The Better Part of Darkness by Kelly Gay

November 24th 2009, Pocket Books
416 pages, Paperback
Received from Publicist
First in Charlie Madigan series
Adult Fiction

Atlanta: it's the promised city for the off-worlders, foreigners from the alternate dimensions of heaven-like Elysia and hell-like Charbydon. Some bring good works and miracles. And some bring unimaginable evil....

Charlie Madigan is a divorced mother of one, and a kick-ass cop trained to take down the toughest human and off-world criminals. She's recently returned from the dead after a brutal attack, an unexplained revival that has left her plagued by ruthless nightmares and random outbursts of strength that make doing her job for Atlanta P.D.'s Integration Task Force even harder. Since the Revelation, the criminal element in Underground Atlanta has grown, leaving Charlie and her partner Hank to keep the chaos to a dull roar. But now an insidious new danger is descending on her city with terrifying speed, threatening innocent lives: a deadly, off-world narcotic known as ash. Charlie is determined to uncover the source of ash before it targets another victim -- but can she protect those she loves from a force more powerful than heaven and hell combined?
.

Cover Review:

It seems a bit outdated and WHAT is up with her face?

Opinion:

OMFG! This book is so freaking good! The action is intense and I fell deeply in love with several of the characters not just the FMC (female main character).

Charlie has attitude and brains to back it up. This combination usually results in a great character. I think this is the only book I have ever read where the FMC is a mother and that element added so much to who Charlie is. Her dynamic with her sister is so relatable and in all I simply loved Charlie.

Hank is such a great partner and I adore the dynamic between them. He’s so protective. Emma we only get to see through mother’s eyes so of course she is pretty loveable. The most surprising secondary character (the one that stole the show in my eyes) was Rex. I adored him so much.

The plot was never-ending action from the very first page. Gay knows how to write a hook and continue keeping the the readers attention until the very end.

Great book all around. Now I’m off to start the next one!

Rating:

Rie (@missiontoread)

I'm a wife, student, and a dog-lover who reads when I should be folding laundry (bane of my existance), I write (rarely as academic papers consume my life), and love getting wrapped up in fiction.

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Discussion with Linda: The Hype Monster

The Hype Monster is a formidable creature. It not only eats at your free time and your wallet, but it knows the way into your very soul. It knows your deepest desires. Feeding your want of books also feeds the beast.

I, for one, have about 600 plus books on Goodreads. Most are marked as to-read, and it will keep on growing. The Hype Monster has indeed taken over my to-read pile. Sometimes I have to give into the hype. Because it's worse being left out, not knowing what everyone is talking about. I like being kept up-to-date. I love obsessing over a book and it’s only better when friends join in.

When you fall prey to this powerful beast, you never know what you’ve gotten yourself into. Maybe you'll hate it more than you thought you would. Maybe you'll be disappointed after such high expectations. Or maybe you'll love it. Maybe you'll find a new author to stalk. Book lovers know what other book lovers want to read. They’re usually right most of the time, for a considerable amount of people.  Recommendations can make or break you.

It takes a lot of time and perseverance to sort through all the recommendations for the truly good books. We’re all looking for a memorable one that will keep us thinking long after we finish. Sadly, it seems that every time I finish a great book, more have already been released during the week. It’s an unwinnable game of catch-up. My wallet is losing the game too. Books are my personal luxury. I can’t seem to stop myself from wanting all of the books. It’s why I could never go on a book-buying ban. For those you who have resisted buying books, I admire you greatly.

I can never decide what book to pick. Reading one book at a time just isn’t possible anymore. Everyone says this book has a great plot. Everyone says that one has a ridiculously swoony boy. You haven’t read so and so yet? But the ending is to die for! All these opinions are tearing me apart.

Tell me, are book recommendations and the hype for the latest hype overwhelming you? Do you, as a reader, trust the popular opinion of a book? Does a lot of hype turn you off from reading a book?

The elusive Linda-saurus: (book_ninja)

Mover and shaker by day, book-ninja by night. Only native to Florida. Afraid of small children but has an affinity to the elderly. Beware of her sarcastic humor.

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Follow Friday

Question:

What book(s) are you reading right now? What do you think of it?

Answer:

I’m sort of in a reading slump and every time I pick up a book within the first few pages I’m bored. So I don’t really have one that I’m reading currently, but I really need to push past the slump soon.

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Rie’s Opinion: Negative Reviews

There is a disproportionate amount of positive reviews on Mission to Read. This isn’t because I don’t review books I finish and dislike. It’s because I don’t finish books that I dislike.

My policy is that if I read 150 pages or more of a book I will give a DNF review, but I rarely get half way into a book that I dislike. If you don’t capture my attention within the first few chapters I simply do not have the time or the inclination to continue reading.

Sometimes I will pick up a book and be annoyed with it in moments. This won’t be because of the book, but simply because I am in a mood. I’ll often pick these books back up and re-read them and inside I find a rich fictional world in which I fall in love. Other times it’s simply the book.

I’ve heard many book bloggers lament on not being able to get into a book and struggling through it. I don’t see the point in this. If you dislike a book why insist on reading it? There are hundreds of thousands of books that you could be reading instead.

The only time I force myself to read a book that I dislike is if A) a blogger I love recommended it to me. B) It is a book I have anticipated and want to love or C) I feel obligated. But forcing myself to read a book always results in me resenting the book and the time I am spending on reading it.

Question: Do you force yourself to read books that you start? Is it incredibly hard for you to put a book down? Or do you simply not see the point in reading something you are not enjoying? And for fellow book bloggers does this force reading ever end in you having a reading slump?


Rie (@missiontoread)

Wife, technophile, bibliophile, and student who obsesses over the latest gadget and political drama. I read compulsively. It's an addiction really.

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Giveaway: Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

July 31st 2012, Harlequin Teen
384 pages, Hardback
Received from Publisher
Young Adult Fiction

No one knows what happened the night Echo Emerson went from popular girl with jock boyfriend to gossiped-about outsider with "freaky" scars on her arms. Even Echo can't remember the whole truth of that horrible night. All she knows is that she wants everything to go back to normal.But when Noah Hutchins, the smoking-hot, girl-using loner in the black leather jacket, explodes into her life with his tough attitude and surprising understanding, Echo's world shifts in ways she could never have imagined. They should have nothing in common. And with the secrets they both keep, being together is pretty much impossible.

Yet the crazy attraction between them refuses to go away. And Echo has to ask herself just how far they can push the limits and what she'll risk for the one guy who might teach her how to love again.

Favorite Quote:

“Her shoulders never shook. No tears streamed down her face. The worst type of crying wasn't the kind everyone could see--the wailing on street corners, the tearing at clothes. No, the worst kind happened when your soul wept and no matter what you did, there was no way to comfort it. A section withered and became a scar on the part of your soul that survived. For people like me and Echo, our souls contained more scar tissue than life.”

 

Opinion:

I’m going to do this review a bit differently and answer some questions I purposed after reading this book that I wanted to ponder upon before reviewing.

What was your perception of the book before you began it?

I had seen so many reviews for this book of a mixed reaction that I wasn’t sure what to expect. When I opened the book and started with the first few pages I was a bit annoyed.

What character did you most connect with?

Echo didn’t immediately come across in a way I could relate to. She was damaged, yes. But she was also being sorta a brat. Then I realized that my aversion to her was that she reminded me too much of myself. She was so angry. When you’ve been devastated sometimes the emotional reaction is anger and this anger is so dangerous to progressing through the stages.

If Noah did one thing for Echo it was helping to dissolve the wall of anger.

Even though I related to Echo, I think I connected with Noah the most. His family is the most important thing to him and he is willing to grow up overnight in order to care for them. He is willing to sacrifice and change and do anything that is right for his brothers.

What did you think of the storyline?

Slow, but so poignant. I think aspects could have been removed for a more streamlined book, but in all it told the story in a way that you feel for the characters. Since characterization is my main focus in reading I didn’t find the slow plot to be that big an issue.

Did the end of the book give you closure?

This is a book I had to get distance from in order to review it as I had so many mixed emotions upon finishing it.

In the end, I think the ending was handled perfectly.

Overall opinion?

There were aspects that annoyed me, but overall I truly enjoyed this book.

Rating:

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Rie

I'm a wife, student, and a dog-lover who reads when I should be folding laundry (bane of my existance), I write (rarely as academic papers consume my life), and love getting wrapped up in fiction.

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