ARC Review: Sins of the Son -Linda Poitevin

When homicide detective Alexandra Jarvis sees a photo of Seth Benjamin on a police bulletin, she knows that Heaven's plan to halt Armageddon has gone terribly wrong. As the only mortal who knows of Seth's true nature, only she can save him. Aramael was a hunter of Fallen Angels until a traitor forced him into earthly exile. Now, with no powers and only a faint memory of Alex, his mortal soulmate, he will stop at nothing to redeem himself-even if it means destroying Seth in the name of the Creator...

Series: Grigory Legacy #2, Series: urban fantasy, Pages: 352, To be published: March 27, Publisher: ACE, Source: Blogtour/netgalley/ACE

My thoughts:

Those who read book 1 know how it ended, and for those who did not, well you really need to read book 1 since a lot happened.

The romance does not seem to go anywhere, with Aramael not coming back to her or….But Aramael in this one is changed, no powers and no connection to Alex. He also means to kill Seth. So not cool. So he is losing points in my book.

Alex then, she is trying to be strong after what happened. I do like her and her I am taking no shit attitude.  Which brings us to Seth who is on earth and she goes to find him. And I do liked Seth in book  1, a lot, so it was great to see him again and, well I can’t say, but he has issues….and I really like him ;)

Just like book this book just gets better and better and the last part of this book has me on the edge of my seat. I came to a point where I could no longer put it down and I read and read. The ending is a rollercoaster of emotions. The end, well it is not a I am on a cliff and falling cliffie. It is more an all is well…for now *in comes music of doom* and I go omg. Nooo! Still not a hanging on a cliff cliffie, cos all ends well.

There is action, trying to save Seth, trying to survive angelic assassinations and the war between Heaven and Hell is coming closer. And who do like? Demons are evil, that is a given, but then angels have this you got free will attitude and they do not give a damn. I do not like the angels either. And how the humans are gonna come through this alive I do not know.

Conclusion:

Those last 100 pages, so good! Poitevin is truly evil though. And now I can’t wait for book 3. I do recommend this series:

Cover

Nice

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Note: Linda Poitevin is stopping by on Wednesday on her Blog Tour so check back then :)

Review: The Unit - Ninni Holmqvist

One day in early spring, Dorrit Weger is checked into the Second Reserve Bank Unit for biological material. She is promised a nicely furnished apartment inside the Unit, where she will make new friends, enjoy the state of the art recreation facilities, and live the few remaining days of her life in comfort with people who are just like her. Here, women over the age of fifty and men over sixty–single, childless, and without jobs in progressive industries–are sequestered for their final few years; they are considered outsiders. In the Unit they are expected to contribute themselves for drug and psychological testing, and ultimately donate their organs, little by little, until the final donation. Despite the ruthless nature of this practice, the ethos of this near-future society and the Unit is to take care of others, and Dorrit finds herself living under very pleasant conditions: well-housed, well-fed, and well-attended. She is resigned to her fate and discovers her days there to be rather consoling and peaceful. But when she meets a man inside the Unit and falls in love, the extraordinary becomes a reality and life suddenly turns unbearable. Dorrit is faced with compliance or escape, and…well, then what?

THE UNIT is a gripping exploration of a society in the throes of an experiment, in which the “dispensable” ones are convinced under gentle coercion of the importance of sacrificing for the “necessary” ones. Ninni Holmqvist has created a debut novel of humor, sorrow, and rage about love, the close bonds of friendship, and about a cynical, utilitarian way of thinking disguised as care. 

Genre: Dystopia
Pages: 268
Published: 2009
Publisher: OtherPress
Source: gift

My thoughts:

This book was disturbing, but in a quiet way. It felt so real, so now, so damn concerning. 

Dorrit lives in a world that changed during her lifetime. The book did make me think of Never Let Me go. With the whole aspect that it feels so now, like it could happen any day. But that some people are not really treated well and made do donate organs. Here women over 50 and men over 60 are risking to go to the Unit. They are those who have no children and because of that they are not worth much. They do not bring anything to society. Sure Dorrit is an author, but she has no close relationships. This is a world where you should be productive and work, and have kids. Of course you are not allowed to stay home with those kids, you have to work. Society also looks down on the disposables. A fair society? I think not. What if you can't have kids? What if you are not that rich? What if you have a crappy job and you try and try for an adoption? If it does not work out you have two choices. Kill yourself or go and live at the unit. Donate your organs and take part in experiments. Sure they treat you well but you are not human anymore. And I doubt this system is entirely fair for those who get the organs either. Some will always have a bigger chance. And what happens when this system is well on its way, when everyone gets those babies? It's a system that will get everyone in the end. 

Ok that was a long paragraph about the world itself. The book then, it was not that dark. The Unit is just so nice, but you see that behind the scenes these people are nothing more than test animals. I also like how real it feel, like it truly could happen. The day the government tells us they think that or this group is not as good, cos in the end that happens everyday. 

Conclusion:

For the thoughts it brought it was a good book. It made me think more than the usual type of dystopia out there.

Cover:

Eh

Friday Fiction Flash on Saturday + ebook deals

Dottie over at Tink's Place has come up with the idea for a Monday Morning Flash Fiction challenge.  Each Monday a new picture prompt will be posted and if you choose to  participate - you post your story on Friday - 350 words, give or take. 

So come on over and join us! It's fun.

(pic has been removed: couple kissing)

Winter and Summer

by Blodeuedd

She was the Summer Princess, fair and true. He was the Winter Prince, cold and harsh. But then the seelie and unseelie courts have always been opposites in every way. The Summer folk liked dancing and kissing. The Winter court liked war and rules. They did not mix as they had nothing in common. Neither did they fight each other as the Winter Fairies would have slaughtered the peacelovers at with one strike.

But every spring and fall they met and gave over the spire of Season. The Summer court was in full bloom when the Winter Court rode in. With unfeeling eyes they looked down at the bright colors and the laughter and frolicking going on. And Summer rolled their eyes at the strict Winter court who all had a rod up their asses.

The Ceremony was long and dull, even to the Winter Court. The priests went on and on. And as always they spoke of the one to come. The Child of Winter and Summer who would rule over both courts and change everything. The child who would take back the Dark Lands from the Sidhe who stole them long ago. It was then the young Summer princess looked over and caught the eye of the Winter prince. She smiled as her people always did and he, for a moment he looked beyond the silliness of her kind and saw her beauty and strength.

During the dinner Summer made her escape to the hills she loved and danced in the pale moonlight. Winter defied the rules and went to explore. There he saw her, dancing and laughing and his cold heart jumped for a moment. He went up to her and looked into her eyes as she stopped and fell into his arms with a laugh. She had never had a Winter Man to her bed and took the chance. For one who liked control he showed it well and it was nothing like the Boys of Summer. Even if it did feel a bit unfeeling he took her where she wanted to go. And without having uttered a word they lay there while the moon looked down upon them. Winter felt a spark starting to grow within her and pondered the consequences. A child of winter and summer. Uniting them both? He knew well that Winter wanted the Dark Lands back, and the Fields of Glory. But now, not now. So he smiled and she looked up with surprise and smiled too. A smile that slowly faded as he took the dagger and plunged it into her belly. Then he left her there, bleeding and alone. That is what he got for defying the rules.

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I meant them to have a kid, be happy and the courts would go to war one day. But hey, those who know my flashes from LJ know very well that I am dark ;)

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Review: Explosive Eighteen - Janet Evanovich

Before Stephanie can even step foot off Flight 127 from Hawaii to Newark, she’s knee deep in trouble. Her dream vacation turned into a nightmare, she’s flying back to New Jersey solo, and someone who sounds like Sasquatch is snoring in row 22. Worse still, her seatmate never returned to the plane after the L.A. layover. Now he’s dead, in a garbage can, waiting for curbside pickup. His killer could be anyone. The FBI, the fake FBI, and guns-for-hire are all looking for a photograph the dead man was supposed to be carrying.

Only one other person has seen the missing photograph—Stephanie Plum. Now she’s the target, and she doesn’t intend to end up in a garbage can. With the help of an FBI sketch artist Stephanie re-creates the person in the photo. Unfortunately the first sketch turns out to look like Tom Cruise, and the second sketch like Ashton Kutcher. Until Stephanie can improve her descriptive skills, she’ll need to watch her back.

Over at the Bail Bonds Agency it’s business as usual—until the bonds bus serving as Vinnie’s temporary HQ goes up in smoke, Stephanie’s wheelman, Lula, falls in love with their “largest” FTA yet, lifetime arch nemesis Joyce Barnhardt moves into Stephanie’s apartment, and everyone wants to know what happened in Hawaii?! Morelli, Trenton’s hottest cop, isn’t talking about Hawaii. Ranger, the man of mystery, isn’t talking about Hawaii.  And all Stephanie is willing to say about her Hawaiian vacation is . . . It’s complicated.

Series: Stephanie Plum #18, Genre: Chick-lit mystery bla blah, Pages: 305, Published: 2011, Publisher: Random House, Source: Library

My thoughts:

I do not even know how to write this review, cos I got nothing nice to say. Still would I read book 19? Hell yeah! They might annoy me to death, but they are like crack cocaine.

Already back at book 12 I started sighing, but I read on. But shit hit the fan in this one. I was annoyed and then some more. FBI agents would not be so callous.  Stephanie is clearly an idiot, sure I already knew this but come on?! Who gets their car stolen time after time? She is also a horrible cheater, yes I knew this too but Morelli, please leave her. No man should be with a woman who cheats on him time after time. She did see a tiny bit of light in this one as she gets that Ranger would never be the man for her, but just choose and deal! I just feel sorry for Morelli, who by the way felt like an robot in this one.  I am bored by the drama. We get it, you can't pick a man, no need to rub it in our faces, no need to constantly be on a break from Morelli, and sniff Ranger's hair.

Did anything new happen? Nope Stephanie failed as a bond agent. Grandma went to a funeral, Ranger said babe, Morelli was busy, Lula tried to be cool, and a lot of baddies were after Stephanie. And I am supposed to believe that she survives? Oh please, someone would have killed that idiot ages ago.

I even got bored and felt like skimming. Before the books have at least gotten a smile from me. It used to be laughs, then smiles, now..nothing. I was numb and irritated.

Conclusion:

But I will still read book 19, like I said before, they are addictive. But as they just get worse and worse, my patient is starting to run out. I was bored by everything and everyone. The formula is stale. The same old same old wont cut it anymore. I am miserable! You are not supposed to feel like that after a book.

Cover

Whatever