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Book Review: The Lucky Ones by Tiffany Reisz

 

The Lucky Ones

by Tiffany Reisz

Print Length: 368 pages

Publisher: MIRA (February 13, 2018)

They called themselves “the lucky ones”

They were seven children either orphaned or abandoned by their parents and chosen by legendary philanthropist and brain surgeon Dr. Vincent Capello to live in The Dragon, his almost magical beach house on the Oregon Coast. Allison was the youngest of the lucky ones living an idyllic life with her newfound family…until the night she almost died and was then whisked away from the house and her adopted family forever.

Now, thirteen years later, Allison receives a letter from Roland, Dr. Capello’s oldest son, warning her that their father is ill and in his final days. Allison determines she must go home again and confront the ghosts of her past. She’s determined to find out what really happened that fateful night — was it an accident or, as she’s always suspected, did one of her beloved family members try to kill her?

But digging into the past can reveal horrific truths, and when Allison pieces together the story of her life, she’ll learn the terrible secret at the heart of the family she once loved but never really knew.

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My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

If I wanted to judge people all day I’d either be a priest or get a Facebook account…

 

Allison looked into his eyes. He didn’t have bedroom eyes, not like McQueen did. Roland had hallway eyes—labyrinthine hallways made of marble and lit by torches resting in iron sconces. She could wander those shadowy hallways forever and never once feel lost.

 

He buys his Catholic guilt in bulk at Costco…

 

You know what they say…ours is not to wonder why. Ours is but to drink bourbon and rye.

 

There aren’t a lot of them around. True psychopaths make up about two percent of the population. In prison it’s more like… fifty percent. In politics, maybe ninety percent.

 

 My Review:

 

I don’t believe I know enough lofty adjectives or adverbs to fully extol the brilliance and craft of this spellbinding tale. I was consumed, enthralled, engrossed and embedded in this riveting tale from beginning to end. I was intrigued and beguiled by all the characters while also fearful I was going to learn something truly awful about them, which I did, but I still loved them anyway. The story was ingeniously crafted, cunningly paced, and loaded with all manner of itchy and twisty elements that squeezed my heart, set my brain on fire, and put a series of hot rocks in my throat. Tiffany Reisz is an evil genius and a clever wordsmith. I covet her mad skills and am wild with greed to amass and read every single thing she has and will ever write.

About Tiffany Reisz 

 

 

Tiffany Reisz lives in Lexington, Kentucky with her husband, author Andrew Shaffer.

 

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Book Review, Giveaway: Follow Me Back by A.L. Jackson

Follow Me Back 

The next seductive, unforgettable stand-alone romance in the FIGHT FOR ME series from NYT & USA Today Bestselling Author A.L. Jackson . . .

 

“This is why I read romance.” –Lauren Rowe, USA Today and Internationally bestselling author
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My loves – I am so beyond thrilled to finally get to share Kale and Hope’s story with you in FOLLOW ME BACK! Writing this book was a labor of love, and after everything, I think it might be my favorite book I’ve ever written. It’s super sexy and swoony, sad and sweet, and just filled my heart up so full there is no chance I will ever forget the way these characters made me feel. I hope you fall in love with them the same way I did! 
Enjoy!
xoxo – Amy 
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Blurb:

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The next seductive, unforgettable stand-alone romance in the FIGHT FOR ME series from NYT & USA Today Bestselling Author A.L. Jackson . . .
Kale Bryant. Arrogant. Gorgeous. Commanding.
This ER doctor is married to his job. His only vice is one-night stands and short-lived flings. He learned a long time ago loving someone isn’t worth the risk.
Harley Hope Masterson. Beautiful. Brave. Sweet.
The owner of a small coffee shop knows what it’s like to struggle. Embroiled in a bitter divorce, she’s threatened with losing everything.
When Kale accepts a new position down the street from Hope’s shop, he begins to question every wall he’s built around his heart.
He wants her in a way he hasn’t wanted anyone.
One touch is fire.
One kiss, and he’s spinning out of control.
But taking her won’t come without consequences.
Hope is in for the fight of her life. One neither of them saw coming.
Now Kale must decide if loving her is worth risking it all.
She will fight with everything she has.
But sometimes even hope needs a hero . . .
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My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

So what if Pinterest had become my lover, keeping me company in the lonely nights.

 

The kid was a force field of joy.

 

Someone please tell me this is where we get to call the wanker names and talk about how horrible he is in bed and how his breath always stinks.

 

Of course, I’m responsible. I’m head matchmaker. I just walk through a crowd and all those love-connecting darts start flying out of me, striking whoever I walk by.

 

You set me on a path that I don’t want to stop walking. I will follow you anywhere.

 

My Review:

 

Sizzling sensuality, cute scene-stealing children, heart squeezing medical issues and an overriding tone of heavily emotive and angsty writing define this story. The premise and storylines were interesting and relevant and the characters were endearing and likable, but I struggled more than bit some while reading this book as there was far more repetitive angsty melodrama than I was comfortable with, but that is just my personal bias. I enjoyed Hope and Kale’s sweet and steamy romance until he apparently caught jaundice as he turned yellow with cowardice and abandoned her, not once but twice, especially during a harrowing period when she needed emotional support the most, which was deeply disappointing.

As always, Ms. Jackson’s writing was highly emotive, poignant, and pulls at the heartstrings while her more irreverent characters and the precocious children provided comic relief and amusing banter to help balance the tone. And I am happy to report that I learned a new pop culture reference that required the services of Mr. Google – “brown chicken brown cow.” It is always a good day when I can boast of acquisition of new knowledge. 

Kindle Fire HD 8 + Show Me the Way & Hunt Me Down Signed Copies + $25 Amazon GC Giveaway 

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About the Author

 

A.L. Jackson is the New York Times & USA Today Bestselling author of contemporary romance. She writes emotional, sexy, heart-filled stories about boys who usually like to be a little bit bad.

Her bestselling series include THE REGRET SERIES, CLOSER TO YOU, and BLEEDING STARS novels. Watch for A.L. Jackson’s upcoming novel, FOLLOW ME BACK, the second stand-alone novel in her brand-new FIGHT FOR ME SERIES.

If she’s not writing, you can find her hanging out by the pool with her family, sipping cocktails with her friends, or of course with her nose buried in a book.

Be sure not to miss new releases and sales from A.L. Jackson – Sign up to receive her newsletter http://smarturl.it/NewsFromALJackson or text “aljackson” to 33222 to receive short but sweet updates on all the important news.

Connect with A.L.

Facebook: http://smarturl.it/ALJacksonPage
Reader Group: http://smarturl.it/AmysAngelsRock
Amazon: http://smarturl.it/ALJacksonAmzn
Bookbub: http://smarturl.it/ALJacksonBookbub
Twitter: @aljacksonauthor
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Snapchat: @aljacksonauthor
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Book Review: Best Friends Forever by Margot Hunt

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Best Friends Forever

 

by Margot Hunt

Amazon | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble

Hardcover: 336 pages
Publisher: MIRA (January 23, 2018)


Kat Grant and Alice Campbell have a friendship forged in shared confidences and long lunches lubricated by expensive wine. Though they’re very different women—the artsy socialite and the struggling suburbanite—they’re each other’s rocks. But even rocks crumble under pressure. Like when Kat’s financier husband, Howard, plunges to his death from the second-floor balcony of their South Florida mansion.

Howard was a jerk, a drunk, a bully and, police say, a murder victim. The questions begin piling up. Like why Kat has suddenly gone dark: no calls, no texts and no chance her wealthy family will let Alice see her. Why investigators are looking so hard in Alice’s direction. Who stands to get hurt next? And who is the cool liar—the masterful manipulator behind it all?

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Kat wasn’t just wealthy. She came from capital-M Money.

 

She never eats. She lives on a diet of wine and bitterness…

 

No one liked Howard… Not to speak ill of the dead, but he was an asshole. If everyone who thought he was an asshole was a suspect, they’d have an overly large number of people to consider.

 

If insanity was a side effect of Botox, every Floridian over the age of forty would be nuts.

 My Review:

 

I was captivated by this gripping story and was totally unprepared for the chilling and gasp-worthy ending. The writing was superb and cunningly clever – quickly setting an intense and thrumming sense of intrigue while constantly pricking at my curiosity and luring me in with enticing characters, expert storytelling, and a perplexing mystery. I was beguiled yet not fully trusting of the lovely and vivacious Kat. The storyline was brilliantly crafted and sharply honed and kept me riveted to my Kindle through all the twists and turns. I had speculated and cast out various theories but would never have anticipated or come close to Ms. Hunt’s ingenious plotting.   She has mad skills and my utmost respect, although she also scares me a little…

 

About Margot Hunt

Margot Hunt is the pseudonym of a bestselling writer of twelve previous novels. Her work has been praised by Publisher’s Weekly, Booklist, and Kirkus Reviews. BEST FRIENDS FOREVER is her first psychological thriller.

Connect with Margot

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Series Book Review: Cracks Duet – A Crack In Everything #1 and How The Light Gets In #2 by L.H. Cosway

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We’re celebrating the release of the CRACKS DUET by L.H. Cosway! 

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Title: A Crack In Everything and How The Light Gets In

(Cracks Duet)

Age Group: Adult

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A Crack In Everything  Goodreads

How The Light Gets In Goodreads

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A Crack In Everything
Amazon: http://amzn.to/2DvxZc5

iBooks: https://apple.co/2BsghVg

Nook: http://bit.ly/2n7Od4k

Kobo: http://bit.ly/2Gd10ez

 A Crack in Everything is Book #1 in L.H. Cosway’s Cracks duet.

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A Crack in Everything

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Life used to be simple.

I was a city girl with humble dreams. Then Dylan O’Dea broke into my flat, held me against the wall and told me to stay quiet.

It was like in the movies, where the universe zeros in on a single scene. I looked into his eyes and knew he was going to change me.

For Dylan, the sky was always falling. He showed me how our world is a contradiction of beauty and ugliness. How we choose to ignore the awful and gloss over it with the palatable. How you need just a tiny drop of something unsavory to create every great scent.

Pretty deep for a pair of teenagers living in a block of council flats in inner city Dublin, right Probably. But we weren’t typical. We both had our obsessions. Mine was growing things, Dylan’s was scent. He taught me how to use my nose, and I introduced him to the magic of flowers.

I had no idea that one day he’d build an empire from what we started together. But before that, there was love and happiness, tragedy and epic heartbreak…

My name is Evelyn Flynn and I’m going to tell you about the crack in everything.

 

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How the Light Gets In is Book #2 and the concluding installment in L.H. Cosway’s Cracks duet.

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How the Light Gets In

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Amazon: http://amzn.to/2GfvMmO

iBooks: https://apple.co/2n9grg1

Nook: http://bit.ly/2n9RWyf

Kobo: http://bit.ly/2F9klMf

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He came back to me 16 minutes and 59 seconds into Beethoven’s Symphony no. 7.

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We parted amid tragedy, so it seemed poetic. Dylan O’Dea, my childhood sweetheart, had once meant everything to me. Now we were strangers, and honestly, after eleven years I never thought I’d see him again.

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I lived in the world of the average, of getting paid by the hour and budgeting to make ends meet. But Dylan, he lived in the world of wealth and success. He’d achieved the great things I always suspected he would. The dissatisfaction he’d felt as a teenager had obviously been an excellent motivator.

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He started a business from scratch, pioneered a brand, and created perfumes adored by women across the globe. I was just one of the people who’d been there before. Now he was living his best life in the after.

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And me, well, I’d been in a dark place for a while. Slowly but surely, I was letting the light back in, but there was something missing. I was an unfinished sentence with an ellipsis at the end. And maybe, if I was brave enough to take the chance, Dylan could be my happy ending.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 A Crack in Everything

 

I loved Sam and all, but instead of avoiding elephants in rooms he tended to grab them by the tusks.

 

I was wondering whether you think everyone is redeemable?… I’ll give you the serial killer and the rapists, but what about people who are just sort of arseholes? Do you think they can ever become less . . . arsehole-y?

Granny Kennedy was terribly talkative on her deathbed. I think that’s final wish number eleven we’re at now, if we count brushing my teeth every night and saving myself for marriage. The woman must’ve never shut up when she was preparing for those pearly gates.

 

You should come at night. The place transforms. It’s like a Roman orgy after hours… It’s true. All these old timers are mad for it. They don’t have to worry about getting pregnant.

 How the Light Gets In

 

I’m ninety-nine percent convinced all Americans think Irish people talk like Leprechauns.

 

I felt so small. Why did you bump into old flames when you looked your absolute worst? It was one of God’s twisted celestial algorithms that made it happen to everyone at least once in their lives.

 

I was one of those people who were all, spa days are for spoiled housewives. But then as soon as someone said they’re paying, I was already in a bathrobe, cucumber slices on each eye, while a lady dressed in white gave me a pedicure.

 

Okay, fine… You’re not a cougar. I take it back. You’re a lion cub, a cute and adorable baby lion with no wrinkles and the most youthful appearance.

 

My Review:

 

Thank goodness I had the second book ready to go or I would be stamping my little foot at this strategic cliffhanger at the end of A Crack In Everything,  which was an angsty and devastating YA tale that had tugged at my cold heart the entire way through. The storylines and writing were well honed, emotive, intriguing, insightful, moody, and cleverly paced. Despite the angsty and melancholy tone, I was more than anxious to continue on to the second book.

I was delighted with How The Light Gets In, which picked up eleven years after the tragic ending of A Crack In Everything and was significantly lighter in tone with frequent hits of levity and clever banter between the characters as they slowly and sweetly rekindled their relationship. The writing was witty, engaging, beguiling, and increasingly hopeful while the characters were thoughtfully deconstructed and reassembled. The first person POV held my interest and rapt attention throughout as I was highly curious about those eleven years and how the story would resolve. I was more than satisfied by the thoughtful and ever so sweet conclusion.  I reveled in Dylan’s success as an adult.    Second-chance romances are among my favorites and I enjoyed this pair and their odd assortment of family and friends.

 

About the author: 

 

 

L.H. Cosway lives in Dublin, Ireland. Her inspiration to write comes from music. Her favourite things in life include writing stories, vintage clothing, dark cabaret music, food, musical comedy, and of course, books. She thinks that imperfect people are the most interesting kind. They tell the best stories. L.H. is represented by Louise Fury at The Bent Agency.

Social Media Links:FB: www.facebook.com/LHCosway

Twitter: www.twitter.com/LHCosway

Instagram: www.instagram.com/l.h.cosway

Website: www.lhcoswayauthor.com

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/lhcosway13/

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 Book Review: Say You’ll Remember Me by Katie McGarry

 Say You’ll Remember Me

by Katie McGarry

Amazon | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble

Hardcover: 464 pages

Publisher: Harlequin Teen (January 30, 2018)

 

Doesn’t matter who did it. Not anymore. I did the time. It’s over.”

When Drix was convicted of a crime—one he didn’t commit—he thought his life was over. But opportunity came with the Second Chance Program, the governor’s newest pet project to get delinquents off the streets, rehabilitated and back into society. Drix knows this is his chance to get his life back on track, even if it means being paraded in front of reporters for a while.

Elle knows she lives a life of privilege. As the governor’s daughter, she can open doors with her name alone. But the expectations and pressure to be someone she isn’t may be too much to handle. She wants to follow her own path, whatever that means.

When Drix and Elle meet, their connection is immediate, but so are their problems. Drix is not the type of boy Elle’s parents have in mind for her, and Elle is not the kind of girl who can understand Drix’s messy life.

But sometimes love can breach all barriers.

Fighting against a society that can’t imagine them together, Drix and Elle must push themselves—Drix to confront the truth of the robbery, and Elle to assert her independence—and each other to finally get what they deserve.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

He must believe there’s nothing in my skull beyond the beginnings of hair follicles.

 

It’s creepy hanging with you… It’s like you’re the Walking Dead. I’m half expecting someone to jump out with a samurai sword and slice out your heart.

 

“I don’t know how to get them to leave me alone.” I pause, then the bitterness leaks out as well as a grim grin. “At least not without a baseball and a well-placed throw. Some people shouldn’t be allowed to continue their genetics.”

 

What does being mature mean? Mature feels an awful lot like being tamed, and so far, I’m not caring for the view from my cage.

 

Andrew and I are barely friends, and most days I lean toward thinking he should be neutered.

 

Drix gives that dog anything he wants. I’m warning you in case you guys grow up, get married and have babies. When the zombie apocalypse happens, he’s saving the dog before he saves any of us.

  

My Review:

 

I was stunned and off-balance by how much I enjoyed this skillfully crafted, engrossing, and heart-squeezing tale. I was immediately sucked in by the engaging storytelling and quick to fall for these enticing and intriguing characters, although I occasionally wanted to give several of them a pop to the back of their head and lock the bratty sister in her room. I very rarely read YA since I don’t like being reminded of those claustrophobic and hopeless feelings due to being powerless to the forces of controlling and cruel adults. But I couldn’t seem to put this one down. Adulting may be hard but it’s ever so sweet to make your own choices once out from under a menacing or suffocating thumb, as was the case for these two diversely different teens. Both were miserable and under intense pressure and scrutiny but had completely dissimilar life experiences.   Elle was a naïve and wealthy private school girl who had everything but freewill as she was little more than a trained monkey to her political parents’ dog and pony show. Hendrix was a cynically resigned, street-smart, and overly exposed delinquent fresh out juvenile detention. An unlikely pair who had been forbidden to interact while on the campaign trail, but of course, they meshed and became fast friends who eventually set off fireworks in their nether regions. I sighed with relief at the satisfying conclusion and certainly wouldn’t mind seeing the tale of this ragtag grouping further developed into a series.

About Katie McGarry 

Katie was a teenager during the age of grunge and boy bands and remembers those years as the best and worst of her life. She is a lover of music, happy endings, reality television, and is a secret University of Kentucky basketball fan.

She is the author of the Pushing the Limits and Thunder Road series. Say You’ll Remember Me will be released in 2018.

Katie loves to hear from her readers.

Connect with Katie

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

 

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Book Review: The View from Rainshadow Bay  (A Lavender Tides Novel) by Colleen Coble

The View from Rainshadow Bay

 A Lavender Tides Novel

by Colleen Coble

 

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Amazon | iBooks | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble

 

Paperback: 336 pages

Publisher: Thomas Nelson (January 23, 2018)

 

“Prepare to stay up all night with Colleen Coble. Coble’s beautiful, emotional prose coupled with her keen sense of pacing, escalating danger, and very real characters place her firmly at the top of the suspense genre. I could not put this book down.” –Allison Brennan, New York Times bestselling author of Shattered

After her husband, Jack, dies in a climbing incident, Shauna has only her five-year-old son and her helicopter charter business to live for. Every day is a struggle to make ends meet and she lives in constant fear of losing even more than she already has.

When her business partner is murdered, his final words convince Shauna that she’s in danger too. But where can she turn? Zach Bannister was her husband’s best friend and is the person she blames for his death. She’s barely spoken to him since. But right now he seems her only hope for protecting her son.

Zach is only too happy to assuage his guilt over Jack’s death by helping Shauna any way he can. But there are secrets involved dating back to Shauna’s childhood that more than one person would prefer to stay hidden.

In The View from Rainshadow Bay, suspense, danger, and a longing to love again ignite amid the gorgeous lavender fields of Washington State.

 

My Rating:

My Review:

 

While still reading, I became increasingly concerned and conflicted in how to assess and rate this book.   The premise was interesting and original and the mystery was intriguing with several creative story elements that keep me reading and had my rating floating at four-stars. However, I grew restless and annoyed with the uneven pace and quality of the writing as some storylines dragged and became tediously repetitious, while others seemed rushed. Ms. Coble excelled in her creation and colorful descriptions of the quirky small town and its characters as I could well envision the historical and antiquated buildings, persnickety mother-in-law, and a somewhat inept middle-aged Elvis-wannabe sheriff with a thick mane full of product who had somehow managed to snare a young model for a wife. That image still brings a smile to my lips.

 About Colleen Coble

USA Today bestselling author Colleen Coble has written numerous romantic suspense novels including The Inn at Ocean’s Edge, Twilight at Blueberry Barrens, and Beneath Copper Falls.  

Connect with Colleen

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Book Review: FOUND by Claudia Burgoa


FOUND

by Claudia Burgoa 

Goodreads

Special sale price is 99 cents! 

BOOK DESCRIPTION:


All I’ve ever wanted was for someone to choose me. My mother didn’t. My father didn’t. The beautiful boy next door, who grew up to marry me, didn’t. Neither did the next man with whom I thought my heart was safe.

Back in the Bay area, three thousand miles from New York City, I can start fresh. Become one with the sea again, rise or fall on the tide of my own choices. But on the first day of my bright new life, the darkest shadows of my past follow me through my office door. The two men whose names are definitely not on my five-year plan.

If I let it consume me—my need for one man, my love for the other—the darkness will swallow me whole. I can’t let that happen. Not again. This time, the waves of emotion crashing against my heart won’t drown me. This time, I get to choose my happy ending.


 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

My parents used to say that I was the link between my brothers. I was the one who kept the peace— or started the biggest fights.

 

“But I guess life is about taking risks as we search for that special place,” he says, sounding like a fortune cookie from Ying Palace where we ordered takeout almost every Wednesday. They never make sense but taste yummy, and their quotes sound so beautiful.

 

Depression is something that’s all over me, even when I don’t want it. I’ve tried to break away from it several times, but it’s my permanent companion.

 

We could call HGTV and have a show. Something like, Abandoned Houses Dusty Edition.

 

His eyes are pleading me to say something, but I am catching his words. They are like fluttering butterflies that one can see only once in a lifetime.

 

After my journey, love still has the same meaning it’s had for as long as I can remember. It’s a verb, a noun, an adjective, and an adverb with many meanings but it’s hard to explain in only a few words

 

Belonging wasn’t a clear verb for me until I met you…

 

 My Review:

 

Decisions, decisions… what a conundrum. After a lifetime of battling feelings of inadequacy and being “never enough,” as she had essentially been abandoned or passed over by everyone who had ever mattered to her, Hazel suddenly found herself having to choose between two adoring men who were vying for her heart. One was her ex-husband who had been her childhood best friend and first love, and the other was her business partner and the man she has been secretly in love with for the last two years. She felt deeply for both who were successful, smart, sexy, and attentive.   Hazel was a wreck, drowning in indecision, and miserable over the dilemma, but damn, I should have such problems!

 

Written from the multiple POV of the three main characters, the emotive storylines were original, entertaining, and well-crafted while the writing was richly poignant and insightful, engaging, delectably sensual, and held my rapt attention throughout. Ms. Burgoa’s characters are always uniquely compelling, considerably flawed or damaged, and tend to ceaselessly pluck at my curiosity as the cunning and wily wordsmith slowly reveals their motivations and histories. I was as conflicted as Hazel was and couldn’t decide whom she should select and waffled several times as I gained more perspective on each one. To my vast delight, the conclusion was even better than expected and infinitely satisfying.

 
 

AUTHOR INFORMATION:


Claudia is an award-winning, international bestselling author. She lives in Colorado working for a small IT company, managing her household filled with three confused dogs, two daughters wrought with fandoms and a son who thinks he’s the boss of the house. And a wonderful husband who shares her love for all things geek. To survive she works continually to find purpose for the voices flitting through her head, plus she consumes high quantities of chocolate to keep the last threads of sanity intact.

AUTHOR LINKS:

Newsletter: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/m6l6v4

Amazon: http://ow.ly/qffW30bU5Ur

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/claudia-burgoa

Book+Main: https://bookandmainbites.com/claudiaburgoa

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ClaudiaYBurgoa

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/Author_ClaudiaB

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/yuribeans

Instagram: http://instagram.com/claudia_b30/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7202946.Claudia_Y_Burgoa

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Book Review: Your Endless Love by Layla Hagen

Your Endless Love

by Layla Hagen

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✦ Amazon US / UK / CA / AU

✦ iBooks  /  ✦ Google Play 

✦ B&N    /  ✦ Kobo 

 

An incurable romantic with a chronic case of bad luck with men…

Museum curator Summer Bennett knows that happily-ever-afters are not make-believe. After all, her siblings all found their soulmates, so she’s optimistic her prince charming will come along too…eventually. In the meantime, she focuses on her job and her volunteering—which brings her face to face with one of Hollywood’s hottest A-listers.

When Alexander Westbrook flashes America’s favorite panty-melting smile, Summer’s entire body responds. When she asks him to get involved in the community where she volunteers, Summer is shocked that the Hollywood heartthrob agrees right away. Two weeks working side by side with the world’s sexiest guy, and the game is on.

Far from the public eye, Summer discovers she likes the real Alex even more than his on-screen persona. Secret kisses and whispered conversations spark a fire in her that nothing can extinguish. If only his life wasn’t splashed all over the tabloids…

Alex can’t keep his eyes–or his hands–off of Summer. But she’s too sweet, and too damn lovely to be swept up in his Hollywood drama. His career is at risk, and an iron-clad clause in his contract with the studio makes a relationship impossible. But staying away from her is out of the question.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

As my brother heads to the bunch of kids grouped in the center of the room, I wonder for the millionth time if he’s actually human. He runs a billion-dollar corporation, finds time to woo his wife, and raise four little souls. I’m still going with a radioactive spider bite. Possibly vampire.

 

Some would call my tactics underhanded. Unorthodox is a better word. Much more elegant. A convincing sales pitch takes people skills, which I have in spades. You cannot grow up with eight siblings and not have people skills.

 

Everything we eat during girls’ night doesn’t matter… Gossiping burns a lot of calories…

 

Believing someone’s promise is more complicated than gifting them with yours, because when you chose to believe someone, you give them power over you.

 

My Review:

 

I have learned that I can always count on Layla Hagen’s Bennetts for sweet and steamy stories that are relatively low in conflict and dreaded angst, and I was long overdue for some refreshing relief. Summer and Alex were a charming couple and their story was delightfully crisp and simply adorable while it also brought the heat. The storyline was entertaining and engaging and provided updates on the rest of the massive Bennett clan. I enjoyed their playful banter and sizzling chemistry. But I’m left to wonder what will be next as Ms. Hagen has married off the last of the clan, although there seems to be a large pool of cousins yet to be tapped.

 

 About Layla Hagen   

Website | Twitter | Facebook 

Layla Hagen is a USA Today bestselling author of contemporary romance.

She fell in love with books when she was nine years old, and her love affair with stories continues even now, many years later.

She writes steamy and romantic stories and can’t wait to share them with the world.

She is represented by fabulous Louise Fury (The Bent Agency) 

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Book Review: The Wild Woman’s Guide to Traveling the World by Kristin Rockaway

The Wild Woman’s Guide to Traveling the World

by Kristin Rockaway

Purchase Links

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

 

Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Center Street

 

Fans of Sophie Kinsella and The Devil Wears Prada will love this smart, sexy debut novel of wanderlust.

Objectively, Sophie is a success: she’s got a coveted job at a top consulting firm, a Manhattan apartment, and a passport full of stamps. It isn’t quite what she dreamed of when she was a teenager dog-earing pages in exotic travel guides, but it’s secure. Then her best friend bails just hours after they arrive in Hong Kong for a girls’ trip, and Sophie falls for Carson, a free-spirited, globetrotting American artist. He begs her to join him on his haphazard journey, but she chooses responsibility and her five-year plan.

Back in New York, that plan feels less and less appealing. As Sophie recalls the dreams she’s suppressed, the brief international jaunts she sneaks in between business trips no longer feel like enough. Carson isn’t ready to let her go either, but as they try to figure out their relationship, Sophie realizes she may have to pursue her passions with or without him.

Praise

“With its spirited yet credible plot and vividly intricate characters, this debut novel shines.” — Library Journal (starred review)

“…a fun, sexy debut perfect for readers who love exotic settings and a great love story. For those wishing to indulge their wanderlust, or who have dreams too big for tidy little boxes, this is an incredibly satisfying read.” — Karma Brown, bestselling author of Come Away With Me

“…brilliantly navigates one woman’s quest to let go of what is practical to pursue her passion and surrender to her inner dreamer.” — Kerry Lonsdale, bestselling author of Everything We Keep

“Can a novel be smart and loads of fun? Kristin Rockaway’s debut is proof that it’s possible. Warm, witty, and completely delightful, this book had my inner escapist itching to hop on the next flight out of town.” — Camille Pagán, bestselling author of Life and Other Near-Death Experiences

“Kristin Rockaway is a wise and fresh new voice in women’s fiction and this book was a delight from start to finish.”  — Anita Hughes, author of Christmas in Paris

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Elena rarely left the tri-state area; her idea of an exotic getaway involved tanning on the Jersey Shore.

 

But with my focus on the future, I rarely immersed myself in the right now. My life was reduced to a series of check marks, ticking off each goal I achieved without taking the time to revel in my accomplishments. As soon as I hit one target, I was already reaching for the next one and contemplating the one after that. I rushed full speed ahead, my sights pointed sharply forward, never stopping to take a look at what was around me.

 

I can sketch in Hong Kong, in Australia, in New York. I can find an adventure wherever I am. The only constant I need in my life is you. So wherever you go, I’ll follow.

 

My Review:

 

Sophie loved to travel and plan travel and dream up detailed imaginary itineraries, although she had unfortunately chosen the wrong travel partner in Elena who decided on their first night there that she just wasn’t feeling the Hong Kong vacation that Sophie had planned and paid for and after a tense dinner of informing Sophie of all her unlovable and miserable flaws, Elena flew back home the very next day.   Wow, this was the opening scene of the story and although I flinched a few times, I was hooked. Poor Sophie, I felt for her and was exasperated by her and also wanted to kick her more than a few times as I saw far too much of my twenty and thirty-something self in this character; it was rather eerie and more than a bit painful. I truly adored the character of Carson who proved that opposites not only attract, they can bewitch and fascinate. Carson was an artistic dreamer going through a nomad stage while Sophie was a highly structured and over anxious planner.

I was stunned to realize this insightful and well-written book was the author’s first; every single character was colorfully described with vivid environmental details and interesting facts also tucked into the narrative. The premise was unique and entertaining while the writing was cleverly observant, wryly amusing, and delightfully steamy. Ms. Rockaway has a bright future ahead of her.

 

About Kristin Rockaway

Kristin Rockaway is a native New Yorker with an insatiable case of wanderlust. After working in the IT industry for far too many years, she finally traded the city for the surf and chased her dreams out to Southern California, where she spends her days happily writing stories instead of software. Her debut novel, The Wild Woman’s Guide to Traveling the World, was released from Hachette Book Group in June 2017. When she’s not writing, she enjoys spending time with her husband and son, browsing the aisles of her neighborhood bookstores, and planning her next big vacation.

Find out more about Kristin at her website, and connect with her on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Goodreads.

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Book Review, Giveaway: THE STORY OF OUR LIVES by Helen Warner

THE STORY OF OUR LIVES 

by Helen Warner

Amazon | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble

Paperback: 416 pages

Publisher: Graydon House (February 6, 2018)

They think nothing can tear their bond apart, until a long-buried secret threatens to destroy everything.

Every year they have met up for a vacation, but their time away is much more than just a bit of fun. Over time, it has become a lifesaver, as each of them struggles with life’s triumphs and tragedies.

Sophie, Emily, Amy and Melissa have been best friends since they were girls. They have seen each other through everything—from Sophie’s private fear that she doesn’t actually want to be a mother despite having two kids, to Amy’s perfect-on-the-outside marriage that starts to reveal troubling warning signs, to Melissa’s spiraling alcoholism, to questions that are suddenly bubbling up around the paternity of Emily’s son. But could a lie that spans just as long as their friendship be the thing that tears them apart?

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Anton was her tutor and over the course of her first year, Emily had grown increasingly attracted to him. In his late thirties, he was tall, tanned, blond and devastatingly charming. He was also devastatingly married with two young children.

 

Melissa’s love life was non-existent. Well, that wasn’t strictly true. Melissa’s sex life was excellent. It was just that there wasn’t much love involved in any of her liaisons…

 

She had so much to apologize for that if she started now, until the end of her life it wouldn’t be enough.

 

Can’t you hunt for Mr Right while still enjoying the company of Mr Wrong?

 

My Review:

 

I was immediately captivated by the vividly descriptive writing style and fell headlong into the engaging and original story of four uniquely compelling women who had met and bonded as teens while living in close quarters during their first year of college. The four had retained a special and supportive bond for over twenty years while enduring harrowing events, spats, betrayals, addictions, illnesses, abuse, pregnancies, child rearing, love affairs, professional gains, and tragic loss. They thought they knew each other inside out although each had at least one long-held secret, indiscretion, or shameful transgression that remained unknown to the others.

While their tale would have been fodder for Jerry Springer or a daytime soap if handled differently, Ms. Warner kept it classy and infinitely intriguing. The storylines were original, relevant, frightfully realistic, and unpredictable while the writing was keenly honed, hypnotically engrossing, and hit all the feels. I adored most of the characters with my favorite being the steadfast and gallant Steve, although the four women were devastatingly infuriating as well as fascinating, insightful, stubborn, and exasperating.   At times they were disappointingly weak and repellent then, thankfully later they were allowed to be surprisingly strong.

Despite their occasional periods of envy and annoyances, they remained unquestionably loyal to each other through it all. At various times I had been disappointed with each to the point of gnashing my teeth, although I was more than pleased with their personal development and emotional maturity by the deeply satisfying conclusion. And as a bonus – I learned a new phrase to add to my ever expanding Brit Word list, “knees up,” which Mr. Google told me was a noun meaning a lively party. Which is something we should have at every opportunity.

About Helen Warner

Helen Warner is head of daytime for Channel 4, where she is responsible for shows such as Come Dine With Me and Deal Or No Deal. Previously she worked for ITV where she launched the daytime talk show Loose Women and was editor of This Morning. She lives in East Anglia with her husband and their two children.

 

Connect with Helen
Website | Goodreads

 

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