Review of Strawberries for Dessert (Coda Books #4) by Marie Sexton

Strawberries for Dessert by Marie Sexton

My rating: 4.5 can’t get enough of 5 stars

(I couldn’t resist.)

Strawberries for dessert was…

Sweet…
Riveting…
Charming…
Captivating…
An unforgettable story…

See, I didn’t read the other books in the Coda Books series before picking this one up, so I can’t compare this novel from Marie Sexton to others she wrote. I know a lot of reviewers said it’s not as good as the previous ones in the series, but I thought this novel was fantastic! A MUST read for all fans of M/M romance and contemporary. The characters were very realistic and had something that’ll make you like them automatically. The story was entertaining and just so beautiful…

Second chances…
letting go…
true love…

The perfect combination.

A wonderful read to completely escape from life and witness some swoon and sigh-worthy moments. Since, as I said earlier, I didn’t read the other books in the Coda Books series, so I don’t think you need either if you don’t feel like to. Maybe you’ll be a bit of confused, at the beginning of the story, but just keep reading and it won’t be a bother anymore.

The only thing that I found as a weakness was the fact that the story pretty much was axed on the dialogues when the author clearly could’ve explored much more the world building because of how many country/places they ”visited.”

Overall, it was an excellent, excellent contemporary M/M romance story.

I repeat,
A must read. ♥

PS. Cole, you stole my heart…

The sequel:

View all my reviews on Goodreads.

Review of Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins

Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

♥ 4 Loved it! stars ♥

This book was so much fun! A breath of fresh air! I actually read this book while eating popcorn. No kidding. If you’re looking for something entertaining and purely enjoyable, I highly recommend you Rebel Belle. It also contains a little bit of creepy and/or strange scenes that are only going to make you want to read more and more of it.

Harper might seem to you, at the beggining of the story, a little too girly and vain, but she’s actually not that way. She has her reasons why Homecoming is very important to her that you’ll learn eventually in the story. I must admit that her one thousand dollars or more dress made me cringe my teeth. That excepted, Harper is mostly a normal seventeen years old teenager dating and loving a nice boy and expecting to pass a great evening at the Homecoming event accompanied by her boyfriend and best friends. Unfortunately, when the school janitor transmits her some weird thing while unexpectingly kissing her, everything changes. And that’s when she becomes a kick-ass girl with new superpowers.

The writing isn’t impressive but nice instead. Standard but efficient since a book like this one is better off complicated words and long sentences. It could’ve been prettier though. This book has a cool atmosphere that’ll get you at ease and make the reading comfortable. The story might very likely seem to you either very interesting or fun. Or both. Either way, you’ll enjoy it and found it adorable. I thought it was amazing and well done. It felt like watching a comedy/supernatural/drama/action movie. I loved it!

The romance was pretty clean. It was cute and sometimes sigh-worthy. And sometimes frustrating indeed. Previsible by moments but also enchanting. Sweet and rightly accompanying the story.

If you liked/loved Rachel Hawkins’ other books, there are many chances you’ll appreciate Rebel Belle too.

Happy reading! (And don’t forget the popcorn and/or candy!)

View all my reviews on Goodreads.

Review of Fire by Kristin Cashore

MISS MISS MISS.
Fire by Kristin Cashore

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

DNFed at 50%

WHY DID I EVEN TAKE THE TIME TO ”DESIGN” THAT PICTURE?

It does not deserve it.

Yes, 2 stars (one star for ”I didn’t like it” and another star because it was truly well-written.)

First of all, you shall know that I really really enjoyed the first book in this series, Graceling. I adored it actually. I thought I was discovering another great author knowing how to write great fantasy/adventure books.

Kristin Cashore got on my nerves.

She played with them.
She played with me.
She played with my emotions.

Ok, first of all, we have a dark and intense prologue of 16 pages. The number of pages is not important but sure is a lot more than usual books I read. So, in that prologue, we meet two characters, one of them being a boy who really got my attention. Leck (not called like that at that moment.) Anyway, so Leck is able to control minds as Fire. I thought ”oh my my, what a great love story that’ll make. They’ll meet and fall in love with each other because probably they won’t be able to control each others minds and they’ll be relieved.”

Like hell.

I don’t even know if they finally met. (Ok, I do because I read some last pages but, while I was reading, I did not know.) I did not know that he was the one who (view spoiler)[killed Archer (hide spoiler)]. All I know is that I wanted Fire and Leck to meet and fall in love. Because duh, doesn’t Leck redeeming himelf, because of Fire, seem exciting? For me, it did. But, that’s not what happened.

Oh la la, I just have so much anger in me right now. Must say that it sure doesn’t happen often because of a book. At least, it’ll be a memorable one for a special reason. *Sigh.*

I didn’t have a direct problem with Fire. She was nice enough, for a fantasy/adventure book MC. I liked when she got all angry and on defense but she mostly was calm and one-dimensional, as many other characters. I didn’t know that much about her. I knew things only when the narrator told us memories of her and her father (which is a badass!) Shame shame shame because she could’ve been such an interesting character.

Damn.

Fire and Archer have a ”relation” at the beginning of the story of what I understand. But, seriously, I have no idea what kind of relation it was. It was much of:

”Would you marry me, Fire, if I slept in no one’s bed but yours?”
He knew the answer to that, but it didn’t hurt to remind him. ”No, and I should find my bed quite cramped.”

Oooook.

Also, in this book, there was a war setting. I hate war settings. I don’t like when a book gets that serious. The only books I tolerated (and REALLY enjoyed) with war settings were Captive Prince: Volume One and Captive Prince: Volume Two and probably Captive Prince: Volume Three, but it hasn’t been realeased yet so I haven’t read it. I must admit that I’m a bit scared I won’t love Days of Blood & Starlight because of that.

The writing was splendid (due the 2rd star as I said.) I wansn’t expecting and I didn’t get less. The pacing was SLOW. So SLOW. Not much was actually hapenning up to where I got (and DNFed.) That’s kind of why I DNFed this book (along with the fact that Fire and Leck weren’t already a couple as I was hoping for.) The author created a good world building with many descriptions. In one page, there was usually 1 small (very small) dialogue and the rest were descriptions. A lot of them. Most were boring.

I bet this book would’ve been so much better and I may’ve liked it more if it was directed to adults. More interesting, exciting and yes, some sex scenes would’ve been welcomed as in my opinion.

Technically, I wouldn’t recommend this companion novel. I didn’t like it and I wouldn’t probably read Bitterblue. Maybe I’ll finish this book if I ever feel like to but that could also never happen and I won’t be sad. Yes, technically I wouldn’t recommend this book but, since I saw that I’m in the minority here, why would you not read it because of what I said about it? Maybe what I was expecting isn’t what you want in a fantasy/adventure book. So, go ahead, see for yourself. Maybe you’re going to really like it. 🙂

That’s it. I could say more, but I feel calmer now.

THIS IS SUCH A MISS, unfortunately. The writing makes me give this book 2 stars but I definitely think 1 in my head.

View all my reviews on Goodreads.

Review of The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks

The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

”I’m not sure what I should put for an address. Like I said, I just got to town and I’m staying at the Holiday Motor Court. I could also use my mom’s mailing address in Colorado. Which would you prefer?”
”Colorado?”
”Yeah, I know. Kind of far from here.”
”What brought you to Hampton?”
You, he thought. I came to find you.

Nicholas Sparks has his reputation of writing the most popular and some quite beautiful/original love stories. Of course, The Lucky One was no exception. There were some elements I was annoyed about because they seemed too similar to his other books but, in general, it was a very nice read. For example, Beth’s little 10 years old boy, Ben, reminded me A LOT of the other nice little boy in The Last Song (and I’m really not talking about in the movie but in the book) which, if you haven’t read it, is a wonderful book. Also, the marines, army. «—- Dear John! At least, Thibault doesn’t have the same personality as John so it’s wasn’t like I saw him instead of Thibault while reading.

The pacing is very slow. Beth and Thibault are actually meeting each other after about 65 pages only, but the fact is that those pages were kind of long. There were many descriptions and psychological thinking when I wanted more dialogs and well… romance. Although, as we all know, Nicholas Sparks likes to write about the characters background and really want to make us connect in a way to them so, yeah, many descriptions. At first, it bored me but, after those 65 pages, it all goes well and the reading begins to feel nice and enjoyable.

Beth is a good girl, someone I actually related to because she didn’t date many guys or slept with many either. She was married to a man that she divorced off because, let’s face it, he was not the good, stable kind of man, especially as a husband and dad because they did have a kid together. I’ll say it and it’s true, he’s a pervert. The type of pervert that takes pictures of naked woman whenever he gets the chance to, when he is in reality a police officer! He’s one of those persons that make you think, what is wrong with the world and how could some adult do that?! There is no need for me to say it obviously, but I hate that guy (named Clayton.)

Thibault is sweet! And funny, easygoing, calm. The perfect man. The problem is…he’s just too nice. He is perfect but perfect doesn’t exist in reality (for me) and I couldn’t believe in him as much as I wanted to. He was likeable, yes, and a great character, yes, but this contemporary was just so…unrealitic to me. Like, how could this possibly happen? How could someone, in the army, find a picture with a woman which becames his lucky charm and he decides to find (and will find) that woman in question. Plus, that the woman in question is single… It could, maybe, but I can’t/don’t believe it. I enjoyed reading it though and will keep reading other books by Nicholas Sparks because they’re cute and bring different emotions out of me. Though it is not my favourite (Dear John is for now.)

The romance is wonderful, as always.

I would recommend this book but, if you have the choice between let’s say…The Last Song, Dear John and The Lucky One, in your place, I would personally choose Dear John then, The Last Song, and then The Lucky One.

Happy reading!

View all my reviews on Goodreads.

Image sources: https://p.gr-assets.com/540×540/fit/hostedimages/1403205188/10058159.jpg

and https://p.gr-assets.com/540×540/fit/hostedimages/1403203312/10057753.jpg

Review of Succubus Blues by Richelle Mead

Succubus Blues by Richelle Mead

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

 

Meet succubus Georgina Kincaid:

Georgina Kincaid is a succubus, an immortal ”creature” that feeds on other people’s vital energy in order to survive. Most of the time, she does that during sex. Except for that detail about her, Georgina is a charismatic and easy going woman that works in a library. She’s in fact quite an interesting and entertaining character.

The story kicks when an immortal powerful vampire is mysteriously and unexpectedly killed after having an argument with our main character, Georgina. And so, Georgina, angel Carter, demon Jerome and some others are willing to resolve the murder and find the criminal.

Now, the fact that angels, demons and vampires acknowledge each other’s existence and live in ”harmony” without contantly wanting to kill each other out is new to me. And a bit disappointing, I must admit. At least, I hoped some (a lot of) real hating between them that’ll entertain me even more. Sadly, there wasn’t. There aren’t actually many supernatural creatures in the town Georgina is living, as you may think, so I hope there will be more in the sequels that I’m eager to read.

The only type of paranormal creature in Succubus Blues that I felt weren’t convincing at all are the vampires. I mean, vampires are supposed to technically suck blood (were they? because I didn’t witness it), be at least a bit impulsive, maybe cruel sometimes and definitely not entirely acting like humans. So, in my opinion, Richelle Mead missed the mark when she created those. How ironic, isn’t it?

The story has a lot of potential. I am even thinking that the sequels may be far far better than this first book. The mystery wasn’t captivating, sadly. An immortal vampire that is killed? Seems like déjà vu to me. The reason I continued reading the book without rolling my eyes was definitely not the murder case even if my inner self was curious to know the nature of the criminal and why she/he did it.

No, the reason I kept reading with a mild (but growing) interest is Georgina & Seth. We can clearly see that those two person are quite different from one another but, still, they shared a strong common interest: books! The most interesting element, though, is Seth’s ”transformation” around Georgina. At first, he’s shy and a bit reclusive, let’s face it, but, the more he got aroung HER, the more his personal space boubble shatters letting us discover a MAN inside it. I hope we’ll see more of him as well in the sequels.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this slow yet entertaining story filled with some endearing characters, characters that’ll make you smile and laugh, some that you’ll definitely hate and, finally, ones that will make you want to know more of them (by all means…)

View all my reviews on Goodreads.
Follow my blog with Bloglovin.

Review of Where She Went by Gayle Forman

Where She Went by Gayle Forman

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

“I needed to hate someone and you’re the one I love the most, so it fell on you.”

❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤

“You were so busy trying to be my savior that you left me all alone.”

This is the conclusion to Mia and Adam’s story, one that captivated me until the very last page. The story follows our dear characters three years after Mia awoke from a heartbreaking coma. In this continuation, we have the privilege to read from Adam’s point of view that is as endearing as Maia’s was. It also contains the same calm and out of this world ambience and a lyrical pleasant writing that is simply impressive and…perfectly suiting the story.

“You know, I thought about that a lot these last couple of years,” She says in a choked voice. “About who was there for you. Who held your hand while you grieved for all that you’d lost?”

To be honest, I didn’t find this book as sad as I expected to. Of course, I was emotional in the inside but it didn’t show up with tears. Often goosebumps appeared though, making me remember that this is a poignant story and that those characters are wonderful and that Adam is one of the most…good hearted hero I have ever encountered in a book.

“Hate me. Devastate me. Annihilate me. Re-create me. Re-create me. Won’t you, won’t you won’t you re-create me.”

One of the things I loved the most in Where She Went is definitely the lyrics of songs wrote at the beginning of some chapters. They’re enchanting and they make you understand some parts of Adam’s life better and maybe realize how he got so far and became a celebrity.

“First you inspect me
Then you dissect me
Then you reject me
I wait for the day
That you’ll resurrect me
“Animate”

I recommend this series to everyone, boy and girl, teenager and adult and especially to hopeless contemporary romance lovers because the romance is absolutely wonderful and magical. It’s dreamy and feels so real, an impressive example of true love that may seem unearthly but makes us believe that there is hope in this world for whatever shattering event could happen.

“Her hands were freezing, just like they always were, so I warmed them, just like I always did.”

A weakness I found in this book is the lack of dialogs. There were many pages that were simply filled with descriptions and mostly psychological ones. I didn’t mind it but I would have appreciated more dialogs since those are my favourite parts in a book. Although, the writing was splendid so reading Where She Went rarely felt something other than what it is, a splendid story.

What about the ending?

Perfection.

View all my reviews on Goodreads.

Bloglovin’

I will now be on Bloglovin’ as well. Weee. 🙂

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Review of If I Stay by Gayle Forman

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

There is something comforting in that. To go down as a family. No one left behind.

I’m not.

I’m not crying.

Why would I? If I stay is only one of the most endearing stories I’ve ever read…

No reason to sob quitely while writing a review… ღ

❤ ❤ ❤

You probably all know what happens. A car accident. A car accident that took Mia, her brother and her parents’ lives away. Only… Mia stayed as a ghost, a lifeless body. She’s hurt. She’s weak. She doesn’t want to leave everyone she cares about, but how much easier it’d be for her to just… let go.

I edge closer and now I know that it’s not Teddy lying there. It’s me. The blood from my chest has seeped through my shirt, skirt, and sweater, and is now pooling like paint drops on the virgin snow.

This book is beyond beautiful. It’s heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time. You’ll laugh, you’ll smile but you will cry or drop a tear now and then. Tears because you won’t be able to believe your eyes at how poignant this is. And how it is a story you’ll cherish forever. In my heart, If I Stay will always have a special place.

It makes you wish you’d played the cello as our Mia exquisitely does. That’s at least true for me, and that is how much these characters and story had an influence on me. What I know for sure is that, after reading this book, you’ll take a moment to think everything through. To think about your life and how it isn’t easy but that, when you’re surrounded by people you love, it’s, somehow, easier to cross over all those obstacles life puts you through.

Mia sure is constantly sharing wonderful memories with us, but what is so impressive is that the author subtly included a message in each of them. A message to think about. This is the kind of book I wished everyone with a soul would read and see its irrevocably originality and very pleasant and peaceful atmosphere.

I realize now that dying is easy. Living is hard.

What I unfortunately didn’t like as much as I hoped to is the author’s writing style. I read raving reviews saying how amazing the writing is but, I didn’t quite see its amazingness as most people have I guess. It is well-written, of course, with a perfect atmosphere fitting the story and all the emotions of the characters, but so are many many other books I’ve read. Nothing special on that part for me, sadly. That is the reason I couldn’t give this book five stars, but it is the one and only. Everything else was perfect.

View all my reviews on Goodreads.