Still cleaning up my database one old review at a time.

 

I’ve given this series three tries now. That’s three tries too many and two more than usual. I have been disappointed for the final time. I Am Done. Done with the stagnant, shallow, and (in Ever’s case) stubbornly dense characters. Done with the New Age nattering on about energy fields and Wicca 101 lessons. Done with the endless faux sexual tension and the strung out destined to be together soul-mate crap. 

I should probably have some wine and chocolate and calm the hell down but I need to get this review over and done so I can move on and purge it from my memory which fortunately for me (in this case) isn’t very good anyway.

If you haven’t read the previous books in the series they are Evermore and Blue Moon and you really haven’t missed much. I’ll do a super quick synopsis to spare you from the unnecessarily long brain melting info. dump that goes on in the first few chapters of Shadowland. Ever is a pretty blonde cheerleader type who lost her entire family in an accident. But don’t fret because she doesn’t. She’s too busy mooning over dreamy guys. In Evermore she was made an immortal by drinking “immortal juice” given to her by her perfect, gorgeous, immortal boyfriend and soul mate Damen. They want to have sex (oh so very bad) but can’t touch because braniac Ever trusted a villain named Roman in Blue Moon and now her body fluids are toxic to Damen. They can’t kiss or bump any naked naughty bits or do anything else unless fully covered and there’s really no fun in that now, is there? They can’t even hold hands because Ever might get all clammy and sweat on him causing his ultimate fiery demise. Ahhh, the tragedy! So there you go. 

In Shadowland, they attempt to find an antidote so they can finally “be together” (euphemism courtesy of the author, I would’ve used much naughtier terms), Ever doesn’t listen (again) and gets herself into further trouble and then a new character named Jude (who is gorgeous and dreadlocked and gets Ever all a-flutter, shameless hussy that she is) is introduced because what the world needs now is another lame love triangle.

If I sound a mite sarcastic I’m sorry but I’m beyond irritated by these shallow and dimension-less characters. I had all three of these books on my Ipod and kept reading them hoping desperately that things would improve. But Damen is still totally amazing and crapping out white tulips and we are continually brutalized with Ever’s endless descriptions of his physical perfection. At one point she even waxes poetic about his “perfect rubber flip flop shod feet”. I Kid You Not. Oh and Haven is still a royal beeyatch while Ever continues to be Ever. No one grows at all in these books and it makes me crazy. 

But the worst fault here is that Shadowland blathers on for chapters without anything much of any excitement, importance or plot advancement happening. I could deal with this if I were enjoying even one of the characters but they continually disappointed and frustrated me with their perfection, self-centeredness or outright stupidity. And then the bit about Haven becoming . . . well, I won’t go there and spoil things for you in case you’re still wanting to read it.

I realize I’m rambling but this series is just not a good one, if you’re asking me. It’s not interesting, the characters are mostly jerks who I can’t work up any sympathy for and it’s not one I can recommend at all. I’m stopping here even though I think I still have two more of these books on my Ipod. I’ve already wasted too much time and if someone tells me they get better I am sticking my fingers in my ears and refusing to listen. Which is what I wish I had done with these audiobooks!

I’ve given this series three tries now. That’s three tries too many and two more than usual. I have been disappointed for the final time. I Am Done. Done with the stagnant, shallow, and (in Ever’s case) stubbornly dense characters. Done with the New Age nattering on about energy fields and Wicca 101 lessons. Done with the endless faux sexual tension and the strung out destined to be together soul-mate crap.

I should probably have some wine and chocolate and calm the hell down but I need to get this review over and done so I can move on and purge it from my memory which fortunately for me (in this case) isn’t very good anyway.

If you haven’t read the previous books in the series they are Evermore and Blue Moon and you really haven’t missed much. I’ll do a super quick synopsis to spare you from the unnecessarily long brain melting info. dump that goes on in the first few chapters of Shadowland. Ever is a pretty blonde cheerleader type who lost her entire family in an accident. But don’t fret because she doesn’t. She’s too busy mooning over dreamy guys. In Evermore she was made an immortal by drinking “immortal juice” given to her by her perfect, gorgeous, immortal boyfriend and soul mate Damen. They want to have sex (oh so very bad) but can’t touch because braniac Ever trusted a villain named Roman in Blue Moon and now her body fluids are toxic to Damen. They can’t kiss or bump any naked naughty bits or do anything else unless fully covered and there’s really no fun in that now, is there? They can’t even hold hands because Ever might get all clammy and sweat on him causing his ultimate fiery demise. Ahhh, the tragedy! So there you go.

In Shadowland, they attempt to find an antidote so they can finally “be together” (euphemism courtesy of the author, I would’ve used much naughtier terms), Ever doesn’t listen (again) and gets herself into further trouble and then a new character named Jude (who is gorgeous and dreadlocked and gets Ever all a-flutter, shameless hussy that she is) is introduced because what the world needs now is another lame love triangle.

If I sound a mite sarcastic I’m sorry but I’m beyond irritated by these shallow and dimension-less characters. I had all three of these books on my Ipod and kept reading them hoping desperately that things would improve. But Damen is still totally amazing and crapping out white tulips and we are continually brutalized with Ever’s endless descriptions of his physical perfection. At one point she even waxes poetic about his “perfect rubber flip flop shod feet”. I Kid You Not. Oh and Haven is still a royal beeyatch while Ever continues to be Ever. No one grows at all in these books and it makes me crazy.

But the worst fault here is that Shadowland blathers on for chapters without anything much of any excitement, importance or plot advancement happening. I could deal with this if I were enjoying even one of the characters but they continually disappointed and frustrated me with their perfection, self-centeredness or outright stupidity. And then the bit about Haven becoming . . . well, I won’t go there and spoil things for you in case you’re still wanting to read it.

I realize I’m rambling but this series is just not a good one, if you’re asking me. It’s not interesting, the characters are mostly jerks who I can’t work up any sympathy for and it’s not one I can recommend at all. I’m stopping here even though I think I still have two more of these books on my Ipod. I’ve already wasted too much time and if someone tells me they get better I am sticking my fingers in my ears and refusing to listen! Which is what I wish I had done with these audiobooks!

Or perhaps I am somewhere, deep down in the depths of my jaded soul, an optimist? I'm trying Nora again after shunning her for "Vision In White" and "Shadow Spell" two very dismal reads. My library called. It had this for me. Who am I to turn it away? Send me good book thoughts!

So I was bored one insomnia fueled night and saw this flick titled "Tenderness" on the Sundance Channel guide. It said something about a "young serial killer" in the description and because it sounded decent and vaguely familiar, I hit that handy record button. I finally got around to watching a bit of it this morning. Come on, I can't be the only one who starts their day off right with a horror film?  Anyway, it was indeed a book and I had indeed read it and it bothered me deeply and was unflinchingly depressing. So far the film is living up to the book. It's bleak and depressing but I don't know how well it would fly if I hadn't read the book first. It makes some leaps that aren't really all that filled in but maybe it'll become clear once I finish. 

 

So here's the review if you're itching to fall into a depression:

 

Hmmm, what to say about this dreary book? It is a young adult novel but it's extremely dark. It features an eighteen year old serial killer who has been imprisoned for the past three years for murdering his parents. Eric was also a suspect in the murder of several young girls but his guilt was never proven. He's due to be released very soon and the officer who knows he's a serial killer is determined to make sure he doesn't hurt another girl.

The other character is Lori, a fifteen year old runaway with a disturbing habit of using her sexuality to get things she wants from men. She also has a tendency to get fixated on a man and once this happens nothing will stop her from finding him and kissing him on the mouth. It's the only way to end her obsession apparently. When she sees Eric on tv a new obsession begins.

Their lives collide and though I knew this couldn't possibly end well I kept reading anyway. The author doesn't leave you disappointed but he doesn't do what is expected either.

This was a rather depressing read about two young people suffering from some serious emotional problems. The writing seemed genuine enough and the motivation for both characters was well done but it's not something I'd read again. It was too dreary and too hopeless.

A Glutton for Punishment (Damned If You ... 2.5 starsI read the first three stories in this series (when they were still released under Torquere Press) in 2010 and 2011 (story #3 was in 2011). In the past 2.5 - 3 years, my taste in MM romance have changed, thanks to reading 1000+ stories so far. Some things have become my source of complains. One of them is the extra excessive usage of pet names. At first, I'm okay with Rael calling other people with pet names, it's his quirk. However, when he does that in every single line of conversation, it is aggravating to read. On top of that, Rael and Lars also call each other with numerous pet names (including my black-listed word). I always feel like when people call each other with pet names EVERY SINGLE TIME, it loses the 'special feeling' to it. It becomes banal and annoying -- especially when I have to read it.The whole idea of Rael having to pretend to be someone else's boyfriend to protect Lars is also not something I enjoy. I think Rael is so naive to NOT thinking of Nathan's having a different reason behind it. I can see it for miles and well, I'm just not amused. The mystery is actually though, that is one that 'saves' this story for me. It has a sense of suspense/sinister sense to it, especially since we also have scenes of Devon LaGrande in his captivity. If only I'm not annoyed with the pet names, I think I can actually rate this higher due to the mystery.So, yeah, it's another let down (I don't like book #3 as well). I am pretty much done with this series *shrugs*. I wish Lars and Rael a happy marriage, though...