Review: When Summer Ends by Isabelle Rae

When Summer Ends
Isabelle Rae
Publication date: September 27th 2012 by CreateSpace
Rating: 3 stars

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Chloe Henderson has never been one to break the rules or push the boundaries… but during her summer break, she and her friends use fake IDs to sneak into a club. It’s there that she meets handsome and alluring bartender, Will Morris. The pair hit it off immediately, growing closer with every passing day. But as with every summer, it has to end sometime. 

Chloe’s senior year approaches and there’s a shock in store when she returns to do her final year at school. Will is there too, but he’s not one of her fellow students…

A tale of forbidden love, broken hearts, friendship, and rivalry.

This book is so full of sweet and cute I kind of wanted to throw up while reading it.

Chloe and Will had an immediate connection, and one of the things I liked about it was that Chloe didn't fight it. She didn't question her attraction to him like most of the other female characters in YA books, she embraced it and flirted shamelessly with him. And with that came the sweetness, reading about both of them getting to know each other and starting their relationship and being utterly happy, and disgustingly cute, with just being together.

But obviously that didn't last.

Something happened that forced Chloe and Will to take a step back from each other and their feelings to consider the bigger picture. That maybe being together wasn't what was best for them at that moment, and then having to learn how to deal with that decision. No need to say that part of the story was heartbreaking and it frustrated me to no end due to all the fillers and unnecessary plot devices to keep the story long and going.

I actually skipped some parts while reading it because I had no interest in wanting to know what was going on in Chloe's head. I was expecting more of it, to be honest.

Review: Fall From Grace by Christine Zolendz

Fall From Grace
Christine Zolendz
Series: Mad World #1
Publication date: July 22nd 2012
Rating: 4 stars

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I'm finally home after struggling through my brother's illness and death. But, home is definitely a bit different. My best friend (the only person alive now that knows my secret) has a new boyfriend; and he has a friend. Shane Maxton: bad boy, tattooed rock god, eye candy extraordinaire. He is also New York City's most arrogant, self-serving, son of a, well, a definite one-night stand kind of a guy.

But, it doesn't matter to me because I've spent my existence looking for the love of my life, my angel. And, there is nothing that Shane Maxton can do to change that. 

This was a bit of a surprise for me.

I had this book sitting on my Kindle for so long it even had the old cover, and I went in blind. I now regret not having read it before, because it was such a great story.

You were kept in the dark about Grace's secret until it served the plot right. It was lovely to have all the paranormal aspects as a secondary thing, and being giving little hints about what it could be throughout the whole story. The beginning read like any other contemporary romance book, which only made it even more enjoyable to discover what was really happening.

The music scenes were amazingly written. I felt like I right there with Grace and Shane while they played and sang. Even though some of those shows led to some pretty heavy sexual tension that was left unresolved, mostly because Grace kept fighting herself when it came to her attraction to Shane. And that was one of the things that made me really frustrated with her character, just wanting to scream at her to stop being difficult.

Otherwise, I had so much fun reading this and I can't believe it took me so long to do it. Amazing story, even though it ended with a cliffie, and I can't wait to read the sequel!

Review: Rule by Jay Crownover

Rule
Jay Crownover
Series: Rule #1
Publication date: December 30th 2012
Rating: 4 stars

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I had loved Rule Archer since the first moment I ever laid eyes on him. He was everything I shouldn't want and the only person I went out of my way to not try and please. He only saw me as a brat, and an entitled, stuck up princess but worse than that all he saw when he looked at me was his deceased twin's girl. It broke my heart because as much as I had loved Remy Archer there was never anything romantic between us and no matter how hard I tried to convince myself that loving Rule was a terrible idea, my poor heart just wouldn't listen. We tolerated each other, barely and had forged an uneasy alliance until one night I had too much to drink and changed the way we were forever. Suddenly life long secrets were no longer hidden and the one thing I always wanted for myself seemed obtainable as long as I was willing to go through hell to hold onto it.

Shaw Landon was a class act and I had no idea what to do with her. She was tied to my family, tied to the person that was my other half so I tolerated her and her haughty attitude when I didn't have any other choice. What I didn't know was that a short skirt and too many cocktails on her birthday was going to change my outlook on her for the rest of my life. Some people thought I hid behind all my tattoos and piercings, that I tried to distance myself from my dead twin, Shaw saw through it all and wasn't scared of what was underneath. We weren't supposed to be together, weren't supposed to be anything but uncomfortable acquaintances but that all changed in the blink of an eye. Now I had to figure out just how a girl like her and a guy like me were supposed to be in love without destroying each other. Add in her custom made ex and two disapproving sets of parents and the whole situation sounded like it was more trouble then it was worth.

 Rule is the ultimate bad boy.

And the best thing about this book is that he stays that way until the end, no matter how many people want him to chance. Because Shaw likes him just the way that he is, inked up all over and with piercings on his face.

That was my most favorite thing about the book, they way they both struggled not to fit into the mold other people set for them. They stood true to who they were and didn't meet anyone's expectations other than the ones they set for themselves.

Shaw learns how to be comfortable in her own skin, and that just because you love someone you shouldn't let them take over your entire life. And Rule discovers that he doesn't need to be just like his brother to be loved, that people will like him for his obnoxious hair, tattoos, and piercings.

This was a really really good read, and I absolutely cannot wait for the second installment telling us the story of Jet and Ayden!

Review: On Dublin Street by Samantha Young

On Dublin Street
Samantha Young
Series: On Dublin Street #1
Publication date: August 31st 2012
Rating: 3 stars

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Jocelyn Butler has been hiding from her past for years. But all her secrets are about to be laid bare…

Four years ago, Jocelyn left her tragic past behind in the States and started over in Scotland, burying her grief, ignoring her demons, and forging ahead without attachments. Her solitary life is working well—until she moves into a new apartment on Dublin Street where she meets a man who shakes her carefully guarded world to its core.

Braden Carmichael is used to getting what he wants, and he’s determined to get Jocelyn into his bed. Knowing how skittish she is about entering a relationship, Braden proposes an arrangement that will satisfy their intense attraction without any strings attached.

But after an intrigued Jocelyn accepts, she realizes that Braden won’t be satisfied with just mind-blowing passion. The stubborn Scotsman is intent on truly knowing her… down to the very soul.

Not as good as I'd hoped it would be, but still entertaining.

The beginning was a really good one, giving me no idea about what was to come and how everything would pan out. But it did give us a good background as to one of Jocelyn's many issues, something she struggles with throughout out the whole book.

My problem with the story came with Branden and his controlling and possessive behavior. It didn't matter how much he wanted Joss to be his, the way he went on about it was not okay. I also had trouble with how much Joss lied to herself, making some parts of the book annoying to go through.

But even though the story didn't really have anything new when it comes to what's out there on Contemporary Romance, it was still a fun read. 

Review: Down To You by M. Leighton

Down To You
M. Leighton
Series: The Bad Boys #1
Publication date: September 21st 2012 by Smashwords
Rating: 4 stars

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The scorching tale of one girl, two brothers and a love triangle…that’s not. Olivia Townsend is nothing special. She’s just a girl working her way through college so she can return home to help her father run his business. She’s determined not to be the second woman in his life to abandon him, even if it means putting her own life on hold. To Olivia, it’s clear what she must do. Plain and simple. Black and white. But clear becomes complicated when she meets Cash and Nash Davenport. They’re brothers. Twins. 

Cash is everything she’s always wanted in a guy. He’s a dangerous, sexy bad boy who wants her in his bed at any cost. He turns her insides to mush and, with just one kiss, makes her forget why he’s no good for her. Nash is everything she’s ever needed in a guy. He’s successful, responsible and intensely passionate. But he’s taken. Very taken, by none other than Marissa, Liv’s rich, beautiful cousin. That doesn’t stop Olivia from melting every time he looks at her, though. With just one touch, he makes her forget why they can never be together. 

Black and white turns to shades of gray when Olivia discovers the boys are hiding something, something that should make her run as far and as fast as she can. But it’s too late to run. Olivia’s already involved. And in love. With both of them. Both brothers make her heart tremble. Both brothers set her body on fire. She wants them both. And they want her. How will she ever choose between them?

This started out great and ended up being even better.

I was hooked by the first chapter; Olivia meeting Cash in the way that she did, I couldn't wait to find out what would happen to both of them. And then enters Nash, and I can say I wasn't expecting that one.

Twins.

That's right.

Cash and Nash, twins.

They both turn Olivia's world upside down and she finds herself being torn in two by the brothers. On one hand she has Nash, who is everything she's always hoped for, but on the other she has Cash, bad boy, who represents everything she ever fell in love with.

But in an unexpected plot twist that I absolutely loved, it turns out that choosing which brother is best for her won't be as hard as she thought it would.

Great story, great characters, and I can't wait to read the sequel!!

Review: While It Lasts by Abbi Glines

While It Lasts
Abbi Glines
Series: Sea Breeze #3
Publication date: October 6th 2012 by Simon Pulse
Rating: 2 stars

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Low broke Cage’s heart by getting with Marcus in Because of Low. Cage went into a tailspin that ended in a DUI. In order to salvage his baseball scholarship—the one thing he truly valued besides Low—Cage must take a summer job. At a farm. Away from Sea Breeze. With lots of cows, but no hot girls. Maybe that’s what Cage needs to get back on track.



But wait—there’s that hostile daughter of the farm boss. She’s pretty and occasionally sweet, and there seems to be a lot of sadness and mystery behind her anger. Cage is dying to strip her down—physically and mentally—in the back of the barn. But is he prepared for what will happen afterward?

I'm disappointed.

So far I've fallen in love with absolutely everything Abbi Glines wrote, so I have no idea why I didn't like this book.

It took me so much time to get into the story. I'd start reading it, then I'd abandon it, then I'd pick it up again and give it another try because it just didn't catch my attention and I couldn't take the time to finish it. It was awful.

I think it mostly had to do with Eva and how I couldn't relate to her. I didn't like her. I didn't like the way she was portrayed and I didn't like how she acted towards Cage - one minute wanting him and the next snapping at him because of it. I couldn't get into the story and bring myself to wish they were together.

I don't know if I read this during a bad time in my life or what, but I found the previous books so much better. I hope the fourth installment will renew my faith in this series.

Review: Tidal by Emily Snow

Tidal
Emily Snow
Publication date: December 14th 2012
Rating: 4 stars

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Now that Willow Avery is out of rehab, she's got one chance left to prove herself before she’s officially on every producer’s shit list. At least, that's what her parents and agent are claiming. She doesn't really give a damn if she never makes another movie or not—she just wants to get on with her life, get back to her friends, and find her next escape. But Willow is broke. And whether she likes it or not, acting is the only job she knows how to do.

When she accepts the lead in a beach drama, Willow finds herself in Hawaii. And in Hawaii, she finds Cooper, the gorgeous surfer hired to train her for her new role. With the bluest eyes she’s ever seen and the sexiest Australian accent she’s ever heard, Cooper’s different from the men she’s used to. He doesn’t want to use her. And he refuses to let her fail. But when an old friend re-enters Willow’s life—a friend whose toxicity she’s been drawn to time and time before and whose presence brings about the painful memories she's tried so hard to suppress—Willow will have to choose between the girl she was and the person she’s becoming. The lifestyle that helps her forget the pain and the guy she’s falling hard for.

It took me a while to really get into the story - Willow was a little hard to like and relate to at the beginning -, but halfway through it it hooked me and I couldn't put the book down.

A big part of the plot is Willow's relationship with pills, how she hit rock bottom, and if she's going to be able to keep herself clean now that she's out of rehab. Reading about her struggling with her addiction and learning that she's stronger than she realizes it was great, and once the author hinted about what made Willow turn to drugs I couldn't stop reading. I needed to know what happened, and things just got so much more interesting.

The way Cooper relates to it all was icing on the cake for me. He calls Willow on her shit and helps her deal with what she's going through. And we actually find out that the reason he does it might be a little more personal than we all thought.

The end was also all kinds of amazing and sad, and I might have shed a tear or two. It was a great book.

Review: Ten Tiny Breaths by K.A. Tucker

Ten Tiny Breaths
K.A. Tucker
Series: Ten Tiny Breaths #1
Publication date: December 11th 2012 by Papoti Books
Rating: 4 stars

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Kacey Cleary’s whole life imploded four years ago in a drunk-driving accident. Now she’s working hard to bury the pieces left behind—all but one. Her little sister, Livie. Kacey can swallow the constant disapproval from her born-again aunt Darla over her self-destructive lifestyle; she can stop herself from going kick-boxer crazy on Uncle Raymond when he loses the girls’ college funds at a blackjack table. She just needs to keep it together until Livie is no longer a minor, and then they can get the hell out of Grand Rapids, Michigan.

But when Uncle Raymond slides into bed next to Livie one night, Kacey decides it’s time to run. Armed with two bus tickets and dreams of living near the coast, Kacey and Livie start their new lives in a Miami apartment complex, complete with a grumpy landlord, a pervert upstairs, and a neighbor with a stage name perfectly matched to her chosen “profession.” But Kacey’s not worried. She can handle all of them. What she can’t handle is Trent Emerson in apartment 1D.

Kacey doesn’t want to feel. She doesn’t. It’s safer that way. For everyone. But sexy Trent finds a way into her numb heart, reigniting her ability to love again. She starts to believe that maybe she can leave the past where it belongs and start over. Maybe she’s not beyond repair.

But Kacey isn’t the only one who’s broken. Seemingly perfect Trent has an unforgiveable past of his own; one that, when discovered, will shatter Kacey’s newly constructed life and send her back into suffocating darkness.

I love books where we get tiny pieces of information and clues about what happened to the main character as we're reading the story, and this is what happens here.

Kacey's story is not a happy one, and she's not a happy person. That's what we find out as the story begins and unfolds, and we see her being teared to pieces before she's ready to slowly put herself back together. She went through an awful situation and she didn't let herself heal, bottling everything up until it smacks her right in the face.

The story has a plot twist that left me with my jaw slack. I was not expecting what happened at all, and it made it all the more amazing to read. It was heartbreaking, but that led to some pretty amazing things and ending to Kacey's story and I'm so glad with how everything turned out.

Great book, awesome characters, and I can't wait for the second installment!

Review: What I Didn't Say by Keary Taylor

What I Didn't Say
Keary Taylor
Publication date: April 30th 2012 by Createspace
Rating: 3 stars

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Getting drunk homecoming night your senior year is never a good idea, but Jake Hayes never expected it all to end with a car crash and a t-post embedded in his throat. 

His biggest regret about it all? What he never said to Samantha Shay. He's been in love with her for years and never had the guts to tell her. Now it's too late. Because after that night, Jake will never be able to talk again.

When Jake returns to his small island home, population 5,000, he'll have to learn how to deal with being mute. He also finds that his family isn't limited to his six brothers and sisters, that sometimes an entire island is watching out for you. And when he gets the chance to spend more time with Samantha, she'll help him learn that not being able to talk isn’t the worst thing that could ever happen to you. Maybe, if she'll let him, Jake will finally tell her what he didn't say before, even if he can't actually say it.

I have to say I was expecting more from this book.

As soon as I started reading it I knew it would be a sad one, and I was right. Reading about Jake having to learn how to live without being able to speak because of a stupid mistake he and his friends made made my heart ache. But then it gave me all kinds of warms feelings when he decided he wouldn't let this destroy him.

What I had a problem with was Sam and her situation. I can't really pinpoint what didn't sit well with me, but the whole deal with what happened to her and no one even realizing what was happening until Jake finds out was just... I don't know... It was iffy.

The end also felt a little bit confusing and too rushed compared to the pace of the rest of the story, but overall I quite enjoyed reading it.

Review: Vain by Fisher Amelie

Vain

Fisher Amelie

Publication date: December 25th 2012 by Fisher Amelie

Rating: 4 stars

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If you’re looking for a story about a good, humble girl, who’s been hurt by someone she thought she could trust, only to find out she’s not as vulnerable as she thought she was and discovers an empowering side of herself that falls in love with the guy who helps her find that self, blah, blah, blah...then you’re gonna’ hate my story.

Because mine is not the story you read every time you bend back the cover of the latest trend novel. It’s not the “I can do anything, now that I’ve found you/I’m misunderstood but one day you’ll find me irresistible because of it” tale. Why? Because, if I was being honest with you, I’m a complete witch. There’s nothing redeeming about me. I’m a friend using, drug abusing, sex addict from Los Angeles. I’m every girlfriend’s worst nightmare and every boy’s fantasy.

I’m Sophie Price...And this is the story about how I went from the world’s most envied girl to the girl no one wanted around and why I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.

 All kinds of sad and wonderful.

This story will rip your apart just to put you back together and you'll be happy about it.

We meet Sophie as she's snorting her way through her very on road of self-destruction and gets busted for it. She's sentenced to spend six months in Masego, Uganda helping out in an orphanage in an attempt to show her that life is way more than designer shoes and partying when you're parents are out of town. She's completely overwhelmed when she gets there and see the discrepancies of the life she leads and the life of those who live in Uganda and of the children who lost their parents - and some part of themselves - for the war.

It was amazing to read about how much Sophie grows up in her time there, her time facing tragedy and death and the horrors that human beings are capable of committing. And not only that, but she also learns how to love and let herself be loved.

Fisher Amelie did it again. Amazing story.

Review: The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden by Jessica Sorensen

The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden
Jessica Sorensen
Series: The Coincidence #1
Publication date: December 13th 2012
Rating: 5 stars

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There are those who don’t get luck handed to them on a shiny platter, who end up in the wrong place at the wrong time, who don’t get saved.

Luck was not on Callie’s side the day of her twelfth birthday when everything was stolen from her. After it’s all over, she locks up her feelings and vows never to tell anyone what happened. Six years later her painful past consumes her life and most days it’s a struggle just to breathe.

For as long as Kayden can remember, suffering in silence was the only way to survive life. As long as he did what he was told, everything was okay. One night, after making a terrible mistake, it seems like his life might be over. Luck was on his side, though, when Callie coincidentally is in the right place at the right time and saves him.

Now he can’t stop thinking about the girl he saw at school, but never really knew. When he ends up at the same college as Callie, he does everything he can to try to get to know her. But Callie is reserved and closed off. The more he tries to be part of her life, the more he realizes Callie might need to be saved.

 The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden was nothing short of amazing.

It was the kind of book that as soon as I began reading it I couldn't put it down. I think I read it all in about a morning, and then spent the rest of the day feeling kind of dazes and sad that the story was over.

Both Callie and Kayden had been through terrible things when they were younger, and this is a story about how they both learn to deal with the trauma with the help from their friends and each other. The way the different points of view flow and come together are great, and we get all the information we need from both sides without feeling like we're missing something important or like something got lost in the way.

My absolute favorite thing about it was The List, created by Callie's best friend Seth. That because of it Callie learned how to deal with what she went through and how it forced her to push her boundaries, make new memories, and learn how to trust people again. And how, because of that, Kayden figured out that he was strong enough to stand up for himself.

It gave me all the warm feelings reading about their relationship and how they helped each other get better - how they saved each other from the darkness in their lives. It was just a really really really good book, and I'm sad that it's over.

Review: The Edge of Never by J.A. Redmerski

The Edge of Never
J.A. Redmerski
Publication date: November 15th 2012 by Createspace
Rating: 4 stars

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Twenty-year-old Camryn Bennett had always been one to think out-of-the-box, who knew she wanted something more in life than following the same repetitive patterns and growing old with the same repetitive life story. And she thought that her life was going in the right direction until everything fell apart.

Determined not to dwell on the negative and push forward, Camryn is set to move in with her best friend and plans to start a new job. But after an unexpected night at the hottest club in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina, she makes the ultimate decision to leave the only life she’s ever known, far behind.

With a purse, a cell phone and a small bag with a few necessities, Camryn, with absolutely no direction or purpose boards a Greyhound bus alone and sets out to find herself. What she finds is a guy named Andrew Parrish, someone not so very different from her and who harbors his own dark secrets. But Camryn swore never to let down her walls again. And she vowed never to fall in love.

But with Andrew, Camryn finds herself doing a lot of things she never thought she’d do. He shows her what it’s really like to live out-of-the-box and to give in to her deepest, darkest desires. On their sporadic road-trip he becomes the center of her exciting and daring new life, pulling love and lust and emotion out of her in ways she never imagined possible. But will Andrew’s dark secret push them inseparably together, or tear them completely apart?

 I'm a sucker for road trip books, and this one didn't disappoint.

Camryn decided to take her life in her own hands and set off to embark on a journey that changed her life forever. All she knew as she got on a bus to Idaho from North Carolina was that she wanted to leave her old life, boring job, and other people's expectations of her behind. She never thought she would meet someone along the way, someone that would crawl his way under her skin and drive her completely crazy.

But that was Andrew for you.

Andrew teaches her to let go of her control a little, that it's okay to give in, and that there is no other music other than classic rock. While Cam helps him learn that there's nothing wrong with grieving, or crying, and that he shouldn't be afraid of death.

Towards the end of the story there was something things that didn't sit well with me - that I thought were unnecessary to the plot and flow of the book - but overall it was an amazing read, and I recommend it to everyone.

Review: Of Poseidon by Anna Banks

Of Poseidon

Anna Banks

Series: Of Poseidon #1

Publication date: May 22nd 2012 by Feiwel and Friends

Rating: 2 stars

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Galen is the prince of the Syrena, sent to land to find a girl he's heard can communicate with fish. Emma is on vacation at the beach. When she runs into Galen — literally, ouch! — both teens sense a connection. But it will take several encounters, including a deadly one with a shark, for Galen to be convinced of Emma's gifts. Now, if he can only convince Emma that she holds the key to his kingdom . . . 

Told from both Emma and Galen's points of view, here is a fish-out-of-water story that sparkles with intrigue, humor, and waves of romance.

I was expecting so much more from this book.

It started out so witty and funny and with so much potential that I thought it would definitely end up as one of my favorite books, but unfortunately, for me, the story didn't turn out to be that great after all. The writing was off, with the author making Emma's chapters in the first person and Galen's in the third. It made the transition from one POV to the other not as smooth as one would like to in a book, and the pace she set for the story was so terribly slow I struggled with my decision to seeing it to an end.

As for the characters, most of them annoyed the hell out of me. One of the reasons I couldn't enjoy the story more was because most of the time I was busy wanting to hit them in the head with a shovel. Emma's behavior towards Galen is very contradictory: one minute she wants to have nothing to do with him and the next she's wishing for him to kiss her. She also does the opposite of everything he wants just to spite him, and not really because she actually wants to. As for Galen, he doesn't really care about what Emma wants, doesn't take her seriously, and is too controlling. I just couldn't find myself rooting for them as a couple. I kind of wanted them to drawn in the ocean, really.

One of the goods things here, though, was all the mermaid lore. The author went very deep with her explanations and mythology about how the mermaids were in this universe, and that was amazing. I found that it was very interesting to read all about it, but it wasn't enough for me to like this book. I won't be reading the sequel.