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Book Reviews

Review: How Do You Know?

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Image from Goodreads

What if you were approaching the end of your thirties and all of the life milestones you took for granted in your youth suddenly seemed out of reach?

On the eve of her thirty-ninth birthday, Maggie Piper doesn’t look, act, or feel much different than she did at twenty-nine, but with her fortieth birthday speeding towards her like a freight train, she wonders if she should. The fear of a slowing metabolism, wrinkling of her skin, and the ticking of her biological clock leaves Maggie torn between a desire to settle down like most of her similarly-aged peers and concern that all is not perfect in her existing relationship. When a spontaneous request for a temporary “break” from her live-in boyfriend results in a “break-up,” Maggie finds herself single once again and only twelve months from the big 4.0. In the profound yet bumpy year that follows, Maggie will learn, sometimes painfully, that life doesn’t always happen on a schedule, there are no deadlines in love, and age really is just a number.

Meredith Schorr, best-selling author of light women’s fiction, digs deep in her newest novel and raises the age old issue of the ‘proverbial clock’ that haunts many women, in a way that is refreshing and sassy no matter your age or relationship status.

(Blurb from Goodreads)

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Maggie has the perfect boyfriend…she just doesn’t know it.  Usually the grass isn’t greener on the other side, but it takes some people venturing over on that other side of grass to see that.

Maggie doesn’t have the excitement and butterflies with her live in boyfriend Doug anymore.  They’ve been together a long time.  He’s a great guy and all, she’s just starting to doubt their relationship.  And it doesn’t help that her 40th birthday is looming in the near future.  So Maggie decides to tell Doug her feelings and they break up.

I loved how real this book was.  I got into the story so much, I was legit scared for Maggie.  I was silently screaming in my head, “No!  Don’t do it!  Don’t break up with him; you’re going to regret it!”   I honestly felt nervous for Maggie that she lost her chance and wasn’t going to find happiness with another guy again.

I loved how I didn’t know where this book was going and where it would end up.  And I’m not going to spoil it and tell you either.

See how I used the word “love” a few times in this review?  That pretty much sums up how I feel about it.

This is my second Meredith Schorr book, and you can definitely call me a fan.

My Rating:  4 1/2 stars

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Find the book:

Goodreads

Amazon

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***Disclosure.  I work for Booktrope Publishing which is also the publishing company of this book.  However, I receive no monetary or any kind of compensation for sales of this book, or for writing a positive review.  This review was my honest opinion. And I was given a free copy in exchange for my honest review.***

Review: Relapse by S.L. Stacy

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Image from Goodreads

Jasper might be gone for good, but Siobhan can’t escape the memory of him.

Or, rather, Psyche’s memories of him—memories of a kinder, gentler man, not the one who lied and manipulated her. She should have tried harder to reach him—to save Jasper from the darkness consuming him. Guilt—maybe that’s the reason why she still sees his face everywhere she turns. That, or she’s going crazy.

And Siobhan really doesn’t have time to lose her mind. Her best friend is in love with their enemy and is addicted to an alien drug. The Alpha Rhos blame her sorority for their sister’s death and take their quest for vengeance too far. Desperate, the Gamma Lambda Phis call on the help of the most deceitful Olympian of all, making her a promise they’re not even sure they can keep.

Once again, Siobhan finds herself not knowing who she can turn to or who she can trust. She comes to realize that her greatest enemy is the darkness within herself.

(Blurb from author S.L. Stacy’s page)

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This is the second book in the Reborn Series.  You can see my review for book 1 here.

First off, I want to give a big thank you to Ms. Stacy for putting the pronunciation of Siobhan, the main character, right at the front of the book.  Seriously; I didn’t know how to pronounce it throughout the first book and was making up ways to say her name in my head.  I really did appreciate that it was added to the front of the book to refresh my memory for Relapse.  🙂

Alright, so the story continues from where it left on from book one, then all of a sudden, halfway into the book, BAM, another point of view.  Siobhan’s friend and housemate, Carly.  At first I thought, noooooooo, it’s already so good.  Why the sudden change?  Then I read, and oh Mylanta.  Honestly, I like Carly’s point of view better.  Forget about Siobhan.  Just kidding.  Kind of.

The writing style that Stacy had with Carly’s point of view reminded me of Karen Marie Moning.  This is a HUGE compliment.

If you’re looking for a fresh new series like nothing you’ve ever read before, try this one.  I can’t wait to see what comes next.

My Rating: 4 1/2 stars

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 Favorite Quote from Book:

Take us to the in-between, 

Where earth meets sky, and wake meets dream.

And time rushes by, unseen.

Take us to the infinite night,

Where up is down, and left is right,

And dark vanquishes light…

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Find the Book

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Amazon

***I received this book free from the author in exchange for an honest review.***

Review: Blogger Girl

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Image from Goodreads

Image from Goodreads

What happens when your high school nemesis becomes the shining star in a universe you pretty much saved? Book blogger Kimberly Long is about to find out. A chick lit enthusiast since the first time she read “Bridget Jones’s Diary,” Kim, with her blog, “Pastel is the New Black,” has worked tirelessly by night to keep the genre alive, and help squash the claim that “chick lit is dead” once and for all. Not bad for a woman who by day ekes out a meager living as a pretty, and pretty-much-nameless, legal secretary in a Manhattan law firm. While Kim’s day job holds no passion for her, the handsome (and shaving-challenged) associate down the hall is another story. Yet another story is that Hannah Marshak, one of her most-hated high school classmates, has now popped onto the chick lit scene with a hot new book that’s turning heads—and pages—across the land. It’s also popped into Kim’s inbox – for review. With their ten-year high school reunion drawing near, Kim’s coming close to combustion over the hype about Hannah’s book. And as everyone around her seems to be moving on and up, she begins to question whether being a “blogger girl” makes the grade in her off-line life.

Blurb from Goodreads

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When I saw the title of this book I knew I had to read it.  I mean, come on, I’m a blogger girl myself.  I was never really into chick lit, but I find myself being drawn to it lately.  Or maybe it’s just because the chick lit books I’m reading lately are better books.  Either way, this was the second Meredith Schorr book I’ve read (I still need to write a review for the 1st) and I really enjoyed it.

Besides being a blogger myself, I didn’t really relate to Kim, the main character, at all.  But that didn’t bother me.  After all, I like to read to escape, not to read about myself.  And Kim was a confident, likeable character to read about.

Schorr pulled me into the story with ease, a story in which I read in two nights.  I have a five year old and one year old twins, so take that into consideration.  I don’t waste my limited free time.  Honestly, the last thing I thought after reading this book was contacting her book manager to say send me all of Schorr’s books for review.  🙂

My Rating: 4 stars

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Find the Book

Goodreads

Amazon

***Disclosure.  I work for Booktrope Publishing which is also the publishing company of this book.  However, I receive no monetary or any kind of compensation for sales of this book, or for writing a positive review.  This review was my honest opinion. And I was given a free copy in exchange for my honest review.***

Review: Ivy by Dahlia Donovan

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Image from Goodreads

Widowed photographer Ivy Langdon avoids people in general after her husband’s death. She ventures out days before Christmas for last minute gifts and stumbles into the middle of a terrorist attack in London.  Will her luck ever change?

Steven Samuels and his partner Gareth Richardson are called in with their company, Blackbird Security Firm, to rescue the hostages.  They never expected to find their perfect mate while saving the world.  The more the two wolves learn about Ivy, the more that they want to make her theirs.

Love is never simple or straight-forward and life is often stranger than fiction.

Ivy finds herself drawn into a strange world of shifters and human traffickers.

Can love’s true bite find her before trouble does?

(Blurb from author’s site)

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***This review contains spoilers.***

Donovan has the great ability to pull you into the story immediately.  I just wasn’t expecting Ivy to be the girlfriend of two wolves.  I had always pictured that one wolf, the alpha, would be territorial, you know what I mean?  So the fact that Ivy ends up with both Steven and Gareth turned me off a bit; just because it isn’t my thing.

The other thing that bothered me a bit was that Ivy just went along with the fact that the men she was interested in were wolves.  I feel like the book was good, but could have benefited from more.  More character development.  More time to form the relationship between them all.  And especially more time for Ivy to accept the fact that they were werewolves.

I really don’t mean this to be a negative review; I’m just writing what stood out to me.

That being said, Ivy was a fun, quick read that held my interest.

My Rating: 3 stars

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Find the Book:

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Amazon

***I received this book free from the author in exchange for an honest review.***

 

 

Revenge Review

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Image from Goodreads

Image from Goodreads

Title:  Revenge – Volume 1

Author:  JJ Knight

Published:  2014 by JJ Knight

Genre:  New Adult

Purchase:  Amazon

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Jess moves to LA for her dream job as a music intern. On her first day, she bumps into Dylan busking on a street corner.

Dylan Wolf has a gritty voice. His eyes are soulful. His incredible body is to die for, tattoos and all.

When Dylan looks at Jess, she feels emotions she’s never had before. He can be sweet, but his dark moods scare her. When he sings, the whole world falls away.

Jess and Dylan’s meeting hasn’t gone unnoticed. At her job, Jess is summoned to the mysterious ninth floor. Her new assignment is to get close to Dylan. By seducing him.

One thing is for sure: If she takes this assignment, Jess will never be the same.

(Blurb from author’s website.)

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I read Revenge the other night.  Yup, you read that right, I read it the other night, in one sitting.  Holy moly.  It was fantastic.

As you read in the blurb, Jess moves to LA for her dream job.  Jess lives with two girls, and their lifestyle isn’t like hers at all.  For instance, they bust in on her in the bathroom to use the shower, and have no issues getting naked in front of her.  But Jess has this amazing personality; she doesn’t like it, but she goes with it, and moves on.  She’s adaptable like that.

While she’s walking the streets of LA she sees this cute guy who’s about to start playing the guitar.  He notices her too, and starts singing a song about Jess’s blue shoes.  The song ends and Jess gets mugged and either punched or elbowed in the eye.  The guitarist runs after the mugger, returns the wallet, and ends up walking away giving Jess the bird.

What?

Well, I can’t give anything else away.  You should read it without spoilers.  🙂

But seriously, I was so engaged in the story and was so disappointed when it ended.  My only complaint was that it was way too short!  I went on Amazon to find the next one and I guess the whole series is about the same length, around 125 pages each book.  It’s times like now that I wish I had Kindle Unlimited.

But anyways, if you’re looking for another series to suck you in, read this!  I can’t wait to get my hands on book 2!

My Review:  4 1/2 stars

 

 

***I received this book free from the author’s coordinator, in exchange for an honest review.***