2 Cents Blog and Review

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Review: Rock Hard


Rock Hard
Rock Hard by Vona Logan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



This is a great short story. Aidan and Matt are truly hot together and I can't wait to read more. Vona Logan succeeds in having a well paced short story that starts the reader off, literally hanging on a cliff and ends in a satisfying warm feeling of happily ever after. It could have been longer and it moves a little fast, but then it's a short story and I've grown to expect that in a short story format.

I'm looking forward to some great reads from this author in the future.



View all my reviews

Monday, June 18, 2012

Review: A Cat on a Hot Tin Roof


A Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
A Cat on a Hot Tin Roof by Astrid Cooper

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I so love this series. The story line is unique but still has that 'love at first sight' and 'forever mates' true love that I adore. In my opinion this author far outclasses many out there writing similar stories with much less care and skill.

There are no cookie cutter characters here. They are strong men with issues and needs. They grow and care, healing each other along the way. I have to say Monsters InK is one of my favorite series and I am eager to read the next installment.

Well done!



View all my reviews

Review: Almost Paradise


Almost Paradise
Almost Paradise by Caitlin Ricci

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



This is a very sweet story. There are a lot of loose ends so I'm expecting good things from the next story. It was way too short, we were just getting to know the characters and the story was over. It felt a bit rushed as the whole story takes place over 4 days and already the two MC are happily living together, even though Liam was away for 2 of the four days.

I found it charming and Hannah was the over all saving point in this story. She more than either of the MC's made this story.



View all my reviews

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Review: Bewitched by Their Mate


Bewitched by Their Mate
Bewitched by Their Mate by Scarlet Hyacinth

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I have to admit, I'd was really divided about reading this book. For some reason I just wasn't expecting good things. I loved the Spirit Wolves series and I didn't realize that this was a continuation of that series. I Loved IT!

The story line was inventive. The characters were imaginative and I really felt for the ferals who feared bonding would drive their mate insane. This story was well paced and well written. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I do recommend that you read Spirit Wolves first before beginning this series as there isn't much world building here and many of the aspects are carried over from that series without explanation.

Well Done! I'm looking forward to the next in this series.



View all my reviews

Saturday, June 9, 2012

Review: The Wizard & The Werewolf


The Wizard & The Werewolf
The Wizard & The Werewolf by Amber Kell

My rating: 2 of 5 stars



This story is much like a lot of what this author is putting out lately. The stories are light and mindless. The characters are cookie cutter stereotypes. The author throws in some humor and sentiment, keeps the pace moving fairly quickly. The bad guys are stereotypical bad guys right down to the 'taking over the world' agenda. To be honest although enjoyable because of the humor laced throughout the story, it really was a bore as there was nothing new here.

The other thing was this was poorly edited. It's laced with errors, incomplete thoughts, even plot point errors where the characters say one thing, then claims not to know about it later on in the story. I was very disappointed. This is way below what I usually expect from this author.



View all my reviews

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Review: Vassily the Beautiful


Vassily the Beautiful
Vassily the Beautiful by Angel Martinez

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I really liked this story. It really spoke to me on a number of levels, not all of them comfortable. This may not be a story I go back to repeatedly but not for any lack in the story.

This book covers so may different topics and much of it is done well. There's a struggle for independence and recovery after a debilitating accident. There's addiction and recovery. And of course there's love; both the kind that's blind to any imperfections when the mother chose a less than savory man refuses to see the faults in both him and his sons, and the unconditional love between Vassily and Sumi.

This story had high points and low. There were times I wanted to stop and yet I had to keep going even knowing that the story could never be a perfect HEA. And yet it still ends very satisfyingly and in a way that the imperfection of it still adds to the HEA. There's no miracle cure, no surgery, no drug, no last minute hail-mary-pass that fixes everything, what's done is done, and yet they still find love and happiness.

This is not so much a sci-fi story as one of survival and overcoming obstacles. A definite recommended read, but not for the faint of heart. Some of the issues covered, forced addiction and the humiliation that comes with it may be disturbing for some. It definitely touched a cord in me.

Well done!



View all my reviews

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Review: Ervin's Dilemma


Ervin's Dilemma
Ervin's Dilemma by Stephani Hecht

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



This is the first book in a new series for this author and although the ground work was done in her "Lost Shifter" series, there is a lot of potential as I've always wondered about Chris's pack and I hope to learn the differences between being part of the pack vs being part of the cat coalition.

The story between Ervin and his half wolf/half human mate Miles, although very similar to a lot of stories available on the market was pretty good. The characters, though stereotypical were well rounded enough that I was able to care about them. The love story was sweet but not over done. I'm hoping that there will be more to this as this first book really doesn't lead anywhere. There's no big story line, no major problems left open, so I'm not sure where this author is going with this series.

I normally really like this author's work, but this really came off as a cookie cutter story with very few if any original elements. I hope that the next story will lead to a more original and better thought out story line.



View all my reviews