Teaser Tuesday[21]: Dark Reunion (Vampire Diaries, #4) by L. J. Smith

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by MizB over at Should Be Reading! All you have to do to participate is:

Grab your current read

Open to a random page

Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

Share the title & author, too, so that other TeaserTuesday participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

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I have been reading somewhat slowly this past week, but have been getting some actual stuff (kind of) done. I only have a couple weeks left of school before finals, so I have quite a bit of homework that has been keeping me busy. But, yea, whatever.

Here’s what I’m reading right now (again, maybe don't read the synopsis, at least, if you haven't read the other books, as this is the final book in series):

Dark Reunion (Vampire Diaries, #4) by L. J. Smith

Genre: YA Paranormal Romance

Publisher: HarperCollins/Teen

Goodreads Synopsis:

The Final Conflict...The Last Deadly Kiss Elena
Now she rises from the dead to recreate the powerful vampire trio.

Stefan
Summoned by Elena, he keeps a promise to her and fights the most terrifying evil he' s ever faced.

Damon
Joining the brother he once called enemy, Damon battles this new horror with strength, cunning, and deadly charm.

Excerpt:

“’Are you coming with us, Damon?’

‘A visit to yet another pretty girl? I wouldn’t miss it.’

Bonnie turned to Stefan in alarm, but he spoke reassuringly as he guided her out of the barn. ‘It’ll be all right. I’ll keep an eye on him.’” (Omnibus of books 3 & 4, paperback, pg. 328)

So, what are you reading right now?

Novel Review: Georgie on His Mind by Jennifer Shirk

              Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance (with no sex scenes)

Rating (Out of 5): ~2.5

Publisher: Thomas Bouregy & Co. (Avalon Books)

Spoilers?: No/Very Minor.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Georgie Mayer has no boyfriend and rarely goes out. In short, she needs a life. Since graduating from college and returning home, her brother's protectiveness has been in overdrive, and she hasn't been able to have any fun, never mind go on a date.
So what's a poor particularly attractive girl to do in a situation like this? The only thing she can do: find him a woman!
He'll thank her for it in the end. That is, if his best friend Walt Somers would stop interfering with her plans. The handsome pharmacist has made it no secret that he doesn't approve of what she's up to. Unfortunately, having Walt hanging around does strange things to her mind, and she finds she can't help but take a healthy interest in him. But how can Georgie entertain thoughts of the two of them together when Walt still treats her like his best friend's little sister?

Available on Amazon.

Review:

I really wanted to like this book more than I did. Like, really badly. When I found it, I thought it would be one of those cute little gems that are always overlooked. And was a bit disappointed when I found that I was wrong.

Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t bad. It just wasn’t very good, either.

This book is about a girl, name Georgie, who works at a pharmacy and falls for her brothers best friend, Walt, who has just moved back to town.

The characters were fine, but I didn’t really have a lot of feelings for them. Their relationships were pretty good. Well, fundamentally. I liked Georgie and her brother, Brad’s, relationship. I almost always like the idea of a brother’s sister and best friend getting together. Georgie’s interactions with her friends were nice. The whole idea of the story, with how Georgie falls and not wanting to be in a serious relationship while he does, and entering a dating contest, are interesting.

It just wasn’t pulled off as well, or as interesting, as I thought it would be. It wasn’t boring, per se, but it never captured me the way I wanted it to. There wasn't really any surprises, it was very predictable in that I knew exactly where it was going, and there weren't very many small things that made it even better along the way. I mean, it took me, like, a week to get through this book, and it’s not even two hundred pages long (although, part of that might be me, since I seem to be going through a very slow streak).
The writing wasn't super pretty, but I didn't really have any problems with it.
My favorite parts were probably when Georgie and Walt were trying not to think about the other, trying not to think about all the little things they liked about them. Also, I wanted more about Brad. And we got a tiny glimpse of his love life, and then were kind of left hanging, when I was hoping there would be more resolve. (Although, apparently there's going to be a sequel [mentioned in her blog, and this contest], titled with the girl he had a thing for's name, so maybe there will be some resolve there.)

Maybe, hopefully, other people found this book to be better than I did, cause it was probably just not for me.

Novel Review: The Royal Mess (Alaskan Royal Family, #3) by MaryJanice Davidson

              Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance

Rating (Out of 5): ~3-3.5

Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corp. (Brava Books)

Spoilers?: No.

Goodreads Synopsis:

In a world nearly identical to ours, the North won the Civil War, flannel is the new bling, and Russia never sold Alaska to the U.S. Instead, Alaska is a beautiful, rough-and-tumble country ruled by a famously eccentric royal family who put the fun back in dysfunctional. And the tabloid darlings are about to get more ink once the King's "royal oats" come back in the form of a surprise princess, landing them all in, well.

THE ROYAL MESS
Jeffrey Rodinov is descended from one of the oldest families in Alaska, and a Rodinov has been protecting a Baranov for generations. It's a job Jeffrey takes VERY seriously. Six feet four inches, 220 fatless lbs., black hair, and blue eyes; weapon of choice: the 9 mm Beretta. In a pinch? His fists. IQ: 157. (Yes, crossword puzzle, in ink, just after taking out the guy behind you. No thanks necessary.) No one ever sees Jeffrey Rodinov coming, and no one-not even a mouthy, illegitimate princess-is going to keep him from playing bodyguard when his king decrees it.
Right. But no Rodinov ever had to protect Princess Nicole Krenski. Her credentials? Hunting guide in the Alaskan wilderness. Smart. Stubborn bordering on exasperating. Five-seven. Blue eyes. Very kissable mouth. Very kissable neck, back, legs, wrists, earlobes. The lady says she doesn't need a bodyguard, but that's where she's wrong. Someone needs to watch her and show her the royal ropes (and cuffs.and scarves.). Someone who can make her feel like a queen-in and out of bed. And that's a job Jeffrey Rodinov takes very seriously as well.
In this deliciously sexy, wickedly funny companion to The Royal Treatment and The Royal Pain, a reluctant princess and a determined royal bodyguard are about to discover that when it comes to powerful love, there are no defenses.

Available on Amazon.

Review:

So, I kind of love MaryJanice Davidson. I have, somewhat slowly, been getting through her books, and while I’m trying not to do it too fast, I just want to read them so badly, and I usually finish them to quickly. I have not read any in a while, and just got a couple more, so we’ll see how fast those go by.

While I have finished her Mermaid series, and have not been able to find the next Vampire Betsy book, I have been pretty much picking up whichever book of hers I can find. And I found this series. Normally, I hate reading anything out of order, but you don’t have to read these books in order, and I couldn’t find the first one. So I ended up reading the series backwards (not on purpose, but still).

This is the final book in the Alaskan Royal Family series, and I rather enjoyed it. This one is about Nicole, a girl who found out she was a princess after her mother died, and ends up falling for Jeffrey, a bodyguard to the royal family she is now a part of.

The writing is just like Davidson’s normal style, random and fun, fast to get through, with a heroine that doesn’t want anything to do with royalty, who’s stubborn and rough on the outside. My only biggest problem with Davidson’s style, as I’ve said before, is that a majority of her heroines are pretty much carbon copies of each other, and the male love interest almost always falls first. This is bothersome, but I can deal with it, at least for the moment.

This story was fun, like her others. I wasn’t expecting much else, and I enjoyed what I got. It’s fun, fast, a little bit steamy (honestly, I would have preferred more explicit sexy stuff, but Davidson doesn’t usually write full on sex scenes, and she didn’t here, just hinted at some kinky stuff). The romance was very nice, and I liked the couple together, as usual. There's some drama, but it's pretty lighthearted, not much suspense or anticipation, and I never had any doubt about how the book would end.

There's also some political stuff in these books, because it's set in Alaska as if we never bought it, and it has a royal family system, but I wasn't very bothered by it. Nor did I pay too much attention to it.

This story did get me interested in the other books in the series, but I hope to read all of the books by her that I can find.

Nonfiction Review: The Why Cafe by John P. Strelecky

              Rating (Out of 5): ~2.5 - 3

Publisher: Aspen Light Publishing

Spoilers?: No.

Goodreads Synopsis:

In a small diner at a location so remote that it stands in the middle of the middle of nowhere, John-a man in a hurry-is at a literal and figurative crossroads. Intent only on refueling before moving along on his road trip, John finds sustenance of an entirely different kind: in addition to the specials of the day, the menu lists three questions that all diners are encouraged to consider: Why are you here? Do you fear death? Are you fulfilled? With the guidance of three people he meets at the cafe, John embarks on a quest for answers that metaphorically takes him from the executive suites of the advertising world to the surf of Hawaii's coastline. Along the way, he discovers a new way to look at his life and relationships... and just how much you can learn from a green sea turtle. The Why Cafe will get readers young and free and older and entrenched to rethink their personal yardstick for success. Charming, simple, and inspiring, it will change lives.

Available on Amazon.

Review:

The Why Café is about a guy, John, who gets lost and stops in at this café, where he ends up staying a bit longer than planned, just to talk to the wait staff some more. He ends up talking to them about how some people get on their way to feeling fulfilled. How some people wonder what their purpose in life is, and once they find that out and begin working toward completing it, they feel more fulfilled.

Now, this is a very tiny book, at just over a hundred pages. And it’s interesting, but it’s not amazing. To me, at least. To some people, it might be a bit groundbreaking, like all of this stuff apparently was to John, since this is supposedly a true story. But this information wasn’t all that new to me. Maybe because I’ve taken a psychology class, and have read a lot, and have a controversial brother. It was still interesting to read, sure. And to other people, I’m sure this will be a lot more informative and intriguing.

But, yea, it wasn’t to me. There were a couple of things that I found interesting, like the green sea turtle and how people who know what they want to do with their life are apparently more lucky, but the overall concept wasn’t a new idea to me.

I didn’t not enjoy this book, and it wasn’t hard to get through, but the writing is pretty straightforward, and the book isn’t filled with action or info dumps. This book just wasn’t really for me, I don’t think, but I’m sure it is much more fascinating to someone else.

 A review copy was provided by Goodreads First Reads Giveaways. Thank you!