Thursday, February 16, 2017

Book Review: Dare to Lie by Jen McLaughlin

Dare to Lie (The Sons of Steel Row #3)
By Jen McLaughlin
Release Date: February 7, 2017
Source: Publisher
As an undercover DEA agent in the most powerful gang in Boston, Scott Donahue accepts the risks of living a double life. But when Tate Donovan, leader of the Sons of Steel Row, assigns Scotty to take his place in a bachelor’s auction sponsored by his sister’s sorority, he’s exposed to a whole new level of danger. Even though Tate makes it very clear—Skylar is off limits—the second Scotty sees her, he’s a goner. But how does he tell Sky she’s falling for a man who doesn’t exist?

Sky can’t resist Scotty’s cool confidence or the raw, edgy power oozing from his perfect body. She’s always been the good girl, but he brings out the bad in her. And even though she knows so little about who he really is, Sky’s willing to take the biggest risk of all. But putting her heart on the line is no guarantee that Scotty won’t slip through her fingers
… 
Who doesn't love a good undercover cop story? When Scotty's true identidy was revealed at the end of book one, I knew I had to have his story. Well, book three has finally released and I couldn't wait to gobble up Scotty's story! 

As an undercover DEA agent, Scotty knows that his life is on the line every second. Posing as a member in the Sons of Steal Row, Scotty is trying to clean up the city and bring down drug dealing gangs. But when the Son's leader, Tate, assigns Scotty to protect his sister, a sister no one knew he had, Scotty realizes he's in much more danger than just becoming discovered. Tate warns Scotty to keep his hands off of Sky, but the moment they meet there is an undeniable attraction and Sky feels something for a man that she's never felt before. Too bad Sky has no idea what her brother does and what kind of business Scotty deals in. But that doesn't stop the two from spending more time with one another and testing their limits. 

From the start, I really enjoyed Sky's character. She was dedicated to school and saw Tate as the overbearing big brother who she loves, not the hard, deadly gang leader he really is. No matter how many good, boring guys Tate throws her way, Sky has never really felt that all-consuming attraction for another man. Until Scotty. I loved how Scotty knew that Tate would literally kill him if he laid a hand on sky, but he couldn't resist such an interesting, fiery girl. They clicked so well and I loved all of their moments together. 

And talk about action! There is even more action in this book with Scotty trying to finally take down another gang for drug dealing and attacking the Sons and those he loves. More people tried to kill Scotty and he had to keep an eye over his should every second, not just for himself but for Sky as well. I loved Chris from book two and I was so happy to see so much of him in this book. Love my Sons! I think I loved Chris and his story so much, though, that I didn't love this book as much as book two. Scotty didn't live up completely to what I thought he would be and I just adored Chris so much that I didn't enjoy this one as much as I expected to. 

Overall, this was a fantastic addition to one of my favorite romantic suspense series. I love these characters and how they lead bad, dangerous lives, but they're really romantics on the inside who want to change. I really hope there are going to be more of this series because I can't get enough of these men!



Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Waiting on Wednesday (172)

 
This is a meme hosted by Breaking the Spine where every Wednesday bloggers highlight a book that they are eagerly anticipating the release of!

What to Say Next
By Julie Buxbaum
Release Date: July 11, 2017
From the New York Times bestselling author of Tell Me Three Things comes a charming and poignant story about two struggling teenagers who find an unexpected connection just when they need it most. For fans of Sophie Kinsella, Jennifer Niven, and Rainbow Rowell.

Sometimes a new perspective is all that is needed to make sense of the world.

KIT: I don’t know why I decide not to sit with Annie and Violet at lunch. It feels like no one here gets what I’m going through. How could they? I don’t even understand.

DAVID: In the 622 days I’ve attended Mapleview High, Kit Lowell is the first person to sit at my lunch table. I mean, I’ve never once sat with someone until now. “So your dad is dead,” I say to Kit, because this is a fact I’ve recently learned about her. 

When an unlikely friendship is sparked between relatively popular Kit Lowell and socially isolated David Drucker, everyone is surprised, most of all Kit and David. Kit appreciates David’s blunt honesty—in fact, she finds it bizarrely refreshing. David welcomes Kit’s attention and her inquisitive nature. When she asks for his help figuring out the how and why of her dad’s tragic car accident, David is all in. But neither of them can predict what they’ll find. Can their friendship survive the truth?


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I absolutely adored Julie's YA debut Tell Me Three Things, so of course I was excited when I saw she had a new YA contemporary coming out. Not only is the cover adorable, but the story sounds like it's going to another amazing story about new beginnings and discovering truths about people. David and Kit's story sounds so unique and I can't wait for it to come out! 

Tuesday, February 14, 2017

Release Day Launch + Giveaway: Riveted by Jay Crownover

RIVETED - header banner

From the New York Times bestselling author of the Marked Men books comes the next installment in the Saints of Denver series.

    Riveted - cover

Everyone else in Dixie Carmichael’s life has made falling in love look easy, and now she is ready for her own chance at some of that happily ever after. Which means she’s done pining for the moody, silent former soldier who works with her at the bar that’s become her home away from home. Nope. No more chasing the hot as heck thundercloud of a man and no more waiting for Mr. Right to find her; she’s going hunting for him...even if she knows her heart is stuck on its stupid infatuation with Dash Churchill.

Denver has always been just a pit stop for Church on his way back to rural Mississippi. It was supposed to be simple, uneventful, but nothing could have prepared him for the bubbly, bouncy redhead with doe eyes and endless curves. Now he knows it’s time to get out of Denver, fast. For a man used to living in the shadows, the idea of spending his days in the sun is nothing short of terrifying. When Dixie and Church find themselves caught up in a homecoming overshadowed with lies and danger, Dixie realizes that while falling in love is easy, loving takes a whole lot more work…especially when Mr. Right thinks he’s all wrong for you.  


  RIVETED - RDL teaser  



Giveaway

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About the Author

Jay Crownover - headshot

Jay Crownover is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Marked Men, The Point, and the Saints of Denver series. Like her characters, she is a big fan of tattoos. She loves music and wishes she could be a rock star, but since she has no aptitude for singing or instrument playing, she'll settle for writing stories with interesting characters that make the reader feel something. She lives in Colorado with her three dogs.      


    InkSlinger Blogger banner

Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Hate to Love Romances

 

This is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish where each week bloggers share a list of books for the prompt given. So hopefully I'll have a new list to share with you all each week!

This Week's Topic: Top Ten Favorite Hate to Love Romances


1. The Hating Game by Sally Thorne
2. Bully by Penelope Douglas
3. Punk 57 by Penelope Douglas


4. Kiss the Sky by Krista and Becca Ritchie
5. Wallbanger by Alice Clayton
6. Paper Princess by Erin Watt


7. A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas
8. Checkmate: This is War by Kennedy Fox
9. The Deal by Elle Kennedy


10. Until You by Penelope Douglas

Monday, February 13, 2017

Release Day Blitz: Mack Daddy by Penelope Ward

mack daddy available      

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From New York Times bestselling author, Penelope Ward, comes a sexy, STANDALONE second-chance romance.

They called him Mack Daddy. No, seriously, his name was Mack. Short for Mackenzie. Thus, the nickname. Perfect, right?


So was he: perfect. The perfect physical male specimen.


At the private school where I taught, Mack Morrison was the only man around in a sea of women.


Everyone wanted a piece of the hot single father of the sweet little boy.


I was riddled with jealousy, because they didn’t know that—to me—he was much more.


They didn’t know about our past.


He’d chosen my school for his son on purpose, because Mack and I, we had unfinished business.
As my friend Lorelai so eloquently put it: “Unfinished business between two people who are clearly attracted to each other is like an eternal case of blue balls.” And I was suffering in pain from my case.


I was still intensely attracted to Mack. I tried to resist him, immersing myself further into a relationship with another man just to protect my heart.


Not to mention, getting involved with a parent was strictly against school rules. But seeing Mack day in and day out was breaking me down.


And soon I might be breaking all the rules.


Author's note – Told in alternating points of view, Mack Daddy is a full-length standalone novel.




     

    He's Back

About the Author
 

Penelope Ward is a New York Times, USA Today and #1 Wall Street Journal Bestselling author. She’s a fifteen-time New York Times bestseller of twelve novels. Having grown up in Boston with five older brothers, she spent most of her twenties as a television news anchor, before switching to a more family-friendly career. She is the proud mother of a beautiful 12-year-old girl with autism and a 10-year-old boy. Penelope and her family reside in Rhode Island.  

  Connect with Penelope Ward 

Other standalones from Penelope Ward:

Neighbor Dearest:

Stepbrother Dearest:

RoomHate:
iBooks: http://apple.co/1PgsvE7

Nook: http://bit.ly/1PLGnSL
kobo: http://bit.ly/1POvSnW

Playboy Pilot: (co-written with Vi Keeland)
iBooks ➜ http://apple.co/1Wb06Cf
B&N ➜ http://bit.ly/2c9vRdV

Kobo ➜ http://bit.ly/2ctb6dv

Stuck-Up Suit: (co-written with Vi Keeland)

Cocky Bastard: (co-written with Vi Keeland)
iBooks: http://apple.co/1PffE2J
Nook: http://bit.ly/1EjxNpY
Kobo:  http://bit.ly/1UxCSUO


Sins of Sevin:

Jake Undone (Jake #1):

Jake Understood (Jake #2):

My Skylar

Gemini:

Sunday, February 12, 2017

Book Review: Punk 57 by Penelope Douglas

Punk 57
By Penelope Douglas
Release Date: October 21, 2016
Source: Christmas Present
“We were perfect together. Until we met.”

Misha

I can’t help but smile at the words in her letter. She misses me.

In fifth grade, my teacher set us up with pen pals from a different school. Thinking I was a girl, with a name like Misha, the other teacher paired me up with her student, Ryen. My teacher, believing Ryen was a boy like me, agreed.

It didn’t take long for us to figure out the mistake. And in no time at all, we were arguing about everything. The best take-out pizza. Android vs. iPhone. Whether or not Eminem is the greatest rapper ever…

And that was the start. For the next seven years, it was us.

Her letters are always on black paper with silver writing. Sometimes there’s one a week or three in a day, but I need them. She’s the only one who keeps me on track, talks me down, and accepts everything I am.

We only had three rules. No social media, no phone numbers, no pictures. We had a good thing going. Why ruin it?

Until I run across a photo of a girl online. Name’s Ryen, loves Gallo’s pizza, and worships her iPhone. What are the chances?

F*ck it. I need to meet her.

I just don’t expect to hate what I find.

Ryen

He hasn’t written in three months. Something’s wrong. Did he die? Get arrested? Knowing Misha, neither would be a stretch.

Without him around, I’m going crazy. I need to know someone is listening. It’s my own fault. I should’ve gotten his number or picture or something.

He could be gone forever.

Or right under my nose, and I wouldn’t even know it.


Penelope Douglas is the queen of angst. If you've read her Fall Away series, then you know what I'm talking about. With so much emotion, teenage drama, and heartbreaking romance, Punk 57 gave me everything I love in a Penelope Douglas book and more. 

When Ryen and Misha are paired as pen pals in elementary school, it's a mistake. But the pair soon finds themselves writing about anything and everything and to one another. Keeping each other sane through the ups and downs in life, Ryen and Misha learn that they really need each other, so they decide they must only stay pen pals and nothing more to avoid risking their friendship. One day, though, Misha accidentally stumbles upon Ryen and finds a girl far from the one he's been writing to for years. When Misha stops writing, Ryen is devastated and finds herself losing grasp on the person she's always wanted to be and falls further into the person she hates being. Little does she know, Misha is much closer than she thinks…

My heart. Oh wow this book. I absolutely loved Ryen as a main character. She is just so realistic and so flawed, which made this book refreshing. Ryen is not a good person at all, but she proves that she's that way because she's just trying to survive the cutthroat world of high school. She hates who she is, but she's too far in to change that. When Misha finds Ryen, it's no surprise he doesn't like the selfish, angry girl he finds. The chemistry between them, though, is through the roof and it's so hard for Misha to love and hate Ryen at the same time. Enter angst. Seriously, these characters are so damaged and have no clue how to just be happy. 

Did I mention the chemistry between Misha and Ryen? Because it was INSANE. While this book centers around two high school seniors, this is definitely more in the new adult genre with the relationship between our main characters. Ryen is at a time in her life where she doesn't know who she is and doesn't know how to be who she wants to be. She relied so much on Misha and it was interesting to see how she adjusted when he wasn't writing and when he was actually in her life. 

I was so addicted to this story and I'm upset that it's already over. I flew through this book in two days and wish I had savored my time more with Ryen and Misha. With flawed characters, serious emotions, and too many secrets to count, you have to pick up Punk 57!



Saturday, February 11, 2017

Stacking the Shelves (231)

 
Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews where bloggers share what books they got throughout the week!

From Amazon

Carol from The Reading Wallflower raves about this book, so I decided to get a copy on Amazon when I saw it for only $6. I am so excited to read this and can't wait to get into it!

From Thriftbooks

I have heard some great things about Forever Amber from some Instagram friends and then I started hearing about it everywhere, so I went ahead and ordered a copy from Thriftbooks. This one is a loooong one, so I hope I can get to it sometime! I've also been dying to read some books by Christina Lauren and finally bought the first book in the series! 

From Publisher

I was also sent some awesome books for review! I can't wait to read them! 

That's it for me! What did you all add to your shelves this week? 

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