Friday 24 April 2015

March 2015 - wrap up

Hi booklovers

Apparently I forgot to write my March wrap up, so here goes: 

In March I read 5 books (although, some of the books I read were 3 books in a boxset), so it was a good reading month.

This was my first TBR-jar pick and the first Colgan I've read and I really enjoyed it. I gave it 3.5 stars on Goodreads. At first I had to get used to the way the story is told. You have two different POV's: Rosie Hopkins', her aunt Lilian's and then you also have flashbacks from Lilian's past. But once you figure this out, it's a really fun story to read. Mind you, the parts about Lilian's past were heart wrenching at times. Being the sweet tooth I am, I really enjoyed reading about the different sweets that used to be sold in Lilian's shop. The only problem was that I didn't know them all. I'll have to look up some of the sweets to really know what they are. And this book made me want to visit old sweetshops :-) I didn't expect to enjoy this book as much as I did, because when I picked it from my TBR-jar, I didn't think I was in the mood for it. But it pleasantly surprised me and I will definitely be reading more of her books. I already own 'Meet me at the cupcake cafe' and I'll be picking up the sequels to this story: 'Christmas at Rosie Hopkins' sweetshop' and 'The Christmas surprise'. 
 










2) Exile by Bre Faucheux.
I gave this book 4 stars on Goodreads.

This mini-review contains spoilers. I you want to read it, just highlight the text.

 bit helpless, but iThis is the second novella in 'The Elder Origins' series and the story picks up where 'The Elder Origins' left of. We meet Madison after having fallen into the river and waking up with a Sioux tribe. During this part of the story we find out more about what Madison and Jayden have become: vampires. They learn how to deal with their new 'life', their abilities and their thirst for blood. They receive help from a healer from a Sioux tribe. The healer knows what happened to Madison and he wants to help her come to terms with her new condition. Jayden is a bit more restless and he wants to return to their homeland and he asks Madison to join him. During this story we get to know all the cool things vampires can do, all the abilities they have along with the characters. I really enjoyed the character development in this book. First I thought that Madison was a bit whiny and she seemed an this story she really grows and she learns to stand up for herself. She has to, considering Jayden is the only one of her homeland left and the only other vampire she knows. And believe it or not, Jayden is actually growing on me. He can still be arrogant and selfish, but you also get to see a different, more compassionate side of him. When I told Bre this, she said that Jayden was such a misunderstood character :-)
When they arrive in England they discover that the plague has been wreaking havoc. And this is where the story takes an interesting twist: they find out that another one of the original 'crew' has survived: Lyndon. And with that cliffhanger, the 2nd book ends.
Like in the first part, Bre manages to combine historical and fantasy elements brilliantly.

3) From the first touch (1 - 4) by Gwendalyn Fox
These novella's are in the romance / erotica genre. They were actually the first erotica stories I've read. In this series we meet Jayme and follow the development of her relationship with actor Lucas Wolfe. They were fun, sexy, steamy reads. Sure, sometimes they're a bit cliche, but that doesn't stop me from reading them. Beware these books contain a lot of sexual content! I gave the whole series 3 stars.

4) From the first kiss (1 - 3) by Gwendalyn Fox
This is a spin-off series of the 'From the first touch' series, focusing on Lauren - Jayme's friend - and her story of finding true love. I really enjoyed these novella's. I appreciate them for what they are: erotica, nothing more, nothing less. I still believe in judging a book by it's genre. You shouldn't expect complex stories from books in this genre, they are meant to be fun, exciting, enticing. If you want to read something more complex, choose a different genre! I gave the series 3.5 stars.

5) From the first sight (1) by Gwendalyn Fox
This is another spin-off series. This time we get to know Lexi's story - Lexi is Lauren's colleague and friend - and I have to admit that this is the most intriguing character so far. I hope that there will be more to her story, because she is a more complex character with a heavier background than Jayme and Lauren. Although I have to admit that Lauren's background isn't all that pleasant either. I also gave this one 3.5 stars.

What have you read in March? Have you read any of the books I mentioned? Let me know in the comments.

Bye for now

Annelies

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