Balance - Janelle Stalder

Vivian/ Viv is a H S graduate and wanted to be a prosecutor. Viv got the chance of a  lifetime to intern with a great defense attorney Dermont Banks before she starts law school. Dermont Banks has a reputation for representing the worst of offenders.  Also the Banks sons are there and they are hot. The Banks family has a big secret and Viv doesn’t know it. Then Viv develops feelings for silent Caleb which will change her life forever. Caleb is not used to feeling thing things as he is quiet, unfriendly, and cold except for his mother who he loves deeply and understands why his mom feels as she does.But Caleb and Viv are deeply attracted to each other but Viv doesn’t want to jeopardize her internship by having a relationship with Caleb. Caleb does change as he develops feelings for Viv and he gets very protective of Viv. Everyone in Caleb’s family especially Dermont are against Caleb's and Viv's relationship. Caleb is a fallen angel. Viv also  doesn’t know  that she is the subject of an prophesy for her association with Caleb who is the son of the devil and this will bring about the end of the world. Every few centuries a woman is born to be the devil’s mate and is the only one who can have his children. Being close to the devil brings a long life and eventually insanity. A secret society does watch the devil .

I have mixed feelings about this story. Some things I like about the story and some I don’t really care for. First of all I HATE I will repeat that I HATE cliffhangers. So that didn’t help how I felt about this story. I was pulled into the story from the start and stayed there until the end of this story. I thought Viv and Caleb were a great couple considering once Caleb starting responding to Viv. I was definitely scared of Dermont. The plot was great but I felt Viv and Caleb fell in love/ lust to fast especially for someone who basically didn’t have feelings- except for his mom of course. Pacing of the story was good. But at times did feel this was a little rushed. This did remind me of twilight but that was ok because i loved the whole Twilight series. So that wasn’t a big problem. So as you can see there were something I did like and others not so much especially that cliffhanger. I hated that as already mentioned.

Hey everyone! So the other day was father's day in pretty much the whole world, and I wanted to celebrate this special day with a recollection of the Best and Worst father's in literature.

As we know, through literature we can experience a bit of everything good and bad in the world, and as a part of every child's experience, we find that the influence dad's can exercise is fundamental, even if said parent is the worst. They shape our lives in a way or another.

Therefore, in order to attest to the aforementioned here are the Top 3 Best & Worst Father's in books I've read this year.

1) Baba from The Almond Tree by Michelle Cohen Corasanti.

Baba is a great example of a what an excellent dad should be. He is filled with wise advice and always puts his family first. I'm talking about a man who is willing to go to jail for a crime he didn't commit, willing to bear torture in order to keep his family safe; and the best of all? Even during the worst of times he puts a cheerful face and never ever complains.

2) Nick Cooper from Brilliance by Marcus Sakey.

Nick is an amazing character, he is smart, loyal and has impeccable morals, but he is an even better father. His kids are his life and he is willing to take the extra mile to keep them safe. He took a job in a government agency who hunted his own kind because he believed he could help build a better world for his kids, but when things got tricky, he even risked his life in a suicidal mission so he could make sure his daughter wouldn't be taken away.

3) Miles "Pudge" Halter's Dad from Looking For Alaska by John Green.

Miles' dad doesn't make much of an appearance in this book, but he proves to be very cool. He was always encouraging Miles, and both his parents were very supportive in every choice he made. But when Miles asks him to help him and his friends pull off the greatest prank ever made in Culver Creek Boarding School, his dad doesn't even ask questions. Hence, he is cool!

1) M.T's Dad from The Secret Side of Empty by Maria E. Andreu.

M.T.'s dad is a man who decided to vent all his frustration on his family, especially his wife and daughter. He didn't get the respect he wanted in life, so he forced it out of her daughter. Basically, he abused her physically and psychologically, until she couldn't stand it anymore. The worst thing is, up until the end he justified himself for his actions. He never really got that what he was doing was wrong.

2) Zeus from The Blooming Godess Trilogy by Tellulah Darling.

Zeus is a mythological character we are all familiar with I presume, and he is famous for neglecting his multiple children. But in this case, he sort of went overboard with his daughter Persephone/Sophie. How you ask? Because he even joined forces with his not so beloved brother Hades, to destroy her and prevent her from saving the world. That's right, this horrible dad wants his daughter dead, and has all his minion from Olympus on a mission to get her.

3) The General from the Switch Series by Janelle Stalder.

This is another dad who seriously doesn't know what love is. He puts his mission before his family and even risks the well being of his daughters so he could achieve it. This is the kind of dad who will rather torture one daughter to manipulate the other, and use them as weapons so he could gain the power he seeks. He did much worse, but I don't want to spoil anything else.

There are more great examples I can think of at the top of my head, but now I want to know about the great and awful dads you've read about. Care to share?

Olivia was unnoticeable before moving away for two years, known as the freak who paints. Now she’s returned for her senior year and suddenly everyone is being nice to her and she’s got the two hottest guys fighting for her attention; the school star Jake and the bad boy next door, Colt. Olivia has to adjust to the attention and make some decisions that could end up in heartbreak.

Olivia is a shy, artsy, loving, caring girl, why everyone ignored her besides her best friend Ella is beyond me. From the descriptions of her she’s beautiful in my mind and she’d be an awesome friend. Once she builds her self-confidence she really is amazing. I love how she reacts to Colt and the bit bye ays she gets back at him, really made me giggle ALOT!

Reagan and her girls annoyed the hell out of me but don’t the school bitches (pardon my French) always do that? Every time she appeared in the story it made me want to slap her silly little face, and Jenn was almost as bad but then without them the story wouldn’t have been as good so no complaints from me, just some muttered cursing ;)

Colt *sigh* sorry! Colt is the bad boy next door, covered in tattoos and body piercing he seems like your typical bad boy, going through the ladies, never getting attached but that is sooooo not the case when it comes to Olive. I loved how he was with her, they seemed perfect for each other and I can’t believe how long they danced around each other for. Just like, Jesus! Make out already… Ya know?

Haha but I’m just impatient and I loved the way it all happened. It wasn’t rushed into and it didn’t feel dragged out either. The pacing was great and wasn’t boring for me at all. I expected great things from this book and great is what I got. Janelle’s writing sucked me in and kept me captivated right until the end and I can’t wait to read Ella’s story, like can I have it now please? Ahhhhh there’s me being impatient again but I seriously can’t wait to get my hands on it!

**A copy was provided for review purposes**

Wow, Janelle did it again! She has such a way with words all her stories flow so easily. This time she decided to explore into contemporary and the result was great. I have to admit that the simplicity of the plot was the best part of everything. Basically it goes like this: boy and girl next door have been secretly stalking each other from afar during years, and finally gather the courage to talk and exploit their undying love. Throw in a little help from their friends, and you got yourself a great story. Simple, but cute and endearing. Plus, Janelle really knows how to toss some unexpected turns and add some strokes of her own originality, blending it all in some masterpiece. Just a quick heads up, she will fool you big time! And I loved it! So be prepared for whatever.

But what is really great about the story is that it works. It is fun, unexpected and believable. This could happen to anyone you know, and the best part is that you will get so easily lost in the romance; you won’t know what hit you. It is intense and moderate at the same time, and it honestly captures the strength and rush you feel when love as passionate as that strikes you.

It was easy to fell for these characters, especially because their relationships ringed so true to me. The loyalty, and teasing and frowning at each other, was pretty much every good friendship relationship out there. I have even met the type of pushy friend like Ella, though I liked her better, because she was sassy, straight forward and very reliable. I’m actually so glad we’ll be getting her story next, because honestly, I can’t wait to get me some more of this. Nonetheless, I wished I had known from the beginning this was going to be a series.

I also adored Rannon. Colt and he make such a great and fun pair to be around. Again, his loyalty simply won me over (yeah, loyalty is pretty big with me); not only to his friend, but the love they shared for each other extended to the unspoken duty of taking care of each other’s family as well. I really loved to see how they got each other’s back.

Last but not least, Olive and Colt, hot! I’ve already talked a bit about their relationship, so if you want to know more, read the book, it’s worth it.

I’ve said this so many times before, but I really am a sucker for dual points of view; and yet again I was proven right. When it is well done, like in this book, it adds something extra, because you get the whole story. It’s always important to get both sides of a story before truly understanding how things really happened, and that absolutely applied to this book.

In sum, awesome story, great characters, hot and sweet romance, great writing and some funny surprises equals a great book!

*Note: I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review, but my opinion was not biased in any way by this fact.