Review: Video Girl Ai, Vol. 13: Fade Out

Video Girl Ai, Vol. 13: Fade Out by Masakazu Katsura
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This review is for Volumes 1 thru 13.

This series is good. Only thing is that the protagonist is so cowardly & indecisive that it's very irritating. I don't find what the girls feel for such a cowardly guy. However, isn't it the very purpose of the video girl to toughen him up a bit. I love all the complications and twists the story has brought. I shed some tears and cracked up. If any book can do this, then it's okay.

You will love Ai. She shows how women are super when it comes to making sure the ones we love are taken care of before we take care of ourselves. She truly was fleshed out well.

I gave the series 3 stars because author could've given more substance to protagonist. The story needed some more 'ommpf'. Overall a good story.

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Review: Hot Game

Hot Game by Bridget Midway

My rating: 2 of 5 stars



I finished the story. I don't like predictable books. I knew the bad stuff was going to happen to the main girl and she would easily forgive him. This author's girl characters tend to be easily gotten and they forgive horrendous shit. I admire she has delved into making interracial relationships, but she conveys that Black women are easy and can accept being treated unfairly by men. So this is a horrible love example.

Once again this is not. Book it's a novelette. It is so short. I'm glad I didn't pay full price for the story. It was not really worth my time. I lost couple of brain cells too. I would really contemplate buying another one of this author's books.



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Review: Sixth Grave on the Edge

Sixth Grave on the Edge by Darynda Jones

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I like this series a lot. I've been pretty dedicated to it. I love Charley. I like Reyes. I enjoy a lot of the characters. This book wasn't the best of the series. I didn't like the ending tho. I also don't unlike unanswered questions. Maybe the answer will come in the next book. The end of the book was a bit confusing and muddled.

I am not saying the book was bad, but it didn't give me all the warm fuzzies like books 1 thru 5.

Here's hoping book 7 will prove better.



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Review: After Dead: What Came Next in the World of Sookie Stackhouse

After Dead: What Came Next in the World of Sookie Stackhouse by Charlaine Harris

My rating: 1 of 5 stars



I've been a big fan of the Sookie Series. So when I saw this book, I had to read it. Of course I was curious how some of my favorite characters ended up. So I thought/assumed that this would be in a novelette form. I was willing to pay the $10 for this book.

I want my money back. Not only do I feel cheated, but I think Charlaine Harris & her publishers are a bunch of crooks. Milking your fans of money for a bullshit book is bad business. I read that book during my lunch hour. All it is is a paragraph or three a page for each character. Even some characters you don't give a damn about.

I will not purchase another Charlaine Harris. I may make her lose revenue by torrenting a book from her in the future. I will not spend another dime on her. I should've torrented this book.

For those who want to read this book, Don't Waste Your Time!!!



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Review: Sweet Water

Sweet Water by Christina Baker Kline

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



I believe this book was a great read. The characters made sense to me. I understood all the complexities that each of them brought in the story. The book starts of a lost woman who's in search if herself by accepting the house and land left to her from her estranged grandfather. I loved the dialogs and the story. What I hated which made me gave this story is that at the pivotal point of the story, the story just ended. Did the grandmother talk to the granddaughter? Did granddaughter make up with her aunt? How does this family heal? So much was left out. I feel a bit cheated. If it was a completed story it would have gotten 5 stars.



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Review: To Paris with Love

To Paris with Love by Carl Weber

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



So I have all of the family business books. This book is supposed to take place in Paris' past. So I am going to reveal my thoughts on characters.

Paris: I don't like to deal with spoiled ass brats especially hardheaded ones. Paris I would never be friends. I'd try to beat the shit out of her all the time. Her character is hard for me to read. I have a similar distaste to her sister London.

Rio: I always love Rio. He is one of the endearing character. He's wild but he has sense. He listens. He may not like it, but he takes it to heart.

Okay, so here's my review.

Beginning of the book begins in the present when Paris heads to Europe for a friend's wedding where she spots an old enemy. She proceeds to tell her friend the story of the situation between her and the enemy.

The book is not written as a reflection as Paris telling a story. It is written as a standard, typical novel. It should've been if you start out a book saying "girl let me tell you what happened." I expect it all to be from Paris' point of view.

The story and romance was good. I enjoyed it greatly. I even dreamed of the story. There are a lot of issues going on that keeps the story on its toes. The characters are well written. There were moments in the book that were confusing; so I had to re read the chapter because one sentence thru it off. No sweat since the chapters are small.

One thing that was really good was the imagery. I was able to imagine the Spanish farm/countryside, the yacht party and the hotel suites. Like most books from Carl Weber, there was plenty of sex. I am just curious of how Weber knows the sensations if sex from a woman's point of view.

My big disappointment was the end. There wasn't a wrap up. Remember at the beginning she was in the airport in the present? Well it should've ended there. Wanted to hear her friend's opinion and whether the enemy saw them or not. Weber could've just tied the story up. Instead he just kills off dude and that's it. No repercussions. No enemy screaming bloody murder. Enemy really didn't fuck up her family as she stated in the beginning of the book. She stopped any issues getting to them in the end.

All in all the story was a great read, but it had some glaring (in my opinion) inconsistencies. It is worth the read.




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Review: Dead Ever After

Dead Ever After by Charlaine Harris

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Charlaine Harris wrapped up her series nicely. The ending I expected since book 7. She did a good job. Most series doesn't give you the closure you need. However, this book closure made it as if life goes on. There will always be a world in Harris' mind where Sookie & company may return. From this book I can count 6 different spin offs that could be made without Sookie.

Good job Charlaine,looking forward to pieces (short stories) or other books that may include characters from this series.



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For all the detractors:
1. Sookie loves the sun, how could a relationship between Eric & Sookie last?
2. If you didn't see the ending coming, you should re-read the series.
3. Sookie does not rebound to previous boyfriends.Would you?
4. Death threats to authors are ridiculous. Let the authors move on in peace. The series was supposed to end when Bill was going to die by all the silver from the fae. Charlaine was bullied to write more books. You got a good compromise. If you miss Sookie, think up stories in your head.
5. Enjoy the book, it's not a brilliant read. It's just a good story.

Review: The Lightning Thief

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I seen the movie couple of times. I normally can't read a book that I already seen the movie to. I hate the redundancy, I guess. I picked up the book anyhow. I wanted something quick and easy. That's not what I got. I got a quest. The book managed to grab my attention and keep it. By the second chapter, I noticed that this book is not anywhere close to the movie. The movie stripped the book of its depth and essential characters.

I love Greek & Roman mythology. It was one of my favorites growing up. So it was a joy to read. I love the way Riordan picked up lesser Gods and gave them voices. This is a great book on conquering your fear and doing what's right. A great lesson for young adults.

I really enjoyed this book. I love the main characters. I will read the next book because I want to find out if Percy & Annabeth end up in the same school. I'm curious on the Titan that is waking up. I believe Riordan did a good job capturing my imagination and my attention. It is a great book.



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A New Anthology: All The Lovely Creatures is out Now

All The Lovely Creatures, was published yesterday, 10/11/12, by B.C. Sirrom and edited by authors from the GoodReads group, Paranormal and Horror Lovers. Obeah Love Affair, my short story, is included.

What is a vampire to do when her family is threatened just to get to her?



Anthology includes stories by:
S.J. Bell
Charlotte Dhark
Lisa Goldman
C.C. Hartley (me)
Mark Mackey
Rebecca Nolan
B.C. Sirrom
L.M. Smith

Art Work by:
Emily Joyner

Forward by:
Jennifer Rainey

You can purchase this book for FREE from Smashwords.

When you're done reading, please be sure to give us your feedback on Smashwords or on GoodReads.

I'd love to hear what you thought about the book or my story, leave me a comment and I will love to discuss it.

Enjoy!!!

C. C. Hartley

Also, join us on GoodReads or on our Facebook Page.

All the Lovely Creatures

So I've been hard at work writing and editing this month. I'm supposed to finish my BlogHer 12 post but it's just not coming right now. I've been busy with editing. What I've been editing?  That's the reason of this post.

I'm a GoodReads member. You may have seen some of my reviews posted on this blog. Well I joined a group for Paranormal & Horror Lovers.  It's a great group if you are into Paranormal or Horror books. It is here that I have embarked on a project that has been keeping me busy since June. A group of authors from the group decided to put together an Anthology. These great writers allowed me, a novice, to contribute a story to the anthology. [Yippee!! Thank you guys!!!! ]

The anthology is called "All The Lovely Creatures ". It is a collection of Paranormal/Horror stories that include cultural creatures. I contributed a piece on Obeah. What is Obeah? You gotta read my story. The book will be out in October. It will be published by Smashwords. The book has 7 to 8 brilliant writers. I am truly honored to be a part of this project.

As I get the links next month I will post it here and on twitter. If you don't have my twitter, follow me here.

Well I'm going back now and finish up my piece. Looking forward to be telling you more on this in the coming weeks. I'm so excited!!! See you soon. 

Review: Backfire

Backfire by Catherine Coulter

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



I received this book in my Kindle the day it was released. I wanted to start reading it immediately but I had commitments I needed to tend to. Everytime I opened my iPad to work, I kept hearing the Kindle App call my name. With my willpower the way it is, I succumbed in 2 days.

I have been a fan of Catherine Coulter Thriller books; the FBI series mostly. I have read them all awaiting each release with excitement. Been reading them since the first book. Love them!!! I've even blogged about them (http://whitetigre2001.blogspot.com/20...).

This book did take me for a loop. I was just as perplexed as the agents in the book. The story was weaves so well. There are still something's that were a bit predictable; hook ups. However, some of her usual predictive stuff was missing. She changed it up. There were parts that I was afraid to read because I've been emotionally vested with characters and I was scared as to what was going to happen. My emotions were pulled every which way. This is a must read. I'm a bit biased. I totally love Savich and I wish Sherlock was my bestie.

Catherine creates characters to die for. I wish I can weave a character as lovable and evil as hers. I have total admiration of her talent.

Hope this discussion helps. I didn't want to do a real review. I'd spoil the story if I did. But this book is so worth the read.



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Review: Deadlocked

Deadlocked by Charlaine Harris

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



I've been a Sookie fan for years. See my review here . This is the 2nd to last book in the series. I've read the reviews on GoodReads and I don't find them very positive. I may rate a book vastly different than others. I don't go into detail on grammar and all that technical and critical stuff. I base my reviews on my feelings on what I have read. Did the story have like able characters? Did the story grab my attention? You know, the organic stuff.

The Sookie books weren't written to be contemporary literature. It's considered in my mom's term, smut. It's not teaching you any lessons. It's a good easy read.

Now my review that may have spoilers.

So Sookie is still caught up in vampire bullshit. Her relationship with Eric is on the rocks. What she really needs is peace and quiet. Can she have it? No. Who can she trust? Not her family. She's been hit on both sides. Then her best friend's girl wants her out of the way, permanently. Sookie's life is just getting harder. Yet she's having baby fever. She's envious of her friends normal relationships. Sookie at this point in her life has been a jump off. Her relationships always caused her danger and the concerns weren't really about her but her gift.

This book was the beginning of a wind down to the final book I am looking forward to read. The series has been long run and I've enjoyed it. My life was not wasted for 12 years as one reviewer has said. I got to experience a world with sexy men and adventure. This book did have me guessing, but some of the plot wasn't strung as perfectly as previous books. I could live with that.

That being said, this book was 5 stars to me, for keeping me entertained.



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Review: Fifty Shades of Grey

Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



This is book has been on the news and Good Morning America so much that I was curious to read it. So I downloaded a sample of the book onto my kindle. Within 5 pages I knew I had to get the full book. As I was reading, I learned some more facts. This book was fan fiction of Twilight. I don't see it. I may be oblivious, but I don't get any teen angst from the book.

This book is about a mogul C Grey who falls for a college grad A Steele and introduces her to his lifestyle. Whether or not she accepts the lifestyle is for me to know and for you to read.

I have seen many reviews on this book about the author's bad writing. I say for a first time author, her sales are sky rocketing. With all her newness in the writersphere, she can improve. I don't believe this book was published via major publishers, but self publishing. Therefore, she didn't have a team of editors to catch all her mistakes. What she did do right was to create strong characters and a good story. If you can't grasp a character then what's the point of a story. Yes there was a lot of repetition, but the story was still strong. Her story has captured millions of readers. Can the naysayers say they have reached this success for a new author? Let us give our cheers to a new author and not strip her down. Author community should be warm and inviting. Not bitchy or cold. She will get better. But will you?

This book is very good. It had me grab the next 2 books in the series. It is worth a read if you are into adult & romantic books.



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Review: A Stranger to Unfold

A Stranger to Unfold by Anjah Gonzalez

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



I thought I was going to be biased about this book because I personally know the author. She's a great friend of mine, plus she never asked me for any help in writing this. My bias was to love the book because she's my friend and not on any merit of her own writing.

She never sent me my own copy, I actually bought it on my own to read. Maybe I should have her autograph it. I just wanted to support her. Then again, I never ask anything from anyone. So asking for her book was out of the question. I digress.

I read the book easily. Her characters were set up wonderfully. The story and plot drew you in. I personally wondered how much, if at all, of her personal experiences that she put into this book. The story is wonderful. I felt drawn into the story. I was amazed and awed that my friend filled her book with such rich imagery.

Everyone should read this. I'm sad that her book hasn't gathered a big following, but many first time authors don't. Go out and support this author by picking up her book.

Vampire Chronicles

From my early college years, I was obsessed with Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles. I have read every single one of her vampire books. They ranged from great to not so great.

I loved the character Lestat. I loved that most of the stories were centered in New Orleans. New Orleans has a rich history and great mystique to it. I felt like I know New Orleans just by reading her books.

Lestat as a character was brilliant. He had the most attractive personality even though he was a jerk. He was quite a lovable jerk. I also liked a lot of he other characters in the books. I'm especially happy that Rice did write novels on the history of some of them.

The 1st 4 books were hard to put down. The 5th book was hard to swallow. I understood that was done around the time Rice found herself back into the Catholic faith. This book was saturated with it. Lestat meets the devil and then meets Jesus? Come on now. I have no issue with religion. Just hate when people push it down your throat. This book felt that way. It took me a month or so to read it. I suffered through it so I can move to the next in the series.



I was seriously doubting the next books. I was scared of the bible thumping. The next 4 books, Armand, Pandora, Vittorio and Merrick, were free from it. The final 3 reaked of it. I understand that after these books were done, Rice turned writing books on Jesus.

I was highly disappointed on how the series ended. I know Rice started feeling the pull between writing the series and her religion.
The stories went down hill. Lestat lost his spunk; all that made him interesting. The end came with such sadness and regret. I should not have read them all.
This is where I'm ending this. My disappointment has come back and I'm really having trouble writing more on these books.

Twilight Series

The Twilight Series by Stephanie Meyers consists of 4 books. They are actually a Young Adult books. I didn't find it in that section when I bought the 1st book at Borders. The rest I bought at Barnes & Noble. The book was sitting right next to Dead After Dark by Charlaine Harris, a very adult book. Goes to show, stores are catering adult books to kids. I bought the book on just a plain old whim. There wasn't a synopsis of the story on the back cover nor inside either covers. I had no idea what it was about when I took it to the cash register.

On my ride home from work, I decided to crack the book open. I really liked the book and was very happy about the purchase. It took me a week to read the 1st book. I gave it to my employee to try too.

I bought the next 2 books together. It took me 2 weeks to finish both. At this point I am eagerly waiting for Meyers to finish writing and publishing what is to be the final book. She has taken longer to write than a few of my favorite authors.

For a YA book, Meyers seems to capture a moody teenager well. My feelings about that is she really acts like one. After the 4th book, she was supposed to create a 5th book that was he 1st book but written in Edward's point of view. I think it was supposed to be Midnight Sun. Well with her popularity and everyone dying for more, her manuscript was leaked on the web. So she decides to not publish it. Do you know how many author manuscripts have been leaked? It just generates more buzz. Even those who got the leak will pay for a published book. I think she was being a punk. If it happened to me, I would be upset but I wouldn't deny the rest of my fans the chance to read it.

After this incident, she started a new book called The Host. It wasn't received as well as the Twilight series. She then revisited the Twilight series with a novella based on a lesser character from the series. I don't know if Meyers shot herself in the foot or not, but I'm not excited to read any further books from her.

FBI Thrillers

Another favorite series of mine is the FBI Thriller Series by Catherine Coulter. These books center around 2 main agents; Savich and Sherlock. There are other agents involved in the series and all of them know S&S in some way or another. I've been reading this series for years. They do come out often, around once a year, so I actually subscribed to the author's newsletter to get a heads up.

My older sister gave me the 1st 2 books in the series to read. I loved them. I then put her on my queue of must read authors. She has 16 titles in the series. She has also start making compilation books for the series. I am collecting those now.


I just picked up her 16th book on pre-order. It comes out tomorrow. Her books are a great read. It's not too overcomplicated. Her characters are so well put together. She did great research on how agents are supposed to do and how to react. She knows the chain of command and how the agency works with other agencies.

I every now and then re-read the series. Each time I discover something I missed previously. I never really can predict who the bad guy is. Sometimes it comes from left field.

What I sort of dislike in the newer books is the introduction of ESP. It may or may not be real, but I don't like it in these stories. If this ability wasn't just sprung on me I'd taken it a bit better. It just came up out of the blue and now it feels like it lessened the value of the main character. Maybe if it was a supplemental character, I wouldn't have mind. I'm still going to read the books because I love the characters.

Coulter knows how to weave a good thriller and put some great romance in. It does not feel a romance novel. It feels natural in the books. It's not forced. Sometimes it's predictable which characters are going to hook up. I don't mind it.

I wonder how long Coulter will continue the series. I know there's going to be a 17th book. She's soliciting names on Twitter. She has so many different series in different genres. I wonder how she keeps up with it all. I hope she doesn't go the route Stephen King did; having ghostwriters with him giving the characters and plots. I would be so disappointed.

Coulter having being successful in multiple genres gives me hope. I have 2 stories in mind that are in 2 different genres. I look forward to more Savich and Sherlock in my future.

The Southern Vampire Series

Every now and then I come upon a series of books that I'm totally addicted and dedicated to. One such series is the Southern Vampire Series by Charlaine Harris. It is known as the Sookie Stackhouse series. Currently there are 11 books in total. They say that this series put Harris on the map. She has been writing for years. She has other series under her belt. I have not read them yet.

The Sookie books have also become a very popular series on HBO. I watch it too, but I'm sticking to the book series in this post. One thing I must say about the 2 is they are nothing alike.

All the books in an interesting way, have Dead in the title. Here's the list of books in order, left column first.



I own digital and print copies of the books. There are books in the series in which I read more than once because they are so good.

Let me tell you how I found the series. I was in Borders one day because I was going thru withdrawal. I needed a book to read. I picked up Dead after Dark by Harris and Twilight by Stephanie Meyers. I started Twilight first and got addicted to the series. Harris' book was sitting lonely by itself on my bookshelf. After 2 years, I finally picked it up. I finished waiting for Eclipse & Breaking Dawn to come out. I read other books friends gave me during my time waiting. After Breaking Dawn, I saw Harris' book sitting on my shelf. I picked it up the evening. I was hooked.

When I said I was hooked, I mean I was a crack fiend. I finished the book in the wee hours of the morning. Mind you I had to go to work. I finished book in 1 sitting. I wanted more!!! At lunch time the next day, or should I say same day since I didn't go to sleep until like 3 am, I went to Borders and bought the next 2 books.

That night I finished the 2nd book and started the 3rd book. I'm seriously lacking sleep and I have work again. This all started on a Tuesday. At lunch, I bought the next 5 books. I tell you I was a fiend. By Friday, I had finished all 8 books. I finished 8 books in 4 days. That is ridiculous. Never have I been so sleep deprived and happy at the same time.

Once I was done, I went thru some serious withdrawal. I could barely wait until the 9th book was released. So I ended up re-reading couple books again. I surely read the 4th book at least 3 times. I was so totally head over heels for a fictional character. I so love Eric Northam.

In between the other books releases I have taken to watch the show. Her latest book, #11, has recently came out. Finished book in 3 days. I am not sure if it was the last of the series. It didn't feel like a closure. I sure don't want to see it end.

I love the series. I'm sure Harris feels as if she has exhausted all avenues with series. I hope people will take to my books like I took to Harris'.

The End of Potter

I just finished the last book of Harry Potter. I am so bummed. I really really liked the series. There were so many ways that the story could have continued. I would like to see what it took to rebuild the ministry of magic & hogwarts. Other bad guys to defend against. There are so many avenues to explore.

Believe it or not, I was the hesitant fan. I never knew what all the hub bub was about. My godmother read the first book and told me it was great. My best friend was also a big fan. She gave me the first book 2 years after it came out. I believe I read that book in nearly 3 days. Then I borrowed the other 2 books and read them in succession.

JK Rowling was my pusher. Never had an author since I was a kid, w/ Francine Pascal, had me hooked. I have not been that die hard of a fan to sit over night on line to get the books. But I have gotten the book within the first week of release. Book 7 is the first book that I have preordered before the release. I picked the book up on the first day. Now knowing that this is the last book I think I've going thru withdrawal. I finished the book this morning & I've been cranky all day. I have never been so miserable after finish reading a book.

I wonder if Rowling will let people write fan fiction. But no one can do it justice as she can. I can't believe how well she developed her characters' world. It was so believable. I also must commend the directors and casting agents for the movies. They did a brilliant job of making the movies as true to the books as possible.

Well it's time for me to end this rant. Time to find another book to read. I'm one of those book-aholics. It's my therapy to the real world.