Books That Didn't Make the Cut Pt. 7

This week I chose to cover more books than usual. To be honest, there a ton of books to go through for this type of post and I'm trying to keep up. It sucks but it's the truth. So here are FIVE books that I didn't happen to love, FIVE books that were actually well-liked in the reading community, FIVE books that you may enjoy a lot more than I did.

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Pretty Dead Girls by Monica Murphy

Genre - Young Adult Thriller

Beautiful. Perfect. Dead.

In the peaceful seaside town of Cape Bonita, wicked secrets and lies are hidden just beneath the surface. But all it takes is one tragedy for them to be exposed.

The most popular girls in school are turning up dead, and Penelope Malone is terrified she's next. All the victims so far have been linked to Penelope—and to a boy from her physics class. The one she's never really noticed before, with the rumored dark past and a brooding stare that cuts right through her.

There's something he isn't telling her. But there's something she's not telling him, either.

Everyone has secrets, and theirs might get them killed.

2 stars - The most popular girls in school are turning up dead, and Penelope Malone is terrified she's next.

You know I hate you when I hope you are.

Penelope (don't call her Penny) was a mean girl who didn't think she was a mean girl.
And I'm not saying that anyone should have been killed, however...
When the killer was revealed, I was like "Hmmm... you crazy, but I don't really blame you."

Not kidding. I'm just joking.

I just didn't like anyone in this book. The one character I did think I could like, Cass, came off as too soft. I already knew from the beginning that he was gonna get cast in a certain light. And for Penny (bitch, I'll call you what I want) to actually believe rumors and doubt him... spoke more to her lack of character than anything else.

In the end, I was kinda rooting for the killer and wanted Cass to find a new girl.

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Imposter by K. Larsen

Genre - Mystery Thriller

The next blockbuster thriller for those who loved The Girl on the Train, Jezebel and The Butterfly Garden...
In idyllic Brunswick, Maine, tragedy strikes, leaving one family struggling to stay together.
Seven-year-old Sophie Anderson vanished from a neighbors' front lawn in 2006 leaving the Anderson family reeling.
Helen, a mother who never gave up hope.
Sam, a father who couldn’t cope.
Cora, the even-keeled sister, and Shane, the angry half-brother fought to maintain their family after losing Sophie.

Just when the Anderson’s thought they had moved past Sophie’s disappearance,
Cora finds Sophie shivering behind a dumpster in Portland, Maine 10 years later.
As Sophie integrates back into her family a series of dark revelations rear their ugly heads.

How well do you know your child, your spouse, your best friend or neighbor?
How far would you go to protect your family?
How many secrets could you keep before your world begins to crumble?
How far would you go to better your life?
Everyone has skeletons. Everyone lies. The question is, which lies are harmless and which skeletons are meant to be bared?

2 stars - Stories about missing children will always break my heart so it was a given that I would be shattered by everything I read. I liked that I continued to be surprised by what happened right up to the end. Little Sophie deserved so much more and her family is forever broken. The mom, Helen, wasn't a wholly sympathetic character, but I did feel for her. Shoot, I felt bad for all of them.

While I enjoyed what was written, I didn't really enjoy the way it was written. It was broken up in a way that didn't work for me, but I'm sure it will be fine for others.

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Professed by Nicola Rendell

Genre - Contemporary Romance / forbidden / student-teacher

At a secret masked ball at Yale, Naomi Costa is literally swept off her stiletto-blistered feet by a man with a killer jawline, a perfect body, and an even-better kiss. They bust out of an emergency exit and have axis-shaking sex. He pours whiskey in her belly button and after they run out of condoms, they have to get creative. That kind of sex.

The next day, she learns that he is none other than Dr. Benjamin Beck, a brand new member of the Yale faculty and the hottest thing to happen to academia since… well, ever. She has to take his damned junior seminar to graduate, but it gets worse. He’s also her College Master: her boss, her advisor, her everything. And he’s just moved in, right downstairs.

They can’t stay away from each other. They're either fusion or fission or both. They’re making out in libraries, hiding notes between stones, and sneaking off to nautically themed AirBnbs. Hear that sound? It’s the academic code of ethics going up in flames.

If they're found out, he’ll lose his job and his reputation. She'll lose her scholarship and be forced to return to the life of lobster fishing that she thought she’d escaped.

And they will be found out, yes they will.

So what the hell are they going to do?

1 star - I've loved everything I've read from this author.
Except for this book.

I didn't like ANY of the characters.
I didn't care if things worked out.
The sex (forbidden or not) wasn't hot as much as awkward.

I'll still read from this author.

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A Not So Meet Cute by Meghan Quinn

Genre - Contemporary Romance / fake relationship

How did you two meet?

The quintessential question asked to every couple. And the answer is usually some bubbly, lovey dovey tale of being struck in the bum by Cupid’s arrow.

My meet cute (well not so meet cute) is slightly different. I was trolling a wealthy neighborhood in Beverly Hills, searching for someone to take me as their bride, you know, to make my arch nemesis jealous who consequently just fired me.

He was stomping around the block like some sort of gorgeous ogre, mumbling about a business deal gone wrong and attempting to finagle his way out of it.

And that’s when we bumped into each other.

There were no sparks.

Not even a hint of blossoming love.

But next thing I knew, I was scarfing down free chips and guac, listening to this man lay out all of his problems which led to his big ask . . . he wanted me to be his Vivian Ward, you know, from Pretty Woman--minus the frisky behavior.

We’re talking about living in a mansion, intimate double dates, and pretending we were head over heels in love . . . and engaged. Can you imagine?

The absolute audacity.

But people do crazy things when they’re desperate. And I reeked of desperation. So, I struck up a deal.

My one big mistake, though . . . big . . . HUGE? I accidentally fell for the incomparable Huxley Cane.

2.5 stars - I really wanted to like this one. It had so many things that I look for in a book. And the tropes usually work for me. Who doesn't like a fake relationship slash enemies to lovers romance?

But Lottie was a hard pill to swallow.

Introduced as a desperate doormat, why was she so rude to Huxley? Her attitude sucked and I don't care how beautiful she was to look at.

Huxley was the typical 'love can't touch me' hero and it was lovely to watch him fall. I just don't like who he fell for. Lottie was a bit toxic and I'm not a fan of how everyone would put her in her place and excuse her behavior at the same time. Give her some dang consequences!!

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Darkness Awakened by Katie Reus

Genre - Paranormal Romance / second chance / fated mates / secret baby

Years ago he ended things between them to protect her…

As leader of one of the fiercest werewolf packs in the south, Finn Stavros is in full battle mode 24/7. He has no choice—he’s one of the few beings strong enough to fight the Akkadian demons, whose mysterious escape from hell threatens the entire world. With the battle turning bloodier by the second, Finn is ready for anything…until his vampire long lost love shows up on his doorstep in desperate need of his help, sending his heart into a tailspin. He agrees to help her, unaware that she carries a shocking secret that will turn his life upside down.

This time, he’s not letting her go…

Vampire Lyra Marius curses the day she met Finn. The ruthless werewolf promised to love her forever, but he rejected her instead—before she could share her life altering news. Pregnant, kicked out of her coven, and cast aside by the love of her life, Lyra struggled to raise their rare shifter-vampire daughter Vega alone among humans. When the 16-year-old is kidnapped and used to fulfill a frightening prophecy, Lyra swallows her pride and turns to Finn for help. But how long can she fight her feelings for him and keep him from guessing the truth about who Vega really is? As they race against the clock to save their daughter, they must defeat the lethal threat imposed by demons infiltrating the human world and a hell gate that could not only reveal their existence to mankind, but destroy the world in the process.

2.5 stars - I actually enjoyed this one. I love forbidden romance. With Finn being all sexy Alpha and Lyra being a fierce vampire, there were lots of battles to be fought. My only hangup was the 'secret baby who's now on the verge of adulthood' thing.

I'm not sure if I'm interested enough in this one to give the others a try. I guess we'll see some day :)