Review: Chasing My Dream by Jeff Erno

Sixteen year old Nash Adams feels like the token gay guy in his small, northern Michigan high school. When his boyfriend dumps him on the very night they're supposed to go to the carnival together, Nash wonders if he'll ever find the guy of his dreams. Later that night, beneath a full moon, Nash gazes into the midnight sky and sees a shooting star. At the urging of his best friend Cala, he halfheartedly makes a wish. A few miles away, Caleb Cummings lies on the beach staring up at the sky when he notices a star that seems to be moving. He makes a wish of his own. When Nash and Caleb fall asleep that night, they wake up together. Though at first confused, it doesn't take long to figure out what has happened. They've entered each other's dreams. Initially they're each convinced the other is a figment of their imagination, but when the phenomena continues to occur, night after night, Nash wonders if there might be a way to find Caleb in real life. It shouldn't be difficult to find someone in this modern, technological age. But as he begins his search, he faces numerous frustrating obstacles. Eventually he has to decide if it is even worth the effort to keep searching for an imaginary friend. Maybe he should give up on his dream guy and look for someone in the real world.

Low ansgt and highly adorable.

Both Nash and Caleb want a boyfriend so badly that they wish on a shooting star to find someone. They wish for each other and on the same shooting star. D'aaawww! 

Everything was very serendipitous and you really need to suspend your disbelief in order to enjoy this sweet tale. Once I got to the point where I realized, 'Yes, they wished for each other and yes, they meet in each others dreams and that's OK,' I was able to completely devour and really like Nash and Caleb.

They tried to go through the trouble of finding each other outside of their dreams, but it couldn't be forced. Nash would try FB and then Caleb wouldn't have access to a computer. Or they would go to the same restaurant and just miss each other. Etc. Serendipity. Tis a bitch.

Both had some serious struggles to deal with in their real lives, Caleb more than Nash, but I liked that, even though they didn't really know each other, they were fully supportive. They had this whole 'we were meant to be together' vibe right from the start and they just went with it. They did have their suspicions and doubts, but I think that they really knew that they met for a reason, no matter how crazy it all sounded. They believed in each other and it showed.

Caleb. Poor, Caleb. He had to deal with a lot of crap from his parents. His mom did (mostly) win me over, but it really wasn't enough. She's still on my list. I can't believe that a mother would let someone talk to her kid like that. No matter who they were! Ugh. She didn't deserve her ending.

Speaking of endings, it was completely predictable, but by this point I was already used to all the coincidental happenings, so it fit.

All in all, super cute and I'll be looking forward to reading more from Jeff Erno.

A copy of this book was provided in exchange for an honest review.

 

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Review: Forever Fearless by Jeff Erno

The Forever Vampire saga continues…
In the aftermath of unspeakable slaughter, Robbie and Colt have escaped to the wilds of Alaska to face their immortal future. Things aren't so certain for their mortal enemies, Dylan and Issa, Matarian soldiers sworn to hunt them down and slaughter them.
Dylan is poised to begin his first vampire hunt and wants Issa as his partner, but Issa is far more concerned with finding his brother and tracking down the blond boy who nearly died on the battlefield. The entire cast from book one reunites in this thrilling continuation of their story, joined by a host of new faces--friends and foes--whose lives somehow weave together as they cross paths in their efforts to battle evil and attain their own happiness. Humans, Shifters, Daywalkers, and Purebloods confront each other with the guidance of three enigmatic sisters--one a Maenad, one a necromancer, and the other a human witch. Plot twists and surprises mark the paths of these diverse characters, forever fearless in their quest to cling to all they hold dear.

I read Forever Young, the first in this series, last week and I enjoyed it - a lot - but this book feels as though it has gone up a whole notch in the writing. I found it difficult to put down once I'd started it, the characters really drew me in to the story. I'm not sure why exactly I prefer this one to the first, it just seemed to flow better. The characters came to life just that bit more, the storyline was a tiny bit more gripping. Nothing huge - it was just as if the author felt more comfortable with the whole book this time round.

I liked how in this book we are introduced to a wider range of supernatural creatures as well as the characters we know and love from book 1. I can see this becoming a longer series - I have no idea if Jeff Erno has plans in that direction but I can absolutely see many of these characters with their own stories.

Throughout this book we follow several different character journeys until they combine at the end. I invested a lot in all of them and where I'll often have one or two favourites, I truly didn't this time. I enjoyed them all and wanted to know all their stories.If you enjoy vampire stories I'd say give this one a go - and if you're not sure but want something easy to read but that pulls you into the story give this one a go too. Jeff Erno is an author whose contemporary work I already enjoy - and now I know I enjoy his fantasy stories too I'm a happy unicorn.

A copy of this book was given in exchange for an honest review.

Review: Forever Young by Jeff Erno

In less than a summer, shy and introverted Robbie Myers goes from eighteen and never been kissed to the passionate intensity of first love that could last forever. Literally…

Eighteen-year-old Robbie Myers has difficulty talking to people. Not only is he shy, but he seems to say the wrong thing every time he opens his mouth, especially to the mysterious, handsome stranger who shows up at his supermarket job, defends him from an aggressive colleague and then asks him on a date. He can't believe a hot, worldly badboy like seventeen-year-old Colt Abernathy is actually interested. Yet he can’t deny that the ardor burning in Colt’s dark eyes is just for him. In the space of one breath, Robbie is launched from his plan to attend community college while living at home with his mom and saving up for a car to the tender yet passionate exploration of intense first love. Little does Robbie know…

Brought across during the height of the Civil War, Colt has remained trapped in the body of a lonely seventeen year old. When he spots the slim, blond-haired, blue eyed young man, pushing a line of shopping carts across a parking lot, Colt knows instantly they’re destined for each other. There’s just one major problem: if he survives the impending battle between vampires and the Matarians - an army of brutal vampire slayers - he’s going to live forever. Robbie isn’t…

When the chance to read Forever Young by Jeff Erno came into the clubhouse, I snatched it up - I've read several book by this author and he has an easy style I enjoy, plus vampires. I've not read a vampire novel for ages but it's fair to say I'm a fan of the modern vampires stories, I was really looking forward to this.

I can say, hand on heart, I enjoyed this book. I think Jeff Erno writes lovely characters, characters that truly fall in love. It's not just about a quick fuck in his books, it's about all consuming love. In this book the main couple is Robbie and Colt. To me their relationship had echoes of Edward and Bella, in fact in many places the book echoed Twilight. I don't want that to be mistaken with it being a copy of Twilight, because it certainly isn't. I think it's because this story, like Stephenie Meyer's, does emanate from the relationships involved. The conflict, the fights between humans, vampires and werewolves, the pure bred, older vampires - they're all there, they all form the story's backbone, but truly it is all about relationships. The fight for love against the odds really.

As well as Robbie and Colt we meet Colt's fathers, Richard and Brendan and vampire hunter's Ethan and Issa. Again the relationships of these couples are important to the story. It's a book about making decisions that are hard - to follow your heart or to follow your head? To trust or not to trust. Though many in the book - the extreme elements of each part of this multi-layered society - see things in black and white, wrong or right, kill or be killed, each of the main couples has reason to see the shades of grey - whether they know it or not yet.

So why not four or more hearts? Well as much as I loved the story and Jeff Erno's writing style, at times there were bits that felt rushed.It felt like we were skipping from scene to scene - particularly in the 'action' scenes, almost like the author wanted to get through them so he could write the emotional impact of the scenes, the bit that he does really well. I've never met the author, but I get the impression from his writing that he is one of those people who is filled with sunshine, that he knows the horrible aspects of life, but he chooses to see the good rather than the bad. I think I see this in his writing, the potential good of nearly everyone, if only the right choices were made available.

Also, the beginning felt very tell not show - in fact at odd times throughout I felt things could have been shown instead of told, sometimes just because it was pretty obvious and didn't need explaining. It felt as though it could have had one more read through from a proof reader at times. The grammar etc was fine and the storyline was interesting and, as I mentioned, I loved the characters but there were some bumps that could have been smoothed.

I'm reading the second book next, to be reviewed for tomorrow and I'm really looking forward to it. A lot changed at the end of book one and I can't wait to catch up with the characters in book two.

A copy of this book was given to me by the author in exchange for an honest review.