Saturday Shorts

*Book source ~ Many thanks to the author for providing a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Title ~ Crawl

Author ~ Edward Lorn

Publisher ~ Edward Lorn

Published ~ 31 January 2014

Genre ~ Horror

Pages ~ 50

My Rating ~ 4 bites out of 5

Colton is driving Juliet to her mom’s house, so she can have some space away from her cheating idiot of a husband and decide whether their years together make it worth staying with him or if she should just cut-n-run. Apparently Colton felt Juliet wasn’t ‘”there for him”, so he decided to do the dog sitter, most likely doggy style, because she was available. However, before they get to their destination they’re in a terrible car crash and Juliet’s world abruptly changes.

Ok, I have to take a deep breath here and remain calm because this book freaked me the fuck out. I’m just riding along loving Juliet’s inner monologue and narrowing my eyes at Colton and then there’s the Mercury with the screwed up plate and bumper sticker. Woah. Dafuq kind of weirdo is driving that thing? Uneasy feeling number 1 intrudes in my enjoyment of Juliet’s thoughts. Rest stop makes me all jumpy, the uneasy feelings multiply like compound interest and now I’m wishing they’d hurry up and get to Juliet’s mom’s place. Foggy night, lonely highway? Umm…can we turn around, go home and work things out? Guys? Hello? Oh, shit…the car crashes and afterwards Juliet passes out. Then wakes up. Wait. Sweet Baby Jane. I cannot relive those moments after she wakes up. The stomach in knots, the tense shoulders, the biting of the fingernails, the crawling skin, the cringing, no, no, no. I’m not going back there and you can’t make me. I’m still checking my feet, just to make sure and that’s bad enough.

The only reason this story didn’t get a 5 from me is the ending. I didn’t understand it.  I am in no way blaming the author. I *feel* as if I should get it, that I’m the only one not getting it and it’s frustrating me. It's Chemistry class all over again. I fully believe I will wake up from a sound sleep in the not-so-distant future and say, “Holy fucking shit! I get it!” Before I curl into a ball and sob.

*Book source ~ Many thanks to the author for providing a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Title ~ Night School Vampire Hunter

Series ~ Night School Vampire Hunter, #1

Author ~ Michelle Cornwell-Jordan

Publisher ~ Michelle Cornwell-Jordan

Published ~ 19 March 2012

Genre ~ YA/Paranormal/UF

Pages ~ 62

My Rating ~ 3 bites out of 5

Dasheen ‘Angel’ Bellamy turned 15 on Halloween night, the same night she freaked out seeing a creepy little girl, that no one else saw, before passing out. After getting a full medical she’s deemed fine and she goes back to school, but one day she sees the creepy girl again, this time at school, before her brain checks out for a few weeks. She can’t recall that time, but she spent a month in the hospital on the psychiatric floor while they tried to figure out what was wrong with her. The day she returned home was the last one she saw her dad and surrogate mom, Jocelyn. She woke up feeling as if someone was choking her, so she fought back. When the police showed up she was covered in blood and her parents were gone. Six months in a hospital later, she and her 12-yr-old brother Jordan end up at Ame Academy. However, Ame Academy isn’t a normal kind of school as Angel is about to find out.

This is a bit different story than I’ve seen in awhile. There’s a special academy for ‘freaks’, but they have normal kids attending also which seems to me to be a tad dangerous. The school runs 24 hours and is split into Day and Night School. Dasheen tells the story in blog form and the writing is pretty good. The story itself  is where I have a problem. There are some students breaking the rules, serious rules, and the adults in charge aren’t doing anything about it. I have a hard time believing they’re just going to sit back and let a teenager handle the problem especially when what the others are doing is this huge no-no. I’m also not hip to how the academy, which has grades 5-12, lets the older grades mix with the younger grades. Another problem I had is that Dasheen’s powers or whatever they are aren’t really explained; not about what she is, what the powers are or how exactly they kicked into gear. Finally, some mention is made of some council or other, but that is also not explained. The ending resolves nothing and is a cliffhanger. So, overall the story is interesting, but I had some issues with it.

*Book source ~ Many thanks to NetGalley and Riptide for providing a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Title ~ Once a Brat

Series ~ I Blame Bret, #3

Author ~ Kim Dare

Publisher ~ Riptide Publishing

Published ~ 9 February 2013

Genre ~ Erotica/BDSM

Pages ~ 95

My Rating ~ 3 bites out of 5

Marcus Tremayne is a Dom who frequents the local BDSM club Spread Eagle. When twenty-year-old hot and sexy Bret Daniels spies Marcus minutes after entering the club he decides Marcus is the Dom for him. When Marcus ignores him, Bret stalks him for weeks, waiting for Marcus to speak to him. The moment Marcus gives in is the moment both of their lives change.

This is the 3^rd book in the series, but I didn’t feel as if I had missed anything by skipping books 1 & 2. Which is a good thing. While I do love a series that expands as each book comes along, I also prefer each book to stand alone. Contrary much? Yep. Anyway, this book made me curious enough to want to seek out the others, but didn’t irritate me by feeling as if I had missed something leading up to this book. Does that make sense? Well, it does to me. *winks*

I really love the writing. This is the first Kim Dare book I’ve read and I’ll definitely be checking out more of her books. I also love Marcus. What a yummy Dom. Though I have to admit I was a little disappointed he gave in so quickly to Bret. Bret, on the other hand, him I didn’t like so much. He was too bratty, too forward for my tastes. The steamy goodness of the scenes makes up for my opinion of Bret though. All-in-all I like this M/M BDSM story.