Category: Books
RELEASE DAY BLITZ ~ LIVVY BY LORI L. OTTO
In her first year of college at Yale, challenging courses and new friends provide a much-needed distraction for Livvy Holland. Beyond the tears–for the most part– she won’t allow the lingering anger she harbors toward her ex-boyfriend to consume her.
Even after taking steps to conceal her identity, Livvy is still very recognizable and popular among her new classmates. She takes advantage of her situation and accepts dates with multiple guys, trying to piece together an image of ‘her type of guy’ that differs from all the good qualities Jon Scott once possessed.
An unexpected letter arrives on Livvy’s 18th birthday, shifting her focus and forcing her to reevaluate all the relationships in her life. She now knows the identity of her biological father, and struggles to make sense of the news alone. Fortunately, she won’t have to.
Just as Livvy’s life begins to normalize, one of her professors provides her with the creative opportunity of a lifetime. Trusting in the bonds she’s made with everyone she loves, she believes she can have everything she wants and makes the decision that allows her to be true to herself.
She was chosen for a reason. Chosen to be a gifted artist that–with a few strokes of a paintbrush–could touch people emotionally; profoundly. Chosen by her parents so they had a place to share their boundless love and devotion. Chosen by her friend so he could return the encouragement, inspiration and affection she’d shown him for so many years.
Livvy Holland will never again take her position in life for granted. She wears the name with humility and respect. She is Choisie.
RELEASE DAY REVIEW ~ NATURAL LOVE BY S. CELI
My whole life, I wanted one thing: to be the perfect son.
Growing up, I did everything my father required. Straight A’s in school. Perfect manners. I forced myself to live up to his standards–standards that pushed the Chadwick family name to the highest rungs of society.
Over the years, we climbed so high that my father hoped we’d never fall.
If only he’d been right. With each successful year, the Chadwick family skeletons grew bolder and darker. Every lie threatened to undo us.
The secret Avery Jackson and I shared was the worst one of all.
She was the one person I shouldn’t love–the one person I couldn’t love. But I did. I loved Avery Jackson. I wanted her, even though a romance with her threatened everything.
It all felt so natural.
And that was exactly the problem.
I know the rating doesn’t really show it, but I did enjoy this book up until the point I didn’t. The writing was solid and as a lover of taboo and forbidden romances, I was happy with a surprise reveal in the beginning that added yet another complex layer to the story. However, the excellent premise was overshadowed by some issues that gradually dominated the story and by the end of the book I was so disappointed when I read how everything was wrapped up. But taking the book as a whole, this was a decent read. Nothing that wowed me, but it did keep me flipping the pages.
Back home from 2 years in the Peace Corps, Spencer Chadwick is ready to take over his father’s multimillion-dollar business. Striving to always be the perfect son in front of his father and the rest of their social circle, Spencer is dedicated to showing everyone he’s changed from the reckless youngster a few years back. However, the only thing that has never changed is his love for Avery Jackson, the girl who grew up with him since they were kids and also the one girl he can never have.
BOOK REVIEW ~ ARCHER’S VOICE BY MIA SHERIDAN
When Bree Prescott arrives in the sleepy, lakeside town of Pelion, Maine, she hopes against hope that this is the place where she will finally find the peace she so desperately seeks. On her first day there, her life collides with Archer Hale, an isolated man who holds a secret agony of his own. A man no one else sees.
Archer’s Voice is the story of a woman chained to the memory of one horrifying night and the man whose love is the key to her freedom. It is the story of a silent man who lives with an excruciating wound and the woman who helps him find his voice. It is the story of suffering, fate, and the transformative power of love.
BOOK REVIEW ~ NOCTE BY COURTNEY COLE
My name is Calla Price. I’m eighteen years old, and I’m one half of a whole.
My other half– my twin brother, my Finn– is crazy.
I love him. More than life, more than anything. And even though I’m terrified he’ll suck me down with him, no one can save him but me.
I’m doing all I can to stay afloat in a sea of insanity, but I’m drowning more and more each day. So I reach out for a lifeline.
Dare DuBray.
He’s my savior and my anti-Christ. His arms are where I feel safe, where I’m afraid, where I belong, where I’m lost. He will heal me, break me, love me and hate me.
He has the power to destroy me.
Maybe that’s ok. Because I can’t seem to save Finn and love Dare without everyone getting hurt.
Buy NOCTE (Kindle)
BOOK REVIEW ~ THE DUET BY R.S. GREY
When 27-year-old pop sensation Brooklyn Heart steps in front of a microphone, her love songs enchant audiences worldwide. But when it comes to her own love life, the only spell she’s under is a dry one.
So when her label slots her for a Grammy performance with the sexy and soulful Jason Monroe, she can’t help but entertain certain fantasies… those in which her G-string gets more play than her guitars’.
Only one problem. Jason is a lyrical lone wolf that isn’t happy about sharing the stage—nor his ranch — with the sassy singer. But while it may seem like a song entitled ‘Jason Monroe Is an Arrogant Ho’ basically writes itself, their label and their millions of fans are expecting recording gold…
They’re expecting The Duet.
Though I don’t read many of them, sometimes it’s great to unwind with a lighthearted, humorous read and when I picked up The Duet it hit the nail on the head with light and funny. Though the premise isn’t anything I haven’t read before, the witty banter, nearly drama-free plot, the close camaraderie between the two Heart sisters and the two very charming main characters totally won me over and I had a blast reading this book.
Pop singer Brooklyn Heart is a hoot. She’s the quintessential popular girl with an occasional wild side, and is fiercely loyal to those she loves. In order to rack up an audience and even wider recognition, Brook’s label has her paired up with the hero Jason Monroe to perform a smashing duet on Grammy night. Problem is, she and Jason couldn’t be more different from each other and though she’s got the hots for him, her bubbly attitude and his ice-cold indifference clash again and again. Both resign to the idea they have to work with each other for one month to collaborate on their duet and for inspiration, they head out to Jason’s ranch out in Montana. It isn’t too long before their inspiration ideas come from sex and they agree to the rules: no relationships, no complications, just sex.
READING ABBREVIATIONS INDEX
Do you ever read a book and there’s an abbreviation like BBW tagged as the headline and you go ‘what does that stand for??’ It’s Big Beautiful Woman by the way, but the point is, there are just so many abbreviations we throw around in the book world and it’s easy to forget what they stand for. So, I took the liberty of making a list of abbreviations I use and see around a lot. If I left one out, let me know and I’ll be sure to add to the list!
TBR = To Be Read (usually refers to our reading lists)
TBA = To Be Announced (occasionally used for book release dates/info)
TBD = To Be Determined (occasionally used for book release dates/info)
WTH = What the Heck/Hell (believe me I’ve seen this used in stories)
HEA = Happily Ever After (refers to the book ending)
HFN = Happy For Now (refers to the book ending)
ICYMI = In Case You Missed It (I use this one a lot)
POV = Point of View
DNF = Did Not Finish (DNF-ing a book)
ARC = Advanced Reader Copy (unpublished version of the book provided to the reviewer/blogger by the author or publisher)
IMO = In My Opinion
T = Taboo (occasionally books will be marked to warn readers of taboo content)
BOB = Battery Operated Boyfriend
BB = Book Boyfriend
NSFW = Not Safe For Work (those steamy reads hehehe)
M/M = male/male
M/F/M = menage with straight men (male/female/male)
M/M/F = menage with bi men (male/male/female)
BDSM = BD (bondage & discipline), SM (sadism & masochism)
D/s = Dom/sub
H/h = Hero/heroine
UST = Unresolved Sexual Tension
BBW = Big Beautiful Woman
LGBT = Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender
PNR = Paranormal Romance (I use this one a lot)
YA = Young Adult
NA = New Adult (I use this a lot too)
UF = Urban Fantasy
MC = Main Character OR Motorcycle Club (depending on the context of the user)
Hey guys! I am SO sorry for the multiple posts that went out earlier. That was entirely my mistake and meant to be drafts on my blog, not to be published yet. They’re gone from my blog since I deleted them but those who are subscribed with your email will get the posts that look like spam. Again, my deepest apologies for that!! My blog is almost done with the makeover (making a few more changes here) but the multiple unfinished posts were not meant to be sent out. Sorry guys!!
BOOK REVIEW ~ FIRST DEBT BY PEPPER WINTERS
“You say I’ll never own you. If I win—you willingly give me that right. You sign not only the debt agreement, but another—one that makes me your master until your last breath is taken. You do that, and I’ll give you this.”
Nila Weaver’s family is indebted. Stolen, taken, and bound not by monsters but by an agreement written over six hundred years ago, she has no way out.
She belongs to Jethro as much as she denies it.
Jethro Hawk’s patience is running out. His inheritance gift tests, challenges, and surprises him—and not in good ways. He hasn’t leashed her but he thinks he might’ve found a way to bind her forever.
Debts are mounting. Payment waiting.
I was one of the readers who finished book 1 feeling shocked and a little angry with the (anti) hero Jethro Hawk. Though I never doubted that the author could redeem him in our eyes, there was a lot of work needed to be done before I could even forgive him, let alone like him. With this second book, the author has answered old questions, presented new ones, but most importantly, given us a reason to warm up to Jethro and both sympathize and admire Nila for her resiliency. Whether or not you were a fan of the first book, I can guarantee that reading this book will present these characters in a different light…and just maybe see Jethro set on a road towards redemption.
BOOK BLITZ ~ BREAKING THE RULES BY KATIE MCGARRY
For new high school graduate Echo Emerson, a summer road trip out west with her boyfriend means getting away and forgetting what makes her so… different. It means seeing cool sights while selling her art at galleries along the way. And most of all, it means almost three months alone with Noah Hutchins, the hot, smart, soul-battered guy who’s never judged her. Echo and Noah share everything — except the one thing Echo’s just not ready for.
But when the source of Echo’s constant nightmares comes back into her life, she has to make some tough decisions about what she really wants — even as foster kid Noah’s search for his last remaining relatives forces them both to confront some serious truths about life, love, and themselves.
Now, with one week left before college orientation, jobs and real life, Echo must decide if Noah’s more than the bad-boy fling everyone warned her he’d be. And the last leg of an amazing road trip will turn… seriously epic.
Katie would love to hear from her readers. Contact her via her website, katielmcgarry.com, follow her on Twitter @KatieMcGarry, or become a fan on Facebook and Goodreads.