BOOK REVIEW: OUT OF LINE BY JEN MCLAUGHLIN

Title: Out of Line
Author: Jen McLaughlin
Genre: Romance, New Adult

Published on: April 30, 2013, self-published

Desperate to break free…

I've spent my entire life under my father’s thumb, but now I'm finally free to make my own choices. When my roommate dragged me to my first college party, I met Finn Coram and my life turned inside out. He knows how to break the rules and is everything I never knew I wanted. A Marine by day and surfer by night, he pushes me away even as our attraction brings us closer. Now I am finally free to do whatever I want. I know what I want. I choose Finn.

Trying to play by the rules...

I always follow orders. My job, my life, depends on it. I thought this job would be easy, all the rules were made crystal clear, but when I met Carrie Wallington, everything got muddy. She's a rule I know I shouldn't break, but damn if I don’t inch closer to the breaking point each time I see her. I’m ready to step out of line. And even worse? I’m living a lie. They say the truth will set you free, but in my case…

The truth will cost me everything.

If I could choose a few novels that represent my "cup of tea" when it comes to reading, Out of Line would be among them. Although I’m a guy, I enjoy romance novels (as long as they don’t gush over the male protagonist or have a shirtless dude on the cover). This is the kind of book I wish I’d written if I were an author. I liked the relationship between Finn and Carrie. It develops steadily over the course of the book. They first start out as friends, but right from the start they're aware that they feel something stronger towards each other.

Finn is supposed to be a student at the same college Carrie attends. However, he has a secret of his own: he's Carrie's bodyguard. Finn was sent by her father to make sure she's safe at all times. Yeah, he's that kind of father. I'm frankly horrified by how far this man will go to "protect" Carrie. He's so overly paranoid it's not funny: this weirdo went so far as to have two guards watch Carrie sleep. If he could have some Secret Service agents follow his daughter around (perhaps with a helicopter or two and a SWAT team just in case), he would. It's no wonder that a suffocated Carrie flat-out refused to have a bodyguard. Her father agreed but slipped her one under the table anyway.

BOOK REVIEW: CASSIDY JONES AND THE ETERNAL FLAME BY ELISE STOKES

Title: Cassidy Jones and the Eternal Flame

Author: Elise Stokes

Genre: Science Fiction, Young Adult

Published on: March 5, 2017 by JACE Publishing LLC

Some boundaries should never be crossed…

The diabolic Metal Woman takes three people hostage. Her ransom demand: the location of a mysterious and unprecedented weapon, rumored to have been a gift to the Third Reich from Vulcan, the Roman god of fire.

When a rescue attempt goes sideways, Cassidy Jones seeks justice. Her quest leads her to the Seattle Underground, where she falls into the grip of an inexplicable evil. Cassidy learns too late that her desire for revenge may cost the life of someone she loves.

Another mystery to solve emerges in Cassidy Jones’s latest adventure. She’s a fifteen-year-old superhero who has an array of great powers. Helping in her exploits is Emery Phillips, a teen genius. He’s the son of Serena, the scientist who accidentally gave Cassidy her powers. Cassidy is also now dating Jared Wells, a guy she’s had a crush on for a long time. Their relationship is going well, especially as Jared knows about Cassidy’s powers and her nightly activities. But Jared may be keeping a secret that could drive them apart.

Lily White/Metal Woman is back. She’s a supervillain who first showed up in Vulcan’s Gift. Lily’s body fused with her (mystical?) metallic suit of armor after Cassidy kicked her into a fire. Now, Lily has kidnapped a trio of people who she suspects know the location of something she’s after. Cassidy and Emery catch wind of this not long afterward. The two resolve to find a way to locate Lily and stop her for good. Cassidy can’t wait for another showdown with her. She’s pretty sure she can take the Metal Woman.

BOOK REVIEW: SHADE ME BY JENNIFER BROWN

Title: Shade Me

Author: Jennifer Brown

Genre: Mystery, Young Adult

Published on: January 19, 2016 by Katherine Tegen Books

Nikki Kill has always been an outsider. Born with rare synesthesia, she sees the world differently. In Nikki’s eyes, happiness is pink, sadness is a mixture of brown and green, and lies are gray.

To Nikki, Peyton Hollis, the ultrarich it-girl at school, was seemingly untouchable. That is, until Peyton is violently attacked and the only phone number the hospital finds in Peyton’s cell is Nikki’s. Suddenly Nikki is pulled into Peyton’s glittering, fast-paced world as she tries to unravel an unfolding conspiracy.

As Nikki gets closer to the dark truth—and to Peyton’s gorgeous older brother—the only thing she can be sure of is death is a deep, pulsing crimson. 

The cover art is what first drew me to this book. Then I read the description, and I was hooked. Shade Me introduces Nikki Kill, an outcast with an interesting name. She’s your average high school student, apart from one thing. Nikki has synesthesia, a condition that causes some of her senses to overlap. It makes her “see” emotions as colors. For example, when a room has a happy atmosphere, Nikki sees pink. If someone is being dishonest, she sees gray. Letters, numbers, and words have their own fixed color in her eyes as well. A fun quirk about this is that Nikki memorizes phone numbers by their colors, not the actual digits.

One night, Nikki’s life is changed forever. She gets a call from the hospital, asking her to ID a girl who was just admitted. When Nikki arrives, she’s stunned to see the girl is Peyton Hollis, almost beaten to death. She’s the queen bee at their school and comes from a rich family. The issue is, Nikki and Peyton have never had anything to do with each other. Nikki’s puzzled when a nurse says her phone number was the only one saved in Peyton’s contacts. This makes Detective Chris Martinez (who showed up to investigate Peyton’s attack) curious about Nikki.