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I won a copy of this book from the Goodreads First Reads Giveaway program.For me, this is the modern version of [b:He's Just Not That Into You: The No-Excuses Truth to Understanding Guys 10412 He's Just Not That Into You The No-Excuses Truth to Understanding Guys Greg Behrendt https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388205020s/10412.jpg 822184]. While trying to get to know a guy and date we're dealing with Facebook, Twitter, Apps, dating sites, Skype, and texting. Always texting. So. Much. Texting!Lisa and Carrie started HeTexted.com, a site to receive peer advice to decode what a guy really means. Questioning if a guy actually likes you or is an incorrigible flirt looking for a hookup? Post a screenshot and others will weigh in. There's even a section to seek out more private advice from actual guys.So, that's what started this book, which is broken down into different things a guy can do to communicate in this digital age. Things like adding you on Facebook, ranting, sexting, emoji and emoticon usage, all the way to texting vs. saying “I love you” in person. Lisa, Carrie, and three “bros” weigh in throughout. There are also image examples of texting conversations pulled from the site.Now, lets get into what I personally thought. Me, being me, I took notes. I knew some things I was not going to agree with and other things would completely speak to me. I wanted to make sure I kept track. Hello yellow sticky notes. I also felt I probably wasn't necessarily the target demographic with this book. At the end of it all I realized no matter what you've got going on everyone's probably run into some of the scenarios being tackled here, and we've all for sure been confused about a love interest at some point.I got through the first chapter entitled He Friended and immediately asked this new guy I've been talking to for about a month if he only looked through my pictures or checked out other parts of my page. He'd only looked at my pics. Throughout the month I'd skimmed his wall, gone through his liked music pages, and even ended up on his sister's and mother's profiles. Ok, so the book has men and women pretty much pegged right so far.About half way through the book there's the He Updated chapter. This is probably the only chapter that actually irritated me. “Women are right to examine his Wall... Everything you need to know about a guy is right there on it.” NO! That's not true at all. Want to know why? Because I am not MY wall. Let me bury you under a mountain of salt you should be taking this chapter with. I know how to make lists on FB or change custom settings and hide things from entire groups of people, or just one. I loved the section about a guy's handle on FB. Um no I didn't. If his name isn't his real name and he's made up some crap just report it. Seriously. It's against the TOS on FB.And for the love of all that is holy, this book needs to stop referencing things like Star Wars or Harry Potter. It's painful because they don't really get it right. This fan does not appreciate it.A few pages later this book is redeemed for me. The last half is a bit more serious. There are little nuggets we all need to absorb and live by. I actually gave some succinct advice from Kenny in the E Txd chapter to my best friend, who happens to be a guy. Proof that some advice goes both ways. It works for everyone. He was confused about a girl being busy. Too busy to text. A BS excuse I've heard more times than I can count. Replace busy with neglectful and don't suffer through someone keeping you waiting for days on end.

I was almost tempted to never add this to a shelf because it's embarrassing. My own, and fremdschämen for the fact that this even exists. Reading this was like being unable to look away from a train derailing. I'm pretty sure there are less tropes and kinks NOT included. Everything under the sun was thrown in. And not always in a good way. There was a safe-word established that I can't recall ever being used. Little miss virgin-had-no-idea-how-sex-worked-or-had-ever-touched-herself was enthusiastically a-ok with EVERYTHING right off the bat. Mhmm sure. Whatever.

I never want to think about Santa sexually in any way shape or form ever again. I wish I could induce memory loss.

I wholeheartedly do love this book. I've read it twice and was quite caught up in it both times. I recommend it. I'll be reading the sequel, of course. And perhaps perusing other works by Follett.

I feel the hidden influence of Follett's ability to write successful mystery or thriller novels added enhancing factors to this novel, while also possibly contributing the few defects. The style can be a bit too abrupt at times, mostly being revealed through somewhat lacking dialogue. All the same, the plot is propelled at a steady and interesting pace with clever twists and turns. We're able to follow many characters and actually understand their motivations, all while not necessarily agreeing with them. I commend Follett for that ability, and his masterful use of foreshadowing. Only on a second read did I see how subtle it was at times.

My only real complaints:
Did they use the words “puke” and “sexy” in that time?
I feel for whoever had to edit 973 pages, but did no one notice these spelling errors? There were only 4 or 5, so not bad for a book of about 400k words. Maybe next printing they'll be gone.

I'm getting the impression the short story reviews are mixed in with the longer novel which seems to be bringing the average down for this. I managed to get my hands on the full length book and haven't read the short story.

3.5 because Serpents of the Abyss is a bit diamond in the rough. There's a gem in there for sure but more editing to smooth out the story probably would have bumped this up to an easy 4.5. You can definitely see where the author decided to go in a very different direction with the story which was a smidge jarring. I was all for the change and enjoyed it but didn't see it coming.

Even though this could use a little work I wanted to immediately jump into more from this world. Continuation books were promised in the end author's note but it looks like they haven't been written yet. I'm very much looking forward to those if Sanders decides to write them.

I HATE this. Cara is an idiot. Tov is a giant asshole. Merrik is just a pretty face half asshole half just along for the ride. My whole life is filled with misogynistic dicks so I certainly don't want them in my free time.

I love alien abduction romance or erotica books. That's rough, better make the best of it. But omg if someone told me I'd actually been abducted as a child and my name changed you'd best believe it would take me more than the 2.6 seconds to process and accept, if ever, that it takes Cara. Little miss can't even remember which direction she came through a door. You mix stupid and Stockholm syndrome and you get this girl.

When the author isn't info dumping to the point of confusion Tov is just bossing Cara around. Re-abducted off Earth, entire life upended, doesn't know a thing about the alien culture or customs she supposedly comes from. Does he seem to care about her or any of this at all? Nope! She's just expected to take her clothes off and follow every order. There's not even a hint of sweet gooey center to this jerk. Book boyfriends these men are not.

There's a scene where Tov and Merrik finish with Cara and Merrik puts her to bed while telling her they'll bring back food. Then they just leave her to cry. You want aftercare? You're not getting it in this book. You want communication, a shred of equality, or respect between characters? It's not here. I kept thinking of Merrik as a lump of a pretty face who's just barely there.

73% of the way in Tov struggles to understand why Cara hadn't realized that they love her and these dingdongs have the nerve to mention she didn't know how to use the mind link between them or understand it's significance. Of course she didn't understand because neither of you bother to talk to her and we're 3 quarters of the way through this shit! I'm just as surprised as she is that you love her because you sure don't act like it.

This is NOT how I like my BDSM erotica or romance. And I'm not even shelving this as romance because calling it that is a joke.

Nope. Can't finish this. DNF at 17%. I'm all for literary smut, but I want my poetry to be teasing and my erotica to be sultry, not in-your-face crass. I don't want to feel like a voyeur or 3rd wheel into Leav and Faudet's relationship (or whatever is going on there). Reading this was like sitting on a couch while your friends have sex next to you and occasionally you get a foot to the head. I just don't need the mental images.

I started [b:Snitch 18519239 Snitch (Bea Catcher Chronicles, #2) Olivia Samms https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1391107546s/18519239.jpg 26218972] on Aug 25 and finally forced myself to finish on Oct 26. I devoured [b:Sketchy 16290044 Sketchy (Bea Catcher Chronicles, #1) Olivia Samms https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1360988990s/16290044.jpg 23681623], the first book, in two days only because I had to sleep.The pacing is slow and the characters are completely unbelievable at times... most of the time. They don't speak or act normally. They did and said things, or things just happened that ended up being filler or drove the story in a way that made me cringe or roll my eyes quite often. There's a subtlety that's desperately needed and missing. Everything is clumsy or unrealistic. It tried to tackle some serious issues, but it's done in a way that provides little depth or connection for a reader.I kind of loved Bea in the first book. As soon as I started this second one I found myself thinking, “What the hell? This is NOT the Bea of book one.” She's turned into a bit of a dunce and is somehow not quite as cool. She's corny, tacky, gross, way over the top, and not true to her age. Bea, the bull in a china shop wrecking everything, jumping to conclusions, and refusing to listen for five freaking seconds.I jumped into book two wanting more Sergeant Daniels and Bea action. I love that a relationship would be taboo. He's adorable. Unfortunately the escalating tension and teasing was not written as well as it could have been. The choice of words did not evoke the right mental image. It didn't flow. It was the wrong kind of awkward and took attention away from these characters finally possibly coming together.I wish I were more excited for this series to continue.

✅ Monsters/aliens who don't ever look humanoid
✅ Protective, feral, and badass towards anyone who hurts his love
✅ Is actually just a sweet ball of fluff on the inside

Thank you Poppy Rhys for not writing ridiculously sized peen that'll send someone to the hospital. And also, no breeding. I'm so tired of that. Just be together. Be happy.

Someone give me directions to planet Incutan... for science.

DNF at 19%, but I was really done at 10%. I'd skimmed to see if it got any better.Ok, Sylvia Day took [b:Fifty Shades of Grey 10818853 Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1) E.L. James https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1385207843s/10818853.jpg 15732562] and rewrote it. That's cool. All sorts of reviews rave that it's way better written than Fifty Shades, and I guess it is. Sort of.This is obviously erotica. Awesome. I'm totally here for the smut. The thing is is I need a decent story and characters. There will be no swooning from me when all I want to do is repeatedly throat punch the lead male character, Gideon Cross. This man is a lecherous boss in a position of power who will use and abuse his power because he thinks he's entitled to... well, everything. There's nothing sexy about sexual assault, which is what was continuously happening. No really does mean no. It doesn't matter what her body is telling you, pal.Cross said nothing until the car was on its way down; then he pushed the call button again and asked, “ Are you sleeping with anyone?”Um WHAT??? This is one of the first dialogue interactions they have and this is what he says? And when Eva asks him why the heck he's asking her:“Because I want to fuck you, Eva. I need to know what's standing in my way, if anything.”She tells him maybe she's not interested and from then on out no matter how many times she says no or pulls away he's trying to grope or kiss her. Just because the readers hear Eva's thoughts about how she finds Cross attractive her words and actions don't always show that. She's torn. But for all he knows she's not really fully interested. But he's not listening.It turns out Cross owns the building Eva lives in. Of course he does. But Eva finds out and is rightfully horrified. His reaction?“I accessed information you voluntarily made available to me.”“Not to you! Not for what you used it for! That has to violate some kind of privacy law.” I stared at him, more confused than ever. “Why would you do that?”He had the grace to look disgruntled at least. “So I can figure you out, damn it.”My skin crawled. Not only is Eva's livelihood in his hands, but so is her living situation. He's now pretty much completely able to cut her off and isolate her if he chooses. Or at least coerce. If you cajole someone into consent it's not really consent.The writing may be better than Fifty Shades of Grey in certain ways, but the story is just as abusive and disgusting and is nothing to emulate.Eva, run. Leave everything and run.

I won this book in a First Reads Giveaway.
After reading a few passages to a friend his response was, “I didn't realize 9th grade me wrote this.”
Honestly, for some reason I thought this might be erotica. Or that it would contain adult content. It would be even more cliche than it already is if it did have graphic sex, but maybe that would have broken up the monotony a little. Coco, the stripper turned model and actress, finally does have sex with her rich mob boss boyfriend Sam on page 224, but to me it was pretty short and sweet. In fact, this didn't feel much like a love story either. The entire point of the book was Coco either rising to fame or making secret business moves against Sam. The romance just happens to further the plot along until it can be used as a twist. Anyway, it took me two months to slog through this book. I kept putting it down and not really being very interested in picking it back up. I've seen most of my complaints voiced in other reviews so far too.
Every other chapter or so the focus shifts back and forth from the present to the past. It was almost like reading two stories in one and at times terribly confusing. I'd start a new chapter and catch myself wondering what the heck was going on. Then light bulb moment and I'd have to remind myself where things had left off.
I love simple and well thought out explanations, but you won't find that here very much. I was either left confused on things explained (real estate), annoyed that things weren't explained (who is Meyer Lansky?!), and downright bored with the constant sermonizing. The same points are made twice back to back all too frequently. There were so many sentences that could have been removed with another stiff edit. You just said that already, we get it. Not to mention I seriously don't care what the author thinks or feels about Robert Downey Jr. or Hugh Hefner, because it certainly didn't feel like those opinions came from characters. And even if they had they don't need to be in the book. Name dropping just alienated me even more.
Speaking of the characters, they were rather hard to relate to. The only person I was actually interested in was Coco's friend, Danny. Unfortunately he's basically just there to move the plot forward.
Coco was downright unbelievable. This was obviously a perfect woman fantasy. There's a line early on where Coco mentions at age 17 that she rarely thinks about her weight due to her high metabolism. Ok, Mr. Male Author. I don't know any girl or woman who doesn't think about her weight. Another reviewer mentions Coco's love of classic cars stemming from her love of Hot Wheels toys as a child. I would have believed her love of cars more if she had reasoned it with a nostalgic connection with her father possibly loving and working on cars before he died.
There were a few other random things I had issues with. The photographer who shot the photo that made Coco famous recommended his life partner as her agent. That agent also recommends lawyers and accountants to handle her money. Conflict of interest much? Nawwww people never screw over pretty perfect blonde women for money. Duh. Before Coco starts acting she has a conversation with someone who blatantly tells her she could act. Someone who knows nothing about acting. This just felt like heavy handed foreshadowing. Most of the dialogue is pretty corny with a rather unnatural flow at times. At one point a sniper hitman tries to kill Sam, Coco happens to be there. About two shots are fired and one of them grazes Coco. Sam and Coco have a conversation later about this professional missing. If they were a pro they wouldn't have missed. Someone's watched too many bad Hollywood movies.

I'm convinced it's the artwork that kept me reading this series. It's SO beautiful. I was amazed at the expressiveness in some of the panels. It's enough to make you stop reading and just stare for a few seconds.

Koharu ends up in a polygamous marriage with a man who already has two wives. I don't have any issues with polyamorous relationships. I know people in healthy relationships with multiple partners. The thing is is you're not in a relationship with one person who's also in a relationship with 1 or more other people. Not in the kind of situation in this series at least.

It took quite awhile for the wives to start bonding and talking about how they deal with the tensions their relationship can cause. Throughout most of the first book this lifestyle is portrayed in a manipulative and abusive way more than I was comfortable with. Yes, I understand that there needs to be drama, tension, and humor to keep readers engaged, but I think these things could have been accomplished without the seemingly unnecessary unhealthy actions of the characters at certain times. This series may be aimed at men, but the story could have still progressed without manipulation and extortion of women. Then again, we haven't seen every motive as this series is till ongoing. Perhaps I'm looking for the best in characters when I shouldn't be. Remains to be seen.

I had to regularly keep in mind to look past the culture differences of gender roles. If you're able to do that then this series is rather engaging. Again, the art!