Intertwined

Intertwined

by Gena Showalter

If there is anyone who could use a few minutes by himself, it's Aden Stone.  Except he's never alone.  Aden has four souls living in his brain.  They've been there as long as he can remember.  None of them know how they got there.

Unfortunately, while the souls can speak inside Aden's mind, Aden can only communicate with them by speaking out loud and this leads to everyone physically around him thinking that he's completely insane.

It doesn't help that each of the souls has a power that can transfer to Aden when needed.  One can travel through time.  One raises the dead.  One can predict the future. And one can possess any human with physical contact.

The future predicting soul has seen a girl who will be Aden's dream and his nightmare.  He's also seen that one of the souls will be freed if the right choices are made. 

So now Aden has to find the girl and make all the right choices to either save himself or destroy himself.

Final thoughts:  UGH!  I swear, I've almost forgotten how to use my Kindle because I've avoided it so much as I've been reading this book.  I tried and tried and tried to finish this thing.  Kindle says I'm at 76%.  But I just can't force myself anymore.  This is a mess.  It starts off with Aden "accidentally" raising the dead when he wanders into a graveyard and then there is the girl he has a physical reaction to whenever she comes near, the vampire, the werewolf, the "powers" that for some reason have to all be demonstrated one after the other, the obligatory and repetitive references to people thinking he's insane (or, at least, highly unstable, which he seems to be), etc...  Plus he's a badass with weapons tucked into his boots, but is a wimp who is constantly worrying more often than not and making horrible choices (lucky for him that his vampire girlfriend can screw with people's memories and cover his mistakes).  There was just too much here trying to cover too much ground and not really getting anything done.  I literally put down the Kindle and ignored it for a week, opened it for an hour of struggling through this, and then closed it for another week.

Ah, Amazon... you have failed me with you recommendation.

Rating: 1/5

Shut Out

Shut Out

by Kody Keplinger

After yet another make-out session with her boyfriend is ruined by the rivalry between the football and soccer teams, Lissa decides she's had enough.  She's sick of the fight coming first.  She's sick of her boyfriend leaving her to do battle.  And she's really sick of people getting hurt.

So she decides to do something about it.

She gets all the girlfriends of soccer and football players together and proposes a radical plan:  a sex strike.

No more sex.  No more nookie.  Not even second base until the guys arrange a truce and stop the tricks, the pranks, and the injuries.

But Lissa didn't count on her boyfriend being a jerk.  

She didn't count on the guys fighting back. 

And she definitely didn't count on Cash Sterling.

Final thoughts:  Cotton candy book.  It's cute, but no great shakes.  Interesting little teen romance that's OK, but not written well in some places.  I was frustrated by some of the inconsistencies and the constant references to the Lysistrata.  It felt a little forced, like the author was saying, "GO OUT AND READ THIS GREEK PLAY!!!"  However, past that, it was still sweet and Chloe, Lissa's best friend, was a fun read.  It was also good to see girls finally TALK about sex in a realistic way.

Rating: 3/5

Drink Deep

Drink Deep

by Chloe Neill

It's been two months since the Master of Cadogan House was murdered in front of Merit's eyes.  The House is still devastated.  The vampires are still reeling.  Merit is still alone.

On top of that, a representative from the GP has taken over the running of the House, rationed food and blood, reinstated archaic rules, and prevented the vamps from doing their jobs.

As an added bonus, nature itself seems to have gone completely wonky.  The water has become a black, magical vacuum.  The skies have turned red and is shooting out deadly lightning.  And the supernatural creatures around Chicago are all at a loss for what's wrong.

For Merit, the time for mourning is over, even as her dreams of Ethan have become more vivid and her best friend has all but disappeared as she works to pass her sorceress exams.

The Sentinel also has someone who's interested in her as more than just a friend or partner, even if she's not yet ready for that.

And the bad times just keep on coming...

Final thoughts:  I'm glad I trusted Neill even after the last book.  I was a little nervous walking into this book, but I was rewarded.... mostly.  While in the last book, the writing was tightening up and getting more focused, now it's bare minimum.  I missed the relationship between Merit and Ethan, which, of necessity, had to be lacking, but was really important just because it was key to all of the previous books.  The ending felt really rushed and a little obvious.  This is more of a book to connect the previous one and the next one, so I'm not jumping up and down, but it's still Merit, so I'm still happy to have read it.

Rating: 4/5