30 March 2013

RIP Richard Griffiths


Rest in Peace, Mr. Richard Griffiths

As a Harry Potter fanatic, I had to make a post about the passing of Richard Griffiths. If you do not know him, he played Uncle Vernon Dursley in the Harry Potter films, but did a lot of work before that as well. He passed due to complications from heart surgery. 

Sir, you will be missed. Rest in peace. 

Willow Reads (18+ Series): Captive in the Dark- C.J. Roberts

Caleb is a man with a singular interest in revenge. Kidnapped as a young boy and sold into slavery by a power-hungry mobster, he has thought of nothing but vengeance. For twelve years he has immersed himself in the world of pleasure slaves searching for the one man he holds ultimately responsible. Finally, the architect of his suffering has emerged with a new identity, but not a new nature. If Caleb is to get close enough to strike, he must become the very thing he abhors and kidnap a beautiful girl to train her to be all that he once was.

Eighteen-year-old Olivia Ruiz has just woken up in a strange place. Blindfolded and bound, there is only a calm male voice to welcome her. His name is Caleb, though he demands to be called Master. Olivia is young, beautiful, naive and willful to a fault. She has a dark sensuality that cannot be hidden or denied, though she tries to accomplish both. Although she is frightened by the strong, sadistic, and arrogant man who holds her prisoner, what keeps Olivia awake in the dark is her unwelcome attraction to him.

WARNING: This book contains very disturbing situations, dubious consent, strong language, and graphic violence.



Title: Captive in the Dark (Dark Duet #1)
Author: C.J. Roberts
Page Count: 159 pages
Book Website: http://www.aboutcjroberts.com
Published: July 20, 2011
Source: Goodreads

A few months ago I was on Goodreads looking through book suggestions and this book came up in the Chick Lit section. I read the description and wasn't sure I wanted to go there but I thought it might be interesting, so I put it on my to-read list just in case I ever wanted something different. So that's where I'm coming from with this book. Of course I've read material like this before, it's nothing new. 

I can hear the activists and feminists now. "THIS IS NOT RIGHT. WHY ARE YOU READING THIS BOOK (AND OTHERS) THAT DEMEAN WOMEN?" Well, it's fiction, dears. So suck it up and go away if you don't like this review. Feel free to come back for any of the other reviews though. :)

Anyway, so after finishing the third Beautiful Creatures book two nights ago (which I will not be reviewing because it was so boring and wouldn't be interesting enough to write about), I wanted something new. Something different. I went into my goodreads to-read shelf and here we go. Something different. 

This book was... wow. I liked it but I'm not sure how I felt about it. It was a short book, and half the time I was questioning if I had gone too far. 

Pretty much, the book opens with a lot of description- and then Caleb kidnaps Olivia, takes her away from her life, and abandons her in a dark room. He won't call her anything but "pet," which infuriates her, and she doesn't even know how to handle the situation. Eventually she's able to leave the dark room and such, but she's still held against her will. And that's the battle throughout the entire book. Olivia is like "He's going to rape me and kill me, so I have to escape." and then Caleb acts sweet to her (which I'm not really seeing much of as she's saying it- only one time did I see the sweetness), and she's like "Oh why should I leave?" Caleb literally breaks her down from the strong person she once was. 


But she finally gets the chance to escape, makes plans to get back into the US (she found out she was in Mexico), and ends up right back where she started- BUT with serious injuries. It eventually leads to Caleb telling Olivia that he's selling her into the sex trade. 

This entire book had me at an inner debate, though. All the signs of abusive relationships are there. Being isolated from others, physical and mental abuse, that sort of thing. I was hoping, though, that Caleb would come around and leave his dangerous life for love or something. Totally didn't happen. xD So now that I'm finished with this one and on to the second in the book, you sort of wonder if it's going to happen but you know it probably won't. 

Gave it 3 stars on Goodreads. xD You can read it for yourself, see what you think. :)

06 March 2013

Willow Reads: The Indigo Spell by Richelle Mead


In the aftermath of a forbidden moment that rocked Sydney to her core, she finds herself struggling to draw the line between her Alchemist teachings and what her heart is urging her to do. Then she meets alluring, rebellious Marcus Finch--a former Alchemist who escaped against all odds, and is now on the run. Marcus wants to teach Sydney the secrets he claims the Alchemists are hiding from her. But as he pushes her to rebel against the people who raised her, Sydney finds that breaking free is harder than she thought. There is an old and mysterious magic rooted deeply within her. And as she searches for an evil magic user targeting powerful young witches, she realizes that her only hope is to embrace her magical blood--or else she might be next.

Populated with new faces as well as familiar ones, the Bloodlines series explores all the friendship, romance, battles, and betrayals that made the #1 New York Times bestselling Vampire Academy series so addictive—this time in a part-vampire, part-human setting where the stakes are even higher and everyone’s out for blood

Spoiler Alert

Title: The Indigo Spell (Book 3 of the Bloodlines series)
Author: Richelle Mead
Page Count: 401 pages
Book website: http://www.richellemead.com
Published: Feb. 12, 2013
Source: Long time obsession with VA and now Bloodlines.

So we're back to more Richelle Mead news. Another book release shortly after movie information... Well that's good! I've been dying to read this book and it doesn't disappoint. You know it's good when a dedicated student drops everything to read like 85% of a book in one sitting.Which I did. Yesterday. I didn't study for some midterms, but I think they both went well. Anyway, back to the point.

THE SYDRIAN FEELS. If you don't know what Sydrian is, why are you even here? So go read Bloodlines, or even better the whole beginning six books before it starting with Vampire Academy. I'll give you a moment to exit out so you don't get a whole bunch of stuff you're not ready for. Go on. See ya later, gator!

...
...

OK! Now that those people who don't know why the heck they were here in the first place are gone, let's get down to business.

So what happened in this book that would be interesting enough to highlight?
Well, first. There's definitely some Sydney magic accepting going on. She actually looks into running away from the Alchemists to "break" her Golden Lily tattoo so she can, get this...


        1. Be with Adrian- who she FINALLY starts admitting to loving. Not just like, but love. There are some make out sessions. Some really cute moments, too. 
        2. Improve on her magic skills, which she begins to really rely on for self defense. 
        3. Continue to be friends with Eddie, Jill, and Angeline. Angeline's still crazy wacky, by the way.
Also, Sydrian and Adrian have a baby. I'm not lying. Read it for yourself. Chapter 17. It might not exactly be what you think, but seriously, get to it! 

There's so much in this book, and I hope you take the time to love it as much as I do. I cannot WAIT for Richelle Mead's next installment of this series- The Fiery Heart, coming out November 19 of this year.

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