Blog Tour - Review and Giveaway: S'more to Lose (The Campfire Series #2) by Beth Merlin

Book info:
Title:  S’more to Lose
Author:  Beth Merlin
Series:  The Campfire Series #2
Publication date: December 5th, 2017
Genres: Adult, Contemporary

Synopsis:

Four years after her life-changing summer, Gigi Goldstein thinks saying goodbye to Camp Chinooka means saying hello to a brand new life. Now faced with a second chance at her career, she is filled with more hope than she’s felt in a long time. Her design house is taking the fashion world by storm, even attracting notice of Victoria Ellicott, the fashionable British socialite who just happens to be engaged to the future king of England. When Gigi is chosen to design the royal wedding dress in London, she is forced to confront her ex-fiancé, Perry Gillman, now a successful composer with a hit show on the West End.

But when Gigi learns Perry’s been dating Victoria’s sister, who rivals her in looks, style and sophistication, Gigi can’t help but feel inadequate in everything. Her world begins to crumble as she develops a creative block so debilitating, she fears that a wedding dress of royal proportions is never going to happen. Even a budding relationship with the handsome, wealthy, and rich Viscount of Satterley can’t make her forget about Perry and her inability to get over him. As the world gears up for the wedding of the century, Gigi is on the brink of buckling under the immense pressure of the uncertainties of her future and failures of her past.

Will she be able overcome her creative paralysis to design the dress of Victoria’s dreams, or will she break down now that she has even s’more to lose?

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My Review:
My rating:  4.5 stars

Okay, I really did enjoy the first book, One S'more Summer, and you can read my review of that one HERE.  But let me say that I devoured this book in only one day!   I picked this up on a break at work on Thursday, continued reading during my lunch break, and then couldn't stop reading, had to finish before bed!  It was a little easier to get into now that I know Gigi better and am past how she started off in the first book.  One thing that always makes me crazy when I'm reading, but in a good way, is knowing something happened, but not knowing exactly what, and being kept wondering for quite some time.  Another author who does that quite well is Samantha Young.  Anyway, I had fallen in love with Perry by the end of the first book, so I was so sad that they were not together at the beginning of this one.  And while I wanted to have them back together, since I wasn't sure at first what broke them up, I soon grew to love her new love interest, Gideon, and was totally rooting for him.  Until, well, until he did his not listening thing and shutting her out, for the 2nd time.  At that point I was a little irritated with him, and kind of rooting for Gigi and Perry to figure it out.  The book ends with a bit of a cliffhanger, and definitely some bad news for Gigi and her fashion company.  Definitely now I don't know how I can wait until book 3, to see if Gideon really will be the right guy, or if in the end, she will get back with Perry.  

Once again I loved her best friend, Jamie, he is so funny.  I was in shock that he didn't already adore Downton Abbey, but laughed at all the times he called it "Downtown Abbey" at first.  I love that the show revolves around a musical written about Queen Elizabeth that is reminiscent of the current hit Hamilton.  I would watch it too!  I look forward to seeing how it goes once Elizabeth hits Broadway in book 3, and finding out where our couple's romance may or may not go.  

I've now ordered a physical copy for myself of book 1, and will definitely be ordering a physical copy of book 2 when I get the money as well.  

Author Bio:

Beth Merlin has a BA from The George Washington University where she minored in Creative Writing and a JD from New York Law School. She’s a native New Yorker who loves anything Broadway, rom-coms, her daughter Hadley, and a good maxi dress. She was introduced to her husband through a friend she met at sleepaway camp and considers the eight summers she spent there to be some of the most formative of her life. One S’more Summer is Beth’s debut novel.

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Three End of Series Mini-Reviews

As I keep mentioning, I'm so far behind on reviews!  So, to speed things up, you should continue to expect mini-reviews like what I'm posting today.  I finished up three series finally over the past two months, so let's do a quick reflection on them, and then the blurb from Goodreads. 

Ashes (Seeds of America #3) by Laurie Halse Anderson:

My rating:  5 stars
Okay, this series will go down as being one of my all-time favorite YA historical fictions stories.  It's not really a romance in any way, although there is what needs to be in there in a way.  It's really all about the time and the people of the time and the history, and the side of the history that isn't talked about that much, or written about in history textbooks.  With the huge popularity of the musical Hamilton, this is a series that is perfect for young adults and teens to read that fills in even more blanks and will make them think and ask their own questions about our country's past.  You can read my reviews of the first two books here, Chains and Forge.  And below is the blurb from Goodreads for this third book:

Freedom for one, freedom for all?

That’s the question that burns in Isabel’s mind as she and Curzon forge on through chaos and fear toward the dream that’s kept them alive for so many years: freedom. But her dream of living not as a “runaway” but as a free person with land and a family of her own seems impossibly far away. That dream hinges on one thing: finding her little sister, Ruth. It’s been years since Ruth was stolen from her. Is she even alive? And if Isabel can find her, how will they make it safely through the war between the Patriots and the British that rages on as dangerously as ever, while bounty hunters try to kidnap them at every turn?

In the American Revolution, one must pick a side in order to survive. But how can you care about a nation’s freedom when the very same nation has kept you in chains? 

Sentinel (Covenant #5) by Jennifer L. Armentrout:

My rating:  4 stars
I usually give all of JLA's books 5 stars.  I mean I just love her characters. But this book, and the last one in the series, Apollyon, weren't as great for me.  I think it might be because of the absence of Seth.  While yes, I think that Alex probably belonged with Aiden, it reminds me a bit of the Twilight movies, where I was good with Edward for Bella, but I wanted Jacob.  Here, I loved Seth, and kinda wanted more of him.  He does show back up in this book, and I know that there is a spin-off series for Seth that I will be picking up soon.  Other than that, I really like the way the whole ending went down, the battle was good, the way Armentrout "saved the day" in the end was perfect.  There were definitely some sad losses again in this book of people that we'd grown to  like and care about.  But in a huge battle like this, unfortunately that is to be expected.  You can read my reviews to the other books in the series by clicking on the link earlier in this paragraph, or one of these:   Half-Blood, Pure,  or Deity.  Here is the blurb for this final book from Goodreads:

It's a beautiful day for a war.

As the mortal world slowly slips into chaos of the godly kind, Alexandria Andros must overcome a stunning defeat that has left her shaken and in doubt of their ability to end this war once and for all.

And with all the obstacles between Alex and her happily-ever-after with the swoonworthy Aiden St. Delphi, they must now trust a deadly foe as they travel deep into the Underworld to release one of the most dangerous gods of all time.

In the stunning, action-packed climax to the bestselling Covenant series, Alex must face a terrible choice: the destruction of everything and everyone she holds dear… or the end of herself.

The Countdown (The Taking #3) by Kimberly Derting:

My rating:  5 stars
While it took me a minute to pick this one back up and finally read it, when I did, I was once again blown away and hooked so that I couldn't put it down.  While I had issues with some characters that did irritate me a bit, I know that what they did is something that is always in stories, adds to the drama, even though I'm pretty sure it probably wouldn't really happen that way in real life.  I guess I forgot the fact that I'm a bit of a science nerd, because when the characters didn't know what SETI was, I was shocked that anyone didn't know.  In case you don't know, SETI stands for the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Life.  I have to say that once again, this author did a great job of ending this story in a pretty believable way.  We were able to have a pretty much HEA, but it wasn't without losses and it wasn't done in a way that was just everyone decided at the last minute to "all just get along".  There was one person's change of heart that I loved, even as it led her to do something that was definitely heartbreaking for herself.  You can read my reviews of the first two books in the series here:  The Taking, and The Replaced.  Here is the blurb from Goodreads for this final book in the series:

She may no longer be human…but she’s their only hope.

In the concluding book in the otherworldly Taking trilogy, Kyra struggles to understand who she is as she races to save the world from complete destruction.

Ever since Kyra was abducted by aliens and then returned to earth, she has known there was something different about her. Now she knows the truth: she is an alien too. Her alien captors replaced all her human DNA with their own—gifting her with supernatural powers like incredible healing, enhanced eyesight, and telekinesis. But when she’s captured by an unexpected enemy, Kyra begins to wonder if her abilities are also a curse. And is she, as her enemies believe, meant to play some key role in helping an impending alien invasion? Is it programmed into her, something inescapable? Or can she fight that destiny?

No matter what the truth is, Kyra is sure of one thing: She just rescued the love of her life, Tyler, and she is not going to stand by and let anyone hurt him or her friends. Whatever it takes, Kyra will do everything in her power to save the world…even if it means making the ultimate sacrifice. 

So those are the first three series-enders that I've read this year.  All three were well done and great ways to end a series.  If you haven't started them yet, I highly recommend them all!