Wednesday, August 7, 2019

The Girl Who Loved Ghosts by KC Tansley 4 ✭


Title: 
The Girl Who Loved Ghosts
Author: 
K.C. Tansley
Publisher: 
Beckett Publishing Group
Series: 
The Unbelievables
Genre: 
Young Adult, Time Travel, Supernatural
Publish Date: 
September 16, 2019
Sold by: 
Amazon Digital Services LLC
Pages: 
300
Ages: 
Teen
 Rating: ✭✭✭✭
First I want to thank K.C. Tansley for giving me an advanced reader copy for reviewing purposes. I really appreciate the opportunity to continue reading the series.

Don't let the title fool you into thinking this is the book where Kat finds her love or that it is all hearts and roses. No, this book isn't about that at all. This book is about much more than Kat loving a ghost or anyone for that matter. This book has so much sadness and loneliness in it.

At the start of this book Kat has feelings for Evan but isn't fully aware of how deep they run. Evan is completely oblivious and in denial. Seth is dropping hints to Evan non-stop about it all. Seth's cousin is in town and seems to really like Evan a lot. Evan is slowly pulling away but that only gets worse once they find his ancestral home. Then they have to train separately too. Kat has also been keeping all her training and secrets about the past book activities hidden from her best friend, Morgan because she is afraid of Morgan getting hurt. But in hiding all that she almost loses her best friend because she is betrayed. Toria, Kat's ancestor, and the beloved ghost tells Kat that she will be gone for a while and unreachable. And that is how the book starts out. Kat is losing Evan it seems to some new girl, Morgan is almost done with her, and her favorite ghost and ancestor, Toria who has been helping her tells her goodbye. She feels alone and scared but tries to continue.

Kat and even go back in time two more times this book. They're trying to get the Mallory family amulet. It is the last one that they need to restore the four family's power. They still don't know how the families have connected. How it all started, why the Radcliffe's are their "ruler", why the Kingsley's are always the warrior protector, etc. They do eventually get the Mallory bracelet, but this time it had a cost. This time the cost of a spell Kat had to use almost shattered her mind. Add that on top of all the earlier Kat emotions and we have a girl who really has gone through a lot this book.

The Mallory heir is kind of a shocking reveal. At least to me. Maybe I didn't think on through enough. I don't really know. I think I read these books so fast that it's like I'm along for the ride that the story is offering.

I will say this book ended on a weird cliff hanger. That I didn't like. It just puts a personal interact on the end and it feels out of place. I feel like it should be before the ending big reveal then it would flow better to me. As the book is in its current ARC form, it doesn't feel right. I don't think there is enough emphasis that the book is ending. It feels like it just stops. This in itself could tank the whole feeling of the book if you let it. I chose not to because I feel like this book series has done a lot and come a long way and has plenty more to offer.

Overall, this book brings a lot more to the world and is leading to something special it feels like. They're fighting goblins and other creatures in a forest. There is possibly another family curse that the Mallory heir tells Kat about. There is a lot of side plot reveal with the knowledge of unknown enemies out to destroy the four families. The emotional journey everyone has gone through and is trying to deal with will affect the next book greatly. I think the next book is going to have a lot going on. I hope, and think, the next book in the series will be key. I am looking forward to it for sure. And according to an interview with the author, she envisions there to be five or more books. I'm happy with that. 

I enjoyed reading the third book in the Unbelievables series.
 The Girl Who Loved Ghosts is worth a read and will be


Friday, February 8, 2019

Blood Fury by J. R. Ward 3 ✭


Title: 
Blood Fury
Author: 
J.R. Ward
Publisher: 
Ballantine Books
Series: 
Black Dagger Legacy
Genre: 
Paranormal, Romance, Urban Fantasy
Publish Date: 
January 9, 2018
Sold by: 
Random House LLC
Pages: 
442
Ages: 
18+

Rating: ✭✭✭
I'm sitting here with a cup of tea and not in the meme way that anyone who is under 30 would immediately assume. No, I'm trying to cut back on coffee. I drink too much, but I love the whole flavor that makes coffee what it is. But sometimes you just hit a point and enough is enough. I feel like that is this Black Dagger Legacy for me. I love the world and the characters. I love how easy you can just pick up one of these books and just roll with it. Just enjoy the blend of old characters and new characters. The setting is like the aroma of coffee. It just feels like home. But when you have too much coffee you become jumpy, maybe cranky, and dissatisfied in the end. That is where I am at.

I like the idea of what Ward is doing. Making this series about multiple people and getting some new blood in with old blood. I love the family value themes in each of these books. They're more than just a super dramatic romance story. These are good books. They deserve to be picked up off a shelf and read for sure. I just don't know how I feel about the two couples per book thing going on. I don't think I have read any other books with authors doing that. So that is really cool. I feel like Ruhn and Saxton's story was short and worked good. It brought enough to the table to feel right sharing with another couple. Novo & Peyton had a good story too. I think the story arc that they went through was good. I just wish there was a little more. Maybe more of Peyton's fun side that only came out when things were going well with him and Novo. Just a bit more. 

I want to say that this feels like two novellas that take place at the same time and so they were put together. That isn't a terrible thing. I like it. I just wish there was a little more feeling. A little more depth. Just a little bit more. 

If you would like a Free preview into Blood Fury by J. R. Ward
you can read below without leaving the page. 

Sunday, January 27, 2019

Blood Vow by J.R. Ward 4 ✭

Title: 
Blood Vow
Author: 
J.R. Ward
Publisher: 
Ballantine Books
Series: 
Black Dagger Legacy
Genre: 
Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy
Publish Date: 
December 6, 2016
Sold by: 
Random House LLC
Pages: 
472
Ages: 
18 +
Rating: ✭✭✭✭

The Black Dagger Legacy really is a thing before this spin-off series came up. You still have people who bring up the original characters in forum posts and book clubs. They are characters that you can't forget. They stick with you. Those characters and the intense storylines are why I keep buying Ward's books. It is a Legacy on its own. I feel like this is important to bring up, now that I am two books deep into the spin-off series. I am seeing how Ward is continuing the world while bringing something new. It seems like each book with being half and half. Half some of the new recruits storyline, and half of the old crew storyline. 


I liked Rhage and Mary. I still do. I believe there is a book of theirs that I have not read yet in the OG series. I think it takes place before this book. So I am missing some stuff. I haven't read the OG series from The King and anything after. So this was a perfect way for me to catch up. I got to see how their relationship has changed, and how they have their new little addition. The complications that happen while they are trying to adopt little Bitty is a good family problems story plot. BTW, Bitty is my cats' name... So anyways. The OG brotherhood has all been together for a while, so having these normal problems showing up in their lives and getting to see them is nice. Butch and Marissa, it was the space that happens between married couples sometimes overtime. Rhage and Mary it is the child and adopting crisis.


I am not sure if I like the split between the two groups. They sort of feel split from each other completely. I don't feel the closeness between the new recruits like you feel from the brothers. I mean they're a "brotherhood" and I don't feel that bond between these recruits at all. I don't know if it is because they haven't developed enough story yet, or if its because so much of the writing is focus on something not related to them at all. Maybe if the book was longer. I don't know. I felt the same way with the last book. This is what sticks me in the 3 stars to 4-star feeling. I go for 4 because the writing is good.

Um so to finally get to the two characters this book is suppose to be about... They are good characters. Elise reminds me of Beth I think from OG. Axe is unique. He is a little goofy at times, and completely dark at times.

You should check out a Free Sample read below of Blood Vow. 
You don't even have to leave the page!


Tuesday, January 22, 2019

Blood Kiss by J.R. Ward 4 ✭

Title: 
Blood Kiss
Author: 
J.R. Ward
Publisher: 
Berkley
Series: 
Black Dagger Legacy
Genre: 
Paranormal Romance
Publish Date: 
December 1, 2015
Sold by: 
Penguin Group
Pages: 
428
Ages: 
18 +
Rating: ✭✭✭✭

I just can't quit J. R. Ward. No matter how a book may leave me sometimes wishing I could, I just can't. I always hope for better in the next one. Better character connections, better display of emotions, or better story advancement. Something like that. With Blood Kiss, I am actually looking forward to reading more about the new recruits. Now, I'm not knocked out of the park like I was with Consumed by Ward. But I am interested in continuing. For example, with the main Black Dagger Brotherhood series, I am stuck on The King, and can't finish it. I don't even remember the two books prior to it really either. I have just lost interest in the events of the story, but not the characters. So it's nice reading new "events" with the who recruitment process and still seeing some OG BDB.

I was stuck between a 3 and a 4-star rating for this. I think it has to do with my unpopular opinion, to be honest. Craeg is a good male character for this story. I feel like at the end of the book his character could really have been a little more conflicted. I feel like there could have been a little more emotional build-up to the HAE end there. It wasn't bad. If it was supposed to snap into HAE like it did because of the saving the day moment, then I feel like not the emotions then more internal talking about how it snapped into place. 

Paradise is the Marissa I wanted. Although, we don't want a giant world full of similar type casts for EVERY book in a huge series right. So I respect Marissa for who is she as a person and how she fits into the world. Paradise is just more interesting to me. She is a young woman in the Glymera world who is supposed to be this pretty trophy with a good pedigree. But she wants to push herself to more. It turns out she is blindly capable of the recruit program. She makes it in and is the top of the class and it barely seems like it registers to her. Until later, there is an internal monologue that she intends to be true to the program. I wish there was a little more to read from Paradise and Craeg for sure.

Unpopular Opinion: I have never been a fan of Marissa and Butch. I was just never super into them. I feel like this book made me tolerate them more. And I also appreciate that it was like a character redo. Like Paradise is the new Marissa. Same for Craeg. Half of this book is about Butch and Marissa. So it took to be from near the end of November to read this book, till about the end of January. That is so many months, but again, I just can't quit Ward. I just have never been a fan of them. If it was a book just about them I would have rated it lower. They go through some mundane emotional struggles that are kinda of redeeming to read. A developed relationship with some problems. But I am just not a fan of them. Sorry.

Overall, I feel like this is a decent start for a spin-off from the Black Dagger Brotherhood series. I liked the new characters introduced. I liked the conflict that does happen within the story, and that it isn't just more Lessening Society.

You can check out the beginning of Blood Kiss by J. R. Ward below,
without having to leave the page!