OstensiblyA

WHAT IN THE FRICKING FUCK WAS PART FREAKING THREE?!?!

That had to be the most ridiculous waste of time I've read/listened to in a book in a long time. Two hours that could have been more about the fall of civilization, or continue in the time after the fall. No, instead we spend all that time on the intricate life details of the actor who died in the first few pages of the book and his first wife many years before the fall. And when I say intricate, I mean it could have been another (boring) book entirely. What the fuck?! And none of the slight nods to small elements in the story is are enough of an excuse for that waste of space. 

I hope there is some massive surprise reason later on that we had to sit through that, otherwise the rating for this book will likely be worse than it could have been.

I feel like everyone I know loved this book, but it was only a lukewarm okay for me. The first half of this book was very boring. I don't know if it was the book itself or more the narration, but it was a snoozefest. Obviously not boring enough for me to flounce, there was something that kept me wanting to see where the story went. First person and all (bleh).

My biggest complaint in the latter half of the book is the love story. It wasn't well established. It was like the author realized this is a YA so of course there has to be a romance with the kids so let's throw one in there. Obviously the love interest was positioned to be such, but there just wasn't enough between he and Seraphina to carry it and definitely no chemistry. I hope that's better in the next book.

There was nothing really wrong with the narrator herself though she made the character sound older than 16. The quality of the narration was off. It sounded like it was recorded in an echoey empty room with her a little too far away from the mic. And the singing was kind of weird. She wasn't terrible, I guess it was more unexpected.

Since it ended on an upswing for me I'll listen to the next book though I might wait if this is supposed to be another trilogy.

LAWYER bit character: "And I'll warn you such an allegation is libelous as well as preposterous."
Me: *closes book . . . pats it a little* ". . . libelous? The allegations she just made about your father verbally are LIBELOUS?!
YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE A LAWYER?!"

*twitches uncontrollably*

LAWYER bit character: "I'm going to insist you cease and desist making any libelous or slanderous statements about my father."
Me: "I will punch this guy in the head. SAY LIBELOUS ONE MORE TIME!"

 "*grumbles*damn books*grumbles*"

She has a horrible time with her parents and decides to run off and do something she considers impulsive and reckless. So, she's the same idiot she was at 16? Even though she keeps lamenting her dumbass actions back then.

Also, I don't get why they've made anything happening between them so high stakes. They sound more like they're cheating on spouses rather than just work colleagues.

There's a (Douglas) Edward Cullen in this book as well as a Jacob who is part Apache. Thankfully the heroine's name is Callie and Doug can't be part of a love-triangle with her. 

If this is Cullinan's version of "tame" or whatever it was labeled I don't think I'll be reading her other books. Plot must be entirely absent from those.

If you got rid of all the talking and thinking about (and doing) sex I'm not sure there'd be a whole lot of book left over. However, those parts were thoroughly enjoyable. I so wish I could have culled that other crap and gotten more really good story. Or more things like Walter's paternal grandmother who KILLED me! She was adorable. 

Though I'm sure the same things are going to irritate me I'll definitely listen to the next in the series.

I feel like that has been my review title too many times. This book was so frigging boring, and then really annoying. There wasn't all that much plot, nothing happened really it just felt like there were a lot of words for there to be words. This was compounded by the narrator, who just wasn't good. Boring reading, stilted, prominent over-enunciation, too similar voices, etc.

Initially the sex was okay. Short and quite a few faded to black. Then suddenly they were long as all get out for such a short book, and one that was already super long, then almost immediately started up again for another long stint, and then during the next morning scene they go at it again! Nothing needs that much sex, let alone a short category romance. But I'm guessing that was a result of the lack of plot.

There is no real conflict throughout the book so I don't get why after they so quickly decided they were in love, that they didn't tell each other. It didn't make sense. Then the last minute conflict comes and it's so stupid and out of the blue. The situation was something that probably should have been mentioned in the story before that point, and then the heroine decides what happens is a terminal offense and I was all, "What the fuck? What just happened?"

I have another book in this series. I hope it's much better than this.

If this is supposed to be a stand alone then the ending leaves huge damn loose ends dangling out there for all time. I'm having a hard time understanding why Gardiner chose to do that. If this isn't supposed to be standalone then she really needs to make that clear. 

If so, do you need to read the novellas in order? Like certain other series where you'll be lost in subsequent main series books if you haven't?

This shit right here is why I read romance. Fuck that noise.

And teenagers.

*grumble*

“There’s a real threat. It doesn’t come from me,” she said.

Finally, he looked at her. “Then from who?”

“His name is Maddox.”

“First name?”

“Travis.”

“Is he in the system? Have an arrest record?”

“Yes.”

Haaahahaha, this is killing me!

There were some genuinely creepy moments in this book. It's a different premise, kind of goofy, so I wasn't expecting that. Now I wish I had left listening to this until October. Oh well. There was some goofiness to the story but far less than you'd think once you get into the action. 

I loved (Perfect Strangers!!!) Bronson Pinchot's parts of the audiobook. They cracked me up especially later on in the book where things changed. The full narrator of the book was lackluster. She had a bland/monotonish quality and some of the voices sounded too similar.

Still, I'd recommend listening to the book if that's your bag or reading it if it isn't. 

Here is my first quarter update (though a tiny bit late, it was due Friday).

21/50

42%

My Challenge Main Post

List of Audiobooks I've Listened to the First Quarter of 2015 (narrator in parenthesis):

1. One Foot in the Grave by Jeaniene Frost (Tavia Gilbert)
2. At Grave's End by Jeaniene Frost (Tavia Gilbert)
3. Destined for an Early Grave by Jeaniene Frost (Tavia Gilbert)
4. This Side of the Grave by Jeaniene Frost (Tavia Gilbert)
5. First Drop of Crimson by Jeaniene Frost (Tavia Gilbert)
6. Forbidden by Suzanne Brockmann (Traci Svendsgaard)
7. Eternal Kiss of Darkness by Jeaniene Frost (Tavia Gilbert)
8. One Grave at a Time by Jeaniene Frost (Tavia Gilbert)
9. Once Burned by Jeaniene Frost (Tavia Gilbert)
10. Twice Tempted by Jeaniene Frost (Tavia Gilbert)
11. Up from the Grave by Jeaniene Frost (Tavia Gilbert)
12. Animal Magnetism by Jill Shalvis (Karen White)
13. The Luckiest Lady in London by Sherry Thomas (Corrie James)
14. Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand (Edward Hermann)
15. Arranged by Catherine McKenzie (Rachel Dulude)
16. I'll Be Watching You by Andrea Kane (Kathleen McNenny)
17. Midnight Rescue by Elle Kennedy (Allyson Ryan)
18. Lethal by Sandra Brown (Victor Slezak)
19. Hot Ice by Nora Roberts (Anna Fields)
20. Deep Down Dark by Hector Tobar (Henry Leyva)
21. Bound by Flames by Jeaniene Frost (Tavia Gilbert)

That whole thing was so uncomfortably like what happened with that plane that went down in the Alps this week. Creepily so. 

God, I could so do without sidepiece POV and this whole disgusting side-story that is really unnecessary to the telling of this story. It just wastes space that could contain more interesting information. I have to say this book has made me feel less bad for most of these guys, so many are philandering douches. Ugh. I'm not sure what I would have done if I were one of the wives that found out about my husband's mistress during this ordeal. "You may want to consider staying down there rather than having to deal with me. Just a thought, jackass."

There is not enough nope in the world to cover this book. Just terrifying. Epecially for clausterphobics(sp?) like me.