Comfort Food by Kitty Thomas

It has potential but is lacking in a lot of things.

 Firstly, let me state that is NOT a romance. There is no love story and there is no romance, only twisted, raw and graphic scenes of sex. It is a dark erotic fiction that explores the psychological theme of ownership and basically, Stockholm Syndrome. 

The concept was good, but the story was too short which made everything rushed and limited the story line and plot. I wish the author dug deeper into her mysterious character who's name we do not find out. I feel like he, who was actually interesting, was not written in such a way that we could explore the depths of his characteristics, and experience through the protagonist, different facets of his personality. There was none of that; he was pretty two dimensional. I was captivated by his handicap and thought that it was all so abrupt and cut too short. 

 There isn't much of a plot at all. Nothing happens. It's like the story begins half way through and finishes three quarters of the way through something that could have been extended into a proper novel with thorough subplots and a more interesting monologue from the protagonist. 

 Taking in mind that this is a short novel, I can't help but think that every single aspect of the novel has been narrowed into something that just scrapes the surface of the issues and topics concerned. The story just fell flat on it's arse.

 Rating: 2*

Truth (Consequences #2) by Aleatha Romig

Loved it. Much better than the first one. Mind-bendingly brilliant and now I gots a taste for a man who is older, thanks to Tony and his fucked up hotness.

I learnt to appreciate the authors style and quality of writing, though there were some pointless chapters like the ones with Sophia and Derek - I found them to be quite boring and impatiently scanned through them most of the time. My one other critique about the authors writing was that she used the word 'vista' to describe EVERYTHING in both book 1 & 2. It became predictable when she was going to use it. "Claire looked out the window and scanned the urban vista," blah blah blah. That's not an actual quote, just me giving a rubbish example. 

I always knew from the very start of book 1 that Catherine was a fucking psycho. 

I loved the way the back story was woven together and related to the main plot, and how the revelations were subtly revealed through a mixed third person narrative. 

I have no idea how I went from loathing Tony within the first half, then loving him in the second. For that, again I appraise you, Aleatha Romig. 

Now I can't wait for book 3 which comes out in two weeks time.

The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simmons (The Bronze Horseman #1)

I praise thee, Paullina Simmons. I completely holed myself away for two weekends with this one.

One of the best books I've read, absolutely timeless. 

A story of the hardships of the best hero and heroine combo ever, during the invasion of the Germans in Russia during WWII. 

Book 2, here I come.

6 stars. 6 well deserved stars.

A Different Blue by Amy Harmon

This is a story of self discovery. It's a sad journey of the protagonist's life really but the ending is dependent on whether your glass is half full or half empty at the time you read it. You have to have patience when reading this book and absorb it slowly instead of trying to rush it, because it won't have the right effect on you. I lack patience when it comes to whizzing through books and so thought it was a little bit slow at times for me but a total adventure and not in the superficial sense. 

I admire how the author did not overthrow the love story elements with constant lovey dovey rubbish. Everything was paced and sweetly spaced out; nothing over the top. The romance in the story is tame which makes a nice change because it allows you to focus more on the real tale which is both diverse and intense.

The quality of the writing is good- creative and detailed- although there were a few little editing mistakes but these were far and wide. The sub-stories were interwoven nicely and surprisingly not so far fetched. The plot was well thought of as well as the interesting revelations, particularly at the end.

I can see why fans of The Sea of Tranquility would recommend this book, because aspects of Blue's personality reflect that of Nastya's from Katja's book. It is also, like TSoT, a story that deals with consequences of the injustices forced upon young people and how they deal with them.

Rating: Solid 4*

Wethering The Storm (The Storm #2)

Review: For now, I'm undecided on whether I want to rate this on 3 stars or 4, so I'm just going to settle it with a 3.5 for now. I was just expecting more I suppose, and for it to be longer.

I loved TMS and while I did like reading this one, nothing much happened. I expected over the top drama, more than enough for my taste, but it was the opposite where there was not enough of it to satisfy my TMS appetite. 

Sigh. I just feel like it was lacking in plot and I feel it didn't live up to book 1 so much that I personally think it is somewhat robbed of it's potential.

However, I LOVED the touching conclusion and think it ended perfectly. Needless to say, I look forward to more of Samantha's work.