I should be writing for NaNoWriMo, but felt like I wasn't spending enough time at home with my dogs thanks to going back to work at my part time job. Although as I'm sitting here yelling at one of the dogs to stop barking constantly, all at the same time trying to watch him so he doesn't go into the kitchen and hike his leg on something, I'm thinking I should have gone ahead and went to the library and either done my writing there, or even just done this there! Grrr. On that note, here are some mini-reviews.
Chose the Wrong Guy, Gave Him the Wrong Finger by Beth Harbison:
Published: July 9th, 2013
Source: Purchased paperback from bargain book section at Barnes and Noble where I work
My rating: 3 stars
This is my first book by this author, and unfortunately I wasn't that impressed. There were some good parts, like Quinn's best friend was funny, the dares he had her do were some really hilarious things at times. But other than that, the story felt so much like nothing was actually happening. I don't actually know that I like the way it ended up. I didn't necessarily see that there was the connection between Quinn and who she ended up with. Really, disappointing. I think I own another book by this author, one I got on the bargain table as well,
When in Doubt, Add Butter, and I'm not sure if I'll pick it up or not.
Here is the synopsis from Goodreads:
Ten years ago, Quinn Barton was on her way to the altar to marry Burke Morrison, her high school sweetheart, when something derailed her. Rather, someone derailed her—the Best Man who at the last minute begged her to reconsider the marriage. He told her that Burke had been cheating on her. For a long time. Quinn, stunned, hurt, and confused, struggled with the obligation of fulfilling her guests’ expectations—providing a wedding—and running for her life.
She chose running. With the Best Man. Who happened to be Burke’s brother, Frank.
That relationship didn’t work either. How could it, when Quinn had been engaged to, in love with, Frank’s brother? Quinn opted for neither, and, instead, spends the next seventeen years working in her family’s Middleburg, Virginia, bridal shop, Talk of the Gown, where she subconsciously does penance for the disservice she did to marriage.
But when the two men return to town for another wedding, old anger, hurt, and passion resurface. Just because you’ve traded the good guy for the bad guy for no guy doesn’t mean you have to stay away from love for the rest of your life, does it?
To the Stars (Thatch #2) by Molly McAdams:
Published: February 9th, 2016
Source: Received through Great Paperback Pay it Forward group on Facebook
My rating: 5 stars
I actually liked this one better than the first book in the Thatch series, Letting Go. I am happy to say that the more books by this author that I read, the more I know that I like her books and her writing. I read over half of the 400 pages in one day! Fortunately for me, it was a Saturday that I started reading it, because I could barely put it down. One thing I loved was the connection to the characters from the first book. Knowing what I know now about Knox, I really want to go back and read book 1 to see what fits together in the stories now that I know his whole back story and future. The abuse in this story was so scary, the extent to which Harlow's husband went to, how far he took it, he was crazy. Now, though, I look forward to reading book 3 in the series.
Here is the synopsis from Goodreads:He promised to wait for her.
She told him he was wasting his time.
Not waiting for him ended up being the biggest mistake of her life.
When they were younger, Knox McCade swore to Harlow Evans that he would wait for her to turn eighteen so they could be together. However, that was three and a half years away, and Harlow couldn’t ask him to forgo a typical college lifestyle for her. Still, as the years passed, Knox remained a constant in her life; but when her eighteenth birthday finally came around, Harlow believed her heart belonged to someone else.
Every day for the last four years, Harlow has been haunted by her choice on that day. And though he may appear unaffected by what happened in their past, Knox is always trying to fill the void Harlow left. But when he comes stumbling back into her life and refuses to leave, will Harlow allow him to help her, or will the fear of her abusive husband keep her from the man she was meant to be with?
Wild (The Ivy Chronicles #3) by Sophie Jordan:
Published: November 18th, 2014
Source: Received through Great Paperback Pay it Forward group on Facebook
My rating: 5 stars
The third and final book in this series wrapped it up perfectly, and I liked it even more than the first two. Could be because it was a relationship where the woman was older, and that is kind of me, so there don't seem to be as many stories like that. You can read my reviews of the first two books here: Foreplay and Tease. Another one I read almost half of in one day. It was not a weekend though, so I had to put it down and go to bed. I was up late the next night to finish it as well. I liked Logan a lot. I definitely got mad at Georgia for the way she would push him away though. So annoying, but in the end, it all worked the way it should, we got the HEA, and I have a new favorite series.
Here is the synopsis from Goodreads:
A good girl goes fabulously bad in the final book in New York Times bestselling author Sophie Jordan’s sexy New Adult romance series, in which three Ivy League suite-mates seek higher knowledge of just how far they can go.
Months after her boyfriend dumped her, Georgia can still hear the insults he hurled at her. Boring. Predictable. Tame. Tired of feeling bad, she’s ready to change her image, and go a little wild. What better way to prove her ex wrong than a hot night of sexual adventure at the secret campus kink club?
In the shadowy den of the kink club, she unexpectedly runs into Logan Mulvaney, her friend’s little brother. A player extraordinaire too hot for his own good, he may be younger, but the guy is light years ahead when it comes to sexual experience. Now he’s telling her to go home—“good girls” don’t belong here!
Georgia is tired of having others define her. She’s going to teach Logan a lesson he won’t forget—one white hot, mind-wrecking kiss . . . that leads to another . . . and another . . . and. . . . Realizing she’s way in over her head, Georgia runs.
Only Logan won’t let her go. Everywhere she goes he’s there, making her want every inch of him. Making her forget who she is. Who he is. And just how wrong they are for each other.
All I Want (Alabama Summer #2) by J. Daniels:
Published: November 24th, 2014
Source: Won paperback copy from author
My rating: 5 stars
I really liked the first book in the series, Where I Belong, and it only got 4.5 stars. This book was so good! It made me cry, and feel, and love. And it was sexy. It was nice getting to see the characters from the first book as they were moving on with their lives. As I mentioned in my review of the first book, pretty sure this is a auto-buy author for me now! After I finish the rest in this series that I won from the author.
Here is the synopsis from Goodreads:
Luke Evans is a heartbreaker.
I didn’t want to give mine to him. Not when he kept me out.
He gave me enough, just enough to make me fall in love with him. I say this to convince myself. But I know the truth.
I would’ve fallen in love with him at a distance.
Handing my heart over to Luke was the easiest thing I’ve ever done. I was naive when I wished for more, when I hoped he wanted the same things I did.
I try to hate him. I try to forget him.
But it’s not that easy.
Love is a ruthless bitch, and I’m her latest victim.
Tessa Kelly is a man-eater.
When she sets her sights on you, she doesn’t just consume your heart, she goes for your soul.
What we had was perfect, real, and all I would ever want.
But she destroyed it.
She destroyed us.
I try to hate her. I try to forget her.
But it’s not that easy.
Love is for people who have hope, and I have none.
Warning: this book contains adult themes. 18+. All I Want is a standalone novel, but to fully appreciate the f****ed-up mess that is Luke & Tessa, pick up Where I Belong first.
Moonshot by Alessandra Torre:
Published: July 4th, 2016
Source: Received through Great Paperback Pay it Forward group on Facebook
My rating: 4 stars
Okay, this book was hard to put down, but for some reason I thought it was going to be a different kind of story. For some reason the title, and the cover, made me think that it might be an alien story or something. I'd never heard the baseball term "moonshot". So for most of the book I was on the edge of my seat trying to figure out who was the murderer. And then, at the end, I was totally surprised by who it was. All in all I will say that this author is great at making me think a story is going to be one way, and then surprising me with a twist or different type of story in the end. And I mean that in a good way.
Here is the blurb from Goodreads:
Baseball wasn’t supposed to be a game of life and death…
The summer that Chase Stern entered my life, I was seventeen. The daughter of a legend, the Yankees were my family, their stadium my home, their dugout my workplace. My focus was on the game. Chase … he started out as a distraction. A distraction with sex appeal poured into every inch of his six foot frame. A distraction who played like a god and partied like a devil.
I tried to stay away. I couldn’t.
Then, the team started losing.
Women started dying.
And everything in my perfect world broke apart.
Bold Tricks (The Artist Trilogy #3) by Karina Halle:
Published: December 16th, 2014
Source: I think I purchased this one? Can't remember
My rating: 4 stars
While I loved the first book in the series, Sins and Needles, the second book, Shooting Scars, I only gave 3 stars, it had middle book syndrome, does that have a name? This final book was better, but still only kept my interest because I needed to know if Ellie and Camden would get the happy ending they deserved. I spent a lot of this book just hoping that they could catch a break. Every time it seemed they might be getting ahead, something messed it up. Kind of reminds me of how The Walking Dead has been.
Here is the synopsis from Goodreads:
The Faster They Live, the Harder They Fall . . .
Raised by con artists, Ellie Watt has a lot of crazy childhood memories-but none crazier than being scarred with acid by the demented crime boss Travis Raines. Now Ellie is a full-grown woman who lives for revenge, and Travis is a full-blown drug lord who kills for pleasure. The sadistic bastard has kidnapped her good friend Gus as well as her mother, whom he's been holding as prized possessions in his heavily guarded lair. And Ellie has only one chance in hell of getting them out alive-using two dangerous men who love her to death . . .
One is Camden McQueen, a talented tattoo artist who's made a permanent mark on Ellie's heart. The other is Javier Bernal, her fiery ex-lover who's busted more than a few heads in his time. From the crime-ridden streets of Mexico City to the predatory jungles of Honduras, this unlikely trio forms an uneasy alliance in the deadliest game of all-a gun-blazing battle to the finish that will pit enemy against enemy and lover against lover. And Ellie must choose the right man to trust . . . or die.
