Quick Review: Enchanted by Rachel Wells

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Title: Enchanted
Author: Rachel Wells
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Young Adult: Paranormal, Young Adult: Paranormal Romance
Format: eBook
Buy: Barnes and Noble

Mandy is a quiet teenager who just wants to blend in with the crowd rather than stand out as anything or anybody. Mandy's pretty successful at this until her parents decide it's time to move from Boston to the quiet seaside town of York Beach, Maine, to "be closer to Nana". Although Mandy has been vacationing in York every summer since she was a child, she has no desire to live there and is worried about fitting in and finding friends during her senior year of high school.

Nana owns a flower shop in town and while working alongside her, Mandy makes a few friends and observes the oddities of the little town and its inhabitants. When she finds some old and cryptic correspondance hidden inside an antique trunk handed down from her Nana, the "oddities" turn into full fledged mysteries. As she unravels the forgotten and hidden history of the town, she simultaneously unravels her own family's past and current secrets while writing her future. With bits of romance and paranormal along the way, she is able to figure out the puzzle of the correspondance, the magic she never realized was surrounding her, and visions of the past and future. Will she walk away from her personal history and her future or will she realize it's ok to be somebody, even if that somebody is nothing like everybody else?

Why the uniformity!?

I've said this before, and I'm going to say it again. Can't YA paranormal indie books STOP being so uniformed. This book like many others before or after it have the same uniformed plot. Girl moves in with grandparent(s), finds out she's a paranormal, falls in love, gets kidnapped and nearly killed, gets saved by boyfriend who is a paranormal or a human, and then they live happily ever after. Names, place, type of paranormal and the bad guys are the only things that change.

For the record, Enchanted was a good book, I like the writing, some of the characters. Plus, the book entertained me and kept me occupied. Only problem is the endless loop of the same "Young Adult: Paranormal Romance Plot Curse". I would have liked this book way better if it were more unique and properly written to fit that uniqueness. The author is a good writer and is probably even better now. But seriously, get a new script please! Just because authors know they can self-publish now, doesn't mean you have to publish books that are just like the other books out there! Authors are supposed to be creative, bubbly if not dark and deep. Use whatever deepness and creativity you have and write a book that is unique!

I'm guessing, there's not much room for innovation since almost everything has been done before. But you never know. Maybe a great book will come out of it. For now, Enchanted is obviously a book that every YA author begins their writing career with.

Review: Lover Unbound (Black Dagger Brotherhood #5) by J. R. Ward

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Title: Lover Unbound (Black Dagger Brotherhood #5)
Author: J. R. Ward
Publisher: Signet
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy
Format: Paperback
Buy: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | The Book Depository



In Caldwell, New York, war rages between vampires and their slayers. There exists a secret band of brothers-six vampire warriors, defenders of their race. Now the cold heart of a cunning predator will be warmed against its will...

Ruthless and brilliant, Vishous, son of the Bloodletter, possesses a destructive curse and a frightening ability to see the future. As a pretrans growing up in his father's war camp he was tormented and abused. As a member of the Brotherhood, he has no interest in love or emotion, only the battle with the Lessening Society. But when a mortal injury puts him in the care of human surgeon, Dr. Jane Whitcomb compels him to reveal his inner pain and taste true pleasure for the first time-until a destiny he didn't choose takes him into a future that cannot include her...

J. R. Ward does it again!

If you haven't read my previous review and you haven't read anything in the series, here is a low down on the basic concept of it. No matter how much and how far I get into reading the Black Dagger Brotherhood series. I can't get enough of its musky, spicy and all too good snarky New York/Boston accents, dialogue and so much more. This series is about an entirely different scope of vampires. Vampires that have their own society and live amongst themselves, feed amongst themselves and have their own Police system which they call call The Brotherhood. They are a big brooding bunch of immensely good-looking men or vampires, who protect themselves from their own type of evil known as the Lessers. The Lessers are soulless, used to be humans who fight and kill vampires for their own enjoyment. They are under the control of The Omega. The Omega can be thought of as the Satan of this all new world. The demon that all vampire civilians run away from and fear.

Lover Unbound is about my favorite Brother, Vishous. He's dark, haunting, tormented, and a smartass and the Brotherhoods very own Tech Geek. I can't help but be one of those girls who are into the geeky types. Anyways, he's not much of a geek in appearance. After reading the books till here, I was simply excited to read how V or Vishous will find his happy ending.

The book started out so well, we get to V in a whole different perspective and thoughts. Now, that Butch (his roommate) has a mate. V can't help but feel jealous of how sappy Butch is with his mate, and everything that goes a long with it. He even tells us the story about his father, how he got the tattoos on his face and basically, everything in his past that is relevant.

When V finally finds what he's always wanted, Ward does something really cruel to him. I get it, good authors keep their books in reality and all but what she did to V is so uncool and very tragic. V can't catch a break can he?

Seriously, aside from the uncalled for ending, the series remains as enthralling as ever with everything close to realism (despite my hatred for it, on occasion), writing style that is pure talent. I can't wait to pick up the next book.

Review: Lover Revealed (Black Dagger Brotherhood #4) by J. R. Ward

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Title: Lover Revealed (Black Dagger Brotherhood #4)
Author: J. R. Ward
Publisher: Signet
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Urband Fantasy
Format: Paperback
Buy: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | The Book Depository


In the shadows of the night in Caldwell, New York,
there's a deadly war raging between vampires and their
slayers. And there exists a secret band of brothers
like no other - six vampire warriors, defenders of their
race. Now, an ally of the Black Dagger Brotherhood
will face the challenge of his life and the evil of the ages.

Butch O'Neal is a fighter by nature. A hard-living ex-homicide cop, he's the only human ever to be allowed in the inner circle of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. And he wants to go even deeper into the vampire world-to engage in the turf war with the lessers. His heart belongs to a female vampire, Marissa, an aristocratic beauty who's way out of his league. And if he can't have her, then at least he can fight side by side with the Brothers.

But fate curses him with the very thing he wants. When Butch sacrifices himself to save a civilian vampire from the slayers, he falls prey to the darkest force in the war. Left for dead, he's found by a miracle, and the Brotherhood calls on Marissa to bring him back, though even her love may not be enough to save him.

J. R. Ward loves throwing the reader into a unique world of paranormal

No matter how much and how far I get into reading the Black Dagger Brotherhood series. I can't get enough of its musky, spicy and all too good snarky New York/Boston accents, dialogue and so much more. This series is about an entirely different scope of vampires. Vampires that have their own society and live amongst themselves, feed amongst themselves and have their own Police system which they call call The Brotherhood. They are a big brooding bunch of immensely good-looking men or vampires, who protect themselves from their own type of evil known as the Lessers. The Lessers are soulless, used to be humans who fight and kill vampires for their own enjoyment. They are under the control of The Omega. The Omega can be thought of as the Satan of this all new world. The demon that all vampire civilians run away from and fear.

Now, that we've got that covered. Lover Revealed is the 4th installment to the BDB (Black Dagger Brotherhood) series. Like all the other books in the series. This one is the story of BDB's human pet, Butch O'Neal. In the first few books, Butch was a cop, a detective that was laid off from the force for going too far with a suspect. After getting laid off, he found himself poking around the wrong areas of Caldwell, New York. Or in other cases, he met a bunch of vampires and one of them (a.k.a. Vishous)  was absolutely smitten on him. Butch, ended up being Vishous' roommate at the big, dark and scary mansion of the Brotherhood. While he's stay there, he met a beautiful vampire aristocrate named Marissa, who he instantly fell in love with.

As the book continues on, we are thrown into Butch's story of his human life before the Brotherhood and how little life he had. How Butch captures Marissa's attention, and all the tortures he goes through to be by her side, his best bud Vishous' side as well as maintain his loyalty to the Brotherhood.

The world Ward writes, is absolutely enthralling. It's unique and nothing matches it's realism, form, style and everything else that comes into literature. Hats off for Wards writing style, imagination and for bringing to life yet another wonderful installment to the Black Dagger Brotherhood Series.