The life and times of this blogger......

It has been a while since I've blogged, though I have still been devouring books. I lost a little motivation after a few authors responded negatively to my review of their novel

I had one insinuate that my negative opinion hurt her sales as a new author.  The other, who I beta read for accused me of "quoting out of context" when I specifically noted the location of the quote. She also blasted me because I complained that the story lacked diversity and was slow. The teenage heroine slept a lot. I know in real life some may love to sleep in or stay up late and then sleep all day, but I don't want to read about your character sleeping for thirteen straight hours, even if you're trying to demonstrate that she's depressed. That is snoring for a reader. And, if you have one minor character, towards the end of your book that is ethnic, then your book is not diverse.

I was most offended about the "context" issue, I know that I can be harsh at times , I write reviews for other readers that love books and for writers who genuinely want the truth and can handle it. I also work hard to make sure that the "errors" and complaints that I have are valid and not just stuff I've pulled out of my generous arse. I usually make specific quotes and note where the problem areas are located. If you do not agree, fine, but I have proved my point with facts and not emotions.

That is not to say that I'm never wrong or right. A review is an opinion about a specific work, I'm not critiquing you personally or giving your talents three stars, so please don't take it that way. Nothing on this site is ever going to be personal, this is about finding good reads and sharing them with like minded people, thats all.

Several times I have found myself not liking a specific book, but then loving the next work by the same author. Its all about fit for me; is it the something that fits my interests.

With that said I have to acknowledge that these novels are the authors babies, their sweat and tears, so I admit that I can be a little harsh; that is something that I will work on and as a  grammatically challenged blogger I will forgive most grammar problems from now on.

However, I will demand diversity of characters and interesting stories. This I promise those that visit my blog!

xoxo M.

Yeah, the cover made me read it. Don't judge me!

This is one of the best covers that I've had the pleasure to imagine touching in real life. The model and character remind me of Christiano Ronaldo, a hottie futballer from Portugal. Hubby watches a lot of futbol, so I have a lot of premier league crushes and thought I would give this book a go!

First, let me give you an example of one of my baseball conversations with my hubby:

C-mac: What's the score?

Me: Five to one, Reds.

C-mac: Inning?

Me: Bottom of the fifth, two outs

C-mac: Who's pitching?

Me: Arroyo.

I know that some of you fell asleep reading that. Others have no idea what any of that means. Now here is a convo about Futbol:

C-mac: What's the score?

Me: One all

C-mac: Who scored?

Me: I have no idea, I was too busy day dreaming about Joe Heart's abs. Who does David Beckham play for now?

C-mac: What? That guy's not that good anymore.

Me: Quite avoiding the question. Fine, whatever. When do they take off their shirts?

C-mac: Seriously?

Me: Yeah. 

C-mac: At the end of the game. About an hour from now.

Me: Oh. Take off YOUR shirt..................

Bow-chica-wowow.

I enjoyed this read. As usual the love scene's were top notch. Well done Ms. Brown! To read this book click the book or here. And if you like what you read please hit the follow button. Thanks!

In case you were wondering:

Joe Hart

David Beckham

Christiano Ronaldo

Add caption

Suck what up more?

Suck it up by Emma Hillman

Love story between Dr. Nathan and his nurse Kellie, its part of a series about a particular pride. Kellie has a lot of problems and really bad luck. Her lion is gay, but she isn't. Nathan is perfect, other than the God problem he has when he mates Kellie without telling her or discussing it with the rest of his pride.

There were a lot of interesting twists and characters, SPOILER ALERT, the antagonist is a woman! Yay! Amnd Hillman buck tradition and creates a un-formulaic storyline and the sex in the book is good. But this is a novella and the price was kind of high for the amount of story you get, so I deducted a star based on that.

Overall,  an ok ready.

I only found one error:
Location 1089 "...they were always so full of themselves, so egomaniac" ---> should have been egotistical or egomaniacal.

Click on the title or image to visit this book on Amazon.com. And if you like what you read please hit the follow button. Thanks!

He's so my type....

He's so shy by Lena Matthews

Gillian and Lennon are co-workers. She mistakes him for being shy and decides to make him her project. He plays along. This is a good dirty book! I love the character, both the hero and heroine are well thought out with their motivations clearly made at the beginning of the story. Gillian likes the 'white guy' but won't admit it, so she takes him out for drinks and finds out that he's not shy at all. I admit my favorite character is her friend, she could by my wing-women any time. The big reveal in this book involves a party at a friends house, No I would NEVER participate in that kind of party. But the freak in me enjoyed reading about it. I also loved that the shero of this book was not afraid to find her love; I'm over women who run away from a good man. i would love to read more from this series.

There were a few errors:

Location 343 "And blind as a bat is she thought he could possible find any.....---> should be "possibly"

Location 1273 "Every since their little office escapade..." --> "Ever since"

The error at location 1373 is too adult to quote, but the wrong word is used, should be "fingering"

My new favorite word and  Favorite line of the book, Location 1226 "a fast convert to the religion of assianity"- Yeah, I will be using this to describe C-mac cause I converted him personally!

If you enjoyed this read click here. And if you like what you read please hit the follow button. Thanks!

The Skin Trade.....

Oh, Oh, Oh so good.

Thank you George RR, this was an amazing read that blew my mind. Excuse me,  I need a few minutes to myself.

Favorite new author!

Dark genesis by A.D. Koboah

This book is awesome! No really, it's so good that I laughed and cried and now I demand another. The characters rich story fully comes alive on the pages, you see and live with Luna, you fall in love with Avery and by the end you want nothing more than to hold him in your arms and keep him safe. The best way I can describe this is, if "Interview with a vampire" was the grandfather of "Vampire Diaries" and that book had a baby with "Wench" than you would get "dark genesis"

This is the story of an oppressed slave, Luna. She is a woman weighed down by the attention of her master and his son. Seeking solace in a burned chapel she pours her soul out over a stolen bible that she can't even read. Avery, tied to the chapel by his guilt hears her plea and decides to do something about it. Here our story begins...

There are some minor issues:

The epilogue is a tad confusing and I almost stopped there; it was a string of contradictions; relatives having good luck; they were millionaires, but dying tragically. Not lucky in my opinion. And, I didn't care for Dallas and her flippant attitude toward being rich and having a second sight. I hate people who complain about being rich. And people who ignore their instincts.

Dialect is a twofold problem:

1. The author is british and many of the words are spelled in the UK manner. I.e. 'realised' rather than 'realized' and meters are used instead of miles.

2. Luna speaks in a dialect. This can get old fast; though, I moved past this annoyance easily some of you may not.

Grammatical issues:

Location 918 "her face a mask of unalderated hated...." Should be 'hatred' or 'hate'

Location 3390 "..had succeeding in bringing it to its place" should be 'succeeded'

Overall:

I want my own Avery and I will be writing this author and demanding that she finish and publish the next installment in this series. C-mac has already got baby blue's, do you think he'll wear a long haired wig and let me call him 'Avery?'

To purchase this book online click here. And if you like what you read please hit the follow button. Thanks!

UPDATE!! Hubby scoffed when I asked him to put on a wig, in fact he was so outraged that I have been relegated to having to be "nice." Foot rubs, scalp massages, and waking up earlier than normal to make him breakfast and coffee. Boo! Toe jam sux.

Magic under glass

Magic under glass by Jaclyn Dolamore

Nimira, a girl from Tasim  who has traveled far from home to try and change her fortune. A "trouser girl" trained in the art of dancing, a novelty that has fallen out of fashion and has her living under harsh conditions until an opportunity from a young sorcerer introduces her to a haunted automotan that throws her into the middle of the fiary war.

Intersting characters with a well thought out story that I became engrossed in almost immediately. I liked that this was a unique story: automotan ( wind up robots), humans erecting a wall between themselves and fairies, but mostly the story of Nimira.

This is a solid read worth the charging price, have at it!

No energy

"Naughty Nooners: peak energy" by Afton Locke 

I liked the idea of a short erotic read and found this Elloras Cave book available free on my Kindle, so I downloaded it and commenced to reading.

Ouch, this is bad. There is no goal in this book. A scientist is looking for a way to harnass sexual energy. The sandwich delivery girl wants to 'do him' so he convinces her to be a guinea pig for his experiment.

The only good thing about this book is that the male lead is very dextarious, otherwise its a confusing bore. Skip it.

Reading.....

I love George R.R. Martin. The way he can string together a few words and paint a picture in my head amazes me. I am a full on fangirl when it comes to reading his fire and ice series; I spout family words, recognize sigils and argue conspiracy theories with fellow fans boys and girls.

Knowing how much I enjoy his writing has led me to his other works and short stories which often combine paranormal and science fiction. His Fevre Dream is a great read with an interesting take on vampirism. His short story, skin walker from Night Visons 5 is supposedly one of the best werewolf tales ever written. So, I being the obsessive fangirl, black girl nerd, or BGN have been on the hunt for this book since I finished the last S.4.F.&I, almost two years ago.

NV5 is not offered on Kindle and I am completely opposed to ever buying an actual book again. One, I really hate dusting and having books on my shelves just makes more work. Two, I like that I can carry my books with me wherever I go in case I need to re-read a passage, or Hulk out on some loser that challenges my knowledge of a particular book. Three, I hate all the necessities that go along with reading a physical book, like light (Kindle HD has a backlight), turning noisy pages (hubby complains that I'm making too much noise) and the inevitable stain that ruins the pages. Yes, I eat and read. Don't JUDGE!

So.......

I finally found the story in a George RR anthology, Dreamsongs II and the library let me borrow it! Yay!! Fist pumps and happy dance!!! "No, I'm not having seizure" Hubby asks me the strangest questions sometimes :)

Sinfully delighted to read this book

Sins of the heart:

I was hooked after the first chapter. Silver weaves a complicated tale involving a God, his sons and the daughters of his enemies. And, Yow-ZA the men are hot!

Dagan meets Roxy and is drawn by her devil may care attitude and piercing green eyes. He saves her from an unfortunate end, then leaves her with only one warning. Years pass and their paths cross again only this time, neither of them is willing to leave with only words between them.

Blown away! Thank goodness it's not about shifters or vampires! The intricately woven story is rich and full of details without being stuffy and overworked. And this is not just a romance, this is a suspense novel that will keep you wondering as the H/H navigate "top world,"Earth where demigods, fire genies, and Asentian guards all vie for one goal or should I say girl?

Dagan. wow. Tall, blonde, and hard on the outside; caring, loyal, and earnest on the inside. What a man! Did I mention there were three more of them? One even has an english accent (Yes,please!). 

Please read this book from amazon and comment on this blog, I would love to hear what you think.

No heat in Juneau.........

Shiya is the computer nerd in a family of shifter hunters. She starts her first field assignment, go to Alaska and confirm that the man she met is a shifter so her family can take him and his pack down. As an African-American geek or nerd, both apply to me, I liked the idea of reading a story about a nerdy girl getting a chance to strut her stuff.

I tried to like this book, but after the first few scenes I was beginning to not like the character or the writer's idea of "intimate" moments. Put yourself in this situation; You just meet someone for dinner that you've been talking to on-line. Its your first meal together, his best friend shows up and after a brief introduction joins you. Odd, yes, however you roll with it and would you allow both men to feed you. With bare hands. Shiya does and I found that to be less intimate and more weird and out of character for a girl supposedly a little shy and inexperienced. As a girl who was once inexperienced and who has dated on-line, No. Not ever. 

Then, their was the fact that Shiya had no voice or personality of her own. She took the assignment to prove to her family and herself that she was strong enough to handle field work. Yet, she allowed the men to make all the decisions and her only response to having absolutely no control over her own body was, "fine." For example, (location 1196) Each man seemed to be beyond letting her decide how far he went." This is a reason that I don't love menage's, because often time author's let the men treat the heroine like a blow-up doll.

Then their was the fact that the author used the word "hole" to describe her anatomy and the term "broke in" was used to describe her first 'back door experience.' And speaking of that sort of play, the particular situation described in location 1519 of the book is just plain unhygienic. I cannot abide when an author uses such primitive language to describe the most important organ to human existence. No, not being dramatic; without that "hole" we would not exist, so hail to the "v!"

I did find some minor errors like:

Location 537 "she knew they would drew conclusions from that..."

Location 647 "she shoved a fist into her mouth and just stared." Seriously, is she Linnie and Squigy?

Location 1542 ".......her eyes shut and tears on her cheeks."

And a catch phrase: "You know you wrong?" Annoyingly, it appears in several locations.

Overall I found this book more irritating than enjoyable and would recommend that you skip this read and try"A gaurdians desire" by Mya and "Fierce Heat" by Lizzie Lynn. Both books treat their women with respect and they are scorching hot!

No Clarity in the writing...............

Dark Clarity 

I bought this book based on some other people mentioning it on a group page that I frequent. I downloaded the sample to give it a go, but found it riddled with error after error. Finally at 20% I finally got fed up and returned it for a refund, I figure that if you're not willing to invest your hard earned money in an editor to improve your work, then I'm not willing to spend my hard earned money trying to read it.


Here are just SOME of the problems I encountered while reading this:


"I eyes popped open as I was yanked from the creatures crosshairs and slung hard against the wall"


"and wow the man was enormous, close to six and a half feet with broad shoulders,....." does not describe an enormous person, in fact it is only slightly above average height for males.


There is a tense problem, Location 2138: disappearing instead of disappeared


Many misuse/wrong words: Location 3523 "Slipped" instead of `sip' and "copse" instead of `corpse'.


Then there was the most unforgiveable of novel writing offenses; incorrect spelling:
Location 2944 "felping." Seriously? No matter what OS or program your working in there is some sort of spelling corrector built, why didn't the author use it?

Fierce Read!

Fierce heat 

Threesomes are not my thing. Neither is m/m, Novellas aren't worth my money, because they always leave me wanting. I have found the exception to these negatives, Fierce heat by Celia Kyle and Lizzie Lynn Lee. This book piqued my interest with its descriptive wording and concise storyline.  

The story revolves around two shifter lovers Isic and Ferr after an interspecies war. Homeless and hotly in love with one another the warriors land on a spacestation where they meet Amaya, their third part. Then the book gets fiercely hotter. I do wish there was more, but would be satisfied with a sequel. Great read that I would recommend to anyone that loves well written erotica.

And if you like what you read please hit the follow button. Thanks!

Locked in confusion

Lawked Flame by 

This book needed a prolouge and and editor.

I was so confused by the aliens and their small town that I got lost in the "action" sequences. I was so fed up that I stopped reading this book altogether. The last straw for me? There was a sequence involving the heroine's mother becoming ill; too much time was spent on the sequence and the character explaining to her lover that her mother was white with a fierce mothering instinct, as if race plays a part in that. For me this stalled the story; as did the side plotlines that did nothing to move the main story along.

Juicer than expected!

Juicy by Pepper Pace

Good read, interesting characters that find an unlikely love. I didn't think I could stomach the hate words spewed by the heroine, but it was not very much and the characters develop quickly. As usual with Pace's work I learned something; how lack of human touch can effect people negatively. And, how often mental illness is misdiagnosed. Thank you again for showing and teaching your readers.

Can't wait for the next read!

please purchase this book here and drop me and comment on this book!

Stranded!

Stranded! by Pepper Pace

I've read a lot of P.P. and this is one of my least favorite. The story is good and interesting, but the characters lacked the depth that all of her characters endeared themselves with. I didn't care about either of the characters and thus didn't much care for the story.

I'm jus sayin: 
This is not a bad read, its a good book, just not on par with W.O.S. or Beast.

Please leave a comment after you've Devour this book!

Once upon a time I read an overpriced book......

Once upon a time by Josephine Law

This is a fairy tale style adult story revolving around Princess Maria and Erik a strapping blacksmith who aims to earn the fair princess's hand

The good:
Different from the adult fairy tales I've read. Well written, though their are a few errors (mostly missing word or wrong words, "them" instead of "they")

The bad:
I deducted a star for the cost versus the content; the content fell short as far as I was concerned because of reiteration of characters lines that reinforces nothing important. Mild adult scenes that are short, while the story is too long, it takes forever to get to the action and that is not very detailed or exciting either.

I'm jus sayin: It was an okay read, not worth $5.99!

Myopia- more of the same

In the second installment of the Young adult series "Wisteria" the love story slash zombie apocalypse continues. We do learn more about the aliens and we also learn more about the character of wisteria, but the audience has to muddle through much of the same editing issues as in the first installment of the series.

Again, I found Wisteria to be infuriatingly weak, though in this book she has her moments when she is strong though a bit bipolar. For example, Coles (her step father) sneaks back on the island a bit scruffy and her blood boils cause he left. Um, he was thrown out and she was there to witness it; she's a bit bipolar with all the angry then calm, then angry without explanation.

Continuity:
Wisteria "charges" a lot of people pointlessly and annoyingly. She seems more like an upset toddler charging people in anger. How could she have survived the zombie-apocalypse withouth being in control of herself?

"Amanda gestured as they cycled...she informed them as they stopped....wisteria kept walking" what? How did it go from biking to walking? Their is no transition in the action.

Introduces character's without describing them. For example, Sen Aleix and Jason. Specifically Jason, how could she suspect Jason to possibly be her brother unless he is also black, which is never mentioned. Jason; when she asks him how he ended up on Smythe he says it was Wisteria's mothers idea, but then later he says he changes origin.

"Smashing her with the textbook she was holding" smashing her with textbook where? The head? The mouth? The foot?

"She'd already risked her life for this stupid girl 'I'm going to leave you now" Yet she stays to help, why? Where is the inner monologue that leads to her concluding to save Amanda?

What is qwandiye or Dy'obeth the definition/translation is never explained.

Contrived; "feeling less crappy" the use of the vernacular by the narrator feels forced; like they are trying to sound young to appeal to the audience.

There is no chemistry between Wisteria and Bach with the exception of one two scenes when they are alone in the tower and clock, otherwise their relationship is awkward with forced drama instead of real emotion. Speaking of which the scene in the courthouse just bizarre, one minute he's calling terrans disgusting and his mother would never stoop, blah blah and the next he's professing his love for Wisteria? From the point of view of a black woman if my man told me that all other blacks were disgusting and I was the exception I would be turned off, not willing to reconcile and forgive him for his harsh words within 5 minutes of his hate word filled tirade. And, as a woman I have a love hate relationship with my hair; as a black woman the world has a love hate relationship with it as well which is why it baffles me that the author of this book would waste my time with derogatory comments towards the characters hair or her own self hate towards her hair.

Overall; great ideas with bad

To check this book out click this link

Please leave a comment, I would love to hear from you!

The book of my year.............

Wheels of Steel 1,2,3

Pepper Pace
Jason is an up and coming DJ, college student, and disabled; his group Wheels of Steel is comprised of people as misfits and handicapped, but they are made cool by their talent. Robin is a shy girl struggling to make ends meet and find herself all at once. Robin takes a job as Jason's home healthcare aid creating a saga that takes them along a musical journey of self-discovery and love. 

The Good:
Interesting and unconventional characters, good story and a plot that keeps you interested and excited about the next installment.

The Bad:
Not very much, maybe some interesting physical descriptions of the characters 

I'm jus sayin:

I admit to only reading books about perfect characters, check out my book boyfriend if you don't believe me; however, I read one of Mrs. Pace's books, Beast and I was hooked. The stories of these characters bring me joy, I'm not perfect, why wouldn't I want to read about people who aren't perfect either? This story in particular had me laughing, crying and a little excited; that is what I love about reading, I learned so much about people with Cerebral Palsy, the struggles that people who I would walk past with pity face everyday, but maintain their spirit. No, these characters aren't necessarily as realistic as some people with the real disabilities, but it helped me to open my eyes and really see people for who they are and not what they suffer from.

Check this book out @Amazon.com or  Barnes and Noble and please leave a comment, I would love to hear our opinion :)

Skip this bore!!!

Carnal knowledge
I have no idea what this book is about, I read the entire thing and it was terrible. Awful.


The good:
Nothing

The bad:
Everything

I'm jus sayin:
Um, any dude that refuses to let you back into his house after you showered with him yesterday and keeps you in the doorway to his house is not worth the fight. And, practically begging to be let in is not strong or heroine like behavior; in fact it's embarrassing and stupid. I want my money back. Seriously, refund my dollars, please!