Glimpse (Zellie Wells, #1)

Title: Glimpse
Author: Stacy Wallace Benefial
Labels: Contemporary | Romance | Paranormal
Publisher: Stacy Wallace Benefial
Publication Date: April 20, 2010
Recommended To: Erm...no one? :P
Contains: Profanity, inappropriateness...tsk tsk.

Buy It: Amazon | Kindle
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Blurb From Goodreads: Zellie Wells has a devastating crush on Avery Adams, the son of her mom’s high school sweetheart. At her sixteenth birthday party, held in the basement of her dad’s church, she finally finds the courage to talk to him. Turns out, the devastating crush is mutual. 
          As Avery takes her hand and leads her out onto the makeshift dance floor, Zellie is overwhelmed by her first vision of his death; shocking because not only are they both covered in his blood, but they’re old, like 35, and she is pregnant. Afraid to tell anyone about the vision, (she’d just be labeled a freaky black magic witch, right?) Zellie keeps the knowledge of Avery’s future to herself and tries to act like any other teenager in love. When they get caught on their way to a secret rendezvous by her mom and his dad, they are forbidden to see each other.
          Convinced that their parents are freaking out unnecessarily, Avery and Zellie vow to be together no matter what. They continue their relationship in secret until Zellie learns that their parents are just trying to prevent her and Avery from suffering like they did. The visions are hereditary, they’re dangerous, and if they stay together the visions will come true. Now Zellie must choose between severing all ties with Avery, like her mom did to prevent his father’s death, and finding a way to change Avery’s future.
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I hate writing these kinds of reviews, but I'm really not sure what to say that wouldn't be negative. Which is sad, because when I picked this book up off Amazon it looked interesting and I had high hopes for it. I'm afraid this book fell short of my expectations.

One of the things I was really disappointed about was the relationship between Zellie and (oh bother, I forgot what the dude's name is :O That says a lot doesn't it :P. *goes to check*) Avery. I felt like their entire relationship is pretty much physical....oh and random "sparks" when they touch. Oh wait, touching is physical too... Basically I felt like there was no depth to their relationship at all, and their basically just interested in sneaking out to make out and oh, some other much more inappropriate stuff.

Language. *repeated head-desk* All kinds of profanity flying from the pages (or screen, depending on what you're reading on) of this book. If you're anything like me, who despises such things, this probably isn't the right book for you.

The premise of the book--chick with powers that just started and she hasn't really figured out yet--interested me, and I saw potential in it, but it fell terribly short.

I bought this book, and therefore was not required nor asked to write a review, nor a positive one at that. I was not compensated for this review.

In His Eyes Anthology

Title: In His Eyes Anthology
Author: Katie Klein, Jessie Harrell, Ali Cross, Stacey Wallace Benefiel, S.R. Johannes, Heather McCorkle, Susan Kaye Quinn, Karen Amanda Hooper, Rashelle Workman, Cory Putman Oakes
Labels: Romance | Short Stories | Anthologies
Publisher: Independently Published
Publication Date: February 14, 2012
Recommended To: N/A
Contains: Some of the stories contains some profanity, and the like.

Buy It: Kindle
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Blurb From Goodreads: Available NOW, just in time for Valentines Day, The Indelibles bring you a one-of-a-kind young adult anthology! Sixteen original short stories, all from the point of view of our favorite male characters - some are old flames from our novels and some were dreamed up especially for this anthology. 

          Let these imminently crushable, swoon-worthy guys show you what romance looks like – in his eyes. 

          The contributors to IN HIS EYES include award winners, frequent “Top 100” placers, and hot 2011 debut authors.

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          I'm not really sure how to go about this review since this anthology is chock full of so many stories by so many authors, so I guess I'm just going to go for an overall view. I liked this in the sense that I got to try out a lot of different authors--some of whose books I have been thinking of trying out--without committing to an entire book. Which worked out splendidly, since I found out I don't like some that I had been thinking of getting, while others I either discovered or confirmed my interest.

         It was interesting to see so many unique styles in one "book", so to speak. Each author has their own flavor and flow, which is cool. I got to see a little of each, and in the process found some authors I think I'll like a lot. Overall it was a pretty good read.

          I bought this book, and therefore was not required nor asked to write a review, nor a positive one at that. I was not compensated for this review.

Cheap Indie Books!

Hey wonderful peoples! So I have a friend, whose great-grandmother was an author and wrote 9 books, all of which said friend and family now are looking to get rid of, due to the fact both great-grandparents have passed away. Long story short, they're selling these books for $4 bucks a piece (plus shipping and handling). These books are independently self published. These books are not currently sold in stores, and hence some have limited copies left, so hurry and get your copy!

Andrea Series:

• The Heart of Andrea

• Follow Your Heart
• Banner of Love
• The Yearning Heart
• Jason's Legacy
• The Jennie

Jennie's series:

• Jennie's Pathway
• Jennie's Parsonage Life

Stand Alone Novels:

• Love Was Waiting
• The Broken Hedge

You can contact Debbie or Carla at these addresses:

johnson04 (at) fairpoint (dot) net

jewelrymaker18 (at) gmail (dot) com

*Disclaimer: This blog is not in affiliated with the author of these books nor a publisher. This is strictly an advertisement for a friend; any business conducted will be between the buyer and seller. This blog was not compensated in any way for this offer.*

Bourne (River of Time, #3.1)

Title: Bourne
Author: Lisa T. Bergren
Labels: Fiction | YA | General
Publisher: Independently published
Publication Date: February 26, 2012
Contains: Awkward turtle borderline scene.
Buy It: Amazon

My Rating: ★★ ☆☆  (It was okay I guess...)
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Blurb From Goodreads: BOURNE, a novella (1/3 the length of a normal novel), picks up right where TORRENT left off...Find out what has happened to men returning from the battle, gravely wounded, to the Betarrinis, fighting for the men they love, and just who is hunting them next...
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         So, I wasn't crazy about this installment of The River of Time series. Bourne picks right up where Torrent left off, directly after the ending battle of the latter book. Unlike the first three books of this series, the point of view switches between Gabi and Lia....which is basically the only thing that saved it for me. In all honesty, I'm kinda getting sick of Gabi. When the series first started I really liked her; she felt real and relatable. Now I just wanna smack her upside the head.

          I guess I feel like all Gabi does now is get herself into trouble and drool over her now husband. And if she says "my man" again, I'm going to throw something against the wall (since this was an ebook, I can't really do that without hurting my Itouch....) And all she does is think about him....like lives, breaths, and drools Marcello. Her whole relationship is starting to get shallow. I get that originally she was all gooey, but now that she's married, it's time to grow up and get a life. I'm not saying that married life is boring or unromantic or anything, but I also don't think people are obsessing over each other at that point...it's time to get a grip.

          Now that I've voiced my displeasure with Gabi, let's talk Lia. I actually really like Lia, not to mention Luca (who was my favorite from the start). I feel like both of these characters have really grown up and matured through the first three books, and now, after much waiting, begin to move closer in their relationship. And even in getting closer, neither of them are really drooling or obsessive like Gabi. Even though Luca is always overly dramatic about his love for Lia, he still feels real to me because it's part of his personality. He was already dramatic and funny before Lia and Gabi showed up on the scene. Lia and Luca's relationship just slid together like just as it ought to have. So basically, the parts of this book written in Lia's point of view saved this novella from being a total flop for me.

          Besides Gabi, I have one other complaint. I have for the longest time loved Bergren's books because they're clean. But I'm starting to question whether she's going to cross the line.... Because right now, in this book, in my opinion, she's bordering the dangerous line of going to far. I get that the era this is written in could be pretty crude, but this is fiction. You don't have to follow exactly the way it went - especially when you decide to stick time travel in there. There were a handful of scenes in this book I thought was bordering on inappropriate, most of which I thought were completely unnecessary. If more details go into such scenes and said scenes keep coming up more frequently, Bergren just might lose my respect for her as an author.

          As for whether or not I'll read any future books in this series....we'll see. If there are future books written in Lia's point of view, I'll probably read them. If they're in Gabi's point of view, probably not.

          I bought this book, and therefore was not required nor asked to write a review, nor a positive one at that. I was not compensated for this review.