Saturday, April 12, 2014

#Review & #Giveaway: Reason Series (Books 1-4) CLOSED

Book Title: The Reason Series
Author: Zoey Derrick |WebsiteTwitter| Facebook|
Publisher: Zoey Derrick Publishing
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Series/Standalone: Complete Series
Format: ebook
Cost: $6.99
Pages: 634
How I got it: eARC via Wordsmith Publicity
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Smashwords ~~ Book 1 is FREE
Publication Date: Feb 2014
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Synopsis:
The Collection All four books in Zoey Derrick’s Best-Selling Paranormal Romance Give Me Reason Give Me Hope Give Me Desire Give Me Love Vivienne Callahan has known only hardship. As if growing up with an alcoholic, drug addicted mother wasn’t traumatic enough, she’s escaped from her physically and verbally abusive boyfriend only to struggle every day to make ends meet as a waitress in a Minneapolis diner. Along comes Mikah Blake…
Make sure to Follow the Tour to the other stops for excerpts, quotes, reviews & guest posts by clicking here

Amazon Best Selling Angels, Demons & Devils and Paranormal Author of Give Me Reason - The Reason Series Book One comes from Glendale, Arizona. Zoey, was a mortgage underwriter by day and is now a paranormal, romance and erotica novelist full-time. She writes stories as hot as the desert sun itself. It is this passion that drips off of her work, bringing excitement to anyone who enjoys a good and sensual love story.
 

Not only does she aim to take her readers on an erotic dance that lasts the night, it allows her to empty her mind of stories we all wish were true.
 Her stories are hopeful yet true to life, skillfully avoiding melodrama and the unrealistic, bringing her gripping Erotica only closer to the heart of those that dare dipping into it. 
 

The intimacy of her fantasies that she shares with her readers is thrilling and encouraging, climactic yet full of suspense. She is a loving mistress, up for anything, of which any reader is doomed to return to again and again.


I'm glad I read this as the full collection because it wasn't until the end that I realized that the 'chapters' were the actual books.  They flowed well with very little break so you didn't feel the change from each book.  They do however change perspective each time the book changes and that's kinda how you know it's a new book.  The first book is solely from Viv's pov, then the second from Mikah's then the third & forth from both their points of view with a few others thrown in.

I liked the build up to whatever was coming. Books I & 2 gave a great background story for each of the main characters, and book 3 had a few surprises thrown in that helped to change the perspectives of each character involved.  The introduction to their powers and what they were came with great reactions (somewhat realistic if you asked me).Book four completed the changes in perspective, as we learned some secrets that others were keeping.

Viv's life hasn't been easy and she's not at all down for taking charity from someone even though she's struggling pretty darn hard.  There were moments of reading Viv's life where I really felt for her, to be that broke and to be that alone has got to suck.  I've been college student broke, but she's on a whole other level of broke, she was pretty darn close to not making it work at all.  Having been dealt a really bad hand she's trying to take it one day at a time, which means she's not at all aware of all the help out there, nor is she thinking about what that bump means.  Life is pretty tough as it is, thinking too far ahead might just break her.  Enter in Mikah, who is following a hunch which leads him right to the diner that Viv works, not knowing what else to do, he starts coming back and even bringing a few of his friends.  Viv is numb and hiding from the truth of her condition, but slowly with Mikah's constant attention she progresses towards hope.

I liked book one & two, because it was a great story of recovering from trauma, of learning to lean on others, learning to trust, and even going beyond what you thought was your fate. There are growing pains, as Viv isn't used to trusting and she sometimes overreacts to simple things & way under reacts to the big things.   I liked the story as the first two books laid it out: them growing together, healing, and getting rid of the bad guy.  Miakh is a guy who is used to getting what he wants, having suffered a bit in his personal life, he does what he can to help those in need. he has a feeling that draws him to the diner to where Viv is and he can't stop himself from trying to help.  His insistence on helping, makes Viv nervous because she's only ever know 'kindness with a price'. And Mickah doesn't know how to back down when he sees someone in need.

Then book three somethings happened and it kinds got weird.  I'll be honest I really didn't know what the whole series was about so the paranormal aspect was kinda new to me.  (Although it's been popping up throughout the whole novel book three takes it to a whole other level)  For me the addition of a certain character as a way to explain some of the earlier things going on in her life was kinda out of left field, because up until now, it's just been because humans suck, now it's someone else entirely. The reveal was weird and just didn't gel for me.

Once this character is revealed, Viv's whole story changes, it's no longer about her just learning to love and go beyond merely existing, she's all of a sudden the "biggest most important thing ever". Even with this transition change, it was still good enough to keep me entertained and engaged; the vagueness of the reasoning of why these things were happening kinda threw me, heck even the characters called out certain people for their vague answers.  Because it was so vague, the third book kinda dragged, there was no real action, very little character progress, just the mundane changes of their development. Although they grew more as a couple in book three and really began to explore who they were to each other. And I mean really explore each other!! The chemistry that's been banked before comes roaring to life in this book.

I did like Mikah, however I felt after a while like he wasn't a realistic portrayal of a guy. He felt too 'perfect' his reactions after a while became way too "just exactly" what they should be, maybe because he's grown up knowing the stories. I don't know, but it just after a while didn't feel like a guy, at least not an Alpha man, who by his age had turned his business into something so successful.  He started off great, strong, Alpha, then he kinda just became like a half version of himself (if that makes sense).  In books one and two he was really strong, and yet struggling with the changes in his life, after a while it became almost like the struggle never happened, he would say it, but nothing about his demeanor showed it.

In book four we begin to see the full spectrum of the story, and who each character really is and how they affect the full arc of the story.  Each person in their lives become a little more important than before, secrets are revealed, intrigue happens, someone get punished for stepping out of line, and shyt gets real.  We see the full growth potential in Mikah & Viv,and even though she's really grown as a character, she still has her moments of complete stubbornness.(and I'm here for it!!)

In the end I felt the books were great as a whole, however taken individually I would have personally skipped reading book three (although to be fair it would have been hard to know what was happening in four without book three). Book four gave a good conclusion to the story of Viv & Mikah, however it left room for I guess the other characters, as new questions and new romances were introduced before the end of the story.  There were a few plot holes, questions and characters that were not followed up on so I'm left wondering if there is going to be more  It should be interesting to see where the author takes this plot.
★★★1/2☆
And now it's time for the Giveaway, Best of Luck to everyone!!
a Rafflecopter giveaway


eARC given to me via 




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