What do I say about a book that took my breath away? That exceeded every expectation I had? I’m not sure, but I’m going to try. At first glance, I was instantly intrigued by this story because it has a Hollywood hunk. I’m a sucker, and can’t stay away. I LOVE the A-List actor/unknown heroine storylines. I can’t help it. Graham took it above and beyond your normal story though. Everything you’ve come to expect from these types of books? Poof, gone.
Blogger note - I’ve read/been told/heard that it’s only fair within a review to state if you’re friends with the author. I guess some people become a bit too biased and can’t write an honest review, so it helps you decide whether or not they’re telling the truth if you know they have a friendship. So here’s my little disclaimer – I love Cassie Graham. As fabulous of a writer as she is, she’s an even better person. I will scream it from the rooftops that I consider her one of my best friends, and I adore her. BUT…having said that, if her book sucked, I’d tell you. I have another friend that I reviewed for and openly explained how much I honestly disliked her book. It can and does happen. So there’s that. I hope you continue reading, even knowing that tidbit, because it would be such a shame if you stopped now.
What do I say about a book that took my breath away? That exceeded every expectation I had? I’m not sure, but I’m going to try. At first glance, I was instantly intrigued by this story because it has a Hollywood hunk. I’m a sucker, and can’t stay away. I LOVE the A-List actor/unknown heroine storylines. I can’t help it. Graham took it above and beyond your normal story though. Everything you’ve come to expect from these types of books? Poof, gone.
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So first I want to say that I'm mad at Michelle Pace. Why you ask? Because she writes a books so good and then just leaves you wanting so much more. Which she promises you. In a third book. I fell in love with Molly and Joe, not only as a couple but as individuals, in Good Wood. And that love not only continued but grew in Mollywood. Mollywood picks up a few months where Good Wood left off. And Molly and Joe aren't in the best place. Not where you think they are going to break up. They've left the honeymoon stage. Life has gone on. They have gotten busy. And they both realize stuff needs to change. Priorities need to change. And when they get unexpected news, priorities need to change fast. I think what I love so much about Michelle's writing is that she makes Molly and Joe so real. They go through stuff as a couple that everyone can go through. And most do. Obviously their backgrounds are very unique. You won't find a lot of people that have gone through everything they have. But their relationship. And a lot of the issues within their relationship are very common. And I love how relatable that makes them. There are some authors you go back to time and time again no questions asked, no synopsis read. For me, Nicole Edwards is one of them. Since I started reading Nicole’s books, I have absorbed them. And Vanishing Dreams is no different. You’ve met both Dalton and Katie before in Chasing Dreams but they were secondary characters. You really didn’t know anything about them. But you find out everything in Vanishing Dreams. Katie has a secret. A big one. One that she keeps from everyone. Including Dalton. Even as they get closer, she still keeps the secret. She doesn’t open up pretty much at all. And you know, when you're reading a book and the character has a secret? You know how you can guess it before the big reveal? I couldn’t. I had a ton of different scenarios going on in my head of what Katie’s secret could be but I wasn’t ever totally right. Nicole Edwards kind of shocked me with it. I truly love Dalton. He is super sweet. Super loveable and super loving. Super swoonworthy. He does have his faults, but for the most part, they are understandable. When he finds out Katie's secret, he bolts. He's mad. He doesn't understand. And I totally get it. Its a pretty big. Really major secret. It changes the way you think about the person. Fred and Viv. If you’ve read Painted Faces, those names will mean everything to you. It’ll mean excitement, wittiness, and sexiness in one of the most creative stories out there. So when I heard there was more to come, I squealed. A lot. Seriously, so much eeek-ing going on. It was nearly what I had hoped it would be, and I’ll explain what that “nearly” means. In case you aren’t aware, this is Nicholas’ side of the story. It’s written to be his journal, so it has dates and even a soundtrack for each “entry” aka chapter. I LOVED the songs chosen and how it all weaved together. Very classic L.H. Cosway greatness. Because it is his story, you get to see a lot that you only heard parts of in Painted Faces. You hear all about the hard, drunken times in his past. You dive head first into how broken he truly feels. You’ll understand a bit more as to how the heartbreakingly sad past affected him. You just feel so much more. Although what was described in Painted Faces explained why Nicholas is the way he is, you get a much better grasp on it within Killer Queen. Not that he wasn’t amazing in Painted Faces, but it just makes him that much better. So I’ve been holding off writing this review for over a week now. Not because the book was horrible and I didn’t know what to say. Completely the opposite. Here with Me is so phenomenally epic, I don’t know what to say. When you absolutely love a book, it’s sometimes hard to put into words what it does to you. You want everyone else to read it but you’re not sure if you could do the book justice. You just want to say to people “Read this book, you won’t regret it.” I can talk and talk and talk how awesome Heidi McLaughlin is. I fell in love with her and her writing when I met Liam Page in Forever My Girl. And each book I’ve read, I’ve fallen even further. But with Here with Me, she outdid herself. Ryley is the type of character you fall in love with immediately. You feel for her and everything she has gone through. In a lot of other books, if the main character ended up with the brother of the love of her life, no matter what the circumstances are, it doesn’t feel right to the reader. But in Here with Me, it made sense. You understood it. And then when Evan comes back, you feel and understand every emotion she goes through. Heidi made it feel like you were Ryley. That’s how well written it is. I felt the same ups and downs, turned inside out, upside down right alongside with Ryley. It takes true talent with words to do that to the reader. As far as romance goes, we all have books that we sorta compare others too, right? This surely isn't just me. Of course each story and author brings something different to the table and no two stories are alike, but I can't help but always wonder how they'll stack up against the books that are my favorites. You say rock star, I'm thinking Kellan Kyle. Hollywood hunk? Tina Reber’s Love series is IT. CEO? Mr. Grey, of course. And then there's the student teacher category. For the longest time, I wouldn't even try these because I didn't WANT anyone else to compete with Will and Layken. Those are some mighty big characters to follow behind, ya know? But I couldn't resist The Force of Gravity and now I find myself sitting here mesmerized by this book. It blew me away. Absolutely, 110% wowed me. I'm trying very hard to form complete sentences because in all honesty, I'd prefer to just ramble and not make any sense because I loved it THAT much. Needless to say, I have a new favorite student teacher romance. This was the first book in a long time, with the exception of very few, that I truly read in one sitting. We use that phrase but for me, that's usually not entirely true. I get up, do stuff with my kids, etc but I say it meaning I read it over the course of one day. Not the case this time. I could not stop. Seriously. Every single page hooked me. Every interaction took my breath away. I couldn't wait for the next conversation between Elijah and Kaley. I thrived on the angst and close calls. I just couldn't flip the pages fast enough. To say that you'll be captivated is an understatement, and I can't fathom not reading it in one sitting. I think trying to walk away without knowing what was next would have killed me. I can't fully explain the emotions running through my mind after finishing a Laura Miller novel. Love. Heartbreak. Hope. Maybe the most accurate would just simply be happy. I feel so happy. Every. Single. Time. If happiness means too many smiles to count and many tears, then yeah...that pretty much describes how I feel after reading By Way of Accident. If you're new to Laura Miller, here's my one opinion - Go buy every book she has or ever will release. You'll be hooked. I promise. I'll sound like a broken record right now and you've probably read it too many times to count - I love romance novels. Pure, sweet, innocent romance novels. Novels that sweep you away from the life you lead and into not a fairytale or a fantasy, but somewhere real. Somewhere you connect with because you might have been that person once. Those are my kind of books. That description will also tell you what I loved most about By Way of Accident. It felt like my reality for a few years of my life. I'm from Oklahoma. We farm. My first love was a farmer that reminded me so much of River, it took my breath away. The interactions between River and Brooke, and the day to day life that River led while on the farm were dead on. So to say that Laura either did her homework or wrote from what she knows is a massive understatement. She knew how to describe the scenes and times so perfectly, and every moment jumps off of the page because of it. This was the book type I’ve been wanting to read. It’s hot, it’s crass, and it’s not at all what I expected. While most fighter books are all of those things, Beat was different. Maybe because of Ren. Ren is like nothing I’ve read before. Her personality is tough. I know I use that word a lot. But she is tough in all ways. Tough with her emotions. Tough with her words. And tough with her fighting. Yup, she’s a fighter too. She only started after her mom died and she moved in with her father, who she hadn’t seen since she was 5 and also owns a boxing/MMA gym. She did it as an outlet. Something to do when she had nothing else. And she’s good. Really good. And then she meets Ash. Ash is a fighter who her father trained and is coming back at being gone for 4 years. And there is something between them. Something sizzling. You can feel it, just by reading about it. Amity Cross did an amazing job making you feel the spark, the lightning bolt that happens between them. It’s so hard to describe what happens between them. There is a lot of hotness. A lot of miss communication. And a lot of love. Even though it takes a while for them to admit that. This is the book for when you want different. Different from all the other fighter books. It still has some of the best parts of all of those other books. But but but….Ugh. This book is amazing. ~Katie Its 12:45 am and I just finished Becoming Calder and when I started I just thought I’d read through both the books and write my review at the end, but I can’t do that. I have to get down something.
Mia Sheridan has done it again. She’s left me speechless. From talking to others who have read it already, I knew it would overtake me. One of those books you just couldn’t put down. One of those books that kept you up all night. So I decided to pace myself. I wanted to savor it. I wanted to experience it slowly. And then I got about 50% through and couldn’t stop. Becoming Calder makes you think. It’s not just a love story. It’s an experience. I don’t want to retell the story. I don’t want to retell the synopsis. This is just part 1 of my review. There is so much swimming in my head, that I had to get some of it down. Honestly I’m sitting here thinking, did I just read what I thought I read? I feel like I was part of it not just reading it. Tomorrow morning when I wake up or even if I ever sleep because honestly I think I’m just going to start Finding Eden, Mia Sheridan owes me some coffee. Or a glass of wine. It is now 2:20 pm. Less than 14 hours after I wrote the above part and I am finished with both books. This is one of those series, that when you come down to it, it’s a must read. There isn’t much else I want to tell you. There aren’t that many books out there that I will tell you, you have to read. I’ll recommend books. I’ll tell you that I love them. But with Becoming Calder and Finding Eden, if you don’t read these, you are missing out on a 10 star book. Honestly, these are in my top 3 books. They are making me think. Making me feel. Making me consider the world around me. Calder and Eden are the strongest characters I’ve ever read. I talk about overcoming pasts a lot in my reviews. I’ve called a lot of other heroines strong. But these 2 characters overcame more than any of them combined. The lives they lived and the lives they had to overcome. Wow. That’s all I can say. Just wow. And I have to applaud Mia Sheridan. After Archer’s Voice, I didn’t think she could outdo herself. But with Becoming Calder and Finding Eden, I take that back. The amount of research that she put into these books is astounding. It’s almost as if they are first hand experiences. The descriptions and details of the events. The places. The religion. I was there. I went through what Eden and Calder when through. And that is the testament of how good of an author Mia is. The synopsis doesn't give a ton away about the actual book. It gives you a broad overview. And I didn't want to add anymore then what was written there. Usually I'll talk about the book and the events but this was one of those people need to experience firsthand. So read this. Put it at the top of your TBR list. Sitting here, writing this review, less than an hour after I finished, I want to pick them up again. Read them until I have the memorized. It’s been a long time since I am jealous of those who haven’t read a book. I want to be like you, reading it for the first time. ~Katie It’s no secret that I love Jane Harvey-Berrick. It’s one of my favorite things to sit down with my Kindle and dive into a new Jane novel, because you’re never sure what emotions she’s going to pull out of you. Is it going to be emotional and make you cry? Yeah, there’s a pretty good chance of that. Hot with lots of sexy scenes? Of course, it IS Jane after all. But every Jane novel is so different from any before it. That’s absolutely 100% the case with Summer of Seventeen. It’s unlike anything else she has written, and she did a gorgeous job telling the story of one young man’s summer. What I loved most about this book is that it’s not ONLY a romance novel. It is. You see what he goes through with his first girlfriend, losing his virginity, etc. But Nick’s story is so much bigger than that. This isn’t just about love. It’s about life. It’s about loss. It’s about learning what’s important and how it feels to grow up. There’s so much packed into the pages of this novel, and Jane wrote it perfectly. You’ll follow along with all of the many ups and downs that Nick encounters, from first love to heartbreak, death and the grief he feels, learning who he is and growing into that man. It’s such an easy read because you’ll be swept away in Nick’s world for a while. I also love love loved how it was written. If you know Jane, you know she’s a pro at pulling you into any scenario in her other books. In Summer of Seventeen, she nails how it might feel to live in a 17 year old male’s body. His thoughts, his feelings, his nerves and angst. Obviously I’m NOT a 17 year old guy, but it sure felt like you could have been in the mind of Nick. You can also tell that she’s very knowledgeable in surfing, because she tosses phrases out that even as a non-surfer, I understood. It kinda makes me want to learn to surf, if I’m being honest. That’s probably gonna be an issue being in Oklahoma huh? :-\ Overall, I loved this book as much as I hoped to, plus some. With Jane’s brilliant writing, character development, and her “way” of grabbing you by the heart, you’ll fall in love with this story. It’s romantic and quite heartbreaking, but more than anything, it’s inspiring and hopeful. It was such an easy read, and I wasn’t ready to put it down on that last page. Jane has done it yet again, and now I'll impatiently sit here waiting for the next. ;) <3 Erin I’ve tried writing this review for that last few days. And it’s not coming together. Nothing is say, I LOVED THIS BOOK YOU HAVE TO READ IT. So I decided to say just that. Kindle Alexander knows how to write a hot book. OMG! This book was steamy. But not raunchy. It had the perfect mix of love and sex and suspense. Each book I read from Kindle gets better and better. In my opinion, in order to read Full Disclosure, you have to read Double Full first. The events of incidents in Double Full directly lead to the story of Full Disclosure. Plus you had a sneak peak of Mitch. And you really want to read as much as you can about Mitch, cause he’s hot and sexy and alpha. Mitch is a US Marshal. Mitch is investigating a case pretty much all on his own. He’s found accidents that he believes are tied to each other. But no one else thinks that. On a night off, Mitch goes to the hottest new gay club in Dallas, where he sees Cody and its infatuation and lust at first sight. Cody is a Texas State Trooper. Just as hot as Mitch and almost as much as alpha as Mitch. When they come together, immediate fireworks. There is that instant attraction. That instant fire. But things get in the way. And it simmers under the surface. I know this isn’t the best review I’ve ever written. And it’s because I don’t know how to describe it all to you. How to make you want to read it. And really, I just want to tell you, read this. Trust me. You want to read this. Kindle Alexander knows how to write a story about alpha males. And the fire between them. She excels at this. She makes you stay up half the night because you just can’t stop reading. So I’m telling you, just read this. You will want more. ~Katie I can't even express how much this book blew me away. It surprised me and exceeded every single expectation I had. It was an emotional tale that tugs on your heart strings, makes you feel and think, but had no shortage of sexy moments that will make you fan yourself. I feel like no matter which genre you prefer, whether it's the emotional stories or erotica, you'll enjoy Filthy Beautiful Love. I know I did. I won't bring it all back up but I didn't love Filthy Beautiful Lies. Now, I'm not ashamed to say it, I feel like I had to have been wrong. I keep thinking that there's logically no way that the same author can write the same characters with the same stories and make me fall head over heels in love with Filthy Beautiful Love, but not the first installment. It makes me want to reread the first, just so I can send a message to Kendall Ryan apologizing for my 3 1/2 star review from a few weeks ago. Because I'll say it: I WAS WRONG! In the first book, I had a really hard time connecting with Sophie. I loved Colton but wished there were more scenes with him or in his point of view. In Filthy Beautiful Love, Sophie redeemed herself, but not with any specific action. She just seemed easier to feel for and connect with. As much as I adore Colton and loved that you get to see much more of him, I think Sophie ended up being my favorite of them all. She endures tragedy and still keeps her head up. She's a beautiful, selfless character who only wants the best for the ones she loves, and I love that about her. This book flows so perfectly. They overcome many obstacles, some small and some much larger, but seeing Colton and Sophie as one united front facing these issues was exactly what I had hoped for. If you read the synopsis, you'd think it's going to be a lot of sex and not much substance but that's so entirely wrong. The heartbreak, drama, romance, and delicious sexiness all carry their own weight and it balances out exactly as a romance novel should. Overall, to say I was pleasantly surprised would be an understatement. I'll be honest. With my so so opinion of the first book, I really only wanted to read Filthy Beautiful Love to satisfy my curiosity with how the cliffhanger of part one was handled. I didn't expect to like it this much. Not only do I like it, I loved it! I was so sad to finish and wasn't ready for that last page. I absolutely cannot wait for Pace's book. If you're looking for an emotional tale that will rock your world and take you on a journey, look no further because this series is IT! If I could give it more than 5 stars, I would, but let’s just call it a 5+ for me. <3 Erin |
April 2016
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