Tangled (Tangled #1)

 Goodreads Summary
Drew Evans is a winner. Handsome and arrogant, he makes multimillion dollar business deals and seduces New York’s most beautiful women with just a smile. He has loyal friends and an indulgent family. So why has he been shuttered in his apartment for seven days, miserable and depressed?

He’ll tell you he has the flu.

But we all know that’s not really true.

Katherine Brooks is brilliant, beautiful and ambitious. She refuses to let anything - or anyone - derail her path to success. When Kate is hired as the new associate at Drew’s father’s investment banking firm, every aspect of the dashing playboy’s life is thrown into a tailspin. The professional competition she brings is unnerving, his attraction to her is distracting, his failure to entice her into his bed is exasperating.

Then, just when Drew is on the cusp of having everything he wants, his overblown confidence threatens to ruin it all. Will he be able untangle his feelings of lust and tenderness, frustration and fulfillment? Will he rise to the most important challenge of his life?

Can Drew Evans win at love?

Tangled is not your mother’s romance novel. It is an outrageous, passionate, witty narrative about a man who knows a lot about women…just not as much as he thinks he knows. As he tells his story, Drew learns the one thing he never wanted in life, is the only thing he can’t live without.

My Thoughts
I didn't expect to like this, but I did. Drew is an asshole. He is a spoiled brat who has always gotten what and who he wanted...until Kate. She is smart, sexy, and keeps him on his toes. She challenges him like no one else and they drive each other crazy. Their chemistry is intense and I loved it. 

I loved how this story was told. I could literally picture the book taking place in front of my eyes. It reminded me of the movie Alfie a little (the Jude Law version). Drew talks right to you. He interrupts the story to explain his point of view and share little tidbits. My favourite was how he explained why men sleep around.

Maybe you’ll understand my point of view if I put it this way. You brush your teeth, right? Well, suppose your favorite toothpaste is Aquafresh. But the store is out. All they have is Colgate. What are you going to do? You’re going to use the Colgate, right?You may want to brush with Aquafresh, but when all is said and done, you use what you have to keep those pearly whites clean. See my way of thinking? Good.

Horrible, but hilarious!

This book was extremely sexy, funny, and charming.  Can't wait to read what happens next.

  edit: changed my mind and will not be continuing with the series.

Crazy Love

Goodreads Summary
After dropping out of law school, Sam Beaumont fears coming home will either be like sucking poison out of snakebite or drowning in a bathtub of gin. He dreads the whirlwind of being a blue-blood in Savannah, and between his mother and his brother a peaceful existence is out of the question.

Miles away from her ugly past, Annie Clarke is thriving in pharmacy school. Uncomfortable with her own success, she begins to fall back to her self-sabotaging ways.

Then along comes Trip Beaumont, a hot, edgy artist. Every instinct in her says run, which only makes him that much more tempting. The day she finally agrees to go out with him, his younger brother, Sam, shows up. Sam’s first words about Trip chill her: “Don’t be fooled by the act. Prince Charming is a toxic monster.”

Annie soon sees that Sam’s callous exterior is a direct result of coping with a family as dysfunctional as her own. Could love shield them both from spiraling into madness, or will their crazy worlds collide like renegade storm fronts leaving devastation and destruction in their wake?

My Thoughts
This book was all over the place. I wish it had focused on Annie and Sam's different childhoods and then their love story, but it was all over the map. It didn't delve into any area enough.  

The characters were okay. Sam, Trip, and Annie were pretty well developed, but I didn't find myself interested in anyone else. The triangle...errr square bugged me. Plus Sam and Annie went from hating each other to being in love far too quickly. I don't know it just seemed like the good parts were skipped over and the boring parts were drawn out. Not my favourite read. 

Easy (Contours of the Heart #1)

Goodreads Summary

Rescued by a stranger.
Haunted by a secret
Sometimes, love isn’t easy…

He watched her, but never knew her. Until thanks to a chance encounter, he became her savior…

The attraction between them was undeniable. Yet the past he’d worked so hard to overcome, and the future she’d put so much faith in, threatened to tear them apart.

Only together could they fight the pain and guilt, face the truth—and find the unexpected power of love.

A groundbreaking novel in the New Adult genre, Easy faces one girl's struggle to regain the trust she's lost, find the inner strength to fight back against an attacker, and accept the peace she finds in the arms of a secretive boy.

What I Thought The Second Time Around 
I am so glad I loved this book just as much the second time around!  (read originally in December of 2012)

This book isn't at all what the description says it is. The truth?  Jacqueline finds herself depressed due to a break up and dragged to a frat party. When she decides to head home early, she is attacked. That night she meets a guy she never noticed on campus before, but she's glad he was there that night. Meanwhile, in the process of grieving over her relationship, she starts skipping her econ class and needs a tutor. She begins emaling with the her econ TA and finds that she likes him. Landon is smart and sweet. Her friends however want her to hook up with the mysterious Lucas that appeared that night. He's sexy and not at all like her ex. What's a girl to do. 

I loved this book because Jacqueline goes through a traumatic experience and grows from it. Without giving too much away, I will say she learns to heal throughout the book. I really admire her in the end. Not to mention, Lucas is one of my favourite book boyfriends. 

I hope I didn't give too much away in my book description, but I just hate the one given. Check this book out! The companion novel comes out May 6th, so get reading. :)

Heir of Fire (Throne of Glass #3) Cover

Heir of Fire has a cover!!

I love this cover so much! It will look awesome on my book shelf next to the other two.
 


  I can't wait to get my copy September 2nd!

The Rules for Disappearing (Rules for Disappearing #1)

Goodreads Summary
She’s been six different people in six different places: Madeline in Ohio, Isabelle in Missouri, Olivia in Kentucky . . . But now that she’s been transplanted to rural Louisiana, she has decided that this fake identity will be her last.

Witness Protection has taken nearly everything from her. But for now, they’ve given her a new name, Megan Rose Jones, and a horrible hair color. For the past eight months, Meg has begged her father to answer one question: What on earth did he do – or see – that landed them in this god-awful mess? Meg has just about had it with all the Suits’ rules — and her dad’s silence. If he won’t help, it’s time she got some answers for herself.

But Meg isn’t counting on Ethan Landry, an adorable Louisiana farm boy who’s too smart for his own good. He knows Meg is hiding something big. And it just might get both of them killed. As they embark on a perilous journey to free her family once and for all, Meg discovers that there’s only one rule that really matters — survival.

Here's What I Thought About This One 
I am so glad I FINALLY got my hands on this book! I have wanted to read this for about a year now. Every time I went to the bookstore it wasn't there and the Kobo price was ridiculous. I saw it in March and just knew it had to be mine. 

I loved the concept of this book. Being stuck in Witness Protection seems difficult as is, but being a teenage girl stuck in Witness Protecting would be a whole different ballgame. Adolescence is all about making friends and connecting with people, but when you can't reveal your true self to people, it must be really lonely. "Meg" knew that she couldn't really get close to anyone because she could put them in danger. 

I really liked the characters in this book. Meg (we'll call her Meg even though that isn't her real name) isn't a typical high school student. She is taking care of her little sister, her alcoholic mom, and trying to figure out what her dad did to get them in this mess. She's hardened by her time in Witness Protection. She decides that on this sixth placement she isn't going to befriend anyone; it is too hard leaving people behind. The plan is shot to hell when she meets Ethan. I loved how intuitive he was. He picked up on the fact that she was different. She wasn't just quirky. She was jumpy and nervous at times, but also really strong. He grew close to her little sister and gained facts about her life. Meg intrigued him and he didn't want to loose her. Teeny was a sweetheart and I liked how believable her regression was.

The hog scene was hilarious until is was tragic. 

I did see the two twists coming, but I don't think many people will. I just watch too much suspenseful television to not see these things coming. Despite knowing the twists in advance, the story was still really interesting. I couldn't put it down.   I definitely recommend this book!

What I Thought Was True

Goodreads Summary 
From the author of My Life Next Door comes a swoony summertime romance full of expectation and regret, humor and hard questions.

Gwen Castle's Biggest Mistake Ever, Cassidy Somers, is slumming it as a yard boy on her Nantucket-esque island this summer. He's a rich kid from across the bridge in Stony Bay, and she hails from a family of fishermen and housecleaners who keep the island's summer people happy. Gwen worries a life of cleaning houses will be her fate too, but just when it looks like she'll never escape her past—or the island—Gwen's dad gives her some shocking advice. Sparks fly and secret histories unspool as Gwen spends a gorgeous, restless summer struggling to resolve what she thought was true—about the place she lives, the people she loves, and even herself—with what really is.

My Thoughts
This was one of the two books I hauled in April. I bought it because I had read My Life Next Door a few years ago and could not have loved that book more. (I wish I had written an actual review for that one, but alas I did not.) This one was a little bit of a disappointment. 

This book was not at all what I expected. It's not that the book was bad...it wasn't. It just wasn't for me. I couldn't connect with Gwen. We are SO different. I'm more like her best friend Viv or Gwen's mom. I can't really explain why we are so different. Maybe because she was all about action and I am more inclined to be at home with a book. Not sure.

I didn't really like Cass either. He did something in the past that Gwen can't understand or forgive him for. He explains himself and spoiler she forgives him, but I didn't. His explanation just seemed like a cop-out to me. I liked him in the second half of the book. He was sweet with her little brother, Emory, but I'm not sure that made up for everything else. 

There was a twist at the end that I saw coming. There were so many hints dropped that I just knew s*** was going to hit the fan. I hate to say it, but I wish I hadn't purchased this one.

 

Price Of A Kiss

Goodreads Summary 

I don’t care what my cousin says; I am not the queen of impossible relationships. I mean, just because my last boyfriend tried to kill me and left a bit of a scar on my neck, then forced me to move across the country and legally change my name to Reese Randall to escape him, does not mean—

Oh, who am I kidding? For a freshman in college, I have to have the worst dating track record ever.

It’s no wonder love is the last thing on my mind when Mason Lowe enters my life. But the chemistry between us is like bam! Our connection defies logic. And he’s just so freaking hot. Being around him makes me feel more alive than I’ve ever felt before. I even like bickering with him. He could be my soul mate...except for one teeny tiny glitch.

He's a gigolo.

Boy, do I know how to pick them.

 My Thoughts
When I first read the description for this book I just about died laughing. I am so glad that I have girlfriends that told me to read it anyway. Thanks ladies! 

This book was $1.09 on Kobo. If the summary wasn't incentive enough, the price was. I would have paid a lot more for this story.
        ...Sorry I was just distracted my the neck and shoulder of the guy on the book cover. 

I enjoyed every aspect of this book. It was sexy, but there was so insta-love. The chemistry between these two was crazy intense. I was just waiting for one of them to fold and admit how they felt the entire time. I loved that Reese was damaged, but wasn't weak. She was trying her best to move on from what her ex did to her and was doing a good job of it. Mason. Well Mason was sexy as hell. I wish we didn't meet him in the prologue though because although it made me feel bad for him, I think I would have preferred it if we learned everything as Reese did.  I liked that he wasn't perfect though. He was a genuinely good person, but no one could see past his job. I would like to think that I would have been able to see past it, but who knows. 

This book was sexy, smart, gut wrenching at times, and funny. I thoroughly enjoyed it and I think you would too.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone (Daughter of Smoke and Bone #1)

Goodreads Summary 
Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil's supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she's prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages--not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she's about to find out.

When one of the strangers--beautiful, haunted Akiva--fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

What Did I Think?
I have heard from people that this is their favourite book ever. I did not agree. 

 For the first part of the book, I was confused. The names were difficult to pronounce, the plot didn't seem to be going anywhere, and Karou's job was impossible to understand. The world confused me. The middle of the book we meet Akiva and I was intrigued. I wish this part of the book lasted a little longer. Then it was as if we were thrown into a different book all together. I liked the new book, but was confused why I was there. It felt out of place and very disconnected to the rest of the story. I get why it was done, but it threw me nonetheless. 

I liked the relationship between Karou and Akiva as well as Akiva's relationship with Madrigal, but that was about it. As I'm sure you can guess, I will not be continuing with the series. 

April Book Haul

I want to start by saying that you shouldn't expect a book haul from me every month. I cannot afford to buy books monthly. April just happened to have 2 books that I really wanted released on the same day and I couldn't resist.

When I read Huntley Fitzpatrick's My Life Next Door I fell in love with her writing style. I knew I had to read more from her. When What I Thought Was True was revealed I knew I had to have it.

The Geography of You and Me caught my attention after I read This Is What Happy Looks Like and The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight. These two really good contemporary books by the same author made me want to read more.

Reviews will be posted (like always) soon.

<3

Maybe Someday

Goodreads Summary 
At twenty-two years old, aspiring musician Sydney Blake has a great life: She’s in college, working a steady job, in love with her wonderful boyfriend, Hunter, and rooming with her good friend, Tori. But everything changes when she discovers Hunter cheating on her with Tori—and she is left trying to decide what to do next.

Sydney becomes captivated by her mysterious neighbor, Ridge Lawson. She can’t take her eyes off him or stop listening to the daily guitar playing he does out on his balcony. She can feel the harmony and vibrations in his music. And there’s something about Sydney that Ridge can’t ignore, either: He seems to have finally found his muse. When their inevitable encounter happens, they soon find themselves needing each other in more ways than one…

My Thoughts
I am currently sitting on my bed with tears in my eyes because of this book. The Goodreads summary does not do it justice. I thought I was safe to read this. I was so wrong. This book was an emotional roller coaster that left me confused, angry, and completely torn. 

I am so glad that the book description doesn't give away the big reveal. It happens really early on and is an integral part of the story. It also makes thing really interesting.

I loved the characters in this book. Sydney is awesome. I wanted to be her friend and she could have used a good girlfriend in this book. She's strong, but has been thrown far too many curveballs to remain whole.  Ridge is a mystery inside a gorgeous package. He's not just a typical musician. Warner is a sweetheart in a sleazeball's body. I wish we got to know Brennan a little more. The relationship between him and Ridge was interesting to hear about, but I wish we witnessed more interaction between the two. Maybe in a companion novel? ;)

There were times when I wanted to throw my e-reader at a wall because the characters were driving me crazy. There were moments where I had to physically clear the tears from my eyes in order to continue to see the page. This book wreaked havoc on my emotions, but that's what kept me reading. I knew that Ridge had to have his reasons for being so frustrating. I knew they had to be really good.  They were, but I still hated to love him. 

If you haven't read anything by Colleen Hoover yet, you should. You could start with Maybe Someday.

 

The Unbound (The Archived #2)

Goodreads Summary 
Imagine a place where the dead rest on shelves like books. Each body has a story to tell, a life seen in pictures that only Librarians can read. The dead are called Histories, and the vast realm in which they rest is the Archive.

 Last summer, Mackenzie Bishop, a Keeper tasked with stopping violent Histories from escaping the Archive, almost lost her life to one. Now, as she starts her junior year at Hyde School, she's struggling to get her life back. But moving on isn't easy -- not when her dreams are haunted by what happened. She knows the past is past, knows it cannot hurt her, but it feels so real, and when her nightmares begin to creep into her waking hours, she starts to wonder if she's really safe.

Meanwhile, people are vanishing without a trace, and the only thing they seem to have in common is Mackenzie. She's sure the Archive knows more than they are letting on, but before she can prove it, she becomes the prime suspect. And unless Mac can track down the real culprit, she'll lose everything, not only her role as Keeper, but her memories, and even her life. Can Mackenzie untangle the mystery before she herself unravels?

With stunning prose and a captivating mixture of action, romance, and horror, The Unbound delves into a richly imagined world where no choice is easy and love and loss feel like two sides of the same coin.

My Thoughts
I read The Archived back in January and you can read about my thoughts here.

The Unbound picks up a few weeks after The Archived ends and already Mackenzie has a lot to deal with. She has her job as a Keeper, she has to appease her parents, be a high school student, and deal with terrible nightmares. This poor girl can't catch a break.

I can't tell you how much I loved this book. I loved it more than the first one. I found myself questioning decisions Mac made, but then putting myself in her shoes realized that she probably made the right choice. I would have gotten myself killed...or worse. She's so smart and brave in this book that I can't help but be proud of her.  I think Da would be too.

Summer ends and Mackenzie has to go to a new high school and with school comes a whole group of new characters. Cash is a guy you can see her with. He's sweet and funny; he just isn't Wes. Cash's sister is a bit of a bitch. I'm sure she has her reasons (I think she's in love with Wes), but she just didn't give Mac a chance. Amber quickly becomes an ally for Mac and I'm glad she had a girlfriend again. Lastly there's Gavin. He reminds her of her kid brother Ben. I loved these kids. They were a great group that you just want to be friends with...even if you finished high school many many years ago.

The Unbound keeps you on your toes. It keeps you interested. I hope Victoria Schwab gets the chance to write a third book because I am really interested in what else this world has to offer.

Red at Night

Goodreads Summary 
In Red at Night, Stella and Jonah are total opposites. She's the girl with purple hair from the wrong part of town. He's a high school senior who hangs with the cool crowd. Until a car accident leaves him haunted by guilt, and Jonah starts spending time at Stella's favorite refuge…the local cemetery.

Stella knows she should keep her distance—after all, she spent her girlhood being bullied by Jonah's friends. Once he's sorted out his tangled emotions, Jonah won't have time for her anymore. Too bad she's already fallen for him.

What Did I Think of This Book?
This book is a part of a Harlequin series about remarkable women. You can find more information about the Harlequin series, their charity work, and the other stories at HarlequinMoreThanWords.com. 

I really really liked this short read. Some days a girl just wants a quick, sweet story to brighten her mood and this definitely qualifies. Red at Night is a rich meets poor story it isn't like some of the generic stories out there. Katie McGarry has a knack for writing characters that you can connect with no matter where you come from.  She seems to get the complexities of being a teenagers as well as being from two different worlds. Plus I loved the idea of these two meeting at a cemetery; it's a brilliant meet cute if you ask me.