Saturday, November 19, 2016

Books I have not finished in 2016 #3

Every now and then there's a book that doesn't work for me. Here are a few that have been like that in the last few months.



Broken Play by Samantha Kane

Review: Broken Play (Birmingham Rebels #1) by Samantha Kane

I had high hopes for Broken Play. It started off great. I was asking around for a recommendation on a book about American football since we are visiting the US and I've been relegated to the status of "football widow" on Sunday nights when Steve's team is playing. I don't know much about football, so I have a million questions and I have to admit, cuddling in Steve's arms while he watches the game and answers my questions is kinda fun. I'm glad Steve put up with all my questions. What happened? Why did they do that? Was that bad? Who is that?

My observations? Dude! Those offensive linesmen are HUGE! I was saying to Steve that with all the sports romance, really the only footballer (unless they are soccer players!) I can think of to play a romance hero would be the quarterback. So what happens when I ask for recommendations? I get Broken Play and the heroes (plural!!) are offensive linesmen! Did I mention those guys are HUGE? You do not want to be a tiny 5 foot nothing little thing like me between them!

Anyhow, back to the book. It started off great. I was really enjoying the zing and sizzle between Cass and Beau, and their patient, gentle wooing of Marian. I really liked both Cass and Beau, and their different personalities, particularly what they meant to each other. I thoroughly enjoyed all the football talk and even gave myself a little pat on the back for understanding most of it. The story was engaging and well-written. I was looking forward to the guys finally getting Marian.

But then Marian had to ruin it for me with her issues and being a liar. Marian is a really twitchy heroine. She's got some serious issues from a previous experience, I'm assuming with another footballer and it's made her very nervous around football players. She's downright jumpy around them. On top of that, she's hiding something major and she's lying about it. Yeah, sorry but a lying anyone is a deal breaker for me. Even worse, with a lying heroine. It just doesn't work. I admit, it pushes a button for me and I'm rather unforgiving when there's deception in a book.

Marian, you killed the book for me. I hope you had fun with Cass and Beau along the way to your happy ending but I'm not hanging around to find out.




Jax by Teresa Gabelman

Review: Jax by Teresa Gabelman

It makes me sad when a series I've been following and loving for a long time lets me down. I've been reading Ms Gabelman's Protector series since the beginning and I love her Warrior vampires. They are tough, kick ass and hella funny. Unfortunately, Jax didn't work for me. There was too much comedy and silliness being tossed around. I got very tired of Steve and his smart ass comments and stupid jokes. He seems to get more and more juvenile with each book and I think in Jax, I reached my limit with him. I missed the serious Warrior attitudes and the sizzling hot chemistry between the heroes and heroines from previous books. The threat to Caroline from Jax's evil brother Mika seems rather manufactured even though it was a carry-on from the previous book. I had a hard time with Jax because he was so closed off and fighting his feelings for Caroline all the time. I wanted him to fight instead of run and I did get to the point where he was going to take some action but by then I was so disenchanted I couldn't keep reading. I simply wasn't interested anymore. As for Caroline, I did not like her at all. She had the whole teenage angst girl crushing on a boy thing going on and it was not fun being inside her head listening to her at once mooning over Jax and then berating herself for caring so much about him even though he didn't seem to want her. I also did like all the lying she did for the first 25% of the book. If there is one thing that is a serious negative trigger for me it's lying. And she did plenty of it. To everyone! Until she was forced to tell the truth. After having been told repeatedly to not lie because she kept lying and kept trying to lie even when Jax and Lana could tell she was lying and were telling her to stop. I promise I'm not an automatic heroine hater but I am tough on them. I gave up at around the 25% mark but I might go back to read the ending because the next book is Sloan's book, I think, and I love Sloan, so I think I want to read his story.




Domestic Discipline by Cara Bristol

Review: Domestic Discipline by Cara Bristol

There's nothing wrong with the writing or the content for the stories in this collection. I enjoy Cara Bristol's work and am a huge fan of her Cyborg series and some of her other books. Unfortunately, the stories in Domestic Discipline didn't work for me. Both Janelle and Cadence annoyed the living daylights out of me and I didn't finish either stories. I simply could not tolerate their attitudes and their behaviors which led to them needing to be disciplined in the first place. I understand there needs to be a trigger for them needing to be spanked and don't get me wrong, I'm ok with the whole spanking kink. Some of it is pretty hot. And Ms Bristol's spanking / sex scenes sizzle. But I wanted to punch both Janelle and Cadence. I really, really did. I tried but I couldn't finish either story because I hated the heroines so much. :-(




Make Me Love You by Johanna Lindsey

Review: Make Me Love You by Johanna Lindsay

I didn't manage to get into much of this book because it didn't grab me. I could understand where Brooke was coming from and Ms Lindsay set up Brooke's situation very well. I found Dominic to be mysterious and surly, which was in-keeping with his reputation. I didn't feel like there was much of a spark or attraction between Brooke and Dominic. There was too much resistance on Dominic's part and Brooke's clumsy attempts at trying to get his attention did not seem believable. Aside from that, there really wasn't much to keep me reading. The whole thing seemed rather bland and uninteresting. I was expecting more from Ms Lindsay and while the writing was not bad (after all, it is Johanna Lindsay), it was not exciting. It didn't make me want to keep reading because I got bored.




So there you have it. That's all the books I've read this year that have not worked for me.

Tell me, are there any hot buttons that don't work for you in books? Something that will make you shut the book and not keep reading? How many books have you not finished so far this year?


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4 comments:

  1. Hi Deanna

    It is sad when a book doesn't grab me and I can't connect and love the characters I tend to finish the books I start although I may start to skim through some parts that don't keep me interested enough. For me I have to really like the characters especially of course the hero and heroine otherwise I feel like I am just getting myself to the end instead of being in the story :)

    Have Fun
    Helen

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    1. It always makes me sad when I don't finish a book. Of course, right now, I'm hardly reading and that makes me sad too.

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  2. Meh on liars. I'd be out on that too. And gah football players really are freaking huge in real life. lol

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    1. I've never met one in real life but I'd like to just to see how huge. Imagining their size doesn't make them work as heroes for me.

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