Kiwiria's February Fictions
Follow Me Back - A.V. Geiger, 2/5, 368 pages
Please note that this is a review of the book version only. There is also a version on Wattpad, which has some significant changes. Ironically, I believe I would have rated that one higher, but this is the version provided to me by NetGalley, so so be it.
It will be hard to review it properly without spoilers but I will do my best.
Most of the book was excellent. Well written and captivating - written in the style of a YA Liane Moriarty novel. Sure, it was kinda sweetly tacky in places, and unrealistic in a chick-lit kinda way, but it worked. I stayed up much too late to read it, and despite a few glaring plotholes (most notably the MET storyline which was never tied up... I also have questions about both Blair and the therapist) was ready to give it a solid 4 star rating.
But then came the last 5 pages. I realize they were added for shock value and to get people to read the sequel, but when I read them, I didn't know a sequel was in the works, and thought this was the end - and it basically ruined the book for me. Only the fact that I was reading it on my tablet saved it from being tossed across the room.
At that time I was ready to give the book just 1 star, but a quick look on Goodreads informed me that a sequel is indeed in the works (and spoilers are aplenty on Wattpad) and that all is obviously not how it seems. That mellowed my opinion a fair bit, and made me raise my rating from "I didn't like it" to "it was okay". Still not fond of the cheap trick though.
We Are Okay - Nina LaCour, 2.5/5, 240 pages
I can't quite figure out what I thought of this book. I read it in one sitting, so it certainly had that going for it (even if it is short), but it was awfully depressing at times. I kept reading, because I wanted to know what the trigger was, but when it was finally revealed, I felt that it was far too 'little' to warrant such a major (over-)reaction, which detracted somewhat from my enjoyment of the book, and meant it packed less of a punch than it could have.
There were definitely aspects of it that I enjoyed, and I loved Mabel's parents, but as a whole, I was fairly underwhelmed.
Dawn Study - Maria V. Snyder, 4/5, 478 pages
A nice wrap-up to the Sitia-Ixia chronicles. It had a few weaknesses here and there, and it's obvious that Maria V. Snyder is done with the universe, but I still enjoyed it very much, and liked getting everything wrapped up.
As always with books told from multiple points of view, there will be some that are more interesting than others. That was also the case here, and I definitely preferred the chapters told from Valek or Yelena's POV to any of the others. But fortunately, they were also the ones with the most chapters, so it all worked out ;-)
All in all, I really liked it. It didn't blow me away like some of the others did, but I found it a very satisfying end to the series.
Love for the Cold-Blooded - Alex Gabriel, 3.5/5, 300 pages
I'll be honest - I almost entirely picked up this book based on the delightfully absurdity of the sub-title. "The Part-Time Evil Minion's Guide to Accidentally Dating a Superhero"? What's not to like?! (as an aside - my DH asked me what I was reading, and I gave him the full title. He blinked a couple of times... "I'm not sure how to process that" ;-D )
Fortunately the story itself mostly lived up to my expectations. It toed the line a couple of times in becoming too much of a stereotypical "romance novel" for my taste, but thankfully never crossed the line completely... which meant that I'd occasionally put down the book for a bit in order to brace myself for the next part... and then pick it up again, only to discover the "next part" turned out to be much better handled than I'd feared and there was no cause for preemptive wincing ;)
And there was so much to like with this novel! I liked reading about Pat and Nick's growing relationship (and Pat's realization of why Nick called for him in the first place!), I liked Pat's family, and I loved the idea of super-villains (excuse me - Challengers!) having families and that any children would be required to do minion duty :-D
So all in all, a very enjoyable read with a plot suitably absurd to fit the title :-)
Besides, the ending was just CUTE! I wish I could have been a fly on the wall at the next West family dinner though!
The Obsession - Nora Roberts, 5/5, 464 pages
Nora Roberts writes ridiculously readable books, and this one was no exception. In fact, I think it may be the best book I've read by her so far. I was immediately drawn into the story, and enjoyed following Naomi through childhood, teenagedom to early adulthood. Quite often in books I'll find that one of those is decidedly more interesting than the others, but not so here.
I liked that though Naomi went through some utterly horrible things, this wasn't the kind of book where everybody was an asshole and she had to learn to manage by herself. While they can still be good, such books tend to drain me, because it gets exhausting reading about how one person goes through one horrible thing after another. In this one, Naomi went through some horrible things, to be sure, but she also had people who loved her and looked out for her. That, combined with all the awesome descriptions of the house she bought and restored almost made "The Obsession" feel like a comfort book in parts - despite the awful subject matter.
I'd guessed the twist ahead of time, but that didn't matter as it was still well executed. I loved the uncles, Mason, Xander, Kevin, Jenny, Tag, and pretty much everybody else at Point Bluff. I love reading about communities where people are actually nice to each other. Not angels, but just generally kind human beings.
Fatal Shadows - John Lanyon, 3.5/5, 198 pages
I was actually surprised by how much I liked it, and kept finding excuses to read more. I can't even quite explain why, as the plot itself was fairly straight-forward, but the writing kept me interested, and I was satisfied by the ending, even if I had seen it coming ahead of time. I used to say that I don't like whodunnits, but I think it's probably safer to say that I'm very picky when it comes to that genre. I'm not a fan of Agatha Christie and that ilk, but love crime novels that read like an episode of CSI or similar. This was closer to the latter (despite the main character being a possible victim rather than a cop) and kept me nicely entertained for all 198 pages.
It's a very quick read, and nicely contained, even if it does pave the way for more books in the series.
The Face of Death - Cody McFadyen, 4/5, 475 pages
Almost as good as the first book in the series! I had a few more problems with the ending than I did with the first book, but thought the plot as a whole every bit as tightly written and executed. No odd translation errors in this one either! ;)
What happened to Sarah broke my heart, which is probably why I didn't find the ending satisfying enough, but I hope to hear more about her in the next book - much like we did with Bonnie in this one.
It's a fast ride, and hard to put down. I've already gotten my hands on the next book in the series.
Book of the Month: The Obsession
Biggest disappointment: Follow Me Back