Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Waiting on Wednesday (248)


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

On Broken Wings
By Chanel Cleeton
Release Date: January 3, 2017
The author of Into the Blue and Fly with Me returns with the newest, hot and high-flying Wild Aces romance...

Alex “Easy” Rogers is used to fighting enemies in the skies, but on the ground, he’ll soon be fighting his feelings. It’s a battle he just might lose






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This Wednesday, I am waiting on book three in Chanel Cleeton's irresistible and addicting Wild Aces romance series. I have been dying for Easy's story ever since I finished book one and I can't wait for this one to finally release in January. I mean, who can resist a hot fighter pilot? Hopefully it's as good as it looks!

Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Top Ten Tuesday: Best Grabs from ALA 2016

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: Best Grabs from ALA 2016

This past weekend, I was lucky enough to go to the American Library Association Annual Conference in Orlando, Florida. This was my first ever conference and I was able to meet my best friend EVER Sarah from Words With Sarah for the first time. We have been friends for two years and have never met in person, so I decided to attned ALA and meet Sarah! Becca from Reading Teen also stayed with Sarah and the three of us had a blast! The conference was incredible! I met so many amazing people and authors and I was able to get so many amazing books! Since this week's Top Ten Tuesday was a freebie topic, I decided to share the top books that I am over the moon excited that I was able to grab. 


1. It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover 
2. Honor by Jay Crownover 
3. Bedmates by Nichole Chase


4. Close to You by Kristen Proby 
5. The Problem with Forever by Jennifer L Armentrout 
6. Walk the Edge by Katie McGarry 


7. Ever the Hunted by Erin Summerhil 
8. The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson 
9. Diplomatic Immunity by Brodi Ashton


10. Eight Ways to Ecstasy by Jeanette Grey 

Monday, June 27, 2016

Book Review: Places No One Knows by Brenna Yovanoff

Places No One Knows
By Brenna Yovanoff
Release Date: May 17, 2016
Source: Publisher
Waverly Camdenmar spends her nights running until she can’t even think. Then the sun comes up, life goes on, and Waverly goes back to her perfectly hateful best friend, her perfectly dull classes, and the tiny, nagging suspicion that there’s more to life than student council and GPAs.

Marshall Holt is a loser. He drinks on school nights and gets stoned in the park. He is at risk of not graduating, he does not care, he is no one. He is not even close to being in Waverly’s world.

But then one night Waverly falls asleep and dreams herself into Marshall’s bedroom—and when the sun comes up, nothing in her life can ever be the same. In Waverly’s dreams, the rules have changed. But in her days, she’ll have to decide if it’s worth losing everything for a boy who barely exists.
 




I hadn't even heard of this book until it showed up on my doorstep from the publisher, but the cover was definitely intriguing so I went ahead and read the summary. A book about a girl who shows up in a boy's room in her dreams? And the boy is someone who this perfect, straight A girl would NEVER talk to in real life? Sign me up! 

Waverly Camdenmar knows the game of high school and knows it well. Put on a show, play your pieces carefully, and never let anyone see you weak. On the outside, Waverly appears perfect and the absolute opposite of Marshall Holt, a guy who is on the brink of flunking out of school and spends his nights drinking and ignoring his crumbling family. One night, Waverly falls asleep and dreams herself into Marshall's bedroom, where the two share a connection they never thought they could have. But when the sun comes up and they're at school, Waverly is too scared to show her true self and Marshall knows Waverly is too good for him. The more dreams they spend together, though, Waverly must decide if living a lie is really worth keeping up her perfect facade. 

Reading reviews for this book, many people have said that Brenna Yovanoff has a really unique writing style and I wholeheartedly agree. This is definitely not your typical fluffy YA romance. This comments on what it means to be "popular" in high school and you follow a main character who is very flawed and hiding her true feelings and flaws from everyone, even her supposed "best friend". I really hated Waverly's friends, but I think that we were supposed to. Instead, I loved Autumn's character and how all-in Autumn was in playing the game that Waverly's been playing. Autumn was a breath of fresh air and I loved the part she played in Waverly and Marshall's relationship. 

In the beginning, I also hated Marshall's character. How could I not? He never tried in school, he was an alcoholic, and he was a druggie. Who would like that? But as we got to know Marshall, there was a lot of depth to his character and he was really going through some crap with his family that even I would want a way to forget. I really liked how vulnerable Waverly became when she spent more time with Marshall and how much they really needed each other at that point in their lives. 

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by this book. This was a unique look at high school with a pair of main characters that you don't really like, but end up liking anyways. The romance is a slow build that is really confusing and not socially accepted, but ends up changing the lives of the characters. For an unconventional YA romance with a little bit of magical realism, you should pick up Places No One Knows.



Sunday, June 26, 2016

New Adult/Adult Books With Travel Recommendations


For me, summertime is all about travel and finding new adventures to go on and I love finding those adventures in my books. I recently started a book that is SO GOOD and takes place in Spain. Reading this book has made me so hungry to travel and see the beautiful countries I always read about. This inspired me to make some recommendations of my favorite books (in this case, only New Adult and Adult) that have their main characters travel. Enjoy! 

Finding It (Losing It #3)
By Cora Carmack
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.




Racing the Sun
By Karina Halle 
It’s time for twenty-four-year-old Amber MacLean to face the music. After a frivolous six months of backpacking through New Zealand, Australia, and Southeast Asia, she finds herself broke on the Mediterranean without enough money for a plane ticket home to California. There are worse places to be stuck than the gorgeous coastline of southern Italy, but the only job she manages to secure involves teaching English to two of the brattiest children she’s ever met.

It doesn’t help that the children are under the care of their brooding older brother, Italian ex-motorcycle racer Desiderio Larosa. Darkly handsome and oh-so-mysterious, Derio tests Amber’s patience and will at every turn—not to mention her hormones.

But when her position as teacher turns into one as full-time nanny at the crumbling old villa, Amber finds herself growing closer to the enigmatic recluse and soon has to choose between the safety of her life back in the States and the uncertainty of Derio’s closely guarded heart.


Unfixable
By Tessa Bailey
Willa Peet isn’t interested in love. She’s been there, done that, and has the shattered heart to prove it. Ready to shake the breakup, she heads to Dublin, Ireland. But there’s a problem. A dark-haired, blue-eyed problem with a bad attitude that rivals her own. And he’s not doling out friendly Irish welcomes.

Shane Claymore just wants to race. The death of his father forced him off the Formula One circuit, but he’s only staying in Dublin long enough to sell the Claymore Inn and get things in order for his mother and younger sister. He never expected the sarcastic American girl staying at the inn to make him question everything.

But even as Willa and Shane’s fiery natures draw them together, their pasts threaten to rip them apart. Can Shane give up racing to be with the woman he loves, or will Willa’s quest to resurrect the tough-talking, no-shit-taking girl she used to be destroy any hope of a future together?




Darkfever
By Karen Marie Moning
When her sister is murdered, leaving a single clue to her death—a cryptic message on MacKayla Lane’s cell phone–Mac journeys to Ireland in search of answers. The quest to find her sister’s killer draws her into a shadowy realm where nothing is as it seems, where good and evil wear the same treacherously seductive mask. She is soon faced with an even greater challenge: staying alive long enough to learn how to handle a power she had no idea she possessed—a gift that allows her to see beyond the world of man, into the dangerous realm of the Fae.




Outlander
By Diana Gabaldon
The year is 1945. Claire Randall, a former combat nurse, is just back from the war and reunited with her husband on a second honeymoon when she walks through a standing stone in one of the ancient circles that dot the British Isles. Suddenly she is a Sassenach—an “outlander”—in a Scotland torn by war and raiding border clans in the year of Our Lord...1743.

Hurled back in time by forces she cannot understand, Claire is catapulted into the intrigues of lairds and spies that may threaten her life, and shatter her heart. For here James Fraser, a gallant young Scots warrior, shows her a love so absolute that Claire becomes a woman torn between fidelity and desire—and between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives.




Love, In English
By Karina Halle
He’s thirty-eight. I’m twenty-three.

He speaks Spanish. I speak English.

He lives in Spain. I live in Canada.

He dresses in thousand-dollar suits. I’m covered in tattoos.

He’s married and has a five-year old daughter.

I’m single and can’t commit to anyone or anything.

Until now. Because when they say you can’t choose who you fall in love with, boy ain’t that the f*#king truth.

***

To a restless dreamer like Vera Miles, it sounded like the experience of a lifetime. Instead of spending her summer interning for her astronomy major, she would fly to Spain where she’d spend a few weeks teaching conversational English to businessmen and women, all while enjoying free room and board at an isolated resort. But while Vera expected to get a tan, meet new people and stuff herself with wine and paella, she never expected to fall in love.

Mateo Casalles is unlike anyone Vera has ever known, let alone anyone she’s usually attracted to. While Vera is a pierced and tatted free spirit with a love for music and freedom, Mateo is a successful businessman from Madrid, all sharp suits and cocky Latino charm. Yet, as the weeks go on, the two grow increasingly close and their relationship changes from purely platonic to something…more.

Something that makes Vera feel alive for the first time.

Something that can never, ever be.

Or so she thinks.


Saturday, June 25, 2016

Stacking the Shelves (199)

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

From Publisher
The Bourbon Kings was one of my favorite reads last year and with the new book in the series coming out this summer, I was sent a paperback of the first one. I can't wait for The Angel's Share to come out and see what happens to this crazy cast of characters! 

From Thriftbooks

I am officially obsessed with Thriftbooks and put in yet another order. These came for me this week and I am so excited to read them! I've been eyeing Maya Banks' highlander romances for awhile and can't wait to read this one! 


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

Friday, June 24, 2016

Book Review: Guardians of Paradise by WE Lawrence

Guardians of Paradise
By WE Lawrence
Release Date: September 20, 2015
Source: Publisher
In 1888, Kira Wall, surviving daughter of missionaries swept away in a tsunami, lives a primitive, but enjoyable life with natives on an isolated island in the South Pacific. But her serene world is turned upside down when an Australian merchant ship, commanded by the sinister Captain Darcy Coleman, arrives with an overabundance of modern and lavish goods. Kira suspects ill intent. Chief Ariki refuses to listen to Kira’s warning, forcing her to uncover the real plan of the captain on her own. Unfortunately, she has a distraction. A six-foot tall, blond, and handsome distraction. Trevor Marshall, doctor and botanist, hopes to find exotic plants on the island to research new cures and medicines. He is dedicated to science, but when meeting the strong-willed, beautiful Kira Wall, he’d prefer to spend time researching her—all night. 

The captain thwarts Kira’s attempts to call him out at every step, turning the village chief against her. With only Trevor and her best friend Malana by her side, she stalks the captain and his officers through the dense, predator infested jungle, toward the island’s inactive volcano. Frustrated by her failure to reveal the captain’s true intentions, Kira begins to think maybe she’s wrong about everything. Then an explosion and earthquake bigger than anyone on the island has ever seen renews her resolve. Was the blast natural or man-made? She is determined to prove it was the captain’s doing. Kira races against time and the island people’s naivety to stop the captain from destroying her home and killing everyone she loves.




One look at this cover and I was very intrigued. Then, I saw that it was a historical romance and I could not wait to read the story inside. 

Ever since her parents died in a tsunami as missionaries on an island, Kira Wall has made a life for herself among the natives of the island. But when a ship of "merchants" shows up, Kira is wary about their motives for helping the natives. The chief of the island refuses to believe Kira's warnings about the men and welcomes them to their island. Kira needs to uncover what the men really want, but that's kind of hard with the tall and handsome Dr. Trevor Marshal who is on the island to study the plants for medicinal purposes. Showing Trevor around the island stirs up feelings that Kira never thought she could feel for a man, but can she really trust Trevor? 

The premise of this book was so promising. I mean, it's 1888 and there is a hunky doctor and a mystery to solve before Kira's island succumbs to the danger. Unfortunately, I couldn't really connect with Kira and got tired of her inexperienced background when it came to the opposite sex. Literally every time she became even close to being intimate with Trevor, she would bring up how she's never felt that way before, how she can't feel that way, and how scared she was of feeling that way. I got it the first three times and it just got old after awhile. 

Not only was the romance lacking, but I found myself skimming through the last bits of the book because I was just over the whole mystery of what the men were actually doing on the island. The story seemed to draw out much more than it needed to and we learned what the men were really after about halfway through the book, which meant that I lost interest in the whole plot line a little bit after that. 

Overall, this book just didn't do it for me. While it did have romance and started out pretty interesting, it lacked a relatable character and relied too heavily on the inexperienced virgin trope. Also, the mystery/danger of the story didn't entice me and went on for far too long. If you want a thrilling, passionate historical romance, you won't find it with this one.



Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Book Review: Addicted by Elle Kennedy

Addicted (Outlaws #2)
By Elle Kennedy
Release Date: June 28, 2016
Source: Publisher
Lennox used to live in a paradise on earth with his best friend Jamie, in a place where visitors came and went, allowing their desires to run free. But everything changes when a deadly attack forces them to take up with Connor Mackenzie’s band of Outlaws. Lennox knows Jamie is hung up on someone else, but he’s always believed he’s the man for her—and won’t let her go without a fight.
 
Even though Jamie is well aware that Lennox is one hot specimen of a man, she refuses to let sex ruin the most important relationship in her life. But when the object of her interest spurns her, she indulges in a little pleasure-filled revenge with her very magnetic, very willing best friend. One thrilling night with Lennox is enough to awaken Jamie’s unexpected desires for him. And now that she’s had a taste, she’s not sure she can ever give him up




If you know anything about me, then you know that Elle Kennedy is by far one of my favorite authors. I loved Claimed when I read it earlier this year and I was blown away by Elle's ability to write pretty much any genre. In this post-apocalyptic series, Elle seriously turns up the heat and I knew that I had to get my hands on book two as soon as I could!

After a deadly attack forces best friends Jamie and Lennox to move into a compound with the strong and dark Conner Mackenzie and his band of bandits, things have changed. As best friends for over twenty years, Lennox is extremely protective over Jamie, but he starts to find himself feeling protective of her not only from danger, but also from any man who dares touch her. Jamie has always felt a little something more for Lennox, but he's never invited her into his personal play time. When Jamie and Lennox go to a camp to strengthen the outlaws to stand up against the enforcers, they find themselves pushing their limits not only in terms of war, but in their personal, undeniable attraction for one another. 

Since Jamie and Lennox are best friends, the beginning of this book took a little while for me to get into. They weren't that aware of each other physically yet and it was more of a plot building beginning than anything else. Once we got through what was going on in society and why Conner had to send some of his people to Reese's camp to train them to become stronger, things got juicy between Jamie and Lennox. I loved how they started to become jealous of other people who would get with them and how hard they tried to shove those feelings aside to save their friendship. Their denial became so funny when they would taunt each other and see how much they could push the other one. 

Along with the incredibly hot chemistry between our main characters, there was a lot of action and suspense that I love from my Elle Kennedy books. It was fun how they made the training a competition and Jamie and Lennox were on separate teams trying to beat one another in each skills/strength competition. I loved seeing more characters in this book grow close to our main characters and how attached I felt to them. Things turned crazy at the end of this book and, as I suspected, I am already dying for book number three to see what will happen in this crazy society of outlaws trying to stick it to the man. 

Elle Kennedy delivers yet another addicting, sexy addition to her Outlaws series. I found everything I love in a romance along with some awesome action and heart pumping moments. If you haven't started this series yet, you must! It's too good to miss out on.



Waiting on Wednesday (247)


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

Punk 57
By Penelope Douglas
Release Date: September 20, 2016
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.
 


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I will literally do anything to get my hands on this book. First, it's by Penelope Douglas. LOVE HER. Second, how amazing does the summary sound? I love how they've known each other since fifth grade but only communicate through letters. Well, until the guy figures out who the girl is and might actually meet her in personand be in for a shocker. I am drooling over how emotional, romantic, and AMAZING this book sounds. I need this one in my life! Right now! 
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