Sunday, April 27, 2014

"When I Break" by Kendall Ryan

Series: When I Break #1
Genre: New Adult
Format: Kindle
Publication: February 24, 2014
Cover Rating: 3/5 Stars


From Goodreads: Knox Bauer's life has unraveled to the point of no return. Fighting to fill the emptiness inside himself, he seeks solace in unfamiliar beds with unfamiliar women. As guardian to his three younger brothers, he can't seem to do a thing right. But this can't go on...they look up to him in every way and all he’s done lately is prove how messed up he really is. Needing a change, he attends a local Sex Addicts Anonymous meeting, where he finds himself tempted by the alluring instructor, McKenna.

Twenty-one year old McKenna is trying to make amends. After losing her parents in a horrific accident, she knows if she can just be good enough, maybe she can forgive herself for what happened. With her newly acquired degree in counseling, she begins leading a sex addicts group where she meets the troubled Knox and her life takes on complications she never bargained for. She doesn't have time for a bad boy who only wants to take her to bed, even if her body disagrees. The fixer in her wants to help, but trusting Knox's true motivations might take more courage than she has.


My Thoughts: OH... Oh yes! Loved this book! Knox and McKenna are so amazing together, and I love their stories. I read this in one sitting on a rainy afternoon and it was beyond my expectations of a free Kindle book! Steamy, intriguing, and emotional, I just simply devoured When I Break! The only negative thing I can possible say is that I was left wanting MORE. Mainly because it just ends pretty abruptly. Uncool Kendall Ryan! But I still will obsess about these characters and will be buying the second book in the series! If you're looking for an intense, page turning read, look no further because When I Break is all that and more!

My Rating: 4/5 Stars

"Unbroken" by Melody Grace

Series: Beachwood Bay #1
Genre: New Adult
Format: Kindle
Publication: March 11, 2013
Cover Rating: 5/5 Stars
Recommended By: Krista at Krista's Dust Jacket


From Goodreads: "Mom always told me there are two kinds of love in this world: the steady breeze, and the hurricane. Emerson Ray was my hurricane...."

Juliet McKenzie was an innocent eighteen-year old when she spent the summer in Beachwood Bay—and fell head over heels in love with Emerson. Complicated, intense Emerson, the local bad boy. His blue eyes hid dark secrets, and just one touch could set Juliet ablaze. Their love was demanding and all-consuming, but when summer ended, tragedy tore them apart. Juliet swore she’d never go back, and she’s kept that promise… Until now.

Four years later, Juliet’s done her best to rebuild the wreckage of her shattered life. She’s got a great boyfriend, and a steady job planned after she graduates. Returning to Beachwood to pack up her family’s beach house to prepare it for sale, Juliet is determined that nothing will stand in the way of her future. But one look from Emerson, and all her old desire comes flooding back. He let her go once, but this time, he’s not giving up without a fight. And Emerson fights dirty.

A heartbreaking history. An unstoppable passion. Torn between her past and future, Juliet struggles to separate love from desire. But will they find a way to overcome their tragic secrets—together? And after so much damage has been done, can a love remain unbroken?


My Thoughts:  I was going through a major book hang-over when my lovely friend and fellow blogger, Krista, recommended me Unbroken (along with a slew of other NA reads, because she's just that awesome). And I'm so glad she did! It was exactly what I needed to get over my hangup! Unbroken is a fast paced read that quickly sucks you into Juliet and Emerson's story. It takes place four years after Juliet and Emerson end their first love and summer romance. Juliet has spent her years in the city finishing her college degree and trying to move on from the pain that Emerson Ray caused her. That is, until she has a reason to go back to where it all started, Beachwood Bay. From there the story shoots off into a roller-coaster ride of emotion ranging from heartbreaking to extra steamy hot flashes induced by Emerson himself.

The only issue I had with this book was the insta-love presented between Emerson and Juliet. Sure, they had a really epic background that we're told about, but from their first reunion it's like BAM back in love. I would have loved more development between them before they got all hot and bothered. Other than though, I would recommend Unbroken to be the absolute perfect beach read to take on your next vacation! Plenty of ocean and sand, and hottie Emerson to keep you company!


My Rating: 3/5 Stars

Colleen Hoover Reading Binge Review!

So the past few days I went on a Colleen Hoover reading binge. I read Slammed (review here) & Point of Retreat (review here) last year and both were amazing. So this week I decided I would play some catch up on Mrs. Hoover. And holy crap am I glad I did! Here's the mini-reviews, and trust me when I say you should go buy all of them!


From Goodreads: At twenty-two years old, aspiring musician Sydney Blake has a great life: She’s in college, working a steady job, in love with her wonderful boyfriend, Hunter, and rooming with her good friend, Tori. But everything changes when she discovers Hunter cheating on her with Tori—and she is left trying to decide what to do next.

Sydney becomes captivated by her mysterious neighbor, Ridge Lawson. She can’t take her eyes off him or stop listening to the daily guitar playing he does out on his balcony. She can feel the harmony and vibrations in his music. And there’s something about Sydney that Ridge can’t ignore, either: He seems to have finally found his muse. When their inevitable encounter happens, they soon find themselves needing each other in more ways than one…


My Thoughts: !!!! That was me the entire time reading Maybe Someday. Seriously, it was amazing. It instantly became one of my favorites, and I will probably be re-reading it any day now. Sydney and Ridge had such amazing chemistry that I couldn't put their story down. Not to mention, Ridge is SO swoon-worthy!!! As always CH spins out an ORIGINAL NA story that leaves you turning the pages well past midnight, and begging for more. Seriously, I cannot say anything bad about this book. It was absolutely perfect and full of The Feels!My Rating: 5/5 Stars!




From Goodreads: Sometimes discovering the truth can leave you more hopeless than believing the lies…

That’s what seventeen-year-old Sky realizes after she meets Dean Holder. A guy with a reputation that rivals her own and an uncanny ability to invoke feelings in her she’s never had before. He terrifies her and captivates her all in the span of just one encounter, and something about the way he makes her feel sparks buried memories from a past that she wishes could just stay buried.

Sky struggles to keep him at a distance knowing he’s nothing but trouble, but Holder insists on learning everything about her. After finally caving to his unwavering pursuit, Sky soon finds that Holder isn’t at all who he’s been claiming to be. When the secrets he’s been keeping are finally revealed, every single facet of Sky’s life will change forever.

My Thoughts: I SO loved the heroine, Sky, is this novel! She was so thought-provoking, relateable, strong, and just plain bad-ass. Her story will leave you crying and hoping against everything that you're wrong about her past. What can I say, Colleen Hoover knows how to pull on our heart-strings. However, I will be honest and say this was my least favorite of her novels (which granted, isn't saying too much because she's an epic writer and none of her work is bad). This novel just didn't suck me in as much as the others. I also wasn't a fan of the insta-love between Sky and Holder. I didn't really feel their connection as quickly as it developed and I also never really felt connected to Holder as a character. BUT Hopeless was still a great novel and one I would recommend to anyone who loves the NA genre!

My Rating: 3/5 Stars




From Goodreads: *This novella is a companion novel to the Hopeless series, but can be read as a standalone. *

A chance encounter in the dark leads eighteen-year-old Daniel and the girl who stumbles across him to profess their love for each other. But this love comes with conditions: they agree it will only last one hour and it will only be make-believe.

When their hour is up and the girl rushes off like Cinderella, Daniel tries to convince himself that what happened between them only seemed perfect because they were pretending it was perfect. Moments like that with girls like her don’t happen outside of fairytales.

One year and one bad relationship later, his disbelief in insta-love is stripped away the day he meets Six: a girl with a strange name and an even stranger personality. Daniel soon realizes the way he pretended to feel about Cinderella and the way he really feels about Six may not be so different after all. Especially when the two loves of his life end up being one in the same.

Unfortunately for Daniel, finding Cinderella doesn’t guarantee their happily ever after…it only further threatens it

My Thoughts: What I felt was lacking in Hopeless, I found in the novella Finding Cinderella! I freaking LOVED Daniel and Six together! Their personalities were just so in-tuned with the other that it made for one hell of a great story! My only complaint is that it's over and that they didn't get a full story! Because they SO could have! Finding Cinderella is definitely my second favorite Colleen Hoover book (only falling short to Maybe Someday) and I highly recommend it to EVERYONE. Even if you haven't read Hopeless you can still read this. Besides some intersecting characters, it is a complete stand-alone.

My Rating:  5/5 Stars

Monday, April 21, 2014

"Don't Look Back" by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Genre: YA Mystery/ Thriller/ Romance
Format: ARC Paperback
Publication: April 15, 2014 by Disney Hyperion
Cover Rating: 5/5 Stars
Links: GoodreadsAmazonBarnes & Noble

From Goodreads: Samantha is a stranger in her own life. Until the night she disappeared with her best friend, Cassie, everyone said Sam had it all-popularity, wealth, and a dream boyfriend. 

Sam has resurfaced, but she has no recollection of who she was or what happened to her that night. As she tries to piece together her life from before, she realizes it's one she no longer wants any part of. The old Sam took "mean girl" to a whole new level, and it's clear she and Cassie were more like best enemies. Sam is pretty sure that losing her memories is like winning the lottery. She's getting a second chance at being a better daughter, sister, and friend, and she's falling hard for Carson Ortiz, a boy who has always looked out for her-even if the old Sam treated him like trash.

But Cassie is still missing, and the facts about what happened to her that night isn't just buried deep inside of Sam's memory-someone else knows, someone who wants to make sure Sam stays quiet. All Sam wants is the truth, and if she can unlock her clouded memories of that fateful night, she can finally move on. But what if not remembering is the only thing keeping Sam alive?


My Thoughts: First of all, I would like to say a HUGE EPIC thank you to author of Alienated, Melissa Landers, for hosting a giveaway and giving me this!

I completely devoured this book! I mean, it's JLA, so I just knew it was going to be awesome. But seriously, she blew me out of the water. Again.

Don't Look Back is a thrilling page turner that will leave you up well past midnight trying to figure out the mystery. Fans of Pretty Little Liars will lick it up like it's chocolate on a spoon, and JLA stalkers enthusiasts will NOT be disappointed in their favorite author. With awesomely real, characters like Sam, Carson *swoon*, and Scott, and a well thought out "what the heck is going on" mystery, the story just completely sucks in and will remind you yet again why JLA is one of your favorites.

Seriously, don't skip this book. And go buy it in paperback because you are going to want that awesome cover on your shelf!


My Favorite:


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Sunday, April 20, 2014

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?



This week I'm reading:


Sometimes discovering the truth can leave you more hopeless than believing the lies…

That’s what seventeen-year-old Sky realizes after she meets Dean Holder. A guy with a reputation that rivals her own and an uncanny ability to invoke feelings in her she’s never had before. He terrifies her and captivates her all in the span of just one encounter, and something about the way he makes her feel sparks buried memories from a past that she wishes could just stay buried.

Sky struggles to keep him at a distance knowing he’s nothing but trouble, but Holder insists on learning everything about her. After finally caving to his unwavering pursuit, Sky soon finds that Holder isn’t at all who he’s been claiming to be. When the secrets he’s been keeping are finally revealed, every single facet of Sky’s life will change forever.



And:


Time is out of joint. The summer of peace and plenty, ten years long, is drawing to a close, and the harsh, chill winter approaches like an angry beast. Two great leaders—Lord Eddard Stark and Robert Baratheon—who held sway over an age of enforced peace are dead...victims of royal treachery. Now, from the ancient citadel of Dragonstone to the forbidding shores of Winterfell, chaos reigns, as pretenders to the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms prepare to stake their claims through tempest, turmoil, and war. 

As a prophecy of doom cuts across the sky—a comet the color of blood and flame—six factions struggle for control of a divided land. Eddard’s son Robb has declared himself King in the North. In the south, Joffrey, the heir apparent, rules in name only, victim of the scheming courtiers who teem over King’s Landing. Robert’s two brothers each seek their own dominion, while a disfavored house turns once more to conquest. And a continent away, an exiled queen, the Mother of Dragons, risks everything to lead her precious brood across a hard hot desert to win back the crown that is rightfully hers. 

A Clash of Kings transports us into a magnificent, forgotten land of revelry and revenge, wizardry and wartime. It is a tale in which maidens cavort with madmen, brother plots against brother, and the dead rise to walk in the night. Here a princess masquerades as an orphan boy; a knight of the mind prepares a poison for a treacherous sorceress; and wild men descend from the Mountains of the Moon to ravage the countryside. 

Against a backdrop of incest and fratricide, alchemy and murder, the price of glory may be measured in blood. And the spoils of victory may just go to the men and women possessed of the coldest steel...and the coldest hearts. For when rulers clash, all of the land feels the tremors. 


Audacious, inventive, brilliantly imagined, A Clash of Kings is a novel of dazzling beauty and boundless enchantment—a tale of pure excitement you will never forget.





Thoughts So Far: Hopeless is of course awesome. It's Colleen Hoover. The lady can't write anything that's NOT awesome. It's emotional and romantic, and the heroine is just freaking wonderful. You should all go read it.

A Clash of Kings is also fantastic. However, I have my issues with George RR Martin. He's epic and we all know it. BUT, the guy can be TOO descriptive for my taste. Sometimes, I feel like it's best to leave something up to the imagination. But hey, it's Game of Thrones, so he's allowed to do whatever the heck he wants. Including killing off every character ever. 


Hope you all had a fantastic Easter! And happy reading!

Saturday, April 19, 2014

The One Where I Got Married...

It's been so long since I've put up any reviews! And I'm sorry, but I promise, I have a really good reason! This past December my long term awesome boyfriend finally asked me to marry him!

Anyway, we I decided (being the most impatient person in the world) that I wanted to get married on March 15...  which was in roughly two months and some change  Surely, I could plan a wedding in that time! It would be a piece of cake! Why would anyone need a year to plan for a wedding?! If any of you have ever planned a wedding, you're probably laughing right now at how naive I was.

Turned out, wedding planning was a lot more to take on than what I had originally thought. But with the help of my awesome family and friends (especially my Maid of Honor and bridesmaids), I was able to get through it with my sanity... mostly!

But now things are finally settling back down to normal and I can come back to recommending amazing books and doing reviews! 

In the mean time though, here's some fun pictures from the big event!


Our wedding cake and the topper inspired by Doctor Who! 


Epic "Last Supper" Wedding Party Photo!


 After the big event was over! If you can't tell, there are boxes of really awesome gifts surrounding us!


My Car!


 Wedding Selfie of the Groom!





If you didn't know, I'm secretly a badass ninja!



Right before my MOH talked me out of running away to Mexico! Bahah Kidding! Kidding! Love this lady <3 p="">






This is Jessa and Ashley! The first time I actually got to "meet" them in person! We found each other on Goodreads a few years ago with our other awesome GReeps! Super fantastic ladies and so adorable together!







I won't bore you with anymore pictures! The only thing you need to know was that it was bookish, and epic, and one of the happiest days of my life :)

Hope you guys all have a happy Easter!

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