Kats Review: Slammer

Slammer by Tabatha Vargo
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Oh boy, what can I say about this book...

First off why two stars?

Because I loved the concept and the first 50% of it held so much promise. It started to go downhill for me at the point of the first sex scenes. It just felt completely out of place and not to mention ridiculous that they were going at it behind a curtain (loudly I might add) and no one heard them or interrupted... insert eye roll here!

What annoyed me though with this book was that for the past 10 years no one questioned the hero (Christopher Jacobs aka X) of the story innocence when there were obvious signs of it but the heroine (Lyla Evans) could figure it out less than five minutes after looking at his file. Then there was the supposed twist, it made no sense in terms of what was written before and also didn't mesh with why the warden and mafia reacted the way that they did (you'll understand what I mean when you read it).

Lastly the epilogue, oh Lordy the epilogue. I felt like I was reading the end of a Lifetime movie.

I get what the writer was trying to accomplish and I for one don't require a happy ending for a book to be good but I walked away from this one feeling apathetic about the entire thing.

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Kats Review: Rival

Rival by Penelope Douglas
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Loved Madoc's story!!!

After reading Bully a few years ago I enjoyed the story but had some trouble reconciling why Jared was such a pain to Tate with the reasons given in the story. I did not have that issue with Rival.

Madoc Caruthers and Fallon Pierce started their relationship and dealt with adult issues at sixteen (far to young). When they were pulled apart based and kept apart based on lies (by Fallon's mother and to some extent Madoc's father) their animosity for each other coming out of misunderstanding and the love that they couldn't deny despite it all added a delicious angst to the story that made you want speed read ahead to find the resolution.

One of the best parts of the book was how both Fallon and Madoc had to reconcile their insecurities and issues to truly find that trust in each other first when Madoc found out Fallon was pregnant and had an abortion and second when Fallon overhead her mother making reference to what could have easily been perceived to be a sexual indiscretion with Madoc. I loved how Penelope walked you through their thought process from surprise to anger to doubt then ultimately trust.

Another good element of the book was how she developed Jax's character giving us a glimpse of his inner complexity. Looking forward to seeing the world through his eyes.

All in all I enjoyed this read and found it an excellent addition to the Fall Away series.

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Kats Review: Fugly

Fugly by Mimi Jean Pamfiloff
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Absolutely loved this book!!!

The blurb totally drew me in and the story kept me reading like a total book junkie till the very end. This was a different kind of story unlike those where every character is unequivocally gorgeous. It is truly a thought provoking read that makes you ask the question…

What is your definition of beauty?

Lily Snow is not a beauty not physically anyway, she is plagued by insecurities as it relates to how she looks and has managed to convince herself that this does not affect how she lives her life and more importantly how she deserves to be treated by others.

Maxwell Cole is absolutely beautiful on the outside with a very troubling phobia that has haunted him most of his life. He’s aware that this is the “ugly” side of him and wants to be rid of it.

Lily and Max in essence are each other’s salvation. Max learns to look beyond the physical to the person within and Lily learns to truly believe in her beauty and in essence her self-worth.

One of the best parts of book for me was Mimi’s “note from the author” at the end that sums up perfectly what this story was about and in essence is why this is such a successfully written book. Without trying to plagiarize her words here is an excerpt from her note;

The book was never about a young woman looking for acceptance but about the derailing inner voice within determined to sabotage out best intentions and potential…

…we all know beauty fades. And true love does not. And that includes inner love…

…This story will inspire you to never give up and trust those who love you. There is a reason they love you: because you deserve it…

…just take a moment and try to see yourself through their eyes…

This is a complete and total must read!!!

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