Tori's Review: Between by Kerry Schafer

Released: January 29, 2013  
Paperback: 304 pages
Price: $7.99
Publisher: Penguin
Source: Publisher
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Series: The Between
Buy: Amazon


Add this book to your Goodreads shelf

Vivian Maylor can’t sleep. Maybe it’s because she just broke up with her boyfriend and moved to a new town, or it could be the stress of her new job at the hospital. But perhaps it’s because her dreams have started to bleed through into her waking hours.

All of her life Vivian has rejected her mother’s insane ramblings about Dreamworlds for concrete science and fact, until an emergency room patient ranting about dragons spontaneously combusts before her eyes—forcing Viv to consider the idea that her visions of mythical beasts might be real.

And when a chance encounter leads her to a man she knows only from her dreams, Vivian finds herself falling into a world that seems strange and familiar all at once—a world where the line between dream and reality is hard to determine, and hard to control…

My Rating:  

My Opinion:
Ever read a book that's left you scratching your head, wondering what you just read? BETWEEN is all that, and so much more. I feel like my review is going to sound confused at best. If it does, that is because this book left me so bewildered I still don't understand half of what I read one week later.

It started off well enough. There was an interesting heroine, an interesting back story, and the pacing was nice and even. Then we meet the hero(?) of the book, and things started to get a little trippy. Instant attraction, whispers of a past together, even though the two never met in that reality. Why wouldn't they have met in the same reality? Well, apparently, there are three different realms in this world: dreaming, waking, and the between. Interesting concept, right?

I remember thinking to myself: wow, this is so unique, what an awesome book! But then we shift. When Vivian comes to understand that she is some sort of Dreamshifter (I think that's what she was called), instead of becoming a badass heroine who takes her powers and destiny into her own hands, she seems to just drift. Vivian is wishy-washy at best. There is nothing about her personality that stood out, and I found myself growing more and more frustrated as things grew more and more confusing.

My biggest issue, however, despite the poor explanations of the different realms and where Vivian was traveling next, was the rape. I'm not sure which realm Vivian was raped in. It wasn't even that descriptive (I would have DNFed if it was), but it did not further the plot in any way. It sort of just happened, and she enters another realm 3/4 of the way into it, feels sore, and that's the end of it. No emotional reaction, no evolution of her as a character.

I am not okay with this, and I cannot figure out why authors think it is okay incorporating such a delicate subject in such tasteless ways that do not further the plot.

To make things worse, when Vivian meets the man who raped her in one world in the Between, he is dominating and arrogant, and you pretty much get the vibe that he will try to rape her again in this world. And how does Vivian react? Well... she doesn't. She just continues drifting, lets him manhandle her, and that's it.

Adding to the confusion of what realm Vivian is in is the addition of the same character, but as different characters. You have the real world versions, then in the Between, you have the "dreaming" versions of these characters. Vivian is confused, and that confusion was amplified for me as I struggled to understand just what was happening.

It's not often that I rate a book with 1 star. Even less that I have such an intense dislike for something I've read. If the rape was not included in this story, it would not have been memorable for me; since it was, I can't help but feel a little angry every time I recall this story.

Final verdict? Avoid this one unless you want to torture yourself trying to figure everything out. And watch out for the rapey scenes.


Series Order:
1. Between

Book Dragon's Review - Loving Scarlett by Lola Newmar

Price: $16.99 paperback / $5.50 Kindle
ASIN: B004LLIPUQ
Released: January 31, 2011
Publisher: Siren Publishing
Buy it: Amazon
Obtained: Via Amazon
Genre: Paranormal Erotica
Series: Scarlett Rose and the Seven Longhorns collection
Book Order:
1. Loving Scarlett
2. Dear God please don't let there be any more!
From the Amazon.com description:

Siren LoveXtreme: Erotic Cowboy Paranormal Menage Romance, M/F/M/M/M/M/M/M, Longhorn shape-shifters, light bondage] After a traumatic and mysterious fall off a cliff, which results in amnesia, virginal twenty-one-year-old Scarlett Rose is saved by seven sexy cowboy brothers.

Frightened and disoriented, her confusion peaks when she immediately feels an inexplicable, intense attraction to the beautiful strangers, including a doctor, a mysterious nightshift ranch hand, a set of triplets, and a set of twins! Scarlett's reality receives another sucker punch when she discovers her heroes are actually Texas longhorn-shifter cowboys who claim she is their destined, life-long mate. The Lenox brothers have waited their entire lives to find the one woman they were born to share. Their newly discovered mate exceeds their wildest dreams. She’s gorgeous, witty, and her blood-red lips drive their bulls wild with passion. But this Texas yellow rose has thorns. She demands outside contact, but the men insist on protecting her from the mysterious person who hurt her. They decide the only way to get their stubborn mate to stay is if they make sure she never wants to leave. NOTE! You are purchasing Siren's newest serialized imprint, the LoveXtreme Forever Series. This is Book 1 of 9 in the Scarlett Rose and the Seven Longhorns collection. These books are not stand alone. Each is a continuation of the previous book and must be read in the numbered order. Each book may end on a cliffhanger but usually with a happy-for-now for the heroine and one or more men. The final book contains a happily forever after for the heroine and all her men.

My Rating: A very sad, very disgusted, 1 dragon DNF

My Opinion:

The Book Dragon has returned with a tale of caution and woe.  There is not enough mind bleach in the world to rid her of the horrors she has seen in her absence from the blog.  Of course, I have returned just to share the horror with you.  Don't you feel special?!

Now, to the review.

People.  Oh, PEOPLE.

 

This book is crazy. And not in a good way. It’s just not right when an erotica leaves you amused and confused instead of turned on.  Also, head’s up—naughty words and spoilers ahead.

 

It’s about one girl getting her freak on with 7 brothers, who are longhorn (yes, longhorn cattle) shifters. It opens up with her having amnesia at the bottom of a cliff.  She obviously fell. Also, clearly her name is Scarlett Rose, because the locket around her neck says so.

 

She’s a pertyful amnesiac who is also the destined mate of the brothers. ALL OF THEM.

 

Which they can tell by her scent.

 

Also, she’s a virgin.

Wut.

 

Considering this book was an erotica, it took an awfully long time to get to the smex. I mean, by chapter 5, the most we had was a hard-on. 

 

Instead of a traditional review, I will give you Book Dragon’s thoughts as she read through this story.  Here is a blow-by-blow (hur hur hurrrr) of some notes I took and text messages I sent while reading this story:

 

Oh, Jesus. The heroine has violet eyes. I CAN SEE WHERE THIS IS GOING ALREADY.

 

7 brothers AND SHE’S A VIRGIN.  Yeah. Also, one of them is a doctor.  Dr. Tran, perhaps?

 

(Seriously, if you don’t get the reference, you need to DROP EVERYTHING AND WATCH THIS NOW.) 

 

HE…IS A MAN OF HONOR.

 

ROFL his name is Dr. Leo Lenox

 

AUGH RANDOM STATEMENT OUT OF NOWHERE ABOUT HER “PUSSY CREAMING”

 

Bathroom chandelier wut??

 

PERVY VOYEUR LONGHORN IS A VOYEUR. AND PERVY.

 

40% in and it’s finally on like donkeykong.

 

I think.

 

Nevermind. Cockblock by apparent bull-shifter psychic MAGIC. Wut.

 

!!!!!!!!!

 

ONE OF THE BROTHERS IS WHIPPING OUT THE WANG.  BUT THE GIRL ISN’T IN THE ROOM, ONLY HIS BROTHERS.

 

What I don’t even

 

And they talk about their boners and rib each other about jacking off since she got there. Wut.

 

Helloooooo infodump.

 

She just called one of the guys on pitching a tent!

 

AHAHAHAHA!  The same brother excuses himself right as they’re all sitting down to dinner “to wash his hands” (aka rub one off).

 

Aaaaaand her pussy leaks from a handshake during introductions. I think she needs an adult diaper or a cork.

 

Her lips become red from eating, thereby becoming invitation for sexual assault. Methinks the pr0nz are imminent.

 

Or not. At 50% into this mess, I feel gypped.

 

And now the attempted murder subplot appears. Wut.

 

The wangsting is wangsty. And boring.

 

Heh. Now we’re getting to it.

 

Of course Leo spanks her in front of 5 of his brothers as punishment for her eavesdropping on their conversation. *facepalm*

 

Now a brother is holding her still against her will while Leo shifts—in his livingroom, mind you—into a longhorn. *doublefacepalm*

 

HOLY SHIT.  His cock hangs to midthigh when flaccid!

 

OH JESUS ENOUGH WITH THE INFODUMP TALKFESTS JUST BONE ALREADY.  Seriously, at 67%, WHY IS THERE NO PR0N YET.

 

70%. FINALLY.  Finger penetration. Done as unsexily as possible.

 

Wait. He jerks off while fingerfucking her. WHAT WAS THE POINT.  Worst. Sex scene. Ever. *facepalm*

 

The rest of the brothers show up. Oral, tit play and dirty talk. NO ACTUAL SEX.  Also, “her creaming cunt” just made my girlparts go “ewwwwww”.  I think this woman needs to see a gyno, stat.

 

Yay. She’s un-virgin-ified.  But—ugh. She’s leaked on the bed. And the other brothers are watching/yanking from the bedroom door.

 

I just said “oh GOD” out loud at “the squishing sound of her juices”

 

...

 

And that did it. I couldn’t finish this story, even though I was at about 95%. The strawberry girl (a destined one-in-a-million type thing where the shifters’ children will only be born human, not carrying on the shifter curse) thing just killed me.

Tori's Review: Greywalker by Kat Richardson

Audiobook: 10 discs; 12.25 hours
Price: $34.95 
ASIN: B001G4Y8UW
Released: September 12, 2008 
Publisher: Penguin
Author's Website: Kat Richardson
Buy it: Amazon 
Obtained: Library 
Genre: Urban Fantasy 
Series: Greywalker Series
Book Order: 
1. Greywalker
2. Poltergeist
3. Underground
4. Vanished
5. Labyrinth  
6. Downpour (book review)

Harper Blaine was slogging along as a small-time P.I. when a two-bit perp's savage assault left her dead. For two minutes, to be precise. 
   When Harper comes to in the hospital, she begins to feel a bit ...strange. She sees things that can only be described as weird-shapes emerging from a foggy grey mist, snarling teeth, creatures roaring.  

But Harper's not crazy. Her "death" has made her a Greywalker-able to move between our world and the mysterious, cross-over zone where things that go bump in the night exist. And her new gift (or curse) is about to drag her into that world of vampires and ghosts, magic and witches, necromancers and sinister artifacts. Whether she likes it or not. 

Audiobook Rating: 1/5 Stars
GREYWALKER Rating: 3/5 Stars
Overall Rating: 2/5 Stars

My Opinion:
So I listened to my first audiobook, and I must say I am not entirely impressed with my experience. I won't write them off entirely because I think it was primarily the reader who bugged me, but regardless, I will not be going out of my way to attain more books like this. Unfortunately, I have the library audio copies of the next three books in this series. My hope is that it will only get better, not worse, in time.

My primary problem was the inability to focus 100% on what happened within the pages. This could be due to the fact that I was browsing the web and chatting on twitter while the CDs played in the background. The plus side, however, was actually being able to multitask while the audio played. I think that I would be able to focus a lot more successfully if I listened to this on my commute to class. Ah well, I can experiment with that on my commute this week.

Harper certainly is the reluctant heroine. I think she would have frustrated me a bit had I actually read the book, but because I was listening, I heard the story in a different tone. This, I think, made the hugest difference for me. I know that had I read GREYWALKER, I might not have had as much patience for her as I did while listening. But, since the reader was the one annoying me, I overlooked a lot of the "I won't accept what is happening, because it can't be happening!" denial on Harper's behalf.

My disconnect with the characters and the heroine is what ultimately made me rate this story lower, and I blame the audiobook for that reason. Since I both zoned out, and because I was not reading the story and absorbing it more fully, I really felt no connection. I hope that changes in later audiobooks, and if it does not, then at least the fifth and sixth books will be read via print.

Interviews with random people... giving her card out. Dialogue lasting for at least ten minutes at times. These were major turn offs for me, and something I might have been tempted to skim had I been reading. Plus all the angsting/denial.

As it was, GREYWALKER felt like it meandered a lot, and I was confused about where this book was headed. I am unsure if this was because of the actual plot line, or because of my tendency to zone out while listening. Either way, I would suggest readers check out the actual book and avoid this particular audiobook at all costs. The reader's voice bugged me so much I wish I could have bashed my head against the wall while listening to all 10 discs.