Top Ten Tuesday: 10 Books from 2017 I Wanted to Read But Didn't

Top Ten Tuesday is sponsored by The Broke and The Bookish.

This happens every year. There are books I'm so excited about, but then I either don't get the ARC, or run out of time to get to them because of other review books.  So here is a list of the top 10 books I didn't get to last year, but had been so excited to read.

1.

2.

3.

I actually got started on an e-galley of this one, but wasn't able to get it finished due to review obligations.  :-(

4.

Even though the author thought there would be ARCs of this, there were not, so I just didn't get a chance to read it, still need to buy it.

5.

6.

The final book in a trilogy, there were no ARCs.  But then with all the political things, I had a hard time reading all of his posts, they were so negative and so I just kind of lost my taste to read on in his series.  I'll finish at some point, but for now, it's on the backburner.  The second book had actually strayed quite a bit from what I'd loved about the first one, and had turned into the second book which is the usual road trip.

7.

8.

Well, I got an ARC of this through books for trade on Twitter, but while I got started reading it, again, because of review obligations, I didn't get to it.

9.

No ARC, so no copy  of it yet.

10.

I had the e-galley of it, and thought I was on a tour, so I had it on the schedule to read. Then I realized that I had never received anything about the actual tour dates, so checked the tour site and saw that I had not been picked to be part of the tour.  So unfortunately, my disappointment kept me from fitting it in.  :-(

What are some books you planned to read in 2017 that you didn't get to?

Six E-book Mini-Reviews

Once again behind, but saved this time to post the reviews during November, since I am hoping I will be very busy writing for NaNoWriMo.  This post will combine a bunch of ebooks I've read.

In Flight (Up in the Air #1) by R.K. Lilley:

Genre:  BDSM romance
Published:  October 20th, 2012
Source:  Purchased Kindle ebook
My rating:  4 stars

This was another title I decided to read because there is a page for it in my Love Between the Lines coloring book. Which I actually haven't finished that page as of the time I am writing this post.  If I get it done before the actual post date on my blog, I'll be sure to come back and update the photo of the page below.  I wasn't sure how I'd like this.  As I've mentioned before, I'm not a big BDSM fan.  At the time I was reading this ebook, I was listening to Dirty Rowdy Thing by Christina Lauren, which has a little bit of tying up and such in it.  However I liked the way the guy treated the girl in that book better than in this book.  I made myself finish this one because of the coloring page, not to mention by the end I was definitely intrigued enough that I will go on just to know what happens to the characters.  I didn't care enough about the Fifty Shades of Grey characters, not to mention how horrible the writing was in that, so I didn't go on.  This one I will. And honestly, if you did like Fifty Shades, you should totally get ahold of this one and read it, I think it is way better, and you'll definitely enjoy the background stories going on with these characters.

Here is the synopsis from Goodreads:
When reserved flight attendant Bianca gets one look at billionaire hotel owner James Cavendish, she loses all of her hard-won composure. For a girl who can easily juggle a tray of champagne flutes at 35,000 feet in three inch heels, she finds herself shockingly weak-kneed from their first encounter. The normally unruffled Bianca can't seem to look away from his electrifying turquoise gaze. They hold a challenge, and a promise, that she finds impossible to resist, and she is a girl who is used to saying no and meaning it. 

Bianca is accustomed to dealing with supermodels and movie stars in her job as a first class flight attendant, but James Cavendish puts them all to shame in the looks department. If only it were just his looks that she found so irresistible about the intimidating man, Bianca could have ignored his attentions. But what tempts her like never before is the dominant pull he seems to have over her from the moment they meet, and the promise of pleasure, and pain, that she reads in his eyes.

Fallen Heir (The Royals #4) by Erin Watt:

Genre:  New adult romance
Published:  August 28th, 2017
Source:  E-galley from tour group for honest review
My rating:  5 stars

I am so ashamed that I actually received this, and forgot about it until shortly after the tour group sent an email about posting reviews.  And if that isn't bad enough, I didn't even get started reading it until almost the end of September.  HANGING MY HEAD IN SHAME.  I may never get the chance to read an e-galley from them again, and that is horrifying to me because as with the first three books in the Royals series, I LOVED this one!  Especially since it was about Easton, who I adored in the other books.  While his love interest, Hartley, really frustrated me at times, because I have such a soft spot for Easton, you could totally understand her side when he would do some of the things he did.  But I felt so sorry for him at many points in the book, and I really, really, really need the next book after the way this ended!  Like now.  And since I was so bad about not posting when I was supposed to, I'm going to share one of the little graphics that should have gone with a post for this.

Here is the synopsis from Goodreads:
These Royals will ruin you.

Easton Royal has it all: looks, money, intelligence. His goal in life is to have as much fun as possible. He never thinks about the consequences because he doesn’t have to.

Until Hartley Wright appears, shaking up his easy life. She’s the one girl who’s said no, despite being attracted to him. Easton can’t figure her out and that makes her all the more irresistible.

Hartley doesn’t want him. She says he needs to grow up.

She might be right.

Rivals. Rules. Regrets. For the first time in Easton’s life, wearing a Royal crown isn’t enough. He’s about to learn that the higher you start, the harder you fall.

Futures and Frosting (Chocolate Lovers #2) by Tara Sivec:

Genre:  Adult romantic comedy
Published:  September 13th, 2012
Source:  Published Kindle ebook
My rating:  5 stars

I honestly loved this book just as much as I loved the first one, Seduction and Snacks.   This is another series I began because of my coloring book, and boy was I glad I did!  The characters are so funny!  There were times in this book when I liked Carter's chapters more than I liked Claire's.  But  I totally identified with Claire, so afraid to say something that was commitment sounding that could scare away the guy.  Even though I think she was being a bit ridiculous. And then again, Gavin, that little boy is the  most hilarious kid!  I started this, and could barely put it down to sleep!  I laughed so hard sometimes that I would be gasping for breath trying to calm down after certain parts, and then, some of the incorrect things that their one friend said, like anal flaccid shock?  OMG!  Still dying thinking about that part.  Can't wait to buy the third book in the series and read on!

Here is the synopsis from Goodreads:
Carter, Claire and Gavin have formed the perfect little family. Their friends are getting married and everyone is growing up, maturing and ready to face the future. Or are they?

From bachelorette party hell, porn addictions, dinner roll baseball and botched wedding proposals to finding out everyone's extended family is chock full of crazy, Carter and Claire begin to question the strength of the ties that bind them. Unfortunately, these ties have nothing to do with fuzzy handcuffs and everything to do with the mounting differences between them. 

Will their friends make a mess of things with their inappropriate comments and need to know everything, or will they convince the couple that happily-ever-after sometimes really can start with beer pong?

Royally Raised (Royally #2.5) by Emma Chase:

Genre:  Adult romance novella
Published:  June 2nd, 2017
Source:  Free ebook download from Amazon
My rating:  3 stars

I hated rating this one so low, since I loved the first two in the series:  Royally Screwed  and Royally Matched, but it was too short!  I loved getting to be around all the characters again, but there was just too little to make it a satisfying read.  Definitely download it for free to read, but then you'll be ready to go on in the series, like I need to. 

Here is the synopsis from Goodreads:
“He’s a joy to us. They all are. When they’re not busy giving us migraines.” ~King Henry

No one ever said raising children was easy...but raising a future monarch? That's another story all-together. Get a glimpse into the happily ever after of Wessco's irresistible royals in Royally Raised - a sweet, sexy, heartwarming short story set twenty years after Royally Matched.  

To Be His (Beauty and the Brit #1.5) by Terri L. Austin:

Genre:  Adult romance
Published:  August 1st, 2015
Source:  Downloaded Kindle ebook
My rating:  4 stars

This book gives us Trevor's point of view for the book His Every Need.  I liked it enough, although there were still some frustrating parts getting it this way. Still worth the read, and I'm still eager to get the third book in the series and read on. 

Here is the synopsis from Goodreads: 

A companion novella to the RT Reviewer's Choice Nominee His Every Need, told from the hero's POV

I didn't amass an empire without taking risks, but I'm not a complete arse. So yes, when I offered to trade Allie Campbell three months as my mistress for her family home, it was a joke. Only thing is, she wasn't laughing...and she bloody well took me up on it.

Well, all right then; I could play that game. I figured I'd take her on, we'd have some fun, and in three months, she'd walk away with her family intact and I could get back to what I do best: making money.

But I'd made one mistake along the way. I stupidly assumed that after having her, I could walk away. I was wrong. I don't know how long this feeling-this consuming need-will last, but I'm not ready to let her go.

Not now. Not yet. Maybe not ever.

The Cornerstone (The Walshes #4) by Kate Canterbary:

Genre:  Adult romance

Published:  December 8th, 2015

Source:  Purchased Kindle ebook

My rating:  4 stars

I've really enjoyed this series, some books more than others, but this book was a little harder because of the main character was kind of off-putting, but then that is how she has been portrayed throughout the series.  You do get to know Shannon this time. And we learn that the Walsh's father was really more of a bastard than maybe you were led to believe in earlier stories. This one overlaps a little with the last book, the book that wasn't my favorite, but I'm also eager to move on and find out how more of the family finds their true love. And I have to say the sex in this one was very hot!

Here is the synopsis from Goodreads:

A tough-as-nails businesswoman. An arrogant Navy SEAL. A power struggle with no end in sight.

Some people hook-up at weddings. Others break a hotel room bed (and a table, and a desk, and some complimentary bathrobe belts) and discover they've been surviving on bargain basement orgasms their entire lives.
The last one? Yeah. That's all me.

She's driven and demanding...
I wasn't always a bitch. There's a dirty little trick to succeeding in business: the sweet and innocent rarely survive. I fought my way up from nothing, and I don't bend for anyone.

Until Will Halsted ties me to a headboard and makes me his...for now.

One wild, filthy night turns into another, and then...we can't stop. Each time we're together is more addictive than the last, but it's nothing more than a sexy escape from reality.

Or is it?

He's never walked away from a challenge...
I wasn't always a warrior but now it's in my bones and blood. That's what years spent in the Special Forces does to a man. My entire life is classified: where I've been, what I've seen, what I've done, and there's no mission too dangerous.

Until I realize that falling for Shannon Walsh is like trying to swim against a riptide. She's going to tear me up and toss me to the shore, and I'll love every minute of it.

Every time I'm down range, I want her counting the hours until I'm back. Waiting for me. She's done it before; she'll do it again.

Or will she?

They're wrong for each other in every possible way...
Or are they?

Series Review: The Royals Series Books 1-3 by Erin Watt

Book info:
Titles:  Paper Princess, Broken Prince,  and Twisted Palace
Author:  Erin Watt
Series:  The Royals #1-3
Genre:  YA contemporary romance
Published:  2016:  April, July, and October respectively
Source:  E-books purchased from Amazon
My rating: 5 stars

So I'd been seeing people talk about this series all over the blogosphere, and decided I needed to check it out.  The first book in the series was on sale for 99 cents, so I gave in and had to purchase it.  I rarely like to spend much more than that on an ebook, but when I finished this one, I couldn't wait to go on, the cliffhanger at the end of the first one was one that I couldn't wait on, just like at the end of After by Anna Todd.  So I gave in and paid the $4.99 for the sequel, then I won a gift card and bought the final book when I was ready to read it.  In the end, I loved all these books so much that I ended up ordering physical copies of all three of them into the bookstore where I work so that I could buy them when we had our employee appreciation days at the end of November and got 40% off instead of our usual 30%.  I'm so nervous though about loaning them to my sister who I normally do loan to, because the last few books I loaned to her came back in not so great condition, and these are such pretty white books.  

Since I ended up reading pretty much straight through the series, and am also pretty far behind on my reviews, I read these in October, I'm just going to do one review for the whole series below, with a few comments for each separate book.

Paper Princess (The Royals #1):

Of course in the first book we meet all of our main characters, starting with Ella.  Ella has had to spend her whole life basically moving from town to town with her mother, barely able to live.  When her mother dies, she ends up trying to take care of herself by working at a strip/dance club.  And this is where Callum Royal finds her.  Turns out Ella's father was Callum's best friend, and he just recently passed away, and wanted his daughter to be found and taken care of.  Callum has five sons, and they kind of rule the private school they attend. They are all gorgeous as can be, but they are also not happy to have this poor girl come into their home, and they feel usurp there already limited attention from their father, who spends all his time with his girlfriend.   They are cruel to her, taunting her, making her feel very uncomfortable in their home.  They figure since their father found her at a strip club, she must be a slut, and that she must be after their father as well.  And not only does she have to deal with them, but she also deals with the "mean girls" at the school.  She does make a friend, Valerie, the unpopular cousin of the most popular "mean girl".  

But Ella stands up for herself, and doesn't let the boys get to her, at least as much as she can.  One of them, Reed, who is closest to her in age, she feels an attraction/connection to, and he has decided that he will be the one to "take care" of her needs, sexually, so that she won't go out and "embarrass the family" by sleeping around with the guys at school.  It takes a lot, but eventually Ella starts to win the boys over, Easton even starting to see her as a friend, Reed maybe as something more.  Ella is not used to being rich, and tries to keep her life as normal as possible by finding a job in town, something that she has to fight with Callum over, but that she soon wins that fight.  And she starts hiding the money that Callum gave her, and that she makes working, in case she decides that it would be in her best interest to leave, to get away.  Of course at the end the will gets read, and there is a blow up between her family and her father's wife who doesn't want Ella to get any of this money.  Her stepmother, is the wicked stepmother, and also friends with Callum's girlfriend, making more problems for Ella.  That's all I'm going to tell you, just know that when you pick this up, it will be impossible to put down!  And you'll need to be able to get to a copy of book two soon after you finish book one thanks to the cliffhanger.

Broken Prince (The Royals #2):

Okay, so book 2, I have to do my best to not give any spoilers.  I read the first 75% of this in one day, and then finished the next day basically.  And, like the first book, this one had a major cliffhanger, but it was one that I totally did not see coming!  If I'd been reading this during the summer time, I might not have gone to bed until I'd finished the whole thing in one day.  And it was a good thing I'd already given in and purchased book 3 at the same time.  

As I mentioned above, the boys and Ella are able to move past the resentment, and the boys come to feel as if she is their sister, well, not Reed, as he and Ella kind of think about their attraction and giving into it.  But Ella knows it isn't going to be good for her to be with him, and of course his father doesn't really want that to happen.  Callum is supposed to be taking care of her for his friend, not setting her up with his sons that she is living with.  But this new attitude with the boys and Ella is one that even though she still thinks that she wants to leave after school and never come back, maybe even leave now, they don't want her to.  They really are glad to have her in their lives, most of them as part of their family, and they will do what they can to keep her there with them.  

I won't go on, don't want to do any spoilers!  But again, have copy 3 ready for when you finish this one, as you won't be happy if you have to wait after this cliffhanger.

 Twisted Palace (The Royals #3):

Okay, the final book in the series, after the huge cliffhanger at the end of book 2, I couldn't wait to start reading. I went to bed when I had to for work the next day, but then, when I took the dogs outside at about 3 am, I picked it up, telling myself just one chapter and then I'd go back to sleep.  Let's just say I read another 15% of the book before I put it down to go back to sleep.  This book had a really major twist.  I don't want to say what it was, because it would be a major spoiler.  But it has to do with two different deaths, a new one, and an old one.  Reed will get blamed for the new one, and at first be unable to prove any differently because he doesn't really have an alibi, and he was drinking.  Again, Reed and Ella have given into the feelings they have for each other, but someone doesn't want them together, and rules start being placed on them, keeping them apart.  Ella gets set up with other boys, trying to show that she and Reed are giving a try to be apart.  However the other guy is one of Reed's friends, who may actually like Ella's friend, Valerie.  In the end, although Reed tries to push Ella away with what he is afraid will happen to him over this murder if he's found guilty, she will do her best to stick by him and help to see him found innocent.  

Things at the school are getting crazy, problems between the popular  kids, even one boy who tried to get Ella to do something she didn't want to do.  And this boy's father is an important person in town, one that could either help or hurt Reed's case.  Then there's both Ella's stepmom, as well as Callum's girlfriend, what all do they have to do with all of this, and how does her father tie this all together.  

Like I said, no more because I don't want to spoil it.  You just really have to get ahold of this series and read them all the way through! 

I grew to love not just the main couple, Ella and Reed, but also the brother Easton, and I was so glad when I heard that there is going to be a book for Easton.  I loved him so much.  I can't wait to get back into this world, and hope the author (authors since it is actually two working together), can get it written and available this coming year!