Book Review: Poet of the Wrong Generation by Lonnie Ostrow

Poet of the Wrong Generation 

by Lonnie Ostrow

Paperback: 470 pages
Publisher: Harmony River Press (November 10, 2016)

Kindle Edition
File Size: 2709 KB
Print Length: 455 pages
Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
Publisher: Harmony River Press (November 10, 2016)
Publication Date: November 10, 2016
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC


Note: I received a review copy of this book free from the author, Lonnie Ostrow. The review posted below is based on my personal thoughts while reading the book.

Ratings: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★


My thoughts:

When this was first offered to me for review, I turned it down. The pitch email didn't really impress me mainly because I was enjoying reading my recently bought books. You know that feeling of a book blogger having new books bought in bulk lol so anyway the author sent me some marketing materials and saw the music video. Wow! It was really good, made me admit to the author I was wrong about saying no to him. The book also turned out sooo good, loved it so much!

I have so many good things to say about the book but I'll make this brief to avoid giving out spoilers. Poet of the Wrong Generation is an inspirational read about love, friendship and the ups and downs of life. I fell in love with the characters especially the main one, Johnny. He was just a simple guy who is into music and poems, happy and contented with his life. He never thought a nasty break-up would lead to his success in the music industry. The story is pretty well written and I liked that the dialogue felt authentic.

As for Megan, I can relate to her. Doing things she doesn't like/does not approve of, just to make other people happy. My heart ache for her, so heartbroken thinking about the choices she made that led to her unhappiness. 

I highly recommend this book, without a doubt, you'll enjoy reading this too!

About the book:

One of those rare novels that grabs you by the heartstrings and doesn't let go until the very last page.

Johnny Elias is a fictional rock star for the ages. His story of how he came to be inspired to write his songs is both heartbreaking and inspirational. Megan Price is the girl whose betrayal caused Johnny to pen the music that quickly becomes the soundtrack of a generation of music fans hungry for songwriting substance during the early 1990s.

Katherine Price is Megan's talented and cunning mother. She will stop at nothing to get her way, no matter who might be standing in her path. This is at the quintessential New York 1990s nostalgia trip. It's also an open love letter to the singer-songwriter greats of yesteryear. But best of all, it's a timeless love story of two tortured souls seeking redemption and lasting harmony.

Touching and original, this story will break your heart, uplift your soul and leave you shouting for an encore. The ultimate rock & roll love story.

Book Review: Vampire Academy 10th Anniversary Edition by Richelle Mead

Vampire Academy 

10th Anniversary Edition

by Richelle Mead

Paperback: 512 pages
Publisher: Razorbill; 10 Anv edition (November 29, 2016)

Kindle Edition
File Size: 2184 KB
Print Length: 504 pages
Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0448494299
Publisher: Razorbill; 10 Anv edition (November 29, 2016)
Publication Date: November 29, 2016
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC

Ratings: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

My thoughts:

Yay, finally! Took forever to be available in the Philippines. Soo, how long was it when this series ended? Not counting the spin-off, been waiting for this for six long years!! Wow. The stories are sooo good, so amazing that I was in heaven for weeks ;) I am actually re-reading the books (#2/12), oh I am still in love with VA. There's nothing like it. And the cover, so beautiful! 

I thank Richelle Mead for writing VA, wish she'll revisit and write some more. If you loved VA, I'm pretty sure you'll fall in love with the series again!

Purchase your copy

About the book:

Richelle Mead celebrates 10 years of Vampire Academy with an exclusive, never-before-seen collection of stories that sheds new light on the world and its players:

The Turn and the Flame takes a deeper look into the dark stain on the Ozera dynasty...

From the Journal of Vasilisa Dragomir unearths the princess’s private thoughts from a transformative period of her life…

The Meeting gives us a glimpse of Rose Hathaway through Dimitri’s eyes...

Hello My Name Is Rose Hathaway tracks the shenanigans that ensue when Rose and Dimitri become unlikely teammates in a high-stakes scavenger hunt...

Lissa Dragomir is a Moroi princess: a mortal vampire with a rare gift for harnessing the earth's magic. She must be protected at all times from Strigoi; the fiercest vampires--the ones who never die. The powerful blend of human and vampire blood that flows through Rose Hathaway, Lissa's best friend, makes her a Dhampir. Rose is dedicated to a dangerous life of protecting Lissa from Strigoi, who are hell-bent on making Lissa one of them.

After two years of freedom, Rose and Lissa are caught and dragged back to St. Vladimir’s Academy, where vampire royalty and their guardians-to-be prepare for a life fraught with danger. Rose and Lissa must navigate their treacherous world and never once let their guard down, lest the evil undead make Lissa one of them forever. But soon Rose finds herself gripped by temptation of forbidden love, leaving Lissa exposed to Strigoi attack. Now she must choose between the best friend she lives for, and the man she can't live without….

Book Review: Runaway by Lorhainne Eckhart

Runaway

Finding Love ~ The Outsider Series Book 5

by Lorhainne Eckhart

Kindle Edition
File Size: 5761 KB
Print Length: 257 pages
Publication Date: January 10, 2014
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC

Ratings: ★ ★ 

My thoughts:

I don't read a book series out of sequence (Runaway is already book #5) but still I downloaded this since it's free and I am so into second-chance-romance.   

Runaway is okay, at least during the first half of the story. I started to dislike Andy after knowing he is in love with another woman (Diana).  As for Laura, Andy's wife, I can't believe she had sex with him right after seeing him the first time in six months. It is as if they never had any problem at all! *sigh* This just didn't work for me.

About the book:

Andy Friessen has been looking for Laura for six months. After she walked out with her son, no goodbye, with no money and leaving everything he bought her, behind.

But he knew she’d come crawling back, she needed him. After all he married her to protect her. And any woman would give their right arm to be his wife.

And then for six months his conscience poked at what an ass he’d been:

​Until he’s served…for divorce.

​Even though Andy is the first man she’s every truly loved, and the first to break her heart, Laura plans to never see him again. After all to him she was nothing but a nuisance, someone he could order around, just another woman to warm his bed at night.

​But Laura is hurt and she’s thought nothing through including the fact she’s keeping the biggest surprise from him yet.

​She’s pregnant.

And when Andy finds out … all hell will break loose.

Book Review: Hard Habit to Break by KT Webb

Hard Habit to Break: 

A Chicago Love Story Novella

by KT Webb 

Paperback: 120 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (August 5, 2016)

Kindle Edition
File Size: 2665 KB
Print Length: 120 pages
Publisher: Between the Pages (August 12, 2016)
Publication Date: August 12, 2016
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC

Ratings: ★ ★ 

My thoughts:

I liked both the main characters but when they're together, there's no sparks, their romance was just flat. One main issue for me... the book cover. The guy didn't fit Isaac's age, look and personality.  

About the book:

Olivia shouldn't be checking out the sexy older guy at the coffee shop. She should remind herself what happened the last time she was drawn to a man.

Olivia should know better than to start something that could ruin both their lives.

The trouble is, sometimes the things we shouldn't do become the hardest habits to break.

Book Review: Kai by Derek Vasconi

Kai 

by Derek Vasconi 

Paperback: 362 pages
Publisher: Derek Vasconi (May 22, 2015)


Ratings: ★ ★ ★ ★

Note: I received a review copy of this book free from the author, Derek Vasconi. The review posted below is based on my personal thoughts while reading the book.

My thoughts:

Okay, I liked KAI. The way the author describes every scene, uhm very hair-raising. Can't read when I'm alone! If you are following this blog, you know that I only read when everyone is out of the house/sleeping. Reading KAI, well, had to do it when kids are in the house. Too many distractions I know but I really need them with me lol. 

KAI is really good but is complex. Just the kind of story that you should closely follow or you'll be confused. I'm thinking maybe it's the alternating stories of the main characters (Seul Bi and Satsuki), and the rhyming Japanese names. 

All in all, it was a good book. I enjoyed reading KAI, added to my re-read list.

Purchase your copy

About the book: 

The bastard child of Haruki Murakami’s 1Q84 and Stephen King’s CARRIE, KAI explores how one innocent girl becomes the target of enormous rage living inside another girl-who is seemingly from another world. 

Satsuki Takamoto is an invisible otaku teenager in Hiroshima. The only thing she has going for her is the upcoming birth of her sister. No longer will she be alone. But after tragedy strikes her family, Satsuki loses her one chance at happiness. She spirals into a deep depression, shutting out everyone and everything by locking herself inside her bedroom-for good. Her sadness, however, pales in comparison to her uncontrollable anger. It spreads like a nuclear fire, ambivalent to what or who it destroys, and won’t stop until Satsuki accepts her sister’s death. 

Meanwhile, on the other side of the world in Evanston, Illinois, Seul Bi Rissiello can’t sleep because every time she closes her eyes, she relives her adoptive parents’ gruesome deaths. Why is she thinking so much about them now, ten years afterward? As she struggles with working at a clinic for the mentally disturbed, Seul Bi starts to unravel under the weight of living a lonely life and being twice an orphan. Her life devolves into a series of ominous and dangerous hallucinations that threaten not only her sanity, but her very existence as well. 
As both girls struggle to understand what is happening to them, their enigmatic connection comes into focus, raising the question: What if all the suffering in your life was carefully choreographed by somebody you’ve never met?

Book Review: Daring the Wild Sparks by Ren Alexander

Daring the Wild Sparks

by Ren Alexander

Series: Wild Sparks
Paperback: 318 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (December 15, 2013)


Kindle Edition
File Size: 1194 KB
Print Length: 319 pages
Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1494277646
Publisher: Ren Alexander (December 14, 2013)
Publication Date: December 14, 2013
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC

Ratings: ★ ★ ★ ★

My thoughts:

Daring the Wild Sparks is book # 2 to the Wild Sparks series. 

Oh so heart broken... Finn and Hadley's story felt so real and totally relatable. Their relationship made me look back my past and seriously thinking I may have committed some mistakes like Finn so in some ways I understand him, and his many frustrations in life.

What I was so happy about was meeting Finn's family and the way they love Hadley, that's cool! This book #2 gave me too many conflicting emotions, felt trapped to their issues. Can't decide! It's a good thing I'm just a reader here =) Reading book #3 soon!

Purchase your copy

About the book:

In the follow up to “Chasing the Wild Sparks,” Hadley Beckett’s quest for wedded bliss perseveres…

What would you do if the love of your life were closer to making your dreams come true?

Riding high in her relationship with her sportscaster/local daredevil boyfriend, Finn Wilder, Hadley Beckett makes plans concerning her future with Finn. Big plans.

Spending time with Finn at his parents’ house for Easter, Hadley can’t wait to share some of her ideas with him, hoping he will go along. She knows she has an uphill climb ahead of her, but she’s optimistic that after what they recently went through, Finn will be receptive to what she has to say.

Infamously anti-marriage, Finn promised Hadley he’d consider taking her to the altar if she gives him more time. Diving headfirst and with encouragement from her best friend Morgan, Hadley devises a backup plan if Finn can’t make a decision soon. However, her other close friend, Rod, disagrees with Morgan’s advice, partly to just oppose her in spite, but also having actual valid points of his own. Feeling conflicted, Hadley takes both of their suggestions and blends them together, formulating her own way to handle Finn.

On the other hand, unbeknownst to Hadley, Finn has plans of his own as well.

Hadley is determined to succeed, yet is she unwittingly destined to fail?