Burning Impossibly Bright

The cover art is gorgeous, and I did enjoy the story, but I have to admit the art inside of this graphic novel was pretty disappointing after the amazing cover! I was expecting all of the art to be in the same style, but instead there were four separate chapters and each chapter was illustrated by different artists, which I really wasn't a fan of. I like consistency, so it would've been nice to have one solid artist or a set group of artists throughout rather than have different ones. Overall, it was an interesting graphic novel to read as a Once Upon a Time fan and the cover is simply stunning, but I was definitely disappointed with the actual artwork inside and the story didn't really fit seamlessly into the cannon of the series either...especially the whole Red/Huntsman romance. I mean I wouldn't have minded a romance between them, but saying that it was true love between them is pushing it a bit too far to fit it into the show for me.

With each book I just come to love the Parish Mail series more and more...and Season's Greetings was no exception! It may be just a Parish Mail "short" but it packed quite a punch and delivered one seriously heartwarming story, and I loved every second of it...especially the romantic moments, I was a sucker for those. ;D

Just as with the first two books, I absolutely loved Celia. She's such a genuine character, and I honestly wish she was real just so I could be her friend...not only is she totally awesome at solving crime, she's just an all-around great person. It's so nice to see a heroine who is so resoundingly likeable. I love getting to experience the series through her, and I definitely love getting to pick her choices through Coliloquy's active fiction features. I also have to admit that I totally enjoy all three of Celia's love interests, although I definitely have my favourite, Donovan,..and my least favourite, Luc,...and I have the one that I just really enjoy her interactions with, Sloan, although I'm pretty sure nothing is going to happen there, but I wouldn't mind it if it did. :P I have to admit that he is pretty alluring, and his interactions with Celia just totally crack me. I absolutely adore Donovan though, he's just such a great guy, but he's also got a bit of a bad side, too. *dreamy sigh*

Anywho, I'm getting off topic because of love interests, but I just have to say that I absolutely loved Season's Greetings. It was a fantastic addition to the series, and I loved that even though it was a novella, it still felt like a fully flushed out book in the series to me. I also just really enjoyed that in this short we got to see a really happy time for these characters. It was nice to see Celia handling a "case" that wasn't so dark and depressing...I mean, I totally love those ones, too, since they're super intense, but it is a happy time of year with Christmas, Hanukkah, and so many other wonderful religious holidays, so it was really nice to see that goodwill permeate this story as well. I also just loved getting to see Celia with her friends, not just Donovan (:P), but Tilly, too, and I really enjoyed her interactions with her family, especially her grandfather, they were such sweet moments!

I loved Season's Greetings, and cannot wait for the next installment in the Parish Mail series! I hope that if you give this series a shot, that you love it as much as I do. :D

I have to admit that the extremely delicious cover did initially attract me to Hard As It Gets, but it was the description and the promise of an intriguing story that got me to actually pick it up, and I definitely wasn't disappointed! :D

Hard As It Gets was full of action, but it was also full of character growth, and some seriously amazing chemistry between the two main characters, Becca and Nick (a.k.a. Rixey). Right from the moment Becca and Nick are introduced, the chemistry is palpable and boy is it sexy and hard to resist! Before reading Hard As It Gets, I had read Laura Kaye's Hearts in Darkness, so I did expect some steamy parts...and I definitely got them with this one, too!

This book is more than just about sex though. I loved that the characters connection was so real, and although they hadn't known each other for very long, I could completely believe and understand their strong attraction for each other and enjoyed the progression of their relationship. I also just thought that Becca and Nick complimented each other extremely well, and I especially loved that while Nick protected Becca, he also knew that she was capable of taking care of herself and that she was stronger than she looked. The relationships between siblings were pretty fantastic in Hard As It Gets, too. I absolutely loved Jeremy and Nick's relationship, and I loved seeing Becca interact with Nick's brother, Jeremy, too. I also loved getting to see Becca and Charlie's relationship, and I really admired her for doing all that she could to find out what happened to him, and to help him. Plus, Nick and his buddies were seriously fantastic in their search...it was actually incredibly fascinating to read about it all! :D And the dog...I'm a softie for dogs in books, and this one has a really adorable one. :)

Overall, I loved Hard As It Gets! I thought that the romance was fantastic, but I loved that the story was about more than romance, too. It was about family, brotherhood, learning to trust, finding love and acceptance, and doing anything you can for those that you love. It was a wonderful story, and I can't wait to read the next book in the series, Hard As You Can! I'd recommend this one to fans of steamy reads who want their story to be about more than sex, and if you're a fan of a bit of mystery and action, you'll like it even more.

Loved this short! It was great getting to see Shea and Elli so happy!! I can't wait to start Blue Lines! :D

I'm pretty sure that I have never felt more conflicted about a book than I feel about Allegiant. Even a week later, my feelings are still a mess, and I still can't quite figure out my feelings or tell you exactly how I felt about it.

I will say that I absolutely loved the first two books in this trilogy, and for the most part, I loved Allegiant, too...except for the end, if it could've ended another way I would have been so much happier. I don't think I will ever fully love Allegiant just because I'm still so crushed by the ending. Yes, I did understand Roth's reasons for heading in the direction that she did, and I did feel like it was true to the characters....but I still felt like it was completely unnecessary because the point that was being made was made without what actually happened happening...yes, I know that is completely convoluted and confusing, but I'm trying to avoid spoilers. Simply put, I felt that events right up until the moment I didn't like made the same point that the event did, that the actions and choices proved the point without something having to happen...all in all, I felt like my hope was raised and then crushed. Essentially, I felt betrayed as a reader, and I definitely didn't feel satisfied....although other parts of the book definitely satisfied me. :)

I'm a huge fan of this series as a whole, but I will say that this is one of those trilogies that really didn't end in a way that I was completely happy with. Allegiant was a lot like the first two books in the series for me...I couldn't put it down, I loved the characters, the action was intense, the chemistry and banter between Tobias and Tris was AMAZING, and the writing was fantastic and captivating. I still love Roth's writing and I am definitely looking forward to more of her work, but I do still feel betrayed by Allegiant, and I'm not sure if that feeling will ever go away. I'm just really sad that Roth chose to end such a fantastic trilogy the way that she did Maybe I'll try rereading the whole trilogy in a row...I'm heard that helps with the influx of conflicting emotions that is Allegiant.

While I wasn't completely happy with how Allegiant ended, I do still love the Divergent trilogy and I won't forget it any time soon! Also, the fact that I was conflicted over the ending will probably make it linger in my mind...and my heart even longer. I did really enjoy reading Allegiant, but that ending will forever keep me from loving it...I just can't. I do still recommend this trilogy though because Veronica Roth is a wonderful writer, her characters are fantastic, and it's one of the best dystopian trilogies that I've ever read...plus, some people really did love the ending of Allegiant...or maybe they're just less sensitive than I am. :P

I tried really hard to keep this review spoiler free, so please no spoilers in the comments...or if you do feel inclined to write something spoilerish, put "SPOILERS" before your comment. Or, you can email/message me! I'm definitely open to talking about this one...I NEED TO GET THE FEELINGS OUT!

What book has changed you?

 

Loved this short story from Four's perspective! It was great getting to see how everything with Dauntless started for Four...and how he got his name! :D The Transfer was the perfect way to satisfy a bit of my desperation for Allegiant...and it definitely made me even more eager to get to read from both Four and Tris's perspectives in it! :D I'd recommend this to all fans of the Divergent trilogy! If you haven't started the trilogy yet, you might want to wait to read this one though because it takes a bit of the mystery out of Four...and the charismatic mystery surrounding him in Divergent was definitely one of the things that appealed to me most about his character when I read it. ;D

I have loved and always will love Peter Pan! I've always been a fan of the story and especially love any and all versions of it on film, but this is my first time reading the story and I loved it! I skipped "Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens" though...what I read was pretty dry and just rambled on, but Peter Pan was extraordinary! :D I also just have to say that part of me will alway hold a torch for Peter and Wendy to end up together...even though Peter won't grow up....if only! Wouldn't it be darling (haha see what I did there :p) if they had a family and all flew to Neverland! If anyone could fly as an adult, it would be Peter. ;) haha

I loved the book though and I definitely recommend it to other Peter Pan fans. Hopefully you'll love it, too!

I could not put Omens down and I absolutely loved it! I loved Olivia! She was such a fantastic character and I loved how tough she was. I also enjoyed the little snippets of info we got from other characters between Liv's chapters...they definitely left me curious and I can't wait to discover more with the books following Omens in this series. I also absolutely loved Gabriel! Omens was amazing and I definitely thought it was a wonderful start to a new series! :D

There are some books that just need to be read out loud while you're reading them, and this is one of them. :) I loved it, and I definitely loved how the story was interpreted into the movie that was made not too long ago. :) So glad that I've finally read this one! :D

I just keep falling more and more in love with this series!!! I love it and I absolutely love getting to see the characters from the other books, too. Most of all though, I just loved Eva and Cage's story!!! They're both fantastic characters and it was wonderful l getting to experience their relationship through Sometimes It Lasts! :D

Jane Austen = <3

I'm seriously always excited for more Holloway Pack books or novellas...or anything Holloway Pack related really, but I've been EAGERLY anticipating Caged as soon as I discovered it was Ethan's story, and I have to say that it definitely didn't disappoint! It was quite a bit different than the other books in the series because they're about Sean and Jem and are mostly from Jem's POV, but it was a really, really, REALLY good kind of different! I loved getting to learn about Ethan and seeing all of the layers that we didn't get to see through the other books. I also just absolutely loved seeing Ethan get his own little bit of happiness. :)

I'm gonna refrain from going into too much detail about the specifics of Caged's storyline so that I don't spoil anyone, but I will gush about all of the things I loved. As I mentioned already, I loved that it was in Ethan's POV. I think it's fantastic that we're getting to see more of the other Holloway pack members, and I love that we get to see it through their eyes rather than from someone who isn't in the pack because I'm just a huge fan of the dynamics and family quality between the entire pack. It's like we've already gotten to know the other characters through Jem and Sean, but now we get to see underneath the surface and get to know the real them...and I loved getting to see more of Ethan. He's a lot more self-deprecating than I expected, and he wasn't quite as invulnerable as he likes to project himself as. Ethan likes to project himself as a big tough guy, but he is so much more than that. We already knew that through Jem, but it was even better seeing it firsthand and I absolutely loved getting to experience Caged through him. I have to admit...I like him even more now, and I still think he's a total hottie. His lady is one lucky woman...I'm not even gonna tell you who his lady is because I want you to read it yourself to figure it out. ;D

Now that Caged is released...the eager wait for the next book, Unnatural, begins and I for one CANNOT wait to get to read another member of the pack's story. I love that the books are moving onto the other pack members, especially since we still get to see the other characters...I'm always a sucker for seeing past narrators in new books and I have no worries about not seeing the characters with this series, so I am one seriously happy fangirl. ;) haha

Overall, I absolutely loved Caged. It surpassed my expectations for what Ethan's story could be like, and I ended up loving the eldest Holloway brother even more. If you haven't started this series yet, you really need to. J.A. Belfield writes amazing werewolves and her books are full of romance, but are also shrouded in action. I also love that the stories are beginning to cover much more than just werewolves...I won't tell you too much, but with each book the supernatural world the Holloways and Larsens live in is getting much, much larger...and I for one am loving every minute of it. ;) J.A. Belfield also writes some seriously awesome female characters that don't just let the men do everything. They're fierce and fight for what they believe in! I'd recommend Caged, and the Holloway Pack series to werewolf fans who love romance, action and intriguing characters. I also think that you don't just have to be a werewolf fan to love this series. Everything about the series, from the writing to the characters and the stories themselves are just so well done, and J.A. Belfield writes with such passion that it's hard not to fall in love with her books. Seriously...you need to start this series now if you haven't already, you won't regret it! ;)