Review - When It's Love by Emma Lauren

When It's Love by Emma Lauren 

*contains Mature content*

My Rating, Summary and Review

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Sydney is one semester away from graduating from Addison College and not really sure what the future holds for her.  She doesn't have a close relationship with her mother and she's never actually met her dad.   Due to events that have happened back at home, she doesn't have a large circle of friends at school and spends a lot of time with her best friend Henry.  

For the past 14 weeks, she's been in a creative writing class with a professor that she's attracted to and has dreams about getting him to notice her, so she's beyond ecstatic when he leaves her a rave review on the last essay that she writes for the class and even more excited when she discovers an email from him in her inbox, praising her again and telling her to keep in touch with him even though the class has ended.    Feeling more confident in flirting with him behind the safety of her computer screen than in person, she finds herself in the midst of a serious cyber flirtation, which quickly escalates.     Henry knows all about her crush on the professor and has been encouraging her to continue the online fliration and even helps her by taking pictures of her in compromising positions.  But the photography session heats up between Henry and Sydney and she is surprised to find that she has begun to have feelings for her best friend and even more surprised to find that he too has had feelings for her all along.     So where does leave things between her and the professor?

I really enjoyed this book. It was a quick read, but it packed steam and emotions and even though I was able to figure out certain aspects before they were revealed there were a few unexpected twists and turns along the way.   Without giving away any spoilers, there's a part of Sydney's past that comes out and helps to explain why she has such a hard time trusting people and why she hasn't been able to tell people her deepest darkest secrets.

I liked Sydney but I really loved Henry.  I know he had his reasons for his actions so I was able to overlook certain things that came out near the end of the book.     I'm a little sad that it ended with a cliffhanger because I was really hoping that things would work out for Sydney and the man that she chose, so I'll be keeping my eye out for book #2, When It's Over to see what happens next.

I received a copy of When It's Love by Emma Lauren in exchange for an honest review.

Review - Significance by Shelly Crane

Significance by Shelly Crane

About the Book: 

Maggie is a seventeen year old girl who's had a bad year. She was smart and on track, but then her mom left, her dad is depressed, she's graduating - barely - and her boyfriend of almost three years dumped her for a college football scholarship. Lately she thinks life is all about hanging on by a thread and is gripping tight with everything she has.
Then she saves the life of Caleb and instantly knows there's something about him that's intriguing. But things change when they touch, sparks ignite. Literally.
They imprint with each other and she sees their future life together flash before her eyes. She learns that not only is she his soul mate, and can feel his heartbeat in her chest, but there is a whole other world of people with gifts and abilities that she never knew existed. She herself is experiencing supernatural changes unlike anything she's ever felt before and she needs the touch of his skin to survive.
Now, not only has her dad come out of his depression to be a father again, and a pain as well, but Caleb's enemies know he's imprinted and are after Maggie to stop them both from gaining their abilities and take her from him.

Can Caleb save her or will they be forced to live without each other after just finding one 
another?

My Rating  and Review

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To be completely honest, I'm not completely sure why I had downloaded Significance a few months ago. While I'm a diehard romance fan, I'm really not into fantasy or para-normal romances. 

The other day I decided to go a bit outside of my comfort zone and I discovered that I could not put the book down. 

I loved Maggie, I loved her unconventional meeting with Caleb so I was already invested in the story even when it started going on it's paranormal path when the imprint was explained, and I just kept reading and getting more invested in as the story went. 

I'm looking forward to continuing on with Accordance to see what happens next in Maggie and Caleb's journey. 

Review - Connected by The Sea by E.L. Todd

Connected by the Sea by E.L. Todd
(Hawaiian Crush, Book 1) 

My Rating, Summary and Review

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Sydney is a college student, on her own, having gotten away from a troubled family life. She's doing great in her classes, and has a good job to give her some extra spending money and a great group of friends. One of her professors asks her to tutor a student who's having some trouble in class and she's surprised when she discovers that it's Coen. Coen is the gorgeous guy that she's attracted to in spite of his reputation. Could there be more to Coen than what most people think of him? 

I really enjoyed this story. It flowed very well and quickly and I could easily understand the attraction between Sydney and Coen, despite all of the complications they encountered. And I especially love that while the story will continued on in book 2, Breaking Through the Waves, the book didn't end on a cliffhanger. I look forward to the next part, hopefully coming soon, and seeing what happens next when Sydney's mom and step-dad come for a visit. 

I received a copy of Connected By The Sea in exchange for an honest review. 

Review - Fair Play by Dakota Madison (Matchplay #2)

Fair Play (Matchplay #2) by Dakota Madison

My Rating, Summary and Review

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Fair Play is book #2 in the Matchplay series and picks up right where Matchplay ends. Aaron Donovan has just asked Rainey Dey to marry him and she's accepted much to the dismay of Keira Whitley. How dare he fall in love with someone other than Keira, much less someone who is in a lower social circle and whose family is in a much lower income bracket. Keira's and Aaron's mothers have been planning for years that their children would fall in love, get married and bring even more wealth into their already wealthy lives. 

Keira is ready to do anything it takes to get Aaron away from Rainey, just so she can have him for herself. 

I really liked Matchplay because I loved watching Aaron and Rainey's relationship develop amid the obstacles that were tossed their way and snooty booty Keira was not my favorite secondary character at all, so I will admit I was a little hesitant about going on with her story. But I wanted to give it a chance and I'm glad I did. 

I won't go as far to say that Keira is someone that I'd want to invite to my house for dinner or hang out with, but I did enjoy her story. It was nice to watch Evan bring her down a bit from the high horse she came riding in on, and it was very great to see Rainey not back down and let Keira know that she was not going to win the battle over Aaron. 

Evan who I'm surprised to say whose character was redeemed for me here as well, deserves a medal for seeing something in Keira before anyone else did and for chipping away at her heart until she realized what she could have was right in front of her. And I loved her surprising friendship with Roxie. 

The Matchplay series continues with Book #3, Final Play which features the brother of Rainey's roommate Olivia. 

I received a complimentary copy of Fair Play in exchange for an honest review.

Review - Blackness Takes Over - by Norma Jeanne Karlsson

Blackness Takes Over by Norma Jeanne Karlsson

My Rating, Summary and Review

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I received a copy of Blackness Takes Over in exchange for an honest review. 

Shannon Kelly has had two life-altering events in her life, one when she was a child at the time her dad was killed and the other in her freshman year of college. After the second event, she finds herself in the middle of an unconventional friendship with the 3 guys that saved her. The guys are the kinds of friends that become her new family and their parents/siblings also call her one of their own. Kavy, Cally and Sully are gorgeous sexy guys, who would do anything in the world for her and protect her with every once of their being, while loving her unconditionally. Even after college, their worlds remained immersed, as they all share a house, and their careers are all intermingled. 

Dylan Kellerman (Kel) comes into their lives, as the son of a late eyewitness and he is immediately floored by Shannon and he also falls into protective mode over her, but it's different for him than it is for the other guys. Shannon hasn't ever really felt drawn to anyone romantically but there's definitely something about Kel that makes her want to change that. 

Due to circumstances revolving around the crime that Kel's dad witnessed, Shannon receives some death threats and the guys feel that she needs even more protection than what they can offer, so bodyguard, Taylor (just as gorgeous and sexy as the other guys in her life) comes into the picture. Once he gets to know Shannon, he too falls under a spell when it comes to her but he's not even trying to hide it from the guys or from Kel, so even though Shannon is completely enraptured with Kel, he starts feeling insecure with their blossoming relationship. 

I wasn't really sure what to think about this book when it first started but as I got farther into it, it got harder to put the book down. It's definitely got a unique story which was very refreshing to me. The friendship between Shannon and the guys was crazy fast, but with all of the feelings that are revealed later on in the story, it does make perfect sense. Shannon is amazingly strong in spite of or maybe because of all that she's had to deal with. Kavy and Cally and Sully absolutely make the story. Sure, it's all about Shannon, but it's because of them and their quirks and their loyalty that stole the book for me, with Kavy being my favorite. The banter between them all had me laughing so often but also was very touching whenever things were getting too heavy. 

My only complaint is that I didn't know it was going to have a serious cliffhanger at the end and book 2 won't be out until April. The next few months are going to drag by while I wait and ponder what's going to happen next. But please don't let that stop you from reading this book. Even if book 2 is only 1/2 as good as Blackness Takes Over, it will be a book well worth waiting for!

Review - Anonymous by Holly Hood

Anonymous by Holly Hood

About the Book: 

Elle Saunders is a train wreck. Everyone makes mistakes but she made one of the worst. She doesn't want her life back on track she wants to forget. But those plans come to an end when she meets someone else failing at life.

Hart Allen, he's handsome and smooth and knows just the right things to say to keep people at a distance. He wants to save everyone but himself. He spends most his time locked in rehab, and the other half finding ways to go right back when he's not. But when he meets Elle things change, he is determined to help her.

He has no way of knowing that for once he might not be able to talk himself out of his latest mistakes. He has to face them.

My Rating and Review: 

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I received a copy of Anonymous in exchange for an honest review. 

Elle's way of dealing with the biggest mistake of her life has her hitting rock bottom, but instead of wanting to get facing it and moving past it, she thinks the answer is to keep on trying to forget about it, and bury herself in a bottle. Even with rehab, she thinks her mistake is just too unforgivable. Even her longtime boyfriend Pauly, isn't as supportive as she needs him to be and is the first to point out to her about her downfalls. She meets Hart during one of his many stints in rehab. He has his own share of mistakes, and he's fighting his own brand of demons. Neither Elle nor Hart can deny the strong pull towards their friendship - even though neither of them is at the point where it's difficult for them to open up completely and honestly with each other. 

I really like this story. Elle's story was heartbreaking and there were so many instances where I just wanted to smack her friends and her family. Pauly definitely needed a shakedown, as did her brother Nick and her dad. Hart though stole the story for me. I know he's been dealt a hard hand all of his life and has made so many wrong decisions, especially lately but if you can get to the other side of his walls, it's easier to understand why he does what he does. I loved his friendship with Jesse as that was his safety zone and Hart knew that Jesse loves him enough through thick and thin to be able to call him out of his actions and even give him a little bit of hope that things will work out okay after all. 

Review - The Reluctant Bachelorette by Rachael Anderson

The Reluctant Bachelorette by Rachael Anderson

About the Book: 

Luke Carney has no idea what possessed him to move back to Shelter Springs, Colorado, to set up his veterinarian practice. His parents have long since left, the small farming community is on the brink of extinction, and only one close friend from his childhood remains--Taycee Emerson, his best friend’s little sister, who isn’t so little anymore. 

Then there’s the matter of Shelter’s Bachelorette, an online reality dating show created to raise some much needed funds for the town. 

Unwittingly cast as the bachelorette, Taycee wants out, especially when she discovers that Luke, her childhood crush, is back in town and will be one of the bachelors. To make matters worse, it's up to the viewers--not her--to decide which bachelors stay or go. And they all seem to like Luke.

Unwilling to let him break her heart again, Taycee launches a subtle attack on Luke’s good name with the hope of getting him voted off the show. But she’d forgotten that Luke's an eye-for-an-eye kind of guy, and when he discovers what she's up to, it means revenge.

My Rating and Review:
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This was such a fun read!! Taycee (love her name) was such a regular girl so it was easy to relate to her. Luke, her brother's best friend and the boy she'd had a major crush on as they were growing up,  returns to town after being away for 10 years.  As we got to know him,  it was easy for me to understand why she could've fallen in love with them all those years ago.  Taycee and Luke's rekindled friendship was fun to watch and I kept hoping that it wouldn't take him long to realize that the girl who spent her young teenaged years tagging along with him and his friend could be someone he could fall in love with. 

Giveaway Alert:
Rachael Anderson is giving away 3 audiobooks of The Reluctant Bachelorette on her website.  Just hop on over to
http://rachaelreneeanderson.blogspot.com/2014/01/multiple-audiobook-giveaways.html and enter via her rafflecopter  within the next 4 days.  While you're there, you can also try your luck at winning an audiobook from 8 other authors!!   Good luck! 

Review: Forgotten Yesterday by Renee Ericson

Forgotten Yesterday by Renee Ericson

(Book #1.5 in the These Days series)

Forgotten Yesterday is a continuation of After Tuesday, so if you have not read that yet, please do so before reading this novella.  (Book 2, Deciding Tomorrow is due to be out in the summer of 2014. )

About the Book:

Ruby Miller's future was on track when she entered her freshman year of college at the University of Chicago. Everything seemed easy, possible, and full of hope, especially with Brent by her side. 

However, life didn't go as planned and obstacles arose setting her on a very different path from the one she had envisioned. 

Now, five years later, Ruby is piecing her life back together and moving on from everything that once tore her apart. 

What happens though, when the one person who carries every memory of Ruby's happiest and darkest moments appears unexpectedly before her? Will she carry on or dive deep into her forgotten yesterday? 

My Notes, Rating and Review

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I received a copy of Forgotten Yesterday in exchange for an honest review. 

I had read After Tuesday (the first book in the These Days series) a few months ago so when offered the chance to read Forgotten Yesterday and continue on with Ruby and Brent's saga, I jumped on it. 

This is a short book, only 126 pages, so it read very quickly for me but there's so much packed into those 126 pages. 

When the book opens, we find Ruby living on her own in Chicago working in a restaurant. She's decided that it's time to start moving forward again and is accepting of the flirtation coming from one of her co-workers. Little did she know that mid-shift she'd come face to face with a piece of her past and it would shake her to the core and make her question if she should continue on moving forward or if she's even moved on at all and should she go back and try to recoup what she's lost.

The book was set up in an interesting format in that it went from present time to flashbacks in the past, but it absolutely worked for me. We were presented with enough information piece by piece to have the story make complete sense as it goes along. It definitely kept things interesting for me because I had just enough information to know a little about what had gone down 5 years ago, but didn't have quite enough to know the whole story so it kept me wanting to read chapter after chapter. 

After reading Forgotten Yesterday, I love Ruby even more than I did in After Tuesday. She had such a great strength in dealing with the memories of her past while also trying to come to terms on what to do with the piece of her past. Should she stay away or should she open her heart again knowing that there was a super huge chance of it getting shattered again? 

Book 3, Deciding Tomorrow, will be out this summer and I will be anxiously awaiting for it so I can see what happens next with Ruby. 

Review: Matchplay by Dakota Madison

Matchplay by Dakota Madison

My Summary, Rating and Review:✶✶✶✶

Rainy Dey heads off to college as a freshman. Her mom had recently passed away after a battle with cancer and during that time, Rainy hadn't done much dating  or going to parties or all that her friends had been doing so she's pretty inexperienced but she's ready to start living life like a typical 18 year girl does when she's out on her own. 

Shortly after arriving on campus, she encounters and is strangely attracted to Aaron, a gorgeous boy who turns out to be a senior and president of The Clubhouse, a social club full of well-privileged boys on campus. The Clubhouse has a yearly competition to see who can rack up the most points by sleeping with as many girls as possible and bonus points anytime a V-card is taken by one of the guys. Turns out that Aaron is drawn to Rainy as well, particularly after they are paired to work on a semester long project in an art history class.

Rainy's roommate and new friends warn her to steer clear of Aaron. They know he's a player and that it's be only a matter of time before he'll use her and break her heart. But Rainy can't deny her growing feelings for him. Is Aaron using her to secure a win in The Clubhouse's game or is it possible that Rainy just might be the girl that makes him change his ways?

I enjoyed Matchplay and the story flowed smoothly so it was a quick read for me. I loved Rainy and although she's not broken like most female characters that I've been reading lately, she does come with a little bit of baggage with her inexperience in dating matters but she's savvy enough to be cautious and hold back a bit when it comes to getting to know Aaron. 

Aaron was an absolute sweetheart, despite his player reputation, so it was easy to understand how Rainy could start to fall for him even knowing his background. I loved how he called her Sunshine and all the kind things that he did for her throughout their relationship. And I so hoped that they'd be able to work through all the issues that came along with everything related to the Tournament and trust issues. 

Dakota Madison continues the MatchPlay series with book 2, Fairplay, featuring another couple.  I look forward to reading that one soon!

 

Review: Broken At Love by Layla Payne

About The Book
When a knee injury ends twenty-year-old Quinn Rowland’s pro tennis career, he’s not only dumped by his hot Russian girlfriend but ordered to attend college by his disinterested billionaire father. A rich kid who’s not used to being disappointed by life, Quinn and his sociopathic half-brother Sebastian create a frat house game intended to treat girls how they see them—as simple game pieces to be manipulated for their pleasure.

College sophomore Emilie Swanson knows Quinn’s reputation—after all, he did send one of her sorority sisters into therapy earlier in the semester—but the game and his charm bring them closer together and soon she starts to believe there’s more to Quinn than people think.

But what if the more is something darker than a game of toying with emotions and breaking hearts?

Quinn and Emilie might be falling for each other, but there are secrets he’s not ready to tell—and lifestyle changes he’s reluctant to make. She willingly stepped on the court, but if Emilie finds out she started out as nothing as a pawn in Quinn and Sebastian’s twisted game, she might never forgive him.

To his surprise, Quinn finds that he might finally care about someone more than he cares about himself…even if that means letting Emilie walk away for good.

My Rating and Review:
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"It's as though my heart had spent the first twenty years of my life scattered in chunks and every minute we spent together helped me find one more and paste it back in place"

I'm a huge fan of bad boys and also of broken characters who fight their way towards the road to healing so the title and the summary were very inviting and tempted me to read the story of Quinn and Emilie. 

I honestly did not like Quinn for about the first half of the book, but I stayed with it, in the hopes that I would see the side of him that Emilie could see. I knew there had to be some sort of redeeming quality to him to make me change my mind, and sure enough, the tides turned and I too fell in love with him. 

Layla Payne continues on with the Whitman University series and I've already added the next book,  By Referral Only (focusing on Emilie's roommate Ruby) to my want to read list. 

My Review - Heartbeat trilogy by Faith Sullivan

About the Books:

Heartbeat (#1)

Katie and Adam are afraid of love.  

She carries the scars of a first kiss gone terribly wrong.

He uproots his life to flee the stinging betrayal of an ex.

When trust is no longer an option, all romance is suspect.

As a young paramedic, Adam rescues people for a living but cannot save himself. Katie, just out of high school, struggles with a tortured home life she cannot escape. 

Everything changes when Katie hops into the front seat of Adam's ambulance. Overwhelmed by what they are feeling, neither possess the confidence to make the first move. They walk away from each other, full of regret. 

To find her, Adam risks his future. To be with him, Katie sacrifices her security. 

Little do they know, what little time they do have, is being measured by a heartbeat that is slowly dying out.

Come What May (#2)

Adam is through with love.

He unravels blaming himself for what happened with Katie.

His final moments with her echo through his nightmares.

She owns him body and soul.

To dull the pain, Adam invites a string of women into his bed. Fueled by alcohol and desperation, his meaningless hook-ups provide little comfort. When he closes his eyes, it's Katie he sees.

The only one who helps to ease his guilt somewhat is Jada. But as his new ambulance partner, Adam considers her off limits. He doesn't want to get seriously involved with anyone, much less her. Yet he can't stop fantasizing about the feel of her caramel skin against his.

Despite his intentions, Adam's bond with Jada deepens as they respond to a series of emotional calls. Their mutual attraction becomes undeniable. But how can he give his heart to Jada when it still belongs to Katie?

I Am Yours (#3)
Adam is at a crossroads.

He has Katie on his mind and Jada in his bed.

Now with the ultimate choice before him, he must decide between fantasy and reality. 

Katie's his dream girl, but Jada's his best friend, his partner. As a paramedic, he's supposed to save lives, not wreck them. Yet his failure to commit leaves a trail of heartache in his wake.

Things come to a head at his brother's wedding when a surprise announcement leaves Adam scrambling to pick up the pieces. Sure, women find his shaggy blond hair and aquamarine eyes irresistible. But to him, sex is nothing more than a means of escape ... until it turns into a psychological trap.

His mind is telling him one thing, while his heart is beating another. He's not sure what he wants when it comes to a serious relationship. Sorting out his feelings, he finally comes to a startling realization. He is capable of love. 

But what if it's too late?

My Rating and Review
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This is a hard series for me to rate but I've decided to go with a 3 star for the books as a complete series.   In Heartbeat, I fell absolutely in love with Adam and with Katie.  But then something happened as the book ended in a cliffhanger.   Luckily, I had book 2 on tap so I was ready to keep going and try to wrap my head around the major plot twist.   Meanwhile, in Come What May, we meet Adam's new paramedic partner.   I was still in shock over what had happened and also still wanting Adam and Katie to work out somehow so it was hard for me to get to like Jada.   Then the end of that book arrives and guess what, another twist and a cliffhanger. 

It was a few weeks before I got ahold of the 3rd book, but the writing pulled me right in again and I once again was waiting to find out what was going to happen with Adam, and Katie and Jada.  

Each plot twist came out of the blue and had me questioning my own sanity, much less Adam's sanity while I tried to figure out just what went down.   Faith Sullivan did a good job in tying up the pieces at the end of the book and had a clear picture of where each character was going to wind up, but there was still some confusion for me, particularly with the timeline of the events in book 1.   I'm hopeful that by me reading Heartbeat again, this time with the series ending in my head, I'll be better able to understand all of the events and when it all happened. 

If I were to base my review completely on the writing and how smoothly the story flowed, I would give it a 4 star reading, but simply because I felt so much confusion (a feeling I'm unused to feeling at the end of a book) I'm going to rate the series as a 3 star.  

I received a complimentary copy of the books in the Heartbeat trilogy in return for an honest review.