Disappointing for me at least....
929437
Doesn't charge my ASUS, so basically the cable is worthless for me.
4783612
I received a free copy in return for an honest review.
Let me start by saying I have not finished reading this book. I so wanted to like this book. I have read a book in the past by this author, and likes it immensely, but this book just didn't do it for me.
I could not wrap my head around the whole insta-love connection. It left me feeling the characters were nor very developed, and I could not connect to them. I feel really upset about it, because as I say, the previous book, Attractive nuisance was SUCH A GREAT READ! I lost interest pretty soon in this book, and gave up at 15%. I don't see myself going back in the future to finish it off.
4477152
i am very disappointed in this book. i really loved book one, it actually made it onto my short list of 5 star ratings.... this book :/ was blah. i had very high hopes for it & feel let down.

i was looking forward to the author's new book Hopeless but am on hte fence now. after Slammed i was stoked to read everything that author had to offer .lol. but now with a 50/50 rating ill wait till the new book is discounted.
3102149
Seriously.  I loved the first book and liked the next two a lot.  I was looking forward to this one, but it ultimately left me unsatisfied and somewhat disappointed.  It seemed unfocussed and like the author was taking on more than she could handle (or at least more than she could handle with the same dexterity and finesse as the first three books).  There was way too much about characters that I didn't care about and not nearly enough (and, in some cases, nothing at all) about characters that I loved.  The Rain/Ellie story was fine and I liked the stuff with the Elves, but other than that... meh.  I could have done with far less of the Annoura, Jiarine, and Nour/Bolor stories.  And where were Dax, Marrisya, Kiel, and Kieran?  You would barely know they existed from this book, let alone were significant secondary characters.  Why was there practically nothing about what was going on behind the Faering Mists?  How were the baby tairen doing?  And we barely heard anything about the twins, Ellie's Dad, Shan, and Elfeya, who also were some of my favorites.  I hope the author can get back on track for the final book in the series and return her focus to the core characters that at least I cared about most!  I probably would rate this closer to two stars than three, but I bumped up the rating based on my general enjoyment of the series and my hopes for the ending.
440911
I wanted to enjoy this book.  The story was good and it started out okay, but slid downhill after the first few chapters.

!! SPOILER ALERT !!
Here are a few things I didn't care for:

Kegan.  As a whole, he was an okay character.  But just okay.  He was supposed to be a little controlling and neurotic, but it came off like he was a selfish ass.  I didn't like him as much as Mary did.  And honestly I started to lose interest after ALL of their petty arguments.  Also, he was made to seem stupid in the sub-plot of the Crystal/Isaac issue with the cell phone.  I'm sure I'm not the only one who figured that out the moment it was discussed.  And Crystal in general really.  It took me like a paragraph to figure out that she was out for Mary's/Isaac's job.  I hate when characters are made "oblivious" for a sub-plot that didn't really have much to do with the storyline.

All the other sub-plots that didn't go anywhere... Brian, the nosy neighbor.  Tanisha, Mildred's gay daughter.  The whole blood clot thing.  None of them really went into enough depth to have them be interesting.

Mary has no friends.  Why was that?  I realize she moved from a town 3 hours away, but she didn't even have a friend she could call?  She seemed to adopt Kegan's friends who seemed really plastic and unrealistic.  The overbearing mother was really disconnected also.  She could have been anyone or perhaps a robot.

Parts of the story seemed really rushed.  In a few places an entire weekend went by in a short sentence, yet other parts were drawn out to the point of being overkill.

All in all the book was fine.  I wouldn't recommend it to a friend.

Perhaps I'm delving too deep into a $0.99 contemporary romance -- I don't know.
2322793
There was nothing I liked about this book....
1766823
Like some other readers...not what I expected, in fact - disappointed.  The writing was hard to get past. It was too elementary.  I expected more sophistication in the words; especially from the individual in the story portraying them. I had to stop mid way through. I jumped to the second book; (as I bought all four) and just put it aside.  Maybe I'll go back to them, but for now I feel like money has been wasted.
2879265
So, I consider myself a diehard fan of the series; there are a lot of factors that just do it for me, primarily the solid writing and interesting arch but also including the action both sexually and not -- but this book failed in every one of those categories, for me.  If someone reading this review is considering buying this, I would suggest saving your money, because this attempt did nothing to forward the series and was somewhat dubious to read besides.

I feel like I should immediately back up a few steps and explain... I actually really enjoyed several of the more unpopular books from this series, because there was substance and it seemed to move the plot or give another point of view for what happened or foreshadow what was to come.  A ton of people ended up not liking one or the other of the couples in those novels, and while I understand and sympathize, I felt like it generally explained behaviors and growth.  But it was much more of a struggle for me to root for either one of these stubborn dunderheads.  For example, I really wanted to like the supposedly charismatic one but his greatest faults actually were his supposed strengths; it's pretty obvious the Dacians are going to be a major factor in the Accession from all of the other books, and the only new information we got (regarding the youngest heart of the castle) was already predictable from previous books involving these vampires.  Caspion has a lot of backstory, which I was interested in, but he's such a hypocrite and it is hard to feel sorry for him when he's borderline righteous.

Regarding their smuttier parts:  the gay sex was okay, actually the best parts of the book, but I didn't feel it was generally as explicit as in other books and happened much more frequently and the scenes were less lengthy.  I'm totally good with a slow burn but this almost read like a stab at trying to write gay sex for a broader audience, not like the author actually knew or was comfortable with getting into it as much as I felt like she did with the other books.

And that leads me to the writing.  This was the biggest letdown.  I'm actually upset I pre-ordered this garbage.  Garbage!  Give or take 17 books in (depending on how you qualify other releases) and this has so many errors and amateurish writing that I guess I had been spoiled to expect via everywhere else in the series.  I would be willing to relent that some of it might be "printing" error in the formatting, and some people might find some of the typographical or grammatical issues to be minor, but it just puts me right out of the story.  Moreover, a book available for months on pre-order shouldn't be littered with oversights.  I was much more interested in the last 10% of my Kindle purchase, the preview for the next release, which seems... a bit more polished.

I've pre-ordered the  next book as well though admittedly I am beginning to feel reservations.  Two releases so close (and the last, meh installment) and this is technically a flop?  Maybe I'm suspicious but I feel like a cash cow and Bessie doesn't like to be milked that way.
3987591
I absolutely LOVED the first book Lost in Me and was literally stalking the author's Amazon page beginning June 1 to get this next book in the series.  I must say, I'm a little disappointed.  First, I'm disappointed we have to buy a 3rd book to get the complete Hanna, Max, Nate story (which is unlike the other books in her previous series- those were tied together but could be stand alone), but I could live with that if that was the only flaw.  Warning- semi-spoilers below!  I tried to be as vague as possible but still express my views.

Sadly, I feel the way the incident was handled was just too far off from reality- who collapses over devastating news one night and the sits at a rehearsal dinner like nothing happened the next night.  And all these people are supposedly so close yet no one even mentions it again or talks about arrangements, etc.  I re-read that section a few times to see if I missed something timeline-wise, but I couldn't find it (maybe it was implied and I didn't get it).  Basically all the characters just ignored the tragedy and went about their business.  Yes, life needs to go on, but not without some disruption.  This is the section that most frustrated me about the book.  I just felt the way the characters behaved was too unrealistic (even for fiction) and not how they had previously interacted/behaved (i.e. someone should have at least mentioned Nate's name).

I did see the ending coming and wasn't surprised.  Yes, I'll probably read the 3rd book because I do want the conclusion.  I just hope the author writes that book as she has her previously books before this one.  This just felt a little rushed and not as thoroughly vetted as her previous works.
2661423
I listened to this on audio from my library and I was pretty disappointed. I know Dianne Duvall is good writer and the writing is good here but boy I had trouble finishing this!  Things were just very cookie cutter-ish to me...handsome lord of the castle/warrior who everyone is afraid of, sweet, ultra innocent heroine, some sieges, a bad guy....etcetera. What I'm trying to say is that it lacked that magic or excitement or hero/heroine worship to suck me in. My resting heart rate is faster than what this book did for me and I actually fell asleep for parts of it and had to re-listen. Meh. Not terrible but I would not recommend this one to friends.
1117913
I'm coming off books like The Gathering Dead, Tooth and Nail and the Ex-Heroes series and this book just isn't doing it for me. I'm about 20% in on the Kindle and I find myself forcing myself to read it. I appreciate the detail about the "life in a zombie world", but its seeming to focus way to much on "blogging" rather than ZOMBIES. Needless to say, blogging isn't exactly a captivating story. I think I'll move on...like I say, there are way too many awesome books to take the time reading something mediocre.

I gave it 3 stars as a respect to other readers comments and ratings.  I'm sure this would appeal to some but the whole "risk-taking brother/conservative, level-headed sister" duo just seems a little juvenile as well (and YES, I know I'm reading zombies books, which isn't exactly super-adult and refined).  Oh well...just not for me.
4530216
Okay...I'm having a tough time with this one. I hate giving it 2 stars, but that's just how it has to be.  This book just wasn't for me, and that's the main reason for the low rating.  The writing is good, so that wasn't it, and I liked the previous book in this series, Want It, so I do think the author's writing has an appeal.  Just the whole premise wasn't something I enjoy, and once I got to that first club scene, where Dani works, and Rand came in for the first time in the story, acting the way he acted, that made me instantly dislike anything else in the story; it was tainted after that.  The way Rand acted was enough to make me not like him, and Dani's reaction to those actions was very unpleasing to me.  I was having an issue liking the characters from the beginning anyway, and this just made reading further a tough act; it was almost a DNF, but I hate not finishing a book, so I persevered and continued on; I did have to skim some of the story though.  It's difficult to care anymore, when I don't like the characters too much, and the rest of the book is mainly sex scenes, which are mainly of the BDSM variety, and I actually don't mind that, but reading about characters, whom I don't care about, being intimate just doesn't do it for me.  Dani being a con artist was a turn off for me as well.  So it's tough for me to accurately rate this when I just don't like the story idea.  I actually really enjoy alpha males, but not when they do what Rand did in that club.  I think those actions just turned me off to the whole rest of the story, and that's a shame.  The ending was nice enough, I would have liked a bit more ending, but I think it was good.  This book is all about Dani and Rand's relationship, and not much else happens, this is definitely a sex driven book, and I don't mind books that are all about the relationship of the couple because it shows the way in which their connection grows, so I enjoyed that aspect, and I knew what was going to happen,  but I didn't see very much growth in Dani and Rand.  All in all, this just wasn't for me, I stopped reading motorcycle books because if the crud that the guys do in those books, and Risk It, wasn't that bad in that department, but I prefer books with guys who are alpha, but sweet.  Okay, Okay, I ranted too much, but that just shows how much it influenced my view.
3740342
I think I must've missed something reading this book. I guess I kind of expected a "reason" for the book - or an actual storyline - rather than just a birds' eye view at a small town and the life of 8 or so people when they were kids and then as they enter each other's lives again years later. There didn't seem to be a point... and it is a possibility that the lack of that is my own failing... I just kept expecting something "more". The writing is easy, the conversations seem real, the description of the area is beautiful ... I just think it didn't pull it all together for me anywhere.
2510749
I feel the synopsis of what the book is about makes it sound a lot better than what it is.  I wanted to like this book, I really did. I had high hopes for it.  Unfortunately, it didn't do much for me.  I was expecting more of a ghost story. Instead I got more of a sci-fi story, and one that wasn't very good.

Jacob's grandfather tells him of a magical island of which he spent his childhood. He shows him photos and tells him stories about the peculiar children he grew up with. As Jacob becomes a teenager, he stops believing in his grandfather's ridiculous stories until something awful happens. Jacob travels to the mysterious island to find out about his grandfather.  Little does he know that by going to that island he's put himself and many others in danger.

First off, I thought the word building/setting were fantastic.  The author made me feel as if I was on the island. I'll give him props there.  The description of the world was beautifully described.

I couldn't relate very much to the characters. I can't really place why that is.  I just couldn't connect.  I found myself not caring what happened to any of them.  Perhaps the author should've spent a bit more time character building to make me relate to at least one the characters.  The characters just felt a bit one dimensional.  There wasn't even one that I could remotely say that I favourited. Okay, that's a lie. I liked Fiona, the Irish girl, but I only liked her because she was Irish, and I love all things Irish. That's it.

I found the pacing to be a bit slow. I'd read a chapter, then I'd get bored with it and go off to do something else. I really struggled with this book.  There are a couple of chapters that the pacing is great in, but it's not until the last two chapters that the pacing definitely picks up.

The dialogue was easy to understand although some Americans may not get all the slang British terms.  There was one scene where a character says "I was taking a piss" where he meant that he was joking around. The phrase he meant was "taking the piss" which is a British slang phrase for joking.  "Taking a piss" isn't a typo either as it's mentioned a few more times.  This annoyed me because taking a piss, is just that, it means urinating. "Taking the piss" means to be joking around.  Other than that, the dialogue was good.

The best part of the book was the photographs found within the book. I loved that little touch! I found myself studying the photos and enjoying them a million times better than the actual book.

The cover is also something I loved about the book.  How freaky does that little girl look??? The German cover looks even better.  It's the same photo, just with a green hue.  If I was marking the book based on the cover alone, it'd get 5 out of 5 for me.

The title of the book doesn't really leave anything to make you wonder what the books about. It says exactly what the book is about - a home for peculiar children.

All in all, this book left me feeling empty. I didn't really feel much of anything reading it until I got to the last two chapters where it got exciting.  However, I will not put myself through the torture of reading the second book in the series especially as I don't care about the characters or what happens to them.  I'm just glad I won this book in a competition and didn't buy it.

I was going to give this book a 2 - 2.5 star rating but the ending saved it a bit.

My overall score of this book would be 3 stars out of 5 at the best. It's okay, but not great.

(This review can be found on my blog).
4771324
I may be unfairly judging this book....I am a little past half way and am not going to finish it, which is something I rarely do.  I have absolutely no connection to the characters who are very one dimensional.  I'm not an professional editor, but this book is definitely missing something.  I had no difficulty putting it down, and didn't feel the need to go back to reading it, so I'm not going to force myself to continue.

It had potential and got excellent reviews;  I was really looking forward to reading it.  The story sounded intriguing, but there were too many times when I found myself skimming paragraphs of theological philosophy or someone's argument with himself.  I felt guilty because the author presumably spent hours writing and rewriting this novel, but it was just too tedious.  I wanted to care about Anna, her brother, and Olga, but they never really touched me despite the horrific things done to them by the Nazis.  It was almost as if the author was trying too hard, pushing too hard to make me feel anger....and yet, I felt nothing.

I have read many other novels about this period and was, obviously, disappointed in this one.
2258155
This storyline is the kind of stuff I live and breathe for. I was excited when I came across it. The first time I tried to read it I thought maybe I was too book hungover from the last great book I read because it was not grabbing me in any sense. So I read a sub par book and came back to this one. It's not grabbing me. I trying really hard to get through the slow stuff, but it just isn't happening. Everything just feels flat. I don't feel like the story is enveloping me, and it's a struggle to get any empathy going for Aaron. Maybe it's just me? I might try it again later, but I'm not holding my breath. I really wanted to like this.
2011647
As much as I wanted to sit back and enjoy this romantic suspense featuring an FBI agent/assassin, it just didn't work for me. While Aim is the third entry in a new-to-me series, that isn't even what posed an issue. I'm sure reading the first two books would have provided more insight into the secondary characters and their history, but I had no problem understanding the dynamics between everyone and how they interacted. Instead, it was the believability factor that was seriously lacking.

I actually liked the overall premise and the sinister ploy behind Grace's abduction. There were some seriously twisted bad guys at work here. Unfortunately it was in the execution where it fell apart for me. So much of what happened seemed so implausible. I tried and tried to get past the unlikely events (and even unlikelier reactions) and just go with it... but I couldn't do it. After being abducted and facing a life-threatening situation, Grace seemed to bounce back in the blink of an eye and suffer zero after-effects. (Wouldn't everyone play a truth or dare card game the next day where the loser has to strip? Seems reasonable, right?)  The "investigation" into the disappearances progressed all too easily and there was never a misstep or dead-end. Everything just fell into place with relative ease. Lastly, the relationship between Grace and Ian seemed to come out of nowhere. There was no build-up, just *bam* instant relationship. It left me confused and wondering if I had somehow skipped several chapters and missed all the development. I was unable to feel any connection at all between them.

I will say that I am decidedly in the minority in my feelings for Aim. It has high ratings so clearly most people are loving this one. Unfortunately it just didn't work for me.