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Book Review: "Losing It: A Collection Of VCards"

Losing It: A Collection of VCards by Nikki Jefford
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Losing It is a collection of chapters from various authors. Each chapter is either an extension, or another point of view or, an addition to a previously written book. Each one of these written chapters is about the loss of virginity of a character and in some cases, the characters.

I admit, the first chapter I read was the chapter written by the author I was most interested in reading because I'd read all of her novels. Her chapter was the couple's first time from the other party's point of view. Because I read the novel, I didn't need set up or backstory. For the rest of the chapters, the backstory or set up worked sometimes. Sometimes, it simply didn't and there were some I simply couldn't read because I didn't know enough.

One particular chapter, if I had to guess, was the first time the author had ever written a sex scene or love scene. Because the use of language by the characters was immature and a huge turnoff. From the female character's point of view, being full of cheer because her boyfriend was rubbing her "boobs" blew the mood for me. I read the whole thing just to see how many immature terms for the human body were used. You buy it and read it to find out how many times that is.

Overall, it wasn't a bad idea for these authors to join forces to create this type of book. On the other hand, there are various reasons why it might not be for everyone. For example, some don't like various genres. This doesn't mean you won't like the book. In the case of one particular chapter, where one of the characters is a newly created vampire, I got interested in an author I'd never read before and will be interested in looking into reading that particular book/series in the future.

3.5 Stars!

I was given an advanced reading copy in return for an honest review.

Star Scale:
5 Stars: Excellent! Skip all of the other reviews. Run and buy this one. Right NOW!
4 Stars: Very Good! Read a few more reviews just to see that I'm right. Then run and buy it.
3 Stars: Good! If you waited to get it on sale or was able to get it through your local library, you won't exactly die without it.
2 Stars: Fair. Read more reviews. Maybe I missed something that most others did not. If there are more good reviews than bad, give it a go.
1 Star: Poor. Don't bother. It's simply not worth your time.


View all my reviews

YES, YOU ARE STILL A JUNKIE EVEN IF THE DRUGS ARE PRESCRIPTION DRUGS!…..Book Review: "All Fall Down" by Jennifer Weiner

Allison Weiss is a mom, she's married, and living in the suburbs of Philadelphia. She has a great job that she seems to love, and she also seems to enjoy taking care of what seems to be a child that isn't a special needs child but, has some unusual type of sensitivities. Her father was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's, her mother is trying to adapt to the situation. Allison is suspicious of the female "friend" her husband has been emailing and subsequently, socializing.

But, in addition to managing as much as she does, she's a drug addict. Now according to Allison, she can't be an addict because she's taking prescription drugs that were first prescribed by a doctor after a back injury. And she's not a REAL drug addict even if she's buying the drugs illegally online, and sneaking money from her job and her family into a secret bank account so she can buy those drugs illegally online.

So, Allison's husband, who has suspected for a while, finally calls her on it and sends her to rehab.

For the first time, during and after reading a Jennifer Weiner book, I had to ask myself, "where the HELL did she get her information?" Do addicts lie and steal to get drugs? Yes, she got that right. Do addicts shop around for different doctors to get their drugs? Yes they do. Do addicts buy drugs illegally online not caring if they're paying for poison that might kill them instantly? Yes, they do. She got ALL of that right.

What I don't understand is, what rehab facilities did she research? There is a scene where Allison plans and succeeds in "escaping" from the rehab to attend her daughter's birthday party. The rehab doesn't even call her husband when they discover she's gone. How she gets through the doors is ridiculous. Is Allison a voluntary patient or is she involuntary because her husband took her there? This is never really spelled out so we are made to assume that she went because her husband insisted in which case, she'd be there voluntarily. But even with the rules we read about, she probably still would not be allowed to leave most real rehabs.

There is a point in the book where Allison's mother shows up alone without Allison's husband for a therapy session. In this session, Allison's mother then tells her that she's been a functioning alcoholic since Allison was a child, revealing to Allison something else that explains why she doesn't drive a car. And then…..that's it. Oooookay. So what then? Nothing gets done with that after it's mentioned in the therapy session.

While I have so many issues with this book, I will only add one more. Allison starts out at first not even willing to admit she's an addict. Okay, that's normal. When she gets to rehab, she refuses to believe she's nothing like everyone else in rehab. Okay, also normal. One thing Allison never really gets past, I thought, was that she thought herself as better than everyone in that rehab. You may think differently when you get to the end but I still wasn't buying it.

Most of the characters that SHOULD have a LOT of weight in this book, don't. Allison's husband is too minor a character. The people she meets and befriends in rehab are still too minor. There is emphasis on her daughter but since Jennifer Weiner is so ambiguous about what her daughter's issue is, she gets far too much ink in this book.

Overall, it wasn't a bad book. I actually couldn't put it down. Maybe because I was hoping for some surprising changes. If you like Jennifer Weiner's books as I do, you will read this book and determine for yourself how you feel about it. If you have never read a Jennifer Weiner book, I'd recommend that you become familiar with some of her other books before you embark on reading this one. Try "Good In Bed," her first novel. It's fantastic. Try "The Guy Not Taken: Stories." her collection of short stories. THEN, read this one.

I was given an Advanced Reading Copy of this book via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

So, is "Hardwired" by Meredith Wild a Ripoff of Fifty Shades of Grey or Twilight?????

Hardwired is the first book in Meredith Wild's Hacker series. Within the first three chapters, you'll begin to think you're reading the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy all over again and there are similarities. Blake is a gozillionaire who likes to be in control, he's hot, he's possessive and so on. He's got a brother named Heath who falls for Alli, best friend of the main character Erica.

Erica is basically an orphan who just graduated from Harvard and was raised by her mother's best friend. There's even Sophia, Blake's sort of ex who is a bitch and doesn't like Erica and the feeling is mutual. Some of the similarities are so close, you will think you are reading the same thing but you're not.

You'll most likely run into reviews of those who bitch and moan at the mere mention of the similarities. Frankly, I find those people immature. I mean, c'mon, Erica gets on Blake quite a few times in this first book and calls him "master of the universe." And if you know anything about FSoG, you know that it's Twilight fan fiction that was previously titled "Master Of The Universe." So to deny the similarities is just immature and stupid.

Now, the actual book is really good once you move past those similarities because there ARE differences. In Hardwired, Erica is NOT Ana nor is she Bella. Erica is tough, smart, business savvy, she has her own start up business and she's trying to get some serious millions to fund her company, Clozpin, which sounds like an anti-anxiety drug but really, it's a fashion social networking site.

Erica and Blake sort of meet by LITERALLY running into each other and the day afterward, Erica finds herself at a conference table surrounded by wealthy men to make her pitch and one of those wealthy men is Blake.

From that point on, the entire book is complete FIREWORKS! The love scenes/sex scenes in the book are by no means boring and Erica knows how to hold her own with Blake. She's not entirely a pushover although she does have some confidence and trust issues. Like most main characters in these types of novels, she's got a past and so does he. Hers is pretty bad.

What's good about the book is how Blake reacts the story of her past. He still engages her but he doesn't walk on eggshells with her either. I thought he handled it all like a pro.

Overall, this is a good read. It's not incredibly deep, it's a book to relax with and you probably won't be able to put it down. DO be ready to read the series. You will WANT to read the next two books anyway to find out what happens to Erica and Blake. I'm in the middle of the second book and it actually gets BETTER. So if your summer vacation is planned and you're looking from some books to sit back and read, grab up all three, get a glass of your favorite cold beverage, put your feet up and enjoy!!!!!

Book Review of "The Break-Up Artist" by Philip Siegel

Becca Williamson watched her sister get ditched at the altar. Becca also sees the couples at her school needlessly cast out the single girls to the point where they're treated like pariahs until they couple up. Even her best friend, Val will do or say anything to snag a boyfriend.

As a result, for just $100 via PayPal, Becca aka "The Break-Up Artist," will break up any couple. With a few creative tricks, Becca can shred a couple's relationship to pieces.

One night, she receives a mysterious offer to break up the homecoming king and queen, the one zombie couple to rule them all: Steve and Huxley. If Becca can split them up, then school will be safe again for singletons. To succeed, she'll have to plan her most elaborate scheme to date and wiggle her way back into her former BFF Huxley’s life – not to mention start a few rumors, sabotage some cell phones, break into a car, and fend off the inappropriate feelings she’s having about Val’s new boyfriend. All while avoiding a past victim out to expose her true identity.

By far, one of the best young adult contemporary romance books I've read to date. What struck me right from the get go was the author is a MAN. I would never expect such a wildly good understanding of teenage females from a male author. For that, I give stars, stars, more stars, and kudos to Phillip Siegel!

One of the things I like about any book I read is when I can't put it down and I really want to take off from work to just finish it. This was definitely one of those books. This is also my first ARC via NetGalley that was approved from Harlequin so I was excited for the opportunity to read a Harlequin TEEN book. I was not disappointed.

Mr. Siegel does an amazing job in creating Becca's character. She's as complicated as any teenage girl would be. There were times I had to remind myself that Becca was indeed a teenager in high school. The author also did a great job in reminding the reader of that fact as well. The struggles Becca has to go through to be Becca and The Break-Up Artist in secret are so good, I wondered if the author actually met someone who did this for real. I'm sure they exist out there in real life.

What the author does with Huxley is pretty amazing and you won't see it coming right away but I think all readers will enjoy it. I loved the choices the author made in ending the book too. As I thought of the possible alternative endings that the author could have chosen, none of them seemed to fit in my mind so kudos for the ending as well.

I didn't exactly understand why Becca and Val were BFF's. Val's character is slightly annoying and I was surprised Becca would have a best friend who is so…..whiny. But, there are people out there who don't understand why I'm BFF's with certain people as well. Val has flaws and she's willing to lie about anything to snag a boyfriend. You will wonder if she falls into "couple zombie" mode if she snags that boyfriend.

Overall, this is a humorous and light-hearted look at one of the real issues teenagers have to deal with in high school. It's definitely realistic and if you like YA books with some "girl power," you'll love this book.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review but it comes out April 29th. So preorder it now so you can start reading it the day it releases. You won't be disappointed!

Book Review of "Disconnected" by Jennifer Weiner

Shannon is an addict who has been in and out of rehab more times than she can count. When she finally decides that she's going to get herself together, she goes to get herself a new cell phone. However, when she starts receiving weird texts that seem to be encouraging her to meet with drug dealers and buy drugs, things start to get weird.

This dark, short story/novella is about as far from what I expected from Jennifer Weiner's usual "chick lit." Having read most of her books and loving "Good In Bed" through several reads, I never saw something this dark coming from her. Even though it was unexpected, it was still really good. It was this particular work by JW that caused my head to flood with memories of imagery used in her past books. It was the first time I realized how GOOD her use of imagery actually is in her writing as a whole. I could see where Shannon went in my head. I could picture those dark places. And when you get to the twist at the end, that imagery comes in handy.

I'm kind of hoping there is a future full length novel coming that features this character. Even with the twist at the end, it can still be done.

Book Review: "Good In Bed" by Jennifer Weiner…..Definitely Much More Than Your Average "Chick Lit"

Second read. Definitely much more to it than your average chick lit.

I'm not exactly Jennifer Weiner or Cannie Shapiro. Combine the two and we have a TON in common. Jennifer is based in Philly and Cannie lives there. I was born and raised there. Jennifer worked for the Centre Daily Times in Central PA. I live in State College, PA and was at Penn state when she began working there. I still live in State College. Jennifer and Cannie are overweight. I stopped giving a crap about it after hitting 40 years old. I'm tall, with a large frame and will never weigh 100 pounds. I'm not exactly carrying a Michelin tire around my waist but I'm no model either. There's a bunch of other stuff too.

It bothers me that some women have reviewed this book and called Cannie's story, "whining." Sounds to me like Cannie is just being Cannie. I don't think she's a perpetual victim, I think she's just trying to figure out years of bad things happening to her. Keep in mind that JW can't take you through every step of Cannie's growth. The book would be way too long. I think the fact that she's left Cannie under the care of a shrink tells you she's not done fixing the way she reacts to bad things that happen to her.

I have to wonder how many readers who wrote that Cannie was a "whiner" are really, really thin and have nooooo problem frolicking down the shore because they can wear some boob stickers and some string and call it a bikini?

Well, truth be told, there are more of us than there are of you. I'm not as big as a 16 but I'll never be an 8. And for the not so thin ones who said the same, do you envy Cannie because she got a lot of good things in one quick swoop? Because again, it's a book. It kinda has to be really kind of fast or you'll get bored.

The book was amazing, plain and simple.