I received a copy of
this book courtesy of the publisher from NetGalley.
Information:
Title: Can’t Buy Me
Love
Author: Maggie Marr
Publisher: NLA Digital
Liaison Platform
Target Audience :
Adult
Length : 144
pages
Story: Everyone
knows that Cole Jackson is lethal--in his charm and in his reputation as
ruthless media mogul and one of the world's great CEOs. A fact his former
executive assistant Meg Parson has learned firsthand. He's the one who banished
her from his executive suite with no explanation.
Determined to secure her long awaited promotion
within Comnet, Meg Parson is back and can deliver the one deal Cole Jackson has
always wanted and could never get. This deal is Meg's ticket to the top. Now
Meg must juggle this high-stakes deal with her unfathomable attraction to her
former boss--an attraction Meg has denied for three years. An attraction which
raises painful memories from her past. An attraction that Meg's boss Cole seems
to share. If Meg can't pull off this multi-media merger, not only is her career
at stake but also her heart.
Thoughts and
impressions: First things first
in this review: this one is a very
personal review. I suppose that they’re always personal, but in this case it
goes one step further. This book worked very well for me today in my current
mood. I’ve been craving a good romance for a week or so now but the ones that
I’ve read have not managed to tick all my boxes. This one came so very close to
having ticked them all that it really tickled my fancy!
I almost never read
books like this. If I feel like romance then I tend to read either historical
or paranormal romance. It is very rare that I’ll read contemporary romance and
most of the time I don’t really like it. I have to admit that this particular
contemporary romance is fairly ‘safe’ – it follows a set list of plot devices
that make it very cliché. Had I read this on another day when I was in another,
less forgiving, mood, the story probably wouldn’t have worked so well for me.
As it is, happy
circumstances mean that I was able to thoroughly enjoy the story of this
in-office romance between two very damaged individuals. Of course, they are
both the standard damaged characters: he, Cole, was betrayed by family he
trusted so now he doesn’t let anyone get close; she, Meg, was dragged around
the country in her youth by a mother who couldn’t keep her legs together. Each
is attracted to the other but determined to fight the attraction: he because he
doesn’t want to become any more dependent on her than he already is; she
because she doesn’t want people to think that she slept her way to a better
position within the company.
Add to this a business
owner who’s not quite ready to let go of his baby, his wife who wants him to
herself for the rest of their time together, a business rival who wants what
Cole has and is willing to use nefarious means to get it, and you’ve got your
base pieces for this story. It really doesn’t get much more complicated than
that.
It’s a good, quick
read for any who fancies a light corporate romance.
Style: My copy had some formatting issues that meant there
were no spaces between words. This made it hard to figure out what was being
said at times, but other than that it was good.
Final verdict: In this case, I was able to really enjoy the book
due to my current mood when I read it. Another mood could very well have led to
a different verdict. But thankfully I enjoyed this light romance. 4
stars
Extra notes: Both bad language and sex are present.
At BarinkoffAcademy, there's only one rule: no
students on campus after curfew. Phoenix McKay soon finds out why when she is
left behind at sunset. A group calling themselves night students threaten to
taste her flesh until she is saved by a mysterious, alluring boy. With his pale
skin, dark eyes, and mesmerizing voice, Demitri is both irresistible and
impenetrable. He warns her to stay away from his dangerous world of flesh
eaters. Unfortunately, the gorgeous and playful Luka has other plans.
When Phoenix is caught between her physical and
her emotional attraction, she becomes the keeper of a deadly secret that will
rock the foundations of an ancient civilization living beneath BarinkoffAcademy. Phoenix doesn’t realize until it is too late
that the closer she gets to both Demitri and Luka the more she is plunging them
all into a centuries old feud.
The Sneak Peek:
I mentally stomped
on the intimidation their perfection brought
into my mind and said, “Excuse me.”
The group froze,
startled by my words. The girls had their brows raised and the boys stopped
mid-speech, mouths agape. They stared at me with eyes the shade of onyx stones.
I smiled and gave
them a little wave.
The boy a step
ahead of the rest recovered first. His stunning features went from shocked
surprise to intense interest. He reminded me of a hawk eyeing its prey. I
gulped.
“A Day Student,”
he said, his eyes insolent and excited.
Something about
the way he said “Day Student” made my stomach flip. “Excuse me?”
They snickered.
The boys looked at each other while the girls continued to stare, muffling
their laughter by delicate hands. I seemed to be the butt of some joke.
“You broke the
rule.” The boy’s grin turned predatory.
The students
formed a loose semi-circle in front of me. My gaze darted from face to face.
Hunger filled their eyes. The image of lions about to chase down a gazelle came
to mind. I mentally shook my head. I was in the mountains not the Serengeti for
crying out loud.
I took a small
step back and cleared my throat. “Can any of you give me a ride back to the
dorms?”
The boy wagged his
forefinger like a metronome. “Ah, that’s unfortunate for you.”
One of the girls
pinched the bridge of her nose. “Eli, you can’t possibly—”
“It’s forbidden,
Eli,” another boy interrupted, pronouncing the word “forbidden” like a curse.
The nervous murmur
at the pit of my stomach grew louder. Six against one. Not good odds. Instinct
told me to cut my losses and run. Bad enough I faced expulsion, now it seemed
like weird, beautiful people who’d suddenly appeared on campus wanted to beat
me up. No, scratch that. Judging from the way they studied me, beating me up
wouldn’t satisfy them. Something more primal prowled behind their looks.
I definitely
wasn’t going down without a fight. Years of self-defense and hand-to-hand
combat classes had me prepared. While other children from rich and important families
got bodyguards, I got defense training. But I think my father meant for my
skills to go up against potential kidnappers, not against other students who
may or may not be crazy. Oh God! Maybe I stepped into a parallel universe or
something when I reentered Barinkoff.
“None of the
students are supposed to be on campus,” I said. Then, realizing my mistake, I
added, “Okay, I know I’m not supposed to be here either. If one of you gives me
a ride back to the dorms, I won’t say anything about all this. Let’s pretend
this never happened. I didn’t see you, you didn’t see me.”
“We’re not
ordinary students,” Eli answered. “We’re the Night Students.”
He’d said “Night
Students” like the words were capitalized. I didn’t know Barinkoff held classes
at night. What was going on here?
Eli smiled with
just one side of his mouth and said to the group, “She’s right, no one will
have to know. We’re the only ones here. And it’s been so long, don’t you
agree?”
The rest of them
nodded reluctantly.
“What’s been so
long?” I challenged. I fisted my hands, ready to put them up if any of them so
much as twitched my way.
“Since the taste
of real flesh passed through my lips,” Eli said. He came forward and took a
whiff of me then laughed when I cringed.
“Flesh.” Yep,
parallel universe.
“Yes,” he said.
“And yours smells so fresh.”
Someone grabbed my
shoulders from behind and yanked me back before I could wrap my mind around the
meaning behind Eli’s words. In a blink, I found myself behind someone tall.
Someone really tall. And quite broad. And very male.
I realized he wore
the same clothes Eli and the other boys did. Not good. He was one of them.
Although… I cocked my head, raking my gaze over him. He seemed born to wear the
uniform, like he was the pattern everyone else was cut from. My eyes wandered
to long, layered, blue-black hair tied at the nape by a silk ribbon. Even in
dim light, his hair possessed a sheen akin to mercury.
I looked down. The
boy’s long fingers were wrapped around my wrist like a cuff. His fevered touch
felt hotter than human standards, hot enough to make me sweat like I was
standing beside a radiator but not hot enough to burn.
“I must be
mistaken, Eli,” the boy who held my arm said in a monotone. “Correct me. Did I
hear you say you wanted to taste the
flesh of this girl?”
A hush descended
on us. It had the hairs at the back of my neck rising. How was it possible for
the atmosphere to switch from threatening to dangerous? Unable to help myself,
I peeked around the new guy’s bulk. Eli and his friends bowed. They all had
their right hands on their chests.
“Demitri, I’m sure
you misheard me,” Eli said.
So the guy
standing between me and the person who said he’d wanted to taste me was named
Demitri. I like the sound of his name. Demitri. So strong, yet rolls off the
tongue. Definite yum factor.
“So, you imply I
made a mistake?” Demitri demanded.
“No!” Eli lifted
his gaze. “I did no such thing. I simply wanted to show the girl the
consequences of breaking curfew.”
“Hey!” I yelled.
“Don’t talk about me like I’m not here!”
Demitri ignored my
protest and continued to address Eli. “So, you threatened to taste her flesh.”
His fingers tightened their grip around my wrist. “In the interest of
investigating this matter further, I invoke the Silence.”
All six students
gasped, passing surprised glances at one another.
Before I could ask
about what was going on, Demitri yanked me down the hall toward the library.
But why there? Oh, maybe we were getting my things. No, wait, he couldn’t have
known about that. Everything was too confusing now.
Eli and the others
didn’t try to stop us when we passed them. Demitri’s cold command must have
carried power. Handsome and powerful,
never a bad combination on a guy.
We reached the
heavy double doors in seconds. He jerked one open effortlessly. I’d needed all
my strength just to squeeze through that same door earlier. To him, the thick
wood might as well have been cardboard. I raised an eyebrow and mentally listed
the benefits of going to gym class.
“Why are we here?”
I asked after my curiosity overpowered my worry. I’d almost forgotten how
frightened I’d been right before Demitri showed up. I wasn’t above accepting
help from strangers. Especially from gorgeous dark-haired strangers with hot
hands and wide shoulders.
Demitri kept
going, tugging me along, snaking his way deeper into the library. I had to take
two steps for every stride his legs made. I tried to stay directly behind him,
praying we didn’t slam into anything.
He stopped
suddenly and I collided with him. It felt like slamming into a wall.
“Hey,” I said,
momentarily stunned. “A little warning would be nice!”
He faced me, and I
gasped. His eyes resembled a starless night, deep and endless. Their intensity
drilled through me without pity, seeming to expose all my secrets. I felt naked
and flustered beneath his gaze.
When
Kate Evangelista was told she had a knack for writing stories, she did the next
best thing: entered medical school. After realizing she wasn't going to be the
next Doogie Howser, M.D., Kate wandered into the Literature department of her
university and never looked back. Today, she is in possession of a piece of
paper that says to the world she owns a Literature degree. To make matters
worse, she took Master's courses in creative writing. In the end, she realized
to be a writer, none of what she had mattered. What really mattered? Writing.
Plain and simple, honest to God, sitting in front of her computer, writing.
Today, she has four completed Young Adult novels.
The info: After Dark will be released on October 31st 2012. It is the first of three books in the 19th Year trilogy. It is a paranormal romance aimed at young adults.
The blurb: What eighteen year old Mac Thorne doesn’t know will probably kill her.
In exactly eight months, five days, three hours and thirteen minutes, Mac has to choose what she’ll be for the rest of her life.
She has no choice but to pick. As a Changeling, it’s her birthright. To Mac, it’s a birthchore. Like going to school with humans, interacting with humans, and pretending to be human during the pesky daylight hours.
Once darkness descends, Mac can change into any supernatural form that exists — which makes her as happy as she can be. That is, until Winn Thomas, the biggest geek in her senior class figures out there’s more to what hides in the dark than most are willing to acknowledge.
In this first of the 19th Year Trilogy, Winn might know more about Mac than even she does, and that knowledge could end their lives, unless Mac ensures the powers-that-be have no choice but to keep him around.
The link: http://www.jtaylorpublishing.com/books/16
Tara of Basically Books and I decided to get together to do a weekly meme where we would compare covers of the UK editions of books with those of the US editions.
The aim of this is to just have a bit of fun. We put ourselves in the position where we see both of these books side by side in the bookstore. Which would we choose? Why that one and not the other?
This week we will be comparing the covers of Switched by Amanda Hocking.
US Cover UK Cover
Rea
says: I like the feeling of foreboding that you get from the wuthering red sky
hanging low above the castle on the US cover, but at the same time the image of
the girl in the field of flowers in the foreground doesn’t really seem to fit
with the background, though I will admit that it is certainly very pretty. The
UK cover, though, has this really ephemeral feel to it and I feel that that
suits the story better. Also, I can’t resist those gorgeous little butterflies!
UK for me.
Tara
says: Another hard one because I really do love them both. The UK version is all
greyed out apart from the butterflies so it draws me in. With the US version it’s
red and beautiful. I am going to base this on which I think fits the story
better as I have read this book. UK one for me.
Score:
Week 13: US: 2 UK: 6 Draw: 4
Do you want to join in too? Here’s how:
Step 1: Copy and paste the Cover Wars image.
Step 2: Copy and paste our intro or write your own but it must link back to both of our blogs.
Step 3: Copy and paste the US and UK cover images.
Step 4: Compare the two.
Step 5: Either use our score or keep your own score.
As with the review of Destined by Allison Kraft earlier this week, this review is in order to
commemorate the centennial of the sinking of the Titanic. Originally I had
planned to review three books about the Titanic this week, but unfortunately
circumstances meant that I only had time to read two of the three.
This particular book is one that I’ve owned
since I was only ten or so. I read it a few times before we moved to France but
I never touched it again after that. This means that it’s been at least 11
years since I last read it. As my mother brought it over with a batch of other
books that had been stored in my room there, I figured now was as good a time
as any to revisit it.
I had no strong memories either way of this
book so I went into it with a clean slate.
Information:
Title:
Voyage on the Great Titanic, The Diary of Margaret
Anne Brady, R.M.S. Titanic, 1912
Author:
Ellen Emerson White
Series:
My Story, Dear America
Publisher:
Scholtastic
Target
Audience: Children (8+)
Genre: Historical,
diary
Length:
189 pages (story stops at p159)
Story: Monday, 15 April 1912 It was after
midnight, I could still hear people moving about in the passageway. Before I
had time to go out and join them, there was a sharp knock on my door. I opened
it to see Robert. He was smiling, but his eyes looked urgent.
"Good evening,
Miss Brady," he said "Need to put on something warm, and report to
the Boat Deck with your life belt."
Miss Brady? When I
heard that, I felt alarmed for the first time, but I was also startled....
"A routine
drill," he said. "No need to fret."
I knew he needed to
get on with his duties, so I found a smile for him and nodded.... Robert
started for the next stateroom, but then stopped. "You'll not want to take
your time," he said in a very quiet voice.
It did not seem
possible--but maybe this was not a drill.
Thoughts
and impressions: I
have to be honest, the first third or so of the book is not particularly
interesting or inspiring. The story starts several days prior to the ship
sailing and a lot of scene setting takes place. The reader learns that Margaret
is an orphan who was left at a convent by her brother when living on the
streets meant that her health had taken a turn for the worse. He left to make a
living in America, the plan being for her to join him there as soon as he’d
saved up enough for her crossing. Fortunately for her, an American woman in
need of a companion chooses to take Margaret with her on the Titanic.
The
first third is mostly talking about the orphanage, the hotel where Mrs
Carstairs is staying, Margaret’s own past, etc. Eventually they get to
Southampton and they’re on the ship. Margaret’s from a family that always
struggled to get by even before she lost both of her parents so travelling
first class on such a ship as the Titanic is something that she would never even
have dreamt of under normal circumstances. It also means that the reader gets
the unique perspective of a young girl (she’s 13) discovering such opulence for
the first time in her life. It also means that she’s able to give a specific
commentary of those on board with her.
Unfortunately,
it also means that she’s in the dark about certain things. When the ship hits
the iceberg she naïvely believes there to be enough lifeboats for everyone on
board and spends most of her time just observing the other people on deck. The
very simplistic voice of a younger narrator also lends a very poignant side to
this story. The way the final, devastating events are shown in such terms
reduced me to tears (though I have to admit that this could be due to fatigue
and emotional levels). This commentary of events was far more effective than
any flowery prose ever could be.
Taking
into consideration that this book is aimed at children, it is a wonderful
exploration of how circumstances were that night for the first class passengers
for such an audience. Moreover, there are a historical note, a timeline of
events and a number of photographs after the final page of the story that will
ensure that the reader has a good grasp of the actual history. It’s a sad, sad
day when people believe in ignorance that the 1997 Titanic film was entirely
fictional (I have to wonder whether these people slept through school or even
paid attention to the start of the film with all the footage of the real Titanic
at the bottom of the ocean).
Anyway,
this story is a wonderful introduction to the story of the Titanic. It is one
that I will be keeping for the day when I have children of my own and they are
old enough to appreciate the book.
Style: As mentioned, simplistic but all
the more poignant for it.
Final
verdict: In spite
of the fact that the start of the story was slow and not all that interesting,
I’m giving this book the full 5 stars.
This book caught my attention some time ago. The title, for me as a
Brit, was already sure to catch my attention. The cover conveys the war-torn
idea as well as the romance. The synopsis immediately had me sold. But the book
in paperback was fairly expensive. When I got my Kindle, though, I had this
light bulb moment to check the price on Amazon. At that time it was 99c (it’s a
bit more now) so I bought it immediately and read it that same night, putting
off sleep because I just wanted to read more, more, more!
Information:
Title: The UnTied
Kingdom
Author: Kate Johnson
Publisher:
International Publishers Marketing, Inc.
Target Audience: Adult
Genre: Sci-fi, romance
Length: 403 pages
Story: The
portal to an alternate world was the start of all her troubles – or was it?
When Eve Carpenter lands with a splash in the
Thames, it’s not the London or England she’s used to. No one has a telephone or
knows what a computer is. England’s a third world country and Princess Di is
still alive. But worst of all, everyone thinks Eve’s a spy.
Including Major Harker who has his own problems.
His sworn enemy is looking for a promotion. The general wants him to undertake
some ridiculous mission to capture a computer, which Harker vaguely envisions
running wild somewhere in Yorkshire. Turns out the best person to help him is
Eve.
She claims to be a pop star. Harker doesn’t know
what a pop star is, although he suspects it’s a fancy foreign word for ‘spy’.
Eve knows all about computers, and electricity. Eve is dangerous. There’s every
possibility she’s mad.
And Harker is falling in love with her.
Thoughts and impressions: I feel that this review requires a bit of a
disclaimer. It’s very important for me to point out that I read this book when
I wasn’t in the best place emotionally (it’s ok, I’ve snapped back now! =) )
but The Untied Kingdom was the perfect book for me at that time. I
loved it. I absolutely adored it. It was exactly what I look for in a romance.
There was a slow-burning attraction between the two main characters buoyed by
events in a war-torn England.
The main character,
Eve Carpenter, is a washed up celebrity has-been who lost everything in her
fall from grace. Now, in order to make some money, she’s participating in a TV
show designed to humiliate such fallen celebs. Unfortunately for Eve, when she
loses control during a paragliding event, she ends up falling through a hole between
worlds. The world she ends up in is also England, but in an alternate reality.
Columbus never discovered America so the technology in this world is not as
advanced; King Charles is living with
the King of California while ex-Queen Diana is in Egypt with her lover. The French Empire rules the industrialised
world, and the decision to let them into England is what sparked this new
English civil war.
England is war-torn,
with the rebels targeting the King’s forces with uncanny accuracy. The King’s
forces believe they have computers given to them by the French Empire. Eve
seems to know all about computers, knowledge that no English person should have
considering technology is practically inexistent in the country. Obviously, Eve
is a French spy. Or a mental case. Either way, she gets locked up in the local
loony bin / prison. Eve herself even starts to believe that she must be some
sort of mental case and loses all confidence in her own memory.
But when the man who
saved her life, Major Harker, is sent north to steal a computer, he realises
that he needs someone with him who actually knows how to use the thing. The
only person who he knows who supposedly has any knowledge about how computers
work is Eve Carpenter. So he gets permission to take her with him and she gets
a crash course on life in the army in a third world country.
There are some really
powerful scenes in this book that really shine. The scene where Eve is roped in
to being an emergency nurse in a church-turned-hospital after a rebel attack was
particularly good. Then there’s the one where Eve is removing pieces of
shattered keyboard from Harper’s chest. There are more, of course, but these
were two in particular that have really stuck with me.
Of course, Eve, as a
former pop star is particularly interested in music. The people in this England
have never heard of The Beatles or the Broadway version of Les Misérables, or even Les
Misérables at all! Eve sings for the company that she’s travelling with,
but often enough Harper does not agree with the messages in her songs and will
forbid her from singing them again. This leads to tension between the two as
Eve feels stifled by this world she’s found herself in and then even more
stifled by Harper’s rules. At the same time she’s a bit like a ship without
anchor and Harper presents the closest thing to an anchor that she has around
her.
The romance between
Eve and Harper was exactly what I wanted to read after a few books that had
romances that hadn’t really tickled my fancy too well. This romance was just my
cup of tea. It was allowed to build slowly on both sides and when it finally
came to a head it felt so much more fulfilling for it!
I have to admit that
it’s true that the book is not really as polished as it could have been but
that really didn’t matter to me at all once I’d started reading. It is rather
like a modern day sci-fi (in that it’s an alternate reality) version of a Mills
& Boon, but who cares? If it’s good, it’s good. And this book was good.
Style: It could have been more polished in places but
overall that didn’t matter to me at all.
Final verdict: I love, love, love this book. It’s one of my new
favourites. I already want to read it a second time!
Extra notes: Both bad language and sex are present. This book is set in
a warzone, so there’s a fair amount of blood, gore and some torture.
Follow Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Parajunkee and Alison can read. Each week participants are given a prompt. This week's is:
Q: What is one book that you would be nervous to see a movie adaption of because you think the movie could never live up to the book?
There are so many possible answers to this question! I think it's very hard to translate a good book well to the silver screen: there are so many things in a book that you can't have in a movie. I'm going to go with Warrior Daughter by Janet Paisley.
It's not a very well known book, I know. It's about one of the Celtic Queens of Britannia who stood against the advancing Roman armies. There's so much nudity and sex in the book that I don't think they could ever make a good film of the story without changing its whole essence.
How about you? Leave a comment with a link to your blog and I'll be sure to pop over and leave a comment in return when I get home this evening!
