Tag Archives: 3 stars

ARC Review: The One Real Thing by Samantha Young

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The One Real Thing by Samantha Young
Series: Hart’s Boardwalk #1 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: September 6th 2016
Links: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
Source: I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

The New York Times bestselling author of On Dublin Street is back with the first in a sexy new romance series set in a small town on the Delaware coastline.

Welcome to Hartwell, a quiet seaside escape where uncovering old secrets could lead one woman to discover the meaning of a love that lasts…

While Doctor Jessica Huntington engages with the inmates at the women’s correctional facility where she works, she’s always careful to avoid emotional attachments in her personal life. Loss and betrayal taught her that lesson long ago. But when she comes across a set of old love letters in the prison’s library and visits the picturesque town of Hartwell to deliver them to their intended recipient, she finds herself unable to resist the town’s charm—and her attraction to the sexy owner of a local bar proves equally hard to deny.

Since his divorce from his unfaithful ex-wife, Cooper Lawson has focused on what really matters: his family and the boardwalk pub they’ve owned for generations. But the first time Jessica steps into his bar, Cooper is beyond tempted to risk his heart on her.

Yet as their attraction grows hotter and Jessica remains stubbornly closed off, he begins to realize it will take more than just passion to convince her there’s only one real thing in life worth fighting for….

First, I have to talk about the gorgeous cover of The One Real Thing!! The colors look so, so pretty together. Sunsets are always stunning, and I love that it’s a theme with the covers of the series. As for the book itself, TORT is a good introduction to Hart’s Boardwalk, but I can’t say that I loved it or connected all that well with it. This book might not be for everyone, but I see the potential this series has, and I’m still very much looking forward to the upcoming books.

Small-town romances are usually a hit or miss for me, but TORT lies somewhere in the middle. While I adored the tight-knit community and all of the secondary characters, I just didn’t connect with the main characters at all. Jessica and Cooper didn’t feel unique, and though their romance was sweet, it was too slow and underwhelming. Nothing about them particularly sparked – that being said, it sounds like I hated them, but I truly didn’t. They were just OKAY, but they did grow on me near the end of the novel.

I struggled with a big chunk of the middle of the book – I’d find myself skimming because things just weren’t moving along fast enough for me. Of course, if you’re a fan of the author (her On Dublin Street series is amazing) and you have a lot of patience, I’d definitely recommend giving this book a try.

TORT is a great introduction to the series and its characters. I’m excited to read more about the rest of Hart’s Boardwalk’s quirky inhabitants – shy Emery, volatile Vaughn and Bailey, and even Cooper’s ex-best friend. I have high hopes that the series will continue to grow and get better. This is Samantha Young, after all!

3 hearts
lacey

Reading Order: Hart’s Boardwalk series

 

#1 ~ The One Real Thing: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#2 ~ Every Little Thing: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads

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Audiobook Review: Wild and Free by Kristen Ashley

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Wild and Free by Kristen Ashley
Series: The Three #3 (full reading order below)
Audiobook Publication Date: August 9th 2016
Length: 19 hours and 17 minutes
Narrated by: Erin Mallon, Abby Craden, Stella Bloom
Links: Audible • Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
Source: I received an audiobook in exchange for an honest review

Abel Jin and Delilah Johnson have lived their lives with holes in their souls, yearning for something they don’t understand. Until one night Delilah is in mortal danger, and a man who’s otherworldly strong and supernaturally fast saves her. Delilah is then cast into a world where fiction comes to life in the form of Abel, her destined mate, a vampire/werewolf hybrid who claims her at first breath as his. But Abel knows the danger isn’t done. He’s dreamed for centuries that his mate will perish, and he will stop at nothing to keep her safe.

For Delilah, she’s coping not only with a fantasy come to life but also with a mingling of very different families. Not to mention she has on her hands a man who doesn’t understand his true nature and has lived his long life thinking he’s a monster. Abel and Delilah together fill the hole that has been clawing at them for decades. But, finally finding each other, it also tips their destinies as the last of The Three. They must unite with the other destined lovers, who, with Abel and Delilah, are fated to save the world. Or die trying.

Wild and Free is the final book in The Three series, and while it’s not my favorite of the series, it’s a good conclusion that fans of the series shouldn’t miss. I took a while to finish up this audiobook, first because I’ve been crazy busy this past week, and also because I didn’t LOVE the main characters. Wild and Free is pretty slow paced, but I did enjoy revisiting the past main characters and some new secondary characters as well. Erin Mallon is a great narrator (I’ve listened to her narrate the Addicted series) and she does an incredible job with voicing Delilah and Abel. If you’re a fan of audiobooks and KA, I’d say you should give this a try!

Abel Jin is the only known hybrid vampire and werewolf, and his time to join The Three is fast approaching now that he’s found the one mate meant for him. Delilah is unfortunately thrust into this new paranormal world she knew nothing about, but with Abel by her side, she’s ready to fight to save humanity and all paranormal creatures alongside her mate.

The thing I was most disappointed about was that there wasn’t much romance development between Abel and Delilah. It was pretty much instalove and that was it. What was able to save this story though, was the side-plot romance between Yuri and Aurora. Every time the scenes would switch to their POV, I would always find myself hooked and eager for more. They are definitely the highlight of this audiobook!

Wild and Free is certainly not KA’s best, but I think that long-time fans of series would enjoy finding out what happens to The Three and how they finally get their HEAs. There’s a pretty epic battle at the end too, if you’re into that thing 😉 And again, the narrator was perfect – and I loved that the past narrators of the series were brought in again too. I only wish the main romance could’ve been fleshed out more, because then I know I would’ve loved every bit of Wild and Free.

WILD AND FREE is now available on Audible: http://amzn.to/2bI44zW

3 hearts
lacey

Reading Order: The Three series

  

#1 ~ Until the Sun Falls from the Sky: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#2 ~ With Everything I Am: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#3 ~ Wild and Free: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads

Here’s an audio excerpt from Wild and Free!

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Release Day Review: Furious Rush by S.C. Stephens

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Furious Rush by S.C. Stephens
Publication Date: August 23rd 2016
Links: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
Source: I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Too fast, too furious-and way too hot to handle . . .

Mackenzie Cox has a lot to prove. Daughter of a racing legend, she is eager to show the world that she has inherited her father’s talent in the male-dominated sport of professional motorcycle racing. The last thing Kenzie needs is to be antagonized by her rival team’s newest rider, Hayden Hayes. Plucked from the world of illegal street racing, Hayden immediately gets under Kenzie’s skin. His insinuations that Kenzie is a spoiled princess who was handed her career fuels her desire to win, and much to her surprise, Kenzie soon learns she performs better when she’s racing against Hayden.

As Kenzie and Hayden push each other on the track, the electric energy between them off the track shifts into an intense–and strictly forbidden–attraction. The only rule between their two ultra-competitive teams is zero contact. Kenzie always does her best to play by the rules, but when her team slips into a financial crisis, she has no choice but to turn to Hayden for help. The tension simmers during their secret, late-night rendezvous, but Kenzie has too much to lose to give in to her desires. Especially when she begins to doubt that Hayden has completely left his street life behind…

“Race me or chase me, Kenzie.”

I love sports romances, but I don’t typically come across ones about motorcycle racing, so I was super intrigued when I read the blurb for Furious Rush (and saw that gorgeous cover!). S.C. Stephens’ books have been a hit-or-miss for me in the past, but this book was definitely somewhere in the middle. I enjoyed some parts, especially the racing, but some characters annoyed the crap out of me. I did think it was pretty cool that this book felt like Romeo and Juliet but with motorcycle racing (and no deaths). So if you’re looking for an exciting, unique sports romance with a steamy forbidden love, I’d say give this book a try – hopefully some of the things that bugged me won’t bug you too!

Mackenzie Cox is the daughter of a former racing legend, so she’s got big shoes to fill. But more than that, the fate of her father’s motorcycle racing company rests in her hands, because it’s in dire need of some money. If she can win her races, she’ll be able to keep the company afloat. She’s focused and her head is in the game… that is, until Hayden Hayes enters the equation and makes her lose her strict control.

“Racing gives me a high… but you make me feel alive.”

A former illegal street racer, Hayden’s just signed on to race for Kenzie’s opposing team, a team that she’s forbidden to fraternize with. But what happens when Hayden becomes the only one who’s able to push her harder than ever before and make her a better racer? As they secretly meet up on the track, the chemistry between them kicks up – but then feelings get involved, and soon enough, they’re falling head over heels for each other. But what happens when their secret is found out?

I loved the idea of Hayden and Kenzie being on opposing sides, of being ‘enemies’ in motorcycle racing and then falling for one another. Hayden is a huge jerk in the beginning – he’s totally sexist and a horndog – but he grew considerably better as the book went on. I loved that he didn’t even try to fight falling for Kenzie – he wanted to be with her and that was that. I was surprised by how freaking sweet he turned out to be and how devoted he was to Kenzie!

Kenzie, on the other hand, put up one hell of a fight, so much so that it grew tedious at times. But I didn’t hate her, and my main problem with Furious Rush were the secondary characters. Sometimes secondary characters can make or break a novel for me, and the ones in this book very nearly made me want to DNF. Kenzie has the worst friends ever – they make so many idiotic, rash decisions that I wanted to choke them. Her father is even worse, but since he’s supposed to be somewhat of an antagonistic characters, I won’t get too mad about that.

Kenzie and Hayden’s romance and their thrilling races were the highlights of the novel for me. It was almost exhilarating reading about them racing each other, because they give their all for every race. I really enjoyed the way their romance developed but I can’t say I’m excited for their sequel. The ending left me with a bad feeling… but I’m probably going to read the next book just to see how it’ll turn out. I’m really hoping the series only gets better!

3 hearts
lacey

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

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ARC Review: Ravage by Tillie Cole

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Ravage by Tillie Cole
Series: Scarred Souls #3 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: August 16th 2016
Links: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
Source: I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Is finding one’s true love worth committing the greatest sacrifice of all?

Taken as a teen, prisoner 194 was stripped of his name and freewill, meticulously honed to be a ruthless machine. Even as he tries to fight his captors hold on him he knows that obedience is the only way to save his sister, who is the one person that keeps him from turning into a monster.

As a young girl Zoya Kostava barely escaped the brutal attack that killed her entire family. Now twenty five she lives in secrecy. That is until she hears her brother also survived and is living with their greatest enemy.

Zoya risks her safety and anonymity to find the brother she thought dead and is captured by a beautiful, brutal man. A man who both captivates and scares her, in him she sees a soul as lost as her own.

They both have so much to lose will they be able to save each other…and survive.

I LOVED the first two books in the Scarred Souls series, so I’m a bit bummed out that I didn’t quite love this third book as much. I enjoyed some parts, but as a whole it just didn’t live up to the previous books – I never really connected with the characters or romance, which was a shame because I was so excited about the main characters. Still, if you’ve been a fan of Tillie Cole’s dark romances like I have, Ravage is just as gritty, intense, and thrilling as you’d expect. The romance just wasn’t believable enough for me to truly love this book like I’d hoped to.

I was insanely excited when I heard Ravage would be about Zoya Kostava. Tillie Cole knows how to entice her readers, because that snippet at the end of book two had me salivating for more. Zoya’s family was murdered when she was a young girl, and she was assumed to be the only survivor until she finds out that one of her brothers is alive. But on her quest to reunite with Zaal, she becomes a pawn to a game bigger than she realizes, one with a target right on her brother. She is kidnapped by a ruthless killer… who turns out to be so much more than he seems.

“We are different. Me weak and you strong. Me a Georgian and you Russian, but our broken hearts are tired and old. Our spirits are low, though not broken. But our souls, though thoroughly tested and hardened through pain, are resilient.” Her lips twitched, and she added, “They are the same.”

Abducted and sold into underground slavery, Valentin and his younger sister were forced into horrifying conditions no child or person should ever go through. Valentin was pumped with drugs to become a mindless killer while his sister was forced into sexual slavery. But as mindless as Valentin became, he never forgot about his sister and only allowed the things to be done to him in order to keep her alive. His latest task given by his “Mistress” is to kill a man named Zaal, and his way in is through Zoya. But even as his captive and being psychologically tortured day after day, Zoya never gives up information on her brother, and her resilience astounds Valentin.

I had survived the massacre that took my family, but lying here, I realized that the years spent away in hiding I was simply existing.
And it took a monster to revive my heart. It took a killer to touch my soul.

I loved Ravage… up until the romance started to kick in. The main reason I wasn’t into the romance was because of how unbelievable it was. I never understood how or why Zoya and Valentin started to fall for each other. Their feelings developed too much too fast, especially after what Valentin makes Zoya go through. I started liking the romance better once Valentin became fully invest in Zoya, but I still couldn’t fully connect.

If you love the Scarred Souls series, chances are you’ll probably enjoy Ravage too. It’s another fast-paced, crazy intense, action-packed installment, just a little weak on the romance side. I’m still incredibly excited for more of the series – Valentin’s sister is the heroine of the next book, and I seriously can’t wait to read it!

3 hearts
lacey

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

Reading Order: Scarred Souls series

Raze by Tillie Cole Reap by Tillie Cole
  

#1 ~ Raze: My Review • Ebook • Audible • Goodreads
#2 ~ Reap: My Review • Ebook • Audible • Goodreads
#3 ~ Ravage: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#4 ~ Riot: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#1-2 ~ Scarred Souls: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads

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Release Day Review: The Right Kind of Trouble by Shiloh Walker

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The Right Kind of Trouble by Shiloh Walker
Series: The McKays #3 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: August 2nd 2016
Links: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
Source: I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Desire won’t take no for an answer in The Right Kind of Trouble by Shiloh Walker

In the small Southern town of McKay’s Treasure, everybody knows that the handsome local police chief, Gideon Marshall, has been carrying a torch for Moira McKay. It’s also no secret that Moira has been rejecting Gideon since…forever. But after an attack from a mysterious stranger bent on taking down the McKay family, Moira becomes filled with distrust toward most men. Now she wonders whether she’s been wrong about Gideon all along—and if it’s not too late to admit him back into her life…and into her bed…

Gideon has finally convinced his wasted heart to give up on Moira, who he’s loved since he was sixteen years old. Moira’s attack changes everything, however—and he vows to protect her. But how much is he willing to risk for a woman who’s always kept him at bay…until now? And is it too late for Moira to tell him that her love for him has always been locked deep in her heart—and he holds the key?

I LOVED the second book in the McKays series, so when I had the chance to read the next book, I couldn’t wait to start it! I also adore second chance romances too, so Gideon and Moira’s story should’ve been perfect for me. But sadly, I just never grew invested in their romance and the suspense/mystery was a little tedious to read. It wasn’t a bad read, but I didn’t love it the way I hoped I would. If you’ve kept up with the series, then you probably want to give this a try, otherwise it’s a little hard to read The Right Kind of Trouble as a standalone.

Moira McKay was Gideon Marshall’s childhood sweetheart, before she ripped his heart out and threw him away. Now in their 30s, they’re still in love with each other, but the years have drifted them too far apart for Moira to ever try to make up for what she did. Gideon is trying to move on with another woman, but when Moira’s life becomes at risk, he’s back in her life once again, unable to resist the only woman he’s ever loved. Will Moira be able to earn his forgiveness – and will Gideon take her back?

Small town romances are usually so sweet, so it was a nice change to read one with a mystery. Unfortunately, the suspense didn’t really have me hooked, so I was mainly focused on Moira and Gideon’s romance, which was a little heartbreaking and angsty. I really liked the hero and was impressed with the way he never stopped loving the heroine, though I was glad he tried to move on after what she put him through. I wish Moira had taken action sooner than she did regarding Gideon – SO many years have gone by, and just now is she trying to win him back. If you haven’t read the previous books in the series, this story might be a little confusing, so I’d definitely recommend reading the books in order. If you have read the series, The Right Kind of Trouble is a fairly good conclusion to the McKay family. I didn’t love it, but I did enjoy seeing how everything ended up!

3 hearts
lacey

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

Reading Order: The McKays series

 

#1 ~ Headed for Trouble: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#2 ~ The Trouble with Temptation: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#3 ~ The Right Kind of Trouble: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads

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