Kat Kennedy's bookshelf: all en-US Sat, 28 Sep 2024 18:36:49 -0700 60 Kat Kennedy's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg <![CDATA[Breakable (Contours of the Heart, #2)]]> 19865531 All he wanted was to leave the past behind. When he met Jacqueline Wallace, his desire to be everything she needed came so easy...
As easy as it could be for a man who learned that the soul is breakable and that everything you hoped for could be ripped away in a heartbeat.]]> 304 Tammara Webber 0141347554 Kat Kennedy 2
I know I sound harsh. Okay, that I am just plain harsh, but I don’t feel it’s without recourse. After all, I have essentially had one of my favourite new adult novels cruelly snatched from my warm, safe memory of loveliness. This, new, creeper twist to the tale is a mess. And rather like ostentatious flatulence, it pervades everything with its stench. All my old nostalgic recollections of the novel that breathed new hope into me for the genre. All the fondness I had for the characters and the triumph of a normal, healthy relationship has been ripped away.

Lucas has been ruined forever for me.

No longer is he the cool, hot, awesome college boy of my imaginings. Now he’s an emo, whiny stalker who spends so much time fascinated with Jackie, that the entire novel becomes unforgivably droll. What’s Jackie doing right now? Does she like me? Is she scared of me? Is that her getting an orange mocha frappacino for her first coffee of the day? What perfume is Jackie wearing?





This is the story’s biggest fault. Jackie is not an interesting character to the reader because we’ve already been in her head, already know what she’s thinking. The allure with Easy was that Lucas was a romantic interest amongst other concerns that Jackie had in her day to day life such as passing her classes and not getting sexually assaulted. Lucas has no great story to tell and in doing so, his story becomes so uneventful and predictable that I spent five whole minutes whacking the book against my bed. That was a lot more fun than reading this book, by the way.

My advice is, don’t do it. Don’t do it to yourself. You will almost certainly regret it forever. My only hope at this point is to suffer some horrific brain injury that causes an amnesia, forcing me mentally and emotionally go back to a time before I read this book.

channing tatum'/><br /><br />Yup. And maybe I’ll wake up married to Channing Tatum. Ha! <br /><br /><i>I was given no money nor goods or services for this review.<br /><br />You can find this and others like it on my blog, <a href=Cuddlebuggery Book Blog.]]> 4.04 2014 Breakable (Contours of the Heart, #2)
author: Tammara Webber
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2014
rating: 2
read at: 2014/06/17
date added: 2024/09/28
shelves:
review:
Breakable by Tammara Webber follows the same storyline, essentially, as the previous novel, Easy. Only it’s like Easy’s opposite in every way. Easy was about Jackie, Breakable is about Lucas. Easy was awesome, Breakable is a messfest of creepernatural behaviour. Instead, Webber should write a novel on how to ruin a romance in three easy steps. Step one being obsessive stalking. Step two is a monotonous origins story for Lucas that holds as much interest as an inflatable kiddie pool. Fun for five minutes before quickly becoming a waste of space and resources.

I know I sound harsh. Okay, that I am just plain harsh, but I don’t feel it’s without recourse. After all, I have essentially had one of my favourite new adult novels cruelly snatched from my warm, safe memory of loveliness. This, new, creeper twist to the tale is a mess. And rather like ostentatious flatulence, it pervades everything with its stench. All my old nostalgic recollections of the novel that breathed new hope into me for the genre. All the fondness I had for the characters and the triumph of a normal, healthy relationship has been ripped away.

Lucas has been ruined forever for me.

No longer is he the cool, hot, awesome college boy of my imaginings. Now he’s an emo, whiny stalker who spends so much time fascinated with Jackie, that the entire novel becomes unforgivably droll. What’s Jackie doing right now? Does she like me? Is she scared of me? Is that her getting an orange mocha frappacino for her first coffee of the day? What perfume is Jackie wearing?





This is the story’s biggest fault. Jackie is not an interesting character to the reader because we’ve already been in her head, already know what she’s thinking. The allure with Easy was that Lucas was a romantic interest amongst other concerns that Jackie had in her day to day life such as passing her classes and not getting sexually assaulted. Lucas has no great story to tell and in doing so, his story becomes so uneventful and predictable that I spent five whole minutes whacking the book against my bed. That was a lot more fun than reading this book, by the way.

My advice is, don’t do it. Don’t do it to yourself. You will almost certainly regret it forever. My only hope at this point is to suffer some horrific brain injury that causes an amnesia, forcing me mentally and emotionally go back to a time before I read this book.

channing tatum'/><br /><br />Yup. And maybe I’ll wake up married to Channing Tatum. Ha! <br /><br /><i>I was given no money nor goods or services for this review.<br /><br />You can find this and others like it on my blog, <a href=Cuddlebuggery Book Blog.
]]> Before (Heven and Hell, #0.5) 12964286 Before.

This is the story of my past. Of what things were like for me when everything was normal. Of what every teenager’s life is like. Clothes. Parties. Boys and summer vacation. What’s so wrong with that?

I liked it. I was happy.

Until things changed. I changed.

I didn’t know that lies and secrets were about to take over my existence. I didn’t know there was someone out there, someone meant just for me. I didn’t know that I was about to go on a journey, a journey that would lead me to the girl I am today.

This is the beginning of the worst year of my life. Would I go back and change things? Erase everything that has happened to go back into these moments?

Not a chance.

This is a story of before.]]> 45 Cambria Hebert 1936593270 Kat Kennedy 0 to-read 3.66 2011 Before (Heven and Hell, #0.5)
author: Cambria Hebert
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 3.66
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Steel's Edge (The Edge, #4) 12119496 The Edge lies between worlds, on the border between the Broken, where people shop at Wal-Mart and magic is a fairy tale—and the Weird, where blueblood aristocrats rule, changelings roam, and the strength of your magic can change your destiny�

Charlotte de Ney is as noble as they come, a blueblood straight out of the Weird. But even though she possesses rare magical healing abilities, her life has brought her nothing but pain. After her marriage crumbles, she flees to the Edge to build a new home for herself. Until Richard Mar is brought to her for treatment, and Charlotte’s life is turned upside down once again.

Richard is a swordsman without peer, future head of his large and rambunctious Edger clan—and he’s on a clandestine quest to wipe out slavers trafficking humans in the Weird. So when his presence leads his very dangerous enemies to Charlotte, she vows to help Richard destroy them. The slavers� operation, however, goes deeper than Richard knows, and even working together, Charlotte and Richard may not survive...]]> 388 Ilona Andrews 1937007820 Kat Kennedy 0 to-read 4.16 2012 Steel's Edge (The Edge, #4)
author: Ilona Andrews
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Chasing Before (The Memory Chronicles, #2)]]> 16081764
Felicia and Neil have arrived in Level 3 and are supposed to prepare for their divine vocations.

But during Felicia and Neil's training period, a series of explosions rips through Level 3. Tension is high, and casualties are mounting. A rift forms between the pair, one that grows wider when Felicia receives memories from the Morati. The memories cast doubt on the people she loves the most, but Felicia can't stop her curiosity. She has to know the truth about her life � even if it means putting at risk everything she’s worked for in her death.]]> 368 Lenore Appelhans Kat Kennedy 0 to-read, arcs-books-to-read 3.52 2014 Chasing Before (The Memory Chronicles, #2)
author: Lenore Appelhans
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 3.52
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/07
shelves: to-read, arcs-books-to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Warlord Wants Forever (Immortals After Dark, #0.5)]]> 6388558
She eludes him for five years, but he has finally chased her to ground and stolen the jewel which commands her, giving him absolute power over her. While he possesses it, he can make her do anything, and he plans to in order for her to experience firsthand the agonizing, unending lust she'd purposely subjected him to for half a decade. Yet when Wroth realizes he wants more from her and frees her, will she come.

Note: First published in the 2006 anthology, Playing Easy to Get.]]> 163 Kresley Cole Kat Kennedy 2
According to Cole, the answer to this is that she's just too damn empowered and has too many rights!

unempowered
Surely relinquishing her unappreciated freedoms and rights will make her abundantly happy... and compliant... and slutty...

I hear an objection from the Kresley Cole fans and in the interest of fair media representation, I'll relay it to the rest of you. "But Kat, the novels ends with Wroth and Myst in an equal relationship where Myst has her freedom and Wroth is remorseful for his treatment of Myst."

That's very true.

But this happens AFTER Myst has been "tamed" and brought to heal like a bitch in heat. It also happens after Myst, who is a two-thousand year-old woman of immense power and knowledge, contemplates how happy she is now that she's no longer in charge of her own life.

I am not exaggerating, either. She reminisces on how, unknowingly, she's been waiting for a man stronger than her to come along, overpower her and take away those burdensome choices.

women's rights
Stop lying! You're just angry because you don't have a kitchen to go home to!

Note to men: Despite how insanely beautiful and attractive I am, I can assure you that any attempt to kidnap or control me will not end pleasantly on your behalf. Despite my Super Slut Powers, I'm less than likely to fall to pieces at the sight of your sizable "manroot" and decide to exchange regular access to it for my freedom.

I really actually enjoyed how this novel started because Myst was just so badass. She reminded me of Holo out of , which is a great anime if you're new to the genre and are looking for something to convince you that the Japanese aren't all weird and creepy perverts.

My issue with Cole is that she interprets female strength, in this novel, as using your sexuality as a weapon and deceiving men with the illusion of sex. I don't think sexuality mingled with deception is women's greatest weapon or strength any more than I think a man's greatest weapon is his physical strength. In fact, Myst never even really tries to outsmart Wroth, as if it's a useless attempt. Dude, you have like 1300 years on the guy! You don't have one trick up your sleeve that doesn't involve handjobs?

free ride
I can think of ten better ways to get a ride out of a guy and I'm only 24, Myst. It's like you're not even trying...

On the other hand, there IS something endearing about this novel.

sexy man
I just can't quite put my finger on it though...

Okay, this novel really, truly is very sexy. It is it's one redeeming feature other than the ending where I'm convinced that at least this couple has a chance of surviving a relationship together, which I can't say for most romance novels, so that's a positive.

And just in case you didn't get the memo, this book is very, very sexy.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to read every single thing that Kresley Cole has ever written.

leonard
What? Like you've never seen a hypocrite before?
]]> 4.04 2006 The Warlord Wants Forever (Immortals After Dark, #0.5)
author: Kresley Cole
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2006
rating: 2
read at: 2011/02/21
date added: 2024/08/07
shelves: death-by-paranormal-romance, books-that-deserve-painful-death
review:
Do you know a woman who's bitchy, non-compliant and difficult?

According to Cole, the answer to this is that she's just too damn empowered and has too many rights!

unempowered
Surely relinquishing her unappreciated freedoms and rights will make her abundantly happy... and compliant... and slutty...

I hear an objection from the Kresley Cole fans and in the interest of fair media representation, I'll relay it to the rest of you. "But Kat, the novels ends with Wroth and Myst in an equal relationship where Myst has her freedom and Wroth is remorseful for his treatment of Myst."

That's very true.

But this happens AFTER Myst has been "tamed" and brought to heal like a bitch in heat. It also happens after Myst, who is a two-thousand year-old woman of immense power and knowledge, contemplates how happy she is now that she's no longer in charge of her own life.

I am not exaggerating, either. She reminisces on how, unknowingly, she's been waiting for a man stronger than her to come along, overpower her and take away those burdensome choices.

women's rights
Stop lying! You're just angry because you don't have a kitchen to go home to!

Note to men: Despite how insanely beautiful and attractive I am, I can assure you that any attempt to kidnap or control me will not end pleasantly on your behalf. Despite my Super Slut Powers, I'm less than likely to fall to pieces at the sight of your sizable "manroot" and decide to exchange regular access to it for my freedom.

I really actually enjoyed how this novel started because Myst was just so badass. She reminded me of Holo out of , which is a great anime if you're new to the genre and are looking for something to convince you that the Japanese aren't all weird and creepy perverts.

My issue with Cole is that she interprets female strength, in this novel, as using your sexuality as a weapon and deceiving men with the illusion of sex. I don't think sexuality mingled with deception is women's greatest weapon or strength any more than I think a man's greatest weapon is his physical strength. In fact, Myst never even really tries to outsmart Wroth, as if it's a useless attempt. Dude, you have like 1300 years on the guy! You don't have one trick up your sleeve that doesn't involve handjobs?

free ride
I can think of ten better ways to get a ride out of a guy and I'm only 24, Myst. It's like you're not even trying...

On the other hand, there IS something endearing about this novel.

sexy man
I just can't quite put my finger on it though...

Okay, this novel really, truly is very sexy. It is it's one redeeming feature other than the ending where I'm convinced that at least this couple has a chance of surviving a relationship together, which I can't say for most romance novels, so that's a positive.

And just in case you didn't get the memo, this book is very, very sexy.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to read every single thing that Kresley Cole has ever written.

leonard
What? Like you've never seen a hypocrite before?

]]> The Call of Cthulhu 15730101 The Call of Cthulhu is a harrowing tale of the weakness of the human mind when confronted by powers and intelligences from beyond our world.]]> 43 H.P. Lovecraft Kat Kennedy 3 3.97 1928 The Call of Cthulhu
author: H.P. Lovecraft
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 3.97
book published: 1928
rating: 3
read at: 2014/08/08
date added: 2024/08/07
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[World After (Penryn & the End of Days, #2)]]> 12983100 Angelfall, the survivors of the angel apocalypse begin to scrape back together what's left of the modern world.

When a group of people capture Penryn's sister Paige, thinking she's a monster, the situation ends in a massacre. Paige disappears. Humans are terrified. Mom is heartbroken.

Penryn drives through the streets of San Francisco looking for Paige. Why are the streets so empty? Where is everybody? Her search leads her into the heart of the angels' secret plans where she catches a glimpse of their motivations, and learns the horrifying extent to which the angels are willing to go.

Meanwhile, Raffe hunts for his wings. Without them, he can't rejoin the angels, can't take his rightful place as one of their leaders. When faced with recapturing his wings or helping Penryn survive, which will he choose?]]> 438 Susan Ee Kat Kennedy 0 to-read
...then give it me! Give it me!]]> 4.24 2013 World After (Penryn & the End of Days, #2)
author: Susan Ee
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/07
shelves: to-read
review:
Finish writing this book, damnit!

...then give it me! Give it me!
]]> <![CDATA[Tales of the Otherworld (Otherworld Stories, #II)]]> 8150675 In this dazzling collection of Otherworld tales, Kelley Armstrong’s most captivating lead characters appear alongside her unforgettable supporting players, who step out of the shadows and into the light.ĚýHave you ever wondered how lone wolf Clayton Danvers finally got bitten by the last thing he love? Or how the hot-blooded bad-girl witch Eve Levine ensnared the cold, ruthless corporate sorcerer Kristof Nast? Would you like to be a fly on the wall at the wedding of Lucas Cortez and Paige Winterbourne, whereĚýnothingĚýgoes as planned? Or tag along with Lucas and Paige as they investigate a gruesome crime that may be the work of a rogue vampire? Whether you’re new to the Otherworld or a longtime fan, you’ll thrill at the discoveries to be found in these eight tales of friendship, adventure, and enduring romance, featuring a cast of superhuman men and women whose fierce passion and undivided sense of purpose make them very human indeed.]]> 446 Kelley Armstrong 0553907425 Kat Kennedy 3 kat-s-book-reviews
In some ways, I was really glad I'd read it and in others I somewhat despaired. Beginnings is the story of how Clay and Elena met and fell in love, roughly set ten years before Bitten where they finally resolve their issues and relationship.

And that's the big problem for me. I'd always imagined, while reading Bitten, that they had this wonderful, deep relationship that had been destroyed by one act of betrayal and thus took ten years to get on track. However, Beginnings shows that, really, Clay and Elena had a very shallow relationship that was really only the relational equivalent of an infant. It was hard to get to the end of their story and realize it would be ten years before they would both develop the skills and relationship that could be sustainable and healthy. However, I applaud Armstrong's impressive story-telling technique and abilities. The text is most definitely well written with compelling characters and situations.

So whilst in some respects, it didn't live up to what I'd imagined, it was still a great read and I'm still glad I had the opportunity for further insight into their relationship. Was it as great as Bitten? No, but honestly, how could an emerging tale of two flawed protagonists reaching an ultimately unsatifying ending possibly compare to the latter story of two seasoned and flawed protagonists finally coming together?

Onto a more important topic: I think Armstrong is the only author so far to reasonably pull off a stalking, obsessive paranormal male as romantic, in my opinion. Clay is socially disfunctional and nearly more wolf than man. It's understandable.

Edward has no excuse. None.

]]> 4.32 2010 Tales of the Otherworld (Otherworld Stories, #II)
author: Kelley Armstrong
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2010
rating: 3
read at: 2010/01/08
date added: 2024/08/01
shelves: kat-s-book-reviews
review:
This is only a review for Elena and Clay's portion of Tales of the Otherworld as I never read the series past Stolen and they were the only couple I was interested in.

In some ways, I was really glad I'd read it and in others I somewhat despaired. Beginnings is the story of how Clay and Elena met and fell in love, roughly set ten years before Bitten where they finally resolve their issues and relationship.

And that's the big problem for me. I'd always imagined, while reading Bitten, that they had this wonderful, deep relationship that had been destroyed by one act of betrayal and thus took ten years to get on track. However, Beginnings shows that, really, Clay and Elena had a very shallow relationship that was really only the relational equivalent of an infant. It was hard to get to the end of their story and realize it would be ten years before they would both develop the skills and relationship that could be sustainable and healthy. However, I applaud Armstrong's impressive story-telling technique and abilities. The text is most definitely well written with compelling characters and situations.

So whilst in some respects, it didn't live up to what I'd imagined, it was still a great read and I'm still glad I had the opportunity for further insight into their relationship. Was it as great as Bitten? No, but honestly, how could an emerging tale of two flawed protagonists reaching an ultimately unsatifying ending possibly compare to the latter story of two seasoned and flawed protagonists finally coming together?

Onto a more important topic: I think Armstrong is the only author so far to reasonably pull off a stalking, obsessive paranormal male as romantic, in my opinion. Clay is socially disfunctional and nearly more wolf than man. It's understandable.

Edward has no excuse. None.


]]> The Shipping News 7354
A vigorous, darkly comic, and at times magical portrait of the contemporary American family, The Shipping News shows why E. Annie Proulx is recognized as one of the most gifted and original writers in America today.
(back cover)]]> 337 Annie Proulx 0743225422 Kat Kennedy 4 3.88 1993 The Shipping News
author: Annie Proulx
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 3.88
book published: 1993
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2023/10/31
shelves: contemporary-fiction, i-learned-something-new
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Killing Dance (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #6)]]> 30244 368 Laurell K. Hamilton 0425209067 Kat Kennedy 4 4.14 1997 The Killing Dance (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #6)
author: Laurell K. Hamilton
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 4.14
book published: 1997
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2023/10/21
shelves: books-that-deserve-painful-death
review:

]]> Virals (Virals, #1) 7800188
As the friends discover their heightened senses and animal-quick reflexes, they must combine their scientific curiosity with their newfound physical gifts to solve a cold-case murder that has suddenly become very hot--if they can stay alive long enough to catch the killer's scent.

Fortunately, they are now more than friends--they're a pack. They are Virals.]]> 454 Kathy Reichs 1595143424 Kat Kennedy 0 3.95 2010 Virals (Virals, #1)
author: Kathy Reichs
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2010
rating: 0
read at: 2011/03/20
date added: 2023/08/03
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Ecstasy Untamed (Feral Warriors, #6)]]> 138582160
Shattered by recent nightmarish events, Hawke feels his bond with his animal spirit weakening—and once it breaks, he’s finished. The arrival of Faith sends his life spinning even further out of control, for although she delights him and enflames his deepest primal passions, she’s promised to Maxim, the newest Feral Warrior.

Faith is drawn to Hawke from the start, but Maxim holds her in his thrall and has secretly bent her to his malevolent will. Though gravely damaged, Hawke is the only one who can end Faith’s slavery and protect the Feral Warriors from Maxim’s evil designs. But first they both must embrace the wild . . . and surrender body and soul to a forbidden, all-consuming ecstasy.]]> 372 Pamela Palmer 0061794732 Kat Kennedy 0 why-god-why


Merged review:

Is it just me or are they trying to make the cover model look like Taylor Lautner?

]]> 4.24 Ecstasy Untamed (Feral Warriors, #6)
author: Pamela Palmer
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 4.24
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/04/23
shelves: why-god-why
review:
Is it just me or are they trying to make the cover model look like Taylor Lautner?



Merged review:

Is it just me or are they trying to make the cover model look like Taylor Lautner?


]]> Lady Windermere’s Fan 11398359 56 Oscar Wilde Kat Kennedy 4 4.10 1892 Lady Windermere’s Fan
author: Oscar Wilde
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 4.10
book published: 1892
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2022/06/09
shelves:
review:

]]> Skylark (Skylark, #1) 15794189
For fifteen years, Lark Ainsley waited for the day when her Resource would be harvested and she would finally be an adult. After the harvest she expected a small role in the regular, orderly operation of the City within the Wall. She expected to do her part to maintain the refuge for the last survivors of the Wars. She expected to be a tiny cog in the larger clockwork of the city.

Lark did not expect to become the City's power supply.

For fifteen years, Lark Ainsley believed in a lie. Now she must escape the only world she's ever known...or face a fate more unimaginable than death.]]> 344 Meagan Spooner 1467731293 Kat Kennedy 3
The world building of Skylark is both imaginative and rich. It has a fascinating backstory set in a dangerous and vivid world. By the end of the novel I was rather attached to the characters and invested in Lark's and Oren's struggles. I cheered them on and felt a little heart palpitation at the impossibility of their circumstances.

Your enjoyment of this novel will hinge on what kind of reader you are. Do you like writing so animated and dynamic that it leaves you feeling as if you've reached through the pages and felt everything the author intended you to feel? Do you like a slow and sensual walk through a character's journey as if you are taking it yourself? Then, by all means, go get this book. Read it. You will love it.

I was simply the wrong reader. I don't typically like journey stories with lots of walking from A to B where every ache along the way is explored. I like fights. I like blood. I like sex. I like action. I like suspense. This novel has a lot of that (Well not the sex) but I wasn't feeling it due to the plot which simply wasn't gripping enough to keep me coming back. I enjoyed the book while I read it, but struggled to muster the enthusiasm once it was put down.

But I really have to hand it to Spooner. It's just been so long since I've seen writing like this that I almost wish I'd loved it more.

"Then I looked up.

And saw the sky.

The wind had blown the day's thick cloud cover away, and a bottomless blackness yawned above, pockmarked with stars. A sliver of moon cast the sickly, color-leaching hint of light across the ruined city. There was no end to the sky, nothing holding me down on the ground. I felt it reach down to me, threaten to swallow me. I seemed to fall upward, and threw myself down to stop it, knocking the breath out of my lungs."

I could literarywank to that for hours. I feel the vertigo hit me every time I read this passage. There's like three passages including this one about the sky and I read them while feeling my lungs constrict in sympathy. I felt her terror like I've rarely felt physically for a book character before. I could see that exact sky above me, waiting to drag me up into the nothingness.

While reading this book, I often just went back a reread passages of some of the most superb writing I've seen in a long time. It was enough to make me shake my head, stare glumly at my own manuscript and start pressing 'delete'. Truly, I just wish that the story had focused more on the necessary story telling elements instead of covering every missed meal and blistered foot. But that's a personal thing and it's going to be different for every reader.

I will be desperately looking our for Spooner's next novel in the hopes that the plot and pacing is more to my speed, but that her wonderful quality of prose hasn't diminished.

*An ARC of Skylark was provided to me by the publisher. No money or favours were exchanged for this review.]]> 3.73 2012 Skylark (Skylark, #1)
author: Meagan Spooner
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2012
rating: 3
read at: 2012/09/01
date added: 2021/02/23
shelves: fun-fantasy, kat-s-book-reviews, oppressive-dystopian-regime, sci-fi-alicious, to-ya-or-not-to-ya
review:
Skylark is the most technically proficient and well-written novel that I've ever struggled to finish. No doubt Spooner is an author to watch.

The world building of Skylark is both imaginative and rich. It has a fascinating backstory set in a dangerous and vivid world. By the end of the novel I was rather attached to the characters and invested in Lark's and Oren's struggles. I cheered them on and felt a little heart palpitation at the impossibility of their circumstances.

Your enjoyment of this novel will hinge on what kind of reader you are. Do you like writing so animated and dynamic that it leaves you feeling as if you've reached through the pages and felt everything the author intended you to feel? Do you like a slow and sensual walk through a character's journey as if you are taking it yourself? Then, by all means, go get this book. Read it. You will love it.

I was simply the wrong reader. I don't typically like journey stories with lots of walking from A to B where every ache along the way is explored. I like fights. I like blood. I like sex. I like action. I like suspense. This novel has a lot of that (Well not the sex) but I wasn't feeling it due to the plot which simply wasn't gripping enough to keep me coming back. I enjoyed the book while I read it, but struggled to muster the enthusiasm once it was put down.

But I really have to hand it to Spooner. It's just been so long since I've seen writing like this that I almost wish I'd loved it more.

"Then I looked up.

And saw the sky.

The wind had blown the day's thick cloud cover away, and a bottomless blackness yawned above, pockmarked with stars. A sliver of moon cast the sickly, color-leaching hint of light across the ruined city. There was no end to the sky, nothing holding me down on the ground. I felt it reach down to me, threaten to swallow me. I seemed to fall upward, and threw myself down to stop it, knocking the breath out of my lungs."

I could literarywank to that for hours. I feel the vertigo hit me every time I read this passage. There's like three passages including this one about the sky and I read them while feeling my lungs constrict in sympathy. I felt her terror like I've rarely felt physically for a book character before. I could see that exact sky above me, waiting to drag me up into the nothingness.

While reading this book, I often just went back a reread passages of some of the most superb writing I've seen in a long time. It was enough to make me shake my head, stare glumly at my own manuscript and start pressing 'delete'. Truly, I just wish that the story had focused more on the necessary story telling elements instead of covering every missed meal and blistered foot. But that's a personal thing and it's going to be different for every reader.

I will be desperately looking our for Spooner's next novel in the hopes that the plot and pacing is more to my speed, but that her wonderful quality of prose hasn't diminished.

*An ARC of Skylark was provided to me by the publisher. No money or favours were exchanged for this review.
]]> Neon Gods (Dark Olympus, #1) 54659771 He was supposed to be a myth.
But from the moment I crossed the River Styx and fell under his dark spell... he was, quite simply, mine.

Society darling Persephone Dimitriou plans to flee the ultra-modern city of Olympus and start over far from the backstabbing politics of the Thirteen Houses. But all that’s ripped away when her mother ambushes her with an engagement to Zeus, the dangerous power behind their glittering city’s dark facade.

With no options left, Persephone flees to the forbidden undercity and makes a devil’s bargain with a man she once believed a myth... a man who awakens her to a world she never knew existed.

Hades has spent his life in the shadows, and he has no intention of stepping into the light. But when he finds that Persephone can offer a little slice of the revenge he’s spent years craving, it’s all the excuse he needs to help her—for a price. Yet every breathless night spent tangled together has given Hades a taste for Persephone, and he’ll go to war with Olympus itself to keep her close�

A modern retelling of Hades and Persephone that’s as sinful as it is sweet.]]> 380 Katee Robert 1728231736 Kat Kennedy 0 to-read 3.68 2021 Neon Gods (Dark Olympus, #1)
author: Katee Robert
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 3.68
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/01/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Boyfriend Material (London Calling, #1)]]> 50225678 425 Alexis Hall 1728206146 Kat Kennedy 5 3.98 2020 Boyfriend Material (London Calling, #1)
author: Alexis Hall
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2020/10/15
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Heart of Obsidian (Psy-Changeling, #12)]]> 15781026 Step into New York Times bestseller Nalini Singh’s explosive and shockingly passionate Psy-Changeling world . . .

A dangerous, volatile rebel, hands stained blood-red.

A woman whose very existence has been erased.

A love story so dark, it may shatter the world itself.

A deadly price that must be paid.

The day of reckoning is here.

From “the alpha author of paranormal romance� comes the most highly anticipated novel of her career—one that blurs the line between madness and genius, between subjugation and liberation, between the living and the dead.]]> 360 Nalini Singh 0425263991 Kat Kennedy 5 4.45 2013 Heart of Obsidian (Psy-Changeling, #12)
author: Nalini Singh
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 4.45
book published: 2013
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2020/10/14
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Silver Silence (Psy-Changeling Trinity, #1; Psy-Changeling, #16)]]> 31867358 NYT bestselling author Nalini Singh returns to her extraordinary Psy-Changeling world with a story of wild passion and darkest betrayal . . .

Control. Precision. Family. These are the principles that drive Silver Mercant. At a time when the fledgling Trinity Accord seeks to unite a divided world, with Silver playing a crucial role as director of a worldwide emergency response network, wildness and chaos are the last things she needs in her life. But that's exactly what Valentin Nikolaev, alpha of the StoneWater bears, brings with him.

Valentin has never met a more fascinating woman. Though Silver is ruled by Silence—her mind clear of all emotion—Valentin senses a whisper of fire around her. That's what keeps him climbing apartment buildings to be near her. But when a shadow assassin almost succeeds in poisoning Silver, the stakes become deadly serious . . . and Silver finds herself in the heart of a powerful bear clan.

Her would-be assassin has no idea what their poison has unleashed . . .]]> 467 Nalini Singh 1473217601 Kat Kennedy 5 4.20 2017 Silver Silence (Psy-Changeling Trinity, #1; Psy-Changeling, #16)
author: Nalini Singh
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2020/10/11
shelves: death-by-paranormal-romance, fun-fantasy, romance-romance-romance, urban-fantasy-woot
review:

]]> Bad Apple 51519051 A flirty standalone novel* from New York Times and international bestselling author Elle Kennedy!

One night with him will change her life...

Between her waitressing job, volunteer work, and college classes, there are never enough hours in Maggie Reilly’s day. Especially not for a relationship. Luckily, she’s got the perfect arrangement: a lover she meets three or four times a year. But when she shows up at the hotel expecting to hop into bed with one man, she accidentally ends up with another—Ben Barrett, Hollywood’s most notorious bad boy.

Ben, determined to lay low after another scandal, just wants some much-needed sleep. What he gets is a scorching make-out session with a gorgeous, naked redhead. He won’t accept her apology, but what he will accept is a place to hide out…and if there’s some hot, no-strings sex involved, why the heck not?

But Ben soon discovers that one week with his sassy, bed-hopping waitress is definitely not enough. He wants more. A lot more.

Now he needs to convince relationship-averse Maggie that a bad boy might be oh so good for her—and the best thing that’s ever happened to both of them.

* Previously published in 2008, Bad Apple (formerly Midnight Encounters) features almost entirely new content, including a point-of-view switch. Enjoy this new version of an old favorite!]]> 236 Elle Kennedy 1999549783 Kat Kennedy 4 3.57 2008 Bad Apple
author: Elle Kennedy
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 3.57
book published: 2008
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2020/06/12
shelves:
review:

]]> Well Met (Well Met, #1) 43189874 All's faire in love and war for two sworn enemies who indulge in a harmless flirtation in a laugh-out-loud rom-com from debut author, Jen DeLuca.

Emily knew there would be strings attached when she relocated to the small town of Willow Creek, Maryland, for the summer to help her sister recover from an accident, but who could anticipate getting roped into volunteering for the local Renaissance Faire alongside her teenaged niece? Or that the irritating and inscrutable schoolteacher in charge of the volunteers would be so annoying that she finds it impossible to stop thinking about him?

The faire is Simon's family legacy and from the start he makes clear he doesn't have time for Emily's lighthearted approach to life, her oddball Shakespeare conspiracy theories, or her endless suggestions for new acts to shake things up. Yet on the faire grounds he becomes a different person, flirting freely with Emily when she's in her revealing wench's costume. But is this attraction real, or just part of the characters they're portraying?

This summer was only ever supposed to be a pit stop on the way to somewhere else for Emily, but soon she can't seem to shake the fantasy of establishing something more with Simon, or a permanent home of her own in Willow Creek.]]> 335 Jen DeLuca 1984805398 Kat Kennedy 3 3.81 2019 Well Met (Well Met, #1)
author: Jen DeLuca
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2020/06/12
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[You Had Me at Hola (Primas of Power, #1)]]> 52886627 RITA® Award Winning author Alexis Daria brings readers an unforgettable, hilarious rom-com set in the drama-filled world of telenovelas—perfect for fans of Jane the Virgin and The Kiss Quotient.

Leading Ladies do not end up on tabloid covers.Ěý

After a messy public breakup, soap opera darling Jasmine Lin Rodriguez finds her face splashed across the tabloids. When she returns to her hometown of New York City to film the starring role in a bilingual romantic comedy for the number one streaming service in the country, Jasmine figures her new “Leading Lady Planâ€� should be easy enough to follow—until a casting shake-up pairs her with telenovela hunk Ashton Suárez.Ěý

Leading Ladies don’t need a man to be happy.Ěý

After his last telenovela character was killed off, Ashton is worried his career is dead as well. Joining this new cast as a last-minute addition will give him the chance to show off his acting chops to American audiences and ping the radar of Hollywood casting agents. To make it work, he’ll need to generate smoking-hot on-screen chemistry with Jasmine. Easier said than done, especially when a disastrous first impression smothers the embers of whatever sexual heat they might have had.Ěý

Leading Ladies do not rebound with their new costars.Ěý

With their careers on the line, Jasmine and Ashton agree to rehearse in private. But rehearsal leads to kissing, and kissing leads to a behind-the-scenes romance worthy of a soap opera. While their on-screen performance improves, the media spotlight on Jasmine soon threatens to destroy her new image and expose Ashton’s most closely guarded secret.

Ěý]]> 384 Alexis Daria 006295993X Kat Kennedy 0 to-read 3.66 2020 You Had Me at Hola (Primas of Power, #1)
author: Alexis Daria
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 3.66
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/06/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Bad Neighbor (Bad Boy Romance, #1)]]> 32900938 He's sexy... He's dangerous... He's right next door.

I gave up everything to save my sister from a monster, and now I’m lying lowĚýin this rundown apartment so I can stay out of danger. Hiding from everyone.
Except for the guy in apartment 1A.
He’s rude. Silent. Muscled, mysterious, and hot as hell. I don’t know if he likes me or hates me, but the more time I spend with him, the less it matters.
I want him.
And for the first time in my life I'm going to go after what I want.

She doesn’t belong in my world.

From the second 1B moves in, I know she’s keeping secrets. She doesn’t belong here, much less with a street fighter like me.
But that doesn’t stop me from cravingĚýher. Her softness and sweetness.ĚýShe’s a drug, and suddenly I’m addicted.
I know someone is going to try and hurt her and I can’t let that happen. But unless I push her away and get her out of my world, that someone could be me…]]> 288 Molly O'Keefe Kat Kennedy 3 3.74 2016 Bad Neighbor (Bad Boy Romance, #1)
author: Molly O'Keefe
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2016
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2020/03/17
shelves:
review:

]]> Love Lettering 44792512
A year later, Reid has tracked Meg down to find out—before he leaves New York for good—how she knew that his meticulously planned future was about to implode. But with a looming deadline, a fractured friendship, and a bad case of creative block, Meg doesn’t have time for Reid’s questions—unless he can help her find her missing inspiration. As they gradually open up to each other about their lives, work, and regrets, both try to ignore the fact that their unlikely connection is growing deeper. But the signs are there—irresistible, indisputable, urging Meg to heed the messages Reid is sending her, before it’s too late . . .]]> 307 Kate Clayborn 1496725174 Kat Kennedy 4 3.62 2019 Love Lettering
author: Kate Clayborn
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 3.62
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2020/03/17
shelves:
review:

]]> The Dark Tide 52411049 A gripping, dark enemies-to-lovers LGBTQ+ YA fantasy about two girls who must choose between saving themselves, each other, or their sinking island home.

Every year on St. Walpurga's Eve, Caldella’s Witch Queen lures a boy back to her palace. An innocent life to be sacrificed on the full moon to keep the island city from sinking.

Lina Kirk is convinced her brother is going to be taken this year. To save him, she enlists the help of Thomas Lin, the boy she secretly loves, and the only person to ever escape from the palace. But they draw the queen’s attention, and Thomas is chosen as the sacrifice.

Queen Eva watched her sister die to save the boy she loved. Now as queen, she won't make the same mistake. She's willing to sacrifice anyone if it means saving herself and her city.

When Lina offers herself to the queen in exchange for Thomas’s freedom, the two girls await the full moon together. But Lina is not at all what Eva expected, and the queen is nothing like Lina envisioned. Against their will, they find themselves falling for each other as water floods Caldella’s streets and the dark tide demands its sacrifice.]]> 336 Alicia Jasinska 1728209986 Kat Kennedy 0 to-read 3.43 2020 The Dark Tide
author: Alicia Jasinska
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 3.43
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/03/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Work for It 52054712 For men like us, trust doesn't come easy.

In this village, I’m an outcast: Griffin Everett, the scowling giant who prefers plants to people. Then I meet Keynes, a stranger from the city who’s everything I’m not: sharp-tongued, sophisticated, beautiful. Free. For a few precious moments in a dark alleyway, he’s also mine, hot and sweet under the stars� until he crushes me like dirt beneath his designer boot.

When the prettiest man I’ve ever hated shows up at my job the next day, I’m not sure if I want to strangle him or drag him into bed. Actually—I think I want both. But Keynes isn’t here for the likes of me: he makes that painfully clear. With everyone else at work, he’s all gorgeous, glittering charm—but when I get too close, he turns vicious.

And yet, I can’t stay away. Because there’s something about this ice king that sets me on fire, a secret vulnerability that makes my chest ache. I’ll do whatever it takes to sneak past his walls and see the real man again.

The last thing I expect is for that man to ruin me.]]> 284 Talia Hibbert Kat Kennedy 5 4.06 2019 Work for It
author: Talia Hibbert
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2020/03/03
shelves:
review:

]]> Burned (Fever, #7) 12444297
MacKayla Lane would do anything to save the home she loves. A gifted sidhe-seer, she’s already fought and defeated the deadly Sinsar Dubh—an ancient book of terrible evil—yet its hold on her has never been stronger.

When the wall that protected humans from the seductive, insatiable Fae was destroyed on Halloween, long-imprisoned immortals ravaged the planet. Now Dublin is a war zone with factions battling for control. As the city heats up and the ice left by the Hoar Frost King melts, tempers flare, passions run red-hot, and dangerous lines get crossed.

Seelie and Unseelie vie for power against nine ancient immortals who have governed Dublin for millennia; a rival band of sidhe-seers invades the city, determined to claim it for their own; Mac’s former protégé and best friend, Dani “Mega� O’Malley, is now her fierce enemy; and even more urgent, Highland druid Christian MacKeltar has been captured by the Crimson Hag and is being driven deeper into Unseelie madness with each passing day. The only one Mac can depend on is the powerful, dangerous immortal Jericho Barrons, but even their fiery bond is tested by betrayal.

It’s a world where staying alive is a constant struggle, the line between good and evil gets blurred, and every alliance comes at a price. In an epic battle against dark forces, Mac must decide who she can trust, and what her survival is ultimately worth.]]> 475 Karen Marie Moning 0385344414 Kat Kennedy 3 to-read
Regardless, I'm curious as to her methods here. More Barrons undoubtedly = good. But I rather expected more sex. I don't know what about the term "JZB Sex Scene" indicated to me that I'd be reading a raunchy chapter about Barrons having sex. But that part was kind of glossed over.

*3,000 words of JZB internalizing*
*Oh yeah, we had sex. It lasted 4 hours. Should have seen it. Awesome.*
*The end*

Wait... what?!

Oh well, it was Moning and so of course, she wrote a non-eventful sex scene and she did it WELL!

And thus the world continues to not make sense.

I'm off to discover the true meaning of life from a Platypus...

AN UGLY PLATYPUS! ]]> 4.15 2015 Burned (Fever, #7)
author: Karen Marie Moning
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2015
rating: 3
read at: 2011/07/24
date added: 2019/12/29
shelves: to-read
review:
For some reason, I expected that she'd do the scene from book 2 where Barrons has Mac chained to the poll and is threatening to tattoo her. Or maybe I just have a thing for chains...

Regardless, I'm curious as to her methods here. More Barrons undoubtedly = good. But I rather expected more sex. I don't know what about the term "JZB Sex Scene" indicated to me that I'd be reading a raunchy chapter about Barrons having sex. But that part was kind of glossed over.

*3,000 words of JZB internalizing*
*Oh yeah, we had sex. It lasted 4 hours. Should have seen it. Awesome.*
*The end*

Wait... what?!

Oh well, it was Moning and so of course, she wrote a non-eventful sex scene and she did it WELL!

And thus the world continues to not make sense.

I'm off to discover the true meaning of life from a Platypus...

AN UGLY PLATYPUS!
]]> <![CDATA[No Turning Back (Kathleen Turner, #1)]]> 11786581 Length: 11 hrs and 44 mins

Kathleen Turner has goals. She moved to Indianapolis to start seeing to them, but things aren't going quite as well as she'd hoped. She's a runner for a high-powered law firm in town, not the most prestigious of positions, but it and her part-time bartender gig at least pays the bills. And one of the senior partners is a dreamboat in that obscenely rich, disturbingly good looking, slightly snobbish sort of way.

Before she did a mortifying face plant in his lap during a meeting, she was quite happy ogling him from afar. After that...well...she was more about the avoiding. Mature, no. More likely to assure she keeps her job, yes.

She's made some friends in the few months she's been in Indy. One of those friends is her neighbor Sheila, though Kathleen can't say she's completely comfortable with Sheila's job choice as a high-dollar escort.

It's the middle of the night when Kathleen hears fighting coming from Sheila's apartment. As disturbing as that is, it's the ominous sound of silence afterwards that keeps Kathleen from falling back to sleep. Slipping from bed with the intention of making sure everything is okay, Kathleen knocks on friend's door, only to find Sheila murdered, her naked body sprawled on sheets stained crimson with her blood.

Shock and horror are followed by gritty determination when it becomes clear that Sheila's death isn't random and it isn't the result of a jealous boyfriend. It's the opening gambit in a web of murder, deceit, conspiracy, and fraud that stretches to the law firm for which Kathleen works. Maybe to the very office that Blane Kirk commands.

And Kathleen Turner, law office runner, can trust no one if she wants to survive.]]> 12 Tiffany Snow Kat Kennedy 0 do-not-read 4.21 2011 No Turning Back (Kathleen Turner, #1)
author: Tiffany Snow
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/12/27
shelves: do-not-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Lost in Darkness (Lost Boys #2)]]> 48639802 THEY CALL ME HOOK.

I am what my past made me.

A villain.

But that doesn't mean I'm going to let the monster who ruined me destroy my brother. I'll do whatever it takes to bring that bastard down for good.

Even work with Officer John Darling.

He's too young, too good, too...everything for me. He should stay away.

Too bad he's no better at doing what he should than I am.

He thinks he can save me. But I've been lost in the darkness so long, no light can reach me now.

Not even one that burns as bright as Johnathan Darling.

HE CALLS ME DARLING.

I was a kid when I met Hook. I crushed hard on the broody teen—following him around, hoping he'd pay attention to me.

He didn't, though. Not until I became his only option for saving his brother. Now, he can't hide from me.

Just like he can't hide the desire in his eyes whenever I'm on my knees for him.

But Hook has secrets. Dark ones. And now this undercover operation isn't my only mission. I'll risk everything to break down his walls and make him see himself as I do.

Because he's not the villain...he's the hero.

And he's mine.

Hook: Lost in Darkness, book two in the Lost Boys series, is a super sexy, angsty, enemies-to-lovers and opposites attract, contemporary M/M romantic suspense story. Download today and settle in for a long, satisfying binge read.

Note: While this book CAN be read as a stand-alone, if you enjoy reading events in the order they happen, Hook and John's story truly begins in Pan: Lost and Found.

This story contains elements some readers might find upsetting. For more detail, please see the author's note in the beginning of the book, which can be viewed in the sample chapters.]]> 387 Gina L. Maxwell Kat Kennedy 1 didn-t-finish-don-t-wanna 4.30 2019 Lost in Darkness (Lost Boys #2)
author: Gina L. Maxwell
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 4.30
book published: 2019
rating: 1
read at:
date added: 2019/11/09
shelves: didn-t-finish-don-t-wanna
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Lost and Found (Lost Boys, #1)]]> 43094164 Not every story that starts with once upon a time ends in happily ever after...

Peter and I were drawn to each other from the very beginning—even when I was just a kid, sneaking out to see him at the rundown orphanage for boys. I thought we'd be forever.

We weren't.

So, I left our small town with nothing but a map for my future and a shattered heart, and I didn't look back.

Until now.

See, I'm organizing the fundraiser of the year, and I need Peter, master mechanic, to help me rebuild a classic car for an auction that'll help hundreds of foster kids.

I was sure I was prepared to see him again. After all, I wasn't the naĂŻve girl I'd been when his touch made me fly. I could ignore his magnetic pull this time around.

I was wrong.

Because the boy who broke my heart grew into a man who wants a second chance, and our connection is deeper and hotter than ever.

But love wasn't enough to keep us together once upon a time. Why should I believe in it—and himâ€ÂŁ´Ç·É?

Pan: Lost and Found, book one in the Lost Boys series, is a super sexy, lightly angsty, friends-to-lovers and second-chance contemporary romance. Download today and settle in for a long, satisfying binge read.]]> 263 Gina L. Maxwell Kat Kennedy 1 didn-t-finish-don-t-wanna 3.97 2019 Lost and Found (Lost Boys, #1)
author: Gina L. Maxwell
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2019
rating: 1
read at:
date added: 2019/11/09
shelves: didn-t-finish-don-t-wanna
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Kiss Quotient (The Kiss Quotient, #1)]]> 36199084 A heartwarming and refreshing debut novel that proves one thing: there's not enough data in the world to predict what will make your heart tick.

Stella Lane thinks math is the only thing that unites the universe. She comes up with algorithms to predict customer purchases—a job that has given her more money than she knows what to do with, and way less experience in the dating department than the average thirty-year-old.

It doesn't help that Stella has Asperger's and French kissing reminds her of a shark getting its teeth cleaned by pilot fish. Her conclusion: she needs lots of practice—with a professional. Which is why she hires escort Michael Phan. The Vietnamese and Swedish stunner can't afford to turn down Stella's offer, and agrees to help her check off all the boxes on her lesson plan—from foreplay to more-than-missionary position...

Before long, Stella not only learns to appreciate his kisses, but to crave all the other things he's making her feel. Soon, their no-nonsense partnership starts making a strange kind of sense. And the pattern that emerges will convince Stella that love is the best kind of logic...]]> 323 Helen Hoang 0451490819 Kat Kennedy 0 to-read 3.88 2018 The Kiss Quotient (The Kiss Quotient, #1)
author: Helen Hoang
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/11/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Death Wish (Reaper Reborn, #1)]]> 44034245
Jade Blackwell, a paranormal reaper, helps supernaturals cross over after death. Her job comes with lots of rules—but not following them is kind of her thing…until it ends up involving her in something much deadlier than she ever imagined.

With the protective veil fading away, demons are crossing realms and impregnating humans, and Jade’s best friend is among their victims. She’s determined to save her friend, even if it means working with Cole Masters, a dangerous demon halfling and notorious gun-for-hire.

But time is running out to fix the barrier and find a demon cure. With supernaturals everywhere in danger, and the balance between good and evil tipped for the worst, Jade must choose between her own eternal afterlife…or the living world she so desperately wants to be a part of.

Either way, death is coming.]]> 375 Harper A. Brooks Kat Kennedy 0 to-read 4.03 2019 Death Wish (Reaper Reborn, #1)
author: Harper A. Brooks
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/10/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Poppy Jenkins 30658821
Poppy Jenkins makes everyone smile. She’s the heart of Wells, a beautiful village in mid-Wales, leaving light and laughter in her wake. She has a doting family, an errant dog and a little sister with a nose for mischief. But she’s the only gay in the village and it’s a long time since she kissed a girl: the chance of romance in sleepy Wells is rarer than a barking sheep.

If she doesn’t think too hard, life is cosy, until a smart sports car barrels into town with the last woman Poppy wants to see behind the wheel. Beautiful Rosalyn Thorn was once Poppy’s high school BFF even though she was trouble. Then one day she abandoned Wells and Poppy without explanation. Now the highflier is back and bound to cause fresh havoc in the village and with Poppy’s heart; folk are not happy.

Wells needs to wake up to the 21st century and Rosalyn can help, but old prejudices die hard. If they can be friends it could be the chance to make everyone’s happy ever after. Couldn’t it?]]> 380 Clare Ashton Kat Kennedy 0 4.38 2016 Poppy Jenkins
author: Clare Ashton
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/10/06
shelves:
review:

]]> Red, White & Royal Blue 41150487
As President Claremont kicks off her reelection bid, Alex finds himself hurtling into a secret relationship with Henry that could derail the campaign and upend two nations. What is worth the sacrifice? How do you do all the good you can do? And, most importantly, how will history remember you?]]> 448 Casey McQuiston 1250316774 Kat Kennedy 5 4.06 2019 Red, White & Royal Blue
author: Casey McQuiston
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2019/10/05
shelves:
review:

]]> Dirty Games (Dirty, #2) 34848621 Sometimes, to get what you want in business or in love, you have to get your hands dirty. Luckily for Finn and Justin, dirty comes naturally.

Finn Drummond is the baby in a family of sharks—which means he’s worked twice as hard to make a name for himself. After learning the tricks of the trade from his brothers, Finn’s just as ruthless and dominant. Out in the field, his appetites are for success, for money, for women and men. But when supplies from Drummond Charities go missing, Finn has to partner up with the smoldering ex–Army grunt who’s always challenging his authority—or giving him mixed signals.

Justin Miller wanted his attraction to Finn to be mutual, but the cocky brat always had a girlfriend. Who could blame Justin for trying to move on? Despite their history, they’ve got to work together to figure out who’s been derailing their humanitarian work. But after Justin and Finn are thrown together against gunrunners and kidnappers, their simmering chemistry turns explosive. Turns out, Finn knows how to handle himself in a crisis—and in the sack. Justin only hopes that hot sex is enough to persuade this spoiled pretty boy to do the right thing.
]]> 227 HelenKay Dimon 0399179992 Kat Kennedy 3 3.68 2018 Dirty Games (Dirty, #2)
author: HelenKay Dimon
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 3.68
book published: 2018
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2019/10/05
shelves:
review:

]]> In Other Lands 31944679 “What’s your name?�

â€Âٱđ°ů±đ˛Ô±đ.â€�

“Serena?� Elliot asked.

“Serene,� said Serene. “My full name is Serene-Heart-in-the-Chaos-of-Battle.�

Elliot’s mouth fell open. “That is badass.�

The Borderlands aren’t like anywhere else. Don’t try to smuggle a phone or any other piece of technology over the wall that marks the Border—unless you enjoy a fireworks display in your backpack. (Ballpoint pens are okay.) There are elves, harpies, and—best of all as far as Elliot is concerned—mermaids.

Elliot? Who’s Elliot? Elliot is thirteen years old. He’s smart and just a tiny bit obnoxious. Sometimes more than a tiny bit. When his class goes on a field trip and he can see a wall that no one else can see, he is given the chance to go to school in the Borderlands.

It turns out that on the other side of the wall, classes involve a lot more weaponry and fitness training and fewer mermaids than he expected. On the other hand, there’s Serene-Heart-in-the-Chaos-of-Battle, an elven warrior who is more beautiful than anyone Elliot has ever seen, and then there’s her human friend Luke: sunny, blond, and annoyingly likeable. There are lots of interesting books. There’s even the chance Elliot might be able to change the world.]]> 441 Sarah Rees Brennan 1618731203 Kat Kennedy 5 4.35 2017 In Other Lands
author: Sarah Rees Brennan
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2019/10/05
shelves:
review:

]]> Untouchable (Ravenswood #2) 44569988 Sleeping with the staff wasn't part of the plan.

Sensible, capable, and ruthlessly efficient, Hannah Kabbah is the perfect nanny� until a colossal mistake destroys her career and shatters her reputation. These days, no-one in town will hire her—except Nathaniel Davis, a brooding widower with a smile like sin and two kids he can’t handle.

Prim and proper Hannah is supposed to make Nate’s life easier, but the more time he spends around his live-in nanny, the more she makes things� hard. He can’t take advantage of her vulnerable position, but he can’t deny the truth, either: with every look, every smile, every midnight meeting, Nate’s untouchable employee is stealing his heart.

The trouble is, she doesn’t want to keep it. Forbidden love isn’t high on Hannah’s to-do list, and trust isn’t one of her strengths. When dark secrets threaten to destroy their bond, Nate’s forced to start playing dirty. Because this reformed bad boy will break every rule to finally claim his woman.

Please be aware: this book contains depictions of depression and anxiety that could trigger certain audiences.]]> 340 Talia Hibbert Kat Kennedy 0 to-read 3.90 2018 Untouchable (Ravenswood #2)
author: Talia Hibbert
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/09/26
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Girl Like Her (Ravenswood, #1)]]> 44569978 Ruth Kabbah is okay with being an outcast.

Between her autism, her comic book nerdery, and the whiff of scandal her small town can’t forget, Ruth will always be Ravenswood’s black sheep. Since she prefers silence and solitude to gossip and pub crawls, that suits her just fine—until Evan Miller comes to town.

Ex-military man Evan is gorgeous, confident� and he’s Ruth’s new neighbour. Unlike everyone else, he doesn’t seem to mind her crotchety ways or her cooking disasters. In fact, if Ruth didn’t know any better, she might think Evan likes her.

But Ruth’s been burned before, and some lessons are hard to forget.

She can’t let her guard down—no matter how many home-cooked meals Evan brings over. Because affection is temporary, trust is made to be broken, and the heat of desire is a dangerous thing to play with.

So why does this man feel so safe?]]> 308 Talia Hibbert Kat Kennedy 0 3.80 2018 A Girl Like Her (Ravenswood, #1)
author: Talia Hibbert
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/09/26
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Wolf Rain (Psy-Changeling Trinity, #3; Psy-Changeling, #18)]]> 42373042 The fate of millions of lives hangs in the balance in this new Psy-Changeling Trinity novel from NYT bestselling author Nalini Singh . . .

Kidnapped as a young girl, her psychic powers harnessed by a madman, Memory lives a caged and isolated existence . . . until she comes face-to-face with a wolf. Labelled an empath by her bad-tempered rescuer, Memory knows that her â€giftâ€� is nothing so bright. It is a terrible darkness that means she will always be hunted.

But Memory is free now and she intends to live. A certain growly wolf can just deal with it.

Alexei prefers to keep his packmates at bay, the bleak history of his family a constant reminder that mating, love, hope is not for him. But Memory, this defiant and fearless woman who stands toe-to-toe with him awakens the most primal part of his nature—and soon, he must make a choice: risk everything or lose Memory to a murderous darkness that wants to annihilate her from existence . . .]]> 392 Nalini Singh 198480359X Kat Kennedy 0 4.25 2019 Wolf Rain (Psy-Changeling Trinity, #3; Psy-Changeling, #18)
author: Nalini Singh
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/09/26
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Hot and Badgered (Honey Badger Chronicles, #1)]]> 35534548 Ěý
Honey badgers are survivors. Brutal, vicious, ill-tempered survivors. Or maybe Charlie Taylor-MacKilligan is just pissed that her useless father is trying to get them all killed again, and won’t even tell her how. Protecting her little sisters has always been her job, and she’s not about to let some pesky giant grizzly protection specialist with a network of every shifter in Manhattan get in her way. Wait. He’s trying to help? Why would he want to do that? He’s cute enough that she just might let him tag along—that is, if he can keep up . . .]]> 433 Shelly Laurenston Kat Kennedy 0 to-read 4.15 2018 Hot and Badgered (Honey Badger Chronicles, #1)
author: Shelly Laurenston
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/07/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Scoundrel (The Blades of the Rose, #2)]]> 7242960 400 Zoe Archer 1420106805 Kat Kennedy 0 to-read 3.81 2010 Scoundrel (The Blades of the Rose, #2)
author: Zoe Archer
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2010
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/04/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Interview with The Devil: Part One: Victor's Account]]> 44295380 Warning:

The novel that you are about to read contains various depictions of graphic violence and disturbed, unsettling situations that some may find offensive and disgusting. If I am to be completely honest, this book should not be read by everyone. Every character in this book is exactly that, a character. No one portrayed in this novel is based on any living person. It is simply fictional. That being said, nothing in this book is supposed to make sense. It is purposely surreal, which, in other words, means unrealistic. The majority of these accounts could obviously not happen in real life. That is the point of a book. To be over exaggerated, and you know, improbable. I did my part, and I warned you. To say the least, I am sorry for your nightmares. - Skylerr Darren.Ěý

Everyone, no matter who they are, has experienced a gloomy nightmare at least one point in their life. A dream so lucid and vivid that you aren't sure if the frightening tribulation truly happened or not. Victor Florence has been the victim of these startling, unearthly afflictions since his early adolescence, and it has molded him into the spineless introvert that he is today; a panic-stricken schizophrenic. Longing to desert his shattered past with little to no hope at all, Victor attempts a career at psychology to understand himself and the world around him, but that proves to be anything but simple. Before you can truly comprehend Victor, you first have to read his account.

"There sat a frail, abnormally-pallid African-American man. His weight looked rather questionable. He looked as if he hadn't eaten in months, judging by the fact that his integral skeleton had been visible through his diminished skin. He stared at me with no facial expression. He just sat there, staring."

Satan, the brooding, scriptural ghoul that takes on the responsibility for murder, perversion, and the gruesome deaths of children. Society views these horrors as a grim nightmare-a nightmare in which one would desperately attempt to wake up from. But in reality, you simply just can't wake up from a nightmare, for both reality and fictionĚýhave become one. Victor, a timid young college student dreadfully awakens into suchĚýa demonic ordeal from the repulsive dismiss of his relatives, to macabre dreams and morbid occurrences. Do not look at Interview with The Devil: Part 1 as a mere book but instead the detour into your own self-morality.

]]> 83 Skylerr Darren 0578447800 Kat Kennedy 0 do-not-read 2.48 Interview with The Devil: Part One: Victor's Account
author: Skylerr Darren
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 2.48
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/04/03
shelves: do-not-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Shadow Blade (Shadowchasers, #1)]]> 6611059 For Kira Solomon, normal was never an option.

Kira’s day job as an antiquities expert, but her true calling is as a Shadowchaser. Trained from youth to be one of the most lethal Chasers in existence, Kira serves the Gilead Commission dispatching the Fallen who sow discord and chaos. Of course, sometimes Gilead bureaucracy is as much a thorn in her side as anything the Fallen can muster against her. Right now, though, she’s got a bigger problem. Someone is turning the city of Atlanta upside-down in search of a four-millennia-old Egyptian dagger that just happens to have fallen into Kira’s hands.

Then there’s Khefar, the dagger’s true owner-a near-immortal 4000-year-old Nubian warrior who, Kira has to admit, looks pretty fine for his age. Joining forces is the only way to keep the weapon safe from the sinister Shadow force, but now Kira is in deep with someone who holds more secrets than she does, the one person who knows just how treacherous this fight is. Because every step closer to destroying the enemy is a step closer to losing herself to Shadow forever. . . .]]> 344 Seressia Glass 1439156794 Kat Kennedy 0 to-read 3.53 2010 Shadow Blade (Shadowchasers, #1)
author: Seressia Glass
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 3.53
book published: 2010
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/04/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Mating the Huntress (Monsters and Mates, #1)]]> 42034959 Librarian's Note: an alternate cover for this ASIN can be found here.

This Halloween, love bites back� hard.

Chastity Adofo knows a monster when she sees one. As soon as Luke Anthony wanders into her family’s coffee shop, she recognises the evil lurking beneath his charming smile and fantastic arse. The handsome werewolf is determined to have her—but she’s determined to cut out his heart.

Little does she know, Luke’s plans for her are far more pleasurable than murder. And when the full moon rises, all bets are off�

Warning: Mating the Huntress is 30,000+ words of red-hot, Halloween-themed romance. This novella contains one flirtatious, cursed creature of the night, one badass, knife-happy heroine, and forbidden lust at first sight. Please read responsibly!]]> 135 Talia Hibbert Kat Kennedy 0 to-read 3.96 2018 Mating the Huntress (Monsters and Mates, #1)
author: Talia Hibbert
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/03/28
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Crier's War (Crier's War, #1) 41951626 Impossible love between two girls —one human, one Made.
A love that could birth a revolution.

After the War of Kinds ravaged the kingdom of Rabu, the Automae, Designed to be the playthings of royals, took over the estates of their owners and bent the human race to their will.

Now, Ayla, a human servant rising the ranks at the House of the Sovereign, dreams of avenging the death of her family� by killing the Sovereign’s daughter, Lady Crier. Crier, who was Made to be beautiful, to be flawless. And to take over the work of her father.

Crier had been preparing to do just that—to inherit her father’s rule over the land. But that was before she was betrothed to Scyre Kinok, who seems to have a thousand secrets. That was before she discovered her father isn’t as benevolent as she thought. That was before she met Ayla.

Set in a richly-imagined fantasy world, Nina Varela’s debut novel is a sweepingly romantic tale of love, loss and revenge, that challenges what it really means to be human.]]> 464 Nina Varela 0062823965 Kat Kennedy 0 to-read 4.12 2019 Crier's War (Crier's War, #1)
author: Nina Varela
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/03/28
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Unleashing (Call of Crows, #1)]]> 22475781 WINGING IT

Kera Watson never expected to face death behind a Los Angeles coffee shop. Not after surviving two tours lugging an M16 around the Middle East. If it wasn’t for her hot Viking customer showing up too late to help, nobody would even see her die.

In uncountable years of service to the Allfather Odin, Ludvig “Vig� Rundstöm has never seen anyone kick ass with quite as much style as Kera. He knows one way to save her life—but she might not like it. Signing up with the Crows will get Kera a new set of battle buddies: cackling, gossiping, squabbling, party-hearty women. With wings. So not the Marines.

But Vig can’t give up on someone as special as Kera. With a storm of oh-crap magic speeding straight for L.A., survival will depend on combining their strengths: Kera’s discipline, Vig’s loyalty� and the Crows� sheer love of battle. Boy, are they in trouble.]]> 373 Shelly Laurenston 1617735051 Kat Kennedy 1 3.83 2015 The Unleashing (Call of Crows, #1)
author: Shelly Laurenston
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2015
rating: 1
read at: 2019/03/28
date added: 2019/03/28
shelves:
review:
54 pages was enough to constitute a no from me. So many POVs (4-5) jammed every 4 paragraphs or so in the 2 chapters I read. They all sound the same too, so I was bored very quickly.
]]> <![CDATA[A Lady Awakened (Blackshear Family, #1)]]> 11938752
Theophilus Mirkwood ought to be insulted. Should be appalled. But how can he resist this siren in widow’s weeds, whose offer is simply too outrageously tempting to decline? Determined she’ll get her money’s worth, Theo endeavors to awaken this shamefully neglected beauty to the pleasures of the flesh—only to find her dead set against taking any enjoyment in the scandalous bargain. Surely she can’t resist him forever. But could a lady’s sweet surrender open their hearts to the most unexpected arrival of all . . . love?]]> 346 Cecilia Grant 0553593838 Kat Kennedy 0 currently-reading 3.68 2011 A Lady Awakened (Blackshear Family, #1)
author: Cecilia Grant
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 3.68
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/03/28
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Burn For Me (Phoenix Fire, #1)]]> 17981276 Under Fire

Eve Bradley was undercover looking for a story, not a cause. But something about the man they called Subject Thirteen got her involved. The scientists said he was a devil, and they had a decent case: Terrifying power. A bad attitude. And looks that could lead anyone to sin. . .

Cain O'Connor knows the minute he catches her candy scent that Eve could drive him wild. But she's a threat--in a way no one has been for him in years. She's safer away from him, too. But with a powerful conspiracy determined to shut Eve up for good, there's no time to argue. All they can do is trust their instincts--and their hearts. . .]]> 368 Cynthia Eden 0758284047 Kat Kennedy 0 to-read 3.88 2014 Burn For Me (Phoenix Fire, #1)
author: Cynthia Eden
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/03/28
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Spacer's Cinderella 42776227 A broken shoe. A forbidden ball. A sexy cyborg with a secret.

Born on an abandoned colony barely held together by sealant tape and hope, Aurora Sato is at the very bottom of the social pecking order. Hard work and brains got her into a coveted spot in the quadrant’s top university� But her new supervisor is a woman who's not about to let an upstart like Aurora get anything close to a break.

And a break is exactly what Aurora needs right now. Her home colony is dying and nobody is in any rush to save it or her family. Aurora’s research project is their last hope, but only if she can complete it in time � an impossible task.

One night out is all she’ll allow herself. One night to forget her troubles. She never expects to meet a man who dazzles all her senses. Magnus Thorne is a battle-hardened, ruthless cyborg. Rich, respected and powerful, he’s too much for innocent Aurora. For one magical night he makes her feel like a princess, awakening a longing she doesn’t know how to quell.

But Aurora is in more danger than she realizes. And Magnus isn’t about to let her face it alone, no matter how hard she tries to shut him out.

He's determined to break every rule to save her from ruin.Ěý But will she trust him enough to let him?

]]> 368 Adria Rose Kat Kennedy 0 to-read 4.08 2018 Spacer's Cinderella
author: Adria Rose
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/03/24
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Two Kingdoms (The Dark Side, #3)]]> 40667614 I started off as a sad little ghost with an impossible crush on four really hot, Gothic guys with some attitude problems. Now I'm The Apocalypse, they're the Four Horsemen, and Lucifer is my fucked up daddy. Now my additional goals look like this?

Goal #9: Make a deal with the Devil without getting cheated, manipulated, or tricked.

Goal #10: Make my boys love me and take over the world...okay...so maybe just that first part. That second part sounds like it could take too much ambition, and I just don't have the drive for that.

Goal #11: Make cookies.

Goal #12: Call dibs on my favorite color.

Goal #13: Find out if my siblings or my father killed me and my boys...

**Sexual Content
**Dark humor
**Reverse Harem
**Language warning]]> 168 Kristy Cunning Kat Kennedy 2
This is a novel with one heroine and four devoted lovers - so why is there so much goddamn tongue-wagging (and not the kind you’d expect?!)

I am stuck with a whole cacophony of characters that just like to hear the sound of their own voices over and over again as they explain, in a nonlinear and purposely-confusing way, a nonsensical balance system, long lists of purities and impurities and thousands upon thousands of years of contradictory mythical lore spanning back to the creation of time.

Look, I don’t like to tell anyone how to do their job but I checked the social contract inherent in the genre and found this series to be in violation of the mandatory number of illicit sex scenes to be expected.

Easily 75% of this book is long series of conversations I don’t care about. Because the world building makes it clear that whilst an apocalypse can happen, it’s possible for heaven and hell to literally slam shut the gates and ride out catastrophe as the big bad gets loose. And whilst it’s possible that later down the line, the big bad could cause issues for hell - the real emergency isn’t there! None of the characters would be caught up in the initial slaughter so the end of the world feels pointlessly dramatic.

Also, and I can’t stress this enough, what is even the point of Jude?!

]]> 4.01 2018 Two Kingdoms (The Dark Side, #3)
author: Kristy Cunning
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2018
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2019/03/07
shelves:
review:
Look, I have been, up to this point, patient. Nay, downright forbearing. But this is too much!

This is a novel with one heroine and four devoted lovers - so why is there so much goddamn tongue-wagging (and not the kind you’d expect?!)

I am stuck with a whole cacophony of characters that just like to hear the sound of their own voices over and over again as they explain, in a nonlinear and purposely-confusing way, a nonsensical balance system, long lists of purities and impurities and thousands upon thousands of years of contradictory mythical lore spanning back to the creation of time.

Look, I don’t like to tell anyone how to do their job but I checked the social contract inherent in the genre and found this series to be in violation of the mandatory number of illicit sex scenes to be expected.

Easily 75% of this book is long series of conversations I don’t care about. Because the world building makes it clear that whilst an apocalypse can happen, it’s possible for heaven and hell to literally slam shut the gates and ride out catastrophe as the big bad gets loose. And whilst it’s possible that later down the line, the big bad could cause issues for hell - the real emergency isn’t there! None of the characters would be caught up in the initial slaughter so the end of the world feels pointlessly dramatic.

Also, and I can’t stress this enough, what is even the point of Jude?!


]]> <![CDATA[Three Trials (The Dark Side, #2)]]> 36839899
Goal #5: Get out of hell's belly without letting my ungrateful charges die.

Goal #6: Get a new name that's more badass.

Goal #7: Stop wasting my breath on lectures and start annoying the quad hell squad every time they annoy me. Fight fire with fire. Ha! Another hell pun.

Goal 8: Find out who the hell killed me.

I'll add more. I don't want to overwhelm myself before I even finish checking off my old goals. But seriously, I really do need a more badass name, considering how much I have to keep saving my damsels in distress.

I probably shouldn't call them damsels, since they're a little murderous and all.

Maybe I should add seeing a hell-certified psychologist to my list of goals.


**Sexual situations/content
**Reverse Harem
**Dark humor galore
**Language warning]]> 167 Kristy Cunning Kat Kennedy 3
Like, I’m sorry, is this author even dedicated to the craft of whacking as many orgies in as taste and common decency allows? Have they no appreciation for our needs?! If I can count the sexual interactions from two books on one hand then I count that as underachieving.

If I have to sit through another conversation I don’t want to understand about imbalances and purities and the carefully constructed tightrope hell and heaven walk then I am going to start screaming.

I DON’T CARE ABOUT CHARACTER MOTIVATIONS AND DECEIT AND A WEB OF LIES AND PLOT THAT IS ENSNARING THE LEAD CHARACTERS!

I could do with more stabbing (literally and figuratively) and less chitchat about the conspiracies surrounding all the bit players!

Jesus!

]]> 4.15 2017 Three Trials (The Dark Side, #2)
author: Kristy Cunning
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2017
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2019/03/07
shelves:
review:
Okay, so whilst there is a lot of action in the physical sense in which monsters needed to be slain and lives were on the line, I continue - and I can not express this strongly enough - to be searching through the pages wondering when the explosive, all-consuming and wickedly-delightful sex scenes are going to appear.

Like, I’m sorry, is this author even dedicated to the craft of whacking as many orgies in as taste and common decency allows? Have they no appreciation for our needs?! If I can count the sexual interactions from two books on one hand then I count that as underachieving.

If I have to sit through another conversation I don’t want to understand about imbalances and purities and the carefully constructed tightrope hell and heaven walk then I am going to start screaming.

I DON’T CARE ABOUT CHARACTER MOTIVATIONS AND DECEIT AND A WEB OF LIES AND PLOT THAT IS ENSNARING THE LEAD CHARACTERS!

I could do with more stabbing (literally and figuratively) and less chitchat about the conspiracies surrounding all the bit players!

Jesus!


]]> <![CDATA[Four Psychos (The Dark Side, #1)]]> 36550871 Like everyone else, I have life goals.

Goal #1: Become a real girl instead of this invisible ghost thing I currently am.

Goal #2: Convince the four men I've been haunting for the past five years to pick me to be their new toy after goal one is complete.

Goal #3: Figure out who/what I am and why I can't remember anything past the five years I've been haunting this quad.

Goal #4: Eat popcorn.

See? Perfectly normal. Sort of.
Gotta start small, after all.
It's not like anyone else is perfect either.

**Sexual situations
**Reverse Harem
**Dark humor galore
**Language warning]]> 173 Kristy Cunning Kat Kennedy 3
Unfortunately there is a lot of world building, and character arcs and back story and mythology.

I’m actually offended. I had EXPECTATIONS. You don’t pick up this kind of novel expecting to memorize complicated mythology, okay? Clearly some kind of contract has been broken here.

Get your shit together in the next installment, guys.

Also, the continued use of the word g*pped (which is a slur) was very aggravating. I knocked off a star just for that alone.]]> 4.10 2017 Four Psychos (The Dark Side, #1)
author: Kristy Cunning
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2017
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2019/03/07
shelves:
review:
I picked up this book expecting a devious sex-fest with a barely mentioned plot tying into it with the express purpose of creating more and unique ways for the characters to get it on.

Unfortunately there is a lot of world building, and character arcs and back story and mythology.

I’m actually offended. I had EXPECTATIONS. You don’t pick up this kind of novel expecting to memorize complicated mythology, okay? Clearly some kind of contract has been broken here.

Get your shit together in the next installment, guys.

Also, the continued use of the word g*pped (which is a slur) was very aggravating. I knocked off a star just for that alone.
]]> Rhapsodic (The Bargainer, #1) 25820414
Everyone knows that if you need a favor, you go to the Bargainer to make it happen. He’s a man who can get you anything you want... at a price. And everyone knows that sooner or later he always collects.

But for one of his clients, he’s never asked for repayment. Not until now. When Callie finds the fae king of the night in her room, a grin on his lips and a twinkle in his eye, she knows things are about to change. At first it’s just a chaste kiss—a single bead’s worth—and a promise for more.

For the Bargainer, it’s more than just a matter of rekindling an old romance. Something is happening in the Otherworld. Fae warriors are going missing one by one. Only the women are returned, each in a glass casket, a child clutched to their breast. And then there are the whispers among the slaves, whispers of an evil that’s been awoken.

If the Bargainer has any hope to save his people, he’ll need the help of the siren he spurned long ago. Only, his foe has a taste for exotic creatures, and Callie just happens to be one.]]> 407 Laura Thalassa Kat Kennedy 0 to-read 3.89 2016 Rhapsodic (The Bargainer, #1)
author: Laura Thalassa
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/02/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Burn (Dark in You, #1) 25828477
As Prime of his Las Vegas lair and a successful businessman, Knox Thorne is used to being in control. He’s also used to people fearing and obeying him. Harper does neither, which unexpectedly amuses him. Unpredictable, elusive, and complex, she draws Knox and his inner demon like nothing ever has. Knox is used to getting what he wants, and he wants Harper. He’ll have her, and he’ll keep her safe from the threat that looms over her. Because Knox protects what’s his. He won’t allow anyone to take her from him. Even if it will mean letting the demon inside him rise and wreak the havoc it was created to make.]]> 344 Suzanne Wright Kat Kennedy 2
The MC, Harper is refreshing and fun and I enjoyed her a lot. Knox is a cookie cutter male romantic lead. Dominating, controlling, jealous, possessive, manipulative and quick to rage. If you’ve read one paranormal romance you’ve likely read him already with a different name. There was nothing special or unique in that aspect.

The action and mystery was well paced but while the speculation about who the bad guy was kept me reading, the actions and thought processes of the big bad were ultimately not explained well, unsatisfactory and it turns out it’s just a mustache-twirling villain who is there to drive the story.

It’s not the worst PNR I’ve read but it’s also far from the best. With nothing memorable to recommend it, I’m reluctant to continue the series.]]> 4.04 2015 Burn (Dark in You, #1)
author: Suzanne Wright
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2015
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2019/02/27
shelves:
review:
It was fun for what it was but there are serious issues of consent in this book. In fact I ended up skipping the sex scenes after the first two because they were boring and predictable on top of the consent issues.

The MC, Harper is refreshing and fun and I enjoyed her a lot. Knox is a cookie cutter male romantic lead. Dominating, controlling, jealous, possessive, manipulative and quick to rage. If you’ve read one paranormal romance you’ve likely read him already with a different name. There was nothing special or unique in that aspect.

The action and mystery was well paced but while the speculation about who the bad guy was kept me reading, the actions and thought processes of the big bad were ultimately not explained well, unsatisfactory and it turns out it’s just a mustache-twirling villain who is there to drive the story.

It’s not the worst PNR I’ve read but it’s also far from the best. With nothing memorable to recommend it, I’m reluctant to continue the series.
]]> <![CDATA[Captivated (The Donovan Legacy, #1)]]> 114163 Only the phenomenal Nora Roberts could have created the remarkable Donovan clan. Fascinating and irresistible, the mysterious Donovan cousins share a secret that's been handed down through generations -- a secret that sets them apart from ordinary beings.

Captivated

His interest in her was purely professional . . . Or so he told himself. Nash Kirkland had sought out the alluring Morgana Dovovan to help him research his latest screenplay, though the hardheaded skeptic didn't believe for a minute she was what she professed to be. But, as Morgana revealed herself to him, Nash found himself falling under her bewitching spell. Nash had never trusted his feelings and always kept them in check. So how could he be sure the irresistible passion he felt for Morgana was real and not just some conjurer's trick?

The Donovan Legacy continues with Entranced]]> 304 Nora Roberts 0373285000 Kat Kennedy 0 to-read 4.02 1992 Captivated (The Donovan Legacy, #1)
author: Nora Roberts
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 4.02
book published: 1992
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/02/26
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Lord of the Fading Lands (Tairen Soul, #1)]]> 1584974 Once he drove back the darkness.
Once he loved with such passion his name was legend.

Once, driven wild with grief over the murder of his beloved, the majestic Fey King Rain Tairen Soul had laid waste to the world before vanishing into the Fading Lands. Now, a thousand years later, a new threat draws him back into the world—and a new love reawakens the heart he thought long dead.

Ellysetta, a woodcarver’s daughter, calls to Rain in a way no other ever had. Mysterious and magical, her soul beckons him with a compelling, seductive song—and no matter the cost, the wildness in his blood will not be denied.

As an ancient, familiar evil regains its strength, causing centuries-old alliances to crumble and threatening doom for Rain and his people... he must claim his truemate to embrace the destiny woven for them both in the mists of time.]]> 406 C.L. Wilson 0843959770 Kat Kennedy 0 to-read 3.94 2007 Lord of the Fading Lands (Tairen Soul, #1)
author: C.L. Wilson
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2007
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/02/26
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Mane Event (Pride, #1) 341027
In "Christmas Pride":

How come all the good-looking ones are insane? That's what runs through NYPD cop Desiree "Dez" MacDermot's mind the minute she hooks up again with her childhood buddy, Mace Llewellyn. It isn't just the way he stares at her with those too-sexy gold eyes, as if he could devour her on the spot. Or the six-four, built-like-a-Navy-SEAL bod-o-death. It isn't even that he sniffs her neck and purrs, making her entire body tingle. It's more about that disconcerting, shifting-from-man-to-lion thing that unhinges her...and makes her want more.

Mace likes making Dez crazy. In fact, he likes her any way he can get her?in bed, on the desk, here, now, again. Together, they'd always been trouble, but Dez has no idea just how good trouble can feel.

In "Shaw's Tail":

Brendon Shaw, hotel owner and lion shifter, has seen better days. He's been beaten, had a gun to the back of his head, and had to be rescued by a Pack of shape-shifting wolves. He didn't think he'd survive the night, much less find the woman of his dreams. And he never thought the woman of his dreams would have a Tennessee accent and wear cowboy boots. Once he sets his sights on her, the predator in him is ready to pounce and never let go.

Ronnie Lee Reed is ready to change her life, and New York City is the place where any girl, even one who runs with a Pack, can redefine herself. First order of business: find a mate, settle down, and stop using men for sex. Even big, gorgeous, lion-shifting, oh-my-what-big-um-paws-you-have men. Then again...]]> 392 Shelly Laurenston 0758220367 Kat Kennedy 0 3.95 2007 The Mane Event (Pride, #1)
author: Shelly Laurenston
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2007
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/02/26
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Accessory to War: The Unspoken Alliance Between Astrophysics and the Military]]> 38589832
Spanning early celestial navigation to satellite-enabled warfare, Accessory to War is a richly researched and provocative examination of the intersection of science, technology, industry, and power that will introduce Tyson’s millions of fans to yet another dimension of how the universe has shaped our lives and our world.]]> 576 Neil deGrasse Tyson 0393064441 Kat Kennedy 0 3.55 2018 Accessory to War: The Unspoken Alliance Between Astrophysics and the Military
author: Neil deGrasse Tyson
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 3.55
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at: 2019/01/01
date added: 2019/01/01
shelves: tomes-of-information, too-painful-to-finish
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Reality is Not What it Seems: The Journey to Quantum Gravity]]> 29767627 From the best-selling author of Seven Brief Lessons on Physics comes a new book about the mind-bending nature of the universe

What are time and space made of? Where does matter come from? And what exactly is reality? Scientist Carlo Rovelli has spent his whole life exploring these questions and pushing the boundaries of what we know. Here he explains how our image of the world has changed throughout centuries. Fom Aristotle to Albert Einstein, Michael Faraday to the Higgs boson, he takes us on a wondrous journey to show us that beyond our ever-changing idea of reality is a whole new world that has yet to be discovered.]]> 256 Carlo Rovelli 5268439022 Kat Kennedy 0 currently-reading 4.34 2014 Reality is Not What it Seems: The Journey to Quantum Gravity
author: Carlo Rovelli
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/11/06
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> Free Will 13259270
In this enlightening book, Sam Harris argues that this truth about the human mind does not undermine morality or diminish the importance of social and political freedom, but it can and should change the way we think about some of the most important questions in life.]]> 96 Sam Harris 1451683405 Kat Kennedy 4 3.86 2012 Free Will
author: Sam Harris
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2018/11/06
date added: 2018/11/06
shelves:
review:
That was an exceedingly quick book to read...
]]> God: A Human History 36237296 320 Reza Aslan 0552174998 Kat Kennedy 3 The beginning of this book assumes a lot about the thoughts and experiences of Paleolithic people, and those foundational ideas tinge much of the rest of the book like rot.]]> 3.89 2017 God: A Human History
author: Reza Aslan
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2017
rating: 3
read at: 2018/11/06
date added: 2018/11/06
shelves:
review:
Aslan’s scriptural knowledge of a handful of religions is really interesting. The lesson on the early Jewish religions was fascinating. But this is a very area specific book in which Eastern religions barely get name checked. Very interesting if you want to know about Christianity, Judaism, Islam and their origins. But on a more global scale it is almost useless.
The beginning of this book assumes a lot about the thoughts and experiences of Paleolithic people, and those foundational ideas tinge much of the rest of the book like rot.
]]> The Grand Design 11098655 250 Stephen Hawking Kat Kennedy 3 3.91 2010 The Grand Design
author: Stephen Hawking
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2010
rating: 3
read at: 2018/11/04
date added: 2018/11/03
shelves:
review:
I think the start of this book far exceeds the latter half. Which, for me, was an enormous slog to get through.
]]> <![CDATA[What Is Real?: The Unfinished Quest for the Meaning of Quantum Physics]]> 35604796 The untold story of the heretical thinkers who dared to question the nature of our quantum universe
Every physicist agrees quantum mechanics is among humanity's finest scientific achievements. But ask what it means, and the result will be a brawl. For a century, most physicists have followed Niels Bohr's Copenhagen interpretation and dismissed questions about the reality underlying quantum physics as meaningless. A mishmash of solipsism and poor reasoning, Copenhagen endured, as Bohr's students vigorously protected his legacy, and the physics community favored practical experiments over philosophical arguments. As a result, questioning the status quo long meant professional ruin. And yet, from the 1920s to today, physicists like John Bell, David Bohm, and Hugh Everett persisted in seeking the true meaning of quantum mechanics. What Is Real? is the gripping story of this battle of ideas and of the courageous scientists who dared to stand up for truth.
]]> 384 Adam Becker 0465096050 Kat Kennedy 0 to-read 4.26 2018 What Is Real?: The Unfinished Quest for the Meaning of Quantum Physics
author: Adam Becker
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/10/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Ancient Skies: Constellation Mythology of the Greeks]]> 36315872 272 David Weston Marshall 1682682110 Kat Kennedy 0 to-read 3.50 Ancient Skies: Constellation Mythology of the Greeks
author: David Weston Marshall
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 3.50
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/10/04
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Copernicus Complex: Caleb A. Scharf]]> 20575445 Longlisted for the 2015 PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award
Short-listed for Physics World 's Book of the Year
The Sunday Times (UK) Best Science Book of 2014
A Publishers Weekly Top 10 Science Book of Fall 2014
An NBC News Top Science and Tech Book of 2014
A Politics & Prose 2014 Staff Pick

In the sixteenth century, Nicolaus Copernicus dared to go against the establishment by proposing that Earth rotates around the Sun. Having demoted Earth from its unique position in the cosmos to one of mediocrity, Copernicus set in motion a revolution in scientific thought. This perspective has influenced our thinking for centuries. However, recent evidence challenges the Copernican Principle, hinting that we do in fact live in a special place, at a special time, as the product of a chain of unlikely events. But can we be significant if the Sun is still just one of a billion trillion stars in the observable universe? And what if our universe is just one of a multitude of others-a single slice of an infinity of parallel realities?

In The Copernicus Complex, the renowned astrophysicist Caleb Scharf takes us on a scientific adventure, from tiny microbes within the Earth to distant exoplanets, probability theory, and beyond, arguing that there is a solution to this contradiction, a third way of viewing our place in the cosmos, if we weigh the evidence properly. As Scharf explains, we do occupy an unusual time in a 14-billion-year-old universe, in a somewhat unusual type of solar system surrounded by an ocean of unimaginable planetary diversity: hot Jupiters with orbits of less than a day, planet-size rocks spinning around dead stars, and a wealth of alien super-Earths. Yet life here is built from the most common chemistry in the universe, and we are a snapshot taken from billions of years of biological evolution. Bringing us to the cutting edge of scientific discovery, Scharf shows how the answers to fundamental questions of existence will come from embracing the peculiarity of our circumstance without denying the Copernican vision.

With characteristic verve, Scharf uses the latest scientific findings to reconsider where we stand in the balance between cosmic significance and mediocrity, order and chaos. Presenting a compelling and bold view of our true status, The Copernicus Complex proposes a way forward in the ultimate quest: determining life's abundance, not just across this universe but across all realities.]]> 288 Caleb Scharf 0374129215 Kat Kennedy 0 to-read 3.89 2014 The Copernicus Complex: Caleb A. Scharf
author: Caleb Scharf
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/10/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (Captain Nemo, #2)]]> 33507 269 Jules Verne 076072850X Kat Kennedy 0 currently-reading 3.92 1869 Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (Captain Nemo, #2)
author: Jules Verne
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 3.92
book published: 1869
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/10/01
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Governess Game (Girl Meets Duke, #2)]]> 36111620 He’s been a bad, bad rake—and it takes a governess to teach him a lesson

The accidental governess.

After her livelihood slips through her fingers, Alexandra Mountbatten takes on an impossible post: transforming a pair of wild orphans into proper young ladies. However, the girls don’t need discipline. They need a loving home. Try telling that to their guardian, Chase Reynaud: duke’s heir in the streets and devil in the sheets. The ladies of London have tried—and failed—to make him settle down. Somehow, Alexandra must reach his heart... without risking her own.

The infamous rake.

Like any self-respecting libertine, Chase lives by one rule: no attachments. When a stubborn little governess tries to reform him, he decides to give her an education—in pleasure. That should prove he can’t be tamed. But Alexandra is more than he bargained for: clever, perceptive, passionate. She refuses to see him as a lost cause. Soon the walls around Chase’s heart are crumbling... and he’s in danger of falling, hard.]]> 373 Tessa Dare 0062672126 Kat Kennedy 0 to-read 3.87 2018 The Governess Game (Girl Meets Duke, #2)
author: Tessa Dare
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/10/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Astrophysics for People in a Hurry]]> 32191710
But today, few of us have time to contemplate the cosmos. So Tyson brings the universe down to Earth succinctly and clearly, with sparkling wit, in tasty chapters consumable anytime and anywhere in your busy day.]]> 223 Neil deGrasse Tyson 0393609391 Kat Kennedy 4 4.07 2017 Astrophysics for People in a Hurry
author: Neil deGrasse Tyson
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2018/10/02
date added: 2018/10/01
shelves:
review:
Tyson likes to tell people stuff. He just does, I think it’s in his nature. Nothing wrong with that. In this book I was told a bunch of stuff, good stuff too. But I think, over all, the briefness of it, made it more difficult for me to engage the content.
]]> <![CDATA[The Book of Humans: The Story of How We Became Us]]> 41814837 In this original and entertaining tour of life on Earth, Adam Rutherford explores how many of the things once considered to be exclusively human are not: we are not the only species that communicates, makes tools, utilises fire, or has sex for reasons other than to make new versions of ourselves. Evolution has, however, allowed us to develop our culture to a level of complexity that outstrips any other observed in nature.
THE BOOK OF HUMANS tells the story of how we became the creatures we are today, bestowed with the unique ability to investigate what makes us who we are. Illuminated by the latest scientific discoveries, it is a thrilling compendium of what unequivocally fixes us as animals, and reveals how we are extraordinary among them]]> 272 Adam Rutherford 0297609416 Kat Kennedy 5 3.68 2016 The Book of Humans: The Story of How We Became Us
author: Adam Rutherford
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 3.68
book published: 2016
rating: 5
read at: 2018/09/30
date added: 2018/09/29
shelves:
review:
I’m not what you would consider a science-literate person. But I thought this book was well-written and thoughtful. There should probably be some warning for readers though that the subject of coercive sex is brought up in the animal kingdom.
]]> 20000 Leagues Under the Sea 834333 406 Jules Verne 0679602534 Kat Kennedy 0 3.70 1869 20000 Leagues Under the Sea
author: Jules Verne
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 3.70
book published: 1869
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/09/28
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes]]> 32853566 Since its first publication in 1988, and it's last revision in 1996, there have been some remarkable new discoveries in physics. This new edition includes updates from Stephen Hawking with his latest thoughts about the No Boundary Proposal and offers new information about dark energy, the information paradox, eternal inflation, the microwave background radiation observations, and the discovery of gravitational waves.]]> 255 Stephen Hawking Kat Kennedy 5
Jolly good show though, chap!]]> 4.06 1988 A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes
author: Stephen Hawking
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 4.06
book published: 1988
rating: 5
read at: 2018/09/28
date added: 2018/09/27
shelves:
review:
Stephen Hawking has reaffirmed my understanding that the earth sits on the shell of a tortoise and that it is, indeed, turtles all the way down.

Jolly good show though, chap!
]]> Dark Emu 40716459 Dark Emu puts forward an argument for a reconsideration of the hunter-gatherer tag for precolonial Aboriginal Australians. The evidence insists that Aboriginal people right across the continent were using domesticated plants, sowing, harvesting, irrigating and storing � behaviours inconsistent with the hunter-gatherer tag. Gerritsen and Gammage in their latest books support this premise but Pascoe takes this further and challenges the hunter-gatherer tag as a convenient lie. Almost all the evidence comes from the records and diaries of the Australian explorers, impeccable sources.]]> 277 Bruce Pascoe 1921248017 Kat Kennedy 5 4.29 2014 Dark Emu
author: Bruce Pascoe
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2018/09/23
shelves: australian-writer, leaves-awesomeness-behind, tomes-of-information
review:
An amazing journey, well-written and researched.
]]> <![CDATA[Strange the Dreamer (Strange the Dreamer, #1)]]> 29748925
What happened in Weep two hundred years ago to cut it off from the rest of the world? What exactly did the Godslayer slay that went by the name of god? And what is the mysterious problem he now seeks help in solving?

The answers await in Weep, but so do more mysteries - including the blue-skinned goddess who appears in Lazlo's dreams. How did he dream her before he knew she existed? And if all the gods are dead, why does she seem so real?

In this sweeping and breathtaking new novel by National Book Award finalist Laini Taylor, author of the New York Times bestselling Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy, the shadow of the past is as real as the ghosts who haunt the citadel of murdered gods. Fall into a mythical world of dread and wonder, moths and nightmares, love and carnage.]]> 536 Laini Taylor 1444788981 Kat Kennedy 0 to-read 4.38 2017 Strange the Dreamer (Strange the Dreamer, #1)
author: Laini Taylor
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/09/23
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Hunted 24485589 New York Times bestselling author Meagan Spooner spins a thoroughly thrilling BeautyĚýand the Beast story for the modern age, expertly woven with spellbinding romance, intrigue, and suspense that readers won’t soon be able to forget.

Beauty knows the Beast's forest in her bones—and in her blood. After all, her father is the only hunter who’s ever come close to discovering its secrets.

So when her father loses his fortune and moves Yeva and her sisters out of their comfortable home among the aristocracy and back to the outskirts of town, Yeva is secretly relieved. Out in the wilderness, there’s no pressure to make idle chatter with vapid baronessas…or to submit to marrying a wealthy gentleman.

But Yeva’s father’s misfortune may have cost him his mind, and when he goes missing in the woods, Yeva sets her sights on one the creature he’d been obsessively tracking just before his disappearance. The Beast.

Deaf to her sisters� protests, Yeva hunts this strange creature back into his own territory—a cursed valley, a ruined castle, and a world of magical creatures that Yeva’s only heard about in fairy tales. A world that can bring her ruin, or salvation.

Who will the Beauty, or the Beast?]]> 384 Meagan Spooner 0062422308 Kat Kennedy 0 to-read 3.88 2017 Hunted
author: Meagan Spooner
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/09/23
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Bone Witch (The Bone Witch, #1)]]> 30095464 A story of scorned witches, sinister curses, and resurrection, The Bone Witch is the start of a dark fantasy trilogy.

When Tea accidentally resurrects her brother, Fox, from the dead, she learns she is different from the other witches in her family. Her gift for necromancy means that she’s a bone witch, a title that makes her feared and ostracized by her community. But Tea finds solace and guidance with an older, wiser bone witch, who takes Tea and her brother to another land for training.

In her new home, Tea puts all her energy into becoming an asha—one who can wield elemental magic. But dark forces are approaching quickly, and in the face of danger, Tea will have to overcome her obstacles…and make a powerful choice.


The Bone Witch Trilogy:

The Bone Witch (Book 1)

The Heart Forger (Book 2)

The Shadowglass (Book 3)

]]> 411 Rin Chupeco 1492635820 Kat Kennedy 0 to-read 3.67 2017 The Bone Witch (The Bone Witch, #1)
author: Rin Chupeco
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/09/23
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> All-New X-Men (2012-2015) #1 25919690 24 Brian Michael Bendis Kat Kennedy 4 comic-books 4.02 2012 All-New X-Men (2012-2015) #1
author: Brian Michael Bendis
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2017/12/26
shelves: comic-books
review:
This is shaping up to be a really great start in the post-Professor world for the X-men. Scott, WTF, bro? McCoy, one of my favourite characters, is looking to play a good role in this series.
]]> <![CDATA[Kill Me Softly (Beau Rivage, #1)]]> 12680998
In Beau Rivage, nothing is what it seems—the strangely pale girl with a morbid interest in apples, the obnoxious playboy who's a beast to everyone he meets, and the chivalrous guy who has a thing for damsels in distress. Here, fairy tales come to life, curses are awakened, and ancient stories are played out again and again.

But fairy tales aren't pretty things, and they don't always end in happily ever after. Mira has a role to play, a fairy tale destiny to embrace or resist. As she struggles to take control of her fate, Mira is drawn into the lives of two brothers with fairy tale curses of their own . . . brothers who share a dark secret. And she'll find that love, just like fairy tales, can have sharp edges and hidden thorns.]]> 336 Sarah Cross 1606843230 Kat Kennedy 0 to-read 3.71 2012 Kill Me Softly (Beau Rivage, #1)
author: Sarah Cross
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/11/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Cruel Prince (The Folk of the Air, #1)]]> 26032825 Of course I want to be like them. They’re beautiful as blades forged in some divine fire. They will live forever.

And Cardan is even more beautiful than the rest. I hate him more than all the others. I hate him so much that sometimes when I look at him, I can hardly breathe.

Jude was seven when her parents were murdered and she and her two sisters were stolen away to live in the treacherous High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong there, despite her mortality. But many of the fey despise humans. Especially Prince Cardan, the youngest and wickedest son of the High King.

To win a place at the Court, she must defy him–and face the consequences.

As Jude becomes more deeply embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, she discovers her own capacity for trickery and bloodshed. But as betrayal threatens to drown the Courts of Faerie in violence, Jude will need to risk her life in a dangerous alliance to save her sisters, and Faerie itself.]]> 370 Holly Black 0316310271 Kat Kennedy 0 to-read 4.01 2018 The Cruel Prince (The Folk of the Air, #1)
author: Holly Black
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/11/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Three Dark Crowns (Three Dark Crowns, #1)]]> 28374007 When kingdom come, there will be one.

In every generation on the island of Fennbirn, a set of triplets is born—three queens, all equal heirs to the crown and each possessor of a coveted magic. Mirabella is a fierce elemental, able to spark hungry flames or vicious storms at the snap of her fingers. Katharine is a poisoner, one who can ingest the deadliest poisons without so much as a stomachache. Arsinoe, a naturalist, is said to have the ability to bloom the reddest rose and control the fiercest of lions.

But becoming the Queen Crowned isn’t solely a matter of royal birth. Each sister has to fight for it. And it’s not just a game of win or lose…it’s life or death. The night the sisters turn sixteen, the battle begins.

The last queen standing gets the crown.Ěý]]> 403 Kendare Blake 0062385437 Kat Kennedy 0 to-read 3.78 2016 Three Dark Crowns (Three Dark Crowns, #1)
author: Kendare Blake
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/10/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Shadow of the Wind (The Cemetery of Forgotten Books, #1)]]> 1232 487 Carlos Ruiz ZafĂłn Kat Kennedy 0 to-read 4.26 2001 The Shadow of the Wind (The Cemetery of Forgotten Books, #1)
author: Carlos Ruiz ZafĂłn
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2001
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/10/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Wonders of the Invisible World]]> 19370974
Aidan Lockwood lives in a sleepy farming town, day after unremarkable day. But when Jarrod, his former best friend, suddenly moves back home, Aidan begins to see clearly for the first time—not only to feelings that go beyond mere friendship, but to a world that is haunted by the stories of his past. Visions from this invisible world come to him unbidden: a great-grandfather on the field of battle; his own father, stumbling upon an unspeakable tragedy; and a mysterious young boy, whose whispered words may be at the heart of the curse that holds Aidan’s family in its grip.

Now, Aidan must find his way between the past and the present to protect those he loves, and to keep the invisible world at bay.]]> 352 Christopher Barzak 0385392796 Kat Kennedy 0 to-read 3.77 2015 Wonders of the Invisible World
author: Christopher Barzak
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/10/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Onyx and Ivory (Rime Chronicles, #1)]]> 34739766
The high king’s second son, Corwin Tormane, never asked to lead. Even as he waits for the uror—the once-in-a-generation ritual to decide which of the king’s children will succeed him—he knows it’s always been his brother who will assume the throne. And that’s fine by him. He’d rather spend his days away from the palace, away from the sight of his father, broken with sickness from the attempt on his life. But the peacekeeping tour Corwin is on has given him too much time to reflect upon the night he saved his father’s life—the night he condemned the would-be killer to death and lost the girl he loved. Which is why he takes it on himself to investigate rumors of unrest in one of the remote city-states, only for his caravan to be attacked—and for him to be saved by Kate.

With their paths once more entangled, Kate and Corwin have to put the past behind them. The threat of drakes who attack in the daylight is only the beginning of a darker menace stirring in the kingdom—one whose origins have dire implications for Kate’s father’s attack upon the king and will thrust them into the middle of a brewing civil war in the kingdom of Rime.]]> 15 Mindee Arnett Kat Kennedy 0 to-read 3.78 2018 Onyx and Ivory (Rime Chronicles, #1)
author: Mindee Arnett
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/10/24
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Forbidden Bite (Bite, #1) 35219255
Werewolf Griffin Romeo has new prey—a sexy female vamp named Isabella has been hunting in Sin City, and it’s Griffin’s job to stop her. Tracking Isabella is easy work for an alpha wolf, but once he gets close to gorgeous Isabella…Griffin’s careful plans go straight to hell. Because with one bite, he’s absolutely hooked on her, lost…mated.

Vamps and werewolves are supposed to be sworn enemies. They aren’t supposed to feel a white-hot attraction that burns soul deep. Now that he’s found his mate, Griffin isn’t about to let Isabella go, especially not when he learns that Isabella isn’t the killer who is attacking humans in Vegas. Griffin’s mate has been set-up, and he’ll fight with a wolf’s fury to find the enemy who is working against them both. Someone wants Isabella to be judged guilty by the wolves in Vegas, but Griffin won’t let that happen.

Their mating may be forbidden, but Griffin and Isabella are about to show the paranormal world just how fiercely a vamp and werewolf can fight for each other—because mates bond forever. And nothing will come between them.

Author’s FORBIDDEN BITE is a short, sexy story (32,000 words) about one hot werewolf and his sexy vamp mate. Lust comes first (and fast!) in this tale, and then love is close behind. If you enjoy a hero who will gladly sacrifice everything for his lady, hot times, and a happy ending…then maybe you should take a BITE.]]> 140 Cynthia Eden 1942840284 Kat Kennedy 3 3.87 2017 Forbidden Bite (Bite, #1)
author: Cynthia Eden
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2017
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2017/10/24
shelves: death-by-paranormal-romance, romance-romance-romance
review:
A bit rushed on the plot. The author was trying to fit a lot into 32K words. But otherwise a good read.
]]> <![CDATA[Daring Fate (Silver Tip Pack, #1)]]> 32486744 We all have tragic backstories in today's world.

I wake up chained to the wall of a dark cell aware of two things: I failed my sister, and I smell my enemy.

When I’m taken to meet Dare, the alpha of the Silver Tip pack, I’m sure I’m about to lose my throat. The last thing I expect is for the Alpha to recognize me as his fated mate. No way is he going to let me go now, and I still have to find a way to rescue my sister.

As I plot my escape to save her, I find that if I leave, Dare could be killed by power-hungry members of his pack. And now he’s more to me than my fated mate—my heart is involved. With time ticking by on my sister’s life, I have to make a choice I never thought I’d face—my sister’s life or my mate’s? That’s if I can survive the undead shifters intent on killing me first...]]> 313 Megan Erickson Kat Kennedy 1
I was super excited about the m/m aspect of the book, only to be sorely let down. ]]> 3.83 2016 Daring Fate (Silver Tip Pack, #1)
author: Megan Erickson
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2016
rating: 1
read at:
date added: 2017/10/24
shelves: books-that-deserve-painful-death, death-by-paranormal-romance, didn-t-finish-don-t-wanna, just-plain-bad, romance-romance-romance
review:
The only reason I'm reviewing this book is to remind future Kat not to forget she's read this and try to read it again.

I was super excited about the m/m aspect of the book, only to be sorely let down.
]]> White Hot (Hidden Legacy, #2) 22303684
Rogan is a billionaire Prime—the highest rank of magic user—and as unreadable as ever, despite Nevada's "talent." But there's no hiding the sparks between them. Now that the stakes are even higher, both professionally and personally, and their foes are unimaginably powerful, Rogan and Nevada will find that nothing burns like ice . . .]]> 389 Ilona Andrews 006228925X Kat Kennedy 2 4.40 2017 White Hot (Hidden Legacy, #2)
author: Ilona Andrews
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 4.40
book published: 2017
rating: 2
read at: 2017/10/24
date added: 2017/10/24
shelves: romance-romance-romance, the-great-shelf-of-meh, too-painful-to-finish
review:
It's time to admit that I'm just not finishing this book. I made a great effort though, reaching pretty much 90%.
]]> <![CDATA[Reign of the Fallen (Reign of the Fallen, #1)]]> 29906017
A dramatic uptick in Shade attacks raises suspicions and fears among Odessa's necromancer community. Soon a crushing loss of one of their own reveals a disturbing conspiracy: someone is intentionally creating Shades by tearing shrouds from the Dead--and training them to attack. Odessa is faced with a terrifying question: What if her necromancer's magic is the weapon that brings Karthia to its knees?]]> 384 Sarah Glenn Marsh 0448494396 Kat Kennedy 0 to-read 3.39 2018 Reign of the Fallen (Reign of the Fallen, #1)
author: Sarah Glenn Marsh
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 3.39
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/10/24
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic (Grishaverse, #0.5, 2.5, 2.6)]]> 34076952 Love speaks in flowers. Truth requires thorns.

Travel to a world of dark bargains struck by moonlight, of haunted towns and hungry woods, of talking beasts and gingerbread golems, where a young mermaid's voice can summon deadly storms and where a river might do a lovestruck boy's bidding but only for a terrible price.

Inspired by myth, fairy tale, and folklore, #1 New York Times—bestselling author Leigh Bardugo has crafted a deliciously atmospheric collection of short stories filled with betrayals, revenge, sacrifice, and love.

Perfect for new readers and dedicated fans, these tales will transport you to lands both familiar and strange—to a fully realized world of dangerous magic that millions have visited through the novels of the Grishaverse.

This collection of six stories includes three brand-new tales, all of them lavishly illustrated with art that changes with each turn of the page, culminating in six stunning full-spread illustrations as rich in detail as the stories themselves.

Zemeni Ayama and the Thorn Wood --
Ravkan The too-clever fox --
The witch of Duva --
Little knife --
Kerch The soldier prince --
Fjerdan When water sang fire]]> 281 Leigh Bardugo 125012252X Kat Kennedy 0 to-read 4.31 2017 The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic (Grishaverse, #0.5, 2.5, 2.6)
author: Leigh Bardugo
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 4.31
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/10/24
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Night of Cake and Puppets (Daughter of Smoke & Bone, #1.5)]]> 36162553 In this stand-alone companion to the New York Times bestselling Daughter of Smoke & Bone series comes the story of Mik and Zuzana's fantastical first date—as a gorgeously illustrated gift edition with bonus content included.

Petite though she may be, Zuzana is not known for timidity. Her best friend, Karou, calls her "rabid fairy," her "voodoo eyes" are said to freeze blood, and even her older brother fears her wrath. But when it comes to the simple matter of talking to Mik, or "Violin Boy," her courage deserts her. Now, enough is enough. Zuzana is determined to make the first move, and she has a fistful of magic and a plan. It's a wonderfully elaborate treasure hunt of a plan that will take Mik all over Prague on a cold winter's night before leading him to the treasure: herself! Violin Boy is not going to know what hit him.

New York Times bestselling author Laini Taylor brings to life a night only hinted at in the Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy—the magical first date of fan-favorites Zuzana and Mik. Originally published as an ebook, this new print edition will include breathtaking black and white illustrations, plus bonus content in a gorgeous package perfect for new and current fans of the series.]]> 256 Laini Taylor 1473675537 Kat Kennedy 0 to-read 4.34 2013 Night of Cake and Puppets (Daughter of Smoke & Bone, #1.5)
author: Laini Taylor
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/10/24
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> History Is All You Left Me 30626556
But as their relationship becomes increasingly complicated, dangerous truths begin to surface. Griffin must make a choice: confront the past, or miss out on his future.]]> 294 Adam Silvera Kat Kennedy 4 Crying face emoji FOREVER. 3.87 2017 History Is All You Left Me
author: Adam Silvera
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2017/08/28
date added: 2017/08/28
shelves:
review:
Crying face emoji FOREVER.
]]> Lock In (Lock In, #1) 21418013
A quarter of a century later, in a world shaped by what's now known as "Haden's syndrome," rookie FBI agent Chris Shane is paired with veteran agent Leslie Vann. The two of them are assigned what appears to be a Haden-related murder at the Watergate Hotel, with a suspect who is an "integrator" - someone who can let the locked in borrow their bodies for a time. If the Integrator was carrying a Haden client, then naming the suspect for the murder becomes that much more complicated.

But "complicated" doesn't begin to describe it. As Shane and Vann began to unravel the threads of the murder, it becomes clear that the real mystery - and the real crime - is bigger than anyone could have imagined. The world of the locked in is changing, and with the change comes opportunities that the ambitious will seize at any cost. The investigation that began as a murder case takes Shane and Vann from the halls of corporate power to the virtual spaces of the locked in, and to the very heart of an emerging, surprising new human culture. It's nothing you could have expected.]]> 336 John Scalzi 0765375869 Kat Kennedy 0 to-read 3.89 2014 Lock In (Lock In, #1)
author: John Scalzi
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/08/20
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Gemina (The Illuminae Files, #2)]]> 24909346
The sci-fi saga that began with the breakout bestseller Illuminae continues on board the Jump Station Heimdall, where two new characters will confront the next wave of the BeiTech assault.

Hanna is the station captain’s pampered daughter; Nik the reluctant member of a notorious crime family. But while the pair are struggling with the realities of life aboard the galaxy’s most boring space station, little do they know that Kady Grant and the Hypatia are headed right toward Heimdall, carrying news of the Kerenza invasion.

When an elite BeiTech strike team invades the station, Hanna and Nik are thrown together to defend their home. But alien predators are picking off the station residents one by one, and a malfunction in the station’s wormhole means the space-time continuum might be ripped in two before dinner. Soon Hanna and Nik aren’t just fighting for their own survival; the fate of everyone on the Hypatia—and possibly the known universe—is in their hands.

But relax. They’ve totally got this. They hope.]]> 672 Amie Kaufman 0553499173 Kat Kennedy 4
Still, even knowing how insidiously evil cows are, I'm left after this book with the disquieting thought of:

Poor fucking cows. ]]> 4.54 2016 Gemina (The Illuminae Files, #2)
author: Amie Kaufman
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 4.54
book published: 2016
rating: 4
read at: 2017/08/20
date added: 2017/08/20
shelves: australian-writer, sci-fi-alicious
review:
I don't think Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman like cows very much. And I understand why. I mean, they are murderous beasties. If you don't believe me, then believe the fact that they have no natural predators. Why? They killed them all and they're coming for us next.

Still, even knowing how insidiously evil cows are, I'm left after this book with the disquieting thought of:

Poor fucking cows.
]]> Our Own Private Universe 22082082
No, it isn't that kind of theory. Aki already knows she's bisexual—even if, until now, it's mostly been in the hypothetical sense. Aki has dated only guys so far, and her best friend, Lori, is the only person who knows she likes girls, too.

Actually, Aki's theory is that she's got only one shot at living an interesting life—and that means she's got to stop sitting around and thinking so much. It's time for her to actually do something. Or at least try.

So when Aki and Lori set off on a church youth-group trip to a small Mexican town for the summer and Aki meets Christa—slightly older, far more experienced—it seems her theory is prime for the testing.

But it's not going to be easy. For one thing, how exactly do two girls have sex, anyway? And more important, how can you tell if you're in love? It's going to be a summer of testing theories—and the result may just be love.]]> 384 Robin Talley 0373211988 Kat Kennedy 0 to-read 3.65 2017 Our Own Private Universe
author: Robin Talley
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/08/20
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Six of Crows (Six of Crows, #1)]]> 23437156 Alternate cover of ISBN 9781627792127

Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can’t pull it off alone...

A convict with a thirst for revenge

A sharpshooter who can’t walk away from a wager

A runaway with a privileged past

A spy known as the Wraith

A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums

A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes

Six dangerous outcasts. One impossible heist. Kaz’s crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction—if they don’t kill each other first.]]> 480 Leigh Bardugo 1627792120 Kat Kennedy 0 to-read 4.47 2015 Six of Crows (Six of Crows, #1)
author: Leigh Bardugo
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 4.47
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/08/20
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Bear and the Nightingale (The Winternight Trilogy, #1)]]> 25489134
After Vasilisa's mother dies, her father goes to Moscow and brings home a new wife. Fiercely devout, city-bred, Vasilisa's new stepmother forbids her family from honoring the household spirits. The family acquiesces, but Vasilisa is frightened, sensing that more hinges upon their rituals than anyone knows.

And indeed, crops begin to fail, evil creatures of the forest creep nearer, and misfortune stalks the village. All the while, Vasilisa's stepmother grows ever harsher in her determination to groom her rebellious stepdaughter for either marriage or confinement in a convent.

As danger circles, Vasilisa must defy even the people she loves and call on dangerous gifts she has long concealed—this, in order to protect her family from a threat that seems to have stepped from her nurse's most frightening tales.

The Bear and the Nightingale is a magical debut novel from a gifted and gorgeous voice. It spins an irresistible spell as it announces the arrival of a singular talent.]]> 319 Katherine Arden 1101885939 Kat Kennedy 3 But gods did it go on and on. Like, it feels that there's not one shred of this girl's backstory, necessary or not, that isn't included in this book. Pretty sure I know more about her childhood and formation than I do about my own children. Not sure what that says about me as a mother or Katherine Arden as an author. Nicely written, beautifully fleshed out. Just not for me. ]]> 4.07 2017 The Bear and the Nightingale (The Winternight Trilogy, #1)
author: Katherine Arden
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2017
rating: 3
read at: 2017/08/20
date added: 2017/08/20
shelves: didn-t-finish-for-now, fun-fantasy
review:
I read most of this book, and found it imaginative and thoughtful.
But gods did it go on and on. Like, it feels that there's not one shred of this girl's backstory, necessary or not, that isn't included in this book. Pretty sure I know more about her childhood and formation than I do about my own children. Not sure what that says about me as a mother or Katherine Arden as an author. Nicely written, beautifully fleshed out. Just not for me.
]]> <![CDATA[Fall Down 7 Times Get Up 8: A Young Man's Voice from the Silence of Autism]]> 32827230 The Reason I Jump, a revelatory account of autism from the inside by a nonverbal Japanese child, which became an international success.

Now he shares his thoughts and experiences as a twenty-four-year-old man living each day with severe autism. In short, powerful chapters, he explores school memories, family relationships, the exhilaration of travel, and the difficulties of speech. He also allows readers to experience profound moments we take for granted, like the thought-steps necessary for him to register that it's raining outside. Acutely aware of how strange his behavior can appear to others, he aims throughout to foster a better understanding of autism and to encourage society to see people with disabilities as people, not as problems.

With an introduction by bestselling novelist David Mitchell, Fall Down 7 Times Get Up 8 includes a dreamlike short story Higashida wrote especially for this edition. Both moving and of practical use, this book opens a window into the mind of an inspiring young man who meets every challenge with tenacity and good humor. However often he falls down, he always gets back up.]]> Naoki Higashida 1101923180 Kat Kennedy 0 to-read 4.14 2017 Fall Down 7 Times Get Up 8: A Young Man's Voice from the Silence of Autism
author: Naoki Higashida
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/08/20
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Twilight / Life and Death (The Twilight Saga)]]> 26860475 WHEN ISABELLA SWAN MOVES TO THE gloomy town of Forks and meets the mysterious, alluring Edward Cullen, her life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn. With his porcelain skin, golden eyes, mesmerizing voice, and supernatural gifts, Edward is both irresistible and enigmatic.

WHAT BELLA DOESN'T REALIZE IS THE CLOSER she gets to him, the more she is putting herself and those around her at risk. And, it might be too late to turn back...

DEEPLY SEDUCTIVE AND EXTRAORDINARILY suspenseful, Twilight has enraptured millions and become a modern classic, redefining genres within young adult literature and inspiring a phenomenon that has had readers yearning for more.

This special tenth anniversary dual edition includes a foreword by the author as well as a complete reimagining of the original novel. Turn this book over to read Life and Death.

/

WHEN BEAUFORT SWAN MOVES TO THE gloomy town of Forks and meets the mysterious, alluring Edythe Cullen, his life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn. With her porcelain skin, golden eyes, mesmerizing voice, and supernatural gifts, Edythe is both irresistible and enigmatic.

WHAT BEAU DOESN'T REALIZE IS THE closer he gets to her, the more he is putting himself and those around him at risk. And, it might be too late to turn back�

IN CELEBRATION OF THE TENTH ANNIVERSARY of Twilight, Stephenie Meyer has crafted Life and Death, a bold and compelling reimagining of the iconic love story that will surprise and enthrall readers. This special dual edition includes a foreword by the author as well as the complete original novel. Turn this book over to read Twilight.]]> 738 Stephenie Meyer Kat Kennedy 1 3.32 2015 Twilight / Life and Death (The Twilight Saga)
author: Stephenie Meyer
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 3.32
book published: 2015
rating: 1
read at: 2016/01/17
date added: 2017/03/12
shelves: why-god-why, death-by-paranormal-romance, drunk-when-i-wrote-this-review, just-plain-bad, kat-s-book-reviews, to-ya-or-not-to-ya, the-great-shelf-of-meh, ya-pnr-maddness
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Rose & the Dagger (The Wrath and the Dawn, #2)]]> 23308084 The darker the sky, the brighter the stars.

In a land on the brink of war, Shahrzad is forced from the arms of her beloved husband, the Caliph of Khorasan. She once thought Khalid a monster—a merciless killer of wives, responsible for immeasurable heartache and pain—but as she unraveled his secrets, she found instead an extraordinary man and a love she could not deny. Still, a curse threatens to keep Shazi and Khalid apart forever.

Now she’s reunited with her family, who have found refuge in the desert, where a deadly force is gathering against Khalid—a force set on destroying his empire and commanded by Shazi’s spurned childhood sweetheart. Trapped between loyalties to those she loves, the only thing Shazi can do is act. Using the burgeoning magic within her as a guide, she strikes out on her own to end both this terrible curse and the brewing war once and for all. But to do it, she must evade enemies of her own to stay alive.

The saga that began with The Wrath and the Dawn takes its final turn as Shahrzad risks everything to find her way back to her one true love again.]]> 416 Renée Ahdieh 0399171622 Kat Kennedy 0 to-read 4.04 2016 The Rose & the Dagger (The Wrath and the Dawn, #2)
author: Renée Ahdieh
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/01/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Wrath and the Dawn (The Wrath and the Dawn, #1)]]> 18798983 One Life to One Dawn.

In a land ruled by a murderous boy-king, each dawn brings heartache to a new family. Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, is a monster. Each night he takes a new bride only to have a silk cord wrapped around her throat come morning. When sixteen-year-old Shahrzad's dearest friend falls victim to Khalid, Shahrzad vows vengeance and volunteers to be his next bride. Shahrzad is determined not only to stay alive, but to end the caliph's reign of terror once and for all.

Night after night, Shahrzad beguiles Khalid, weaving stories that enchant, ensuring her survival, though she knows each dawn could be her last. But something she never expected begins to happen: Khalid is nothing like what she'd imagined him to be. This monster is a boy with a tormented heart. Incredibly, Shahrzad finds herself falling in love. How is this possible? It's an unforgivable betrayal. Still, Shahrzad has come to understand all is not as it seems in this palace of marble and stone. She resolves to uncover whatever secrets lurk and, despite her love, be ready to take Khalid's life as retribution for the many lives he's stolen. Can their love survive this world of stories and secrets?]]> 416 Renée Ahdieh 0399171614 Kat Kennedy 4
[image error]

Let’s get this out of the way now. This book is trash. All the way, to the end of the road, it’s absolute trash.



And this was me:

[image error]

Gawd I loved this book. All the while I knew it was bad. Just down to it’s very core it’s a bad book. But it is so. damn. addictive.



So Shazi’s best friend Shiva has just been murdered by the King, Khalid. So she leaves her lover, Tariq and volunteers as tribute (sorry not sorry) to be Khalid’s next wife.

Now, let me get the complaining out of the way early.

Shazi is annoying. Like very obtuse. She is full of pride (which I love) but she’s very clumsy about how she goes about discovering the Khalid’s secrets (which I hate) � which basically boils down to her whining to him a lot about them instead of doing any real investigation. Then there’s the time when she pretends to everyone that she can’t shoot arrows and lets herself be goaded into revealing that, actually, she’s a great shot within like 5 minutes. Way to go, there Shazi.

Also, the romance is super instalovey and I never really bought it. Obviously, there was a sizzle or I would have been out the door so fast you’d have thought I was being chased by a bear. But when it came to their devotional love proclamations, I was left unmoved.

The writing is a little subpar but it’s nothing to cry about.

Also the plot. Shazi barely even tells the stories. Like, it happens a few times but mostly it’s so quickly done and over with and they’re very underwhelming so I’m not sure, like, if I were a blood-thirsty sultan, that I would spare her life for those stories. I mean, I’m just assuming here because I’ve never slaughtered dozens of innocent girls. Maybe if I did, I’d be as easily amused as Khalid was, I don’t know. THIS IS ALL CONJECTURE.

Okay. Deep breath. So what did I like about this book?

Gawd, I don’t know.

If I could pinpoint the magic that was The Wrath and the Dawn and bottle it up and sprinkle it over everything I would. There was just something, ultimately, very readable about it. It made me want to devour everything and never stop.

It was like doritoes, you know? You know they’re bad for you, but you can’t stop eating. So moarish. I need more. I’m reading The Rose and the Dagger immediately and not one of youse can stop me.

[image error]

This review and others like it can be found on my blog ]]> 4.05 2015 The Wrath and the Dawn (The Wrath and the Dawn, #1)
author: Renée Ahdieh
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2016/12/26
date added: 2017/01/03
shelves: favorites, fun-fantasy, kat-s-book-reviews, romance-romance-romance, to-ya-or-not-to-ya, weneeddiversebooks
review:
Alright, alright. Alright, alright, alright.

[image error]

Let’s get this out of the way now. This book is trash. All the way, to the end of the road, it’s absolute trash.



And this was me:

[image error]

Gawd I loved this book. All the while I knew it was bad. Just down to it’s very core it’s a bad book. But it is so. damn. addictive.



So Shazi’s best friend Shiva has just been murdered by the King, Khalid. So she leaves her lover, Tariq and volunteers as tribute (sorry not sorry) to be Khalid’s next wife.

Now, let me get the complaining out of the way early.

Shazi is annoying. Like very obtuse. She is full of pride (which I love) but she’s very clumsy about how she goes about discovering the Khalid’s secrets (which I hate) � which basically boils down to her whining to him a lot about them instead of doing any real investigation. Then there’s the time when she pretends to everyone that she can’t shoot arrows and lets herself be goaded into revealing that, actually, she’s a great shot within like 5 minutes. Way to go, there Shazi.

Also, the romance is super instalovey and I never really bought it. Obviously, there was a sizzle or I would have been out the door so fast you’d have thought I was being chased by a bear. But when it came to their devotional love proclamations, I was left unmoved.

The writing is a little subpar but it’s nothing to cry about.

Also the plot. Shazi barely even tells the stories. Like, it happens a few times but mostly it’s so quickly done and over with and they’re very underwhelming so I’m not sure, like, if I were a blood-thirsty sultan, that I would spare her life for those stories. I mean, I’m just assuming here because I’ve never slaughtered dozens of innocent girls. Maybe if I did, I’d be as easily amused as Khalid was, I don’t know. THIS IS ALL CONJECTURE.

Okay. Deep breath. So what did I like about this book?

Gawd, I don’t know.

If I could pinpoint the magic that was The Wrath and the Dawn and bottle it up and sprinkle it over everything I would. There was just something, ultimately, very readable about it. It made me want to devour everything and never stop.

It was like doritoes, you know? You know they’re bad for you, but you can’t stop eating. So moarish. I need more. I’m reading The Rose and the Dagger immediately and not one of youse can stop me.

[image error]

This review and others like it can be found on my blog
]]> Seven Ways We Lie 26240663 Seven students. Seven (deadly) sins. One secret.

Paloma High School is ordinary by anyone’s standards. It’s got the same cliques, the same prejudices, the same suspect cafeteria food. And like every high school, every student has something to hide—from Kat, the thespian who conceals her trust issues onstage, to Valentine, the neurotic genius who’s planted the seed of a school scandal.

When that scandal bubbles over, and rumors of a teacher-student affair surface, everyone starts hunting for someone to blame. For the seven unlikely allies at the heart of it all, the collision of their seven ordinary-seeming lives results in extraordinary change.]]> 343 Riley Redgate 1419719440 Kat Kennedy 4
Everyone needs a Sass in their lives. Apparently, I needed this book too.

Reading this world set in Paloma Heights was like a breath of fresh air. Feminist, flawed characters, real pain, and secrets. So many secrets. There we some characters I liked right away (Olivia) and some characters I took a long time to like (Claire). And some I just plain never understood (Juniper). But I could never say I walked away from this book being a lesser person. Despite not liking Claire, I felt like I learned the most from her, felt her pain the most. So even in the parts that made me maddeningly angry, I found something to take away from in this book.

So, the book is about seven students � and one of them is having an affair with a teacher. Each student represents one of the seven deadly sins and most characters, in the end, over come their sin and find a way to heal.

Let me tell you though, that there were things I definitely loved about this book � and one of them was the rep.

First of all, we have a feminist kick ass main character who does not apologise for who she sleeps with, when and where. It was amazing. Then we have a pansexual character which just filled my heart with joy. It’s on the paper, btw. That’s how he ID’s � as pansexual. I could sing with joy.

There is a character who pretty much sings to being Ace but never actually says it on page, this also made me happy for all my Ace friends out there who could do with the rep.

There’s also cultural diversity a little bit which is, not going to lie, much needed to break up the otherwise white bread fest that this book would have been without it.

I thought the book was very well plotted and executed with enough meat to keep it going, unlike a common pitfall of contemporaries where there’s just not enough plot. Yet it still carries the best aspects of a contemporary by making its characters shine, and being character driven.

Over all, I loved this book and highly recommend you put it on your radar.

This review and others like it can be found on my blog .]]> 3.80 2016 Seven Ways We Lie
author: Riley Redgate
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2016
rating: 4
read at: 2016/12/26
date added: 2017/01/03
shelves: contemporary-fiction, favorites, kat-s-book-reviews, to-ya-or-not-to-ya, weneeddiversebooks
review:
Seven Ways We Lie was purchased and thrust into my unwitting hands by the lovely Sass, one of my favourite book pushers, as an early Christmas present. Despite the fact that I don’t read contemporary. Despite the fact that I have no interest in Teacher/Student relationships, despite the fact that I’m a miserable miser who hasn’t properly picked up a book in almost a year.

Everyone needs a Sass in their lives. Apparently, I needed this book too.

Reading this world set in Paloma Heights was like a breath of fresh air. Feminist, flawed characters, real pain, and secrets. So many secrets. There we some characters I liked right away (Olivia) and some characters I took a long time to like (Claire). And some I just plain never understood (Juniper). But I could never say I walked away from this book being a lesser person. Despite not liking Claire, I felt like I learned the most from her, felt her pain the most. So even in the parts that made me maddeningly angry, I found something to take away from in this book.

So, the book is about seven students � and one of them is having an affair with a teacher. Each student represents one of the seven deadly sins and most characters, in the end, over come their sin and find a way to heal.

Let me tell you though, that there were things I definitely loved about this book � and one of them was the rep.

First of all, we have a feminist kick ass main character who does not apologise for who she sleeps with, when and where. It was amazing. Then we have a pansexual character which just filled my heart with joy. It’s on the paper, btw. That’s how he ID’s � as pansexual. I could sing with joy.

There is a character who pretty much sings to being Ace but never actually says it on page, this also made me happy for all my Ace friends out there who could do with the rep.

There’s also cultural diversity a little bit which is, not going to lie, much needed to break up the otherwise white bread fest that this book would have been without it.

I thought the book was very well plotted and executed with enough meat to keep it going, unlike a common pitfall of contemporaries where there’s just not enough plot. Yet it still carries the best aspects of a contemporary by making its characters shine, and being character driven.

Over all, I loved this book and highly recommend you put it on your radar.

This review and others like it can be found on my blog .
]]> <![CDATA[Barefoot on the Wind (The Moonlit Lands, #2)]]> 29235197
There is a monster in the forest...

Everyone in Hana's remote village on the mountain knows that straying too far into the woods is a death sentence. When Hana's father goes missing, she is the only one who dares try to save him. Taking up her hunting gear, she goes in search of the beast, determined to kill it - or be killed herself.

But the forest contains more secrets, more magic and more darkness than Hana could ever have imagined. And the beast is not at all what she expects...]]> 313 Zoë Marriott 1406333379 Kat Kennedy 3 3.87 2016 Barefoot on the Wind (The Moonlit Lands, #2)
author: Zoë Marriott
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2016
rating: 3
read at: 2017/01/03
date added: 2017/01/03
shelves: fun-fantasy, kat-s-book-reviews, to-ya-or-not-to-ya
review:
Ahhh. So many thoughts. Review to come!
]]> A Thousand Nights 25244111
And so she is taken in her sister’s place, and she believes death will soon follow. Lo-Melkhiin’s court is a dangerous palace filled with pretty things: intricate statues with wretched eyes, exquisite threads to weave the most beautiful garments. She sees everything as if for the last time. But the first sun rises and sets, and she is not dead. Night after night, Lo-Melkhiin comes to her and listens to the stories she tells, and day after day she is awoken by the sunrise. Exploring the palace, she begins to unlock years of fear that have tormented and silenced a kingdom. Lo-Melkhiin was not always a cruel ruler. Something went wrong.

Far away, in their village, her sister is mourning. Through her pain, she calls upon the desert winds, conjuring a subtle unseen magic, and something besides death stirs the air.

Back at the palace, the words she speaks to Lo-Melkhiin every night are given a strange life of their own. Little things, at first: a dress from home, a vision of her sister. With each tale she spins, her power grows. Soon she dreams of bigger, more terrible magic: power enough to save a king, if she can put an end to the rule of a monster.]]> 324 E.K. Johnston 1447284119 Kat Kennedy 0 3.55 2015 A Thousand Nights
author: E.K. Johnston
name: Kat Kennedy
average rating: 3.55
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at: 2017/01/01
date added: 2017/01/02
shelves:
review:
I have SO MANY thoughts about this book. Can't wait to share them all.
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