Carnival - Nelson, K.B

New Adult, Contemporary, Angst, Romance
Kindle Edition, ARC: 236 pages

Charlie should be packing her bags for college, but the life ahead of her isn’t one she’s certain she wants. Maybe that’s what led her to sleep with a perfect stranger at the county fair. Finding out he was a carnie was like winning the bonus round of the world’s worst game.

Blue grew up in the carnival, never staying anywhere long enough to call home. He never thought of himself as the type to seduce a local, let alone fall in love with one, but his impulsiveness got the better of him this time. He should go where the carnival takes him, but for the first time he’s not sure if he wants to follow.

When he makes the decision to stick around, Charlie eagerly follows him down the rabbit hole; into a world with no regard for consequences or regret. Most of all, he shows her that home isn’t a place, it’s a feeling they can create and share. For a price. Because the higher the roller coaster goes, the faster it all comes crashing down.

Carnival is recommended for ages 17+ for language, thematic elements and strong sexual content (Goodreads)

The blurb for Carnival made it sound very good, and coupled with a gorgeous cover, I thought I was gonna love it. And I did in the beginning. I liked the attitude Charlie had, she seemed to have a unique voice to her. And she wasn’t a virgin! And she meets a hot carnie named Blue.

They hook up later on in the night, and it’s quite a steamy scene which was nice! I really liked Blue. He seemed like he could be quite the character. Ultimately I was a bit disappointed by him overall, he was very underwhelming. I expected a bit more about his history to be revealed, I wanted to know more about his life as a carnie, and what trouble he had to go through by living such a life. Instead we’re barely told anything about him. Charlie and Blue just exist together.

I really liked Blue in the beginning, he seemed really interesting, and he genuinely had feelings for Charlie, wanted to leave his life at the carnival behind to start a normal life. Which was great! And I wished it had stayed that way. But there’s some convoluted plot about Blue’s former life in the carnival that just didn’t make much sense to me. Towards the end some stuff happens that just seems out of the blue. I’m sitting there glaring at my kindle, quite confused as to what is going on, and who these people are in the story. 

The more I read the more angry I got at this book, the characters and the decisions they were making were really something… Especially the drug use. I almost stopped reading right then and there. It was very off-putting that Charlie had no problems taking Molly, and pretty much got addicted to it. It made my stomach drop, not a pleasant feeling. She went from this sweet girl with a bit of an attitude to someone that did quite a lot of drugs. She never even seemed the type to do them! Then suddenly when she sees Blue high as a kite she’s decides she wants to do them.

There’s a plot twist in the middle of the book that just came out of no where! I side-eyed my Kindle because it was so bizarre. And to make matters worse I felt no emotion in the scenes that followed, especially from Charlie! For some random reason she decided to take a Xanax to cope with the pain.

The last half of the book was really confusing, Blue’s past catches up to him, but it didn’t make much sense to me. Some guy is suddenly kidnapping and trying to kill Blue and Charlie, we’re given a reason but it doesn’t all flow together. That’s the best way I can describe it. Not everything flows very well, the action and stuff that happens in this part of the story is just confusing, and disjointed.

The last 10% or so of the book we get a sudden POV change, switching between Charlie and Blue. The writing style changes too, and it was very jarring because it didn’t flow with the rest of the book.

Overall I’m very disappointed with this book, it was quite a mess. It started out good, but just went downhill so fast! Character constancy issues as well as the choices they made just made this book not likable for me.



Overall I give it 2 little octopuses

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For Fallon - Naomi, Soraya

New Adult, Thriller/Suspense, Contemporary, Romance
Kindle: ARC

We all have a façade, a concealed mask we wear to portray ourselves to the world.

Fallon’s mask is real, what you see is what you get. Growing up with two loving parents in Chicago, graduating in Chicago, and now working a job she loves, she enjoys her life.

Her untarnished world is shaken when Luca crosses her path.

Luca’s mask is tightly controlled. Distrust, rivalry, and violence rule his life.

When confronted with insecurities, when the one you love wears his mask perfectly, when your life unravels and you don’t know why, do you keep trusting the person you love?

Everyone has a façade. Everyone has an ulterior motive (Goodreads)

I have never read a Mafia romance book before. The genre never really appealed to me. The blurb was really interesting and pulled me in. It doesn’t say anything about the book being anything related to the Mafia.

We’re introduced to Fallon and her best friend Teagan who are at a club, staring down some hot guy. Fallon literally runs into him towards the end of their clubbing and accidentally cops a feel. One kinda awkward situation later, she’s walked to a cabbie by the handsome stranger, who she learns is named Luca.

What an intimidating man he was! He oozed confidence but there was also an heir of mystery about him. He made sure Fallon got into the car safely. We then switch to Lucas POV and learn some interesting information about his character. This being my first foray into Mafia novels I wasn’t sure what to expect. We aren’t immediately told that he’s in the Mafia, but it’s clear he’s wrapped up in some deep, crazy stuffs based on the conversation he has with a friend.

Luca and Fallon meet at a coffee shop, go on some dates and have some really hot steamy smexy times. Luca eventually becomes very busy with work, as well as going away on “business” trips, but Fallon suspects he’s not being entirely truthful. Thus seeds of doubt are sown, making Fallon pull away from Luca, even though she loves him very much.

At the 50% mark is where everything goes crazy! Fallon learns who Luca really is and her whole world comes crumbling down around her. She’s in love with a man in the Mafia, who lied to her for quite a while about who he really was. This hurts her deeply, makes her not want anything to do with him anymore. But something major happens! Fallon is put into a very dangerous situation. Luca “rescues” her from it, and even though she want’s nothing more to do with him, he still has to protect her because Fallon now knows too much about the Mafia life and what Luca’s roll in it is.

Fallon goes back to her home, Luca is no long apart of her life, and she’s trying to move on. Good for her! Even though she’s in so much pain because she really loved Luca, she can’t be apart of his lifestyle.

The ending! It was perfect, things are left both unresolved, but some things get wrapped up as well. Fallon is back home safe, and Luca is pretty much out of the picture, but will be protecting her from a far. There is also a wonderful set up for the next book which I can’t wait to read!

Over all an amazing book, and a welcome introduction to me into the genre of Mafia novels. I’m eagerly awaiting the next book!

Overall I give it 4 little octopuses

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Reckless - Jeanisse, Bella

Contemporary, Angst, Romance, New Adult

Kindle: ARC

Fair Warning: This an explicit book, with sex acts in almost every other chapter. There are things some consider kinky. The language is harsh at times, and the sex is graphic. If that is not what you are looking for, this book is not for you.

Go back to the days of high school and college with Crystal and Chad...
Chad is in the band Reckless. Crystal is their one and only groupie. The band is not going anywhere, mostly because their rhythm guitarist, Phil is too mechanical. Chad makes a decision without his bandmates, bringing Crystal into the fold. The rest of the band balks and laughs until they hear her play. They quickly forget Chad went over their heads and welcome her to the band.
After Crystal and Chad both go through painful break-ups, Crystal is a bit jaded. Then Paulie walks into their lives. He is exactly what Crystal and Reckless needs. He takes their band and Crystal's heart for a ride no one will forget. (Goodreads)

I was received this book in exchange for an honest review.

Warning was found on both this book and the first novel in the series.

Fair Warning: This an explicit book, with sex acts in almost every other chapter. There are things some consider kinky. The language is harsh at times, and the sex is graphic. If that is not what you are looking for, this book is not for you.

This wasn’t true for this book, although I’ve heard there’s practically no plot in the first novel. So not sure why the warning is included in this book, I can count on one hand how many sex scenes were in the entire book.

I don’t understand how this prequel novel has received such high reviews, since the first novel has nearly all negative reviews. At the time of writing this there are only 10 reviews, all 4 and 5 stars. I’m the only 2 star.

I’ve never been so frustrated by a book in my entire life. Nor have I heard the “baby” thrown around so many times.

We are introduced to Crystal and Chad, best friends who are truly in love with each other, even though neither will admit it to the other. Well Chad frequently shows how much he loves Crystal, but Crystal shoots him down every time, she’s unwilling to act on her own feelings for the young man. Why, we are never really told, beyond the fact that they are best friends and she doesn’t want to jeopardize that.

Within the first few pages we see Chad willingly cheat on his girlfriend with Crystal. Although Chad…and I’m pretty sure Crystal don’t see what they are doing because it’s just kissing. CHAD SAID THIS! “It’s just kissing, so it’s ok.” With him grinding against Crystal.

I almost DNFed right there….Kissing is another girl that is not your girlfriend is CHEATING!! This hit me so hard, and I was so angry. He keeps asking Crystal to make out with him, and have sex with him because he wants to be her first.

She keeps denying him, and eventually meets some guy named Keith. Also a detestable douchebag who only wants Crystal because she is hot, and he wants to have sex with her. I hated Keith almost as much as Chad.

Chad at least tried to get Crystal to see how horrible of a person Keith was, but she wouldn’t listen. Keith repeatedly told her how much he wanted her, to the point that it was getting painful because they weren’t having sex. He was getting blue balls..which is completely false!

He pressured her into having sex in HOT TOPIC!! WITHOUT A CONDOM!! How were there no repercussions from that? I was expecting her to get pregnant, or contract and STD, but nope…nothing…

Throughout this whole time, every random guy hits on her, wants to hook up with here and worst of all calls her Baby. In fact every other word out of any male characters mouth was baby. “Baby are you ok”, “Baby I love you”, Even something as simple as “ok baby?” Dear god I wanted to punch my kindle! Why the excessive use of baby? Ugh, one of the most frustrating things in a book ever.

Crystal repeatedly told Keith she didn’t want to have sex with him, that it wasn’t the right time, and especially she didn’t want to have it in public. But he didn’t listen, he begged and pleaded and whined how bad it hurt if he didn’t get it. She kept saying no, but finally gave in to shut him up. BORDERLINE RAPE!! SHE SAID NO!! He should have backed off.

Finally something big and drama-y happens that forces the two to break up. You think she would admit how much she loves Chad at this point, and get together with him. Of course they kiss and grind and all that, which is pretty disgusting. But no, she stays single for a while before ogling the new band member. Paulie! Who was actually really cool, sweet, genuine and faithful!

In comes Chad, who’s been overprotective to the point of extremity. I know Crystal is his best friend and love, but she repeatedly told him to back off, and to trust her. Which he should have done. While I commend him for protecting her from some sleazy guys, he does take it too far and lets his temper fly more then once. Which was grating on my nerves.

Paulie was everything Crystal could ever need in a boyfriend. He knows how to treat her and love her. I wish they had gotten together sooner!

We’re left with a bit of a cliffhanger. Paulie and Crystal are together and happy, but it’s clear from the last sentence of the novel that their journey together is just beginning.

I’m debating on wether or not to read Tripple Threat, especially since there are so many negative reviews, and I really wasn’t found of this book. But I do want to know what happens to Paulie and Crystal! How Crystal went from being in a committed relationship to jumping from bandmate to bandmate in the next book.

Overall I give it 1 little Octopus

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Pieces of Olivia - West, Melissa

New Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Angst|

Kindle: Netgalley ARC|
4.5 out of 5 stars|

Olivia Warren used to be a normal girl with a bright future.
But on one fated night, everything changed.

Hiding the scars of her past up her sleeves, Olivia transfers her enrollment from Columbia University to The College of Charleston, determined to pursue her own dreams for the first time in her life.

She intends to allow herself a bit of alone time to heal... that is, until she meets Preston.

Preston is best friends with her roommate, completely hot, and off-limits. But the chemistry between them is instantaneous—and as the pair begins to spend more time with one another, their feelings for each other build into something undeniable, something powerful enough to heal Olivia’s deepest scars.

Olivia tries to put her own past behind her and trust Preston, but she discovers that his past might be more present than she ever bargained for… (Goodreads)

I received this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Pieces of Oliva is a New Adult novel that in my eye’s breaks the mold of the typical bad boy/virgin pairing where the hero is over possessive and a man whore. While Preston is something of a playboy, it’s not nearly to the level of some other NA heroes.

The heroine while a broken individual because of an traumatic event in her past is no virgin. She was in a relationship with her boyfriend for years, and I’m assuming they were intimate together.
We’re introduced to Olivia who is going to Charleston College, much to her parents dismay. She makes her way to her dorm room only to find a guy, a very handsome guy, sleeping in her roommates Karas bed! And thus goes the first meeting of Preston and Olivia.

For once in a NA novel there is no insta-love. These two develop a friendship first, one that lasts quite a while. It’s clear that each has feelings for the other, but the don’t want to admit it. They each have issues that make it difficult to have real relationships.

I won’t spoil either of the characters issues, because it takes quite a long time for everything to be revealed which was a nice change.

Kara and Preston are best friends, and Kara quickly becomes one of their friends too. But it becomes apparent to both the reader and Olivia that there is something off about the best friends, a deeper connection then they want anyone to know. It’s obvious they had a past, once dated or something and its apparent that they used to have a thing together. Which isn’t a bad thing, it gives Olivia a reason to not want to go out with Preston.

Because of an event that took place about a year before the novel starts, Olivia is in pieces. She’s a shell of her former self, and has become a recluse. Therapy is needed to help Olivia heal, and she finds a wonderfully quirky woman named Rose. Through unconventional methods our young heroine

But eventually they admit their feelings to each other and its so sweet. They have their ups and downs, and have a lot of stuff they need to work through, but they work it out. This is a really genuine relationship and it made my heart melt. This is what more NA novels need to be like. It breaks the mold. We need more Preston’s in NA.

The only gripe I had with this book was the fact that the Poetry teacher wanted to help Olivia with her struggles, and we get a glimpse into a class or two where Olivia reads her poems, which are heart breaking. Then thats the last we hear of her until the epilogue! All of a sudden its “my poetry teacher became a good friend, helping me heal.” Would have been awesome to see more of that!

Overall an amazing novel and one that I will remember for a long time.

I’m excited for the next book which will be in Kara’s POV.

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Since Forever Ago - Besse, Olivia

Romance, Contemporary, New Adult

Kindle: Netgalley ARC

2.5 out of 5 stars

Fresh off the heels of a devastating breakup, Riley Benson is a mess. But with her ingenious plan to become a ball-busting heartbreaker herself, she’s pretty sure she’ll survive. After all, what better way is there to get revenge than to move on?
Riley’s determined to become the perfect bachelorette—she’s going to drink like a bro, belch like a beast and swear so much that she’ll make even the most seasoned sailors blush. After all, those are the qualities that every guy’s secretly looking for…. aren’t they?
Max Fletcher is in love with the girl who gave him chicken pox and his first broken leg. When his best friend seems to finally be out of the picture, he can’t help but want to keep Riley all to himself. And, after coaching her with the very best of the very worst love advice, it seems as if he might actually get what he's wanted after all those years. But just as the two come to the realization that they're actually kind of perfect for each other, along comes a secret that threatens to tear them apart. (Goodreads)

Obtained from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.


I really wanted to like this book. The premise sounded interesting and good. Unfortunately the book did not live up to my expectations.

While it was really nice to get the guys perspective of the story, and what he was thinking there was no clear definition of when his POV started. Far too often we got Max's thoughts and feelings interjected into the story when he was in a scene with Riley. Which made it really confusing. Often times I had no idea who was thinking what.

And I have never seen characters act so immaturely or stupid. Riley lacks complete common sense, and spends much of the novel drunk.

I know the author explains on Goodreads that the reason her characters acted this way because they “define a large proportion of the current 20-something population, and I wanted the characters in my book to portray what new adults are actually like.” I have to disagree, I have never seen college kids act as immaturely and whiney as these ones did, especially Riley. Yes there were break ups and fights and drinking, but to whine about it like a highschooler? No…I feel like if this book had been set in a high school it would have been much more believable.

While there wasn’t really any insta love, because Max has been in love with Riley since they were little kids. Riley hasn’t noticed until they have a night of drunken sex. This was after a lot of build up in which Max gives Riley HORRIBLE dating advice, which she follows. She had been with the same guy for 6 years, so she doesn’t have a lot of dating experience. STILL! No excuse to follow the obviously extremely stupid advice that Max gave her. Really showed Riley’s immaturity and lack of common sense.

There was a lot of melodrama, and miscommunication and annoying things that happened in this book. There was a lot of communication issues and silly stupid misunderstandings between Riley and Max. If they thought things through instead of flying off the handle they wouldn’t have had to go through so much trouble.

But there were also a lot of funny moments in the novel too, things that had me actually laughing out loud. Which is a major plus because I find it hard to actually really laugh at books.

Overall this book was a major let down. I wanted to like it, it had its funny and cute moments, but most of the time I wanted to bash some common sense into Riley’s head.

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High Octane - Cross, Rachel

Romance, Contemporary, New Adult, Sports: Formula One, Fiction

ARC
4 out of 5 stars

Cassidy Miller was living her dreams as an EMS helicopter pilot saving lives in Arizona but it all came crashing down. Suspended from her job and desperate to escape memories of that night, she jets to Europe and is swept along on a whirlwind world tour of Formula One racing courtesy of her father, an executive sponsor of a team. The last thing she needs is to get involved with a driver, who thrives on risk.

Sexy, daredevil British driver Ronan Hawes has no room in his life for anything but winning. Strategy meetings, press conferences, practices, sponsor events, and racing consume him. Halfway through the season, he’s on track to win the Formula One World Drivers Championship—a title that has eluded him for years—and no emotionally damaged woman, felon father, rookie rival, or rumor mill are going to run him off course.

From Brussels to Abu Dhabi, Texas to Germany, their relationship speeds across the globe, navigating the dangerous turns of life, love and racing. (Goodreads)


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

There aren’t many romance novels out there about Formula One. So far I’ve found two, one was quite the let down. I’m happy to say that this one blows the other out of the water and into space.
We’re introduced to Cass who is traveling the the world with her father, who is a Formula One sponsor. What we are not told right off the bat, that the reason she’s with her father is because she was involved in a tragic accident that took the life of one of her team members while flying a helicopter.
I was a bit confused at first as to why Cass was so messed up, needed to drink and become drunk in order to just fly on a plane.
Ronan and Cass meet at a bar, with Cass pleasantly drunk. They chat for a bit and decide to head up to Ronan’s hotel room. They both thought there’d be some sexy fun times, but turns out Cass had too much to drink and ends up sick in the bathroom.
She leaves ashamed and hopes to never see Ronan again.
But she sees him at the track the next day, and this is where the rivalry between Ronan, the sexy British driver and Maddox (I think thats his name!) a sultry, hot tempered Texan starts to heat up. And boy was the drama great! The had lively banter, and it was apparent how much both of them wanted to win the championship. But of course there could only be one winner!
Ronan and Cass start a rocky relationship, there’s hot sex, and tense moments, with each not wanting to reveal too much about their past. They would rather focus on the present, afraid the past will come back to haunt them.
Cass was so broken, she thought she was coping with her tragedy by drinking. But when she meets Ronan, she finds a new way to cope. Sex with him is amazing, best she’s ever had. But not only are they sexually attracted to each other, there is a definite connection between the two of them. They care for one another whether or not they want to admit it or not.
The racing aspect of the novel was very well done! It felt as if I were in the paddocks myself and could hear the roar of the engine. And it was accurate! The qualifying, practices, testing and the tracks! There were real F1 tracks in there and it just made me even more happy.
Their relationship is not all sexy times and roses. They have their ups and downs, Cass is unwilling to seek help for the issues she has developed since the accident, and Ronan is unable to put anything put Formula One first in his life, as well as deal with his father, and the mess that he created.
But they work through everything together, they no longer have to face their demons alone and that was what made the characters that much more real, well rounded and developed. They were fleshed out, had their positive and negative traits. Which was a nice change from all the other New Adult books out there.
I hope to read more of Ronan and Cass’s story! What an amazing novel, an excellent combination of Formula One and romance.

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Mud Vein - Fisher, Tarryn

Dark, Suspense, Thriller, Mystery, New Adult
Kindle 287 pages
3.5 of 5 Stars

When reclusive novelist Senna Richards wakes up on her thirty-third birthday, everything has changed. Caged behind an electrical fence, locked in a house in the middle of the snow, Senna is left to decode the clues to find out why she was taken. If she wants her freedom, she has to take a close look at her past. But, her past has a heartbeat…and her kidnapper is nowhere to be found. With her survival hanging by a thread, Senna soon realizes this is a game. A dangerous one. Only the truth can set her free. (Goodreads)

Unmarked spoilers may be present.
This book still has me speechless and I finished it Sunday morning.
Everyone and their mother has read this book, and loved it. I have mixed feelings about it While it's worthy of a 4 or even 5 star, I'm gonna have to rate it a 3.5 for the ending.
It felt really anti-climactic and confusing! I had no idea who the kidnapper was, wondering if it was Nick; Senna's ex-lover, or even her mother! But never would I have expected it to be (Spoiler) the therapist! It didn't really make sense, I didn't get the connection, expect that I guess the therapist wanted to play God. (/Spoiler) Unless the truth was (Spoiler) that she was in love with Isaac. (/Spoiler) Which I think it was...but pretty lame truth if you ask me.
I'm actually really disappointed about the end. There's no happy ending to be found here. Senna is just as hard and closed off as before. She changed in some ways because she admitted the truth to herself, but she mostly stayed the same.

I found Senna to be very cynical, and a pessimist, always looking at the bad things in life. Which is understandable because she's had so much happen to her, bad thing after bad thing. The one thing that made her happy, Isaac, the man who saved her, she couldn't have. She couldn't seem to make emotional connections with anyone, not Isaac, or her former lover Nick.

This was an emotional roller coaster, and I as much as I sympathized with Senna, I found myself having trouble connecting to her. She was so negative, stubborn and unwilling to change. The biggest issue is that she seemed like a robot, like she had given up on life long ago, long before the incident in the woods which brought Isaac and Senna together. And we never get a clear explanation as to why, besides that her mother left when she was younger, and now she has little contact with her father. We're given no reason as to why she's so stoic, and dead.
Even at the end of the book, after she's had her revelation of truth, she's just as dead.

Isaac was an amazing character, I wish we had gotten a deeper look into his character and past. I'd totally read a spin off book all about him, what he's thinking during and after captivity. Especially regarding his feelings towards Senna. Especially since she seems so incapable of loving someone, or admitting that she loves someone.
I loved the kidnapping scenes, the mystery of it all, especially the carousel room! And the way we get flashbacks into Senna's live were really well done. The unraveling of the mystery was done exquisitely. It was the end reveal and lack of growth with Senna that really hurt the book for me, why I gave it a lower rating then I wanted too.
Not to mention it took me forever to figure out what MV meant.
I think this is one of the only books that will forever confuse me on what I actually want the rating to be.

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Naughty Bits Part 1 - Hill, Joey

 Adult, Erotica, New Adult, Romance, Contemporary, BDSM
Kindle, 110 pages
2 out of 5 stars

Madison is a control freak with one wish—to lose control. Her hidden submissive cravings have led to a string of disastrous relationships. So when she inherits her sister’s North Carolina lingerie shop, Naughty Bits, she jumps at the opportunity to dump her boring finance career and bad history and try her luck down South.

But before Madison can settle in, she catches the attention of the owner of the neighboring hardware store. Sexually dominant Logan Scott can see the hunger for command in Madison’s eyes and is anxious to help unleash her submissive desires. He presents her with three very tempting gifts—handcuffs, erotic cards, and an open invitation to join him at a submissive’s training session.

Faced with the realization that she can’t sell fantasies to her lingerie customers without embracing her own, Madison accepts Logan’s offer. Now, she’s about to discover just how far her desire can take her… (Goodreads)

2.5 Stars.

I received this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

75% of the book is where the story ends. I understand that it's a novella, but the fact that 100% of the book couldn't be dedicated to the actual story is a major let down. While a preview of the next serial is nice, I couldn't care less about previews for some other book.

This started off really promising, and emotional. Madison has recently lost her sister to an unnamed illness. Her sister Alice, has left Madison her lingerie shop Naught Bits. A really fitting name, considering the shop offers everything anyone could ever desire and more.

Madison is very torn up about her sisters death and the author really showed the readers how much it affected the young girl. I really connected with Maidson on an emotional level because of how well the author was able to portray what Madison felt.

The first day in the shop Madison meets Logan, owner of the hardware store next door and bona fied Dominant, who knows more about Madison then should be possible. But because of Alice, he knows all about the fact that Madison's a Submissive, well the fact that she wants to be one but is too afraid due to the fact that she would no longer be in complete control of the situation around her.


Not much seems to happen in the rest of the book. It just goes in a circle of Logan trying to coax Madison into opening up more and going on a journey of becoming a Submissive. We get Madison pulling away from any mention of anything that has to do with the Dom/Sub world. Feeling guilty because she thought such naughty thoughts, then some back-story about how none of her relationships were really satisfying because she was never really open about how she wanted to be a Submissive.

Then it repeats.

Finally at the end of this novella Madison has had an awakening thanks to Logan. She realizes how she can better connect with the customers at the shop so she can actually sell stuff. Something she found herself unable to do because she was acting like such a zombie/robot. I found that she also never really grieved properly for her sister dying. She just dropped everything in Boston, and went to live in her sisters house, and run Alice's shop.

The series has potential, but because it was so short I felt really disconnected from the characters. I was just getting to know them, especially Madison and her feelings of wanting to be a Submissive.

There's so much more that Madison needs to work through, I wonder how long this series will be.

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Fallen Crest High - Tijan

New Adult, Romance, Angst, Fiction, Contemporary

2 out of 5 stars

Kindle 375 pages

Mason and Logan Kade are two brothers who did their own thing. They were rich and expected to attend her school, Fallen Crest Academy. They chose public school and now Samantha has to live with them. The problem is that she doesn't care at all: about them, about her friends, about her cheating boyfriend, or even about her parent's divorce. But maybe that's a good thing. Maybe change is a good thing - Goodreads

Sam’s life has been turned upside down. Her mother has announced that they moving in with Sam’s mother’s boyfriend. Shocked, confused and angry Sam goes for a run. She run’s to escape the world around her, to make herself numb to any feeling. I found this a really interesting way to deal with things, to run and run until you don’t feel anything. I wanted to know why Sam did this as a way to cope with life, but we never really found out why, which disappointed me.
Extremely unhappy with her situation, Sam kinda shuts down and avoids her mother at all cost. As well as her new family, especially the ultra hot and popular Kade brothers. She doesn’t care about them and doesn’t want to get to know them. She see’s Mason sporadically and there seems to be a bit of chemistry between the two when they lock eyes, mostly in the kitchen.
I found the Kade brothers to be so full of themselves, and that highly annoyed me. They thought they owned the world and could do anything they wanted. They pretty much did and got away with it. Once again parental guidance and figures are absent from this book, only to serve as convenient plot devices.
Sam has so much anger towards her mother and even her father when she finds out <spoiler> that he isn’t really her father. And when the real Dad comes into the picture OMG. Stupid </spoiler>. Instead of dealing with it, she mostly goes on super long runs to numb herself, but also gets into some trouble with the Kade brothers.
Then there were the parties! I’m getting so tired of authors writing kids in high school that do nothing but party, even though they’re under age! Is that what all the high schoolers do now? Go to bon fires and get trashed? Cause I know I didn’t do any such thing.
And don’t even get me started on the whole virgin thing.
There’s some kid name Adam that seemed pretty cool and guanine, but apparently he wasn’t..and was a total douche. I don’t even know anymore.
At about the half way mark Mason and Sam finally hook up, and I was happy for them. Although I really didn’t get the connection, why they decided to become a couple. Mason seems so stoic, and doesn’t display much emotion. Although he’s really killer in the bed room.
What I also don’t get is why Sam was so easily brought into the Kade’s circle of life/friends!
I thought the book was gonna end there, with everyone kinda being happy. But no! There was so much drama pilled into the rest of the book that it just made no sense. And the parities kept going on on and on!
It felt like a never ending soap opera.
The book ended alright. No major cliffhanger, everything wrapped up kinda nicely. I don’t see the need for a second book, but apparently there is one.

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Education of Sebastian

New Adult, Romance, Contemporary

4 out of 5 stars
Kindle 443 pages

A friendship between the lost and lonely Caroline, and the unhappy Sebastian, leads to an illicit love that threatens them both.

Caroline Wilson is trapped in a cold and loveless marriage with an older man. When her husband finally wins a long sought-after promotion, Caroline feels she has little choice but to follow him to a new home in San Diego. There she meets Sebastian, a young man of 17.

For an all too brief summer, their happiness blooms.

But external pressures begin to bear down, not least from the overbearing David, and Sebastian’s parents begin to suspect that their son has a secret. Even Caroline’s new friend, Donna, realises that dark passions exist below the serene surface. (Goodreads)







*MILD SPOILERS AHEAD*

Sebastian and Caroline meet when she is 21 years old, recently married to her Navy Doctor husband David. Sebastian is a little boy of eight who spends some time with Caroline after school. They develop a cute friendship, and according to Sebastian that is when he fell in love with Caroline, at to me seems a bit unlikely. A crush sure, but for Sebastian to harbor that crush and obsess, and have his feeling develop into "love" is stretching it for me.

This love for Caroline seemed more like an obsession the more I think about it. Sebastian was a virgin when he met Caroline, which is all well and good, especially at the young age of 17, but he was only one because he wanted to save himself for Caroline. A bit creepy!
His insatiable appetite for sex got tiring after a while. I know guys like and think about sex a lot, but it was a bit much for them to go at it all night long.

But there is no denying that both Caroline and Sebastian love each other. Caroline loves most everything about the young man, although she finds it very annoying that he has trouble keeping his feelings in check when the two of them are around other people. Sebastian was a smart kid, you think’d he’d understand to control his emotions as to not give away to everyone on the base that he is having an affair with a married woman.
And I’m glad that Caroline was able to grow a backbone by the end of the story and stand up to David.
While I really enjoyed the book, something was bugging me about it the whole time. It seemed a little shallow, or lacking details. The characters seemed bit 2 dimensional. Everything was a little too convenient. While I abhorred David, I never really got a clear picture as to why he treated Caroline the way he did. A bit of backstory on him would have been nice.
I actually felt a tad sorry for him when Sebastian’s parents came bursting through the door and announced that Caroline was cheating on him. It hit him like a ton of bricks. All this thinking about David makes me wish he could have his own story, and get a happy ending some how.
I’m so excited to read the next book, although not sure how I feel about Sebastian becoming a womanizer.

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The Promise - Wilson, C.E

Fantasy, Supernatural, Mystery, Young Adult

3 out of 5 stars
Ebook

What does it mean to be a human?
Lily Larkin is about to find out when on what should have been a day of great happiness, she is diagnosed with a rare and unbelievable disease. She is shrinking, possibly without limit.
As her life starts to spin out of control and the world starts to grow around her at an uncontrollable rate she is forced to confront her greatest fear - losing the man whom she loved from the moment she saw him. Can they stay together even though she feels her humanity slipping away? Can she trust him with her secret and, as her disease progresses, her safety and even her life? Can she trust herself?
A bittersweet story of love and loss, The Promise is a YA 
Paranormal Fantasy that will have you questioning the meaning of your own humanity and the weighing of trust against love.
What will Lily choose?
What would you choose? (From Goodreads)

This took me a lot longer to finish then I intended, but I couldn't get as much into the story as I liked.
Lilly is a tough girl complete with tattoo's and dreadlocks. She's married to a wonderful man named Eric, who loves her so very much, despite her rough exterior and stubbornness.
Lily who stands at about six feet tall, realizes one day that she is shrinking. At first she tries to hide it from Eric, but he eventually notices. They are flabbergasted that Lilly is getting shorter and it doesn't seem to be stopping. Eric's best friend Mark researches that there could be others like Lilly out there, those that have shrunk down to about six inches, and can no longer live amongst normal humans.
Eric is adiment about trying to live a normal life with his wife, despite the fact taht she is getting smaller and smaller every day. While Lilly doesn't want to get help from anyone and tries to do everything on her own despite being three feet tall.
I didn't like Lily as much as I wanted to. I found her to be way to stubborn. She should have just accpeted Erics, seen that she couldn't handle this problem on her own. Especially since Eric was so loving, caring, patient, and wanted nothing more then to see his wife happy. He wanted to help her, to show her that she wasn't alone, but Lily had a hard time getting that through her head. She seemed to think she was a burden to Eric, even though he told her he wasn't. Silly stubborn girl.

At the 75% mark the book really started to pick up, and I loved it. We know that Lilly isn't alone with this shrinking disease, and she can go somewhere and be safe with others like her.
The ending was bitter sweet, and I had wished to see more of it, especially what it was like for Lilly growing up with others like her, and how she met her husband.
I wouldn't mind reading another book about that, as this new world the author created has left me wanting to know so much more about it.

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Unteachable - Raeder, Leah

New Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Fiction
4 out of 5 stars
Kindle 286 pages

I met him at a carnival, of all corny places. The summer I turned eighteen, in that chaos of neon lights and cheap thrills, I met a man so sweet, so beautiful, he seemed to come from another world. We had one night: intense, scary, real. Then I ran, like I always do. Because I didn’t want to be abandoned again.

But I couldn’t run far enough.

I knew him as Evan that night. When I walked into his classroom, he became Mr. Wilke.

My teacher.

I don’t know if what we’re doing is wrong. The rules say one thing; my heart says screw the rules. I can’t let him lose his job. And I can’t lose him.

In the movies, this would have a happy ending. I grow up. I love, I lose, I learn. And I move on. But this is life, and there’s no script.  You make it up as you go along.

And you don’t pray for a happy ending. You pray for it to never end (From Goodreads)

I cannot accurately put into words how amazing this book was. How it took me on a roller coaster ride of emotions and how invested I was in the characters, their lives, their love and Wesley! Not to mention the writing was some of the best I've seen in a long while, it flowed like silk and was just as beautiful.

For once the young woman in this book is not some weepy virgin who doesn't know anything about sex. It's the complete opposite. Maise knows her body, loves it, and uses it. She likes having sex with older men, and isn't afraid to admit it, she enjoys her body and the pleasure it can bring her.

She's drawn to Evan because he's older then her, then there is the fact that he's her teacher so there's always the air of taboo around them, that it's wrong for them to be together but feels so right. But he makes her feel safe and loved as well.

This was a crazy journey filled with so much passion. Which at times I felt was too much, too many smutty scenes which overwhelmed the character and plot development at points. They didn't do much besides have sex, even when they were in St. Louis where no one would recognize them! Why not go out on more dates!. It was clear they loved each other, and it was so nice that Evan wasn't some over powerful, domineering alpha male. When he did show his alpha side, it was so hot it made me melt.


Maise had doubts about being with her teacher, if it would really work past her senior year. There was the fear of people finding out, of both their futures being ruined. It was nice to see them worry about each other, to care about each other and not just live in the moment. Maise was always thinking about her future, as was Evan and they both wanted the other to be successful and happy.


But they both have trouble lives, Evan burying his past, and Maise trying to get away from her present, and move toward a bright future, hopefully with the one she loves so much.

Evan has a past he wanted to keep buried, but it eventually surfaced which caused a split between the two, one that I thought wasn't going to be fixed and Maise would have just moved on with her life and found someone else to love. Especially when people started to find out about the affair, and it got messy.

But the ending! Oh my! It made me so happy and giddy! I really hope there is another book about these two some day because the writing alone is beautiful.

Looking back on it I don't fully understood what kept the two together, what kept their love burning for each other besides the hot romps in the sack.

The characters in this book felt real, I wanted to know their story, I was heartbroken at the lot Maise had been given in life, living with such a horrible mother. And she saw how kind and loving mothers could be in Wesley's mom.

Maise was a very strong character, wise and mature beyond her years. Although she knew and accepted at times that she was still young, still a kid. And it was those times that she relied on Evan to get her through her troubles.

Sometimes the book seemed a little much, almost a bit unbelievable, but I managed to over look it for the story was amazing and the writing held me in a trance it was so exquisite.

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Forever too Far - Glines, Abbi

New Adult, Romance, Contemporary,
3 out of 5 stars
Kindle 304 pages

Rush promised her forever... but promises can be broken.

Torn between his love for his family and his love for Blaire, Rush has to find a way to save one without losing the other. In the end one has to be more important. Letting go isn’t easy.

Blaire believed in her fairytale... but no one can live in a fantasy.

Her love for Rush and desire to have a family keep her believing that they can find a way for this to work. Until she has to make the right decision for her and the baby. Even if it breaks her heart.

Can they find the forever that they both want or has it all just gone... too far? (From Goodreads)

I have to say this book was so much better then the second one. Although still not as good as the first, because Rush was still no where near the cool dominating guy he was in Fallen. He was over emotional, and full of "caveman" tendencies. He fussed over Blaire far too much, and it annoyed me to no end that Rush wouldn't give Blaire two seconds of independence. I swear he thought that Blaire couldn't do anything for herself and had to be waited on constantly.

The drama was there which was nice, although it seemed a bit off and weird, fabricated almost. Nan was a pain in my rear end, probably because she seemed so underdeveloped and fake.

I don't understand how Blaire can still look so beautiful when she's very very pregnant.  Everyone thinks she's the hottest thing ever! And the size of her stomach was compared to that of a BEACH BALL! And she was pretty close to being full term. I'd say like seven months or so. Beach balls are not that big! And in six weeks Blaire can miraculously fit into her "pre-baby" jeans…what!! What about baby weight..and exercise. Glines makes pregnancy look like a walk in the park!

It was nice to see that after so many blunders Rush finally put Blaire and his baby first. Atlhough it took him till 79% when Blaire was in labor and Nan in a mental institution to see that.

I loved Harlow! He quiet and shy demeanor, and her POV was an interesting part of the story. I'm just hoping that Glines doesn't go and write a bunch of books about her and Grant. Because I'm not fond of Grant right now, and I love what Harlow thought of him, how she didn't like him and his choice in women.

The fact that the stuff that happened in Twisted Perfection makes an appearance at about the 75% mark as well as near the end which was pretty nice. It was a swell tie in.

I love baby Nate! Although I'm not sure about the name, I can picture Rush with him, sitting outside in the moonlight. It was quite cute.

Everything wrapped up nicely for Blaire and Rush. Although it would have been nice to see some resolution with Nan and Blaire, to see Nan mature and grow as a person instead of be a horribly mean person.

I wish the book had been longer, or we had some sort of epilogue looking into baby Nate's future. I'd love to see what he's like when he is Blaire's age. 

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Twisted Perfection - Glines, Abbi

Romance, New Adult, Contemporary
2 out of 5 Stars
Kindle 306 pages

Life outside of her house was a new experience for Della Sloane. The dark secrets of her past weren’t something she ever intended to share with anyone. They would never understand. No one would ever get close enough to find out. There was always a chance she’d go crazy sooner than they expected…

Woods Kerrington had never been one to be attracted to fragile females. They seemed like too much work. He wasn’t in it for the work just the pleasure. A night full of naughty fun had been exactly what was on his mind when he’d laid eyes on the hot little number that didn’t know how to pump gas and needed some help.

What he didn’t know was she was as fragile as they came.
The carefree girl who spoke her mind and didn’t care what the world thought of her was more breakable than he could ever imagine… (From Goodreads)

What happened to the Woods I knew and loved in the Too Far series? This Woods must be an impostor! Or the author decided to write a fanfiction of her own series.

This was not at all what I was expecting from Ms. Glines. I was expecting the easy going and fun  Woods from the Too Far series. What I got was someone totally different. This Woods was like a clone of Rush! He was possessive, obsessed with being "inside" Della, and would growl whenever some other guy said hi to Della.

Wood's was so possessive and sex crazed! All he thought about was being inside Della and the next time they could get together and have some uber hot sex somewhere. He wanted to protect her, and even fix her. He didn't really acknowledge that she had some serious mental issues, which I felt weren't addressed enough. Glines didn't go into enough background about how Della's mother went crazy.

Della was such a contradiction as well. She was supposed to be this innocent and naive character who wanted to experience the world. While it was nice to have the female lead not be a virgin, she was still far from what Woods was used to in the experience category. Or that was how I figured it would be, but when Woods and Della got all hot and heavy Della suddenly became a sex goddess who could satisfy Woods like no other girl before her could. And Woods of course can satisfy Della like no guy ever could. And on top of that Della was nice and smooth down there! That made me laugh, especially since it made Woods so excited. For someone with little experience with sexual matters its a wonder that Della got a Brazilian wax. *rolls eyes*

The plot was really thin in this book. It was a lot of melodrama mixed with bunches of sex. Nothing really got solved or properly dealt with. Especially Della's fragile mental condition. Woods just promised he would fix her. But how can he when he doesn't really know whats going on inside her head, and besides he's not a professional. Della needs to see a therapist!

Insta love strikes again. It would have been a much more enjoyable book if it had been longer and there had been more build up to Della and Wood's relationship. But they meet and they feel an INSTANT pull and attraction that they can't deny. What I want to know is WHY do they like each other? Do they have any common interests, have a common goal, have some of the same friends? No! I don't even know what any of them likes to do, well Woods likes to golf, drink, party and sleep around. But what else does he like to do? And what does Della like to do besides work and "experience life".

And the cliffhanger! Oh God! I could d have sworn that I saw on Abbie Glines Facebook that it wasn't a cliffhanger, that the book just ends. Oh it ends alright..with a massively STUPID cliffhanger!

I've come to the conclusion that Glines is out for money and fame and all that. It feels like Twisted Perfection was originally supposed to be much longer, one book instead of two. But because Glines is enjoying the limelight she decided to split it into two books and leave us with a cliffhanger. She's also promised that based on a set number of reviews, or when the book hits a certain number on the charts she will release a teaser of some sort. *sigh* I think I'm done with Abbi Glines, although I keep saying that…but I just love punishing myself by coming back for more.

It could have been so much better if the author hadn't rushed the book, and chopped it into two pieces. If she took the time to develop her characters instead of churning out books I'd be a lot happier. But people are going to continue to gobble up her books.

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Off Sides - Bennett, Sawyer

Romance,  New Adult, Contemporary
4 out of 5 stars
Kindle 173 pages

 Ryan Burnham is the privileged son of a U.S. Congressman and captain of his university’s hockey team. While he is on the verge of fulfilling his dreams to play in the NHL, his parents want him on a different course. One he is expected to accept for the sake of his family’s public image.

Forced her to abandon her music career after the heart breaking death of her parents, Danny Cross exists on the opposite side of the tracks from Ryan. She is struggling to make her own way, working two jobs, attending college part time and volunteering in a homeless shelter. She is on a mission to build her own success.

With a chance meeting, their vastly different worlds collide, causing each to evaluate whether they are truly on the correct path to self-fulfillment and happiness. Can their relationship survive? Particularly when others are against them every step of the way. A lot can happen in just ten short days... (From Goodreads)

This was a quick read and a pretty good story. It's a typical New Adult, where the female lead has fallen on hard times due to the untimely death of her parents. Our heroine though breaks the mold of the typical NA whiny and weak virgin. While a virgin, Danny is certainly no wimp. In the first few pages she puts a snobby rich girl in her place by dishing out some philosophical stuff.

Such a refreshing change to see the female lead so strong not only at the beginning of the book, but also by the end. She wants to do things on her own and has trouble accepting help from others.

Danny works as a waitress at the diner Ryan and his friends decide to stop at after a night of partying. What was refreshing about this was that Ryan was attracted to her wit and brain first rather then Danny's looks.

There's the common feature among many NA series where the male character has lots of money and Offsides is no exception. Ryans parents are in politics and are only concerned about the family image and making sure that Ryan has a suitable woman in his life, one that would improve their image.

Ryan could care less that Danny doesn't have money or isn't from his social circle, although it worries Danny a bit. She gets harassed for not being rich and for working in a diner. His mother on the other hand detests Danny and goes to great lengths to make sure she feels miserable and tries to make life difficult for both Ryan and Danny.

The hockey aspect of the novel was cool and different. The author wonderfully incorporated the sport into the book, which was also riddled with angst, some steamy scenes and even some humor.

The ending was really abrupt, but everything wrapped up pretty nicely. But the author tells us that we haven't seem the last of Danny and Ryan for which I'm quite happy about. The characters were pleasant and the writing was good.

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Loving Jenna - Skye, Katelyn

Romance, Adult, Contemporary
3 out of 5 stars
Kindle 163 pages

This series is contemporary, erotic romance featuring a billionaire, alpha male bachelor who, after attempting a false engagement to ensure his inheritance, falls helplessly in love with the reluctant Jenna. As he fights for her affection while trying to secure his Father's fortune, Morgan is forced to come to terms with what is more important to him, his inheritance or the unconditional love of the beautiful Jenna (From Goodreads)

Overall I enjoyed this series. It was a pretty quick read, and some of the scenes were very steamy and left me panting. But at the same time the constant sex scenes left me a bit bored and I started skimming through them. There was some good characterization although I felt that mostly came from Morgan.

I liked Jenna, she had some backbone and wasn't some wimpy spineless woman who let her boyfriend lord over her. She wasn't ashamed of her sexuality and was very open about what she wanted from Morgan.

I loved that Morgan was so different from the run of the mill alpha male that is prevalent in a lot of New Adult or erotic novels. He had some issues that needed to be worked on, which he actually did! With the help of Jenna, who helped him become a warm and caring man instead of just someone that was focused on work.

There was a lot of drama which was nice. And it read really nicely and it was believable. Nothing like the lame soap opera stuff I've been reading lately. And Jenna handled things well! She didn't wilt under pressure but rose up to meet it. Especially when Morgan's ex-fiancee Imogen came into the picture.

I really enjoyed the steamy scenes at first, but I skimmed them at about the 75% mark because they had gotten quite ridiculous and numerous, some of the stuff they said to each other made me laugh out loud. But it was nice to see both parties receive pleasure instead of just the female getting showered with attention.

Looking back on it I felt I couldn't really connect with the characters. I liked them well enough but I felt  they had a lack of depth at some points. At one point in the series Jenna was feeling insecure about whether Morgan really loved her or not. The author told us that she was insecure, but that's about it. There wasn't really much internal monologue with Jenna about how to deal with it.

An overall enjoyable read, especially the gracious amounts sexy times that were most certainly very hot.

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Never too Far - Glines, Abbi

New Adult, Romance, Contemporary
2 out of 5 stars
Kindle 188 pages

He had held a secret that destroyed her world.

Everything she had known was no longer true.

Blaire couldn’t stop loving him but she knew she could never forgive him.
Now, she was back home and learning to live again. Moving on with life… until something happened to send her world spinning once again.
What do you do when the one person you can never trust again is the one that you need to trust so desperately? 

You lie, hide, avoid, and pray that your sins never find you out. (From GoodReads)


THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS!!

I wanted to like this book much more then I actually did. This book was such a disappointment!  For months I had been waiting to read about the lives of Blaire and Rush, if they would ever reconcile, how their relationship would continue and evolve. How would they work out all of their problems?? But boy was I disappointed, I get a cliche plot device, a whiny heroine and a groveling hero.

Never Too Far picked up right where Fallen to Far left off. Blaire has been in Summit for three weeks or so and has trying to get her life back to normal. Trying not to think of Rush and all that happened to her during her time in Rosemary. She made a good effort, and had the support of her friend and first love Cain. She never wanted to go back to Rosemary or see Rush again, but fate had other things in mind.

The major plot device starts almost from the get go. We see Blaire buying a pregnancy test at some out of the way pharmacy. And we soon learn she's pregnant. Big surprise! Actually it was for me because I was not expecting this at all! I was expecting some kind of relationship resolution, or the two of them getting back together and working on their issues, but not this! And Blaire doesn't want to tell anyone, not even Rush that she's carrying his baby even though everyone tells her that she should tell him, that he deserves to know. And they all figure it out just because she pukes at the smell of bacon!!

She eventually makes her way back to Rush. And there is obvious tension between the two of them. She has forgiven him, but can't forget what he did to her. She agrees to be friends with Rush. Which would have been fine if there had been any development in that. They quickly move to the next level, for Blaire is horny and pretty much takes advantage of Rush, having passionate sex with him and then walking away as if nothing ever happened. Which leaves Rush hurt and confused.

There's lots of baby talk and how Blaire won't stay in the town for long, just long enough to save up money and move somewhere else. HOW!! She's like nineteen and has only held one job. How is she gonna get a job when she's so pregnant looking and on her own. Good thing she never had to move out of the town or she'd be screwed.

Blaire has trust issues, and feels like she doesn't belong in Rush's world. Which is completely understandable but is touched on SO BRIEFLY! Towards the end of the book we get a few paragraphs on how Blaire doesn't feel like she fits into Rush's world. But a few heartfelt words from Rush and she's melting into his arms and has a complete change of heart. I would have liked to have her deal with that more, have it an issue earlier on in the book.

I really enjoyed Rush's POV! It was so nice to hear what he was thinking and feeling. How torn up inside he was over the fact that he had messed up so badly and that he might never get Blaire back. He was trying really hard to control himself and not screw up. And he made an important choice to put Blaire first instead of Nan, who as an adult should be able to take care of herself.

But the characters are only half of what they were in the first book. I understand that they have both been through a lot, but there didn't seem to be a lot of problem solving or talking about issues in this book that most certainly should have been addressed.

The tension between Blaire and Rush in the first book was non-existent in this book. I know that they had broken up, but there could have been some UST! There was just Blaire being a horny pregnant teenager, Blaire getting mad at Rush for one thing or another, which turns out to be stupid because Rush never really never screws up big like he did in the first book. Blaire only sees things from her perspective, which is why she's so upset most of the time because she's only getting half of the story. Rush is taking care of his own problems, which Blaire fails to realize he has them! Rush has a lot of family drama to deal with, and the fact that Blaire is so caught up in herself is ridiculous. She's focused on the baby, saving up and moving on with her life.

Blaire could have confronted Nan, about why Nan hated her so much. But she never did. And Blaire was so quick to believe that Rush was having dinner with his family! I mean really..Blaire needs to grow a backbone or something. We get some explanation at the end, and now it seems that Nan has grown up and doesn't hate Blaire anymore. That was quite confusing, didn't really make a lot of sense. She just suddenly asked about being in the baby's life. Whaa??

The ending was a pretty big cop out. I do like that we get some resolution between Blaire and her father, but thats the only positive I really feel. I've never read such a stupid ending for a book. They find out the sex of the baby and there's a big THE END at the end.

Overall, very disappointed. I read the book in a few hours it was so short. I WANTED to like this book SO MUCH! There was so much that could have happened in this book that didn't. The drama wasn't even all that impressing.

And now we get a third book. Which I'm not gonna lie, I'll read it although I'm not sure how entertaining it will be since it'll probably be all about baby things. To me  it seemed like Abbi Glines planned for that, even though she stated on her Facebook that if the book reached number one on Amazon she'd release another book.

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Wolf Sirens: Forbidden: Discover The Legend - Smith, Tina

Supernatural, Fantasy, Romance, Mystery, Mythology
3 out of 5 stars
Kindle/PDF, 370 pages

 When Lila unwillingly moves to the country town of Shade, she can’t imagine the life-altering events that lie in wait for her. Shade has a curfew and has always been surrounded by myths. A central feature of the town is its famous statue of Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt, whose spirit is said to protect the innocent.
Lila falls in with a group of intriguing teenagers with luminescent eyes and soon she is drawn into the shadow-lands of fantasy and reality, where destiny collides.
A mysterious local girl, Cresida, warns her to stay away, but Lila is drawn to them like a moth to a flame. (From Goodreads)

I have mixed feelings about this book. I really enjoyed it, especially the last half and the ending was just wracked with emotion, but for a while I thought it was a bit messy. There were so many questions, and not enough answers.

We get a nice prologue that sets up the mythology of the book nicely, but it never makes a reappearance till near the end of the book.

Lila's the new girl at school, and everyone seems to ignore her except for the popular kids. They draw her into their group, want her to be like them. But Lila is skeptical, she can't understand why the populars would want her in their group. Then Cres comes into the picture and warns Lila to stay away from them. And Lila can't understand why. She thinks that Cres is crazy, especially after seeing a video of the popular kids turning into wolves. For about a quarter of the book Lila doesn't believe what Cres is trying to show her and thinks that Cres is crazy and that a few of the kids are getting hazed and bullied at school.

Eventually Lila learns that Sam and her popular friends are infect werewolves, and that Reid has taken an interest in her. She's accepted into the pack, wants to become one of them, and  be just like them, for who wouldn't want to live forever.

I felt that this was a mash up on genre's, romance, urban fantasy/supernatural and mystery. I felt like it was trying to be a bunch of different things, sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't.  At one time when Lila and Reid got together it felt like something out of a New Adult book, I thought there was going some hot sexy times, but that was completely skipped over. All the mention of it was 'we made love', which took me by surprise becauseI thought there'd be something more. At the same time I'm assuming the author didn't want to focus so munch on the romance, but more so on the struggles of Lila and joining the pack and all the angst that went along with it.

Sky and Lilia's romance came out of no where! All of a sudden Lila seemed so obsessed with Sky, and getting him to be hers. I could see it coming a mile away that he had feelings for her. Their romance was quick and heated, and didn't last long because of the ending!! That just took me by surprise! How could the author do that!! Made me so sad, because by the end I wanted Sky and Lila to reunite.

I felt that the mystery part of the novel felt a bit messy. I was tired of Lila thinking that everyone was apart of some sort of hazing or bullying just because the popular kids took an interest in her and seemed to ignore everyone else, but I guess that's what the reaction would be now a days, which felt real. Lila's reaction to the video was spot on too, she thought it was fake, and wanted to expose how crazy Cres was to everyone. It took her until about half the book, when she started hanging out with the pack, and see them transform to finally believe that it was all real.

The romance was a bit wonky too. I liked Lilia/Reid, it was cute and seemed guanine, but then she seemed to become so obsessed with Sky and it was out of the blue. Suddenly she didn't care about Reid anymore, even though a few pages before that she was really happy with him, and was actually surprised that someone as handsome as he could take an interest in her.  Another instance where it tried to be like a New Adult novel was the constant going back and forth between Reid and the obsessive feelings she had for Sky. Suddenly, she would do anything to be near Sky and she wanted him so badly, and would think about him almost constantly. Why she didn't break up with Reid eludes me, but I think she was too cowardly to do it, liked having a boyfriend, someone to love her. But then we learn that Reid never really liked her, that it was Sam's ploy to use Reid to ensure that Lila would stick around.

There were a few twists and turns, what Lila was destined to become, even though she wants nothing more then to be a werewolf. Which sounds just like Twilight! Lila is like Bella, although much more developed and has a backbone, doesn't like anyone push her around. Lila is a strong character, and I really liked her. She goes from being a loner, to having friends, and becoming  a strong person.

I wouldn't classify Ms. Smith's werewolves as 'werewolves'. To me a werewolf is something like out of Harry Potter, while these were just people that transformed into wolves. I see them more as shape shifters rather then werewolves. But I do like that when one was bitten, you stopped aging, and even looked younger! So Sam, who was about thirty when she was bitten, now probably looks like she' in her late teens.

Everything did tie up nicely, all the confusion and frustration I had throughout the book was tied up by the end. Although sometimes the wording and sentences in the book seemed a bit off, some things were worded oddly, some sentences I had to re-read because it sounded a bit off.

There is a second book, which I plan to read, because this one seemed to end a bit suddenly and I want to know what happens with Lila, now that she's becoming a hunter.

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The Selkie Spell (Seal Island Trilogy #1) - Moss, Sophie

 Romance, Fantasy, Mythology, Mystery
3 out of 5 Stars
Kindle,  227 pages

In this modern-day fairy tale romance, American doctor Tara Moore travels to an enchanted Irish island and discovers she has the power to break a 200-year-old curse. At first, Tara laughs off the villagers’ speculation that she is descended from a selkie—a magical creature who is bewitching the island. But when a ghostly woman appears to her with a warning, Tara realizes it was more than chance that brought her to this island. Desperate to escape a dark and dangerous past, Tara struggles against a passionate attraction to handsome islander Dominic O’Sullivan. But the enchantment of the island soon overpowers her and she falls helpless under its spell. Caught between magic and reality, Tara must find a way to wield both when a dangerous stranger from her past arrives, threatening to destroy the lives of everyone on the island. (From Goodreads)

I was hooked from the prologue. Mythologies and such have always been of interest to me, and the fact that the book is set in Ireland is a big plus, as I love the country.


I started out liking this book, and the characters. But as I got half way through it started to bore me. Tara wasn't that interesting, things weren't explained very well, they felt glossed over.

The romance between Dominic and Tara seemed a bit sudden, and happened too quickly. Dominic didn't want Tara to work in the pub he owned because she reminded him too much of his ex-wife. But she was allowed to work there, all the while he was cold and mean towards her.

There was some sexual tension there, but then it suddenly seemed like they were together. Dominic did a 180 attitude change and is now all loving and quite protective of Tara.

Until I hit about 85%, once Tara's husband comes into the picture and really starts making trouble, I really started to get into the book and it was action packed at the end.

The book was not without its flaws. There were frequent point of view changes in the middle of a paragraph. Glimpses of what the other characters were thinking during a particular scene. It was confusing as I was not expecting to hear what the other characters thought, especially not in the middle of a paragraph.

The writing was simple, but some parts flowed very well. There were some intimate scenes between Dominic and Tara that I thought were done quite well. They had a poetic feeling to them which I enjoyed.

I'm going to be reading the next book in the series, as I'm eager to know the story from Caitlin's perspective. I'm hoping it doesn't just rehash what happens in the first book.

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