Just Live....Live Well! The Bookbabe reviews Me Before You by Jojo Moyes.

This book was not at all I expected it to be. I thought it would be an easy, quick romance. Instead I got laughs, romance and a ton of unexpected tears. Mind you I am reading this before seeing the movie and years after it was published. I only know of one friend that has read it; and she is not the type to ever post spoilers or ruin a plot for me. I only knew that the story was a romance and that it involved a man suffering from a spinal cord injury. Me Before You centers around Louisa Clark and her experiences with wheelchair bound William Traynor. Will was injured when a car hit him. Louisa is a young woman living a small life. She goes to work, comes home, spends time with her boyfriend Patrick and is just trying to get by. When she loses her job she finds herself at the door of the Traynor’s. Who are in need of someone to help them care for their son. Louisa takes the job and on her first day has the feeling that Will will never like her. He’s rude and mean and incredibly bossy. As the months wind down on her is month contract Louisa’s life begins to change; she and Will become close and before you know it they are both in love. However, Will’s plans to end his life could derail the love they share and change the lives of all those around them.
Upon reading this book I knew going in what the ending was; I knew that the book dealt with assisted suicide and the right to die. I was interested in seeing how the author would handle this delicate topic. The end result was a well written, well developed novel about love and loss.
At the same time I could see why disability advocates took issue with the novel. No matter how well developed the story was it seemed like the author romanticized the topic. Of course, some will disagree with me on that but I'm just calling it as I saw it. However, that did not stop me from loving the book. Mainly because I loved Will’s way of coaxing Louisa to live a big life. To live her life to the fullest.
I read this three weeks after the death of my grandmother and some of its themes seemed to be things I could hear her saying to me had she been able to communicate them at the end of her life. Which is why I believe this book will be an all time favorite of mine going forward. Another thing that I loved about this novel is that Moyes characters are flushed out, well developed. You really can connect to Louisa and will and you can see a part of yourself in their story. I definitely saw a lot of myself in Louisa. Me Before You would definitely be a book I would recommend to anyone looking for a lovely story on the importance of living in the moment and loving the life you have. I gave Me Before You five stars of Goodreads.

Quotes I loved:

“Believe me, when you've done shifts at a chicken processing factory, working in Guantanamo Bay for six months looks attractive.”

“And I cannot for the life of me see how you can be content to live this tiny life. This life that will take place almost entirely within a five mile radius and contain nobody who will ever surprise you or push you or show you things that will leave your head spinning and unable to sleep at night.”

“Just live….live well.”

A Return to Caldwell: The Bookbabe Reviews Lover Mine by J.R. Ward

We all know that I am a fan of the black dagger brotherhood series; there is really nothing like a good bit of vampire paranormal fiction. So here I am again, back in Caldwell, among the Brotherhood. In Lover Mine we are introduced yet again to Xhex and John Matthews. We are quickly caught up to the fact that Xhex is still missing. Having been taken by Lash; due to his obsession with her. And John is on a mission to find her - without the help of the Brotherhood. What I loved the most about this book is the fact that Ward did not really feature sex as heavily as she has in some of the other books. 
Which was extremely refreshing -because sometimes you just need a break from all of that.  Also, this book is infused with more action and some of the bit players are bought to the foreground. We see more of Quinn and Blay. Finally we get a little bit of a view into this relationship and begun to see it shaping itself into something else. I mean it really was about time. Quinn was beginning to get on my last nerve. And Blay, who was finally getting sick of Quinn's crap decides to go out with someone new. Which might be a mistake because that someone is Quinn's cousin (yikes). One of the most awesome thing of this book is to see how John and Xhex slowly connect to one another after she is back within the brotherhood. 
Xhex, as usual, is hard headed. She does not want to just be sitting on the sideline, allowing John to settle things with Lash on her behalf. She is interested in taking Lash out herself, and she will not allow anyone kill her but herself. Of course, at first, John is not willing to go along with that because (as a typical male) he feels the need to defend the woman that he loves. But, once Lash is cornered and Xhex is injured he sees the error of his ways. He allows her to dole out justice as she sees fit. This was one of my favorite moments of the book because  John was being selfless, he was looking beyond himself and really caring about Xhex - something I think that she never really experienced in her life. Of course, there are many more surprises in the book...but you will have to read it to find out more. I gave this book 3/5 stars on goodreads. 

Here are some of the quotes that I loved from this book:

"The truth was...he was in love with her. Totally over-the-line, no-going-back, not-even-dead-would-he-part kind of shit"

"No, you've got it all wrong, John...You're not half the male you could be because of what was done to you. You're twice what anyone else is because you survived"

The Vampire Within: A Review of J.R. Ward's Lover Revealed

The Vampire Within: The Bookbabe Reviews Lover Revealed by J. R. Ward (Black Dagger Brotherhood #4)

First let me start this review by apologizing for not writing/posting it sooner. Lover Revealed by J.R. Ward was an unexpected addition to the Black Brotherhood Series; mainly because it deals squarely with Ex homicide detective Butch O'Neal. Honestly with this series I would have never in a million years imagined a book based on Butch, mainly because I saw him only as a secondary character. I was pleasantly surprised by this book but it was also a bet predictable. About a quarter of the way in I saw the outcome of Butch's storyline because it just made sense. With this book we are re introduced to Marissa, the female vampire that Butch is carrying a torch for. We learn a little more about her. Such as that even though she is carrying on with the owner of on of the most popular clubs in the area her feelings for him are not concrete. We also know that she is a part of the vampire elite. Also, at her age she should have mated with another vampire but it has not happened yet; this makes her a bit on an outcast in their society and she is practically shunned. She hides the fact that her shunning bothers her and that she is in love with a human. As the book goes on she and Butch find themselves back together again after he is captured and tortured by members of the lessing society; because something has been done to him and she runs to his side she ends up being quarantined for days along with him. Even though she is with him he still finds a way to push her aside. She convinces him to let her in and it leads to her brother, Havers, walking in o them in a very compromising position. After this incident her brother puts her out of their home right before dawn; telling her that she is no longer his sister. She goes to the only place she knows that she will most likely be take in. The Brotherhoods compound. By this time Butch has come back to the compound as well and he still feels compelled to keep Marissa away as he works through the damage that that lessers have done to him. 

As the story continues we find out that Butch can sense the lessers, and he can also kill them without the use of a blade. It is not until the brotherhood decides to find out more about Butch's genetics that they find out about his vampire ancestry. (This is where it got predictable). The Scribe virgin allows for Butch to transition to a vampire after she hears that he is directly related to Wrath (the king of the vamps). Even before his transformation and induction into the Brotherhood Butch displayed some of the marks that members of the Brotherhood does. Such as the "bonding" scent whenever he is around Marissa and his fierce need to protect those he loves. It is for this reason that he pushes her away during this tough period and also the reason why he tires and fails to keep her out of the way. While he is fighting his own battles Marissa finds her own voice and takes it upon herself to make some decisions for herself. By the end of the book Marissa is stronger, and more outspoken then ever before. She is also working to help vampire women and children that are victims of domestic violence. 

What I loved about this book was Marissa'a development as a character. She grew into someone with gentle strength and one hell of a backbone. I really can not wait to see more of her in the upcoming books. I have the book a 4 out of five stars on Goodreads.com.

Quotes I Loved:

"I Love you, to Butch"

"Now, why you want to go and do that, baby? I'd figured you as a smart female"

For more reviews and information on my bookish adventures be sure to follow me at www.delawarebookaddict.blogspot.com / www.facebook.com/thebookbabeofde 

A Sexy vampire and The Beast that loves within: Bookbabe Review of Lover Eternal (Black Dagger Brotherhood #2) by J.R. Ward

It's like Beauty and the Beast but with Vampires: The Book Babe reviews: Lover Eternal (Black Dagger Brotherhood #2) by J.R. Ward

Let me preface this by saying I have read the first book, and there is no review on that exist for the first book. Mainly because I read it over two years ago, and before the blogs existence. So, I have read the first one so I know a bit about the series. In the second book we meet Rhage, the "lover" of the group. He is drop dead gorgeous with his blond hair, broad shoulders and teal colored eyes. But he is also hiding a secret that could destroy the ones around him. He seems to go through life with an outward appearance  of a greek god and has the arrogant attitude to match. However, that is all masking the hate and shame he feels over his secret. It will take a good woman, with and extraordinary heart to break him down and get him to drop the act. We meet Mary Luce at a very sad point in her life; she is still dealing with the death of her mother and the fact that her battle with cancer may not actually be over. Even with all this Mary is upbeat and bright and friendly, she befriends a young man named John. Who is also dealing with something of a mystery. Which I am sure will be uncovered in upcoming books. Mary "meets" Rhage in a hallway of the Brotherhoods training center. She is bought there to help with John by her neighbor and friend Bella. The meeting is a bit different (Laugh) due to the fact that Rhage is not completely himself at the time. Of course, Mary will not remember this moment because humans are not to know about the vampires living among them. So the memory to "cleared" from her mind. After the meeting Rhage can not get her out of his mind. With the help of a brother and Mary's friend Bella, Rhage engineers a blind date so that he can see her again. For him its love at first sight but Mary immediately thinks its all wrong. She has convinced herself that a man this perfect could never want her because she is to plain. She does her best to shake Rhage off; and well, that does not work. He feels and overwhelming need to protect her and make her his. Mary tries her damnedest to push him away and even though he knows the relationship could cause problems with his brothers he still sees her. He even disobeys the direct order of their leader and it results in his punishment. Its not until this act that Mary sees the lengths he will go to to Protect her from anyone and how dear she is to him. Also during the course of the book we meet the "lessers". An odd society of men trained to kill vampires. The group is trying its hardest to get to the Brotherhood by tracking down other vampires they may know of them or where they live. Let me just say this....these dudes are creepy. With a capital C. Their whole organization and appearance that makes my skin crawl. (I will not explain it here...guess you have to read it) What I loved about this installment was that there was less sex and more sexual tension  between the two main characters. Also Mary and Rhage's relationship  is believable and surprisingly normal. Another thing I loved  about this story was that it flowed well and has a great mix of action. Also, J.R. Ward has mastered the cliffhanger. She leaves us in the mists of a crisis and sets up the story for the next couple. I gave this book five out of five stars on Goodreads. I really can not wait to see how the storyline and the characters grow.

Favorite Quotes:

" Being a bastard's more of a compulsion, really"  -Zsadist

"God spare me the heroes,"she muttered. "Back the fuck off"

"And why had those prayers focused heavenward? Well, it kind of made sense, didn't it? Even when there were no more options for the body, the heart's wishes find a way out, and as with all the warmth, love rises"

Mary"You are a manipulator" /Rhage: "I like to think of myself more as an outcome engineer"

For more reviews be sure to follow me at www.delawarebookaddict.blogspot.com and www.facebook.com\thebookbabeofde

Some of The Most Romantic Words Ever Written