Zero at the Bone

Title: Zero at the Bone

Author: Jane Seville

Rating: 3.5 stars

Genre: Romance, Thriller

Number of Pages: 293

Publisher: Kindle

Publication Date: 2009

Summary: After witnessing a mob hit, surgeon Jack Francisco is put into protective custody to keep him safe until he can testify,

A hitman known only as D is blackmailed into killing Jack, but when he tracks him down, his weary conscience won't allow him to murder an innocent man.

Finding in each other an unlikely ally, Jack and D are soon on the run from shadowy enemies. Forced to work together to survive, the two men forge a bond that ripens into unexpected passion. Jack sees the wounded soul beneath D's cold, detached exterior, and D finds in Jack the person can help him reclaim the man he once was.

As the day of Jack's testimony approaches, he and D find themselves not only fighting for their lives...but also fighting for their future. A future together.

TBR Challenge: For March my TBR challenge was to read a book that was based on a characters emotional development.

Before I begin writing this review I think it would be first a good idea to start off by saying that I spent a good part of February in a reading slump, and as a result, said reading slump may affect my overall perspective and rating on this book.

I picked up this book for two reasons. First I wanted a book that wasn't particularly long, was probably action packed and it met the requirements of my TBR Challenge. When I find myself in a reading slump, I have found that a good way of getting out is to read a book that is fairly short and always has something happening. This book was, however, not quite what I was expecting.

For a book that was about hit men, witness protection and being on the run, this book was pretty lacking in the action. A good half of this book was simply waiting around for something to happen, and then waiting some more. Granted you can't have a book just filled with one fight straight after the other, you need to break them up, but this book was spread out for miles; and when you finally got a fight scene, it was over in a page or two. This would have been fine if something was happening in between but even the romance in the story was very slow due to the fact that D as a character is extraordinarily emotional dead inside.

I really didn't like the character of D. When I say he is emotional dead, I seriously mean it. D might have a moral compass that points north and does direct him in life, but he also lacks the most basic things that makes someone human. A character as emotional dead as D makes him difficult to relate and sympathise with him. This was all especially apparent when you compare him to Jack. Jack was full of life, wanted to know about everything and in comparison to D, Jack was the poster child of humanity.

D took a long time to develop as a character, and even at the end still came across as being quite emotionally dead. It is not until we are well into the second half of this book that we really begin to see him change and begin to live and the epilogue was a good indicator that he hasn't really grown so much as he has grown when it comes to Jack.

My second problem with D was his speech. D spoke like he was highly unintelligent and I really found this hard to accept when he was a man that ran on strategy as a survival mechanism. While I get that the way he talked was probably a way of bringing more depth to D, helping to show that there was more to him. I found myself thinking that Jane Saville was trying to write the worst character possible so she could more easily show that he will grow and develop. But that is just my opinion and based on the high reviews on goodreads I get the impression I stand alone in many of opinions of this book.

Despite the fact that I seem to have only written negative things about the book in this review, I did enjoy the book. The fact that I was in a reading slump and actually finished the book in a couple days shows this pretty well. 

Vertigo - TBR Challenge

For my August TBR Challenge I had to read a story that is published on Wattpad or Fictionpress. For my challenge I ended up reading Vertigo by Carmel March. I always love it when you find a gem on these websites, that one story that reminds you why keep looking and reading all the different works that people have created. 

Vertigo is one of those gems. The story follows a team of CIA agents who are trying to prevent an arms dealer from causing some major damage. Gemma Hart is the protagonist in this story, she is a smart and talented CIA agent who is pushed to her limits and forced to rise to the challenge when she is pulled from logistics and into the field. Facing not only trouble at a national security level, but also problems with her civilian boyfriends parents...and then there is the fact that she may or may not be developing a close relationship with her CIA partner, Boone.

One of the main things that I liked about this story was that the characters were real. Sure these agents are kickbutt, but at the end of the day you don't end up saying: "if only you could do that in real life" which many of these more action based (and movies) stories tend to go towards. 

The action in this story was another thing that I really loved. The action didn't dominate the plot line, it complimented the story as it was needed. The romance was another factor that I liked in the story for the same reason. Once again it seemed to fit seamlessly into the story without taking over the plot line and throwing it out the window. Everything in this story was one wonderfully woven flow of words.

To add to this amazing story is a sequel: Ricochet. Ricochet is still in the process of being written but Carmel March gets a new chapter up each month.

To this amazing little gem I give it a solid 4.5 stars and I can't wait for the September update.

All the Bright Places

Title: All the Bright Places

Author: Jennifer Niven

Rating: 5 stars

Genre: Young Adult

Number of Pages: 378

Publication Date: 2015

Publisher: Penguin

Summary: Theodore Finch wants to take his own life. Violet Markey is devastated by her sister's death. They meet on the ledge of the school bell tower, and so their story begins. It's only together they can be themselves. But as Violet's world grows, Finch's begins to shrink. How far will Violet go to save the boy she has come to love?

All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven is perhaps one of the most incredible books I have ever read. There is nothing better than when you pick up a book and it completely moves you...that it consumes your thoughts and makes you think. This is exactly what this book does. It fact I was stumped for days on how to describe this book. Conversations by me went a little something like this: "Have you read All the Bright Places? No, well you should its...I mean its just..." Words cannot describe the true incredibleness of this book.

The best way I can give a summary of this book is by saying that this is a story about "a boy called Finch and a girl named Violet."

To be honest you really don't need to know any more than that. In fact the less you know going in, probably the better.

The writing in this book is beautiful and moving, it draws you in and doesn't let you go until well past the last page. It will give you warm fuzzy feelings, make you role your eyes, laugh, and it will make you cry.

I'm not a fan of contemporary novels, I hate how they reflect that reality can suck - and lets face all books have something go wrong in them at some point, its what makes the story. At least when something goes wrong in a fantasy its usually because of magic or some other uncontrollable factor, not someones stupidity. I have little patients for self inflected stupidity; it makes me cringe.

All the Bright Places manages a work around this. Bad things happen, put thankfully for a change of contemporary pace, its not because one of the characters makes a poor decision based on an inability to let go of the past (some serious contemporary generalisation - but you get the drift); instead the bad stuff happens because the characters are trying do the right thing in a bad situation. That and there was no angst which I loved.

If there was a book that I could erase from my mind so I could re-read it, it would be this one. This book is not just a story but it is a piece of art. If I could give this book more than my 5 star rating I would, but I can't...so I reluctantly give it 5 stars because it deserves so much more.

Ugly Love

Title: Ugly Love
Author: Colleen Hoover
Rating: 4 stars
Genre: New Adult, Romance
Number of Pages: 337
Publication Date: 2014
Publisher: Simon and Schuster


I have only ever heard praise for Colleen Hoover and after reading Ugly Love I can understand why...Hoover is a truly incredible writer.

Ugly Love follows the heartbreaking beautiful tale of Tate and Miles. I loved how the chapters alternated between narration of the two characters. Tate tells the ugly love story that herself and Miles share, while Miles' chapters are from his teenage years and meeting his first love. I loved the story line for this book and how it showed just how ugly love can be. I especially loved how it showed that love doesn't have to stay ugly but can become beautiful and that people can be saved.

The characters in this book are phenomenal, you truly feel for them and want nothing more than for them to find their happily ever after; but ugly love isn't the only thing holding them back. Hoover has created an amazing ugly past to contest with their future and weaves it stunningly into the development of the characters. Tate and Miles are forced to confront and face the ugly demons of their relationship and decide just what it is that they both want. To move forward or stay locked in an ugly past. And I have said ugly way too many times...ugly...ugly...ugly!!

I also enjoyed how this book didn't revolve entirely around the characters falling in love. While Hoover managed to create a believable love tale she also created a believable story line. The past is not something that can be forgotten, and never should be, as this book shows, instead it is something we must come to live with.

This book gives a whole new meaning to the good, the bad and the ugly and I give it a solid 4 stars. I cannot wait to read another one of her books.

Outlander

Title: Outlander

Series: Outlander - book 1

Author: Diana Gabaldon

Rating: 5 stars

Genre: Historical Fiction

Number of Pages: 863

Publication Date: 1991

Publisher: Arrow Books

Summary: In 1945, Claire Randall is back from war and reunited with her husband on a second honeymoon in Scotland. She walks through a stone circle in the Highlands, and finds herself in a violent skirmish taking place in 1743. Suddenly she is a Sassenach, an outlander, in a country ravaged by war and by clan feuds.

Marooned amid the passion and violence, the superstition, the shifting allegiances and the fervent loyalties, Claire is in danger from Jacobites and Redcoats - and from the shock of her own desire for James Fraser, a gallant and courageous young Scots warrior.

Jamie shows her a passion so fierce and a love so absolute that Claire becomes a woman torn between fidelity and desire, and between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives.

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon is one of the most beautifully rich stories I have ever read. This book easily deserves 5 stars.

The story follows Claire Beauchamp, a combat nurse during WWII as she shares a second honeymoon with her husband Frank in Scotland to reconnect after years of separation. While visiting the standing stones of Craigh na Dun (think stone henge) she is transported 200 years back in time to 1743. Now Claire as a sassenach must use her wits and what she knows of history to navigate through the volatile world of the English vs the Scots. But through the her relationship with Jamie, Claire begins to see that being sent through time might be a gift and not a curse.

This book was originally published under the name of Cross Stitch so don't be surprised if the story line sounds really familiar but not the title.

The thing I loved the most about this book is the complete realism it holds; not just in the characters  but the time period as well. Surprisingly most of the negative comments I have read about this book seem to be on its realism. This book is not a 'they all live happily ever after story', it a book that is filled with the violence, sex, rape and mistreatment that is found throughout the history of the world. So if you don't want a taste of how some people really lived in the 1700's, I would suggest picking up a different book. However, if you are like me and history is one of your passions, it is the truth of the story that makes it so incredibly beautiful.

The relationship that forms between Claire and Jamie is told in an amazing way by Gabaldon. They face the challenges of meeting and getting to know someone all the while fighting for the relationship you want to have. Claire and Jamie do not just struggle through the challenges of living in 1743 Scotland but also face the challenge of coming from two very different worlds.

As for the writing itself, like all books it has it highs and lows. Some parts I felt could have used more detail and others could have gotten to the point far quicker. The writing style, however, is easy to loose yourself in and the charm of the Scottish accent is easily found throughout the book.

Outlander is no small read but a huge 850 pages and totally worth it. This book is the first in a series of 8 books but could also be read as a stand alone if the idea of reading a series of such large books is rather daunting. I myself cannot wait to pick up the next book.

Outlander has also been made into a TV series which is an incredible adaption. The TV show brings the story to life without compromising the book in any way. It also gives you the added bonus of seeing how the story further unfolds by exploring the story lines of Frank and Jamie that we do not get through Claire's perspective in the book.