Author: Little Bee

Come join the fun! I review books :D
Posted in Book Reviews

Joyland

Posted on by Little Bee

joyland

Joyland by Stephen King, Narrated by Michael Kelly

Goodreads Rating: 4 stars

Actual Rating: 4.5 Stars

Narrator Rating: 5 Stars

 

I picked up this story on Audible to listen on a work trip. My unconventional book club’s theme is to pick a book off a list/flow chart provided, and I decided, since I have never ever read a Stephen King story, I would like to get a good start somewhere.

First, this story is classified on two different genre subtypes on Goodreads, Suspense/Thriller and Coming of Age. On the flow chart provided, it was indicated as a Suspense. This is really where I want to start my review:

My expectations for Joyland were more along the line of It, and Pet Semetary. To me, that is what suspense/thriller means. However, that is not what this story was. This story is about a young college student, Devin Jones, getting a summer job at Joyland theme park in North Carolina. Devin discovers that a few years prior, there was a murder on one of the rides and no one was ever caught. He was also informed that at some point in time, he would come across two children: a girl and a boy, and of these two children one would have the “sight.” Devin Jones has his heart broken by his first love and this adventure shows him how to move on and provides life experiences that any college kid would be lucky to have. The only real suspense in the story is about a chapter, when he discovers who the Carnival Killer was. I kind of pegged this person, but really was leaning on a different character. I will let you decide who is who.

This book was wonderfully narrated. It took me a couple of hours to really get into the book as a whole, but once it got going, it was really brilliant. The story really  hits on all the feels you want in a book. My wish was that, for a classification of suspense, that there was more suspense in the book, beyond the short info at the tail end of the story.

I will read Stephen King again. I really like the versatility of King’s writings. I really enjoy discussing this book with my fellow book clubbers!

Posted in Spicy Romance

Three Kings For Sarah

Posted on by Little Bee

28461409

Three Kings for Sarah by Noa Xireau

Goodreads Rating: 4 stars

I received this book in exchange for my honest review:

I really enjoyed this book. I want to point out, it is MMMF/menage/ erotica. If you cannot handle sexy scenes, then this book is not for you. BUT! If you do like some pretty sweet sexy times in an alternate reality full of vampires, native american dream walkers, werewolves, and magicians, well my friend…this book is for you!

I know what you are asking yourself, “If you liked the book, then why only a 4 star rating?” For majority of the story, I was super sucked into it. HOWEVER, there were a few things that made it somewhat difficult to me while I read. First, there were times I did not know who was speaking. I had to re-read some dialogues a few times and try to figure out who was speaking. Sometimes, someone who was not a part of the dialogue, suddenly appeared in the there. Second,there seemed to be some sentence structures that did not make sense. I believe this is because maybe translation from Spanish to English might have been the cause of this. It didn’t occur often, but when it did, I had to read a few times to get it sorted.  Finally, I felt the climax of the story could have had more to it. It just kind of ended. I would have loved to know why the Wizards were trying to siphon out Sarah’s life force anyways.

Overall, the story was interesting, entertaining, and sexy as hell! And personally, that is the most important. No one is perfect and the story was entertaining as a whole. The summary of the book provided on Goodreads is pretty spot on so I won’t go into it any further. If you are a fan of erotica, or would like to try some new erotica, this book is definitely recommended.

Posted in YA Book Reviews

The Wicked Will Rise

Posted on by Little Bee

The Wicked Will Rise

The Wicked Will Rise by Danielle Paige

Goodreads Rating: 3 Stars

First, let me explain, that I think 3 stars is being pretty generous. I have had a lot of hope for this series, I really have. My issue with this story, is similar to my issues with Dorothy Must Die, in that a LOT of information was given, and none of it was necessary. In fact, this book was 293 pages of What the hell?, and felt pointless.

This review is going to be super short. Like, so short it is less than 200 words short. I want to not give any spoilers, even though there aren’t really any spoilers to give. However, of all the ways I could have predicted this book ending, how it ended, was not even on the radar. I am really not sure where this story is going. It is not that I want a predictable story, but these stories goes from point A to point Z and not hit any points in between. I cannot remember the last time I felt this confused and this frustrated from reading a book or series. I feel it held a lot of promise, but somewhere it is just not connecting.

Posted in YA Book Reviews

The Ask and The Answer

Posted on by Little Bee

The Ask and The Answer

The Ask and The Answer by Patrick Ness

Narrated by Nick Podehl and Angela Dawe

Goodreads Rating: 4 Stars

Narrated Rating: 4 Stars

 

The Ask and The Answer is the second book in the Chaos Walking Trilogy by Patrick Ness. If you read my review of The Knife of Never Letting Go, I was left devastated and not wanting to continue on. The Ask and The Answer did not crush my soul so it was pleasant and I will not wait a year and half before reading the finale, Monsters of Men.

The Answer is a terrorist group (let’s face it that is what they are) that was originated by women during earlier wars. When Mayor Prentis took over Haven, and became a tyrant of a President, The Answer reformed and began bombing buildings, grain houses, wells, etc in order to restrict the town and the people within. Mayor Prentis (Now President Prentis) created a response to The Answer called The Ask. Part of The Ask was a process called The Asking, in which men would torture a captive in order to get answers about The Answer.

I won’t give away any endings, or anything significant. I did like this one. There was a LOT of manipulation and attempting to turn Todd and Viola against each other. I like that there was a lot of growth for Todd and Viola.

As expected, Nick Podehl is amazing. Angela Dawes as Viola had a whiney voice. It made it sound like Viola whined the ENTIRE story.

 

 

Posted in Spicy Romance

Monster on the Mountain

Posted on by Little Bee

28928378

Monster on the Mountain by Aurora Russell

Goodreads Rating: 5 stars

This is the first Aurora Russell story I have read, and I can guarantee it will not be my last. I want to point out, this book has a LOT of sex. A LOT. So, if extremely sexy books are not your thing, this book is not for you.  The scenes are VERY explicit. So if your delicate sensibilities are too sensitive, this will shock you and make you blush.

What I liked about this book is that for paranormal erotica, it is original. The Monster is a hybrid shifter of bear and Siberian tiger. By being a double blooded hybrid shifter, his senses are double that of a normal shifter: he hears more, he smells more, he feels more. There are those who believe these double blooded shifters should be killed at birth and others who are more open to the hybrids. What is similar about this love story and other paranormal love stories, the connection is instant. Like other sifters, the monster, Kristoff, knows his mate the moment he meets her.

This story is about a monster that saved the girl. Bad guys who try to kill the monster. Bad guys steal the girl. Monster gets mad (and you dont like him when he’s mad 😉 ). Monster saves girl. Monster leaves girl because his life will cause her danger forever. Girl gets mad. Girl goes to monster. Monster realizes he is an idiot. Monster and girl live forever happy. The end. After almost every serious scene, there is a sexy scene. As generic as the above paragraph sounds, that combination can make for a great story if the monster is well developed, the threat is significant, and the girl is worth it. Aurora Russell takes this story line and provides all the correct elements to make it a fantastic love story.

Monster on the Mountain is a quick read, I read it in one day. It has action, adventure, paranormal, love, sex. Everything to make a story great. There are a couple loose ends though, and I would like them cleared up 🙂 Though I am not in a position to make demands. I am curious if there will be another book, if not with Kristoff and Adelaide, but maybe the other characters in the story, and Kristoff and Adelaide can make an appearance to answer some of my burning questions….liiiike….is SHE PREGNANT?!?!?!?

Posted in Book Reviews, YA Book Reviews

Cold Burn of Magic

Posted on by Little Bee

IMG_20160320_204839

 

Cold Burn of Magic by Jennifer Estep

Goodreads Rating: 3 stars

I received a copy of this book at the RT Booklover’s Convention in May 2015. I was super excited to get to meet Jennifer Estep as I am a HUGE fan of her Mythos Academy series. Estep is super nice and very humble.

Cold Burn of Magic is the first in the Black Blade series. Based on the first book, I am not entirely sure what the series as a whole will be or how many books. This new series has monsters and magic, but you only ever see the pixies, loch ness, and what what magic someone may or may not carry. I do think this series carries a lot of promise and that perhaps this first book is more of prepper, getting the whole of the story ready. There was some excitement and drama, but not until the last couple of chapters. I figured out who the bad guy was pretty early on. The rest of the series will, I believe, focus around the bigger picture conflict with probably some obstacles here and there. (My guess).

I only gave it 3 stars because I felt like there could have been more. More action, more monsters, more magic, more to the story,  and more of the other characters. My hope is the next books will give me the “more” that I look for in Estep’s books! I will continue on with this story, as I said before, I believe it carries a lot of promise.

Posted in Romance

Mermen

Posted on by Little Bee

24958079

Mermen by Mimi Jean Pamfiloff

Goodreads Rating: 4 stars

Mermen, a paranormal romance, is about two individuals (unknown to each other) who get lost at sea in various accidents and show up on an island that NO ONE knows about. The island is alive, has magical healing powers, and the men that live on the island are descendants of the first beings that came out of the ocean and turned into humans. Liv, the leading lady, is found drifting just off the island by one of the resident mermen. Liv is saved by Roen, who was stranded on the island from a helicopter crash, who happened upon the strong man dunking Liv’s face in the ocean water. The two become inseparable and Roen starts wanting to stake his own claim on her.

The rest of the story is basically Roen trying to find a way to get Liv off the Island and save her life. The story ends on a cliffhanger…one bad enough that I had to get book 2…I will probably start it soon.

The romance is there, but it is more like a day dream or thought, and not an actuality. There was only 1 scene where there was some kind of contact. I do like Roen, and I really hope Roen and Liv make it through the end. (This is not a spoiler FYI).

This book is a quick, short, read and flowed pretty smoothly, even if some parts were repeated over and over again.  It was pretty good, my first book from this author. I bought one of her books in 2014 when I first got to Texas, and now I am intrigued at reading it and other works of hers.

Posted in YA Book Reviews

All The Bright Places

Posted on by Little Bee

18460392.jpg

 

All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

Goodreads Rating: 5 stars

I didn’t know if I was going to write a review for this book when I finished. Sometimes we come across books that are just fantastical. They are so wonderfully written, I do not even know where to start. All The Bright Places falls in this category. I am not even sure where to begin my thoughts or how to even reel them in. So let me try…

This story broke my heart and crushed my soul. I laughed, I cried, I cried some more. I knew guys like Finch in high school. They would have been the type of guy I went for, or was curious about. You know the type? The ones that live right there at the edge of life. I knew girls like Violet.  In fact, there were times I felt like Violet myself.

I love the relationship that blooms between Violet and Finch. I love how Finch saves Violet and wants her to Live her life. Without regrets. I love that Finch teaches Violet to see the world differently, to wander, to not take movement for granted. Meanwhile, Finch is suffering .We know what is going to happen, but deep down inside, we hope it doesn’t. Maybe the author will take mercy on Finch.

I do like that All The Bright Places highlights mental illness and the fact that many families and those affected will hide it, or pretend it does not exist. Finch never received help. What is worse, Finch’s family and friends never stepped in to help. Even Finch’s counselor only half helped. Violet wasn’t even aware. That is what breaks my heart even more. No one did anything, and the one person who would, was too late. Finch didn’t want saved.

How many people do you know that is affected by mental illness or often flirts with suicide or high risk behaviors that are deadly, and you just ignore them? Will you continue to ignore them or will you reach out and make sure they are okay?

On a final note, I am still heart broken by this story. I finished days ago, and am just finally composed enough to write a review. Have tissue ready. Even when you are mentally prepared, it is not enough! This story is one that sticks with you even after the book is closed.

Posted in Book Reviews

In A Dark, Dark Wood

Posted on by Little Bee

23346377

 

In A Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware, Narrated by Imogen Church

Goodreads Rating: 3 stars

Narrator Rating: 5 stars

I have been wanting to read this book for a while, and when I discovered it was narrated by Imogen Church, I wanted to give it a go that much more. I decided to listen to the story because Church is a great narrator. I enjoyed her in Kiss Me First by Lottie Moggach, so I wanted to hear her bring Ware’s novel to life. She did great for Nora.

I didn’t like Nora. Her character is whiny, and not confident. Flo was bat shit crazy, Nina was funny, Tom was not memorable, and then we have Clare. The one who knows all the secrets. Nina and Nora’s friend in school, Nora split ways when she was 16 after a bad break up, which, during Clare’s bachelorette weekend, after not seeing Clare in 10 years, Nora finds out Clare is marrying Nora’s high school sweetheart. The start of a great weekend away yes?

The bachelorette weekend is taking place in the middle of nowhere, in a glass-ish cottage where there is no cell phone service at all. (Because THAT isn’t a bit of foretelling, is it?) Flo goes absolutely crazy through the weekend trying to make sure everything is perfect, but it’s not is it? Because someone gets murdered. And then we end up to the beginning of the book where Nora is trying to figure out and regain her memories about what happened that night.

The book goes back and forth: from the happenings of the weekends and back to Nora in the hospital. Ultimately, I wished this story was more than what it was. I felt like I was robbed from great potential. This story could have gone so many different ways, the end was a bit of a let down. I can, however, say that Imogen Church narrates this role amazingly. Church is made to voice this type of character and story.

Posted in YA Book Reviews

Dorothy Must Die (May contain Spoilers)

Posted on by Little Bee

18053060

Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige

Goodreads rating 3 stars

Actual Rating 3.5 stars

I read this book as a buddy read on Goodreads, it is also a book to tick off of my read list for the Retellings Challenge I am currently participating in.

I want to start off by saying, I had a lot of hopes for this book. It felt new, different, and edgy. Yes, it is different, and it is very edgy/dark, which is good. I feel that it some how fell short in multiple places.

First. On the back of the book, it states: Remove the Tin Woodman’s Heart, Steal the Scarecrow’s Brain, Take the Lion’s Courage, and then Dorothy Must Die. Here is where I have issues with this. I was waiting for this information the ENTIRE book, and where did it end? At the end of the book. The majority of this book was Amy being trained by the Wicked witches to kill Dorothy. Amy has her chance, and of course, she isn’t able to. It is then, that she is informed by the Wizard himself that she has to do these other tasks first BEFORE she can kill Dorothy. Lame. To be honest, I am actually convinced that Dorothy may not die at all in this series..that somehow she will be given retribution for her evilness she brought with her to Oz when she returned.

Next. Nox. I can’t place it yet, but he is NOT to be trusted. I can sense betrayal coming a mile away. I also want to put out, whatever Amy is feeling for him, will get her into trouble. We know how she feltish about Pete, and look what happens there! (Which I saw coming a mile away, to be honest).

Finally, this book is written in such a way you question EVERYTHING. I get it, truly, Amy is not supposed to trust anyone but herself right now, but, the two people that I felt could be trusted, get killed off rather quickly. Also, just so it is made known, this is not your mother’s Wizard of Oz. This book is dark, edgy, violent, and will crush your soul. I want to also take a moment to point out, that for as thick as this book is, and for what all happened, it did not feel like much happened at all.

I will continue on with the story, I am intrigued on how this will play out. I can only hope more happens in the next book, however, it is half the size of Dorothy Must Die, so I think it probably will not answer much either.