Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed by E.L. James
The second and third books in the Fifty Shades series were better than the first, mostly because the Twilight references died out and the characters continued to grow and develop. The plot was still very character driven although the author did bring in some suspense and mystery. Although there were some British English quirks nothing was ever taken away from the novel because of the language. The characters also delved deeper into the BDSM lifestyle, which has gotten the books banned in Florida for sexual content (by the same thinking probably 90% of books would be banned including some classics). Personally, BDSM, gay, straight, or any other sexual preference or lifestyle chosen to be enjoyed by two consenting adults isn't a problem for society it's simply diversity and requires understanding acceptance like everything else.
May 12, 2012
April 30, 2012
Fifty Shades of Grey
Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James
Mini rant first and then the review: as much hype and press as this book has gotten I found the widely acclaimed erotic bits disappointing and not terribly interesting; the author uses British syntax when her characters are American which can be a little awkward to read; the author willingly admitted to starting the books as fan fiction after reading Twilight which is upsetting because I passionately hate Twilight. As much as I hate the Twilight series (they are horrible examples for tweens, poorly written, and the characters are simply annoying) Fifty Shades of Grey despite being inspired by the novels completely surpasses them in writing and character depth. This book is everything Twilight could have been.
Fifty Shades of Grey is set in Portland and Seattle where an innocent college student, Anastasia Steele, fatefully interviews the wealthy entrepreneur Christian Grey who offers her the chance to be his Submissive in a BDSM relationship. Ana surprisingly agrees, but manages to convince Christian to enter into a more traditional romance along with trying out the BDSM lifestyle. Unfortunately Ana's attempt to understand Christian's darkness backfires epically.
As unlikely as it is for a person to be offered the position of Submissive to a multi-billionaire Adonis, the overall message is universally applicable; relationships take work on both sides and some times they don't work no matter how good the sex. Although the sex scenes were fairly tame (in my opinion) and a little unconventional, the relationship and character dynamics make this a very good read.
Mini rant first and then the review: as much hype and press as this book has gotten I found the widely acclaimed erotic bits disappointing and not terribly interesting; the author uses British syntax when her characters are American which can be a little awkward to read; the author willingly admitted to starting the books as fan fiction after reading Twilight which is upsetting because I passionately hate Twilight. As much as I hate the Twilight series (they are horrible examples for tweens, poorly written, and the characters are simply annoying) Fifty Shades of Grey despite being inspired by the novels completely surpasses them in writing and character depth. This book is everything Twilight could have been.
Fifty Shades of Grey is set in Portland and Seattle where an innocent college student, Anastasia Steele, fatefully interviews the wealthy entrepreneur Christian Grey who offers her the chance to be his Submissive in a BDSM relationship. Ana surprisingly agrees, but manages to convince Christian to enter into a more traditional romance along with trying out the BDSM lifestyle. Unfortunately Ana's attempt to understand Christian's darkness backfires epically.
As unlikely as it is for a person to be offered the position of Submissive to a multi-billionaire Adonis, the overall message is universally applicable; relationships take work on both sides and some times they don't work no matter how good the sex. Although the sex scenes were fairly tame (in my opinion) and a little unconventional, the relationship and character dynamics make this a very good read.
April 24, 2012
The Rae Wilder Novels: Demon Girl
The Rae Wilder Novels: Demon Girl by Penelope Fletcher
Demon Girl is set in the a future when paranormal creatures have taken over the world and humans are nearly extinct. To keep safe from the fairies, vampires, witches, and were-animals the remaining humans have barricaded themselves in walled communities where Clerics and The Temple are the dominating forces. Rae is a teenager studying to become a Cleric when she sneaks out into the forest surrounding The Temple and stumbles upon Clerics torturing a young fairy, meets the fairy's older brother and becomes Breandan's mate, finds out she is a fairy- with wings and everything, meets a vampire named Tomas who she falls for also, and then gets embroiled in a fairy war. And this is only the first book. I certainly liked this book at least as much as The Hunger Games if not more so since the storyline lends itself to a sequel and the main character doesn't seem quite as clueless/heartless as Katniss seemed in The Hunger Games. I was also impressed at how few spelling and punctuation errors there were, especially since many of the ebooks I've read have had gross typos.
Demon Girl is set in the a future when paranormal creatures have taken over the world and humans are nearly extinct. To keep safe from the fairies, vampires, witches, and were-animals the remaining humans have barricaded themselves in walled communities where Clerics and The Temple are the dominating forces. Rae is a teenager studying to become a Cleric when she sneaks out into the forest surrounding The Temple and stumbles upon Clerics torturing a young fairy, meets the fairy's older brother and becomes Breandan's mate, finds out she is a fairy- with wings and everything, meets a vampire named Tomas who she falls for also, and then gets embroiled in a fairy war. And this is only the first book. I certainly liked this book at least as much as The Hunger Games if not more so since the storyline lends itself to a sequel and the main character doesn't seem quite as clueless/heartless as Katniss seemed in The Hunger Games. I was also impressed at how few spelling and punctuation errors there were, especially since many of the ebooks I've read have had gross typos.
March 31, 2012
Hunger Games
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Despite having technical difficulty with the sentence structure at certain points this book was very good with regards to plot and general character development. The story is set in a semi-futuristic dystopian society called Panem which is geographically North America. Katniss and Peeta are both teens from District 12 who are chosen from a lottery drawing (Katniss volunteers to save her younger sister) to play in the annual Hunger Games held by the Capitol to keep the Districts in check after their failed rebellion. The Hunger Games is essentially a reality TV show in which a boy and a girl from each of the Districts has to fight the other 23 teens to the death in a large landscape arena while the whole country is required to watch. The harshness of the society is well portrayed by Katniss' cold-hearted demeanor towards everyone except her younger sister and other young player in the Games. With a gripping plot and a genuine interest in Katniss, although she is lacking in an appropriate emotional struggle when it comes to her pseudo love triangle (which is the only plot thread not resolved by the end of the book), the book reads very quickly and doesn't need any sequels.
Despite having technical difficulty with the sentence structure at certain points this book was very good with regards to plot and general character development. The story is set in a semi-futuristic dystopian society called Panem which is geographically North America. Katniss and Peeta are both teens from District 12 who are chosen from a lottery drawing (Katniss volunteers to save her younger sister) to play in the annual Hunger Games held by the Capitol to keep the Districts in check after their failed rebellion. The Hunger Games is essentially a reality TV show in which a boy and a girl from each of the Districts has to fight the other 23 teens to the death in a large landscape arena while the whole country is required to watch. The harshness of the society is well portrayed by Katniss' cold-hearted demeanor towards everyone except her younger sister and other young player in the Games. With a gripping plot and a genuine interest in Katniss, although she is lacking in an appropriate emotional struggle when it comes to her pseudo love triangle (which is the only plot thread not resolved by the end of the book), the book reads very quickly and doesn't need any sequels.
March 30, 2012
Bright Young Things: Beautiful Days
Bright Young Things: Beautiful Days by Anna Godbersen
The second novel in a different flapper novel than The Flappers series set primarily in the Hampton's during the summer of 1929. The three girls who the story revolves around are Astrid, Letty, and Cordelia; a high society flapper, a wannabe singer, and a bootlegger's daughter turned speakeasy manager. Of course the roles each girl plays is similar to those of the characters in The Flappers series but the girls are less brash and harsh on the page. Even though the author switches characters every chapter the transition isn't jarring and if the chapter does end in a cliff hanger for one character the next one picks up at the same point from a slightly different point of view. While The Flappers has much faster and dramatic plot the Bright Young Things series is more reader friendly over all. Both books certainly leave the reader wanting more even if they have similar characters.
The second novel in a different flapper novel than The Flappers series set primarily in the Hampton's during the summer of 1929. The three girls who the story revolves around are Astrid, Letty, and Cordelia; a high society flapper, a wannabe singer, and a bootlegger's daughter turned speakeasy manager. Of course the roles each girl plays is similar to those of the characters in The Flappers series but the girls are less brash and harsh on the page. Even though the author switches characters every chapter the transition isn't jarring and if the chapter does end in a cliff hanger for one character the next one picks up at the same point from a slightly different point of view. While The Flappers has much faster and dramatic plot the Bright Young Things series is more reader friendly over all. Both books certainly leave the reader wanting more even if they have similar characters.
March 14, 2012
The Flappers: Ingenue
Ingenue by Jillian Larkin
Clara, Gloria, and Lorraine are all in New York along with Jerome (Gloria's taboo black lover), Marcus (Clara's straight-laced beau), and Jerome's sister Vera. When the first book ended Gloria and Jerome had run away from Chicago after killing a gangster in self defense, Lorraine had lost everyone she cared about by being a selfish and conniving bitch, Clara's secret life in New York before Chicago had been revealed to the world, and Vera confronted Gloria's former fiancee. The second book begins with a bang, literally, and continues with drama and danger with only a few whimpers of pain from the writing.
The second book in the Flappers series, although good, lacked staying power. As entertaining as the novel was the male characters were increasingly weak and the bouncing from one female character to another in each chapter ended up being disruptive. By changing characters every chapter, which in some cases works, the quick pace near the end caused an unsatisfied feeling when the chapter with one character abruptly ended without any conclusion. The female characters are well developed and the reader can see how they grow into stronger more modern-minded people (in most cases). The overall plot was fantastic and I would recommend the series so far, but be forewarned that the author jumps characters every chapter, which can be jarring.
Clara, Gloria, and Lorraine are all in New York along with Jerome (Gloria's taboo black lover), Marcus (Clara's straight-laced beau), and Jerome's sister Vera. When the first book ended Gloria and Jerome had run away from Chicago after killing a gangster in self defense, Lorraine had lost everyone she cared about by being a selfish and conniving bitch, Clara's secret life in New York before Chicago had been revealed to the world, and Vera confronted Gloria's former fiancee. The second book begins with a bang, literally, and continues with drama and danger with only a few whimpers of pain from the writing.
The second book in the Flappers series, although good, lacked staying power. As entertaining as the novel was the male characters were increasingly weak and the bouncing from one female character to another in each chapter ended up being disruptive. By changing characters every chapter, which in some cases works, the quick pace near the end caused an unsatisfied feeling when the chapter with one character abruptly ended without any conclusion. The female characters are well developed and the reader can see how they grow into stronger more modern-minded people (in most cases). The overall plot was fantastic and I would recommend the series so far, but be forewarned that the author jumps characters every chapter, which can be jarring.
March 10, 2012
Read: The Dashwood Sisters' Secrets of Love
The Dashwood Sisters' Secrets of Love by Rosie Rushton
I loved reading this book. The story is a fabulous modern retelling of Sense and Sensibility and there really isn't much more I need to say about it other than read the novel and enjoy the modified genius of Jane Austen.
I loved reading this book. The story is a fabulous modern retelling of Sense and Sensibility and there really isn't much more I need to say about it other than read the novel and enjoy the modified genius of Jane Austen.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)