Monday, May 21, 2018

13 REASONS WHY Season 2 got it WRONG



I'll admit, even as a 33 year old married woman, I was pumped for Season 2 of 13 Reasons Why. And after binge watching the entire season in twenty-four hours I can definitively tell you that I wont be for Season 3. 

Here are MY reasons why....

1. They butchered Hannah’s character. In Season One, her monologue tapes were riveting, painting an experience that many High School kids have unfortunately been a victim of. They were her raw truth and although it was tough to watch her suicide, it was her story to tell. Then in Season 2 they turned her into a liar, a ghost liar no less. A. LIAR. A stereotype that women who are victims of sexual assault have to battle. Why add in the secret sexual relationship with Zach and her side ‘conversations’ with Bryce? Why leave that out of her tapes? Maybe this would have come across differently, more powerful if her ghost character wasn’t lurking awkwardly in the background. It just didn’t translate for me.

2. Clay’s blatant mental illness was seemingly ignored until Episode 11, then only given three minutes of screen time. The kid is under a microscope, talking to a dead girl and no one notices? Come on. Enter eye roll.

3. Clay’s parents are the perfect example on how not to raise a teenager. A lock on his bedroom door? Letting him leave all hours of the night? Ignoring his constantly beat up face? Rewarding his terrible behavior with a new car? 
….I cant.

4. The hints of a school shooting plot were borderline irresponsibly handled. Tyler either needed to be the focus of more episodes or cut out altogether. Such a relevant topic should have been hit head on, like Hanna’s suicide in Season 1. Instead Tyler shows up with an arsenal of weapons and is treated like he just showed up armed with a bad attitude.
(I'm not ready to touch on the mop scene yet)

5.   Are all High School Baseball Coaches this douchie? Yes, I know this isn’t a reason.

6. What was the point of the introduction of Skye into the equation? To show that Clay is drawn to broken females? It was forgettable filler bullshit in the first few episodes for me. I never felt their connection and was happy to see that storyline fade out.

7. Why didn’t Clay make copies of the Polaroids? A petty plot complaint, I know, but it still annoyed me. Come on kid, scan that shit!

8.Why is Justin forgiven and suddenly the heroin addict anti-hero of the story? Barf

9. Why is ghost Hannah’s hair long?

10. They ripped the power from Season 1 and left a weak trail of side stories in its path. It lacked the focus that each tape episode provided and tried to combine to many character plots.

11. How do these teenagers have such easy access to guns? Now that could have been in important and controversial story to tell.

12. The underlying message this season was that adults have failed us. Principals. Teachers. Parents. Coaches. Guidance Counselors. Judges. It missed the mark by a mile and screams to younger viewers that you can’t trust the people who are supposed to protected you and that school isn’t a safe place but a war zone.

13. I wouldn’t watch it again, and to me, that is the only reason I really need.




Wednesday, March 1, 2017

ARC of Manipulating The Assassin: A Twisted Tales Short Story!!

Who wants an ARC for a honest review?! Drop your Kindle email in the comments, and make sure to add laurenreignromance@gmail.com to your approved sender list.




She’s running for her life.
He’s the assassin hired to hunt her down.
A dangerous game of manipulation will twist their lives together.

Kimber Wellington skipped town with a USB drive that could collapse her family’s empire. After her sadistic step-brother, Marco, hostilely takes over the business from her father, he makes it his only priority to find Kimber and the information that could ruin him. Kimber has strategized how to stay out of Marco’s clutches, but she didn’t plan on the monster that finds her.
Rye Anderson is ruthless. He kills without regret, collects the paycheck and enjoys a solitary life. The last hassle he wants to deal with is tracking a socialite across the country, a job he accepts as a favor. Rye assumes that delivering the twenty-three-year-old college student will be a quick, easy payday. He soon realizes that his underestimation of Kimber could be a game changer.

WARNING: This is a sexually explicit, foul language filled non-traditional dark romantic suspense. It is not intended for sensitive readers or anyone under the age of 18.



Thank you!! xoxo

Thursday, November 10, 2016

My Election 2016 thoughts....


....Just kidding!

But I do think everyone should take a breath, a shot of Vodka and read one of the following books.

1. The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales - Seriously. It's hilariously silly and a great escape from reality.
Link to Amazon

2. Where the sidewalk ends - If you don't own this one, you really should. These poems will calm your soul. Link to Amazon


If those suggestions fail at helping you feel better, please watch Elf. I dare you to be in a bad mood after watching it! Link to Amazon


You're welcome! :)









Thursday, October 20, 2016

Outlining is for crime scenes


Most authors are outliners. They completely plot out a novel on paper before attempting to type the actual words. I am NOT one of those authors. Outlining, for me, is as painful a process as writing a book blurb. I don't enjoy it, nor is it how my brain works. I write in scenes, usually completely out of order, then I work to mesh them together into a story.

The best plot twists for me come at night, usually right before bed. This is equal parts awesome as it is annoying. If I’m beyond exhausted and don't bother to write the idea down, it floats away never to be remembered again. But when laziness fails to win, and the words flow into my bedside notebook, it almost always results in magic. 

My process has been different for all 3 of The Deceptive Lovers Series books.

With Web of Deceit I started in the middle. I know the exact scene I needed to perfect before moving back and forth to create the story. 

With Deadly Omissions I started toward the end. Those characters spoke to me about a certain scene that had to happen in order to set up book 3, Twisted Denial, so I wrote away. 

With Twisted Denial, my current work in progress and book 3 in The Deceptive Lovers Series, I started at the beginning. I knew how Morgan's story would start and felt that needed to be established first.  Then I jumped right into the middle, which is what I’m currently working on.

There is no specific flow that I follow, but I never, ever, ever write a story in chapter order.

Moral of the story: I'm a weido writer with a wacky process.


Barnes and Noble: http://goo.gl/RBWOJi