Incomplete Reads: Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins

Title: Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins

Series: The Sweet Trilogy #1

Author:Wendy Higgins

Date Published: May 1st 2012

Publisher: Harper Teen

Embrace the Forbidden

What if there were teens whose lives literally depended on being bad influences?

This is the reality for sons and daughters of fallen angels.

Tenderhearted Southern girl Anna Whitt was born with the sixth sense to see and feel emotions of other people. She's aware of a struggle within herself, an inexplicable pull toward danger, but Anna, the ultimate good girl, has always had the advantage of her angel side to balance the darkness within. It isn't until she turns sixteen and meets the alluring Kaidan Rowe that she discovers her terrifying heritage and her willpower is put to the test. He's the boy your daddy warned you about. If only someone had warned Anna.

Forced to face her destiny, will Anna embrace her halo or her horns?

Usually when I don't finish a book two things can happen if I didn't read more than half I don't really talk about it on my blog if I read more than half I try to review it, this time I'm following Nikki from "There Were Books Involved" DNF Q & A

Did you really give Sweet Evil a chance?

Yes, this is actually the second time I've tried to finish this book, this time I got to the 60% on my Kindle.

Have you enjoyed other books of the same genre?

To be honest no, for some reason I always have problems with books that feature Angels in them.

Had you been looking forward to this book in particular? Why?

When it was released yes, I saw the book trailer and the cover and I fell in love with it. 

Did you have certain expectations for the book before starting it?

Since this was the first book by that author I read I really didn't know what to expect.

What ultimately made you stop reading?

The ridiculous characters and plot, I don't think this author know how teenagers or their parents act or think.

Was there anything you liked about Sweet Evil?

I liked the backstory on heaven and hell and the children of demons.

Would you read any other books by this author?

I'm not sure, if I do it will be in a long time

So you DNF’d the book – but would you still recommend it to anyone?

Yeah, just because I didn't like a book it doesn't mean that someone else won't.

Incomplete Reads: Shift-Legacy Hugh Howey

Title: First Shift-Legacy

Series: Silo #2A

Author:Hugh Howey

Date Published: April 14th 2012

Publisher: Broad Reach Publishing

In 2007, the Center for Automation in Nanobiotech (CAN) outlined the hardware and software platform that would one day allow robots smaller than human cells to make medical diagnoses, conduct repairs, and even self-propagate.

In the same year, the CBS network re-aired a program about the effects of propranolol on sufferers of extreme trauma. A simple pill, it had been discovered, could wipe out the memory of any traumatic event.

At almost the same moment in humanity’s broad history, mankind had discovered the means for bringing about its utter downfall. And the ability to forget it ever happened. 

Usually when I don't finish a book two things can happen if I didn't read more than half I don't really talk about it on my blog if I read more than half I try to review it, this time I'm following Nikki from "There Were Books Involved" DNF Q & A

Did you really give Shift a chance?

According to my Kindle I read 70% of the book so I think I did.

Have you enjoyed other books of the same genre?

Yes, Post-Apocalyptic books and Dystopias are my favorite genre.

Had you been looking forward to this book in particular? Why?

Not really, at first I thought this was another book by the author instead of the prequel of his series that I was currently reading.

Did you have certain expectations for the book before starting it?

Kind of, this book is the prequel to the "Wool" series so I expected to see how the world I saw in Wool came to be.

What ultimately made you stop reading?

The plot just failed to capture me, I really didn't care about the characters or what was happening to them.

Was there anything you liked about The Lucky Ones?

Yes, it explained how the Silo's were created. I won't say more so there are no spoilers.

Would you read any other books by this author?

Yes, but not any time soon, I think I need a break.

So you DNF’d the book – but would you still recommend it to anyone?

Yeah, this was one of those it's not you it's me kind of situations.

Incomplete Reads: The Lucky Ones by Anna Godbersen

Title: The Lucky Ones

Series: Bright Young Things #3

Author: Anna Godbersen

Date Published:November 27th 2012

Publisher: Harper Collins

Bright Young Things by Anna Godbersen, author of the bestselling Luxe series, introduced the girls of 1929, girls with big dreams and big secrets in the big city of Manhattan during the Jazz Age. Each girl had a different fate. One would marry. One would find fame. And one would die.

Lucky Ones, the thrilling conclusion to the glamorous Bright Young Things series, reveals the destinies of Broadway baby Letty Larkspur, bootlegger’s daughter Cordelia Grey, and flapper Astrid Donal.

Letty’s dream of fame is within her reach. Cordelia is the midst of a whirlwind romance with celebrity pilot Max Darby. Socialite Astrid is a new bride. But secrets and scandals could destroy their happiness as the last summer of the 1920s reaches its peak.

Usually when I don't finish a book two things can happen if I didn't read more than half I don't really talk about it on my blog if I read more than half I try to review it, this time I'm following Nikki from "There Were Books Involved" DNF Q & A

Did you really give The Lucky Ones a chance?

According to my Kindle I read 78% of the book so I think I did.

Have you enjoyed other books of the same genre?

Yes, I really enjoy historical fiction books, although this was the first book I've read that is set in the Prohibition era.

Had you been looking forward to this book in particular? Why?

Yes! I really enjoyed the previous two books in the series so I was very excited to see how the series ended.

Did you have certain expectations for the book before starting it?

I have to admit that I did, since in the first book told me in the prologue that one of the main characters would die, I had a pretty good idea of which one would but I wanted to see if it was only a bait.

What ultimately made you stop reading?

There were three main characters Astrid, Letty and Cordelia I've always liked Cordelia since the first book Astrid and I had a mixed relationship and I've never liked Letty, sadly in this book there was too much Letty who was still acting like a naive small town girl and Astrid was getting annoying always complaining how her marriage was not what she imagined. 

Was there anything you liked about The Lucky Ones?

Yes, throughout the series Cordelia's storyline has always been incredibly interesting and this book didn't disappoint, it focused on her role in her family's bootlegging business and her relationship with Max Darby, a young man of African-American descent.

Would you read any other books by this author?

Yes, this is actually the second series I've read by Anna Godbersen and I really like her style of writing.

So you DNF’d the book – but would you still recommend it to anyone?

Yeah, the series overall is a very good one, I think that I personally will have to be in a certain mood to finish this series

Incomplete Reads: Zodiac by Romina Russell

At the dawn of time, there were thirteen Houses in the Zodiac galaxy. Now, only twelve remain. . . .
 
In the Zodiac galaxy, your astrological sign determines everything about you. The stars tell the story of your life, and nothing—and nobody—is real unless you can actually touch them.
 
It’s a galaxy divided, where personalities clash and suspicions run high. Everyone is a potential enemy, so it’s best to stick to your kind. Hard-working realists in House Virgo scoff at sweet-talking Librans, who use stellar social skills to climb to the top. And while the brooding twins of House Gemini take forever to make a decision, optimistic Sagittarians hop from adventure to adventure without a thought.
 
House Cancer prizes loyalty and honesty above all else. When an unforeseen catastrophe strikes their ocean planet, the stars select sixteen-year-old Rho as their new Guardian. Rho suspects an ancient, power-hungry evil of legend has returned to exact revenge across the entire Zodiac. But Rho is an unknown novice and one of the youngest Guardians ever. Who should believe her?

And with the stars anywhere but in her favor, how can Rho defeat an enemy she can’t touch?
 
This first book of an epic sci-fi-meets-high-fantasy series takes place in a galaxy inspired by the twelve astrological signs—rendered with stunning complexity that both transports readers to a fascinating new world and holds up a mirror to reflect how we can better know each other in our own.  

I'm very sad to say that even though it's very early in the year I have already found a book that I just simply couldn't  finish, my main problem with Zodiac was that it featured a Snowflake heroine Rho is special, different just because, no explanations needed she is superior to everyone else. The second problem was all the terminology there was too much of it to the point I got very confused and didn't know what meant what. 

I might pick up this book again and finish it but it certainly won't be soon.

Incomplete Reads

I  try to finish all the books I start reading but every once in a while there are certain books that no matter the effort just don't work for me.
This time the book I couldn't finish was "No Good Duke Goes Unpunished" by Sarah MacLean. Spoilers ahead.

Blurb from Goodreads:
A rogue ruined . . .

He is the Killer Duke, accused of murdering Mara Lowe on the eve of her wedding. With no memory of that fateful night, Temple has reigned over the darkest of London’s corners for twelve years, wealthy and powerful, but beyond redemption. Until one night, Mara resurfaces, offering the one thing he’s dreamed of . . . absolution.

A lady returned . . .

Mara planned never to return to the world from which she’d run, but when her brother falls deep into debt at Temple’s exclusive casino, she has no choice but to offer Temple a trade that ends in her returning to society and proving to the world what only she knows . . . that he is no killer.

A scandal revealed . . .

It’s a fine trade, until Temple realizes that the lady—and her past—are more than they seem. It will take every bit of his strength to resist the pull of this mysterious, maddening woman who seems willing to risk everything for honor . . . and to keep from putting himself on the line for love.

The story starts with our hero Tempple, heir to a Dukedom,finding out that he slept with his fathers fiancee and heiressMara Lowe and apparently he also killed her as the whole bed is full of blood and Miss Lowe is missing.  So for the last twelve years Temple has been known as The Killer Duke by society and Temple himself believes that he is a murderer since he can't remember what he did that night.

Normally when I don't like  historical romances it's because of the hero beacuse I feel he doesn't deserve the heroine but in this case I feel that the heroine didn't deserve the hero.

Turns out Mara was never dead, she just didn't want to marry the Duke something I completly understood since she was 16 and the Duke was old enough to be her father, so little Mara and her brother decided that they would pretend that someone ruined Mara  so she wouldn't have to get married. Mara, our heroine confuses Temple with a footman and decides that she is going to drug him and use him as her fake lover, since Mara has heard that virgins bleed after their first time she gets some pig blood on the bed but she spills a little too much. So Mara escapes and because of the blood everyone thinks Temple is a murderer when she finds out she just leaves and thinks better him than me.

Twelve years later everyone still thinks that Temple is the murderer but this time Mara's brother has lost all his money and Mara decides that Temple has to forgive her brothers debt if she comes clean. Like any normal human being Temple is furious and doesn't want to forgive her or her brother so Mara can't belive that he is so mean and such a beast, how can he not see she is a good person that just let him be blamed for murder, so she does what any person would do she drugs him again but like the good angel she is she leaves her adress.

Turns out Mara runs a home for the bastard sons of noblemen, I assume tha author wrote this to make us see that Mara is not a horrible person, but the vibe I got was that she was only doing it to feel better with herself. When Temple arrives he tells her plan to basically humiliate her and then unmask her as a liar, this I didn't get it would have been easier just to take her to the authorities and never have to deal with her or her family ever again, it wasn't Temples fault that her idiot brother gambled away all their money.

As you can see I didn't like Mara, I get that she was young and scared but even at sixteen she sould have had enough brains to know that being blamed for murder is going to ruin anyones life, she could have come clean I don't think the Duke would have married her after that, I would have been ok with her but she never regretted what she did, it was never her fault and all the world was against her, she even was offended that Temple didn't give her what she wanted just because she wanted it. 

As for Temple I think he was an idiot for falling in love with her

I only read 3/4  but I just couldn't stand Mara blaming everyone for all her probles and Temple being oh you are pretty  and I want you. For this book it wasn't the hero that needed to redeem homself it was the heroine and I don't think she did.

Sorry for the long rant I just needed to get this out of my system.