Category: Review Books

Audiobook, Contemporary Romance, Review Books

Maybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid

EziChi


From the acclaimed author of Forever, Interrupted and After I Do comes a breathtaking new novel about a young woman whose fate hinges on the choice she makes after bumping into an old flame; in alternating chapters, we see two possible scenarios unfold—with stunningly different results.

At the age of twenty-nine, Hannah Martin still has no idea what she wants to do with her life. She has lived in six different cities and held countless meaningless jobs since graduating college. On the heels of leaving yet another city, Hannah moves back to her hometown of Los Angeles and takes up residence in her best friend Gabby’s guestroom. Shortly after getting back to town, Hannah goes out to a bar one night with Gabby and meets up with her high school boyfriend, Ethan.

Just after midnight, Gabby asks Hannah if she’s ready to go. A moment later, Ethan offers to give her a ride later if she wants to stay. Hannah hesitates. What happens if she leaves with Gabby? What happens if she leaves with Ethan?

In concurrent storylines, Hannah lives out the effects of each decision. Quickly, these parallel universes develop into radically different stories with large-scale consequences for Hannah, as well as the people around her. As the two alternate realities run their course, Maybe in Another Life raises questions about fate and true love: Is anything meant to be? How much in our life is determined by chance? And perhaps, most compellingly: Is there such a thing as a soul mate?

Hannah believes there is. And, in both worlds, she believes she’s found him.



I’ve enjoyed the three books by this author that I’ve listened to but this one didn’t work for me.
From the beginning, the author introduced Hannah Martin as this flighty or a bit of a mess young woman trying to find herself. She lacks direction and at first glance, she seemed to lack self worth. She goes “home” to live with her best friend Gabby while she figures out life. Two monumental things change the course of her life…or so we wish to believe.
There is an accident and then there is an accidental occurrence. Hannah goes from being a bit of looser moral lady to turning her nose up.

I didn’t buy it and the author didn’t really develop her character enough to make it plausible. Instead, the author began presenting various endings/paths for the heroine and her predicament. Frankly, it was confusing in audiobook. I would have enjoyed it more if the author committed to one path and developed both the plot and the characters towards that resolution. I think i could have gotten invested in the story if it were more linear like that. It was like one of those chose our own ending boosnthar I despised as a kid, this various paths were giving me whiplash and I just didn’t know what was reality anymore

I also didn’t know how I felt about Ethan since it was Hannah’s POV and I didn’t trust her narrative.

I did believe in her relationship with Gabby was the best part of this story. It was solid, reliable and believable. I enjoyed their unwavering support and loyalty towards each other. There were really more like sisters. Regardless, this story fell short of my expectations.

Audiobook, Paranormal Romance, Review Books

Accidental Sire by Molly Harper (Half-Moon Hollow #6)

EziChi

TITLE: Accidental Sire
AUTHOR: Molly Harper
SERIES: (Half-Moon Hollow #6)
TIME: 9hrs, 8 mins

BLURB: In Molly Harper’s newest paranormal romantic comedy, Ben, Gigi’s old boyfriend, must find a way to save his new love after a freak Ultimate Frisbee accident. But will she want to live after she finds out how Ben had to save her?

In this exciting addition to Molly Harper’s beloved Half-Moon Hollow series, the focus is on Gigi’s ex-boyfriend Ben. When his new girlfriend is killed in a freak Ultimate Frisbee accident, he’s determined to save her, no matter the cost, even if it means bringing her into the darkness of vampire life!


I was bored, okay? Just bored. This is supposed to be a series that I could chuckled though and lift my mood. I loved book 1 in this series and laughed my way through the first 3 books. But it has been a steady decline since then. I used to enjoy the humor and snark but it hasn’t been the same.

This book features Ben (Gigi’s ex whom she dumped when he proposed to her in book 3) and a fellow college student Meagan who seemed to have a secret crush on each other.
At a school mixer, Meagan was nearly killed in a terrible accident and had to be turned to save her life. When Ben went to visit her, she accidentally turned him since she was a thirsty newborn.
This book was their journey as they struggled to accept their new “undead” reality and process their relationship now.

I didn’t feel the chemistry between Meagan and Ben. I found Jane Jameson annoying as usual. The story was just slow. The narrator was still excellent but this story wasn’t engaging or interesting. This installment was a miss for me.

Audiobook, Contemporary Romance, LGBTQ, New Adult, Review Books

Autoboyography by Christina Lauren

EziChi

TITLE: Autoboyography
AUTHOR: Christina Lauren
PAGES: 416 (9hrs, 19mins)
NARRATORS: Deacon Lee and Kyle Mason
PUBLISHED: September 12th, 2017 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

BLURB: Three years ago, Tanner Scott’s family relocated from California to Utah, a move that nudged the bisexual teen temporarily back into the closet. Now, with one semester of high school to go, and no obstacles between him and out-of-state college freedom, Tanner plans to coast through his remaining classes and clear out of Utah.

But when his best friend Autumn dares him to take Provo High’s prestigious Seminar—where honor roll students diligently toil to draft a book in a semester—Tanner can’t resist going against his better judgment and having a go, if only to prove to Autumn how silly the whole thing is. Writing a book in four months sounds simple. Four months is an eternity.

It turns out, Tanner is only partly right: four months is a long time. After all, it takes only one second for him to notice Sebastian Brother, the Mormon prodigy who sold his own Seminar novel the year before and who now mentors the class. And it takes less than a month for Tanner to fall completely in love with him.

I was disappointed. There is so many 5-stars for this book, but it was barely a 3-star for me.

I found Tanner to be a bit self-centered and immature. But he was 18 years old, so that should be par for the course, right? Fine. I will cut him slack. But what I had the biggest gripe about was his lack of empathy for others. His parents went out of their way to make sure he was protected or at least his secret. He knew his best friend had feelings for him but he sort of used her as a cover. Was he really afraid she wouldn’t be his friend if she knew he was bisexual or gay? I don’t believe that at all. She kept his lazy butt on course and also kept people from asking him about his dating life. Even his parent mentioned that Autumn had romantic feelings for him. It’s a good thing his bestie didn’t get pregnant. I don’t think he really gave a really deep consideration to what he put her through.

On the other hand, I thought Sebastian’s indecision felt real and was similar to what my Uncle had to consider coming from a deeply religious family. For him, the label of bisexual or gay meant a loss of identity, loss of his parents love, loss of the church community which held him in esteemed and possible loss of his salvation. That’s a lot and Tanner never seemed to get that pain and respect the process of coming to terms of what loving another man cost Sebastian (at least in Sebastian’s thoughts).

I admit it irked me that others were putting creative works of writing and Tanner basically wrote about kissing, hiking etc. He had a diary while others were creating a world of fiction. That was only added to my side eye of Tanner.
I do give him super props for continuing with his plan to college and not letting heartache deter him from trying to live his best life. That showed inner resolve and also respect for the man he loved, that he let him go to figure himself out.

This book would have been much better if the author did a dual PV throughout the whole book. I wouldn’t have minded being in Autumn’s head as well. Those two characters were compelling to me because they are they ones who were struggling with what was versus what they wanted to be. I liked their journey and it felt more authentic than Tanner who seemed to just enough to skate by.

Audiobook, Paranormal Romance, Review Books, Urban Fantasy

Review: Sin & Chocolate (Demigods of San Francisco #1

EziChi

www.goodreads.com/book/show/43530043-sin-chocolate

<a href=”https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43530043-sin-chocolate&#8221; style=”float: left; padding-right: 20px”><img border=”0″ alt=”Sin & Chocolate (Demigods of San Francisco #1)” src=”https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1547136734m/43530043.jpg&#8221; /></a><a href=”https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43530043-sin-chocolate”>Sin & Chocolate</a> by <a href=”https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7010202.K_F_Breene”>K.F. Breene</a><br/>

My rating: <a href=”https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2686529961″>4 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />

This book was a welcomed surprise because its is t feel like the same old same old. Sure it had shifters, but the characters felt new, the plot was different and that was enough to keep me engaged.<br /><br />Alexis was a young woman caring for two foster kids, Daisy and Mordecai, when she almost got run over by Kieran, a demigod. Lexie was busy trying to find a blanket as well as earn a living to take care of her wards. Mordecai was sick and Daisy was just a smart mouth teenager. <br />In this book, there was tiers of power depending upon your magical gift. Alexis was thought to be the lowest level of magic and Kieran was the highest. But Kieran senses that Alexis was hissing something and thus he felt compelled to find out what.<br /><br />I enjoyed the interactions between Lexie and Daisy and Mordecai. They were more siblings than parent/kid. There was love and fierce loyalty. Kieran wasn’t a bad guy but his goals to help hi mom and himself were his main objective, so protecting Lexie and the kids wasn’t his first priority. For that, I couldn’t trust him completely. I hope in book 2 we see him in a better light.

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<a href=”https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/4386752-ezinwanyi”>View all my reviews</a>

Paranormal Romance, Review Books, Urban Fantasy, WereHyenas

Iron and Magic (Blood Covenant #1) by Ilona Andrews

EziChi

No day is ordinary in a world where Technology and Magic compete for supremacy
But no matter which force is winning, in the apocalypse, a sword will always work.

Hugh d’Ambray, Preceptor of the Iron Dogs, Warlord of the Builder of Towers, served only one man. Now his immortal, nearly omnipotent master has cast him aside. Hugh is a shadow of the warrior he was, but when he learns that the Iron Dogs, soldiers who would follow him anywhere, are being hunted down and murdered, he must make a choice: to fade away or to be the leader he was born to be. Hugh knows he must carve a new place for himself and his people, but they have no money, no shelter, and no food, and the necromancers are coming. Fast.

Elara Harper is a creature who should not exist. Her enemies call her Abomination; her people call her White Lady. Tasked with their protection, she’s trapped between the magical heavyweights about to collide and plunge the state of Kentucky into a war that humans have no power to stop. Desperate to shield her people and their simple way of life, she would accept help from the devil himself—and Hugh d’Ambray might qualify.

Hugh needs a base, Elara needs soldiers. Both are infamous for betraying their allies, so how can they create a believable alliance to meet the challenge of their enemies?

As the prophet says: “It is better to marry than to burn.”

Hugh and Elara may do both.

Length: 12 hrs and 51 mins

My reaction when I heard that Hugh d’Ambray would get his own book and perhaps series was “No Thanks.”

This is the same dude who mercilessly hunted Kate Daniels and all those who allied with her. The seemingly soulless Preceptor of the Iron Dogs, Warlord of the Builder of Towers is now given an opportunity to be a hero? Now that he has been purged by his Lord Roland, we are treated to a backstory of a young boy Emile was basically groomed by Roland, Kate Daniel’s bio dad. We are supposed to buy this whole Hugh just wanted to belong story.

For what he has done to Curran, Clan Bouda, Kate etc, it will take more than one fantastically written book to get me there. Simply because past five fantastically written books preceding this one depicted him as Satan’s right hand. It simply can’t be undone in a book, or even a trilogy. But I will let Ilona Andrews give it a shot.

Since Hugh was dumped by his surrogate father and lord Roland, Hugh had to feed his Iron Dogs (army). He makes a political alliance with Elara Harper, the White Lady who needs an army to protect her people and in return, Elara promises land and resources to house and feed the army. A truly symbiotic relationship between two powers who seem to detest each other but their sexual chemistry is palpable.

I had to fight not to get sucked it. I really had to keep reminding myself that Hugh is getting his due and not to fall for the authors attempt at redeeming him. I was getting worn down so I tip my hat to the authors. They made a compelling argument for Hugh. I remember Hugh from the last book though.

Note: This is a story that one should only read if you have caught up on the prior Kate Daniels books. It is so gripping, well paces, lyrical storytelling. This is UF at its finest. I will admit that I loved the book and I loved that Elara was giving Hugh all that he can handle. She still is no Kate, but I like her.

Maybe I am petty but I don’t want Kate or Curran to have anything to do with Hugh. Not even to fight Roland. I want Kate to kick his ass. There is a lot of story left. I have to be honest, I am so curious as to how Ilona Andrews is going to pull this off. Can she get me to be Team Hugh?

Audiobook, Fiction, Review Books, Suspense & Thriller

My Sister, the Serial Killer by by Oyinkan Braithwaite

EziChi

My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaithe
Pages: 240
Blurb: Satire meets slasher in this short, darkly funny hand grenade of a novel about a Nigerian woman whose younger sister has a very inconvenient habit of killing her boyfriends.

“Femi makes three, you know. Three and they label you a serial killer.”

Korede is bitter. How could she not be? Her sister, Ayoola, is many things: the favorite child, the beautiful one, possibly sociopathic. And now Ayoola’s third boyfriend in a row is dead. Korede’s practicality is the sisters’ saving grace. She knows the best solutions for cleaning blood, the trunk of her car is big enough for a body, and she keeps Ayoola from posting pictures of her dinner to Instagram when she should be mourning her “missing” boyfriend. Not that she gets any credit.
A kind, handsome doctor at the hospital where Korede works, is the bright spot in her life. She dreams of the day when he will realize they’re perfect for each other. But one day Ayoola shows up to the hospital uninvited and he takes notice. When he asks Korede for Ayoola’s phone number, she must reckon with what her sister has become and what she will do about it.
Sharp as nails and full of deadpan wit, Oyinkan Braithwaite has written a deliciously deadly debut that’s as fun as it is frightening. 


I went into this book expecting to laugh or at least get some chuckles. I mean, look at the title! But from the very first page, any notions of a humorous/satirical novel was quickly dispelled.

The book starts off with sister Korede cleaning up a room after her sister Ayoola stabbed the boyfriend for yelling at her. One stab to the heart, two more to ensure he didn’t get. While Korede, the nurse, was cleaning and talking to Ayoola, it was clear that this has happened before.

What resonated with me (as a Nigerian) was the expectation that you protect family above all. So Korede is protecting her sister even though she’s simultaneously aiding and abetting a murderer and disposing a body and tampering with a crime season.
I also smiled at the descriptions of the Lagos, from hailing a taxi, to the calling of the trunk of the car “boot”.

Oyinkan Braithwaite’s debut novel captures the way sisters are treated and pitted against each other unknowingly in the descriptions of their beauty and value.
Korede KNOWS her sister Ayoola is more beautiful and valued. Korede resents that her needs and desires take a back seat but she’s come to accept the role until it’s tested when Ayoola sets her sight on the doctor that Korede has been in love with. Korede struggles with protecting the doctor by letting him know to avoid her sister or loyalty to blood.

Honestly, this audiobook wasn’t the smoothest I’ve heard. The story should have had an epilogue or a better explanation at the ending. I struggled to understand Ayoola who never seemed to feel bad for killing her beaus. No remorse other than the feigned emotions when the family of her victims asked if she knew anything about their whereabouts.
What I liked was the way the author captured the culture and her descriptions gave me visual memories of Nigeria. That connection is what I related to and what I loved. Overall, the story was entertaining. But just be aware, it’s not funny. It’s a straight up suspenseful crime story.

Audiobook, Historical Romance, Review Books

On the Way to the Wedding (Bridgerton #8) by Julia Quinn

EziChi

On the Way to the Wedding (Bridgertons, #8)On the Way to the Wedding by Julia Quinn
A funny thing happened… 

Unlike most men of his acquaintance, Gregory Bridgerton believes in true love. And he is convinced that when he finds the woman of his dreams, he will know in an instant that she is the one. And that is exactly what happened. Except… 

She wasn’t the one. In fact, the ravishing Miss Hermione Watson is in love with another. But her best friend, the ever-practical Lady Lucinda Abernathy, wants to save Hermione from a disastrous alliance, so she offers to help Gregory win her over. But in the process, Lucy falls in love. With Gregory! Except… 

Lucy is engaged. And her uncle is not inclined to let her back out of the betrothal, even once Gregory comes to his senses and realizes that it is Lucy, with her sharp wit and sunny smile, who makes his heart sing. And now, on the way to the wedding, Gregory must risk everything to ensure that when it comes time to kiss the bride, he is the only man standing at the altar...

Gregory Bridgerton was such a romantic but his vision of how he would fall in love was nothing like what actually occurred. I love that he thought he would just know and it would be smooth sailing but as as all realists now, you gotta work for love.
Like many men, Gregory worked hard only to find out that what he thought he wanted wasn’t at all what he needed.

Lucinda Abernathy was a means to an end for Gregory. After all, her best friend Hermione Watson was the one that Gregory had fallen for. Gregory enlisted Lucinda’s help to land Hermione until he loses Hermione. Gregory learned that he had fallen for the friend instead. Now he just has to convince her that she isn’t a consolation prize.

This one was didn’t feel like a series ending story even though it was entertaining. I loved Hyacinth standing up for her brother. I loved Gregory fighting for love. It was good but not as angst filled as the prior stories.

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