Saturday, April 13, 2013

Walking Disaster by Jamie McGuire...

Series: Beautiful (Book #2)
Published: April 2nd 2013 by Atria Books
Pages: 433
Date Finished: April 14th, 2013
Rating: 5 stars
Age Recommendation: 16+ (Due mature content)

Synopsis:

Finally, the highly anticipated follow-up to the New York Times bestseller Beautiful Disaster. Can you love someone too much?
Travis Maddox learned two things from his mother before she died: Love hard. Fight harder.

In Walking Disaster, the life of Travis is full of fast women, underground gambling, and violence. But just when he thinks he is invincible, Abby Abernathy brings him to his knees.

Every story has two sides. In Beautiful Disaster, Abby had her say. Now it’s time to see the story through Travis’s eyes.


Review:

This would have to be the best book that I have had the pleasure of reading this year so far, it was a completely perfect book for me.

The plot. When I first heard that this book was going to be from Travis's POV my expectations for this book went through the roof, I loved his character in "Beautiful Disaster" and I couldn't wait to finally be able to get inside his head and to finally see the emotion that I saw in "Beautiful Disaster" being played out within his head. I loved having the story of "Beautiful Disaster" played out from Travis's POV and being able to see parts of the story that we didn't get to see in "Beautiful Disaster" because Abby wasn't around as well as seeing a lot more into Travis's home life which gave me a much better insight into why Travis is the way he is. But one of the best parts for me would have to have been the epilogue, I loved seeing into Abby and Travis's future, seeing that they had both made something of themselves and were both very happy in the life that they had made together and I thought that it was a perfect ending to the book.

The characters. I loved all of the characters in the book and also being able to see them in the way that Travis thought of them, I thought that it was very interesting seeing the difference in what both Abby and Travis thought of the same character.
Travis. I couldn't find a fault with his character in this book, sure he made some mistakes but for me since it was being told from his POV he MADE the book for me. I loved seeing how much of an emotional character he was and seeing the vulnerability that I didn't get to see in "Beautiful Disaster" I also loved seeing the back story into Abby's nickname at the start of the book though I also found that to be quite heart-breaking also and how that event helped shape him into the man he was when he was with Abby. I loved seeing his transformation throughout the book up close and from his POV when he started having a relationship with Abby and how she changed him for the better. This book really just made me love his character even more than I already did after reading "Beautiful Disaster".
Abby. I also really enjoyed her character in this book and seeing her through Travis's eyes. I loved seeing just how entertaining Abby was to Travis and how she ended up changing him for the better. I thought that she was a great match for Travis and really helped him to become the person that I saw in reading the epilogue.
America and Sheply. I love them both even more after reading both of the books in the series because I now know them both equally as well. I loved seeing how their relationship played out in situations that I didn't get to see in "Beautiful Disaster" and this book made me love Sheply's character even more, I thought that he was funny, witty and a great person.

Overall this a book that I thoroughly enjoyed and one that I will be reading over again alongside "Beautiful Disaster" very soon this was an amazing second book in an amazing series and is one that I would recommend to anyone.

Covet by J.R. Ward...

Series: Fallen Angels (Book #1)
Published: October 29th 2009 by Signet
Pages: 474
Date Finished: April 12th, 2013
Rating: 5 stars
Age Recommendation: 16+ (Due to sexual and other mature content)

Synopsis:

Redemption isn’t a word Jim Heron knows much about—his specialty is revenge, and to him, sin is all relative. But everything changes when he becomes a fallen angel and is charge with saving the souls of seven people from the seven deadly sins. And failure is not an option. Vin DiPietro long ago sold his soul to his business, and he’s good with that — until fate intervenes in the form of a tough- talking, Harley-riding, self-professed savior. But then he meets a woman who will make him question his destiny, his sanity, and his heart—and he has to work with a fallen angel to win her over and redeem his own soul.

Review:


I had very high expectations after reading and loving J.R. Ward's "Black Dagger Brotherhood" series and I was interested what she would do with the concept of fallen angels, well she did not disappoint I thought that this was a great first book, so good in fact I bought the next three in the series when I was about half way through.

The plot. I really did enjoy the plot of this book. I loved how it was set in the same city as the BDB series and also had a small side character in BDB becoming the main love interest as well as bringing in other side characters from the series. I thought that having those familiar characters and the familiar setting feel like the elaborate storyline and world set up was that much of a leap. I thought that the overall feel of the book was a lot like the BDB series also, but in saying that the book also stood on it's own and it had so many differences that I didn't feel that this was a repeat of the series. I loved having the multiple POV in this book also, I thought that it bought a whole different element to the book and really was able to draw me in a lot more because I was able to relate to all of the characters from seeing inside their heads.

The characters. I thought that they were all written flawlessly and they all had their own different personality traits and were all likeable for their own reasons.
Marie-Terese. I really enjoyed her character and seeing how she developed throughout the book into a more trusting person. From the start of the book I liked her, I loved seeing her strength in what she had been through with her family situation and the lengths she had gone to to make sure that her son was safe.
Vin. I also enjoyed Vin's character in this book. I liked seeing the transformation he went through from the start of the book and how he started to feel love for another person when he met Marie-Terese. I liked seeing how their relationship slowly changed him for the better.
Jim. I liked seeing how the situation he was in ultimately changed him into a better person and how he started to let people into his life which he hadn't done for a long time and I also really enjoyed reading everything that happened to him in this book.

Overall I thought that this was a great first book the series. I thought that it was well written, well thought out and just ultimately a great book and I cannot wait to see what is in store for Jim in the rest of the series.

Eden by Jamie McGuire...

Series: Providence (Book #3)
Published: April 3rd 2012 by CreateSpace
Pages: 276
Rating: 4 stars
Age Recommendation: -

Synopsis:

She had seen the unspeakable. She had learned the unknowable. Now, she would fight the invincible. In the third and final installment of the Providence series, Nina Grey will marry the wrong man, carry the child that was never supposed to be born, and fight a war she can't win. Faced with the impossible task of protecting his new wife and unborn child against the throes of Hell, Jared Ryel is allowed no mistakes. Pressured to return the Naissance de Demoniac to Jerusalem, he revisits St. Ann's to learn the answers were in front of him all along. Together, they must survive long enough to let their child save them - and the world.

Review:

I had pretty high expectations after finishing "Requiem" and really liking it, and this book didn't let me down. I thought that it tied up all the loose ends in the series very well and I thought that it was a very well done and very well thought out end to the series.

The plot. I will say right off the bat that this would have to be the book that I liked the least in the series, but that is not to say that it wasn't a great book because I really did enjoy the plot of this book. For the most part I thought that the storyline was very fast paced and entertaining, though, towards the end of the book I did think that it started to drag a bit with all of the fight scenes. But apart from that I thought that the book flowed very well and I thought that the ending came to a natural conclusion and I didn't feel that it was rushed which I have found in countless other series that I have read over the years. I liked seeing more of the strategical side of the work that Jared and his family does and also seeing how Nina started to take control and make some of the decisions and I thought that it was very interesting to see Jared not being fully in control at times because it was something that I was so used to seeing.

The characters. Like all of the other books that I have read from Jamie McGuire the characters were written very well and I loved seeing all of their different personalities and quirks shine through as I was reading them.
Nina. I enjoyed reading Nina's character in this book and how I got to see her take more control of the situation that she found herself in and start being on the offensive when it came to protecting her family rather than it being primarily Jared's job. I thought that Nina took everything tha happened to her in her stride and made the best out of a situation when she could. I really felt for her as she had to watch everything that was happening to the people around her that we're associated with her in one way or another and how she was powerless to do anything. But ultimately I found myself really liking Nina's character at the end of the book, and with reading this series in about three days it was great to be able to see the progression her character has made throughout the series and seeing what she was like at the start of the series and how she changed into the stronger, more determined person that she is now.
Jared. Like in all the other book I found that I couldn't fault Jared's character. He always had Nina's best interests a heart and even though he had to make her do some things that she didn't want to do it was always in the interest of keeping her safe. Something else I loved about his character was even though asunder under a lot of stress in this book he still always found time for Nina and did whatever she needed him to do for her.
Bex. He is a character that I haven't talked about yet , but I really found him entertaining while reading him in this book. I thought that he was so sweet and really looked up to and admired his brother and sister and strived to be like them. I also really loved his great one liners and I found that he was very entertaining to read about.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and I thought that it was a great conclusion to the series. I thought that it tied up all the loose ends and left no question unanswered. As a whole I have really enjoyed this series and it is one that I would definitely recommend.

Requiem by Jamie McGuire...

Series: Providence (Book #2)
Published: June 11th 2011 by Jamie McGuire LLC
Pages: 257
Rating: 4 stars
Age Recommendation: -

Synopsis:

Dreaming of the dead might mean a restless night for anyone, but for Nina Grey it was a warning.

Still healing from her last run-in with Hell, Nina struggles with not only her life as a Brown University student, but also as an intern at Titan Shipping, her father's company. Recurring nightmares about her father's violent death have become a nightly event, but being overwhelmed with guilt from Ryan's unexpected departure to the Armed Forces, and heart ache over Claire being across the ocean to protect him, Nina believes her sleepless nights are the least of her problems—but she's wrong.

Worried about Nina's declining health, Jared must steal back Shax's book for answers. Fighting new enemies, and with the help of new friends, Jared's worst fear comes to fruition. Desperate, he is faced with a choice: Fight Hell alone, or start a war with Heaven.


Review:

I had extremely high expectations going into this book after reading and loving "Providence". I thought that this book was a little slow to start and I will admit that "Providence" was a little bit better but for me this was still a four star book.

The plot. I really enjoyed the plot of this book. Though I didn't think that this book held as much of the mystery as "Providence", but I think that may be due to the fact that we had already found out the major secret of the series. I thought that the pacing of the book was great and I loved how I got to see some more of how Jared did his work and all of the twists, turns and unexpected things that happened within the book. I found this book to be a quick, fun and entertaining read and one that had me turning the pages up into the early hours.

The characters. I thought that just like "Providence" all the characters were written extremely well in this book and all their individual personalities shone through. Though I will admit there were a few characters I didn't like.
Nina. I still really enjoyed Nina's character in this book and I thought that she was still very relatable and took everything that was happening to her in the stride. I thought that what happened to her throughout most of the book was a very interesting twist and something that I was not expecting. Another thing I loved was just seeing how happy Jared made her in this book and seeing how their relationship progressed, though I thought that the ending was a little predictable I was still very happy for them.
Jared. I loved Jared in this book! He would have to be the only character within the book that I couldn't find a fault with. I loved seeing the lengths he would go to when it came to protecting Nina and how he genuinely felt like the luckiest guy alive to be with Nina and to have her in his life.
Ryan. He would have to be the one character that I did have a problem with. I can't pin-point one specific thing that I didn't like about his character in this book but whenever he would come up I would get the same annoyed feeling. I thought that in this book he seemed very needy and he was a complete contrast to the guy I had gotten to know in "Providence".

Overall I thought that this was a very quick, enjoyable read and I very good edition to the series. Though I will admit I did find "Providence" to be a little bit better this is still a book that I would recommend and I cannot wait to see what happens in the last instalment of the series.