Rancher Book #1

 A Hero's Honor by Tessa Layne 

Not a bad start to the series. Travis is the police chief and a former SEAL. Elaine is a single mom working at a diner. They make googoo eyes at each other but nothing ever happens. He has rules that she doesn't fit. Then, he ends up running for sheriff and she becomes his treasurer. He is dealing with demons from his last mission and finally decides to get therapy. She is dealing with probation and the guy running against Travis tried to assault her but got away with it. Travis handles the news of her previous arrest badly but apologizes after beating up the guy he's running against. He loses the race for sheriff, but has already decided on being a rancher. They get married. This wasn't as high stakes as some of these types of books can be, which was nice. I enjoyed it and will be continuing the series.  

Paranormal Cozy Mystery

 If Walls Could Talk by Juliet Blackwell 

I love a cozy mystery. I don't mind a paranormal cozy mystery. This should have worked but the male characters all fell flat. Mel is a contractor. She is friends with Matt who is redoing a historic house. Kenneth gets attacked at the house and dies as a result. Now, he's haunting her. The police investigator isn't concerned with the case. Cal-OSHA is involved and a guy she had a crush on before her marriage and divorce is the one on the case. She does all the work and figures out that the investors were behind the attack. She also puts to rest another ghost who was haunting the house. I wouldn't mind if this was just her ghost busting while remodeling houses. But, with a cozy mystery there is always a love interest and the available options are not good. 

Dark Fairytale

 Scarred by Emily McIntire 

I was disappointed in this book. I wanted to like it but I never connected with any of the characters. I liked book 1 and was looking forward to this, but it fell flat. Sara is sent to marry King Michael and then kill him because he killed her father. Michael is horrible, but she plays the game. Prince Tristan is the younger brother and he also wants his brother dead, because he killed their father, and because he thinks he would be a better king. Tristan is the leader of the rebels and they are working on taking over the kingdom. Tristan and Sara has similar goals, but they don't know that about each other until Sara discovers Tristan with the rebels. Then, her uncle tells her that it was the rebels that really killed her father so now, she's fully in love with Tristan but feels betrayed. But, she won't stop sleeping with him. Then, she finds out that this was all really orchestrated by her uncle so he could be in charge and that he killed her father. Tristan gets captured, but Sara breaks him out. They get married and rule until Simon, Michaels bastard, is old enough and they crown him king. It should be been good; I love political intrigue, but it just wasn't.  

YA Paranormal Romance #1.5

 Oblivion by Jennifer L. Armentrout

This was book 1, but entirely from Daemon's point of view. Also, they insist on pronouncing his name Demon and I refuse to do that, so I called him Damon the entire time. I love a POV change and this was enjoyable, if a bit redundant.  

Disappointing

 Children of Anguish and Anarchy  by Tomi Adeyemi 

I am so disappointed because I wanted to like this. Book 1 was amazing. Book 2 was a bit of a let down, but that happens. But this? First, it wasn't where I expected the story to go. Second, the emotional punch of the ending was lackluster and I didn't believe it; if there is another book I fully expect the ending to be undone. Zele and company have been captured. They are being held captive on a boat. The captain is killing hostages while he looks for some mystery person that can join with a medallion that is eventually going to turn him into a god. Surprise, it's Zele. They managed to counteract her powers but now, with the medallion she has new powers: storm powers. Her brother leads a rebellion and they all get off the ship and end up on an island somewhere. Zele is having visions of a girl she has to find and protect. They set sail for a different island and immediately get attacked by the locals. But, Zele is able to talk them out of killing them. And, the girl she was looking for is right there. Something happens and Zele dies but they bring her back to life. They make a plan to go attack the captors. It was a setup. Zele dies again but Inan exchanges his life for hers and she lives. They kill the captors. Zele and company, minus Inan who is dead (again), return home. I was expecting a story focused on uniting their people after the civil war. I was not expecting human trafficking and transatlantic slave conditions. This did not live up to book 1 and did not rebound from book 2.  

Boring

 Tales of Troy and Greece by Andrew Lang

This was quite possibly the most boring retelling of Greek stories that I have ever experienced. Achilles and the Trojan war? Boring. The Odyssey? Boring. Jason and the Argonates? Short and boring. Perseus and Medusa? Boring. And there was another story, but it was so boring I zoned out and forgot all about it.  

Emotional Damage

 Sunrise on the Reaping  by Suzanne Collins 

This was by far the most emotionally devastating of the series. Haymitch doesn't even get legitimately reaped; the guy that got reaped ran and he was killed. Then Lenore Dove, Haymitch's girlfriend tries to intervene and he has to get involved to save her. That act gets him assigned as the replacement. He wants to work with Louella, who he has kind of been looking out for since forever; she used to follow him around call herself his sweetheart so now he calls her that. He doesn't want to work with Maysilee or Wyatt - her because she's mean and him because he comes from a family of gamblers. Then, at the parade their horses get spooked and Haymitch tries to save Louella, but she dies. But, she doesn't stay "dead" because the Capitol brings in a body double that is being controlled by (presumable) Snow. They call her Lou Lou and have to take care of her. Haymitch get approached by Ampert to join his non-careers pack. He brings the other 3 tributes from his district with him. But, Haymitch is sent to a meeting with Snow and he knows he's being targeted; he gets a 1 as his score for sponsors. Haymitch decides it's best if he goes it alone, but not completely alone because he was approached by Beetee about destroying the arena. Therefore, he has to work with Ampert because Beetee is getting in the explosives through him. Haymitch manages some sabatoge, but not enough. Ampert dies, violently. Beetee had to watch his son get mauled by mutts. Lou Lou dies. He and Maysilee team up since they are the only ones left from their district. That doesn't last long because of how few are left. Maysilee makes a stand against the game makers and she gets killed violently by mutts. Haymitch ends up winning by staying by the edge of the arena, dodging an ax, and watching it bounce back up from the force field and impaling the thrower. When he gets home, it's just in time for the funerals of the 3 fallen tributes. Then, the house he grew up in is set on fire and they can't save his mom and little brother. Then, Lenore Dove is also killed. Everyone he has ever loved is dead and he knows that he's a target so he turns to drink and distances himself from all of his friends to keep them safe. Then we find out that Katnisses dad, Burdock, was one of his best friends, and that he watched Katniss grow up. Also, there had never been any victors from District 12 so Mags and Wiress both volunteered to be their mentors. This answered to many questions about Haymitch and his past, and some that I didn't even realize I had.