Mini Reviews: Snow, Life Was Easier When Boys Were Stupid And Boys And Toys

Snow by Maxence Fermine, translated by Chris Mulhern
This is a gorgeous book both inside and out. The cover is simply stunning and the writing itself is elegant and lyrical. It's about a man who is obsessed with poetry and snow, and the prose really embodies both of these themes. It is bright, stark, and sparkling. The whole thing has a whimsical, fable-like quality. It's a short, beautiful read, however I didn't really connect to it emotionally. It's a pleasure for the eyeballs but doesn't really reach a deeper level.
Rating: 3.5/5

Life Was Easier When Boys Were Stupid by Sarah Billington
I knew this was a short story but I didn't realise just how short until I finished it in under 10 minutes. It is the kind of story that belongs in a bigger anthology, I'm not sure how I managed to get it on its lonesome. It's been on my kindle for so long I thought I'd finally get to it. It was OK, but seriously it's one scene - a girl thinking about kissing this hot guy but he seems jerky so she walks out and sees this nerdy guy and THAT'S IT. The writing was fine but I didn't get anything from reading this. I mean I know it's only a short story but short stories should still make you feel something. Anything. Not nothing.
Rating: 2/5

Boys and Toys by Cara Lockwood (via Netgalley)
Liv's super conservative parents can't find out she sells sex toys for a living. So things get super awkward when a colleague of her dad's requests a private show. Cue sexy times, awkward times, sexy times, really awkward times, kinda romantic times, drama times, sexy times and happy times. This wasn't terrible but it wasn't particularly good either. The emotional and family issues were probably the best part, the main relationship didn't really grab me and the sex scenes weren't all that sexy. The whole "private party" thing was just a bit ooky to be honest. Overall this left me feeling "meh".
Rating: 3/5

Mini Reviews: Five Romance Novellas

Only With You by Cecilia Gray (via Netgalley)
This is the fifth book in the Jane Austen Academy series, a modern adaptation of Austen's stories that sees all the heroines attending the same school. This book focused on Emma. I quite liked it. I liked the relationship she had with Knight and I thought it was a pretty accurate portrayal of Emma in a modern setting. It doesn't adapt the whole book, instead picking up a couple of incidents to cover within its limited space, and I think that's for the best. As I've said before, this series is by no means a perfect adaptation of Austen's novels, but it is a fun and easy read and obviously written with a lot of affection.
Rating: 3/5

Red at Night by Katie McGarry
This novella tells the story of Stella, a girl from the wrong side of the tracks, and Jonah, a rich, popular guy who of course isn't without his own issues. They keep meeting at the cemetary and soon form a connection. This book was OK, it wasn't bad but it didn't blow me away either. It's quite short so of course you don't spend much time with the characters but I don't think that was the reason I didn't really connect with them. They just didn't feel particularly real to me, I suppose. Stella especially seemed to have been created just to deliver a particular message - this book was inspired by the Goodie Two Shoes Foundation as part of the "More Than Words" series after all, so her story relates to that and it just felt like the "lesson" was piled on a bit thick. But I think fans of Katie McGarry would enjoy it anyway.
Rating: 3/5

The Wicked Confessions of Lady Cecelia Stanton by Viveka Portman (via Netgalley)
This book is in the same series as another novella I read recently that I hated, but I'm trying to get through some of the many books I've requested on Netgalley in overexcited moods, and since it was only short I thought I'd read it anyway. I liked it a little better than the other story, but it still wasn't great. The olde worlde language wasn't quite as bad here and the characters were slightly less annoying. But only slightly. Basically, this book focuses on the newly married Cecelia, who gets "lessons" in how to please her husband (and actually just pleases herself) from her best friend and maid. So yeah it's a lot of sexytimes, but... meh. It's just not very good.
Rating: 2/5

Hero Duty by Jenny Schwartz (via Netgalley)
Jessica is a billionaire who gets bullied by her family. After the recent death of her father, she has to face her wicked step-mother and step-brother, who are trying to take the company that she's inherited away from her. Not feeling strong enough to face them alone, she hires ex-soldier Brodie to be her "emotional bodyguard". The whole premise just made no sense to me and it didn't really become clearer as I read the book. I feel like Jessica didn't even know what she wanted out of Brodie (well, other than sexytimes and love within five minutes of knowing each other), but if you ignore the weak reason they've been thrown together there is some nice scenes between the two. But I didn't actually like either of them, and Brodie in particular was a complete douche multiple times and behaved in completely unrealistic ways. So I didn't love this one. It was a quick read but very underwhelming.
Rating: 2.5/5

It's Love, Dude by Jenny Schwartz (via Netgalley)
This book actually came out before Hero Duty but I didn't realise it was part of the same series until I started reading the latter. It's about Brodie's brother, Zane, a world champion surfer who is back in his hometown for a press event. He quickly falls for Molly, who works for the local MP and is friends with Zane's granddad. I liked this book a lot more than Hero Duty, the characters were way less annoying. I still didn't love it because I'm not a fan of instalove, and it also didn't make sense that Zane and Molly didn't know each other at all considering they grew up in the same smalltown and apparently knew everyone else, but it was entertaining enough. It would make a good beach read.
Rating: 3/5

Mini Reviews: Four Romance Novellas And An Underwhelmed Book Blogger

I've been reading a lot of romance books lately. Perhaps not coincidentally, I haven't read many great books in recent times. Many of the books I've read have been mediocre at best. I don't know if it's the particular titles I've read or if the genre just isn't for me. Sure, they're entertaining enough in general, but I am often left feeling underwhelmed or even annoyed. That's certainly how I felt with these novellas:


Perfect Timing by Jane O'Reilly (Source: Netgalley)
Ruby has been crushing on her best friend for years but it's only now she's leaving the country he wakes up and realises he's in love with her too. Of course. I liked this book well enough but it might be saying something that I started reading it again a couple of weeks later, not because I loved it, but because I completely forgot I had read it. It wasn't bad but yeah, not all that memorable.
Rating: 3/5






Perfect 10 by Erin McCarthy (Source: Netgalley)
Katrina is a social media whiz who accidentally sends the details of her private hook ups (including ratings) to everyone in her address book. This has dire consequences for her job and her personal life - that is, until her ex best friend (who she had a one night stand with) gets in touch after seeing his score. This was OK, there were some cute parts but it was just all a little too convenient.
Rating: 3/5







Double Take by Leslie Kelly (Source: Netgalley)
Lindsey is a psychologist whose research into female orgasms makes her the laughing stock of her field, leading her to seek refuge on a small, quiet island town. The chief of police Mike is hiding from his own demons, and they're instantly attracted to each other but can't do anything about it because... they don't want people to gossip about them. Meh. I didn't buy it as a strong enough reason for them to not be together. I also really didn't buy that someone whose area of expertise is sexuality, and the female orgasm in particular, would be so self-conscious and repressed in her own sexuality. Underwhelming.
Rating: 2/5



The Private Affairs of Lady Jane Fielding by Viveka Portman (Source: Netgalley)
Lady Fielding and her husband are trying to have a son and heir when her husband is in an accident that means he can no longer have children. He has the perfect solution - his cousin will get Lady Fielding pregnant and they'll pretend the baby is his. I did not like this book at all. If it hadn't been so short I wouldn't have finished it - and it was a struggle as it was. I didn't like the characters or the plot, but worst of all was the writing - mayhap the writer verily thought she must needs use every olde worlde word in every sentence and it mayhap drove my verily batty.
Rating: 1/5

Mini Reviews: Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me, Bonjour Cherie, Hold Me Down Hard and Ripped

Is Everyone Hanging Out With Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling
I cannot love Mindy Kaling more after reading this book. She is like a combination of much more awesome version of myself and my ideal best friend. Seriously, I related SO MUCH to everything in her hilarious and engaging memoir. I loved learning more about her life and her path to success, and adored the way it was written. It was like a series of anecdotes you'd tell a friend. Which is why, of course, I am now best friends with Mindy. She just doesn't know it yet.
Rating: 4.5/5

Bonjour Cherie by Robin Thomas (Source: Netgalley)
This was a short, easy-to-read, fun novella about a girl who is obsessed with all things French and the Australian guy she's attracted to but who doesn't meet her strict criteria for a boyfriend (top of the list being someone who is French). Beth, the main character, annoyed me a fair bit, especially how she really didn't have her shit together but acted like she did, and totally judged others for not being up to her standards. She was quite superficial, especially at the beginning. But I quite liked Zach, the love interest, even if certain aspects of his story were completely predictable. It was enjoyable enough overall.
Rating: 3/5

Hold Me Down Hard by Cathryn Fox (Source: Netgalley)
This was so terrible. The characters were completely unbelievable caricatures, there was no chemistry between the main pair, the guy was a paternalistic ickcanoe, the small amount of plot was pretty ridiculous, and it wasn't even hot. Now, I'm not overly familiar with romance books in general and BDSM in particular, but from reading this book I got the impression it was written by someone who wanted to cash in on the trend and be all EDGY without any knowledge of it themselves. It was too bad to even laugh at.
Rating: 1/5



Ripped by Sarah Morgan (Source: Netgalley)
This novella was a lot more fun. It starts with Hayley being embarrassed at her ex's wedding when her hideous bridesmaid's dress tears during the ceremony. Nico, the best man, rescues her but also seems to be angry at her for some reason. She thinks he hates her but they somehow end up making out anyway. They have good chemistry and I liked seeing their relationship play out. Nico was actually pretty damn hot and not overprotective and douchey. One of the reasons he's attracted to Hayley is her intelligence and passion about her job. Yay for modern men.
Rating: 3.5/5

Mini Reviews: His Convict Wife and The Convict's Bounty Bride By Lena Dowling

His Convict Wife by Lena Dowling (via Netgalley)
I actually didn't realise this was the second book in this convict romance series - though both are only novellas and you can definitely read this one without having read the first, but certain references made more sense once I did read the other. This book focuses on Colleen Malone, an Irish convict forced into prostitution who gets pregnant and then manages to get virtuous settler Samuel Biggs to marry her. Samuel is still grieving the death of his first wife and wants Colleen more as a housemaid than an actual partner, but Colleen wants to pass her baby off as his, so she has other ideas. I quite liked Colleen's tenacity and the tension between her and Samuel, and the ups and downs of their relationship made for a pretty entertaining read. This is my first foray into romance set in colonial Australia, so I don't know if it's common in the genre, but one thing that put me off a little bit was Samuel's uptightness and slightly controlling behaviour at times. Aside from that he was pretty swoon-worthy.
Rating: 3.5/5

The Convict's Bounty Bride by Lena Dowling
This story actually comes before His Convict Wife, focusing on ex-convict James Hunter, who becomes Samuel Biggs' employer in the later book. James made a deal with a noble family to take the blame for a crime committed by their son in exchange for their daughter's hand in marriage. This is news to Lady Thea, who has no interest in marriage and only wants a career. James decides to show her how good being his wife could be... you can see where this is heading. This novella was half the size than His Convict Wife and there wasn't a great amount of development of the characters and their relationship. The insta-love was pretty unbelievable and I just wasn't invested in their story. Also the whole premise, and the inevitable outcome, left a really bad taste in my mouth.
Rating: 2.5/5

Mini Review: Crossing the Line by Katie McGarry

After loving Dare You To I wanted to devour anything I could get my hands on by Katie McGarry. Which happened to be this novella, Crossing the Line. Set in between Pushing the Limits and Dare You To, it tells the story of Echo's best friend, Lila - or a snippet of her story, anyway.

Lila is by herself at home for the first time ever, and freaking out about not only being alone for the night, but being alone when she goes away to college, too. Enter Lincoln, the guy she has been writing to for years but has only ever met once. He was meant to go to college with her but has screwed things up somehow. He travels across the country in an attempt to make it up to her. Cue fights - and making up, of course.

I liked both Lincoln and Lila. They're as fleshed out as they can be in the limited space. This is a short story that gives a snapshot of a lovely romance but not much more. The concept of a penpal love story is great, but while there are some cute moments and a decent amount of tension, there's no space for a whole lot to actually happen. You get an outline of the past through letter excerpts, which is a nice framing device, and there's a pretty clear picture of where these two are going in the future. But that's all there's time for, really. Still, it's an entertaining way to spend half an hour, and will tide you over slightly if you're hanging for the next book in this series (like me!).

Rating: 3/5

Fine Print
Published: 2013, Harlequin Teen
Get It: Harlequin

Mini Reviews: Glitter Kiss and Ghosting

Glitter Kiss by Adrianne Ambrose, illustrated by Monica Gallagher

Tinka, the school “slut”, unwittingly gets revenge on jerky guys when she kisses them wearing a magical lip gloss. Let’s just say it makes them see things from her point of view. It was a pretty cute story, but a little throat-ramming with its message. It also has a kinda negative view on gender – most of the boys are complete a-holes and it focuses a lot on how hard it is to be a girl. This is a graphic novel and I don’t have a lot of experience with them, but the characters – especially the secondary characters – were quite two-dimensional. The ending was really abrupt, which detracted from the overall experience. The illustrations were lovely, however.

Rating: 2.5/5

Ghosting by Keith Gray

Nat and his sister Sandy make their living by scamming grieving people into believing they can communicate with the dead. But they get way in over their heads. Unfortunately the plot is totally predictable and so the events are not scary at all. I saw what was coming - right down to the “twist” at the end - from miles away. I know it’s only a short story but there wasn’t much in the way of character development. The villain is entirely obvious and his MO is like something ripped out of a bad episode of Law and Order. There were several improbable plot points. Altogether a very ordinary read.

Rating: 2/5

I received review copies of these books from the publishers via Netgalley.

Ten Reasons You Should Read The Amber Amulet By Craig Silvey

• Craig Silvey's wonderful, beautiful prose that perfectly encaptures the whimsy, imagination and uncertainty of childhood.
• The gorgeous illustrations and design of the book overall. It has a really cool vintage vibe and is just lovely.
• The Masked Avenger, a lonely 12-year-old boy by day and a fearless hero at night, who saves his neighbourhood from evil - and flat tyres. He has so much heart, I just wanted to give him a hug. 
• Richie the Powerbeagle, The Masked Avenger's trusty sidekick, who has an in-built alarm system (a.k.a. muzzle), trouble detection (a.k.a. nose), ocular friend/foe identification (a.k.a. eyes) and a semaphorical communication device (a.k.a. tail).
• It's about the power of gemstones and metals and the natural wonders of the earth, and makes me want to have an Amazing Powerbelt of my own.

 

• It's also about love, and loneliness, and family, and friendship, and frustrated dreams, and fulfilling dreams, and life-changing moments, and the way we're all connected.
• It showcases the best side of humanity and gives you hope that there are people out there who just want the best for you, even if you don't know it.
• It's funny, and touching, and a little heartbreaking but a lot more heartwarming.
• It will only take you an hour to read but it will put a smile on your face for longer than that.
• Do you really need any more reasons? OK, how about because I said so? No, seriously, you won't regret it. 

Related
This one time I met Craig Silvey and I totally fangirled.

Review: Pale by Chris Wooding

In Pale, people have the ability to come back from the dead using a special formula known as the Lazarus Serum. Problem is, it turns you into a "Pale" - your skin, hair and eyes go white, and you're shunned by society to the point that you're driven to slums on the edge of the city, unable to get or keep a job. It's even difficult for the kids to attend school, because bullies like our protagonist Jed and his best friend beat them up if they try. Seriously - this is how the book opens. It's not a good way to make a character likeable or even sympathetic.

Jed, like his family and friends, hates Pales, and declares he'd rather be dead than become one. Dun dun dunnn. Before you can say "foreshadowing", he's in an accident and wakes up Pale. His precious girlfriend loved him so much she couldn't let him die... but she doesn't love him enough to stay with him as a Pale. Yep, Jed's world is turned upside down; his family and friends wish he was dead rather than this super white version of himself. Luckily, the boy he and his mate were beating up in the beginning doesn't hold a grudge, and takes him under his wing.

The concept for this novella is great, but it's just too short to develop it effectively. It's like the skeleton of a story, without any meat to give it life. The characters are flat and the plot is predictable. I also found the world-building to be lacking and unrealistic. For instance, Jed's father is a lawyer who specialises in repossessing Pales' property coz they're technically 'dead'. The thing is, the Lazarus Serum has been around for awhile, so wouldn't the government have done something by now to change the law to protect the Pales somehow? I mean, the serum is so prevalent that it's in the freaking first aid room at Jed's school, yet nobody has done anything to deal with the consequences of that serum? It's like society is all, "Yay! Down with death! Except we don't want to know about you if you come back from it." I can understand certain parts of society being bigoted against Pales, but everyone? It just doesn't make sense. Especially because those Pales were once family and friends and presumably somebody made the decision to use the serum on them. They can't all be like ridiculous Sadie, Jed's girlfriend, who rejects the product of her own decision. Seriously, no matter how much you hated something, if the choice is between having the love of your life, or your child, be that thing, or be dead, wouldn't you rather them be alive?

Anyway, I'm getting into ranty territory now, so I'll wrap this up. It suffices to say that I was left pretty unsatisfied with Pale. It was a quick read, but I didn't feel like I got anything from it other than frustration. The premise is great but the story itself isn't.

Rating: 2.5/5

Fine Print
Published: September 2012, Stoke Books
Source: Netgalley
Get It: Book Depository