ARC Review: Playing Dirty by Jennifer Echols

Posted in 3.5 hearts, Reviews by Lacey

Playing Dirty by Jennifer Echols
Series: Stargazer #2 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: October 29th 2013
Purchase: Ebook • Paperback
Source: I received an ARC from the publisher (Pocket Books) in exchange for an honest review

A public relations expert tries to prevent the breakup of a raucous country band and corral their wild—and very sexy—lead singer in book 2 of the Stargazer Series.As an expert in public relations crisis management—that is, babysitter to the stars—Sarah Seville just spent nine months in Rio trying to keep rock singer Nine Lives out of jail long enough to record his new album…and barely succeeded. Now she needs a triumphant success so she can keep the Manhattan-based job she loves. Trouble is, her new assignment is to travel to Alabama to prevent the breakup of the raucous country band The Cheatin’ Hearts, headed by sexy Quentin Cox. As she edges closer to Quentin, she discovers layers of secrets. It seems Quentin is taking the spin doctor for a spin.

The Cheatin’ Hearts have stayed on top of the charts two years following three rules. Rule One, no drugs. Rule Two, no sex with other band members. Rule Three, no sex with record company spies. Quentin figures he’d better follow the rules, because he made them. And because if you break a rule, you’re out of the band. But he can’t resist the record company’s beautiful PR agent, and inevitably he breaks Rule Three with hot Sarah Seville. As he falls for her, he finds out that she has plenty of secrets of her own, and one of them comes knocking on her door: what really happened to her in Rio.

It’s been a few days since I finished Playing Dirty, and I’m still not sure how to feel about it. It was my first time reading a book by Jennifer Echols, and while I’m not jumping for joy at the prospect of reading another of her books, I still did enjoy myself while reading Playing Dirty. I wasn’t really impressed with the writing, but I really liked the characters and story.

Well, I didn’t like the characters ALL the time. The first third of the book I didn’t like at all. The writing was all over the place, I couldn’t connect with any of the characters, so I didn’t like any of them, and everything was so hectic and crazy that I couldn’t believe when I started actually enjoying the book. It took me by a huge surprise. I was honestly thinking that this book was going to be a DNF, but then somewhere along the way, I started liking the Sarah and Quentin and the band. They started making me laugh out loud, and endearing themselves to me. Sure, they didn’t act their age at all sometimes, but it made the book all the more interesting.

The story was very… interesting to read. It was like nothing I’d ever read, and that was a great thing. Sarah is a PR expert at Stargazer, and her newest client is the country band The Cheatin’ Hearts. She needs to do well on this job, aka prevent the group from breaking up, because she’d screwed up on her latest job with singer Nine Lives. So Sarah goes to meet The Cheatin’ Hearts, and they’re all a bunch of hicks. They get drunk, they get into brawls, and are basically over-the-top. What Sarah doesn’t know is that all four of the people in The Cheatin’ Hearts, Quentin, Erin, Owen, and Martin, act this way on purpose. It’s all for publicity.

For The Cheatin’ Hearts, they live by three rules. Rule One: no drugs. Rule Two: no sex with other band members. Rule Three: no sex with record company spies. Quentin, the leader of the band, made these rules when they first started the band, and now… he’s in danger of breaking Rule Three. Because when Quentin meets Sarah, he wants her.

Quentin is such a unique main male character. He’s my favorite character of the book. He’s so utterly ridiculous, it’s cute. He’s a major dork and nerd, but he can’t let the public know, otherwise it might tarnish his image of being a badass rockstar. So instead of the world knowing about his allergies and asthma, they think he does cocaine. I laughed so hard every time Quentin spoke, or someone made fun of Quentin, which happens a lot, that he was the main reason why I started liking the book a lot more than I did in the beginning.

Sarah was pretty funny as well. While The Cheatin’ Hearts has its own scheme of trying to get rid of her, she has her own plan to have them stay together as a band and churn out another album. She holds her own against the band’s antics, and with Sarah and the band going head to head, it was so much fun to read.

Quentin and Sarah are absolutely adorable together. They were perfect for each other, and complemented each other so well. And Quentin can be such a sweetheart. He’s always thinking of others first, and then when he falls in love with Sarah, he’s even sweeter with her. He’s still boisterous and crazy, but there’s a sweet side of him no one ever saw before.

I really did end up enjoying Playing Dirty. I was pleasantly surprised to find it so entertaining and laugh-out-loud funny to read. This was a fun, hilarious, if a bit hectic, contemporary romance.

Reading Order: Stargazer series

#1 ~ Star Crossed: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#2 ~ Playing Dirty: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads

16Nov2013

Early Review: Sempre by J.M. Darhower

Posted in 4 hearts, Reviews by Lacey

Sempre by J.M. Darhower
Series: Forever #1 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: November 25th 2013
Purchase: Ebook • Paperback
Source: I received an ARC from the publisher (Gallery Books) in exchange for an honest review

A sexy novel about two seventeen-year-olds—one a victim of human trafficking; the other the son of the man who enslaved her—who fall in love and question everything they ever believed…

Haven Antonelli and Carmine DeMarco grew up under vastly different circumstances. Haven, a second-generation slave, was isolated in the middle of the desert, her days full of hard work and terrifying abuse. Carmine, born into a wealthy Mafia family, lived a life of privilege and excess.

Now, a twist of fate causes their worlds to collide. Entangled in a web of secrets and lies, they learn that while different on the surface, they have more in common than anyone would think.

In a world full of chaos, where money and power rule, Haven and Carmine yearn to break free, but a string of events that began before either of them were born threatens to destroy them instead. Murder and betrayal are a way of life, and nothing comes without a price—especially not freedom. But how much will they have to sacrifice? Can they escape their pasts? And, most of all, what does it mean to be free?

Wow. What a book. I honestly had no idea how intense and dark and gritty Sempre was until I started reading, and immediately I was hooked. Haven and Carmine live in a harsh, cruel world, where death is a constant, and you never know who you can trust. Carmine lives on the privileged side, but he is still part of the Mafia family, where absolute loyalty is a must, or else you die. Haven is born as a slave, living with cruel owners. In the prologue of the book, when Haven is just a young girl, her master forces her to watch as he kills another young girl. What an opening, right?

J.M. Darhower writes the dark world they live in so well that I was immersed in Haven and Carmine’s story, all the while disgusted at the cruelty and desperately hoping for their Happily Ever After. Haven and Carmine meet when Carmine’s father, Vincent, buys Haven from her cruel owner. This is not to say that Vincent is a good man; far from it actually. Vincent is part of the Italian mafia and has done unspeakable things for his ‘family’. It’s a mystery then, why Vincent takes Haven away from her bad owners, though we slowly find out his reasons later in the book.

The instant Haven and Carmine meet, they feel something for each other, though neither of them know what it means. Haven has no clue, being the isolated girl that she is, but she sees something in Carmine no one else does. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that Carmine is incredibly handsome ;). For Carmine, he has a better idea of what he’s feeling, but he pushes those feelings away. He’s never cared about anything or anyone but himself after his mother’s death, and he takes things for granted: his money, his car, and especially the girls. He’s the wham, bam, thank-you-ma’am kind of guy, so why would he ever feel more than the usual for a girl? But slowly, as they spend more time together, Carmine realizes the depth of his feelings. He sees how kind and compassionate Haven is, despite the fact that she has every right to hate everyone and the world for the way she was treated. And this changes Carmine. He wants to be someone who deserves to love Haven, someone who deserves her love.

They fall in love, even though they shouldn’t. They’re star-crossed lovers *dreamy sigh*. They start to imagine themselves having a future together, with blank slates, and Carmine vows to find a way to make this a reality.

“Nothing’s more important to me than you, tesoro. I’d give my life for you.”

Tesoro = treasure. Swoon!

Vincent, Carmine’s father, has a big part of the story as well. His wife meant the world to him, and when she was killed, he lost his heart. My heart went out to Vincent and his story, even though he does act cold and harsh sometimes. But we know that despite his actions towards Haven and Carmine, his number one priority is keeping his children safe, which means keeping them away from the Mafia. He knows that once Carmine goes down that dark path, he can never come out of it.

I liked Carmine and Haven, and yet I felt kind of distanced from them. I couldn’t really connect, but it weirdly didn’t affect much on how I enjoyed the book. It might have been because Sempre is written in the third POV, but the story and narrations were good enough that I didn’t care that I was distanced from the characters.

There are so many secrets and hidden pasts that I nearly couldn’t keep up! The book moved at a slow pace (it’s a bit long), but there was never a dull moment. This was one of the few times where I actually enjoyed reading at a slower pace. I loved that Carmine and Haven didn’t rush their love, and let it run its course naturally. The Mafia was intriguing to read about. We mostly know about them through Vincent’s eyes, and they are bad and dangerous, and utterly fascinating. They live by their own rules, and people die all the time.

I don’t know if it was just me, but every time there were Italian words with no explanation of what they meant in the book, I looked them up online. And (I’m such a sucker) I totally swooned every time Carmine spoke loving words in Italian to Haven. GAH! My heart.

This quote perfectly describes Haven and Carmine, and their situation:

They were two broken kids, desperate to be whole again, struggling to find balance in a world out of their control. What’s black and white and red all over? Carmine was, Haven thought. A soul savagely ripped in half, bleeding out for all to see. The yin and yang, the good and evil, the love and pain all at odds with each other. Two sides, two vastly different worlds, but someday, they would merge as one. They had to.

Plus, another quote that shows how much Haven has changed from a scared, innocent, lonely girl to one who has determination, courage, and strength. Haven finally feels happy, because she has a place in the world, with Carmine.

Home. She got it now. For the first time in her life, something felt like home. It was a place they had come together. It was where they had found love. She finally knew what that world meant.

Overall, I highly enjoyed this book. I couldn’t stop reading, and the plot was so exciting and suspenseful. This is a darker read than a normal contemporary romance, so just beware! There will be violence and death, but if you don’t mind reading about these, then you should definitely go for Sempre!

If you don’t mind reading about whether the book has a cliffhanger/HEA or not, then keep reading! . . . The ending doesn’t have a cliffhanger, but it’s a hugely open ending. I honestly would NOT have been happy if J.M. Darhower wasn’t writing a sequel, but thank god, she is! I can’t wait to read Sempre: Redemption! As for the HEA… I’m a bit worried. They’re still together at the end of Sempre, but I have no idea what will go down in the sequel. *bites nails*

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

Reading Order: Forever series

#1 ~ Sempre: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#2 ~ Sempre: Redemption: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads

11Nov2013

Early Review: A Little Too Much by Lisa Desrochers

Posted in 4 hearts, Reviews by Lacey

A Little Too Much by Lisa Desrochers
Series: A Little Too Far #2 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: November 12th 2013
Purchase: Ebook • Paperback
Source: I received an ARC from the publisher (William Morrow Impulse) in exchange for an honest review

In the follow-up to Lisa Desrochers’ explosive New Adult novel A Little too Far, Alessandro Moretti must face the life he escaped and the girl he loved and left behind.

Twenty-two year old Hilary McIntyre would like nothing more than to forget her past. As a teenager abandoned to the system, she faced some pretty dark times. But now that’s all behind her. Hilary has her life on track, and there’s no way she’ll head back down that road again.

Until Alessandro Moretti—the one person who can make her remember—shows up on her doorstep. He’s even more devastatingly gorgeous than before, and he’s much too close for comfort. Worse, he sees right through the walls she’s built over these last eight years, right into her heart and the secrets she’s guarding.

As Hilary finds herself falling back into love with the man who, as a boy both saved and destroyed her, she must decide. Past or future? Truth or lies?

If you’ve read A Little Too Far (which you should have before reading A Little Too Much! Grrr if you haven’t.) then you know that poor Alessandro gets left behind back in Italy. Lexie gets her HEA, but what happens with Alessandro? I so wanted him to have his own happily ever after, and I was SO happy that I got an early copy of his book! I could not wait to jump into his book, because I really liked him in A Little Too Far. He was sweet and kind and maybe a little misguided, but he definitely still deserved to have a happy ending.

The heroine was actually really surprising to me. I had expected someone new that Alessandro would fall in love with, but she was a girl from his past. She’s actually the girl who took Alessandro’s virginity, back when they were teenagers and living in the group home. Hilary McIntyre lives in New York City, and aspires to become an actress. She’s a bit hard to like, as she’s very closed off, and doesn’t let anyone truly in. She has her demons, and a past that has something to do with Alessandro. She’d thought that she left all her troubles behind years ago after Alessandro left the group home and her, but Alessandro comes back sweeping into her life, and she doesn’t know what to do.

Hilary and Alessandro have an intense attraction, but neither wants to act on it. Hilary because of her resentment of Alessandro’s abandonment, oh and her–casual–boyfriend too of course (can’t forget about him!), and Alessandro because he’s just come out of almost becoming a priest, and his own past ghosts, which include Hilary. Nonetheless, the two do still get to know each other a little, and warm up to each other eventually, enough to become friends.

We know from A Little Too Far that Alessandro is burdened with an insane amount of guilt–about his brother, his past, the hurt he’s caused, and Hilary. He tried to atone for his sins by becoming a priest, but that didn’t work out too well for him. So he moves to NYC to see Hilary, to see how she’s doing. He feels guilty for taking advantage of her when they were younger, but the truth is, both of them were just very young and hurting, and found solace with each other.

Despite her attraction to Alessandro, Hilary still harbors anger against Alessandro. She was hurt when he left, and because of circumstances that occurred after he left as well. To me, it was pretty obvious what happened to Hilary after Alessandro left, but other than that, I really enjoyed A Little Too Far. I wasn’t completely IN LOVE with it, but I highly enjoyed reading it. Hilary and Alessandro both have to face their pasts if they ever want a chance at finding love and having their happily ever after, and I was hooked onto their journey of romance and self-discovery.

Like Italy in A Little Too Far, NYC has a huge presence in A Little Too Much, and I loved it! Hilary and Alessandro both dedicate one day a week to discover the city that never sleeps, and their trips are so sweet, heartwarming, and meaningful. These trips are what bring them closer, and they get to know and understand each other so much better. NYC felt alive, and Lisa Desrochers has such great skill in making the city seem like another character.

I was so excited for Alessandro’s story, and it didn’t disappoint! It was fun to read, there were sweet and sexy moments, some angst, and overall, just a great read. Now I can’t wait for the third book!

Reading Order: A Little Too Far series

#1 ~ A Little Too Far: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#2 ~ A Little Too Much: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#3 ~ A Little Too Hot: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads

11Nov2013

Blog Tour + Review & Giveaway: A Risk Worth Taking by Heather Hildenbrand

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

A Risk Worth Taking by Heather Hildenbrand
Release Date: October 22nd 2013
Source: I received an ARC from the author for the blog tour in exchange for an honest review

When 22-year-old Summer Stafford’s parents split halfway through her senior year at college, Summer’s world is rocked. Everything she thought she knew—heck, everything she thought she wanted for her own life—feels like a lie. The truth is love is a risk. And the true kind, the kind that lasts, might even be a fairy tale.

Reeling from the divorce, Summer derails her own future by breaking up with her parent-approved boyfriend and giving up her lifelong plans for a big-city career. She moves back home, business degree in hand. Dad needs her to fill the gaps her mother left behind; Summer needs to find who she is outside of the cookie-cutter life that failed so miserably for her parents.

Ford O’Neal’s future involves one person: himself. He doesn’t have a permanent address and he definitely doesn’t commit. To a place or a person. Raised by hippies, he plans just far enough ahead to secure his next stop, this one landing him at a work-study program at Heritage Plantation where he can grow his own herbal and medicinal creations.

Summer is gorgeous and smart and fun to be with, the perfect way to pass five months. It won’t be love—Ford’s got too many things to accomplish, too many places to go, before he settles down. Yet Summer pulls him in, challenging him to rethink his own philosophy.

When Ford’s five months are up, each of them must decide if love is really worth the risk.

Buy Links:
Amazon • Barnes & Noble

I wholeheartedly loved reading this book! It was funny, sweet, entertaining, and just a great romance. I fell in love with the characters and the romance and the story. At its heart, A Risk Worth Taking is about figuring out what you want in life, and taking risks for the things you want, for the the things that make you happy. And if love is in the equation, if you find that one special person who means the world to you, then you should absolutely go for it.

You’re not living unless you’re risking.

The story is told through Summer and Ford’s POVs. I loved reading both of their POVs, and I felt the author did a tremendous job moving between the two main characters. It was one of the most well done dual POVs I’ve ever read. The story flowed and connected very well, and the writing was fantastic.

Summer Stafford moves back home to the farm after breaking up with her steady, stable, boring boyfriend to help support her father, because her parents are recently divorced, and the farm needs some help that Summer can provide. Summer has all this built-up anger within herself at her mother, because she feels it’s all her mother’s fault that her parents are divorcing. Summer has always thought her parents’ love was the ideal, but finding out that it was all a lie is disappointing. She feels deceived, and is now skeptical about whether true love really does exist.

Ford O’Neal is the new temporary hand at Summer’s farm, and when the two meet, they connect. Ford is a bit different from your everyday guy. It’s not just that his parents are hippies, or that he’s an herbalist. He’s thought-provoking and challenging and real. He makes Summer question things about herself she never thought about before.

“You should never settle. Life’s too short. Do things that make you happy.”

I loved reading Ford’s POV. I loved the way he thinks and his care-free, live-in-the-present view of the world. And when Ford and Summer finally get together, even though they know they can’t last because Ford has to leave, it’s not just Ford changing the way Summer thinks. Summer also changes Ford’s way of mind. She’s all he thinks about, and vice versa, and I could just feel them falling in love. It’s romantic but bittersweet as well. Because even though they’re falling in love, they can’t be together once Ford leaves at the end of the summer.

“I thought you said love is a risk,” I whispered, another tear escaping the edge of my eye.
Ford caught it with his fingers and wiped it away before pressing a lingering kiss against the corner of my mouth. “It’s a risk worth taking.”

Ford and Summer have both found things worth risking for, and they’ve both realized what they truly want in life. I can honestly say that I adored reading their journey together, of falling in love and discovering the world through new eyes because of each other. Their love is real and passionate, and it’s wonderful how the author manages to make the reader connect so well with them. A Risk Worth Taking is a great contemporary romance that I highly recommend.

4 hearts!

Heather Hildenbrand was born and raised in a small town in northern Virginia where she was homeschooled through high school. She now lives in coastal VA, a few miles from the Atlantic Ocean, with her two adorable children. She works from home, part time, as a property manager and when she’s not furiously pounding at the keyboard, or staring off into space whilst plotting a new story, she’s lying on the beach, soaking in those delicious, pre-cancerous rays.

Heather loves Mexican food, hates socks with sandals, and if her house was on fire, the one thing she’d grab is her DVR player.

Heather is a co-founder of Accendo Press, a publishing group she operates with fellow authors: Angeline Kace and Jennifer Sommersby. Accendo (a-CH-endo), A Latin word, means “to kindle, illuminate, inflame, or set fire.” This is something Accendo strives to do inside a reader’s imagination with every title released. For a complete list of titles and author bios, visit www.accendopress.com.

Website • Facebook • Facebook • Twitter • Goodreads • Newsletter

Heather is giving away a gift basket with a hair flower, nail polish, bracelet, and a $20 Amazon Gift Card!

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10Nov2013

Review: United We Spy by Ally Carter

Posted in 6 hearts, Reviews by Shirley

United We Spy by Ally Carter
Series: Gallagher Girls #6 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: September 17th 2013
Purchase: Ebook • Hardcover • Paperback

Cammie Morgan has lost her father and her memory, but in the heart-pounding conclusion to the best-selling Gallagher Girls series, she finds her greatest mission yet. Cammie and her friends finally know why the terrorist organization called the Circle of Cavan has been hunting her. Now the spy girls and Zach must track down the Circle’s elite members to stop them before they implement a master plan that will change Cammie—and her country—forever.

Can we all just take a moment to appreciate this series and all that Ally Carter has given us.

Let’s go through a little bit of history together shall we? I started this series back in 6th grade, probably around a year after the first book came out. I was just getting pulled into the Contemporary, and Teen genres, so I was instantly hooked. I immediately fell in love with Cammie Morgan, and the thought of a spy academy. I don’t even know where to begin to explain my love for this series; how about, as I was walking to the check-out line at Barnes & Nobles, I got tears in my eyes? Yeah. I also went completely out of my way to buy the book the 2 days after it came out, and finished it in approximately 1 1/2 days

This book was the ultimatum. The conclusion of everything. The end to my childhood favorite series, the end to E V E R Y T H I N G. I was both ecstatic and sad.

I absolutely have no words. This book had everything. Action, love, suspense. I LOVED IT AND I MISS ALLY CARTER AND CAMMIE SO MUCH. There were so many twists and turns, and Carter has you flipping your mind back and forth, thinking, “HOLD UP. HOW is that even possible. What is even happening.” Cammie was so badass, and that increased my love to be a spy… not that that’s going to happen anytime soon, but hey, a girl can dream okay.

When Cammie “reminisces” about the academy in the end (if you read the book you UNDERSTAND WHY THERE ARE QUOTATION MARKS), I was sobbing uncontrollably. The way that she describes each secret tunnel, each stairway, each door, makes me tear up. I’ve been so immersed in the series that as she was looking back at the academy, I truly felt the same emotions that she felt. The heartbreak, the nostalgia, and the TEARS. OH GOD THE TEARS. She’d describe one tunnel, and her mind would flash to a time when she used it, which causes my mind to flip back to that book from two years ago. Ally Carter does such a good job with bringing in all of the books in the series, and somehow connecting everything together.

SO MUCH ACTION I literally can’t even begin to explain. Like actually, from the very beginning (it was such an epic opening), to the very very end, there was action.

I’m going to miss this series so very much.

P.S. Sorry for an INCREDIBLY late review. School got the best of me.

6 HEARTS.

Reading Order: Gallagher Girls series

#1 ~ I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have to Kill You: Ebook • Hardcover • Paperback • Goodreads
#2 ~ Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#3 ~ Don’t Judge a Girl by Her Cover: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#4 ~ Only the Good Spy Young: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#5 ~ Out of Sight, Out of Time: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#6 ~ United We Spy: Lacey’s Review • Ebook • Hardcover • Paperback • Goodreads

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