Category Archives: 3 hearts

Audiobook Review: Chasing Spring by R.S. Grey

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Chasing Spring by R.S. Grey

Chasing Spring by R.S. Grey
Series: Standalone
Audiobook Publication Date: June 7th 2016
Length: 6 hours and 16 minutes
Narrated by: Alia Tavakolian, Ricco Fajardo, Jeannie Tirado
Links: Audible • Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
Source: I received an audiobook in exchange for an honest review

I thought I’d left Blackwater, Texas behind for good. I didn’t belong in the small town, but my dad wouldn’t listen. He dragged me back home in his beat-up truck and dropped a bomb along the way: Chase Matthews was moving in with us. He was the golden boy of my high school, my former best friend, and the last person I wanted sleeping across the hall. His presence was too great a reminder of the ghosts I was trying to forget.

I didn’t ask for a hero. I don’t want to be saved.

To me, Lilah Calloway meant late nights sneakin’ out, moonlit hair, and sparklers in July. She was my best friend until the day she left and I’d assumed Blackwater had seen the last of her. Then, like a tempest, she rolled back into town for the final half of senior year. The chopped hair and dark devil-may-care attitude warned most people away, but I knew if I fought hard enough, I could find the lost girl.

I didn’t want to be her hero. Some girls don’t need to be saved.

I’m a big fan of R.S. Grey’s rom-coms, but I knew going into Chasing Spring it would be a little different from what the author normally writes. It’s a YA book, not new adult, and it’s much more serious that her usual fun and flirty books. I wish I could say I loved Chasing Spring as much as I loved her previous books, but the execution of the story just wasn’t up to par. I really enjoyed listening to the three narrators, but the story wasn’t cohesive enough for me to truly appreciate the narration. I do applaud the author for venturing out of her normal genre, and wouldn’t mind giving a try at another of her YAs.

Lilah Calloway and Chase Matthews used to be childhood best friends before tragedy tore them apart. They haven’t seen each other for years, but Lilah has finally come home for their senior year of high school, but she’s not the same girl she used to be. She’s dyed her hair black, turned a little emo and grunge… she’s a bit of a mess and not at all happy. Chase is his usual shining, star athlete self… except looks can be deceiving. Chase’s mother is dead and his father is an alcoholic – but Lilah’s father offers him a place to stay in his home. Once again, Chase and Lilah will be together again, but not as close friends anymore.

Here we have coming-of-age YA, as Lilah struggles to deal with her problems and Chase trying to help her while saving himself. The romance between them kind of went on the backburner, which is a shame because if the author had fleshed out the love between Lilah and Chase more, it would’ve been so sweet and heartwarming. But the main focus was on Lilah’s problems, especially with drug and alcohol abuse. It was a little tiring and boring as I listened to Lilah NOT deal with her problems even though she wanted to, and Chase trying and failing to help her because she didn’t want his help. I lacked a connection with the characters and story, which impacted how I felt as I listened to the audiobook.

Luckily, the narrators did a great job at voicing the main characters. I was a little confused at why there were three narrators instead of just two, but I eventually found out that besides Lilah and Chase, there is a third POV, Lilah’s mother Elaine, who is also central to the story. I found her story to be the most intriguing and I really wish we’d gotten more of her POV than we did.

Chasing Spring had potential, but the story just wasn’t executed very well. I loved the narration, but it wasn’t enough for me to enjoy the story like a wanted. I still love R.S. Grey and will read more of her NAs, but this one is not one of my favorites of hers!

CHASING SPRING is now available on Audible: http://amzn.to/1Yt0g99

3 hearts
lacey

Also by R.S. Grey

Scoring Wilder by R.S. Grey  
The Allure of Julian Lefray by R.S. Grey The Allure of Dean Harper by R.S. Grey  

Scoring Wilder: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
Settling the Score: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
With This Heart: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
The Allure of Julian Lefray: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
The Allure of Dean Harper: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
The Duet: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
The Design: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads

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ARC Review: One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid

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One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Series: Standalone
Publication Date: June 7th 2016
Links: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
Source: I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

From the author of Maybe in Another Life—named a People Magazine pick and a “Best Book of the Summer” by Glamour and USA TODAY—comes a breathtaking new love story about a woman unexpectedly forced to choose between the husband she has long thought dead and the fiancé who has finally brought her back to life.

In her twenties, Emma Blair marries her high school sweetheart, Jesse. They build a life for themselves, far away from the expectations of their parents and the people of their hometown in Massachusetts. They travel the world together, living life to the fullest and seizing every opportunity for adventure.

On their first wedding anniversary, Jesse is on a helicopter over the Pacific when it goes missing. Just like that, Jesse is gone forever.

Emma quits her job and moves home in an effort to put her life back together. Years later, now in her thirties, Emma runs into an old friend, Sam, and finds herself falling in love again. When Emma and Sam get engaged, it feels like Emma’s second chance at happiness.

That is, until Jesse is found. He’s alive, and he’s been trying all these years to come home to her. With a husband and a fiancé, Emma has to now figure out who she is and what she wants, while trying to protect the ones she loves.

Who is her one true love? What does it mean to love truly?

Emma knows she has to listen to her heart. She’s just not sure what it’s saying.

I’m a little bummed right now because I really, really wanted to love this one more. One True Loves sounded absolutely amazing, and I hadn’t read Taylor Jenkins Reid before, but I’d heard great things about her books. Unfortunately, I just couldn’t connect well enough with the story and characters. It was as if I was reading this book from a distance – watching everything happen, but not emotionally connecting with anything. It sucks! I didn’t hate this book, but I didn’t really love it either, so it ended up being an okay read. The writing is stunning though, and I am more than likely to pick up another book of the author’s just for the writing.

Years ago, Emma’s high school sweetheart-turned-husband went missing while flying over the Pacific for a job. She and Jesse hadn’t even made it one year in their marriage before everything fell apart and Emma lost the love of her life. Now, in her thirties, she’s been able to pick herself up and move on. She reunites with an old friend, Sam, who contributes a big part to her healing and moving on, and she eventually falls in love with him. Now engaged to the new love of her life, Emma is finally happy again… until she receives a phone call telling her that Jesse is alive. The past and present collide as her old love and new want her to choose what life she wants to live, and with whom. But how can she choose between two loves and two lives? Is there such thing as only ONE true love?

By loving the two of them, I am no longer sure about either. And by being unsure, I might just lose them both.
Romantic love is a beautiful thing under the right circumstances. But those circumstances are so specific and rare, aren’t they?
It’s rare that you love the person who loves you, that you love only the person who loves only you. Otherwise, somebody’s heartbroken.
But I guess that’s why true love is so alluring in the first place. It’s hard to find and hold on to, like all beautiful things. Like gold, saffron, or aurora borealis.

The premise of One True Loves hooked me in, I’ll admit. I was dying to see how things would play out, who Emma would choose. Sadly, the way the story was organized really put me off. We are told the stories of two completely different relationships at different times in Emma’s life in a normal-sized book, and the length of the separate romances wasn’t long or developed enough for me to connect with. I never loved Jesse, I never loved Sam, so I didn’t really care about who Emma would choose in the end. Maybe if the book were longer, I’d be able to connect with the men more, but throughout the book, I never really became invested in any of the romance.

It breaks my heart to be loved like this, to be loved so purely that I’m capable of breaking a heart.

I also got annoyed at the choices Emma made during her hesitation about who to choose. I was a little disgusted at how she went from Jesse to Sam, then Sam to Jesse, and then all over again, without caring about how they feel. She constantly hurts these two men who would do anything for her, and I just couldn’t like a heroine who knows she’s hurting the men she loves, and does it anyway. And in the end, things wrapped up too neatly and nicely – I’m happy with who she chose, but I would’ve really liked to see Emma work to deserve the love of the man she ended up with.

TJR’s writing, however, is phenomenal. A little formal, yes, but it’s a unique style and very different from what I’m used to reading. I just wish she’d structured the story in a better way that could’ve made me connect more. The moral of the book though, comes across very, very well, and I appreciated that there was a deeper meaning to OTL than just a simple love triangle. Overall, this book just didn’t work that well for me, but others might enjoy it more than I did!

3 hearts
lacey

Quotes are taken from the arc and are subject to change in the final version.

Also by Taylor Jenkins Reid

  

Maybe in Another Life: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
After I Do: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
Forever, Interrupted: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads

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ARC Review: Everywhere and Every Way by Jennifer Probst

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Everywhere and Every Way by Jennifer Probst

Everywhere and Every Way by Jennifer Probst
Series: Billionaire Builders #1 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: May 31st 2016
Links: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
Source: I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Hot on the heels of her beloved Marriage to a Billionaire novels, New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Probst nails it with the first in an all-new sexy romance series featuring red-hot contractor siblings who give the Property Brothers a run for their money!

Ever the responsible eldest brother, Caleb Pierce started working for his father’s luxury contracting business at a young age, dreaming of one day sitting in the boss’s chair. But his father’s will throws a wrench in his plans by stipulating that Caleb share control of the family business with his two estranged brothers.

Things only get more complicated when demanding high-end home designer Morgan hires Caleb to build her a customized dream house that matches her specifications to a T—or she’ll use her powerful connections to poison the Pierce brothers’ reputation. Not one to ignore a challenge, Caleb vows to get the job done—if only he can stop getting distracted by his new client’s perfect…amenities.

But there’s more to icy Morgan than meets the eye. And Caleb’s not the only one who knows how to use a stud-finder. In fact, Morgan is pretty sure she’s found hers—and he looks quite enticing in a hard hat. As sparks fly between Morgan and Caleb despite his best intentions not to mix business and pleasure, will she finally warm up and help him lay the foundation for everlasting love?

I love Jennifer Probst’s Searching For series, so when I heard she’d be writing something new, I couldn’t wait to read it. I’ll be the first to say that I don’t particularly know anything about construction and I don’t watch Property Brothers, but I was excited to see how Ms. Probst would bring that to life in the Billionaire Builders series. I can’t say that I loved Everywhere and Every Way, but it was a good read and a good introduction to the Pierce brothers and their upcoming books.

When his father dies, Caleb expects to inherit Pierce Brothers Construction, so he’s shocked when his father’s will states that he won’t get the company unless he works with his two younger, estranged brothers. It’s tough work to convince them, but Tristan and Dalton finally give in to working at their family’s company, despite the fact that the three of them can’t seem to have a conversation that doesn’t end in a fight. Their newest assignment is to build a magnificent home for Morgan Raines’ client, and even though it seems like an impossible feat, the brothers try to find a way to work with each other.

Morgan is a tough, independent, career-driven woman, and she gets hands-on when working on a construction site, to the shock of the builders. She’s reluctantly attracted to one of the Pierce brothers, but she’s determined to remain professional, despite how irresistible Caleb is. Caleb himself doesn’t make it easy for Morgan, determined to get her into his bed. But as they spend more time together working on the house, feelings start to get involved, and it’s Caleb who tries to make Morgan see how good they could be together.

This was a sweet, if slow contemporary romance. I really enjoy the way Jennifer Probst builds up her romances, and though Caleb and Morgan’s was a little too slow for my taste, I still did enjoy reading their story. I’m especially excited to see where the author will take us with Tristan and Dalton’s stories. If you’re a fan of Jennifer Probst or an HGTV fan, you should give Everywhere and Every Way a try – you might like it more than I did!

3 hearts
lacey

Reading Order: Billionaire Builders series

Everywhere and Every Way by Jennifer Probst 

#1 ~ Everywhere and Every Way: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#2 ~ Any Time and Any Place: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads (Jan. 24, 2017)

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Review Tour: Wednesday by Kendall Ryan

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Welcome to today’s stop on the review tour for Wednesday by Kendall Ryan!

Wednesday by Kendall Ryan
Series: Standalone
Publication Date: May 23rd 2016
Add to Goodreads

Hard core fucking.

It’s not what I really want, but it’s all he has to offer. He’s filled with turmoil and heartache and regrets, but for two hours every Wednesday all he feels is me. How much I desire him, how desperate he makes me, how much I’d like things to be different between us. Real.

He used to be my best friend back before he got married. And now? Now, he’s a young widower. It’d be wrong on so many levels to expect something more from him. So I give him what he needs. Dark delicious fucking. But I know I can’t keep this up. I’ve already given him my body, my soul. I want him to have my heart. It might drive him away forever, but that’s a risk I’m forced to take.

Wednesday is an angsty romp told from dual points of view. If you’re in the mood for something quick and dirty, you’ve found it. Proceed at your own risk.

Buy Links:
Amazon • Barnes & Noble • iTunes • Kobo

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Okay, this one is short and HOT! A little too short for my taste, but Wednesday is definitely the perfect smutty read if you’re in need of a quickie. This is actually the first book I’ve read by Kendall Ryan, but now I know why everyone thinks she writes some steamy reads. She gets seriously down and dirty in Chloe and Shaw’s novella! I liked it, but I would’ve preferred something longer and more fleshed out.

He was my drug. Bold. Intoxicating. Addictive.

Wednesday is a friends-to-lovers romance between Shaw, a grieving widow, and Chloe, who’s had a crush on Shaw for as long as she’s known him. After the death of Shaw’s wife, Chloe lets Shaw fall into his grief and use her – for sex. Every Wednesday, he goes over to her house a rough, raw, long ride. It’s wrong, taboo… but why does it feel so right between them?

My drug of choice was my best friend, naked and writhing beneath me. Did that make me a monster? Maybe.

Soooo basically, this was smutty novella to the max. The chemistry is hot and there’s plenty of dirty talk, but I did find myself frustrated with Chloe and Shaw – Chloe for being too passive with Shaw, Shaw for using Chloe and not really SEEING her until the last moment – but their romance wraps up pretty sweetly and cheesily. I still enjoyed this read – it’s fun, quick, and did I mention, HOT? If you’re a fan of short, dirty reads, this one’s definitely for you. 😉

3 hearts
lacey

Quotes are taken from the arc and are subject to change in the final version.

about the author button

Kendall RyanA New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author of more than a dozen titles, Kendall Ryan has sold over 1.5 million books and her books have been translated into several languages in countries around the world. She’s a traditionally published author with Simon & Schuster and Harper Collins UK, as well as an independently published author. Since she first began self-publishing in 2012, she’s appeared at #1 on Barnes & Noble and iBooks charts around the world. Her books have also appeared on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists more than three dozen times. Ryan has been featured in such publications as USA Today, Newsweek, and InTouch Magazine.

Website • Newsletter • Twitter • Facebook • Pinterest • Goodreads • Amazon Page

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Release Blitz + ARC Review, Excerpt & Giveaway: The Ending I Want by Samantha Towle

Posted in 3 hearts, Giveaways, Reviews, Spotlight by

The Ending I Want release

The Ending I Want by Samantha Towle is now live!

The Ending I Want by Samantha Towle
Series: Standalone
Publication Date: May 10th 2016
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Taylor Shaw had the perfect life—until she was sixteen. That was when everything changed. From that moment on, life went from bad to worse…to the worst.
After recovering from a brain tumor, months later, she suffers the tragic loss of her whole family.
Since that fateful day, she’s been coasting through life.

Now, the brain tumor has returned, and Taylor decides she’s had enough. She’s going to take her fate into her own hands.
No more hospitals. No more surgeries. No more anything.
She’s going to join her family.
It’s her decision.
What she longs for.
The ending she wants.

She just has a list of things to do before she goes.
First, go to England.
Second, kiss a stranger…

Only, Taylor didn’t expect Liam Hunter, the stranger—with his handsome face, his six-foot-three of gorgeousness, and his oh-so-hot English accent—to change things.
To change her.
To change the ending she wanted.

What is a girl, who is standing on the edge of nothing, to do when offered the chance of everything?

Buy Links:
Amazon • Barnes & Noble • iTunes • Kobo

A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR

Writing The Ending I Want has been a cathartic and exhausting process for me, but I have loved every second of writing it. I relate to this story more than any of the stories that I’ve written before. Maybe that’s because there’s a piece of me in this book. And not in Taylor having a brain tumor, because fortunately I’ve never had to endure anything like that. But for me, it was the need to feel free from something that has crippled me for many years, just like Taylor is crippled by her own pain. Taylor wanted to die to be free. I never wanted to die, but I did want to be free, in a way that’s hard to explain. But now, after years of feeling trapped by my demons, things that have held me back in life, I’ve found a way to get the freedom I needed. I’m still a work in progress, but I’m working better now than I ever did before – just saying this cryptic stuff out loud is a big step for me. So, writing Taylor in the way I did was a big deal for me. I really hope that you love this story, and see strength in Taylor’s choices rather than weakness.

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Ever since I read The Storm series, I’ve been a big fan of Samantha Towle’s. I get super excited for every one of her releases, so when I heard about The Ending I Want (and saw the gorgeous cover), I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it! While I didn’t completely love it, it’s certainly an emotional, if frustrating, read. While I can’t say there was anything particularly unique about the story or characters, if you’re a long-time fan of the author, you just might love this book!

Taylor Shaw knows she’s dying. She had a brain tumor once at sixteen, and she knows it’s back again at twenty-two. But rather than sit passively waiting to die, she’s made somewhat of a bucket list that she’s determined to complete before the end. On her flight to London, she encounters the gorgeous Liam Hunter, with whom she completes the first item on her list: kiss a stranger. Turns out the chemistry between them gets hotter than ever after that kiss, and even though she knows she shouldn’t, she allows Liam to sweep her away on a whirlwind romance and adventure… all the while keeping her terminal illness a secret from him.

I really wanted to love this book… but it only ended up an okay read. I liked some parts, but others frustrated me. I skimmed some of the steamy scenes because they were getting to be too much. The romance… well, I didn’t really FEEL the connection between Liam and Taylor. The lust is strong between them, but the love takes a little while to understand. Their whole trip takes less than two weeks, which meant it takes about a week for them to fall in love, which was a little too unbelievable to me. Still, I did enjoy the sweet, tender moments between them, and Liam is certainly an alpha hero. I liked that he was willing to do anything and everything for Taylor, and with his wealth, he certainly could. The Ending I Want might not be my favorite Samantha Towle read, but I’m still a big fan of hers and I look forward to more books from her!

3 hearts
lacey

Quotes are taken from the arc and are subject to change in the final version.

Now here’s an excerpt from The Ending I Want! ❤

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“Go to England. Kiss a stranger. Have lots of sex,” his deep voice rumbles out the words I wrote.

He glances at me over his shoulder, a shit-eating grin on his face.

I don’t even bother with trying to get the list back now. What’s the point? He’s already seen it.

Bastard.

I fall back into my seat, my face feeling like a blowtorch went at it. “You’re an asshole,” I mutter.

He turns to face me, my list in his hand but still held out of my reach. “Aw, don’t be like that, Taylor, from Boston. I was just curious to read it.”

I’m pretty sure he’s going for contrite, but he’s failing miserably.

I glare at him. I’m going for death-by-laser stare.

It doesn’t work because he gives me a panty-dropping smile. I’d like to say I’m unaffected, but I’m not; however, I don’t let him know that.

“Curious? I don’t think so. An effing thief? Yes.”

He laughs. “I’m sorry. But you don’t need to be embarrassed. It’s a good list.” He looks back to my list. “Have sex with a stranger,” he continues on reading. “Have sex with a stranger outdoors. You do know I can help you with all of these, right?” He lifts a brow at me.

I give him the middle finger.

He laughs again and looks back to the list. Then, he stops laughing and stares at me with what can only be described as complete horror. “You’ve never had oral sex?”

Fuck.

Why the hell did I put that on my list?

about the author button

Samantha TowleNew York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal and international bestselling author Samantha Towle began her first novel in 2008 while on maternity leave. She completed the manuscript five months later and hasn’t stopped writing since.

She has written contemporary romances, THE MIGHTY STORM, WETHERING THE STORM, TAMING THE STORM, TROUBLE, REVVED and REVIVED.

She has also written paranormal romances, THE BRINGER and the ALEXANDRA JONES SERIES, all penned to tunes of The Killers, Kings of Leon, Adele, The Doors, Oasis, Fleetwood Mac, and more of her favourite musicians.
A native of Hull and a graduate of Salford University, she lives with her husband, Craig, in East Yorkshire with their son and daughter.

Facebook • Twitter • Website • Goodreads • Pinterest • Instagram

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Two winners will receive a signed paperback of THE ENDING I WANT
One winner will receive a $50 Amazon Gift Card
(open international)

Enter Here

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