Review: The Return (Titan #1) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Title: The Return (Titan #1)
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
My rating: 4 of 5 Stars

MY THOUGHTS

My friend Jeanne said in one of her reviews, that "sometimes you just need a book that makes you happy". And Return had such effect on me. I was absolutely giddily happy, with lightness in my heart and smile on my lips, when I closed this book. Don’t you think it’s worth something?

Warning: some minor spoilers for Covenant series ahead.

I admit I had my reservations about this book. Return is a spinoff of Covenant series. I’ve read it when I was just discovering YA. Wide-eyed and inexperienced in this genre, I loved it. Seth played a big role in Covenant, and I can’t say I was his fan. Firstly he made some pretty bad decisions with consequences. Secondly, I was Aiden team.

But Seth was very different in The Return. And it didn’t feel forced. Events in the last books of Covenant changed him. While he continued to keep his arrogant “I don’t care” façade, inside he blamed himself and he was so lonely. In Return we got to see vulnerable, gentle and caring Seth. Seth, who longed to be loved and to love. I fell in love with him.

Seth assigned to protect Josie, a mortal girl, and he was not happy about it. She was a wonderful heroine. She lived an average life of a college student, she studied, had fun with her best friend and had family problems. Then she was suddenly thrust into this new world with Greek Gods, dangerous creatures and she was told that she had a dangerous mission. She took it all in with admirable strength.

I loved their relationship with Seth. Josie stood her ground and I liked how she teased Seth. While Covenant is YA, The Return is NA through and through. There were a lot of delicious steamy scenes in this book. I loved chemistry between Seth and Josie. Jennifer Armentrout like no one can write amazing sexual tension. There was an element of forbidden romance and I admit I wanted more in this aspect. I think they gave up too easily to their attraction. I’m a fan of forbidden romance and I would love to be left hanging a little longer (like it was in Covenant, there was a huge forbidden romance).

Those of you who loved Covenant would be pleased to meet familiar characters. And there was a lot of fun in this book.

Jennifer Armentrout surprised me with her ability to make me look at a character from a new angle, to go beyond familiar. She did it with Seth and she did it with another character. If you've read Covenant, I’m sure you remember furies. I wasn’t a big fan of these dangerous creatures. I don’t want to spoil anything, so I just say that the author absolutely changed my view of them.

You don’t need to read Covenant before The Return, the author went over the most important events of Covenant. Though I personally think that those who’d read Covenant would enjoy The Return more. Advice: if you intend to read Covenant, the reading order is Covenant first, The Return next.

Of course The Return is not without flaws, there are a lot of usual NA tropes and world building is pretty weak, but you know what? I don’t care! I enjoyed this book immensely. It made me smile, it made me swoon, and it made me care for the characters. I didn’t have luck with several recent releases from Jennifer Armentrout, in truth I began to wonder that maybe she’s not the author for me anymore. This book made me realize that I still love her works and I can’t wait for the next book in this series!

Audiobook review: Confess by Colleen Hoover

Title: Confess
Author: Colleen Hoover
Narrator: Sebastian York, Elizabeth Louise
Story rating: 2 of 5 Stars
Audio rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Overall rating: 2.5 of 5 Stars

MY THOUGHTS

I have a confession: I’m a hopeless audiobook addict. I’m not kidding. I listen every chance I get, even if it’s just ten minutes commute; I listen while I’m cooking, I listen while I’m cleaning, I listen while I’m walking, sometimes I even listen while I’m applying make-up. You get the picture. So it’s not a good sign when this happens:

• I’m cleaning and I’m listening to music instead of an audiobook.

• During my commute instead of an audiobook I’m going for the radio.

• I’m walking and instead of plugging my ear buds in, I’m, well, just walking.

• I’m applying my make-up, and I’m thinking “It’s just several minutes, why even bother with an audiobook, I don’t have “enough time to listen”.

This is exactly what happened here. I think it took me twice as long as usual to listen to Confess because I found more interesting things to do. I had my doubts before starting this book, and unfortunately it didn’t work for me at all. It’s been ages since I’ve read a book by Colleen Hoover. I’ve read and loved her Slammed and Hopeless, but my book tastes changed drastically since then. So I don’t think I would give those books high ratings now. In truth the reason why I decided to read Confess is that the audiobook is narrated by Sebastian York. I’ve heard A LOT about this narrator. It looks like everyone praises his voice. So as a self-proclaimed audio addict I needed to hear him for myself. My thoughts about the narration later, now I want to talk about the book.

I was bored out of my mind. I think if I read this book instead of listening I would DNF it.

This story is about Auburn Reed. She has recently moved to Texas, she has undesirable job, feels very lonely and in need of money and new job. Then one day she comes across Owen Gentry’s studio. He is an artist and his project is very unique. People anonymously send him their confessions, and he uses them as an inspiration for his works. He needs an assistant and Auburn jumps at the offer. They feel an instant attraction, but of course there are a lot of obstacles on their way.

First of all I want to say that Owen freaked me out in first chapters. He came across as a stalker who somehow knew Auburn from the past and was obsessed with her. Then of course there was insta-love which annoyed the hell out of me. I do believe in insta-lust. But in this case Auburn and Owen weren’t just physically attracted to each other. After knowing each other for a few days they felt so much so deeply, that it was over the top. I find it hard to believe that a woman in Auburn’s position would risk it all, risk to lose the most important thing in her life for a guy she had just met. As for the Owen I find his obsession on Auburn bordering on unhealthy. All in all I couldn’t connect with the characters, I didn’t feel any chemistry between them and their insta-love annoyed me a lot.

There were several twists in the book, but my mind was wondering. I usually love suspense, I love when the author keeps me in the dark, but in this case I was bored. I was so annoyed with the characters, that when all secrets were revealed I just didn’t care.

My thoughts about the audiobook

Elizabeth Louise, who narrated Auburn, is a new to me narrator. She was ok, I guess, but I don’t think I’ll be in search of audiobooks performed by her.

Here comes Sebastian York. Well, I wasn’t impressed. There, I’ve said it. Probably my extremely high expectations were the cause of my disappointment. I don’t know what I expected; everyone mentions that his voice is sexy and sinful. Sebastian York is a good narrator, but I don’t get all this fuss around him, though this can be just my personal preference. I also had another issue. As I understood Owen was in his early twenties, but Sebastian York sounds like a man in his thirties. At first I wanted to check out how old Sebastian York is; maybe he is twenty and he just has an older voice. But you know what? Narrator’s real age doesn’t matter, because listeners hear only his voice. It really annoys me when narrator’s voice is not age-appropriate.

As you can see Confess was a big disappointment for me. It’s a shame really because I find the concept of this book very interesting (the author included confessions from real people and some of them were heartbreaking). I also wonder if my feelings toward Confess would be different if read a paperback instead of an audiobook. Many readers mentioned gorgeous art-work. All in all it seems like Colleen Hoover is not an author for me anymore. I think it’s time to part our ways.

AUDIO SAMPLE:

Audiobook mini-review: Sinner (The Wolves of Mercy Falls #4) by Maggie Stiefvater

Title: Sinner (The Wolves of Mercy Falls #4)
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Narrator: Dan Bittner and Emma Galvin
My rating: 4 of 5 Stars
My rating of Narration: 5 of 5 Stars

SUMMARY (from Goodreads)

found.
Cole St. Clair has come to California for one reason: to get Isabel Culpeper back. She fled from his damaged, drained life, and damaged and drained it even more. He doesn't just want her. He needs her.

lost.
Isabel is trying to build herself a life in Los Angeles. It's not really working. She can play the game as well as all the other fakes...but what's the point? What is there to win?

sinner.
Cole and Isabel share a past that never seemed to have a future. They have the power to save each other and the power to tear each other apart. The only thing for certain is that they cannot let go.

MY THOUGHTS

This review is a little spoilerish if you haven’t read previous books in this series.

I’ve listened to the audio version of the whole series and it’s very well done. There are four narrators, each for Sam, Grace, Cole and Isabel; each of them made an amazing job bringing these characters to life. I know most of YA-lovers have already read this series, but if you decide to reread this series I highly recommend the audiobooks. Actually I remember Maggie Stiefvater herself said in one of her interviews that she was pleased how the audio had turned out.

I loved Sinner! Though my favorite in this series is the second book Linger, Sinner is close behind.

For those of you who haven’t read Sinner yet, this book is about Isabel, who moved back to LA, and Cole, who came there to record an album and be on reality show.

There are several reasons this installment worked for me.

1. This book reads almost as a contemporary.

You see, I’m a contemporary girl. I always prefer good contemporary to paranormal or fantasy, though I often venture to these genres and I’m happy when I can find some gems, hidden there. Anyway, back to Sinner. Paranormal aspect of it is practically nonexistent. In previous books “shapeshifting equal losing yourself” was in the front; Sam’s struggles to stay himself had profound effect on readers. In Sinner Cole’s shifting to a wolf is a way to run from reality, like drugs or alcohol. And his ability to control his shifting, to become a wolf when he wants it, only accentuates this similarity to drugs. I’m rumbling here, I hope you get what I’m trying to say.

2. Romance with a celebrity is my favorite trope.

I have a soft spot for famous heroes in my books. Give me an actor or a rock star who fall in love with a noncelebrity heroine and I’m a happy girl. But Maggie Stiefvater is Maggie Stiefvater, of course she took this usual trope about a tortured famous rock star and an average girl and made it into something beautiful, unexpected and wonderful.

3. Cole and Isabel’s relationship was intense.

Cole and Isabel were very intense characters and their relationship was explosive. I don’t mean only their sexual interactions, though compare to previous books there was definitely more this stuff in Sinner and these scenes between Cole and Isabel were hot.

Both Cole and Isabel are unstable persons, so while reading this book I was constantly nervous, in anticipation of someone’s breakdown or some disaster happening. I can say that I wanted this intensity and instability in previous installments. I loved Sam and Grace, but I wanted some angst.

I don’t know why, but I find very difficult to write a proper review on Maggie Stiefvater’s books, and I see that this attempt is no better than the previous. But I hope I was able to convey my love for this author, who writes beautiful and strange stories with amazing characters, which would stay with you for a long time.

Mini-review: Captive (Captive #1) by Brighton Walsh

Title: Captive (Captive #1)
Author: Brighton Walsh
My rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars

SUMMARY (from Goodreads)
He’s the most dangerous man she’s ever met…and she’s falling in love with him.

Madison Frost is desperate to escape her life. Daughter of a prominent businessman, she has everything a girl could ask for. Except for a family who’s present in her life, and anyone to talk to outside the four walls of the prison she calls home. Madison dreams of one day leaving her life behind. She never thought being kidnapped is how it would happen.

Now she’s being held captive by a man who’s as frightening as he is sinfully gorgeous. Enormous, muscular, and filled with secrets, the man they call Ghost is an enigmatic mercenary, and Madison is trapped with him. She doesn’t know who hired him or why, but the more time she spends at his mercy, the more she realizes he’s not what he seems. Beneath his rough exterior lies an unexpected gentleness and a heart as broken and battered as her own.

But as Madison lets down her walls, Ghost holds tight to his, hiding secrets that could destroy everything.

MY THOUGHTS

I’ve read this book a while ago and wasn’t in the mood to write a review right away. Now some details are a little bit foggy, so it will be a mini-review.

Captive was such a mood read for me. I wanted a brain-candy and I got one.

Despite the fact that this book is about kidnapping, Captive is a sweet love story at core. Romance is the strongest aspect of this book. My favorite part of romance is prelude. Build-up, furtive glances and touches, fighting their feelings, gradually increasing sexual tension; these are elements that make great romance for me. And Brighton Walsh delivered it all. I loved romance between Madison and Ghost.

I found both main characters interesting, but I would like them to be more fleshed out.

As for the plot it was rather weak in my opinion. I think fans of suspense and thrillers would be disappointed. There were many little inconsistencies and gaps, as for the big revelation, I personally found it far-stretched and unbelievable.

My final verdict: if you want romantic suspense with unpredictable realistic plot, you should probably look elsewhere. If you are looking for a romance with amazing chemistry and sexual tension, grab Captive right now.

Captive was my first book by Brighton Walsh, but won’t be my last. I think I’ll check out the next book in this series, also I’ve heard a lot of positive things about another series by this author Caged in Winter which is on my tbr-list.

Review: The Deal (Off-Campus #1) by Elle Kennedy

Title: The Deal (Off-Campus #1)
Author: Elle Kennedy
My rating: 4 of 5 Stars

MY THOUGHTS

Why the hype? Don’t get me wrong I liked this book; I gave it 4 Stars after all (though I feel like I was a little bit too generous). I just don’t get this buzz surrounding this book. Recently it seems that everywhere I turn someone praises The Deal. Yes, The Deal is very entertaining and addictive. I couldn’t put it down, the characters were likable and the romance was great, but at the core The Deal was the usual average NA with many tropes.

At age fifteen Hannah was raped (it’s not a spoiler since we’re told about it on the first page). Now she’s a junior in college and after years of therapy she is ready to leave it all in the past. She wants to date. One big problem: a guy she has a crush on doesn’t notice her. So she needs to do something to draw attention to her. Enter Garrett. He is a captain of the hockey team and a big player on hockey field and off it. Garrett has a problem. He needs to keep his grades high in order to stay on the team, but he failed his Ethics. So he needs someone who can tutor him as soon as possible. When he finds out that Hannah has A in this class he is very persistent. Finally these two make a deal. Hannah tutor Garret and in exchange he fake-dates her to make the other guy notice her.

Like I said before The Deal is very addictive. If I had more time I would read it in one day. I really liked the romance. Hannah and Garrett’s relationship progressed gradually from acquaintances to friends to lovers. It was slow and oh so amazing. There was a great chemistry between the main characters, and a lot of steam is waiting for you.

I loved main characters. Hanna is such a wonderful heroine. She is a strong intelligent girl with a great sense of humor. I also liked the author’s approach to the topic of survivor of sexual assault. Hannah portrayed in very optimistic way. She had therapy, she had time to cope; now she dates and wants a relationship. Yes, she has some issues but she looks forward positively. Nowadays NA authors often make the heroine a broken victim and use it to add more drama and angst and I’m glad this is not a case here.

Garrett. What can I say? He totally won me over. When we first met him he came as a cocky arrogant womanizer. But he is actually kind, caring, smart and funny guy.

I loved funny banters between Hannah and Garrett. Their teasing made me smile and there were moments when I laughed out loud. The scene where Hannah stormed in the locker room was hilarious.

The story was told in dual POV and there was something that annoyed me. When we switched to Garrett’s POV I had a feeling that the author intentionally added swearing to emphasize Garrett’s manliness. It’s not swearing itself that bugs me. It seems like many NA authors thinks that if they throw several F*ck words they would have a distinct male voice. Oh, also the guy should think a lot of sex. The first author who comes to my mind is Abby Glines. Her typical hero portrayed the same way. Do real guys think in such manner? Maybe I’m just getting too old and know nothing about college boys.

The other thing that annoyed me was the line with Justin.

From the first time he appears in the book I had the feeling that something was wrong with him. The author gave the readers the little signs that he was the bad guy. I was expecting the usual scene “the bad guy tries to rape our heroine and the hero saves her” at any moment. But at the end Justin ended up as a normal guy, he actually became Hannah’s friend. I’m really curious if anyone else noticed this or it’s just me being ridiculous.

Also I tired of main characters broken by their awful past. I want something new. Maybe I just need a break from NA for a while.

Despite my complaints I really liked The Deal. When I read this kind of books my main focus is on the romance. If the romance works for me I can look past many flaws. So if you’re like me I wholeheartedly recommend The Deal to you.

Review: Trade Me (Cyclone #1) by Courtney Milan

Title: Trade Me (Cyclone #1)
Author: Courtney Milan
My rating: 4 of 5 Stars

MY THOUGHTS

I’ve meant to read Courtney Milan’s book for a while. Both Keertana from Ivy Book Bindings and Sarah from Clear Eyes, Full Shelves praised her historical romance, but as I’m not a big fan of this genre and other books came into the way. When I’ve heard that Courtney Milan was releasing a NA novel I was quick to pick it up. I’m so glad I did it.

Before I tell you how much I loved this book I want to mention this amazing author’s note, where Courtney Milan gives readers insight into what was happening behind the scene. I’m very curious about why the author decided to write a book this way, what he or she was thinking while writing and what research had been done. So it was a very pleasant addition to the book.

Don’t let the blurb fool you. It makes Trade me sound like an average NA full of tropes and silly drama. Trade me is a well-written novel with complex and absolutely lovable characters, believable romance and amazing family dynamics. Though I admit that plot is a little unbelievable.

Our heroine Tina Chen is a daughter of Chinese immigrants. She is a college student who’s juggling studying, working and trying to support her parents and little sister who is ill. Her life is hard, but she doesn’t give up. Tina is amazing character. It’s difficult not to root for her. And then we have Blake. He is not an average student; he is the son of owner of Cyclone Technology. During discussion about poverty Blake makes an off-handed remark which Tina just couldn’t ignore. So she loses her temper and tells him he couldn’t last a month living her life. To her shock Blake offers her to trade their lives.

Tina assumed Blake is the rich and spoiled guy, who has all he wanted. But as she accepts his offer and begins to live his life, she discovers that Blake is not that simple. He is caring, hardworking and he has his own secrets.

Romance was sweet and touching. Tina was hesitant to start anything with Blake. Though there was undeniable mutual attraction between the two of them from the start she tried to stay away emotionally. I can totally understand her motives but I found myself wishing for them to be together.

Blake’s father Adam Reynolds is a very interesting and complex character. At the first sight he is this awful cynical swearing demanding billionaire, gradually the other side of this ruthless businessman revealed to us. He is loving and protective father. Their father-son relationship with Blake was one of my favorite aspect of Trade me. It is a complex and bittersweet mix of love, caring, loyalty and at the same time fear to disappoint, pressure from father and resistance from son.

My one but rather big complaint is how Adam Reynolds’ issue was handled. When this big thing about Blake’s father was revealed I was shocked, because I didn’t see it coming. Also I was curious about what would happen next. But I was disappointed and even angry because of how it was tackled. I mean what was the message? If you have big money you can just pff… make it all go away? Just like this? I don’t like this message. I think the guilty party got off too easy.

Tina’s relationship with her family is another great aspect of this book. Tina’s parents are constant source of worry, sometimes they embarrass her, but it’s obvious how much they love her. When Tina needed help, her mother dropped everything and came to the rescue.

So if you want character driven contemporary romance with diversity Trade me would be a perfect choice. Speaking about diversity, wait for the second book in this series. It would be about Tina’s trans friend Maria Lopez and an Asian hero. Just look at its cover!

Review: This Shattered World (Starbound #2) by Amie Kaufman, Meagan Spooner

Title: This Shattered World (Starbound #2)
Author: Amie Kaufman, Meagan Spooner
My rating: 4 of 5 Stars

SUMMARY (from Goodreads)
Jubilee Chase and Flynn Cormac should never have met.

Lee is captain of the forces sent to Avon to crush the terraformed planet's rebellious colonists, but she has her own reasons for hating the insurgents.

Rebellion is in Flynn's blood. Terraforming corporations make their fortune by recruiting colonists to make the inhospitable planets livable, with the promise of a better life for their children. But they never fulfilled their promise on Avon, and decades later, Flynn is leading the rebellion.

Desperate for any advantage in a bloody and unrelentingly war, Flynn does the only thing that makes sense when he and Lee cross paths: he returns to base with her as prisoner. But as his fellow rebels prepare to execute this tough-talking girl with nerves of steel, Flynn makes another choice that will change him forever. He and Lee escape the rebel base together, caught between two sides of a senseless war.

MY THOUGHTS

First of all I want to say that I love the covers to this series. Not only they are gorgeous, but they are true to the story.

Secondly I really like this concept of three companion novels set in one universe and featuring different characters.

When I started reading This Shattered World I hoped that I would see more of Lilac and Tarver. And I did. And it wasn’t a short meaningless appearance just to please fans. Lilac and Tarver played big and important role in the second book. I like how the authors did such a great job incorporating characters from the previous installment.

The structure of the second book is similar to the first. We have main chapters and there are short chapters between them. These short chapters are about a little girl, her dreams or memories. It looks like the authors tried to mimic the structure of These Broken Stars where we had short chapters of Tarver’s interrogation between the main ones. But it didn’t work here the way it had worked in the first installment. Tarver’s interrogation chapters added suspense, little girl’s chapters only added confusion and were jarring interruptions. At the end I don’t see what the point of them was.

I couldn’t help but compare This Shattered World to the first installment. In These broken stars it was just Lilac and Tarver for the most part of the book and readers didn’t actually see much of this huge world. One of my complaints was lack of world building. In This Shattered World we see more of it and I’m very glad about it. In the first book rebellions were only mentioned, in the second Installment we are in the middle of the war.

What This Shattered World was lacking was suspense. While reading These Broken Stars I was constantly on the edge, asking myself questions, guessing and second-guessing everything. With the second installment – not so much. Probably it was because the big revelation have been made in the first book and for me there wasn’t questions who and why.

These Broken Stars was a love-story. In These Shattered World the romance between Flynn and Jubilee took back seat to the rebellion and war.

As for the main characters the authors continue to bring to life amazing couples. Jubilee is such a kick-ass heroine. But she also has a vulnerable side that no one can see. Until Flynn. He is one of my favorite heroes. He is caring, honest, loyal and brave.

I liked Sofia, town girl who helped Flynn. I was intrigued by her and wanted to know more about her. So now I’m really excited about the next installment, because apparently it would be Sofia’s book.

All in all This Shattered World was a great mix of fast-paced sci-fi, mystery and romance. I highly recommend it.

Review: These Broken Stars (Starbound #1) by Amie Kaufman, Meagan Spooner

Title: These Broken Stars (Starbound #1)
Author: Amie Kaufman, Meagan Spooner
Publication date: December 10th 2013
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
My rating: 5 of 5 Stars

SUMMARY (from Goodreads)
It's a night like any other on board the Icarus. Then, catastrophe strikes: the massive luxury spaceliner is yanked out of hyperspace and plummets into the nearest planet. Lilac LaRoux and Tarver Merendsen survive. And they seem to be alone.

Lilac is the daughter of the richest man in the universe. Tarver comes from nothing, a young war hero who learned long ago that girls like Lilac are more trouble than they’re worth. But with only each other to rely on, Lilac and Tarver must work together, making a tortuous journey across the eerie, deserted terrain to seek help.

Then, against all odds, Lilac and Tarver find a strange blessing in the tragedy that has thrown them into each other’s arms. Without the hope of a future together in their own world, they begin to wonder—would they be better off staying here forever?

Everything changes when they uncover the truth behind the chilling whispers that haunt their every step. Lilac and Tarver may find a way off this planet. But they won’t be the same people who landed on it.

MY THOUGHTS

First of all I want to say that the cover is stunning. I absolutely love it! Though lately beautiful covers often accompany bad books I still can’t walk away from a gorgeous one.

These Broken Stars is a book that I’ve been dying to read for months now. In truth I began to read this book with a little apprehension. After all the high ratings and amazing reviews I had read my expectations were very high. I was afraid to be disappointed, but disappointed I was not. This was a really good book.

Though These Broken Stars is the first book in Starbound trilogy, it reads as a stand-alone. Dear authors, I appreciate it very much. I hate when the first book ends with a cliffhanger and I don’t have the second one and have to wait for months to know what happened next. In Starbound trilogy there will be 3 companion novels, about different people in the same world.

The world in These Broken Stars is huge and has great possibilities. Unfortunately the world building is rather scarce and this is my only complaint about this book. I want to know more about this society. But the authors give us only the outline in the first book. I hope to see more in the next one.

The story was told in the POVs of Lilac and Tarver. And I really liked these little parts of Tarver’s interrogation between the chapters.

Lilac LaRoux and Tarver Merendsen are the only survivals after crash of a spaceship Irarus. Lilac is the daughter of the richest man in the universe. Tarver is a young war hero; he came from middle-class and is treated like the lowest among society. To survive on an unknown planet they have to work together.

One of the great aspects of this book was mystery. It kept me turning pages. I could barely put the book down; I just needed to know what was going on with Lilac and Tarver. Voices? Is Lilac going crazy? Why Tarver is interrogated? What has happened to them? Where is Lilac? Endless questions were in my head. I don’t get answers for all my questions. There are some loose ends. I get the feeling that the authors made this deliberately and we’ll get more information in the next installment.

This book is not sci-fi, it is romance driven. If you don’t like romance and want sci-fi, spaceships and so on, maybe this book is not for you. If you want beautiful romance with sci-fi entourage, grab These Broken Stars.

I really liked the romance here. I loved the dynamic of Lilac and Tarver’s relationship: from distrust and prejudice into reluctant partnership into friendship and trust and later love. I wanted more steam, but I understand that they had more important things like survival.

This book is a perfect mix of sci-fi, romance, survival and mystery. I highly recommend it!

Review: Lifers by Jane Harvey-Berrick

Title: Lifers
Author: Jane Harvey-Berrick
Publication date: February 7th 2014
My rating: 4 of 5 Stars

SUMMARY (from Goodreads)
After eight years in prison, twenty-four year old Jordan Kane is the man everyone loves to hate.

Forced to return to his hometown while on parole, Jordan soon learns that this small town hasn't changed since he was carted off to juvie all those years ago. He is the local pariah, shunned by everyone, including his own parents. But their hatred of him doesn't even come close to the loathing he feels every time he looks in the mirror.

Working odd jobs for the preacher lady, Jordan bides his time before he can leave this backwards town. But can distance erase the memories that haunt him? Trapped in the prison of his own mind Jordan wonders if the pain of living will ever subside?

Torrey Delaney is new in town and certainly doesn't behave in a way the locals believe a preacher’s daughter should. Her reputation for casual hook-ups and meaningless sex is the talk of the town. Add that to her budding friendship with the hardened ex-con handyman, and the good Reverend is less than thrilled with her estranged daughter’s path.

As friendship forms, is it possible for two damaged people who are afraid to love take their relationship to the next level? Can Torrey live with Jordan’s demons, and can Jordan break through Torrey's walls? With the disapproval of a small town weighing heavily on them, will they find their place in the world? Can they struggle against the odds, or will their world be viciously shattered?

Is love a life sentence?

MY THOUGHTS

I’ve read several books by Jane Harvey-Berrick and she continues to surprise me. She creates very different characters and does not repeat herself. Many authors are guilty of using similar characters in each of their books, but not Jane Harvey-Berrick.

So our main characters:

Jordan Kane returned to his judgmental small hometown while on parole. He is twenty-four years old and he spent eight of them in prison. Everyone including his own parents hates him. He is alone until he meets Torrey Delaney. Torrey is a daughter of a local preacher. She only recently came to live with her preacher mother and she definitely does not behave as a saint. Her meaningless sex is the talk of the town. These two form unlikely friendship which progresses to much more.

Torrey is a character which not often portraits in New Adult and Young Adult. She is confident and does not suffer unnecessary complexes about her appearance. She is pretty and she knows it. She has a carefree attitude about life, including sex. She loves sex, has sex and she doesn’t afraid to talk about sex (Yes, I know, I used the word “sex” three times in this sentence). So those of you who hates slut shaming should give Lifers a try if only for its main female character. This is what Jordan says about Torrey: “You’re just so fearless, a real straight shooter. You don’t take shit from on one, and you say it like it is”.

Jordan is such a wonderful main male character. He suffered so much in his life, but he is kind, sweet and caring. Torrey says about Jordan: “Through and through, Jordan was an intriguing mix of contradictions: his hard body, his soft lips; his serious, sensible nature; his wild and passionate side; the scary, prison demeanor he could switch on; his gentle soul”.

Romance in this book, although somewhat insta-love, was wonderful. I was rooting for these two. I liked how Torrey never takes advantage of Jordan – emotionally or physically, because he is very vulnerable. She is very supportive of him. Everyone hates him and blames him, but most of all he hates himself. He feels so much guilt and pain. Meeting Torrey helps him to leave this destructive path.

I should warn you there are quite a few graphic sex scenes. So if you like clean romances, this book is not for you.

This couple faces many hurdles and usually I am very skeptic of the future of such relationship. Yes, they love each other and together they fight against the world. But what happens few years in the future? I wasn’t skeptic in this case. I just know that Jordan and Torrey will find their HEA. And the main reason I’m so sure of it is Torrey’s personality. She is so vibrant and alive, she is honest and fearless, she is a real fighter and she’ll make it all work.

Jane Harvey-Berrick also draws attention to a serious topic in this book. Adaptation to “normal” live for ex-con is very difficult. So often these people return to prisons because they don’t fit. Also it’s very scary how just a little mistake can be fatal in someone’s life.

Overall, Lifers was a pretty decent read.

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