This Thing Between Us by Holly C Webb

This Thing Between Us by Holly C Webb

Release Date: May 26, 2017

Format: ARC

Pages: 254

Find It: GoodReads * Amazon

Dates Read: May 7 to May 8

Blurb:

Parker O’Neill is a man with the world at his feet. Son of the CEO of O’Neill’s International, he is ready to take over as head of the company, once his father retires in six months’ time.

However, Parker has earned himself the ultimate playboy reputation, and not everyone thinks he is ready to take control of the company that he was groomed for all his life.

Given an ultimatum that he has to settle down if he wants to take over from his father; Parker decided the only way to solve his problem, is to pay someone to play the part of his dutiful wife.

Alice Whitman is a hard working girl, with a kind heart. Raised by her grandmother after losing her parents, she knows what it’s like to lose everything.

Sophia, Alice’s grandmother, is getting older and growing weaker by the day. Alice is the only one Sophia has, so it falls to her to do whatever it takes to help her beloved Gram.
When Parker makes Alice an offer he thinks she can’t refuse, he is stunned to find that money doesn’t always mean you get your own way. However, Alice soon realizes Parker might be the one person that can help her when she needs it most.

Can they make their arrangement work without anyone finding out the truth, or will this thing between them turn into something neither of them expected it to be?

This is the first time I’ve read anything by this author and I’m so glad I took the chance!! Absolutely fell in love with these characters! You know it’s good when you stay up past midnight to finish!!

Parker was looking forward to taking over his fathers company when he retired in 6 months. It’s what he has worked so hard for…but his bachelor life has earned him some majorly bad press. There are questions on whether he’s the man for the job.
Alice is a sweet and caring girl who works as a waitress at a coffee shop and she takes care of her grandmother.

Parker’s father gives him a ultimatum…find a nice girl and get married in 3 months or he will not get his dad’s company. He runs into Alice at the coffee shop and later realizes she is the perfect girl for his plan….paying someone to marry him. Alice agrees to his plan figuring he can help her out too.

He wished he could go back to this morning, wake up again and discover this whole day had been a bad dream. He also wished his parents would see how ridiculous this whole idea was.

Parker was a complete jerk in the beginning. There were many times I wanted to slap him and tell him off. I can’t believe how much Alice put up with! He figured she’d just be his arm candy at special events to show his parents he’d settled down. She decided enough was enough until something unexpected happened which was a game changer for one of them…

She stared at him for a moment, as so many thoughts ran through her mind. She knew she was playing with fire, but she didn’t care if she got burnt.

“Okay,” she whispered.

I loved Alice, she was so amazing in the beginning with all the crap Parker put her through. She truly believed Parker has a good side he was just afraid to show it. Was Alice right about him or was he really that selfish and just worried about himself?

I truly loved this story, I loved watching Parker and Alice together. Plus I loved seeing each of them change through the story. The major question here is…Will Parker get what he wants in the long run? Or did he screw it up before it even started? Will Alice be able to live with herself for agreeing to marry Parker for money? Is there a HEA at the end? Or is there just room for heart break and disaster?

My Star Review:

Keeper of Souls by Casey L Bond

Keeper of Souls by Casey L Bond

Release Date: May 16, 2017

Format: ARC

Pages: 274

Find It: GoodReads * Amazon

Dates Read: May 10 to May 13

Blurb:

Carmen Kennedy finally feels normal. Enrolled in college, she’s making a few friends and taking life one day at a time. Her days are filled with classes, studying, and attempting to be more social, while her nights are filled with terrifying dreams. All of her nightmares have one thing in common: him. She can’t see his face, but a flash of dark feathers is all it takes to remind her of The Keeper of Crows. He isn’t supposed to be real. There is a world that exists beneath the fabric of our own, a torturous place filled with despair. The Keeper is there; Carmen just has to find out why and if there is a way to help him leave that place. Her sanity and life will be threatened, but she can’t ignore his screams any longer. When love exists, it doesn’t matter the distance. It finds a way to remind you. Will love be enough to save Michael and Carmen when The Keeper of Souls stands in their way?

If you haven’t reader Keeper of Crows there might be spoilers in this review…

I have been “patiently” waiting for this book!! I need to know how this story ended!
We start where we left off after Keeper of Crows. Carmen is going to college after being released from a psychiatric facility. Everyone thinks she’s crazy after she comes back from purgatory and trying to explain what she saw there.

Michael is trapped in Hell with Lucifer who is trying to break him. He’s trying to make him believe Carmen betrayed him and never loved him.

Carmen meets Cass and Zane when she moves into the dorms at college. One seems like a great guy while the other seems like he has an ulterior motive.

“Well, you’re wrong.” Zane let out a low growl that I felt low in my belly. It reminded me so much of him. But that couldn’t be…

Carmen keeps having these very vivid dreams of things that she cant decide are real or not. She keeps seeking professional help because everything is spinning out of control and she doesn’t know what’s true and what’s not.

He would regret the day he was created. And I would enjoy every moment of watching him fade into nothing.

I loved the conclusion to this series! I loved the suspense, and being kept on the edge of my seat! I loved Carmen and how great she was! She never gave up and never took anyone’s crap.

Will Michael make it out of Hell? Will Carmen realize what is real? Is there a HEA for them? Or will there only be heartbreak and destruction?

My Star Rating:

Where Good Girls Go To Die by Holly Renee

Where Good Girls Go To Die by Holly Renee

Release Date: April 13, 2017

Format: ARC

Pages: 340

Find It: GoodReads * Amazon

Dates Read: March 26 to March 28

Blurb:

It was a bad idea from the beginning.

He was my brother’s best friend and the definition of unavailable.

But I didn’t care.

I had loved him for as long as I could remember.

He was worth the risk. He was worth everything.

But then he broke my heart as easily as I fell for him. He watched me fall, spiraling out of control, and as I reached for him, he wasn’t there to catch me.

So I ran.

Four years later, I never expected to see him again.

He was still my brother’s best friend, and he was more unavailable than ever.

He looked every bit the bad boy I knew he was, covered in tattoos and a crooked smile.

Guarding my heart from him was top priority because Parker James was where good girls go to die.

Unfortunately for him, I wasn’t a good girl anymore.

Olivia also known as Liv(y) has been in love with her brother’s best friend Parker since she was 16, but he has always been out of her reach. She ends up leaving for college to get away.

Parker ends up dating lot of girls but could never get Livy out of his head. He’s engaged to be married and is at his Bachelor party when he runs into the last person he expects to see…

From the way he was studying me, he thought he knew me as well, but he still hadn’t figured it out. The last time I saw him, I was nothing more than a girl.

Majority of this story is told by going back and forth from the present and four years into the past, so we can get Livy and Parker’s back story. It was obvious something major happened in the past based on their current situation.

I couldn’t stop the tears from flowing down my cheeks, and as I tried to catch my breath.

I loved learning about what happened in the past because it helped me understand their current situation. I loved both of their characters, plus the side characters were amazing too!! I loved Brandon and Staci, plus Livy’s brother Mason!! I was always laughing when they were around!

Can Livy get over the past and give Parker another chance? Or is it too late to save their relationship?Does Parker still love Livy or has he moved on?

My Star Review:

The Opposite of You by Rachel Higginson

The Opposite of You by Rachel Higginson

Release Date: March 30, 2017

Format: ARC

Pages: 302

Find It: GoodReads * Amazon

Dates Read: March 20 to March 25

Blurb:

I’ve sworn off men.

All men.

Famous last words, right? You’re expecting some epic tale of reluctant love and my dramatic change of heart? Well, you’re not going to get it.

I’m stubborn. And headstrong. And I’ve just survived the worst three years of my life. After escaping an abusive boyfriend to live in hostels and cheap hotels while I worked my way across Europe, I’ve come to two conclusions.

The first? Now that I’m back home, I’m going to squander my expensive culinary degree on a food truck that caters to the late night drunk crowd.

The second? I’m going to prove to the bastard across the plaza that my street food is better than his fussy five course monstrosities.

Killian Quinn might be Food and Wine’s Chef to Watch Out For. He might have a Michelin Star. He might have every food critic in the city wrapped around his too-large fingers. But he’s also pretentious and unbearably arrogant and the very opposite of me.

So he can keep his unsolicited advice and his late night visits and his cocky smiles. I want none of it. Or him.

I want the opposite.

I was excited to get asked if I’d like to read and review this new release!! I’ve loved everything Rachel Higginson has released, this one was just as great as all the others!!

Vera is an up and coming chef who ends up trusting the wrong person to teach her.  She ends up coming home and buying a food truck which she parks in her brother’s shop parking lot.  She happens to be parked across the street from the famous Chef Killian Quinn’s restaurant…Lilou.

Killian is one of the top chefs in the area and he knows it. He is arrogant, bossy, and a complete ass….he’s completed pissed about Vera setting up her food truck right across the street.  He definitely makes his unhappiness known…in many different ways.

His body jerked as if awoken from a trance and he turned his attention to his bike, pushing it to park on the side of Lilou and storing his helmet in a side compartment.

They have a very strange relationship, it’s hard to tell if Killian likes her or if he’s trying to make her give up and close her truck. Vera is determined to be successful and won’t let Killian stand in her way!

He held out a folded piece of paper. “I didn’t think he’d have notes for you. I swear.”
“Notes? Who had notes?”

I loved this book so much. I loved watching Vera and Killian’s relationship grow into friendship. I loved that she was starting over and not giving up after everything that happened to her. I loved Killian because even though he acted like this arrogant ass he was helpful to Vera in his own way.

Will Killian be able to see Vera’s potential? Will she be able to move on from her past? Will she be able to trust again? Will he be willing to let her in?

Make sure you find grab this and find out how complete opposites can hopefully be perfect for each other!

My Star Rating:

 

Keeper of Crows by Casey L Bond

Keeper of Crows by Casey L. Bond

Release Date: March 21, 2017

Format: ARC

Find It: GoodReads * Amazon

Dates Read: March 13 to March 16

Blurb:

Carmen Kennedy is a spoiled brat from Beverly Hills with a chip on her shoulder and a cocaine addiction to match. Using drugs to suppress reality, her life is more than she can stomach most days. All she wants is to disappear, and on one fateful night, her wish is granted.

There is a world that exists just beyond the fabric of our own. When Carmen is dragged there against her will, her hopelessness seems to disappear, replaced by a determination to survive. The Keeper of Crows is charged with guarding Carmen, but is safety a possibility in a world so desolate? Can love blossom when danger lies in wait? Together, they fight like hell, seeming to lose more ground than they gain with each battle against the dark enemy threatening to tear them apart. Can love keep her safe? Can it give her the strength she needs?

When the lines between life and death, reality and dream become blurred, who will save the souls trapped in the spaces between Heaven and Hell? Who will save Carmen’s only love, The Keeper of Crows?

When I found out Casey was writing a paranormal I was beyond thrilled!! After her huge success with the Frenzy series I knew this would be just as great…l definitely wasn’t disappointed!!

Carmen is a spoiled rich girl who thinks she can do whatever she wants without any consequences. She’s got an addiction that gets her in some major trouble.

My father was the antichrist for sending me to this place.

After ending up in the hospital things start to majorly change for Carmen. She ends up in a place she didn’t think was real and she begins to realize what she thought was a dream is actually happening to her.

She meets the Keeper of Crows, who is more than he seems to be. She’s intrigued by him and wonders why he’s been stuck here for so long doing this job that will never fix the major problems. Carmen realizes so much more about herself and her life on Earth.

“It breaks my heart,” he said softly, running his fingers through the short strands of my hair.

I loved this book! It was very intriguing because I didn’t have any idea what would happen next which I loved!! It definitely didn’t go the way I thought it would!! I loved Carmen and Keeper’s banter, always kept me smiling. I loved how she figured out she was more than she thought she was.

I can’t wait until I can get a hold of book two and see what happens next!!

My Star Rating:

 

 

Burning Hearts by KM Lowe

Burning Hearts by KM Lowe

Release Date: March 17, 2017

Pages: 288

Format: ARC

Find It: GoodReads * Amazon

Dates Read: March 17 to March 19

Blurb:

Being a fireman is a tough job. For Jase McGrady saving lives, helping people and supporting his colleagues are rewards in themselves. And then the unthinkable happened.

Jase had a life, a job he loved, a fiancée, a future. Until the one thing he believed he could always win against took the one thing he loved. And he couldn’t do a thing to save her. One fire and Jase’s life had gone up in smoke.

Jase has now managed to piece his life back together but it’s been hard. He’s adamant that he’ll never love again.

And then Grace Montgomery walks into the station.

Grace is soft, kind and gentle. She’s a capable firefighter but as the only female in the station, Jase just can’t help his protective streak making an appearance. Grace starts to break down his walls and opens up to him about her own history of abuse.

As the emotional storm rages, can Jase and Grace learn to weather it together or will their own personal demons pull them apart?

Can Jase forget his lost love and allow Grace into his heart, or is it for ever burnt and ravaged from the past?

When I was asked if I’d like to read and review a book by KM Lowe I jumped at the chance!! I’ve loved everything I’ve read by her and I wasn’t disappointed in the least!!

Jase is a firefighter and had a terrible loss, his fiancé. He was not really living just going through the motions, work and sleep. His squad was his family and they were amazing during his time of need, especially his best friend Mark.
Grace is just out of firefighter school and Blue Watch is her first assignment so she is super nervous but luckily Jase, her boss, is great and helps her fit in. She has a past she is still trying to get over, especially when it comes to relationships.

Life was full of surprises. Just when I thought my life was getting back on track and I was ready to move forward, someone came along and knocked my life sideways.

You could tell from the start that Jase and Grace had chemistry, but neither were sure if they were ready for the next step. They were still fighting their past and didn’t want to be hurt again.

“This can’t be happening again, Chief.”

I loved this book so much. I loved how amazing Jase was. He was a great firefighter, an amazing friend, and son. I loved Grace from the beginning too because she jumped right in at the station and didn’t let the “all guy” squad intimidate her.

I loved how Blue Watch was like a huge family and always stuck up for each other no matter what!

The question is will Jase be able to move on from the past? Will Grace? Will they get a second chance at love? Or will they not be able to let the past go?

Make sure you grab this book in order to find out if second chances happen!

My Star Review:

Mayday by C. L. Bond

Mayday by C. L. Bond

Release Date: February 22, 2017

Pages: 224

Format: ARC

Find It: GoodReads * Amazon

Dates Read: February 5 to February 7

Blurb:

MAYDAY, MAYDAY, MAYDAY…This is the sailing vessel Lucky Day. Vessel taking on water. Current position: Latitude: N 14° 53′ 37.7844″, Longitude: W 61° 41′ 57.1875″. Speedboat taking on water, in need of immediate assistance. Two souls on board. No injuries. Vessel is 24 feet long, white with green striping.
MAYDAY, MAYDAY, MAYDAY…This is the sailing vessel Lucky Day.

Finn Cohen isn’t a survivalist. He likes computers and internet-researched his way into the final round of contenders for a new type of reality show. The premise? Spend 30 days on a deserted island with a woman he’s never met, and pass the tests the producers give them. Sounds easy enough. He just hopes he gets stuck with the hot chick he can’t stop staring at.

Penniless is exactly what Jessa McDaniel is. She’s living in her car, working under the table wherever she can…which, without a high school education is about all she can do. She needs to get on the show. She needs the money. Jessa is confident she can survive. She’s been doing it since she was old enough to remember. She just hopes the producers don’t put her with the stupid guy that keeps staring at her.
Will the pair last thirty days under harsh conditions? Or will the producers’ tasks have them crying Mayday sooner than we’d like?
Two souls. One goal: Sink or Swim.

Reality Check Magazine

First Contestants Announced for New Reality Show Mayday
Mayday, the first reality show to marry survival wit with a potential love match, will air this Tuesday, January 8th. Contestants must complete several tasks and traverse dangerous territory to get to a rendezvous point at the end of thirty days. If they arrive together, each contestant will win a sum of $1,000,000.00. If one or neither show up at rendezvous, they get nothing but a great story to relay to their friends.
The first contestants to compete together will be Jessa McDaniel and Finn Cohen. McDaniel is an unemployed young woman from rural Georgia, and Cohen is an IT major at the University of Miami. They say opposites attract, and this duo couldn’t be more opposite.

Whenever I see Casey L Bond is releasing a new book I always get excited because she hasn’t written a book I haven’t loved…and she didn’t disappoint with this one!

Mayday is a reality show where they start with many couples and then one male and one female the producer feels are most deserving to be on “The Launch Show” end up on a deserted island (minus the many, many camera crew…lol) and they have to survive 30 days in order to win 1 million dollars. Of course they don’t make it easy and threw many challenges at them…

And that’s what it was.

A game. It would be a vicious one.

Who would win?

Finn was trying to prove to his family and himself that he was able to finish something he started after being kicked out of college. He’s never been good enough for his dad, he just wasn’t his brother nor did he want to be.

Jessa was a stubborn, tough, and cold-hearted girl on the outside…where inside she was just trying to survive.

Finn and Jessa had a rough start…but were able to figure out how to work together in order to survive. They were even able to help each other with personal challenges and they might have even started to become friends.

She had opened up. We were getting to be friends…but day ten unleashed hell on earth. We were both lucky to come through it.

I absolutely loved this book…this was such a great spin on a reality tv show!!! It definitely wasn’t what I was expecting…it was way better!!

I loved watching Finn and Jessa interact with each other while trying to figure out each other’s strengths and weaknesses and using them to help while on the island.

The question is…will they survive 30 days on the island together? Will they be rewarded their 1 million dollars? Or will they not be up to the challenge?! You’ll have to “watch” Mayday in order to find out!!

Tune in on February 22nd!!

My Star Rating:

Forever Frenzy by Casey L Bond

Forever Frenzy by Casey L Bond

Release Date: January 19, 2017

Pages: 91

Format: ARC

Find It: Amazon * GoodReads

Dates Read: January 18

Blurb:

Everything in Porschia Grant’s world was finally normal; the daily routine peppered with moments of happiness, sadness, and monotony. She longs for those moments now, because her entire world has been wrecked, and she didn’t even see it coming.
An evil escaped the underworld, killing someone she loves. It has to die, and she wants to be the one to end it.
But can Porschia live with herself if she takes on the curse she once hated? Will the consequences of her choice crush her?
How will she feel when someone from her past, someone she loved so deeply, enters her life again?

Tage has been guiding his son from the afterlife. He’s always been a part of Seth’s life, even if Porschia didn’t know the extent of his involvement. He’s watched over both of them from afar. Close, but never close enough.
Now they need him, and he’s about to risk everything to show her how much she still means to him.

For some, love never ends and frenzy is forever.

I was beyond thrilled when I found out there was going to be another Frenzy novella!! I absolutely LOVE this series and I wasn’t ready for it to end!!

It is now 16 years later and Saul and Porschia are still in love and surviving after the cure. Tage is gone because he saved her in the end of book five. I was pretty sure Tage was gonna reappear in some form to help Seth….or at least that was my hope!

“How old were you?” She gripped the poker like a weapon, strangling the handle of it.

“Ten.”

Her top teeth raked over the bottom ones. “And you thought I didn’t need to know?”

“It would only have upset you.”

I loved seeing Porschia again and how fierce and strong she is! I loved how she handled herself after everything happened. It was really great to be back with these characters!!

It was poison, racing through veins and vessels. It whispered in my ear to let it free. It was all I could think of.

Rage.

There were so many emotions running through me while reading this!! I was happy, then sad, then mad, then I understood why certain things happened even if I wasn’t happy about it lol. This was a great conclusion to the series! I will miss these characters a lot, and maybe Casey will decide to write a spinoff about Seth down the road!

My Star Rating:

Whatever It Takes by Stephanie Smith

Whatever It Takes by Stephanie Smith

Release Date: November 17, 2016

Format: ARC

Find It: GoodReads * Amazon

Dates Read: November 9 to November 11

Blurb:

She only wants his sperm. What could go wrong?

Georgia Armstrong is on the hunt—on the hunt for a man. It’s not what you think, though. She’s not looking for love, friendship or companionship. Georgia wants a baby, and she’s on the hunt for a sperm donor. Except her plan is to have the sperm donated the good old-fashioned way. What could possibly go wrong?

Henry Marsh knows what he wants, and a wife and family are not it. He doesn’t know where the blonde bombshell came from, and he doesn’t know what she was thinking when she came up with her plan. And he especially doesn’t know why he agreed to help her.

Business quickly turns into pleasure and the lines are blurred as Henry and Georgia begin to break all the rules.

How far will Georgia go to become a mother, and what will it cost her? And has Henry finally put his member some place he shouldn’t?

Georgia wants one thing, a baby. She just needs a sperm donor, and she’s not asking for a relationship. She goes to a bar to try and find someone crazy enough to tell her they’ll do it…enter Henry.

Henry is happy with the way his life is. He runs a successful bar and has no desire to get married or have a family, but he can’t seem to tell Georgia no even though her plan is batshit crazy.

Phase one: Find a guy. Phase two: Get the contract signed. Phase three: Medical tests and clearances. Phase four: Make a baby.

Talk about the most awkward situation…having sex with a random stranger just so you can have a baby. Someone you just met and had sign this very intense contract. Georgia thought very hard about all of this before she set her plan in motion, but maybe she didn’t think about everything that could happen.

Henry thinks she is crazy but agrees because he doesn’t want a family for himself and nothing will be expected of him. He wants to help her get her dream.

Things start to get tricky when there “agreement” starts to get mixed with “feelings.”

I knew that a long time ago. But is she right? Would I be satisfied with just Henry? Would he be enough?

I loved this book a lot. I loved that Georgia knew what she wanted and went out and got it. She didn’t care she wasn’t in a relationship, she knew she wanted a baby more than anything. I love how Henry was willing to help even though he thought she was crazy.

Will Georgia get her baby she so desperately wants? Will Henry be okay with everything? Will they end up falling for each other? Will everything fall apart in the end?

My Star Rating:

It Was Meant To Be by K. M. Lowe

It Was Meant To Be by K. M. Lowe

Release Date: March 10, 2015

Pages: 274

Format: ARC

Find It: GoodReads * Amazon

Dates Read: October 30 to November 2

Blurb:

Leela Park was a happy twenty-eight year old. She thought she had everything going for her, until a bombshell came crashing down on her life.

Leela was happily engaged to her partner Mark. He was a police constable at Strathclyde Police Force. When he went to work one day, he never expected it to be his last day on earth.

Leela had a hard time coming to terms with Marks death, because she recently found out that she was pregnant with his baby. More tragic obstacles in her way of grieving and she ends up in hospital fighting for her life.

Happier events unfold when Leela decides to take time off work to go travelling for the year. She never expected to travel, let alone end up in France. She was glad she did. Touring around France, made her settle down in Marseille. But what was in store for her there?What was going to happen when she bumped into an old face? Was everything going to go crashing down around her, or was it meant to be?

Leela had everything figured out for her life. She had the perfect partner and a baby on the way…than one life shattering minute later her whole world shattered. Mark, her partner, was a police officer and was killed in the line of duty. She didn’t know how she would get through anything alone after loosing Mark, especially raising a baby without him.

Thankfully she had her amazing family to help her, plus Mark’s brother Brian. Sadly her mom had died a few years earlier of cancer which left her dad and two brothers. I instantly loved Craig, her brother, and her father. They were so amazing and it makes you realize how truly loving and strong families can be when they are united together.

Craig came in and caught me as I fell into his arms. Reality suddenly hit me like a ton of bricks. I sobbed until my body went still and quiet.

After everything that happened with Mark she decided she couldn’t stay in Scotland anymore and wanted to travel for a year. She ended up in France for a brand new start! She runs into a familiar face, one she never thought she’d see again and is beyond thrilled to see him there!

“Miss? Are you okay?” I didn’t know the answer to that question. I was stunned.

“Brian? I can’t believe that you’re here.” His arms came around me and immediately that connection stirred in my stomach all over again.

I absolutely loved this story!! I loved how much her family loved her and supported her no matter what! Craig and her became so much closer after loosing Mark and I loved there close bond. I loved seeing her try and figure out how to move on with her life. This just shows you that life isn’t a guarantee and it can change in a split second with no notice. Live life to the fullest always!

Will Leela find herself in France? Or will she just go through the motions of life? Will she find love again? Or will she never love another like she loved Mark?

My Star Rating