This is book 2 in the Fifty Shades trilogy. I read book 1 last year and found it to be so so. The writing was not great, but I did that there was a worthy story there, so I decided to finally get to the second book.
I find that I liked the plot better in this one, yes the plot does get better and does change. This story is not just about dominate and submissive lifestyles. This is a story about learning to trust and learning to accept others and not judge others without first knowing who they are. There are also some added elements to this one such as mystery and thriller. It adds a more intense moments to the story. I did find the end of this a bit predictable but I do look forward to how it will be incorporated into the final book. I could do without all the sex in this book. It does taper off in the beginning, but then seems to get over the top as the story goes on. I also thought that the writing itself has improved some. There are still the use of some lines or words that get annoying, but it has improved.
The characters are pretty good since I like those flawed, gritty characters. I do have to say though that Christian was bordering on very annoying several times in this one, but I do realize it is part of his character and part of who he is so I deal with that. Ana also gets herself in those situation where I expect her to react one way but ends up responding in a totally different way, and not always smart choices. I would like for her to stand up for herself more than she does. I think this would make her appear a lot stronger.
I am going to give this book a 3,5 star rating. I believe that to be a half star more than I gave the first book. Just give it try before you judge the story. I do think these books are worth reading and recommend them to anyone who likes romance and to those who can look past the sexy times.
Another great book in The Series of Unfortunate Events. This is book #5 to the series, and I look forward to continuing on with this one.
SynopsisDear Reader,
If you are looking for a story about cheerful youngsters spending a jolly time at boarding school, look elsewhere. Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire are intelligent and resourceful children, and you might expect that they would do very well at school. Don't. For the Baudelaires, school turns out to be another miserable episode in their unlucky lives.
Truth be told, within the chapters that make up this dreadful story, the children will face snapping crabs, strict punishments, dripping fungus, comprehensive exams, violin recitals, S.O.R.E., and the metric system.
It is my solemn duty to stay up all night researching and writing the history of these three hapless youngsters, but you may be more comfortable getting a good night's sleep. In that case, you should probably choose some other book.
With all due respect,
Lemony Snicket
Again this was very engaging. I found it to be very fast paced and a very quick read. I really have been enjoying the plots of these stories, but also sometimes find them to be so ridiculous that they can become annoying as well. LOL However, I do find that they are very entertaining, so I am able to look past some of the more ridiculous parts of the story.
Again we run in to Count Olaf who really is a great character for us to all 'love to hate'. I only hope that by the end of this series he gets his just rewards. I love the Orphans just because they are both smart and funny, but I have to wonder why they just don't run away. I ask myself why they stick around. I guess that is because they are smart and no they are better off being around other people who know about Count Olaf.
I can not recommend this series enough to friends. I think anyone can enjoy them just as much as I do. So I urge you to pick up the first one, try it out and see if you what you think.
This is book #12 in the Jesse Stone series. I have really enjoyed this series a lot. I look forward to the last 2 books and hopefully I will get to those soon.
Synopsis
The woman on the bed was barely out of her teens. She wasn’t exactly beautiful, but she’d tried to make the most of her looks. And now, alone in a seedy beachfront motel, she was dead.
Paradise Police Chief Jesse Stone doesn’t know her name. Whoever she is, she didn’t deserve to die. Jesse starts digging, only to find himself caught in the crosshairs of a bitter turf war between two ruthless pimps. And more blood will spill before it’s over.
This one had 2 separate stories running at the same time as do a lot of these books in this series. I again enjoyed the plot to the story. I always find them engaging even though this series is a pretty laid bac series. There is not a lot of action in them but still very enjoyable. They are very quick, fluid reads and I believe that to be due to the use of so much dialogue. It keeps the stories moving pretty good.
I really enjoy the characters in this series. There are so many to enjoy. I can however tell a bit of a difference with the characters now that they are written by Michael Brandman instead of Robert Parker. I find that Jesse is much more bold, which I enjoy that part, but I find that the conversations there are between Jesse and Molly or Jesse and Dix seem a bit strained now, not as easy going as before, so that feels kinda wrong. Other than that though I really enjoy all of the characters.
I don't normally read books like this one, but a good friend recommended it so I decided to give it a shot. Now I am glad that I did, it make me view court room dramas in a whole different light. This is also a first time read for me with this author.
SynopsisIn this searing courtroom drama, best-selling author John Grisham probes the savage depths of racial violence...as he delivers a compelling tale of uncertain justice in a small southern town...Clanton, Mississippi.
The life of a ten-year-old girl is shattered by two drunken and remorseless young men. The mostly white town reacts with shock and horror at the inhuman crime. Until her black father acquires an assault rifle and takes matters into his hands.
For ten days, as burning crosses and the crack of sniper fire spread through the streets of Clanton, the nation sits spellbound as young defense attorney Jake Brigance struggles to save his client's life...and then his own.
I have to be honest and say I was not sure about this book at all. The more I read though, the more I was intrigued. I really enjoyed the writing style a lot. The story was very engaging and was pretty quick paced. I also found this story to be very thought provoking as was a young adult in the year that this book was written. I did not think much about how thick the racism was in the 80's. Reading this book brought that to the forefront for me. It also made me think about what I would have done if this was to happen to me, if my child had been raped, beaten and left for dead. What would I have done? How would I have reacted? This book really makes reader's think about it.
I absolutely loved the characters in this book, well most of them anyway. They were developed very well. Of course my favorite would be Jake, but I also really enjoyed Ellen even though she came into the story relatively late. I would have loved to have had her a bit sooner into the story and maybe learned a bit more about her. I could relate to the characters very well because they felt so real and down to earth most of the time. I also found them to be very likeable for the most part.
Since I was recommended this book, I must recommend it as well, even for those who do not like courtroom dramas like me. I think this book could change your mind. I look forward to experiencing more of this author in the future.
I just recently got this book for Christmas. I have heard a lot of mixed reviews for it but decided to finally get this one read. I did get stuck on what to rate the book, either a 3 or a 4, so I decided to go in the middle and settled on a 3.5.
Synopsis
Evie O’Neill has been exiled from her boring old hometown and shipped off to the bustling streets of New York City—and she is pos-i-tute-ly ecstatic. It’s 1926, and New York is filled with speakeasies, Ziegfeld girls, and rakish pickpockets. The only catch is that she has to live with her uncle Will and his unhealthy obsession with the occult.
Evie worries he’ll discover her darkest secret: a supernatural power that has only brought her trouble so far. But when the police find a murdered girl branded with a cryptic symbol and Will is called to the scene, Evie realizes her gift could help catch a serial killer.
As Evie jumps headlong into a dance with a murderer, other stories unfold in the city that never sleeps. A young man named Memphis is caught between two worlds. A chorus girl named Theta is running from her past. A student named Jericho hides a shocking secret. And unknown to all, something dark and evil has awakened.
I found this plot to be quite intriguing, although I did not find quite as exciting as I expected it to be. It is pretty engaging for the most part, however there are also those parts that are rather draggy and boring. Take those parts out and add a bit more excitement and it would be a 5 star for me. I guess I just wanted it to be a little faster paced than it was, It took awhile to get to those main points and then the end seemed more rushed. Overall though, the book was entertaining and had me engaged to the story for the most part.
I did enjoy the characters, I think they were pretty well developed. I enjoyed most of them but I did find Sam to be quite annoying most of the time though. I don't really think he needed to even be a part of the story, but that is just me. I don't see that he contributed all the much. Evie was probably my favorite character, she is quite bossy and outspoken. The perfect teen right there.
I will be getting the sequel because there was plenty to the story to push me forward on it. I recommend this book to those who like Historical fantasy paranormal type stories and to have all three in one book was a pretty good mix. I think this is why I found it to be so intriguing. Such unlikely elements to be combined to make a great story. Again the rating for this book is a 3.5 star.
This book #11 in the Jesse Stone Series by Robert B. Parker, and so far my favorite. Unfortunately Robert B. Parker passed away in 2010 and this book was written by a ghost writer, Michael Brandman. I think he does a great job keeping the essence of Parker's writing in this continued series.
SynopsisAutumn in Paradise, Massachusetts, is usually an idyllic season?—but not this time. A Hollywood movie company has come to town, and brought with it a huge cast, crew, and a troubled star. Marisol Hinton is very beautiful, reasonably talented, and scared out of her wits that her estranged husband's jealousy might take a dangerous turn. When she becomes the subject of a death threat, Jesse and the rest of the Paradise police department go on high alert.
And when Jesse witnesses a horrifying collision caused by a distracted teenage driver, the political repercussions of her arrest bring him into conflict with the local selectment, the DA, and some people with very deep pockets. There's murder in the air, and it's Jesse's reputation as an uncompromising defender of the law—and his life—on the line.
I have to say that I was concerned about continuing this series once I found out that Parker passed away 6 years ago, and that he had a ghost writer for the last 4 books of the Jesse Stone series, but so far they have been great. They are still very fluid and quick, easy reads. I love how we have a small town setting with big city problems. I love all the different cases going on in the book at the same time, keeps readers entertained and keeps the story from becoming boring. I find the whole series to be very engaging from first page to last.
The main characters continue to grow and develop very well and I love witnessing that with each new book I pick up. I love Jesse's character the most. He has many different issues, but with that, he also has plenty of wit and sarcasm that keeps him quite realistic and very likable. There are always plenty of new characters introduced in each book of the series. plenty to like and plenty to dislike as well.
I look forward to continuing this series and finishing it. I can't recommend this series enough to anyone who is a mystery buff, or a Parker fan.
This is book 10 in the Jesse Stone series. I was a little apprehensive about reading this one since Parker passed in 2010 and the last book Parker wrote was book 9 Split Image. I found this one to stay pretty true to Parker's writing style. Well Done Michael Brandman.
SynopsisThe Jesse Stone stories continue even after Robert B. Parker’s passing with Killing the Blues. In this novel, Jesse Stone is faced with what begins as a rash of stolen cars and escalates into arson and murder as Stone uncovers how deep this crime wave really goes. All the while, Paradise, Massachusetts is preparing for summer tourism with the help of event planner Alexis Richardson, and she and Stone become involved in a steamy affair.
I did not bother even reading the synopsis to this book since I love the Jesse Stone series so much. I was happy to see that Brandman kept very close to Parker's writing style. I did find though that he made Jesse Stone a bit more aggressive in his work and I really quite liked that side of Jesse. There was a lot of stuff going on in this book. Jesse was more active and out in the field along with the crew. I think that was a good change to his character. He still has his issues, he is still sarcastic and witty, but now he goes out and gets his hands dirty a lot more than in previous books. Keep them coming like that.
Y'all know how I feel about the characters in this book. I love them. There is Jesse, Molly, and Suitcase. Those 3 are my favorites. I feel like I could be friends with them, like they really do exist in real life. They are all very relatable, and very believable. One of the reasons I like them as much as I do is because they all stand pretty firm on their beliefs of the way things should be. No one get to have the better of any of them, they are smart and witty and just very likable characters.
Again I recommend this complete series to anyone who loves mystery. And there really is no reason to worry about the later books that were written by ghost writers, those books too, are written in true Parker style.
