I wish I could give it 4.5
589252
First, great pants. Very durable, tough as nails. I don't have any sort of buyer's remorse here. I work for an alarm company, and while you wouldn't think I would, I have to do A LOT of crawling through crawlspaces and attics. I was thinking about getting knee pads at one point, but thought that would look kinda silly. So I saw these and knew they would be tough. When I'm in crawlspaces, there's a lot of rocks and others odd stuff. I've seen broken glass, nails, tacks, dead animals, etc. These pants have gone through all, and there's very little damage to the knees. My knees still get bruised a bit, as there's not a lot of padding obviously, but they don't get as cut up and I don't have to buy a new pair of jeans every 2 months.

My only complaint is how baggy they are. Dang these are baggy. I get it, "relaxed fit", but seriously these are baggy.

Great pants regardless.
4893506
3-3.5 Stars Good Story

I was graciously gifted an ARC by this new author and I was pleasantly surprised!  I thought the premise of the story was great but where it fell short for me was the overall execution.  I found that the characters also had great potential but again, for me, they themselves fell a tad bit short as well.  I almost felt like the storyline stayed on a monotone level throughout and the characters were one dimensional.  I would have liked more overall "energy" for lack of a better word to add some depth to the characters and the storyline.

Robert, I really loved him, I truly did.  He had a job to do but underneath it all, he was a good man with a big heart.  In his line of work, he cannot get emotionally involved and I understood that but I did love how he battled between his head and his heart.

Emily, hmmmm, I liked her but her character lacked a lot for me.  For someone, who found herself under these particular circumstances, she acted so matter of fact.  I had a really hard time to relate to her and because of that it made my connection to the story a little bit harder where she was concerned.  I needed her character to be more "believable", her character needed a lot of work and for me, I think she was the main reason I couldn't invest fully with the story.

Congrats Author Kate Sands, I think you have a very good future ahead of you.  It doesn't matter how fast you climb the ranks, it's the slow and steady that will get you there and with time and maturity, I see a lot of room for growth.  Just because I may not have been in complete love with this story, doesn't mean that others won't love it.  I am a picky reader and I have my own preferences while reading and they may not be the same as the next but I do wish you the best in the future. I hope to see much more from you in the future, and I will be looking forward it!
190632
3.5 ALMOST THERE STARS.

I LOVED this book.

I loved the character development.
I loved how awesome Layne was.
I loved how amazing/addicting the writing was.
I especially loved how delicious Beau was.

What I DIDN'T really like was how the author split the book into two endings.

Admittedly, it's an interesting concept, letting the reader decide.
Almost like those mini-horror novels for kids.
To me, though, the book didn't feel whole, complete.
It felt open-ended. And I didn't really appreciate that.

I want something SOLID, something COMPLETE.
This wasn't it.
Which breaks my heart, because everything UP until that point was pretty much perfect.

Oh, well.

3.5 STARS.
4324448
I had trouble connecting with the voice of in some parts of this story which is disappointing because it has all the elements I adore; magic, mystery, Gods, loyalty, death, and so much more plus the author is so incredibly nice.
There plenty of times where I felt the flow of the writing and fell into the story but there were many moments where the flow stopped. The problem was mostly from the writing style, it would switch from showing us what's happening to telling us what's happening and those moments really impacted my desire to continue reading. It has all the potential in the world but feels like it was written and edited in a very short time
Despite the problems I couldn't bring myself to stop reading and after spending a few days reflecting on the overall story I believe I'll continue to the next in the series, with hope that I end up loving it or at least find out what happens.
4842558
I don't consider this a five star, but it was definitely more than a 4-star.  I actually gave it five to make up for the posters who gave it 4 and wished they could give it 4.5 (I agree ... 4.5 is closer).  I got it for free, but liked it so well that I purchased Book 2.  For me to give five stars, I need to LIKE the people in the book and to have their depths unfold throughout the story.  In short, I want them to feel like friends who I continue to enjoy knowing more about, and I do look forward to that.  This is a book that has enough depth that I expect to enjoy reading it more than once, which is another reason for giving it five stars.  It had a few editorial errors, which is a shame for a well written book, but they were mild enough to not destroy the plot.
3017059
I really like it and would give it a 4 1/2 star if I could
3170495
Indisputable is the first book that I have read from A.M. Wilson and I was gifted a copy in a giveaway. As you can tell by my stars that I didn't give a high rating, for me it was ok. I didn't have a bad time reading; not hating the words, there were just a few problems for my taste and I will get to why in a moment.

First let me just reiterate that giving this 3stars means that I did like most of the story; I finished it, and I want to continue reading the rest of A.M. Wilson's shelf.

Indisputable is your forbidden couple love story, that will keep your attention and makes us dive into the rabbit hole of some pretty dark and angst filled situations, for me I wished we could've dove a few feet more. There is a great story with these characters individually and coupled, but we weren't taken as far as they could go dimensionally and I feel we could have been given a little bit more to their stories. The writing had a good flow to it while some of the situations that were presented in the setting brings many questions and few answers. And while I'm still in the critical mode of the review I will say I think the ending was a bit rushed and not my personal favorite.

Now with all those points that seem to not shed a positive light on Indisputable, I did connect with various points of the story. I understood their pain, I felt their heat, I enjoyed the little bits of banter that tried to sneak its way out. I believed in their connection even if the circumstances were taboo. All in all I don't think my time was wasted reading and I have confidence that A.M. Wilson has grown as a writer bringing us more stories we can love.
3074576
1) It was by far the most enjoyable of the five books I read for the awards this year. Overall, the writing was strong, but there was an overuse of the word "as" and several clunky passages throughout the book. A few times, the author used phrases that made me roll my eyes. "Her eyes shone with tears," "tears were running down her cheeks," "her eyes filling with tears." As far as the setting, the details placing the story in 1980 were convincing, but while Pittsburgh was mentioned repeatedly, and names of neighborhoods were thrown about, I didn't get enough details about what was actually there. I thought the story started off well. I liked the emphasis on helping the homeless. However, since for 2/3 of the book, we're led to believe Dogman is Ellie's brother, when he suddenly drops out of the story and that subplot is left unresolved, I feel dissatisfied as a reader. Perhaps it's "realistic" for everything not to be tied up neatly. I don't need "neatly," but I also don't like being left hanging. I enjoyed the window display parts of the story. I can't say I "enjoyed" the banking parts, given the sexual harassment scenes, but they were compelling. The Italian family dynamics were good. The characters were believable and likable. I thought the dialogue "Do you eat like this every day" "Don't I look like I eat like this every day?" funny. I know in every romance, there has to be a problem and a temporary separation before the characters can get back together. But the emotional pain and hurt caused by the separation in the book was so profound that I'm not sure I believe their reunion at the end. It truly feels like the damage is irreparable, that there will always be deep scars which will prevent them from feeling they are safe with each other, that they are too aware of the pain the other is capable of delivering to them. I can't imagine them not always being a little bit on their guard from now on. That's okay, I suppose, as it's "realistic," but the ending as written suggests we are supposed to believe all is forgiven, and I'm not sure I buy that. The dinner conversation where Teresa's family talk her into going back to Ellie was a little forced at the end, particularly the line, "All her life, the best way to talk Teresa into anything was to plant the seed and leave her alone to think it over." I can SEE for myself that they're planting a seed and that she has to think it over. I don't need the author to tell me. It's overkill. I don't want to be told what to think. Just plant the seed and let me watch for myself as the character reflects on it. Finally, I loved the scene where the aunt tells Teresa that she'll have regrets no matter what decision she makes, that she just has to figure out which set of regrets she can live with. Overall, I enjoyed the book quite a bit, but these few errors and problems keep me from giving it as high a score as I wish I could.

2) A perfect score for what really is a perfect romance and later-in-life coming-of-age story. A subtle story that gently builds, incorporating a gritty, immersive setting, and featuring delightful and diverse characters that leap off the page. Absolutely wonderful.
3195567
This book has such a beautiful cover. I mean, really, it's fantastic - and so symbolic of the story. Not having read Kiersten White before, I wasn't sure what to expect. It was an entertaining book, to be sure, but I guess I had higher expectations than what it delivered - at least for me. Jessamin is a great protagonist, very witty and strong and determined to prove herself, and Finn was also highly enjoyable. I wish he'd been around more. Honestly, the character that delighted me the most was Eleanor. She is hilarious!
But the novel as a whole felt like it was missing something. For all the action and magic and sprinkling of romance, the world itself and the logistics of magical blood and kingdoms felt a bit rushed. I would have liked to have seen more building blocks, as it were, of how one practices magic and perhaps some more political intrigue. Yet it still was a fascinating story, and I did enjoy it.
3834323
Right up front I will tell you, Im giving this one 3.5 stars out of 5.  Keep in mind that a 3 star rating isn't a bad rating it just means I feel there is room for improvement.

Having already read all the books in the Sookie Stackhouse series I feel I am pretty familiar with Mrs. Harriss writing and I know how spellbinding she can be so I wanted to give this new series of hers a try.

Let me begin with the issues I had with it so I can end on a high note. One difficulty authors have to navigate is spelling too much out for the reader so the reader ends up feeling spoon-fed, this can come across feeling as though there is too much unnecessary information and the writer is simply going for word-count.  With this book I felt there was too much left up for the reader to assume a bit more information should have been given.  It really wasn't clear how Midnight came to be.  You do eventually discover why a couple of the characters ended up there but I found quite a bit to be too vague within this story.  Granted, that can be a very tricky wire for an author to tread and I acknowledge that so please note, this is simply my opinion.

 Its understood that Midnight is not precisely your normal small, sleepy, podunk, Texas town; the reader knows this going in if you read the summary. This leads me to my second problem I found with this story; everything is accepted so easily by the towns new comer.  Granted he isn't precisely normal himself which can explain his easy acceptance but the locals are all too welcoming too. The dynamic of having so many unusual people in one town with a newbie with special gifts just felt off to me. I expected people to be more wary, more defensive; I guess I would have expected to have more conflict with the newbie, at least at firstespecially since they had so many secrets to keep and his gifts were pretty well known by some in town.

My last issue with this book is that its pretty slow to get into.  The plot really doesnt gain steam until you are two-thirds of the way through the book, then I finally found it really getting interesting. Having said that, its also definitely not one of those books that I just wanted to give up on, it did keep me reading until I did finally get into it but honestlyit did drag for quite some time. It reminds me of those movies I sometimes find myself watching wondering why am I still watching this?.but then glad I stuck with it when its over because it turned out to be pretty good after all. You know what Im talking about.

Now, on to what I did like about this book (see, I said I did like it.) There are a couple of unexpected moments in this book I really appreciatedyou really don't see whodunit until that twist unfolds; I really love when that happens! I also really found the local witch and her cat to be particularly favorite and fun characters of mine, specifically when Mr. Snuggly speaks up. He was a fun addition to the mix and really made me smile a few times.

Now, I know its obvious that the what I liked portion of this book is considerably shorter than the issues portion of it but thats simply because its easier to explain the issues I had with it than for me to point out everything I liked.  Over all I did like the book. It kept me reading, I did find myself invested in a few of the characters, I did like the twist at the end and I really like that I am interested enough to read the next in the series.  Isnt that really the point?  I do want to read more about Midnight, Texas.  It dawns on me as I write this review that I believe Mrs. Harris was using this book as a way to lay groundwork for the consecutive books.  So, time to check out Day Shift, the second book in the Midnight, Texas series.
4453863
This teetered on the edge between really liking it to being indifferent. The reason I bumped it up was because I enjoyed the authors voice and the overall story. The reason it almost kept me at indifferent was because of the sheer amount of detail in the book, especially scene setting. I don't need a lot of actionalthough I do enjoy itbut I need slow scenes to move faster. These just had a lot of detail that really didn't add much to the story, in my opinion. I like short descriptions; just a sentence here and there. Too much and Ill start skimming, which is what ended up happening. For those who like descriptions, youll settle right into this book.

At the beginning of each chapter, there were small excerpts from history books or a saying here and there. I actually looked forward to each new chapter so could I read them. Heres one of my favorites:
Curse the gods if you must, but do it on your horse.

The characters were well developed, rounded with both admirable qualities and flaws, and even the bad guy was actually interesting. Arandras had the most qualities I look for in a character; an internal struggle to overcome a horrific incident from his past. Unfortunately, even with as promising as the characters were, I just couldn't get that engrossed in the book. All the scene setting kept pulling me out of the story and my mind wandered often. Its just my own personal hang-up, one that I vehemently wish I could change.

This book has a lot of what Ill call discovery. The characters are learning, unraveling mysteries, researching, and plotting. Theres not a ton of action in the first 3/4 of this book, and I wouldn't have minded the slower beginning if I had been obsessed. But because I wasn't, I wanted more action or less description. So without those, I struggled through a large chunk of the book. But the story itself was engaging. It revolves around learning the history behind a specific urn that has been found. There are three story lines (3 main characters) that connect wonderfully and each have their own mysteries to solve and their own agendas to satisfy. I will say the prologue was one of my favorite parts to read.

Another bonus was the writing itself. It flowed wonderfully, and during those interesting parts, I slipped into my reading trance. Karlov definitely has a smooth prose and I really enjoyed his writing.

So overall, I think if one likes description and can handle a slower beginning, they should definitely check out this book. For those of you unsure, take a look at the first chapternot the prologueand youll get a good feel for the writing and pacing.
704805
On the plus side, Ms. Layne knows how to write sharp, realistic dialog that develops character and moves the story along.  While crisp dialog is difficult to write, it really does make a story much more fun to read and I fond myself more engaged with the characters than I would have been without it.  I liked both Lincoln and Daisy but felt that their characters weren't as strong as they might have been with a few different choices in the plot development.

On the downside, I just couldn't completely 'buy' the complicating issue between the two main protagonists.  Yes, I understood Lincoln's grief over loosing his fianc&eacute; to a for-all-intents-and-purposes fatal car accident two days before their wedding.  What I didn't understand was how strongly he clung to that grief more than two years afterward.  I have known and understood grief.  However, without going into 'spoilery' details, the depth of his ongoing, devastating grief felt like an author's contrivance.  As a consequence I felt his character was weaker than it should have been.

With regard to Daisy, I liked her but felt that she should have been a little stronger.  She put up with entirely too much from Lincoln with his I'm over it/not over it vacillating. Her quiet, ongoing infernal 'acceptance' of his in my mind, illogical-at-this-late-date grief, made her more passive than I would have liked.

Bottom line: Had Lincoln somehow been responsible for his finace's death, his hair shirt would have made more sense.  Instead, it just felt like self-indulgent wallowing.  What gets this three stars is the dialog.
46796
There were a lot of elements to enjoy about this book. I loved the characters and Milly has definitely mastered a lot in terms of dialogue. She was able to convey a lot with the dialogue.
Unfortunately this led to my main complaint about the book. Other than the dialogue, there are quick snippets to let the reader know the timing of events and that things have happened. There were a lot of unanswered questions for me.

This book feels like it is a really amazing start to something, that is just not quite finished yet. I love this creation of the world and that characters are great, but I want more depth to the world, more background information, more descriptions of locations and a better grasp of the timeline of events, because the dialogue of the story had it feeling very unrealistic in the romance of the book. I'd love to have this added in, and to have the ending action not feel quite so rushed, and have a bit more development as it was the start of a good action scene. I do enjoy the world that has been created and would like to continue along with the characters.

Overall I have to leave it with a 3 star in it's current state.

**I received a copy of this book for free thanks to the Read & Review opportunity of For Love of a Book
3425488
If there were half stars, I would probably go with 3.5. I enjoyed the book, especially after the first third of it or so, as it took a while to pick up steam. I stop short of loving it because the ending was a bit underwhelming to me and because I wanted to like the main character more.
1138080
3.5/5 stars

So. Believe it or not, I bought this book the day it came out. After putting it off for more than a year now, I decided it was time to finally bite the bullet and go ahead and read it. I loved The Golden Lily and was desperate to see how Sydney and Adrian would move forward after that soul-shattering kiss they shared at the end.

I'll admit- I had some trouble getting through this one and even found myself a bit bored at times. I did love all the tension between Sydney and Adrian throughout the book and the whole 'will they or won't they' Mead has going on for them. The storyline, however, fell a little flat for me. I was engaged, but not overly so. I kept waiting for the action to happen, and it just didn't quite do the trick for me. After reading The Fiery Heart, I do see how important the events in The Indigo Spell were, as they play a huge role in redefining our heroine and really make her reexamine everything that has been ingrained in her from the Alchemists.

I felt this book gave us a lot of character development, especially for Sydney. She is testing the magical waters with her teacher Ms. Terwilliger (ok maybe thrown into the water is a more accurate phrasing), and is learning to harness the power she has within, even though she knows the Alchemists would flip if they ever found out. Ms. T is worried for Sydney's safety, as there is a witch going around draining young women of their youth to keep for herself. Aside from that, she is suspicious that the Alchemists are hiding things, important things, such as a possible connection between them and the Warriors of the Light, a group of vampire hunters. She is determined to find ex-Alchemist Marcus Finch and hope that he can provide answers. When she does find him, he encourages her to join his band of rebels and to go on the run, leaving the Alchemist life behind. However, it wouldn't just be her Alchemist life she would be leaving...

Sydney has a lot of decisions to make in this book and none of them are easy. She really shows how much she has evolved just by her struggle to do what's right versus what's in her heart. And Sydney Sage definitely proves that she has heart in this book.

One of the biggest draws of this series is without a doubt Adrian Ivashkov. I think I can speak for all Vampire Academy fans when I say how upset we were when we saw him get his heart broken by Rose. So for Adrian to open himself up again, this time to Sydney.... whew! I was dying! Never would you think these two would work together, but they do! As Mead slowly breaks down Sydney's prejudices, she is also opening her up to possibilities she never thought she'd ever have, including feeling something for Adrian. I love that they have developed a true friendship first, and even though Sydney tries to keep things strictly platonic between them, they keep getting thrown in situations that make it very difficult to avoid the feelings brewing underneath the surface.

Overall, this wasn't my favorite in the series. It did pick up and get more interesting towards the end, especially with the big decision Sydney made that will change everything....
3238886
I have to admit this was a wonderful read, but it could
have been better. I'm thinking that maybe if she hadn't made the
book so long, she could have kept the important storylines and kept the reader involved.
  This book includes everything:mystery, love, romance, thieves, kids, animals. But in my opinion it tries to tell too many stories at once. Also I feel that too many things happened
conveniently to make the story fall into place.
  All in all, this was a great book and I give it a rating
of four stars:)
1527747
It was good but I felt some things could have been explained better. But overall I really did enjoy it