Let me start by saying that I’m not a big fan of the horror genre. It creeps me out. Seriously. I find myself wanting to keep all the lights on in the house and sit with my back against a wall. Despite that, I actually enjoyed this short story. Quite a bit. I still kind of want to keep the lights on tonight, but this story had so many redeeming qualities that it was still enjoyable and engrossing.  The author did an excellent job of building up his main character’s personality and backstory, while flat-out saying very little, which will keep you guessing at what is to come. I loved the tie-in of the addictive game everyone seemed to be playing a couple of years ago (clearly when this book was written) and the horror genre. Really grounds the supernatural aspects in reality and makes them seem… plausible.

Oh no… my phone just buzzed! O.O

I rate this short story 5 platypires, and hope this small peace offering will stave off any lingering nightmares. 

This in an incredible story. I finished the entire thing in just under 24 hours because I couldn’t put it down. Mr. Schiariti weaves a wonderful tale that pulls the reader in and holds them there. I was blown away by the descriptive imagery, range of emotion and the depth of the very three-dimensional characters. Seth Gabriel is the kind of reluctant hero that is charming and likable, despite being…well… kind of a mess, both literally and figuratively. Each and every other character, from the weird thug boss to the Greek restaurant owner to Seth’s own family, were all unique, well thought-out and completely believable. It was easy to picture the entire book as a movie playing in my mind, one which kept me glued to the edge of my seat. I’m happy to join in the chorus of, “Bring us more Seth now! We demand it.”

The only unfortunate thing is that I am forced to only rate this book 5 platypires. I wish there were an option for more of them. ;)

Hard to believe this is truly the last book. This has been one of my favorite series for a long time and I am sorry to see it end.  I love all of these characters and this lore. True to form, this story is delivered with beautiful, vivid imagery and most of the characters stayed true to their personalities as they have for the entire series. I only had a couple of complaints about this one (I know, it surprised me too, after not being able to find a single fault with any of the preceding books in this series). 


If you’ve read the book that proceeded this one, you know that Rowan is back, but has resurrected without her memories. That’s fine, but in addition, she seems to have had a complete personality transplant. Nothing about her was the same strong Rowan we last saw, and actually she almost seemed to revert into a child. I understand there would be some confusion, but she was completely different, no spark of her old self at all. Which brings me to my next point of contention. I think too much of this book was spent chasing Rowan’s memories. I know that was a major thing, but the plot, itself, ended up lost in the mix. Esperanza’s attempt at revenge was… not very impressive. In my opinion, it fell flat, compared to the other books in this series.

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed this book quite a bit.  It felt like most of it was spent tying up loose ends, but I enjoyed seeing the characters interact one last time. The author is a master story teller and does an excellent job bringing you into the world, mind and emotions of her characters. Perhaps my feelings about the flow would be different if this were a middle story. As it is, I guess I just expected more out of a finale.

I do still recommend this book. If you haven’t been reading this series, well, what are you waiting for?  Go get them ALL, as this is an excellent series!  4 platypires for this one.


**I was given a copy of this book free from the author in exchange for honest review**

I wish I had a better report for this book. Unfortunately, the female MC, Jenna, was somewhat devoid of personality. She had many weird quirks (like turning bright red and slurring drunkenly after drinking even the tiniest bit of alcohol), but tended to be a bit monosyllabic in her dealings with the male MC, Max. There were story inconsistencies.  Jenna gets a brand new high-paying job but misses a ton of days, which no one seems to care about.  She goes to a function and gets completely, horribly, embarrassingly wasted (see above description of that), which 'reflects badly on the company'... but then this is never referenced again. She is apparently completely naive and above the rules.

Now, Max was an entirely different story. Where Jenna had no personality, he had an excess of one. He probably had enough for them to share. Max was funny, caring, and heartfelt. He was perfect... in some ways almost too much so. He got ALL the best lines, and Jenna got the easy road of just agreeing with him. More than once, I found myself wondering what he saw in her. Max is the one aspect of this book that really saved this story.

I did enjoy the dynamic with Jenna's friends and with Max's family. Each of the supporting characters were well done and had flair. They were interesting. The storyline itself was cute and was a refreshing twist on on the "rich businessman meets innocent girl who is more beautiful than she realizes" theme that many romances have tended toward as of late. 

As a final note, although I do see that this book has an editor, it needs a better one. Examples:

"Then...unexpecdetly.....I saw Luke's face in my mind."  

on the very next page came:

"We were all busy with own lives"

And that was in the beginning of the book. The typos and errors continued like that throughout the entire thing and many times I had to stop to try to translate, which removed me from the story. I almost quit reading after Chapter 3, because it was starting to feel like too much work. In the end, I enjoyed the story, but it needs work. I am torn on reading book 2. On the one hand, I want to read more about Max and his brother, but on the other hand, I am not sure I can handle any more Jenna... or the editing. 


I award this book 2 Platypires.

I'm going to run this review a little differently from all of my other reviews, because this book falls into a special category.

First thing, I'm giving Loving the Senator 5 platypires for storyline. The writing was fluid, the storyline was very visual and the book had great pacing. I actually really enjoyed this book and read it in just a few hours. The sex scenes were dynamic and well done. The story itself was exciting and heartwarming, with a random twist near the end that left me stunned. Good job, Ms. Villano.

However, I'm only going to give it 2 platypires for editing. I am mystified as to why some authors feel they do not need this step. Punctuation was atrocious. There were errant periods in the middle of sentences, random quotation marks around non-dialogue, and the commas were just way out of control. Words were inverted in several places, forcing me to stop to translate, and in at least one instance, Beulah was spelled Belulah.

That brings us to an average of 3.5 platypires. Since its very messy chopping those little buggers in half, I will add that the story summarization at the end felt forced and artificial, as well as being unnecessary.

So there you have it. Despite the fact that I truly did enjoy this story itself, I am forced to give this book 3 platypires. If the author were to invest in a decent editor, I would be overjoyed to re-evaluate this review and give it the 5 platypires that the storyline did it's best to earn.

This is a touching and heartfelt tale of love, loss, and healing. Duck and Trista both have heartbreaking histories and are dealing in their pasts in very different ways...although both methods are similar due to their destructiveness The two are drawn to each other and eventually find they have more in common than they think.

I read this entire book in about 4 hours. It started very slowly, but by a little over halfway in I realized I was hooked. I needed to know what would happen to them. My heart was aching for these characters. Their tale captivated me. 

The character, “Sissy,” was inconsistent. She was Duck’s sister, but acted like his over-protective mother, except when she wasn’t. Her unpredictability bothered me until I realized she was reacting in whatever way helped ease the story along. Then, I simply disregarded her. The story is in need of some editing, as the author seems to like commas. 

Here is an example:  "Sissy, nodded, turned the key, and swung the jeep down the road and out onto Highway 12, headed back toward their little cottage." 

 There are many examples like this, but for the most part this was an easy and enjoyable read. The characters are likable and get under your skin, making you want to know how things go for them after the story is over.

I recommend this book to those that love suspense and drama, and give this book 4 Platypires!

This is a short novella that I was able to knock out in about an hour. It's... cute. The writing style was fluid and descriptive and I could really feel the connection between the two main characters. Evan resonates with me because I'm a bit of a geek myself and have played almost every single one of the games mentioned in this book. If I had one complaint, it would be that Jillian was a bit immature for a university professor, and was waaay too easily and too often shocked. However, this was a fun read and easy to get into. I will be keeping an eager eye out for book 2 in this series. 

I rate Geek God by Victoria Barbour 4 Platypires!

P.S. I love this cover, it's what caught my eye and made me want to read it.

**I was given a free copy of this ebook in exchange for honest review**

This is a captivating tale of true love, of self-discovery and of second chances.

From the moment I started this story, I was immediately sucked in. The author’s writing style drew me right into her world, and I could not put it down, staying up waaaaaaay past when I should have gone to sleep so that I could finish it. The storyline flowed effortlessly from one scene to the next, and the imagery was vivid and descriptive, allowing me to picture exactly how things looked. The characters were wonderfully detailed with both flaws and strengths – giving them real depth. The author’s unique voice breathed her characters to life in such a way that they feel like real people to me. Even now, after I’ve finished reading, I’m wishing that there was more of the story, more Amelie and Rob. I feel like I know them, like I want to check up on them and see how they are doing. This story is beautiful, sweet, funny…and it just makes me smile to think about it.

 

I rate this book 5 platypires! I love it and hope to hear more from these characters!