The Duff by Kody Keplinger

Hey everyone,

Today I’m reviewing an audiobook, it feels like ages since I’ve listened to a book, so my holiday in Spain felt like the perfect time to start The Duff. Now I’ll be honest I mainly brought this book because I wanted to watch the movie, that and I had a bunch of credits left on Audible.

The book:

Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper may not be the prettiest girl in her high school, but she has a loyal group of friends, a biting wit, and a spot-on BS detector. She's also way too smart to fall for the charms of man-slut and slimy school hottie Wesley Rush, who calls Bianca the Duff—the designated ugly fat friend—of her crew.

But things aren't so great at home and Bianca, desperate for a distraction, ends up kissing Wesley. Worse, she likes it. Eager for escape, Bianca throws herself into a closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship with him.

Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out Wesley isn't such a bad listener, and his life is pretty screwed up, too. Suddenly Bianca realizes with absolute horror that she's falling for the guy she thought she hated more than anyone. 

My thoughts:

I found The Duff an interesting if at times irritating read. The reason for this conflict was mainly down to the main character, Bianca Piper. In many ways I loved her independence, her loyalty to her friends and family and her honesty. She wasn’t afraid to be different than those around her, to form her own opinion rather than trusting the word of others.

“I shook my head. "Don’t bother making excuses," I said. "Don’t waste your time because, the fact is, I am the Duff. But so is everyone else in the world. We’re all fucking Duffs.”

The Raven by Sylvain Reynard (Audiobook)

Hey everyone,

I feel like this is the book everyone is talking about this month, and because I had an excessive amount of credits on my audible account I decided to get the Audiobook version. Now, although I probably don’t need to I’m going to introduce the book, because tradition and all that.

The book:

Raven Wood spends her days at Florence's Uffizi gallery restoring Renaissance art. But an innocent walk home after an evening with friends changes her life forever. When she intervenes in the senseless beating of a homeless man, his attackers turn on her, dragging her into an alley. Raven is only semiconscious when their assault is interrupted by a cacophony of growls followed by her attackers' screams. Mercifully, she blacks out, but not before catching a glimpse of a shadowy figure who whispers to her . . .

Cassita vulneratus.

When Raven awakes, she is inexplicably changed. 

Upon returning to the Uffizi, no one recognizes her. More disturbingly, she discovers that she's been absent an entire week. With no recollection of her disappearance, Raven learns that her absence coincides with one of the largest robberies in Uffizi history--the theft of a set of priceless Botticelli illustrations. When the police identify her as their prime suspect, Raven is desperate to clear her name. She seeks out one of Florence's wealthiest and most elusive men in an attempt to uncover the truth. Their encounter leads Raven to a dark underworld whose inhabitants kill to keep their secrets . . . 

My thoughts:

What is it about this author? Every single one of Sylvain Reynard’s book draw me and absorb to the extent that the rest of the world ceases to exist until I’ve finished. It the alluring wonderful quality of these books that resulted in me staying up until three in the morning listening to it and then spending all of the next day listening too it. Seriously I listened to TEN hours worth in one day. Driving, food shopping, cooking, working etc everything was done with The Raven as my background.

The Vintage Girl by Hester Browne

Hey everyone,

I wasn’t originally going to review the audiobook version of The Vintage Girl by Hester Browne, it was a book I purely listened to because I enjoyed the story. When I pick a book to review I feel I to have something intelligent to say about the book. I need to make a note of what I did and didn’t like and although it doesn’t lessen my enjoyment of the romance genre it does change how I approach reading it.

This week I felt like taking a reading holiday, I just wanted to read books I enjoyed rather than ones I thought were appropriate to review (basically I try to review more recently published books and keep the genres varied, nothing sinister before you get the wrong idea). But as soon as I finished this book I wanted to talk about it, I wanted to share my thoughts and opinions, despite how long ago it was originally released, or the fact that its already been hugely successful and has loads of reviews. So these are my thoughts and opinions on The Vintage Girl and I apologise if I just end up repeating what thousands have probably already said.

The (audio)book:

When Evie Nicholson is asked to visit Kettlesheer Castle in Scotland to archive the family heirlooms, she jumps at the chance. Evie's passion for antiques means that, for her, the castle is a treasure trove of mysteries just waiting to be uncovered. 

But in each heirloom lies a story, and in the course of her investigations Evie stumbles upon some long-buried family secrets. Add handsome, gloomy heir Robert McAndrew and a traditional candlelit gala to the mix, and Evie's heart is sent reeling with an enthusiasm that may just extend beyond the Kettlesheer silver....

My thoughts:

Time to let you all in on a little secret, I heavily dislike chick lit, and I hope i’m not the only romance reader to think this. It isn’t that chick lit is bad (although really can we pick a less insipid name) it just isn’t my cup of tea and I dislike how romance and chick lit are often paired together, as if the two genres are interchangeable, when as any reader of either genre will know they have subtle but significant differences. In many ways The Vintage Girl leans slightly more towards chick lit than I would usually be comfortable with, and if it had been a book rather than an audiobook I proudly wouldn’t have brought it.

My Wildest Fantasies by Julianne MacLean

Hey everyone,

This book was first published by Avon a few years back and I’ll be honest I wasn’t even aware of its existence. In fact it was quite a few years later that I randomly stumbled upon the newly released audio version on Audible. After the reading the blurb and listening to the sample (an essential step IMO) I immediately brought In My Wildest Fantasies. 

The Book:

Julianne MacLean's thrilling Pembroke Palace Series begins when a young and innocent aristocratic lady is rescued from a runaway coach by a heroic stranger on a horse-who appears like a phantom out of the mist in a fog-shrouded forest.

Lady Rebecca Newland cannot forget the captivating nobleman who saved her life, and she sets out to meet him again when she is of an age to be courted. Unbeknownst to her, her timing is impeccable, for Devon Sinclair, the future Duke of Pembroke, has just been informed by his mad father that he must take a wife before Christmas in order to thwart a family curse and preserve his inheritance.

Lady Rebecca is everything Devon could want in a wife - she is beautiful, charming, and she desires him openly. But can a marriage built on fantasy succeed, or will the lovers be forever entangled in the seductive web of their mutual passion for what occurs each night the marriage bed?

My Thoughts:

A historical romance with a strong heroine, a gothic influence is a book I wanted to love and for the first half I did, however, for me it all went down hill after the marriage took place. At the start I loved Rebecca and Devon, the chance meeting in the foggy forest had me hooked. Rebecca seemed intelligent, curious and brave; Devon was strong, heroic and noble. The sparks were instantaneous, only destroyed by Rebecca being seventeen and therefore far too young for Devon.

The House of Four Winds by Mercedes Lackey & James Mallory

Hey everyone,

So its Halloween and being British and a slight cynic it isn’t a holiday I celebrate; I mean I may have baked a chocolate cake, opened a bottle of cider and read an amazing book but that’s not celebrating. For a start there are no costumes, scary or otherwise in sight! Secondly I have yet to have a single trick or treater, however, I appreciate this holiday is extremely popular in America and perhaps in other parts of the world (Is it? Does anyone know? I’ve never even thought about it before) so happy Halloween everyone and as a gift from me to you I give you a review of The House of Four Winds by Mercedes Lackey & James Mallory. I’m nice like that... Well some of the time at least.

The (audio)book:

The tiny nation of Swansgaard is a lovely place with abundant natural resources, including the royal family, which has been blessed with twelve daughters and a son. As this boisterous baker's dozen approaches adulthood, the king and queen lovingly tell their daughters, "You must make your own fortune, for we cannot enrich you without impoverishing our people or leaving our lands defenceless, and that we will not do."

Clarice, an expert swordswoman, is the first to depart. Disguising herself as Clarence, she signs on for a voyage to the New World. The captain is vile and blackhearted, and the crew soon mutinies. Clarice becomes first mate - and finds her heart captured by the new captain, Dominick, who is, to his own surprise, increasingly attracted to Clarence.

Now outlaws, Dominick and his crew turn to piracy - though their hearts are not entirely in it. They soon run afoul of the Pirate Council, who orders them to retrieve the Heart of Light. All who have searched for this great treasure have vanished, with neither ships nor crews ever seen again and no sign of their fates ever discovered. But none before have carried with them the sorceress Shamal, who stakes a claim of her own on Dominick's heart.

My Thoughts:

Pirates, magic, romance and fantasy all combine in The House of Four Winds to the wonderful narration of Emily Sutton-Smith. As soon as I read the blurb I was desperate to read this book, so much so that I rashly brought the audio version as it wasn’t available in Kindle format in my country. I am so glad I did. This story swept me away into a world of intrigue and adventure upon the high seas. Set in a fantasy world that was arguably similar to our own in the 17th and 18th century it follows the story of Clarice, a Princess who must make her own way in the world, who chooses to make her fortune as an expert swords(wo)man. To do so she disguises herself as a male and goes by the name Clarence; the cross-dressing trope is perhaps one of the oldest in the romance world, I mean just look at Shakespeare’s comedies. Yet Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory pull it off beautifully.

Sold to the Enemy by Sarah Morgan

Hello everyone,

I’m back from Malta and during the course of the holiday I managed to read ten books so lots of reviews coming up! And yes I did leave the hotel and see some of the sights while I was there. Anyway today I’m reviewing an audiobook I finished on the first night of the trip Sold to the Enemy by Sarah Morgan. Also for those in the UK (not sure about other countries) Audible is currently having a weeklong sale on romance books for its members, everything is around £5.99 so there could be some deals to be had!

 The (Audio)book:

Stefan Ziakas might be her father's most hated business rival, but he's the only man who has ever made Selene Antaxos feel beautiful. So, needing to make a new life for herself, Selene apprehensively turns to Stefan for help. Except the dark-hearted tycoon is nothing like the white knight she remembers! Selene realises it's not always better the devil you know... She's sold her soul - and her heart - to the enemy!

My Thoughts:

This book has been out for quite a few years, however, it has only been available in audio format for a couple of months. Having said that I haven’t actually read the book and don’t plan on. Is anyone else like that? You read a book and then won’t listen too it and vice versa? Anyway enough of my rambling and onto the review!

I really enjoyed Antonia Beamish’s narration of Sold to the Enemy, I thought the male and female voices were really good, particularly the Greek pronunciations. This is a story that kept me gripped, something I wasn’t expecting from a Mills & Boon romance. I started listening just before bed and couldn’t stop until about 1 am when common sense and tiredness finally won the battle. I found the novel a strange contradiction between light hearted comedy and grittier romance, personally I think the blurb shies away from mentioning some of the darker themes presented within this book.

Ghost Planet by Sharon Lynn Fisher (Audiobook)

Hello internet,

The (Audio)book:

Apologies this was the biggest picture I could get of the audio version!

Psychologist Elizabeth Cole prepared for the worst when she accepted a job on a newly discovered world - a world where every colonist is tethered to an alien who manifests in the form of a dead loved one. But she never expected she'd struggle with the requirement to shun these "ghosts."

She never expected to be so attracted to the charming Irishman assigned as her supervisor. And she certainly never expected to discover she died in a transport crash en route to the planet.
Reincarnated as a ghost, Elizabeth is symbiotically linked to her supervisor, Murphy - creator of the Ghost Protocol, which forbids him to acknowledge or interact with her. Confused and alone - oppressed by her ghost status and tormented by forbidden love - Elizabeth works to unlock the secrets of her own existence.
But her quest for answers lands her in a tug-of-war between powerful interests, and she soon finds herself a pawn in the struggle for control of the planet... A struggle that could separate her forever from the man that she loves.

My Thoughts:

As soon as I read the blurb of this book I wanted to own it! It just sounded so amazing as I love science-fiction and I love romance so what could be better than a book that promised to be good at both? I loved the blurb so much I didn’t even listen to the sample narration on audible... this may have been a mistake, however, to do justice to the author I’m going to start with all the reason I loved Ghost Planet.