Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Mini Reviews: Tease + Remnants

TEASE
The Ivy Chronicles #2
Sophie Jordan
Contemporary New Adult
320 pages
William Morrow
Available Now
Source: Finished copy from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
What happens when a girl who always calls the shots meets a guy who's too wild for even her?

A born flirt and good-time party girl, Emerson has never had a problem finding a willing guy. She's always chosen her hookups carefully, and she's never broken her three cardinal rules:

Never let them see the real you.
Never fall in love.
Always leave them begging for more.

Then Shaw comes along. A hottie from the wrong side of the tracks, he's immune to her flirtatious banter and come-hither smile. After rescuing her from a disastrous night at a biker bar, he doesn't even try to take her to bed—he calls her a tease and sends her home instead. Unable to resist a challenge, or forget the sexy, dark-eyed, bad-boy biker, she vows to bring him to his knees.

But instead of making Shaw beg, Emerson finds herself craving him. For the first time in her life, she's throwing out her rule book. Suddenly, she's the one panting for a guy she can't control—a guy who won't settle for anything less than the real Emerson and who forces her to do things she's never imagined, including facing a past she thought she'd buried.

A guy who just might leave her wanting more. . . .


MY THOUGHTS
Tease is a fairly typical, straightforward contemporary New Adult read in which a young woman– driven to live her life a certain way based on a dark experience in her past–finds the one guy who makes her want to break the carefully constructed rules that govern her world. Those looking for a fresh, unique setting at the New Adult table won’t necessarily find it here, and readers like myself who struggle with unnecessary game playing will likely find Emerson frustrating on a number of occasions. She has the completely understandable need for control in her life given what happened years ago, yet every decision she makes puts her in a situation in which she has a distinct lack of the very thing she claims she needs. She drinks heavily in surroundings both familiar and not, and while everyone makes mistakes at one time or another, the fact that she continually points out her need for control before turning around and making a decision that robs her of it becomes all the more grating.

All of that being said however, Ms. Jordan has an uncanny ability to write stories where even personal distaste for certain behaviors in her characters only mildly dulls the book’s shine, and we still find ourselves easily swept up in the heat and emotion of their relationship. While Em is tricky throughout (though not at all unlikeable, I’m just not one for games), when the inevitable rough patch in her relationship with Shaw comes toward the end, she thankfully sets all her game playing aside and tries for complete honesty instead. Much to our delight, Em’s aforementioned decision to shed the veneer and be the girl she actually is, combined with Shaw’s unflappable nature and persistence throughout, keeps the drama between the two of them at a relatively low level. Overall, Tease doesn’t blaze any new NA trails, but it is a quick and enjoyable read with plenty of steamy moments instigated by a very, very swoon-worthy hero.

Rating: 3.5/5
 

Find Sophie:

Remnants #1
Lisa T. Bergren
Young Adult/Dystopian
414 pages
Available Now
Zondervan
Source: Finished copy from author for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
THEIR ARRIVAL WAS FORETOLD FOR YEARS….

Andriana is a Remnant, gifted as an empath and one of the Ailith, destined to act as humanity’s last shield against the horrors that now plague those who remain.

After years of training in stealth and warfare, Andriana and her Knight protector, Ronan, are finally ready to answer the Call and begin the life they were designed for. But as they embark with the other Remnants on the first of their assignments, they quickly discover that the world beyond their protected Valley is more dangerous than they imagined.

The Sons of Sheol will stop at nothing to prevent Dri and Ronan from rescuing anyone sympathetic to the Remnants’ cause. And as the Remnants battle the demonic forces, still other enemies close in. Dangers intensity, but so do Dri’s feelings for Ronan–the one emotion she is not meant to feel. In the midst of their mission, Andriana must find a way to master her feelings. Or risk compromising everything…
MY THOUGHTS
Remnants: Season of Wonder kicks off a broad and sweeping new series wherein a group of young men and women are called together to a shared purpose. While well-written and intriguing premise-wise, as we've come to expect from Ms. Bergren, this story progresses quite slowly, the aforementioned purpose a nebulous thing largely unclear to both characters and readers throughout as our group of gifted individuals travels from one place to the next. Given the journey on which Andriana and company set forth, we're subjected to substantial descriptive passages of people and places time and again, further halting our forward momentum as we struggle to connect to one or more aspects of the story.

Andriana is a solid heroine, fully dedicated to her calling despite not knowing exactly what it will require of her, with a relationship between her and her protector Ronan that's ripe with romantic promise. Despite those things however, she doesn't leap from the pages as we might wish her to, failing to drag us into her story with hands clenched around our hearts as was the case with Ms. Bergren's River of Time series. The religious aspect is also far more prominent than in her previous series, with Andriana and her group's belief in the Maker and His plan for them perhaps a larger component overall than those of us who typically shy away from such an element might be comfortable with. The issue of the Maker though is obviously hugely personal in nature, and will be a positive for just as many readers as it is a negative.

We're left with the first leg of Andriana and the other Ailiths' journey toward completing their purpose clear if unfinished, and it's my hope that book two brings with it some of the emotional impact lacking a touch in Remnants, that pulsing connection having taken a backseat to the tracking and finding of others called to His service.

Rating: 3/5
 
Find Lisa:

 
These books were sent to me by the publisher free of charge for the purpose of a review
I received no other compensation and the above is my honest opinion.

28 comments:

  1. I don't know, but Zondervan is a publisher that has me wary... and seeing your review, makes me not feel like I would miss out on too much.

    I still have to read Sophie Jordan's New Adult books, but hearing that you are not so completely excited about them ... Hm :)

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    1. I adored Lisa's River of Time series and those had religious undertones, but they were more subtle than in this book. For me, the mention of the Maker over and over again was a bit too much, but you know how religion-shy I am! Not everyone will have the same issue.

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  2. I knew about the first one I confess but not the second. I need to read more NA, I haven't tried a lot yet but I read one really good last week. Thanks for the reviews!

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    1. I have to read NA with large breaks in between each one or the overall plot similarities get to be too much for me. I love Sophie Jordan's writing though, so even though Emerson was frustrating for me personally, I still loved the relationship between her and Shaw:)

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  3. Nice shorties :) The 2nd one sounds more for me

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  4. I was loving Emerson in the blurb of Tease, but your thoughts on her make me more hesitant. I'm still interested though.

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    1. I have trouble understanding characters like Emerson - ones who claim they need to control every aspect of their lives but yet make decisions that put them in situations where they don't have any control. Despite that though, I did like her and was rooting for her and Shaw all the way:)

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  5. Great reviews for both of these Jenny! I like when an author can make you forget your distaste for something so much so that it doesn't even ruin your opinion about the characters even though it normally would.

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    1. Exactly! It never fails to impress me when a character who does things that bother me personally still manages to draw me into their story and make me root for them:)

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  6. I'm with you on Tease, Jenny. The story wasn't refreshing and Emerson was beyond frustrating with her issues. What really made the book for me was the swoon-worthy Shaw. Their romance was very well-written and like you said, Sophie Jordan has a way of making you want to read her books despite her characters being a little bothersome.
    The next book sounds like it's going to be better though. Have you read the little sneak peek yet? :)

    This is the first time I'm hearing of Remnants, but I can't say that it sounds appealing to me from your review. I can tell that I'll struggle with the slow pace and the overly descriptive scenes. I love your description of Andrianna. I feel the same way about a lot of heroines these days.

    Great reviews, Jenny!

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    1. I loved Shaw so much Nick! He was amazing:) I haven't read the sneak peek of Georgia's book yet, just the synopsis, and I'm curious to see where things will go with Logan:)

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  7. Nothing about Tease really stands out to me. It sounds like every other NA book I've come across as of late. I definitely understand your issues with Bergen's views on the Maker though, and I'm not a fan of overly religious elements in books.

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    1. It is very standard NA for sure, but Sophie Jordan tells a good story, so it's definitely not time wasted if you're in the mood for an NA!

      And I knew Remnants was going to have a religious element going in, so I was prepared, I just thought it would be a touch more subtle as it was in her previous series. Still, I'm looking forward to seeing where book 2 goes:)

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  8. I was disappointed that Tease wound up being so typical after Foreplay really impressed me, but I'm glad to see you enjoyed this installment regardless. Lovely reviews, Jenny!

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    1. I did Keertana! I just like the way Sophie writes:)

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  9. Andriana sounds like a good heroine but I've never been one for strong religious undertones..subtle, I can handle. And another same-ole-same-ole NA just isn't my thing (esp. since I didn't love Jordan's YA series). At least they were three-star reads for you!

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  10. I am so bummed that Tease seems to be falling short of my expectations after reading Foreplay. I loved that book, and I keep hearing that this installment is more formulaic NA. I was going to skip it until the next book comes out, but I'm glad to hear you still had a good time with it so I'll probably squeeze it in anyway. I don't think Remnants is for me, I don't like being hit over the head with religion. Lovely minis!

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  11. Emerson would be a heroine that would get on my nerves fast. You must have a lot of patience, Jenny! Also I'm a bit weary of the religious overtones in Remnants and I don''t think that one is for me.

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  12. I actually liked Foreplay so i was always planning on picking up Tease (when the NA mood strikes) again but now i'm not s sure! It sounds like it fell from expectations and that can always kind of suck :(

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  13. So far the reviews for Tease are pretty mediocre. I don't think I will be picking that one up, not that it is bad, but just because I need a wow book right now.

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  14. I've been avoiding NA stories for a long time now but I really want to read Jordan's series as I really know she is a great writer and just the fact that this series doesn't follow typical NA conventions makes me want to read it more. The other book is new to be but it sounds really interesting. Too bad that it was slow. Great reviews, Jenny :)

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  15. I got the first 5 chapters of Tease for free on Kindle but I still haven't read them. After your review I'm not very sure I want to read Tease... I'm not the biggest fan of NA, and if it feels like the very usual... not gonna be for me!

    And as for the second book, your mention of highly important religious undertones would be probably annoying for me.

    Thanks a lot for your very honest reviews, Jenny!

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  16. I don't know about Tease... :( I'm tired of the same old cliches in the NA genre, but at the same time the promise of a very swoon worthy hero is pulling me in. LOL (I can't resist the heroes! Its probably why i get into so much book trouble! ;p). Emerson does sound aggravating in her behaviours, but I'm glad the romance kind of pulled her away from all of that.

    As for Remnants, honestly, I do not enjoy books with religious aspects, and this one seems to focus a lot on that topic, so I probably wouldn't enjoy this. But I agree with you, its premise is intriguing.

    I'm glad you found Tease an enjoyable read, despite your reservations with it, Jenny, and same with Remnants! Fabulous, honest reviews! :D

    ~ Maida
    Literary Love Affair 

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  17. Great reviews, Jenny! I've yet to read the first Ivy Chronicles book (but I have it), and I've read enough of Jordan's other work to completely agree about her ability to create imperfect characters who still manage to remain likable. Don't know about the Bergren though. I got it (maybe yesterday), but I am NOT a fan of plot taking a back seat to religious calls. Not. At. All.

    Jessica @ Rabid Reads

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  18. I agree with Remnants being slow paced, at least in the first half. I also felt a bit of a disconnect with the characters but it got better later in the story.
    I haven't read the first book in the Ivy Chronicles but I heard it was better than this 2nd book.

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  19. Wonderful reviews Jenny. I agreed Jordan is talented, but I was disappointed in Tease, it felt like every other NA out there.

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  20. Tease is not her best work…It was very lame for me. I didn't like the lead because she always seemed so cruel and grumpy all the time. I found Uninvited, Sophie's best work so far. :D

    www.lite-rate-ture.com

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