Book Review: Raw by Belle Aurora

Author: Belle Aurora

Release Date: January 2014

Publisher: CreateSpace

Pages: 358

Rating: 5 stars

Buy on: Amazon

Add to: Goodreads , Leafmarks

***Author Note: This is not a love story. This is a story of love gone wrong.*** Growing up the way I did, you'd think I'd be more screwed up than what I actually am. Soon as I turned sixteen, I left that bump in the road I called home and took my chances on the street. Best decision I ever made. Now, at the age of twenty six, I'm educated, employed and damn good at my job. My friends have become my family. Like me, they know what it's like to grow up unloved. But the saying is true. The world makes way for those who know where they are going. That's me. I know where I'm going and I'll get there eventually. On my own terms and at my own pace. But then there's him. I feel his eyes on me. I see him hiding in plain sight. He watches me. He makes me feel. It's unconventional. But it's real. I'm sure you're wondering how a person falls in love with their stalker. So am I. This isn't a story. This is my life. ***This book includes situations that some may find uncomfortable.

My Thoughts:

DISCLAIMER: This book contains mature context,drugs, violence and foul language.

Raw is one of those books that talk about hard stuff. It is one of those books that attempt to change the readers view on a specific topic while some fail some others succeed. Raw is one of the books in the later category.

This is not a love story, this is love story gone terribly wrong. The book is written in an alternative pov that makes it even better, at least for me.

Everything starts with Alexa, a child of the system who made it big in Australia as a successful case worker, she is dedicated to her job, she loves the people she is responsible for and she has a stalker. Normal stuff.

I liked Alexa since page one, she is smart, and careful and leads a pretty normal life like every other person until one night everything she considers normal will wash away, she will come face to face with danger, recklessness and she will find her self in a world so much different that he own. But she is not afraid to just jump in and get the best out of it.

Meet Twitch, the stalker. The guy who has been watching Alexa for a year, an unstable psychopath, who needs anger management lessons and he is a bad person in general, from whatever point of view you decide to take it. To be honest, I loved Twitch because he is not your normal anti-hero. The guy is dark and twisted and literally he has no heart. He has nothing inside him that can love anyone or anything. He is scary, terrifying and he is real. A real stalker.

These two, are so much different, yet they have something in common. A memory that has defined both of them differently.

This is a book that shows us that labeling people can be deceiving, because looks don;t always matter. A book about finding your dark side and embarrassing it, a book that will tear your heart in little pieces and throw them out of the fucking window.

While reading this book I came to realise that no one is truly lost until you try till you drop to save him, to help him, to show them that you care. The book was twisted, and sad, with a lot of ups and downs and fucking twists that made me pull my hair out of my skull one by one. When you feels sure that you know something there comes the twist that makes you look at the page like an alien. Like you dont understand what you are reading. I loved that, because its been some time since I read a book that I actually did not want to turn the page because I was terrified of what will happen next. Raw is not an emotional roller coaster is a roller coaster ride gone terribly bad.

To be honest, I dont; know how I feel about stalkers right this moment, but it may have changed my view more than I am anticipating. These are people too that something went wrong in their lives at some point that made them who they are. Everyone goes through something that defines us as humans it is just some people tend to not take it that well and end up on the other side, the dark side.

While the book was exceptionally well written and it had its doses (apart from sadness, terror, mind blowing sex) of (surprise) humor that had me rolling on the floor with tears in my eyes and some romantic scenes (that were followed by pain) the ending was bloody awful. Literally.

I feel that its a cliffhanger so it better be a second book on the way. So, for people who hate cliffhangers and promising endings this book is not for you.

I recommend this book, because it is dark, twisted and something different from what we are used reading on the erotica genre.

this book reminded me of this song: Whore by In This Moment

Book Review: Patch Up by Stephanie Witter

Author: Stephanie Witter
Release Date: September 11th 2013
Publisher: Anchor Group Publishing
Series: Patch Up #1
Pages: 296
Rating: 4 stars
Buy on: Amazon
Add to Goodreads

* Due to some shocking scenes, this novel is for readers of 18 and up.

Skye followed her long time boyfriend to Seattle for their first year of college, but he dumped her after only a week. The relationship brought only pain and destruction in Skye's life, and yet, she can't bring herself to open up and live her life.

"What if I am already broken into pieces?"

She hates to be touched, hiding under her oversized shirts and behind her wild frizzy hair. Even her bubbly roommate can't reach her. And yet ...

"I'm the guy who knows how you can hurt so much that your insides feel like they're cut and bleeding."

The tall, handsome, and tattooed TA in her psychology class changes everything when he literally collides with her and confronts her. For the first time in a long time, she wants to try and open up to this guy whose dark, intense eyes can't hide his own pain despite his dazzling smile getting to her.

However, just when she's starting to live again, her ex-boyfriend comes back, breaking her time and time again, making it all the more complicated.

She wants to fight for herself and for this building thing with the TA, even when he pushes her away, but can two broken people patch each other up?

"I never thought colliding with someone could change lives, but it is possible."
 

My Thoughts:
 

This ARC was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Although the story started immediately, really I am not kiding, its one of those books that cut to the chase and I just loved it, but the sentences were too short, the emotions too shallow and even from the first few pages I found myself contemplating my next read BUT I was so wrong. I am so glad I gave it a chance because by chapter three the book transformed like a phoenix to something so deep, complicated and painful that I couldn;t believe what I was reading.

Stephanie Witter is my new favorite author. In the steps of Jessica Sorensen she delivers a book so emotional and deep, so real that I found myself tearing up in some scenes. Skye was such a complicated woman. Dealing with her depression and an abusive relationship under her belt that made her doubt herself and stomp on her self appreciation, hiding from everyone and from everything she comes face to face with her TA, Duke.

Duke is one of the most heart broken characters I have ever read, dealing with his own depression and loss, he founds refuge in the complicated life of Skye. Their friendship is just mesmerizing. Two broken people find solace on each other by helping each other face his/her fears and demons. By accepting who they are, how things were and how they can have a bright future ahead of them . The past is the past.

“I’m the guy who knows how you can hurt so much that your insides feel like they’re cut and bleeding.”

I liked the fact that we get all of their background information as the story progresses, as they get to know each other more and more.

There were times that I wanted to throw my kindle on the wall because Skye was being really annoying and she was full with contradictions. She wanted something and then she changed her mind again in order to change her mind again later. That was crazy. Some situations kept repeating until it became predictable and annoying and felt like the book went in a circle for a while.

Still, the feels were just over the top. I just couldnt believe it, and the worst part was that they came in powerful waves that you could nothing to stop them but just drown in them. Desperations, pain, humiliation, sadness, embarrassment and happiness, from love and affection we fly over to the land of guilt and remorse. It was just astounding.

The writing captivated me completely and I finished this book within a few hours and right now I just cant find the second part to be released.

This is a story that deals with tough situations,abuse depression, the power of finding yourself again and take control of who you are and facing your fears. There were a few disturbing scenes that made the book even better – from an emotional point of few always- and had me aching for both Skye and Duke.

I totally recommend this book.

Efterpi

Book Review: Dirty Rocker Boys: Love and Lust on The Sunset Strip by Bobbie Brown (with Caroline Ryder)

Author: Bobbie Brown with Caroline Ryder
Release Date: November 26th 2013
Publisher: Gallery Bookes
Pages: 272 pages
Rating: 3 stars
Buy on: Amazon
Add on Goodreads

SHE'S MY CHERRY PIE. Tastes so good, make a grown man cry.

Who could forget the sexy 'Cherry Pie' girl from hair metal band Warrant's infamous music video? Bobbie Brown became a bona fide vixen for her playful role as the object of lead singer Jani Lane's desires. With her windblown peroxide mane, seductive scarlet lips, and flirtatious curves, she epitomized every man's fantasy. But the wide-eyed Louisiana beauty queen's own dreams of making it big in Los Angeles were about to be derailed by her rock-and-roll lifestyle. . . .

Ever wonder what it 's like to f*** a rock star?

After her tumultuous marriage to Jani imploded, and her engagement to fast-living Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee ended in a drug haze-followed by his marriage days later to Pamela Anderson-Bobbie decided it was time Hollywood's hottest bachelors got a taste of their own medicine. Step one: get high. Step two: get even.

In a captivating, completely uncensored confessional, Bobbie explicitly recounts her encounters with some of the most famous men in Hollywood: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kevin Costner, Mark McGrath, Dave Navarro, Sebastian Bach, Ashley Hamilton, Rob Pilatus of Milli Vanilli, Matthew and Gunnar Nelson, Orgy's Jay Gordon, and many more. Who's got the most titanic dick in Tinseltown? Whose bedroom did Bobbie (literally) set on fire? No man was off limits as the fun-loving bombshell spiraled into excess, anger, and addiction.

Bobbie survived the party-barely-and her riveting, cautionary comeback tale is filled with the wildest stories of sex, drugs, and rock and roll ever told.

My Thoughts:

This book contains strong language, descriptive sex, drugs, booze and disturbing scenes.

It was one of those boring evenings that I had nothing to do but youtubing random things...from how to's tutorials to music to top 10 things etc etc and then I found myself watching the first season of Ex Wives of Rock. Two of those ladies seemed familiar to me. One of them was Athena Lee which I had seen live with her then husband James Kottak of Scorpions at a Scorpions concert in Greece in 2008. Yay. The other one was Bobbie Brown and I remembered instantly from the video clip of Warrant, Cherry Pie.

To be honest I;m not into reality shows, I think they are stupid and pretentious and that there is no reason for someone to go on live TV with their personal lives especially if they are famous (they are all over the tabloids anyway). That , I realized when I was in the 7th episode of the show. Yay. And here;s how I ended up reading this book.

Bobbie went on and on about her book and how it failed with one of the publishers etc etc. During the show she says how Pamela Anderson stole Tommy Lee from her and how she was married with the late Jani Lane, lead singer of Warrant. I was intrigued ,because, if I like one thing its autobiographies.

The book was a drama, coming from a broken family, Bobbie was one thing but rebel. She was shy and she had boyfriends but not as many as we would probably think. She came second at the beauty pageant
competition and from then her fame skyrocketed. Agents called her from Los Angeles to model for them and soon 20 year old Bobbie found herself in the City Of Angels, a shy Louisiana girl turned into the most sexy and confident woman and then her downfall began.

It seemed to me that Bobbie had so many opportunities to make big in the scene but her desperation for love and acceptance came first. From what I realized she didnt want to be alone almost never, she always had a boyfriend and if she didnt, she would have sex with someone. She did a couple of video clips for some bands and when she landed the deal with Warrant she became so famous but that only came back to bite her in the ass. She got pregnant from Jani Lane and they rushed into a marriage that none of them was really sure if it would work (and it didnt). That experience alone it would mess up any sane person out there. Jani was over the top, came home drunk, cheated, lied, didnt have sex with her (which she hated) and she became such a b*** that it was disturbing. In the end their marriage failed and Bobbie with a 2 year old kid was moving back and forth all the tme between Louisiana and Cali. But while I was reading all of this and It was a big portion of the book I felt nothing. It was written in non descriptive way, with sentenced composed by a five year.

Meet Tommy Lee. I wont say a lot about this but in my opinion this was the most explosive relationship ever. Both made huge mistakes and both had issues and drugs didnt help at all.
It was like every rock relationship should be like. Sex, drugs and rock n roll with a touch of continuous fighting.

Bobbie Brown was a really kind, sensitive and a good woman that went after the wrong men. Men that she hoped they would provide what she needed but eventually they didnt.

The writing was ok if you consider she used a ghost writer but the dialogues didnt seem real, like they never happened or they were changed. The emotions were kind of flat for a memoir and in the end it left a bitter taste because you realise that Bobbie wasted 15 years of her life, her best years like someone would say, on finding the perfect boyfriend, drugs and constant self sabotaging. She would have made it big if she was a little more down to earth. I just felt sorry for her.

Efterpi

Book Review: Since Forever Ago by Olivia Besse

Author: Olivia Besse
Release Date: May 13th 2014
Publisher: Wunderland Press

Pages: 316
Rating: 2.5 stars
Buy on: Amazon
Add to Goodreads

Fresh off the heels of a devastating breakup, Riley Benson is a mess. But with her ingenious plan to become a ball-busting heartbreaker herself, she’s pretty sure she’ll survive. After all, what better way is there to get revenge than to move on?

Riley’s determined to become the perfect bachelorette—she’s going to drink like a bro, belch like a beast and swear so much that she’ll make even the most seasoned sailors blush. After all, those are the qualities that every guy’s secretly looking for…. aren’t they?

Max Fletcher is in love with the girl who gave him chicken pox and his first broken leg. When his best friend seems to finally be out of the picture, he can’t help but want to keep Riley all to himself. And, after coaching her with the very best of the very worst love advice, it seems as if he might actually get what he's wanted after all those years. But just as the two come to the realization that they're actually kind of perfect for each other, along comes a secret that threatens to tear them apart.

My Thoughts: 

This ARC was provided by Wunderland Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really tried to like this book. I heard that it was different from any other New Adult books but I was so disappointed and annoyed.

Meet Riley, she just broke up with her 6 year boyfriend because he was cheating on her and the author through a 3rd person POV takes us in a journey with the most annoying, clueless, immature 21-year-old out there. Yes. Amazing.

To quote the author from her comment on goodreads :

“Hey everyone! I'm not trying to make any excuses, but I DID want to provide an explanation in regards to the manner in which I approached this project. My ultimate goal was to write a NA novel with characters who were relatable and realistic, and early reviews have [hopefully] confirmed this!
Unfortunately, many reviewers have provided feedback that they could not stand the characters in this story due to their being whiny, immature and a little bit clueless. In my opinion, however, all of these attributes define a large proportion of the current 20-something population, and I wanted the characters in my book to portray what new adults are actually like. ”

So, the new adults that she portrays in her book act like clueless 16 year olds that think the end of the world is upon them because they just broke up with their boyfriend. The condemn themselves to a series of dates just because they want to get back into game and because they want to gain the experience they never had in this field? Like seriously?

I saw the entire story unfold in front of my eyes without even reaching the middle of the book (I dropped it at 25%), it was so common and predictable. In my opinion I would prefer if the book was targeted for YA rather than NA. What guy (20 something y.o.) would wait and make such a plan in order to confess to the girl he likes? None. I think he would already hooked up with her because thats how 20 y.o's act these days. There are immature people out there but not like that and they are not this annoying and so so so so CLUELESS.

I felt that the emotions portrayed in Since Forever Ago were flat, situations passed over and not explained enough, and the break up which is one of the major events and what triggered the entire plot is not described appropriately and we don't see the aftermath. The emotional effect it had on Riley is almost not there.

This book is a waste of time and totally not worth it. The 2.5 stars are for the little humor and the esoteric monologues that I had some time to read a book with them.

Efterpi