Release Day Review: Taming Lily by Monica Murphy

Posted in 3 hearts, Reviews by Lacey

Taming Lily by Monica Murphy
Series: The Fowler Sisters #3 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: July 7th 2015
Links: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
Source: I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Perfect for fans of Christina Lauren, Emma Chase, and Maya Banks, the anticipated finale in New York Times bestselling author Monica Murphy’s sexy contemporary romance series about three fiery and determined sisters with their own ideas about life and love.

I’m in trouble. Again. And instead of facing my problems head on, I’ve run away. Far away this time, and no one can catch me—not my two younger sisters, Violet and Rose, not my father, my grandmother, or that witch Pilar who wants to take control of my family’s cosmetics company. Now I’m in Hawaii, enjoying the sun and the sand and water, where nobody knows the hot mess known as Lily Fowler. And I’m loving every minute of it.

But someone is watching me. Following me. He’s gorgeous. And soon we’re talking, and against all my instincts, I reveal bits and pieces of myself to Max. It feels good, though I know he can’t be the man for me. These sudden feelings we share are way too complicated, too fraught, too intense.

Then everything explodes and I’m forced to return home. My intentions have always been true, but now everyone’s mad at me. I don’t know who to turn to anymore . . . except to Max. He’s who I want to trust. But I’m not so sure I should. Maybe it’s worth the risk—and what-ifs be damned. . . .

I was a huge fan of the first book in The Fowler Sisters series, Owning Violet, but the second book, Stealing Rose, was a let down. I was hoping Taming Lily would renew my love for the series, but sadly, it was only an okay read. I liked it more than Stealing Rose, but not by much. I just didn’t connect with the characters, and the book was too full of sex with little substance to the story. I really wanted to like Lily’s book – while it’s not a bad read, it just wasn’t as good as I’d hoped it would be.

Lily Fowler is the oldest and wildest of the three Fowler sisters. She’s the last of the sisters to fall in love, and Monica Murphy certainly doesn’t make Lily’s journey to love easy. Lily is in Hawaii, on the run from Pillar, Lily’s father’s girlfriend, who is also a total bitch. Lily is a woman with a whole mess of Daddy issues, and she acted out in her earlier years by becoming what everyone thought she was – a spoiled, rich, party girl. Deep down, she’s hurt by her family, who has no faith in her. While I tried to empathize with Lily and her issues, it was hard to – I couldn’t connect with her character, and I found myself annoyed when she never spoke up for herself.

Unfortunately, Lily’s getaway to Hawaii doesn’t go as well as she plans. She nearly drowns in the ocean, but a mysterious man comes out of nowhere and saves her life. She recognizes him as the sexy man who’s been watching her – she’s suspicious of him, but she can’t help feeling attracted to him.

I’m drawn to her, and not just because she’s my assignment. Feeling like this … letting my attraction to her distract me is risky. Stupid.
But I can’t seem to help it.

Max has been hired by Pillar to steal Lily’s laptop, so he follows her on her trip to Hawaii, but he never expects to end up wanting her. There’s a strong chemistry between them they can’t ignore, and once they fall into bed with each other, it becomes explosive. Monica Murphy is fantastic at writing hot, steamy scenes, and Taming Lily didn’t disappoint. There’s good sex in this book, but there was also too much of it – the majority of the time Lily and Max are together is spent in bed. I couldn’t really see how they fell for each other, especially when Max sometimes came off as a little creepy, stalker-wise.

My heart is beating like crazy, pounding to a rhythm that suspiciously sounds like her name. Li-ly. Li-ly. It’s fucking crazy. I’m crazy.
Crazy for her.

Max keeps the reason why he’s in Hawaii a secret from Lily, of course, but secrets can’t stay quiet for long. Max now has to fight for the woman he’s fallen for, all the while protecting her from Pillar.

“I feel like you were made for me, Lily. That we were made for each other.”

There’s no doubt Monica Murphy can write hot chemistry, but the story and characters in Taming Lily felt lacking. I was less than impressed with the way things played out, and I just couldn’t for the life of me connect with the hero or heroine. I was really hoping to like Taming Lily, since I’d been excited for Lily’s book since Owning Violet, but the book ended up only being okay. It’s not necessarily a bad read, but it wasn’t as good as I was expecting.

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

Reading Order: The Fowler Sisters series

#1 ~ Owning Violet: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#2 ~ Stealing Rose: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#3 ~ Taming Lily: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads

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7Jul2015

Blog Tour + Release Day Review & Giveaway: Jesse’s Girl by Miranda Kenneally

Posted in 4 hearts, Blog Tours, Giveaways, Reviews by Lacey

Welcome to today’s stop on the blog tour for Jesse’s Girl by Miranda Kenneally!

Jesse’s Girl by Miranda Kenneally
Series: Hundred Oaks #6 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: July 7th 2015
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Practice makes perfect.

Everyone at Hundred Oaks High knows that career mentoring day is a joke. So when Maya said she wanted to be a rock star, she never imagined she’d get to shadow the Jesse Scott, Nashville’s teen idol.

But spending the day with Jesse is far from a dream come true. He’s as gorgeous as his music, but seeing all that he’s accomplished is just a reminder of everything Maya’s lost: her trust, her boyfriend, their band, and any chance to play the music she craves. Not to mention that Jesse’s pushy and opinionated. He made it on his own, and he thinks Maya’s playing back up to other people’s dreams. Does she have what it takes to follow her heart—and go solo?

Purchase:
Ebook • Hardcover • Paperback • B&N • BAM • IndieBound • iTunes

It’s been a while since I’ve read a young adult book, but what better way to go back to the YA contemporary genre than by reading a Miranda Kenneally book? I really enjoyed Jesse’s Girl – it’s a super sweet, fun romance that fans of the series shouldn’t miss.

I loved that Jesse’s Girl is about Maya, Sam Henry’s little sister. We get to see a lot of Sam and Jordan (from Catching Jordan), which I was so happy about, because I adored that book. Maya is a high school senior who is passionate about music. She loves to play the guitar and sing (though she’s more talented at playing the guitar than singing), but when she gets dumped by her band and crush, she’s left feeling devastated. The one thing that makes her feel better is the fact that she’ll be ‘shadowing’ eighteen-year-old country star and heartthrob Jesse Scott, but things don’t go as well as Maya thought it would.

I was so excited about the opportunity to spend time with a famous musician, but Jesse Scott is a certified country-boy ass.

Jesse is rude to Maya, thinking that she’s just another ‘fan’ of his who only wants to use him. After being the in music industry for so long, he’s tired of all the fake people and wants to retire and focus on his family. So Maya is a refreshingly different to Jesse, though he’s still reluctant to mentor someone. He decides to change things up a bit and have a sort of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off kind of day with Maya. And the more time they spend together, the more they get to know each other, and know themselves as well.

The romance developed slowly – Maya and Jesse are both the wary kind of people, but they slowly break down each other’s walls. I liked reading about their adventures, their deep conversations, and how they slowly fell for each other. They both connect so well with music and they bond easily over it.

I felt like Jesse’s Girl was a bit too short – the pages flew by and when I got to the end, I was left wanting for just a little more. It’s a quick, easy read with not much drama, but it was still a lot of fun to read. It’s not my favorite of the Hundred Oaks series (that one would be Breathe, Annie, Breathe) but it was definitely a worthwhile, sweet read about chasing your dreams and falling in love. I highly recommend this for fans of the series!

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

Reading Order: Hundred Oaks series

#1 ~ Catching Jordan: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#2 ~ Stealing Parker: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#3 ~ Things I Can’t Forget: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#4 ~ Racing Savannah: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#5 ~ Breathe, Annie, Breathe: My Review • Ebook • Hardcover • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#6 ~ Jesse’s Girl: Ebook • Hardcover • Paperback • Goodreads
#7 ~ Defending Taylor: Shirley’s Review • Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads

Growing up in Tennessee, Miranda Kenneally dreamed of becoming an Atlanta Brave, a country singer (cliché!), or a UN interpreter. Instead she writes, and works for the State Department in Washington, D.C., where George W. Bush once used her shoulder as an armrest. Miranda loves Twitter, Star Trek and her husband.

Website • Goodreads • Facebook • Twitter

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7Jul2015

Release Day Review: A Change of Plans by Robyn Thomas

Posted in 2 hearts, Reviews by Lacey

A Change of Plans by Robyn Thomas
Series: What Happens in Vegas #1
Publication Date: July 7th 2015
Links: Ebook • Goodreads
Source: I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

She planned for everything…except him.

Sara Greaves has been planning her perfect wedding since she was five. Twenty years. Wasted. When she’s dumped by her fiancé, she heads to Vegas to forget and ends up at a hotel hosting a Romance Readers conference. Cuz she’s lucky like that. Mr. Tall, Dark, And Anti-Marriage buys Sara a drink, and makes her a bet…she could marry any guy in Vegas tonight and make it work.

She wasn’t supposed to choose him.

Ethan Munroe is a ruthless divorce lawyer who would have been voted “Least Likely To Marry (Ever)” in school. And yet, here he is with a hangover, a wedding band, and a sexy, gorgeous bride for the next month. A bride who doesn’t want to stay married to him. He never planned this, but he can’t bring himself to go for the speedy divorce. Has Mr. Anti-Marriage finally met his match?

This was a very… hectic read. The story was all over the place, the characters weren’t very consistent… I didn’t enjoy this book very much, unfortunately. I really wanted to, since the blurb was intriguing, but everything about this book just didn’t work out for me.

Sara is the kind of woman who has been waiting and planning for her wedding day since she was a little girl. But to her devastation, she’s dumped by her fiancé, and she goes to Vegas to pawn off her engagement ring. There, she meets a mysterious, attractive man named Ethan, who helps and guides her trip in Vegas. Even though they’re complete opposites – Ethan is a divorce lawyer who doesn’t believe in love – the two hit it off. And somehow they manage to get accidentally married while in Vegas.

This book felt very unfinished, with lots of plot holes and little explanation. It was hard to connect with either Sara or Ethan, since their personalities were so disconnected and hard to follow. As for the plot… it was very weakly written. I’m not even sure how Sara and Ethan accidentally got hitched – very little is explained in a cohesive way in the book. It felt like everything was just thrown together, and we had to accept it for what it was.

I really wish I could’ve enjoyed it more, but everything about the book felt weak. This book just didn’t work for me.

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6Jul2015

Early Review: Ruin & Rule by Pepper Winters

Posted in 4.5 hearts, Reviews by Lacey

Ruin & Rule by Pepper Winters
Series: Pure Corruption MC #1 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: July 7th 2015
Links: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
Source: I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

“We met in a nightmare. The in-between world where time had no power over reason. We fell in love. We fell hard. But then we woke up. And it was over . . .”

RUIN & RULE

She is a woman divided. Her past, present, and future are as twisted as the lies she’s lived for the past eight years. Desperate to get the truth, she must turn to the one man who may also be her greatest enemy . . .

He is the president of Pure Corruption MC. A heartless biker and retribution-deliverer. He accepts no rules, obeys no one, and lives only to reap revenge on those who wronged him. And now he has stolen her, body and soul.

Can a woman plagued by mystery fall in love with the man who refuses to face the truth? And can a man drenched in darkness forgo his quest for vengeance-and finally find redemption?

He touched me like a man in love. He touched me like a man who knew me. Who adored me and wanted me for just as long as I’d wanted him.
It was a lie.

HOLY MOTHER OF GOD!!!!!

This book was just – WOW! Stunning. Captivating. Dark and gritty. So epically written and handled. I loved it!

I’ve only read three other books by Pepper Winters – Tears of Tess, Destroyed, and Debt Inheritance – and while I liked them… they were nothing compared to Ruin & Rule. Ruin & Rule was truly an experience – it’s the type of book you get absorbed into and never lets you go. It’s so addicting and beautifully written – it’s definitely the best Pepper Winter book I’ve read so far.

The heroine wakes up with no knowledge of who she is – her memories are a complete blank slate. She doesn’t know her name or where she’s from and most importantly, why she wakes up bound and captive.

How could I deal with this new world if I didn’t know what skills I had to stay alive? How could I hope to defeat my enemy when my mind revolted and locked me out?
Who am I?
To have who I was deleted… It was unthinkable.

She finds herself held hostage by the Pure Corruption MC – by the MC president who she believes she knows from her past. Every look into Arthur Killian’s eyes is like coming home… except he looks at her with hate. My heart was aching for the heroine, for how desperate she was to find out who she was and who Kill was to her. She starts remembering snippets of memories, nothing concrete, but she knows Kill recognizes her. But unless she can prove it, she stuck as a hostage about to be sold.

Once upon a time, I’d loved him in a nightmare so much worse than this one. I’d grown wet for him in another reality, all while he worshipped me, adored me.
It wasn’t my fault I couldn’t separate fact from fiction, truth from fable.

This book took me on a roller coaster of emotions. I wanted so badly for the heroine to remember who she was – I wanted to know who she was – but nothing would force the memories back into her brain. And Kill – oh my god, Kill! I loved him. He’s powerful, dark, dangerous, and NOT a good man… but I was freaking addicted to his character. He’s a man who lives on vengeance and hate but is inexplicably drawn to the woman who reminds him of his lost love.

The undeniable chemistry between Kill and heroine took my breath away. Their connection is strong and raw and intense, and when they fall into bed with each other, it is scorching. It gets seriously HOT between them – the sex is off. the. charts! There’s an animal-like intensity between them that I freaking loved.

Ruin & Rule is not an easy read. There are so many layers to this book, so many questions and only a few of them are answered. Pepper Winters masterfully creates a plot that is as puzzling as it is intriguing. Her writing is so, SO good – almost poetic. I loved the writing, I was addicted to the story, and I was intrigued by the characters… this book is just a MUST READ! I couldn’t put it down for a second. And the ending! Ruin & Rule ends on a cliffhanger, and while I normally don’t like cliffhangers, this one didn’t bother me very much. I was expecting it, and it felt like the right place to end the first book while still leaving you wanting for the second. I highly recommend this book – it’s so worth the read, even if you don’t like cliffhangers!

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

Reading Order: Pure Corruption MC series

#1 ~ Ruin & Rule: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#2 ~ Sin & Suffer: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads

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6Jul2015

Blog Tour + ARC Review & Giveaway: Insider by Olivia Cunning

Posted in 5 hearts, Blog Tours, Giveaways, Reviews by Lacey

Welcome to today’s stop on the blog tour for Insider by Olivia Cunning!

Insider by Olivia Cunning
Series: Exodus End World Tour #1
Publication Date: June 30th 2015

Toni wants to be an insider.
Logan just wants inside her.

She’s finally ready to rock…

Toni Nichols set aside her dreams to raise her little sister, but now she’s reaching for the stars as the creator of a revolutionary interactive biography about Exodus End. She’s on tour with the rock band to immerse herself in their world, but how will she ever gain the trust of four veteran superstars who’ve been burned by the media before? Nobody said this was going to be easy. Then again, good things can come in hard packages.

He’s always ready to roll…

Adrenaline junkie Logan Schmidt lives for the rush of playing his bass guitar before thousands of screaming fans. When he’s not performing onstage or in the bedroom, he’s looking for his next thrill in extreme sports. So why does a sweet, innocent journalist get his heart pumping and capture his full attention? Is Toni the real deal or just digging up dirt on his band? Logan’s eager to rock Toni’s world and roll her in the sack, but when she starts to get too close to his heart, she takes her insider look to a place he may never be willing to go.

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

I LOVE Olivia Cunning!!! I’ve been a fan since I first read the Sinners on Tour series (which will forever be my favorite rock star book series ever) and fell in love with each and every one of her characters. Her writing is so fantastic, full of heart and humor – you just can’t not love her books! And did I mention how freaking HOT her books are!? I don’t know how Olivia Cunning balances the humor with the sex, but she does it perfectly.

So. Insider. This book – and the Exodus End series – has been a long time coming, and I’d been eagerly awaiting it ever since finishing the Sinners on Tour series. To say I had high expectations would be an understatement. And guess what? I LOOOOVED Insider! It. Was. AMAZING! I totally adored it – Logan and Toni were so much fun (AND HOT) to read about! I’m actually really glad Olivia Cunning choose to write about Logan first rather than Dare (Trey’s brother), even though I’m still dying to get my hands on Dare’s story. I freaking missed the Sinners world so much, so I absolutely LOVED experiencing it again, this time with Exodus End!!!

He lifted a hand and touched her cheek with his fingertips. His thumb brushed her trembling lips. “A sweet lamb left to fend for herself in a den of wolves. Whatever will we do with you?”

Toni Nicols has the enviable job of following around the members of Exodus End in order to write their interactive biography. She needs to tour with them all while trying to win their trust and individual stories. The thing is, Toni is woefully unprepared to be around the hottest, sexiest rock stars in the world. She’s had little to no social life, since her life revolved around taking care of her sister, and… she’s a virgin. I adored Toni – she’s sweet, awkward, and completely relatable.

Logan Schmidt is known not only as the bassist for Exodus End, but also as an adrenaline junkie as well. I loved Logan – he’s a daredevil, he’s hilarious in a dorky way, and so freaking sweet to Toni. He doesn’t understand why someone as awkward and innocent as Toni is intrigues him, but she does, and he can’t stop thinking about her or getting into her pants. The chemistry is explosive between him and Toni, and since they’re in such close proximity to each other on the tour bus, they just can’t resist each other.

Was she really going to lose her virginity? To a gorgeous rock god with a huge cock? Nice. That drunk stranger in college who’d made her feel like the homeliest woman on the planet could bite her fat ass. Logan Schmidt was going to have sex with her, and she was going to love every minute of it.
She assumed.

Logan and Toni begin a sort of friends-with-benefits relationship, which was so fun to read. Hot damn, the things Logan does to Toni. Olivia Cunning is one of my favorite erotica authors, and she definitely doesn’t disappoint in Insider. I believe this is the first virgin heroine Olivia Cunning has written, so it was such a fun change to have the hero teach everything related to sex with the heroine.

He grinned devilishly. “I need far more than twenty-four hours to do all the things I want to do with you.”
His lips brushed the side of her neck, and she sucked in a shaky breath.
“Mmm,” he murmured. “There are so many things I want to show you, Toni. Teach you.”

I really loved the character growth for both Toni and Logan. Toni is pretty clueless (in an adorable way), but she grows in self-confidence and learns to stand up for herself and for what she wants – which is Logan. She falls fast for this sexy rock star, though who wouldn’t? Logan was definitely the typical manwhore rock star prior to Toni, but once he falls for Toni, he falls so hard in love with her. I loved seeing Logan fumbling around with his feelings, but also knowing that he would do anything for Toni. Logan is such a sweetheart!

Maybe love was the adrenaline rush that had been missing from his life all these years.

If you haven’t read Olivia Cunning’s rock star books, you are seriously missing out. She is one of THE best erotica authors I’ve ever has the pleasure of reading, and she manages to write scenes that have you fanning yourself one moment, then laughing out loud the next. The characters in this rock star world are so real and full of life – I absolutely loved reading Toni and Logan’s book, and also getting to know the other members of Exodus End (DARE!!). If you’re a fan of Sinners, you’ll get to see some of them in Insider!

Insider was an absolute delight to read. It was hilarious, deliciously sexy, and so much fun – just perfect. And now I can’t WAIT for the other band members to get their books!

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

The Exodus End series is a SPINOFF of the Sinners on Tour series. Though you don’t have to read Sinners before reading Insider, I highly recommend it (because they’re just that good).

Reading Order: Sinners on Tour series

#1 ~ Backstage Pass: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#2 ~ Rock Hard: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#3 ~ Hot Ticket: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#4 ~ Wicked Beat: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#5 ~ Double Time: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#6 ~ Sinners at the Altar: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads

Combining her love for romantic fiction and rock ‘n roll, USA Today Best-Selling Author Olivia Cunning writes erotic romance centered around rock musicians.

Raised on hard rock music from the cradle, she attended her first Styx concert at age six and fell instantly in love with live music. She’s been known to travel over a thousand miles just to see a favorite band in concert. As a teen, she discovered her second love, romantic fiction — first, voraciously reading steamy romance novels and then penning her own.

Facebook • Twitter • Website • Goodreads

10 Signed paperbacks by Olivia Cunning
(Sinners on Tour, One Night with Sole Regret anthologies, Insider)
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