[Book Review] Rules of Entanglement

Title: Rules of Entanglement
Author: Gina L. Maxwell
Date Published: March 31, 2013
Publisher: Entangled Publishing - Brazen
Source: ARC
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Chick-Lit
Rating: ★★★★★

Links:
Goodreads
Amazon


Book Information:

Seven days. And seven rules to break... 

District Attorney Vanessa McGregor firmly believes that structure and order are the stuff that dreams are made of. Happiness can be planned - and it starts with seven rules she's laid out for her future. But as she's organizing her best friend's wedding in Hawaii, all of Vanessa's best-laid plans are about to meet their match in a wickedly hot MMA fighter... 

Jackson "Jax" Maris is focused on surfing, training and fighting. That is, until he opens up his big mouth, and finds himself having to pretend he's engaged to his little sister's best friend, Vanessa. When they're force to share a romantic bungalow, however, their little charade suddenly takes a turn for the seriously sexy. And while Jax is definitely not part of Vanessa's long-term plan, he has seven days - and seven naughty nights - to turn her seven-rule plan upside down.

Review:
The perfect blend of a love-hate relationship, a pseudo-engagement, and a tropical beach setting. Perfect as a summer read!

Vanessa, a prim and proper District Attorney lives her life in keeping with seven strict rules. She made these seven rules to make sure that she stays grounded and that she doesn't get herself hurt. Everything was actually good and under control in her life until she meets Jax, an MMA fighter.

7.Never take your responsibilities lightly

6.Never indulge in the poison of lies

5.Never let a fling last more than three days.

4.Never date a man who chooses fists over words.

3.Never date a man who lacks a stable future.

2.Never relinquish control.

1.Never fall in love.

Story-wise, the plot-device of pretending as a couple has been used multiple times in a number of books and stories, but in this one, it had justification. Also, I like how it was Jax who initiated the whole thing because it was believable.

Character-wise, I actually like Vanessa. She's too guarded because she has gone through so much. I love how her back story gave her a bit of realism. She didn't turn out the way she was without experiencing a multitude of events. That really says a lot about why she holds on to her rules as if they were her lifeline.

Oh, and Vanessa is also the kind of girl who knows what she needs and knows exactly how to get it. This is probably because she's on the logical side and weighs things down through pros and cons. That's why I wasn't surprised at all when she decided to have a fling with Jax, minus the emotional attachments.

As for Jax, he's a little contradiction himself because he lives as though he's this really unreliable guy, when in fact, he's not. Being an MMA fighter and a surfer gave the impression that Jax likes living dangerously. His bare apartment also screams that he has an unstable future, something that is against Vanessa's rules.

In short, Vanessa and Jax were too different that's why they were always at each other's throats. And their first meeting was a clear case of hate-at-first-sight.

Another thing I really liked about this book is the witty banter between Vanessa and Jax. I love witty banters and sarcastic wisecracks. They make my life colorful, that's why I really liked this book. Vanessa and Jax always try to one-up the other through their banter and I really appreciated that.

All in all, this book is perfect as a summer read! It has gorgeous and funny characters, witty wisecracks, and a tropical beach setting. What more could a reader ask for?

[Book Review] Untimed

Title: Untimed
Author: Andy Gavin
Date Published: December 17, 2012
Publisher: Mascherato (Indie)
Source: ARC
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Rating: ★★★★★

Links:
Goodreads
Amazon
Barnes & Noble


Book Information:

Charlie’s the kind of boy that no one notices. Hell, even his own mother can’t remember his name. And girls? The invisible man gets more dates. 

As if that weren’t enough, when a mysterious clockwork man tries to kill him in modern day Philadelphia, and they tumble through a hole into 1725 London, Charlie realizes even the laws of time don’t take him seriously. 

Still, this isn’t all bad. In fact, there’s this girl, another time traveler, who not only remembers his name, but might even like him! Unfortunately, Yvaine carries more than her share of baggage: like a baby boy and at least two ex-boyfriends! One’s famous, the other’s murderous, and Charlie doesn’t know who is the bigger problem. 

When one kills the other — and the other is nineteen year-old Ben Franklin — things get really crazy. Can their relationship survive? Can the future? Charlie and Yvaine are time travelers, they can fix this — theoretically — but the rules are complicated and the stakes are history as we know it. 

And there's one more wrinkle: he can only travel into the past, and she can only travel into the future!

Review: 
Are you looking for adventure? Pick this one up!

Whoever said that indie-published books aren't well-packaged, well-written and well-made probably hasn't read and seen the details inside the pages of Andy Gavin's Untimed.

First off, let's take a second to admire the beautiful cover. Hee. It was photoshopped by the Author himself, mind you. I read it on the very last page of the book, on the Author's Acknowledgements. And yes, just to set the record straight, I read about Authors, too. It helps in understanding how the book and story came to life.

Second, I love the illustrations that were painstakingly arranged inside the pages of the book! It's perfect for young readers, and it really shows just how much work was put into this book.

Third, awesome adventure for the storyline. I love time-traveling stories, especially ones which take the reader on a whirlwind of situations that test the character's courage and wit. With that said, I really liked Charlie as a protagonist. He's resourceful and a bit naive, but he's also smart and quick on his feet.

I also love how the Tocks were designed! And the plot-device where they cannot change the status of things such as moving a door or something was really creative. It was one of the things that gave Charlie an advantage.

The premise and the way the story was delivered was also fascinating. When I was reading, I felt like I was in the middle of a history lesson with a few twists that made everything a bit more interesting. It was fun reading about Benjamin Franklin, too!

The only thing that I didn't approve of in this book is the part about Yvaine. True, her personality and background was well-suited for a flawed but believable and interesting character, but I don't really approve her relationship with Charlie. At fifteen years old, I think Charlie is just deeply infatuated with her. And the parts where they were behaving intimately was a little uncomfortable for me. (Yes, I am a little conservative.)

All in all, this book is a solid adventure packed in 385 pages! Perfect for people looking for engrossing reads and very interesting characters!

[Book Review] Lightpoints

Title: Lightpoints
Author: Peter Kassan
Date Published: March 25, 2013
Publisher: Melange Books
Source: ARC
Genre: Paranormal
Rating: ★★★★★

Links:
Goodreads

Book Information:

What if you suddenly discovered you had a sense—and powers—that almost no one else in the world did?

When Amanda Lindner Nichols, a 24-year-old graphic artist living with her husband in Queens, New York, is revived from a near-death experience, she discovers she perceives everyone around her as points of light—but not with her eyes. She soon learns she can not only perceive the life energy of others, but she can give and take it. With the help of others like her, she brings her husband Chris to the brink of death and back to bestow on him the same remarkable faculty, and they’re the happiest they’ve been.

But not for long. All over the world, people who’ve been revived from their own near-death experience at just the right moment discover themselves with these same unusual powers. They find ways to use them—some for good and some for evil. When Amanda and Chris encounter a ruthless group of gangsters with the same faculty, tragedy follows—and Amanda faces the greatest challenge of her life.

Review:
An engrossing and well-written story about Near-Death-Experience (NDE) and a clever play on the premise of 'what if the people who came back from death gained inexplicable powers?'

First off, this book has really great premise! I love the idea of being able to read people's auras or lightpoints even they were a few blocks away. This kind of ability is certainly helpful in so many situations, as demonstrated by Amanda's experiences.

Also, I love how Amanda chose to gradually investigate about her newly acquired sense, rather completely shirk it off because it made her different. She chose to see it as a gift rather than as a curse and I really applaud her for that.

Secondly, I really appreciate that there was a gradual experimentation by different people of what they can do with their new abilities. The explanation of NDE and OBE (Out-of-Body-Experience) was quite vivid that I can clearly imagine it happening.

Story-wise, it was a little dragging. The book allotted quite a lot in explaining and gradually demonstrating the use of powers acquired by people who experienced NDE. At the same time, the story also humanized the characters because they feel emotions such as depression and loneliness after feeling different. Also, I like how the book also showed that the ability cannot be solely explained by one religion as it is also manifested in others.

The ending was quite unexpected though. Personally, Amanda appeared to me as level-headed. She grew up in a loving environment and had a loving husband. I didn't expect her to go on a rampage for revenge, but if I were her, I would have done the same. Sometimes, revenge is the only way to exact justice. Especially since in this story, there was no way for Amanda to get justice through the usual means.

All in all, this one was definitely engrossing. It was a little bit dragging but it was definitely worth reading.