Review: Lex and Lu

Lex and Lu by J. Santiago

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Complete heart-throb, utterly bittersweet, undeniably real!!

The beautiful cover caught me at first sight. the synopsis was soul-catching, literally got me hooked to proceed on to reading the book. This was a beautiful story of two childhood sweethearts who've went through so much so young and having to once again come together to be able to see it all through.

In the very beginning, I felt really confused. It was obvious that I was left out of knowing what was going on. It was totally mind-boggling. The main female character, Lu, was the one with the secret, that every one else knew about. And when mentioning the male character, Lex, it was absolutely clear that he took some part in what happened, but obtuse about the secret. I was put into his shoes. Completely ignorant of what everyone was hiding, but completely aware of being left out.

I was able to relate and understand Lex; his behavior, and thought-process. I was also able to understand Lu and her struggle with letting the truth out as well as feeling deserving of whatever Lex lashed out on her. They were complete opposites. He was a famous soccer player, she was admirably intellectual and just about to graduate with a PhD while still in her early twenties. All of the characters were their own person and struggling with their own part in this family dilemma, even after so many sentences adding up how much they took off their parents.

I felt equally happy and sad, giddy and annoyed, chipper and irritated, angry and gobsmacked at all the things that occurred.

The secrets.
The sex.
The lies.
The love.
The hate.
The regret.
The grief.

It all turned for the better I can assure that, but it does take time for Lex and Lu to gain equilibrium with everything turning on its axis.

This bittersweet love story was marvelously written. Every single page spoke volumes. Many times were fun, hilarious, melancholic, shocking, and beautiful.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading this wonderful story, and really appreciate the author's hard work.


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Review: Rushed

Rushed by Gina Robinson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Loved it. Loved it. LOVED IT!.

College: Sororities. Frats.
Things will get wild. Totally crazy. But fun...

There was never a dull moment. I literally felt as if I were living the life of a sorority girl and having so much fun and making friends, and more than likely frienemies (ugh), but it is part of the college experience. I, myself, am a college student. I was able to really enjoy the events that occurred and I was more often then not, like-minded with the characters. It was so easy to sympathize with them, and feel as strongly for what they were going through. The fun was so thrilling and the parties were detailed perfectly. It made me wonder why I was reading late at night on a Saturday about going to a party on a Saturday night.

And then I remembered that I love books.

Finally. First off, the main characters are Zach and Alexis. They practically fall for each other the second they gaze up at one another. The fact that they live in the same Sorority house doesn't help much. They just can't stay away from each other. They keep getting drawn together closer and closer. He is the house boy, she is the third-generation legacy...and their are rules in the house. Houseboys are inferior. Not up to standard, and if they are caught sleeping with a girl from the house, the consequences are far from lenient and way past harsh.

The story was set at an easy pace, not too slow or at all rushed (pun intended). Just right. Loved the puppy scene. Very slick and hilarious. I wish there was more to read about the relationship between Zach and his parents, as well as Alexis and her parents, especially her mother. I also wanted to know the depths of Alexis' punishment and what happened to Morgan.

The events that played out were fantastic, not the actual happening of what occurred, but how well they complimented the whole story in general and flowed smoothly. Every detail was on point, I cannot stress that enough. Beautifully written. No big mistakes as far as I could see (even without my glasses). Just a typo here and there, not that much that stood to out me to where I had a problem reading.

Overall, this was just great work. I loved the story and absolutely look forward to the next book coming in the Fall.

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Review: Cop Town

Cop Town by Karin Slaughter

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

WOW. Just wow...that was freakin' AWESOME!!!!!!!!

This book had it all, it was just great! It's the 70s baby!.

Lying.
Cheating.
Drinking.
Fighting.
Smoking.
Swearing.
Killing.
Discrimination to the fullest.
Jokes.

In the smack dab center of Atlanta, Georgia. The Atlanta Police Department.

This whole story is basically about civil rights for certain individuals. Blacks, whites, foreigners, homosexuals, women.

The prologue kicks off with some action aftermath. A cop, James 'Jimmy' Lawson is carrying his practically dead partner down many blocks to the hospital.
Next is when it switches to Jimmy sister, Margot 'Maggie' Lawson, who is also on the force. It's the morning after Jimmy bad night. She wakes up wanting an update on her brother. She hears what her Uncle Terry, who is also on the force, says about what happened. She then goes on her own to figure things out. Things don't add up. She questions her brother and still doesn't get anything to make sense.

Along comes newbie, Kaitlin 'Kate' Murphy. Widower, and glamorous rich. What the heck is she doing showing up at the station? Straight from the Academy, Kate shows up, a bit hesitantly, to work. The whole force is tasked to be doing whatever they can to catch this cop killer. A few things they have to go by are fact, but the rest is questionable, and Maggie isn't the only one not believing the load of crap they're being fed. With the help of a mentor, Gail, and a push and shove, Maggie starts to investigate on her own. She ends up partnering up with Kate along the way and together, they move on forward.

These characters all had flaws, all had something about them I didn't like or absolutely hated. But they each played a part in this story. It was very well thought out and organized. I can't think of a better way. I had a strong sense of disgust for the antagonist, utterly revolted and gobsmacked by their way of thinking, their beliefs, and for the most part, their actions. it was extremely creative and completely realistic. As well as too surreal at times for the rawness of the details and how I would imagine how things were. Truly vivid.
The protagonist would get on my nerves a lot. However, they were extremely entertaining. The jokes and sarcasm were hysterical, as we're the fore play and flirting, but I was a bit okay with the way things played out.

The details really got me, I was literally cringing when something relatively gross or shell-shocking happened.

The plot and storyline: INSIGHTFUL. UNNERVING. MIND-BOGGLING. EYE-OPENING, even the characters, although some more than most were effected with things going on. Many changes. A whole lot of new things. That is what the whole situation revolved around. Some embraced it, others fought against it...and things usually don't end well once that tug-of-war starts.

Overall, this was an amazing crime novel, the first I've read. Such a great way to start. Looking forward to more books by Slaughter.

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Review: Make You Mine (The Dumont Bachelors #1)

Make You Mine by Macy Beckett

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was just so nice and sweet, reading this really gave me a major sweet tooth.

I read this book because I really took a liking to the location setting of this story. Having been to Louisiana before, just reading this gave me a whole different insight, but with a better advantage.

I had some laughs, mentally strangled some characters, mainly Marc, but and at one point Allie as well. I also gave my sympathy whenever Allie had trouble getting through Marc's self condemnation, but also for Marc when Allie could not see that he was honesty trying, and when he finds out the solution and goes for it. I was never put off with all the delicious treats that were mentioned a time or two... Oh! The edible ones too.

I found the family curse complex quite interesting. Especially with the fact that most characters out right denied that they believed in such things, but when thinking to themselves they would also consider the possibility of the curse being real, and it being the cause of the many eventful things that happened. Kudos to Marc's brother, Beau, and Allie's sister, Devyn, for helping them and dropping hints and missing puzzle pieces that made me squirm in my seat for figuring it out before the main character and not being able to tell them straight out.

Hence, the strangling.

In the end, I was able to understand both main characters, Marc and Allie. Where they came from with their reasons why for doing what they did and believed in. It made it more realistic, insecurities and all.
Some parts a bit corny though.

Overall, this was a very cute, funny, and again sweet story that was pretty quick to read and enjoyable. I look forward to read about Marc's brother and Allie's sister in the next book of this series.

3.5 Frogs (Sensual)

This is originally posted on The Book Vixen as a guest review.

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Review: Shattered

Shattered by Elizabeth Lee

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I first loved the cover the second I saw it. That caused me to read the sample. Before I knew it, the sample ended, leaving me wanting more. I bought it without a second thought. This book has alot of errors, but I overlooked them. Smart enough to understand the storyline and comprehension of the sentences. Thus, explaining why only 4 stars, however, still pretty lenient considering the type of errors noticed in the book. As if this story didn't go through revising & editing. But great storyline, nontheless. Recommend to those who can turn a blind eye to multiple, and vivid errors.

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Review: Measured Doses (Their Circumstances #5)

Measured Doses by T.T. Kove

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Loved this book! So much emotion adding to the mystery, suspense, thriller, romance that is all in this one story. Totally awesome!.

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Review: Silver Is for Secrets (Blue is for Nightmares #3)

Silver Is for Secrets by Laurie Faria Stolarz

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

No!!!! So creative. Saw it coming. Great twists. Loved the plot. No!!!! *sniffles*

I spoiled it for myself a bit. I knew the outcome. I just didn't know how it was going to happen, so I was still safe. Still came as a shock to me. I feel for Stacy big time. Not once did I ever think of the possibility that things could have happened the way they did. It was obvious things were fishy. Jacob's distant self, keeping secrets from Stacy. Drea and Chad having a rough patch. Courtesy of Carla from 'Connecticut'. Or is she really who she say she is... *chills*

Drea really made me sympathize with her, and I found myself more often cheering for her and agreeing with her and Amber on their impression of Clara. I still wanted to punch Chad in the face. This time I just found PJ annoying and mostly wanted him to shutup and get straight to the point. Amber seemed superficial at times, epecially when mentioning some frat boys. I liked how Drea and Amber still supported Stacy throughout everything and didn't just ditch her when they were on vacation.

Loved the backdrop of Carla and the reasons as to why she was doing what she was doing. The connections made sense in the end, although too late. Stacy even found out near the very end when she fell asleep. I think its ironic how she finally told him how she really felt about him. Right before everything went down.

The informative sections in the end of Stacy's recorded conversation were really insightful. I was able to feel her hatred for Carla, numbness about Jacob, and the ever present sadness that things were connected with the past. Donovan. The past never really stays in the past. Back in Book Two, her mother reminded her that her grandmother used to say that. This felt really....prominent, or precedent for lack of a better word.

Overall, this story was well written, appreciate the author's hardwork, and glad snippets of Jacob's journal were included in the end. Better late than never.

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