Review: The Rebel Heir

The Rebel Heir by Elizabeth Michels
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

(I love the idea of arranging my thoughts like this :p)

Pros:
1. Evie and Ash's relationship
2. Amazing character growth
3. The ultimate satisfaction
4. BEST EPILOGUE EVER!!!!

Cons:
1. Evie's mother
2. Moments of unbelieveability
3. Misleading title

Ash and Evie.... probably my new favorite 2016 book romance. Ash is every woman's emotional fantasy and Evie is the woman we all secretly wish to be. I literally can't get enough of them. ASh won't let Evie hide away from him like she does everyone else, and he refuses to allow her to give up on herself. Likewise, Evie allows Ash to really see himself and he becomes a better man because of her. they have passion, romance, chemistry, friendship, and a bond that leaves me envious. I am so satisfied that the Ash and Evie from the beginning of the book are completely different from the Ash and Evie at the end.

Now Evie's mother on the other hand is that villain that we cheer for when she gets her just rewards. The overbearing, rudeness, controlling, abrasiveness, and worst of all... the whining! Ugh, that blasted whining makes me want to claw my own hair out, but it is so in character that if she didn't speak in such a manner she wouldn't be as believable. I don't know about you, but I've had that one friend who talks like that when she wants to get her way. Gaaaah!

Even though I listed Evie's mother as a con, the story is all the more real because of her, so I didn't take off a star because of her. The deducted star is only because I can't believe the scene from Evie's betrothal ball. When all hope is lost Mr. Dean swoops in at the last moment to save the day? I don't buy it. Honestly, I want him to be carted out with Evie defending him to everyone, him sit in jail for a day or so, THEN Mr. Dean show up and everyone forgets about Evie's outburst with her mother and talk about how romantic it is that she defended Ash when it looked like all the accusations where true. One more thing, the title. Ah is a 4th son, so why title the book "The Rebel Heir"?

**I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.**

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Review: The Secrets of Lizzie Borden

The Secrets of Lizzie Borden by Brandy Purdy
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I have read every review of this book I could find, and I have no idea how anyone ever finished it. I didn't make it very far before I realized this was nothing more than a jumbled mess of nonsense. Maybe all of the beginning ramblings lead up to something great, but even skipping whole chapters in an effort to find some piece of depth I was disappointed.

The trial of Lizzie Borden is infamous, so it really wouldn't take much effort to find out the details, which I noticed the author did include. That wasn't the problem I had, but rather with Lizzie herself. Given the era in which she lived and the life experiences she had, I expected to read about this very complex, deep, intriguing woman. What I got instead was the ramblings of a grown woman who seemed to think more like my 15 year old niece than a woman of well over 30. Lizzie came off as childish and incapable of staying on topic.

I never made it to the "good parts". What I read there where no dialogue, no opposing points of view, and the barest of character growth. In the few chapters I did read I wanted to shout at Lizzie to grow up! I always try to put myself in the stories I read, but as I was unable to tolerate Lizzie on paper, I doubt I could tolerate her in my real life.

I do have something nice to say about this book, because it wasn't all bad. I like the writing style the author chose, and I'm looking forward to reading something else (Something completely different from this subject material) by her. The problem with this story wasn't the author, but with the main character. The problem was with Lizzie herself.

I received a free ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

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Review: Forbidden Legacy

Forbidden Legacy by Diana Cosby
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The writing style needed work, there wasn't much dialogue, and the secret keeping really bugged me. Other than that, I adored this book. The female lead was strong and dealt with the cruelty life threw at her the best way I have read yet in a historical romance. The male lead on the other hand was gentle with an underlying tenderness that counteracted his warrior spirit perfectly. The writing was well researched, the story engaging, and the characters believable.

I received a free ARC via Netgalley.com in exchange for my honest review.

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Review: The Highlander

The Highlander by Kerrigan Byrne
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**Free ARC from Netgalley.com**

I really enjoyed this book and had no idea it was art of a series until I looked up the expected publish date. The author wrote this book with the reader in mind, as it reads wonderfully as a stand alone. That being said, let's get down to the bare bones of it shall we?

I loved how descriptive this story was.
Every detail was meticulously written and it gave little way for interpretation. I always love books like this because the author clearly has a picture in their mind of how everything looks, feels, and smells and writing like this allows the reader to see, feel and smell exactly what the author did.

I enjoyed the different character dynamics.
It was wonderful reading about Andrew, Gavin, Mena, and Liam.... I even enjoyed Hamish. The way the author played the characters off of one another was beautifully executed.

The Epilogue was refreshing.
I fully expected to read about how a few years after the final sentence in the main story was finished we would get a glimpse of Liam and Mena's future life. They would be surrounded by their beautiful children or she would miraculously have gotten pregnant after repeatedly stating that she was "barren". That wasn't the case and I was physically relieved when I read the Epilogue. I also want to mention Jani. He was by far my favorite character and I hope he gets his own story, even if it is only 100 pages or so.

I hated how drawn out some parts were.
Some areas of this book stalled. Such is usually the case when the author spends so much time trying to recreate the exact scenes in their head. Although this was a bit annoying, I really valued the clear picture it painted for me. This only cost the story 1/2 a star.

Hamish
Laim's crimes are so great that even he can't speak of them. Apparently no one can... but Hamish bates Liam at one point and bares his most damning secrets (in his opinion). Yet, why didn't Hamish spill some of the other crimes Laim had committed? Why did it take him so long to act? Why were there only 2 attacks in the months that Hamish was in the book? Hamish just seemed like a character that really didn't belong in the story, but maybe the author wanted to tie up a loose end with his character, or perhaps use him as a plot twist. He most certainly wasn't the climax, although he almost was. Hamish's role cost the story another 1/2 of a star.

The sex scenes were ridiculously long.
Just about every one of these books have long, drawn out sex scenes. In the monarchy of sex scenes, this book is the Queen. Just like everything else in this book, the sex scenes were almost stalled in their descriptions. It made for an interesting read, but I really could have done without the multiple pages of the multiple times Liam and Mena were physically intimate. This cost the story 1 star.

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Review: Lowcountry Book Club

Lowcountry Book Club by Susan M. Boyer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When I first requested this book from Netgalley (Thank you for the ARC by the way) I had no idea that it was book 5 out of a series. Thankfully I had trouble putting this book down. Now I can't wait to find the previous books to see if this author is really that good of a writer or if this was just some kind of one time success book. Believe me, I have read book series where every book was horrible with the exception of usually the last book.

There were a few words that myself and Webster didn't recognize, but that didn't take away from the story. I did have some issue keeping all of the characters straight, and by the end of the book I gave up trying. That, and only that, is what kept this book from being a true 5 star book. I really hope there will be more Liz Talbot books in the future!

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