Tag Archives: standalone

Release Day Review: Hardball by C.D. Reiss

Posted in 3.5 hearts, Reviews by

Hardball by C.D. Reiss
Series: Standalone
Publication Date: March 29th 2016
Links: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
Source: I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review

Perfect ass.
Perfect arms.
Perfect swagger.
They call Dash Wallace the Diamond King.
He’s the hottest commodity in baseball and in the bedroom.
When he runs the bases, every woman’s eyes are glued to his stunning body and a smile that puts the night lights to shame.
I’m no queen. I’m a regular girl with a regular job. I just watch him on TV and from the bleachers, season after season.
Girls like me grab a guy like that one in a million times.
My number just came up, and he is as spectacular in bed as he is on the field.
But there’s not a woman in the world who can distract Dash Wallace from the game. Not for a moment. Not even me.
Until the night I do. And everything changes.

—–

Hardball is a SMOKING HOT, SEXY romance with a touch of angst and a ton of heart from CD Reiss. It’s a fun, witty, full-length standalone meant for the over-eighteen crowd.

I adore sports romances, but I have to admit, Hardball was a little different than what I expected. Going in, I thought it’d be something light-hearted and fun, like a ton of other sports romances I’ve read, but I should’ve known C.D. Reiss would turn up the heat in Hardball and give it an intensity I wasn’t used to in typical sports romances. It’s fast-paced, sexy as hell, and a very enjoyable read. I didn’t LOVE it – there was something missing in the book that prevented me from fully loving the characters, but I would still recommend Hardball for those who love sports and sexytimes.

Vivian is a school librarian and a huge baseball fan. During a school trip, she meets Dash Wallace, a famous player both on and off the baseball field. Vivian feels that Dash is completely out of her league, but circumstances bring them together and the chemistry and tension between them explodes before they know it. Hardball is seriously HAWT. Dash gets down and dirty with the woman he can’t stop thinking about, and these two are seriously smokin’ in bed. What starts off as a sex-only relationship leads to so much more as they get to know each other, but how can a relationship work out when Dash is the kind of person who doesn’t like change?

“You,” he said. “You threw it all in the fire. Things started collapsing right before you, and when you came, everything went to hell. It’s you. I denied it, because if I let you in, I had to start over. I tried to bend it around to not want you. But I can’t deny it anymore. There’s no center without you.”

Vivian is a sweetheart of a heroine, very down-to-earth and relatable. Being with one of the most famous baseball players ever is like a dream come true for her, but falling for one is so much more daunting. Thankfully, she’s the kind of woman who follows her heart. Dash, on the other hand, is a bit frustrating with his push-and-pull attitude with Vivian. You can see how much he wants her and grows to care for her, but it takes a while for him to fully commit to the idea of a long-lasting relationship. He has vulnerabilities that I didn’t expect, and even though I wasn’t too into him during the first half, I was sold on his character by the end of the book.

“I’m telling myself it’s okay to doubt the purpose of my life. … I thought I’d built something stable, but I didn’t. It was shit, because what we have is forever. It can’t be shut down. I can doubt everything, but I don’t doubt that I love you.”

Fast-paced and sexy would be the perfect words to describe Hardball. There’s seriously never a dull moment in the story, and almost every scene is filled with tension. C.D. Reiss wrote the perfect balance of reality and fairytale in Hardball, and I really did enjoy it. It wasn’t perfect, but it’s an entertaining read, and if you love dirty books, I’d recommend this one!

3.5 hearts
lacey

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

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Audiobook Review: Heaven and Hell by Kristen Ashley

Posted in 4 hearts, Reviews by

Heaven and Hell by Kristen Ashley
Series: Standalone
Audiobook Publication Date: February 2nd 2016
Length: 19 hours and 45 minutes
Narrated by: Felicity Munroe
Links: Audible • Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
Source: I received an audiobook in exchange for an honest review

After making a bad decision when she was very young, Kia Clementine finds herself in hell. Then, suddenly, within the time it takes for a shotgun to blast, her hell changes. Completely. Then out-of-the-blue she sees Sampson Cooper, her celebrity crush. A man the whole world knows is decent. A man the world knows is loyal. A man the world knows is good. All of these very unlike her now dead husband.

He’s sitting at a table right next to hers. And she catches his eye.

Terrified of the interest Sam shows in her, Kia finds the courage to go out with him. Not long after, she shares her dark secrets and Sam shares that he’ll stop at nothing to gain her trust.

As Sam leads Kia to heaven, Kia realizes that Sam is living his own hell. But although he gives her beauty and she gives him everything, he withholds his trust.

Even with all the beauty Sam shows her, Kia wants it all. But Sam forces Kia to make a heartbreaking decision and only she can decide. It’s all or nothing.

If you’re a romance fan and you’re looking for an audiobook to listen to, I can’t recommend Kristen Ashley enough. Her stories are always so satisfying and long – her books are more than worth the credit. Heaven and Hell is another excellent audiobook of hers, with a romance that will sweep you away and a fantastic narration from Felicity Munroe.

Kia Clementine has been living in hell with her abusive husband, but a tragedy and blessing in disguise leaves Kia free and with lots of cash. So she decides to spoil herself with the things she never had when she was married and travel the world – but mostly, she sets off to find the person she lost during her years of being in an abusive marriage. And in the midst of rediscovering herself, Kia meets former all-star athlete and soldier Sampson Cooper – her celebrity crush. Never in a million years would Kia expect the gorgeous, perfect, alpha-male Sam to notice her, but he does, and with him, she gets a second chance at love and romance.

Kia and Sam are heavenly together. Kia’s a little shy and innocent, but Sam’s honesty and gruffness are able to draw her out and just let her be who she’s really meant to be. And Kia breaks down Sam’s walls and discovers the real him behind the celebrity crush. Kia truly has found heaven with Sam, but when she finds herself giving all of her to him and not getting all of him in return, things get a little rocky. She has to make a choice between having only parts of the man she loves, or having it all at the risk of losing him.

Once again, Kristen Ashley delivers a powerful romance that you won’t be able to put down. Kia and Sam are wonderful characters you can’t help but adore and root for. Felicity Munroe narrates Kia’s voice perfectly with her light southern accent, and she also does a great job with voicing the male dialogue. I would definitely listen to another audiobook with her narration. Heaven and Hell is a worthwhile listen and I highly recommend the audio version of it!

4 hearts
lacey

Here’s an audio excerpt from Heaven and Hell!

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Early Review: Collared by Nicole Williams

Posted in 5 hearts, Reviews by

Collared by Nicole Williams

Collared by Nicole Williams
Series: Standalone
Publication Date: March 22nd 2016
Links: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
Source: I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review

When a seventeen-year-old girl vanishes,
A community is shaken.
Parents turn desperate.
Friends hold vigils.
And the boy who loves her searches.

When a year goes by,
The community is recovering.
Parents feel hopeless.
Friends feel helpless.
And the boy who loves her continues his search.

When ten years go by,
The community has forgotten.
Parents cling to the past.
Friends move toward the future.
And the boy who loves her . . .
Brings her home.

Jade Childs spent ten years in captivity, but now that she’s back, the real battle for survival begins. The media shadows her. Flashbacks haunt her. Her old life evades her. Her so-called new life rejects her. She spent too many years in the dark to recognize the light. She spent too long repressing her feelings to remember how to express them. She spent a decade abandoning hope and cannot dare letting it back into her life. Jade’s not just defined by what happened to her—she’s collared to it.

When the twenty-seven-year-old woman is found,
A community wants to know the story,
Parents want to forget the story,
Friends want to be a part of the story,
And the man who still loves her faces the greatest challenge yet: letting her go.

OH MY GOD!!!!! I love love loveedddd this book so much. SO MUCH!!! I had no idea I would end up loving Collared as much as I do, but it was seriously perfection. I’ve loved Nicole Williams since I first read her Crash series a few years ago, but this, THIS BOOK, is for sure my all-time favorite read of hers now. I’m so in awe of the brilliant story Nicole Williams has woven in Collared. I loved this book so much I literally just bought myself the paperback so I could have it on my favorites shelf. AHHH!! I’m dying for this to release so everyone can read and experience the utter beauty of it!

“Find an emotional tether. Someone you trusted before and someone you can trust now. A person who can connect you to your past but can pilot you into the future. Someone who can pull you back from the ledge when you find it and from the dark when it finds you. Find that person, hold on tight, and don’t let go.”

I began this book intrigued by the blurb and cover. I don’t particularly LOVE kidnapping stories, but Collared’s blurb hooked me in and I prayed it would meet my expectations. I’m so happy to say this book went above and beyond anything I ever expected. I ended up reading this in one sitting, staying up until almost 3AM finishing it – I had to get up 4.5 hours later, but it was totally worth the lost sleep. I honestly couldn’t put this book down! It’s a captivating, haunting, utterly romantic story – a story of a girl kidnapped for ten years and brought home by the boy she loved before she was taken.

He’s not supposed to be the one I tether myself to, but it doesn’t change that he’s the one I already have. He’s not supposed to be the one . . . but he always has been The One.

Jade Childs was only seventeen when she was kidnapped, stolen away from her family and the love of her life, Torrin. For the next ten years, the boy she loved who loved her never stopped searching for her or giving up hope. Now, at twenty-seven, she’s finally come home – but can she ever live a normal life again? Or will her past continue to keep her shackled down, collared, unable to move on with her life?

As Jade struggles with being back home and interacting with other people, Torrin is right by her side the whole time. But she’s not the same girl she was when they were in love, and neither is he. There’s a twist in this book I did NOT see coming, that had me seriously OMG-ing, but I loved the way the author took the direction of the story with it. This twist creates complications for Jade and Torrin… and I love the angst and heartbreak that came with it. Collared made me FEEL so much, but the one thing that captivated me the most, that had me obsessing over this book, was the powerful, beautiful love story.

He stretches slower. His eyes refuse to blink. “You were my first. And you were my last.” His words echo in the small space. “A man could have a thousand different partners and settle down with an amazing woman, and I’d still hold the bragging rights.”

I am head over heels in love with Torrin and his unwavering, heart-stopping love for Jade. He is not a perfect man, but he’s utterly perfect for Jade. There really is no end to what he would do for her – he would literally give his life for the girl that he has never stopped loving. He’s a words and actions man, so the things he says and does because of his love made my heart MELT. I love Torrin!!!

His strong hand grips the side of my neck, and he aligns his eyes with mine. “I’ve been sure about you since I was fifteen years old. And I’ll be sure about you for the rest of my life.”

Jade herself is so strong but vulnerable. I don’t usually connect that well with heroines in kidnapping stories, but with Jade, I connected with her right from the start. The raw emotion coming from her struggles, her fear and helplessness, her desire to be whole again, made me feel as if I were fighting right alongside with her. I liked that Nicole Williams didn’t focus too much on her kidnapping – there were enough flashbacks to give us an understanding of what happened to Jade, but her story very much focuses on her healing and moving on.

Nicole Williams has written an unputdownable, gripping, heart-pounding read. Collared is emotionally devastating yet uplifting. It’s meaningful, heartfelt, and so, so romantic. It’s a fantastically-written, powerful story I loved with all my heart. If you love unique books with unforgettable love stories, I can’t recommend this enough.

5 hearts
lacey

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

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Blog Tour + ARC Review: A Thousand Boy Kisses by Tillie Cole

Posted in 4 hearts, Blog Tours, Reviews by

A Thousand Boy Kisses tour

Welcome to today’s stop on the blog tour for A Thousand Boy Kisses by Tillie Cole!

A Thousand Boy Kisses by Tillie Cole
Series: Standalone
Release Date: March 15th 2015
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One kiss lasts a moment.
But a thousand kisses can last a lifetime.

One boy.
One girl.
A bond that is forged in an instant and cherished for a decade.
A bond that neither time nor distance can break.
A bond that will last forever.
Or so they believe.

When seventeen-year-old Rune Kristiansen returns from his native Norway to the sleepy town of Blossom Grove, Georgia, where he befriended Poppy Litchfield as a child, he has just one thing on his mind. Why did the girl who was one half of his soul, who promised to wait faithfully for his return, cut him off without a word of explanation?

Rune’s heart was broken two years ago when Poppy fell silent. When he discovers the truth, he finds that the greatest heartache is yet to come.

Standalone Young Adult Tearjerker Romance.
For ages 14 and up.

Buy Links:
Amazon US • Amazon UK • Amazon CA • iTunes • Kobo

review button

I don’t know how Tillie Cole does it, but she’s always able to write books that are so sad yet happy at the same time. They’re gut-wrenching and heart-melting, they hurt my heart and uplift it, and her latest release, A Thousand Boy Kisses, takes all of that to the max. This book is a lovely, lovely coming of age story, and I truly enjoyed reading about Poppy and Rune.

“Poppy and Rune. Two halves of the same whole.”

A Thousand Boy Kisses is definitely the kind of book that you want to go in blind. I do want to warn you that it’s not exactly the most light-hearted of books, despite what you might think of the adorable cover. There are times in this novel that my heart felt so heavy, my emotions were shot, and I was hurting for Poppy and Rune – but I promise, the journey and the end are totally worth all the emotional upheaval.

This is a young adult, coming of age story, and it’s also a mix of friends to lovers and a second chance romance. Poppy and Rune are high school students, so they’re not the usual sort of characters Tillie Cole has written in the past, but they’re very mature for their age. I adored these two together – their love is that once-in-a-lifetime love that anyone can only pray to find, and they find it at such a young age. Poppy and Rune love each other so deeply and tenderly, they made my heart swoon. Tillie Cole always writes the BEST love stories, and Poppy and Rune’s is one of her best yet.

Closing his eyes, Rune took my mouth in a kiss. And in this kiss I felt his outpouring of love. I felt a love, that at seventeen, I was blessed to have received.
A love that knew no boundaries.
The kind of love that inspired music that lasts through the ages.
A love that should be felt and meant and treasured.

It gets a little too sappy and cheesy at times, but for the most part, A Thousand Boy Kisses is poignant and heartfelt. I felt all of the emotions in this book deeply, both the good ones and the bad. It’s unique and gorgeously written, and I highly recommend it for those who love powerful love stories. I definitely won’t be forgetting Poppy and Rune’s romance anytime soon!

4 hearts
lacey

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

about the author button

Tillie ColeAmazon & USA Today Best Selling Author, Tillie Cole is a Northern girl through and through. She originates from a place called Teesside on that little but awesomely sunny (okay I exaggerate) Isle called Great Britain. She was brought up surrounded by her English rose mother — a farmer’s daughter, her crazy Scottish father, a savagely sarcastic sister and a multitude of rescue animals and horses.

Website • Facebook • Twitter • Goodreads • Instagram

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ARC Review: Porn Star by Laurelin Paige & Sierra Simone

Posted in 3.5 hearts, Reviews by

Porn Star by Laurelin Paige & Sierra Simone
Series: Standalone
Publication Date: March 8th 2016
Links: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
Source: I received an ARC from the authors in exchange for an honest review

You know me.

Come on, you know you do.

Maybe you pretend you don’t. Maybe you clear your browser history religiously. Maybe you pretend to be aghast whenever someone even mentions the word porn in your presence.

But the truth is that you do know me.

Everybody knows Logan O’Toole, world famous porn star.

Except then Devi Dare pops into my world, and pretty soon I’m doing things that aren’t like me–like texting her with flirty banter and creating an entire web porn series just so I can get to star in her bed. Again. And again.

With Devi, my entire universe shifts, and the more time I spend with her, the more I realize that Logan O’Toole isn’t the guy I thought he was.

So maybe I’m not the guy you thought I was either.

When I heard Laurelin Paige and Sierra Simone were collaborating on a work together, I knew it was going to be a HOT read. And then when I heard it was going to be about a porn star? Well, I had to see for myself what this book would be like. Porn Star actually surprised me – the authors’ take on the porn industry was interesting, but it wasn’t what I was expecting. I thought this book would be sexy and fun and light-hearted, but it turned out to be more than that. This won’t be a read for everyone, especially if you don’t like your characters being with other people, but otherwise, Porn Star was a well-written, unique, fascinating take on the life of a person in the porn industry.

The fantasy of being in love.
Jesus.
I scrub my face with my hands, feeling liberated and also feeling pathetic. Who in this selfish, indulgent, spray-tanned city would ever guess that Logan O’Toole has a chewy caramel center? That under his I’ll-fuck-anything-that-moves veneer, there is a guy who just wants to love someone?

Logan O’Toole isn’t your typical hero. He isn’t even your typical guy. He’s a famous porn star who’s been burned by love (a woman who also works in the porn industry) and he’s quite the sensitive soul. He may be be all sexual and alpha in bed and while filming, but outside of that, he’s a normal guy who genuinely wants to find love. And he actually takes his job, not only as a porn star but also as a director, writer, and editor, very seriously. We get a lot of depth and information about this industry, and while I feel like the book focused too much on that, I did appreciate how it made the book feel more real and authentic.

Devi Dare went into the porn industry because she needed the money, but she only does girl-on-girl porn. The one time she was with a man was with Logan an his ex in a threesome a few years ago, and since then she’s never really been able to forget him. Lucky for her, Logan feels the same way about Devi, and the two agree to film a porn series about a couple falling in love. So what happens when real feelings get involved along the way? Can a relationship in the porn industry actually work… and last?

My theater teacher in high school liked to talk about the unities, where time and place and action all converged into one point. Well, Devi is my unity right now. Drawing my body and my mind and my heart into a single, crystalline point, fusing all the disparate Logans into one bewitched, infatuated man.
I’ve fallen for her.

My heart actually hurt a bit for Devi and Logan as they were navigating this new relationship balancing sex, porn, and love. When both people in a relationship aren’t on the same page, one of them is bound to get hurt. The problem here is that Logan doesn’t see anything wrong with doing porn with other women while having a relationship with Devi, but Devi eventually realizes she does. Even though I personally don’t agree with the way Logan views sex and love, I did understand him, but I really wanted him to open his eyes about love and Devi a lot sooner than he did. Again, if you don’t like your main characters being with other people, this book won’t be easy to read.

The highlight of this book is definitely the writing, with the steamy scenes coming in second. I adored Devi and felt for her and her struggles, and while I liked Logan, I wanted to shake him sometimes. This story really felt like an honest take on the porn industry, which was fascinating, buuut I didn’t really like all the time Logan spent with other women. If you’re looking for something well-written and different from your typical read, I would definitely recommend Porn Star.

3.5 hearts
lacey

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

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