My Moral Dilemma

I started book blogging in March of this year and so far it has been an amazing experience. For the most part it has been a lot fun. Before I started my blog, I became obsessed with reading and writing reviews on goodreads. After doing this for a long period of time, I then decided that I would start up my own blog. I can honestly say that this has been by far my favorite hobby. I have grown to love many fun and fabulous Indie authors and I have met some amazing bloggers that I would consider my friends. Through these bloggers and authors, I have also stumbled across a mountain of amazing books to read and I can’t read them fast enough. I no longer read books that I think are just OK. If I’m not “feeling” the book, then I just don’t finish it. There are just way too many fabulous books to spend those precious hours reading.

But then I have had some horrible and heartbreaking experiences. A short time ago, I was contacted by another blogger who told me that one of my reviews had been plagiarized. I confirmed the plagiarism, but my first thoughts were that it was some stupid teen who wanted to copy my review because they were too lazy to read or review the book and they wanted to use other bloggers’ reviews to gain a history in their own blog to get free books. But after doing some major research, I found that this person was actually a Kindergarten teacher. This upset me even more when I found this out. I felt violated. My oldest son is now in first grade and my youngest will start kindergarten next year. So the thought that a teacher who is stealing other’s hard work (claiming it as her own) is also out there influencing young minds really bugs me. Apparently, she is still able to sleep at night knowing that she stole other’s hard work. To me, she obviously doesn’t have the proper morals to be a teacher.

And now I have a new dilemma! As you can tell, morals are important to me. So, there is this book that I received to review for an Indie author that was absolutely fabulous! It was my first favorite Indie book as a book blogger, and I have been anxiously waiting to read her next book. I loved her book so much I have been pimping it out to many others. So, obviously, I was VERY passionate about her book. I even referred to the main character in her book as my new BFF. Everyone else I knew who read her book loved it as well.

Well, about 2 months ago I was having a really hard time getting a hold of her. I knew that the next book in her series should be released shortly and I also wanted to include her in my big birthday giveaway. When I first told her about the giveaway she was super excited. She had all these amazing ideas of what she wanted to include in the giveaway but after that she just disappeared off of the face of the earth. She wasn’t returning any of my emails or tweets. I then noticed that she wasn’t tweeting at all and she hadn’t posted anything on her blog. At that point I removed her from my giveaway. I later received a Direct Message on twitter from her telling me that she had just delivered twins and that her babies were still in ICU. I then reassured her not to worry, that I had already removed her from my giveaway and told her to take care of herself and her twins.

But I have never heard from her since. For the last month I started to get really worried about her. I was trying really hard to get ahold of her to see how she and her babies were doing and I got no reply. I then thought that maybe she purposely separated herself from the outside world and was taking care of her family. So I then decided to get in contact with a blogger I knew who worked with her quite often. My blogger friend provided an article about this author and I was completely shocked! I am still having a hard time believing it is true. But after doing some extensive research and with the help a blogger friend, I found out that the articles are truly about this author, and the story is horrifying to me.

This author is currently in prison and has been charged with felony theft for a craigslist rental scam that’s hit at least 22 victims, the majority of which were military families. She would take a deposit and the first month’s rent that ranged anywhere from $400 to $2200 per victim. The renter would then show up to the property with all his or her belongings to discover that the property was already occupied.

So here is my moral dilemma. Do I remove my reviews from my blog and from anywhere else they are posted? Morally, I know and have always known the right answer. But the devil inside me took over for a while and, after re-reading my review and pondering how much I like the book, I avoided my moral obligation. I kept telling myself, “I still feel the same about the book, no matter who the author is or what she’s done!” And it was especially easy to tell myself it was no big deal because with any author or book I read, I might love the author but dislike the book or I, obviously, might love the book but dislike the author. But I know with this author it’s more than just simple dislike because she has really hurt people, and I shouldn’t help her become successful any longer. So today, I will be going through all the websites that I can think of where I may have posted my review, and I will remove them all.

My last dilemma as a blogger is letting Indie authors down when I am not “feeling” their book. I hate to give Indie authors bad reviews because I know that they put so much time and effort into their work and a lot of their success can stem from positive exposure. So I think I have now decided that if I accept a review from an Indie author and discover, while reading the book, that I probably will not give the book a good review or rating, I will stop reading the book so I do not feel obligated to review it.

***UPDATE*** I ended up deleting my review of the author's book that stole that money from those military families.  I honestly can't support someone that would do something so horrible to someone.

Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins

Publisher's Summary: Three years ago, Sophie Mercer discovered that she was a witch. It's gotten her into a few scrapes. Her non-gifted mother has been as supportive as possible, consulting Sophie's estranged father?an elusive European warlock?only when necessary. But when Sophie attracts too much human attention for a prom-night spell gone horribly wrong, it's her dad who decides her punishment: exile to Hex Hall, an isolated reform school for wayward Prodigium, a.k.a. witches, faeries, and shapeshifters. By the end of her first day among fellow freak-teens, Sophie has quite a scorecard: three powerful enemies who look like supermodels, a futile crush on a gorgeous warlock, a creepy tagalong ghost, and a new roommate who happens to be the most hated person and only vampire on campus. Worse, Sophie soon learns that a mysterious predator has been attacking students, and her only friend is the number-one suspect. As a series of blood-curdling mysteries starts to converge, Sophie prepares for the biggest threat of all: an ancient secret society determined to destroy all Prodigium, especially her.



My Take: After I had already put my copy of Hex Hall off to the side as my next read, I thought maybe I should first take a quick glance to get a little taste of what I would eventually be diving into. Well, I read the Prologue and I KNEW this book would be fabulous and I KNEW I would love the main character. And oh boy was I right! The Prologue is freakin' hilarious! And guess what? You can read it here - Hex Hall Prologue. What did you think? Isn't it freakin’ awesome sauce? And don’t you just love Sophie? She rocks!

Because Sophie cast that fabulous Love Spell, she is sentenced to go to school at Hecate Hall (or as Jenna, Sophie’s roommate, would say "Hex Hall") to avoid more exposure. When Sophie is first introduced to Jenna, her first impression of Jenna is pink! EVERYTHING in her side of the room was hot pink, including the streak in her hair. Can you get anymore sweetly innocent and girly than that? Well, Jenna’s a vamp and the rest of the school thinks she is a monster. So when girls at school keep getting attacked, drained of most or all of their blood and finding holes in their necks, who do you think is the only suspect? Only no one has proof and, besides, a vamp’s bite is normally much more rapacious.

The majority of the story is about Sophie trying to adjust to a lifestyle she has never been a part of, learning about and going to school with Warlocks, Witches, Faeries, Shapeshifters, Werewolves and a Vampire. And most of all, just trying to fit in! Only, when she finds out who her father is, this doesn’t help…it only makes things worse.

Of course there is "the guy" that I, along with probably every other reader, wants Sophie to be with. Only Archer is the boyfriend of the leader of the "Mean Girls." Yep, there are truly Mean Girls in Hex Hall and when Sophie refuses to join their group, she has to suffer their wrath. Knowing that Archer is with this chick was really bugging me. “You have to get to know her.” Yeah right! There is nothing nice about that mean chick.

With all the magical fun, romance and mystery of trying to figure out who is attacking these girls…by far the best parts were the twists at the end! I was like, “What? I didn’t see that coming!” and then I was like, “WHAT? I didn’t see that coming either!” Yeah! There are more than a couple twists.

In all, I have to once again say that this book was a fabulous read!

Purchased with my own money.

Half-Blood by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Publisher's Summary: The Hematoi descend from the unions of gods and mortals, and the children of two Hematoi—pure-bloods—have godlike powers. Children of Hematoi and mortals—well, not so much. Half-bloods only have two options: become trained Sentinels who hunt and kill daimons or become servants in the homes of the pures.

Seventeen-year-old Alexandria would rather risk her life fighting than waste it scrubbing toilets, but she may end up slumming it anyway. There are several rules that students at the Covenant must follow. Alex has problems with them all, but especially rule #1:
Unfortunately, she’s crushing hard on the totally hot pure-blood Aiden. But falling for Aiden isn’t her biggest problem—staying alive long enough to graduate the Covenant and become a Sentinel is. If she fails in her duty, she faces a future worse than death or slavery: being turned into a daimon, and being hunted by Aiden.


My Take: After reading Daimon, I just knew that Half-Blood was going to be amazing, and I was MORE than satisfied! It was Fab-Tab-U-Lous! Reading the highly intense, action-packed Daimon left me wanting to know all about this world Jennifer L. Armentrout has created, and Jennifer did not disappoint in Half-Blood which picked right up where Daimon left off. Good thing too because after reading Daimon, I had tons of questions like: “What are these evil creatures that are after Alex and that killed her mother?” ”What are Pure Bloods?” ”Why did Alex’s mom run away from the Covenant?” ”Why are the Daimon’s saying, “What are you?”” “Who is this boy that Alex has always had a crush on?” And one of the things that I loved most about Half-Blood is that ALL of my questions were answered. Yes…of course, even more doors are opened with this book (hello it’s a series!), but it’s an amazing standalone book on its own.

One thing I decided for sure is that I cannot stand the Covenant’s rules/laws; they truly drove me NUTTY! I won’t go into the details of why they drove me nutty because that is left for you (the reader) to figure out! I wanted to scream in the book, “What the heck is wrong with you people?” But I will give this hint; the rules don’t benefit the Half-bloods, and what I hated most is that even though Half-bloods are treated so horribly, they just go along with it and simply accept that this is how it is! It’s obvious that Alex only knows better because she has lived outside the Covenant in human society and knows that life can be lived differently. The Gods have turned their backs on the Pures, and I am almost wondering if it is because of the way the Pures are living their lives. My thoughts are that the Gods don’t agree with the way the Pures are living and the way they treat their offspring.

When it comes to the romance in Half-Blood, anything that had to do with Aiden was totally HOT! But he’s forbidden. Grrrr!!! Hmm…but does Alex really listen to the (or any) rules? Only, of course, Aiden HAS to be a saint. Now even though I loved reading about the Aiden and Alex romance and wanted so badly for them to be together, I am starting to wonder if I like Seth more! I think I might be Team Seth! (Yummy) Weird, huh? Maybe it’s because I just want Seth for myself! Should I tell Alex that she can have Aiden and I can have Seth? Why the heck do I get all goo-goo-gah-gah over guys that only exist in books?! Maybe I should require that my husband start reading my books so he can get some tips? Nevermind, it just wouldn’t be the same because I love the fantasy!

There is a horrible but fabulous ending to this book, and I am left wondering, “How the heck is Jennifer going to be able to compete with this book in future books?” Well I am more than excited to see where this series leads, and I am more than a little excited to read more about Seth! Woot! Woot!

Half-Blood Trailer


Half-Blood Trailer #2

Provided to me to review by:

Spencer Hill Press