Category Archives: 4 hearts

Blog Tour + Review: Commander in Chief by Katy Evans

Posted in 4 hearts, Blog Tours, Reviews by

commander-in-chief-tour

Welcome to today’s stop on the blog tour for Commander in Chief by Katy Evans!

Commander in Chief by Katy Evans
Series: White House #2 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: January 5th 2017
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The sizzling second installment of the White House series, by New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Katy Evans.

We fell in love during the campaign.
The stakes were high.
Reputations could have been ruined.
Scandal hovered over us like a cloud.
Now the man I love is the President of the United States of America.
And its not my vote he is after.
He wants it all.
My heart. My body. My soul.
He wants me by his side.
In the White House.
Normalcy will be gone from my life, privacy forgotten.
I am only twenty three. I just wanted to play a part in history. But it seems like history wasn’t done with me. The part where I lost my heart to Matthew Hamilton? It was only the beginning…

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

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Commander in Chief was one of my most anticipated reads of the month, because it’s KATY EVANS and the cliffhanger in Mr. President killed me. I was dying for more Matt and Charlotte! Thankfully, the conclusion to their story didn’t disappoint – it was seriously so sweet and lovely. Maybe a bit too sappy and mushy at times, but it was easily forgivable because Matt just might be Katy’s swooniest hero yet – the way he adores his woman is everything! If you loved Mr. President, you’re going to want to read Commander in Chief stat!

I don’t want to forget that for a little while, Matt Hamilton—forty-sixth president of the United States—was mine.

Matt has won the presidency, but at the same time he’s lost the one woman who meant everything to him. It would be too scandalous for him to be with someone who worked for his campaign… wouldn’t it? But months without Charlotte have left Matt bereft, and as soon as she comes back home, he’s made the decision to win her back and give her everything.

I crossed an ocean to forget him, but I’d swim across thousands for this man.
My heart will always beat for him.

Matt and Charlotte are so lovely. Seriously. Literally everything between them made my heart swoon like crazy. The way they worship each other, adore each other, love each other. This book honestly felt like it was an extended HEA for these two, as in we get how life is after the main characters get together. Well, if you included the White House and presidency in that HEA. It was so fascinating to read about Charlotte and Matt in the new roles they’ve taken. They were definitely meant to be who they ended up being.

She makes me want to be the best man I can be. There aren’t that many people who do that for you. She also makes me want to drop to my knees and worship the living daylights out of her.

Sometimes the romance felt hurried, and there might have been one too many sex scenes, but the story was the absolute sweetest. The love between Charlotte and Matt is raw yet pure, and I adored seeing them together again. This duet is definitely not one I’m going to be forgetting soon. Katy Evans has such a magical talent at writing gripping, emotional, romantic love stories.

4 hearts
lacey

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

Reading Order: White House series

 

#1 ~ Mr. President: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#2 ~ Commander in Chief: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads

about the author button

Katy EvansKaty Evans is a New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author. Her debut REAL shot to the top of the bestselling lists in 2013 and since then 9 of her titles have been New York Times bestsellers. Her books have been translated into nearly a dozen languages across the world.

Website • Email • Facebook • Twitter

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Release Day Review: Hard Hitter by Sarina Bowen

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Hard Hitter by Sarina Bowen
Series: Brooklyn Bruisers #2 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: January 3rd 2017
Links: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
Source: I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

From the USA Today bestselling author of Rookie Move comes the second novel in the series that’s hot enough to melt the ice.

He’s a fighter in the rink, but he’s about to learn that playing nice can help you score…

As team captain and enforcer, Patrick O’Doul puts the bruise in the Brooklyn Bruisers. But after years of hard hits, O’Doul is feeling the burn, both physically and mentally. He conceals his pain from his coach and trainers, but when his chronic hip injury becomes too obvious to ignore, they send him for sessions with the team’s massage therapist.

After breaking up with her long-term boyfriend, Ari Bettini is in need of peace of mind. For now, she’s decided to focus on her work: rehabilitating the Bruisers’ MVP. O’Doul is easy on the eyes, but his reaction to her touch is ice cold. Ari is determined to help O’Doul heal, but as the tension between them turns red hot, they both learn that a little TLC does the body good…

Why do grumpy heroes turn out to be the sweetest heroes? I totally adored Patrick and his grumpy, protective, loving ways. He and Ari made the perfect couple! Their romance was slow and utterly sweet. This is another wonderful hockey romance from one of my favorite authors – if the Brooklyn Bruisers series isn’t on your TBR list, you need to add it there asap!

As captain and enforcer of the Brooklyn Bruisers, Patrick O’Doul has been through a lot on the ice, and his body is not happy about it. So in comes the team’s massage therapist, Ari Bettini, though Patrick is more than reluctant to let her do her job and help soothe his muscles. He’s got a ton of baggage from his past that prevents him from getting close to anyone, mentally and physically. But Ari has magic hands and a few tricks up her sleeves, and she’s determined to get him back into fighting shape.

Ari has baggage as well, in the form of an annoying ex who just won’t stay away and seems to be putting her in danger. He’s the reason why she’s not looking for a relationship soon – if ever – but the chemistry she feels with Patrick can’t be ignored. Patrick himself, after he’s warmed up to Ari, wants to explore what they have even more. He’s gruff, yet gentle and sweet with her. He is the PERFECT man trying to win her heart and make her swoon. He even enlisted the help of his teammates to get some tips on how to woo a woman – how freaking adorable is that!?

Wanting Ari wasn’t like any of those other other wants. It was far more terrifying. In the first place, there was too much that was out of his control. He’d always been able to say: if I just work a little harder, I can have this. If I just put in the hours. That wasn’t the case with Ari. Even as he dreamt up the next romantic thing he might do for her, he knew it might never be enough. She could decide that a punk from the wrong end of Minneapolis wasn’t what she needed in her life.

Hard Hitter is a heartfelt romance between two people with pasts that they try to overcome together. It’s a feel-good story with tons of sexy times, so what more could I ask for? Sarina Bowen totally nailed Ari and Patrick’s story and I grew to love them so much. The series keeps getting better and better, and I’m dying to read the third (and hopefully not last) book!

“I’m so gone for you,” he ground out, still laughing. “I’ve got it bad. It might take me years to convince you I’m a good guy, but I’ll never stop trying.”

This is also an open plea to Sarina Bowen to please, please give us Nate and Becca’s book!!! Nate’s longing and the tension between them is torture – I will take them in any way Sarina can give them!

4 hearts
lacey

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

Reading Order: Brooklyn Bruisers series

  

#1 ~ Rookie Move: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#2 ~ Hard Hitter: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#3 ~ Pipe Dreams: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads (May 2, 2017)

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Audiobook Review: Sweet Soul by Tillie Cole

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Sweet Soul by Tillie Cole

Sweet Soul by Tillie Cole
Series: Sweet Home #4 (full reading order below)
Audiobook Publication Date: October 4th 2016
Length: 11 hours and 48 minutes
Narrated by: Cassandra Morris & Thomas Fawley
Links: Audible • Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
Source: I received an audiobook in exchange for an honest review

From the USA Today best-selling Sweet Home Series comes Sweet Soul, a heart-wrenching story of love in its purest form.

One shy lost soul. One silent lonely heart. One love to save them both.

Life has never been easy for 20-year-old Levi Carillo. The youngest of the Carillo boys, Levi is nothing like his older brothers. He isn’t dark in looks or intimidating to everyone he meets. In fact he’s quite the opposite. Haunted by a crippling shyness and the tragic events of his past, Levi spends his days with his head buried in his books or training hard for his college football team. Too timid to talk to girls, Levi stays as far away as possible and completely on his own…until he saves the life of a troubled pretty blonde – a troubled pretty blonde who might just be the exception to his rule.

Elsie Hall is homeless. Or at least that’s all anyone ever sees. Every day is a fight for survival on the cold streets of Seattle, every day a struggle to find food and keep warm. Alone in life – a life that’s dangerous and cruel – her will to keep going is an ever-losing battle. In her world of silence, Elsie has given up hope that her life will contain anything but constant heartache and pain…until the beautiful boy she has severely wronged comes to her rescue at precisely the right time.

As much as I love Tillie Cole’s Hades Hangmen series and her Scarred Souls series, the Sweet Home series has not been my thing – until now. I adored Levi and Elsie’s story! It is definitely my favorite of the series. It’s sweet, charming, heartbreaking – I really enjoyed listening to Sweet Soul. This is the first audiobook in the series to have dual narration, which is my favorite type of narration. Thomas Fawley’s sweet Southern accent for Levi totally stole my heart, and while Cassandra Morris’ voice is a little too girly, I got used to it in no time. I would highly recommend giving the audiobook of Sweet Soul if you love listening to heart-wrenching, sweet, emotional romances!

Levi is the youngest, the baby of the Carillo brothers, and he’s… different from his brothers Axel and Austin. They’re tatted, badass men while Levi is the shy boy with the kind soul. He’s the one with the pure heart, but the death of his mother and having to deal with a gang when he was young have left him lost and very introverted. Even though he’s twenty and a successful football player in college, he’s never gone out with a girl, let alone touched or kissed one. He’s never wanted to get to know a girl anyway, until he meets a homeless girl who tugs at his heartstrings like no other.

Elsie’s life has not been kind to her. Her mother died when Elsie was young, so she was sent to a foster home where she was severely bullied for the way her voice sounds because she’s partially deaf. Because of the bullying, she never speaks, and she’s been living on the streets since she left the foster home. This is where she meets Levi, a boy with a kindness in his heart she never knew existed in the world. These two complicated, heartbroken souls find each other, form a connection through their tragic pasts, and end up saving each other. I loved the way the romance grew so genuinely – I could feel the intensity of their connection while listening to this. Tillie Cole is an author who expresses love in her books so well, and the love between Elsie and Levi was simply wonderful to hear.

My heart grew so invested in Levi and Elsie’s characters – the things these two went through and continue to go through completely broke my heart, and yet their beautiful romance mended it back together. Sweet Soul is very emotional; it almost made me tear up at some points, and yet by the end of it, it’ll leave with a happy heart and a smile on your face. It is definitely a must read/listen whether you love the series or not. Thomas Fawley and Cassandra Morris’ narrations were spot on, and I’d definitely listen to them again (hopefully as dual narrators, because I looove audiobooks that way). Even though this can be read as a standalone, I highly recommend going through the series in order to get the full effect of Levi’s story.

SWEET SOUL is now available on Audible: http://amzn.to/2fPBP8N

4 hearts
lacey

Reading Order: Sweet Home series

Sweet Home by Tillie Cole Sweet Rome by Tillie Cole
Sweet Fall by Tillie Cole Sweet Hope by Tillie Cole Sweet Soul by Tillie Cole

#1 ~ Sweet Home: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#1.5 ~ Sweet Rome: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#2 ~ Sweet Fall: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#3 ~ Sweet Hope: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#4 ~ Sweet Soul: Book Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads

Here’s an audio excerpt from Sweet Soul!

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Audiobook Review: Sweet Hope by Tillie Cole

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Sweet Hope by Tillie Cole

Sweet Hope by Tillie Cole
Series: Sweet Home #3 (full reading order below)
Audiobook Publication Date: October 4th 2016
Length: 11 hours and 3 minutes
Narrated by: Tessa Ellory
Links: Audible • Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
Source: I received an audiobook in exchange for an honest review

My name is Ally Prince and I’ve always been unlucky in love. I don’t know why, I just always… have.

When all of my best friends were falling for their soul mates in College, I was left behind. I was Ally, the pretty cousin of superstar quarterback, Romeo Prince. I was Ally, the best friend to the most amazing group of girls I’ve ever known—a title I loved, but one I became tired of ‘just’ being. And I was Ally, the one on which they could all rely.

But to me, I was Ally, the girl with the heart no one had claimed… And I was, Ally, the girl, who underneath it all, was heart-breakingly lonely.

I LOVE love; the thought of it, the nervous excitement of falling for Mr. Right, the desire of someone becoming my entire world… of me becoming theirs. I’ve always wanted passion, heart-stopping, epic, life-changing romance… I’ve always wanted the fairytale… I’ve always wanted it all.

It just never seemed like I would get it.

For the past few years I’ve thrown myself into my career as a museum curator. I’m the best of the best, the person every museum wants to hire, so when an opportunity came up to move to Seattle, I jumped at the chance. My cousin and my best friend lived in Seattle and I needed a change. I needed a new beginning.

I wasn’t expecting to meet anyone in the Emerald City. I wasn’t expecting to work closely with the reclusive new sculptor my all-important gallery design was centered around. And I certainly wasn’t expecting to fall for him… heart-stopping, epic, life-changing love…

My real life fairytale come true.

But, like in every fairytale, there’s a villain, a dark and tortured soul… I just didn’t know that the villain and the hero in my story would end up being one and the same.

Back when I first read Sweet Hope, I didn’t quite love it like I’d hoped, but listening to it as an audiobook made the experience so much better!! This usually happens for me when I reread a book by listening to its audiobook, so I’m not surprised. I mainly have the fantastic narrator, Tessa Ellory, to thank for her wonderful portrayal of Ally. I thought I liked the previous narrator’s voice, but Tessa Ellory was perfect for Sweet Hope!

If you were a fan of the previous books in the Sweet Home series, you’ll definitely want to pick up Sweet Hope. It’s wrought with the intense emotions and romantic thrills that Tillie Cole is great at writing. Sometimes things get a little cheesy, but if you can handle the sweetness, then I’m sure you’ll be able to enjoy Sweet Hope.

Art curator Ally Prince, Rome’s cousin, has just been given the position of a lifetime working with her favorite contemporary sculptor, the mysterious Elpidio. She is passionate about art, most of all his works, so to say she’s excited to take part in showcasing his art is an understatement. But when she meets Elpi, what she doesn’t expect is to fall for the gorgeous, tortured man who pulls at her heart. He has a dark, painful past that keeps his heart walled up, but Ally is determined to bring him the light that he’s been missing in his life.

The cheese is real in this audiobook, but it’s not too cringeworthy so I was able to look past it. Plus, I was totally hooked onto the story thanks to the wonderful narration. Tessa Ellory’s voice is so sweet and perfect for Ally. There’s a handful of angsty emotions between Ally and Elpi, which I enjoyed. Even though each book in the Sweet Home series can be a standalone, if you’re looking to go into Sweet Hope, I’d definitely recommend listening (or reading) Sweet Fall first.

SWEET HOPE is now available on Audible: http://amzn.to/2eJ1zAQ

4 hearts
lacey

Reading Order: Sweet Home series

Sweet Home by Tillie Cole Sweet Rome by Tillie Cole
Sweet Fall by Tillie Cole Sweet Hope by Tillie Cole Sweet Soul by Tillie Cole

#1 ~ Sweet Home: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#1.5 ~ Sweet Rome: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#2 ~ Sweet Fall: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#3 ~ Sweet Hope: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#4 ~ Sweet Soul: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads

Here’s an audio excerpt from Sweet Hope!

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Blog Tour + Interview, ARC Review & Giveaway: Everything for Her by Alexa Riley

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everything-for-her-tour

Welcome to today’s stop on the blog tour for Everything for Her by Alexa Riley!
Check out my short interview with the author as well as my review for the book!

Author Interview: Alexa Riley

3 reasons why people should read Everything for Her?
  1. It’s steamy in all the right places.
  2. The hero is the best kind of stalker.
  3. It’s a sugary sweet safe read that has a happily ever after. What’s not to love?

Everything for Her by Alexa Riley
Series: For Her #1 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: December 27th 2016
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I’ll never forget the way she looked, so confident and sure of herself. I watched her from a distance. She wasn’t ready for me yet. I didn’t approach her and I didn’t disturb her, but I never once took my eyes off her.

Mallory Sullivan is ready to start her new life. After graduating at the top of her class, she’s landed one of the most coveted internships in the United States. Hard work and determination have gotten her to this moment of living the life she only dreamed of growing up in foster care.

From the start, I knew that she would be my greatest achievement, so the day I let her go, I set down a path for her. A path to me.  

She never expected Oz to be the greatest culmination of those dreams. But sometimes fate determines who you fall in love with. Who makes you lose control. Who owns your soul.

And then you realize it wasn’t fate at all…

I’ve wanted to care for and protect her since the first moment I saw her. I’ve constructed everything in our lives so that at the perfect moment, I could have her, could give her the life she deserves.

The time has come.

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

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Alexa Riley is my go-to author for all things smutty, alpha heroes, and HEAs. They never fail to deliver on their over-the-top romances and heroes (which I’ll admit, I’m partial to reading occasionally), and Everything for Her didn’t disappoint. It was the perfect fun, sexy, romantic read. If you’re a fan of insta-love and romantic obsession (basically every Alexa Riley book ever) then you’re sure to love this full-length book from AR!

Until the day I saw her, there was no color. But once my eyes landed on her for the first time, it was like when Dorothy landed in Oz and she opened the door. The world went Technicolor, and she was my very own Glinda the Good Witch.

Everything changed for Oz the second he laid eyes on Mallory, and he changed the course of both their lives so they would entwine and stay together forever. He’s an alpha male through and through – he’s got the looks and the money, both of which he’ll use to win the one woman who means everything to him.

“You’ll soon notice I’m an all or nothing kind of person and I don’t waste my time on things that I don’t think will matter.” He leans in a little more his breath on my face. “You matter.” He says it in a way that almost seems like I’m all that matters.

Mallory can’t believe her good fortune getting a job straight out of college through her internship, but she’ll do what it takes to prove that she was the perfect person chosen for the position. Even better, she meets the perfect guy who treats her like a treasure. The chemistry between her and Oz is crazy hot and connection between them is instant and powerful, but what happens when Oz’s secrets come to light? Will Mallory be able to trust him again and will Oz be able to win back her heart?

Everything for Her was predictable, but it was the good predictable that I wanted and expected from Alexa Riley. I loved that this was a full-length novel – they definitely need to write more of them! I highly enjoyed Mallory and Oz’s whirlwind romance, and I’m so excited for the secondary characters to get their own book!

4 hearts
lacey

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

Reading Order: For Her series

 

#1 ~ Everything for Her: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads (Dec. 27, 2016)
#2 ~ His Alone: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads (March 28, 2017)

about the author button

Alexa Riley is two sassy friends who got together and wrote some dirty books. They are both married moms of two who love football, donuts, and obsessed book heroes.

They specialize in insta-love, over-the-top, sweet, and cheesy love stories that don’t take all year to read. If you want something SAFE, short, and always with a happily ever after, then Alexa Riley is for you!

Website • Facebook • Twitter • Instagram • Tumblr • Goodreads

giveaway button

Thanks to the team at Harlequin and Carina Press, one lucky winner will receive the following:

  • $75 Amazon Gift Card,
  • eBook of EVERYTHING FOR HER
  • A signed EVERYTHING FOR HER poster!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Monday, November 28th – BookHounds – Guest Post
Tuesday, November 29th – Literaria – Review
Wednesday, November 30th – The Book Cellar – Guest Post
Thursday, November 31st – Short and Sassy Book Blurbs – Review
Friday, December 1st – Book Briefs – Guest Post

– –

Monday, December 5th – Underneath the Covers – Guest Posts
Tuesday, December 6th – Captivated Reading – Guest Posts
Wednesday, December 7th – Obsessed by Books – Review only
Thursday, December 8th – For The Love of Fictional Worlds – Guest Posts
Friday, December 9th – Booklovers For Life – Review with short Interview & Carlene Inspired – Review with short Guest Post

– –

Monday, December 12th – Penny Dreadful Book Reviews – Review with short Guest Post
Tuesday, December 13th – Polished Bookworm – Review with short Interview
Wednesday, December 14th – The Book Bellas – Review
Thursday, December 15th – True Story Book Blog – Review only & A Dream Within A Dream – Guest Posts
Friday, December 16th – Parajunkee – Guest Posts & Ramblings From This Chick – Review only

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