Showing posts with label books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label books. Show all posts

Sunday, January 29, 2017

The Billionaire and the Pauper?

Trade Me (Cyclone, #1)Trade Me by Courtney Milan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The few young adult novels I've picked up left a horrid taste in my mouth, but this one was SPECTACULAR. All right, I've yet to read anything by Courtney Milan that I didn't enjoy, but this one was such a fabulous ride from page one until The End (for the time being; there's more in the series).

The rest is under cut for spoilery stuff.

Friday, February 19, 2016

"I can't think what on earth I'd need you for, unless I was in dire want of aggravation."

Dukes Prefer Blondes (The Dressmakers, #4)Dukes Prefer Blondes by Loretta Chase
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Loretta Chase is definitely one of my must-read authors. She has a deft touch for madcap heroines who take the alpha heroes down more than a peg.

Dukes Prefer Blondes feature Lady Clara Fairfax (who made an appearance in the Noirot trilogy (Silk is for Seduction, Scandal Wears Satin and Vixen in Velvet). The toast of the ton was restless when she crossed the path of dashing barrister Oliver 'Raven' Radford, sparking the fireworks.

It's a pleasant change to have a main character in a historical romance who isn't an aristocrat with a silver spoon and Ms. Chase did a splendid job in sketching what the justice system and the shenanigans of the lawyers in that era was like.

Fav quote: "If you must throw yourself away on somebody, Clara, then let it be me. If you must make something of somebody, make something of me."

*swoons*

Female protagonist: 5/5 stars
Male protagonist: 5/5 stars
Pacing: 4/5 stars
Storyline: 5/5 stars
Repeat reading factor: 5/5 stars

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"I'm keeping a list of disgusting things about you."

Heroes Are My WeaknessHeroes Are My Weakness by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Annie Hewitt and Theo Harp were once teenage sweethearts until the day he nearly killed her. Since then they stayed out of each other's lives, until down-on-her-luck Annie sought refuge in a legacy that Theo covets.

 Expect screwball comedy and snappy dialogues, and if you are like me, you're likely to finish the340-page tome in less than two days.

Female protagonist: 5/5 stars
Male protagonist: 5/5 stars
Pacing: 4/5 stars
Storyline: 5/5 stars
Repeat reading factor: 4/5 stars

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Wednesday, April 22, 2015

I wanna drop kick art students

Undeclared (Woodlands, #1)Undeclared by Jen Frederick
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This is my first foray into the "new adult" (NA) genre. I find it ... a little dull in terms of pacing; it has a lot of introspection but the character development is really slow. The female protagonist made me want to shake her on occasion, but that's probably because of some cultural thing. We don't dither that way in college here; we just jump in our course and just wade through 'em, come hell or high water.

The guy was interesting in that he served in the Marines before going to college. I was hoping for more development on his front as he had a great deal of things happen in his life that would shape him beyond the good-looking MMA champ-to-be who is breezing through college. Perhaps there's more about him in the second book, but I'm not sure if I want to spend my time there.

There's a great deal of partying, not enough school work at college here to make me feel that the situation is real. Perhaps that's because I was a science student; maybe the arty farty types have more jolly time in college. I don't know. But over all, even if I did read this in college, I'd probably drop it thinking that people sure don't think much about people my age.



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Tuesday, March 31, 2015

We're damaged people ... drawn together ...

A Gentleman Undone (Blackshear Family, #2)A Gentleman Undone by Cecilia Grant
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It has been ages since I found such a refreshing voice in historical romance. I would classify Ms. Grant in the same category with Joanna Bourne and Sherry Thomas. The narration was articulated in a voice that is very reflective of the Regency era but in an accessible manner.

This book features characters that would be considered as unconventional to the mostly silver spoon characters that populated this genre: the heroine is a prostitute and the hero a failed gentleman. She chose her ruin, which is rather unusual, as penance for her past mistakes which has extorted a large toll on her. He was a former soldier who harboured a dark secret which weighed his conscience and spirit down.

I love how the story progressed towards both of them accepting each other's flaws and darkness. Their love was unflinching, unconditional of perfection, but rather, healing two damaged people who have been adrift for so long.

I also like how the Blackshears are not the hunky dory family of most serial novels; Will's decision to marry a harlot has rendered him persona non grata to most of his family except for one sister. I do believe that there will be reconciliation and acceptance in future novels and I cannot wait to see that.

Some favourite passages:

... grateful for the darkness that prevented his being seen like this, given up to sinuous gyrations like some Amazon queen's slave-dancer ...

O.M.G. *fans self frantically*

But the one that blew me away?

She stared down at him, his judge and his ravisher, appalling as the eagle who'd feasted every day on Prometheus' liver, and he as powerless as that Titan, chained to the rock, rent open, his darkest, most unspeakable secrets laid bare to her view.

Her eyes hardened. Her lips pressed tight. She leaned an inch nearer. "I love you," she breathed, just loud enough for him to hear.


Stupendous. Made me cry, laugh, squirm, and all the good stuff that a great book do that gives you the feels. Go read it.

Female protagonist: 5/5 stars
Male protagonist: 5/5 stars
Pacing: 4/5 stars
Storyline: 5/5 stars
Repeat reading factor: 4/5 stars

...

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Screwball comedy heist fun

The Chase (Fox and O'Hare #2)The Chase by Janet Evanovich
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Ms Evanovich can be depended on for a fun romp of a book. This is her second collaboration with Lee Goldberg and the outcome is just as explosive and amazing as the first. They crafted such fabulous characters in Nick Fox and Special Agent Kate O'Hare, very much a throwback to the screwball comedy pairing of the Golden Age of Hollywood but with a modern twist.

This time the dynamic duo faced off with a crooked (is there any kind?) former White House Chief of Staff with a penchant for high end art and no moral compass whatsoever. I love how much Carter Grove, baddie du jour, reminded me of Donald Rumsfeld. At least this time around, he got what he had coming, unlike Mr R.

Second book usually means greater character development. Kate and Nick discovered how proximity breeds a kind of intimacy that made each go what-would-the-other-do, co-opting traits and skills, shifting perspective and ethics. Lots of international hijinks and imaginative art stealing action to spur things on; I practically inhaled this book in a single seating.

Fabulous all around. So much fun.

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Thursday, February 12, 2015

Opening doorways to wonder and tragedy

Kafka on the ShoreKafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was not an easy book to read. I'm used to books that are more action oriented rather than introspective; the shift took some getting used to. The dilemma faced by the fifteen year old protagonist was diametrically different from my halcyon days of the same age; but some things still resonate.

Kafka is a fifteen year old boy who ran away from home to keep himself from fulfilling a terrible prophecy. Nakata was a man who lost himself at the cusp of adolescence and was rendered mentally differently abled as a result. I still don't understand why Kafka's narrative was in the present tense and Nakata's in the past, but I think that has something to do with the different trajectory of their journey.

The book have talking cats, hidden forests, and a sense of lyrical magic that intertwines through the whole story; a sense of foreshadowing, a glimmer of innocence and unexplained resonance with the psyche. A very interesting examination of Japanese culture past and present, as well as a snapshot in a moment that is neither modern nor obsolete.

This is not a book to be read and discarded; but one to be poured over and contemplated. I really had to resist the resistance to scribble on the margins just so I could keep track of what's in my head.

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Wild and Steamy

Night Shift (Kate Daniels, #6.5; SPI Files, # 0.5; Psy-Changeling, #12.5)Night Shift by Nalini Singh
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Anthologies can be pretty hit and miss for me, but I'd still grab it if it has an author (or two) that I adore. This book delivered to me new novellas by Ilona Andrews and Meljean Brook (under the pseudonym Milla Vane) so I'm pretty happy about it all.

The first story was by Nalini Singh in her Psy/Changeling universe. I've not read the series but this novella gave a good introduction to the world and is intriguing enough to make me want to look up for more. Bastien Smith was a leopard on a mission to hunt down his mate but her elusive here-and-not-here scent is driving him nuts and leading him down many a false trail. When he finally found Kirby, he had to help her reconcile her with her wild side for them to come together as a whole. Steamy and sensuous are perfect to describe this little sojourn in the Psy/Changeling 'verse.

Ilona Andrews' romp with our favourite Security Chief of Atlanta's Pack and Dali Harimau was utterly satisfying and left me wanting more. The writing team did an excellent job weaving tributes to magic culture from Indonesia and other parts of the world in their writing in an engaging and respectful manner and this novella was no different. I do hope that they'll write a longer story for Dali and Jim after putting them both through the emotional wringer in their path to become a mated pair.

I don't remember if I've read Lisa Shearin before; she penned here a first-day-on-the job nightmare for her protagonist and made it feel like a prologue piece. Interesting world building, but the limitations of a novella perhaps made the story line a little clunky.

I was a fan of Red Sonja and Conan the Barbarian movies as a child. Milla Vane hit that kink here like whoa with her fabulous barbarian romance. The journey of Mala and Kavik was condensed in this intense novella with the right amount of sizzle, adventure and ass-kicking action. And what I love most was how they saved each other.

In short, this book is super fun even if the only two stories that I re-read obsessively was the 2nd and 4th novella. *grin*

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Friday, January 30, 2015

Your fangs and claws don't scare me

Radiance (Wraith Kings, #1)Radiance by Grace Draven
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What do I love about this book?

1. Great lead protagonists?
- Check

2. Engaging storyline and pacing?
- Check

3. Good world building?
- Check

4. Fabulous use of language?
- Check

The list above is beyond dry and does not do justice to the fantastic read that is Radiance by Ms. Draven. She has a flair for writing fantasy romance with a fluid and engaging storyline and peopled with characters who are immensely likeable (even the villainous ones). I felt there was a slight shift in her writing in this book, but it is no less enjoyable than Master of Crows or Entreat Me.

Prince Brishen is happy to be the spare to the Kai royal house throne. He was resigned to marriage to Lady Ildiko of the Gauri court in order to cement trade and military relations between two nations. At first she was frightened by her groom's black claws and fangs (spoiler: he's not human); he was appalled by her pink-and-white skin and the way she could cross her large, blue eyes. But any chasm that society has created for them was bridged by shared humour, patience and respect; it was incredibly lovely the way they wooed each other.

There was plenty of action and intrigue in a book designed to whet the readers' appetite for the main course. Thanks to Radiance as a prequel, I cannot wait for more Brishen and Ildiko in the upcoming saga Eidolon.

Male protagonist: 5/5 stars
Female protagonist: 5/5 stars
Storyline: 5/5 stars
Pacing: 5/5 stars
Fun Factor: 5/5 stars
Repeat Reading Factor: 5/5 stars

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Friday, December 12, 2014

"If I leave you alone you will leave England."

Awaiting the FireAwaiting the Fire by Donna Lea Simpson
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

If this book was written as a "horrid novel that corrupt innocent young feminine minds" in the Victorian times, I think it would have been a bestseller. It has all the requisite: a feisty heroine, a dark, brooding hero, a tempting yet menacing villain, isolated grand mansion/castle, supernatural entities, perilous moments, misunderstandings and torrid resolution.

Sadly, I find the melodrama overwrought, the heroine AND hero annoying in their inconstancy and immaturity, the plot unnecessarily plodding and tiresome, the exposition clunky and the deux-ex-machina unsatisfactory. Not to mention that I've never enjoyed any books that feature Judeo-Christian angels anyway.

Seriously, I should stop being surprised at how much blurbs and recommendations by "notables" can disappoint.

Male protagonist: 2/5 stars
Female protagonist: 1/5 stars
Storyline: 1/5 stars
Pacing: 0/5 stars
Fun Factor: 1/5 stars
Repeat Reading Factor: 0/5 stars


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"I parked there yesterday and my Range Rover exploded."

Burn for Me (Hidden Legacy, #1)Burn for Me by Ilona Andrews
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

There's a reason I didn't read more book in 2014 and it's because of this author. I just got this book a few weeks ago and it's now pretty dog-eared, thanks to the multiple re-reading because I enjoy it just *that* much.

The novel is set in a world where magic is real and is the main currency for power and wealth. A small-time private investigator was tasked to persuade a powerful pyromage to surrender to his family after a series of high profile arson. She has a competitor in the chase, another catastrophically powerful mage who can level cities. A lot of mayhem and high octane action, peppered with tickle-your-ribs humour and steamy sexual tension.

The book is peopled with characters who are not just larger-than-life but also wonderfully likeable. The primary characters sucked me in and kept the book glued to my hand up to the very end. C'mon, how am I to resist when the male protagonist was described as such:

He'd traded the suit and shoes for faded jeans, a pale grey t-shirt and heavy, dark boots. The effect was staggering. The suit had toned him down, smoothing harshness with a veneer of wealth and civilisation. Now he was all rough edge and rugged strength. He looked like he needed some jungle ruins to explore or some bad people to hit with a chair. Trouble was, he was the bad people

I also adored that the female protagonist was no Mary Sue; she had a complement of vulnerabilities along with kick ass determination, wilyness and intelligence. Her Mom was a magically enhanced sniper, her Grandma talked to tanks and the heavy weaponry that she crafted, and a cybermage cousin as her sidekick. Her family was insane and fun and I can't wait to see more of her crazy sisters and cousin in the next books.

Even the psychopath was pretty endearing and made you want to root for him.

Pierce did have devil eyes. Deep and dark, the rich brown of coffee grinds, they were unpredictable and full of crazy.

Burn for Me is a new tangent for the husband-wife writing team, a book that is closer to a traditional romance in the action-adventure genre. However, the romance aspect developed more slowly, paying out over a three-book series. By the last page you are jonesing for the next book and gosh, can't they write any faster?

Favourite quotes:


1. "... Had I known that you were going to pull a pretty ribbon out of your sleeve like some two-bit magician, I would have shot you. Many times."

"Two-bit magician?"

"Men like you enjoy being flattered."

2. Small talk with the dragon. How are you? Eaten any adventurers lately? Sure, just had one this morning. Look, I still got his femur stuck in my teeth. Is that upsetting to you?

3. "I was conceived because my mother skipped bail. Her boyfriend at the time threatened to call the cops on her, so she had to do something to keep him from doing it."

4. And then he had felt her. She was warm and golden and she tore through the sterility of the ascent and reached for him. She kissed him and as she shared all of her fears and wants, he felt alive. He had shrugged off the cold serenity for her, and the world around him bloomed.



Seriously. Go get this book. You won't regret it.

Male protagonist: 5/5 stars
Female protagonist: 5/5 stars
Storyline: 5/5 stars
Pacing: 5/5 stars
Fun Factor: 5/5 stars
Repeat Reading Factor: 5/5 stars


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Thursday, September 25, 2014

Hanging out in Tartarus by the river of fire would be a jolly thing to do

Styxx (Dark-Hunter, #12)Styxx by Sherrilyn Kenyon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I had this book in my keeping for over a month before I cracked it open. One is because of its size: at 930 pages and at least 2.5 inch thick, I worry that if I accidentally drop it on my face when reading, I might break my nose.


OK, spoilers ahead. You have been warned.


Thursday, August 28, 2014

Hurrah for gun laws.

Sepucuk Pistol Di Dalam LaciSepucuk Pistol Di Dalam Laci by Hadi M. Nor
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I find myself picking up Malay books and discarding them by page 45. I have lost my tolerance for slower pacing, preachy drama and annoying plot devices.

But I found none of those peeves in this anthology; a marvelous cornucopia of romance (of the weird kind), urban fantasy, sprinkled with a good dose of homicidal mania and sheer hilarity.Suspend your disbelief and just enjoy the ride. 

Thanks for lending me the book, Hanies!

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NoLa on my mind ...

Dawn Encounter (Masters at Arms #2)Dawn Encounter by Jennifer Blake
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I don't read very many Americana historical romance. Primarily it's because the more I learn about the victimisation of the indigenous people of North America, the harder it is for me to read about the romantic half breed yearning for the blonde homestead daughter. So that takes the cowboy genre out of circulation for me and except for Pamela Morsi and Rebecca Paisley, I rarely come across other settings for Americana historical.

I liked the premise of New Orleans prior to the War Between the States and Ms. Blake did an excellent job of painting the atmosphere and society of the Deep South. I also liked that she didn't whitewash slavery in the premise and did it without contemporary moralising.

However, the female protagonist annoyed me with the way she vaccilated between being so die-away and bull-headed assertion of her independence. A bit like a spoilt brat, but I gave that a pass judging by her age and background. The male protagonist was a total dyed-in-the-wool hero; brave, self-sacrificing, painfully honourable etc etc, but a bit cookie cutter. I think that both characters could have done with greater character development, but alas, that territory was not ventured.

Male protagonist: 3/5 stars
Female protagonist: 2/5 stars
Storyline: 3/5 stars
Pacing: 2/5 stars
Fun Factor: 3/5 stars
Repeat Reading Factor: 1/5 stars

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Thursday, April 3, 2014

Thursday, February 20, 2014

This is not a book review

I've been devouring Lee Child's Jack Reacher series and am enjoying them immensely. So I tried watching the Jack Reacher movie, curious to see how they could translate it into the big screen.



No, my hopes aren't the level of Star Trek geeks anticipating Episode I.

*moar rant below cut*

Thursday, February 6, 2014

The Right to Bare Arms (is better than to Bear Arms).

Die Trying (Jack Reacher, #2)Die Trying by Lee Child
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Pages: 549
Time taken: Roughly a day.

It's been a while since I was so taken by a male protagonist in a thriller series. Nicholas Linnear of Eric van Lustbader's Ninja and Jason Bourne of Robert Ludlum's Bourne Identity series ate my brain once upon a time. Now it's a retired soldier bumming around the US of A who caught my imagination.

Jack Reacher was in the wrong place at the wrong time for doing the right thing. His chivalry got him kidnapped and we get a first hand view of what life in a survivalist militia commune is like. It's filled with a great deal of gruesome violence and super fast action. Mr Child has crafted a nice post Cold War thriller that gives an interesting perspective from an individual POV: what happens to a soldier when there are no more wars to fight?

This time around the female protagonist has a first name and it was used liberally through out so all is cool. I give Mr Child credit for creating decent female protagonists who are not the die-away type and are resourceful ladies who kick ass and take names. It's a skill that not many male authors (at least those that I read) possess.

I am enjoying Jack Reachers's journey on his perpetual road trip to discover the country that he barely knew and will look for more.
Favourite quote/excerpt:

"The defense cuts were happening. Made the army seem unnecessary, somehow. Like if they didn't need the biggest and the best, they didn't need me. Didn't want to be a part of something small and second-rate. So I left. Arrogant or what?"

Male protagonist: 5/5 stars
Female protagonist: 3/5 stars
Storyline: 4/5 stars
Pacing: 5/5 stars
Fun Factor: 4/5 stars
Repeat Reading Factor: 4/5 stars

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Kill 'em all and let God sort it out.

Killing Floor (Jack Reacher, #1)Killing Floor by Lee Child
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Pages: 523
Time taken: Roughly two days

The first I heard about Jack Reacher was from the movie with Tom Cruise in it. I'm not a fan of his, but no hater either so whatever, right? But I got curious enough to pick up the back story novel The Enemy and now I'm hooked.

Monday, January 6, 2014

God bless the child


Title from this song. Ah, a walk down memory lane.

My childhood was rife with epic adventures. Whooshing down mountains on cave rivers, battling the Nazis in a Sopwith Camel, fighting for what is rightfully mine with magic, plotting to regain royal thrones, performing in a circus, solving mysteries with my boyfriend Ned, and much, much more.

No, it's not just because I'm lucky enough that my parents were unsuccessful in curtailing my television viewing, but because of BOOKS.

Beautiful, marvelous, magnificent BOOKS.

Enid Blyton, Carolyn Keene, Captain WE Johns, Rubaidin Siwar, Khadijah Hashim, Othman Puteh, Othman Wok, and many, many more has helped fuel my imagination and vocabulary. I became addicted to reading at a very young age, and the habit remains to this day. It got to a point that I was borrowing a book every day from the school library, and I made no bones about harassing the student librarians to open up the gates to paradise. I can still recall the crisp scent of my primary school library, the hushed hall and the rows upon rows of delicious books. Mmm.

School holidays were highly anticipated for the opportunity to haunt bookstores. Those stores were wonderlands for exploration, racks upon racks of fragrant, bound pages that harboured secrets and knowledge. I think my Mom sighed a breath of relief when we discovered the rental book store that carried books that I would read (I was an age appropriate reader up to a point); the money would go for much longer with rental and would save on storage space.  

However, I find that the section for children's books in Malay these days are terribly disappointing. I posit the evidence below:

Some desultory fairy tales, and ooh. Encyclopaedia stuff. Exciting.*yawn*

Hikayat Derma Taksiah modernised, most of these.

These pictures were taken at Borders in Bangsar Village 2. Notice that the children's books actually occupied only the top one and a half row of a SINGLE RACK. Those are mostly encyclopaedia types and a miserable collection fairy tale fictions. The rest is taken up by religious tracts and sappy, I-like-to-be-emotionally-abused romance novels. I mean, WTF?

How on Earth can we hope to inculcate the reading habit in our children with such a meager selection? How do we encourage them to explore worlds and dig for information and knowledge beyond what can be Googled? When most of the books are directed to the Malay Muslim audience, how do you hope to encourage non Malay children to love the national language when they have nothing engaging to read?

What happened to the writer of children and young adult fictions in Malay? What happened to the translated books? I remember seeing Harry Potter and Twilight in Malay on display in Popular Books but I don't see them any more.

I got to read Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, Jane Eyre, Jules Verne and many more English literary works, not in its original form, but beautifully translated and abridged (I did get on to read them in the original version). Most of my Enid Blyton, Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys and Biggleswort adventures were in Malay and what a wonderful discovery it was to read them as they were first published. Those books taught me about life in foreign lands, understanding motivations and reading between the lines, and made me pretty good at comprehension exercises.


The English books selection, on the other hand, is fantastic. You can get up to 6 racks for the young readers and the same number dedicated to young adults. But how do we instill a love in the national language when there's nothing to read in them? Children rarely read newspapers, and most of the Malay magazines for children (except for Dewan Pelajar and Dewan Siswa) appear to be geared only for the Muslim readers. Not to mention that it is darn hard to find Dewan Pelajar and Dewan Siswa in regular bookstores anyway.

Truly, we cannot blame the children for pooh-poohing the national language. Not with this appalling situation.

*shakes fist*

Thursday, December 5, 2013

Sweetness need not be cloying

The Arrangement (The Survivors' Club #2)The Arrangement by Mary Balogh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ms Balogh has a knack for writing characters that has a realism that is really appealing. This is the second book of the Survivor's Club series, this time chronicling the love story of Vincent Hunt, Lord Darleigh, who escaped the Napoleonic Wars with permanent loss of his sight.

The development of his tendre for Miss Sophia Fry is sweet though flavoured with hard practicality. It is delightful to see how a penniless orphan manages to liberate the proud aristocrat of the boundaries of his disabilities; escaping from the usual rescue trope. In this case, they rescued each other, making for a more satisfying story telling.

Lovely stuff. Go read.


Favourite quote:

"If people cannot beg pardon on one another," she said, "then nothing can be forgiven and wounds fester."

Male protagonist: 4/5 stars
Female protagonist: 4/5 stars
Storyline: 4/5 stars
Pacing: 4/5 stars
Fun Factor: 4/5 stars
Repeat Reading Factor: 4/5 stars

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