I’ve been reading this series for a few months and I love it. I love starting a new Kinsey Millhone novel because I know it’s going to be great. Some of them are harder to pick up and some are gripping from the first page. This one was slower to get into. It took about 50 pages before I really was into it, but then I was sucked in. The plot didn’t come out until about 25 pages in and even then I didn’t really know where or how it was going to go. I didn’t think it would be a great story and was worried this would be the first that I didn’t really like. But it ended up being in top 3 by the end. There were twists and turns along the way but the biggest blow came in a huge plot twist at the end that caused me to actually set the book down so I could process it. Grafton brought in a new type of mystery. Kinsey, for the first time in her career, did undercover work. Because of that, it was a different flow to the story and didn’t writing because she had to be someone else. Once I got used to the differences, it was a great book. I would recommend it to every mystery lover.
This may be tied for favourite of the series. This book....
I need time to process
I need time to process
This book is hard to read at times. It's hard to read a book where the protagonist is spiraling down into depression and we, the readers, just sit back and read about it. It's uncomfortable and heartbreaking but beautiful and eloquent. Esther may be one of my favorite characters I've ever had the opportunity to read about. Even if a person has never been depression or had suicidal thoughts, they could easily relate to Esther. We are inside her mind while she's falling deeper and deeper and at times I felt like I was going with her. I felt for Esther so much. I wanted to hug her. I wanted to make her feel like life was worth living. I am SO glad I read this book and plan on reading it again and again.
Actual rating: 3.5 stars
Originally on my book blog!
I have heard about this book on Twitter, Tumblr, Goodreads, and Facebook. It seems that anyone that reads YA has read it. I didn't really hear anything bad about it, so I thought that I should pick it up. Unfortunately, I didn't connect with it the way other people did. The story was cute enough, some of the characters were fun and lovable, but there were just things that I could not look past.
For one, her name is Belly. Everyone calls her Belly. She is a 16 year old girl that is called Belly by everyone. It is so ingrained in minds that when someone calls her "Bells" she feels the need to say "oh yeah that's another nickname of mine" like really? I had no idea! I'm not even sure why this bothers me so much, but I just couldn't take her seriously. Maybe because I grew out of all of my embarrassing nicknames that I hated by the time I was 12. She's even mentioned it that she doesn't like it, so why not change it?
Did I mention she's 16? Well turned sixteen during the book, but I've never known a 15/16 year old to stick their tongue out at people so often. Sure, occasionally I'll stick my tongue out at the boyfriend if he is making jokes, but when someone makes me mad, the last thing on my mind is "I should stick my tongue out at them!"
The whole book, Jeremiah and Conrad and Steven are jerks to her and yet she complains every time that they don't want to hang out with her. Look, I've been there. I have a brother close to my show more age and sometimes I want to hang out with them as well, but when they spend the whole time being jerks to me, I don't ask a second time to hang out with them.
But ~Conrad~. I'm not even going into detail about this one. I could not stand him. I don't know what she saw in him. I'm moving on from this one because I could go on a long rant about this one.
One summer, her friend, Taylor, went to the beach house with her. When she wasn't secretly hating Taylor for being more confident than her, she was calling her a slut for hitting on Jeremiah. And then she called her a slut for kissing her brother. SHE IS YOUR BEST FRIEND AND YOU'RE GOING TO CALL HER A SLUT FOR KISSING SOMEONE? SOMEONE THAT YOU SHOULDN'T EVEN CARE ABOUT HER KISSING? IT'S NOT LIKE HE'S THE ONE YOU REFUSE TO SHUT UP ABOUT.
Then there's Cam. I liked Cam. He was a nice guy and seemed to genuinely like Belly, but the whole time, Belly was wondering if Conrad was thinking about her or if he was jealous. So it was obvious she was only with Cam to make Conrad jealous. Good job on screwing it up with the one guy that isn't sick of you. He wasn't a jerk to you and yet you would rather be with Conrad because??? I honestly don't know why. But I digress.
When she wasn't talking about Conrad, and when she wasn't dating Cam, she was trying to find out if she had feelings for the OTHER brother, Jeremiah. Yeah, that' where I just started rolling my eyes. But Taylor said it best:
Thank you Taylor, she needed to hear that. And then Conrad also called her out on it (the one time I didn't dislike him):
Then there was her relationship with Susannah and her mother. Okay Belly, look, I don't have a mom at all. You spend the whole book complaining about your mom, who loves you and is there for you, and you have Susannah on such a high pedestal. When someone buys you something, you automatically assume it's Susannah because *gasp* your mom would NEVER do something like that. She's an evil, wicked woman and Susannah is the only one that cares about you! She didn't really start thinking her mom was a good person until Susannah had to tell her!:
But then I tried to remember that she is only 15/16 (even though she has difficulty acting like it) and I remember how difficult crushes were back then (of course I didn't have a mom that would help me through "heartbreak" but she did). She wasn't a lovable character for me. I couldn't connect with her. I saw her as a spoiled, whiny girl that needed to get over a stupid, unworthy guy.
In the end, I hope she grows up throughout the series and learns that the world doesn't revolve around her. I'll end up reading the rest of the series because I started it so why not, but I just hope that she is more mature in the next book. show less
Originally on my book blog!
I have heard about this book on Twitter, Tumblr, Goodreads, and Facebook. It seems that anyone that reads YA has read it. I didn't really hear anything bad about it, so I thought that I should pick it up. Unfortunately, I didn't connect with it the way other people did. The story was cute enough, some of the characters were fun and lovable, but there were just things that I could not look past.
For one, her name is Belly. Everyone calls her Belly. She is a 16 year old girl that is called Belly by everyone. It is so ingrained in minds that when someone calls her "Bells" she feels the need to say "oh yeah that's another nickname of mine" like really? I had no idea! I'm not even sure why this bothers me so much, but I just couldn't take her seriously. Maybe because I grew out of all of my embarrassing nicknames that I hated by the time I was 12. She's even mentioned it that she doesn't like it, so why not change it?
Did I mention she's 16? Well turned sixteen during the book, but I've never known a 15/16 year old to stick their tongue out at people so often. Sure, occasionally I'll stick my tongue out at the boyfriend if he is making jokes, but when someone makes me mad, the last thing on my mind is "I should stick my tongue out at them!"
The whole book, Jeremiah and Conrad and Steven are jerks to her and yet she complains every time that they don't want to hang out with her. Look, I've been there. I have a brother close to my show more age and sometimes I want to hang out with them as well, but when they spend the whole time being jerks to me, I don't ask a second time to hang out with them.
But ~Conrad~. I'm not even going into detail about this one. I could not stand him. I don't know what she saw in him. I'm moving on from this one because I could go on a long rant about this one.
One summer, her friend, Taylor, went to the beach house with her. When she wasn't secretly hating Taylor for being more confident than her, she was calling her a slut for hitting on Jeremiah. And then she called her a slut for kissing her brother. SHE IS YOUR BEST FRIEND AND YOU'RE GOING TO CALL HER A SLUT FOR KISSING SOMEONE? SOMEONE THAT YOU SHOULDN'T EVEN CARE ABOUT HER KISSING? IT'S NOT LIKE HE'S THE ONE YOU REFUSE TO SHUT UP ABOUT.
Then there's Cam. I liked Cam. He was a nice guy and seemed to genuinely like Belly, but the whole time, Belly was wondering if Conrad was thinking about her or if he was jealous. So it was obvious she was only with Cam to make Conrad jealous. Good job on screwing it up with the one guy that isn't sick of you. He wasn't a jerk to you and yet you would rather be with Conrad because??? I honestly don't know why. But I digress.
When she wasn't talking about Conrad, and when she wasn't dating Cam, she was trying to find out if she had feelings for the OTHER brother, Jeremiah. Yeah, that' where I just started rolling my eyes. But Taylor said it best:
"Belly, you've got to pick one. You can't have them both."
Thank you Taylor, she needed to hear that. And then Conrad also called her out on it (the one time I didn't dislike him):
"One minute you like me. Then Cam... And then Jeremiah. Isn't that right? You want to have your cake and eat it too, but you also want your cookies, and your ice cream...."
Then there was her relationship with Susannah and her mother. Okay Belly, look, I don't have a mom at all. You spend the whole book complaining about your mom, who loves you and is there for you, and you have Susannah on such a high pedestal. When someone buys you something, you automatically assume it's Susannah because *gasp* your mom would NEVER do something like that. She's an evil, wicked woman and Susannah is the only one that cares about you! She didn't really start thinking her mom was a good person until Susannah had to tell her!:
"You're the luckiest girl in the world to have her for a mother. Know that."
Thank you, Susannah. Someone needed to tell her.
But then I tried to remember that she is only 15/16 (even though she has difficulty acting like it) and I remember how difficult crushes were back then (of course I didn't have a mom that would help me through "heartbreak" but she did). She wasn't a lovable character for me. I couldn't connect with her. I saw her as a spoiled, whiny girl that needed to get over a stupid, unworthy guy.
In the end, I hope she grows up throughout the series and learns that the world doesn't revolve around her. I'll end up reading the rest of the series because I started it so why not, but I just hope that she is more mature in the next book. show less
I go into these books knowing that there is going to be romance, humor, and a lot of car crashes. This one was no different. Stephanie had to pick up Eddie DeChooch, an old man who missed his court date. Simple enough since he’s an old guy, but apparently not for Stephanie and Lula. I lost count of how many times they had him and lost him, but somewhere around 8 or 9.
This book was hilarious with Grandma and Mooner hanging out (I didn’t see that coming but now that it happened it seems completely normal), a marriage proposal from Morelli, and Stephanie’s perfect sister in town. There were moments where I had to set the book down until I stopped laughing.
Key points: Dialogue is on point throughout the whole book. Each character has their own voice and even though the book only comes from Stephanie’s POV, I can relate to every character in their own way. Perfect comedy, perfect romance, and perfect mystery. A book by an A author and an A book series.
This book was hilarious with Grandma and Mooner hanging out (I didn’t see that coming but now that it happened it seems completely normal), a marriage proposal from Morelli, and Stephanie’s perfect sister in town. There were moments where I had to set the book down until I stopped laughing.
Key points: Dialogue is on point throughout the whole book. Each character has their own voice and even though the book only comes from Stephanie’s POV, I can relate to every character in their own way. Perfect comedy, perfect romance, and perfect mystery. A book by an A author and an A book series.
Originally on my book blog!
I really did not think that these books could get any funnier, but this would almost killed me. I'm not sure if I read this when I was sleep deprived (I did) or if it's really just that funny (it is) but I could not contain my laughter for very long. Every part of this book, the humor, the mystery, and the romance, came together perfectly to make a seriously fabulous book.
This book had some of the funniest material I've seen in a book. When Lula wasn't talking about her "diet" (a no carb diet, so she decided she would eat meat 24/7), she was losing her luggage on the way to Vegas. When she wasn't doing either of these, Stephanie was going through Ranger's employees like she usually does with his cars. I didn't go a full five pages without finding something hilarious. It was the best workout I've had in months, so thank you Janet! After going from a very serious and heavy Alex Cross novel, going to a hilarious and clueless Stephanie Plum novel was just what I needed.
The mystery was a great plot and kept the book going smoothly. Most of her books don't have a seriously intense part but this one had a scene where I was on the edge of my seat and trying to breathe (and failing). It was interesting and fun and unique. There was a lot more mystery in this one than others because she actually had to search for the guy instead of just try to pick him up at home.
Ranger Ranger Ranger Ranger Ranger. Oh you didn't ask me who I like more? Well it's Ranger, show more in case you ever want to. I ship Ranger and Stephanie forever. If only he was "marriage type" but I digress. Stephanie is somewhat dating Joe in this book while also spending some quality time with Ranger. Nine books in and she still hasn't picked one of them. Neither of them are really marriage material at this moment, much to Stephanie's mother's dismay. Most people would get bored or plain annoyed that she's dragging both guys along for 9 books, but I read these books in part to see what happens with Ranger or Joe.
If you want a light read with a good plot, great characters, and fabulous humor: pick up this series. Seriously, do it. I dare you.
Have you read any of these books? Are you a Babe or a Cupcake? (I stole this from Sharon @ The Book Barbies so thank her for it) show less
I really did not think that these books could get any funnier, but this would almost killed me. I'm not sure if I read this when I was sleep deprived (I did) or if it's really just that funny (it is) but I could not contain my laughter for very long. Every part of this book, the humor, the mystery, and the romance, came together perfectly to make a seriously fabulous book.
This book had some of the funniest material I've seen in a book. When Lula wasn't talking about her "diet" (a no carb diet, so she decided she would eat meat 24/7), she was losing her luggage on the way to Vegas. When she wasn't doing either of these, Stephanie was going through Ranger's employees like she usually does with his cars. I didn't go a full five pages without finding something hilarious. It was the best workout I've had in months, so thank you Janet! After going from a very serious and heavy Alex Cross novel, going to a hilarious and clueless Stephanie Plum novel was just what I needed.
The mystery was a great plot and kept the book going smoothly. Most of her books don't have a seriously intense part but this one had a scene where I was on the edge of my seat and trying to breathe (and failing). It was interesting and fun and unique. There was a lot more mystery in this one than others because she actually had to search for the guy instead of just try to pick him up at home.
Ranger Ranger Ranger Ranger Ranger. Oh you didn't ask me who I like more? Well it's Ranger, show more in case you ever want to. I ship Ranger and Stephanie forever. If only he was "marriage type" but I digress. Stephanie is somewhat dating Joe in this book while also spending some quality time with Ranger. Nine books in and she still hasn't picked one of them. Neither of them are really marriage material at this moment, much to Stephanie's mother's dismay. Most people would get bored or plain annoyed that she's dragging both guys along for 9 books, but I read these books in part to see what happens with Ranger or Joe.
If you want a light read with a good plot, great characters, and fabulous humor: pick up this series. Seriously, do it. I dare you.
Have you read any of these books? Are you a Babe or a Cupcake? (I stole this from Sharon @ The Book Barbies so thank her for it) show less
Originally seen on my book blog!
The characters. The characters. The characters. DEVELOPMENT. CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT. Okay, I started this series with book 5, then skipped to 17 and 19 and then went back to the start. When I went back to book number one, I noticed that some characters were so different and some were still their witty hilarious self. Now that I’ve read the last 8 in a row, I can say that I’ve seen these characters come together, grow apart, change, grow, and some always seem to stay the same. Evanovich is a master at writing about a bounty hunter for 20 books with all the same characters and still making every book different enough to not get boring. I read these books for the mystery, humor, and for the characters.
I love the romance in these books too and I love her relationship with both Ranger and Morelli. If you know anything about me, you know I hate love triangles, so why would I like this one? Well probably because these people are not teenagers and Stephanie isn’t shown as “needing” either guy. I also hate the “”perfect”" guy so why would I like either of these guys? Because they aren’t perfect even if they seem perfect. Ranger is dark and mysterious (and sexy) but he also has trust issues and doesn’t open up to people. Morelli is in love with Stephanie but wants her to quit her job. Both men have flaws but both care about Stephanie enough to let her do what she wants. Every book I end up wanting her to end up with one of the guys show more and then the next book I end up switching guys. This book was definitely a Ranger book. Their relationship grew a lot more in this book.
As I’ve said, there are some characters that stay the same. Lula and Grandma Mazur are those characters. Lula is still witty and hilarious. I really do think she’s my spirit animal. “I’m late for work on account of I go to night school now.” ”You go once a week.” “Yeah but I gotta study. It’s not like this shit comes easy. It’s not like my former occupation as a ho helps me out, you know. I don’t think my final exam’s gonna be about handjobs.” 20 page in and I’m already cracking up. Claps for you, Lula.
Then there’s Grandma who is described as “mid-seventies but doesn’t look a day over ninety.” She’s awkward and a little sexual but it’s hilarious and I’d love to be related to her.
This book was a tad bit different in the way that she wasn’t just picking up (and losing) FTA’s. [failure to appear] Stephanie was at her parents house when their neighbor stopped by and said she needed to talk to Stephanie about something. The neighbor told Stephanie that her daughter ran away and she wanted Stephanie to try to find her. Stephanie isn’t a private investigator but she took her on anyway. I thought Stephanie was a bad bounty hunter, but she’d be an even worse PI and that’s what made this book hilarious. Not only was she trying to find the woman, a few other people were as well. Stephanie had tough competition and it was awesome and sometimes scary watching her try to beat all of them.
100 pages in to the book, she lost a few different pairs of handcuffs, a stolen car, and had a few threats. How does she get into these situations? I kept track of how many times these things happened and it seems to get higher every book.
Things I took out of this book: I would love to job shadow her for a day and maybe life shadow her as well. Lula truly is my inspiration. Definitely Team Ranger. show less
The characters. The characters. The characters. DEVELOPMENT. CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT. Okay, I started this series with book 5, then skipped to 17 and 19 and then went back to the start. When I went back to book number one, I noticed that some characters were so different and some were still their witty hilarious self. Now that I’ve read the last 8 in a row, I can say that I’ve seen these characters come together, grow apart, change, grow, and some always seem to stay the same. Evanovich is a master at writing about a bounty hunter for 20 books with all the same characters and still making every book different enough to not get boring. I read these books for the mystery, humor, and for the characters.
I love the romance in these books too and I love her relationship with both Ranger and Morelli. If you know anything about me, you know I hate love triangles, so why would I like this one? Well probably because these people are not teenagers and Stephanie isn’t shown as “needing” either guy. I also hate the “”perfect”" guy so why would I like either of these guys? Because they aren’t perfect even if they seem perfect. Ranger is dark and mysterious (and sexy) but he also has trust issues and doesn’t open up to people. Morelli is in love with Stephanie but wants her to quit her job. Both men have flaws but both care about Stephanie enough to let her do what she wants. Every book I end up wanting her to end up with one of the guys show more and then the next book I end up switching guys. This book was definitely a Ranger book. Their relationship grew a lot more in this book.
As I’ve said, there are some characters that stay the same. Lula and Grandma Mazur are those characters. Lula is still witty and hilarious. I really do think she’s my spirit animal. “I’m late for work on account of I go to night school now.” ”You go once a week.” “Yeah but I gotta study. It’s not like this shit comes easy. It’s not like my former occupation as a ho helps me out, you know. I don’t think my final exam’s gonna be about handjobs.” 20 page in and I’m already cracking up. Claps for you, Lula.
Then there’s Grandma who is described as “mid-seventies but doesn’t look a day over ninety.” She’s awkward and a little sexual but it’s hilarious and I’d love to be related to her.
This book was a tad bit different in the way that she wasn’t just picking up (and losing) FTA’s. [failure to appear] Stephanie was at her parents house when their neighbor stopped by and said she needed to talk to Stephanie about something. The neighbor told Stephanie that her daughter ran away and she wanted Stephanie to try to find her. Stephanie isn’t a private investigator but she took her on anyway. I thought Stephanie was a bad bounty hunter, but she’d be an even worse PI and that’s what made this book hilarious. Not only was she trying to find the woman, a few other people were as well. Stephanie had tough competition and it was awesome and sometimes scary watching her try to beat all of them.
100 pages in to the book, she lost a few different pairs of handcuffs, a stolen car, and had a few threats. How does she get into these situations? I kept track of how many times these things happened and it seems to get higher every book.
Things I took out of this book: I would love to job shadow her for a day and maybe life shadow her as well. Lula truly is my inspiration. Definitely Team Ranger. show less
(*This book is an ARC from Netgalley and does not come out until June 24, 2014. I received an advanced copy for an honest review. None of what I say will be direct quotes from the book per request from publisher.)
This is my first Karin Slaughter novel and I know it’s not going to be my last. I was hooked from the first chapter and am still stuck in the book 12 hours after finishing it. Everything that I like in books (plot, characters, and writing) were beyond what I expected.
For me, there were two plots in this book. The first and more noticeable one is to find who the cop killer was. The second and equally important plot was women trying to make it into the police force in the 1970s. The book focuses on Maggie Lawson who grew up with a whole family of male cops and Kate Murphy, a beautiful, born rich woman who has hardly met any cops in her life. Both women had different reasons for joining the force, but both still had a lot of difficulty getting the job and even more difficulty being respected in the job. These two plots worked well together and I truly don’t think that they could work well without the other. Both women were trying to make a name for herself in the force by solving the cop killer crime. The cop killer crime was a way for the women to show they deserve respect. The plot to find the cop killer was twisted and turned all over the place. There were so many times that I thought I solved it just to find that I was way off or I thought I was piecing it show more together just for something else to come in and it ruined everything I thought I knew. Cop Town was unpredictable which made it for such a good read.
I recently said that I wanted more characters like in Gillian Flynn’s books- female characters that are never described as perfect. Female characters that are people. Slaughter gave me that. Maggie and Kate are nowhere near perfect. They made mistakes and they pissed me off at times. I loved them. I wanted to hug them when they were having a rough day at work. I wanted to protect them from the men on the force. They were people to me because they were written as people. Every character in this book was a person. Everyone had flaws, some more than others, but no one hid their flaws and that’s what I like in a novel. There were some characters that I absolutely hated but that’s because we were supposed to hate them. Every character had their nice moments, but they weren’t enough to sway my opinion. I think that we, as the readers, are supposed to have it ingrained in our brains by the end of the book that in the 1970s racism, sexism, etc were still rampant. We, as the readers, never forget that in the book and I think it’s important to never let us forget that.
The writing was spectacular. As I mentioned the twists and turns in the plot. The characters were written well. The dialogue between any characters was never confusing and it never seemed forced. Cop Town is a gruesome book. If you don’t have a strong stomach, you may have trouble reading this book. The writing made all the gruesome parts vivid in my mind. When I can picture everything that is happening in my mind then that shows me the writing is strong. I think this book was planning on being a standalone, but I would love to see this as a series as well. It has potential to be an awesome series.
Cop Town is everything I look for in a mystery/thriller and I’m going to be buying this as soon as it comes out. (And all of her other books as well)
(Again, this is an ARC and I did not post any direct quotes from the book per request of the publisher.) show less
This is my first Karin Slaughter novel and I know it’s not going to be my last. I was hooked from the first chapter and am still stuck in the book 12 hours after finishing it. Everything that I like in books (plot, characters, and writing) were beyond what I expected.
For me, there were two plots in this book. The first and more noticeable one is to find who the cop killer was. The second and equally important plot was women trying to make it into the police force in the 1970s. The book focuses on Maggie Lawson who grew up with a whole family of male cops and Kate Murphy, a beautiful, born rich woman who has hardly met any cops in her life. Both women had different reasons for joining the force, but both still had a lot of difficulty getting the job and even more difficulty being respected in the job. These two plots worked well together and I truly don’t think that they could work well without the other. Both women were trying to make a name for herself in the force by solving the cop killer crime. The cop killer crime was a way for the women to show they deserve respect. The plot to find the cop killer was twisted and turned all over the place. There were so many times that I thought I solved it just to find that I was way off or I thought I was piecing it show more together just for something else to come in and it ruined everything I thought I knew. Cop Town was unpredictable which made it for such a good read.
I recently said that I wanted more characters like in Gillian Flynn’s books- female characters that are never described as perfect. Female characters that are people. Slaughter gave me that. Maggie and Kate are nowhere near perfect. They made mistakes and they pissed me off at times. I loved them. I wanted to hug them when they were having a rough day at work. I wanted to protect them from the men on the force. They were people to me because they were written as people. Every character in this book was a person. Everyone had flaws, some more than others, but no one hid their flaws and that’s what I like in a novel. There were some characters that I absolutely hated but that’s because we were supposed to hate them. Every character had their nice moments, but they weren’t enough to sway my opinion. I think that we, as the readers, are supposed to have it ingrained in our brains by the end of the book that in the 1970s racism, sexism, etc were still rampant. We, as the readers, never forget that in the book and I think it’s important to never let us forget that.
The writing was spectacular. As I mentioned the twists and turns in the plot. The characters were written well. The dialogue between any characters was never confusing and it never seemed forced. Cop Town is a gruesome book. If you don’t have a strong stomach, you may have trouble reading this book. The writing made all the gruesome parts vivid in my mind. When I can picture everything that is happening in my mind then that shows me the writing is strong. I think this book was planning on being a standalone, but I would love to see this as a series as well. It has potential to be an awesome series.
Cop Town is everything I look for in a mystery/thriller and I’m going to be buying this as soon as it comes out. (And all of her other books as well)
(Again, this is an ARC and I did not post any direct quotes from the book per request of the publisher.) show less
(*This book is an ARC from Netgalley and does not come out until June 24, 2014. I received an advanced copy for an honest review. None of what I say will be direct quotes from the book per request from publisher.)
This is my first Karin Slaughter novel and I know it’s not going to be my last. I was hooked from the first chapter and am still stuck in the book 12 hours after finishing it. Everything that I like in books (plot, characters, and writing) were beyond what I expected.
For me, there were two plots in this book. The first and more noticeable one is to find who the cop killer was. The second and equally important plot was women trying to make it into the police force in the 1970s. The book focuses on Maggie Lawson who grew up with a whole family of male cops and Kate Murphy, a beautiful, born rich woman who has hardly met any cops in her life. Both women had different reasons for joining the force, but both still had a lot of difficulty getting the job and even more difficulty being respected in the job. These two plots worked well together and I truly don’t think that they could work well without the other. Both women were trying to make a name for herself in the force by solving the cop killer crime. The cop killer crime was a way for the women to show they deserve respect. The plot to find the cop killer was twisted and turned all over the place. There were so many times that I thought I solved it just to find that I was way off or I thought I was piecing it show more together just for something else to come in and it ruined everything I thought I knew. Cop Town was unpredictable which made it for such a good read.
I recently said that I wanted more characters like in Gillian Flynn’s books- female characters that are never described as perfect. Female characters that are people. Slaughter gave me that. Maggie and Kate are nowhere near perfect. They made mistakes and they pissed me off at times. I loved them. I wanted to hug them when they were having a rough day at work. I wanted to protect them from the men on the force. They were people to me because they were written as people. Every character in this book was a person. Everyone had flaws, some more than others, but no one hid their flaws and that’s what I like in a novel. There were some characters that I absolutely hated but that’s because we were supposed to hate them. Every character had their nice moments, but they weren’t enough to sway my opinion. I think that we, as the readers, are supposed to have it ingrained in our brains by the end of the book that in the 1970s racism, sexism, etc were still rampant. We, as the readers, never forget that in the book and I think it’s important to never let us forget that.
The writing was spectacular. As I mentioned the twists and turns in the plot. The characters were written well. The dialogue between any characters was never confusing and it never seemed forced. Cop Town is a gruesome book. If you don’t have a strong stomach, you may have trouble reading this book. The writing made all the gruesome parts vivid in my mind. When I can picture everything that is happening in my mind then that shows me the writing is strong. I think this book was planning on being a standalone, but I would love to see this as a series as well. It has potential to be an awesome series.
Cop Town is everything I look for in a mystery/thriller and I’m going to be buying this as soon as it comes out. (And all of her other books as well)
(Again, this is an ARC and I did not post any direct quotes from the book per request of the publisher.) show less
This is my first Karin Slaughter novel and I know it’s not going to be my last. I was hooked from the first chapter and am still stuck in the book 12 hours after finishing it. Everything that I like in books (plot, characters, and writing) were beyond what I expected.
For me, there were two plots in this book. The first and more noticeable one is to find who the cop killer was. The second and equally important plot was women trying to make it into the police force in the 1970s. The book focuses on Maggie Lawson who grew up with a whole family of male cops and Kate Murphy, a beautiful, born rich woman who has hardly met any cops in her life. Both women had different reasons for joining the force, but both still had a lot of difficulty getting the job and even more difficulty being respected in the job. These two plots worked well together and I truly don’t think that they could work well without the other. Both women were trying to make a name for herself in the force by solving the cop killer crime. The cop killer crime was a way for the women to show they deserve respect. The plot to find the cop killer was twisted and turned all over the place. There were so many times that I thought I solved it just to find that I was way off or I thought I was piecing it show more together just for something else to come in and it ruined everything I thought I knew. Cop Town was unpredictable which made it for such a good read.
I recently said that I wanted more characters like in Gillian Flynn’s books- female characters that are never described as perfect. Female characters that are people. Slaughter gave me that. Maggie and Kate are nowhere near perfect. They made mistakes and they pissed me off at times. I loved them. I wanted to hug them when they were having a rough day at work. I wanted to protect them from the men on the force. They were people to me because they were written as people. Every character in this book was a person. Everyone had flaws, some more than others, but no one hid their flaws and that’s what I like in a novel. There were some characters that I absolutely hated but that’s because we were supposed to hate them. Every character had their nice moments, but they weren’t enough to sway my opinion. I think that we, as the readers, are supposed to have it ingrained in our brains by the end of the book that in the 1970s racism, sexism, etc were still rampant. We, as the readers, never forget that in the book and I think it’s important to never let us forget that.
The writing was spectacular. As I mentioned the twists and turns in the plot. The characters were written well. The dialogue between any characters was never confusing and it never seemed forced. Cop Town is a gruesome book. If you don’t have a strong stomach, you may have trouble reading this book. The writing made all the gruesome parts vivid in my mind. When I can picture everything that is happening in my mind then that shows me the writing is strong. I think this book was planning on being a standalone, but I would love to see this as a series as well. It has potential to be an awesome series.
Cop Town is everything I look for in a mystery/thriller and I’m going to be buying this as soon as it comes out. (And all of her other books as well)
(Again, this is an ARC and I did not post any direct quotes from the book per request of the publisher.) show less
I'm reading these books for fun so I won't be posting full reviews (sorry Kelly!)
But this was my first ever monster erotica and it was... different but very well written! It's not something I ever though about reading (or really even knew it existed) but Kelly's an awesome writer and I enjoyed it. It's funny and light read and dirty but it's erotica so what are you expecting?
But this was my first ever monster erotica and it was... different but very well written! It's not something I ever though about reading (or really even knew it existed) but Kelly's an awesome writer and I enjoyed it. It's funny and light read and dirty but it's erotica so what are you expecting?
I am so glad that we got a few chapters of Maggie post-Maybe Someday. It makes me happy that he was never "the bad bad girlfriend that stood in the way." I loved Maggie from the start and I love that she got a happy ending, just like everyone else.
Merged review:
Colleen Hoover is easily, after two books, becoming one of my favourite authors. I was talking to someone earlier today what I like about her and it’s not something I can pinpoint exactly and say “that is what I like about this author” because with Hoover, it is everything.
Her characters are always interesting and easy to relate to, her plot is always addicting, her character development is top notch. She is a great author and if her other books are half as good as this one, then she will be in my top 5 favourite authors, easily.
This book starts out with Sydney punching her ex-best friend. Seriously. What a way to start a book. We find out that her ex-best friend and now ex-boyfriend had been sleeping together. I couldn’t help but laugh when it clicked with me that her best friend’s name was Tori and her boyfriend’s name was Hunter. Torii Hunter. Anyway, that’s not anything book related so I’m moving on.
We then find out that Sydney has been sitting on her balcony watching Mystery Man play his guitar every night for the last few weeks. She doesn’t know anything about him except that he can play a guitar beautifully. Little does she know that in a few short weeks she’ll be living with him.
I love show more all the characters relationships in this book. Sydney and Ridge gave me all the feels. Ridge and Brennan made me happy. Sydney and Brennan made me laugh a lot. Ridge and Maggie made me happy.
The twists in this book that make you want to rip the book apart and use the pages as tissues were what makes this book, and other Hoover books, so enjoyable. You never know when you’re going to get punched in the face with emotion. One page everything can be happiness and roses and the next page you’ll be wanting to eat a whole tub of Ben & Jerry’s while simultaneously hate-watching High School Musical (no? maybe just me.)
If I say I love this book, then I should also say things I wasn’t too thrilled with. 1. There is some slut shaming. This really bothers me because it isn’t needed. On one hand I was mad at Hoover for putting it in there. On the other hand I realized why it’s in there. I would be pretty mad if my best friend was sleeping with my boyfriend too. 2. Sydney seems to be the only “good girl” in the book. Tori? She’s a “slut” and a horrible person. Bridgette? She’s a “bitch” and no one likes being around her. The only other girl that was seen as a good person was Maggie she is not really a focal point of the book that often.
These two things really bothered me and it was hard to look past them, but everything else was very strong and it was an easy 5 star rating for me. show less
Merged review:
Colleen Hoover is easily, after two books, becoming one of my favourite authors. I was talking to someone earlier today what I like about her and it’s not something I can pinpoint exactly and say “that is what I like about this author” because with Hoover, it is everything.
Her characters are always interesting and easy to relate to, her plot is always addicting, her character development is top notch. She is a great author and if her other books are half as good as this one, then she will be in my top 5 favourite authors, easily.
This book starts out with Sydney punching her ex-best friend. Seriously. What a way to start a book. We find out that her ex-best friend and now ex-boyfriend had been sleeping together. I couldn’t help but laugh when it clicked with me that her best friend’s name was Tori and her boyfriend’s name was Hunter. Torii Hunter. Anyway, that’s not anything book related so I’m moving on.
We then find out that Sydney has been sitting on her balcony watching Mystery Man play his guitar every night for the last few weeks. She doesn’t know anything about him except that he can play a guitar beautifully. Little does she know that in a few short weeks she’ll be living with him.
I love show more all the characters relationships in this book. Sydney and Ridge gave me all the feels. Ridge and Brennan made me happy. Sydney and Brennan made me laugh a lot. Ridge and Maggie made me happy.
The twists in this book that make you want to rip the book apart and use the pages as tissues were what makes this book, and other Hoover books, so enjoyable. You never know when you’re going to get punched in the face with emotion. One page everything can be happiness and roses and the next page you’ll be wanting to eat a whole tub of Ben & Jerry’s while simultaneously hate-watching High School Musical (no? maybe just me.)
If I say I love this book, then I should also say things I wasn’t too thrilled with. 1. There is some slut shaming. This really bothers me because it isn’t needed. On one hand I was mad at Hoover for putting it in there. On the other hand I realized why it’s in there. I would be pretty mad if my best friend was sleeping with my boyfriend too. 2. Sydney seems to be the only “good girl” in the book. Tori? She’s a “slut” and a horrible person. Bridgette? She’s a “bitch” and no one likes being around her. The only other girl that was seen as a good person was Maggie she is not really a focal point of the book that often.
These two things really bothered me and it was hard to look past them, but everything else was very strong and it was an easy 5 star rating for me. show less
A seriously awesome book. It was promising from the start and I could not have asked for anything better. I will write an actual review closer to the publication date, but I needed to get some of my feelings out about it now.
A seriously awesome book. It was promising from the start and I could not have asked for anything better. I will write an actual review closer to the publication date, but I needed to get some of my feelings out about it now.
I received this from Netgalley for an honest review. Nothing mentioned in the review are direct quotes from the book per instructions from the publisher.
Going into this book, I wasn’t sure if I would love it or hate it. I knew that it had promise to be uplifting, funny, and could probably help boost my self esteem. I knew that it could also be awkward, embarrassing, and make me feel weird about my body. Thankfully, it did the former. I got way more out of this book than I expected.
This book is for everyone that has ever been shamed for having sex and for everyone that has been shamed for not having sex. This book is for everyone with a vagina that they love. This book is for everyone with a vagina that they hate. This book is for everyone that has a completely different sex life than their best friend but wishes they had the same. There are so many aspects in Virgin. It was addicted.
First there was the humor. Ellie being addicted to her virginity and wanting to lose it was something that I think a lot of people her age can relate to. Her fascination with losing her virginity was entertaining. Her previous attempts at sexual things had me spitting out my drink from laughing so hard. I needed a book to make me laugh and Virgin delivered. The relationship she has with her vagina is one that I feel everyone with a vagina can relate to. I highly doubt there is really someone on earth that gladly goes to get a Brazilian. Virgin is a strong book for the same way that Emma and show more Ellie’s vlog was strong- because it talked about things we wouldn’t find elsewhere. I’ve never read another book that talked about vaginas in a way that didn’t make me uncomfortable and self conscious about it.
The stories that Ellie’s friends would tell her are things that happen to all of us. I think we’ve all had friends that were more advanced than us. We live for those stories and their dirty secrets.
Virgin sheds light on everything that a twenty-something goes through when it comes to sex for the first time. I love books that show female friendships as healthy. Ellie and Emma, even Ellie and Lara, have healthy relationships. They aren’t secretly hating each other but hang out because they feel they have to. The closer Emma and Ellie got, the happier I was that Virgin had two completely different people become such good friends. This was a very strong book with subject matter that isn’t seen often. We need more books like this. Virgin is honest, open, and hilarious.
There were no embarrassing parts either. I’m not sure if that’s because I have a vagina and many of the things talks about in the book are things that I’ve talked about or thought about, but I know that I never felt weird reading this book.
I truly hope that this book becomes popular, especially in the New Adult and Young Adult crowd. It’s unlike any book that I’ve ever read and that’s a good thing. I will definitely be looking for this in stores.
I truly believe that if this book doesn’t get big in the New Adult genre, then there is something wrong in the NA genre. This book is a must read for everyone with a vagina. And anyone that is interested in how women in their twenties feel about sex. This book had so much potential and it did not fail. show less
Going into this book, I wasn’t sure if I would love it or hate it. I knew that it had promise to be uplifting, funny, and could probably help boost my self esteem. I knew that it could also be awkward, embarrassing, and make me feel weird about my body. Thankfully, it did the former. I got way more out of this book than I expected.
This book is for everyone that has ever been shamed for having sex and for everyone that has been shamed for not having sex. This book is for everyone with a vagina that they love. This book is for everyone with a vagina that they hate. This book is for everyone that has a completely different sex life than their best friend but wishes they had the same. There are so many aspects in Virgin. It was addicted.
First there was the humor. Ellie being addicted to her virginity and wanting to lose it was something that I think a lot of people her age can relate to. Her fascination with losing her virginity was entertaining. Her previous attempts at sexual things had me spitting out my drink from laughing so hard. I needed a book to make me laugh and Virgin delivered. The relationship she has with her vagina is one that I feel everyone with a vagina can relate to. I highly doubt there is really someone on earth that gladly goes to get a Brazilian. Virgin is a strong book for the same way that Emma and show more Ellie’s vlog was strong- because it talked about things we wouldn’t find elsewhere. I’ve never read another book that talked about vaginas in a way that didn’t make me uncomfortable and self conscious about it.
The stories that Ellie’s friends would tell her are things that happen to all of us. I think we’ve all had friends that were more advanced than us. We live for those stories and their dirty secrets.
Virgin sheds light on everything that a twenty-something goes through when it comes to sex for the first time. I love books that show female friendships as healthy. Ellie and Emma, even Ellie and Lara, have healthy relationships. They aren’t secretly hating each other but hang out because they feel they have to. The closer Emma and Ellie got, the happier I was that Virgin had two completely different people become such good friends. This was a very strong book with subject matter that isn’t seen often. We need more books like this. Virgin is honest, open, and hilarious.
There were no embarrassing parts either. I’m not sure if that’s because I have a vagina and many of the things talks about in the book are things that I’ve talked about or thought about, but I know that I never felt weird reading this book.
I truly hope that this book becomes popular, especially in the New Adult and Young Adult crowd. It’s unlike any book that I’ve ever read and that’s a good thing. I will definitely be looking for this in stores.
I truly believe that if this book doesn’t get big in the New Adult genre, then there is something wrong in the NA genre. This book is a must read for everyone with a vagina. And anyone that is interested in how women in their twenties feel about sex. This book had so much potential and it did not fail. show less
I guess I've grown up A LOT in the last year because when I read this book, I thought it was kinda cute and a good book. The more I think about it, the more I see how annoying it is and how wrong it is to have a YA book glorifying something like this. I may just read it again to write a more in depth review of why this book is horrible.
Taken by Selena Kitt
For the whole book, the premise was purely sexy smut and then the last page and a half tried to make it into a sad story about losing loved ones. It wouldn't annoy me if 99% of the book was purely sex and nothing else. Overall, it's written well and I can definitely see why Selena Kitt is so popular.
Taken by Selena Kitt
For the whole book, the premise was purely sexy smut and then the last page and a half tried to make it into a sad story about losing loved ones. It wouldn't annoy me if 99% of the book was purely sex and nothing else. Overall, it's written well and I can definitely see why Selena Kitt is so popular.
Stephanie Plum has very quickly turned into one of my favourite fictional characters. The things that her and Lula get into together and her romances with both Ranger and Morelli make these books hilarious. And this one is no different. Grandma Mazur took the (pineapple upside) cake for favourite character in this one though.
DNF at 46%. I'm surprised I even got THIS far. When I go two whole days without reading because I just do not want to read the book I'm currently reading, I know it's time to give it up.
I will try to go find an ACTUAL paranormal trilogy to read.
I will try to go find an ACTUAL paranormal trilogy to read.
DNF at 46%. I'm surprised I even got THIS far. When I go two whole days without reading because I just do not want to read the book I'm currently reading, I know it's time to give it up.
I will try to go find an ACTUAL paranormal trilogy to read.
I will try to go find an ACTUAL paranormal trilogy to read.
Upon finishing this, I bought the next two books in the series and had to talk myself out of reading all of them this weekend. Such a good book. It wasn't what I was expecting but that's what I loved about it.
Upon finishing this, I bought the next two books in the series and had to talk myself out of reading all of them this weekend. Such a good book. It wasn't what I was expecting but that's what I loved about it.
I went to go buy this book for my Kindle and Amazon told me that "due to copyright restrictions, this book is not available in your country: United States" Has anyone else had this problem? How do I fix it? Do I have to buy a physical copy?
I went to go buy this book for my Kindle and Amazon told me that "due to copyright restrictions, this book is not available in your country: United States" Has anyone else had this problem? How do I fix it? Do I have to buy a physical copy?
GUESS WHAT I'M READING RIGHT NOW
okay, I didn't know that Bridget and Warren would make me so happy but wow. If you loved Maybe Someday, you NEED to read this. It's not a retelling of what happened in Maybe Someday, although there are a few crossovers. It was so cute and so sexy and just so Bridget/Warren. It was perfect.
okay, I didn't know that Bridget and Warren would make me so happy but wow. If you loved Maybe Someday, you NEED to read this. It's not a retelling of what happened in Maybe Someday, although there are a few crossovers. It was so cute and so sexy and just so Bridget/Warren. It was perfect.
I'm not sure how I feel about this. I will think about it and come back to it.
#insixwords I was pleasantly surprised with this
I will be writing an actual review closer to the pub date
I will be writing an actual review closer to the pub date
Originally found on my book blog!
Actual rating: 4.5 stars
My review:
When I first started reading this book, I had no idea about the controversy with this book. I feel like to write an honest review, I can’t not mention the controversy and my take on it. I read the Wikipedia page and some other things on it and I can tell you that I still consider this a memoir and a great one at that. I know some people don’t like that Frey lied about spending some time in jail when he didn’t, but who has told the whole truth when talking or writing a book about themselves? The controversy is why I took off half a point, otherwise it would have been an easy five stars. Now onto the actual book!
James Frey wrote this book in an interesting way an interesting way.
There were times that he repeated himself (like I did in the previous sentence). And there were few full paragraphs. What I mean by that is that a lot of the sentences started on a new line. I’m not sure why he did that, but the free prose made the book different. A good different.
He also did not put any quote marks in this book. At all. It looked a lot like this
This time of writing was confusing at times unless he specified who was talking or if was what being said was aloud or inner monologue. Once I could show more decipher between the two, I liked this time of writing. It’s unique and weird, a lot like this book.
James Frey may be an Alcoholic and a drug Addict and a Criminal, but he’s also a good writer. There were parts of this book that just amazed me.
I mean I pictured vampires when he said this, but that’s not too far off from some addicts that I’ve come across. His writing comes alive. His writing is real. His writing is scary. I love his writing.
I just want to go give him a hug. It’s hard to read such sad things, especially when I know it’s so real. But it made me so happy when he finally was happy again.
I could tell when he started shifting from the Alcoholic and the drug Addict and the Criminal to a person with Feelings and Heart.
When James really started becoming human, it was one of the happiest moments I’ve had in weeks. I knew he recovered to write this book because, well he wrote this book, but it was awesome getting to read about his recovery. The book itself was really good. It had it’s funny moments, it had it’s sad moments, and it had it’s happy moments. There were times that I wanted to just shake him and say “JAMES QUICK BEING AN IDIOT. YOU NEED TO RECOVER.” and there were other times where I wanted to shake everyone else and say “JAMES IS GOING TO RECOVER IN EVERY WAY THAT HE THINKS WILL WORK. LET HIM DO THAT.”
This book broke my heart at times. At the beginning I was sad for him because I knew that his life was far from good and he was so young and he was so ruined. When his good friends would leave the clinic, I’d pray that they would recover and stay in touch with James. When James finally found love for the first time in his life, I was so happy for him but I was also worried for him.
I’ve known people that have gone through these types of problems and I’ve heard a few different recovery stories. This one is one of my favourites. I am so happy that James recovered and has a life now. I am excited to read his second book, My Friend Leonard.
I’d talk about the other “characters” in this book, but that makes it feel like it’s not a non-fiction. The other stories of the people in this book were important, but I feel like this was all about James and his road through the clinic. I will say that I had some other people in the book that I had a liking to and it was hard letting them go without hearing their full story.
Since he wrote this book, I knew it would end happily. I didn’t expect it to end the way that it did, but it was a great ending. I am so happy for James Frey and will keep him in my thoughts that he can keep strong.
Actual rating: 4.5 stars
My review:
“I am an Alcoholic and I am a drug Addict and I am a Criminal.”
When I first started reading this book, I had no idea about the controversy with this book. I feel like to write an honest review, I can’t not mention the controversy and my take on it. I read the Wikipedia page and some other things on it and I can tell you that I still consider this a memoir and a great one at that. I know some people don’t like that Frey lied about spending some time in jail when he didn’t, but who has told the whole truth when talking or writing a book about themselves? The controversy is why I took off half a point, otherwise it would have been an easy five stars. Now onto the actual book!
James Frey wrote this book in an interesting way an interesting way.
There were times that he repeated himself (like I did in the previous sentence). And there were few full paragraphs. What I mean by that is that a lot of the sentences started on a new line. I’m not sure why he did that, but the free prose made the book different. A good different.
He also did not put any quote marks in this book. At all. It looked a lot like this
Leonard stands.
Let’s go for a walk.
I stay on the bench.
No thanks.
Come on.
No.
Why.
I look up.
I don’t know if I can be seen with you in that sweatsuit.
This time of writing was confusing at times unless he specified who was talking or if was what being said was aloud or inner monologue. Once I could show more decipher between the two, I liked this time of writing. It’s unique and weird, a lot like this book.
James Frey may be an Alcoholic and a drug Addict and a Criminal, but he’s also a good writer. There were parts of this book that just amazed me.
The screams of the Addicted without their addictions. The screams of the dead who are somehow still alive.
I mean I pictured vampires when he said this, but that’s not too far off from some addicts that I’ve come across. His writing comes alive. His writing is real. His writing is scary. I love his writing.
I am alone. Alone here and alone in the world. Alone in my heart and alone in my mind. Along everywhere, all the time, for as long as I can remember. Alone with my family, alone with my friends, along in a Room full of people. Alone when I wake, alone through each awful day, alone when I finally meet the blackness. I am alone in my horror. Alone in my horror.
I just want to go give him a hug. It’s hard to read such sad things, especially when I know it’s so real. But it made me so happy when he finally was happy again.
I could tell when he started shifting from the Alcoholic and the drug Addict and the Criminal to a person with Feelings and Heart.
I am a Criminal and he is a Judge and I am white and he is black, but at this moment none of that matters. He is a man who needs a friend and I can be his friend.
When James really started becoming human, it was one of the happiest moments I’ve had in weeks. I knew he recovered to write this book because, well he wrote this book, but it was awesome getting to read about his recovery. The book itself was really good. It had it’s funny moments, it had it’s sad moments, and it had it’s happy moments. There were times that I wanted to just shake him and say “JAMES QUICK BEING AN IDIOT. YOU NEED TO RECOVER.” and there were other times where I wanted to shake everyone else and say “JAMES IS GOING TO RECOVER IN EVERY WAY THAT HE THINKS WILL WORK. LET HIM DO THAT.”
This book broke my heart at times. At the beginning I was sad for him because I knew that his life was far from good and he was so young and he was so ruined. When his good friends would leave the clinic, I’d pray that they would recover and stay in touch with James. When James finally found love for the first time in his life, I was so happy for him but I was also worried for him.
I’ve known people that have gone through these types of problems and I’ve heard a few different recovery stories. This one is one of my favourites. I am so happy that James recovered and has a life now. I am excited to read his second book, My Friend Leonard.
I’d talk about the other “characters” in this book, but that makes it feel like it’s not a non-fiction. The other stories of the people in this book were important, but I feel like this was all about James and his road through the clinic. I will say that I had some other people in the book that I had a liking to and it was hard letting them go without hearing their full story.
Since he wrote this book, I knew it would end happily. I didn’t expect it to end the way that it did, but it was a great ending. I am so happy for James Frey and will keep him in my thoughts that he can keep strong.
James has never relapsed.show less