Audiobook Review: The Martian by Andy Weir

Audiobook Review: The Martian by Andy Weir

It’s going to sound like I’m telling you spoilers, but almost everything I mention here is already on the jacket cover or takes place in the first few chapters of the book. Astronaut Mark Watney ends up stranded on Mars with just his wits and a limited supply of resources with which to survive. Not only must he figure out how to make do until someone comes to take him back to Earth (or he dies of misadventure), he’s got to figure out how not to go crazy. Luckily, he’s got a diverse set of technical skills, a sarcastic sense of humor, and a few decade’s (uh, the 70’s and 80’s) worth of classic TV and music to keep him company.

Review: The Secrets We Keep by Trisha Leaver

Review: The Secrets We Keep by Trisha Leaver

Maddy and Ella are identical twins but they could not be more different. Maddy is popular and vivacious. People seem to gravitate towards her. Ella on the other hand, is quiet and is more interested in getting into art school than who’s going with whom to the Snow Ball. Maddy and Ella used to be best friends until high school, when Maddy got a whole new group of friends and there seemed to be no place for Ella in Maddy’s new life.

Review: Knockout Knits by Laura Nelkin

Review: Knockout Knits by Laura Nelkin

Knockout Knits is a gorgeous collection of luxurious and eye-catching accessories that incorporate simple techniques and embellishments for knockout results. I’ve been following designer Laura Nelkin for a while now. She’s known for creating beautiful accessories that often incorporate beads. When I heard that she had a book coming out, I knew I wanted to get it just for the section on how to bead. While the beading section was what drew me to the book, the other techniques and patterns in the book are just as good.

Review: Beautiful Beloved by Christina Lauren

Review: Beautiful Beloved by Christina Lauren

I always like seeing what happens after happily ever after and Beautiful Beloved is a fun addition to the Beautiful Bastard series. New parents Max and Sara are struggling to balance life with a newborn. Their attempts to bring some of the spark back into their sex life has comical results but, in the end, they figure out a way to make it work and their relationship is stronger than ever.

Review: She Is Not Invisible by Marcus Sedgwick

Review: She Is Not Invisible by Marcus Sedgwick

Laureth’s father has gone missing. At least she thinks he has. He won’t return her calls and her mom dodges her questions about his whereabouts. When his notebook is found in New York, Laureth decides to take her little brother to New York to find him. I didn’t really know what to expect with this book, but the premise intrigued me. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book from the point of view of a blind protagonist before. While I thought Laureth was a well written character with a really unique point of view, I found other aspects of her personality to be very frustrating.

Review: The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon

Review: The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon

I have so many mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, at the core of it, I think that there are some interesting ideas and the seeds of what could be a really fun world. On the other hand, the execution of this novel left a lot to be desired. There is little world building despite the fact that the book is set in a very different world than ours. Instead of slowly introducing the reader to the history and nuances of this new world in engaging and subtle way, the author crams hundreds of years of history into large sections of info dumping. We barely begin to get to know one world when Paige is suddenly taken away to a completely new world. The excessive use of nicknames and slang was also confusing. There is an extensive glossary at the back of the book to help with this but it makes it hard to read a book when you have to look up a word every few sentences.

Audiobook Review: Taken With You by Shannon Stacey

Audiobook Review: Taken With You by Shannon Stacey

Hailey Genest isn’t sure that Mr. Right exists and she isn’t waiting around for him anymore. Instead, she and a friend decide to embrace their singleness by trying new, adventurous things, which include a singles friendly camping trip. Unfortunately Hailey’s idea of the outdoors usually involves sitting on the porch with a good book and it looks like the adventure may end when she and her friend get separated from their group and get lost in the woods. Luckily game warden Matt Barnett finds them and leads them to safety. The two get off on the wrong foot with Matt thinking of Hailey as a superficial city girl while Hailey thinks Matt could use some civilizing. When Matt ends up moving in next door, he and Hailey butt heads while fighting their physical attraction to one another.

Review: Never Judge a Lady By Her Cover by Sarah MacLean

Review: Never Judge a Lady By Her Cover by Sarah MacLean

Sooooo good! Sarah MacLean never disappoints and the final book in The Rule of Scoundrels series is the perfect ending to the series. We finally get to meet the mysterious Chase, the owner of The Fallen Angel and a force to be reckoned with. Perhaps the most feared person in London, Chase has the knowledge and means to ruin every powerful member of the exclusive club. But Chase has secrets as well and when those secrets are threatened, will Chase fall as well?

Review: If Only by Cherise Sinclair

Review: If Only by Cherise Sinclair

I am a big fan of Cherise Sinclair’s Masters of the Shadowlands BDSM romance series. I have slowly been working my way through the series and let myself read one between other books as a treat to myself.

I was really excited to finally read Sally’s story. She’s always been a fun character and I liked the idea of her with the two serious Feds.

Review: Night Shift Anthology

Review: Night Shift Anthology

I am not usually a big fan of novellas and short stories unless I know the author well and know that they can write a good novella. This collection includes stories by Nalini Singh and Ilona Andrews, two of my favorite urban fantasy and paranormal romance authors. Having already read some novellas by both of them before, I knew that they could deliver the goods in a shorter format. I did not know much about the remaining two authors before this but, after reading their stories, consider myself fans of both.