Review: Between Now and Always by Dylan Allen

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This was a difficult book to power through. It's angst ridden and the pace is extremely off. Everything happens at sonic speed and at times it can be jarring. 

The plot of the book is that Elisabeth (aka Beth, Clover, Liz) meets Carter after a night of unfortunate events. She attends this party and quite honestly due to the rude of other people she runs into Carter. They spend one night together & basically fall head over heels in love with each other. 

Like mentioned earlier, this pacing is extremely fast. So it was very hard to buy in to this idea that Carter & Beth were so attached to each other after one night. 

Another problem I had with the book was the treatment of Beth. Everyone besides her brother and Carter, treated her poorly and like a child. There were several occasions where her family members would comment on her appearances. It was heartbreaking. 

I had conflicting thoughts about the majority of the characters. This is especially true for Beth. I swear for the majority of the book I had to keep reminding myself that this was a 20 something year old woman because at times she didn’t seem like it. There was something off with her characterization. I had as similar problem with Carter. I wouldn’t quite understand him. 

Final Analysis 

Between Now & Forever was an oddly paced book that was overloaded with angst and drama. 

Review: 1001 Questions to Help Flesh Out Your Character by Christina Escamilla

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1001 Questions to Help Flesh Out Your Character isn’t structured like a normal book. It’s more like a workbook, and I can honestly say that I had the time of my life working through this book.

The premise of the book is that the author listed 1001 questions to help an author develop their characters. The types of questions can be categorized into four categories. They include: background, the mind, the body, the soul, and non-traditional. Each category has a couple of subcategories listed underneath them. The book is structured in a way which is easy to read and bounce around if someone might be struggling with a particular attribute or trait they want their character to have. 

Like mentioned earlier, I had a good time navigating through this book. The book is very much straightforward but the creative process of developing the characters is what heightened my development. The author included several questions that I would have never thought about in terms of developing a character. For example, one of the questions were in a group setting what would the character likely contribute. That question made me think for a couple of seconds. Typically, that isn’t a question that I think about. But when there is a need to develop strong, three dimensional characters, I think questions like that are very important. 

Final Analysis

1001 Questions to Help Flesh Out Your Character was a helpful and instructional guide to developing characters. 

Review: Pearl by Deirdre Riordan Hall

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I’ve struggled with this book. It started off strong but unfortunately as it progressed I lost interest. 

Pearl tells the story of a teenager who mothers is a has been rock star who is currently struggling with addiction. After unfortunate circumstances, Pearl is sent to a private school while her mother seeks treatment. While there will she travel down her mother’s path or forge her own? 

Like mentioned, this book started off extremely strong. Pearl lives this tragic lifestyle and has a such complicated relationship with her mother. And it was intriguing and heartbreaking to see that carry on in the first half of the story. Unfortunately, the book looses the momentum when Pearl goes to boarding school. 

I became disinterested in the story and with the new characters introduced. And again unfortunately, that storyline becomes a big part of the book. 

It seems almost forced and hard to connect with any of the new friendships that Pearl develops. There is still the dynamic of the situation with her mother in the background. But the stakes don’t seem as high. 

Final Analysis 

Pearl has a strong beginning but unfortunately it loosing the momentum when the book progresses. 

Review: Asher Black by Parker S. Huntington

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Parker S. Huntington stole my heart with Devious Lies. That book quickly became one of my favorite books of the year. Unfortunately, I still waited a few weeks to read Asher Black. If I’m being honest, it was because I was afraid that it was going to have a heavy emphasis on the Mafia and have an extremely dark tone that I wasn’t in the mood for. But imagine, my surprise when I finally got around to reading Asher Black and I was completely and utterly captivated by it. 

The story centers on Lucy and Asher. After being dragged to a nightclub by her new roommate, Lucy stumbles across a shady business deal in the bathroom hallway. She does what any reasonable person would do- she contacts the police. Unbeknownst to her before making the call, one of the parties involved in the deal was Asher Black- former mafia hitman, billionaire CEO, and New York’s most eligible bachelor.  Out of fear, Lucy spends the next couple of weeks fearful that she is going to be killed by the mafia. That is until Asher Black shows up in her college class with a proposal. The shady business deal that she interrupted, was him setting up an arrangement with a woman so that he could have a fake finance to win his company back. And since she ruined it, Lucy now finds herself fake engaged to Asher Black. 

I really loved this book. I devoured this book in one setting. It was everything and more. I think one of my favorite things about this book, besides the characters, was that it wasn’t as dark and gritty as I had thought it would be. It’s light and funny. And when it does deal with dark subjects, it does it in a respectful manner. 

Also, the writing was outstanding. Parker S. Huntington has a way with words and knows how to write amazingly good dialogue. In addition, she knows how to dive into a character’s mind. This book is told only in the POV of Lucy. And the author captured and created this wonderful human who is brilliant, funny, witty, and human. Lucy is the average American’s representation in the world of the gritty mafia world. She would react to a situation and I would like “yup, I would totally do that.” 

All the characters are amazingly beautiful and human. It was hard not to fall in love with Asher. He’s supposed to be this gritty and tough character, but he’s so sweet, caring and thoughtful. He had a strong connection and loyalty to his found family. He allowed himself to be extremely vulnerable with Lucy in the beginning and it always felt that he had her best interest at heart. He’s not the typically Alpha male mafia type and I think that’s why I enjoyed him so much. He didn’t force Lucy into anything. 

Like mentioned earlier, I had read Devious Lies way before diving into this one. This is the first book that Parker S. Huntington has published and it’s set in the same world as Devious Lies. Lucy and Asher make an appearance and it breaks my heart that I didn’t appreciate their appearance there. I went back and reread their scene and it was gold. They are an outstanding duo. 

I can’t say enough good things about this book. I enjoyed it and wouldn’t put it past myself to reread it in the future. 

Final Analysis 

Parker S. Huntington knows how to tell a great story with an outstanding romance. Per usual, she excels with Asher Black and this mafia strongly intertwined with a fake relationship trope. 

Review: Life Is a 4-Letter Word: Laughing and Learning Through 40 Life Lessons by David A. Levy

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Book Summary:

Laugh and Learn with These Life Lessons

Insights from a veteran psychologist: Dr. David Levy is a media consultant who has appeared on over 70 television and radio broadcasts, from CNN to National Geographic, to provide psychological perspectives on current events. His previous works have been published internationally, many of them becoming bestsellers. In this book, Levy approaches readers on a more personal level but carries the same expertise that he’s shared with viewers and listeners worldwide.

Valuable life lessons: Levy’s book takes a different approach than others in the self-help genre. Rather than being instructional, Levy shares bits of wisdom through telling his own stories. In other words, he offers life lessons without lecturing or preaching. Written in a style that is engaging and humorous, readers will find relatable truths in Levy’s uplifting stories and wise advice.

A journey to wisdom: The path to living a smarter lifestyle is not always smooth. Levy encourages readers to embrace all the feelings his book may bring out as they read his stories, from laughing to wincing, and learning along the way. Discover the power of positive thinking as Levy shares a lifetime journey of personal reflections, growth, and wisdom.

Dive into Dr. David Levy’s latest book, Life Is a 4-Letter Word, and find…

• 40 autobiographical essays, each one containing a relatable and applicable life lesson

• A unique source of both humor and inspiration that reassures readers that life is good
• A self-help book for men and women from a published professional in psychology

If books such as You are a Badass, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F—, Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff, and Sometimes You Win—Sometimes You Learn have interested you, then Life Is a 4-Letter Word should be your next read!

Review:

Life can be tough sometimes depending on what you are going through. Usually, it's down the road when you can reflectively understand the why of the situation and hopefully gain some perspective that will put you at ease. I came across a book that piqued my interest regarding those sentiments. Life Is a 4-Letter Word, even though the experiences may be exclusive to the author, the life lessons and reflective thoughts may be similar to many of you out there. It was a quick but fulfilling read. The 40 life lessons broken down in the book were reflective of his personal experiences and life lessons learned.

There were moments that pull at you, many that were funny and others that made you sit back and think. I've found the best wisdom shared from those who've lived life and that is evident in his stories shared. It's not a self help book telling you how to live life rather than one that is sharing some nuggets of wisdom that he learned that you might find applicable to your life. This book has mass appeal and I feel all would enjoy. I'd recommend checking it out.

Review: Just One Year by Penelope Ward

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For the most part, I enjoyed Just One Year. It had a sweet romance that was hard not to enjoy. 

Just One Year tells the story of Teagan and Caleb. After having an unfortunate meeting in the bathrooms, Teagan discovers that Caleb, a British student, will be staying with her family while he completes his freshman year in Boston. Due to their embarrassing meeting, Teagan is not too fond of him…or is she?

As mentioned previously, I enjoyed this book for the most part. It was rewarding to witness Teagan and Caleb grow into something serious and passionate. There was this real sense of chemistry between them and rawness. They didn’t see eye to eye in the beginning, but it wasn’t hate at first sight. It didn’t take long for them to realize that maybe they were wrong about each other. And once they did they developed this strong and honest friendship. 

One of my major criticism of the book is that once Teagan and Caleb got together, the book sort of started to fizz out. That doesn’t mean that I wasn’t interested and enjoying the couple. It’s just that the urgency of the possibility of Caleb leaving didn’t feel as strong. It begun to get a little repetitive and rehearsed themes kept being brought up. 

Another major criticism I had with the book was Teagan and the relationship with her friend, Kai. This was not a believable friendship, and Kai didn’t seem supportive at all. Fortunately and unfortunately, the friendship is only around to advance the plot. 

Final Analysis 

Just One Year has a sweet romance. However, towards the end of the book, it struggles to keep the momentum and drags on.