How to Flirt With a Naked Werewolf by Molly Harper

Title: How to Flirt With a Naked Werewolf
Author: Molly Harper
Published: February 22, 2011
Publisher: Pocket Books
ISBN: 978-1439195864
Genre: Sci-Fi and Fantasy

Northern Exposure

Even in Grundy, Alaska, it’s unusual to find a naked guy with a bear trap clamped to his ankle on your porch. But when said guy turns into a wolf, recent southern transplant Mo Wenstein has no difficulty identifying the problem. Her surly neighbor Cooper Graham—who has been openly critical of Mo’s ability to adapt to life in Alaska—has trouble of his own. Werewolf trouble. 

For Cooper, an Alpha in self-imposed exile from his dysfunctional pack, it’s love at first sniff when it comes to Mo. But Cooper has an even more pressing concern on his mind. Several people around Grundy have been the victims of wolf attacks, and since Cooper has no memory of what he gets up to while in werewolf form, he’s worried that he might be the violent canine in question. 

If a wolf cries wolf, it makes sense to listen, yet Mo is convinced that Cooper is not the culprit. Except if he’s not responsible, then who is? And when a werewolf falls head over haunches in love with you, what are you supposed to do anyway? The rules of dating just got a whole lot more complicated. . . .

Rating: ★★★★★

OMG you guys, this was so much fun.

I did not expect this book to be as well written as it actually is. Which, is kind of an asshole thing for me to think, but it surprised the hell out of me.

I absolutely loved this book.

I loved Mo! Which is, like, woah!

Because, I don't like female MCs. They piss me off. I normally want to gouge their eyes out. Well, not Mo. I want to be this chick's best friend. She cooks awesome deserts, is utterly hilarious, and has a lingerie obsession. What's not to like? And, I can totally relate to her:

“Well, that cinched it. He was an asshole. I was definitely going to end up sleeping with him.”

I love the dynamic between her and Cooper. It gives me the good tinglies. Also, again, they're utterly hilarious:

“Well, pardon me for not knowing about the thermal-only panty rule,” I said, smirking as he dipped his head to nuzzle one of the silky bra cups. “I’ll rush right out and buy some long johns.”

Pausing to look up with perfect sincerity, he promised, “If you do, I will weep. Like a little girl. In public.”

Mostly, I love that I can imagine that they'd be real people. Like I could rock up to Grundy, Alaska and there would be the Blue Glacier Saloon with Evie and Buzz behind the bar and Mo in the kitchen and Cooper sat at the bar, growling at people. I suppose that's what really helped me like this book, just how easy it is to imagine that these characters are people you could come across in your own town. It lends a nice authenticity to the story. As much as a story about a hot werewolf can be considered authentic anyway ...

The story was engaging and really well paced. I loved the fact that they didn't jump straight into bed with each other and you can't beat a good dose of antagonistic lust-filled banter whilst they come to terms with their attraction for each other. The supporting cast was just right and it was so refreshing to see the unrequited love interest not turn out to be an asshole.

Overall, an awesome, fun read that I will definitely be going back to.  

Seven Years by Dannika Dark

Title: Seven Years (Seven #1)
Author: Dannika Dark
Publisher: Dannika Dark
Published: October 21, 2013ASIN: B00G2DL26U
Genre: Paranormal Romance

PARANORMAL ROMANCE, Book 1 by USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR

Seven years ago, my world ended.

Seven years later, my new life began.

It's been seven years since Lexi Knight lost her brother in a tragic accident. On the anniversary of his death, her brother's best friend shows up unexpectedly - a man she hasn't seen since the funeral. He is no longer the boy Lexi once knew, but a dangerous-looking man with tattoos and dark secrets. He broke her trust and abandoned her family, yet what he reveals makes it impossible to stay angry. Lexi has been secretly infatuated with Austin since childhood, so finding out he's a Shifter just makes him sexier. Dammit.

Austin Cole has returned to the city where he grew up, and just in time. He's lived a hard life these past seven years, and the shadows of his past are threatening to destroy Lexi's family. It's time that she learned the truth about her brother, but there is a shocking twist that Austin never saw coming. Now he must protect her family when her mother and sister wind up in mortal danger. Will Lexi learn to accept the truth about who he is, and can Austin salvage a relationship from the ruins of their past?

Destiny will find you.

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆


Look, I LOVE Shifter books. Like seriously, I have such a thing for them. To the point where if I like the characters and the premise of the plot enough, I can overlook some pretty atrocious writing.

I have an unhealthy attraction to fictional, possessive, alpha-males. I can overlook a lot of borderline abusive behaviour if the male lead is hawt enough and if the female lead is kickass enough. If the shifter culture is fleshed out properly, too. Most importantly, if there is an engaging plot.

This book? Has none of that.

I'm going to try and keep this short and sweet, because I don't feel like spending a lot of time on this review.

The Bad. 

• The pacing
• The writing
• The characterisations - why are all these men trying to fucking rape her?
• The plot
• Info-dumps
• TMI - like, woah. I didn't need the in-depth, two paragraph long description of her mother's kitchen when I was reading the book, and I still don't need it now.
• Misandry
• Obsessed with looks - which I will comment on shortly.
• Tries so hard to be 'feminist' and fails epicly
• Casual treatment of rape

The Good. 

• Sweet Fuck All.

Ok, I need to share this quote with you because this is what really killed this book for me:

"A woman could be stranded on a deserted island with no sign of life for thousands of miles, and as soon as a rescue ship comes her way, she'll be combing her hair with sticks and squashing berries to rub on her cheeks"

No? Do you know what women would be doing? Screaming desperately for help. They wouldn't give two shits about how they look. 

This woman is so fucking obsessed with looks and it just drives me up the wall. This portrayal that the female psyche is so fucking shallow makes me so angry. There is absolutely nothing wrong with being conscious of your appearance - God knows I can be vain enough at times, but I would never let it define me. That's all Dannika Dark seems to do - allow people's images to define them. The best looking are, of course, the ones we are all told to like and the ones we are told to hate are, of course, the lesser attractive characters. It's embarrassing.

But I think the thing that really put me off this book is the author's casual use of rape as a device to show us just how attractive the MC is. Like, is this for fucking real? Rape - just casually thrown in to show how much guys want her. It's fucking disgusting and disgraceful.

I am so surprised I didn't end up DNFing this.
Please, do yourselves a favour and leave this one alone. 

Title: Unteachable
Author: Leah Raeder
Published: March 25, 2014
Publisher: Atria Books
ISBN: 978-1476786407
Genre: Contemporary Romance

An edgy, sexy USA Today bestseller about falling for the one person you can’t have. 

Maise O’Malley just turned eighteen, but she’s felt like a grown-up her entire life. The summer before senior year, she has plans: get into a great film school, convince her mom to go into rehab, and absolutely do not, under any circumstances, screw up her own future. 

But life has a way of throwing her plans into free-fall. 

When Maise meets Evan at a carnival one night, their chemistry is immediate, intense, and short-lived. Which is exactly how she likes it: no strings. But afterward, she can’t get Evan out of her head. He’s taught her that a hookup can be something more. It can be an unexpected connection with someone who truly understands her. Someone who sees beyond her bravado to the scared but strong girl inside. 

That someone turns out to be her new film class teacher, Mr. Evan Wilke. 

Maise and Evan resolve to keep their hands off each other, but the attraction is too much to bear. Together, they’re real and genuine; apart, they’re just actors playing their parts for everyone else. And their masks are slipping. People start to notice. Rumors fly. When the truth comes to light in a shocking way, they may learn they were just playing parts for each other, too.  

Smart, sexy, and provocative, Unteachable is about what happens when a love story goes off-script.

Rating: ★★★★☆

"I see the lights every night. It seems like the whole world has figured out how to be happy, but no one's letting me in on the secret."

Okay.

Fuck.

Wow.

Guys.

This was really hard for me to rate because it was actually, like, a brilliant book. Just - really well written and engrossing and engaging and the overall quality of it should get it five stars alone.

But!

But but but.

I just couldn't connect with the characters *sad face*. 

I know this is an it's-me-not-you thing because obviously no one else had any problems connecting with Maise and Evan. But, the fact that I couldn't connect meant that their love scenes? Didn't do it for me. Their situation? I wasn't bothered. Their angst? Sorta annoyed me. And it is so frustrating for me to sit here and realise that this book is sort of incredible and I can't fully appreciate it because I couldn't drum up an affinity for the characters.

So.

I'm going to try and be objective about this.

Unteachable deserves all the hype that it has received. Like, hella.

Firstly. The writing? Woah.

"The thought of how much happiness lay scattered across the universe, unrealized, in fragments, waiting for the right twist of fate to bring it together."

I believe Leah Raeder once described her own writing as "pretentiously lyrical" and that is a completely accurate description but it actually really fucking works. There's only a certain type of fiction that can make pretentiously lyrical work; this is also true of certain types of writers. Maggie Stiefvater is one of these writers. Her books, the Raven Cycle, is an example of this certain type of fiction. Leah Raeder and Unteachable are another example. Even though the two sets of writing are pretentiously lyrical in completely different ways.

But yeah. What I'm trying to say is that Leah Raeder does with her writing what people like Tahereh Mafi epically fail at. So, the writing is incredible.

The plot is simple yet effective: Girl meets boy. Girl sleeps with boy. Girl leaves boy. Girl pines for boy. Boy turns out to be her teacher. They get it on. Repeatedly. Things start to go to shit. Formulaic and simple. Also, very fucking effective. I think the fact that the story is so realistic helps us engage with it. 

How many of us, at eighteen, had a thing for one of our teachers? How many of us, at eighteen were sexually aware enough that given half the chance we probably would have gone along with it. I remember "that" teacher for me: He was the P.E teacher. He was young, he was beautiful, he was funny and he gave a shit about us and given half the chance I would have jumped his bones.

This is something that is happening all over the world. But instead of making this about the teacher abusing his position of authority, Raeder makes this a story about two genuinely fucked up people trying desperately to pull some happiness into their lives; trying to claw out a hand-hold for themselves in the world. I never once felt like the relationship between Maise and Evan was unequal because they were both equally infatuated with each other.

In fact, Raeder gives us quite a few gritty topics in this book and then gives us a completely different way of looking at all of them: Maise's drug ruined home. Wesley's single parent home. Hiyam's privileged life. Nothing about this book is "typical."

This book deserves five stars. Because I'm emotionally stunted, I wanted to give it three. I settled on giving it four.

4/5 would bang recommend. 

Title: Break In Two (Full Hearts #1)
Author: MJ Summers
Publisher: Piaktus Books
Published: November 21, 2014
ISBN: 978-0349407067
Genre: Contemporary Romance

Thirty-one year old Claire Hatley is running from Seattle having just discovered that her live-in boyfriend has traded her in for a twenty-two year old hostess. Devastated and alone Claire must make a fresh start. She answers an ad for a chef at a guest ranch just outside Colorado Springs and finds herself face to face with Cole Mitchell, quite possibly the sexiest man to ever ride a horse. Common sense tells them to stay away from each other, but their attraction is not to be denied. He gives her a glimpse of what love should be, but just as she starts to trust him, the past comes back to tear them apart.

Join Claire and Cole as they embark on the stormy love affair of a lifetime.

(Oh...and for those of you with husbands/boyfriends, please tell them “you’re welcome” from MJ.)


Rating: ★☆☆☆☆


No. No. Non. Niet. Nee. Jo. La. Ne. Nej. Nein. Ohee. Lo. Nei. Ni. Nai.

Ok, I can't think of any other languages to say no in. But you get the point.

All of the nope.

I DNF'd at 22%

I think the casual use of rape as a plot point to further a romance is what really put me off this.

The characters are shallow and one dimensional. I struggled to engage with the female main character and spent most of the time actively disliking her. There is no chemistry between her and the love interest.

The romance developed too quickly. Insta!love is not appreciated in most literature and it is definitely not appreciated in badly written literature. Which this is.

The plot is flat and overdone. A similar plot (putting aside that it's a PNR) is taken in How to Flirt with a Naked Werewolf which gets it absolutely, 100% right. If the blurb of this book caught your attention? Go read How to Flirt instead and save yourself some pain.

Somehow the book manages to promote both misogyny and misandry. Which is a feat I have never seen accomplished before. I don't know whether to congratulate Summers or go on a book burning campaign.

And this was cheesy in the worst possible way. Like, this book should come with a box of crackers and maybe some grapes and little bit of salami to go with the sheer amount of embarrassing, cringe-worthy cheese that this book is made up from.

M.J. Summers has gone straight onto my Do-Not-Read list.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.