The Temptation of Lila & Ethan - Review

The Temptation of Lila and Ethan (The Secret, # 3)

By: Jessica Sorensen

Published: October 22nd 2013 by Forever

336 pages

Genre: New Adult, Contemporary

Source: Personal Kindle Library

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Goodreads description--From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Ella and Micha series comes a gripping story of passion, pain, and the courage to love . . .

THE TEMPTATION OF LILA AND ETHAN

On the surface, Lila Summers is flawless: good looks, expensive clothes, and a big, beautiful smile. But a dark past and even darker secrets are threatening to bubble over her perfect façade. She'll do anything to keep the emptiness inside hidden-which leads her into situations that always end badly. Whenever she hits bottom, there's only one person who's there to pull her out: Ethan Gregory.

Ethan set the rules a long time ago: he and Lila are just friends. He doesn't do relationships. Although his tattooed, bad boy exterior is a far cry from Lila's pretty princess image, Ethan can't deny they have a deeper connection than he's used to. If he's not careful, he could be in serious danger of becoming attached-and he's learned the hard way that attachment only leads to heartbreak.

When Lila falls farther than she ever has before, can Ethan continue to help as a friend? Or is he also getting close to falling . . . for her?

I’ve read 8 books by Jessica Sorensen (The Secret of Ella & Micha, The Forever of Ella & Micha, The Tempation of Lila & Ethan, The Ever After of Ella & Micha, The Coincidence of Callie & Kayden, The Redemption of Callie & Kayden, The Destiny of Violet & Luke, and Breaking Nova) at the time of writing this review. So far I’ve seen a lot of repetitive themes with Jessica Sorsensen’s writing. And that’s been probably my biggest complaint to-date. However, The Temptation of Lila & Ethan might be my favorite one so far. It’s possible that’s because this one was a little different. But it’s possible that it was just better than the others. I’m not 100% sure.

The main difference that I noticed between The Temptation of Lila & Ethan and all of the other books that I’ve read by Jessica Sorensen was that while Ethan definitely has kind of a troubled past (her characters usually do), he’s basically worked past most of them by the time we get to The Temptation of Lila & Ethan (or so it seems anyway). Normally both of the leading characters in Jessica Sorsensen’s books have major problems. And expanding past that is the pattern of one character making decent progress with their issues in the first book, and the second book in the series focusing more on the healing of the other main character. By the end of the 2nd book both characters are in a much better place than when we started. And while The Temptation of Lila & Ethan is the 3rd book in The Secret series, this is really the first book of Lila and Ethan’s story so I expected the story to follow Jessica Sorsensen’s previously established pattern. But that really wasn’t the case. Ethan has his struggles that influence him because of his past, but he isn’t really weighed down by them and he’s in a much healthier place than most of Jessica Sorsensen’s other characters.

As I’ve said, Ethan has his troubled past, and he still has struggles to deal with because of that past, but he isn’t weighed down by them. Ethan is a great character. Probably my favorite male lead of all of this author’s books. He’s a good guy through and through even though he would debate that very fact. Ethan repeatedly makes good decisions. And the times when he makes a bad one, he’s able to make a course correction before he actually does any damage and goes through with his bad choices. Ethan is a rock. And he’s used his troubled past to make himself stronger and to be more willing to help others—specifically Lila.

Speaking of Lila, I was a fan. I mean she does have more of a victim mentality than Ethan does, but I can completely see how she got to the place where she is. Her story and her emotions are completely believable if only a little extreme. While it does take help from Lila to dig out of the hole she finds herself in, who among us all can say they’ve never needed help from someone else? Lila borrows Ethan’s strength until she has some of her own, and I loved seeing her work through her darker issues and work her way into the light.

I do wish that Ella and Micha were a bit more present in this story. The appearances they do make really felt to me like the only real purpose was for establishing an interest and creating intrigue for the reader to keep pressing forward in the series and pick up The Ever After of Ella and Micha which released in December 2013. While I have no problems with this, it was just something that I noted, wrinkled my nose at, and then moved on. By the time this review goes live, I will have already read The Ever After of Ella and Micha. And the novella concerning Lila and Ethan, (Lila and Ethan: Always and Forever) I’m all over it as well.

The Temptation of Lila & Ethan gets 4.5 Stars from me. Have you read The Temptation of Lila & Ethan? If so, what did you think? Let me know!

Forever - Review

Forever (Temptation, # 3)

By: Karen Ann Hopkins

Published: January 28th 2014 by Harlequin Teen

304 pages

Genre: YA, Contemporary

Source: Publisher via NetGalley (Thank you!!)

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Goodreads description--All I want is my happily-ever-after.

That's all I've wanted since meeting Noah Miller.

From the day we met, the world has tried to keep Noah and me from being together, but now that I'm carrying his child, no one will be able to tear us apart. Or so I hope. But Noah and I have made some mistakes along the way, and the consequences are impacting the people we love. Worse, there's a storm on the horizon, and it's sure to cause serious devastation.

If we can get through this, we'll finally be Rose and Noah; a family, forever.

But first we have to survive the road ahead. And happily-ever-after is a long way off.

If you remember from my reviews of Temptation and Belonging, I’ve had some frustrations with this series. My initial frustrations in Temptation centered around Rose’s ignorance concerning the Amish culture and how both Rose and Noah had the desire to change the other into what they wanted. In Belonging these issues were compounded. Because Rose was working to become Amish, her feminist views collided with the Amish way of life. She waits entirely too long and truthfully never fully discusses her feelings with Noah about becoming Amish or about the possibility of him becoming English. At the same time in Belonging, both Rose and Noah continually make self-centered and immature decisions that show how utterly not ready they are to be making such huge, life altering, and permanent decisions. Belonging was definitely the most frustrating of the three books for me, and we end Belonging finding out that Rose is pregnant. This led me to believe that Forever was going to be nothing short of me pulling my hair out in order to trudge through the frustrations that must inevitably come as a result of Rose being pregnant. However, I was overreacting.

While Rose and Noah both had moments of immaturity in Forever, truthfully both of them seemed to be miles ahead of where they were in Belonging. As Anna Reads would say, I’m pretty sure I’m having a case of old lady syndrome though because all my life I have been a proponent of letting people get married when they want to get married. My brother was barely 18 when he got married, and I saw myself getting married about the same age even though I actually ended up being 22 when I got married. However, I’ve increasingly become aware of how young and immature most people are at this age, and as I’ve already discussed the immaturity that bothered me with Rose and Noah, their discussion of marriage definitely left me concerned.

For the most part, Forever didn’t hold the same intensity of frustration as Belonging which was really a good thing. I’m not sure I could have trudged through it had that been the case. The addition of Sam and Sarah as narrators helped to break up some of the struggles that would have come from having the book solely focused on Rose and Noah. Sam’s relationship with Summer and Sarah’s newly developing relationship with Micah gave the book more depth and provided some relief for the frustrations I’ve already discussed.

Ironically enough, Rose and Noah do seem to find the compromise I thought was impossible in my review of Temptation. Some of the compromise and aspects involved in it I wonder how realistic they can be but without having more information about the Amish culture I’ll never be able to answer that. Forever does have a couple of twists and events that sparked deeper emotions within me. But I’m concerned about the hinting around to Justin’s potential involvement with an Amish girl as to whether that means more books for the series or whether this is the end. I’m not sure I know which I’m hoping for either.

Forever ended up being a sweet and less frustrating ending to the Temptation series than I was expecting. I’m satisfied with the way that it ended, but feel some unease yet curiosity about whether Justin will get his own books or not. Forever gets 3.5 Stars from me. Have you read Forever? What did you think? Let me know!

Top Ten Winter 2013 TBR Books

Top 10 Tuesday is a post hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and this week's topic is Top Ten Winter 2013 TBR Books.

These are the ones that I'm HOPING to read this winter. But honestly, I can't say I'm stoked about all of them. Some of these I'll have to push myself to read. But here they are:

1) A Feast for Crows (A Song of Ice and Fire, # 4) by George R R Martin (hoping to finish this one ASAP!)
2) Panic by Lauren Oliver
3) Sempre (Forever, # 1) by JM Darhower
4) Praying the Names of God by Ann Spangler
5) The Iron Queen (The Iron Fey, # 3) by Julie Kagawa
6) If I Leave (Beautifully Broken, # 2) by Courtney Cole
7) In Your Dreams (In Your Dreams, # 1) by Amy Martin
8) The Power of a Praying Wife by Stormie Omartian
9) Inhuman (Fetch, # 1) by Kat Falls
10 Demons (Seers, # 2) by Heather Frost

What books are on your Winter 2013 TBR list?

Top Ten Most Disappointing Series Enders

Top 10 Tuesday is a post hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and this week's topic is Top Ten Most Disappointing Series Enders.

This is a hard topic. While I am definitely a series reader, most of the series that I've been really disappointed with I haven't finished. You can see my Series DNF # 1 post here where I discuss my first sweep through unfinished series that I don't plan on finishing. And I have around 60 ongoing series that either all of the books haven't been released or I haven't read the ones that are. So...that severely diminishes the pool I have to draw from.

I'm sure there will be some upsets here. Please keep in mind that while I did enjoy most of ALL of the series listed below, I just didn't feel like these last installments lived up to the rest of the series. Most of these I even gave 4 Stars to, so it's not like I hated them, I was just slightly disappointed.

1) Clockwork Princess (The Infernal Devices, # 3) by Cassandra Clare - While overall I enjoyed this book, I didn't love the ending. I felt like it was a slight cop out. I felt like Cassandra Clare was trying to please everyone. :(

2) Wisdom (My Blood Approves, # 4) by Amanda Hocking - I was Team Peter. Enough said.

3) Walking Disaster (Beautiful, # 2) by Jamie McGuire - I definitely enjoyed this book, but Jamie McGuire decided to add a tidbit about where Abby and Travis are down the road and I felt like this piece was a bit too cheesy.

4) Bitterblue (Graceling Realm, # 3) by Kristin Kashore - I'm reaching here. I gave Bitterblue 4 stars, but it was definitely my least favorite in the series. So much happens in this book that I was completely exhausted after reading it, but there wasn't as much of a love story as I wanted.

5) Mockingjay (The Hunger Games, # 3) by Suzanne Collins - What I fell in love with in The Hunger Games series was the games not the political war stuff. So Mockingjay just wasn't up to par with the other two in this series to me. I did ultimately like the very end, but Mockingjay as a whole just wasn't really my favorite.

6) Forever (The Wolves of Mercy Falls, # 3) by Maggie Stiefvater - The very end was just a little too open for me. I'm so thankful that she's writing another book about Cole & Isabel so maybe I can get some final closure.

7) The Dark and Hollow Places (The Forest of Hands and Teeth, # 3) by Carrie Ryan - I got hooked into The Forest of Hands and Teeth, but I loved The Dead-Tossed Waves even more. With the cliffhanger ending of The Dead-Tossed Waves, that's what I wanted more of. I wanted to finish that story line, but The Dark and Hollow Places just didn't live up to the other two books IMO either. Plus I never really connected to Annah.

8) Resurrection (Wicked, # 5) by Nancy Holder & Debbie Viguie - Looking back this whole series isn't that great, but this last installment was definitely a letdown.

Surprisingly, that's all I've got. I usually go over, so it was nice to come in under this time. What about you? What's your biggest disappointing series enders? Let me know!

Waiting on Forever

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Forever (Temptation, # 3)

By: Karen Ann Hopkins

Expected Publication: January 28th 2014 by Harlequin Teen

304 pages

Genre: YA, Contemporary

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*Note: The above links to Amazon, Book Depository, and Booksamillion.com are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--All I want is my happily-ever-after.

That's all I've wanted since meeting Noah Miller.

From the day we met, the world has tried to keep Noah and me from being together, but now that I'm carrying his child, no one will be able to tear us apart. Or so I hope. But Noah and I have made some mistakes along the way, and the consequences are impacting the people we love. Worse, there's a storm on the horizon, and it's sure to cause serious devastation.

If we can get through this, we'll finally be Rose and Noah; a family, forever.

But first we have to survive the road ahead. And happily-ever-after is a long way off.

What are you waiting on this week? Let me know!

Forever - Review

Forever (Wolves of Mercy Falls, # 3)

By: Maggie Stiefvater

Published: July 12th 2011 by Scholastic Press

388 pages

Genre: YA, Fantasy, Paranormal, Werewolves

Source: Personal Library

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*Note: The above links to Amazon, Book Depository, and Booksamillion.com are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--then.
When Sam met Grace, he was a wolf and she was a girl. Eventually he found a way to become a boy, and their loved moved from curious distance to the intense closeness of shared lives.

now.
That should have been the end of their story. But Grace was not meant to stay human. Now she is the wolf. And the wolves of Mercy Falls are about to be killed in one final, spectacular hunt.

forever.
Sam would do anything for Grace. But can one boy and one love really change a hostile, predatory world? The past, the present, and the future are about to collide in one pure moment - a moment of death or life, farewell or forever.

So, 4 stars. I read this book pretty quickly. I picked it up on my way home from work on Tuesday, but didn’t start reading it until…Saturday, I think? Finished it in 3 days. I had a hard time putting it down—which usually means one of two things. A) It was excellent. Or B) It kept me thinking good stuff was about to happen and never really did so I had to keep reading to get to the good stuff. I guess this one is unusual as looking back on it I’m not quite sure it fit in either the A or B category. I can’t say it was excellent, but it wasn’t a let down either. Fair warning, I’m having trouble putting my thoughts about this book into coherent sentences.

I do need to address that I love Maggie Stiefvater’s writing style and will be checking out any and all other books she has available from here on out. Now onto the review.

There is a lot of weightiness to this book. Returning to the story after the end of Linger, Grace is now missing/a wolf. Olivia is still missing, and eventually found dead—near Beck’s property. Jack has died (in Shiver). A lot has gone wrong for Mercy Falls. And for Sam and Grace. Sam has the weight of the world on his shoulders. The entire pack’s survival is in his hands, despite not shifting anymore. Grace is a wolf, which is the last thing he wants. He feels like he has to keep Cole from self-destructing—even though Cole’s destructiveness has been put to good use in the experiments he’s created and used on himself to control the shifting. Grace’s father thinks Sam has murdered his daughter—a large portion of Mercy Falls agrees, along with murdering Olivia. The police even agree. And Sam can’t shake the questions he’s ignored for so long about his adopted father’s choice to turn him in the first place. As if all of that is not bad enough, Tom Culpepper is working to get the wolves removed from the protected list so they can be hunted down and snuffed out once and for all. This doesn’t set the stage for good things for our friends in Mercy Falls.

Experiencing the volatility of Grace’s shifting due to the newness of her transformation was interesting. It finally gave us a look into the world of the wolves that we’d yet to experience in the past two books. Grace’s transformation also offers us a transition in her relationship with Sam. They understand each other better having changed roles, yet there’s a wariness about their relationship that they can’t seem to shake. It makes them closer and further apart all at the same time.

If ever there was a theme to this book, it would be trust and forgiveness. Sam and Beck, Grace and her parents, Grace and Rachel, Sam and Koeing (I can't remember if that's how you spell his name and I'm too lazy to look it up right now--sorry, no excuse, I know), Sam and Grace's mom, Cole and life, Cole and Jeremy, Isabel and life, Sam and Cole, the list goes on and on. Just goes to show how dynamic the story really is.

I feel like this review hasn't been composed at all. I can't quite explain it. Maybe I should give it some time and think on it some more, or maybe I need to read the series again. I'm not sure. I'll just say this and leave it be for now, check it out. It's definitely worth a read.

*Updated: September 6, 2013