Fallen Too Far Book Review

Title: Fallen Too Far
Series: Rosemary Beach (Book #1)
Author: Abbi Glines
Genre: Romance, Contemporary, New Adult
Rating: Nothing. Zero. Nada. No stars at all.
What It's About: This girl named Blaire goes to her dad's new house where he lives with some woman he just married, but her dad and new stepmother aren't there and this huge house is only inhabited by Blaire's hot stepbrother - Rush. Blaire moves into the house and I am having so much trouble summarizing this book. Just go to the review section.
Recommended For: PLEASE DON'T READ THIS BOOK

Review: I normally finish books before I review them. I like to give them a chance to turn themselves around by the ending and I want to have the whole story before I pick the book apart. But I could not finish this book. It felt like I was being tortured while reading this. I got about 4/5 of the way through, and even though I only had a little bit left, I just couldn't do it. About a year ago, I read a book called Sweet Evil and I've since said it is the worst book I've ever read. This is still true, but Fallen Too Far is the second worst. You'd think that my biggest problem would be the almost-incest but no. There's much worse happening in this book. Blaire is just a bitch. This girl gets mad when Rush chooses his biological sister over her, and she stands there and watches Rush have sex with other girls. Even though Rush is okay with this (why?) the girls he's having sex probably do not want some creeper watching them. It's supposed to be "hot" that Blaire is watching them but if she's doing so without the girls knowing, that's not "steamy" or "sexy." That's being a fucking pervert. I feel like bugs are crawling on my skin just thinking about it.
And there's Rush. He's just your typical hunky, charity working, golf course owning, mansion dwelling, bad boy with a troubled past, member of rockstar royalty. His feelings for Blaire come out of nowhere. There's no development or even seeing why they like each other besides physical attraction. This is one of the worst cases of insta-love that I've ever seen. Rush invites Blaire to a party and then gets mad at her when she shows up??????? That literally makes no sense at all. He gets this intense jealously whenever Blaire so much as blinks at another guy and he's so cliche and laughable that I can't take him seriously as a character. Another character - whose name I can't be bothered to find - is an employee at the golf course where Blaire works. And this girl can't stop having sex with the guests at the course. But then it's SO overdone and corny. She's standing near one of the guys who she likes to do the hanky panky with and she's one word away from taking off all of her clothes right there in front of everyone. Blaire gets put "in charge" of this girl and I'm like"???????" This girl is in her twenties and she can't control herself while on the job and you want to make someone else babysit her rather than just firing her? There's Nan, Rush's actual sister, and we get hints that something happened between Nan and Rush and by the time I finished the book, we hadn't found out what it was, but this plot line was almost interesting. But that all got fucked up because Nan acts like she's in middle school. She bullies Blaire and "ruins her work uniform" because she's salty about Blaire and Rush. This is so juvenile. Who would write this shit? Who would publish this shit?
There is no plot beyond Rush and Blaire with a side order of Nan and the Me So Horny Girl who all want to bang someone else in the book. I get that this is a romance, and it should center around romance, but not one that doesn't make any sense and isn't compelling in any way. There are other things going on that would be much better side plots than Nan and the Me So Horny Girl, such as the death of Blaire's twin, her father being a jerk, her mother's death. But no. Instead we get all this boring crap about these terrible characters, mixed with cringe-worthy dialogue ("all females need a phone") and bad writing.
Goodreads, I hate you. You made me think this book would be good (why does this have a 4.26 rating?) There are much better New Adult books out there. Don't waste your time on this one.
Links:
Goodreads
Book Depository (if you just really want to laugh at all this book has to offer)

"Shadowhunters" Casting: Jace Wayland

The Shadowhunter Chronicles is my favorite series, with my favorite of the series within them being The Mortal Instruments. You all know the story by now: the first movie flopped, the second movie got the ax, and just when all hope seemed to be gone, the Shadowhunters were back in black with a TV series. One of the biggest problems I had with the upcoming TV series was the casting. I LOVE adaptations, even if the plot lines get a little wonky, because what matters to me is the characters. If an adaptation has actors that are fantastic at being their characters, then I have no complaints. But with the City of Bones movie, sadly, I wasn't impressed with a few of the actors, including Jamie Campbell Bower as Jace. I love me some Jamie, I remember how fun and entertaining he was during the press tour for the movie, and how he had that lion-esque look to him. I was really feeling him as Jace... then I saw the movie. I thought that a lot of his lines were very stiff and awkward and didn't truly capture the essence of who Jace is. He sounded bored by everything and was deadpan, but Jace is an energetic character. He's got this Stiles Stilinski sense of humor with a Vampire Spike attitude. And I wasn't feeling that at all from Jamie.

So then last week when we were told that we were getting the casting of the great Jace Wayland (and I'm using that name to avoid spoilers) I was obviously wary. There was no actor who would do a television series, who wasn't busy with other projects, and who had the talent to pull off Jace's character. I told myself I'd accept whoever they cast, and that I still had other cast members to look forward to if I didn't like the choice for Jace. But that all went away when in walked our lord and savior: Dominic Sherwood.
I don't know if you guys saw that awful Vampire Academy movie (though judging by the box office numbers, you probably didn't see it) but DOMINIC FREAKING SHERWOOD. He was the only good part about that movie. I went in thinking "Yes! Time for some Rose Hathaway ass kicking" and I left the movie screaming "I WILL FIRE MAGIC YOU INTO ASH!" Christian Ozera (played by Mr. Sherwood) in his small amount of screen time, completely stole the show. He was funny and sarcastic and even though he was dark and broody at times, there was still a commanding presence from him so that my attention automatically gravitated toward him.
And I think that's a really good thing for our new Jace to have because in the books, Jace is the scene-stealer. His presence on the page reels you in from the moment that he appears. And that's what Jace needs to be like in the TV series. With the movie, I felt like Jace/Jamie was kind of in the background and secondary to Clary/Lily and Simon/Robert, who had to carry most of the movie on their tiny shoulders. But with a TV series, Jace needs to be as compelling as Clary. We're automatically Team Clary because we're going through this journey as her companion. With Jace, we need to see why Clary is so fascinated by him and what makes him so special as a character. These stoic male heroes are so played out. We need an actor who can make Jace as interesting and fun as Jace should be. I know that sometimes the script can play a part in how a character turns out, but while I watched the movie, there were lines that could have had more pep in them, but didn't. I just used the word "pep" in a sentence describing the fiercest warrior in the entire Shadow World. Okay then. Moving along.
I know that it's too early to make big judgments on how Dominic will do as Jace, but as of now, I am extremely optimistic. The Shadowhunters TV series could be very well done if they get the actors and characterization right. Next, we are supposed to get our Clary (I have heard rumors of it being this upcoming week, before May first) and then in the couple of weeks after, we'll be getting other cast members as well and starting shooting! I'm excited for how this is all coming together so far.

If you'd like to see our new Jace in action, you can go watch Vampire Academy on Netflix (check here if it's not available on the Netflix your country has)
I will be making weekly to bi-weekly posts about Shadowhunters news and my feels and kitten gifs so stick around here for more of my thoughts and opinions!
For more updates as they're released, follow me on Tumblr at Silverforthedemontowers and Instagram at Silverforthedemontowers

"Welcome to Shadowhunter Academy" Novella Review

Title: Welcome to Shadowhunter Academy
Series: Tales From the Shadowhunter Academy (Novella #1) and The Shadowhunter Chronicles
Author: Cassandra Clare and Sarah Rees Brennan
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 8 out of 10 possums in the wardrobe

*WARNING: THIS REVIEW WILL SPOIL CITY OF HEAVENLY FIRE*

What It's About: Simon Lewis has gone from being a mundane to a vampire to a mundane again and now he's training to become a Shadowhunter. He's lost his memories, and though a few of them are coming back, he doesn't remember this adventures, his heroics, or his friends. Simon is sent to the Shadowhunter Academy in Idris, where he's going to spend two years learning about Shadowhunter history and trying to become the hero he once was. This first novella introduces Simon and the reader to the Academy and the new cast of characters.

Recommended For: Fans of the Shadowhunter Chronicles

Review: I was not too thrilled with the Bane Chronicles because I felt like it was irrelevant to what was happening in the rest of the Shadowhunter Chronicles. But with The Shadowhunter Academy, we know that each story is going to tie into another part of the Shadowhunter books. I also feel like this series will be the perfect bridge between The Mortal Instruments and The Dark Artifices. I really like the new characters. George Lovelace is Simon's roommate (who hopefully meets a better fate than Simon's last roommate) and he immediately jumps off the page, Catarina Loss is a warlock who works at the Academy and she's just as fun as the other warlocks we've gotten to know. The Academy is very rundown and gross and the food is terrible, and the Shadowhunters are still a bunch of racist pricks. I like that this two year journey isn't going to be easy for Simon. But the one thing I do not like goes back to City of Heavenly Fire. Taking Simon's memories makes this a lot less fun. I feel like when he's going through training and learning Shadowhunter history, it'd be a lot more fun if we saw him draw comparisons to his past experience with Shadowhunters. When he only knows a tenth of all that he went through, there are a lot of missed opportunities for inside jokes with the reader. And it makes his interactions with his old friends seem... off. I can't enjoy Simon talking to Isabelle because it's not really Simon. I should be jumping for joy when Izzy shows up and shouts at everyone that Simon is her boyfriend, but I can't. The amnesia plot device takes a lot more away from the story than it adds to it. But anyway, I'm definitely going to enjoy reading the rest of the ebooks as they come out, and each one will somehow tie into The Last Hours and The Dark Artifices, which can help boost both series and provide more background than we currently have.

Links:
Amazon
Goodreads