Review ~ Facade - Nyrae Dawn

eARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Release Date: July 2nd 2013

Publisher: Forever

Description:

Can love save them?

After her father commits a crime that shatters her family, eighteen-year-old Delaney Cross is tired of pretending everything is all right. Packing up her car, she sets out to find the people her father hurt. Her search leads her to places she’s never been—and into the arms of Adrian Westfall.

To the outside world, Adrian is a sexy, charming ladies’ man. But his playboy persona is just an act. Secretly his soul is tortured by a memory too painful to share. Only Delaney seems to see through his façade to the real man underneath. And for the first time in his life, Adrian feels he can begin to open up about his past.

Together, Adrian and Delaney share a passionate love they never expected to find. Yet both still harbor their own secrets. When the dark truth is finally revealed, will it bring them closer together—or tear them apart forever?

My Opinion

I'm torn, I wanted to like this but I just can't. On one hand it was full of the angst and drama to be expected from a new adult novel and on the other none of it felt real. It took me a week of dipping in and out of the book to finish until as it couldn't sustain my interest for long periods of time due to the angst. I did finally get to the point though today, with 40% remaining where I forced myself to finish it as I just wanted it out of the way.

My main issue is the drama and pain the characters go through. There was just too much of it and it was too heavy. The writing was intense and for me it just brought me down as there was no light among the dark. Even when Adrian and Delaney were together there was always the secrets that the reader knows bringing the atmosphere down. I just couldn't keep reading for long periods of time as it was depressing.

As well as this the use of swearing was excessive. I have nothing against it when used to emphasise a point but Adrian swore almost every sentence. I think there were like 6 on the first page (and that's reading on an iPod). It just lost all meaning for me and rather than emphasise anything it just became irritating. I get he was meant to be this tortured guy who was trying to drink and smoke away his problems but for me it lacked believablity with the use of language and attitude - especially with Delaney introduced and wanting to fix everything. That really didn't seem realistic.

There were a few good moments between Delaney and Adrian where their pasts were forgotten in the moment and these were enjoyable to read. I also didn't see the twist at the end coming. That was a big shock to read. However these moments were few and far between, going right back to troubled characters straight away and leaving me thinking "here we go again."

The writing was mostly well done. It does need another edit but hopefully these will have been picked up before publication as I'm reading an ARC. There are some sections that don't flow as well and are a bit monotonous, leaving you feeling like you are reading the same section over and over again but I enjoyed the dual points of view, with the chapters split between Adrian and Delaney.

Overall, for me this book was a struggle to get through as it was just so down beat. Even with a silver lining it did nothing to make me feel happy, relieved or anything for the characters. For me there needed to be some light in the middle of the book to keep my interest as I hate reading sad thing. For that reason I probably wouldn't buy it as I don't understand paying to be made to feeling crappy. If you like contemporary book it may be for you but for me - well I need to go for a run now to pick my spirits back up!

                           

Review ~ Do You Remember? by Mandy Baggot - Book Tour + Giveaway

eARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Release Date: 25th July

Publisher: HarperImpulse

Description:
First Love. First Loss. Last chance?

2005 was the most traumatic year of Emma Barron’s life. It was the year her mother died and the year she met Guy Duval. Eight years on, she’s an English teacher with a doting boyfriend and a young son. Life’s been hard but now it’s comfortable. She’s settled and content…so why would she risk it all for another chance with the man that broke her heart?

Guy’s an international renowned footballer newly signed to a top UK team. But behind the confident facade is a man determined to drown the horrors from his childhood with fame, success and money.

Unable to confide in her best friend, Ally, Emma tries to hold her life together as her heart is pulled apart. Did she turn her back on love too soon?

Neither of them know what really happened on 5 September 2005 and as events are slowly revealed can anyone cope with the truth?

My Opinion

When I got approached to host a stop on the tour for this book I wasn't so sure. I'm not really a fan of descriptions that start off with 'the death of a family member' thing or footballers for that matter. But when I saw it was published by Harper Impulse I went straight to NetGalley to see if it was available as having read nearly all of their other releases (which I loved), I decided to give it a chance as their NA romances have been great so far. 

This book was not what I expected at all. I thought it would be grief filled and memories about a tortured past mixed in with romance. However, I found most of this book to be surprisingly enjoyable with sweet and sensitive moments that made you fall in love with the characters because of who they were, not what they had been through. I was also surprised that the mother's death and Guy's family issues were under played. I loved that they were there as more of a motive for why the characters did things and although there were moments when they struggled with emotion they were more in the background.

I loved how this book switched from 2005 to the present day. I thought it was an original technique to tell the story with and it gave a great, solid understanding of the relationship. By doing this the author didn't reveal all the secrets straight away, but rather drip fed them to the reader which I love. Some parts were predictable but the ending - I did not see that coming! I loved the twist! As well as this it also allowed me to see how the characters had developed in eight years and instead of listening to them remember the past in a flashback, you actually experience it which I thought was brilliant.

The romance was great. It wasn't as steamy as other NA books I've read but it fit with the story and what the characters had gone through. I liked how there were questions over whether it would work and that the author actually included the other partners. The characters had a conscience and it was nice to see. The author could have easily made them drop everything and run off together but I liked how they thought things through and tried to do right by everyone, especially Emma. I liked how grounded she was and centred her world around Dominic.

The only slight complaint I have is about Emma's dad's use of language. It may be a common thing where the author is from, I'm not sure but whenever he spoke I just couldn't help but think of Wallace from the animation Wallace and Gromit. After I made this connection in my mind I couldn't take anything he said seriously as I imagined him with this northern accent. That's probably me being slightly weird though - it was just his choice of words were so similar.

Overall this book was a fast-pace, gripping romance that I couldn't put down. I loved the characters, plot and would highly recommend it. I will definitely be excited to see what Harper Impulse release next, I just wish they were in paperback as well!

4.5

Mandy Baggot brings you award-winning fiction! In 2012 she won the coveted Innovation in 
Romantic Fiction award at the UK's Festival of Romance. Her novel Strings Attached was also short listed for Best Author Published Read!

Mandy writes strong contemporary romance and characters you'll fall in love with. Previously self-published, she was traditionally signed by US publishing house Sapphire Star Publishing in January 2012. Shortly afterwards she became a member of the Romantic Novelists' Association.  She has recently signed a two book deal with Harper Collins’ Romance Imprint, Harper Impulse. 

She regularly writes of writing magazines and blogs and is a regular contributor to online magazine, Loveahappyending Lifestyle. 

Mandy lives near Salisbury in Wiltshire, UK with her husband, two daughters and two cats called Kravitz and Springsteen.

She is an advocate for women in business and belongs to the networking group Women on Wednesdays. 

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Review ~ Water - Natasha Hardy

eARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Release Date: 16th August 2013

Publisher: Carina (Harlequin UK)

Description:

Surrender to the power of the water... Alex knows she is different. She’s plagued by nightmares that feel shockingly real and an intense restlessness she cannot explain. As the long hot summer holidays stretch before her, Alex seeks out adventure in the rugged mountains of Injasuthi. But during a camping trip to the mystic jade pools, Alex meets Merrick, a boy who tells her the shocking truth about herself, and Alex's nightmare is about to become reality. Because Alex is no ordinary teenager...she is a half-mermaid and her adventures are only just beginning.

My Opinion

The cover caught my attention of this book. I love the colours and after I read the description it sounded exactly like something I would love. However now that I have read it the only word I can think of to describe this book is boring! I hate to say it as I had high hopes for this book. I mean; revealing truths, mermaids, adventures and an exciting new setting in Africa sounds interesting right? Well it wasn't.

It has taken me over a week to read this book as it just hasn't kept my attention. I started it thinking I would finish it in a few hours but I couldn't engage with it at all and I have had to read two chapters every so often when I felt like it. It literally put me off reading as I didn't want to go back to it. 

I know what you're thinking now though. Why didn't I just mark it as DNF right? Well I hoped it would get better. I've read a lot of books that start off slowly and get better so I gave Water a chance. Then when it became obvious it wasn't going to pick up I had invested so much time in it I felt I had to finish it even though it meant forcing myself through pages of drab, actionless writing.

The imagery was described wonderfully in Water however that's all the book seemed to be. It was a description of cave, after cave, after cave and in the end I began skimming most bits of description and read the speech. I liked the idea of setting the book in Africa but I felt so much more could have been done with it as except from the start it never felt like that's where I was.

The main issue with this book is there is absolutely no action. There was like 2 pages on an iPod but it's hardly anything. Because of this the writing was so slow. It just didn't keep me hooked and I found myself not caring for any of the characters, it was just bland. Without the action there was nothing to fear, sympathise or connect with the characters over so they just felt distant. 

Personally I feel that the whole book was like reading the beginning of a novel and could be condensed into half the or even a quarter of the size so it could lead on into some action. The book stops right on the brink of something happening and for me I just wanted to scream in frustration. I feel I have wasted a lot of time reading this and wish I had DNFd because the narrative just didn't go anywhere. 

There was also this underlying eco message about pollution etc in the ocean which I just found annoying. I don't want to read books with eco messages and it made me lose interest even more as it became obvious where the plot was heading.

Over all this book can only be summed up as boring. It lacked action, intrigue and anything remotely interesting. There was a lot of description that started off well, giving you a good idea of location but it just became too repetitive and boring. I wish I had marked it as DNF and would not recommend it.