Review: The Avery Shaw Experiment by Kelly Oram

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Pages: 230
Series: Science Squad #1 (works as standalone)
Release Date: May 2, 2013
Publisher: Bluefields

It’s been quite a while since I’ve read a YA romance that involved a heterosexual couple. But when I read the synopsis of this book, it was so harmless and cute that I wanted to give it a try. Plus it was on Kindle Unlimited and worked for my reading challenge so instead of just adding it to my infinite reading list, I started reading it the next day.

The story follows Avery Shaw, who is in love with her best friend, or thinks she is. The two have been together ever since their moms became best friends while they were pregnant. They were even born on the same day. Avery has been waiting for Aiden to realize that he, too has feelings for her, for years. But instead comes something very different when Aiden tells Avery that he needs space. And Avery loses her best friend, the person she’s been closest to for seventeen years, and is utterly heartbroken.

Enter Grayson. He’s Aiden’s older brother and when he sees how broken up Avery is because of his total ass of a brother, he steps in to help. One thing leads to another and the two end up doing a science project together, one which aims to prove that a broken heart can be mended by experiencing the seven stages of grief.

And yes, it’s a cheesy concept. But that’s why I wanted to read it. It’s a funny, cute and fluffy story with teenager being slightly exaggerated versions of teenagers, a shy ever-blushing female protagonist and a bold, tad pushy but very supported, male protagonist who’s also hilarious. It’s told from the perspectives of both Avery and Grayson, goes through the seven stages of heartbreak without trying to make you cry, and has a very sweet friends-to-lovers romance. For the most part, this book is exactly what I wanted it to be.

A few little things though. The writing, while completely fine, is a little… Wattpad-y. The actions and reactions are exaggerated in a way you’d usually find in a Wattpad novel, albeit a very good one. For example, I searched the number of times someone gasped in the book. Thirty-seven! That’s a lot of gasping!

Also, the book seemed to be playing ping-pong with it’s awareness and sensitivity toward certain issues. One minute Grayson would want Avery to push through her anxiety as if it’s supposed to be that easy. The next he would talk about how he knows that it isn’t that easy and that she was diagnosed with social anxiety years ago. Also, I wish the author had toned it down with the nerds and jocks division. Like, someone would say the word ‘velocity’ and you’d hear another person, a jock, exclaim about how that was way too nerdy. Seriously, how the fuck do you get to be a highschool senior when velocity is too sophisticated for you?

But… most of it was for comedic purpose and the book doesn’t doesn’t actually encourage harmful stereotypes. Yes, it’s still cheesy and you won’t find anything new in it, but it can also be kinda refreshing. Like I said, ping-pong!

Overall, if you’re in the mood for something short and sweet that will make you laugh and cheer you up, I’d definitely recommend giving this book a try. Just remember to not take it too seriously and just enjoy it for what it is. Also, the characters really are great. Avery, Grayson and their friends (not Aiden), they make for enjoyable company.

Advertisements

Review: In the Shadows by Hailey Turner

This Random Shirtless Dude is allowed because he’s not random. It’s clearly Alexei, ’cause of the fiery hand.

Genre: Adult, Science Fiction, Romance, M/M
Pages: 368
Series: Metahuman Files #3
Release Date: April 22, 2017
Publisher: Hailey Turner

Third book in the series, none of them are standalones, and this one’s changed things up a bit. The first two mainly follow Jamie and Kyle, with the rest of Alpha Team as side characters. In this one, the main characters are Alexei and Sean. Though they’re not replacing the other two as MCs. More like we’re getting two more main characters, bringing the total to a four.

We met Alexei in the first book. Kyle’s brother, pyrokinetic, Russian, hates paperwork, loves food, funny, badass and a little grumpy when he doesn’t get his way.

I love Alexei. He’s a great characters who adds levity to every scene he’s in and I love the relationship he has with Kyle. Sean, on the other hand, is not someone I immediately warmed up to. He was a spy with the CIA before he got turned into a metahuman. And now he’s working with Alpha Team with the Pavluhkin mission. Pavluhkin, who can see the fucking future, even if his power only extends to the next 24 hours or so.

Anyway, Sean’s more of a tortured soul. He’s used to being alone, on missions and in general, and he’s pretty much resigned himself to an unhappy fate. There’s no better person than Alexei to brighten up his life. And when one of Sean’s missions go sideways and Alexei joins him, the two finally get a chance to be better acquainted. In the midst of a dangerous mission with people who could try to kill them at any moment, but still.

And since I’ve read the next two book already, I can give this book the title of the last relatively relaxed book in the series. Emphasis on ‘relatively’ because the amount of people who try to kill our main characters don’t actually make for a relaxed book.

But though they’re on a mission trying to find out more about the Splice labs, the setting and even the pace is relaxed enough that Sean and Alexei get time to get to know one another better and maybe start something romantic. The two have very different personalities that complement each other’s perfectly. Alexei, like I said, brightens up Sean’s life while Sean introduces some caution to Alexei’s.

The two work really well together. And the relationship building is done simultaneously with the mission instead of between missions, something that bothered me about In the Wreckage, which makes the book more… uniform.

This is a great book. I did feel at times that it could have benefited from another read-through to clean up some sentences and maybe a few typos, but other than that, I really enjoyed it. It has a fact pace that slows down when the story demands it, it’s got great characters and I already loved the world that the series is set in.

I’m so ready to reread the next two books in the series. They will feature Jamie, Kyle, Sean and Alexei as the main characters and we’ll get a conclusion to the mess with Pavluhkin.

Review: The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal
Pages: 419
Series: None
Release Date: September 3, 2013
Publisher: Little, Brown Books

I adore the cover of this book. It’s one of my favourites. Add in the fact that it’s a book written by Holly Black, who I also love, and it’s shocking, though maybe not, that I’ve been wanting to read it for two years and simply never got around to it. But I finally did and it was awesome.

This is a book about vampires. Set in a bloodier version of our world in which the vampires came out of hiding and the world descended into chaos. Then Coldtowns were construed, which are basically entire cities that have been walled in to contain the vampires and those who are infected, via vamp bite. There are also humans in these Coldtowns. They are either ones who were already in the city when the walls were constructed or ones who write who write gothic poetry about eternal life and romanticize vampirism to death—no pun intended. So a lot teenagers in Coldtowns.

Tana lives on the outside and is not of the vampirism-is-my-destiny type. But she attended a party which… ended on an unpleasant note and now she, her infected ex, and a vampire (they’re not all evil) must head to the nearest Coldtown before Aidan, the ex, goes rabid and tries to eat her or someone else.

And that’s all I want to say about the plot because it’ll be better if you uncover everything as you go along. But I will talk about both the world building and the characters.

Holly Black’s world building, in my opinion, is highly underrated. Sure, everyone’s obsessed with her Cruel Prince series but they’re missing out if those are the only books they pay attention to. Because it’s in books like this one and White Cat that I think the author’s skills really shine. Because world building isn’t just about the big things like wars and fights. It’s about little things like the impact on pop culture and the blogs full of teens who want to become vampires. Those are the things that make the world feel real. And Holly Black is so good at those.

As for the characters, I loved Tana, who was so strong but also a mess, who was a very believable teenager without ever being unlikable because the author made sure we understood her. The vampire, Gavriel, was also great. And unhinged, but I don’t have a problem with that. The side characters were less great. In fact, they’re my one complaint with the book.

I loved reading this book. And the only time I was annoyed was when it came to the side characters, who were mostly shitty people. Aidan was a total douche, all I’m-gonna-smirk-my-way-out-of-the-consequences-of-my-actions. And then there were two teens they picked up on their way to the Coldtown, Midnight and Winter (not their real names). Winter was mostly fine but Midnight—seriously, could you be more of a goth-wannabe?—was one of the most infuriating characters ever.

But I could have overlooked the annoying twits if we hadn’t spent so much time with them. There were good side characters too but they weren’t enough to balance out the bad ones.

Overall, this was a great book in which the only problem was that Tana needed to keep better company. As flaws go, this isn’t a big one. Especially when you consider that she didn’t have much of a choice. I loved the book and I would really like a sequel, or spin-off set in this world, because there’s so much possibility to it. In the meantime, you should definitely read this one.

Review: Hard Times by Charles Dickens

Genre: Classics, Social Novel
Pages: 320 (small-ish font)
Series: None
Release Date: 1854
Publisher (this edition): Fingerprint! Publishing

A miracle has happened. I’ve been reading this book on and off since January. I didn’t think I’d ever finish it. But I did! Even if it did take seven fucking months.

I have a complicated relationships with Dickens’ novels. On one hand, I love the way he winds his sentences to say the simplest thing in a very clever way. On the other hand, I hate that the guy seems incapable of writing a straight sentence and that his character talk on and on… I don’t have the attention span to read and understand a sentence that goes around in circles for 10 fucking lines! That said, and as frustrating as it was to be reading this book at times, there are some things I really liked.

Hard Times, for those who don’t know, is set in Coketown in the highly utilitarians times of 19th century England. The characters, very deliberately, have been constructed as caricatures, representations, of certain types of people of the time.

There’s Thomas Gradgrind, a father of four who cares only for Facts and has raised his children to deal with nothing else. There’s his eldest daughter, Louisa, who is conflicted by her emotions, the mere presence of them, because she was never taught to understand them. There’s his son Tom, who has grown to resent his father for the life he was given. There’s Josiah Bounderby, a capitalist factory owner (and utter bastard) who sees his employees as nothing more than Hands, without individuality. There’s Stephen Blackpool, one such hand who only wants a simple and satisfying life. And finally, we’ve got Sissy Jupe, the daughter of a circus entertainer who, due to circumstances, comes to live with Thomas Gradgrind.

A lot of characters, I know. And there are still a few others I haven’t mentioned. And they all have a role to play. Their lives are entwined. And they all come together in this setting to paint a very pessimistic picture of the life in this town. Which was what Dickens wanted to do. But it can get a little to dim when nothing good seems to happen to anyone and all the good guys lose.

Also, reading a pretty bleak book with a lot of characters, but none I particularly cared for, was not my idea of fun. Also, in an attempt to show the flaw of Thomas Gradgrind’s philosophy of ‘Facts, Facts, Facts’, Dickens may have favoured the opposite too much as we see people like Sissy or Stephen or Rachel as the only ones who are truly wise about the world. Also, sometimes an overly rational nature, or lack thereof, is more about personality than upbringing. And there’s nothing wrong with either. The world needs all kinds of people, after all.

Overall, this was a decent read that took me forever to get through. And I can see why some might adore it while others would find it unbearably dull. It’s not for everyone, but it’s still worth a try.

Review: Single Malt by Layla Reyne

Genre: Adult, Contemporary Romance, M/M, Mystery
Pages: 194
Series: Agents Irish and Whiskey #1
Release Date: February 27, 2017
Publisher: Carina Press

The second book in the Fog City series came out yesterday. But I didn’t read it because like the first book, this one is also supposed to end with a cliffhanger and I can’t deal with that again. So I’m going to wait for the third book (which is the last one) to come out before out go back to the series. But I still wanted to post a Layla Reyne review and this series has been on my radar for a while. There are four book and the first three focus on Agents Irish and Whiskey while the fourth is a spin-off.

Aidan Talley (Irish) is an FBI agent who, eight months ago, lost both his husband and FBI partner in an accident. Now, as he’s finally learning to accept what happened and get back to work, he’s hit with the news that maybe the accident was really an accident. And that with the help of his new partner, he can investigate what happened.

Jamie (Whiskey) is the new partner. Jamie has worked in the cyber crimes department for three years but the SAC wants him for field work. So pairing him with Aidan is about learning how to work in the field and solving the mystery of the deaths of Aidan’s husband and partner.

But that’s the focus of the series as a whole. So you won’t be getting any final answers about the accident in this book. Instead, along with this case, Aidan and Jamie work on other cases. The main focus in this one was a security breach, a hack threatening a high-security bio-containment facility. That and the budding relationship between Aidan and Jamie which, on Jamie’s side, is pretty simple. Jamie’s been crushing on Aidan from a distance for years. It’s Aidan who isn’t ready to move on. Who might not even want to move on.

And if I were to divide this review into pros and cons, the pros are… hard to define. I liked the book in that it has a good story and decent writing. It’s also got characters that I could really get behind with a little more time spent with them. The romantic chemistry is also there. Plus I like the cases the two work on.

The cons are that while plenty of things are good or decent, they could be great. The romantic chemistry could be better, the writing could use a smoother flow, we could stand to know the characters better and the story could be better executed, with scene transitions where one scene leads to the other rather than the somewhat abrupt ones we got here. Also, the information we get about cases could use more coherency.

A lot of this, I think, will improve with the next book. For other things, we’ll just have to see. This is a good start to a series and I enjoyed the book. Just not as much as I’d hoped to. Still, I’m looking forward to the rest of the series.

Review: Here Lies Daniel Tate by Cristin Terrill

Genre: Young Adult, Mystery, Contemporary
Pages: 400
Series: None
Release Date: June 6, 2017
Publisher: Simon & Schuster

4.25 stars seem like an attempt at breaking the streak of 4 stars that’s been going on for a couple of weeks. But really, that’s not what it is. 4 didn’t seem like enough and 4.5 seemed too much (I know that makes little sense). One one hand, I really liked this book and read it in just a few sitting. But on the other hand, there are aspects that could’ve been better.

The book follows a guy who lives on the streets of Canada, surviving by pretending to be a few years younger than he is and getting temporary stays at juvenile homes (I forgot if they’re called something else). And whenever people start asking questions, he moves on. No trace left behind. Not even a name. But this time he luckily, or unluckily, finds himself assuming the identity of a kid, Daniel Tate, who went missing six years ago, which leads to a life of huge mansions and a chance at a normal life. And lots of secrets.

Other than him, there’s the family of Daniel Tate who have just gotten their brother back, and a girl. The girl, in my opinion, wasn’t a great addition. The book’s pace and story just doesn’t have time for a romance . It also doesn’t fit the narrative. So even though I understood it as the author attempt to have “Daniel” make a real connection for once, the book could’ve worked without it as well.

All the other characters I’ve no issue with. Daniel’s older brother and sister make for great characters, though I’ll let you get to know them yourself. And Nicholas, also older but only by a couple years, is the actual real connection for our protagonist, one I was fully on board with. Lots of brotherly potential between the two. Or even just friends.

Getting back to the protagonist… I loved him. Such a great main character. He was smart, observant, perceptive, and a surprisingly sympathetic character despite the lies he told and the fact that he was kinda taking advantage of the Tate family. So not only did I like him as a character, I cared about him too. His voice in the book was very well done and it’s half the reason the book’s as interesting as it is. Also, even though he’s smart, and can be calculating, he’s not the unbelievably, always-one-step-ahead smart. And his vulnerabilities reflect his past and add to his complexity. Definitely my favourite part of the novel.

Overall, the foreshadowing could’ve been a tad more subtle and the romance less rushed, but this was a great read and further proof that I need to read more mystery novels (I say that every time). I will also be checking out more of this author’s book. She’s fairly new and I’m excited to see what she’ll write next.

Review: Forgotten: Luca by Sloane Kennedy

Genre: Adult, Contemporary Romance, M/M
Pages: 304
Series: The Four #1
Release Date: July 31, 2019
Publisher: Sloane Kennedy

Trigger Warning: Includes references to sexual assault of a minor, and drug use.

Technically, this book can be read as a standalone. It says so right at the beginning. Plus it’s the first book in a new series. That said, I would still recommend that you familiarize yourself with the Sloane Kennedy’s world. Maybe read Atonement and Unbroken beforehand? Or perhaps only Unbroken, since it’s the book that introduces one of the main characters, and tells us who The Four are.

The main character in question is Luca who, with the help of his brothers, spent eight years searching for his son who had been kidnapped. He had to be a part of a horrible world of people who sold and bought children for sex so that he could get any clue as to where his son might be.

Remy was one of the kids taken from his family. Eight years ago, he met Luca who promised to help get him out of there. Except that didn’t happen.

Now, finally, the two meet again. Remy has been free for two years and Luca has found his son, but both are still struggling because of the things they witnessed and endured. Remy hates Luca, not just for the lack of rescue, but for making him think there would be one. Luca has spent eight years feels guilty about the teenager he let down. And they’re finally get a chance to build some trust, and maybe more. Just not in the way I’d expected.

See, I’ve read almost all of Sloane Kennedy’s novels. I know all the characters and the tropes she favors. But with this book, I had certain things I was expecting-slash-hoping-for that didn’t happen. Gio and his recovery, for one, was not featured as prominently as I’d thought it would be. Also, the two protagonists were not on equal standing.

You see, with most of the author’s books, we always have at least one main characters who’s more emotionally (or in terms of safety) fragile than the other(s). Which leads of a dynamic of one character protecting the other. With this book I was hoping that, since Remy has been building a life for himself and quite self-sufficient, we’d get to see two characters with a truly equal partnership instead of a protector-protectee thing …which didn’t happen. In fact, the only time we’ve come close to such a thing was in Atonement.

But that was my only issue with the book. It was a really good read. There was the trust building that I’d wanted to see. I really like Remy as a character and Luca is… fine as well. I don’t dislike him but he’s not my favourite either. I liked how supportive he was of Remy though and I felt horrible for what he was going through with his son.

Remy’s struggle with drugs was very well portrayed, as an ongoing battle that he’d have to fight for years to come, maybe his whole life. I also liked how the author showed the amount of responsibility Remy was willing to take. Remy is quite a self-aware character when it comes to what he can handle. And I loved that he could admit to himself when something might become too much for him. Also, there was a surprise bond between two characters later on in the book that I really loved.

Overall, this was a very good start to a series. And even though I’m still not sold on all of Luca’s brothers, I’m definitely looking forward to the next book specifically, though I can’t talk about why because spoilers.

 

Thank you to the author for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Review: The Throne of Fire by Rick Riordan

Genre: Middle Grade, Young Adult, Fantasy, Mythology (Egyptian)
Pages: 452
Series: The Kane Chronicles #2
Release Date: May 3, 2011
Publisher: Disney Hyperion

The Throne of Fire is second book in The Kane Chronicles. I read the The Red Pyramid almost a year ago, so it would make sense to forget some things. But this is a Rick Riordan book and give how much I love the author, I’d expected to remember more than I did. But I’d forgotten so much! The big showdown in which they made a deal with Set, the fact that Zia wasn’t even Zia, Carter and Sadie inviting other magicians…

The book, thankfully, did a pretty good job of jogging my memory even as it was going full speed ahead toward the end of the world because Apophis (who I’d also forgotten about) would be rising in a matter of days and Carter and Sadie needed to find a way to stop him, which involved awakening Ra.

Now normally, I would start by comparing some aspects to that of the previous book but I can’t do that this time. I will say that I enjoyed the book. Carter and Sadie are great protagonists. It’s also nice to see a duo of siblings working together, which we don’t see that often. It creates a different dynamic. Whereas usually, we get love interests or even friends working together, family changes stuff up with the fact that they’re more honest about who they are. Also, the tension is of a very different kind.

Carter and Sadie don’t always get along. Part of it is because they lived separately for so long, and part of it is because they’re so different. Their way of dealing with a problem, their priorities, it’s all different. So we get to see two perspectives of a situation not just in terms of who’s narrating, but in terms of how they see things.

But despite their problem, the two work well together, they care about each other a lot and, when it comes to the big picture, they’re able to put their differences aside to focus on the bad guy. Plus the added bonus of two gods talking in their heads, the complicated situation with their dad being a god, their respective love interests, and the godly sidekick they get so that they can have a chance against their godly enemies; it all makes for a fun ensemble, all trying to stop a giant snake from destroying the world.

I liked all of that. In fact, I liked almost everything about the novel. I’ve always wanted to read about Egyptian mythology and this series was a great place to start. The thing that bothered me was the romantic element. Carter kicked-puppy thing when it comes to Zia can be bothersome. But Sadie boy-crazy thing is just friggin’ annoying.

Rick Riordan’s books almost always have love interests for characters. And since the feelings usually stem from friendship, that’s never bothered me. But the thing with Sadie needs to stop. The world is literally about to end in a matter of days, how is it important to write about Sadie’s feelings for one or the other boy? It was constant too and started to grate on me pretty quickly. All I can hope is that the third book will give us a reason for why we need to discuss Sadie’s conflicting feelings over two boys that often. I mean, Anubis on his own was bad enough, did we really need a love triangle? She’s thirteen!

Overall, a good sequel with some things that I didn’t enjoy. But it set up the third book nicely, I loved many of the new characters that were introduced, especially Bes, and I’m interested to see where the last book will take us.

Review: LIFEL1K3 by Jay Kristoff

Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Dystopia
Pages: 418
Series: Lifelike #1
Release Date: May 29, 2018
Publisher: HarperVoyager

Lifelike is set in a post-nuclear-war world. Which is fitting since nuclear war seems imminent these days.

The story is set decades after the bombs fell and it follows Eve Carpenter, a girl who lives in a city that’s not exactly developed. It’s what’s left of California and basically a culmination of all the crap people threw away. Eve is a dome fighter, meaning she fights robots who have corrupt programming. She earns money via bets and lives with her grandfather and her best friend, Lemon Fresh. And yeah, Lemon Fresh is her real name.

One day, during a fight, something goes very wrong.  And the result is that Eve becomes the target of a lot of bad people and has to flee. She takes her “bestest” with her, and her little android friend Cricket, who has a lot of sass. But instead of her grandfather, who suffers a different fate, the three are joined by Ezekiel.

Ezekiel is a Lifelike. Because he’s almost exactly like a human, with emotions and everything, just stronger and with healing and regenerative ability. Like Wolverine without the claws. The Lifelikes are not technically supposed to exist, since they went rogue, killed their creators and the program got shut down. But it seems they do exist after all. And one of them, one of the only good ones, is helping Eve with her on-the-run predicament.

It’s a good story. Yeah, it takes a few chapters to become familiar with the world and everything in it, but that’s to be expected. I really liked the world that the author created. I liked the little moments of humour that come from Cricket. I liked the ever-present sense of danger which kept me intrigued. The characters are a little more complicated…

I liked the protagonist. She could be a little irrational at times but given everything she was going through, it wouldn’t make sense for her to be completely okay. Cricket was fun, if a tad frustrating at times. Ezekiel was likable but in need of more individuality, which is something that I think the author will work on as the series progresses. We did see glimpses of the person (or Lifelike) he could be and I want to see who he will become. Lemon Fresh was a character that I didn’t like much. And it wasn’t even her fault.

For the longest time, Lemon was just an unnecessary tag-along. And we were supposed to accept it because she’s Eve’s best friend. Except I couldn’t buy into the friendship for a second. It felt so made-up. Which, in turn, made Lemon’s presence forced and pointless. Honestly, the tentative friendship between her and Ezekiel felt more real than anything she had with Eve. Also, the romance between Eve and Ezekiel didn’t work for me at all.

Funnily enough though, the end of the book solved almost all of the problems. I won’t go into how, but it was a great ending that I’m very happy with.

Overall, this was a good read. Not only did it set up a great world and a (possibly) great series, it also set up a path for all the characters. It was well-paced, wasn’t too long and, again, had a great ending. I’m very interested to see where the series will go next.

Review: How to Howl at the Moon by Eli Easton

Genre: Fantasy, Paranormal, Shapeshifters, Romance, M/M
Pages: 323
Series: Howl at the Moon #1 (works as standalone)
Release Date: February 28, 2015
Publisher: Pinkerton Road

I thought this was a book about werewolves. But while there are shapeshifters, they’re dogs, not wolves. And their origin is a little different.

The concept is that dogs, who have a very deep connection with their human owners, are transformed into humans (after the owners die, I think). They have the ability to switch between dog and human form at will. And so do their future generations. They’re all called “quickened”. It’s quite unique and clever concept, I’ll admit. But I had (and I’m still having) the worst time coming to terms with the dog part.

The main characters are Tim and Lance. Tim is human and new to town, living in a cabin that belongs to a kind old lady, who’s letting him live there rent-free for six months if he can grow some specific flowers for her. He’s a botanist who specializes in plant hybrids. And he’s running from something, which makes him act suspicious.

Lance is the sheriff of the town. He’s also the leader of a pack of quickened. So he makes sure that no one discovers their town’s little secrets, as well as keeping a lookout for any dangers. When Tim comes to town, all skittish and secretive, Lance isn’t happy about it. And he takes some extreme measures to find out exactly what Tim is up to. Which leads to a very adorable enemies-to-friends-to-lovers story with cute dogs and a very meddlesome mom.

I liked this book. The writing was good, the characters were likable, though Lance’s mother seriously needs to learn to back off, and the romance was so cute. This was a happy, feel-good, novel. I especially loved whenever Tim talked about his work, whether it was his history with his ex-employer or about some new seed he’s created.

The only thing I wasn’t entirely comfortable with was, like I said before, the dog part. It’s just a little strange to me that there are characters who were literally dogs days or weeks or years ago (though for Lance, it was generations). They’re not a different species or people with powers or anything. It was more a case of Bippity Boppity Boo! than anything else. And even though a part of me agrees that it still makes a whole lot more sense than vampires—they don’t breathe! Brains can’t function without oxygen!—it will likely take some time to get used to, especially in a romantic and sexual context.

That said, this was a good book and I’d recommend checking it out. I’ve heard good things about this series so I’ll probably be reading the other books (all following different characters) at some point.