The Sphinx's Princess by Esther Friesner

This book- I liked it, don't get me wrong but it just didn't quite fulfill my expectations. Maybe that's because i'm used to reading so many steamy romance or action packed adventure novels with strong sections of dialogue and action lately that I needed to adjust to how quite uneventful this was. It is a book that is more focused on the details of the settings and the time period and the mythology and beliefs of the ancient Egyptian society- which I totally loved reading. 

The author did do a good job of keeping the book realistic by not having anything too over-dramatic or high fantasy but at the same time still linked in the gods,cultures and certain characters in history relating to the mythology. It is, I would say as realistic as a book about ancient Egypt can be because really any author that writes from the perspective of such a character as Nefertiti is really just guessing and improvising on the beliefs of those people and Friesner did a great job at that.

It doesn't seem to have much of a plot going on although i'm sure it will be greatly expanded on and put to conclusion in the second book. I'd say the story really picked up at about 4/5 into the book and then suddenly ended right in the middle of the some what only real action- a cliffhanger that didn't really make me want more. I will give it to the author for putting a real shocking twist to the character of Thutmose - just when I thought he'd turned into a sweetheart and I started to warm to his character when BAM! I too, like Nefertiti began to fall for Thutmose's charm and I was really annoyed and felt for Nefertiti when I realized it was all just a plot-scheme-act. Arghhh what a ****.

As for Nefertiti, I thought that throughout the book I would see her come of age and become a mature strong and defined character however there is nothing that really speaks volumes to me of her at all. she's too... hmmmm...bland for my liking. To me, with Nefertiti being such a grand and historic figure in history, she deserves to be a lot more definite, complex and developed. 

Despite my criticism I am still going to read the next book 'Spinx's Queen' to see if the tale will draw to a satisfying end. Especially since there wasn't really a conclusion to the end of this book. 

Also, one more thing that I would like to commend the author on and that is for the character Amenophis. He is a clumsy unattractive and a seemingly weak character but that is only his exterior. I love hot sexy attractive males in my fictions however the author did a grand job on avoiding having him inherit the "typical-male-protagonist syndrome"  and steered clear from having Amenophis become that common stereotype, yet still managed to make me as the reader, love him for who he is. Kudos to dat. 

The Edge Of Never by J.A Redmerski

Me a few hours earlier:
"HOLY FUCKING SHIT AJBFNSDLBTHAENRFSJHBGNM  DOES HE DIE IN THE END? IF HE FUCKING DIES THEN I AM NOT READING ANY MORE ... MY HEART CAN'T FUCKING TAKE IT!!!!!! BLAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH I..I....I CAN'T :'( "

Okay just finished it. The whole book just blew me away. Since I've been reading this my bed time has been at 4/5 in the morning so i'm gonna take an early night and give this the amazing 4* review it deserves when I wake up. <3
P.s- Now I want to drop every thing, pack up a few things and travel around America! 

Okay, just wow. I can't stop thinking about this book now. It is easily one of the best I've ever read and if not for the authenticity that Wuthering Height's, in my opinion, has on fantastic literature, then it surely beats it. But this is contemporary and completely different so lets not go into that.  

Not all great prose consist of having characters that you will love but I really did love these two: Camryn and Andrew. It was beautiful following the journey of their relationship and of their travels. It was like being on an adventure and through reading this, I feel like I have experienced every single different form of love. I don't think I've ever laughed and cried so much from a book like a I have this one. It's definitely one hell of an emotional roller coaster and through the utterly heart breaking parts when I found my self struggling to keep composure and not burst out screaming in tears, I could barely comprehend that it's all just fiction. The characters are so believable, the scenes are brought to life by the authors writing style and there is so much raw emotion. That's how realistic this book is and that's why I love it so much; because it's a possibilty. 

Also, if you haven't yet read this and expect it to be YA then THINK AGAIN. This is NA stuff and I love this genre now! The sex scenes are just far too juicy and erotic for that and a lot of the themes are too complex to be light- not that I'm complaining. :) As a matter of fact, I let my friend read an extract from the 2nd sex scene and she said it's a whole lot more intense and dirty than Fifty Shades of Grey! Don't get me wrong, the book is not about sex and is incomparable to Fifty Shades however I just had to get that out there. Right now I really just want someone else who has read this, to talk about it with. 

I will not give away any hints or spoilers at all because it's such an effective and exciting read that no one really needs them. I also need to mention how the author did an incredible job on not just the full thing but especially the last 1/5 of the book and it's conclusion. I couldn't have hoped for a better ending. I was on edge, excited, crazy, happy and satisfied with how it all turned out, just when we thought there was no hope! :D  Beautiful story, beautiful realistic writing style and a beautiful ending. Please don't even hesitate to read this! You won't be disappointed, I assure you. 

Oh yeah, and you should listen to this classic while reading TEoN. 

The Sea Of Tranquility by Katja Millay

This book! This book!!!! I picked up this book because so many people on Goodreads have been recommending it to me and talking about how good it is and let me tell you, I was not disappointed. I know it's only three days into the new year but I have a feeling this is going to be one of the best books i'll have read this year. 

Although not an action book, it has so much drama, suspense and tension between characters which is always exciting to read. The story was also very haunting and emotional as the author allows us to experience and explore characters through a mixed narrative of the different perspectives of Josh and Nastya/Emilia/Sunshine. So many times throughout the book, I felt like my heart was in my mouth and I just wanted to scream, laugh and cry all at once. 

The primary and secondary characters are well rounded and hold many personality traits to those of some people I know in college. This story is very realistic and lets us delve into the situation given. It also gives us a small insight of how effectively damaged peoples lives can get; how easily a person can be broken and ruined whether it's due to having been raped, assaulted, bullied or having lost someone they love. 

“People like to say love is unconditional, but it's not, and even if it was unconditional, it's still never free. There's always an expectation attached. They always want something in return. Like they want you to be happy or whatever and that makes you automatically responsible for their happiness because they won't be happy unless you are ... I just don't want that responsibility.” 

I love how slowly paced the plot is revealed throughout and how subtly we are given revelations and clues into the two main characters' past at the beginning of every chapter and throughout some intense dialogue pieces. The structure of this book is perfect. I like how the author used the concept of the "Russian Whore", the mysterious identity of Nastya Kasnikov to mask the pain and horror that lived beneath the facade. I'm sure many people who have been troubled or stunned can identify with Emilia. 

Despite the overwhelming sympathy I always felt for Nastya/Emilia, I couldn't help but  be inspired, at awe and annoyed with her. Her way of thinking and the things she did I rarely ever understood. Like for example, I could never just walk into a random boys garage all the time and watch him work at 1am in the morning! She is somehow bold, and I wish I was more like that. These are all signs of a well developed, deep character with flaws like every body else. 

Also, imagine how sweet it would be to have a beautiful boy call you sunshine? awwwhhh. Did I mention how addictive this book was? I started reading it at 5pm on Tuesday and continued reading through the night finishing it at 11am the following day. 

This review is a mess so I'm just going to wrap it up here and say I'd definitely recommend for a heart felt, disturbing and emotional read.