Good storyline, but lots of flaws
581846
These books have a good storyline, but if you're picky on the details I'd think twice about getting them. Sometimes the author forgets little details, like hair or eye color, and suddenly changes them but sometimes she forgets major details, like Claire's friends have no idea who Myrnin is and she's not supposed to talk about him anyway. It gets bad around book 4.
4100457
I enjoyed this book, it is a good escapist read, however there were some flaws that really detracted from the story.  Gemma, the main character, is well drawn, but the story does not quite paint her as perhaps the author intended.  She is supposedly trying to be a normal teenager to escape her hidden alter ego, a Europop superstar, yet her escape seems to amount to a rather  exclusive public high school where all the girls she comes to know are gorgeous and rich, all the boys are hunky jocks and all them spend enormous amounts of time making sure they are wearing very expensive clothes and seemingly have no interest in the less beautiful or the less rich.  They certainly show no interest in the academic side of school life (nor in music!).  Gemma is supposedly a 'compassionate' person and though I found her very likeable, I saw no evidence of compassion, she acted more like a spoiled brat.  For instance at one point Gemma and her 'A-list' friends are shopping in a mall and one of them makes some very catty remarks about the less fortunate shoppers and...nothing.  No hint that this disturbs Gemma, or any of the clique she hangs out with.  When there is a major blizzrad she watches her brother struggling to clear the driveway but doesn't consider helping her, and with her lithe dancer body don't tell me she is too weak to do this.  I know at one point they mention that Queen Bee does nice things for her fans but it was never shown.  And Queen Bee isn't Gemma, just a pop persona.

There are some well drawn scenes - the alluring night life, a scene where she is trapped with another pop superstar with rampaging fans close by was really well done. A major sub-plot involving one of her friends turning enemy and the build-up to a major confrontation was well executed. And the whole double life tension etched throughout kept me intrigued.

I would have like to have known Gemma's thoughts on some of her courses, on her music, and on, well, on people I could relate to, who aren't beautiful or rich.  Since Gemma was supposed to be a decent and compassionate person, why didn't she help out some of the less fortunate students at her school, the ones who don't have enough money to buy or even bring a lunch (it is a public school after all), or befriend someone who is perceived as part of a lesser clique than the one she is a member of? Overall I didn't particularly like any of the major characters because life was too easy for them, and they didn't seem to be thinking beyond their noses.  But the set-up and the writing were such that I really did want to like Gemma more.

I'm debating whether to read the 2nd book in the series - can someone tell me, Does Gemma grow at all?
1876643
The good:  The author has created an intriguing story line.  She is good at creating imaginative descriptions and phrases.  She can take what is essentially a list of actions by a character and make it sound interesting.  This author is talented.

The bad:  This story desperately needed a real editor.  There are many typos and many problems with grammar.  She needed an editor to be merciless in cutting out all the fat from this story.  This story should be at least half the length (it is estimated at 765 pages).  It is SO repetitive.  The great phrasing and descriptions created by the author are interesting the first two or three times you read them, but she goes through the same descriptions over and over and over again.  The best examples:  Darcy getting angry, Darcy barely hanging onto his control, Darcy losing control.  Some combination of these events are in every chapter - usually multiple times.

At about the 60% point, I started skimming.  I found that if I just focused on dialog and skipped over the repetitive descriptions, the story was actually easier to follow.  The explicit scenes don't really start until about 70%.  There are, of course, too many of these scenes and they are terribly repetitive.  At this point, I just wanted to get to the end.

There are characters that are introduced for really no reason (McDuff).  There didn't need to be multiple attacks on Elizabeth.  The attack after a wedding seemed pointless, and any reader would see it coming from a mile away.  There was foreshadowing that led nowhere (Hurst warning Darcy about Caroline).  There was a scene of torturing a bad guy that was hard to read.  I was also put off by the way Darcy viewed God and the church.  Readers come from many backgrounds, and it would have been best to just leave this out.  Basically, Darcy is estranged from the Church and doesn't seem to believe in God.  This is never resolved in the story.

I really regret that I paid for this story, when I could have read it at a fan fiction site for free.  I thought that I would get a polished version if I paid for it.  It was not worth the money I paid, as it lacked professional editing and there were so many errors.  One example:  The author doesn't seem to understand the difference between the subject pronoun "I" and the object pronoun "me".  Again and again "I" was used as the object of a preposition ("...between Elizabeth and I")  Yikes.

In summary, if you love paranormal P&P variations and can overlook all the repetitions and the many mistakes in editing and grammar, you will enjoy the rich, descriptive writing style of this author.  She is talented.  If rampant editing problems and LOOOONG, repetitive stories drive you nuts, you will be disappointed in this story.  I hope this review is helpful!
1993559
This story had several strong points. 1) It kept me interested and did not drag. 2) Eugenie is a strong female character (something missing in too many books in my opinion), 3) There is a great friendship between the two main females

However, the problems with the story are an issue. 1) I did not like Will, the "hero" of the story. He is a bit of a pig and he is obnoxious. His friend, Andrew, is so much more likeable. I can't see the appeal, 2) My second huge complaint is a typesetting issue but it bothered me throughout the whole book. I read it on Kindle. Maybe in print it is better. Normally, in a novel, when there is a change of scene, there is a separation of the text with symbols, eg. **** or some such thing. There was no separation of the text. Thus, when the scene changed from, for example, the Will and Andrew speaking to the criminals, I was utterly confused. It just happened without any introduction to a change.

I would definitely give this author another try because her writing did keep me reading.
1256178
thoroughly enjoyed the storyline. author needs a new editor. grammar, subject/verb agreement, spelling all left a lot to be desired. detracted from the overall enjoyment of the read.
2163789
Im happy I didn't try this until it was free. The storyline had promise and there were moments where I genuinely enjoyed it. Unfortunately, as soon as I started getting into the story, there would be a glaring error. Im talking about plot holes, flat characters, ridiculous phrasing, not grammatical errors. I would probably be pissed if I had paid, instead Im confused and annoyed. Maybe Ill try the author again in a few years, after shes had time to develop, but probably not.
4729460
I really liked the storyline and the writing itself was great, but there were a BUNCH of grammatical/spelling errors that really should've been picked up by the editor. Instead, they were very distracting.
4615815
The protagonist was a twit.  I liked the storyline, I liked most of the characters, but the protagonist was awful.  She ruined the overall read for me. Anytime I can skip through large segments of a book at a time and not notice anything missing from the storyline, there is a serious problem with the book.  Very disappointing.  I think I saw somewhere that a 3rd book was being either considered or written.  Leave these poor characters alone, they've been through enough crap.
2158929
The premise of this story is good, and I enjoyed the characters and their motivations. I would give the story itself a higher rating, probably a 3 (too much repetition throughout for a 4), but the amount of mistakes in the book are too many to overlook. There are many punctuation errors that cause confusion when reading. I had to constantly re-read to get the correct meaning, placing mental commas where they should have been. It was very distracting for me. Spelling errors and other mechanical and grammatical problems took away much of the pleasure of the story for me. This author's time would be well spent in making thoughtful edits, or by paying someone to edit the book for her.
2462195
PLOT OR PREMISE:
A tax auditor discovers fraud, revenge and murder/
.
WHAT I LIKED:
The writing is pretty good and I love the premise of the protagonist (a Revenue Canada tax auditor).
.
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
I had difficulty with three things in the book. First, I found there were way too many characters to keep them all straight. Second, I didn't like the relationship between Alex and Jillian, very hard to follow why this would be a romance that would "bloom". Third, I just plain don't like Jillian...the choices she makes, the rationale for her relationships and interactions with men, all of it made me feel like an accomplice to sexism. All together it presented a challenge for realism, but it may also just be my personal preference to read about a character like Jillian.
.
DISCLOSURE:
I received no compensation, not even a free copy, in exchange for this review. I am not personal friends with the author, but I did interact with her briefly online.
119243
The core story of this book is an interesting one. The author's journey 1/2-way across the country with her ex-boyfriend and sometimes-best friend to take his dying father and his mother, suffering from Alzheimers, to their new home in Washington state is an intriguing one that is at times heartbreaking and at other times quite humorous. Unfortunately, this story is lost in the numerous flaws of this book.

First, the author tries to weave the story of her relationship with her ex-boyfriend/sometimes-best friend to the story of the journey. She fails. Instead, she jumps back and forth between the two abruptly and, often, when the reason to do so isn't clear. The constant changes in story line are jarring at best.

Also negatively affecting the flow of the story is the almost-constant repetition of even minor information. Does the reader really need to be told a dozen times or more, for example, that the father must keep his wallet in the center console during the trip, and that at ever stop he hands his son the credit card, waits to have it returned to him, and then puts it back in the wallet and the wallet back in the console? The point could have been made without the constant repetition. Numerous times I thought I had turned back a page or two instead of forward as I found myself reading the exact same information yet again.

The author's use of the same sentence style over and over and over and over also creates a very choppy, disjointed text. Almost every single sentence is written with a "subject-verb" beginning, and often several sentences in a row begin with the exact same few words. There is no flow, no rhythm to the writing.

it's hard to really care about the characters beyond the surface sorrow that someone is dying, someone has lost their memory, a son is dealing with both situations, and an ex-girlfriend is reluctantly along for the ride. None of the characters are fully developed.

Had this story been revised more carefully to replace the repetitious material with information that created more richly-drawn characters, and had someone suggested the use of sentences of varying styles and lengths, this book would have been more worthy of a reader's time. As it is, though, it simply is not.

And that's a shame!
3186023
I will definitely say that the premise of this book hooked me!  It's a different and potentially interesting storyline, although so far there has been a fair amount of predictability.  The grammar and spelling are terrible though, and it definitely takes you out of the story when there are missing words, or completely wrong words.  Small things like mixing up he for she drove me batty!  My other issue is the length.  This is realistically about a prologue and maybe 2 chapters worth of a story.  Which would be fine if there was a complete story with a beginning, middle, and end within those 2 chapters... however here all we really get is a semi-strong beginning.  We are barely introduced to these characters, and suddenly the book is over?  Before anything has even happened?  Only in the world of self published books would this be sold!  I don't want to tear apart the author, because I do think she has some good ideas, and has the beginnings of a nice little world to work within.  But this book desperately needs some editing, and a whole lot of re-write before it should be released to the public.
3080456
There are a couple of things about the storyline that always ruins a book for me. When the heroine takes all the blame and when she does all the pursuing and shows her desperation and weakness. This is my first book by this author and she is good. But if this is a pattern with her heroines , I won't be a fan.
3092916
Storyline is good.  Characters are likable and reasonably well developed for a short book.  The editing is pretty bad though - enough that it can be quite distracting from the storyline.  I'd actually like to read more of this series, but unless he finds a new editor, I'll probably pass.
4359039
I liked the storyline and I didn't want to put the book down. The author obviously didn't have the book edited before publishing it. A lot of grammar and spelling mistakes. This book had a little of everything: prejudice, kidnapping, emotional rollercoaster, imprisonment, politics, religion, cultural differences, Stockholm syndrome, blackmail, and more.
3486958
It really needs to be edited properly. The misuse of words and the overly descriptive parts of the book are very distracting. I had to force myself to finish it after the first few chapters. I'm glad I did because I enjoy the storyline very much. If another one comes out, I will definitely force myself to read it, though I thoroughly hope the next one gets edited to make it a more easy read so I don't  have to force it!
3570434
Overall, I liked the storyline. (It was different from what I normally read.) The writing was not edited well, though. There were times where the story changed from first person to third person and back to first person in one sentence. There were many occasions where words were completely missing from sentences, although the brain fills them in easily enough. I don't know that I'd purposely read this author's work again.