Mistborn: Brandon Sanderson

 Whoa. Good read. Can't wait to read the rest.

It definitely feels like an intro book for the first 1/3 or 1/2, but then things pick up and get moving and it's awesome.

I love Kelsier; he's a fantastic hero. Vin took some time for me. She was a grating character in the beginning, but as the plot picked up, she got better for me. I suppose she's a pretty good hero too.

I also love Allomancy and think that whole concept is fascinating. All of the magic is interesting, and I want more. Sanderson has a way of bringing this completely unheard of thing to life, and that's what readers need for books like this. Imagining that I, too, can fly through the air with just a handful of pocket change is just so fun!

My biggest complaint is being unable to visualize the creatures in this world. I had such a hard time immersing myself in the world because I just couldn't picture it. What the heck do Inquisitors even look like? But that's just an aspect of fantasy that I need to get used to.

The Christmas Invitation: Kate Kasch

I received a free copy for review from Voracious Readers Only.

This book was just like a Hallmark Christmas movie, and I love Christmas Hallmark!

It was a very easy read, lighthearted and happy. Ella is a fun character who is full of life and joy and takes fun chances, and Wyatt is a character who need opening up a bit, and has firm development throughout the story.

I didn't understand the conflict between Wyatt and his family. That felt forced as a plot point. Because there was no resolution between him and his family, it didn't make sense to include it, other that he needed a reason to not be excited about Christmas. However, he wasn't even against Christmas, just didn't care until Ella, so that felt like a weak point.

The conflict with Marissa was weird. she was a weak villain who tried to destroy things but didn't try very hard, so I didn't feel much anger towards her. Again, I understand the need for her as a plot point, but I found her to be lacking as a villain.

I love the happy ending, and I loved Marney as a mother figure and friend. I definitely want to shop at The Book Nook. I wish we had gotten more from Ella's mother. She wasn't much of a mother figure until the end when she jumps in and tells Ella how to be happy. To make that more believable, we needed more of her at the beginning.

All in all, this was a very fun Christmas read. If you like Hallmark movies, you'll love this light, happy, festive read.

Try Easy: Jill Brashear

 I received a free copy via Voracious Readers Only.

This was a good book to read on a quick vacation on the beach. It is one that I won't be reading again. While the story was fun, and books that take place in exotic, beach locations make me happy, I wasn't thrilled with a lot of points in this book.

I don't like when authors write in dialects. While I understand that the authors do this to help the readers immerse into the book and characters, I find it takes me away from the story. I have to bring myself out of the narrative to translate what the author is trying to say which frustrates me. I don't enjoy having to work to read a book, especially one that is supposed to be as easy as this.

I felt a lot of the plot drivers were forced and faked. None of them seemed realistic, and if they are realistic, the characters don't react in realistic or understandable ways. It works to move the story along, but it doesn't work to tell the story.

The characters were pretty frustrating as well. I liked Lou a lot in the beginning. I like characters who are photographers. I think it's a fun way to paint the pictures of the story. However, she was overall a weak character with no backbone. She spends a few pages gushing about her blossoming relationship with Paul, but within 24 hours of her vacation is making out with an islander, and that is obnoxious (on that note, this book was much more inappropriate than I can enjoy). 

All in all, it is a book I won't pick up again. It was quick to read and had some positive notes, but the negatives outweighed the positives for me. 

The Moments Between Us: Natalie Banks

I received a free copy of this book via Voracious Readers Only for review.

I was very intrigued by the plot of this book. To know what the future holds and be unable to change it is such a scary thought, especially when the future holds what Claire's future held. I was motivated to keep reading because I wanted to know how she would handle it and whether or not she would be successful in her attempts to change the future. This plot reminded me of the plot in 11/22/63 by Stephen King: completely different writing styles, but similar concept: can we change the future or will that ruin things, i.e. The Butterfly Effect.

I did not like the writing or character development (or lack thereof).

Claire is such a shallow character who experiences very little growth. I thought, by the end, that she would have changed some considering the events of the story, but I failed to see any change in her. Sure, she becomes connected to her family more, but that was because of those characters' development, not hers. All of them had to approach her and force forgiveness out of her, and she required a reason from all of them for reconciliation. She was overly harsh on herself, to the point where it quickly became annoying instead of sympathy-evoking. 

I also found it very difficult to get in to the story because of the repetitive sentence structure. Banks doesn't write with an ebb and flow of various sentences. Each sentence is a rigid march through the story instead of a smooth flow. It was difficult to involve myself in this strict storytelling.

The way she uses the past, present, and future storytelling was also difficult to read through. The transitions were insufficient and didn't carry me along in the time travel. It wasn't a smooth narrative of story but a choppy past, present, then future ride. 

All in all, while I liked the basis of the story, I couldn't get past the choppy and detached writing method enough to get involved. I didn't like the characters either, so I was not invested in what happened to them.