Penned Perspective

Have you ever started a book and realized you may have just made the biggest mistake of your life?  

Well, that was me with this one.

Which one: The Regulars by Georgia Clark.

The Regulars is the story of three twenty-something ladies living in New York City. Each has a different look and interest:

These ladies happen upon Pretty, a potion that can magically change their faces and bodies making them part of gorgeous society. Each decides to take it and the ride it puts them on leaves each of them changed indefinitely.

The Good

The premise of this book is excellent. After all who wouldn’t want to wake up as a gorgeous creature despite uncomfortable stomach issues. This potion gives each woman a new confidence that pushes them to follow their dreams. I liked that each lady is quirky and has an identifiably distinctive personality making it easy to spot the differences the potion has on them.

 There are also some seriously funny moments including Krista’s encounter with her teenage crush that ends in disaster. Apparently, size really does matter. Krista was the source of a couple of laugh out loud moments which were enjoyable.

The Not So Good

The pacing is off and the read goes much slower than it should. There were times I wanted to know more about one of the girls, but the chapter ended abruptly.

The major issue I had was how the girls were portrayed. I had issues with Edie and Krista but I was really upset about Willow. The character puzzles me. She has daddy issues which cause her to make her boyfriend think he cheated on her. She can’t trust him and feels suicidal due to her low self-esteem.

I was glad that her friends eventually realized the damage they had done to her by introducing her to Pretty but she was a mess.  She’s the only one in a loving relationship but can’t value it or herself. She spends most of the book lashing out at her father and his girlfriend who treat her well and her only consequence for the despicable act of torturing her boyfriend is nothing?

Nope. I’m not buying it.  Actually, there aren’t lasting consequences for any of the girls for their hijinks. I’m not pleased with that at all.

Verdict

 I think the author got lost in trying to tell all three stories together which diminished where the novel could have gone.  But I did understand the author’s message that true happiness can only be found by accepting yourself flaws in all.  The problem was that the message was too little too late for save the story.

A Vampire Tale with No Bite

Tall Dark & Dead By Tate Hallaway

Tall Dark & Dead tells the story of a young witch who is possessed by a goddess after finding her coven dead. Garnet Lacey is the spunky witch now denying Magic because she’s on the run from both the law and the Vatican but find herself thrown into a relationship with Sebastian a vampire.

The Good

Garnet is fairly likable. I found the protagonist to be genuine and comedic at times.  Garnet was a perfectly good protagonist. She is snarky and overall a good character though cautious. And she works at a bookstore, one of my favorite places in the world. She was the best part of the book.

The Not So Good

I really disliked the plot of the story. Garnet allows herself to be possessed by a Goddess who also happens to be a vicious murderer. She is not aware of what happens when she is possessed but when she wakes up, she usually finds at least one body. 

I understand that she only called Lilith down full of grief for her coven members but even the possession state was weird.  I just didn't like that as the protagonist, she was unaware of the results. On the other hand this occurrence does stop at some point during the book and she becomes a witness to Lilith's doings but my first impression killed my interest.And then she introduces the vampires.

Sebastian is boring as Garnet's main love interest. There are several scenes that try to spice them up together but I found no literal chemistry between the two. She ends up in bed with him very quickly and he’s isn’t the first of his kind that she’d been with. Normally when a human and vampire have a relationship, the has the mark of significance. For example, the lead has never trusted vampires until "he" came along or normally the main character doesn't date vampires because she loathes them. This is not the case in this book. Parrish is her ex and also a vampire, though one with less likability that Sebastian. 

The Verdict: 

As I've mentioned earlier I didn't like the story and  it was an audio book. But I think I wouldn't have bothered to finish the book if I had a copy in print.  I definitely have no interest in continuing with the series.

Not just another Chick Lit book about a vampire…

I know it's becoming a theme but work with me here.

This book begins with Jessica Matthew’s death by way of a sick vampire, Loran O’Halloran on an ordinary day. She dies after taking out the trash because her son refuses to do the chore. Due to the tragic circumstances of her death, she is turned by Patrick O’Halloran, her murderer’s brother and their love story begins.

Good Impressions

Jessica is funny, something I love in books. I want to be able to admire and be interested in what happens to him or her. And she’s a single mom and widower who works hard to provide a life for her kids, which apparently leaves little room for dating.  Jessica is also a complete character, she worries how becoming a vampire will affect the lives of her children and consequentlyy the town. She even is still trying to come to terms with her dead husband’s betrayal though his mistress and their love child live in their same town.

I really love that this book also about the town of Broken Heart. Loran’s rampage causes numerous residents to be killed and turned and all of these people are single parents who have stories of their own told later in the series. Broken Heart is a small town full of laughter, love, friendship and juicy gossip. Who wouldn’t want to live there?

Not so Good Impressions

I’m not so crazy about all the Gaelic.  I get it, really but after a little while I found it more annoying than enchanting. I got through it.  But man, did it give my e reader dictionary a work out, reading this book is probably the most that I’ve ever used that feature.

Also I’m not sure about the wraiths? I get that there needs to be an anti-hero/villain in the story but I don’t think they explored why these wraiths are after the “good” vampires. I think the author will most likely explore their origins in later books.

 

My Rating: