Sunday, July 7, 2013

Crazy Girls, Demons, and Time Travel! robgirlbooks' Marathon Reviews of Dare You To, The Good, the Bad, and the Undead, & Switching

I had so much fun writing speedy reviews with my first review marathon, I decided to do it again!

4.5 STARS! Dare You To by Katie McGarry is a roller coaster ride of emotions. Beth is a true survivalist, so much so, she can't see a life outside the horrors she lives day in and day out. Ryan is a true competitor. He sees his world as a series of wins on his way to the ultimate win, being a pro baseball player. The two have nothing in common other than their knack for tunnel vision. Beth has to save her mother. Ryan has to win any challenge thrown at him. The two meet. She swears at him. He remains polite, but annoyed. Life comes crumbling down for Beth. Life has been secretly crumbling to pieces for Ryan. Will these two polar opposites meet in the middle of all the carnage? Can crazy Beth see past her zero self-esteem? Can Ryan step outside of his father's perfect son role and risk losing?

I love Katie McGarry's style and quickly remembered just how much when I started reading Dare You To. I also love starting over stories. This one falls into that category with Beth going from the slums to slick hickville. Oh, and I love sports stories. Ryan takes us into the mindset of a pitcher, captain, and teammate. My main gripe has to be the adults in the book. I needed an anchor, and none of the teenage supporting cast filled that role. Logan was strong and stable, same with Lacy, but they weren't enough. Ryan's parents upset me so much I didn't care if they did a turnabout or not. I decided to hold a grudge and I'm still holding it. Forget about how I feel about Beth's mother. The best part of Dare You To has to be watching two souls crashing into each other over and over until they finally find how they fit just right. The love story is beautiful.


4 STARS! The Good, the Bad, and the Undead by Kim Harrison is the second book in The Hollows Series. Rachel can't move on from her time with Trent. She's determined to nail him to the wall. This time she believes he's savagely murdering witches. To be fair, she has witnessed him murder before. She's been tortured by him, held captive, and offered a job more times than I remember. Trent is an oddball, for sure. Then there's Nick. Oh, freaking Nick who stresses me out because of his ridiculous lack of self-preservation. He's a bad influence on Rachel. I sound old saying that, but I want to pull him by his shirt collar and toss him out the church doors. Jenks wasn't such a great influence this book either and Rachel with her poor decision making skills needs smart people around her. Who does she have though? Ivy, a hungry, hungry living vamp who is beyond moody and stressed most of this book. We have flittering and petulant Jenks who loves to stir the pot. There was a point in the book when Rachel itched to play with her magic. I wanted to put her in a time out, but Jenks goaded and taunted, even invited his kids into the play.

I'm so glad Jaclyn at JC's Book Haven recommended this series to me. Kim Harrison is a fantastic storyteller and the world she created with such delicious supernatural characters and closed-minded humans is addictive. I'll be hitting book 3 real soon!


4 STARS! Switching by Jody Kihara pulls you into the life of a girl who's lost everything, possibly even her mind. She can't remember her former life. She can't see the faces of her parents when she closes her eyes. She can't find her way home, not just because she's forgotten her address and her name, but because she can't get back to her timeline. With absolutely nothing, she has only her genuine soul and gritty determination to survive. Is that enough to finally land herself in the correct year and find her way home?

After reading a wonderful review by Lexxie at Un[Conventional] Book Views, I commented that I was going to request my library to purchase this book. Jody Kihara contacted me and sent me the book. How awesome is that? Super awesome. And even better than that, I love Switching. The MC named herself Terry because it had a nice ring to it. Plus how can anyone truly exist without a name? From page one I was hooked. I felt Terry's fear, her good heart, her exhaustion, all in the first few minutes. My first time travel book and I loved it. This isn't a futuristic story or some historical romance in disguise. We stick to the chunk of time between the awful clothes of the 70's and now. We meet characters I craved to have more story time with. My mind shot in all directions with speculations. I figured time travel, anything is possible. Yeah, none of my guesses were right. For many other readers, this wonderful book would be 5 STARS, it's that good. But in the worst way, I wanted more at the end. Switching is YA sci-fi I consider a great read for all ages with its brave female lead and engaging story. Terry's painful wish to get home becomes your wish for her too.




16 comments:

  1. Love this marathon of reviews, Robyn. Dare to You I have seen so many times and I know a lot of people really love that one. Glad you enjoyed #2 in the Hollows story. Rachel really did need a kick in the rear in that one and I'm still giggling about what you said on Nick :D I saw Switching on Lexxie's as well so I'm really glad you enjoyed that one. Very cool that Jody contacted you. Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts! Jaclyn @ JC's Book Haven.

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    1. Oh my gosh, Rachel needed a kick in the rear. I thought I had more pages with this one at the end, then I found myself on the author's page and I kept clicking on the ereader. We got some steamy romance at least, but there was such heartbreak too! We'll see how my current read goes since I quit it months ago and I'm trying again. If I just can't do it, I'm jumping right into the next Hollows book. Oh, and I loved meeting Rachel's mom.

      It was cool that Jody Kihara contacted me. A first for me. I read Switching during my trip to Iowa. I loved winding down with a few chapters a night. And Dare You To was an all-consuming, "cook your own, kids" read. I love those.

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    2. Oh my! What a statement! I liked your reviews on the books. You have mentioned Kim Harrison to me before. I guess I have to add her to my long list of "must read". But you know how I am, I am so behind in just about every series I start. :)

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    3. I know how you are. I also know you have yet to take me up on any of my YA contemporary romance recommendations! Stinker!! You WILL love The Hollows. I know it. Witches, demons, vamps, other stuff. hehe. Here's a tip though. If you have ten books on your counter all due in three days, do not check out another book from the library. Can't wait to go swimming today! Race time, girl!

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  2. Excellent reviews, Robyn - even if I skipped the Hollows one ;)

    I'm so glad you enjoyed Switching as much as you did, and totally awesome that Jody Kihara contacted you and sent the book to you so you could read it! I loved it as well, and I wanted much more in the end, too.

    Dare You To was fantastic, and even if I couldn't forgive Logan's parents either, I thought the whole story was so well done. It is always heart-wrenching for me to read about kids trying to take care of their parents. It's not the way things should be, and at the same time from the kids' point of view totally understandable.

    Happy reading Robyn.

    Lexxie @ (un)Conventional Bookviews

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    1. Will is always trying to take care of me. I tell him he's a kid and his only job is to be a kid, but he's never given in on that argument. And the mean girls in Dare You To or in any book piss me off. I did walk away wanting to go to a baseball game. I haven't been in ages.

      I thought through what book I was going to take on my vacation. Couldn't be creepy or scary because I'd be staying in hotel rooms alone with my boys. Turns out Switching was so wonderful to end my busy days with, though I had the same bedtime as the kids. No night owl reading for me. That was a bit torturous. I'm so glad I caught your review!

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    2. Oh, two of my four want to take care of me as well, so I can completely get the whole thing, but that's why it's important that parents can let the children know that they should be children, and just let them show that they care.

      I'm always a little anxious when one of my blogger friends pick up a book because they read my review - what if they don't like it as much as I did?

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  3. Wow love the maraton well done. I want to read all these books so many books so little time. Great reviews.

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    1. Thanks Jodie! So many books is right, but I feel comforted by that. I'll never run out of great reads. I even have a ritual when I start a new book. A silly one, but I love picking through my pile of free library and swag bookmarks.

      How's the house building going?

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  4. Nice reviews, Robyn. I particularly liked The Good, The Bad, and The Undead. Such a cool title for a novel and it sounds like the kind of book I'd like to read, plus the cover is so cool. I just added Dead Witch Walking to my ever-growing TBR.

    Another great marathon! Thanks for sharing. :)

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    1. Yay! Dead Witch Walking is great! Pretty much post dystopian world (in that a huge percentage of the human population died) and it was written before the big end of the world craze. I think I'm nearing 200 with my TBR list! I'll never run out of ideas for my next read. That's so cool.

      I remembered you saying such nice things about my last marathon, so I decided to give it another shot. I also remember one of your goals being writing a review for every book you read. I decided right then to take on the same challenge.

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    2. Wow! I'm glad you took the challenge. I've so many good and fun reviews here. :)

      Have a great week, Robyn!

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  5. I love your marathon reviews, Robyn. You've read some great books. (It's so nice to have blogging friends who recommend books! ;) I've only read The Good, the Bad and the Undead, but Dare You To is on my TBR and I hope to read it soon. And I haven't read Switching either, but I read Lexxie's review and now yours, so I'll be sure to pick up this one as soon as I can. :) Great reviews and I'm glad you enjoyed them all!

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    1. Since I just finished Dare You To, I feel like I'm aimlessly floating around. That's me coming off a reader high. Funny how some books push you right into another read, and others dig their claws in and refuse to let you move on. I have Fierce waiting for me (inspired by your review), but I want to finish my local library challenge first (because there are prizes). hehe

      Here's to friends who share their love of books. I never thought I'd be a big reader. That's so neato.

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  6. Have you read Pushing the Limits. (I'm thinking you did, unless I'm completely confused.) :) I thought that one was superior to Dare You To. I enjoyed the romance better, and I did not really connect with Beth.

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    1. You're not completely confused. hehe. I LOVED Pushing the Limits. It had all the right ingredients for me, Echo, Noah, the school counselor. The read felt fresh, yet gritty.

      Beth bounced in and out of reality a bit for me in Dare You To because she was so small in size, but my mind refused to picture her that way. Her waffling between owning the stage and cowering in a dark hole and Ryan's "I always win" motto sometimes became too much. But I flew through the story eager for them to find their way. If I could have paced myself at all, I might have rated it 4 stars, but I just wanted everyone leave me alone with my book. Thanks for stopping by!!

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