Review: Run Holly Run by Walter Rouzer

Book: Run Holly Run 
By: Walter Rouzer
Published: December 21, 2014
Published by: Walter Rouzer

My Thoughts: Run Holly Run is a fun and crazy mystery story. 

This story follows Holly, who just moved into a Mansion with her parents overlooking the Mississippi River. Quickly though, we realize there are some strange happenings in this little town, and Holly, being the daredevil she is, wants to get to the bottom of it. 

This book was dangerously close to being a DNF for me, which sucks because I had such high hopes. There were just too many different storylines, the mysterious ghost twins, the strange old lady with the animals that behave like people, and the people who behave like animals, and the general creepiness of the town. I stuck it out though, mainly because I wanted to know what was going on in this town.

The story wasn't too bad, it was lively, and there was definitely action at every turn, but I just didn't love it. Many reviews I read gave it 5 stars. Though Holly was likable enough, I didn't connect with her, or her partner Charlie. I also had a problem with understanding how old she really was. We're lead to believe she's older and that her friend Charlie is one she met in law school, but sometimes she acts like she's much younger (I'm talking like 13). The story itself was also a bit confusing and I would have liked it to be fleshed out more and for the descriptions to be broader and more developed. I would also have liked for the story to seem a bit more believable. 

I give this book 2.5 Stars.

Audiobook Challenge Update

This is by far my fav challenge, because of my recent obsession with audiobooks. If you're interested in joining, you still have time. The challenge began at the beginning of this year but they accept new people all year. Just go here and sign up.

My chosen level for this year is: Marathoner (Look Ma no hands) 50+

I'm hoping to listen to more than the 84 books I listened to in 2014. This year, I have been quite busy so far, doing a few rereads/listens and starting on some new series, though I haven't been able to listen as much as I wanted due to the requirements of my Masters program, and the fact that my husband likes to tell me I'm ignoring him when I have my headphones in. Still, I have reached a total of 25 books out of my 85+ audio goal.

1. Charming (Pax Arcana #1) by Elliott James
2. Rush (Breathless #1) by Maya Banks
3. Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades #1) by E.L. James
4. Fifty Shades Darker (Fifty Shades #2) by E.L. James
5. Fifty Shades Freed (Fifty Shades #3) by E.L. James
6. Red Rising (Res Rising Trilogy #1) by Pierce Brown
7. Paper Towns by John Green
8. Hopeless (Hopeless #1) by Colleen Hoover
9. Me Before You by Jo Jo Moyes
10. Dead Witch Walking (The Hollows #1) by Kim Harrison
11. Conviction (Club Destiny #1) by Nicole Edwards
12. Halfway to the Grave (Night Huntress #1) by Jeaniene Frost
13. One Foot in the Grave (Night Huntress #2) by Jeaniene Frost
14. At Grave's End (Night Huntress #3) by Jeaniene Frost
15. Destined for an Early Grave (Night Huntress #4) by Jeaniene Frost
16. This side of the Grave (Night Huntress #5) by Jeaniene Frost
17. One Grave at a Time (Night Huntress #6) by Jeaniene Frost
18. Home for the Holidays (Night Huntress #6.5) by Jeaniene Frost
19. First Drop of Crimson (Night Huntress World #1) by Jeaniene Frost
20. Eternal Kiss of Darkness (Night Huntress World #2) by Jeaniene Frost
21. Once Burned (Night Prince #1) by Jeaniene Frost
22. Twice Tempted (Night Prince #2)by Jeaniene Frost
23. Up from the Grave (Night Huntress #7) by Jeaniene Frost
24. Bound by Flames (Night Prince #3) by Jeaniene Frost
25. Temptation (Club Destiny #2) by Nicole Edwards

Thanks to this challenge I am ridiculously obsessed with the Night Huntress series by Jeaniene Frost, and in anticipate reading every book she has put out and plans to put out from now on.

Any who, that's where I'm at so far. If you want a checkup on my constant progress, or to see the books read since this post was drafted, please checkout my 2015 Audiobook Challenge shelf on Goodreads here.

Have you joined this challenge this year? If so, did it introduce you to any new obsessions?

Audiobook Review: Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

Book: Me Before You
By: Jojo Moyes
Narration: Susan Lyons, Anna Bentink, Steven Crossley, Alex Tregear, Andrew Wincott, and Owen Lindsay
Published: December 31, 2012
Published by: Pamela Dorman Books

My Thoughts: The tears...SO....MANY....TEARS....

I absolutely loved Me Before You. LOVED IT!!!

Okay, now honestly, this book had a slow start for me, and with one of the MC's being a quadriplegic, I wondered if I would be able to connect to it, or see the appeal Lou had for him. Lou is hired as Will's helper and friend for the next six months after a horrible motorcycle accident changes his entire life. Her spunky personality changes a lot for the depressed Will, and he opens her eyes to her own life and the things she can do in it.

I shouldnt have been worried because I fell in love with both of these characters and this was a wonderful, albeit different, love story.

I refuse to ruin this story for anyone. It was so good, so I don't want to tell you how it ends. I won't tell you why I cried, whether they were good tears or sad ones, I'll just tell you that this story was so real that I couldn't even control my own emotions, they were torn right out of me. (A problem at times since I had it in audio format and sometimes I had to pause it to get a hold of myself).

The Narration was perfect with the six narrators giving a stunning performance. I think had I not listened in audio format I wouldn't have gotten past the slow beginning and seen this book for the gem it was. The story itself was wonderful, there was no insta-love. The characters had flaws, and yet, the story progressed as life progresses, slowly, with surprises and confusion and low times that somehow weren't completely boring. I loved this book, and though I'd doubt I'd read it again unless I'm in the mood to get my emotions jerked around, I'd recommend it to everyone who wants a contemporary story that is different from the rest. I give this one 5 huge stars.

Audiobook Review: Hopeless by Colleen Hoover

Book: Hopeless (Hopeless #1)
By: Colleen Hoover
Published: May 7^th, 2013
Published by: Atria Books

My Thoughts: I gave in to the hype, and I was not let down.  

Hopeless is about Sky, a very sheltered girl who lives at home with her mother and no technology. Finally, her senior year of high school she talks her mother into letting her go to public school instead of being home school. There, she meets Holder, and her entire life as she knows it is turned upside down. 

From the very beginning, I thought Hopeless was going to go into one direction. I was waiting for everything to crash and burn around Sky, and I was not ready for the resolution that eventually came to pass. This book was beautiful and haunting and touched all my feelings. I am all of a sudden a complete fan of Colleen Hoover. 

I got this book in the audiobook format, and from the moment I heard the narrator speak I loved her. She completely invoked the voice of Sky, and she wonderfully portrayed all the other voices. I now love her as a narrator just as much as I love Colleen as an author.

If you've been eyeing this book for a while because of all the Colleen Hoover hype, do yourself a favor and just give in to it already. It's really just that great. I give this book 5 stars.

Audiobook Review: Conviction by Nicole Edwards

Book: Conviction (Club Destiny #1) - Unabridged
By: Nicole Edwards
Narrators: Sabrina Brooks, Jay Crow
Length: 10 hours and 44 minutes
Published (audio): January, 13, 2015
Published By: Blackstone Audio

My Thoughts: Conviction is a blush worthy steamy novel where two strong personalities come together to produce one HOT result.

Told in alternate POV, we follow Samantha and Logan. She is a program manager in a small Texas field office who is hired for a position at the headquarters office of the firm, and he is an executive of that same firm, the man who hires her, and her new boss. Quickly, these two develop a liking for each other and despite Sam's misgivings about dating her boss, she can't fight the feelings she possesses. The two embark on a relationship that had my mouth literally watering, and sweat break across my brow at the heat.

The story itself wasn't that different than what you get in any other, the powerful older man executive with a strange fetish and deep sexual experience who meets the somewhat inexperienced (at least by comparison) younger woman and upends her entire ideals and sexual morals. Where it differed is the kink was completely out of this world. Nicole Edwards definitely knows how to write a sex scene. Rarely before have I heard a scene that actually made me blush and get a bit short of breath, but this was definitely the case. Unfortunately though, the rest of the story sort of fell flat. Most of the secondary characters were there for no reason other than to fill the story (though I recently learned that some are coming back in the other novels), there was a definite amount of insta-love, and I often just wanted to smack Samantha for her childish and annoying ways leading me to wonder why Logan even tried.

The narration, however, was quite good. Sabrina narrated for Sam and did a great job, albeit contributing a bit to the whiny ideals I had about the character. Jay narrated for Logan and his voice perfectly fit the voice I had in my head for Logan. They both do a fairly good job with all the varying voices of the characters, and their pacing is just perfect.

I give this story 4 stars, my average for the wonderfully steamy kink, and the pretty great narration, plus the average story and characters.

Review: Paper Towns by John Green

Book: Paper Towns
By: John Green
Published: September 22, 2009
Published By: Speak

My Thoughts: After reading Looking for Alaska and The Fault in out Stars by John Green, I was wholly on the John Green Bandwagon, and though Paper Towns was a beautifully written book just like all other John Green books, I just didn’t much like the story itself.

We follow Quentin also known as Q who is supposedly in love with his neighbor Margo Roth Spiegelman (she’s one of those people whose entire name needs to be said). He doesn’t know her much besides the fact that she’s his neighbor and she’s popular and she goes on amazing adventures, but that all changes when she sneaks into his window one night and the two go on an adventure together before she disappears completely from his life.

She leaves clues though, and Q believes that she’s left them for him to find her, so he and his friends, believing she may have committed suicide but hoping she hasn’t, follow the clues like breadcrumbs in order to find her. Along the way, Q learns a lot about the way people view each other, vs who people really are inside. He learns that though you may think people are more than they are; that at the end they’re still people.

It’s a good book full of deep philosophical thought and things that make you remember it well after the book, just like with all John Green books. Unfortunately though, I just didn’t much like Margo Roth Spiegelman. I didn’t understand what all the fuss was about, and I just never was able to connect with Q’s journey in that way. Despite the fact that it was a good book, it just wasn’t for me. I give it 3 Stars.