Saturday, March 7, 2015

ARC Review: Two Bar Mitzvahs (No Weddings #3)

Two Bar Mitzvahs (No Weddings #3) by Kat and Stone Bastion

Publisher: Kat and Stone Bastion, 2014
253 pages, kindle edition
Source: Netgalley
Release Date: October 20th 2014
Genre: New Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Humor
Links: Goodreads | Amazon US | Amazon AU | Amazon UK  

Synopsis (from Goodreads):
Summer heats up in this third book in the No Weddings Series, where Cade Michaelson strives to balance his and Hannah Martin’s new relationship with the growing demands of his financial success.

Waiting for Hannah has been the best and worst kind of torture. Now I can claim her as mine. We believe we’re done with the past and can move forward together.

Hannah grows stronger than ever as she trusts in me—trusts in us. And when obstacles appear, she shows a surprising fierceness that rivals my own.

However, all is not perfect in paradise. Things get chaotic while I try to juggle multiple businesses, an ex from hell, and a girlfriend I’d do anything to keep. And in the middle of the whirlwind, I recklessly think I can handle everything.

But when all the madness is over, will I have everything I want—will I still have Hannah?


My Review:
I like this conflict between Hannah and Cade in this third edition of the series, the way it seemed as though Cade’s voice caressed Hannah’s name. Even the way Hannah’s spine straightened and she fought for their relationship. But what I liked the most about this couple, in Two Bar Mitzvahs was watching them grow closer. Cade’s perception connects a little more with me in this book. (I read the series backwards and way out of order).

Hannah continues to recover from the breakup with her dick head ex and the run in she had with him prior. But I think she is doing a wonderful job of moving forward in her life, she seems to have her life and things together, and really does drive that loving connection between all couples. But just like real life sometimes one person is doing all the relationship maintenance, and sometimes it shifts to the other person. That is what being in a real loving relationship is all about.

Cade deals with his past when it walks up to him and steers him in the face. Only she is a total psycho path, im not entirely sure what cade bloody saw in her when he first met her, but I am glad Hanna trusted in him and their relationship enough to believe Cade – even though things did not appear that way – but I also liked the way Cade continued to be a take the reins kind of guy when he knew he would have to deal with his ex. What I did not like was how Cade gave up in one part of the book.


My Rating:

ARC Review: Southern Perfection

Southern Perfection by Casey Peeler

Publisher: The Hype PR, 2015
212 pages, kindle edition
Source: Netgalley
Release Date: January 13th 2015
Genre: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary
Links: Goodreads | Amazon US | Amazon AU | Amazon UK

Synopsis (from Goodreads):
Life is full of choices: good, bad, and ones you can’t control.

Raegan strives to be perfect in every way. Varsity cheerleader, honor student, and proud granddaughter of Dover Lowery. By day, Raegan is an over-achieving high school student, but at three o’clock, her real work begins.

What happens when appearances are not what they seem? Will Raegan be able to hold on to her life as she knows it, or will she be left all alone? All of these questions are answered with one night, one song, one story, and one boy.

My Review:
This has become one of my favs for 2015, but I think it will be pretty difficult for another book to top this book (just waiting on all my favorite authors to release their new books and we will go from there). Without spoiling anything from this book. From the first page until the end you trapped in there book everything around you has come second and nothing is important for a while, for authors who can do that has become a winner in my book.

For loving this book so much I am not going to say that this book is for everyone but give it a shot before you judge a book by its cover. If you love a sweet New Adult read that has parts that can get you to cry your heart and eyeballs out then I would say this book is for you. Also if you like books that take you on a bloody emotional rollercoaster then here it is this book is it. But for me while this story started out as sweet for a New Adult love story when coming up to the ending it becomes much more. I loved that the heroine of the story was a strong female lead character who instead of relying on everyone else to handle it all tried to fix and take care of everything her own self.

My Rating:

ARC Review: At Bluebonnet Lake (Texas Crossroads #1)

At Bluebonnet Lake (Texas Crossroads #1) by Amanda Cabot

Publisher: Fleming H. Revell Company, 2014
384 pages, kindle edition
Source: Netgalley
Release Date: October 14th 2014
Genre: New Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Fiction, Chick-Lit
Links: Goodreads | Amazon US | Amazon AU | Amazon UK

Synopsis (from Goodreads):
Marketing maven Kate Sherwood's world is fast-paced, challenging, and always changing. The last thing she wants to do is slow down to a crawl at Rainbow's End, a dilapidated resort in the Texas Hill Country. But she cannot deny her ailing grandmother's request to visit the place where she and her deceased husband spent one glorious week (albeit fifty years ago). There Kate meets Greg Vange, the resort's handyman. But there's more to Greg than meets the eye--billions more, in fact, as he recently sold his successful software company and is at the resort in search of what's next for his life.

Kate isn't looking for romance, but she can't deny the sparks of attraction that fly every time she and Greg are together. She even starts to see potential in the rundown resort. Could there be a future there? Or will Kate's long-sought promotion take her back to the big city?

Amanda Cabot invites readers to step away from the pressures of the daily grind. They might be surprised by what they find at Rainbow's End.

My Review:
This is the first book that I have read of Amanda Cabot and after this book I will continue to follow her, she is such a wonderful writer, she creates her characters that stay with you for a very long time after you have finished reading about them. I felt as if I was in the pages with Kate and Greg (who are our main characters). They are both at a crossroads in their lives just like the rest of us when we get to that point in our lives. Kate’s journey to Rainbow’s End it is the resort she is visiting with her grandmother, was just what both she and Greg needed. Their attraction to each other is immediate and very constant and you will rooting them on from the sidelines from the very first page turner.

Rainbow’s End was a very exciting place for me and I’m sure for everyone else who read the book to venture in the short amount of time reading the book. Kate is not the biggest fan of Rainbow’s End when she first arrives with her grandmother, but she is soon going to realises that she is on journey and was headed down the wrong path until her trip there. I liked watching Kate but most of all coming to realise how much her own life had changed, the main characters soon found how much of a connection they did truly share. There attraction and romance is not rushed or even forced but I can really appreciate that from all authors.

My Rating:

Thursday, March 5, 2015

New Release: March 2015

New Releases of March 2015

This idea came from Xpresso Reads - But to write it as a monthly release format is Rachel's Reading Corner idea. So Im just going to get into.

These are the March 2015 New Releases:

Contemporary/Romance




Fantasy/Paranormal



Mystery/Thriller


Dystopia

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

ARC Review: Mary Hades (Mary Hades #1)

22455005Mary Hades (Mary Hades
 #1) by Sarah Dalton

Publisher: CreateSpace, 2014
288 pages, kindle edition
Source: Netgalley
Release Date: April 30th 2014
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal, Horror, Romance, Thriller, Mystery, Supernatural
Links: Goodreads | Amazon US | Amazon AU | Amazon UK

Synopsis (from Goodreads):
Not many seventeen year old girls have a best friend who’s a ghost, but then Mary Hades isn’t your average teenager.

Scarred physically and mentally from a fire, her parents decide a holiday to an idyllic village in North Yorkshire will help her recover. Nestled in the middle of five moors, Mary expects to have a boring week stuck in a caravan with her parents. Little does she know, evil lurks in the campsite…

Seth Lockwood—a local fairground worker with a dark secret—might be the key to uncovering the murky history that has blighted Nettleby. But Mary is drawn to him in a way that has her questioning her judgement.

Helped by her dead best friend and a quirky gay Goth couple, Mary must stop the unusual deaths occurring in Nettleby. But can she prevent her heart from being broken?

The first in a series of dark YA novels, Mary Hades follows on from the bestselling Kindle Single 'My Daylight Monsters'. A spine-tingling tale with romance, readers will be shocked and entertained in equal measure.

With some scenes of horror and some strong language, this book is best suited for readers aged fifteen and up.


My Review:
Mary Hadess really caught my eye because of the cover, I know we ain't meant to judge things by the way they look but this book caught my eye because of it. The cover was enough to catch my attention it is enough time to read the synopsis. I love Young Adult  and a really good Thriller,  but most times when reading ghost stories they seem to become victims of a bland plotting, not so great writing or stupid cliches. Yet Mrs Dalton hits all the right spots and hit the ball out of the park for a home run.

This book is a medium length read, on my kindle it says 288 pages, making this book a great companion for the car rides or a day out at the beach. Mary Heads follows an English teenager Mary who can see ghosts, on a week-long holiday with her parents and dead bestie, Lacey to a small town/village named Nettleby in North Yorkshire, England. Nestled between five moors Mary and Lacey stumble onto strange deaths and the ghost of a murdered girl hell bent on getting revenge on her killer, but together with new, living friends they must figure out who killed the girl before she claims yet another life, and there is a bit of a romance thrown in  there.

I am seriously really glad i read this novel. it is well written, set and paced just right and does not contain any plot holes. I like that it is set in England and read the whole thing with an in my head (Rihanna's accent even though i know she ain't from England). The characters were real and relatable, I could not stop laughing at how accurate Ms. Sarah Dalton pegged Mary's parents. I am already hoping with the next novel in the series is just as good. If you love paranormal,Young Adult then this book is for you, Grab it now you won't be sorry you made the right choice.

My Rating:

ARC Review: Green

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Green by Keith C. Clark 

Publisher: CreateSpace Publishing, 2014
428 pages, paperback
Source: Netgalley
Release Date:  March 18th 2014
Genre: Adult, Friendship
Links: Goodreads | Amazon US | Amazon AU | Amazon UK

     
Synopsis (from Amazon US):
Green follows its African American hero, Wish Fitzgerald, through parts of five decades as he struggles against bigotry, tragedy and more to achieve his improbable dream of playing in the storied Masters golf tournament. Woven into Wish's journey is his on-again, off-again friendship with wealthy white county club scion Jackson Spears. The unusual friendship that begins as teenagers ultimately changes both boys forever. This is a story about how racism begets racism, about a hero who is hard to love but easy to root for, about the often immense challenges and great rewards of friendship across racial and socio-economic lines and especially about not giving up on your dreams.

My Review:
When Aloysius Wish Fitzgerald and Jackson Spears meet in 1969 they form an unlikely friendship. Wish is poor and black and Jackson is wealthy and white, they being to bond over golf, Wish is obsessed with sports and Jackson’s overbearing father hopes his son will able to master it. Wish words a caddy to stay close to the game at one time or another when most golf courses wouldn’t allow black players due to the racism of most people like Jackson’s father. Wish helps Jackson not only with his game but also with his confidence. It is a favor that Jackson repays later in life as the narrative moves through roughly four decades of family, business and sports struggles and triumphs.

Race and racism is a recurring thing, but it is never an issue between any of the books primary characters, Jackson’s father is a bit of cartoonish dick head (sorry for the language). They are on the fringe as Wish pursues his dream of becoming a professional golfer, as the narrative tension refreshingly comes from the character chasing their own dreams or from their refusal to let go of their own stubborn and stupid notions. But on one hand the stories moral lesson is at times as character relinquish those same stubborn notions after some quick dialogue and reflection, race is a difficult and self-reliant and even though each decade presents them with their own challenges their lives just never seem in danger of going off course and getting out of control.

But even so it is easy to root for wish and this fact keeps the story from moving along. The golf jargon may get a bit thick for most non-golfers at one time or another it is necessary to the action and detailed enough to please most golfing fans.


My Rating:

Tuesday, March 3, 2015