Freak by Jennifer Hillier

Abby leaned forward, directly into Sheila's line of sight. "Are you getting it now, Sheila? I'm not Ethan. I don't hesitate, and I don't fuck around. You feeling me now?"

WARNING: Some small spoilers ahead. 

Far out the last 20% of this book was just insane and creepy as all hell. I always find it so much scarier and creepier when the psychopath is a female. I loved the first book in this series and I admit I wasn't sure how the story was gonna go with Ethan being dead. It held up really well though. Abby was so manipulative, smart and made for a really interesting character. She is definitely the kind of person that you do not want to piss off. I see a lot of people have mentioned that they preferred Freak over Creep but I have to say I actually liked Creep more because of Ethan. I also found the first part of this book quite hard to get into. Once the book did get going though it was very hard to put down.

I think that Jennifer Hillier did a fantastic job with the writing yet again and she truly had me guessing right up until the very end. When I found out who helped Abby escape and who organised the murders it just blew my mind. I did not see it coming and the interactions between Abby and this person right up until the very end of the book was just mind blowing and rather interesting. I think my main issue with this book was that I wasn't as impressed with Sheila this time around and I didn't really have any strong feelings for Morris, Jerry or Marianne. 

I'm not sure if there will be any more books to this series but I reckon if there was more to come I would pick them up for a read. It would be interesting to see how the relationship between Abby and the surprising antagonist fares if it does at all. Another great read from Jennifer Hillier. If you haven't already you should definitely check out this series.

3 out of 5 Stars!

Amazon + Goodreads

Lost Girls by Angela Marsons

Kim ignored the horror on their faces. They had to know the truth and unfortunately her's didn't come with tea and sympathy.

DI Kim Stone is unlike any character that I have ever come across before. She can come across as being rude, impatient, heartless and abrupt but you're drawn to her continuously. No matter what she say's or does she does have a big heart and you can't help but love her. The best thing about this series is the group of character's and the way that they all interact with each other. They have such a terrific bond and you continuously find yourself wanting to be a part of their team. I loved the introduction of Matt and i'm wondering if he is someone that we might be seeing again. I also quite liked Alison but i'm not sure if she will be popping up again. 

After finishing Evil Games which was the second book in this series Angela Marsons found herself a spot on my auto buy list. After finishing Lost Girls I can honestly say that her place on that list has been 100% cemented. I couldn't fault the writing or the story whatsoever. It was dark, it was beautiful, it was edge of your seat stuff and I loved every single damn minute of it. It was one of those book's that you really didn't want to end but at the same time you wanted to speed through it to find out how it was going to end. I had my suspicions part way through the book but wasn't 100% sure until the big reveal. It sounds truly ridiculous but I feel kinda lost now that i've finished this book. I mean it was 384 pages and yet i'm sitting here in shock that it is finished and i'm just craving more. I feel like some kind of crazy addict at the moment.

I could sit here and rave for ages about Lost Girls and Angela Marsons but I won't. What I will tell you is that you need to go pick up all 3 books by Angela Marsons asap. They are so, so cheap on Amazon and you will not be disappointed. I'm hoping that there is going to be many more books to this series because I honestly can't see me getting tired of them. Good luck to the next book that i'm reading because Lost Girls is going to be extremely hard to follow.

5 out of 5 Stars!

Amazon + Goodreads

Free Book Friday: Red Hourglass by Scarlet Risque

Hi guys, welcome to yet another edition of Free Book Friday. Today I bring you something a little sexy and different. Bet that got your attention didn't it. This week I bring you Red Hourglass by Scarlet Risque. I was instantly drawn to this book because of the cover and when I saw that it was about assassins I was definitely in. I'm struggling with chick lit lately but still like to get a good dose of romance every now and then and this book promises to be a romance thriller so it should have me covered fairly well. We are coming into December which for me always means plenty of reading time cos work goes completely quiet. I should be right to read this one in the next couple of weeks so keep an eye on my blog for the upcoming review and don't forget to pop on over to Amazon and pick up your own free copy of Red Hourglass.

Goodreads Synopsis

A powerful, mysterious woman finds a homeless girl in a New York subway and adopts her. Janet swears loyalty to the White family and they train her at their Academy as a secret agent. Before long, her transformation into the Red Hourglass—an assassin—is complete. She is ready to start her missions in service of the White Queen.

In order to learn the whereabouts of her real mother from the White Queen, the Red Hourglass must stop the planned expansion of Wilmar Enterprises. She goes undercover to infiltrate Wilmar, and she is hired as the executive secretary to the Chief of Security, Conan Casey.

Janet works diligently to uncover all Wilmar’s secrets. She soon learns that Conan Casey, her target, is heir to the billion dollar Wilmar organization. She falls prey to his dark seductions and twisted secrets … and they leave her gasping for more.

She unwittingly bets her stakes on a dangerous game of love. Where do her loyalties lie? Will she betray Conan for the White Queen, or fall in love with him and give up all hope of finding her real mother? And will they get out alive?

The first in the Hourglass series - a dark coming of age thriller romance novel about finding one's identity with dominance and submission romance scenes against the backdrop of capitalism, undercover agents, poker and tango with an infusion of eastern and western philosophy.

Amazon + Goodreads

The Broken Road by Melissa Huie

Seriously? The guy was a saint to animals was a decent cook, had a hot body, and was thoughtful toward the elderly. Is he for real?

9 times out of 10 no,you can bet your ass that guy is far too good to be true. In this case he was too good to be true and it sucked. Alex was the only character that I liked so when things didn't work out with him I was angry and disappointed. This book was predictable the whole way through so I should've known that it was always going to be Shane, Shane, Shane. Megan was not an interesting character at all and I can't even really say that she ticked me off or anything she was just really boring. She also came across as being far too naive for a 26 year old. It was extremely obvious from early on that things with Shane weren't right and yet she just ignored it and didn't give it any second thoughts. If it was me I would've been continuously hounding his ass for answers.

I had my issues with this book from the get go and to be honest if it wasn't for the fact that it was so short I probably would've DNF'd it quite early on. I don't know if it was this book that annoyed me or if it is just chick lit books in general that are annoying me at the moment. The writing wasn't quite to my liking and didn't draw me in at all. There was a lot of editing errors and I was often re-reading sections to get them to make sense. My biggest problem with the book was probably the pacing and the way that it flowed. I also wasn't a fan of say the last 10% it was all just predicable and to be honest at that point it didn't really bother me if there was a happy ending or not. I just wanted the book over and done with.

Well I didn't want to be negative nelly but it is what it is! I can see that there is a sequel to this book called Broken Promises but I won't be buying it. Unfortunately, there just wasn't a lot in this book for me and the only reason it gets 2 stars instead of 1 is because I did finish it.

2 out of 5 Stars!

Amazon + Goodreads + Book Depository

Need by Joelle Charbonneau

NEED: Something required because it is essential. Something very important that you cannot live without. What do you need.

I could think of a million things that I like to think that I need but when it all boils down to it they really are all just wants. This book was so hard to put down. I know there has been some really mixed reviews for this book but I 100% loved it. Although a little confusing at the start I enjoyed all the small chapters from the other character's as it was interesting to see what they felt like they needed and what they were willing to do to get what they wanted. It was also interesting to have the different points of view and how certain character's felt after they carried out their task. Both Kaylee and Nate were just average characters for me. I actually found myself enjoying the chapters from Bryan, Ethan and Sydney more than the Kaylee chapters. 

You can't deny that Social Media is just everywhere now days and it can be used as a weapon. A lot of people especially teenagers are able to be manipulated fairly easily. Maybe not as easily and to the same extremes as some of the characters in this book but swapping cookies or a note for an iphone or ipad, I could see a lot of teenagers doing that. I actually did a little survey throughout the office and a lot of people agreed. I wasn't overly surprised at the end by the person who was overseeing the site but the whole government side of it was a little hard to believe. Although I suppose you could argue that it was a simple government project to start with and that a nutcase overtook it and changed the direction. You could also argue that hey it is the government and who knows what goes on there.  

I had pre-ordered this book because the synopsis intrigued me immensely and the cover drew me in instantly. I was not disappointed by this book and was sad when it ended. It is listed as being a standalone book but the ending does leave it open to the possibility for additional books. I would personally love to see another book especially as I feel like person x at the end could take it to a much more dangerous level and really up the stakes plus I would just love to get a look inside his mind. 

4 out of 5 Stars!

Amazon + Goodreads + Book Depository

Untamed by S.C. Stephens

I wasn't an "okay" person. I was awesome wrapped in awesome smothered in more awesome. They should be squealing to their neighbours that they know me, not that they merely tolerate me.

This should've been one of the biggest books of the year for me and instead I was just disappointed. I have loved the previous 3 books in this series, like crazy loved them so I was expecting amazing things from the long awaited fourth book. The above snippet from the book sums up my issues perfectly. Let's start with Griffin as he was my major issue. I loved his cockiness in the previous books. Sure he was sometimes frustrating but for the most part you couldn't help but love him. In "Untamed" though he just annoyed the crap out of me. He was immature, selfish, whiney and I couldn't believe the lies that he was telling to Anna and the way that he treated her. On another note I also couldn't believe that Anna was falling for the lies. I understand that the guys were being harsh and a little unfair with Griffin but at the same time I could understand their frustrations with him. The second issue that I had with this book and it was a minor issue but it was the overuse of the word awesome! It was everywhere throughout the book whether it was Griffin continuously describing himself this way or the chapter headers themselves. 

I have given this book 2 stars but realistically I have to say that I struggled through say the first 65% and had it been any other author I probably would've given up about 40% of the way in. I'm glad that I continued with it as the last 30% to 40% was fantastic and would've been 4 stars if judging the book on that part alone. I could see how the book was going to end from a mile away but it was still a nice ending. I kinda feel like Griffin got let off a little easy in the end but he was a much better person towards the end so I guess we can forgive him a little. I loved the way that he interacted with his kids and with Anna when he wasn't being an ass to her. I don't mind kids and weddings in books obviously but I think the very last part of the book was a little ridiculous. They crammed how many babies and weddings in at the end!!

I think this series has reached it's end and if another book was to be released then I wouldn't be reading it. The D-Bags were not the guys that I had fallen in love with. I don't know if they've changed or if i've changed but I didn't enjoy this book anywhere near as much as the last 3. I think the book could've benefited from having a few chapters from Anna's point of view. Not only to mix things up a little but to also see where her head was at while all the Griffin stuff was going on.

2 out of 5 Stars!

Amazon  + Goodreads + Book Depository

Cemetery Lake by Paul Cleave

Every day above ground is a good day.

Hell yes it is! This rings very true for a lot of the character's in this book. Let's start with our main character Theo Tate. Tate was such an odd and frustrating character. I really don't know where to begin with him and I knew from the very start when he stole the watch and the ring that we were going to struggle with a close bond/relationship. Tate is a very corrupt man there is no other way to describe him. He has murdered, he has stolen from people, he has nearly killed an innocent person and he continuously breaks other laws time and time again. It was a wonder that he did not end out dead or behind bars by the end of the book.

I liked who the killer was and the way it all came about as I can't say that it's something that i've seen too often. I definitely didn't see that ending coming so all in all I was happy. I really couldn't get my head around Father Julian and everything that was going on there I mean far out. This book was so easy to read and the writing flowed beautifully. I was sick over the weekend so I couldn't read much but once I was better I just devoured this book.

I also feel like I really should have read this series before reading the "Cleaner" series because there is a little bit of crossover. It wasn't in a bad way it just often made for an odd reading experience. If we're going to compare the two then I would say that I preferred the "Cleaner" books but that doesn't take anything away from the "Theodore Tate" series it just shows how strong Paul Cleave's writing and books are. I can't wait to continue on with this series and can't wait to see what kind of character Tate is going to be in "Collecting Cooper."

4 out of 5 Stars!

Amazon + Goodreads + Book Depository

What Happened In Between by L.J. Scar

I no longer know what's true anymore. I definitely don't know what I want. Guiltily I wonder if i'm subconsciously stringing them both along because they hurt me so badly before. 

This book could be very frustrating at times and it is actually the second book in a row now where I have enjoyed the story a hell of a lot more than I have enjoyed the characters themselves. We may as well start with Laken as this is her story. I understood her doubts and the indecision when it came to choosing between Ian and Seth but she definitely dragged the whole thing out for far too long. I also couldn't believe that two guys would've just happily stood by while the other was around and while she was pinballing between the two. I honestly couldn't decide who I liked more between the two until things all came about towards the end and in the end I feel like Laken made the best choice. Laken also really frustrated me to start with but by the end of the book she really grew as a character and started to become the kind of character you could really get behind.

I often got confused by the massive amount of character's that were coming and going especially Mary, Mandy, Morgan and Maire I mean come on now seriously and then you had a Devon, David, Alex and Rick. The story was enjoyable though and I often found myself getting lost in the book with time just flying by and me not realising it. I loved the relationship between Laken and Kona because it reminded me so much of the relationship between me and my dog Diesel. 

I didn't realise that this book isn't a standalone but it does end in a place where if you wanted to you wouldn't have to read the second book. I'm a little intrigued by the idea of Cole though so I will be continuing on with the next book. I just hope that we get the Laken from the end of the book rather than the frustrating Laken. Although I did like Seth I also feel like his story is done now so I'm hoping the next book won't drag out his story more. I have quite a few books to read before I get to Solitude Interrupted but keep an eye out for the review in the next month or two.

3 out of 5 Stars!

Amazon + Goodreads + Book Depository

Gone by Stacy Claflin

You can't use logic with crazy.

I'm actually quite torn on how I felt about this book. I thought that it was fairly well written and the story was definitely well paced and easy to read but then you get to the end and it kinda just stops. No cliffhanger or anything it just stops to the point that I was sure there must've been pages missing. I definitely feel like this is the type of book that should be in all school's as it points out the dangers of talking to stranger's online and how dangerous meeting with someone from online can be.  

The story did captivate me from the start and it was the type of book that was often quite hard to put down. I loved the story itself but it was weird cos I can't say that I actually liked any of the characters. I think the character's needed more development and a lot more personality. I found it odd that the dad was so attached to his blog while the daughter was missing, the relationship between Macy's brother and best friend felt awkward and just weird and then we have Macy herself who focused on her weight loss issues while she was being held captive. 

I liked the journal entries that we read from Heather and thought that they were an excellent inclusion. Although I didn't enjoy the characters I did really enjoy the story itself so I will be picking up the next book in the trilogy which is Held. That last line about the mum was a great little tease and i'm sure that we are going to learn a lot more about that in the next book. Gone is currently free on Amazon so I would urge you to go and pick up a copy and give it a go.

3 out of 5 Stars!

Amazon + Goodreads + Book Depository