Synopsis:

Isabel Stone’s life is far from normal. She’s a girl with problems—vampire problems to be specific and, now, she also has one ticked-off specter on her hands. Approached by a childhood friend and medium, Isabel agrees to look into the murder of a local girl, only to wind up inhabited by the solitary witness—a centuries-old ghost who is all too happy to piggyback along in Isabel’s body, and she’s not leaving until the culprit is behind bars.

With the help of her partner, Shane, and her crazy family, Isabel struggles to get to the truth, unmask a killer, and deal with her growing feelings for not one, but two, of the sexy, undead men vying for her heart. Just when things are finally falling into place, a huge revelation takes her out of the frying pan… and straight into the fire.

***I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.***

I didn't think it was possible for Isabel to be any more badass. I was wrong. I'll admit that the whole ghost haunting intrigued me and I really enjoyed reading that particular section of the book. There's some drama there, and you'll want to read it!

My views on Shane have changed due to this book, and I no longer think of him as a pathetic loser. I'm officially #TeamShane now, and I still picture Xavier as a creepy, wrinkly old man despite the author's description of him. I have no idea why, but that is the way I picture him and that image will remain burned in my mind for the rest of this series. 

Xavier is the character I LOVE to HATE. From the beginning I suspected there was stuff he was hiding and turns out I wasn't wrong. I can't say anymore than that, but my hate for him has been cemented with this second book. 

A lot of stuff happens with Isabel and Shane in this book and we see Isabel still holds some feeling for Shane, although she tries to deny it to herself. I don't know what will happen in the future between them, but I will be rooting for them! I can't wait for the next installment! Too bad I have to wait a whole year... 

The writing flowed well and was so engaging I stayed up an entire night to finish the book. This is a series I definitely recommend to anyone who likes a butt-kicking heroine. 

Chasing Midnight gets 5/5 Platypires! 

Well, I failed my April challenge. I only read 7 books in April, and that is because I had almost no time to read due to school exams and wrapping up the Spring semester. Hopefully May is different and I hope to have more time to dedicate to reading. Without further ado, here is my list for this month, and some of these books I'm really excited to start reading.

✓ read                                        -- reading                                      x to be read

Synopsis:

You won't like me.
I am not the nice girl. I am not your friend. 
I don't care about you, but most of all, I don't care about me.
Go ahead, hate me.
We all have secrets.
I have them as well—dark, terrible secrets. 
The only time I can breathe is when I forget. 
I need to be numb. You don't want to know how. 
But as long as I can breathe, the past cannot smother me.

***I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.***

Smother is not what I expected it to be. And at the same time, it was.

We were warned beforehand that we wouldn't like Reese at the beginning, but I strangely did not dislike her. I felt pity and sympathy for her, but I didn't hate or dislike her. I don't have a specific reason, except that everyone deals with pain differently. And I don't mean to sound corny or cheesy, but that's what Reese was in. Pain. Pain from a horrendous past that haunts her every waking moment. And even those moments when she isn't awake. I can't hate someone for being in emotional pain, or any kind of pain.

Leo was an enigma. I empathized with Reese in this case because he was one tough guy to read and figure out. I related a lot to how Reese felt, always trying to see what his thoughts are because Leo is like a changing combination safe. You may get the combination right one time and get him to open up, but when you go to try the same combination again, you find it's been changed and have to try to figure it out again. That's my description of Leo.

I think Reese is someone who pretends to be strong and tough to keep people from finding out how fragile and broken she is. But she is also a fighter, and we see her fix herself all on her own. Smother is different from other stories involving abuse because we see the dark, dirty, and gritty aspects of the effects of abuse that are not present in other books I've read dealing with the subject. We see Reese in the downward spiral she is in, and then we see her redeem herself so she can live her life, and not just go through life merely existing.

Lindy totally outdid herself with this one. Her style of writing sucks you in until you can't help but love the characters you read about. Smother gets all 5/5 Platypires.

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I finally got around to reading this one. I remember the last one had a lot of drama and teen angst, which I liked but hated at the same time. I knew going in that there would be more of that, and I relished it.

Lindy's stories always keep me hooked and I know I can always expect a good story from her. I wasn't disappointed with Complete, and all the drama made me roll my eyes a couple of times (out of exasperation).

I liked that Grayson and Lily have matured somewhat since the last time I read about them. Before in Incomplete, they used to avoid communication when a good conversation would have cleared up some problems. This time around we see them opening up more and having a line of communication. Granted, there are some times when they try to pretend nothing is wrong, but I chalk that up to being human. I know characters cannot be perfect because we're all human and flawed. And those flaws are why I read stories from Lindy Zart.

I especially loved the drama near the end because it was handled differently than other times I've read about that scenario. I'm glad Lily and Grayson managed to escape that particular trap. It was a satisfying end and for that reason I give Complete 5/5 Platypires.

I won this book in a giveaway.

This is the second novella in the Off the Grid series. This one was a slight improvement over the last one, but it still lacked personality. 

There was one aspect of the relationship between Hunter and Greer that I liked this time around. They have a lot to learn about each other, which is the downside to them having gotten together so quickly. They don't truly know each other, which makes me think that a conflict between them may come up in the following novellas in this series. 

The parents disappointed me again this time around. There is an incident that results in Hunter staying over at Greer's home. The way her parents so readily agreed to that had me raising my eyebrows way, way up. It wasn't believable to me, and I don't care how easy-going some parents are. There is no way any parent would let their daughter's boyfriend to stay the night, even if it is in separate rooms. 

What I am looking forward to is this trip Hunter and Greer take. Hunter is becoming more and more curious about the life that exists outside of Gridless, and it's something that might cause a conflict. Guess I'll have to read the next installments to find out. 

Growing Up Gridless gets 3.5/5 Platypires.

This is another book I won in a giveaway.

Anyway, I'll start off by saying that I did like the novella, but I did have some issues with it. 

When I read books that are YA, I expect there to be some sort of angst, because let's face it, the book is about teenagers. I expected some level of angst, but I was sadly disappointed by the lack of it. There was only one instance in which Greer (our protagonist) lets off some steam. But, it is very short lived, and her parents don't even really seem to respond to her outburst. I find that very odd, because parents are not that easy going. I felt like the characters, especially the parents, were cookie-cutter caricatures and for the most part lacked character and personality. 

The second point that seriously bothered me was the insta-love that occurred between Greer and Hunter. I know this is fiction, and anything is possible in fiction, but there has to be at least some sort of build-up to the love, right? It just happened way too quickly for my taste, but I know there are others who like the insta-love, and that's okay. That kind of thing just isn't for me.

Now I'll go into what I did like. 

The recycling concept of living completely green. I'm sure most of us, if not all, know about the negative effects humanity has had on nature. In my own home, we try to recycle things as much as possible, and on that level, I could connect with Greer and her family's concern for nature. I'm lucky enough to live in an area where litter doesn't line the streets or the ground of public places. While we don't go out and pick up garbage in the park like Greer and her sister, we do our part to make the world a little cleaner. 

I could also connect to the bond between Greer and her sister Jess, and at the anger they felt at having to move to another place where they don't know anyone. I've experienced that in many instances throughout my childhood. 

Overall, it's an interesting novella, and I give it 3/5 Platypires.

I was gifted this book awhile ago by the author. I don't even know how long it has been, but I remember her asking me to consider leaving a review. Actually, now that I checked my FB messages, she gifted it to me in October 2014. So not too late, compared to other books I have that I promised reviews.

Anyway, the book starts off in a courtroom. From there we skip ahead to present day and how Melodi is still trying to cope with the loss of her sister. Although this book is mostly romance, it also holds the mystery as to what happened to Melodi's sister. I love books with mysteries, because it allows me to try and guess what has happened and predict what is to come. Although the love relationship is (to me) a little rushed, I found myself enjoying the relationship between Corban and Melodi. It wasn't too intense, with them saying "I love you" constantly like in other books I've read. That is a plus. 

I had honestly expected more of a mystery/suspense book than I did a romance book, but it's okay. I don't read romance often, preferring books with romance as a sub-genre. And before I forget, I should mention Jacob is a slimy git. I would have done what Melodi did in the courthouse as well. He had it coming. 

The appearance of someone important at the end surprised me. And that cliffhanger . . . I loved it. It's no secret that I love cliffhangers. It gets me to speculating about what will happen in the next book, which I intend to purchase whenever the author releases it. 

Overall, I liked The Lost One and it gets 4/5 Platypires.