Owned (Decadence After Dark #1): 3 Stars

Author: M. Never
Length: 237 pages
Hmmmm so I just finished this book about 2 minutes ago and I'm trying to figure out what rating I want to give it. I think I'll go with 3 stars and here's why.

Based on the synopsis anyone going starting this book should be aware it's pretty dark: the main female character, Ellie, is kept isolated, chained up, collared and forced into submission by the alpha, Kayne. And thanks to the spelling of his name, I kept reading it as "Kanye" for the entire book, even after I realized on the third or so page that it was pronounced CAIN. But the damage had been done so he remained Kanye for the duration.

I haven't read a ton of BDSM so I liked seeing all the little chains and gadgets that Cain (sorry, Kayne) liked to use. It was always something new and kept my interest. Kanye/Kayne at least knew what he was doing in that department and I loved seeing him open Ellie up to things she hadn't even known existed.

We're told that Kayne has his reasons for holding Ellie against her will, but the explanation that comes at the end of the book lacks practicality and doesn't make him at all sympathetic. So maybe that could've been thought out a little more.

The external storyline involving Javier and the drug trade was not as interesting (although Javier made a formidable rival). It was almost like an afterthought in order to take us outside of the room where Ellie and Kayne would do their thing. There was a shocker at the end involving Javier that really caught me off-guard, and I thought, oh wow I am definitely going to have to read the second book if this is where it's headed! But that excitement was squashed a few paragraphs later when the complication was wrapped up tidily. That was a slight bummer; if things had gone in a different direction there I would've continued the series.

I did enjoy the book, but I guess I'm not personally invested in Ellie & Kayne's storyline enough to find out what ultimately happens between them. This was a fun, quick read though for anyone looking for dark erotica or BDSM.

Heir of Fire (Throne of Glass #3): 4 Stars

Author: Sarah Maas
Length: 576 pgs.
Audiobook length: 20 hours 39 minutes

WOW. Wowee wow wow. This was SUCH an improvement on the second book - Crown of Midnight (review here.)

Whereas Crown of Midnight was almost like a history lesson on Celaena’s world (with a little action and a devastating loss thrown in), Heir of Fire is so chockfull of action, betrayal and mischief that there's hardly any room to breathe between chapters. It's also where we witness Celaena completely come into her own and transform from the emotionally disabled assassin into the woman she is meant to be. It was time for her to grow up and it seems like such a natural progression.


We’re introduced to many new characters, one of whom is Manon, heir to the powerful Blackbeak witch clan. It’s amazing to me the thought that goes into the creation of all these characters with their rich, realistic personal backstories and extended history, unique behaviors, traditions and beliefs. The addition of the witches to the story is an example of this, and it’s not just Manon’s clan we meet but the Yellowlegs and Bluebloods as well. And why they are all together is something I won’t spoil here but gives me chills thinking about how it will eventually all play out. This is a story well over 500 pages and yet there’s so much more to come on this front.

Another character who was introduced is Rowan. He’s unlikeable at first, and wants to be that way. Yet, the bond that slowly forms and changes and grows between him and Celaena throughout the book feels completely real. By the end of the book I was emotionally affected by their friendship and the way that they rescue each other from various situations. It’s also Rowan who helps to unlock Celaena’s heart.

Shit definitely hits the fan in this book. No one really feels safe (as in, not to be killed off) except for Celaena, and that’s only because I already know her story continues, otherwise I might question even that. At the end of the book, the ever-present danger shows itself in an oh-shit-now-it’s-going-down way, and we know from that point that things are going to be WAY different moving forward.

It’s a combination of the emotional character transformations, the new relationships that are formed (some of which are painfully extinguished), the solid new characters that are introduced, new information that shines a light on so many things we’ve already seen and learned in this series, and the events that unfold in Heir of Fire’s conclusion that make this book pack such a powerful punch. I think I need to take a break and listen to some lighter fare before moving on to the fourth book, but I definitely will be reading that soon because I can’t wait to find out how everyone comes out on the other side of this.

Enslaved By the Ocean: 4 Stars

Author: Bella Jewel
Length: 223 pgs.
Audiobook Length: 6 hours 55 minutes


This was another freebie I picked up and I added audible narration for $1.99. Pirates just fascinate me – adventures on the open seas, battles with other pirates, making captives walk the plank, forever wandering with no home other than their ship. I usually snatch up anything having to do with pirates when it’s free.

This was a delicious, naughty adventure I enjoyed despite the horrible audiobook narrator. She was such an off choice for this book. Despite that I still liked the story. It revolves around Indigo, a woman who decides to travel by boat with her best friend Eric from America to England to escape an abusive ex who’s being let out of prison. She’s the one who actually put him in prison, so she has reason to be fearful. On their way, their ship wrecks and their guide is killed. She and Eric float for days before being found by a ship of pirates.

Eric is imprisoned by their “rescuers” and Indigo is meant to be given to a different pirate to settle a debt between him and this ship’s captain, Hendrix. Hendrix and Indigo have sparks immediately, though he’s closed off because he’s, well, a pirate and doesn’t want any attachments. He can’t deny he’s attracted to her however, and things soon start to happen between them.

The erotic bits were so much fun. Hendrix and Indigo have such chemistry that I couldn’t wait for them to get together. And there’s just something about a bad boy that makes it that much more enjoyable, especially when they start opening up little by little. You can’t get much ‘badder’ than a pirate.

The plot goes a little wonky at times: Indigo has a run-in with her abusive ex, her best friend Eric is a limp noodle cockblocker (going so far as to SLAP her at one time which has NO repercussions for him!?), and a storyline about her father who abandoned her as a child comes back at the end in an unlikely way. But I can overlook all that. This is a book simply meant to give you those enjoyable tingles while weaving a tale of pirates and sea adventure, and it was a fun read for me. With this genre my requirements are usually simple – does it make me tingle? Is it fun? Is the dude schmexy? Is the girl likable enough not to make me want to tear my hair out (or hers)? If I can answer all those with a yes then it’s 4 stars from me.

Onto the next book in the series!

On Wings of Time: Lochlainn Guardians #1: 3 Stars

Author: Linda Boulanger
Length: 202 pgs.

I picked this book up as an Amazon freebie. The cover made me chuckle but the storyline about dragons and time travel piqued my interest.

The book is about Amileigh, a young woman from 600 years ago who finds out she is a Prihom, a woman meant to unlock her true mate's inner dragon via, well, doin' it. She meets Eric, who was pulled into her time from 600+ years in the future to find out he is this mate. There's a rival dragon clan who wants to kill all the dragons in Eric's line so that they can make the remaining humans their slaves and become the most powerful force on earth. Therefore it's vital that Eric's line continue their dragon shifting and protection of those powerless to stop this from happening.

This is my first dragon shifter book, so I'm not sure what detail typically goes into the shifting part of it. In this book we get literally no details about the shifting itself other than what color Eric turns out to be in dragon form. I didn't mind it too much though, I just wanted to get to the good stuff- dragon fighting and the such. Buuuut, there's not much detail there either, other than the good dragons end up fighting the bad dragons and we figure out who wins when it's over about half a page later.

So detail isn't really a focus here, but I didn't really mind that in the end. The chemistry and pull between Eric and Amileigh is fun, even though Eric acts like an entitled teenager at times (he's in his twenties). When they finally get together to unlock Eric's dragon it's steamy enough to satisfy anyone's romance/erotica craving.

I enjoyed this book slightly more than I thought I would although it's pretty much on par with what you'd expect to get from a free book about time-travel and dragon shifting. I think I'll try out more dragon-shifting books though, because I enjoyed reading about their ancient, magical family history of dragons and Prihoms.

I'm always glad when I finish a freebie because it means I'm not just clouding up my Kindle with free Amazon bull@%, and I think with some more attention to detail and a little more solid storyline this could've been a four star read, but it's a quick enough read that if it's not your thing you get through it quickly enough. And anytime a book opens you up to something that's normally outside your genre it's a win, so I'm glad I picked this one up.

Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass #2): 3 Stars

Author: Sarah Maas
Length: 12 hrs 24 min
I gave the first book in this series five stars. It was an amazing read for me. I loved the heroine freed prisoner/assassin Celaena Sardothian. I felt torn by the charming love triangle between her, Prince Dorian and Chaol, the captain of the guard. I loved the storyline and the mystery, and I rooted for her the whole time.

I guess it's normal, expected even, for a series to have a sophomore slump. For me, this book was definitely slump worthy. It's hard for me to pinpoint exactly why I dropped my rating for this one by 2 stars. One of the differences was that I listened to the audiobook version, and the narrator has a haughty tone that makes everyone sound conniving and/or conceited. And okay, so that might be the case actually, but hearing it versus reading it usually isn't a problem for me. Here it was hard for me to have the same connection with Celaena that I had in the first book when I pictured her sounding tough yet vulnerable. The narrator made her sound almost petulant. And she may be written as somewhat of a brat at times, but I preferred my own projection versus the audiobook version. It was just a little off-putting.

The second problem was that there was SO MUCH SETUP AND INFORMATION packed into this book that it doesn't leave much for action. We learn more about the Wyrd written language introduced in Throne of Glass and Wryd keys and where they came from and what they mean and information about the king and things he might be working on, and more background history on the war that "ended" magic, and history on Celaena herself. If you're not paying very close attention, it's easy for things to get convoluted. So that was another audiobook issue for me. I can pay attention while listening, but when there are names I need to learn and complicated family and world history I need to remember, it's better to see it in writing and take the time to process it. Maybe I could have appreciated it better or felt more of an impact from the new information if I had read it instead of listened to it.

As for my comment about not leaving room for the action - okay, so there is action in this book. But I felt like it was limited to a few big events rather than being exciting throughout. One of the big events throws Celaena completely off her rocker, and she spends a lot of time deep in thought and grief. It's supposed to affect the reader in the same way I guess, but said event was something that I expected to happen eventually (I felt a character was only put there to be taken away) and wasn't that devastating for me. The next big event that I remember happening is about 80% into the book, and after finishing the audiobook in the same sitting, I actually went back and re-read this part via the kindle version. I just felt, again, like it gave me a deeper impact to read it without the narrator's influence.

Buuuut, despite the narrator, this book just didn't do it for me. I'm guessing it was the information overhaul combined with the lack of Celaena-doing-her-badass-assassin-thing that made it fall kind of flat. And that's another thing - Maas is very good at telling us how great of an assassin Celaena is. It's mentioned as a recap i.e. telling us she just killed countless people on the king's orders, but we didn't tag along on those kills. The ones we're privy to always involve Celaena getting injured and/or caught, and I just wish we saw more of her being the best assassin in the world and all that. I know that wouldn't be as exciting if we saw her get away with it every time, but a little more could be done to help us believe all this praise.

Points for the bomb dropping, though, at the very end of the book. So many complications stem from this cliffhanger!

Despite the fact that this won't be my favorite book in the series, it won't deter me from continuing what is still an exciting story. I jumped right into #3. I have both the audiobook and kindle version to Heir of Fire, and I'm still going to listen to the audiobook version on my commutes to help me get through it faster, but other than that I think I'll stick to reading the book since that was part of why I enjoyed Throne of Glass so much. I am 75 pages in at this point and already liking it more than Crown of Midnight!

Recap: January 2018

January has been a good reading month for me. I've completed nine books - I don't know if I could repeat that if I tried. And the majority of them were 4 stars! Here's the rundown for the month with links to my reviews if written:

The Force by Don Winslow
Version: Audio
Length: 13 hours 26 minutes
Rating: 4 stars

Warcross by Marie Lu
Version: Kindle Book
Length: 366 pages
Rating: 4 Stars

Completely Wrecked by Shayne McClendon
Version: Kindle Book
Length: 233 pages
Rating: 4 Stars

Ready to Rumble by Shayne McClendon
Version: Kindle Book
Length: 134 pages
Rating: 2 stars

Those Girls by Chevy Stevens
Version: Kindle Book
Length: 385 pages
Rating: 4 Stars

The Good Daughter by Karin Slaughter
Version: Audio
Length: 17 hours 52 minutes
Rating: 3 Stars

Truth or Beard by Penny Reid
Version: Kindle book
Length: 390 pages
Rating: 4 stars

That Night by Chevy Stevens
Version: Paperback
Length: 400 pages
Rating: 4 Stars

The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower #1) by Stephen King
Version: Paperback
Length: 327 pages
Rating: 4 Stars

The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower #1): 4 Stars

Author: Stephen King
Length: 327 pgs.

((I picked this book up for less than $2 on Goodwill books.))

I'll be honest, I never really understood the big deal about Stephen King. I've only read one of his books (Joyland) which was more coming of age with a bit of a ghost story than horror. Of course I saw The Shining like everyone else but I never read the actual book so that doesn't count. And I never was interested in reading this book or starting this series - every review I saw said that this book is boring, moves slow, etc. And it didn't seem like the typical King "horror" I keep hearing about-and it isn't. But it is a worthwhile book.

Then one day I started watching the movie The Dark Tower with my husband. We didn't finish it because I have four kids and can't last past 11 p.m. (it takes me like 2-3 days to finish a movie usually) but what I saw made me really interested in the story. So when I was browsing Goodwill online for some books and saw this listed for a super low price I figured what the hell. I'll try it.

So, the first part of the book - about 1/3 of it - moves pretty slow. I can see how people might call it "boring" if you don't hang in there for the rest of the story. What kept me going was the prose. This being only my second Stephen King book, it's a lot more intricately written than Joyland, which is told from the POV of a male teenager. Our main character here, Roland the gunslinger, has a deeper way of viewing and recounting things, and I found myself re-reading certain lines because there would be different layers to a single sentence. I guess that's King's talent which I can certainly appreciate more now having read this book.

We're introduced to Roland, who is moving through a seemingly endless desert trying to find The Man In Black, but we're not sure WHY or WHO the Man in Black is. And as I said, at first it's kind of slow. But I can pinpoint the exact chilling moment when it picked up the pace for me, and from then on it was pretty quick moving. We see glimpses of Roland's past: his parents, his childhood, his road to becoming a gunslinger. We don't quite understand his pursuit yet, but at least we become more invested in learning about it.

Last night when I sat down to read a bit more, I was on page 175. A few hours later I had finished the 327 page book. I never read 100+ pages in one sitting - I just don't have time for it. But from where I began reading last night, things only got more exciting and fast paced, and when I realized I only had 20 pages left I knew I would finish it.

The conversation with The Man In Black - the last chapter of the book - was the most exciting part for me. Inter-dimensional travel, multiple worlds, countless universes on top of one another but completely out of reach-all those things pique my interest like nothing else, because the possibilities are endless. So naturally when we finally learn who The Man In Black is and what The Dark Tower actually stands for, it is truly fascinating.

Four stars for the last 2/3 of the book and the climax, and for making me a Stephen King fan!