Book Reviews: In Flight by R. K. Lilley and Dark Lover by J. R. Ward

Hello there again. I'm talking books now. Not Fifty Shades anymore. Okay. During my two-weeks of exam, I, Liely, who have promised to not roaming the Internet anymore has broken my own rule. I did roam. And the result, a very terrible time in answering my exam papers (coz I didn't study at home at all, I only opened my book when I reached the school) and more than 7 novels done reading. Man, I even forgot some of the titles. I've read too much.

In Flight (Up In The Air #1) by R. K. Lilley

        This is the first book that I've got to finish during those two weeks. Okay. This story has the same ambience as Fifty Shades but somehow I have to say that I don't like it as much as Fifty Shades.

        This story is about a stewardess named Bianca who has a terrible past behind her and one day, one of the first class passengers offered her a chance that seems like a-once-in-a-lifetime-kinda-chance. That passenger, James Cavendish has a unique taste in, guess what, BDSM. Hell yeah. It's another Christian Grey but what he did in this story passed the limit of BDSM in Fifty Shades. Again, I need to emphasize that BDSM is not really my thing, so yeah I sorta skimmed through the pages when it got down to that particular part.

         Nevermind that, I also cannot seem to relate with the rest of the character. Bianca is a hottie. I can't sit well with that fact alone. Other than her gruesome past, she's a dull character. I found myself disliking her a bit.

         Anyway, there are two more books in this trilogy and I don't see myself reading them in this near future (far future, maybe). I don't know why, it seems that Fifty Shades is the only BDSM-themed novel that I could stand. The same thing happened with the Crossfire trilogy, you know. I just can't seem to love the character as much as I love Christian and Ana.

Dark Lover (Black Dagger Brotherhood #1) by J. R. Ward

          This is one of the books that I love during those two short weeks. It is actually a story about vampire romance but without the whole sparkles thingy. In fact, the vampire in this novel is more believable than Twilight. The vampires can't get out during day and they drank blood, but only from the other vampire. No human blood this time, people.

         Now then, this story is about a woman named Beth and she is  half-vampire. She needed the blood of another strong vampire to help her survive her transition into as full-fledged vampire. Well, there comes Wrath, the only pure-blood vampire—kinda reminded me of Vampire Knight—who happened to be the King of Vampire. Beth's father was actually Wrath's closest friend and he died after asking for Wrath's help to save her daughter from the torturing transition which can easily kill an unprepared vampire. So, the story moved on from there.

“I'm going to talk to her." 

"And how's that going to go? You're just going to walk up to her and say, 'Hey, I know you've never seen me before, but I'm your dad. Oh, and guess what? You've won the evolutionary lottery: You're a vampire. Let's go to Disneyland!” - Dark Lover

Whoa. Fangs. She had fangs. She leaned in, prodded them a little. Eating with those puppies was going to take some getting used to, she thought. On impulse, she brought up her hands, turned her fingers into claws. Hissed.  Cool. - Beth, Dark Lover

        Beth was, hands-down people, one of my favourite female leads. I surprised myself, in fact. She's not overly dramatic, which I love about her the most. Plus, she's reliable, independent and in my opinion, is the perfect queen for the vampire kind. :)  Wrath, on the other hand, is a different kind of male lead. He's not perfect. He's visually impaired since he was a child. Later, in the story, he became completely blind (I think). Before he met Beth, he was portrayed as a cruel man but that changed. It was actually quite refreshing to see someone coping with his own weakness and not become this perfect guy that we always imagined a male lead should be. Though, sometimes I do hate the fact that he can't see Beth's face clearly. However, that didn't prevent their romance to spark like fireworks.

He kissed her a little more deeply and was happy to hear her gasp of pleasure. The sound brought his erection back to life, and he brushed his fingertips over her collarbone. "How 'bout you hop on up here with me?" 

"I don't think you're quite ready for that yet." 

"Wanna bet?" He took her hand and put it under the hospital sheets. The throaty laugh as she gripped him gently was yet another marvel. Just like her constant presence in his room, her fierce protection of him, her love, her strength. She was everything to him. His whole world. He'd gone from being blasé about his death to being desperate to live. For her. For them. For their future.  

"What do you say we give it another day?" she said. 

"An hour." 

"Until you can sit up on your own." 

"Deal." Thank God he was a fast healer. 

.....

Wrath struggled on the bed, trying to force himself upright so that he bore the weight of his upper body on his hips. 

Beth watched him the whole time, refusing to help. 

When he was steady, he rubbed his hands together in anticipation. He could feel her skin already. 

"Wrath," she said with warning as he beamed at her. 

"Come up here, leelan, A deal's a deal.” 

       Oh dear, I love their romance. Wrath is just so protective (not possessive, mostly). I love to see when he lost control whenever Beth is involved. And Beth, as I just said, is just so lovable. I think that they are perfect for each other.

“That is one fine female, true?" V said.

There was a low, affirmative grumble.

"And someone you do not want to mess with," the brother continued. "Man, you should have seen her when we came into that barn. She was standing over his body, ready to take the cop and me on with her bare hands if she had to. Like Wrath was her cub, you feel me?"

"Wonder if she has a sister?" Rhage asked.

Phury laughed. "You wouldn't know what to do with yourself if you ran into a female of worth." - Dark Lover

        In conclusion, I would advise anyone who want a mature (more mature) version of Twilight. Heck, this one is far more better than Twilight. It's more in-depth, and all the character have their own background stories. (There is no sparkles here, guys). It have a lot of sequels, so prepare yourself if you're not a patient reader like I am.

        Okay. More books review is coming next.

Book Nerd Forever,

Liely

P.S. My internet connection is so bad!