Destiny's Gate by Lee Bice-Matheson and J.R. Matheson

Destiny's Gate by Lee Bice-Matheson and J.R. Matheson
Series: Paige Maddison, #2
Publisher: Friesen Press
Format: Paperback
Pages: 283
Source: Review.

Live from a place of love. It conquers all that is evil. Shaken by the haunting from Conall, Paige Maddison hopes to put it behind her. When Paige's premonitions, nightmares, and ghostly visions return, however, she realizes there is no way of getting back to the normal she once knew. Try as she might to adjust to her new life at the O'Brien Manor, dark forces begin to brew on the grounds of the haunted O'Brien estate. Paige becomes the unwilling target of the Earthbounds, anguished souls who seek revenge and retribution. But where there is darkness, there is also light. Through an enigmatic string of events that has her questioning who she truly is, Paige soon learns that she is not only being watched over by guardians of both the spirit and mortal realms, but also being called upon by a greater power beyond her wildest comprehension. As her world is turned upside down, Paige faces a life-changing dilemma: Should she embrace her special gift and fulfill the destiny that is unfolding before her? Or will she succumb to the evil that surrounds her and deny her true identity? Destiny's Gate, book two in the Paige Maddison Series, follows the young heroine on her personal journey of discovering inner strength, undying loyalty, and the profound power of unwavering love.

 

Even after reading the first book in this series and not liking it I had high hopes that this book would deliver the excitement and creep factor that I was hoping for. Unfortunately I was left feeling unenthusiastic and tired after struggling through this book. I had hoped that since the book was longer it wouldn't feel as rushed as the first book but it ended up feeling like everything was being pushed just for the sake of something happening.

 

I still did not like Paige. She is still just as unappealing as she was in the first book and I found that I enjoyed her character less as the book went on. I just ended up not really caring what happened to her and in a book where the plot doesn't grab me I hope the characters do.

 

Even after finding out what she was and what she could do Paige seemed way too calm about the whole situation. It just didn't seem realistic. The story seemed to drag on and I kept having to put the book down because I was getting extremely frustrated with the pacing and Paige.

 

I will not be continuing with this series. It was way too hard to get through this last book and I don't like feeling like I have to force myself to finish a book or series even if I am not enjoying it. Don't let my feelings discourage you however, you may love the book, it just was not for me.

 

 

 **Copy provided in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.**

My Totally Awkward Supernatural Crush by Laura Toffler-Corrie

My Totally Awkward Supernatural Crush by Laura Toffler-Corrie
Series: N/A
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Format: ARC
Pages: 352
Source: Won.

In My Totally Awkward Supernatural Crush by Laura Toffler-Corrie, Jenna Bloom is just an average middle school student until her family takes her to her least favorite restaurant for her birthday, where she meets Cowpoke Luke, her waiter and one true love. Oh, and he also happens to be an angel. Jenna can't believe that Luke could actually be interested in her, and yet he is! Unfortunately he's got a demonic foe named Adam who could potentially complicate matters, and when the two boys have a big showdown at the local community theater's performance of Fiddler on the Roof, Jenna is right in the middle of it all.

 

I knew going in that this was supposed to be an over the top parody. Still knowing this it did not make reading this book any more enjoyable. I found myself rolling my eyes more than I found myself laughing. The Twilight references got old after a while and I could not read more than a few pages at a time without having to set it down and pick something else up.

I could not connect with the characters. Sure Jenna has flaws, which I generally like in characters but they were extreme. She didn't find herself attractive at all, she was shallow and kind of self centered and she cared way too much what other people thought about her. I know, she's supposed to be in middle school and all but I felt that it was even too much for that age range. And Luke, he was supposed to be perfect, but I found him really awkward and I did not get the super awesome hero vibe he was supposed to portray.

All in all there really isn't much to say about this one. It simply wasn't for me but if you do decide to give this one a chance do not go into it with high expectations. It's supposed to be a parody and nothing else but the humor was lost on me.

Galápagos by Kurt Vonnegut

 Galápagos by Kurt Vonnegut
Series: N/A
Publisher: Dial Press
Format: Paperback
Pages: 324
Source: Purchased

Galápagos takes the reader back one million years, to A.D. 1986. A simple vacation cruise suddenly becomes an evolutionary journey. Thanks to an apocalypse, a small group of survivors stranded on the Galápagos Islands are about to become the progenitors of a brave, new, and totally different human race. In this inimitable novel, America’s master satirist looks at our world and shows us all that is sadly, madly awry–and all that is worth saving.

 



 This book was a huge bust for me. I was really hoping to love it considering I loved both Slaughterhouse-Five as well as Slapstick by Kurt Vonnegut. This book just seemed to be lacking everything I enjoyed in the previously mentioned books.

One of my major issues was the repetition of how terrible a large brain was for humans in the past, I get that this was the basis for the whole story but it seemed like it was repeated on every other page. I got to the point where I could barely even finish the book and I had to force myself to do just that.

I could not enjoy this book and I think the fact was that it was so unlike the previous two books I had read by him that I was thrown off guard. I could not get into the style of this one and it's a shame because the description sounded really cool. If only it had been executed in a way that was a little more exciting and didn't have me putting the book down constantly just so I could stay awake.

If you're new to Vonnegut I would highly recommend starting with another book, but if you do insist on reading this one be prepared that it's extremely slow and you probably won't remember much of what happened after you finally finish it.