rock stars

Every ninety years, twelve gods are reincarnated as humans. Two years later, they are all dead…

The Wicked + the Divine: The Faust Act by Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie

December 31, 2017 by Malin Leave a Comment

Every ninety years, twelve gods incarnate as humans. They appear as rock stars and are loved and hated in equal measure. In two years, they are all dead. The lesson they need to learn is: just because you’re immortal, doesn’t mean you’re going to live forever. In the first volume of The Wicked + The Divine we are introduced to Laura, a seventeen-year-old from London who is utterly devoted to the various recently incarnated gods, who appear as rock stars of various genres all over the city. After she passes out at one of Amaterasu’s concerts, she is introduced to “Luci”, the current […]

12/31/2017 Malin's CBR9 Review No:128 |

Widow author and bad boy rock star – the book is really good!

True North by Liora Blake

August 10, 2017 by Malin Leave a Comment

Kate Mosely is a widow living alone and rather lonely in the little town of Crowell, Montana. She more or less runs the local newspaper she inherited from her father (with help from his old business partner), but her small claim to fame is writing a novel that’s become a bestseller, much thanks to her persistent and aggressive literary agent, Stephen. Now, hoping to create more buzz for the book, as well as spurring Kate into writing a second novel, he’s booked her on several TV appearances in LA. Kate is to appear first on a prestigious late night talk […]

8/10/2017 Malin's CBR9 Review No:72 |

Kirkus thought this book was better than The Hating Game. Kirkus is very wrong

Wild at Whiskey Creek by Julie Anne Long

December 27, 2016 by Malin 2 Comments

3.5 stars Glory Hallelujah (yup, that’s actually her name) Greenleaf is the only one in her family who’s never broken the law or deviated from the straight and narrow. Unlike most of her other family members, who only seem to leave Hellcat Canyon to go to prison or when they die, Glory was going to become a star, using her songwriting and singing talent to make it big. Of course, then her brother Jonah was arrested for meth dealing and she had to use all her savings to help pay her mother’s mortgage, and now she’s still impatiently cooling her […]

12/27/2016 Malin's CBR8 Review No:128 |

Utterly forgettable. Read Courtney Milan’s Unraveled instead

Managed by Kristen Callihan

December 26, 2016 by Malin Leave a Comment

Sophie Darling (sadly nowhere near as awesome as my favourite romance heroine with Darling as a surname) is on her way to a job interview in London and unexpectedly and happily finds herself upgraded to first class. Her joy is somewhat lessened when very handsome, but supremely grouchy Gabriel “Scottie” Scott is seated next to her, outraged that one of the two seats he’s purchased has been allotted to someone. Nonetheless, cheerful and mischievous Sophie decides to try to crack handsome guy’s crabby demeanour (at this point she doesn’t know his name) by both flirting and teasing him and once […]

12/26/2016 Malin's CBR8 Review No:126 |

In which I write meandering reviews for forgettable books, in a desperate bid for the double cannonball

Rock Addiction, Rock Courtship (Rock Kiss #1, 1.5) by Nalini Singh

December 26, 2016 by alwaysanswerb 6 Comments

I believe it was Mrs. Julien who Malin once said that billionaires and/or rock stars are the Dukes of contemporary romance. That is to say, that there seems to be an endless supply of young, handsome Dukes, rock stars, and billionaires in romance, an abundance which was not and is not supported in real life. (To be pedantic, of course there are still young, handsome musicians, but the rock stars in these books are of the arena sell-out variety that evokes images of the Beatles and their screaming fans. Perhaps the true 2010-era parallel are EDM DJs, but something about […]

12/26/2016 alwaysanswerb's CBR8 Review No:99 |

An unbelievably fertile heroine and a lot of weddings

Rock Wedding by Nalini Singh

December 17, 2016 by Malin 1 Comment

OK, it’s been nearly two months since I finished this, and it wasn’t exactly the most memorable of romances to begin with. Let’s see what I can still remember. Sarah Smith, who never really had a very stable home life, hooks up with rock star Abe Bellamy and ends up pregnant. He wants to do right by her and marries her. She adores him, he seems to like their bedroom antics, but is closed off and withholding emotionally (although secretly, deep down, he clearly cares for her, he just can’t express it – you know the drill). Also, he has […]

12/17/2016 Malin's CBR8 Review No:119 |

I think rock stars may be the earls of contemporary romance

Idol by Kristen Callihan

July 9, 2016 by Malin 2 Comments

Liberty “Libby” Bell (yes, her parents named her Liberty when their surname was Bell, I don’t know why you’d do that to a child either!) has been living as a veritable recluse in her grandparents’ old farmhouse on an island in the Carolinas (I think, there’s an author’s note about how the place obviously doesn’t really exist blah blah) since her parents died in a car accident the year before. She apparently makes her living as a book cover designer (cool job – not one I’ve come across in romance before, not that we EVER see her doing any work). […]

7/9/2016 Malin's CBR8 Review No:72 |

Runaway bride and out of work guitarist

Dirty by Kylie Scott

June 28, 2016 by Malin 2 Comments

Lydia Green is sent a video of her fiancee making out (and more) with his best friend/best man shortly before she’s supposed to walk down the isle. Utterly humiliated, she leaves her phone on the bed and does the only thing she can think of, run away. Even in full bridal gear, she manages to hoist herself over the very tall fence at the back of the property and climbs in the open window of the house next door. Fairly banged up and utterly devastated, she collapses in the bathtub and bursts into tears. Vaughn Hewson’s career is currently fairly […]

6/28/2016 Malin's CBR8 Review No:61 |

Amanda on You expect me to jump up on board with you and ride off into your delusional sunsetI'm not surprised, it's one of the best books I've read in a long time!
MsWas on Reviewing this makes ME feel like an alien.Great review!!
Liz on You expect me to jump up on board with you and ride off into your delusional sunsetThis got a Printz honor this year, which I think is rare for a fantasy book. Very excited for it!
dAvid on Everything changes in a SeasonThat sounds like how I feel at this point. I’ll probably finish the series and will probably end up liking it overall, but it will...
Chris on No bed of rosesSounds perfect for my church book club👍