Off The Charts, Mind-Bending, Incredible Book! "Cowboy Villain Damsel Duel" by Ginger Scott

Ginger Scott steps away from her "usual" with Cowboy Villain Damsel Duel. And I am so glad that she did. Apparently, Ginger had this one sitting in her head for a while and it took some encouragement for her to put it out there for her readers. She really put herself out on cliff with this one. And she was 100% successful in pulling it off.

This book is one of the most amazing books I've ever read. I really don't read books like this. But if Ginger Scott writes it, I'm reading it! And I've never, ever been sorry that I made that promise to myself after reading Waiting On The Sidelines, so many years ago.

After mulling over what to say for over a week, all I can come up with is that it's amazing, it's twisty, it's curvy, and you have no idea where Ms. Scott is going to take you as you turn the pages. I loved having to THINK while reading this book. YOU will think hard while reading this book. You won't be able to avoid it. You'll ask yourself, "where is she going to take me now?" over and over. That's okay. Go freely where Ms. Scott wants you to go and you will NOT be sorry you did.

The book will be slow and steady at the beginning. It WILL pick up pace and it will throw you down the rabbit hole. Or does it? This a hands down, mind-blowing story, that will leave you with your jaw on the floor at the end. I am STILL trying to figure out certain things. This book is so popular and so mind-bending, it required the creation of a closed discussion group, for just THIS book, for those of us who have read it, to talk about the book. We really needed it.

My best advice to Ginger Scott's readers is to just get the book and read it. Let it take you down the rabbit hole. If Ginger Scott is new to you, I see no reason why you can't start here. I say read the other reviews. They'll all say the same thing. We really want to tell you that this happened, or that happened, but we really can't because of spoilers.

My questions are still: 
"What did I just read?"
"WTH?"
"Whaaaaat?"
"Who.....?"
"HUH?"

At 70% in, I literally shook my phone and said "damnnnnnn youuuuuu Gingerrrrrrrr!" out loud.

In 2013, Ginger launched her first novel, Waiting On The Sidelines. I surprisingly loved it. YA was not my genre. I never expected to enjoy it. When Wild Reckless came out in 2015, it immediately shot up to the TOP of the list as my favorite Ginger Scott book. Cowboy Villain Damsel Duel just completely knocked Wild Reckless off the top of my list and bumped it down to second place.

Go get the book, start reading, and let yourself go. You will love this ride!!!!!

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

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 of "Second Chance" by David Perry

"Pharmacist Alex Benedict’s career and personal life are collapsing around him. Battling his own exhaustion, a powerful physician, and an unforgiving boss, he fights to uncover the reason behind a series of mysterious deaths in his hospital while preparing for a life-altering crisis. The suicide of a colleague thrusts Benedict into a hunt for clues leading to the ultimate, improbable answer. In the end, Benedict discovers the unthinkable, and in a climactic, unforgettable scene must make an agonizing, life-defining choice that will haunt him forever."

Alex Benedict works as the lead pharmacist in a hospital that's primed for a takeover.  By accident during the code of a cancer patient, Alex discovers a suspicious IV bag.  The IV bag has been laced with a mysterious ingredient and turns out to responsible for at least two other deaths in the hospital.  Alex's wife is also fighting an ovarian cancer battle of her own and decides to stop treatment once and for all, which will speed up her transition to her death.  Alex's colleague, working under duress, commits suicide and leaves Alex a mysterious CD loaded with a scavenger hunt of sorts.  It is then up to Alex to solve the riddles, find the pieces of a recipe that cures people of all sickness and find the last dose of a successful preparation of that recipe so that he can save his wife's life.

At first, I thought a three-part book with forty chapters was going to be ultra long, dragging in spots, and hard to read.  It was the exact opposite. This book moved really fast!  It was fast-paced and kept me awake all night long.  The medical and pharmaceutical knowledge in the book was top notch.  I expected it to be "dumbed down" but as a nurse, I could easily tell it wasn't.  David Perry does a great job tho at describing what medicines were for and what they could do.  There are some fake medications in the book as well but it was creative to say the least.

The examination and speculation of what a discovery of a cure for all human ailments would do to the world's population is astounding without taking sides and really makes the reader think while being entertained by an excellent book.

We do meet another character named Angel in the book.  The introduction of Angel gave me a huge aforethought to a possible ending of the book and I was right.  But, you'll have to read for yourself to see if you can figure it out and to find out if you're right.

I was provided an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review of "Lake Thirteen" by Greg Herren

Scotty is a teenager who has just come out to his parents. Prior to going on an annual vacation with two other families that Scotty and his parents do every year, Scotty also comes out to his lifelong friends over email. Scotty is really nervous about how those friends are going to react during this vacation because no one replied to his email. Shortly after arriving, Scotty finds out that his friends still think he's the same Scotty.

Staying at a resort in a small historical town in upstate New York, during the off-season, Scotty and his friends, one of whom is into ghost hunting and the paranormal, decide to wander down to an old nearby cemetery. What they discover is that the town has some dark secrets that have been hidden for almost one hundred years. What seemed like a boring week in the mountains gradually turns into a wild and crazy ghost story.

As this is really the first "paranormal" style novel I've ever read, I have to say that Greg Herren knows his stuff. He's obviously done research about what those who seek to learn about the paranormal do. I liked how Scotty's friends reacted to him. They see him as the same old Scotty who is still their friend so the level of awkwardness is graciously reduced in that area. However, the fact that Scotty is gay is all tied up in this story. As Scotty and his friends reluctantly set out to find out what happened to one of the decedents in the graveyard, weird things begin to happen to Scotty. And then they begin to happen to his friends too. Like getting cold when a ghost is nearby. Scotty's dreams turn out to be clues from the ghosts themselves. It also becomes obvious that one ghost is trying to find final rest and another is trying to keep Scotty and his friends from finding out what really happened.

The story aligns with Scotty's relationship with Marc, his boyfriend back home, and Scotty begins to worry that something is wrong back home and that Marc is in danger.

This book was a page turner. I could not put it down. Greg Herren takes the paranormal and makes it believable. There are weird visions, eerie sounds of a ghost crying out the name of another ghost.

If you like a good mystery and books about the paranormal, you will enjoy this book. I wondered all the way through how this was going to all come together and end up. I was pleased with it overall. What I would have liked to read was Scotty returning home to Marc to see their interaction after everything that happens in this book. Maybe in the form of a Epilogue. But, I don't think it takes away from the book as a whole which is why I kept it at the 5 stars that I gave it when I finished the book.

Definitely a good book for teens and adults alike.

This book was provided by Net Galley and Bold Strokes Books in exchange for a fair and honest review.