Review | "Ashwin" By Kit Rocha

Disclaimer: I was sent a digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Ashwin Malhotra was "bred" for one purpose only, to be the best, most loyal, most efficient soldier he could be. As a result, he is feared by all, as only a dog trained to kill by birth, can be feared. As a Makhai soldier, emotion should have been tortured out of him long ago. And it is... or so he tells himself. The one true exception to that rule is the most forbidden of them all.... Dr. Kora Bellamy.

Kora is everything a Makhai soldier isn't. Emotional and compassionate to an extreme degree, she is the best at what she does, which is saving other people's lives. Being naturally kind, she sees in Makhai soldiers what other people overlook... emotion may be hidden deep within after someone teaches you to relay it with pain but it doesn't really go away. And especially in Ashwin's case, she needs to believe that the emotions he stirs in her aren't one-sided.

But a relationship between them isn't simple... Ashwin is a man not allowed to love and Kora is a woman many would kill to have. But the worst enemy may not be outsiders but Ashwin's fierce need to protect her, no matter how much protecting her may damage them... 

Here we are, everyone! The "Beyond" spin-off we've all been waiting for. The Gideon's Riders series gives us a different look at the world we've fallen in love with (well, maybe that's not totally right. I don't find myself wistfully wishing I lived in a dystopian universe, but you know what I mean). This time our beloved O'Kanes aren't front and center. While they're still mentioned, and they'll make appearances, the series' main concern is away from sector four.
I was hesitant to read this one. From my past reviews, it's obvious that I started to have some issues with the Beyond series, no matter how much I loved those books, and this series doesn't star many characters I cared much about. But I've definitely been a fan of Kit's work in the past so I was all for giving Ashwin a go. 
It wasn't my favorite of all the Kit Rocha books I've read. Try as I might, I didn't find myself being very invested in the characters. Between the two, I liked Ashwin more, he had more depth, at least in my opinion. His 'modifications' gave his character an edge that I liked well enough, even if he ranks fairly low on my list of this world's male characters (For reference, Bren -Beyond Pain, #3 Beyond series-tops that list). It didn't help much that Kora got on my nerves. To be honest, I don't even know why. She was written to be a likeable character. She was given a backstory...But it happens. Even a favorite author can't get things 100% every time. These characters are supposed to be like real people to us readers, and you can't like everyone that you encounter. This did, unfortunately, have an impact on my enjoyment of the book as a whole, however. It lagged a bit for me, and I found myself wanting to roll my eyes depending on the perspective I was reading.
All that being said, I do have high hopes for the rest of the series, especially the books following characters whose histories are rooted firmly in the sectors. 

Review | "Beyond Surrender" By Kit Rocha

I was sent a digital ARC of this book in exchange for a review.

This has got to be one of the hardest reviews I've had to write in a while. I haven't
has this tough of a time getting myself to give my thoughts on a book since I read
Thirteen by Kelley Armstrong.
Why is this so difficult?- you might be curious about, well, simply put- this is the
final part to a 9 book 3 novella series that I've been so invested in for like five years.
Ever since I won Beyond Shame in a Goodreads giveaway and was completely intimidated
by the concept because it was my first time venturing into books that could typically
would be listed under 'erotica' (I will not be referring to this series as such because,
like I say in all my reviews, while there is a lot of sex, and it's written graphically
this series is about more than that.) Saying goodbye to these characters, at least in
this context, has been extremely difficult, and if it weren't for the impending release
date I would have continued to push off reading it just so it wouldn't have to end
just yet.

Now,I'm quite a ways into this review already, and I still haven't mentioned my thoughts.
Don't worry, they're coming, but first, for those of you who need an extra boost of
excitement for the release, here's a little blurb to get you going.

She’s the heart of O’Kane liquor.

For years, Nessa has been focused on work. She keeps the whiskey—and the money—flowing,
and life is sweet. Sure, she’s tired of being everyone’s baby sister, and she longs
for a man who can stand up to her overprotective O’Kane brothers. But she never
thought she’d meet him in the middle of a war.

He’s the brains of the revolution.

War is all Ryder knows. He was raised with one goal: to ensure the sectors’ successful
rebellion against Eden. His father and his mentor both died for freedom, and nothing
will stop him from securing their legacies with victory. He doesn’t have time for
distractions—especially beautiful, impulsive ones like Nessa.

Opposites don’t just attract, they combust. Together, Nessa and Ryder have a chance
for something more than the lives they’ve always known. But this is war—deadly,
 bloody war—and the only way to happily-ever-after is straight through Eden.

Okay, so onto what I thought.
The short answer: I loved it. It was fast paced and wrapped
up this world that has been falling apart in the best and most believable way possible
for a dystopian book.

The long answer: While did thoroughly enjoy the book, I felt like it suffered the
accelerated relationship curse that has plagued the last few installments. Nessa and
Ryder meet and boom, right away they're a thing. Not much build-up, and they get to
know each other when they're already as close to an item as the couples in these books
ever are at the beginning of the stories. We as readers don't know much about Ryder
when he bursts into the story, and that would work, if the book was only told from
Nessa's perspective, but it's not. Ryder gets a POV too, so us not knowing much about
him doesn't make a lot of sense.
Also, without getting into specifics and spoilers, the medical developments in this world
don't make much sense to me at times, they have all of these high grade ways to patch
people up in a matter of hours, but other things, which are super high tech when they
are working seem like they can just dissipate into nothingness when they're not being
implemented. <spoiler> like the contraceptives. Noelle had been taking them her entire
life in Eden, they were in the water supply, then six months after the war, not only
is there no longer anything in the water, but the effects have also completely worn off?
It can take six months for birth control to lose its entire effect now, let alone in a
future where med gel exists. <end spoiler>

Also, my last complaint, I promise, that cover change! It bothers me so much. Had the other
covers matched it, I would have nothing against the new cover, but it goes against the
aesthetic of the all the other books in the series and that will irk me forever.

What I loved, the perspectives. Every book in the series has had chapters told from
the point of view of someone other than the two main characters, and this one brought
back a lot of old favorites. I just wish that there had been more. Even if they were a
page long, just to be able to say goodbye to those character voices.

And this is a bit of both, this book made me tear up. There I was, at work, in public,
tearing up over the loss of characters I didn't even get a chance to get to know, but
grew attached to anyway- and that, I think, is a great credit to the authors.

I will be purchasing this book to put the physical copy with the others on my shelf as
soon as it is available and will no doubt be rereading the entire series soon. In the meantime,
I will dutifully await the release of the first book in the spin-off series.

To all the fans who have fallen in love with the books as much as I have, O'kane for life.

Review | "Beyond Ruin" by Kit Rocha

Finally, after months of taking time off reviewing, I'm back with a review over Kit Rocha's latest installment to the Beyond series. I was sent an e-arc by the authors a few months ago, but the book fell farther down on my to-read list than intended so I only got around to reviewing it now.
I have to say, however, that I don't have much to write here. I was worried when I first heard that the book would contain a romance between four characters that I would have problems with it- similar to my problems with Beyond Jealousy- and I was right.  Before I go any further, however, here's the book's Goodreads description:

Adrian Maddox fled his royal life—and tragic past—in Sector One, choosing instead to join up with the O’Kanes. For years, he’s lived by one rule: love fast, love hard, and always be willing to walk away. He’s managed to guard his heart, keep it whole and untouched—until now.
They couldn’t be more different—Dylan, the brilliant, burned-out doctor from Eden who drowns his pain with drugs and self-destruction. Scarlet, the sensuous, sexy rocker from Three, a woman unafraid to embrace the world. And Jade, the whore turned spy from Sector Two, who battled addiction and came out stronger than anyone he’s ever met.
Separately, they make Mad long to open his heart, to tumble head-first into a sea of possibilities and wild love. Together, they make him burn, inside and out, with lust and unbearable, unimaginable pleasure.
Then one fateful moment shakes their world to its foundations—and leaves the sectors on the verge of all-out war with Eden. It’s the biggest fight the O’Kanes have ever faced, and Mad and his lovers are at the dead center of it. They could end up with everything they never knew they wanted—or lose it all. Including their lives.

I would like to start out by saying, my problem is not the fact that this book contains a polyamorous  relationship. My problem is that I didn't believe it.
Much like in Beyond jealousy, where for the first three books we were lead to believe that Rachel and Ace would be the main focus, with perhaps Cruz getting his own romance later- thus causing a huge surprise to me when all of a sudden the rivals become lovers with no sort of transitional period, this book didn't have much of a lead up to me. Sure in previous books, things were hinted at, vaguely...but again, if it weren't for the fact that the main characters of this book were revealed ages ago, I would have been under the impression that the romance of this story would have been Mad/Scarlet or Jade/Dylan, not Mad/Dylan/Scarlet/Jade. Sure, Jade and Dylan have a stronger relationship, and Scarlet and Mad are more of a pairing, but it didn't seem like a realistic romance that would actually work. It seemed thrown together in my opinion, and that made the rest of the story less interesting. I didn't care much for the love scenes because it felt like they were written to be hot, but that was really it. If I don't buy the relationship behind it, and the scenes are supposed to be driven by a relationship, then I'll find myself flipping ahead and counting down the pages until the next chapter.
Sadly, I've been noticing a lot of scenes in the recent books after Beyond Pain (and there was even a scene in that book as well) that seem like their there to pander to a fantasy, and I understand that completely, but if that's it, if there's no substance beyond that, nothing leading up to it that would make it make sense, then I'll find myself losing interest.
In the end, this is probably my least favorite of the installments, Beyond Pain is still my favorite and I hope the future books go back to that a little more. I look forward to reading the next book, but I'm not quite as excited for it as I would have been for some of the previous novels.

Review | "Scottish Witches" by Lily Seafield

This week's review is a short one over a relatively difficult to find, Scottish, non-fiction book "Scottish Witches" which I bought on a whim in Edinburgh in February.
I don't have a Goodreads description this time around, so I will just get right into my thoughts.
Right away, I think this is a good book for people who are interested in the witch hunt periods throughout history or people who like lore and legends.  However, this isn't the most elaborate reference. It's a concise introduction that gives the reader enough information to have a better understanding or jump into more research.
The book itself had a few technical problems.
There were a few typos and missing words in sentences. It got repetitive at times and jumped around in ways that didn't stick to the chapter topics.
I enjoyed the book, it was a quick read, and it was fairly inexpensive when I bought it. Is it a must read for the topic it deals with? No, but if you have the chance, I would recommend giving it a try.

Review | "Losing Hope" by Colleen Hoover

If you've been following my blog for a while, you know that in 2014 I read and later (much later as in this case) reviewed "Hopeless", a new adult (though all the characters are in high school) book by Colleen Hoover. I liked that book, it was a very addicting read that I finished in a few days...but there were a few things that I could see bothering people.
Well, as most of you probably know, there is a "sequel"- an alternate POV if you will, and that's "Losing Hope", essentially, it's the same story, told from Holder's perspective.
Before I get into my review, here's the book's Goodreads description:

In the follow-up to Colleen Hoover’s #1 New York Times bestseller Hopeless, the charming and irresistible Dean Holder tells the passionate story that has melted thousands of hearts.
In Hopeless, Sky left no secret unearthed, no feeling unshared, and no memory forgotten, but Holder’s past remained a mystery.
Still haunted by the little girl he let walk away, Holder has spent his entire life searching for her in an attempt to finally rid himself of the crushing guilt he has felt for years. But he could not have anticipated that the moment they reconnect, even greater remorse would overwhelm him…
Sometimes in life, if we wish to move forward, we must first dig deep into our past and make amends. In Losing Hope, bestselling author Colleen Hoover reveals what was going on inside Holder’s head during all those hopeless moments—and whether he can gain the peace he desperately needs. 

The short version of this review:  If you liked "Hopeless" you'll like this book.
Now to get into more details. There were some issues to be had with this story, but less of those problems were with Holder...his intensity was a complaint in the first book, so I knew to expect it- and it was written well enough to not be so annoying I need to mention it again here. That being said...he was more off-putting and ridiculous in general. 
Holder's narration makes the whole story seem even more far fetched.
I think some...most of the background characters (professors, students, etc) were far too insensitive about what happened to Holder's sister and how he must be feeling. 
The Grayson ordeal from the first book seems even more pointless from his perspective. 
Technical critiques are that the story seemed slower from this perspective and some scenes that I really loved from the first book (the flea market shopping spree, for example) which I was looking forward to here weren't even mentioned, let alone played out. The ending also felt quite a bit more rushed and was too neatly put together with Holder's need for closure.
I recommend this book to fans of the first novel, but I do advise you to wait a while between books unless you absolutely loved the story. I waited around a year and still found myself struggling not to speed read because I was re-reading a lot of the less crucial scenes from "Hopeless" all over again. 
While this could technically be read as a stand-alone, I recommend reading the books in their published order because some things might not make complete sense if you're just reading them here.

Review | "All My Life" (First Things #1) By Rucy Ban

This week's review is over another Amazon free download that I recently read while travelling. It has a 3.5 star average on Goodreads, a 2.5 star rating from me, and two companion novels.
Before I go into more details as to my thoughts, though, here is the Goodreads description:

Seventeen-year-old Kari meets Neil Mars. “Neil as in Armstrong and Mars…as in Bruno.” A boy who beats every vampire, werewolf, highlander fantasy Kari has ever had. But she knows she can’t get close to him. Not ever. Because that would mean telling him everything. Coming clean. And Kari can’t bear the idea of changing the way Neil looks at her. Like she’s the only girl in the world. His reverence is something too precious to lose. Perhaps even at the cost of losing him.

But Kari doesn't know why Neil calls her his ‘Angel’ and when she finds out, she realizes what love is all about. Boundless joy, unending longing and a fuckload of heartache.

***
Full length New Adult Contemporary Romance. 

I had a few issues with this book.
That isn't to say it was horrible, but I definitely have a few thing to mention here. 
The writing itself was a little lacking. It read like someone trying too hard to seem like a teenager and the plot contained a lot of faulty reasoning that only served to push the story onward.
Really, this novel could have been wrapped up 20 pages in and it was frustrating to me personally that the characters seemed to lack the common sense to realize that. 
Also, the main character is 17, yet she's being let into clubs and parties that she shouldn't be allowed inside, which threw me off a little (but that's a technicality and could easily be ignored). 
The characters themselves weren't that likable. Kari was annoying, there were major cases of insta-love and insta-friendship (I admit that the latter is very possible, but it wasn't done in a way that seemed organic). 
The storyline all of a sudden goes insane. Twists and and action and plot points that are meant to shock, but once that wears off, just left me confused. 
In the end, I read the book in once sitting. It was a fast read, but I admit I had to skim through some of the more eye-roll worthy parts. 
This is the first book in a series, but it really should have stayed a stand alone, I think- and I don't plan on continuing on with the rest of the books.  

Review | "Love Handles" (Oakland Hills #1) by Gretchen Galway

This week's review is over a romantic comedy, women's literature read that is available for free download from amazon (or was at the time I read it in March of this year).

This book averages around a 3.5 star rating on Goodreads, and my opinion falls just below it at a 3 star rating. Before I get into my thoughts, here's the book's description courtesy of Goodreads:

The world of fitness apparel isn't ready for Beverly Lewis. She hates the gym, is nice to everybody, and shops at Ross Dress for Less. When she's not teaching preschool, she's wearing yoga pants . . . to nap in. So when she inherits her estranged grandfather's fitnesswear company in San Francisco, nobody expects her to keep it. Fite Fitness needs a heartless suit to save it from bankruptcy, not a thirty-year-old woman who cries when her students leave for kindergarten.
Someone like Liam Johnson. A former Olympic swimmer, Liam is Fite's executive vice president. Unlike Bev, he's devoted his life to Fite's success. Managing one little preschool teacher--and his attraction to her--shouldn't be an issue. Right?
But Bev's tired of being underpaid and underrated, and refuses to step aside as an obedient figurehead. To everyone's shock and horror, she moves up to San Francisco, sets up an office, and dives into the business. Nothing--not mockery, not exercise, not sabotage, not a disastrously hot night with her aggravating VP--is going to scare her away.
As Liam realizes she's tougher than she looks, he discovers that losing Fite might not be nearly as bad as losing her . . .
A story about the pursuit of love, happiness, and the perfect yoga pants, Love Handles will speak to anyone who's ever had to face what scares her most. 

As you can probably tell, this book isn't trying to be the next great american novel, like a lot of these books, it's supposed to be a fun read. 
That being said, I noticed some things that bothered me: 
For one, I couldn't understand how the company, the central point of the storyline, the cause of the conflict and resolution etc, could have been still in business to begin with. Everyone is annoying, not just in the first few chapters, but throughout the entire novel. I couldn't stand anyone and no one really seemed to be doing any work. 
I also noticed that there were a shocking amount of "heartless" characters. I know the world is cruel and not everyone is nice, but this was a little extreme. A preschool director said that teachers shouldn't care for their students...I mean, really? And whoever wasn't heartless was far too quirky to be real. Not everyone can be a manic pixie dream girl.
There was a lot of useless dialogue and arguing just for the sake of arguing without any real conflict. In fact, Bev kept defending people she's never met as if she's known them for ages while Liam doesn't act the way he should around someone who holds his career in their hands. 
I didn't buy the tension between the characters as a budding romance, and I can't stand the "guy with deep relationship issues who only dates girls he can't stand so they can just have flings" cliche. And it is, I've read far too many books now that use it as a plot crutch, and I'm sure I'll come across that plot tool again. It doesn't usually make the character endearing, usually whoever it is (guy or girl) come off as a creep.
These grown adults don't communicate....
The love scenes were a little....iffy. 
The whole thing wraps up a little too nicely and in a non-nonsensical sort of way.

In the end, it was free, I had a lot of free time when I read it, and I got the book over with pretty quickly, but I won't continue with the series if I have to purchase the books and I definitely say you can skip it.