in us all, allowing it to flow through each of the seven chakras. It's a hot trend that awakens our inspiration and insight; allays destructive anxieties and doubts; and helps us feel at one with the divine. This enlightening guide shows, in guided stages, how to become aware of the energy channels running along the spinal cord and which purification rituals, poses, positions, and breathing exercises open you up. Special guided meditations target common problems such as depression and anger.


Review: A thorough and easy introduction into Kundalini meditation, Kathryn McCuster has created a stellar book. The origin and history of Kundalini is included, broken up by pictures to avoid being dull. Informative and well written, “Kundalini Meditation” is perfect for the novice wanting to begin or expand their daily practice. Highly recommended!

Thank you Watkins Publishing Limited and NetGalley for an e-ARC. 

Formats: e-book, paperback

Livnam Kaur Recommends:

Livnam Kaur is a spiritual intuitive, Reiki and IET® master teacher, IKYTA Kundalini yoga teacher, and Ayurveda Wellness Practitioner. She focuses on empowering individuals through the process of spiritual counseling. This counseling opens up the channels of spiritual communication, guiding a person to turn within and partner with Spirit to find their highest healing path.

Review: The Storyteller's Daughter

Summary (from Goodreads): In a faraway kingdom, a king has been betrayed. Deeply hurt and bitterly angry, he vows never to be deceived again. Unfortunately, the king's plan to protect himself will endanger all of the realm's young women, unless one of them will volunteer to marry the king — and surrender her life.


To everyone's relief and horror, one young woman steps forward. The daughter of a legendary storyteller, Shahrazad believes it is her destiny to accept this risk and sacrifice herself.


On the night of her wedding to the king, Shahrazad begins to weave a tale. Fascinated, the king lets her live night after night. Just when Shahrazad dares to believe that she has found a way to keep her life — and an unexpected love — a treacherous plot will disrupt her plan. Now she can only hope that love is strong enough to save her.

Review: My favorite of the Once Upon a Time series, Dokey weaves many tales into one main story creating a highly enjoyable experience for readers. Told in an old style narrative, readers are instantly enchanted by the first line all the way to the last. A quick, easy read The Storyteller's Daughter is perfect for those who like the "happily ever after" with more to characters than meets the eye.


Formats: e-book, mass market, library binding

Senator Recommends:

Review: Unremembered (#1)

Summary (from Goodreads): The only thing worse than forgetting her past... is remembering it.

When Freedom Airlines flight 121 went down over the Pacific Ocean, no one ever expected to find survivors. Which is why the sixteen-year-old girl discovered floating among the wreckage—alive—is making headlines across the globe. 

Even more strange is that her body is miraculously unharmed and she has no memories of boarding the plane. She has no memories of her life before the crash. She has no memories period. No one knows how she survived. No one knows why she wasn’t on the passenger manifest. And no one can explain why her DNA and fingerprints can’t be found in a single database in the world.

Crippled by a world she doesn’t know, plagued by abilities she doesn’t understand, and haunted by a looming threat she can’t remember, Seraphina struggles to piece together her forgotten past and discover who she really is. But with every clue only comes more questions. And she’s running out of time to answer them. 

Her only hope is a strangely alluring boy who claims to know her from before the crash. Who claims they were in love. But can she really trust him? And will he be able to protect her from the people who have been making her forget?

Review: Unremembered is one of those books that will knock you on your butt, in the best possible ways. Brody has stepped out of her normal contemporary novels to create a sci-fi gem. Readers will be enthralled as they go, each chapter adding and revealing another layer. Enthralling, with a dash of romance Unremembered is a must read for 2013!


Formats: e-book, hardcover

Senator Recommends:

Review: Girl Parts

Summary (from Goodreads): David and Charlie are opposites. David has a million friends, online and off. Charlie is a soulful outsider, off the grid completely. But neither feels close to anybody. When David’s parents present him with a hot Companion bot designed to encourage healthy bonds and treat his “dissociative disorder,” he can’t get enough of luscious redheaded Rose — and he can’t get it soon. Companions come with strict intimacy protocols, and whenever he tries anything, David gets an electric shock. Parted from the boy she was built to love, Rose turns to Charlie, who finds he can open up, knowing Rose isn’t real. With Charlie’s help, the ideal “companion” is about to become her own best friend. In a stunning and hilarious debut, John Cusick takes rollicking aim at internet culture and our craving for meaningful connection in an uberconnected world.

Review: I don't exactly know where I sit with this book. Let me be clear, Girl Parts is a FANTASTIC book. I would completely recommend it to anyone who likes books from contemporary fiction to dystopian. But even after reading Abandon Changes (the FREE short story about what happened after Girl Parts, kind of) I'm still ... thrilled and disappointed. I feel like the fine like between leaving readers to ask questions and leaving readers on the cusp of something wonderful was crossed. And there is a whole world left to explore after the last page is done. I sincerely hope Cusick is allowed to publish a sequel to Girl Parts or at least allow me to be a beta reader (please, pretty please?).

Either way, Girl Parts is a fascinating, well written novel that will keep you both entertained and thinking about what it means to live in such a digital age.


Formats: e-book, hardcover, paperback, audiobook

Senator Recommends:

Review: My Life Next Door

Summary (from Goodreads): The Garretts are everything the Reeds are not. Loud, numerous, messy, affectionate. And every day from her balcony perch, seventeen-year-old Samantha Reed wishes she was one of them . . . until one summer evening, Jase Garrett climbs her terrace and changes everything. As the two fall fiercely in love, Jase's family makes Samantha one of their own. Then in an instant, the bottom drops out of her world and she is suddenly faced with an impossible decision. Which perfect family will save her? Or is it time she saved herself?
A dreamy summer read, full of characters who stay with you long after the story is over.

Review: There isn't much more to say other than excellent, this book is simply excellent. With every page Fitzpatrick sets the beautiful, wonderful, tragic tone, real life transpiring without being dull. Readers will be able to identify with one, if not all the characters as they all are multi-dimensional. You will not find insecure or misdirected lust in these pages, as the blossoming love between Samantha and Jase that unfolds is just as multi-dimensional and real as the characters. Even if this doesn't seem like your cup of usual tea, give My Life Next Door a chance and it might surprise you.

Formats: e-book, hardcover, paperback, audiobook

Senator Recommends:

Review: Learning to Love

Summary (from Goodreads): Sugar and Spice: Librarian Jayne Gilbert needs a man—a man she can bring to her high school reunion. She wants to prove to her former classmates that she isn't the lonely bookworm they predicted she'd become. So, naturally, Jayne turns to a book. It's called How to Pick Up a Man. And it works, even if she attracts the attention of good-looking Riley Chambers only because she's carrying that book, not because she followed its advice!

Love by Degree: Going back to college, hitting the books. That's Ellen Cunningham's new life. But money's a little tight and she's lucky enough to find inexpensive lodging in a house with three young college boys. Ellen plays housemother, a situation that works for everyone—except Reed Morgan, the absentee owner. He's not pleased to find his house occupied by a bunch of college kids and Ellen. Especially Ellen

Review: Two easy reads in one book. Perfect for that summer afternoon by the pool or beach, or just relaxing on the couch when you need an escape from reality. The two matches have a lovely set-up, however, fall short and crumble towards the end. The overuse of possible "cheating," jealousy, and child-like snits that could all be resolved oh so easily if they just TALKED becomes tedious.


Formats: mass market

Senator Recommends:

Review: In the Shadow of Blackbirds

Summary (from Goodreads): In 1918, the world seems on the verge of apocalypse. Americans roam the streets in gauze masks to ward off the deadly Spanish influenza, and the government ships young men to the front lines of a brutal war, creating an atmosphere of fear and confusion. Sixteen-year-old Mary Shelley Black watches as desperate mourners flock to séances and spirit photographers for comfort, but she herself has never believed in ghosts. During her bleakest moment, however, she’s forced to rethink her entire way of looking at life and death, for her first love—a boy who died in battle—returns in spirit form. But what does he want from her? 

Featuring haunting archival early-twentieth-century photographs, this is a tense, romantic story set in a past that is eerily like our own time.

Review: One of the best horror books I've read, In the Shadow of Blackbirds blew me away. Well written, Winters pulls readers in perfectly-- and keeps them captured so blissfully until the last page. Accompanying the superb writing are chilling real photos from the time, the white masks enhancing the terror of the Spanish flu. With fantastic characters, haunting photos, a perfectly executed plot, and so much more, readers will have delicious chills well after the last page is finished.

Thank you Amulet Books & NetGalley for providing me with a lovely ARC. 

Release Date: April 2, 2013 -- pre-order your book below!

Formats: hardcover

Senator Recommends:

Review: Splintered

Summary (from Goodreads): Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. 

For now. 

When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family. She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own.

Review: A wonderful recreation and new twist on the old classics. Dark, fast-paced, and beautiful, Howard has gifted readers with a stellar story. Alyssa is one of a kind and the journey she takes to find the truth of herself and save her family in Wonderland is truly unique. The re-imagined characters from Carroll's novels are so vivid and different that they entertain when the mystery is long gone. The ending, I felt, could use a little work. Much like an abrupt plane landing, Splintered flew high and dazzled, only to leave me disoriented and blinking to find my thoughts. Still quite enjoyable and would recommend to those who love adventure and fantasy.

Thank you Amulet Books for providing Bookstar, Studio City with a lovely ARC

Formats: e-book, hardcover

Senator Recommends:

Review: Millie's Fling

Summary (from Barnes & Noble): He's the best thing that ever happened to her. He's also the worst. He's Millie's Fling.

From one of the premiere contemporary authors in the UK, here is a fun and romantic tale that proves the road to matchmaking hilarity is paved with good intentions.

Bestselling novelist Orla Hart owes her life to her friend Millie Brady, whose rotten boyfriend has just left her. So Orla invites Millie to Cornwall, where Millie looks forward to a summer without any dating whatsoever. But Orla envisions Millie as the heroine of her next novel and decides to find Millie the man of her dreams. Except the two women have drastically different ideas about what kind of guy that should be.

With Orla and Millie working at cross-purposes, and a dashing but bewildered hero stuck in the middle, the summer will turn out to be unforgettable for all concerned... 

Review: Millie's Fling is the perfect antidote to any unpleasant day or week or if you just need a laugh. Mansell write sharp characters with just enough self-deprecation that any chick-lit fluff feels natural, like that bubble bath you desperately want and can have -- AFTER you've done the hard work of the day. Well written and riddled with laughter inducing moments, Millie's Fling is the perfect read for lounging in the summer sand and sun... even if it's just to pretend you are.


Formats: e-book, paperback

Senator Recommends:

Review: Valkyrie Rising (#1)

Summary (from Goodreads): Nothing ever happens in Norway. But at least Ellie knows what to expect when she visits her grandmother: a tranquil fishing village and long, slow summer days. And maybe she’ll finally get out from under the shadow of her way-too-perfect big brother, Graham, while she’s there.

What Ellie doesn’t anticipate is Graham’s infuriating best friend, Tuck, tagging along for the trip. Nor did she imagine boys going missing amid rumors of impossible kidnappings. Least of all does she expect something powerful and ancient to awaken in her and that strange whispers would urge Ellie to claim her place among mythological warriors. Instead of peace and quiet, there’s suddenly a lot for a girl from L.A. to handle on a summer sojourn in Norway! And when Graham vanishes, it’s up to Ellie—and the ever-sarcastic, if undeniably alluring Tuck—to uncover the truth about all the disappearances and thwart the nefarious plan behind them. 

Deadly legends, hidden identities, and tentative romance swirl together in one girl’s unexpectedly-epic coming of age.

Review: A solid debut book in a series, Valkyrie Rising takes readers to the shores of Norway where mystery, fantasy, and adventure is abound and where Elsa (the main character) finds herself. For the first half of the book I felt the characters were a tad one dimensional, but thankfully Paulson just sets readers up for a fantastic story-line. While there is a love interest, Valkyrie Rising is not saturated by it. It is only one of the ingredients (flavorings?) that aid this book to what it is: a fantastic adventure for anyone curious about what it takes to really know- and own - who you are. Even when Norse Gods are want to meddle in human affairs.


Formats: e-book, hardcover

Senator Recommends:

Review: Girl of Nightmares (#2)

Summary (from Goodreads): It's been months since the ghost of Anna Korlov opened a door to Hell in her basement and disappeared into it, but ghost-hunter Cas Lowood can't move on.

His friends remind him that Anna sacrificed herself so that Cas could live—not walk around half dead. He knows they're right, but in Cas's eyes, no living girl he meets can compare to the dead girl he fell in love with.

Now he's seeing Anna everywhere: sometimes when he's asleep and sometimes in waking nightmares. But something is very wrong...these aren't just daydreams. Anna seems tortured, torn apart in new and ever more gruesome ways every time she appears.

Cas doesn't know what happened to Anna when she disappeared into Hell, but he knows she doesn't deserve whatever is happening to her now. Anna saved Cas more than once, and it's time for him to return the favor.


Review: How do I describe something so amazing except to say: READ THIS SERIES. Blake has created another stunner with Nightmares that will leave readers clamoring for more, yet luxuriously satiated by the last line. Anna, Cas, and the gang are back for more off-the-page terrors and achingly suspenseful delights. New mysteries are invited into the mix, giving Nightmares its added edge. Best read late at night for optimal enjoyment, yet don't expect the daylight to keep away the shivers crawling up your spine!

Formats: e-book, hardcover, audiobook

Senator Recommends:

Review: Dr. Anderson's Nanny

Summary (from Goodreads): Magical Nanny University graduate Wednesday is excited about her first assignment at Dr. Thomas Anderson's home. Since the death of his wife, Tom has buried himself in his work. He has little time for his three daughters. Wednesday's first goal is to make Tom see how important it is to spend time with his little girls. Secondly, she needs to get rid of his girlfriend (with a little magic of course ) who hasn't a shred of compassion or love for his children. Third, she wants to bring laughter and fun into his life. But Wednesday never plans on falling head over heels in love with Tom. It's forbidden for her kind to love a mortal. How will she ever explain she's a cauldron-boiling witch to the scientific doctor and that she has to leave him and his girls forever when all her goals are achieved?


Review: There are so many things wrong with this book, I don't know where to begin. The on/ off attraction between Wednesday, the magical nanny, and Dr. Anderson, surgeon widower extraordinaire, are downright tedious. And also, Wednesday is a pretty bad nanny. Not just because she kisses her employer ON HER FIRST DAY AS NANNY, but also that all she ever feeds the three girls is junk food (seriously, healthy eating habits can be in literature too)! In short, Dr. Anderson's Nanny fails miserably to string together a good plot, only moments and glimpses of what it could have been.


Formats: e-book, paperback

Senator Recommends:

Review: Dearly Departed (#1)

Summary (from Goodreads): Love conquers all, so they say. But can Cupid’s arrow pierce the hearts of the living and the dead—or rather, the undead? Can a proper young Victorian lady find true love in the arms of a dashing zombie?

The year is 2195. The place is New Victoria—a high-tech nation modeled on the manners, mores, and fashions of an antique era. A teenager in high society, Nora Dearly is far more interested in military history and her country’s political unrest than in tea parties and debutante balls. But after her beloved parents die, Nora is left at the mercy of her domineering aunt, a social-climbing spendthrift who has squandered the family fortune and now plans to marry her niece off for money. For Nora, no fate could be more horrible—until she’s nearly kidnapped by an army of walking corpses.

But fate is just getting started with Nora. Catapulted from her world of drawing-room civility, she’s suddenly gunning down ravenous zombies alongside mysterious black-clad commandos and confronting “The Laz,” a fatal virus that raises the dead—and hell along with them. Hardly ideal circumstances. Then Nora meets Bram Griswold, a young soldier who is brave, handsome, noble . . . and dead. But as is the case with the rest of his special undead unit, luck and modern science have enabled Bram to hold on to his mind, his manners, and his body parts. And when his bond of trust with Nora turns to tenderness, there’s no turning back. Eventually, they know, the disease will win, separating the star-crossed lovers forever. But until then, beating or not, their hearts will have what they desire.

In Dearly, Departed, romance meets walking-dead thriller, spawning a madly imaginative novel of rip-roaring adventure, spine-tingling suspense, and macabre comedy that forever redefines the concept of undying love.

Review: This is probably one of the toughest books for me to read thus far. It's got steampunk elements, zombies, a mysterious government, and a human/zombie love interest. Sounds perfect, right? Unfortunately Dearly Departed fails to really excite readers. The multiple viewpoints comes off as confusing, rather than bringing the readers more into the New Victorian world. All in all, it's a hit or miss. Readers will either love it or dislike it.


Formats: e-book, hardcover, paperback, audiobook

Senator Recommends: