ARC Review: Happiness In Jersey

Happiness In Jersey by Jacinta Howard

Publisher: Independent Book Association

Source: Netgalley

Genre: New Adult, Romance

Synopsis:

The only thing in Jersey Kinkaid’s world that she has time for are keeping her grades up so that she doesn’t lose her scholarship to South Texas University, playing the bass in her band, The Prototype, and satisfying her coffee addiction. Oh, and the occasional random hook-up she indulges in to pass the time.

Love? Eh, not so much. Save that crap for a Katherine Heigl or Natalie Portman movie.

Jersey’s seen enough in life (courtesy of her Pops) to realize that undying romance is nothing more than a myth used to sell books and movie tickets. As she knows too well, the only thing inevitable in life is death— love is definitely not promised.

That’s why when Jersey meets Isaiah “Zay” Broussard with his soulful gray eyes, quick wit and easy charm, she’s determined to remain aloof. She doesn't have time to get sidetracked by fleeting fantasies, even if she does feel a connection to Zay she’s never experienced before.

But when his interest in her only seems to intensify, despite her attempts to brush him off, she gets to see a side of him and herself she didn’t expect, causing her to question her hard won philosophies on life, love and finding happiness.

My Review:

Happiness in Jersey by Jacinta Howard is one of those books that your heart just wasn’t prepared for. It just grabs you and doesn’t let go. For me, the tell-tale sign is that when I wake up in the morning, my first thoughts are about the main character in the book, Jersey. I was worried about her. How is she? What’s going to happen next? Yes, in other words, I was obsessed.

Jersey Kinkaid doesn’t believe in love. The only thing inevitable in life is death, she believes. She tries to make people believe she is tough. She is a sophomore at South Texas University on scholarship, works at Aroma coffee shop and plays bass in the band, Prototype. This has nothing to do with the story but it might be that I felt so much for this young girl because my Mom was a bass player during my growing up years. The music they played was quite different, of course, but I can totally understand the workings of a musician’s mind. My Dad was also a musician and my son currently is. Ok, now that that is out of the way, I want to tell you more about Jersey.

Jersey’s growing up years were not good. Her Dad is a drunk and over her lifetime has never shown her any kind of love or support. When things get tough and Jersey can’t stand the pressure inside her chest, she will have random hook-ups with guys for sex. Or turn to music. Music was her solace. But the night Isaiah “Zay” Broussard walked in during a Prototype rehearsal, with his gray sexy eyes, everything changed.

“I turned and looked at him, this guy I’d known for just a few weeks but seemed to innately understand me better than anyone ever had. The way he affected me was so thorough it was starting to overwhelm my hesitation, tear down my carefully constructed walls. I felt naked and exposed, and I was starting to not mind it. Part of me wanted him to know me.”

But Jersey did not believe in love. Feelings would inevitably change and she would end up getting hurt. She is determined not to let him in.

“Nothing good could come of this, of these feelings I was having for him.”

“It’s better to let it go, to let him go now because the truth is, if I don’t protect myself, then nobody else will.”

Zay has had pain in his past as well. He needed this change of location, this fresh start. And the first time he laid eyes on Jersey, he knew he needed her as well. Zay plays guitar and finds a place for himself in their band, Prototype. But as tensions grow between himself and Jersey, it definitely effects the other members. Can he convince Jersey to let down her walls?

“You!” he bellowed, throwing his hands up in frustration. “You’re my problem! You’re my solution! You’re my high; you’re my low! You’re my muse; you’re my pain! It’s you. Everything! Everything I do and think and breathe is you!”

The band, Prototype, is slowly gaining momentum, gaining a following. But at the same time, Jersey is struggling with herself. She is a young woman forced to grow up so much faster than she should have, forced to be independent, not wanting to rely on anyone but herself. My heart ached for her as she was forced to re-examine everything she believed and as I watched as she denied her heart the love being offered. Zay is so patient and loving. Can he convince her that love is worth taking a chance on? I hope you’ll read this wonderful book to find out.

My Rating:

ARC Review: The Long Way Home (Montana Born Homecoming #4)

The Long Way Home (Montana Born Homecoming #4) by Kathleen O'brien

Publisher: Tule, 2014

101 pages, kindle edition

Source: Netgalley

Genre: Romance

Sysnopsis:

At eighteen, Abby Foster had been the cutest little rich gal in Marietta, Montana. She could make boys do whatever she wanted—especially sweet, wild, penniless Joe Carlyle, who adored her. But a lot’s changed in the eight years since Abby broke Joe’s heart by marrying the rich guy her domineering father chose for her. Her father has died, and the “perfect” husband has bolted, taking all the money. More importantly, Abby’s grown up. She’s vowed to stop listening to other people and follow her own heart instead.

Right now, her heart tells her to return to Marietta. The wildfire she felt in Joe’s arms has haunted her, and, though she doesn’t expect forgiveness, she hopes maybe he, too, would enjoy a brief, no-strings affair. If they can share just the seventy-two hours of Homecoming weekend…well, maybe then they’ll both find it easier to forgive, forget, and move on.

But when she sees him, she realizes how naive that idea was. The years have changed Joe, too…and the passionate, powerful man he’s become isn’t someone she’ll ever forget. This time the heart she breaks may be her own.

My Review:

THE LONG WAY HOME is another opportunity to return to Marietta, Montana. This story is about second chance love. What made it special was it was about first love revisited…a chance to get it right. How many people have fantasized about that? You never really forget your first true love, do you? I think it has an impact because you are so young and innocent when it happens, and you believe it will last forever. Sometimes it does – and sometimes circumstances do not allow it to. That is what happened to Joe Carlyle and Abby Foster.

Joe was totally devastated when Abby agreed to marry an older man. She was only eighteen years old and they were in love. How could she do that? He KNEW she didn’t love Blaine Watts. She knew she didn’t either. Joe knew Abby’s father was to blame. Why didn’t she refuse to go through with it? If she really loved him, she would have.

Abby’s father was dying of cancer, and it was his dying wish to leave Abby in the hands of a good man who could take care of her in the same way that he had. He felt that Blain Watts was that man. Abby went along with it because she could not let her father down. He was dying. This is what he wanted. She HAD to do it. Thousands of dollars had been spent on the wedding. As badly as she wanted to back out, she just couldn’t do it. She knew that she was still in love with Joe, but he was a seventeen-year-old kid with nothing substantial to offer her other than his love. She must do what her father wants. It’s his dying wish.

Fast forward eight years. Abby is back in Marietta. She appears like a ghost during the fall homecoming festivities. Joe cannot believe she is actually there. Why? What does she want? He will NOT act happy to see her. He never really stopped loving Abby. He has tried to forget her and has moved forward with his life – dating almost every available woman in his area of the state. No one has really held his interest. He was engaged twice, but could never see it through. He has slowed down on the dating game and is focusing on the ranch and helping his mom with his younger brother Rafe, a seventeen-year-old, going through his “Carlyle Crazies” – a rite of passage for all the Carlyle boys. He absolutely will not get sucked into the drama that is Abby Foster Watts – no matter why she is back in town.

I loved this book. It was short, and sweet. The secondary characters were developed enough to benefit the story. They were true-to-life, with enough emotional intensity to make the story realistic and believable. THE LONG WAY HOME is well-written, nicely paced and holds your attention to the last page.

My Rating:

ARC Review: Home For Good

Home For Good by Terri Reed

Publisher: Tule, 2014

250 pages, kindle edition

Source: Netgalley

Genre: Romance

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

Joelle Winslow needs her cash share from the family ranch, and fast. But Matt Locke doesn't want to give it to her.

Being in Marietta over homecoming weekend makes her realize how much she's
missed the ranch... and Matt. Now it's decision time. Will following her
dream take Joelle far away from Montana or return her home for good?

My Review:

Joelle Winslow is home after a very long absence. She has been living in Manhattan, establishing herself as an up-and- coming jewelry designer. She returns home to Marietta because her father has had a heart attack. She does get there in time to see him. The last thing he tells her before he dies is that he wants her to follow her dreams. Joelle takes this to mean her dream of opening her own jewelry business with her partners in New York. This will require a lot of start-up money. Her father left half the ranch to her. She’ll have to sell it to come up with it.

Matt Locke was taken in by Carl Winslow after his parents were killed when he was twelve. Carl and his father had been friends, and since he’d never had a son of his own, he wanted to do this for his friend. Matt and Carl bond quickly, and Matt is grateful for a home and takes to ranch living and the horses, immediately. He wanted to learn everything there was to know about running a ranch and horse breeding. He felt he was at a place he belonged. Joelle had been living with her mother in California. When her mother remarried, she sent Joelle back to Montana to live with her father. When Joelle realized how close her father and Matt had become, she was jealous. The relationship between the two was strained and antagonistic. Now she is back – all grown up, out of college and ready to take the world by storm.


My Rating:

ARC Review: Sunset Rising (Sunset Rising #1)

Sunset Rising (Sunset Rising #1) by S.M. McEachern

Publisher: Clownfish, 2012

325 pages, kidnle edition

Source: Netgalley

Genre: Young Adult, Romance

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

February 2024: Desperate to find refuge from the nuclear storm, a group of civilians discover a secret government bio-dome. Greeted by a hail of bullets and told to turn back, the frantic refugees stand their ground and are grudgingly permitted entry. But the price of admission is high.

283 years later… Sunny O'Donnell is a seventeen-year-old slave who has never seen the sun. She was born in the Pit, a subterranean extension of the bio-dome. Though life had never been easy, lately it had become a nightmare. Her mom was killed in the annual Cull, and her dad thought it was a good time to give up on life. Reyes Crowe, her long-time boyfriend, was pressuring her to get married, even though it would mean abandoning her father.

She didn't think things could get any worse until she was forced upstairs to the Dome to be a servant-girl at a bachelor party. That's where she met Leisel Holt, the president's daughter, and her fiancé, Jack Kenner.

Now Sunny is wanted for treason. If they catch her, she'll be executed.

She thought Leisel's betrayal was the end. But it was just the beginning.

My Review:

This book is what I call "dystopian candy", though it has some dark moments and the subject matter is serious, it is a quick and easy read (only took me a few days). It is YA, yet miraculously this author managed to avoid using the "insta-love" that is so common in YA with romance. I for one dislike insta-love so really appreciated reading a different approach for a change.

These days, with To Read lists longer than Santa's Naughty list, for someone like me who prefers new experiences, doesn't rewatch or reread much, it is difficult to commit to a series rather than just read the first one only. Oftentimes I read the first one, like it, but don't feel compelled to read more.

In this case, I actually want to read more of the story. Book one has a moment where it seems like it will end with a little closure, but then you're hit with a cliffhanger. I guess that means you get both. I always have a twinge of annoyance with cliffhangers, but in this case it is mitigated by the fact that is follows at least some closure, and the cliffhanger was interesting enough to make me really curious.


My Rating:

ARC Review: Catch Me When I Fall (Dreamcatcher #1)

Catch Me When I fall by Vicki Leigh

Publisher: Curiosity Quills Press, 2014
204 pages, paperback
Source: Netgalley

Synopsis (from Goodreads):
Recruited at his death to be a Protector of the Night, seventeen-year-old Daniel Graham has spent two-hundred years fighting Nightmares and guarding humans from the clawed, red-eyed creatures that feed off people’s fears. Each night, he risks his eternal life, having given up his chance at an afterlife when he chose to become a Protector. That doesn’t stop a burnt-out Daniel from risking daring maneuvers during each battle. He’s become one of the best, but he wants nothing more than to stop.

Then he’s given an assignment to watch over sixteen-year-old Kayla Bartlett, a clinically depressed patient in a psychiatric ward. Nightmares love a human with a tortured past. Yet, when they take a deep interest in her, appearing in unprecedented numbers, the job becomes more dangerous than any Daniel’s ever experienced. He fights ruthlessly to keep the Nightmares from overwhelming his team and Kayla. Soon, Daniel finds himself watching over Kayla during the day, drawn to why she’s different, and what it is about her that attracts the Nightmares. And him.

A vicious attack on Kayla forces Daniel to break the first Law and reveal his identity. Driven by his growing feelings for her, he whisks her away to Rome where others like him can keep her safe. Under their roof, the Protectors discover what Kayla is and why someone who can manipulate Nightmares has her in his sights. But before they can make a move, the Protectors are betrayed and Kayla is kidnapped. Daniel will stop at nothing to save her. Even if it means giving up his immortality.

My Review:
Catch Me When I fall is narrated by Daniel, a 17 year old boy, but he is not a normal 17 year old boy, he died in 1827. For the past 200 years, Daniel has been spending his nights in battles, as a Dreamcatcher, and that means Daniel fights off nightmares from digging into human’s dreams. No, he is not a ghost, he has been given a second life and he can still die and he would just end up in a black void, cease to exist. Daniel has grown a bit tired of fighting these nightmares, he is too burnt out, but things change when he is given a new charge after his current charge passes away.

Kalya is a depressed 16 year old who resides in a mental ward, and this is Daniel’s new charge! There’s something about Kalya that drew Daniel to her and he has never felt this way about anyone before and the nightmares seem to love her too. Daniel will stop at nothing to figure out why the nightmares love her so much and will do anything to protect her, including reveling himself to her.
This was a great book about good vs evil, both Dreamcatchers and Dreamwears would work together to stop the nightmares. I loved how the nightmares were played like a movie as the dreams were, but instead they were creatures. An example of what a nightmare could look like is; a scaly humanoid body, red eyes, and point claws, but all nightmares looked differently.

The story line wasn’t predicable either; there were so many different twists that kept the read interesting! The story also painted a great picture and made me use my imagination, which I love to do!


My Rating:

Friday Finds #8

This is a meme hosted by Should Be Reading. What yah do is post up books that you discovered through bookstores, friends, goodreads etc, whichever way you discovered them. But only post up the books you discovered during that Friday week only.

Book I found this week:

Title: Me Before You

Author: Jojo Moyes

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

Lou Clark knows lots of things. She knows how many footsteps there are between the bus stop and home. She knows she likes working in The Buttered Bun tea shop and she knows she might not love her boyfriend Patrick.

What Lou doesn't know is she's about to lose her job or that knowing what's coming is what keeps her sane.

Will Traynor knows his motorcycle accident took away his desire to live. He knows everything feels very small and rather joyless now and he knows exactly how he's going to put a stop to that.

What Will doesn't know is that Lou is about to burst into his world in a riot of colour. And neither of them knows they're going to change the other for all time.

Waiting on Wednesday #8

This is a weekly event posted by Breaking The Spine where bloggers spotlight up coming releases that they are eagerly anticipating.

Hold Me Like A Breath
by Tiffany schmidt

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

Penelope Landlow has grown up with the knowledge that almost anything can be bought or sold - Including body parts. She's the daughter of one of the three crime families that control the black market for organ transplants.

Penelope's surrounded by all the suffocating privilege and protection her family can provide, but they can't protect her from the autoimmune disorder that causes her to bruise so easily.

And in her family's line of work no one can be safe forever.

All Penelope has ever wanted is freedom and independence. But when she's caught in the crossfire as rival families scramble for prominence, she learns that her wishes come with casualties, that betrayal hurts worse than bruises, that love is a risk worth taking ... and maybe she's not as fragile as everyone thinks.

Release Date: 19th May 2015

Series: Once Upon a Crime Family #1

Publisher:  Bloomsbury

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Thriller, Contemporary

Link: Goodreads

"This book!!!!!! This book looks and sounds amazing might just be the most eagerly anticipated book for 2015, I would do manly things just have this in my hands right now!!!!! Please give it to me!!!!"