Giveaway: Just One Lie by Kyra Davis

Just One Lie (Just One Night #2)

By Kyra Davis

Release Date: July 28, 2015

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In the instant international sensation Just One Night, sensible Kasie Fitzgerald unleashed her passions—and found herself—through an explosive affair. In Just One Lie, we meet Kasie’s wild and tortured sister, whose impulsivity and lack of self-control has set off a chain of events that changes her family forever.

Melody Fitzgerald is the opposite of the “perfect” daughter. The lead singer of an indie rock band, she is impulsive and creative, with a rebellious streak that both defines her and becomes her greatest enemy. Her lover, the enticing and unpredictable Ash, shares her free spirit and penchant for trouble. On the face of it, he seems to be her perfect match.

So why is she so drawn to her soft spoken, reliable drummer, Brad Witmer? How can a man who wears polo shirts and reads the financial section of the paper be of any interest to her at all? And why on earth does someone like that appear to be so captivated by her?

Before she knows it, Melody finds herself on a path of self-discovery, passion, and affairs of the heart. But will a dark secret from her past derail it all? Or will its exposure be the very thing that unburdens her heart and allows her to seek a future with the one man who loves her completely?

I have one finished copy of Just One Lie to giveaway to one of my followers! Just enter the rafflecopter below! Ends 8/3 **US/CANADA Only 

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Book Review: All Broke Down by Cora Carmack

All Broke Down

By Cora Carmack 

Release Date: October 28, 2014

Source: Library

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Dylan fights for lost causes. Probably because she used to be one.

Environmental issues, civil rights, corrupt corporations, and politicians you name it, she s probably been involved in a protest. When her latest cause lands her in jail overnight, she meets Silas Moore. He s in for a different kind of fighting. And though he s arrogant and infuriating, she can t help being fascinated with him. Yet another lost cause.

Football and trouble are the only things that have ever come naturally to Silas. And it s trouble that lands him in a cell next to do-gooder Dylan. He s met girls like her before fixers, he calls them, desperate to heal the damage and make him into their ideal boyfriend. But he doesn t think he s broken, and he definitely doesn t need a girlfriend trying to change him. Until, that is, his anger issues and rash decisions threaten the only thing he really cares about: his spot on the Rusk University football team. Dylan might just be the perfect girl to help.

Because Silas Moore needs some fixing after all.

HOLY MOLY, SILAS MOORE. I. Love. You. Seriously, I heard about the Silas Virus before going into this novel, but hearing about it and experiencing it are two very different experiences. And if you haven't caught the virus, you have to pick up this book because you're not going to want to let it go! 

Dylan is a do-gooder who likes to fix problems, and her latest cause has landed her in jail. She's instantly intrigued by the quiet guy in her friend's cell and falls head first into Silas Moore's life. Silas is an arrogant jock who uses his anger to fuel his intensity on the football field, but his past mistakes are starting to catch up to him. Silas finds a calmer life with Dylan and when his anger threatens his entire football career, Silas knows that Dylan can fix him. But is she up for the task? 

Let me repeat. Holy. Moly. Silas. Moore. Silas was very arrogant and not really likable in the first book in this series. But in this book, you got to really know Silas and his background and what he was dealing with in life. Seriously, this man was so broken and you just couldn't help but want to fix him. You really got to understand his arrogance and his struggle with his past and his anger. You just wanted the best for him and for him to make the right choices, but that wasn't always easy for him. I LOVED how Silas and Dylan met and how different they were from each other. They were both so intrigued by how wrong for each other they were, but how attracted they were to each other. Wow, that chemistry was through the roof and I could not get enough of them together!

Every romance has its ups and downs, sometimes believable, sometimes annoying. When Silas and Dylan had their ups and downs, they were so believable that they were heartbreaking! I hated when they were fighting or struggling or distancing themselves from each other because I just wanted them to fix each other and make each other whole. The other characters added a lot to this story, too, and we still got the beloved guys from the football team and Dallas and Carson from the first book. There was enough football to feed my sports romance love but not too much to take away from the main relationship. It was just perfection!

If you haven't read Cora Carmack yet, YOU HAVE TO. Like now. I loved her Losing It series and I am in love with her Rusk University series. All Broke Down is definitely my absolute favorite book of hers and Silas Moore is going to be one of my favorite book boyfriends for a very long time. So grab yourself a copy of this book now and see what the Silas Virus is all about!

Stacking the Shelves (154)

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

From Amazon

Yay! I finally decided to buy a copy of the 2nd book in Karen Marie Moning's Fever series and I couldn't be more excited. I loved Darkfever and have been dying to find out what happens next. Now I can!! 

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

Bookworm Faves: Magnetic Bookmarks

As a person who loves books, I love it when my books look pretty. That means that not only are their covers pretty, but also their insides. And how do you make the insides pretty? Bookmarks, of course! I've noticed that the popularity of magnetic bookmarks are on the rise and wanted to share some of my favorites with you!

1. Craftedvan

2. The Sticker Alley

3. 1107Studio

4. Stationary Loveer

Craftedvan is by far my favorite of the magnetic bookmark sellers on Etsy, but then again, they are the only seller that I actually own bookmarks from. I won two separate giveaways where I won some bookmarks, so I've got a little collection and I absolutely love using them! They definitely have the most variety of bookmarks, but it's also fun to see what the other shops have to offer, too!

Do any of you have magnetic bookmarks? Where do you buy yours? Do you have any other kinds of favorite bookmarks? I'd love to hear, so be sure to share in the comments :)

Waiting on Wednesday (203)

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

Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between
By Jennifer E Smith
Release Date: September 1, 2015

Summary: On the night before they leave for college, Clare and Aidan only have one thing left to do: figure out whether they should stay together or break up. Over the course of twelve hours, they'll retrace the steps of their relationship, trying to find something in their past that might help them decide what their future should be. The night will lead them to friends and family, familiar landmarks and unexpected places, hard truths and surprising revelations. But as the clock winds down and morning approaches, so does their inevitable goodbye. The question is, will it be goodbye for now or goodbye forever?

This new must-read novel from Jennifer E. Smith, author of The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight, explores the difficult choices that must be made when life and love lead in different directions.

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When I first added this to my tbr list, I didn't even look at the summary. All I knew was that this was by Jennifer E Smith, so I had to read it. And can we stop and stare at that gorgeous cover for a minute? I love it! Going on to the story, it sounds amazing! I love how the entire book takes place over 12 hours and how the two main characters are trying to sort out their feelings for each other and what they really want in the future. Sounds like a seriously emotional read! 

Book Review: Caged by Lorelei James

Caged (Mastered #4)

By Lorelei James

Release Date: July 14, 2015

Source: Publisher

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In the searing fourth novel in the Mastered Series, following Unraveled, only one woman can set a hardened fighter free from his past.…
 
In order to survive a life of tragedy, Deacon McConnell embraced his roughest edges and learned to fight on the streets. Then a life-changing jujitsu seminar led by Sensei Ronin Black led Deacon to become a professional fighter. With his muscular physique and his body covered in tattoos and scars, the MMA fighter defines mean, both on and off the mat.
 
But everything changes when innocent Molly Calloway signs up for his kickboxing class. Molly is Deacon’s opposite in every way: She’s kind, sweet, thoughtful, and educated. After a heated argument between them turns into a passionate encounter, Deacon realizes Molly is eager to experience more, and she looks to him to take her to the darker edge of lust....
 
The last thing either of them expects is how deeply their lives will be thrown upside down by the passion they find together.

When I want a more steamy romance, I turn to two authors: Maya Banks and Lorelei James. When I had the opportunity to review Lorelei's latest novel in her Mastered series, I couldn't say no. I read the first book in the series and really enjoyed it, so I couldn't wait for the fourth book! 

Deacon McConnell was headed down a dark path in fighting before he met his match against Sensei Ronin Black. Honing his anger and focusing on his professional fighting career and teaching classes for Ronin, Deacon is finally getting his life together. Until Molly Calloway walks into his kickboxing class and the chemistry between them is undeniable. Molly is everything Deacon is not, but one heated confrontation later and there's no going back with Deacon and Molly. 

Since I missed the 2nd and 3rd books in this series, I was not at all acquainted with these characters when the story just jumped into Deacon and Molly's relationship. In this book, we don't get to see how Deacon and Molly meet or even the development of their attraction until the story starts where Molly is mad at Deacon and they had already acknowledged that they liked each other, but hadn't acted on it yet. Also, there are SO MANY CHARACTERS in this book it was impossible to keep them straight. There were so many trainers, fighters, and friends of Molly's that I tended to get lost in them. I wish there were less characters or more time spent on explaining who people were so that I wasn't lost in the characters and could focus on Molly and Deacon more. 

While it was hard to connect initially, I really ended up loving Molly's character. She was very timid before the book because of an attack, but she had definitely found her back bone and wasn't afraid to stand up for herself. And I LOVED how she was not super skinny and was actually insecure about herself and her imperfections. Deacon was able to reassure her that she was beautiful to him. I also liked how Molly held her ground with Deacon, especially how he was described as a very serious, dark, brooding man. Wow, when those two were alone, their chemistry exploded and it was definitely very hot. While the story did seem to go on longer than it needed to, I did enjoy the fighting storyline along with Deacon and Molly's story and their relationship. 

Overall, the heat and chemistry were there in this book, but I was not happy with the overall experience of the book. I felt disconnected in the beginning since I missed meeting the characters in the previous books and didn't know their history. While I liked Molly's character and Deacon's fighting background, their story went on a bit longer than I would have liked. Lorelei James will always be a favorite of mine, but this was not my favorite of hers.

Book Review: Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning

Darkfever (Fever #1)

By Karen Marie Moning 

Release Date: October 1, 2006

Source: Own Copy

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MacKayla Lane’s life is good. She has great friends, a decent job, and a car that breaks down only every other week or so. In other words, she’s your perfectly ordinary twenty-first-century woman. Or so she thinks…until something extraordinary happens.

When her sister is murdered, leaving a single clue to her death–a cryptic message on Mac’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….

As Mac delves deeper into the mystery of her sister’s death, her every move is shadowed by the dark, mysterious Jericho, a man with no past and only mockery for a future. As she begins to close in on the truth, the ruthless Vlane–an alpha Fae who makes sex an addiction for human women–closes in on her. And as the boundary between worlds begins to crumble, Mac’s true mission becomes clear: find the elusive Sinsar Dubh before someone else claims the all-powerful Dark Book–because whoever gets to it first holds nothing less than complete control of the very fabric of both worlds in their hands….

This book has been on my radar for a looonnngggg time. My mom read this series and told me that it was great and that I should read it. I've had the first, third, and fourth books on my bookshelf for awhile but was never motivated to pick them up. My friend Sarah from Words With Sarah told me she just ordered the first two from the series, so we decided to buddy read the first one together. And boy am I glad that I finally picked this book up! 

MacKayla Lane has a pretty good life. She's been living at home while bartending and hasn't ever experienced anything out of the ordinary. Until, one day, her sister is brutally murderd while studying abroad in Ireland. Devastated after hearing a missed voicemail days before her sister died, Mac decides to go to Dublin to find her sister's killer. What Mac doesn't expect to find, though, is a whole world she's never known that she was a part of and an unnerving bookstore owner who is determined to use Mac to find a very dark and powerful book. Can Mac survive in this new world full of Fae and find her sister's killer before they kill her first? 

Wow, this book! Karen Marie Moning has created a world unlike any other, but it definitely takes awhile to get into. At times, I felt like this could have totally been a tv show and this entire book would have been the pilot episode. We were introduced to Mac's normal life and then follow her to the insane Fae world that killed her sister in Dublin. There was so much mystery and danger when Mac arrived in Dublin that you had no idea what she was going to face next. The different kinds of evil Fae were crazy and freaky and awesome! And Mac is one kick-butt character to face those Fae. She's definitely not your typical heroine with her pink, trendy clothes, but I loved her! 

What really sealed the deal with me, though, was definitely Jericho Barrons. From the moment he met Mac, he had absolutely no patience for her attitude. Sarah and I agreed that there was definitely a slow burn attraction between Mac and Barrons and you are just dying for them to get together for the entire book. But, I had to remind myself that this was the first book in a series and the characters couldn't jump right in with each other in book one. Ugh!! I loved how much Mac and Barrons bickered, but also really helped each other and slowly found themselves attracted to each other. I was just like, GET TOGETHER ALREADY!!! Haha, nothing makes a book more intriguing than characters who have such intense chemistry but also a real relationship that isn't centered around feelings or attraction. Barrons needed Mac to find this powerful book and Mac needed Barrons to survive the insane Fae world she found herself in. They got annoyed with each other and fought with each other, but you could totally tell they wanted each other. 

Overall, this was an intriguing start to what I can only assume is an amazing series. If the rest of the books are anything like this one, I know they're going to be awesome. I loved the world, the characters, and the storyline that Karen Marie Moning created in Darkfever. I can't wait to pick up Bloodfever to see what happens next to Mac and Barrons!