Tag Archives: new adult

Early Review: Breaking Nova by Jessica Sorensen

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Breaking Nova by Jessica Sorensen

Breaking Nova by Jessica Sorensen
Series: Nova #1 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: September 3rd 2013
Purchase: Ebook • Paperback
Source: I received an ARC from the publisher (Forever) in exchange for an honest review

Nova Reed used to have dreams-of becoming a famous drummer, of marrying her true love. But all of that was taken away in an instant. Now she’s getting by as best she can, though sometimes that means doing things the old Nova would never do. Things that are slowly eating away at her spirit. Every day blends into the next . . . until she meets Quinton Carter. His intense, honey brown eyes instantly draw her in, and he looks just about as broken as she feels inside.

Quinton once got a second chance at life-but he doesn’t want it. The tattoos on his chest are a constant reminder of what he’s done, what he’s lost. He’s sworn to never allow happiness into his life . . . but then beautiful, sweet Nova makes him smile. He knows he’s too damaged to get close to her, yet she’s the only one who can make him feel alive again. Quinton will have to decide: does he deserve to start over? Or should he pay for his past forever?

This story was sad, heartbreaking, and yet, in the end, so full of hope. My thoughts are, to be honest, quite jumbled over this book. There was so much angst and sadness and desolation for these two seemingly hopeless characters, but I still held on to the hope that there would be some sort of happy end for them. Breaking Nova could be categorized as a romance, I suppose, but for me, it was less of a romance and more of a story of two people coming together at the very lowest points of their lives. And they connect with one another in a powerful way, one they’ve never had with anyone else. They may or may not end up together at the end of this series, but I’d be perfectly happy with either way, as long as Nova and Quinton each find a way to have a happy future. (The romantic in me wishes they’ll have a HEA though!)

Sadness. Angst. Depression. Anguish. Pain. These are only a few of the things that Nova and Quinton are going through from the beginning of the book. My heart broke so much for them both. I can’t even imagine the heartache and grief each of them go through in their situations. Already from the get-go, the story goes straight downhill. It went so downhill, in fact, that I became very worried about whether it was possible for either Nova or Quinton to get back up. For both of them, death is sadly a huge part of their lives. From the beginning of the book, they lose people they love in horrifying ways, and those losses shape their very souls: who they are, what they are, how they act, etc. Unfortunately, both turn to drugs to get away from the pain. It was difficult for me to read, since I’m not a fan of reading about drug abuse, but while I didn’t like it, I could understand how they wanted a way to forget the pain and the memories that continue to haunt them.

I honestly loved the writing. The words are almost lyrical in a way, flowing so smoothly. Sometimes, I’d come across a sentence or paragraph that would stick out to me, and it would make me think about myself and about others, and that’s such a powerful thing for books to do. Make you re-evaulate yourself and others, re-evaluate life. I applaud Jessica Sorensen for writing a book that had so much raw, gritty emotion and made me feel so much. Just thinking about the book again makes my heart hurt a little.

I am SO glad for the last 20-25% of the book, because honestly, if I had to read an ENTIRE book that only had pain and suffering, I would not enjoy it at all. So thank goodness for the last part. Because as devastating and heartbreaking the rest of the book was, there was still hope. Breaking Nova is not a happy book, but the end left me feeling like Nova and Quinton might possibly have a better future for themselves. Maybe not right then, but like they’d eventually find a way to pull themselves out of that deep, dark place they are in. Quinton, who has so much more shame and guilt, would have a harder time with this, but I have no doubt that he’ll find a way, or else Nova will for him, to heal.

And I love that the story played out almost like a movie. All of Jessica Sorensen’s books that I’ve read have an almost cinematic quality to them, at least more than the usual imagining the story inside your head thing. Her books would make perfect movies.

I really, really enjoyed Breaking Nova. It was moving and powerful and bittersweet. I didn’t love it, but I’d definitely recommend it to those who like angst to the max in their books. SO looking forward to the sequel. (Fingers crossed for a happier book!)

4 hearts for this difficult, heartbreaking, captivating read.

4 hearts
lacey

Reading Order: Nova series

Breaking Nova by Jessica Sorensen Saving Quinton by Jessica Sorensen Nova and Quinton No Regrets by Jessica Sorensen
Wreck Me by Jessica Sorensen Ruin Me by Jessica Sorensen Taking Chances by Jessica Sorensen

#1 ~ Breaking Nova: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#2 ~ Saving Quinton: Ebook • Goodreads
#3 ~ Nova and Quinton: No Regrets: Ebook • Goodreads
#4 ~ Wreck Me: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#5 ~ Ruin Me: Ebook (Jan. 19, 2015)
#2.5 & #3.5 ~ Taking Chances: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads

Review: Near and Far by Nicole Williams

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Near and Far by Nicole Williams

Near and Far by Nicole Williams
Series: Lost and Found #2 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: July 28th 2013
Purchase: Ebook • Paperback

There’s optimistic. And there’s Jesse Walker.

If he wasn’t so charming, his sunny disposition and incessant grin would get old. Fast.

Falling in love with the broken girl who had at first seemed immune to anything resembling love was the best thing to happen to Jesse since the Walkers adopted him when he was five.

As Jesse’s life continues at the ranch and Rowen begins making her mark in the Seattle art community, they wonder where the middle ground is. Or if there even is one.

As push comes to shove, they’re forced to make choices neither are eager to make, and Jesse and Rowen have to face what their lives might look like without the other.

Can two people with such tragic pasts and different presents expect a promising future together? Whatever the answer, they’ll need a lot more than love to make it.

Sigh. I just love Jesse. He’s my favorite nice boy/cowboy (okay, so he’s the only nice boy/cowboy I know, but whatevs). I had just finished reading book 1, Lost and Found, when luck would have it that Near and Far was released! I was so, so glad that Jesse and Rowen’s story wasn’t quite over yet. And I love that in Near and Far, we get alternating chapters of Rowen and Jesse’s POVs. WE GET TO BE IN JESSE WALKER’S HEAD!!! AHHH!!! *SWOONS*

Ahem, where was I… yes, so you can be sure that I was SO excited to be reading Lost and Found’s sequel, because I LOVED that book, and I needed more Jesse! And I knew that I wouldn’t wouldn’t be disappointed, because it’s Nicole Williams (whom I adore) and hello, Jesse! I am definitely not one to turn down a sweet and sexy cowboy. And while I can’t say that I LOVED Near and Far (at least as much as the first book), I absolutely enjoyed reading it and thought it was a great way to end Rowen and Jesse’s story.

So summer is over and Rowen has to leave the ranch and Jesse, and has to start college. Jesse is still working at the ranch, and rarely has time to visit Rowen, so they have to deal with having a long distance relationship. Throw in a TA who might have a thing for Rowen from her art class and a new working girl at the ranch who definitely has her eyes on Jesse, and the drama unfolds.

Most of the book is about the main couple dealing with their long distance relationship. It’s not easy. As much as they love each other, and they do, very much, time away from each other takes its toll on both of them. Both Jesse and Rowen become a little insecure about themselves and about their relationship. Neither of them thinks they are good enough for the other. They don’t see that they are perfect for each other, and their relationship gets a little strained. It was mostly because of this that I couldn’t put my full attention to Near and Far. It’s not that I was bored-more like the book just couldn’t hold my attention. And because of that, I couldn’t love the book fully.

The best thing about Near and Far, besides Jesse of course, is seeing how much love Jesse and Rowen have for each other. No matter how much their relationship gets battered, their love for each other is strong and unwavering. I was swooning so hard every time Jesse talked about Rowen, because you just know that that girl is everything to him. And the same goes for Rowen.

We never really got to read about Jesse’s past in full detail in Lost and Found, but it’s all out there in Near and Far. And it was horrendous. We finally find out the full extent of how neglected and abused Jesse was during his childhood, and my heart went out to him. But it just makes it all the more incredible that despite Jesse’s terrible upbringing, he has found the ability to love and is loved in return, and he has such a heart of gold. He tries to see the good in everyone even knowing that some people are so bad they are unredeemable.

The second best thing in the book was GARTH! I totally fell for this dark, bad boy, his sarcasm and his inner goodness. Because underneath his bad boy facade lies a good guy underneath. He cares about Jesse and Rowen, as much as he pretends he doesn’t, and I absolutely CANNOT WAIT for his book, Finders Keepers.

I loved the ending of Near and Far. It was so sweet and heartfelt, and even a bit sad since Rowen and Jesse’s story has come to its end. But I’m hoping we get to see glimpses of them in Garth’s book! I highly recommend reading this series, or anything by Nicole Williams. Her books are just fantastic, and never disappointing!

4 hearts!
4-hearts

Ladies, I present to you, Jesse Walker (or his back at least):

Jesse Walker

Just LOOK at that sexylicious back. Like, hot damn. I can’t even handle it. *fans self*

lacey

Reading Order: Lost and Found series

Lost and Found by Nicole Williams Near and Far by Nicole Williams
Finders Keepers by Nicole Williams Losers Weepers by Nicole Williams Heart & Soul by Nicole Williams

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

Review: Lost and Found by Nicole Williams

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Lost and Found by Nicole Williams

Lost and Found by Nicole Williams
Series: Lost and Found #1 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: May 7th 2013
Purchase: Ebook • Paperback

There’s complicated. And there’s Rowen Sterling.

After numbing pain for the past five years with boys, alcohol, and all-around apathy, she finds herself on a Greyhound bus to nowhere Montana the summer after she graduates high school. Her mom agreed to front the bill to Rowen’s dream art school only if Rowen proves she can work hard and stay out of trouble at Willow Springs Ranch. Cooking breakfast at the crack of dawn for a couple dozen ranch hands and mucking out horse stalls are the last things in the world Rowen wants to spend her summer doing.

Until Jesse Walker saunters into her life wearing a pair of painted-on jeans, a cowboy hat, and a grin that makes something in her chest she’d thought was frozen go boom-boom. Jesse’s like no one else, and certainly nothing like her. He’s the bright and shiny to her dark and jaded.

Rowen knows there’s no happily-ever-after for the golden boy and the rebel girl—happily-right-now is a stretch—so she tries to forget and ignore the boy who makes her feel things she’s not sure she’s ready to feel. But the more she pushes him away, the closer he seems to get. The more she convinces herself she doesn’t care, the harder she falls.

When her dark secrets refuse to stay locked behind the walls she’s kept up for years, Rowen realizes it’s not just everyone else she needs to be honest with. It’s herself.

Nicole Williams, I love you. You are one of my absolute favorite authors ever. I fell completely in love with your Crash series (Jude!!! <3) and when I found out about your new book, Lost and Found, I absolutely had to read it! And goodness gracious, it did not disappoint! I wholeheartedly loved every bit of Lost and Found. It’s got incredible characters who you can’t help but love and care for. My heart just went out to Rowen and Jesse, the Walker family, and even Garth. Nicole Williams writes characters that are just so well-written, and a story that is sure to entertain.

Rowen is who you would consider a bad girl. She’s slept with tons of guys, done drugs, gets into tons of trouble, etc. But she’s funny as hell, and I love her every time she cracks a joke. She’s just graduated high school, and is sent to work at a ranch by her mother (who is a total bitch and hag-bleh) to what she calls “Hicksville, USA.” Really, it’s just Montana, but there’s pretty much no difference to a city girl like Rowen. And she doesn’t expect to meet the one and only Jesse Walker, hottie and cowboy extraordinaire.

The fantastic thing about Rowen is that she’s easily relatable. Even though she’s what some would call “bad,” she’s still real and down to earth. She’s blunt and honest, and even a little lost. She doesn’t know who she is, what her purpose is in the world, and during her time at the ranch, she discovers parts of herself she never knew existed. Her self-discovery and self-awareness are what make Lost and Found so much more than just a bad girl meets a good guy (I’ll talk more about this yummy good guy later ;)). Rowen’s a teen just like any other who is struggling to find her place in the world. And she gets the chance to change her bad girl ways thanks to a heartwarming and welcoming family who shows her what it means to love and be loved.

Ahem. So. What do you get when you have a gorgeous blond, blue-eyed boy who’s also an all-around nice guy, and is a cowboy? Jesse Walker. *fangirls* I honestly can’t think of another book who has a guy as nice and good-natured as Jesse is. And I LOVE him for that. It’s endearing and sweet and wonderful how good he is. He has a heart of gold, but don’t worry, he’s not entirely perfect either. He’s got some secrets of his own, but they’ve done nothing but make him into the incredible man that he is. He’s the type of guy you wish existed, because he’d make the world a better place with his optimism and goodness. Not to mention the hot bod he’s got going on. *sighs* He’s a cowboy-so it’s muscles galore! 😉 Rowen falls for him so hard (how can you not?), and it’s the sweetest thing to see them growing to love each other more and more, to see Jesse break down that tough-girl wall Rowen has erected around her heart.

The characters and the story are just incredible, and I could go on and on about how much I loved this book, but I won’t! Just read this book!

5 hearts!
5-hearts

lacey

Reading Order: Lost and Found series

Lost and Found by Nicole Williams Near and Far by Nicole Williams
Finders Keepers by Nicole Williams Losers Weepers by Nicole Williams Heart & Soul by Nicole Williams

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

Review: Frigid by J. Lynn

Posted in 3.5 hearts, Reviews by

Frigid by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Frigid by J. Lynn
Series: Frigid #1
Publication Date: July 15th 2013
Purchase: Ebook • Paperback

For twenty-one-year-old Sydney, being in love with Kyler isn’t anything new. They’d been best friends ever since he pushed her down on the playground and she made him eat a mud pie. Somewhere over the years, she fell for him and fell hard. The big problem with that? Kyler puts the ‘man’ in man-whore. He’s never stayed with a girl longer than a few nights, and with it being their last year in college, Syd doesn’t want to risk their friendship by declaring her love.

Kyler has always put Syd on a pedestal that was too high for him to reach. To him, she’s perfect and she’s everything. But the feelings he has for her, he’s always hidden away or focused on any other female. After all, Kyler will always be the poor boy from the wrong side of tracks, and Syd will always be the one girl he can never have.

But when they’re stranded together at a posh ski resort due to a massive Nor’easter, there’s nothing stopping their red-hot feelings for each other from coming to the surface. Can their friendship survive the attraction? Better yet, can they survive at all? Because as the snow falls, someone is stalking them, and this ski trip may be a life-changer in more ways than one.

I have to admit that I’m a huge, huge fan of the friends-to-lovers trope. Whether the couple is best friends already or become close friends during the book, it doesn’t matter to me. If it’s done well, if I’m rooting for the couple to end up together, then I’m going to love the book. In this case, Frigid is the story of best-friends-since-they-were-younguns Sydney and Kyler. So of course I had to read this book.

When I pick up a book by Jennifer L. Armentrout (or J. Lynn, her pen name), I know that I’ll for sure be enjoying the book, if not loving it. And though Frigid isn’t one of my favorites of her books, I did have a fun time reading it. I love the way Jennifer writes, which is so real, full of heart, and humorous. Unfortunately, I couldn’t connect with either Sydney or Kyler, so I couldn’t love the book very much. That’s not to say I didn’t like the book at all, because I did! Frigid was never boring, though it did get slow at times.

Sydney is the goody-two-shoes girl who’s always had to watch her best friend Kyler go through his manwhoring ways. And Kyler is one serious manwhore. I don’t really have an issue with guys who have slept with a ton of girls, but I did keep wondering why Sydney kept on loving Kyler even seeing him with hordes of girls. And eventually you get to see a sweeter side of Kyler that he never shows any girl but Sydney. The book is told from both their POVs, though most of it is told from Sydney’s POV, and it’s obvious to the reader that they’re in love with each other. The best part of Frigid is seeing Kyler and Sydney finally realize the depth of their feelings for each other, and yet still keep their friendship intact. They still argue, banter, and do everything that they did as best friends, but they also add the intimacy of being in love with each other.

The book was kind of weird, in that it moved too slow and too fast at the same time. Or I should say that Sydney and Kyler progressed to the hot and heavy stuff really quickly, too quickly for me, and yet their realization of their feelings for each other was just too slow. Most of the time, I was just wishing for them to just get a clue and admit their feelings for each other, because they honestly had no clue how one felt about the other! Of course, this is probably an important factor in stories with the whole friends-to-lovers thing, but still, Kyler and Sydney were just too clueless and oblivious.

There’s a bit of a suspenseful theme to the story that blows up towards the end of the novel, and I was really surprised that the suspense actually got that big and far. But besides this, the rest of the book is pretty lighthearted. If you’re looking for a sweet romance with a couple who is best friends, then Frigid is for you!

3.5 hearts!
3.5-hearts

lacey

Review: Losing Hope by Colleen Hoover

Posted in 6 hearts, Reviews by

Losing Hope by Colleen Hoover

Losing Hope by Colleen Hoover
Series: Hopeless #2 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: July 8th 2013
Purchase: Ebook • Paperback

In the follow-up to Colleen Hoover’s #1 New York Times bestseller Hopeless, the charming and irresistible Dean Holder tells the passionate story that has melted thousands of hearts.

In Hopeless, Sky left no secret unearthed, no feeling unshared, and no memory forgotten, but Holder’s past remained a mystery.

Still haunted by the little girl he let walk away, Holder has spent his entire life searching for her in an attempt to finally rid himself of the crushing guilt he has felt for years. But he could not have anticipated that the moment they reconnect, even greater remorse would overwhelm him…

Sometimes in life, if we wish to move forward, we must first dig deep into our past and make amends. In Losing Hope, bestselling author Colleen Hoover reveals what was going on inside Holder’s head during all those hopeless moments—and whether he can gain the peace he desperately needs.

Shit.

I… I am speechless.

Utterly floored.

I honestly cannot even begin to describe the emotions that I’m feeling right now after just finishing Losing Hope. So I’m just going to rant. And yeah, there’s gonna be some curse words in here. Cuz you just can’t rant without a little bad word here and there.

Let me just begin by saying I had every expectation of l o v i n g this book. I mean, duh, it’s Colleen Hoover! And to top it off with some sweet, sexy, 8-pack abs a cherry on top, it’s DEAN. HOLDER. Like, SA-WOON.

Dean Holder. I like, live, love this boy. This boy and his book stole a precious piece of my heart. And I’m like, you can have it. You can totally have it. JUST TAKE IT ALL OKAY? This books is filled with emotions and I felt every. single. one. Colleen Hoover, I applaud you. Absolutely bow down to you. Because you’ve done it again. You made me feel so damn much, I felt my heart was breaking a thousand times, only to have it stitched back together by your incredible words and the amount of heart and love in this beautiful book. But still. What the hell, Colleen Hoover? Are you trying to kill me over here? It wasn’t enough that with Hopeless, you broke my heart into pieces, but you had to have the nerve to write Losing Hope and rip my heart to shreds? Thanks. Thanks a lot. No, I mean it. Thank you.

Thank you for writing the most beautiful, incredible, emotional, raw, heartfelt book I’ve ever read.

What’s especially different with Losing Hope, besides the fact that it’s Hopeless from Holder’s POV, is that it’s not just everything from Hopeless. Interspersed throughout the chapters are journal entries that Holder writes to Les. We get to feel how sad and devastated and shattered Holder is from Les’s death, but we also feel how crushed and hurt and angry he is at her suicide. We get to see the events prior to the beginning of Hopeless, starting with Les’s suicide. But not everything’s depressing in Losing Hope, thank god, because we get to see how Holder slowly heals from his sister’s death with the help of Sky and his love for her. And we finally get a glimpse of the happily ever after for Holder and Sky.

Reading how Holder falls in love with Sky is just the b e s t. It was written so incredibly, I felt like I was falling a bit in love with Sky too LOL.

My all time favorite quote in the whole wide world:

“Fuck all the firsts, Sky. The only thing that matters to me with you are the forevers.”

I cried. I cried so. damn. much. It was like waterworks. And it all happened towards the end of the book. The Letter. The Favor. And The Final Chapter. Those 3 parts made me bawl and sob and wail and flail and made me look like a freaking lunatic with my nasty, red, tear-stained face. With The Letter, Holder is finally, finally absolved of all his guilt, but there’s still all this overwhelming sadness. I was only tearing up while reading The Letter, especially at the very end, and I never expected to actually cry. But then. Dean Holder. He started crying and it was just a domino effect. I started crying so, so much, tears pouring down my face because of part with The Letter, because of the whole book, but mostly for Dean Holder. This boy has been through so fucking butterflying much and it’s just like, is it finally going to end for him? Is he finally going to be able to be free of his past and his guilt? I just wanted to pick Holder out of the book, give him a huge hug, and hold him forever and forever. Of course, he wouldn’t let me, because he’s a total bamf. The sweetest bamf, still, mind you.

And oh my god, The Favor. Let me tell you, the moment he asked Sky to do him a favor, I knew, I knew exactly what the favor was going to be. It just popped right into my head. And when he said it, I started bawling and tears were just streaming down my face.

There were happy tears, but there were sad ones as well. Because how could you possibly not be saddened by a story like this? Yes, I’m happy it was a happy ending, I’m happy they survived, I’m happy they’re together and have each other. But still. As much as I loved Hopeless and Losing Hope, the subject of these books are pretty horrifying. All I can say is that if you have ever been through anything like what Sky has been through, or any trauma at all, then I hope that you have your very own Dean Holder or at least someone very much like him to be with you.

I honestly can’t say whether I loved Hopeless or Losing Hope more. But I can say that Losing Hope completely captured my heart. You should definitely read Hopeless before tackling on Losing Hope though. But I promise that you will not regret reading either of these stories.

6 BEAUTIFUL FARKING HEARTS
6-hearts

lacey

Reading Order: Hopeless series

Hopeless by Colleen Hoover Losing Hope by Colleen Hoover Finding Cinderella by Colleen Hoover

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