Review: November 9 by Colleen Hoover

Posted in 5 hearts, Reviews by Lacey

November 9 by Colleen Hoover
Series: Standalone
Publication Date: November 10th 2015
Links: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads

Beloved #1 New York Times bestselling author Colleen Hoover returns with an unforgettable love story between a writer and his unexpected muse.

Fallon meets Ben, an aspiring novelist, the day before her scheduled cross-country move. Their untimely attraction leads them to spend Fallon’s last day in L.A. together, and her eventful life becomes the creative inspiration Ben has always sought for his novel. Over time and amidst the various relationships and tribulations of their own separate lives, they continue to meet on the same date every year. Until one day Fallon becomes unsure if Ben has been telling her the truth or fabricating a perfect reality for the sake of the ultimate plot twist.

Can Ben’s relationship with Fallon—and simultaneously his novel—be considered a love story if it ends in heartbreak?

My life is a legit mess right now. I feel like this happens every time I read a new Colleen Hoover book, so I shouldn’t be surprised. I finish a CoHo book, and I don’t even know what to do with myself anymore. She put me through the wringer with November 9, she really did. This for sure is one of my top reads of the year now. It’s a beautifully written story, gut-wrenching at times, but it’s also the cutest darn book I’ve ever read. November 9 has everything I love in a CoHo book – a unique storyline, lovable, unforgettable characters, and laugh-out-loud humor. I’m amazed that over and over, Colleen Hoover delivers another captivating read that will blow her readers away. I was stunned by November 9 – and I loved it so, so much!

“You’ll never be able to find yourself if you’re lost in someone else.”

For some reason, it’s always best to go in blind when you pick up a book by Colleen Hoover. It’s like when you put faith in CoHo, you know she’ll deliver her best. And you can tell she’s delivered her best with November 9 – it’s truly a brilliant book. She’s created characters who’ve spent mere hours together over the course of several years, and yet you can FEEL the powerful connection and love they have for each other. I’ll be honest, I was a bit wary I wouldn’t be able to believe in the love between Fallon and Ben – falling in love when you’ve only known each other for hours sounds unbelievable, right? But I believed it – Colleen Hoover’s exceptional writing and storytelling made me believe in it.

He laughs quietly. “You were just thinking dirty thoughts.”
“Was not,” I quip.
“Fallon, we’ve been dating for two hours now. I can read you like a book, and right now I do believe that book is full of erotica.”

Hands down, November 9 is the CUTEST book of Colleen Hoover’s to date. I was a giggling mess during the first half of the book – though honestly, I still had a couple of giggles even during the heart-wrenching parts, because I feel like that’s just the way Colleen Hoover writes. The humor in the book is absolutely brilliant and effortlessly incorporated. I don’t understand how CoHo is able to create such funny characters, but I love it! Ben is absolutely ridiculous, in the cutest, funniest, most adorable way. And Fallon’s sass and wit is the perfect complement to Ben’s type of humor. I fell in love with these characters first because of how funny they were, but as I read, I definitely grew to appreciate their other aspects that made them feel real to me.

It took four years for me to fall in love with him.
It only took four pages to stop.

But don’t let the humor fool you – to say that November 9 is a gut-wrenching story is an understatement. It almost hurt to read the heartbreaking moments, that’s how emotional I got. I’m so impressed with the way Colleen Hoover is able to provoke such powerful emotions through her words, to make me so invested in the story that I hurt when the characters hurt. This is the type of book that will have you feeling practically every emotion there is to feel… it’s brilliant!

A body is simply a package for the true gifts inside. And you are full of gifts. Selflessness, kindness, compassion. All the things that matter.

I was up until 2AM reading and finishing November 9 – I LOVED IT SO MUCH! I will admit that the plot twist was fairly predictable – but while I was able to guess what happened, I definitely wasn’t ready for the onslaught of emotions this book would make me feel. Colleen Hoover has a gift at making readers invested in her stories, and November 9 is no different. This book wrecked me, in the best and worst of ways. This is also the first time a book has ever make me cry tears of joy – I was crying and laughing and smiling as I was reading the last lines of the novel. This is a breathtaking, emotional, incredible read that I’d recommend to everyone.

Also by Colleen Hoover

Slammed: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
Hopeless: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
Maybe Someday: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
Ugly Love: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
Confess: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
It Ends with Us: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads

FOLLOW BOOKLOVERS FOR LIFE ON:
✦ FACEBOOK • TWITTER • INSTAGRAM • GOODREADS • PINTEREST • BLOGLOVIN’ ✦

Subscribe to Blog via Email

10Nov2015

Audiobook Review: Undertow by Leigh T. Moore

Posted in 4 hearts, Reviews by Lacey

Undertow by Leigh T. Moore
Series: Dragonfly #2 (full reading order below)
Audiobook Publication Date: October 20th 2015
Length: 9 hours and 33 minutes
Narrated by: Christy Romano
Links: Audible • Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
Source: I received an audiobook in exchange for an honest review

Falling in love will pull you under…. Bill Kyser has a plan to take the sandy farms of his hometown and turn them into a world-class tourist destination – and become a billionaire in the process. Alexandra “Lexy” LaSalle has a plan to change her life by becoming a world-famous artist. Meg Weaver has a plan to hold on to Bill no matter what she has to do. Three friends, three dreams. One fatal decision will change all their lives forever.

In Dragonfly Bill Kyser gave Anna the three journals that held the story behind the powerful developer’s seclusion and the damaged lives of his family members. Anna hopes to find a way for Julian to know the truth, but as she digs deeper into the tragic events of the past, she realizes silence could be the only option. Now she’s in an alliance with the man she formerly feared. And if Julian finds out what she knows, she could lose for good the boy she’s starting to love. A full-length new adult contemporary romance and family saga. Recommended for listeners 13+ due to mature themes and mild sexual content.

I liked Undertow so much more than Dragonfly! I felt like there was a much more solid story in this book than the previous one. All of the characters had more depth, and the plot was just more interesting. Christy Romano once again does an incredible job of narrating, especially since there are multiple POVs in Undertow. It picks up right after Dragonfly, with Anna discovering the history of Jack and Julian’s parents.

After listening to Dragonfly, I grew incredibly curious about Bill Kyser and Alexandra “Lexy” LaSalle. Why did they have an affair while Bill was married? How could Lexy betray her best friend Meg, Bill’s wife? How did Meg die? In Undertow, we finally discover the truth of what happened in their past through the journals Bill Kyser gives Anna to read. Bill, Lexy, and Meg all wrote their own journals, so we have all three of their POVs to explain what happened so many years ago.

I liked the way the author portrayed all three of these characters. On the surface, they seem like shallow people, but their journals give insight to just how human they are. I could feel the regret and pain that Bill, Lexy, and Meg experience – mistakes have been made, but there was never any malice in their intentions. I felt like I understood their motives by the end, and I just felt sad how their lives ended up, because none of them get their happily ever after, especially with Meg’s unfortunate death.

We don’t get much about Anna or Julian in Undertow, but I’m excited to see how their relationship will grow in the sequels. I’m also looking forward to what will happen with Bill and Lexy! The love between them is still very much alive, so I’m hoping they get their long-awaited HEA.

As an audiobook, Undertow was an intense one to listen to. Lies are told, secrets are revealed, and when the truth comes out, no one is left unscathed. Christy Romano narration was fantastic – she had distinct voices for Meg and Lexy, so it was easy to distinguish between the two of them. I do wish there had been a male narrator for Bill’s POV though. But overall, Undertow is definitely an improvement from Dragonfly, and I’m excited to see where the author will take the story.

Reading Order: Dragonfly series

#1 ~ Dragonfly: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#2 ~ Undertow: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#3 ~ Watercolor: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#4 ~ Mosaic: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads

FOLLOW BOOKLOVERS FOR LIFE ON:
✦ FACEBOOK • TWITTER • GOODREADS • PINTEREST • BLOGLOVIN’ ✦

Subscribe to Blog via Email

9Nov2015

Early Review: Reap by Tillie Cole

Posted in 5 hearts, Reviews by Lacey

Reap by Tillie Cole
Series: Scarred Souls #2 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: November 10th 2015
Links: Ebook • Audible • Goodreads
Source: I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Raised as a prototype for the Georgian Bratva’s obedience drug, 221 fails to think, act, or live for himself; he’s his master’s perfectly-crafted killing puppet. Standing at six-foot-six, weighing two-hundred-and-fifty pounds, and unrivaled in to-the-death combat, 221 successfully secures business for the Georgian Mafiya Boss of NYC, who rules the dark world of the criminal underground. Until his enemies capture him.

Talia Tolstaia dreams to break from the heavy clutches of Bratva life. She dreams of another life–away from the stifling leash of her Russian Bratva Boss father and from the brutality of her work at The Dungeon, her criminal family’s underground death-match enterprise. But when she stumbles upon her family’s captive who is more monster than man, she starts to see the man underneath. A powerful, beautiful, damaged man whose heart calls to hers. But sacrifices must be made–blood for blood…life for life…souls for scarred souls…

I loved, loved, loooved this!!! Reap is an incredible, heart-pounding, romantic read I was utterly enthralled with. I’m such a fan of the way Tillie Cole writes – it’s dark, powerful, addicting. Her stories are riveting, and her characters are intense yet lovable. I had high expectations for Reap after loving Raze – and I’m so glad to say Reap is another winner from one of my favorite authors!

The Scarred Souls series is not for the faint of heart. It’s dark, gruesome at times, and yet I can’t stop reading it. Reap is the story of 221, also known as Zaal Kostava, and Talia Tolstaia. It could be read as a standalone, but I think it’s much easier to understand Reap if you’ve read Raze, because we also get some chapters in Luka’s POV, who was the main character in Raze. Reap is a bit of a continuation of Raze, though it is still firmly Zaal and Talia’s story.

For over 20 years, Zaal has been known as 221, an enslaved fighter who, under the influence of forced drugs, is a soulless killing machine for his ‘master’. He and his twin were abducted at a young age and forced into horrible, tragic circumstances. But it turns out that Zaal’s twin is none other than the one person Luka owes his life to, and Luka is determined to pay his debts by saving Zaal.

Talia, Luka’s sister, may be the daughter of one of the leading Russian mobsters, but she struggles with the responsibilities that come with the role. When she grows tired of the Bratva life, she runs away to a private beach house – but everything changes when Luka shows up with a feral, beast of a man and chains him up in the basement. Talia grows intrigued by Zaal, who’s the son of her family’s enemy, until her obsession with him grows and one day she can’t help but go to him.

Our desperate gazes met.
He took a deep breath.
Then he whispered, “You are … for me?”
And I knew I was done.
Trampled, heart-flattened, done.

This book kept tearing my heart open and filling it with love for the characters over and over again. My heart broke for Zaal, for the tragedy that happened to him and his family. I nearly wanted to cry, the story got so emotional sometimes. But then with Talia, Zaal finds family, love, again, and my heart would ache with happiness for the two of them. Tillie Cole has a talent at conveying such powerful love between her couples, and Zaal and Talia’s romance by far is my favorite.

“Zaal Kostava, you’ve stolen my forbidden heart.”

The Scarred Souls series is dark romance at its finest. The love story is stunning, written perfectly to balance out the dark parts of the book. I don’t know how Tillie Cole does it, but every time, I am just so blown away by the sheer brilliance of the writing and the gorgeous love between her characters. I have to admit, I loved Reap even more than Raze, and I cannot wait to get my hands on the third book (whose main character is one I’m SO excited for)!

“My heart, it is full, Talia. It is full, for you.”

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

Reading Order: Scarred Souls series

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

FOLLOW BOOKLOVERS FOR LIFE ON:
✦ FACEBOOK • TWITTER • GOODREADS • PINTEREST • BLOGLOVIN’ ✦

Subscribe to Blog via Email

9Nov2015

Release Day Review: How to Lose a Bachelor by Anna Banks

Posted in 4 hearts, Reviews by Lacey

How to Lose a Bachelor by Anna Banks
Series: Standalone
Publication Date: November 9th 2015
Links: Ebook • Goodreads
Source: I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Revenge was never this much fun…

When Rochelle Ransom auditioned for the dating show Luring Love, she had big plans for winning the prize money to help her favorite charity-and if she won the hot bachelor’s heart, even better. But at the last minute she finds out the hot bachelor is her ex-boyfriend, Grant Drake. Desperate to keep her distance from him, she’ll do anything-and everything-to get voted off.

Years ago, Rochelle broke Grant’s heart, and he’s out for revenge. There’s no way he’ll vote her off.

After all, vengeance is a dish best served red-hot…and on live television.

When her hilarious antics to get kicked off the show escalate, Grant’s reminded why he fell in love with her the first time. Now he isn’t sure which might be more fun… Seeing how far Rochelle is willing to go to get away or how far he will to keep her forever.

How to Lose a Bachelor is a super cute, quick, and fun second chance romance with a The Bachelor twist to it! I really enjoyed it – I adore second chance romances, so this was right up my alley. It’s hilarious yet sweetly romantic, and I loved all the crazy shenanigans that the heroine came up with on the reality show. If you’re a fan of light-hearted romances, or even second chance romances, I highly recommend this one!

She was going to be on TV. But more importantly, nothing was going to stop her from winning the grand prize money for her charity.
Oh yeah, and the bachelor’s heart or whatever.

Rochelle Ransom auditions for a reality TV show in order to try to win a bachelor’s heart… and the grand prize money that will help with funding her woman’s shelter. The last person she ever expects the bachelor to be is her ex, the former love of her life, Grant Drake. As much as she’d like to quit the show and get away from the man who broke her heart, Rochelle needs the money for the shelter. So she strikes a deal with the producer – if she agrees to stay on the show to add drama, then she’ll get double the prize money, regardless of whether Grant kicks her off the show or not. And so ensues her hilarious ways of trying her best to get kicked off the show and pay Grant back for breaking her heart.

Grant also wants revenge on the woman who abandoned him and their relationship. But seeing Rochelle again, being with her and getting glimpses of the woman he fell in love with ten years ago, quickly has him changing his plan from getting revenge to winning her back.

Rochelle needed some gentle coaxing, some delicate care, a lot of nurturing–and to know that he was still the man she loved. He knew she’d loved him before. And somehow, he had to find a way to make her love him again.

How to Lose a Bachelor was so much fun to read. In between the hilarious antics Rochelle comes up with to embarrass herself and get Grant to kick her out and Grant’s own ridiculous paybacks, I was giggling so much. The second chance romance was sweet – I really adored seeing Grant and Rochelle warm up to each other again, fall in love again. The two of them are likable, funny characters, and they’re wonderful together – I was rooting for them to get back together from the start. This is a fast-paced, satisfying book I easily read in one sitting. I will definitely be looking forward to more contemporary romances from Anna Banks!

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

FOLLOW BOOKLOVERS FOR LIFE ON:
✦ FACEBOOK • TWITTER • GOODREADS • PINTEREST • BLOGLOVIN’ ✦

Subscribe to Blog via Email

8Nov2015

ARC Review: Mechanic by Alexa Riley

Posted in 5 hearts, Reviews by Lacey

Mechanic by Alexa Riley
Series: Breeding #2 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: November 7th 2015
Links: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
Source: I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review

Everything was fine until that innocent little rich girl walked into my garage. Since the second I laid my eyes on her, all I’ve wanted to do is get my dirty hands on her pure body.

There’s one minor obstacle standing in my way, but I’ve got a plan. All I’ve got to do is claim her, and she’ll be mine forever.

Warning: This book is over-the-top, insta-love. There’s nothing but steamy scenes, babies trying to be made, and an obsessed bearded alpha hero claiming a virgin who will be his forever. If you want it hot and dirty, this is it!

*whispers* There’s a sweet smutty surprise at the end!

Holy hotness!!!!!

Alexa Riley is easily my top go-to author for some fun, fantastically dirty, smutty reads. Her heroes are ALPHA as hell and can dirty talk like no other. I think I’ve read almost every one of her books, but hands down, Mechanic is my favorite one so far! After I finished this, I went straight back to rereading my favorite parts… and ended up rereading the whole thing again. I loved Mechanic!

She may be promised to someone else, but she’s mine. And I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure it stays that way.

Alexa Riley never disappoints with her possessive, heroine-obsessed alpha heroes, and Paine is exactly that. The moment Penelope walks into his car shop, Paine is a goner. She’s everything he’s not – classy, pure, innocent… she’s his Duchess. But being the love-sick, protective, possessive, jealous type of hero, there’s nothing that will stop him from claiming her for himself.

“You’re the only woman I’ve ever had in my house, Duchess. The only woman who’s ever been in my bed. And after tonight, you’re the only one who’s ever going to be in it again.”

Paine and Penelope may be opposites, but when they’re together… holy crap, do things get HOT! As usual, Alexa Riley melts panties with the smoking hot chemistry and sexy times in Mechanic – Paine seriously dirties up Penelope, in the best of ways of course.

Fans of the author won’t want to miss this dirty, smutty read. Mechanic is longer than her usual novellas, which I appreciated. There’s also a bonus short story at the end about a minor couple too, which I loved! If you love over-the-top alphas and dirty reads, Alexa Riley is perfect for you!

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

Reading Order: Breeding series

#1 ~ Coach: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#2 ~ Mechanic: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#3 ~ Thief: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads

FOLLOW BOOKLOVERS FOR LIFE ON:
✦ FACEBOOK • TWITTER • GOODREADS • PINTEREST • BLOGLOVIN’ ✦

	Unlocking the Magic… on Review: A Promise of Fire by A…
	Lucas Middleton on Blog Tour // Review + Excerpt:…
	Van on Blog Tour + Release Day Review…
	Amber Elise @ Du Liv… on Audiobook Review: The Stand-In…
	daisyknox on Release Day Review: Tryst Six…

Booklovers For Life

Falling in love with romance one page at a time

Tag Archives: review