Archive for Two Stars
OBSIDIAN by Jennifer L. Armentrout Book Review
Series: Lux, #1
Publication Date: May 15th 2012 by Entangled Teen
Rating: 
– Poor | 
Book Summary: Starting over sucks.When we moved to West Virginia right before my senior year, I’d pretty much resigned myself to thick accents, dodgy internet access, and a whole lot of boring…. until I spotted my hot neighbor, with his looming height and eerie green eyes. Things were looking up.And then he opened his mouth.Daemon is infuriating. Arrogant. Stab-worthy. We do not get along. At all. But when a stranger attacks me and Daemon literally freezes time with a wave of his hand, well, something…unexpected happens. The hot alien living next door marks me.You heard me. Alien. Turns out Daemon and his sister have a galaxy of enemies wanting to steal their abilities, and Daemon’s touch has me lit up like the Vegas Strip. The only way I’m getting out of this alive is by sticking close to Daemon until my alien mojo fades. If I don’t kill him first, that is.
Obsidian by Jennifer L Armentrout Book Review Overview:
- Mary Sue-ish characterization aimed at book bloggers
- Over-repetitive descriptions of vanity
- Lack of chemistry
There are so many things I want to say about this book that I don’t even know where to begin. Unfortunately, most of them are negative. It sucks because I loved Jennifer L. Armentrout’s Half-Blood passionately. It also sucks because my best friend, Loreal, bought me a copy of this book for my nook – and if you know me, you know that I never ever buy anything for my e-reader. (Library for the win.) I had high hopes for my second read from author Jennifer L. Armentrout, but unfortunately, OBSIDIAN did not meet my standards of a good read.
Yeah, argue with me on this one, but Katy is not just coincidentally a book blogger. Honestly, she struck me completely as a not genuine character. She reminded me of a Mary Sue – a fan fiction term that I hate using when reviewing a book, but there’s really no better way to describe Katy. Katy is a Mary Sue for the book blogging community. She’s snarky, kind of kick-ass, and stubborn with a banging body but she doesn’t know it! GASP! And the best part is… she reviews books on her book blog! I don’t know… I just felt like OBSIDIAN by Jennifer L. Armentrout was trying too hard to cater to a (very) specific target audience and it was obvious. I don’t want Katy to be the idealized version of myself. I want her to be her own unique character.
And then of course, there’s Daemon, the love interest – or as how I like to think of him: The Biggest Jerk Ever. OBSIDIAN by Jennifer L. Armentrout plays on the whole forbidden romance between human and alien. Alright. I usually eat up forbidden romances like it’s nothing. But the romance in OBSIDIAN by Jennifer L. Armentrout was just all wrong for me. It didn’t even feel like Daemon was playing hard to get for me. He was just a jerk. He would have a rare tender moment with Katy in one scene then totally acting like she’s nobody the next. Not acceptable. Not sexy and definitely not cool.
… And don’t get me started on the over-repetitive descriptions of how sexy Daemon is. Because seriously, I got it the first time. The guy is a looker. But I really do not need a reminder every time the guy pops into a scene.
I couldn’t even enjoy the excessive banter between Katy and Daemon because the chemistry itself felt a little too forced. I didn’t feel an internal struggle with Daemon. I felt like he could turn off or on his views on friendships with humans. The danger about the friendship didn’t really sink in with me, and because of that, Daemon’s excuses were pretty lame without some strong backing.
Unfortunately, nothing went right for me in OBSIDIAN by Jennifer L Armentrout, and I will probably not continue with the series.
Other Book Reviews:
Book Rants
Elegantly Bound Books
Justin’s Book Blog
About the Author
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Jennifer L. Armentrout Lives in West Virginia. All the rumors you heard about her state aren’t true. Well, mostly. When she’s not hard at work writing, she spends her time, reading, working out, watching zombie movies, and pretending to write.
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Book Review, Two Stars - Author: Jennifer L Armentrout, Book: Obsidian, Borrow It, Genre: Romance, Genre: Science Fiction, Publisher: Entangled Teen, Series: Lux | 
1094 words
THE ACADEMIE by Susanne Dunlap Book Review
Publication Date: February 28th 2012 by Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Rating: – Poor |
Book Summary: Eliza Monroe – daughter of the future president of the United States-is devastated when her mother decides to send her to boarding school outside of Paris. But the young American teen is quickly reconciled to the idea when-ooh, la-la!-she discovers who her fellow pupils will be: Hortense de Beauharnais, daughter of Josephine Bonaparte; and Caroline Bonaparte, youngest sister of the famous French general. It doesn’t take long for Eliza to figure out that the two French girls are mortal enemies-and that she’s about to get caught in the middle of their schemes.
Loosely drawn from history, Eliza Monroe’s imagined coming of age provides a scintillating glimpse into the lives, loves, and hopes of three young women during one of the most volatile periods in French history.
The Academie by Susanne Dunlap Book Review Overview:
- Love the concept, but did not enjoy the execution
- Immature characters with uncompelling story lines
- Lacking love interests
Post-French Revolution historical fiction is not one that I pick up a lot so I was really excited to read THE ACADEMIE by Susanne Dunlap. I admit that I do have a fascination with Napoleon (I didn’t realize he had such an interesting family!), and I wanted to get a glimpse of what life was like during his reign. I loved the idea of reading the novel from the perspective of the three main characters: Caroline, Napoleon’s younger sister; Hortense, the daughter of Napoleon’s wife; and Eliza, the daughter of the future United States president. When I picked this up, I intended to read a juicy story while learning a bit of history, but instead I got unnecessary drama and gossip.
THE ACADEMIE by Susanne Dunlap is more about romance and gossip than anything else. I failed to understand the relevant historical context during which the novel took place in. Whenever something serious was going on, the girls always had to be in the middle of an extravagant scheme to get themselves where the action was happening. Unfortunately, the focus was put more on their elaborate cross-dressing than the political climate of the time. So I had read that Something Big happened, but I can’t as a reader tell you what.
I think the biggest problem that I had with THE ACADEMIE by Susanne Dunlap was that everything was just a little too convenient. The characters did run into trouble every now and then, but the story line still felt too perfect to be realistic. Part of that is because THE ACADEMIE is loosely based on true history – keyword here: loosely. Hortense, Caroline, and Eliza are all based on real people in history, but they were not all attending school at the same time. Dunlap had to stretch history a little in order to get all three girls together.
Of the three main characters, I disliked Eliza the most. To be honest, I really did not understand her importance as a character in the book. Okay, historically, Eliza does travel to France to study, but I fail to see the relevance of her character in the overall story. It’s not as if she acts as a catalyst that sets off even more drama between Caroline and Hortense; very early on in the story, it was clearly established that the two girls do not exactly get along. Eliza’s character felt out of place, and I just could not relate to her.
Furthermore, I know that Eliza is quite young, naive, and inexperienced when it comes to boys, but she is one of the reasons why I also was not fond of the romance in THE ACADEMIE by Susanne Dunlap. It drove me crazy how Eliza can develop a massive crush after meeting a guy just once. She is already fantasizing about romance and a Happily Ever After when in reality they barely exchanged words. As far as the other love interests, I didn’t really find any of the romances to be quite compelling. I always love the idea of forbidden love, but it’s not as fun when there isn’t any chemistry between the two characters.
However, I did like the glimpse of Napoleon’s family dynamics in THE ACADEMIE by Susanne Dunlap. I constantly cheered Hortense on throughout the story, because out of everyone, she was clearly the underdog. There is a lot of tension between her and Caroline, but because Caroline is Napoleon’s sister, she can’t exactly complain about Caroline’s nastiness. And of course, it’s no secret that Caroline does not approve of Hortense’s mother, which only adds more to the drama. Furthermore, I loved reading about Hortense’s interactions with Napoleon, her mother, and her brother. Her relationship with her family is quite complex.
Bottom line: in terms of taste, I think there is still some appeal to those who are fans of historical fiction. However, I think THE ACADEMIE by Susanne Dunlap would appeal to fans of the Luxe series by Anna Godbersen rather than fans of Jennifer Donnelly’s novels such as REVOLUTION or A NORTHERN LIGHT. THE ACADEMIE by Susanne Dunlap full of gossip and drama but not much substance.
Other Book Reviews:
I’d So Rather Be Reading
Nina Reads
The Readventurer
About the Author
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Susanne Dunlap is the author of six works of historical fiction. Two are for the adult market (Emilie’s Voice and Liszt’s Kiss, both published by Touchstone books of Simon & Schuster). Three are for the young adult market (The Musician’s Daughter, Anastasia’s Secret, In the Shadow of the Lamp, and the forthcoming The Academie, published by Bloomsbury). A graduate of Smith College with a PhD in Music History from Yale University, Susanne grew up in Buffalo, New York and has lived in London, New York and Northampton, MA. She now divides her time between Brooklyn and Northampton, has two grown daughters, two granddaughters, and is an avid cyclist and dog lover.
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Book Review, Two Stars - Audience: Young Adult, Author: Susanne Dunlap, Book: The Academie, Borrow It, Genre: Historical, Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children's | 1332 words
MUCH ADO ABOUT ROGUES by Kasey Michaels Book Review
Series: Blackthorn Brothers, #3
Publication Date: March 27th 2012 by Harlequin
Summary: Meet the Blackthorn Brothers—three unrepentant scoundrels infamous for being mad, bad and perilous to love.
Who is the darkly handsome Don John “Black Jack” Blackthorn? With his air of mystery and menace, the whispers about him hint of highwayman or government agent or even dark prince. But no one knows what it is Black Jack does… or how dangerous he can truly be. Now Jack’s mentor has disappeared, and Jack must track him down before it’s too late. His unlikely help: the man’s daughter—the very woman Jack had once wooed and betrayed.
Lady Tess Fonteneau knows more about the fine art of clandestine activities—and about the mysterious Mr. Blackthorn—than he realizes. As their journey leads them on the adventure of a lifetime, their reunion is fraught with passion, high-stakes danger and the one twist of fate Jack never saw coming…
Heroine: I like that Tess puts her son first before anything else. But other than that, there’s very little else that I like about her. I honestly could not believe that she was actually willing to bribe Jack to have sex with her in exchange to be included in the mission to hunt down her father. Um seriously? I know you have a past together, but this is the first time you saw the man in four years. And he broke your heart. Um, okay. Furthermore, she cries. A lot. Nothing wrong with a little emotion, but I feel like whenever things get tough, she breaks out the tears. What happened to that kick ass girl who was trained in fencing and pick-locking?
Hero: Eh, I wasn’t such a big fan of Jack to be honest. I liked the angle that he was Tess’s father’s protegé, but I really didn’t feel sympathy for all his brooding. I feel like he’s constantly running away from his problems instead of just confronting him. And I honestly just didn’t get his hang up about him being a bastard son. It’s not like he was shunned by his father. And by now, he should have realized that his mother lies all the time. On the other hand, I do love that Jack took an instant liking to his son, Jacques. Points for adorable daddy/son moments!
Supporting Cast: I can’t believe that Jack would let a supporting character steal the thunder from him. MUCH ADO ABOUT ROGUES is supposed to be Jack’s story, but once we are introduced to his younger, charismatic brother Puck, I completely lost interest in Jack. He’s funny and quite the charmer, and he also has a way with kids. And of course, I can’t not leave out Jacques. Cutest toddler ever.
Plot: This was the biggest problem for me in MUCH ADO ABOUT ROGUES. I simply could not follow the plot. Hey, I get it that this is the third book in the series. Most romance novels do not have to be read in order, but I guess this isn’t one of them. I had a hard time understanding what Sinjon was up to. I could not follow Tess and Jack’s train of thought. It’s like, one moment they’re talking about being at a country fair, and the next they’re racing back home because OMGTHEYJUSTFOUNDSOMETHINGOUT. What?! I don’t know if I just don’t get the characters, or if the plot itself is confusing, but I felt like the storyline was everywhere. Overall, the plot simply overpowered the romance of the book. It became more of a historical action/thriller/crime novel than a historical romance with some other plot elements. Was this intentional? I don’t know. But the title and the cover is very misleading.
Romance: And when it finally came down to the romance, MUCH ADO ABOUT ROGUES did nothing for me. I honestly felt that Tess and Jack lacked chemistry. None whatsoever. At first, I did like the fact that Tess and Jack had a shared past between them, but it gets unraveled way too quickly. Furthermore, Tess was just so willing to jump back into bed with Jack that very same day that they met for the first time in four years. There was hardly any tension and hardly any buildup.
Love Potion Strength:
- Poor
While I’m not the biggest fan of MUCH ADO ABOUT ROGUES, I’d still be willing to give the other books of the Blackthorn Brothers series a chance. Puck’s character especially intrigued me and I’d love to read a story featuring him as the main character.
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Book Review, Two Stars - Amortentia Reviews, Audience: Adult, Author: Kasey Michaels, Book: Much Ado About Rogues, Genre: Historical romance, Publisher: Harlequin, Series: Blackthorn Brothers | 927 words
- Action Packed
- Hahaha Funny
- Keeps You Guessing
- Heartwarmer
- Makes You Think
- Masterful World-Building
- Must Buy
- Page-Turner
- Poetic Prose
- Romantic Read
- Tear-Jerker
