{Book Review} THE ALIEN'S FUTURE by Ella Maven

The Alien's Future

Drixonian Warrior, #0.5
by Ella Maven

Publisher: Self-Published

Release Date: February 1, 2020

Genre: Sci-Fi, Romance

Blurb:

Meet the Drixonian Warriors who are bred to fight, f*ck, and shake things up.

Space ship travel when you’ve been kidnapped sucks. I don’t get a pillow, there’s no snacks, and worst of all—the whole ship crashes. Except, it doesn’t crash on Earth, or even Mars. Nope, I’m in a whole new galaxy on a foreign planet and some body-builder-looking blue horned aliens with lots of piercings have decided I’m their new play thing. And not in a good way.

Until one alien decides he’s not going to share, and maybe I have a concussion from the crash, because I’m all about the possessive way he protects me. But there’s no way he’ll fight his whole clan for me… right?

Review:
I've seen books in genres like this before but this is the first one that made me want to check it out. I found out about this book during Virtually ApollyCon and got it free for signing up for the author's newsletter. 

I wasn't expecting much going in... like I said it's a sub-genre I haven't explored too closely yet. But I ended up loving it. It was fun, sexy, sassy, and a quick, enjoyable read. It gives you just enough of a taste and set up for the books to come and leaves you wanting more. 

I can't wait to read the full-length books in the series.               

My Rating:
🌟🌟🌟🌟
4 of 5 Stars!

Book Review: Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Illuminae (The Illuminae Files #1) by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Blurb:

This morning, Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she’d have to do. This afternoon, her planet was invaded.

The year is 2575, and two rival megacorporations are at war over a planet that’s little more than an ice-covered speck at the edge of the universe. Too bad nobody thought to warn the people living on it. With enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra—who are barely even talking to each other—are forced to fight their way onto an evacuating fleet, with an enemy warship in hot pursuit.

But their problems are just getting started. A deadly plague has broken out and is mutating, with terrifying results; the fleet's AI, which should be protecting them, may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will say what’s really going on. As Kady hacks into a tangled web of data to find the truth, it's clear only one person can help her bring it all to light: the ex-boyfriend she swore she'd never speak to again.

BRIEFING NOTE: Told through a fascinating dossier of hacked documents—including emails, schematics, military files, IMs, medical reports, interviews, and more—Illuminae is the first book in a heart-stopping, high-octane trilogy about lives interrupted, the price of truth, and the courage of everyday heroes.

My Review:

Of all the books I got from the library this month, I did not expect to love this one. In fact, I grabbed in on a whim after seeing it so much on bookstagram. Boy am I glad I did!

I love the way this book is formatted, in transcripts, ims, emails, and more. It made reading this book quickly so easy. I think I read 300 pages a day and finished it in two days, and I can officially say I. Am. Obsessed! 

You find yourself feeling for all of the characters and even starting to like the AI by the end. The fate of the Alexander was like the Titanic meets the Walking Dead... okay, maybe that's a weird way to describe it but whatever. 

Usually I don't like Sci-Fi books, there are only a select few but I can honestly say I couldn't get enough of this book and I'm already dying to read the next book.

My Rating:

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

6 of 5 Stars! 

Book Review: BROKEN THINGS by Lauren Oliver

Broken Things by Lauren Oliver

Blurb:

It’s been five years since Summer Marks was brutally murdered in the woods.
Everyone thinks Mia and Brynn killed their best friend. That driven by their obsession with a novel called The Way into Lovelorn the three girls had imagined themselves into the magical world where their fantasies became twisted, even deadly.

The only thing is: they didn’t do it.

On the anniversary of Summer’s death, a seemingly insignificant discovery resurrects the mystery and pulls Mia and Brynn back together once again. But as the lines begin to blur between past and present and fiction and reality, the girls must confront what really happened in the woods all those years ago—no matter how monstrous.

My Review:

What first drew me to this book, even before I knew what it was about was the awesome cover. Then, as a Wisconsinite, the blurb immediately drew parallels to the Waukesha Slender Man Case so I knew I had to read it. 

This book is not a play on that case, there are of course similarities whether the author planned on that or not but this book is an engrossing mystery that will keep you on the edge of your seat trying to figure out: Who really killed Summer Marks? 

It's a gorgeously written tale of a small town that persecutes three teenagers with little proof, misconceptions, how the scars of the past have shaped the lives of those left behind after a grisly crime, and learning to heal from it all. 

This is my first Lauren Oliver book and after finishing I kind of (completely want to) want to go out and auto-buy all of her other books. The big reveal in this one blew me away, I never would have suspected it and the ending left me satisfied.

Overall, this is a perfect October read, or an anytime read when you're looking for a pulse-racing thriller.

My Rating:

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

5 of 5 Stars!

Book Review: One Week Girlfriend by Monica Murphy

One Week Girlfriend (One Week Girlfriend #1) by Monica Murphy

Blurb:

Breakout sensation Monica Murphy takes the New Adult genre by storm with the deeply emotional, completely addicting story of Drew and Fable.

Temporary. That’s the word I’d use to describe my life right now. I’m temporarily working double shifts—at least until I can break free. I’m temporarily raising my little brother—since apparently our actual mother doesn’t give a crap about either of us. And I always end up as nothing but the temporary girlfriend—the flavor of the week for every guy who’s heard the rumor that I give it up so easily.

At least Drew Callahan, college football legend and local golden boy, is upfront about it. He needs someone to play the part of his girlfriend for one week. In exchange for cash. As if that’s not weird enough, ever since he brought me into his world, nothing really makes sense. Everyone hates me. Everyone wants something from him. And yet the only thing Drew seems to want is . . . me.

I don’t know what to believe anymore. Drew is sweet, sexy, and hiding way more secrets than I am. All I know is, I want to be there for him—permanently.

My Review:

Twenty-year-old Fable Maguire is working two jobs to support herself, her mother, and her thirteen-year-old brother, Owen. Rumor has it she gets around. When twenty-one-year-old Drew Callahan needs a pretend girlfriend to take home as a buffer between himself and the demons of his past back home for Thanksgiving break he approaches Fable and offers her the one thing she can't refuse. Money. Enough money to make things easier for her family for a few months. She has no choice but to agree.

But Drew is not at all what Fable expected of the college football star and his life back home is anything but picture perfect. Fable isn't what Drew was expecting either. They have to survive seven days together pretending to be in love, but when their fake relationship starts to become so much more real will Fable be able to help Drew fight off his past so they can have a future? Or will a manipulative person from Drew's past and a buried secret torpedo their burgeoning relationship?

I bought this book about a year ago through a discount bookseller but it sat in my living room collecting dust since I got it. It wasn't until I hit a rut in the sports romance I'm writing and I thought it would put me in the mindset I need to be in for my writing that I finally picked it up. 

Wow. I have no idea why I waited so long! This book is fast-paced, addicting, and so sexy! A lot of authors turn the football star into having a bad home life and boy was this secret a doozy. I loved Fable and I liked that the author chose to not have her as a fellow student.

Drew and Fable's chemistry and relationship was perfectly plotted, they both question whether they're good enough for the other person and their both have an air of being not as everyone else portrays them. I absolutely hated Adele, which was kind of the point and I really wish Drew's father would have caught onto her.

When I finished this book I was dying to find out what's going to happen in the sequel. Overall, I loved reading One Week Girlfriend and if you're new to this author and already a fan of authors like Abbi Glines, Cora Carmack, and Erin Watt I think you'll love this book.

My Rating:

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

5 of 5 Stars!

(Audio)Book Review: Gentleman Nine by Penelope Ward

Gentleman Nine by Penelope Ward

Blurb:

From New York Times bestselling author Penelope Ward, comes a new, sexy standalone novel. 

Growing up, the three of us were friends. 

He was the nerd. 

I was the playboy. 

She was the beauty. 

Deep down, I only ever wanted her. I kept it inside because Rory and I made a pact that our friend, Amber, was off-limits. 

He lied. 

I went off to college, and he got the girl. 

Amber never knew how I felt. 

They were together for years—before he broke her heart. 

Through it all and across the miles, she and I casually stayed in touch. 

When my job sent me to Boston for a three-month contract position, Amber let me stay in her spare room. 

Still reeling from her breakup, she’d sworn off men. 

One night, I opened her computer to find the shock of my life. She’d hesitantly contacted a male escort company. Afraid to date and get her heart broken again, she was looking for sex with no strings. 

Every emotion imaginable ran through me: protectiveness, jealousy—curiosity. 

Amber had chosen Gentleman Number Nine and sent him a message. 

She opened up to him, confessing, among other things, her physical attraction to her friend—me. But she considered me off-limits—and she thought I was a manwhore. (Ironic, considering the circumstances.) 

Eventually, she set up a date to meet Gentleman Nine at a hotel. 

When she showed up several nights later to meet him, she was stunned to see me standing there—with an offer I hoped she wouldn’t refuse.

My Review:

I picked this book up after a week-long dilemma over what audiobook to pick. It was recommended by a blogger I follow on Instagram who had nothing but good things to say about it. I've never read anything by Penelope Ward before but I gave it a shot.

Gentleman Nine is about Channing and Amber, who grew up together secretly harboring feelings for the other. She was his younger sister's best friend, he was her boyfriend's best friend. Now as adults Channing comes to stay with Amber while he's in Boston just after Amber is dumped by her boyfriend Rory. Seeing Channing again makes Amber feel better - and reminds her just how much she wants him. Thinking it's unwise to try anything with Channing yet feeling sexually frustrated Amber takes the advice of her friend Annabelle and contacts a male escort company and emails "Gentleman Nine."

When Channing finds out what she's done he pretends to be Gentleman Nine and emails her back and when Amber shows up at the hotel she plans to meet Gentleman Nine at she's stunned to find Channing waiting for her with an unexpected proposition. 

They try to stick to their pre-agreed to rules but soon their no-strings-attached fling turns out to be so much more than they ever expected. But Channing lives in Chicago and Amber lives in Boston and there are other things in their lives that could keep them apart. Will they end up together? Or will their time together end up nothing more than a memory to look back on fondly?

At first, I thought the writing was a little simplistic but then I got into the story and couldn't wait to see what happened next. I do think the words "cool" and "f***" were overused in this book which kind of annoyed me at times.

I really liked Channing as a character and I liked Amber up until a small section at the end where I finally understood why people hate love triangles so much, but overall I thought they had great chemistry and I loved listening to the characters interact. 

There were two sections that I didn't think added anything to the story other than filler, which I will refer to as "the scare" and "the return of the ex" that I could have done without but overall I enjoyed the book. 

I'm definitely interested in reading more by this author. I think fans of Abbi Glines and Kendall Ryan will enjoy this book. 

My Rating:

🌟🌟🌟🌟

4 of 5 Stars!