review :: Carnage by Lesley Jones

"Georgia Rae, when we made love you used to cry, you said... I love you like the stars above, I'll love you till I die."

~ 

Wow. In a good way? Bad way? I don’t know! I’m so confused and lost as to how to start this review. Anyone care to lend me a hand? Gosh. Okay… I won’t quote from the book for a change, I want you to go into it open minded and untouched as possible in terms of actual content. But…

To be honest with you, my first reaction when I finished this book wasn’t good. Like, at freaking all. I was like, “all this freaking trouble for THIS mother fudging ending?! Are you kidding me?!?!?!” Yeah. You can tell you’ll be displeased as fudge. But then again, the author doesn’t promise a HEA. Still, I was really, really mad. And I guess I still am, in a way. But I think that after sleeping on it, and analyzing things, it wasn’t that bad. I mean, I enjoyed the book – or at least the majority of it – and I was thoroughly entertained, so there’s that. Yet, for me, it somehow fell short. I don’t know. In theory, though, love triangles, second chance romances? Count. Me. In!!! Gimme more, please.

Let me just tell you, this book is definitely not going to be everyone’s cup of tea. All those warnings you get beforehand and stuff are maybe what drew me to this book in the first place, more so than the actual blurb because I love a good adventurous, outside the box kind of read, but I suppose it just lacked… something? But let’s review a little bit of the actual story before I dive in some more. As always, not spoiler free. Sorry!

Georgia Rae and Sean McCarthy are meant to be. They have loved each other ever since Georgia was 11 and Sean hung out with her family – and even formed a band with her brothers! – that went on to become super successful. By now you must know the drill: fame shot up to his head; drugs, booze, girls and you are able to spell disaster with a capital D. If anything, this book is brutally honest and raw. I’m not used to reading books where the hero cheats (it’s a gazillion times harder for me than dealing with an asshole), so it made me uncomfortable right from the start. I really didn’t like Sean for the most part, maybe until he got his act together. But the thing is, right before he got his head on straight, in comes Cam. And, trust me, I hated wishing Gia would end up with Cam instead of Sean, because I knew that wasn’t going to happen, but gosh darn if I didn’t hope for it anyway! See, this book just wasn’t meant for me from the get-go. Sigh.

Despite my own leaning towards Cam thing, I started to warm up to Sean again when he reentered Georgia’s life, despite being gutted at how things between her and Cam happened. Truth is, the passion between “Maca” and George is undeniable and beautiful and I couldn’t frown at them being back together. Before I go on, let me tell you I was not the biggest fan of Georgia’s (read: at all!) either, so I only disliked her more by the end of the book, especially in THAT scene. I was THIS close to strangling the hell out of her. Ugh! But by then I was already so taken with Sean again that I didn't care about anything other than their preciousness together. Swoon!

GOD! I’m still so lost as to how to approach this review or this book. I’m doing it very differently than usual, so I’m just going to divide this into what worked for me and what didn’t. Yep, I’m that torn! Sheesh. Okay. What worked?

I loved Lesley’s idea and intention with the book. The very, very emotional, raw, passionate, thrilling feelings you get despite what you may or may not think of it in the end. The English slang, bringing back so many memories of my time being close friends with my Brit babes and their awesome lingo. Cam, Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome! The honesty in this book, while a punch to the gut at first, quickly became refreshing and a testament to Lesley’s ballsy approach to writing.

Now… what didn’t work?

Well, I’m not one to be deterred by faulty writing (and I know this is an unrevised copy), but it did take away from the experience a bit for me. I was distracted over the spelling and the formatting issues, even though I tried really hard not to (not an insult to you, Lesley, at all! Just an OCD issue for me I suppose). The juvenile, overly dramatic feel to the book, especially in the beginning. The slow pace at first, that almost lost me if I hadn’t forced myself to power through at the insistence of the recommendations I read. THE ENDING! I’ll never get over it. Ever. Being blindsided like that isn’t nice, you know? Yep, still angry.

In a nutshell, those are my considerations. I’m not pleased with this review, I feel like there’s so much more I wish I could articulate, but this book was literally the hardest I’ve had to review so far. I get the intention of the author, to show that life isn’t always rainbows and butterflies and books can’t always have a happy ending. But, thing is, I never knew there wouldn’t be one until I was past the point of no return, or else I would’ve avoided the book. My own fault, but still bitter? CHECK!

I didn’t exactly sob at the end (more like mouth formed in an “O” shape, disbelief etched on my face, sheets fisted on my palms, teary eyes, afterwards an ugly bitch baby ready to burst into loud wailing face…) but it was still one hell of a ride that you should definitely take, despite what you’ve read here. You’ll never really know until you experience it yourself, and maybe you’ll feel 100% differently than me. That’s the beauty of reading, isn’t it?

Will I read the sequel? I don’t know. Probably not. BUT, WAIT! DON’T SHOOT! I’m not saying this because I think Lesley isn’t fucking brilliant (pardon my French, I had to!), but because I’m not invested in the way the book ended. Not after that. Not after that ending. I can’t. Oh, what the hell, I probably will. Ugh. ANYWAYS. I will abso-freaking-lutely dive into “Saviour” by Lesley herself, because that one seems like such an amazeballs ride I’m itching to go on! I’ll keep y’all posted.

P.S. – Here’s something Lesley said about the ending of the book (yes, my bitterness had me Googling “WHY THAT ENDING ON CARNAGE BY LESLEY JONES?!” … or something like that, I was still seeing red LOL): “Then, just as I was reaching the conclusion, a number of awful events happened around me that just made me realise - you know what? Sometimes in life, we don't get what we want, things do fall apart, and bad things happen to good people.” Sigh. I hear you, Lesley, but still, fuckin' hell. Oh shit, now I'm getting all misty eyed over the book again. Oh, Sean... Damn it! Abort these feelings! Abort!

~

{ RATING :: 3.5/4 stars

SEX SCENES :: Steamy

GENRE :: Contemporary romance, music, new adult

AUDIENCES :: 18+

LENGTH :: 406 pages

HAPPY ENDING :: No

SEQUEL :: Yes }

review :: Maybe Someday by Colleen Hoover

AMAZON :: GOODREADS

Wow. Just… wow. It’s not often that I’m rendered speechless by a book, but that happened while reading this masterpiece by Colleen Hoover. This book was so good that a 5 star rating simply isn’t enough. So, let me tell y’all, Maybe Someday is clearly on a league of its own with a 5+ star rating that I’ve only given to Beautiful Disaster, Fifty Shades of Grey, Crossfire, possibly Remy and some of Kristen Ashley’s novels. This book is not only the best book I’ve read in 2014, it’s also one of the (very few) best books I’ve read in my life. LIFE. By this, y’all should know I mean business!! LOL

There’s soooo much I want to say, but the words are running over themselves in my brain because they all want to come out at once. Gosh, you guys, it was such an amazing, touching, life changing surprise seeing as I went into this book absolutely blind, no blurb or any spoilers whatsoever. Can I erase my memory and start all over?! Sigh. ‘Kay, let’s start this.

I think I should start by saying I’d heard about this book some months before, but it wasn’t even on my radar. I wasn’t minimally interested in reading this because the books that made Colleen über famous – Slammed, Hopeless, etc… – fell short with me. Everyone and their mommas raved about them, but I just didn’t connect with the books at all. I even gave them a 2 star rating over at Goodreads, I believe. Yeah, there’s something about Colleen’s writing that is so special, but maybe I just couldn’t bond with the characters or whatever. However, everyone was raving, once again, about her new release, so I decided to give Colleen another chance. God bless the minute I did so!

“I keep my hand clutched tightly to my chest without reading it. I refuse to accept that whatever words are written on my palm will obliterate what little hope I had for our maybe someday.”

I normally quote the hell out a book I loved, but I want you guys to go into the story as I did. Trust me, you have to. There are so many (so, so, so, so many!!!) twists and turns, and right off the bat there’s something about the book that just pulls the rug right off your feet. It’s life changing. It really is. This book is so emotional, you guys. It awakens your soul in such a deep, terrific level that you just want the story to go on and on and on... It’s a standalone novel (sobs!) but I’ve never wished harder for a sequel in my life.

“I never realized how powerful desire could be. It consumes every part of you, enhancing your senses by a million. When you’re in the moment… all you can do is focus on the person in front of you.”

Let me ask you this… Do you believe in soul mates? Because I do. And Colleen wrote my idealization of soul mates so perfectly, it was hard not to cry. I don’t know what kind of magic Colleen managed to weave with this book, but I connected to Sydney and Ridge’s story in such a profound level. I was Sydney. Ridge was “him”. It just was… us! Me, him and Warren, too. And Maggie. How?! It baffled me. I gasped, buried my head in my pillow at 2 a.m., and cried tears of joy and heartbreak. It was every single thing and beyond. I never cry reading a book. I can’t even deal. Literally, you guys, I can’t. Through Sydney’s eyes, I fell in love with Ridge.

“I also know that my soul is compatible with Sydney’s, but it’s also so much more than that. Our souls aren’t just compatible—they’re perfectly attuned. I feel everything she feels. I understand things she never even has to say. I know that what she needs is exactly what I could give her, and what she’s wishing she could give me is something I never even knew I needed.”

What can I promise you? You’ll fall head over heels with Ridge. By a clear mile, the sweetest hero I’ve ever read, experienced, had the utter privilege of meeting. You’ll become Sydney. You’ll live every single minute of this story as if you transcended the pages and landed right there in Texas with them. The musical side of this story will heighten your experience to a level you never thought possible. Your senses will go into overdrive and you’ll feel every bit of this story in your skin. In your soul. In your heart! This I can promise you. Scout’s honor! *wink* Seriously, read this. Please. It’ll literally stay with you forever. What do you say? Too soon to reread this book? Because I really want to… heh!

“Beat, beat, pause.

Contract, expand.

Inhale, exhale.”

~

{ RATING :: 5+ stars

SEX SCENES :: Mild

GENRE :: Contemporary romance, new adult, music

AUDIENCES :: 17

LENGTH :: 299 pages

HAPPY ENDING :: Yes

SEQUEL :: No }