Sunday, May 15, 2016

Book Review: Edge of Chaos by Molly E. Lee

I really enjoyed reading this book. It's well written and I got pulled into the story from the beginning. I loved reading about Blake's development within Justin's relationship when she tried to get his strong hold on her to loosen up and that she stepped out of her shell to finally enjoy her life.
The three characters (Justin, Blake and Dash) were well created and felt so real to me.

 
The Story:
This story is told in the first person in Blake's POV. Blake is a meteorologist student and in a long-term relationship with her first boyfriend. Justin and Blake know each other since they were kids and Justin hadn't had it easy in life. His parents had left him behind at his aunt and uncle's and even they had kicked him out after a while. Blake was all Justin had left and that's one reason why Blake always chose Justin when she had to make a decision where he was involved because she felt responsible for him.

Justin drinks a lot and since there is a fine line between a fun Justin and a blow-up worthy Justin, he often tips over into being explosive. Blake always tries her best to control Justin's outbursts though he blames her a lot for everything anyway. He loves to play video games with his friends and Blake can't remember when the last time was that he surprised her or went with her to dinner or to the movies. He even seems to be forgetting her birthday in the last few years. Justin changed and Blake hopes that the Justin she fell in love with is still in there somewhere and that he would come back.

Though at university, Blake meets Dash, the guy who chases storms, and Blake starts to notice the differences in Dash and Justin. She feels so happy being friends with Dash and he shows her that she deserves better and that Justin's behavior toward her is not the only way to treat a woman and a girlfriend.


Thoughts:
I don't know what's wrong with me but I felt so sorry for Justin a lot of the time, especially in the beginning and at the end. Even after all he'd done to Blake. I'm so sad that something bad had to happen for him to realize that he was a horrible person to Blake. He is an alcoholic and has problems to control his anger. He badly needs help. He has no purpose in life and even his work gets on his nerves but it's like he's afraid of changes.

I didn't really understand why Justin didn't want to give Blake up because it seemed like he could easily have other girls at least for sex and he seemed more annoyed by Blake's attitude anyway. Since he had to apologize a lot for his behavior and buy things for her to get himself in good graces why bother at all when all he wanted to do is play video games with his buddies anyway? That's what I didn't get. He would have had less trouble without Blake. And she obviously would have had a better life without him.

It was so thrilling when Blake, Dash, John and Paul went for a storm chase the first time. I felt like watching the movie 'twister' all over again.
Dash is a sweet guy. He does everything for Blake and I don't even know why she didn't give in to him at first. She wanted to find herself but I think that was just BS. You are yourself even in a relationship and since she and Justin grew apart a long time ago, she wasn't really in a relationship, at least not a healthy one.

I still have hope for Justin that he changes and everything turns out all right. I wish there is a HEA-story for him some day.

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Tuesday, May 10, 2016

Cover Reveal: Chasing Butterflies by Terri E. Laine


I am so happy to share with you this beautiful cover of 
Chasing Butterflies by Terri E. Laine

Book Release Date: June 2nd, 2016

Blurb:

USA Today Bestselling Author, Terri E. Laine brings a new standalone New Adult Romance novel, Chasing Butterflies, about second chances on and off the field.

One night … one kiss … one touch … will change everything.

Kelley Moore’s tragic home life should make him a survivor. But when he’s uprooted yet again, his plans for a better future seem impossible. Being a player on and off the football field is all he knows, until Lenora Wells. The beautiful town princess makes him feel and want things he never thought he could have…

Lenora will do anything to get out of her town, even if it means dating the wrong guy. There’s one problem: she can’t stop thinking about the gorgeous, complicated boy with the unusual eyes who gives her butterflies and makes her question her choices.

 When their lives collide, the world shifts and not in their favor. Four years later, the sins of their past can never be taken back and forgiveness won’t come easy.
College is a different game, a second chance for something better.
She’s not the girl he remembers and he’s the one boy she can never forget.
He’s made a name for himself as the star quarterback -- the golden boy who can do no wrong. But he’s only interested in being her hero.

 Despite everything, she can’t deny he still makes her heart flutter;
and she’s got him chasing butterflies.

Chasing-Butterflies-CR

goodreads link


About the Author:
Terri E. Laine, USA Today bestselling author, left a lucrative career as a CPA to pursue her love for writing. Outside of her roles as a wife and mother of three, she’s always been a dreamer and as such became an avid reader at a young Age.
Many years later, she got a crazy idea to write a novel and set out to try to publish it. With over a dozen titles published under various pen names, the rest is history. Her journey has been a blessing, and a dream realized. She looks forward to many more memories to come.

Sunday, May 8, 2016

Book Review: Balls by Andie M. Long


The Story:
After finishing University, Camille is moving back into her hometown with a tingling feeling in her tummy. After school she was so glad to leave everything behind especially Dylan Ball who made school life hell for her. Since he posted a picture of her in really tight shorts with the caption 'Camille Toe', Camille wanted nothing more than to be swallowed from earth. Now she is back and hopes to have a new start and is successful with her business. When she goes to the bank to cash in a check, she runs into Dylan Ball. The boy from school changed into a hot man but Camille can't put the anger aside that bubbles up when seeing him because all the memories about how he made school hell for her are coming back. But when Dylan has his mind set on something he doesn't back down that easily. He wants to show Camille that he isn't the annoying kid from school anymore. He knows now that what he did to her as wrong, and he is sorry about it.

Thoughts: 
Told from Camille's POV this story is really cute but moving too fast for my liking, e.g. they talked at the bank for the first time in years and he followed her home and invited himself in for dinner and she didn't even mind. Some parts were fun to read especially when Camille and Dylan talked and you noticed that he had a thing for her and she found him rather hot but was still mad at him for what he did to her in school. The thing with Jake and Beth and Susie was a lot of fun and the double date as well. Dylan was really sweet.

I think this story has a lot of potential but could have been better. Though it's easy to say that I liked almost everything when Dylan was involved. Gg He got me wrapped around his little finger. =P

-- I received an ARC of this book from the author through the Fifty Shades Support Group on Goodreads in exchange for an honest review. -- 
 
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Sunday, May 1, 2016

Book Review: Swanson Court Series by Serena Grey


Drawn to You (Book 1)
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I adore this book. The story is told from Rachel’s POV and I liked all the characters from the beginning. We get to know a little bit of every character but the adventure of Rachel and Landon takes in all of the pages because they are constantly hot for each other. A lot of sex scenes are included. The story lets you yearn for more. It’s an enjoyable read and I am eager to jump right into the next book.

The Story:
Finding herself accidentally in sexy hotelier Landon Court's suite, Rachel gets mistaken as a hooker, presumably booked for his birthday from Landon’s younger brother Aidan.
Both seem unable to forget this night and Rachel is sure she won’t see him again until she gets assigned to write an article for a new Lounge, where she will find herself drowning in those beautiful eyes of Landon Court.
Rachel can’t ignore the strong attraction she feels towards Landon and it seems as if he can feel it too. Agreeing to spend a week in San Francisco with him, without any long term relation and without emotions, Rachel will soon find herself in an emotional turmoil.
Landon doesn't seem to be a guy that does love and Rachel has to prepare herself for never going to see him again. But how will she manage this? Her feelings for her ex-boyfriend Jake were nothing in comparison to her feelings for Landon.

Thoughts:
What a great story. I enjoyed every bit of it even though I doubt that any woman would agree to do everything a stranger wants in bed without further explanation. It doesn't matter how hot this guy is, you don't know him. He could be a perverse for all she knows.



Addicted to You (Book 2)
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

This sequel is more or less about Rachel’s feelings and if she can or can’t live without Landon. She really struggled with the conflicts of her feelings. She loves Landon but is scared that he would leave her when she wants him to commit to her or when she would tell him that she loves him. I understood her jealousy of his ex though I don’t know if I would just run away, I would for sure confront him first. If he is having dinner – even for business – with his ex, I would not be really good with this. Ava – his ex – is all over him and it doesn’t help that she looks like a supermodel. Rachel has to deal with a lot of stuff in this book. Poor woman.

It would be a lie to say that I didn’t enjoy this book but it lacked on some things that I can’t point my finger on. It is a little repetitive because Rachel sends Landon away all the time and he is coming back to her like a boomerang. It is still kinda sweet though. I was like ‘he has to care for her or otherwise he wouldn’t be so stubborn, but why can’t he just admit his feelings? ’

Even though it was a little on the slow read, it felt like real life and that’s never boring. Because in real life you don’t always get your HEA and even if you get one, it doesn’t happen in a day. So I was torn between liking the story because it stayed on the true side and wanting to throw the book against the wall and scream at Rachel because she didn’t want to confess her feelings to Landon. As you see, there is no lack of emotions in this book =P

What bothered me:
The thing about this book was that it felt like turning in a circle. Rachel didn’t want to get hurt though was hurting already. She rather left Landon than tell him her feelings because she believed he would leave her because of his lack of commitment and feelings. When he kept coming back to her she still wanted him to go away. And when he suddenly left her or rather walked away from her, she ran after him. There was a constant repeat on this. I kept thinking ‘Woman, when you don’t want him to come back for you just tell him your feelings and he will go.’ Though she clearly didn’t want him to leave her. But then she was ok to leave him? I didn't get her logic. At the middle of the book I started screaming at her constantly why she acted so stupid. She should have just told him her feelings so either he would leave her alone because she didn't want him to come back to her or he might love her and they could have their happily ever after. I got really frustrated at her.
Though I have to say that I understood her reasons for pushing him away in the first place because I know how hard it is to talk about your feelings because you are scared to get hurt but she should have really talked to him to have saved both of them a lot of trouble and because this seemed like a never ending story… (Though the end of this sequel was probably worth the wait.)

Love:
The last few pages were so touching. 

"You have no idea how afraid I am of hurting you." 

My favorite secondary characters:
Even if Laurie and Brett are just minor characters, I really enjoyed reading about them. I loved them already in the first book but when Brett wanted a break in their relationship in the first one, I was really sad. As you can imagine I was more than just sad when something happened at 32% into this second book. I was so disappointed in Brett and really angry. I had high hopes for them and I still can’t shake this feeling that he is going to propose to her and they are going to get married. I still hope =) I am a hopeless romantic.

All in all this was a good read and I really enjoyed the writing as well as in the first book.


Lost in You (Book 3)
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I heart this book. The writing is as capturing as it was in the first two books. I love Rachel and Landon, those two are so sweet.

We get to read about some really lovely moments but at some parts - especially in the middle - there isn’t much happening. A lot of sex like in the first two books. Steamy but I find it tedious that there is a sex scene in every few pages. It sometimes felt like they were thrown in everywhere possible as page fillers, even though they aren’t badly written, it was just slightly too often for my liking.

I felt kind of bad for Jack, Rachel’s ex, because he discovered his feelings for her too late by the time she’s already moved on from him.
Serena Grey really knows how to create her characters and makes them lovable for us readers. I enjoyed reading about every single one of them, even Jack’s mother or Evans Sinclair. If good or bad, the characters are convincingly created.

To be honest, I was so scared of finishing this book because I was worried there might be a bad ending. My previously read books ruined me because I get scared shitless at the slightest possibility of a bad ending. I feared already in the middle of this book that something bad would happen to Landon. But I think I was just paranoid. This probably wouldn’t have happened to me if I would have read different books before this one.
This book was nonetheless enthralling closer to the end.

I loved the beautiful ending and the epilogue was so sweet. At about 78% I loved the story till the end because it got a lot more to it than just sex. There was some emotional rollercoaster going on. Beginning and ending in this book was super. The middle part was good.

I recommend this series to anyone who’s up for a sweet love story driving on a bumpy road but willing to find a happy ending.

“I only want you,” I whisper.
“All of me,” he says softly. “You already have all of me.”



-- I received an ARC of those books from the author through the Fifty Shades Support Group on Goodreads in exchange for an honest review. --

Friday, April 29, 2016

Book Review: Hidden Threat by Sherri Hayes


I liked this story a lot. It's told in a dual POV changing between Calis and Matthews. I enjoyed reading both perspectives but felt a little frustrated because both wanted each other but were afraid of taking the first step.

The first half of the book was more or less about Cali and Matthew's sexual attraction though I hoped it would be more suspenseful and full of action because of the threat against the company.
I needed more time to get into the story in the beginning but it was well written and I loved Cali and Matthew, Jason and Lisa.

The Story:
Cali Stanton spent the last two years working in Africa as a doctor for Doctors without Borders. When her father calls and asks her to fill in for him at his company for as long as he needs for recovering from his accident, Cali soon finds herself at her fathers desk at Stanton Enterprises and staring into Matthew Andersen's blue eyes. Getting filled in on the company's and her fathers situation that there is a threat against her dad and shipments being hijacked, Cali finds herself in the middle of a bad dream come true. Luckily the brothers Matthew and Jason are managing security at Stanton Enterprises and work hard on finding the person who's responsible for all the trouble.

While working together, Cali and Matthew can't ignore the strong attraction they feel for each other but they can't allow this to happen since Cali is Matthews boss. And with the threats being redirected against Cali, Matthew is forced to stay close to her for protection. There goes his plan of avoiding her. Soon they learn that they have to stand up for what they want and desire and that it doesn't matter what other people might think of them. Life is too short to worry. Just be happy.

Thoughts:
It took a long time for the two main characters to finally give in to their desires which was a bit frustrating. As a reader when you know it's going to happy sooner or later, I tend to be on the impatient side because I love a good couple but when there is a constant repeat of thoughts just like “Oh I have to have her but I can't” or “He is so hot but what if he doesn't want me?” … And when this gets on and on over more than a quarter of the book I tend to get frustrated... I know there are people who just can't stand insta love and I also might have some troubles with it, but when it's the other extreme I am furious *g*
The ending made up for it though. I loved it and Matthew is the perfect guy.

-- I received an ARC of this book from the author through the Fifty Shades Support Group on Goodreads in exchange for an honest review. -- 
 
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Monday, April 25, 2016

Book Review: A Mess of a Man by A.M. Hargrove and Terri E. Laine

This book makes you laugh, cry and angry at how unfair life can be. It's all about love and loss in all different kind of shades.


The story is really good and even though there were no surprises because it was all a bit predictable I really LOVED IT . You know, it's like watching a horror movie when the girl is alone at home and it's the middle of the night and you just know when the right kinda music starts to play that something is going to happen. Ok, that was the worst comparison ever but you get what I mean?! It's like having that feeling in your gut that tells you where this is going and what will happen. But it didn't lessen my enjoyment of reading this book even for a bit.
Ben did catch me by surprise closer to the end though.

The Story/main character:
Ben is like a hard shell with a soft core. He lost his best friend, his brother, and struggles to move on with his life. How can anyone move on from such a thing? When you have to watch your best friend die slowly away during days, weeks, months, it eats away on you. How can you cope with such a loss and being so helpless. Ben doesn't want to experience anything like that ever again and keeps his heart locked up. He is a womanizer and keeps his heart out of the game out of fear of loosing another loved person in his life. People around him don't notice how broken he is inside and he also wants to be strong for Cate, Dew's wife and his best friend.
Ben was never one who believed in the one true love though when he saw Sam, he wishes so much to talk to Drew about her and ask him for help to not screw this up.



Thoughts:
Contrary to my first impression I wouldn't exactly say that this is a sad story but with Ben's sorrow it really pulled at my hear. (I had to cry every time Drew was mentioned.)
I should not compare this book to Cruel and Beautiful because that wouldn't be fair but to be honest I always had to think about Drew.
I wonder if this would be as sad to read as it was for me without having read Cruel and Beautiful before. Because of knowing the whole story and knowing what happened to Drew, I took a trip down memory lane and the images of Drew kept filling my head. It made this so much harder to read with watery eyes.

The middle part of the book could have been a tiny bit shorter for my liking but on the other hand I still enjoyed reading all of it. It wasn't boring or anything but I was always glancing at the percentage of how much I've read already because I knew that closer to the end there must be some turn of events coming. And I was right.

Feelings:
Oh god, Drew's letters made me cry. Ben made me cry. Reading about Cate and Mercer made me cry. This was really hard, let me tell ya. And the Epilogue really got me.

I really liked Ben in Cruel and Beautiful and I am so happy for him to have his own story. During this read I really felt for him. I love him for caring so much and putting his own feelings and needs aside to be there for his friends.

I wish I had a Jeannie to grant me a wish, I would make Drew come back.

And now I'm going to go and listen to SinĂ©ad O’Connor.

-- I received an ARC of this book from the author in exchange for a honest review. --
 
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Tuesday, March 1, 2016

Book Review: Absolution Series by Sophia Scarlet

Bend Me (Book 1)
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars        

I really loved this book though there were a few things that bothered me from the story but that’s just a matter of opinion and that’s my review… so yeah.

The Story:
Agnes Bright lost her Baby as a result of a disease. Her marriage is shattered and so is Agnes. Feeling empty for too long she seeks pain to stop the numbness in her life. Stumbling across two handsome men (Marcus and David), she soon finds herself in a new world Agnes is eager to explore. Especially David Lake pulls all the right strings on her and Agnes gets to experience things she never did before.

My thoughts:
This was a hot read! Oh my. I really liked those two men fighting for one woman. Which woman doesn’t want that? And the sex scenes were scorching hot.
I normally don’t like different POVs but in this case I really enjoyed it because it gave so much more perspective.
I wasn’t fond of Agnes character but I liked David’s. Though he was so twisted. He kind of fell for her and then he was such a Dom. (This really creeps me out actually.)

All in all this was a quick and great read and I needed to know how the story would end.


Break Me (Book 2)
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I like the writing style. It’s a short quick read from two POVs like in the first book.

The Story of Agnes and David continues with both of them wanting to be in this Sub/Dom relationship but each with their own worries. Agnes is still married but hasn’t told David yet. David is afraid of losing Agnes because she is everything he could dream of.

The BDSM Part is good but as far as I remember, I enjoyed the first book a lot more. Probably because it was more thrilling as it was the first time for Agnes and with two strangers. Now David and Agnes feel more like a couple and the sex scenes are hot but not as exciting for me to read.

The story is predictable because you can see the turn of events coming but it’s none the less exciting. I like the dynamic between Eliza and David. I also enjoyed reading about David’s friends Eve and James and also Marcus and Willow.

The inner turmoil of Agnes is interesting to read but it was weird for me that she did not grief the loss of her baby at all in this book but was devastated in the first one.

I enjoyed reading David’s POV a lot. I probably wouldn’t like him as much if I would know him just from Eliza’s POV because then I wouldn’t know his motives and what he's thinking.

I liked this book in the beginning and I loved it in the end. I couldn't wait to read the 3rd one.



Bind Me (Book 3)
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

This conclusion to the Absolution series starts right where it left off in the second book. Jumping right into the action.
We probably all asked ourselves after the second book what will happen with Agnes. How will she explain to David that she is still married to Jonathan but loves David and wants to spend her life with him? And more important, will David listen to her?
Since Jonathan crashed David’s Birthday Party, David knows about Agnes secret. Will he forgive Agnes for lying to him and being married? Is Agnes able to sort her things out and be happy with David? How will Jonathan handle this situation? Is he willing to let Agnes go or does he fight for his wife, which he abandoned the last few months?

I loved that we didn’t miss out on anything and the story jumped right into it so we get to read all the juicy stuff. I think it was wrong of Agnes that she wasn’t honest with David and Jonathan. I really hoped that everyone would be happy in the end and now I can say that I was not disappointed with the ending of this series.

I really enjoyed the writing and was hooked from the beginning to the very end of this story.
I really loved that we got a look inside Jonathan with his POV. I always felt so sorry for him though in this book I felt really horrible because we always just thought about how Agnes had to deal with the loss of her son but Jonathan also lost his son.

It’s fair to say that I loved this book. =) It was really great. We finally got the conclusion between Eliza and her ex-husband. And I really liked that David didn’t just jump right back on her but gave themselves a few weeks to process their chances. This was needed really badly because they have been on each other since the day they’ve met.



-- I received an ARC of this series from the author Sophia Scarlet in exchange for an honest review. --

View full review on Goodreads