Mini Review: Fling

Title: Fling 

Series: Wrong 2.5 

Author: Jana Aston 

Genre: Adult, Romance, Contemporary 

Publisher: Self Published 

Publication Date: November 1, 2016

Source: Bought

I have a crush on my boss’ best friend.
At least it’s not my brother’s best friend.
Or my best friend’s brother.
Or… never mind. It’s all pretty cliche.
And worse? My boss’ best friend is his business partner. Which sort of makes him my boss too. Okay - it’s not sort of. It’s definite. Gabe Laurent is off limits. Totally off limits.
Which is fine. I make do with my imagination. He’ll never know. Ever. Unless my work bestie passes me an eighties-style teen movie sex quiz during a meeting and I fill it out.
And it ends up in Gabe’s hands… 

Find Fling online!

Barnes & Noble | Amazon | Goodreads | Book Depository

If I'm being totally honest, I didn't look hard enough at this book before buying it to realize that this was a novella.  I just bought it because it's a Jana Aston book and I really enjoy her writing!  I don't normally read novellas because they feel too short and there isn't as much time with the characters and story to really get invested.  

Unfortunately, this held true for this book.  I didn't really feel the genuine connection between the two leads to get behind their relationship and root for them.  It felt like they had maybe two major encounters throughout the entirety of the novella and I really wanted more between them!  To be fair, what we did see between them was really promising.  I just wanted more! 

Had I known this was a novella, I probably wouldn't have bought it.  I don't totally regret picking it up since it was a quick read and Jana Aston is still a great writer, but I was left wishing for more time with the characters more than anything.  

Three out of Five Teapots

Mini Review: The Perfect Illusion

Title: The Perfect Ilusion 
Series: N/A
Author: Winter Renshaw 
Genre: Adult, Romance 
Publisher: Self Published 
Publication Date: April 4, 2017 
Source: Bought

It’s only pretend…
And it’s only three months.
I’m in the midst of scrawling “I QUIT!” onto his fancy cardstock letterhead when my boss corners me. He needs a favor, he says. And then he asks how well I can act …
Hudson Rutherford needs a fiancée.
With his old-moneyed parents forcing him to marry some bratty hotel heiress and his hedonistic, playboy lifestyle at stake, the only way to get them to back off is to make them think he’s truly, madly, deeply in love … with me—his third personal assistant this year.
But I can hardly stand working for him as it is.
Hudson is crazy hot and well-aware. He’s arrogant, spoiled, and silver-spooned. He checks me out when he thinks I’m not looking, and his life is a revolving door of beautiful women. Plus, he can’t even pronounce my name correctly—how’s he going to convince his family he’s in love with me?!
I’m seconds from giving him a resounding “no” when he flashes his signature dimpled smirk and gives me a number that happens to contain a whole mess of zeroes …
On second thought, I think I can swallow my pride.
But, oh baby, there’s one thing I haven’t told him, one teensy-tiny thing that could make this just a hair complicated …
Here’s hoping this entire thing doesn’t explode in our faces.

Find The Perfect Illusion online!

 Amazon | Goodreads 

I wish I could say I liked this one but I just really didn't.  I felt like it didn't deliver on anything laid out in the blurb.  The whole hate-to-love thing?  Yeah, the main character, Mari, hates Hudson for maybe like, ten pages, before things just so blah with them.  There was no spark between them, not even when they "hated" each other.  Everything just felt very juvenile and angsty.  

I found Mari to mostly be obnoxious and fairly soft willed.  She didn't come off to me as strong, despite claiming to be so throughout the story.  I wanted to feel more of a spark with her and I wanted to root for her, but the motivation behind a lot of her actions didn't make sense to me.  Hudson was much the same.  Basically think of any other book you're read with a jerk CEO and that's Hudson, except slightly less interesting.  There were some moments that I began to feel invested in their relationship and story, some threads I wanted to follow, but in the end, I just couldn't bring myself to get into it.   

While a fairly quick and easy read, this book left much to be desired and the resolution felt over simplified.  I didn't feel the spark between the main couple and thought the characters were unoriginal.  I wish I had liked it more but, unfortunately, it wasn't for me. 

“I thought it would feel like work, like a job. But it doesn’t. It’s effortless. I’ve never had that with anyone else.”

Two Teapots

Mini Review: Exquisite Captive

Title:  Exquisite Captive 
Series:  Dark Caravan Cycle #1
Author:  Heather Demetrios (Website | Twitter)
Age Group:  Young Adult 
Publisher:  Balzer + Bray
Publication Date:  October 7, 2014
Source:  Bought

Forced to obey her master.
Compelled to help her enemy.
Determined to free herself.
Nalia is a jinni of tremendous ancient power, the only survivor of a coup that killed nearly everyone she loved. Stuffed into a bottle and sold by a slave trader, she’s now in hiding on the dark caravan, the lucrative jinni slave trade between Arjinna and Earth, where jinn are forced to grant wishes and obey their human masters’ every command. She’d give almost anything to be free of the golden shackles that bind her to Malek, her handsome, cruel master, and his lavish Hollywood lifestyle.
Enter Raif, the enigmatic leader of Arjinna’s revolution and Nalia’s sworn enemy. He promises to free Nalia from her master so that she can return to her ravaged homeland and free her imprisoned brother—all for an unbearably high price. Nalia’s not sure she can trust him, but Raif’s her only hope of escape. With her enemies on the hunt, Earth has become more perilous than ever for Nalia. There’s just one catch: for Raif’s unbinding magic to work, Nalia must gain possession of her bottle…and convince the dangerously persuasive Malek that she truly loves him. Battling a dark past and harboring a terrible secret, Nalia soon realizes her freedom may come at a price too terrible to pay: but how far is she willing to go for it?
Inspired by Arabian Nights, EXQUISITE CAPTIVE brings to life a deliciously seductive world where a wish can be a curse and shadows are sometimes safer than the light.

 In general, I really liked the idea and the set up of these book.  I haven't read much on jinnis so I was excited to jump into something that was semi new to me.  Demetrios really brought the world and the magic to life in this one, especially with the main character, Nalia.  She was spunky and strong and I really admired her throughout the novel.  The two love interests were also really interesting in that they were so vastly different.  I actually found myself liking both at one time or another.  

The only down side to this book for me was the beginning was a bit confusing.  It took me a while to understand the dynamics between all the jinnis and it didn't help that there were a lot of different and unique words to learn.  For the most part though, I really liked this one and I'm excited for the next. 

Four Teapots 

Mini Review: Fates (DNF)

Title:  Fates
Series:  Fates #1
Author:  Lanie Bross
Age Group:  Young Adult
Publication Date:  February 11, 2014 by Delacorte Press
Source:  An ARC was given to be by Jen over at Jenuine Cupcakes! Thank you!  

One moment. One foolish desire. One mistake. And Corinthe lost everything.
She fell from her tranquil life in Pyralis Terra and found herself exiled to the human world. Her punishment? To make sure people's fates unfold according to plan. Now, years later, Corinthe has one last assignment: kill Lucas Kaller. His death will be her ticket home.
But for the first time, Corinthe feels a tingle of doubt. It begins as a lump in her throat, then grows toward her heart, and suddenly she feels like she is falling all over again--this time for a boy she knows she can never have. Because it is written: one of them must live, and one of them must die. In a universe where every moment, every second, every fate has already been decided, where does love fit in?

My (mini) Review:  So, I didn't finish this novel.  I really hate saying that, but it's true.  I just couldn't bring myself to continue on.  While I loved the sound of it from the blurb and I actually quite liked the cover, I realized as I went into this novel that it really wasn't for me.  It felt disorganized and the world didn't feel real enough for me.  There were a lot of moments when I just sort of sat there and was like "Wait, how can this happen?  Two chapters ago you said this which would mean that this happening is impossible".  I might have been over thinking things but it made it very difficult for me to fall into this one.  

I liked the characters, but not enough to motivate me to continue on with the story to see what would happen to them.  I could see and understand and even sympathize with their struggles and problems but, over all, the characters fell flat for me.  I didn't really feel for Corinthe because she just felt so reserved and unemotional.  Lucas was nice and I really enjoyed seeing the relationships he had with other people but I couldn't quite believe the relationship he had with Corinthe because it happened too quickly.  

Now, I'm not saying there weren't many positive points in this novel.  From what I did see of the world, it was absolutely gorgeous - it could just use some work and fleshing out.  And, like I said, Corinthe and Lucas were nice enough but they didn't come alive as I read.  I just didn't feel the motivation to continue.  But that's not to say someone else won't!

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P.S.:  Wonderland's Reader just turned 2!  To celebrate, I'm hosting a giveaway with lots of awesome prizes!  You can find the post and enter the giveaway here!