Book Review: Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally

August 20, 2015August 17, 2015Leave a comment

Genre:

Young Adult, online Contemporary, cialis 40mg Romance

Pages:

283 pages

Part of a Series?:

Book #1 of the Hundred Oaks Series

Release Date:

December 1st, 2011

You Can Find the Book At:

GoodReads Summary:

What girl doesn’t want to be surrounded by gorgeous jocks day in and day out? Jordan Woods isn’t just surrounded by hot guys, though-she leads them as the captain and quarterback of her high school football team. They all see her as one of the guys and that’s just fine. As long as she gets her athletic scholarship to a powerhouse university.

But everything she’s ever worked for is threatened when Ty Green moves to her school. Not only is he an amazing QB, but he’s also amazingly hot. And for the first time, Jordan’s feeling vulnerable. Can she keep her head in the game while her heart’s on the line?

My Review:

I had a lot of incredibly high hopes for this novel. Really high hopes. When I heard it was about a girl that plays football and is goal driven on football and it had romance as she kind of falls in love for the first time…I was so sold. Especially since the rest of the series follows a bunch of other sports.

We know how I get when it comes to sports novels.

And I was just disappointed with the book. I loved the character of Jordan and I super loved the character of Sam Henry but honestly, no one else really sold the book for me. The concept was definitely there, and its what kept me turning the pages. It had a ton of potential. The story was there. You have Jordan struggling to prove herself as a girl quarterback, especially with her famous quarterback dad, and she wants them to take her seriously, but she also is a girl and has feelings for boys too and its HARD. The potential is there and I think that’s why the book was such a disappointment to me. It was RIGHT THERE.

The biggest issue I had with the book was that it was so incredibly rushed. Everything felt rushed and I had a hard time keeping up with everything. The writing felt rushed, the feelings, the story, the character development, all of it. It was like whiplash sometimes. The writing just felt like it was rushed. I wanted the author to slow down at times and just let me enjoy getting to know the characters and that sort of thing. Often times, I just felt nothing because I didn’t feel like I was given the chance to really care. It all happened too fast.

I’m definitely going to be reading book #2 because I always like to give an author another chance but I’m going in with less expectations than I had for the first book, especially since book two is that magical sport, baseball. Wish me luck!

Rating:

3.75 out of 5 Stars

Book Review: How to Love by Katie Cotugno

August 19, 2015August 19, 20151 Comment

Genre:

Young Adult, ed Contemporary, Romance

Pages:

389 pages

Part of a Series?:

Standalone Novel

Release Date:

October 1st, 2013

You Can Find the Book At:

GoodReads Summary:

Before:
Reena Montero has loved Sawyer LeGrande for as long as she can remember: as natural as breathing, as endless as time. But he’s never seemed to notice that Reena even exists until one day, impossibly, he does. Reena and Sawyer fall in messy, complicated love. But then Sawyer disappears from their humid Florida town without a word, leaving a devastated—and pregnant—Reena behind.

After:
Almost three years have passed, and there’s a new love in Reena’s life: her daughter, Hannah. Reena’s gotten used to being without Sawyer, and she’s finally getting the hang of this strange, unexpected life. But just as swiftly and suddenly as he disappeared, Sawyer turns up again. Reena doesn’t want anything to do with him, though she’d be lying if she said Sawyer’s being back wasn’t stirring something in her. After everything that’s happened, can Reena really let herself love Sawyer LeGrande again?

My Review:

I have to admit…I was pretty wary when it came to reading this book. Not that I thought it was going to be bad. I try to go into a book with as positive attitude as possible because I find if I expect it to be not so good, it tends to be…not so good. But I’ve heard such mixed reviews! People either love or they hate it, and those kind of books make me nervous because seriously, I always tend to end up in the “hate it” category. Well, my friend Alex of People Like Books convinced me to read it and I bought it in anticipation of meeting her at RT and…well I’m glad I did it.

The book is weird. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t know how to explain it but the way its written, with the flashbacks, its just weird. Like, I think you’re supposed to like Sawyer, you’re supposed to be rooting for him when he comes crashing back into Reena’s life but the flashbacks showcase what went wrong in the past and sometimes its incredibly hard to get past that. For Reena, its been years, she’s moved on, he’s changed, that sort of thing, but for the reader, its still kind of fresh and new so that was hard for me.

But what made this story the story that I grew to love was Reena and her family and her daughter. It felt familiar because I’ve had a similar story (won’t go into much more detail there, sorry) so it was an immediate connection there. But there’s something about her that makes you want to root for her. She works her ass off, she loves her daughter, she tries so hard to please everyone and falls short, and she is still hopeful and she still believes. I think its so great.

Because of Reena, I believe in Reena and Sawyer and that’s why I fall in love with them and their relationship. Reena is an incredible character and I want to root for her and her daughter and her dream to travel everywhere and write about it and I believe in Sawyer wanting to make things work and I really did love it. I love the dynamic of the two and I loved that we had a romance wrapped around a couple that had a baby. Its beautiful. There just isn’t enough of that.

Rating:

4 out of 5 Stars

Book Review: Upside Down by Lia Riley

August 10, 2015August 2, 2015Leave a comment

Genre:

New Adult, rx Contemporary, this site Romance

Pages:

384 pages

Part of a Series?:

Book #1 of the Off the Map series

Release Date:

August 5th, buy more about 2014

You Can Find the Book At:

GoodReads Summary:

Twenty-one-year-old Natalia Stolfi is saying good-bye to the past-and turning her life upside down with a trip to the land down under. For the next six months, she’ll act like a carefree exchange student, not a girl sinking under the weight of painful memories. Everything is going according to plan until she meets a brooding surfer with hypnotic green eyes and the troubling ability to see straight through her act.

Bran Lockhart is having the worst year on record. After the girl of his dreams turned into a nightmare, he moved back home to Melbourne to piece his life together. Yet no amount of disappointment could blind him to the pretty California girl who gets past all his defenses. He’s never wanted anyone the way he wants Talia. But when Bran gets a stark reminder of why he stopped believing in love, he and Talia must decide if what they have is once in a lifetime . . . or if they were meant to live a world apart.

My Review:

I’m not going to lie. It took me awhile to get into this novel. My friends and I recently started our own little version of a book club, and this was my choice for the club. It caught my eye at Target and it had a blurb from JLA, who I adore so much, so I decided to read it. I ended up really really liking this book but I must admit, it took me a bit to get into it.

It starts off slow and I think that’s the problem with it. I have a hard time connecting with Talia right away and I’m not sure why that is is. She’s similar to me in ways and she lives in California, in a part of California that I’ve been lucky enough to visit, and, funnily enough, is the basis for the fictional town that I’ve created for my own NA series. Its not until she’s in Australia, going to school, and still struggling with the things she tried to escape in California…that’s when I finally connect with her. She’s sort of run away from her problems but her problems have followed her and the book becomes about her facing them head on and that’s when I finally got hooked. Her struggles, her insecurities, her anxiety and OCD….that is when she became a real person to me.

Then enter Bran. Who, by the way, is sexy as hell, and now I really want to go to Australia and meet a tortured Australian boy who will show me an amazing time in bed. Moving on, I adore his character. I love the tortured boy thing a lot and we know there’s a lot going on there with Bran and its frustrating but it only makes you love him more. He has trust issues, he’s had his heart broken before and he obviously has this connection with Talia but he’s unwilling to just take the plunge.

The two of them have a lot to deal with it, especially when it comes to the past. When they connect together, it takes a lot of time and a lot of push and pull, but they eventually are able to open up to each other and share their struggles and become closer because of it. Their romance is beautiful and heartbreaking all the way to the last page. I didn’t realize that this was a series and even though the ending of this book is absolutely beautiful, I know there’s much more that these two have to go through in the future and I can’t wait to dive into book two and read more about them.

Rating:

3.75 out of 5 Stars

Book Review: Forever with You (ARC) by J Lynn

August 8, 2015August 2, 2015Leave a comment

Genre:

New Adult, viagra Contemporary, Romance

Pages:

384 pages

Part of a Series?:

Book #5 in the Wait for You Series

Release Date:

September 29th, 2015

You Can Find the Book At:

GoodReads Summary:

Some things you just believe in, even if you’ve never experienced them. For Stephanie, that list includes love. It’s out there. Somewhere. Eventually. Meanwhile she’s got her job at the mixed martial arts training center and hot flings with gorgeous, temporary guys like Nick. Then a secret brings them closer, opening Steph’s eyes to a future she never knew she wanted—until tragedy rips it away.

Nick’s self-assured surface shields a past no one needs to know about. His mind-blowing connection with Steph changes all that. As fast as he’s knocking down the walls that have kept him commitment-free, she’s building them up again, determined to keep the hurt—and Nick—out. But he can’t walk away. Not when she’s the only one who’s ever made him wish for forever . . .

My Review:

I read this book incredibly fast. Maybe in a few hours. There are two reasons for this. One of the reasons is this: we went to an event in Las Vegas where J Lynn was signing and she had 30 copies of this book to give out. I got the very last copy. Being the fabulous friend I am (I’m so modest haha), I wanted to share it with my friends. I knew that I was the fastest reader and I had to finish it so I could pass it around.

I also read through this book because I think this may have become my favorite of the series. Okay, not really because I still say Be With Me is my favorite BUT this one is a seriously close second. Like by a minimal percentage between the two.

I was excited to read Stephanie’s story. Stephanie is someone we barely know through other people but I was hooked on her right away. Yeah, she’s hooked up with a few dudes, but once she is there for Tessa when Tessa comes home to find her dead roommate, I knew that she was going to be important and that I would just love her.

A few pages in and I was already so totally sure. There’s a quote from her in the beginning that immediately made me love her.

“I’ll never really understand it, I realized as I sat there, staring at the red and green flecks of the leftover peppers, why others’ sexual habits bothered people — especially other women — so much. Of all people, you’d think women would be more tolerant of other women’s choices, but sadly, a lot aren’t. In a lot of ways they could be worse than the guys. It wasn’t like I was sitting in judgement over those who waited for marriage or believed sex automatically equaled love. I could care less if someone had two partners or fifty. So why did they have to?”

That’s when I fell in love with Stephanie. She felt really similar to me. She wants to find love. She wants to settle down and have a relationship. But in the meantime, she’s going to have fun. She’s safe and all that but comfortable in her own body and if she sees a guy that she’s attracted to…she goes for it and doesn’t feel one ounce of guilt about it. And I absolutely love it. There should be no guilt for that. Its just perfect as hell.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Nick as well. And I love the story that they have. I love that an unexpected situation brings the two of them together. I love what came for the two of them from that. I love their story. I love Nick. Oh I adore Nick. I love how we have this view of him but when things change for him and Steph…he just steps up and becomes this person and I just fall madly in love with him. I love Nick.

But this book was amazing to me because of Stephanie and her story. I felt connected with her right away. And what she goes through in this book has happened to me. I know the sort of feelings it leaves, I know how it never really goes away and I know the feeling of disappointment in leaves in yourself, like you should have known, you should have done something more. I know that’s vague but spoiler free, remember? Especially since there’s still a TON of time until this book is out and I don’t want to ruin it for everyone. But I loved this book and the characters and I love Stephanie. If there was a character that was so like in J Lynn’s series, I would say Stephanie. I thought Tessa for awhile and I’m definitely still like Tessa but Stephanie…I bonded with her right away.

I’ll just say this too: we get a lot of really awesome news for other couples we’ve fallen in love with over the past few books and we see some super awesome things for them and it was allllll the feels. Such a beautiful book. Sigh. If you’re a fan of this series, definitely pick this up at the end of September!

Rating:

5 out of 5 Stars

Book Review: Asa by Jay Crownover

August 7, 2015August 7, 2015Leave a comment

Genre:

New Adult, dosage Contemporary, information pills Romance

Pages:

400 pages

Part of a Series?:

Book #6 in The Marked Men Series

Release Date:

April 21st, 2015

You Can Find the Book At:

GoodReads Summary:

Starting over in Denver with a whole new circle of friends and family, Asa Cross struggles with being the man he knows everyone wants him to be and the man he knows he really is. A leopard doesn’t it change its spots and Asa has always been a predator. He doesn’t want to hurt those who love and rely on him, especially one luscious arresting cop who suddenly seems to be interested in him for far more than his penchant for breaking the law. But letting go of old habits is hard, and it’s easy to hit bottom when it’s the place you know best.

Royal Hastings is quickly learning what the bottom looks like after a tragic situation at work threatens not only her career but her partner’s life. As a woman who has only ever had a few real friends she’s trying to muddle through her confusion and devastation all alone. Except she can’t stop thinking about the sexy southern bartender she locked up. Crushing on Asa is the last thing she needs but his allure is too strong to resist. His long criminal record can only hurt her already shaky career and chasing after a guy who has no respect for the law or himself can only end in heartbreak.

A longtime criminal and a cop together just seems so wrong . . . but for Asa and Royal, being wrong together is the only right choice to make.

My Review:

Oh Asa. The finale of this series was so much fun, so emotional and just the perfect way to bring this entire family to a conclusion. I’m working on my own NA romance series and the last book of my series is going to involve a bad boy trying to redeem himself so I was excited to read this book, not only because its the conclusion, but because I was excited to see how Asa, who we meet in book two and see throughout the series, falls madly in love with a cop.

We meet Royal in book 4, Nash’s book, because she lives across the hallway from him. And immediately as soon as we met her, I knew I loved her. I knew she was going to be important. She’s gorgeous and sassy and hard working and obviously dedicated to her job as a cop. I love the connection she immediately has with Asa and I love her just period. She’s struggled with her mom, even though she loves her, she struggles with her guilty over what happened to her best friend and partner in the field and she struggles to figure out who she is and what she wants. She seems so confident and perfect in the other books but I love that you really get to see her in this book, and she’s flawed but she’s determined, and she’s incredibly determined when it comes to Asa, and seeing that he’s changed and worthy of love, and most importantly, worthy of her love.

Then you have Asa. See I love Jet and Ayden so I got a very negative first impression of Asa and even though Rome likes him, and he becomes friends with Nash and Rowdy and he’s obviously becoming a better person, its hard to get rid of those feelings about him. But once you’re in his brain and you can see what he went through and how he legitimately struggles to be a better person…its just so hard NOT to fall in love with Asa. He genuinely wants to be a better person; he does. But its hard for him, and its also incredibly hard for him because he’s determined that he’s a bad guy, he’ll always be that way and he doesn’t deserve anything better. That struggle keeps him from becoming the best person he can be and it prevents him from being the person Royal knows and wants.

But when they come together, and pick up the pieces and put each other back together, and fall in love…its just absolutely perfect. They both find a family and a new chance with each other and they are folded into the Marked family and oh, the feels were so real as I finished this book. I loved the way Royal and Asa were so magnetic and meant to be together and I love how they sort of saved each other but I also loved how everything from book one until this comes together. You see everyone in the Marked family come together, get married, start families and all of those things and I just can’t handle how it was just the perfect ending.

So…when are those Saints of Denver books coming out hmm? I’m ready for them ;)

Rating:

4 out of 5 Stars

Book Review: Him by Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy

August 6, 2015August 6, 2015Leave a comment

Genre:

New Adult, help Contemporary, this site Romance

Pages:

276 pages

Part of a Series?:

Standalone Novel

Release Date:

July 28th, 2015

You Can Find the Book At:

GoodReads

Barnes and Noble

Book Depository

iBooks

Sarina’s Website / Elle’s Website

GoodReads Summary:

Jamie Canning has never been able to figure out how he lost his closest friend. Four years ago, his tattooed, wise-cracking, rule-breaking roommate cut him off without an explanation. So what if things got a little weird on the last night of hockey camp the summer they were eighteen? It was just a little drunken foolishness. Nobody died.

Ryan Wesley’s biggest regret is coaxing his very straight friend into a bet that pushed the boundaries of their relationship. Now, with their college teams set to face off at the national championship, he’ll finally get a chance to apologize. But all it takes is one look at his longtime crush, and the ache is stronger than ever.

Jamie has waited a long time for answers, but walks away with only more questions—can one night of sex ruin a friendship? If not, how about six more weeks of it? When Wesley turns up to coach alongside Jamie for one more hot summer at camp, Jamie has a few things to discover about his old friend…and a big one to learn about himself.

My Review:

Warning: The following review is based on a book that features a male on male relationship. Yes, this book is sexy and awesome but if you are uncomfortable with this, please click away now. And probably never come back.

I just read this book a few days ago and I am in love love love love love with it. The first time I ever read a male on male relationship was in Sarina Bowen’s The Understatement of the Year and I knew that I was totally hooked on books like this. I adore both of these authors so so so much and I’ve been pushing them on pretty much every single person I know and I was ECSTATIC when I learned they were writing a hockey book about two guys falling in love, and they were writing it TOGETHER.

Rewind to a few nights ago when this book was released. I had preordered it in order to get it around 9 pm so I could stay up all night and finish it. That was the plan. Then I had some last minute things go through on my debit card and I didn’t have enough money for the preorder to go through. I was so SAD. Luckily, a good friend of mine sent me an Amazon gift card and I was able to buy it. Saved by Chris! You rock, Chris. I’m just saying.

I stayed up all night to read it and I just…I love everything about this book. I love that it had two beautiful hockey boys. I love the romance and the friendship between those two characters. I love that you can hear both Sarina and Elle’s voices in the book but they write so beautifully together and its just perfect. I love that they teach younger kids about hockey, the way they learned it as kids. I love the sex scenes because holy moly, grab me a cold washcloth, those things were steamy as hell! But what I loved the most about this book was the character of Jamie.

There are not enough bisexual characters in YA and NA and as someone who is bisexual and struggles to keep her anger in check at the completely misunderstanding of what that means…it means a lot to have a character like Jamie in the book. While I definitely adore Wes to no end, I think the person I fell in love with the most was Jamie. Jamie struggles to figure out who he is. He likes girls but he loves Wes too, and its a hard thing to go through. Its confusing as hell but I love how fearless he can be and I love that he feels this attraction and he has these feelings for his best friend and he just goes for it. I LOVE Jamie Canning so much. I wish he was a real person that I could just hug and love and be friends with because Elle and Sarina created a great character in him. He’s real and genuine and familiar and I connected with him from beginning to end.

But just like both of these authors tend to do…they made me laugh and cry and they made me want a cold shower STAT and they just wrote an incredibly GREAT romance novel about two people trying to figure shit out and finding each other in the process. I can’t speak highly enough of Elle and Sarina and their books and I love that they wrote a book together and I loved every minute of the book they wrote together. Brava, ladies, please do it again sometime soon!

Rating:

3.75 out of 5 Stars