Book Review - Dark Lover by J.R. Ward

I recently finished Dark Lover. It was the first book I'd read by J.R. Ward ans having heard people rave about it I started the book with high hopes. I found the beginning really hard to get into for some reason, but once I kept reading I found I really loved it.

Wrath was an interesting male lead, his issues with his eyesight and the helplessness and shame over his parents death led to a depth of emotion and complexity which i appreciated. And who doesn't love a sexy tortured soul?! Beth seemed to react the way any normal girl would...shock, disbelief, fear. I liked how her personality wasn't affected too much by the change, and how she was the one ***Spoiler alert*** defending Wrath after he was shot. Rhage's inner beast and the sensitivity she displayed after he was hurting was truly heartwarming and I really liked it. Can't wait to read Rhage's book because of it. However I'm more curious about Zsadist...there's something about him that really appeals to me.

One thing I didn't like was the way the male characters had names (that admittedly took some getting used to) like Rehvenge, Phury, Zsadist and Vishous. But the female character had boring names like Beth, Marissa and Mary. Seemed rather unfair to me. But I guess the way it was written was that it was a very male-dominated group so it stands to reason their names would separate them.

I LOVED the inclusion of Butch and Marissa's interactions. Including a human in the warriors group added a whole new subplot that I kind of enjoyed more then the main plot of Wrath and Beth's relationship. And the way he idolized Marissa seemed like such a happy change after the way she'd been shunned by Wrath. It's always nice to see a female character get appreciated.

Teaser Tuesday - Cabin Fever

Cassie must have slept at some point, finally taking a break from giving Parker the cold shoulder. One minute she was resting her forehead against the window the next she was being gently shaken awake. The car had stopped outside a quaint cabin, snow was softly falling, leaving a white blanket across a foreign landscape.  Groaning Cassie wiped at her eyes, straightening her clothes as she looked around.

“Where are we?”

“My cabin.”

“I can see that numbskull; I meant where are we...as in which country?”

“England.”

“Wow master of the one word response or what? Sheesh can’t a girl get a little bit of civilisation or is that too much to ask from a Neanderthal like you?”

“Would you stop calling me a Neanderthal!”

“Naww did I hurt your feelings? I’m sorry I didn’t realise I was supposed to be nice to the man who abducted me from my home and dragged me to England! Where it’s fucking freezing and in the middle of nowhere! Am I supposed to thank you for taking back to your cabin?

“I didn’t abduct you!”

“Yeah you did. But it doesn’t matter. We gonna go in or what?”

Thrown off balance by Cassie’s attitude Parker could only wave a hand towards the cabin door. Rubbing his face he collected his thoughts. Her hand reached for the handle, turning it easily before looking back at him.

“You don’t lock your doors? Do you show the same disregard for my safety as you do your possessions?”

“I locked that!”

“Clearly not. So forgetful as well as moronic, oh yeah I feel safe with you.”

Turning quickly Cassie stepped into his home shutting the door firmly behind her. The loud clack of a lock echoed across the distance. No. No she couldn’t have?! Parker crossed the space quickly reaching for the handle and trying the door. The little chit! Locked out?! Of his own home! Oh she was so dead.

“Let. Me. In.”

“How bout ...no!”

“Cassandra DelGardo you let me in this instant!”

“Oooh threatening. But you forgot to use my middle name, really adds effect. Oh and some kind of qualifying statement. You know the ‘or else’ aspect. Frankly i’m hurt you don’t think it important enough to threaten me with any kind of harm.” She sighed, the sound whispering against the doorframe.

“Cassie, please. It’s cold. And it is technically my house.”

“Oh very well Parky pants, but only because you said please.”

The lock tumbled back into place. Parker took a moment, collecting himself, cooling his rage. She was insufferable! Finally taking a deep breath he reminded himself that she was under his protection. He couldn’t touch her, much as he wanted to bend her over his knee and spank her till her butt was raw and her lesson learned. His cock twitched at the unbidden thought.

Grabbing a handful of snow Parker ran it across his neck, the icy water dripped down his neck chilling his skin. His version of a cold shower. A stray idea took hold as he scooped another handful of snow, moving quietly towards the door. Concealing the snow behind the door he pretended to be angry. Stalking Cassie until she defiantly played right into his plan. She faced away from him, presenting him her back trying to ignore how he’d intimidated her. Quickly he grabbed the edge of her jumper and dumped the snow down her back. Her girly squeal tore laughter from his lips, the first real laugh he’d had in years. She glared wildly at him triggering flashes of confusion and disbelief in a once stoic man. Already she was under his skin, her fierce response made him want her more but this wasn’t right at all. He was having fun? On a job? He had to get serious else both of them could get killed, and it wouldn’t be the nice and painless bullet in the brainpan. It would be the slow helpless death that Parker really did not want to happen to him. He rather liked his blood inside his body.

“It’s coold!!!”

“Karma’s a bitch like that. You left me out in the cold so I brought the cold in to you. Now we’re even.”

“You suck! And I’m going to call you Parky Pants all the time now.”

“You do that and I’ll let you get shot.”

“You wouldn’t!”

“I would.”

Political Bullshit

Politics in Australia...what crap. Over a week since the election and still no results announced? But hey, who can blame Australians over being unsure who to vote for when our choice is between a tool and a twat. Tony Abbott really? Not only is the guy a moron but his policies suck. Stop the boats? Are 'boat-people' even THAT big of an issue? We get like 50 boats a year with what 20 people? 30? In a country the size of Australia does a couple of hundred immigrants matter? Compared to how many immigrants (like me) who come into the country legally? And this is Australia afterall aren't we at least pretending to be multicultural/multiracial? Can't we give them a chance to escape to somewhere that wont lock them back up?! Ugh Christians can be dicks too...this day and age people should be allowed to love whomever they want without the government restricting them. You don't have to be gay to hate the laws restricting same-sex marriages. Love is love regardless of gender.

And Gillard? Well whilst giving her props for being Australia's first female prime minister I can't help but dislike the way the party backstabbed Rudd. I mean he was useless but it's hard to vote for a party that betrays one of its own. But screw it, she got my vote just by being female and an athiest.

Seriously though, hurry up and announce the results or give us new people to vote for!

Anyway enough about politics. It's not exactly a subject I know much of but what little i do know bugs me.

Currently watching the emmys, don't know why but I'm being all girly and judging people's outfits. It doesn't happen often but sometimes i like to let my inner fashion bitch out and judge away! Can you blame me though? Think I'll do a teaser for you guys tomorrow...any preferences that you'd like to read?

Poetic applications

I was just going back through all my old poems and I found one that I'd forgotten all about. It sounds kinda of suicidal...its not I promise. But it just seems to sum up exactly how i feel about my uni course right now. Yet I can't seem to regret doing my course because if I hadn't then I wouldn't have made such a good friend who I'll treasure forever. Not to seem sappy or anything. But my course kinda sucks, and is ultimately useless so im back at the start trying to figure out where to move on from. This poem reminded me of it. Here's a taste if you cbf going to my site :P

We may be back where we started,
Life may not seem like it has treated us fairly,
But everything happens for a reason.
That is what keeps daily life from pushing us off our path.
The hardest thing in this world, is to live in it.

Feel free to check it out
http://chrixzy.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d175gzs

Sharing is Caring

Well let's give this a shot shall we? Keep in mind this is my first blog so I'll do my best to keep it interesting and update regularly. I always find it annoying when you check back and nobody's posted anything in a while...makes me sad. I like to live vicariously through others so I'll try to help you live through me as much as I can. This should be my way of letting you into the weird and wonderful brain that is me, and help you see through my eyes. Because lets be honest here...we all know I'm insane.

I'll do my best to post an excerpt or random scene from my stories at least once a week. If I don't, feel free to spank me.

I'm almost done with my BA in Psych and crim, people keep telling me I should figure out what I want to do next year but I really have no idea. I didn't particularly enjoy much of my course so I have no idea where my future lies. I really envy people who know exactly what they want. Who know where they're heading and how to get there. Whilst I haven't got a clue as to where I'm heading. It makes me cranky when people try to tell me I should know what to do next year.

I'm a big fan of procrastibaking, when you cook as a way of avoiding study. Maybe if I come across any good recipes I'll share them here. I'll probably share a lot here...I don't really have a filter and everything comes out one way or another...So prepare yourself to learn a LOT about me :/ Hope you don't mind.

Feel free to comment on anything, In fact I encourage it. You can even critique my stories if you like but be nice...writing is like baring your soul, and harsh critiques are like tiny little papercuts on your heart, bleeding ink across a page. So try and be fair okay??