Review: Four Seconds to Lose by K. A. Tucker

Four Seconds to Lose
By: K.A. Tucker
Release Date: April 1, 2014
Series: Ten Tiny Breaths #3

Description:
When a gorgeous young dancer walks through his door, a strip club owner must decide whether to follow his rules or his heart in the third novel by the author of One Tiny Lie and Ten Tiny Breaths.

Owning a strip club isn’t the fantasy most guys expect it to be. With long hours, a staff with enough issues to keep a psych ward in business, and the police regularly on his case, twenty-nine-year-old Cain is starting to second guess his unspoken mission to save the women he employs. And then blond, brown-eyed Charlie Rourke walks through his door, and things get really complicated. Cain abides by a strict “no sleeping with the staff” rule. But being around Charlie challenges Cain’s self-control…and it’s been a long time since any woman has done that.

Twenty-two-year-old Charlie Rourke needs a lot of money, really fast, in order to vanish before it’s too late. Taking her clothes off for men makes her stomach curl but Charlie tells herself that at least she’s putting her acting and dancing skills to good use. And though her fellow dancers seem eager to nab their sexy, sophisticated, and genuinely caring boss, she’s not interested. After all, Charlie Rourke doesn’t really exist—and the girl pretending to be her can't get distracted by romance.

Unfortunately, Charlie soon discovers that developing feelings for Cain is inevitable, and that those feelings may not be unrequited—but losing him when he finds out what she’s involved with will be more painful than any other sentence awaiting her.

Review:

I really enjoyed the rest of this series so I couldn’t wait to pick this up; the covers are always what attracted me first to them.  Do you remember Ten Tiny Breaths cover, amazing?  Anyway, so I couldn’t get this book out of my head while I wasn’t reading it, it transported me into this under belly type of world but with good people instead of the seedy type, well for the most part.  K. A. Tucker does an amazing job with her characters and the setting that has kept me coming back for more.

This time around we are focusing on Cain, the owner of Penny’s the strip club where practically everyone in the past book and series has worked at or has been involved with at some point in time.  He’s a mystery though because he keeps everyone at bay while constantly trying to save everyone.  No one has ever seen him happy, that is until Charlie shows up. 

In walks in a blond beauty named Charlie who’s ready to work for Cain because she needs the money to escape her past which is till her present until the money comes in and she can disappear.  She didn’t really want to make any connections, but that’s the first thing she does.  More like it’s forced upon her by Ginger the bartender, and then the camaraderie between the bouncers, she feels like she’s at home with these people and feels bad that one day she will have to leave it.  It’s unfortunate and definitely unexpected that she falls for Cain and their romance is very steamy and not very much waiting between the two of them.

But there are still secrets between the two of them and they are both afraid of revealing them because of the danger that is behind them.  It’s all very tragic because if they would have aired everything out in the beginning none of that would have had to happen, but then it wouldn’t have been an interesting book right, need that bit of drama.  I love K.A. Tucker’s writing style and original characters.  The scenarios are dramatic enough that I can completely picture them in my head even at one point being stuck in that world when I wasn’t reading the book; it just stayed with me hoping everyone would be safe.

Overall this series is going beautifully, nothing has been a disappointment as of yet and I even got a couple of shockers in this book that literally made my jaw drop open.  I love the covers of this series too, because they all coincide and are tastefully done.  To new beginnings and a future of freedom and happiness this book was great!

Disclaimer:
I received this book from NetGalley and Atria Books, so that I may give my honest opinion and a review. Whether it is good or not please do not let it discourage you from purchasing/reading the book yourself and forming your own opinion. What might be good for me may not be good for you and vice versa. With that said, Happy Reading Everyone!!!

Review: Seeking Her by Cora Carmack

Seeking Her
By: Cora Carmack
Release Date: January 28, 2014
Series: Losing It #3.5

Description:
A few months after being honorably discharged from the military, Jackson Hunt is still struggling to adjust back to the real world. He needs to get a job and find a sense of normalcy if he’s going to keep his own demons at bay. The job that falls into his lap, though, is anything but normal.

Bodyguard (and baby-sitter) to spoiled-rich-girl Kelsey Summers isn't exactly what he’d been looking for, but it’s a chance to travel, to get away from the home that has felt stifling ever since his return. It would be a pretty sweet gig if it weren't for the fact that Kelsey’s father doesn't want Kelsey to know she’s being followed. Hunt feels guilty (and a little bit creepy) as he watches her from afar. She’s vibrant and infuriating, exciting and reckless, mysterious and familiar. When he sees her falling into the same patterns that he suffered years ago, he decides it’s time to stop watching and help her instead. But getting to know her is more difficult than he thought, especially because the more he knows her, the more he wants her.

Review:
So after reading the last book I couldn't help but read this quick novella about Jackson's side of the story. Granted it wasn't the entire story which was good because it seemed a little repetitive with not a lot of new things, even still it was sweet to see how much he struggled before actually going up to Kelsey.

There is a lot of turmoil in Jackson Hunts mind on what he should do with Kelsey.  He knows he is supposed to watch her and keep her safe but she's irresistible all he wants to be is get closer to her and learn more about her.  She's an enigma that he just knows is sad deep down inside and he wants to save her the way he was once saved himself.

If you've read the last book though like I said in the beginning it really wasn't anything new you couldn't have imagined yourself while reading the other book, the struggle and all that.  I was hoping for more but again it's just a quick novella with Jackson's point of view looking out at Kelsey rather than us being in her bed like in the last book.  Eh.

Book Blast: Final Stand by Rose Garcia - Paperwhite Giveaway!

RELEASE: MARCH 24th 2014
YOUNG ADULT PARANORMAL ROMANCE

Dominique is still alive after killing Tavion, the Tainted who's hunted her for lifetimes. Yet her protectors still fear for her life. They force her to flee Houston and abandon the friends she loves. But they can't protect her from herself. When Dominique starts hearing Tavion's voice in her head, she realizes that her personal connection to the Tainted still exists. And when her car is ambushed, she discovers another frightening truth—someone close to her is a traitor.

Desperate for answers, Dominique seeks the aid of first lifers Trent and Infiniti. With their help, she hopes to find her new enemy. But things get complicated with Trent when she finally accepts her eternal love for Farrell, and even more complicated when the whispers in her head threaten her loved ones. Determined to live, Dominique decides to make a final stand against the forces that want to end her. For good.

GET THE FIRST BOOK IN THE SERIES FOR ONLY 99¢ starting Monday! 

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Praise for Final Life...

"Rose Garcia will explode your mind with action packed scenes and emotional turmoil.” - Moonlight Book Reviews 

"The whole transhuman concept had the whole Sci-Fi/Fantasy element going on, yet Rose Garcia has written it in a way that is both fresh and believable, with the classic good versus evil theme incorporated." - Always YA at Heart 

"Final Life is filled with magical moments, heart aching moments, action, and suspense. I look forward to the next chapter of Dominique's story." - WinterHaven Books 

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Rose Garcia is a lawyer turned writer who's always been fascinated by science fiction and fantasy. From a very young age, she often had her nose buried in books about other-worlds, fantastical creatures, and life and death situations. More recently she's been intrigued by a blend of science fiction and reality, and the idea that some supernatural events are, indeed, very real. Fueled by her imagination, she created The Transhuman Chronicles--a series of books about people who have overcome human limitations.

Rose lives in Houston with her husband and two kids. You can visit Rose at www.rosegarciabooks.com

Promo: Gemini by Carol Cassella - Excerpt

Gemini
By: Carol Cassella
Release Date: March 4, 2014

Description:
A captivating medical mystery wrapped in a contemporary love story—from a practicing MD whose novels are “just what the doctor ordered” (People).

Across the Puget Sound in a rural hospital on the Olympic Peninsula an unidentified patient lies unconscious, the victim of a hit and run. In Seattle, ICU doctor Charlotte Reese receives a call: Jane Doe will be transferred to her care. But when the patient arrives—with only tubes keeping her alive—Charlotte has to dig through x-rays and MRIs to determine what went wrong on the operating table. Jane Doe’s condition is getting worse each day, and Charlotte finds herself becoming increasingly consumed by her patient’s plight—both medical and personal.

Who is this woman? Why will no one claim her? Who should decide her fate if she never regains consciousness? As a doctor and a woman, Charlotte is forced to confront these issues head on—especially when her boyfriend Eric, a science journalist, becomes involved in the case. But the closer Charlotte and Eric get to the truth, the more their relationship is put to the test. The key to unlocking Jane Doe’s secret is opening their hearts to their own feelings about life and death, love and marriage…and each other.

Filled with intricate medical detail and set in the breathtaking Pacific Northwest, Gemini is a vivid novel of moral complexity and emotional depth from the bestselling author of Oxygen and Healer.

Excerpt:

It is natural law that all complex systems move from a state of order to disorder. Stars decay, mountains erode, ice melts. People get off no easier. We get old or injured and inevitably slide right back into the elements we were first made from. The organized masterpiece of conception, birth, and maturation is really only two steps forward before three steps back, at least in the physical world. Sometimes when Charlotte lost a patient she thought about that and found it comforting—a reminder that she hadn’t failed in what was ultimately an unwinnable game. But if she thought about it too long, she had to wonder if her entire medical career was an interminable battle against the will of the universe.

She resisted sinking into such rhetoric the night Jane Doe was whisked across Puget Sound in a medevac helicopter to Beacon Hospital’s intensive care unit, to Charlotte. It seemed they always came in the middle of the night, the ones from the more remote hospitals on the Olympic Peninsula—West Harbor and Forks and Port Townsend. Charlotte could picture some overwhelmed doctor reaching his breaking point too many hours before the next sunrise, dreading a night of slumping blood pressure and low oxygen levels and erratic heart rhythms, finally picking up the phone to plead the case for a flight to Seattle. Not that anyone had to plead; they were never turned down.

Charlotte had her own survival plan for these long nights on call: get the critical facts over the phone, tend to the crises of her eleven current patients before the new one arrived, grab a Diet Coke and some Oreos from the vending machines, a blanket out of the warmer at the nursing station, then tuck into a ball on the love seat in the ICU’s waiting room and listen. Listen for the chop of the helicopter blades, the rising pitch of the engine as it settled onto the roof with its cargo of impending death. Listen for the buzz of an elevator being held open, the swish of the automatic doors into the ICU wing. Sometimes the next sound was a “code four” alarm—someone who’d clung to breath all the way over the peninsula, the islands, the bay, giving up just when the medical mecca was reached, as if a glimpse of heaven in flight had convinced them to move on. Most often the next sound was her pager, confirming the patient had arrived. And then Charlotte was up, the blanket dumped in the hamper and her white coat buttoned.

She made her first assessment before she was even through the patient’s doorway: weight, age, the color of the skin, the shade of the bruises, the number of tubes snaking from the body, sucking fluid away, pumping fluid in. By the time she was at the bedside she was ticking off which invasive lines would have to be removed, replaced, inserted.

Jane arrived just after 3:00 a.m. with no fewer than five tubes: one down her throat, another in her neck, two in her left arm, and one looping from her bladder. Jane’s arrival was heralded by pages and alarms and a scrambling of personnel that stopped just shy of a code four. She came with a four-inch stack of medical records, a splint on her right arm, a scaffold of hardware stabilizing her right lower leg, and so much edema that her skin was pocked with the medic’s handprints. But she did not come with a name. Not her own name, at least.

The medics rolled the orange transport gurney next to the bed and, smooth as a dance, coiled up all the lines and logrolled Jane onto her side to slip a plastic board underneath her. Charlotte stood at Jane’s head and Anne, the nurse, held Jane’s feet. On the count of three all the lines and tubes and wires and the sodden, bruised flesh of Jane Doe slid onto the clean white sheets of the bed that would become her next home. The medics talked while they moved, dis-connecting the portable monitors, locking down the empty gurney. “Pressure dipped to seventy after takeoff so we upped the dopamine. Had her on a hundred percent O2 halfway across to keep her saturation above ninety.” The taller of the two handed Charlotte a clipboard to sign, looking more relaxed now that Jane Doe was hooked up to the hospital’s equipment and off his hands. They had met before, on some other transfer, though his name tag was half-covered by the bell of his stethoscope and Charlotte couldn’t recall it. He tapped the stack of chart notes he’d brought. “I wasn’t sure she was even going to make it across.”

 

..... If you want to continue reading more from this excerpt please go to: Scribd for more.

About the Author:
Carol Cassella, MD, is a practicing anesthesiologist, novelist, and speaker. She majored in English Literature at Duke University and attended Baylor College of Medicine. She is the bestselling author of the novels Oxygen and Healer, both published by Simon & Schuster. Carol lives on Bainbridge Island, Washington, with her husband and two sets of twins. Visit the author at CarolCassella.com. - See more at: http://authors.simonandschuster.com/Carol-Cassella/45058993#become-a-fan-modal

Link:

Website | Twitter | Facebook

Exciting Announcement: In Her Wake by K.A. Tucker!!

Fans of K.A. Tucker's Ten Tiny Breaths, we have a SUPER exciting announcement:
On September 1, 2014, Atria is releasing a PREQUEL NOVELLA to Ten Tiny Breaths that tells the story from Trent's point of view! It's called IN HER WAKE, and we cannot wait one more breath to read it!

About IN HER WAKE:
Cole Reynolds had it all. And then one night he makes a bad choice... and loses everything. 

When a drunken night out at a Michigan State college party results in the death of six people, Cole must come to terms with his part in the tragedy. Normally, he'd be able to lean on his best friends. The best friends that have been in his life since he could barely walk. Only, they're gone. Worse, there's the shattered body of a sixteen-year-old girl lying somewhere in a hospital bed, her entire life ripped from her because of a case of beer and a set of keys.

Everyone assures him that they know it wasn't intentional and yet he can't ignore the weight of their gazes, the whispers behind his back. The all-consuming guilt he feels every time he thinks of that girl who won't so much as allow him near her hospital room to apologize. As the months go by and the shame and loneliness festers, Cole begins to lose his grip of what once was important-college, his girlfriend, his future. His life. It's not until Cole hits rock-bottom that he can begin to see another way out of his personal hell: forgiveness.

And there's only one person who can give that to him...

 

Amazon | iTunes | Simon & Schuster

 

Are you as excited about this as we are?? And...this is going to be available at the great price of $.99!!

And while you're at it, pre-order the gorgeous paperback of FOUR SECONDS TO LOSE, hitting bookstores on 4/1!

Amazon * Barnes and Noble * Indiebound * BooksaMillion * Simon & Schuster

About FOUR SECONDS TO LOSE:
Owning a strip club isn't the fantasy most guys expect it to be. With long hours, a staff with enough issues to keep a psych ward in business, and the police regularly on his case, twenty-nine year old Cain is starting to second guess his unspoken mission to save the women he employs. And then blond, brown-eyed Charlie Rourke walks through his door, and things get really complicated. Cain abides by a strict “no sleeping with the staff” rule. But being around Charlie challenges Cain’s self-control…and it’s been a long time since any woman has done that.

Twenty-two-year old Charlie Rourke needs a lot of money, really fast, in order to vanish before it’s too late. Taking her clothes off for men makes her stomach curl but Charlie tells herself that at least she’s putting her acting anddancing skills to good use. And though her fellow dancers seem eager to nab their sexy, sophisticated, and genuinely caring boss, she’s not interested. After all, Charlie Rourke doesn't really exist—and the girl pretending to be her doesn't need to complicate her life with romance.

Unfortunately, Charlie soon discovers that developing feelings for Cain is inevitable, that those feelings may not be unrequited—but losing him when he finds out what she’s involved with will be more painful than any other sentence awaiting her.

ABOUT K.A. TUCKER:
 Born in small-town Ontario, Kathleen published her first book at the age of six with the help of her elementary school librarian and a box of crayons. She is a voracious reader and the farthest thing from a genre-snob, loving everything from High Fantasy to Chick Lit. Kathleen currently resides in a quaint small town outside of Toronto with her husband, two beautiful girls, and an exhausting brood of four-legged creatures.

LINKS: 
Blog | Website  | Author Facebook | Twitter | Author Goodreads

FOUR SECONDS TO LOSE - Goodreads | Atria

Review: Finding It by Cora Carmack

Finding It
By: Cora Carmack
Release Date: October 15, 2013
Series: Losing It #3

Description:
Sometimes you have to lose yourself to find where you truly belong...

Most girls would kill to spend months traveling around Europe after college graduation with no responsibility, no parents, and no-limit credit cards. Kelsey Summers is no exception. She's having the time of her life . . . or that's what she keeps telling herself.

It's a lonely business trying to find out who you are, especially when you're afraid you won't like what you discover. No amount of drinking or dancing can chase away Kelsey's loneliness, but maybe Jackson Hunt can. After a few chance meetings, he convinces her to take a journey of adventure instead of alcohol. With each new city and experience, Kelsey's mind becomes a little clearer and her heart a little less hers. Jackson helps her unravel her own dreams and desires. But the more she learns about herself, the more Kelsey realizes how little she knows about Jackson.

Review:

This by far has to be my one of my favorite series because the characters are just great on so many different levels.  I really enjoy reading anything this Cora Carmack writes because I know I will always love it.  There was adventure in this book in faraway lands that one day I hope to visit.  Talk about going off the beaten path. 

We don’t follow the main characters in the first two books but here we are with Bliss’ ex-roommate Kelsey who is off to find herself in Europe or wherever her feet land her.  She’s partying away all her troubles and just trying to numb herself as she can’t begin to fathom how to really deal with anything.  Putting on a fake smile is what her family has taught her to do well.  Although even through all the fakeness Kelsey still feels that sadness inside of what happened to her when she was younger and so far no one has seen through her great acting ability that is until Jackson Hunt.

Jackson Hunt is a mystery onto himself really.  Obviously ex-military but with secrets hiding, was he kicked out? Why is he randomly traveling around? What is his story really?  That’s what drew you in and you thought oh this is such a great random meeting, and the way they met was priceless because it was too funny.  But there is something that attracts him to her and there is a lot of yes and no in this book coming from his side, but it’s never really explained until the end.  I have to say I sort of thought that was coming but I was hoping it wasn’t but was still pleasantly surprised when it did happen.  Finally the truth came out.

The two of them for a week long travelled together to random locations going off the beaten path where non touristy things would be happening.  They had their highs and their lows but all around it seemed like a definite good adventure.  I’m ready to go on an adventure myself but I don’t think I would be brave enough to stay at hostels and what not.  Too afraid of what might happen.  But overall the story was great, was not wishy washy and I read through it rather quickly.

Love Cora Carmack’s series in general and I adore the covers because they are simple and not so overpowering.  The characters are great and the experiences in this book were exciting, such as the baths, and just run-down buildings with amazing clubs in side.  This book was definitely an experience and an adventure in this book with a bit of reality and romance as the cake on the top.

Blog Tour: Kissing Eden by T.A. Foster

Kissing Eden
By: T.A. Foster
Release Date: March 6, 2014

Description:
Have you ever thought of taking a vacation alone? I mean step on a plane, check into your hotel, and lie on the beach completely and utterly alone. No? Me either, but then right before senior spring break I got dumped.
Something about break ups makes you do things you didn’t want to do, and try things you didn’t know you were capable of.

That’s how I ended up at the Palm Palace.
That’s how I met Grey.
That’s how my spring break turned into the most unforgettable week of my life.




Review:
How unbelievably happy am I that I had the opportunity to review this amazing book.  This was the perfect book at the perfect moment just as I'm on the cusp of contemplating spring break.  This is a perfect Spring Break read and just overall happy fun light quick read that will just leave you with goosebumps and giddiness that is only reserved for those happy moments in life.  T.A. Foster had me hooked from the very beginning to the very end.

What are the odds of so many things happening so wrong at the beginning of your spring break just one thing after another.  Believe me this doesn't happen to everyone but when it happens man it's a doozy.  We meet Eden as she's embarking on this self exploration of her new found freedom on a spring break vacation that she was supposed to be taking with her now ex boyfriend.  Well one mishap after another leads her down a path and she ends up at the Palm Palace where she comes face to face with eyes that mesmerize her, and they happened to be attached to a very attractive guy named Grey.  Swoon worthy eyes is what I imagine him having, the rest of him doesn't sound too bad either.

They start off with a very hot cold relationship and it pulls them throughout the book but it's that intensity that drives them together.  With Grey trying to save his motel and Eden trying to find herself and realize that sometimes she's worth the extra effort.  What you thought you had before was nothing compared to what you have right now.  Their relationship is quick and intense and just a perfect spring break fling that really turns into something else.  I can just imagine what they would tell their kids if they have any, how they met each other while one was on spring break, what a perfect story that would be.  Stranger things have happened.  It was their instant connection that made this book so beautiful.  I know some times when you have insta love in a book you're like yeah right that would never happen, but this is so believable, unpredictable but definitely doable.

T.A. Foster has made me want to go on spring break, I'm a complete Grey fan, even Texas for that matter. The setting sounds amazing and very much a place I wouldn't mind going on vacation to.  The characters had well character to them, they weren't one dimensional and even though the topics and everything in the book was very light hearted (nothing too intensely deep) there was still emotion there and I enjoyed every minute of it.  The secondary characters were great too, from the fatherly Mac working at Pete's, to the mother hen working at the beach store and then the great friends Eden made in Pick, Conner and Marin.  All amazing characters and I can completely see some love spin offs in any of those characters.

Loved everything about this book, the setting, the characters, the writing style everything just flowed so smoothly and made me happy and giddy inside.  Very good light happy read and perfect for a quick vacation read, that's for sure.  Can't wait to check out other books by this author because I'm hooked.

About the Author:

You can follow T.A. Foster on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/TAFosterauthor

Or on twitter here:  https://twitter.com/TAFosterwriter

Book Goodreads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20446627-kissing-eden

 

Book Highlight: Saving Us by CM Huttom

Title: Saving Us
Author: CM Hutton
Series: Paradise Taken #2
Genre: Adult Romance
Publication: January 2014

Our love affair wasn't what everyone wanted it to be. It was raw and full of absolute joy and unbelievable pain. My love for her had consumed me for years and now that Kaye was mine, I was never letting her go. I knew the consequences of our affair would be devastating and hated to see the hurt in Claire's eyes. I thought it would be so easy to just walk away...start a new life. I didn't expect to feel so conflicted about leaving. I needed her. She was my lifeline and we were determined to get our happily ever after....until one day, one event, one conversation threatened it all. "I had to know what went wrong. My stomach was sick with grief and I didn't know what to do next or even how to help Kaye. I needed to get to her. It didn't matter what Rob or Claire thought. No one could stop me from going. I knew she needed me. I could feel it deep in my soul.

Amazon | B&N

Paradise Taken, book #1

Amazon | B&N

Rob was sitting near Jake and Claire and motioned for me to join him on the lounger.  I put my finger up indicating I needed a minute as I still had to see the caterers out.  Rob winked at me and smiled, reminding me of Jake’s odd response earlier in the evening.  I smiled back as I tried to ignore my thoughts.

Eventually, I made my way over to my husband and crawled into the chair with him.  Jake’s eyes never left me, but Rob didn’t notice.   It should have been unnerving, but it wasn’t.  I snuggled deep beside my man, laid my head on his muscular chest, and wrapped my arms around his waist.  He was my home. 

I felt Rob stirring and realized I’d fallen asleep in his arms in the lounger.  He was still chatting with Jake about work stuff, and I started to get up, but he pulled me back down and held me in place.

“Don’t leave. We were thinking of going for a night swim.” Rob grinned.  I knew what that meant.  He loved to swim naked with me, but I certainly wasn’t going to do that with Jake and Claire here.  He chuckled at my raised eyebrows because he knew I was about to protest, so he whispered, “With suits this time.”

I’m a wife, a mom of three, a friend, an aunt, a sister, a daughter and a teacher.  Now, I can add writer to my list!  I’ve always wanted to write and finally found inspiration and support to do it.

I live near Austin, Texas with my family and love to read and travel.  Put me on a beach with a good book and the world just disappears around me.

Paradise Taken was my first novel and is a highly emotional book based on true events.  Its sequel (Saving Us) is due out February 2014.

Loving Her was the second book I wrote after needing a little time off from Paradise Tak-en.  It is a story close to my heart.

I love that you are willing to take a chance on a new writer and promise to keep striving to put out great books!

If you don't like my books, that's okay. Just please be gentle on my fragile ego. ;)

I'd love to chat with you, so look me up on any of my social pages.

Happy Reading.  :)

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads 

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Review: Fall Into Forever by Beth Hyland

Fall Into Forever
By: Beth Hyland
Release Date: March 10, 2013

Description:
Some girls may find guys like Jon exciting and charming. Some are even naive enough to want to date them. But guys like him can harbor dark, dangerous secrets. Secrets you don’t want to know or be involved in. How do you think they got this way in the first place? It’s best to follow your head and stay as far away from them as possible.
Trust me when I say this: Guys like Jon Priestly are nothing but trouble.

Ivy McAllister had it all. Perfect boyfriend. Perfect life. Perfect future. Or so they tell her. Because one night, on a dark country road, a fiery crash changed everything…and Ivy can’t remember what happened. 

Now, two years later, at a new college far from home, she tries to regain control of her life, but her plans don’t include a tattooed, motorcycle-riding, indie music-obsessed guy with his own sorority girl fan club.

Jon Priestly is the hottest guy at Pacific State University. Just ask his groupies. But with a dark past he must keep hidden, he shuts himself off emotionally and trusts no one. That is…until he meets a broken girl with haunting green eyes and secrets of her own.

Ivy shouldn't be attracted to Jon. They’re wrong for each other in every possible way. Yet as they spend time together, something about him—everything about him—feels so right.

But when threats from her past make her question what little she does remember, Ivy must decide whether to run again or trust the one person she can’t live without.

Review:
So let me start by saying that I really wanted to like this book.  I thought the synopsis was great and it was going to be a book that was right down my alley.  It was overall an okay book but didn't catch my attention as much as I wanted it to.  It tried though I'll give it that much.

We meet Ivy as she's getting over some stuff from home like amnesia and abusive men, she's in college far from home running from her problems.  Then there is Jon the typical hot bad boy with family issues, but regardless of this and everything they have gone through and are going through I didn't feel anything for the characters.  They were two dimensional and not at all very relate able. The story was forced and pushed through at points not really what I wanted.

It definitely started really interesting with the whole on the roof meeting and everything but then after that it sort of went downhill, dragged a little but at the same time seemed too fast for me.  They threw each other in a relationship so quickly with no sense of even a hint of a relationship, if that makes sense.  It was sort of like an insta relationship that was forced upon us.  It just seems as if the characters went through the experiences they went through they should have done things slightly different.

While the middle dragged it did get more interesting towards the end and I'm glad I finished the book.  I love the cover, think it's really sweet. So needless to say I think this book was an okay book but would have loved to have more depth and details into the characters and their backgrounds.  Seemed like it only touched the surface.

Disclaimer:

I received this book from NetGalley and Aspendawn Books so that I may give my honest opinion and a review. Whether it is good or not please do not let it discourage you from purchasing/reading the book yourself and forming your own opinion. What might be good for me may not be good for you and vice versa. With that said, Happy Reading Everyone!!!

Review: If Only by A.J. Pine

If Only
By: A.J. Pine
Release Date: March 24, 2014

Description:
Sometimes it takes crossing an ocean to figure out where you belong.

It's been two years since twenty-year-old Jordan had a boyfriend—which means it's been forever since she, well, you know. But now she’s off to spend her junior year in Aberdeen, Scotland, the perfect place to stop waiting for Mr. Right and just enjoy Mr. Right Now.

Sexy, sweet (and possible player) Griffin may be her perfect, no-strings-attached match. He’s fun, gorgeous, and makes her laugh. So why can’t she stop thinking about Noah who, minutes after being trapped together outside the train’s loo, kisses Jordan like she’s never been kissed before? Never mind his impossible blue eyes, his weathered, annotated copy of The Great Gatsby (total English-major porn)…oh, and his girlfriend.

Jordan knows everything this year has an expiration date. Aberdeen is supposed to be about fun rather than waiting for life to happen. But E. M. Forster, Shakespeare, and mistletoe on Valentine’s Day make her reconsider what love is and how far she’s willing to go for the right guy.

Review:
Talk about trying to catch a break after a long awaited dry spell, this book had a little bit of everything in it with tons of trust issues and back and forth.  I loved A.J. Pine's writing style and the creation of her characters.  It was even an extra bonus that it happened outside of the US while studying abroad, which just adds to the setting even more.  This book was a great read that really made you feel for the main character and want her to win in the end.  Because it's really all about winning in the end. 

We meet Jordan who is on her way to Scotland to study for a whole year, she meets sweet man whore Garrett but then a second guy randomly by the loo who just happens to take her breath away with a kiss that was unforgettable to her.  There's an instant connection, like you just know that you are meant to be with this person but one thing happens and another and the timing is just not right all the way around.  Noah and Jordan again run into each other in the same school doing the same major and still it's just not the right timing for the two of them but their attraction comes off in waves when they are around each other and everyone notices. 

It was fun watching them off and on and off and on again, because you really never know what's going to happen with them.  Like I said you really want to root for Jordan to get together with someone and it's just so hard watching it, there are a lot of ups and downs in this book and I loved every minuted of it.  It kept you anticipating with what was going to happen next.  There was a lot of angst and just crazy moments in this book.  Jordan is such a lightweight pussy lol, which you have to read the book to find out what I'm talking about.  Really you will not regret it because it was just the perfect story of having to really work for something you want as long as you know it's exactly what you want. 

I loved all the characters in this book from the crazy flatmate, to the wanna be director from the Shakespeare class.  Noah made me mad a couple times but only because I wanted him to figure out what it is he wanted already and stop stringing Jordan along ugh, so frustrating.  Men! I wish I had the opportunity to do something the way she did but alas there is still time in life.  Amazing addicting and very honest read.  Sometimes like I said you have to work for it and I think all the characters did in this book. 

By far one of the good books out there and I can't wait to explore more from this author.  Cute cover, not exactly how I pictured them but cute none the less.  Go read this book, it's worth the time because I couldn't even put it down.  From beginning to end it will keep you interested, there is also some great quotes from some great authors in this book.  After all these are students who are majoring in literature after all. 

Disclaimer:
I received this book from NetGalley and Entangled Publishing, LLC, so that I may give my honest opinion and a review. Whether it is good or not please do not let it discourage you from purchasing/reading the book yourself and forming your own opinion. What might be good for me may not be good for you and vice versa. With that said, Happy Reading Everyone!!!

Release Day Blitz - Kissing Eden by T.A. Foster

Kissing Eden
By T.A. Foster
Release Date: March 6, 2014

Description:
Have you ever thought of taking a vacation alone? I mean step on a plane, check into your hotel, and lie on the beach completely and utterly alone. No? Me either, but then right before senior spring break I got dumped.

Something about break ups makes you do things you didn’t want to do, and try things you didn’t know you were capable of.

That’s how I ended up at the Palm Palace.

That’s how I met Grey.

That’s how my spring break turned into the most unforgettable week of my life.

BUY LINKS:

Amazon Link:   http://amzn.to/1hCXkkv
B&N Link:  http://bit.ly/NKhAGi
Smashworks:  http://bit.ly/1dcvQB5

About the Author:

T.A. Foster once spent a month-long spring break on South Padre Island, where she soaked in the Texas sun, beach, and learned what real Texas country music is. Sometimes fiction does spring from reality.

She grew up catching rays and chasing waves along the North Carolina Outer Banks and now resides in the state with her adventurous pilot husband, two children, and two canine kiddos. 

T.A. has an undergraduate degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a graduate degree in Educational Psychology from Texas A&M University. When she’s not chasing her two-legged and four-legged children or trying to escape for date night, you can find her reading, writing, or planning her next beach trip.

Author Links:
Blog: http://www.tafosterauthor.com/
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/tafosterwriter

Giveaway:
Win a beautiful beach-inspired necklace and a $20 Amazon Gift Card.

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