Review: Bully by Penelope Douglas

Posted in 5 hearts, Reviews by Lacey

Bully by Penelope Douglas
Series: Fall Away #1 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: June 17th 2013
Links: Ebook • Audible • Goodreads

My name is Tate. He doesn’t call me that, though. He would never refer to me so informally, if he referred to me at all.We’re neighbors, and once, we were best friends. But then, one summer, he turned on me and has made it his mission to screw up my life at every opportunity. I’ve been humiliated, shut out, and gossiped about all through high school. His pranks and rumors got more sadistic as time wore on, and I made myself sick trying to hide from him. I worried about what was around every corner and behind every door.

So I left.

I spent a year studying abroad and bathed in the freedom of life without Jared. Now I’m back to finish up high school and get the hell out of here forever. I’m hoping that after a year of breathing room, he’s moved on and forgotten all about me.

But even if he hasn’t changed, I have. I’m not interested in avoiding him or turning the other cheek anymore. We’re going to go head to head, because neither of us wants to back down.

Yesterday lasts forever.
Tomorrow comes never.
Until you.

Oh. My. God. I LOOOVED this book. Absolutely, whole-heartedly loved it! It was incredible! It made me smile and laugh and made my heart pound, and I can’t believe I waited so long to read it! Gosh, Penelope Douglas, you have written such a great romance. I fell in love and swoon so hard for Jared. Bad boys just can’t get any better than him 😉

I wasn’t sure how I would like a romance where the male lead is, well, a bully. And he truly is a bully. Jared is mean, cold and cruel to Tate. He laughs at her, taunts her, spreads rumors about her… So how did I find a way to look past his cruelness and fall in love with him? Well, to be honest, I’m not even sure! All I knew was that I never truly hated Jared for the way he treated Tate (and he was pretty horrible to her). I always thought in the back of my mind there had to be a reason for his cruelness. You just don’t go from being the best of friends when you were young, to practically enemies. Jared left Tate one summer to visit his father, and when he returned, gone was the sweet best friend. Only a bitter, cold-hearted boy came back. And all Tate can think is, What happened?

Tate used to let Jared’s cruelness get the best of her. She’d cry and run away, but the start of her senior year is different. She’s standing up for herself now, and standing against Jared. She’s not going to let him bully her anymore, and she sure as hell isn’t ever going to let him make her cry again.

“You’ve already made me cry countless times.” I raised my middle finger to him slowly, and asked, “Do you know what this is?” I took my middle finger and patted the corner of my eye with it. “It’s me, wiping away the last tear you’ll ever get.”

From that point on, when she said that, I totally loved this girl. Tate grows a backbone, and she’s so kickass. Sure, she goes a little over the top with the way she retaliates against Jared, but I thought it was completely warranted. After all, Jared did treat her like shit. But then she realizes that treating Jared as badly as he treated her isn’t the way to go. Plus, there’s that insanely strong attraction they have for one another. *fans self* Their sexual tension is off the charts! Holy hell, the way they react to each other, it’s just the. best. It’s sexy and exciting and so fun to read, because you never knew exactly when they’d blow and start kissing the crap out of each other 😉

My absolute favorite quote:

“You were my tempest, my thunder cloud, my tree in the downpour. I loved all those things, and I loved you. But now? You’re a fucking drought. I thought that all the assholes drove German cars, but it turns out that pricks in Mustangs can still leave scars.”

*Sigh* Tate is just too great. I loved her character. She and Jared are perfect.

Ahem. So, Jared. We all love stories about redemption. And Jared is the ultimate redemption story. He’s bad and makes no excuses for it. And how can Tate ever forgive him for the way he treated her? We start to see the other side of Jared, the part that’s not mean or cold or cruel. And, well… it’s hard not to fall in love with him after seeing him without the hard exterior. And Tate has a hard time not falling in love either.

“I want to touch you.” His words were against my lips now. “I want to feel what’s mine. What’s always been mine.”

Tate still misses her best friend, and when I kept reading (because I COULDN’T STOP) and found out why Jared changed, it broke my heart. I wanted them to have their HEA desperately, because they both deserved one, and they both deserved a happy ending together. Because they’re meant for each other, and always have. Their love is so sweet and heartfelt and romantic. *Sigh* It kept making me smile and clutch my heart, because they’re so good together.

The amount of angst in the book is perfect! My heart was going crazy for Jared and Tate. If you haven’t read this book, GO! It’s amazing. It’ll take you on a roller coaster of emotions.

And oh gosh, I’m SO ecstatic to read Until You, which is Jared’s POV of Bully. AH! Can’t wait to read it! It’s high up on my wishlist 🙂

Reading Order: Fall Away series

#1 ~ Bully: Ebook • Audible • Goodreads
#1.5 ~ Until You: My Review • Ebook • Audible • Goodreads
#2 ~ Rival: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#3 ~ Falling Away: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#4 ~ Aflame: My Review • Ebook • Audible • Goodreads

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15Oct2013

Review: Finders Keepers by Nicole Williams

Posted in 4 hearts, Reviews by Lacey

Finders Keepers by Nicole Williams
Series: Lost and Found #3 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: September 16th 2013
Purchase: Ebook • Paperback

There’s tortured. And there’s Garth Black.

His life has been a constant carousel of tragedy and disappointment, including his love life. Of course, applying the term “love” to Garth’s conquests is a gross misuse of the word. Some people were made to give and accept love, and others weren’t. Garth Black redefines the “others” category. He’s made a vow that the day he meets a woman who could sucker him into falling in love will be the day he runs away.

Garth’s plan has one flaw. What happens when he’s already fallen hard for a girl before the warning signs and red flags go up? What happens when the love he’s avoided his entire life brings him to his knees? What happens when Garth Black lets the dirtiest four letter word he’s ever known into his dark, lonely life?

This cowboy’s about to find out he can control some things, and he can’t control others. Number one on the what he can’t control list?

Love.

You have no idea how excited I was to read Garth Black’s story. Finding out he was getting his own book made my life. And although I took me a while to get around to reading it, I’m so glad I finally did! Since the summary doesn’t reveal the girl Garth falls head over heels in love with, I’m not going to either in my review :). If you’ve already read the first two books in the Lost and Found series, you can make a good guess as to who the girl is. I was hoping it would be her, and yep! It was!

Garth. Black! This dark, bad boy. *grins* I adore him. He doesn’t believe in love and goes out of his way to ensure her never falls in love. And what do you know? He falls so hard. He stole my heart in Near and Far, and he definitely made swoon a bit in Finders Keepers. He’s just so gosh darn CUTE! I love how within that jerkish, bad boy facade, he’s a total sweetheart and he’s got a heart of gold. He’s also sarcastic and facetious, and occasionally I wanted to throttle him because he’s too hard on himself. He sees himself as trailer trash, not worthy of the girl he loves, but in reality he is. He’d give anything and do anything for those he cares about, and even though there are only a select few of them, he gives his whole heart for them. And how can you not love that?

The romance is a slow build-up of tension and longing and desire from both Garth and the girl he loves. They’re the town sweetheart and the boy from the wrong side of the tracks! Their love is sweet and heartfelt and so freaking romantic that I totally excused the slowness of their romance. It did get pretty slow during some parts of the book, where Garth keeps putting himself down, and not going for the girl he loves because he thinks she can do better than him. NO, Garth! You’re perfect! You’re sweet and kind (when you want to be), and you have nothing to be ashamed about. *Sighs*

So the girl who this dark cowboy falls in love with? She can totally hold her own against him. Any girl Garth is going to fall in love with has to be tough and awesome. And she is. She sees right through Garth’s bad boy facade, and she’s just so cool every time Garth tries to push her away, because she won’t let him. She takes action on her own, and Garth can’t do anything about her except fall even more in love. This girl is perfect for Garth, and they’re perfect together.

God, Garth is such a sweetie. I just love it when book boys who are players/jerks show their sweet side, because it’s even more special. They never open up, show the real them, except to the girl they love. *swoon* And Garth is the ultimate bad boy jerk, but then when it happens to him, when he falls in love… It’s just too adorable.

And we get to see Jesse (MY LOVE) and Rowen! So great reading about them again!

I just love this series. It’s cute boys and cowboys and sweet romances, so what’s not to love? I highly recommend this series, and Nicole Williams’s other books, the Crash series, too! She writes the best book boys (JUDE and JESSE and GARTH) with the best romances.

A 3.5 at some parts where it was slow, but overall it’s a 4 🙂

Reading Order: Lost and Found series

#1 ~ Lost and Found: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#2 ~ Near and Far: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#3 ~ Finders Keepers: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#4 ~ Losers Weepers: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#5 ~ Heart and Soul: Goodreads (June 16, 2015)

12Oct2013

Joint Review: Finding Cinderella by Colleen Hoover

Posted in 5 hearts, Reviews by Shirley

Finding Cinderella by Colleen Hoover
Series: Hopeless #2.5, but can be read as a standalone (full reading order below)
Publication Date: October 14th 2013
Purchase: Ebook (FREE!) • Paperback

A chance encounter in the dark leads eighteen-year-old Daniel and the girl who stumbles across him to profess their love for each other. But this love comes with conditions: they agree it will only last one hour and it will only be make-believe.

When their hour is up and the girl rushes off like Cinderella, Daniel tries to convince himself that what happened between them only seemed perfect because they were pretending it was perfect. Moments like that with girls like her don’t happen outside of fairytales.

One year and one bad relationship later, his disbelief in insta-love is stripped away the day he meets Six: a girl with a strange name and an even stranger personality. Daniel soon realizes the way he pretended to feel about Cinderella and the way he really feels about Six may not be so different after all. Especially when the two loves of his life end up being one in the same.

Unfortunately for Daniel, finding Cinderella doesn’t guarantee their happily ever after…it only further threatens it.

Shirley here.

I was absolutely beyond excited for this novella to come out! When Colleen Hoover posted that there was an early release (ahem, 3 DAYS EARLIER) I absolutely FREAKED. OUT. I already knew I was going to fall in love with the book, because COME ON, IT’S COLLEEN HOOVER.

Hands down, this book definitely ranks first in my list of happy novellas (the list is quite short to be honest). I fell in love with Daniel and his CHARISMATIC and humorous personality in Losing Hope, so I was just so excited for an entire novella in his POV! As Colleen said, you definitely don’t have to read the other books, Hopeless and Losing Hope, to read this book (SO READ IT), but if you did read them, you get better background information and you understand the other characters more!

From the very beginning of this, I fell in looovvveeee with Daniel. The scene where he tells “Cinderella” that he loves her; even though he doesn’t mean it (but he really wants to), was SO. CUTE. To be honest when Holder showed up in the novella, and said that Six was off-limits to Daniel I was so ANNOYED. Don’t get me wrong, I love Holder, but I was so annoyed with how protective he was. Sigh. But of course, Daniel and Six just snuck around him 🙂

Their relationship iS SO ADORABLE. It’s literally the epitome of the relationship that I want…*sighs heavily* Their cute little banters, and how they share the same type of humor, AND OF COURSE, how quickly they fell in love. I was honestly just cheesin’ the entire time I was reading.

Daniel’s family is so freaking hilarious. REVERSE PSYCHOLOGY. The dad reminds me of Kami’s dad from Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan, which is always a good thing because her dad is freaking awesome.

Of course, I ended up crying in the end. NOT because it was sad or anything, but because it ended way to fast for my liking, and because it was such a good and happy ending 🙂 Not going to lie I also screamed when it ended because I was NOT EXPECTING IT TO END THERE BUT IT DID. Okay, before I ramble on some more, be sure to buy it for your e-reader on Amazon! It’s FREEEE 😉

5 DAMN HEARTS.

Lacey here.

Oh my goodness. Another Colleen Hoover book. Well, novella, to be exact. But still. I’VE GOTTEN MY COLLEEN HOOVER FIX!! I’ve been in withdrawal since Losing Hope came out. But *sniffles* her next book comes out freaking March freaking 2014.

Okay, enough about that. Let’s talk about the most hilarious, adorable boy ever–Daniel! AH I just love this boy. I butterflying love him. (See what I did there?) GOSH DARN IT COLLEEN, IS IT EVEN POSSIBLE FOR YOU TO CREATE A CHARACTER I WON’T FALL IN LOVE WITH??? Because I fell head over heels in love with Daniel and his dorkiness. I already loved him in Losing Hope, but my god, after reading his book, I am thoroughly slain by him. He completely stole my heart (and the spotlight–sorry Holder! I’ll always love you though), and I am so happy he gets his story.

I honestly could not stop smiling throughout the whole book. Daniel made me laugh and giggle so hard, and I was so smitten with him. He’s loud and obnoxious and over-the-top, but it’s in the best way possible. You just can’t not laugh because of Daniel. You can’t! And he’s the most wonderful guy ever. It may seem that he’s frivolous and doesn’t really take anything seriously, but for certain things, he gives his whole heart, like, ahem… for his Cinderella!

So, Six and Daniel? The perfect couple ever. She’s an incredible complement to Daniel’s silliness, because she’s pretty silly herself. Sparks fly everywhere between the two of them, and watching Daniel fall in love is so delightful. I was grinning ear to ear every time Six and Daniel are together. They are adorable!

We get to meet Daniel’s family as well, who is the. best. They are all just like Daniel, aka they’ll make you laugh until your sides hurt. (My absolute favorite scene was about Daniel and the 30-minute showers. COMEDY GOLD.)

Finding Cinderella can be read as a standalone, but I think it’s better to read Hopeless and Losing Hope first, so you have a better gist of the characters. If you haven’t read any books by Colleen Hoover ~~what the heck is wrong with you~~ you should! Her writing is beautiful, and she creates characters who you will care for and love. And of course, Finding Cinderella is another one of her perfect books. Sigh.

5 hearts (duh).

Reading Order: Hopeless series

#1 ~ Hopeless: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#2 ~ Losing Hope: Lacey’s Review • Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#2.5 ~ Finding Cinderella: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads

9Oct2013

Early Review: Sweet by Erin McCarthy

Posted in 4 hearts, Reviews by Lacey

Sweet by Erin McCarthy
Series: True Believers #2 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: October 15th 2013
Purchase: Ebook • Paperback
Source: I received an ARC from the publisher (InterMix) in exchange for an honest review

Jessica Sweet thought going away to college would finally make her free of her parents’ constant judgments and insistence she play chastity club role model for their church events, but if anything, the freedom has made her realize she can’t go home and be a hypocrite anymore. Tired of dodging their questions, she stays at school over the summer and lands in an unexpected crash pad: Riley Mann’s house.

Sarcastic, cocky, and full of opinions, Riley is also sexy personified with tattoos and biceps earned from working as a roofer all day. Not the right guy for her even if Jessica was looking for a relationship, which she is definitely not. But Jessica knows that Riley hides the burden of having to raise his younger brothers behind that grin and as she helps him get his house in order for a custody hearing, they begin to fall hard for each other, and she is forced to question what she’s hiding herself.

Jessica has never had a problem getting naked with a guy, but when it comes to showing Riley how she truly feels inside, her fear of rejection may just ruin the best thing—the best guy—to ever happen to her…

I’ve never read a book that made me change my mind so drastically about how I felt about the characters! I honestly hated the characters at the beginning, but later on, as I kept reading… they grew on me, and I started to care for them, and even love them. I haven’t read the first book in this series yet, but now I’m definitely going to, and I’m so looking forward to the next book!

I didn’t click with the beginning of the book. At all. Jessica and Riley were both huge jerks to one another, and I was wondering how on earth either of them would fall in love with each other. But… as I kept reading, they became less harsh and mean, and more snarky and sarcastic and funny. The more I read, the more I fell in love with them and became invested in their story and their HEA.

Jessica is a party girl whose parents are very religious. They push her to be someone she’s not, and she wants to get away from them. In comes Riley, the older brother of Jessica’s best friend’s brother. He offers her a place to stay at his house he shares with his younger brothers, despite the fact that the two of them hate each other. And sparks fly! The tension between the two of them is high, but what I loved was the constant humor and camaraderie between them, all the while pretending to still hate each other. They didn’t jump each other’s bones or give in to their lust. They slowly became friends, got the chance to know each other better, without the complication of sex.

I totally fell for Riley. He was hard to like at first (I just do not like jerk-y boys!), but as we get to know more about him… *swoon*. He’s the oldest of the four Mann brothers, and he’s had to take care of them all since their parents died a while ago. He took on the burden of three younger brothers without complaint, giving up everything for them. And if that doesn’t make you love him, I don’t know what does. He’ll do anything to make sure his brothers live the good life he never had, working nonstop to provide for them. He may not be a perfect adult model figure, but he loves his brothers with all his heart.

Jessica is hilarious! I found myself laughing hard at random parts of the book because of her, and laughing even harder at Jessica and Riley and their antics. The things they do are so adorable and I loved them together. They complemented each other perfectly, balancing each other’s traits and faults. And for a major part of the book, they still haven’t gotten together yet! Even though them getting together would be the cutest thing in the world, I was glad they took it slow. But once they realize how much they care for each other, and how much they want a relationship to happen, it’s perfection. I honestly loved every part of their relationship. Jessica’s not afraid to admit that Riley is different from the tons of other guys she’s hooked up with, and Riley is the sweetest boyfriend ever. There are a few misunderstandings, of course, that strain their relationship, but I had no worries.

I highly, highly recommend this for contemporary romance lovers. The name of the book absolutely does justice to the story. Although you probably should start with the first book in the series, unlike me. 😉

Reading Order: True Believers series

#1 ~ True: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#2 ~ Sweet: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#3 ~ Believe: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#4 ~ Shatter: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads

6Oct2013

Review: Real by Katy Evans

Posted in 4 hearts, Reviews by Lacey

Real by Katy Evans
Series: Real #1 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: April 8th 2013
Links: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads

A fallen boxer.
A woman with a broken dream.
A competition…

He even makes me forget my name. One night was all it took, and I forgot everything and anything except the sexy fighter in the ring who sets my mind ablaze and my body on fire with wanting…

Remington Tate is the strongest, most confusing man I’ve ever met in my life.

He’s the star of the dangerous underground fighting circuit, and I’m drawn to him as I’ve never been drawn to anything in my life. I forget who I am, what I want, with just one look from him. When he’s near, I need to remind myself that I am strong–but he is stronger. And now it’s my job to keep his body working like a perfect machine, his taut muscles primed and ready to break the bones of his next opponents . . .

But the one he’s most threatening to, now, is me.

I want him. I want him without fear. Without reservations.

If only I knew for sure what it is that he wants from me?

I was a bit wary going into Real, because I wasn’t sure I’d like it very much, despite the outrageous amount of love for it. But oh my goodness, I did! I really enjoyed it! It was better than I’d expected, and I wish I’d read it sooner. A fighter romance, with an intense book boyfriend I totally fell in love with, Real was one emotional roller coaster to read.

Brooke was honestly a great heroine. I never had a problem with her, and to be honest, if I were in her shoes, I would have NO idea how to deal with Remington Tate and his advances. I’d probably just melt into a puddle of goo, or just faint dead. In any case, she was an interesting change in heroines. She was a former track runner, but her dreams were ruined when she got seriously injured. Now she helps athletes with their bodies.

The moment Brooke and Remy meet, it’s instant lust at first sight. They connect on a powerfully physical way, and the emotional part slowly becomes a part of them. Besides the incredible lust Brooke and Remy have for each other, I loved that the book wasn’t predictable. I had no idea what would happen one moment, and I’d be wonderfully surprised. There are quite a few plot twists as well, and they’re so incredibly well done! So filled with angst (my favorite thing ever to read!), my heart was hurting so much, and I was desperately wishing for Remy and Brooke’s HEA.

This book was scorching. Remy is intensely raw and masculine and… *phew* oh man. I’m not even sure I can do justice to describing the way he comes off the pages. He’s built for power and strength as a fighter, so don’t even get me started on the delicious body this man has. Lickable abs indeed. (And I just love the model on the cover–I think it’s a pretty perfect image of Remy!). The tension–sexual tension–is completely off the charts! Remy is an intensely physical man, and when he sets his sights on Brooke… wow. It did get to be a bit much at times, but I totally loved Remy, so who cares? He’s insanely possessive and protective of Brooke, and he’s got such a way with words, I was swooning so hard!

“You’ll leave me the second it gets too steep, and you’ll leave me with nothing–when I want you like I’ve never wanted anything in life. You’re all I think about, dream about. I get high and low and it’s all about you now, it’s not even about me anymore. I can’t sleep, can’t think, can’t concentrate worth shit anymore and it’s all because I want to be the fucking ‘one’ for you and as soon as you realize what I am, all I’ll be is a fucking mistake!”

Remington Tate has got some things haunting him though. It was something I never expected, and so different from anything I’ve ever read, so even his secrets were an even more refreshing change than Remy already was.

And because of this book, I’ve fallen madly in love with the song Iris. *swoon*

“I don’t want to be yours. I want to be your fucking REAL.”

4 hearts! Maybe a 4.5 at some parts, but overall, I’d definitely recommend this book. It was a perfect romance!

Reading Order: Real series

#1 ~ Real: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#2 ~ Mine: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#3 ~ Remy: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#4 ~ Rogue: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#5 ~ Ripped: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#6 ~ Legend: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads

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