Why Am I EXCITED about a 2 star review of my book, The Swallow?

The Swallow just got a 2 out of 5 stars by an ARC reader I sent it to back in March 2016. Why am I sharing it and excited? Because even though she only thought it was okay, I felt it was an honest review of my book, and it is exactly what I wanted. I wanted to write a very realistic book even and make it believable. See for yourself...

 

 

GOODREADS REVIEW:

Iesha (In east shade house at...) rated it it was ok

Shelves: romance-stories, psychology

After reading The Swallow, an advanced copy given to me, I can say that this was an ok story. It took me awhile to read it because in my opinion it was a bit to realistic for my taste. Nevertheless, I did like reading about Kathryn`s story. There were a few moments where I was wondering if the author thought of taking another angle then the one she took. I love the emotional experience that is written in The Swallow. I didn't like the she loss her memory, but I loved how aware to brain injuries is used here. I would recommend The Swallow to those looking for realistic stories.

 

Years ago, I learned to take constructive criticism, and it has served me well.  I love it when a reader connects with the book I wrote and adores every part of it.  But I am grateful for the reader that didn't like it or thought it was okay and shared why.  That helps me improve as a writer and also opens my eyes to what I really like in the books I read and write.

How are you at criticism? 

Review: Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist

Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

So I have been hesitant about writing a review of this book. On many levels, I liked the book. The characters and storyline were interesting, and it was easy to continue because I listened to the audiobook version rather than read it.

My problems with the book were the Nick character waxing poetic about everything and being morose and sappy. The narrator for his part really amped up the whininess of his voice, but then there were times that he sounded normal and I liked the character.

The whole punk band scene was very different, and I couldn't relate to them. The teenagers out all night on this crazy experience together was so cliche, but it worked at times. I just thought the book was trying too hard to be cool and it's characters were too.

It had elements that I really liked, but on the whole, it was just okay. I wouldn't pick up another one of their books, and I definitely won't see the movie.

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Review: The Offering

The Offering by Jessika Fleck
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Love the characters. The inner conflict about her love for Nico and the struggle with her place in their society and the forbidden nature of the friendship. Then the introduction of Dorian and The Night. The Offering and depiction of the brutality and merciless nature of the society were thrilling and heartwrenching. I can't wait to read book two. I loved it, and I want to know what happens next. I didn't want it to end!!!

For readers that love Fantasy, this is a great YA Fantasy book, for those that aren't big fantasy fans (like me) it is such a great story and gripped me from the beginning. Similar Stories: It isn't exactly like Shatter Me series, but it definitely had moments when it reminded me of it. Exceptional!

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Review: Forever

Forever by Judy Blume
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is my first book by Judy Blume that I've read that wasn't one of the Super Fudge books from my childhood. This was a sweet and honest story about young love. I found it very eye opening about how open the teenagers were with their parents. This was written at the time of my birth, and I found it very interesting to understand the 1970s and their ideas about sexuality and drugs. I liked it a lot for a young adult book. I wish I had read this when I was a young girl.

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Review: Sunrise Kisses

Sunrise Kisses by Krista Lakes
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I bought "Yours Completely" when it was free, and after reading it and liking it (3 stars), I kept reading for Sunset Kisses.

First off, the prologue was confusing, and I don't believe added to the story at all. I think it was the blurb from the Amazon page stuck in front of the first chapter, so it was very confusing.

Once I started reading it, I was interested to read more. I read it quickly, and there were parts that I liked and the premise was good, but if Ava mentioned that he was a billionaire one more time I think I'll vomit. Seriously, get over it. Stop obsessing. It didn't add to the characters insecurities. Ava whole I'm not good enough for him was sickening. I understand that she was just cheated on, but Ava had some serious flaws. She was so insipid with no friends, no life, and no self-esteem. It was all wrapped up in the ex-boyfriend. The whole "you're a billionaire" was used as a teasing element in the book for her, but it was awful, and I didn't like her much. I cannot relate to someone that thinks they are pond-scum because they don't have a billion dollar net worth. It's one thing to feel awkward in fancy or formal settings; I completely get that. I live in yoga pants. But she needed counseling more than a new boyfriend. But instead like so many other typical romance novels, she has a small conversation with her dad and miraculously he knows everything just by the look on her face and that she's depressed that she was in love with Bastian (which is a hilarious name, because I kept wanted to say "bastard" in my head). This book could have been so much better. And the whole darkness and not going into his study was not really addresses except for possibly her seeing his body. So ridiculous. Anyway, I get tired of the same old plot line of romance novels and wish for something more. There are plenty of authors that do it well, and I will read them instead. Even though I did like Your Truly, I didn't love it, and I can't forsee me reading anything else of hers.

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Book Review Requests

So I read a lot, and since I post so many reviews, I have started to get requests to my email.  The problem is that I have over a hundred emails a day to sift through and many times I don't have time to read them, so I thought I'd create a better way for writers to submit their books for my review.

Here is a graphic of the page.  I hope it helps because I want to read the books, but the system I have currently isn't working.

Insatiable Reader

Review: The Woodlands

The Woodlands by Lauren Nicolle Taylor
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Very good book. I was hooked immediately. I don't like Rosa because she is angry and immature so often and hurtful to nearly everyone, but the story is so compelling and grips you that I suffered through her bad attitude. She does grow a little, and I hope she gets better as the series progresses. I really liked Joseph and other side characters, but the relationships that Rosa forms with them is so threadbare because she is so caustic and angry all the time. I'm not sure her anger seems entirely justified. But otherwise, I really enjoyed the book and can't wait to read the next one.

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Review: The Wall

The Wall by Lauren Nicolle Taylor
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I had a hard time with Rosa in this book but I grew to like her more, and her struggles with Joseph and the baby were heartbreaking. The part that aggravated me the most was her defiance to learn any combat or self-defense skills, I thought it was selfish and put her and the others at risk. Her so-called philosophy of not harming anyone wasn't clear from the beginning, and it just seemed juvenile. And her anger at various characters, actually almost all the characters, was too much at times. She just was always angry. But the story and the other characters were very good. She's growing on me, but on the whole, she is my most disliked protagonist for a book series that I actually do like.

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Review: The Wounded

The Wounded by Lauren Nicolle Taylor
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I felt like Rosa grew in this book more. I liked her character in this one and enjoyed her relationship with the side characters as well as Joseph. Her bond with Orry grows and it showed her maturity. At times the writing and pronouns made me have to go back and re-read to understand the passage and this happened throughout all of her books that I read. The story is very interesting and fast moving.

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Review: The Wanted

The Wanted by Lauren Nicolle Taylor
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I connected with this book the most because of the inclusion of Joseph's POV. I grew to like Rosa so much more in this book and also in the previous Wounded book. But this one made me cry buckets. In The Wounded, the tragic events that happened didn't evoke as much response from me because it was from Rosa's POV and this book's event was through Joseph's eyes which I connect more. It was a great finale to this very good series. I spent all night reading it. I couldn't put it down, and Lauren Nicolle Taylor's writing got better and better as the series progressed.

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Review: The Man in the High Castle

The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

If you want a book that goes in and out of people's thoughts with very little movement or forward progression, then read this and be content. Otherwise, if you want intrigue, suspense, mind-bending plot lines, then go and watch the Amazon Prime TV show The Man in High Castle. I read this after watching the series and was very unimpressed. The show takes the characters that Phillip Dick named and toyed with and made them real and complex. The Japanese style of thought and speech is throughout the book and makes it confusing and erratic. I do not recommend this book at all. Even though it is short novel it took me longer to read because of the writing style. I do highly recommend watching the TV show on Amazon Prime, it is awesome!

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Review: Forever Checking

Forever Checking by Jennifer Jamelli
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

One Two Three and she did it; I love this series! I love this final book. The music was exceptional again. The character growth and development of the relationship with Callie and Aiden was satisfying. I am so glad to have found this series and experience even through Callie a small bit of what life is like for someone with OCD. It was eye opening, frustrating, and interesting at the same time. I was with her through the heartbreak and success she experienced. It was a great conclusion and I reread the whole series and this book, because I just loved catching all the little things I may have missed the first time in their relationship. Great story and great writing!

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Review: Checked Again

Checked Again by Jennifer Jamelli
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Again, she did it again. I love this book. I love Callie, and although Dr. Aiden Blake doesn't show up for a while, I still loved it. Jennifer Jamelli does a fabulous job of building anticipation and tension and passion between her characters. And if I forget to say in the first book, it is funny. She is so funny at times, and I enjoyed this book as it leads me through Callie's journey. Now don't expect that her journey in the 2nd book is going to get better as far as OCD or much of anything. She's in the trenches for sure, but she does have success and rekindling of some love interest that we all want even if the Dr/Patient thing is a no-no in real life, who cares it's fiction.

The dialog, writing, characters are very relatable and authentic. Enjoyed this book immediately after finishing the first and then rushed to buy the 3rd book and find out what else would be happening with Callie. For those that hated the ending to the last book, will like this one much more.

Oh and I forgot to mention how much I loved the music and I found some songs that I never knew and now love and some that I already loved. My only irritation was that Callie would freeze up and not say a thing for a long time, so there were many pages where she didn't talk but he only spoke, and we just heard her internal dialog. I understand the reasons, but I wanted her to be able to voice her thoughts to him more.

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Review: Checked

Checked by Jennifer Jamelli
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I got this book for free back in October, and I'm trying to make my way through the books I've downloaded for free and give new authors a chance to surprise me. Boy, did Jennifer Jamelli surprise me.

The main character has OCD. Not just "oh, I'm OCD about my kitchen gadgets." Serious, clinic OCD. So to be in her head and go on the journey of her daily routines and interactions was fascinating to me and I was never bored no matter how many times she had to count one two three onetwothree to open an email or text that I wanted to know about. She was endearing, and I love Callie.

Then there is Dr. Aiden Blake, I loved the writing and his character and his slow slipping past the proper boundaries of a doctor/patient relationship (which I know is bad in real life, but this is fiction!!), and I loved every text, email, everything about him and their relationship.

Jennifer Jamelli had me hooked, and I stayed up hours to read this unexpectedly great book. I don't normally pay for books but check them out from the library unless I love it and I have to read it right away. Well, Jennifer got my money immediately. I read this Checked series back to back. And then went back and read the interactions with Aiden and Callie.

The side characters and story line was great, and I enjoyed every minute of it. Catch my next review of the 2nd book Checked Again. I will tell you that the ending is NOT a cliffhanger but things are definitely not resolved and you are left wanting to read the 2nd book immediately. Which I did!

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Review: All I Want is You

All I Want is You by E.L. Todd
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I enjoyed the book and read it through the night. I held my interest to find out what would happen between Cayson and Skye. Skye irritated me at times with her previous boyfriend that was a jerk. Then when Cayson couldn't understand why Skye was acting the way she was at the end, it seemed he could have guessed at the reason.

The reason I gave it three stars and not more was due to the over-emphasis on the main character's parent's sex life and their marriage. The author used large sections of dialog and internal thought to devote to giving advice about marriage and relationships. The parental model for marriage and love was drilled in over and over, and then the inappropriate TMI comments by the parent were not funny but rather obnoxious. I got the impression that the characters no matter how wealthy and famous they were couldn't escape their trashy ways.

The friendship and sibling relationships were weird and the threats to tell on one another to the parents, which always caused fear because of the controlling and overbearing nature of the fathers, was weird and took away from the story. The characters didn't seem realistic at times, and the dialog seemed to pull from a self-help book.

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Review: Desperate Measures

Desperate Measures by Elle Casey
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was a good book. I liked the characters, and I understand their instant bond because they didn't have anyone else and it was a great connection between them. I liked the romance between Ammie and Joe and the others, but it was expected. What I didn't like is the last chapter or two fast forwarded all of the romance between the love interests to very committed and serious. This was unrealistic and rushed. Even between Joe and Ammie, they've been on maybe two dates, and they're in love and whatever, I won't spoil it. I just think that it was as if the author needed to wrap the book up in a chapter. So it was tied in a nice bow by the end. Which was startling considering what happened between Ammie and her soon to be ex-husband at the end. This wasn't mentioned again or anything. It left a bad taste in my mouth at the end, because I thought the book started out strong and had some cute and funny moments but it wasn't seen through to it's natural conclusion. I didn't realize I've read one of Ms. Casey's books before and I don't remember loving that book either, so not sure if I'll try her again.

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Review: Royal

Royal by Winter Renshaw
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was a good book. The characters were interesting and complex. It held my interest, and I finished it in hours. The sex was hot. I thought that Remi was a strong character and she didn't do much to annoy me. My only real reason I didn't love it, was the sleazy Pandora and Royale was somewhat trashy. I totally get that he had a great heart and was a sweet guy. I just never felt a connection to Remi when she was getting turned on by the metallic and greasy smell. I felt like maybe he didn't shower after he got off of work, which YUCK! So it is so much more about my preference for the love interest. I got why he had that job and respected him for his hard work, but that is pretty sleazy what he evidently did with Pandora. So it isn't that he worked at an auto repair, but that it seemed that he didn't shower and clean up when he got off. I don't like dirt. LOL.

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Review: Ms. Communications

Ms. Communications by Myra Kendrix
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have never read Ms. Kendrix before, and I can't wait to read more of her books. It was the perfect mix of funny, and adorable characters and the romance that ensues. I really liked the main character and the love interest. I thought that the story maintained my attention so that I finished it in a just a few hours and didn't want to put it down. At first, the company's vision and purpose for green energy and consumption was I thought goofy and hoped it wouldn't be the main focus of the book and it wasn't. I have read some okay books lately by new authors, and this was such a breath of fresh air. The subplot kept the story interesting without being distracting; the character grew, and there was a satisfying ending. The only drawback was not having more of those lunches between the main character and the love interest, to see their relationship become romantic unfolding more on the page. I did love the epilogue from Jake's POV and would have loved more of it! So if you are looking for a fun, easy and thoroughly delightful romantic chic-lit, then please pick this one up!

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Review: Fight Club

Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The movie Fight Club is one of my favorites. I do not like all the blood and stuff, and it was painful to watch at times but the story, the characters, the plot twist was mind blowing! So when I found out that this awesome movie was originally a book, I had to read it. I finished it very quickly and loved reading the beautiful and complex lines that I loved from the movie! Even though I knew what to expect it was still a thrilling ride and the book has so much more delicious subplots that were so awesome! If you love this movie, then I highly encourage you to read this thought provoking, gripping and gritty novel that shook up our thinking in the late nineties and is still so relevant today!

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Review: Diary of an Engaged Wedding Planner

Diary of an Engaged Wedding Planner by Violet Howe
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved this couple, and the craziness of wedding planning kept the story interesting and moving. The relationship that Tyler has with her mother was frustrating at times, but I felt like Patty was authentic and it didn't get old; Tyler stood up for herself, but it didn't matter because her mother railroaded her, the mother's manipulation and victimization of Tyler was very effective. This was a very sweet and funny ending to a great story! Enjoyed it so much!

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