Saturday, November 30, 2013

REVIEW: TRAGIC, MANIC, and PANIC by JA Huss

Disclaimer: I decided to put my reviews for all three books together. I did this because I read all three back to back. 

If you haven't met Rook and Ronin, well you're about to.

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Blurb: Rook Walsh is TRAGIC

Because life so far – just sucks. Some girls get parents. Rook got the foster care system. Some girls get Prince Charming. Rook got an abusive frog. Some girls get lucky…

Rook got a second chance.

And she took it. Because when fate throws you a bone – you grab it with both hands and run.

Antoine Chaput knows the minute he spies Rook in his photography studio that she’s got The Look. The dark and desperate look he must have to land the exclusive TRAGIC media contract.

Rook is paired up with top model, Ronin, and he’s everything her abusive ex-boyfriend wasn’t. Patient, gentle, happy, attentive, and sexy! He knows exactly what to do to make Rook blush for Antoine’s camera. 

Rook’s luck changes in an instant and suddenly she’s the darling of the modeling world. It’s a dream job to go with a dream guy and all she has to do is look pretty and follow directions. But there’s always a price to pay – and Rook is about to get the bill.

New Adult Contemporary Romance *Mature Content* Recommended for ages 17+ due to sexual situations and language usage

                                                               MY REVIEW
This book pulled me in from the start. So much so that I didn't even realize I had finished it until I did. Everything happens so quickly but yet not.

Rook is without a doubt what some would call Tragic. Her life has been shit. Her mom was a crackhead, she bounced around from foster home to foster home. Then as if that wasn't bad enough, throw in a horrible and abusive relationship. It´s after all that when we meet Rook. She has left the abusive asshole and is down and out. Broke, now jobless, and has been living at a homeless shelter. Then her life takes a change. Like the snap of a finger, or in the case a card smacking her in the head. 
She doesn't give much thought to it. Just knows it is a chance at a paying job. She never expects what she gets.

Ronin has grew up in this business. Modeling is second nature to him. Ignoring the cameras no big deal. He even manages the girls. This is bluntly obvious in the beginning because of the word choice. Ronin just seems like a player and a flirt. Flirt, yes. Player, nah. Not once we get to know him. The relationship between Rook and Ronin develops fairly quickly. A lot has to do with the nature of the job. Though for someone with issues like Rook´s I was surprised at how fast she let Ronin in. But I am glad he also starts to open up to her too. I like both of these characters and hope the next two books really delve into their relationship. There is still a lot of loose ends and plenty of time for more development with the two of them. Even if you don´t enjoy the relationship between the two MC, the lesson in this story is that the course of your life can change on the drop of a dime. Your choices affect the way it goes though. Choose wisely.

 5 stars!

BOOK 2

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Blurb:TRAGIC is over and Rook is ready for the future—Spencer Shrike and the STURGIS contract! 

It’s three months of body art modeling! That means three months of Spencer Shrike’s paintbrush all over her body, three months in front of Antoine’s camera, and three months of twenty-four hour filming for Spencer’s Biker Channel reality show.

Wait a minute…what reality show? Maybe she should’ve read that STURGIS contract a little closer? ;)

Sure, Rook’s bank account is almost overflowing, but Ronin is angry, Clare is trying to escape rehab, Antoine is a worried mess, and Elise is just trying to hold everyone together. Her new family is about to fall apart before she even gets the chance to enjoy them.

Add in a mysterious man from her past, a road trip to the famous Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, and a final show in front of the entire world where all her goods are on display, and you’ve got Manic—a new adult contemporary romance that will definitely make your summer sizzle!


                                                           My REVIEW
This is how you do a follow up book! Once again Rook and Ronin pulled me in. I fell in love with new characters too! I was not expecting to like Ford and Spencer as much as I did. In fact I figured Spence would do something to make me hate him since he was so nice in the first book. Liking Ford threw me off..

I´m not a runner and I´m not a cheater, either. Life is long, and you are young, and I´m very, very patient.

He wasn't very nice but he has his reasons. Even though strained at times I liked having the interactions between Ronin, Spencer, and Ford. Their background helped fill in a lot. 

The bodypainting done by Spencer for his Shrike bikes, sounded amazing. I found myself wishing I could see these designs and shoots. Rook had problems modeling without Ronin and I can understand. I mean she does erotic modeling, kinda hard to do without getting up close and personal with whoever you are posing with.. Let´s not forget she was nude. But things work themselves out.

I hate the role Clare played in this book. To me Rook was too understanding and Ronin was too stupid to see that Clare was trying to pull them apart even while in rehab. I am not a fan of Clare at all. 
I was blown away by some of the things to do with Jon in this book, but glad that we got to travel that storyline and things weren't wrapped up in a pretty bow. I knew he would be a threat and I am glad JA Huss didn´t ignore that possibility. What I really liked was how Ronin, Ford and Spencer took control. They were nothing like I expected.

Your first expression of Spencer should be dumb. Your first impression of Ford should be well-dressed asshole, but maybe a little on the weak side. Your first impression of me should be honest, trustworthy guy. Goodlooking, charming, happy, and eager to help and please. Your first impressions would be dead ass wrong in all three causes. Because Spencer is a certifiable genius, Ford is as ruthless as they come, and I´m an accomplished liar.

These men continue to blow my mind. Rook and Ronin together aside from all the bullshit they have to go through are beautiful together.

Another  ★ 5 stars!  


                                                              Book 3


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Blurb: Rook is chasing her dream—film school and a chance at a life beyond the one she ran from six months ago. But before she can become the girl she wants to be, she must deal with the girl she left behind.

Ronin is also chasing his dream—a family of his own and a life away from erotic modeling. And he too, has a past he’s trying to forget. A past that makes Rook question everything about their life together.

Lies, secrets, and shocking truths will rock the foundation Rook and Ronin have built. Can they put the past behind them and move forward together? Or is this just another too good to be true relationship that will crash and burn in the end?

                                                               My REVIEW
This book was probably my favorite out of all three. This one had more going on. I wa glad to see how much Rook grew up. She wasn´t running scared anymore, granted that has to do with the events from book 2 but there are still plenty of times when I wondered if she would pack up her shit and go. Go back running and hiding but she surprised me.

This one is different in the fact that Rook is moving in with Spencer for a while during production of his show. And Ronin is staying back at the studio to produce GIDGET. Unfortunatley for Rook Clare is back home and is the GIDGET. But she also has a few other things on her mind. She doesn´t like Rook and she wants Ronin all too herself. Ronin is either too sweet or too dumb to catch on right away. I always knew I hated Clare..Anyways. The move for Rook comes with a surprise that Ford will be living there too.. 

¨How did I get here? We´re Three´s Company. Spencer is airhead Chrissy,Ford is intellectual Janet, and I´m pretending to be gay so I don´t notice that you two are roomate eye-candy.¨

Yeah I without a doubt love the friendships between all of these characters. But they are all still hiding secrets. Secrets that can change everything. Secrets that have the potential to either pull them all apart or make them stronger. I am so proud of Rook in this book. In the end. These guys are all a team.

I didn´t think it was possible but I fell even harder for Ford. At times I even wanted to see what would happen with him and Rook if they crossed that line. She is the one that made him feel

¨Everyone but you, Rook. You are the only person on this entire Earth I care about. And you belong to someone else. And if were anyone but him I´d just say take you and say fuck the consequences.¨ 

See how can you not fall from him when he says things like that? 
If you touch me I´ll touch you back. I´ll cup your face and kiss your mouth. I´ll hold you close and make you choose me. I´ll ruin everything if you touch me. I´ll ruin us.I´ll ruin this. I´ll ruin you, just like you said. I´ll ruin you and I´ll ruin your life. And I love you too much too to ruin you.


If I wasn´t so much Team Ronin and Rook, I would want so badly to be Team Ford. Not only has this author made me fall in love with one man in this story but two others as well. I adore Spencer and Ford flaws, past and secrets. Because with not only these two but all three men, if you peel back the layers and see into their souls they are beautiful and when they care about you. It´s over. Rook will never have to worry again. She has people that love her regardless of her past and these people help her make herself stronger. I am going to miss Rook and Ronin. I am so glad there will be a spin off for Ford and Spencer. I am not ready to let these men go yet. 

I loved this series. So much that I finished all three books in a day. If you haven´t mean the Team yet, then you need to stop stalling and do it now. You won´t regret it.


★ 5 stars!  
  

I don think I can say enough about this series, aside from the fact that I loved it. I really don´t want to say goodbye. I devoured these books. All in one day, okay so the last one I technically finished at 1 a.m. but you get the picture. Don´t pass this series up! 

Buy links will be listed for all three. Via Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Tragic- via Amazon - this one is FREE at the moment!
Tragic-via B&N- .99 cents




AUTHOR BIO:


JA Huss is a SF and new adult romance junkie, has a love-hate relationship with the bad boys, and likes to write new adult books about people with real problems. She lives with her family on a small acreage farm in Colorado and has two donkeys named Paris and Nicole. Before writing fiction, she authored almost two hundred science workbooks and always has at least three works in progress. Her first new adult romance is called TRAGIC.

** NOTE: Bio from Goodreads

Sunday, November 24, 2013

REVIEW: A is for Alpha Male by Laurel Ulen Curtis

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BLURB: I’m Haley Whitfield, and I recently had the ingenious idea to enlist my mother, Allison, as my kick*ss sidekick and set out on a road trip.

This road trip wasn’t to be just any road trip, but a very special one indeed. An adventure with an acutely specific purpose-- to find our other halves. The peanut butter to our jelly. The i to our Phone. The stripper to our pole.

If our romantic desires were a personal ad, they would read something like this.

** Two sassy women (Ages twenty-seven and forty-nine respectively--Ouch. Okay, ages twenty-seven and thirty--with nineteen years experience-- respectively) seeking Alpha Males to love us with zeal and kiss us with skill. Gorgeous face and sexy, tattooed, hard body a must. If you aren’t a dangerous bad*ss with the x-rated skills and virility to match, don’t bother. Must be willing to protect us from danger, value our quirkiness, and keep your mouth shut when said quirkiness is what leads to said danger. Momma’s boys named Dan Smith need not apply.**

I know. It’s a bit wordy. In fact, it would probably cost a fortune. Luckily, we’re not ready for the personal ad. We’re not that desperate...yet.

This is my story.

Warning: Some explicit language and sexual content


REVIEW

 I really enjoyed A is for Alpha Male. This book cracked me up. I was seriously laughing out loud and am pretty sure I want to be BFF´s with Allison and Haley. 

Allison and Haley set out on a mother/daughter road trip in the hopes of finding their perfect man based on Kristin Ashley´s character traits. In case you haven't read anything by KA her men are serious Alphas but sweet and sexy all rolled in one. 

Anyways- just the relationship alone between Allison and Haley makes this story worth reading. The way they interacted with each other had me laughing out loud like a crazy person. Thank god I wasn't in public when I read this one... someone would of thought I forgot to take my meds ;) Though this adventure is about both women, this is Haley´s story and told through her. I couldn't put this book down! It was a funny quick read. I loved Allison, I loved Haley and I especially loved Danny. I am looking forward to not only reading more by this author, but also the rest of this series

BUY LINKS: Amazon
                              Barnes and Noble


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Laurel Ulen Curtis Laurel Ulen Curtis is a 26 year old mother of one. She lives with her husband and son (and cat and two fish!) in New Jersey, but grew up all over the United States. She graduated from Rutgers University in 2009 with a Bachelor of Science in Meteorology, and puts that to almost no use other than forecasting for her friends! She has a passion for her family, laughing, and reading and writing Romance novels.


Monday, November 18, 2013

REVIEW: Keep Me Still by Caisey Quinn

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BLURB:Scarred by loss, Layla leaves her hometown of Hope Springs, Georgia, hoping to put her painful past behind her and start over in college in California. When she runs into Landen at freshmen orientation, she has a choice to make. Reinforce those steel walls she's built up around herself or give the only boy who can keep her still a second chance.

Landen’s more than ready to tear down those walls, but this time when they come crashing down, they might bury her

* This special edition of Keep Me Still includes the novella, Let You Leave:
Layla Flaherty had the perfect life, or close to it. Until a stranger gunned her parents down right in front of her, leaving her with seizure inducing PTSD. After years of trying to pass as normal and failing miserably, she resigns herself to being invisible. But new to town Landen O’Brien sees her, and he likes what he sees. Much to Layla’s surprise, he doesn’t freak out when she has a seizure in front of him. He does the exact opposite, calming her until the tremors subside. But Landen has secrets of his own. Secrets that will either bind them together or tear them apart.


My Review
I adored the story of Landen and Layla. Caisey Quinn does not disappoint! 


I know you can read Keep Me Still without reading the novella but I think the novella adds to the story. It has you falling in love with Landen and Layla.




Layla has had it rough. After seeing her parent shot to death in front of her she now has seizures brought on by PTSD and is known in high school as Freaky Flaherty. (High schoolers can be douchebags!) After homeschooling because of the events that led up to the cruel nickname. Layla decides to go back to school her senior year. No one notices her anyways... Until Landen moves there.



Landen is a military brat, moved before he can even make steady friends in one place. He wasn't expecting this move to be any different, until he sees Layla in the hallway. He has to know who she is. But Landen is damaged too. 



LOVELOVELOVE Landen! Move over other book boyfriends because Landen is in the top! Not only is he hot, and I don't mean the "yeah sure he's hot" way, I mean theOh.My.Fucking.God. my panties just melted!! hot!! But he is also kind. He is damaged but not to the point where he doesn't feel for others. Instead of freaking out about Layla's condition he comforts her and wants to be there to protect her. 



Layla is head over heels for Landen but is still guarded. She is new to all of this, and is still afraid she is going to be left behind. 



I’ll be her first everything. Date , boyfriend , kiss, and however far she’ll let me go . I don’t think I’ve ever been anyone’s first anything before. God, please don’t let me fuck it up. 



Unfortunately some BS does mess them up. This brings us to Keep Me Still



This starts with Layla entering college. She moves to put everything from Hope Springs away from her. This is her fresh start where no one knows her or what happened to her. I have to say I adore Corin, I think she helps balance Layla and brings her out of herself so to speak. I was so happy when Landen enters the picture. While I love Layla I wanted to smack her a few times because she just didn't get it.. I understand why though... Anyways if we didn't already know how hot Landen was we find out here. He can kiss me in a alley any day! ;) 



I'm not a fan of cherries but after a particular scene I think I may just love them! I know I will NEVER look at one again without my mind going straight in the gutter!! 
Things are great for the most part until life gets in the way. Things happen again that could tear them apart.. Both of them have secrets...



But can they overcome it?? Read it to find out! You will not be disappointed!! 



I am looking forward to the next installment. Caisey Quinn does not disappoint and if you are not familiar with her work then shame on you! :) Seriously though she is a author to watch! Her work is amazing and I love every character she comes up with. Check out this book and her others, you may find you have a new favorite author! I know I do.

5 STARS!!!!



** The link below is for the standalone edition that includes the book and the two novellas. This is also on sale for .99 cents for a limited time!**

Buy Link: Amazon  

AUTHOR BIO:
Caisey Quinn lives in Birmingham, Alabama with her husband, daughter, and other assorted animals. She is the bestselling author of the Kylie Ryans series as well as several New Adult Romance novels featuring country girls finding love in unexpected places. You can find her online at http://www.caiseyquinnwrites.com/

Author Meet and Greet!

So authors Elizabeth Lee and Caisey Quinn are holding a Meet & Greet here in Nashville in January! Tickets are free but space is limited! You can enter to win on Elizabeth Lee´s blog or can even enter from her site.

Here is the link for her blog: Author Elizabeth Lee

You don´t want to miss out! This is pretty much going to be a blast! So go! Sign up and come meet Caisey Quinn and Elizabeth Lee!

If you haven´t read these authors before than you are missing out :) Books and links posted below!


Books

E. Lee & C. Quinn 
Storm Warning - will be out December 12, 2013 


Caisey Quinn
Keep Me Still  (On sale for limited time .99 cents, includes prequel and sequel novellas Let You Leave and Hold Us Close)
 Caisey Quinn lives in Birmingham, Alabama with her husband, daughter, and other assorted animals. She is the bestselling author of the Kylie Ryans series as well as several New Adult Romance novels featuring country girls finding love in unexpected places. You can find her online at http://www.caiseyquinnwrites.com/

Elizabeth Lee- Born and raised in the middle of a Midwestern cornfield (not literally, that would be weird), I’ve spent my entire life imagining stories. Stories where the right guy always gets the right girl, first kisses are as magical as they are on the big screen and anything is completely possible if you believe.

Although this journey began years ago, it recently took on a whole new life. After years of devouring hundreds of Romance, YA and New Adult novels, I had an epiphany... I should write a book. And I did it!

If I’m not reading, writing, enjoying drinks with my amazing group of girlfriends or chasing around a sarcastically funny kid, I’m probably watching television shows that were created for teenagers, while my husband teases that I’m too old to watch them. Website: 
http://www.elizabethleewrites.com/

Review: Ruin by Rachel Van Dyken

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Ruin by Rachel Van Dyken


BLURB: I'm not your typical girl. I've been running away from the memories that haunt me for so long that depression has become my only comfort. I was content in the darkness...until Wes Michals offered to be my light.

I didn't know that time wasn't my ally -- that every second that ticked past was one step closer to the end of something that was beginning to mean the end of myself. He tried to warn me. He promised me all he was able to offer--each moment as it came--but it would never be enough.

Sometimes when you think it's the end, it's only the beginning. Wes thought he could save me, but in giving me everything, he ruined me. Because after one kiss, one touch, I couldn't--I wouldn't ever be the same.

And from that moment on, his heartbeat became my own.


  My Review
5 stars is not nearly enough for this one.. I have read about 5 or 6 Rachel Van Dyken books, I thought I had favorites of those, but this one blows them all out of the water! You have out done yourself on this one Rachel! :)

I love Wes and Kiersten. They have RUINed me. I started this and could not put it down. The prologue alone had me sobbing.

A beautiful story about fears and time. About doing things afraid, about living every day, taking nothing for granted. Watching them fall in love, both not meaning to was beautiful. It was done beautifully, I felt myself falling too.

“I can tell you have a good heart…” I sighed, opening the door to the outside. “…because the minute I met you, I wanted to fight for it.” She was silent. “That’s how you can tell when someone has a good heart.”

“When you want to start a war?” She laughed, clearly trying to lighten my mood. “Nah.” I sighed. “When you want to be the one to make it beat.”


I had guesses of what was going on- I went back and forth, and cried the whole time, but at that moment, the one where it became more of a reality I was crushed. Ugly crying( my man actually laughed at me and said it's just a book.. But no it is so much more!) I can't say much more without spoiling so I will leave a few more of my favorite quotes. Buy it, read, fall in love, let their story become your Ruin. 

"I’m going to kiss you so hard that you forget everything but my lips pressed against yours.”.... “I’m going to make it so hard for you to forget this first kiss that you don’t want anyone else kissing you ever again. When the guy you fall in love with kisses you — it better put this kiss to shame — if it doesn’t, then he isn’t the right guy. Because I’m going to do a damn good job, and I want the guy that earns you, that takes that heart of yours and holds it in the palm of his hands… I want that guy to be able to make you feel things I’ll just be tapping into. Do you understand, Kiersten?” 


“Every time you close your eyes, regardless of where I am or where you are, I want you to remember this.” His fingers laced with mine and then he pressed my hand against my own chest. “Wherever I am, whatever I’m doing, alive or dead, young or old, my heart will always be with yours. Every beat you feel against your fingertips…” His finger tapped against my chest, once, twice. “…is me calling out to you. It’s you returning the call. It’s us talking, communicating, bonding, sharing. Living — Kiersten, it’s us living. There may come a time in your life when your heart will have to beat for mine… but you’ll have to carry on if I can’t. Just like there may come a time when I have to do the same for you. But in the end, one of us will always carry on this.” He tapped again. “So there’s never a reason to be afraid of running out of time — because we keep our own.” 

"Maybe it’s not in the perfection of life that things make sense, but in the chaos.” 


This is a story that is going to stick with me for a long time. It will steal your breath away, make you cry, make you believe and fall in love. Just beautiful.

                                                                                       BUY LINKS: 
                                                                                      Barnes and Noble 
                                                                                      Amazon   (ON SALE FOR .99 cents!)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Rachel Van Dyken Rachel Van Dyken is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Bestselling author of regency and contemporary romances. When she's not writing you can find her drinking coffee at Starbucks and plotting her next book while watching The Bachelor.
She keeps her home in Idaho with her Husband and their snoring Boxer, Sir Winston Churchill. She loves to hear from readers! You can follow her writing journey at www.rachelvandykenauthor.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rachel-...
                  

Trying to figure it out.

So like I mentioned I am new at this. Right now I am trying to figure out where to begin. How to proceed. It was suggested by a friend and fellow blogger to write my top 3 books from this year. But that is hard for me to choose. I have read so many great books this year, I wouldn´t know how to pick just three! I hope to be posting some reviews either today or tomorrow :) Time to get this thing launched!

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Popping my book blogging cherry!

So this will be my first book blog. I´ve tried this blogging thing before, but not with books. I figured, ¨Hey I am already reviewing books anyways, why not blog?!"

I figure I need to tell a little about myself. I am a mom of two. A girl and a boy. I am also a full time student. When I am not playing with the kids or going to school, I am just a girl who loves to read. Constantly. You can usually find me Nook in hand, with my nose in a book. I read pretty much anything with romance. It doesn't matter if it´s just a plain ol´ romance novel or just has a little thrown in. I am into it all. Young adult, new adult, contemporary, just basically everything.

It may take me a bit to transition, but I figure it never hurts to try something new. So here´s to popping my book blogging cherry!