Wednesday 24 July 2013

Grey clouds over the books...

Yes! I've finally gotten down to the KA series- one of them atleast! This rain, BTW, is so romantic... *sighs in pleasure*


No AttachmentsNo Attachments by Tiffany King
My rating: 0.73 of 5 stars


The start itself is very cliche even after having gotten into it without very many expectations for the plot. The girl is your typical 'rich' girl who has run away from home and drifts from one small town to another ( or maybe she's stupid and stays into a far enough away small town and tells the first employer she comes across all about her problems and expects sympathy...) due to her problems (even if they're not really that huge or something that can't be confronted...) she experienced at home. The boy's a cynical bastard who's keeping the fact that he's tracing this girl's whereabouts for a client ( whom he assumes is her jilted lover - Jeez, really? an old man with this young of a girl? can't he assume that the client's some sort of a relative or anything?) This was a pretty typical and predictable plot. The writing wasn't doing it's job of pulling me into the characters or the plot. The interaction between the characters seemed too unrealistic due to formal dialogue/ formal use of vocabulary. Even after the sudden revelation of the girl's "secret" it didn't make me sympathize with the girl entirely. Her actions because of it if a little unnatural were slightly understandable. As for the boy, I hated the bastard. Even after the secret of investigating is out (and it can't be compared to her's of having a terminal illness) he expects her to be still with him. He's not the one having a life-threatening illness nor is he someone who has fought it before. Instead of being understanding about it, he's selfish. As if that's not enough, when they see each other after the girl's successful recovery (again, unrealistic) he doesn't even try to understand her reaction and assumes she's rejecting him... All these hang-ups and the points in characters are depicted in a detached observational way even in the first person POV of both characters. The secondary characters are simply there as catalysts for the 'love story' only to be forgotten after their 'roles' (flimsy as they are) are finished. I wasn't convinced about the strange flashbacks from the past, the plot itself or anything at all. This was a design for a contemporary romance but was way too stereotypical, and disappointing at the least. There were sudden jumps in the pace which frustrated me. This is suited for people who like commercially satisfying plots.


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My rating: 2.9 of 5 stars


After finishing this book there were no 'unique' feelings that were experienced even though I didn't exactly hate reading it. As the title says, the main theme is the survival kit received by Rose from her mom after she dies due to cancer. Rose's feelings of coping with her mom's death were simple and quite realistic ( maybe some weren't...). Rose's character is somewhat lacking- she's too emotional and her actions/reactions are simple. There are still mistakes she makes, sometimes by behaving cowardly. Even through all this she felt slightly two-dimensional as the missing 'something' is what I couldn't find. I loved the 'Indian' element of cuisine, places and Krupa's character. The high school atmosphere is really uncomplicated without catty/petty undercurrents (which you've gotta admit is unrealistic...) I liked the involvement of sports- hockey and the gardening aspect which brings Rose and Will together. Their romance was another appreciated process because of it's steady pace with sweet, slow burns under it. ( this was refreshing because almost all of the YA novels adopt a 'physical appearances/ sexual tension' theme to justify their romance..) The simplistic high school psyche was one-dimensional. I would've liked Will's character to be more developed. Although there were many similarities of circumstances between them, their main difference (others being how different their natures are, etc) is that Rose is more susceptible to healing after her mom's death than Will as he's still not over his dad's death ( I know you can never get past it but he's still in coping mode after two years.) The survival kit is the highlight of the book. I loved the sentiment behind it and that imagination is required to really understand the significance of it's objects (this helps to snap out of the depression really well!) I do think it was coincidental ( maybe unrealistic) that the kit's objects always led to Will. I lived Rose's family's bond, Jim, Rose's Grandma and (maybe not so much but enough) Rose's dad. I didn't like the reference at the beginning of the book that Rose had the perfect life, boyfriend, etc in high school as this led me to fear that this book would be stereotypical... it also felt dramatic. I understood their dad's inability to cope with the loss. In the end I still wanted more in it because oddly it felt that something was missing...



It's KRISTEN ASHLEY TIME!!!!!!!! There are too many books of her but I'm starting with THE COLORADO MOUNTAIN series just because I've written  Breathe's review already. This is my third favourite series.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
God I LOVE KRISTEN ASHLEY!!!!!!!!!! Of course as soon as I finished the first book from her I scrambled to get more and read them, devour them!!! I'm in love with her style, her writing, her characters, her setting, the situations which her characters get into and basically her books!!!! Smart, witty, funny, emotional, blunt, caring, appreciating, not taking things that matter for granted are some of the things I love about her. It'll take ages to list all the things!! I've tried to find any book like her but there's nothing even close !!!! Any way after finishing the Rock Chic series, I immediately jumped onto this one.
This book was somewhat of a departure from her normal 'action' themed book but it's KRISTEN ASHLEY guys! There's no way I didn't wanna read it!!! *grins* The summary is pretty clear about the plot and the journey of reading this is amazing just like her other books!!!
Yup, GO READ IT! 




My rating: 4 of 5 stars
It's already been established that I have a girl crush on Kristen Ashley and her books so I didn't expect any less in this next book in the COLORADO MOUNTAIN series. First of all Sweet Dreams is a long-ass book but that never fazed me because the characters were quirky and individualistic, the plot was riveting (to say the least) and there was quite a bombardment of new characters in the neighbouring town of Carnal (not to mention the town itself!) Obviously I LOVED IT!!!! Tate Jackson is the more or less same expected (but welcome and appreciated) mix of jerk, alpha with a capital A (for which Ms. Ashley is sooooo famous for!)but loyal, protective, caring-in-his-own-way, Bad-ass Biker to the bone who is pretty insulting to our heroine in the beginning ( yes that riled me up badly and I hated him at first!)  Lauren is such a sweetheart! She's loving, sensitive, generous, forgiving, tolerant, and glaringly uneducated in the "bad-ass biker ways of Tate's world" !!!!!!! There were so many moments of smiling and laughing out loud even with the obvious lingering 'serial murders' not to mention the amazing characters like Krystal, Bubba, those pair of hippies, and all the others that lift the plot on their shoulders.... With each book I have the strong urge to ask Ms Ashley - HOW IN HELL DO YOU DO IT!!?????? How can she bring to life such a dazzling array of people and not one of them is unnecessary or hateful??? Incredible! That's who she is and every one of her books!
You got that right, don't just sit there staring, go and read it!!!!!!!!11




My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars


In all the other books of this series, this one is my FAVOURITE!!!!!! Where or how do I begin? Of course this is another long book but this time it's even better than
  The Gamble (Colorado Mountain, #1)
or
  Sweet Dreams (Colorado Mountain, #2)
I know what you're thinking- How can that be? But it's true! I even like this better than Rock Chic series! ( I mean sometimes I think I can't choose even one of them as all are amazing then I get moods and for now this book is the best!) The town of Carnal is back with a vengeance (hmmm, unexpected intended pun...) with all those beloved characters coming in to steal our breaths. This time, Tyrell Walker is the hero of our story. Having endured injustice, Ty is the type of man to not just sit still with hands on his lap but get up and seek vengeance the day he's released from having suffered the consequences of that injustice. He's one-upped the bad-ass of even bikers because he's a man unto himself. Quietly caring, bad-ass to the nth degree, selective and reserved with a unique charm and most of all a man of his word. And to divert a man such as this from his "grand plan o' vengeance" in only 2 days is saying something! This brings me to that amazing woman- Lexie... God, I didn't think there would be anyone better than Lauren but there it is- Alexa Walker ( Oh sorry, when Ty says it's Walker then it sorta sits in your brain...) / Berry.
That woman is so fucking unbelievable that it's not even funny!!! Would you expect a girl born in a crackhouse to turn out like her?? NEVER in a million years! Her strength of character, her 'goofiness' (again, I'll remind you, what Ty says, sticks like glue), her honesty and complete openness even to virtual strangers, her amazing ability to never ever take a single thing for granted, her resilient nature, her 'class' (yes,it's Ty again) and just everything that is her- I've never read about a character like her!!!!!
I've gotta say Ty acts a lot like a jerk when his temper lights up and that's the only thing I hated about him... The wheels of justice rolling in this book is something special and the best highlight of it. The plot surpassed my expectations (and they were high; it being a KA book!) This is one hell of a book and from someone who reads choice books and realistic fiction, which is like, completely opposite of contemporary romance, this is saying something! I'm unabashedly and absolutely in love with these books!
GO KRISTEN ASHLEY!!!!!!!! I'm looking forward to
  Breathe (Colorado Mountain, #4)
!!!!!!!




My rating: 4.7 of 5 stars


I was hooked on Kristen Ashley when Rock Chick came across. Her voice is so so different and her style is something I revere and even though I'm into realistic fiction, I love, LOVE her books!
I used to think that Lady Luck was the best story out this series before I read Breathe. And here we are revisiting the town of Carnal with that adorable quirky bunch of characters again!!! This book seems to tie up many loose ends from Lady Luck. We get to know the real Chace Keaton and exactly what happened to him during the town's biggest crisis. Kristen has penned Chace in her usual amazing style- he's unbelievably sweet, humble, modest, stubborn (very but just as much like the other KA men), Alpha, caring, loving, the perfect gentleman, old-fashioned, refined, just and kind. I didn't think such a combination could be imagined but, there it is... I loved Chace so much because of his strict ideals about justice and his 'back-breaking' actions to uphold them. He was (God, aren't there any other words besides 'amazing' and 'incredible'?) FAN-fuckin'-TASTIC (I stole KA 'word'ology!!)
Faye became my favourite girl (Geez, it's uncanny how Miss Ashley keeps writing more great girls and each one tops the other!) Faye is the town's shy but pretty librarian but underneath that misleading exterior, there's a tough woman with a strong set of morals, kind, understanding, GEEKY, cute, caring, sensitive, loving, bright, smart, funny and deft to handle any situations... I laughed a lot at the geeky 'Star Wars' references & other similar geeky stuff that she liked!! I didn't think any such woman could be worded out but here she is and she's everything that I wanted...
I loved Faye and Chace, I salivated for every aspect of their relationship! I loved when Faye made Chace realize that she was capable of handling bad shit and showed it through her perspective! I'm in love with the way Chace handled the choice of how to move forward when there was darkness dragging him down every moment... I took up the advise of listening to all the songs to get into the 'mood' and I loved Ella Mae Bowen's Holding Out For Hero !!! There was nothing I didn't LOVE about this book!! :) *squeeeeee!!* The best one of the four but maybe there's still Jagged and Kaliedoscope


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