Review: In Too Deep by Michelle Kemper Brownlow

 In Too Deep by Michelle Kemper Brownlow

Release Date: June 3rd 2013 by Sapphire Star Publishing

Genre: New Adult Contemporary/Realistic fiction

Source: Publisher

Format: E-book

Goodreads Summary:

Gracie has just finished her freshman year of college in Memphis when she takes a job at a local pizza joint in her home town of McKenzie, Tennessee. She is the epitome of innocence when she meets Noah. Noah is unabashedly handsome, intriguingly reckless and just cocky enough to be sexy. Gracie’s instincts tell her to stay far away from him and based on the stories she hears from her co-workers he leaves broken hearts in his wake. But still, she can’t explain her fascination with him.


Noah puts aside his bad boy ways when what he thought was a summer crush has him unexpectedly falling in love. But soon after Gracie transfers to UT Knoxville to be with Noah, their unexpected love becomes riddled with anger, deceit and humiliation.


Jake, Noah’s former roommate and Gracie’s best friend, can no longer be a bystander. Gracie’s world falls out from beneath her and when she breaks she turns to Jake for strength. As Jake talks her through a decision she’s not yet strong enough to make, together they uncover a truth so ugly neither of them is prepared for its fallout. Will Jake pull her to the surface or is Gracie Jordan finally In Too Deep?

My Review:

If you are looking for a feel-good novel. Something light and airy and super romantic. Guess what? This is not it. As the title and cover of this book suggest, this story is about a girl who falls in too deep into the wrong relationship and loses herself. This book is about emotional abuse at its core and the toll it can take on a persons life. A subject - like depression - that is not tackled on enough, in my opinion. No worries, though, for those who love romance, there is a bit of that in the novel. It's not all suffering.

Most people are of the belief that what makes a book good or readable is that the main characters be likeable and relatable. But, to me, that is the wrong way to read. Like in life, not all characters are relatable or likeable. There is a lot of different people out there, with unique personalities and backgrounds. It's because people are so different from one another that makes life complex and the same goes for book characters. We learn the most, when we read, from characters who are different from us. We get to see a new view on things. That is what happens in this novel. Gracie and Noah are not likeable at all. I think Gracie is supposed to be, but I'll tackle more of my views on her, in the latter half of this review.

 What I took from this novel, is that Gracie and Noah (the main characters in this book) are the quintessential example of what not to be or how to act in a relationship. They are the poster children for toxicity and emotional abuse in a relationship. Why might you add? Well, because Noah is the most manipulative, insensitive and rotten male character you can find. He is a bad boy. But, like, a real one. He is just a horrible human being and boyfriend to Gracie, who in this novel is the victim of his emotional abuse. That boy messes with that girls mind like no one's business and it literally takes to the very end of this book for Gracie to dump him once and for all.

Which leads me to world building and the subject of emotional abuse. When it comes to both things, I think the author succeeds tremendously in portraying emotional abuse in a young couple who are in college. The college environment and the actions of the characters in this novel felt authentic to the way people act in college, when they are young. We get a bit of life in a fraternity house, and get to learn through Noah, all of the many ways in which a person can manipulate another until they lose all sense of self. Which Gracie did, thanks to Noah. He gets her to essentially become his puppet. Through what you might add? By making her think that she was too much of a good girl, uptight, controlling and demanding. And naturally in her belief, that she can change him and that he is different with her, she always falls into all of his traps and demands.

Now, as much as I hated Noah, because he was awful and well that was his role, to be awful as the master manipulator of Gracie's emotions. I was equally annoyed with Gracie. I know that if they were real, I would've wanted to smack them both. Kudos to the author, because I think that books should do that, they should provoke strong emotions in the reader and boy did I feel a lot of frustration with these two. Noah was just sick. The things he did to manipulate Gracie, especially when it came to sex. That guy was just sad. He had a girlfriend who loved him, and it didn't matter, he just treated her like dirt.

Gracie. Oh, Gracie. Maybe the reader was meant to sympathize with her. I did on some levels. No doubt, her boyfriend treated her horribly. BUT, I wasn't completely on her side. First off, everyone in the book, to Gracie's mom, to her friends, and especially her best guy friend Jake, and even herself, in her head, kept talking on and on about how she was so special and beautiful and had this light about her soul that was going dim because of this abusive relationship and I'm sorry, I just never saw it. Scratch that, I never felt it. Just because other characters tell me how a character is doesn't mean I'm gonna buy it. The author has to show me, through the characters actions who they are. Not tell me. And that's what I got for Gracie. All this high praise but I never once felt like Gracie was this incredibly special person that everyone claimed she was. Not even in her flashbacks. She did have good feelings and there were several moments where she was gracious and respectful with others. But I honestly, never got a true feel for who she was.

Another thing, all the good girl talk that went in Gracie's mind about how she was not a good girl anymore or how some action she did took her good girl status away, was a bit too much for me. At the beginning, I was like, "yea, I get you girl. You fell for a bad boy and he messed you up." But after a while, that line just didn't make me sympathize with her anymore. Noah did manipulate Gracie through that, through her being a good girl, but there came a point when that was all she would reference to. The "good girl" label. Or she would often talk about Noah being a "bad boy" and that's all she would do. It's like she lived her life within the confines of those two labels. It was a bit too much and fell a little into cliché land for me. Have to be honest.

Oh, and what irritated me the most about Gracie is here she would be, crying her heart out to her best guy friend Jake, and supposedly devastated over another one of her fights or epic break ups with Noah that shattered her soul because he treated her like dirt, but then she would be, like, checking Jake out? Excuse me. I don't care how hot he is, if your boyfriend Noah is your everything and defines you, why are you checking out this guy who has a girlfriend? How is your mind going there in the first place, Gracie? She did it way too much for comfort. I gave her some passes on the excuse that she was young, but it was a bit out of place for me. Thank God, she did respect Jake and his relationship, but I was a bit afraid there for a bit.

Overall, my fave part of this novel was Gracie's best guy friend, Jake. He was gorgeous and a beautiful soul. He treated Gracie with so much gentleness and understanding. He really was just a beautiful character with all the right words to say. Thanks to him, she gets to learn about how to be treated by a guy, in the right way. And their moments were cute because Jake was just so amazing. I can't even. I definitely think that this book would be great for any fan of New Adult fiction, who likes realistic settings. And if you want to learn more about emotional abuse, this book is on target. You definitely can learn all the warning signs of what it is, and definitely learn from Gracie's mistakes on how to avoid it. When she FINALLY dumped Noah once and for all. I almost did a happy dance. Noah was just foul, y'all. Really foul.

My rating: 3/5

Gracie has just finished her freshman year of college in Memphis when she takes a job at a local pizza joint in her home town of McKenzie, Tennessee. She is the epitome of innocence when she meets Noah. Noah is unabashedly handsome, intriguingly reckless and just cocky enough to be sexy. Gracie’s instincts tell her to stay far away from him and based on the stories



Review: The Forgotten Ones by Laura Howard

The Forgotten Ones (The Danaan Trilogy #1) by Laura Howard

Release Date: April 28th 2013

Genre: NA or YA Paranormal/Supernatural/Fantasy

Source: Publisher

Format: E-book

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Goodreads Summary:

Allison O'Malley's plan is to go to grad school so she can get a good job and take care of her schizophrenic mother. She has carefully closed herself off from everything else, including a relationship with Ethan, who she's been in love with for as long as she can remember.

What is definitely not part of the plan is the return of her long-lost father, who claims he can bring Allison's mother back from the dark place her mind has gone. Allison doesn't trust her father, so why would she believe his stories about a long forgotten Irish people, the Tuatha de Danaan? But truths have a way of revealing themselves. Secrets will eventually surface. And Allison must learn to set aside her plan and work with her father if there is even a small chance it could restore her mother's sanity.

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Review:

If this book was a person, I would so give it a hug. As a book that falls under the New Adult genre since it's main characters are in their very early 20s, this book hits it out of the ball park. First of all, it's a book that has fantasy, something that is still not too common in the New Adult genre that is governed by realistic fiction. What does this book focus on you might ask? I'm here to tell you that it's about Faeries. Another thing that sets The Forgotten Ones apart is that even though the female heroine of this book has a love interest, her life does not revolve around him. I know. It surprised me as well and in such a good way. People in their early 20s struggle with so much more than romance; like finding out who they are, family drama, adjusting to adulthood, money troubles etc.

 

 

 

The thing I liked the most about this novel is the writing. This book is just really easy to get into and though it's subjects are not light, it felt like a light read. There is just this immediate comfort that you get while reading this book because though it has fantasy in it, the fantasy doesn't overwhelm the story, which is something that often happens with books that have a contemporary/realistic setting (which this one does) that later transitions into fantasy (which in this book is the fae world).

 

 

 

The characterization in this novel is really great. I thought Allison was a really great female lead. She felt like a real person. As a girl who has had to take care of her schizophrenic mother her whole life, she is extremely mature and dedicated to not only her family, but to her job and studies as well. Yes, this does present a problem in her life in the sense that she does forget to focus on her personal life (friends, romance) but that's what's great about her. We get to see her struggle with that and learning to balance that out, which rings so very true to what a lot of people her age (early 20s) are struggling with. Her love interest, Ethan, was great. He was a very good guy, so very sweet and understanding of Allison and her troubles, but even though he was sweet, it didn't make him a pushover or a too-good-to-be-true type of guy. He had a charisma to him and a spark to his personality; he too felt like a real person like Allison did.

 

 

 

The fantasy elements in this book were great. My first exposure to faeries. Believe it or not, I had not read a book about them before. I liked the world-building for them. The world seemed so magical, full of mystique and danger. The fae people have quite an interesting hierarchy in this novel. They are beautiful and dangerous and powerful and complex. That queen and king and their kids were something else. My only struggle with the fae mythology in this book were the names. I mean, you do get used to it eventually, and props to the author for creativity because there were some names there that were quite unique, but they are a bit of a challenge in the beginning.

 

 

 

Overall, this book is a really great read and the romance is so sweet that I can see why this book is also classified as a young adult novel because the romance in this book is more focused on the characters emotions and the female lead trying to come to grips that she is in love, amongst so much drama with her ailing mother, her connection to the complex fae world, and her trying to figure out just how to manage her life.

 

 

Oh, and there are two major cliffhangers in this book. Plot wise and romantically. At the end of this book, I wanted to know more and BAM it ended. So, YES, a sequel is needed - asap.

 

 

 

My rating: 4/5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Review: The Indigo Spell by Richelle Mead

The Indigo Spell (Bloodlines #3) by Richelle Mead

Publisher: Razorbill

Release Date:  February 12th 2013

Genre: YA Paranormal/Romance

Source: Bought

Format: Hardcover

Goodreads Summary:

In the aftermath of a forbidden moment that rocked Sydney to her core, she finds herself struggling to draw the line between her Alchemist teachings and what her heart is urging her to do. Then she meets alluring, rebellious Marcus Finch--a former Alchemist who escaped against all odds, and is now on the run. Marcus wants to teach Sydney the secrets he claims the Alchemists are hiding from her. But as he pushes her to rebel against the people who raised her, Sydney finds that breaking free is harder than she thought. There is an old and mysterious magic rooted deeply within her. And as she searches for an evil magic user targeting powerful young witches, she realizes that her only hope is to embrace her magical blood--or else she might be next.


Populated with new faces as well as familiar ones, the Bloodlines series explores all the friendship, romance, battles, and betrayals that made the #1 New York Times bestselling Vampire Academy series so addictive—this time in a part-vampire, part-human setting where the stakes are even higher and everyone’s out for blood.

My Review: 

This series. This series. THIS SERIES. I am just so in love with the bloodlines books. The Indigo Spell would be the third installment in the bloodlines series. A spin-off series of the very popular Vampire Academy books -that, by the way- got a film deal, so if you haven't read the Vampire Academy books, know that a movie of book 1 is currently being made and you will soon be able to see it on screen. But enough of my Vampire Academy gushing. Lets focus on The Indigo Spell, shall we. This book was full of romance, action, humour, and most of all, excellent character development and world building.

What makes The Indigo Spell shine? I would say that the character development of the main characters: Adrian and Sydney. These are characters that we met originally in the Vampire Academy series. Adrian is a royal vampire, while Sydney is an Alchemist - a human in charge of hiding the existence of vampires to the world. Both groups are very different from each other, but despite differences, Adrian and Sydney have developed romantic feels for each other. Being that their races do not get a along AT ALL. We have a forbidden romance on our hands, y'all. And what does this equate to? Literary gold and lots of drama. Oh, and that's not the only thing, not only are Adrian and Sydney from different races but they couldn't be any more different - personality wise - even if they tried, which makes their relationship even MORE intricate than it already is. And I just love it all.

Often, people feel that the person they fall in love with needs to be very similar to them. Who wants drama in their life, right? It's totally understandable. It's not always easy to get along with people who are different to you. However, life is not as neat as that. What makes the world complex is that is filled with lots of different people. In relationships, I think that two different people can help balance each other out. They can show each other different ways of viewing or doing things that otherwise they may not have thought of on their own because their mode of thinking doesn't let them go there. This is what I think we have in Sydney and Adrian. They are two very different people who on paper do not seem to belong together, but who in fact, are perfect for each other because of their differences. They balance each other out. They help each other grow.

Sydney is a the type of character who is governed by reason. She doesn't stray from rules. She is responsible and very dedicated to her work and what she needs to do. Always trying to keep things in check. Her whole life you can say is about control, which I think has a lot do with strict Alchemist upbringing. Adrian on the other hand is a more loose character. He is fun, more artsy than logical, full of charisma, and very okay with straying from the ordinary. But as different as these characters are, they do have one thing in common. People always expect the same from them, they are judged on their personalities a bit too much. Sydney is the responsible one, while Adrian is looked at as the irresponsible one. Thing is, these characters are much more than they seem and in The Indigo Spell  we get to see more layers to them. Adrian can be very responsible and fierce, while Sydney is not a robot, she feels and can let loose more. 

These characters learn that about themselves through their relationship with each other. Well, their interactions, because in the book Sydney is struggling with admitting her feelings for Adrian, while Adrian is set on knowing that he loves Sydney, and on fighting for. It was a fun journey to read about because it was full of angst with Sydney questioning whether she can love Adrian. There is also a lot of humour in the unraveling of their relationship because of Adrian trying to teach Sydney to break out of her shell. And ultimately, there is a lot of adventure in this relationship because of both characters trying to fight off witches and hiding their relationship from their respective groups, the vamps and alchemists.

Besides this, I don't think I can go more in depth about what happened between both characters because that would reveal some major plot points and spoil the books for some who may read this review but haven't read the first two books yet. Know this though, besides a really intricate relationship, we also have the secondary characters battling their feelings and trying to love who they want and be who they want to be. There is also amazing world building in this book. Not only does Richelle Mead expand on the vampire world in the book, but she gets more into detail about the alchemist world and witches. Yes, there is magic in this book! And lots of it. Just when you think you know everything about the Vampire Academy world, Mead throws more info about how intricate both worlds are and it is astounding. I just always get lost in these books when I read them. They feel so real because of how detailed the author is about everything.

I would definitely say that this book has a lot of humour. Lots of it, thanks to the always amazing Adrian Ivashkov. Prince of everything, in my eyes. Not only did this character get romantic with his words, but his actions, but he always had something witty to say and it just makes his character shine. So much charisma with this character. Sydney also is very funny in the book because she doesn't always pick of up little social or romantic things/interactions because she is just so logical. So there is always a certain innocence to her even though she is so intelligent. It's quite an interesting mix and she is very sarcastic. She has seen and done it all so it's hard to one up her. I cannot wait for the fourth installment in this series in order to see see how Adrian and Sydney's relationship continues to grow.

My rating: 4/5