ARC Review: A Love To Call Her Own by Marilyn Pappano

A Love to Call Her Own by Marilyn Pappano
Tallgrass #3 (need not be read in order!)
Via Publisher
Goodreads 

Synopsis

It's been two years since Jessy Lawrence lost her husband in Afghanistan, and she's never fully recovered. Drowning her sorrows didn't help, and neither did the job she'd hoped would give her a sense of purpose. Now trying to rebuild her life, she finds solace in her best friends, fellow military wives who understand what it's like to love-and lose-a man in uniform . . . and the memory of one stolen night that makes her dream of a second chance at love.

Dalton Smith has known more than his fair share of grief. Since his wife's death, he revels in the solitude of his cattle ranch. But try as he might, he can't stop thinking about the stunning redhead and the reckless, passionate night they shared. He wasn't ready before, but Dalton sees now that Jessy is the only woman who can mend his broken heart. So how will he convince her to take a chance on him?

Told in a few different points of views, A LOVE TO CALL HER OWN circles around two girls and their guys, the main one being Jessy, as their stories being to unfold about the tragic loss of Lucy and Jessy’s husbands to war and their quest of self-discovery and maybe falling in love along the way. As I said, this is mainly Jessy’s story, but we do have an insight to Lucy’s head as well. These two gold star military wives and their support group called the margarita girls, are left alone with the tragic loss of their husbands. A LOVE TO CALL HER OWN plays with the idea of second chances that come in the form of cowboys (for Jessy) and hot doctors (for Lucy). That’s all I’m going to say about Lucy since this isn’t really her story.

Jessy is overcome by guilt and consumed by her feeling of lack of self-worth. She’s stumbling, rather ungracefully, through life. Or what she has left if it. She feels compelled to keep secrets about her marriage from her friends, drink herself into oblivion and drown her sorrows. She loses her job. When everything has officially hit rock bottom, one night comes to mind as well as the cowboy who filled it. And he hasn’t forgot either. He lost his wife to the war. Dalton Smith gives her a rare breed of hope that she didn’t even know she was craving. Didn’t know that she needed.

He’s a saving grace for her. She’s a saving grace for him.

This was a nice read. It took me longer than books this length usually do just because the undertone of sadness in A LOVE TO CALL HER OWN wasn’t really want I wanted or really expected. I liked to see the unraveling of Dalton and Jessy’s story come to life. Their back stories (which I am so glad were shared) really shaped them into who they are and made them who they are today. The support from the margarita sisters was really actually pretty inspiring. They were no judge people. It was refreshing.

Overall, this was a truly exceptional book, but it just didn’t resonate with me as much as I felt it should have.

ARC Review: Poisoned Apples: Poems For You, My Pretty

Poisoned Apples by Christine Heppermann
Review Copy via Andye @ ReadingTeen
Published: September 23, 2014
Goodreads

Synopsis

Every little girl goes through her princess phase, whether she wants to be Snow White or Cinderella, Belle or Ariel. But then we grow up. And life is not a fairy tale.

Christine Heppermann's collection of fifty poems puts the ideals of fairy tales right beside the life of the modern teenage girl. With piercing truths reminiscent of Laurie Halse Anderson and Ellen Hopkins, this is a powerful and provocative book for every young woman. E. Lockhart, author of We Were Liars, calls it "a bloody poetic attack on the beauty myth that's caustic, funny, and heartbreaking."

Cruelties come not just from wicked stepmothers, but also from ourselves. There are expectations, pressures, judgment, and criticism. Self-doubt and self-confidence. But there are also friends, and sisters, and a whole hell of a lot of power there for the taking. In fifty poems, Christine Heppermann confronts society head on. Using fairy tale characters and tropes, Poisoned Apples explores how girls are taught to think about themselves, their bodies, and their friends. The poems range from contemporary retellings to first-person accounts set within the original tales, and from deadly funny to deadly serious. Complemented throughout with black-and-white photographs from up-and-coming artists, this is a stunning and sophisticated book to be treasured, shared, and paged through again and again.

Terrifyingly raw and true to the teenage girl’s mind, Poisoned Apples is a book of poems interwoven with fairy tales in order to create something that’ll leave the reader thinking long after it’s over. I finished this book on the car ride home from school (about twenty minutes) and found myself sitting on the stair case, back pack still on, re reading it. The pictures in the book add to the tales of self-hate, stereotypical high schooler’s and the need to be accepted. I loved every word of it.

Usually, when it comes to poetry, I like those such as Christopher Poindexter or Tyler Kent White (if y’all don’t know what I’m talking about, go google them now) but Poisoned Apples had a quality that addressed coming of age, almost out in the real world issues that I think need a little more light. A few of my favorite poems? The Little Mermaid (to the size of his eyes reflecting my eyes / begging lovemeholdmedon’teverleaveme)ARC , then there’s Transformation and Rapunzel, Nature Lesson and Red-Handed, Finder’s Keepers and Spotless (she thought her own blood in the snow/ was the prettiest thing she’d ever seen)ARC. Don’t even get me started on Retelling. Yes, there was dark and deep and raw. But there was also hey, we’re girls and we are freaking awesome. Hey, we’re girls and we are our own people. Hey, we are girls, and we don’t need a man to be happy (Once upon a time/ there was a miller’s daughter/ who got a studio apartment) ARC

But, I’m a poetry freak. I like beautiful words and pretty pictures. I like fairy tale where there are goblins and evil stepmother’s and terrifying beasts.

I think Poisoned Apples has a quality that readers don’t see as often as we need to. The author’s voice is the voice of a high schooler, it’s the voice of a mother and a sister, its the voice of someone who has a story to tell. And sweet lord is it epic.

Heart-wrenching, hilarious and all together fantastic, this book of 50 poems need to be ordered and pre ordered and shared. Because sharing is caring. 

This is one of those books where the more I think about it, the more I like it. Do y'all have books like that?

Martyr Book Tour { Music and Prizes }

MARTYR
The Hunted Book One
Author: A.R. Kahler
Release Date: October 28th, 2014
Publisher: Spencer Hill Press
Young Adult

Three years have passed since magic destroyed the world.
Those who remain struggle to survive the monsters roaming the streets, fighting back with steel and magic—the very weapons that birthed the Howls in the first place.
Tenn is one such Hunter, a boy with the ability to harness the elements through ancient runes. For years, the Hunters have used this magic to keep the monsters at bay, but it's never been enough to truly win the war. Humans are losing.
When Tenn falls prey to an incubus named Tomás and his terrifying Kin, Tenn learns there's more to this than a fight for survival. He's a pawn in a bigger game, one with devastating consequences. If he doesn't play his part, it could cost him his life, his lover and his world

Goodreads / B&N / Amazon

About The Author

Alex is many things, but first and foremost, he’s a Sagittarius.

Born in Iowa and educated across the States, he’s taught circus in Amsterdam and Madrid, gotten madly lost in the Scottish wilderness, received his Masters in Creative Writing from Glasgow University, and drummed with Norse shamans. Sometimes he also walks about on stilts. Or sews. Or hammers tiny pieces of metal into pretty shapes.

When he’s not writing or climbing in the rafters, he’s probably drinking coffee. And seeing as he currently resides in Seattle, there’s coffee aplenty.

Website: http://www.arkahler.com/
Twitter: @ARKahler

Giveaway

Must be 13+ To Enter | Ships in US Only.

One winner will get a signed copy of 'Immortal Circus: Act Two' and 'Immortal Circus: Final Act'

+ Martyr swag, including stickers, bookmarks, a signed bookplate, and trading cards.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Guest Post 

Music has always played an integral part in my writing process. Seeing as 'Martyr' has been in the works and through many incarnations over the last ten years, the music I've written it to has changed drastically. There are certain styles and artists that have highly influenced me, however. So a brief overview of a few artists that immediately come to mind.

The Sucker Punch soundtrack is sort of the ghost soundtrack for Martyr. It's haunting and epic, pulse-pounding and melancholy. Which is pretty much the book to a T. I have an entire Pandora station centered around the soundtrack. It probably gets more play than any other station...

Florence and the Machine filters heavily into the book as well. Again, it's the bands ability to be both powerful and ethereal and a little off-beat that really gets my brain going. Florence has a way with words and melodies that is really inspiring. I kind of want her to write the book's theme song.

The Glitch Mob is another driving force in my writing. Not necessarily just the band, but that entire style of dirty techno that could be a battle anthem. I often need to write to music that I could work out to (save for when doing sad scenes) and this style has always gotten my blood going.

All that said, the playlist changes every day, and every scene can require a different tone to hit the right

~ ~ ~

So, what's the verdict? Thought? Here are mine: I LOVE FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE! Did you see his hair?! How perfect is it?! Also, I loooooove magic!

Are Covers Really Allowed to be This Gorgeous?

True love may mean certain death in a ghostly affair of risk and passion from New York Times bestselling duo Christina Lauren, authors ofBeautiful Bastard. Tahereh Mafi, New York Times bestselling author ofShatter Me calls Sublime “a beautiful, haunting read".

When Lucy walks out of a frozen forest, wearing only a silk dress and sandals, she isn’t sure how she got there. But when she sees Colin, she knows for sure that she’s here for him.

Colin has never been captivated by a girl the way he is by Lucy. With each passing day their lives intertwine, and even as Lucy begins to remember more of her life—and her death—neither of them is willing to give up what they have, no matter how impossible it is. And when Colin finds a way to physically be with Lucy, taking himself to the brink of death where his reality and Lucy’s overlap, the joy of being together for those brief stolen moments drowns out everything in the outside world. But some lines weren’t meant to be crossed…

Find Sumblime on Goodreads

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I've never quite seen a cover like this. AND THE STORY SOUNDS BEAUTIFUL AS WELL!! HOW WONDERFUL IS THAT?! 

I like the colors and the people and the lettering. I don't actually not like anything about this cover. What do y'all think? 

ARC Review: Celine by Kathleen Bittner Roth

Celine by Kathleen Bittner Roth
Published October 7, 2014
Via Netgalley + Publisher
Goodreads / Buy It Here

Synopsis

He stepped off a jewel of a sternwheeler onto one of the most beautiful plantations in all of Louisiana. And into her life.

Celine's breath caught in her throat. Heat smoldered in her belly. What a sensual man. The scion of the Andrews family carried an aura of personal magnetism so powerful, a sensation close to fright swept through her. She stood still and aloof, masking her emotions. His intense gaze seemed almost a physical touch. She held her head at a proud, haughty angle, not flinching from his bold scrutiny.

In seconds, Trevor regained his cool, casual air. A lusty grin caught at the corners of his mouth, and fire danced in his eyes as he bent ever so slightly at the waist, tipped an imaginary hat, and strode casually into the house.

She would never be the same...

From Plantation era New Orleans to the untamed American West, here is the sweeping, unforgettable tale of a headstrong young beauty and the man she is destined to love.

I almost feel bad giving this book a two-star review. Almost. This book could have oh so very easily been a four, four point five star book if it had stopped somewhere around fifty or fifty five percent. After there, it just seemed forced and to be honest I was disappointed. Especially since everything before that was really good. I kept looking at the percent finished in the bottom corner of my Kindle screen and wondering if maybe it was a glitch. But, no. It just kept going on. To explain why I am so freaking frustrated, I will be spoiling just a bit. BUT THERE WILL BE WARNINGS AND I’LL MAKE THE SPOILERY TEXT WHITE ON MY BLOG SO DON’T LEAVE!

Now that I’ve said all that, let me back up a little bit and explain what the heck is going on here.

After a tragedy that caused her to lose her husband, child and father-in-law, the only family she has left in the world, Celine is lost and broken. Justin, the father to the love interest, finds Celine and takes her in, takes care of her and gives her a place to live while she gets all her chicken in a line. The longer she stays at the family’s lovely plantation (can I live on a plantation? I mean the house the land *starry eyes*) the more the family grows to love her. The less they want her to leave. And then the oldest son comes homes and stirs everything else. Suddenly, nothing is as clear as they once were to Celine.

The sexual tension in the first part of this book, y’all. I mean it was something to behold. And it was really amusing. I found their characters very life like and both of them really likeable. They seemed real. I loved the interactions with the minor characters they had. LIKE THE DRESSMAKER AND LINDSEY! I LOVE THEM, Y’ALL! Those two were my favorite. None of the characters in this book were lacking a backbone. I mean yes, they had their moments, but doesn’t everyone?

If you’ve noticed, I haven’t actually said anything too bad about to the book. So are you wondering why I’m giving it such a low rating? It’s because I pretty much hate the whole second part of the book. There were a lot of miracles (I don’t even know if that’s the right word) that I felt just shouldn’t have happened. Like ***HERES THE SPOILER BEWARE*** if you’re going to kill of a character, keep them dead. If you have an infertile characters, don’t suddenly make them fertile. ***SPOILER OVER****

The second part of the book had Wolf, who I really did like. He was a great character. But I would have gladly sacrificed him if the book would have just stopped where I though it should have instead of going on. And just not have some of the things happened that did happen.

So basically, this was a really well-written book. The writing, word choice, characters were all pretty great. It’s just I was pissed off half of the book. 

Book Look #43 Life Is But A Dream

Life is But a Dream {Book Look} by nobentspines featuring h&m rings

Sabrina, an artist, is diagnosed with schizophrenia, and her parents check her into the Wellness Center. There she meets Alec, who is convinced it's the world that's crazy, not the two of them. They are meant to be together; they are special. But when Alec starts to convince Sabrina that her treatment will wipe out everything that makes her creative, she worries that she'll lose hold of her dreams and herself. Should she listen to her doctor? her decision may have fatal consequences.

Brian James calls Life is But a Dream "the most intense book I've written. Bringing this unique character to life and seeing the world through her eyes, with all its beauty and confusion, was an immense challenge that I hope is just as rewarding to read as it was to write." Intense--yes. Unforgettable--definitely.

Goodreads

Review: Push by Claire Wallis

Push by Claire Wallis
Published May 1, 2014
Copy via Netgalley + Publisher
Goodreads / Amazon

Synopsis

I feel like I am wrapped in a cyclone. Everything is whirling around me, drawing the air out of my lungs and filling me with the best kind of turmoil. Every time his tongue slides against mine, a prickle in my gut tells me how right we are together. How much I need David. How much I need us.

I hope the cyclone never stops.

Emma Searfoss has spent a lifetime trying to escape her abusive stepfather. It's why she moved far away from home. It's why she's kept no ties with her remaining family. And it's why she's got a major rage problem. When her neighbor shows up to fix the kitchen in her new apartment, his enigmatic charm calms the fire in her. David is cool and collected, and he makes Emma feel safe for the first time ever. But David has his own chilling past—his six previous girlfriends have all disappeared without a trace. Emma's walking a dangerous line, but David's pull is intoxicating. And impossible to resist…

Music For This Book: Devil’s Backbone: The Civil Wars / Take Me To Church: Hozier / 

"I want to stay. Shit, Emma, I always want to stay."

Something about inevitable tragedy draws people like moths to a flame it its center. Is it the need to see destruction? The hope that you are the one who can somehow keep the fall from happening? This book, straight from the freaking prologue tells you that shit is going to freaking go down. The fact that the prologue is what it is keeps you on the edge of your seat the entire book (and I have dents on my butt from the chair on the porch to prove it, as well as sunburnt legs) because you feel that if you skim for even a moment you’re going to miss something vital. You know IT is going to happen the entire book. 

I knew IT was going to happen when I read the first page. I knew IT was going to happen when I read the POVs from the six prominent women of David’s life. I knew IT was going to happen when I fell for David. I knew IT was going to happen when he said sweet nothings in Emma’s ear and when she fell for him. I knew IT was going to happen when Emma texted him I love you for the first time. I knew IT was going to happen when I cussed out my Kindle and my friends and my sister. I knew IT was going to happen when I cried. 

And sweet lordy did It happen. 

Would you like to know why I waited so long to read this book? It’s because I was terrified. This book is stunning and unique and thrilling. PUSH is a firecracker on a silent night; it lights up the sky and goes out with a bang. PUSH is a stunning break in the new adult genre that left me reeling and texting and cursing and crying. But it also left me satisfied. In a way no book ever has before. I honestly don’t know what quite to make of it.

This book is effing addicting. 

Like, holy freaking cow, I still can’t believe all that happened. *takes a deep breath*

Okay, enough rambling. Let’s get to talking about the roots and bark of the book. First, I’m going to talk about our two main characters: David and Emma. Sweet Lord these two are messed up. In insanely different ways. 

Emma’s dad died when she was young and her mother re-married to a man she met a church. Her mother married Michael to punish herself. In doing so, she screwed up her entire family. Her once loving, caring and protective brothers are now cruel and vindictive. Her step-father has them trained like monkeys and uses them as he pleases. 

Her mother is weak. 

She lets the abuse of the man she married scar her daughter emotionally and pretty much mess her up mentally. ***Not sexual abuse*** Basically her entire childhood was a time where she learned to lean on no one, trust no one, love no one. I wanted to murder her brothers, or at least wack them with a saw a few times. In the face. Her mother didn’t make me mad so much as she disappointed me. But Emma, she's so brave. She's so real. With the story almost entirely being told from her POV, I really got to know her. And she's pretty epic. 

Then we have David. Oh, David. I think I hate you so much because you made me fall for you. You made me fall for you with the need to keep Emma safe from her past. You made me love you with the re-building of the kitchen so that it was beautiful. You made me fall in love with you over hot kisses, long laughs, sharp tongues and wide smiles. The kind that make the sun shine from behind your teeth. You made me love you with you taking Emma to burger joints and falling asleep on her bedroom floor simply because you had to see her. You made me fall for you and I know you love her. I know it. I know it. I know it. 

Oh, David. 

David is screwed up to hell and back. His father is a never-ever-going-to-recover alcoholic. His mother’s soul is broken. His life is in ruins. I really don’t know how to describe him without giving too much away. His past is such a vital part to understanding the story. And when you do understand, it’s like finding the last piece to the puzzle. One thing I can say, is when you think of him, think of a crow. David craves control like a drug. Not a little control over the unexpected. David craves complete and utter control.

You’d think that they’d be like an atomic bomb or a meteor heading for earth: traumatic and deadly. But, y’all, something about them is just so right. I mean god, they are so right. Birds of a feather. When they’re together, sparks fly. Sexual tension amplified. Everything is okay, because they are totally comfortable with each other. If only those pesky secrets weren’t so, well, true. 

Holy shit this is a long review for me. I think I’ve covered most of what I’ve got to say. My main points? I hate David because I love him, and because his two POVs may have shredded my soul. I love this book. New favorite. Sweet Lord this book was delicious and beautiful, with it’s gorgeous writing and stunning characters. And, god this book was traumatic. How long will this book hangover be? Forever? Let’s hope not. I have more books to review. 

PUSH isn’t going to be leaving my mind anytime soon though. I have a feeling this is a book here to stay. I need the next book now. Now. 

Teaser Thursday #9

Loving Mr. Daniels

Summary / Goodreads Profile

 To Whom it May Concern, 

It was easy to call us forbidden and harder to call us soulmates. Yet I believed we were both. Forbidden soulmates. 

When I arrived to Edgewood, Wisconsin I didn’t plan to find him. I didn't plan to stumble into Joe's bar and have Daniel's music stir up my emotions. I had no clue that his voice would make my hurts forget their own sorrow. I had no idea that my happiness would remember its own bliss. 

When I started senior year at my new school, I wasn’t prepared to call him Mr. Daniels, but sometimes life happens at the wrong time for all the right reasons. 

Our love story wasn’t only about the physical connection.

It was about family. It was about loss. It was about being alive. It was silly. It was painful. It was mourning. It was laughter.

It was ours. 

And for those reasons alone, I would never apologize for loving Mr. Daniels. 

-Ashlyn Jennings

Two Books With Lovely Handwritten Typography

I love, love, love this type. It's so cute and fun. Even if I hate the color yellow. 

Goodreads / Buy

This emotional, hilarious, devastating, and ultimately triumphant YA debut, based on actual events, recounts one girl’s rejection of her high school’s hierarchy—and her discovery of her true self in the face of tragedy.

Fall’s buzzed-about, in-house favorite.

Outside, Anika Dragomir is all lip gloss and blond hair—the third most popular girl in school. Inside, she’s a freak: a mix of dark thoughts, diabolical plots, and, if local chatter is to be believed, vampire DNA (after all, her father is Romanian). But she keeps it under wraps to maintain her social position. One step out of line and Becky Vilhauer, first most popular girl in school, will make her life hell. So when former loner Logan McDonough shows up one September hotter, smarter, and more mysterious than ever, Anika knows she can’t get involved. It would be insane to throw away her social safety for a nerd. So what if that nerd is now a black-leather-jacket-wearing dreamboat, and his loner status is clearly the result of his troubled home life? Who cares if the right girl could help him with all that, maybe even save him from it? Who needs him when Jared Kline, the bad boy every girl dreams of, is asking her on dates? Who?

Anatomy of a Misfit is Mean Girls meets The Perks of Being a Wallflower, and Anika’s hilariously deadpan delivery will appeal to readers for its honesty and depth. The so-sad-it’s-funny high school setting will pull readers in, but when the story’s dark foreboding gradually takes over, the devastating penultimate tragedy hits like a punch to the gut. Readers will ride the highs and lows alongside funny, flawed Anika — from laughter to tears, and everything in between.

Okay, y'all. I LOVE this cover. So freaking much. The chalk board look and the PRETTY WORDS. What do y'all think?

Goodreads / Buy

On the day Liz Emerson tries to die, they had reviewed Newton’s laws of motion in physics class. Then, after school, she put them into practice by running her Mercedes off the road. 

Why? Why did Liz Emerson decide that the world would be better off without her? Why did she give up? Vividly told by an unexpected and surprising narrator, this heartbreaking and nonlinear novel pieces together the short and devastating life of Meridian High’s most popular junior girl. Mass, acceleration, momentum, force—Liz didn’t understand it in physics, and even as her Mercedes hurtles toward the tree, she doesn’t understand it now. How do we impact one another? How do our actions reverberate? What does it mean to be a friend? To love someone? To be a daughter? Or a mother? Is life truly more than cause and effect? Amy Zhang’s haunting and universal story will appeal to fans of Lauren Oliver, Gayle Forman, and Jay Asher.

~ ~ ~ 

So what are some of your favorite covers with handwritten typography? 

ARC Review: Snow on the Bayou by Sandra Hill

Snow on the Bayou by Sandra Hill
Published August 26, 2014
Copy Via Publisher
Goodreads / Buy It Here

Synopsis

THE BAYOU'S BADDEST BAD BOY IS BACK!

Joining the Navy was the second best thing that ever happened to Justin "Cage" LeBlanc, the rebel son of a no-account convict. The first was Emelie Gaudet, the love of his life . . . until he was forced to leave town and swore there would be snow on the bayou before he ever returned. Now, only his mortally ill grandma can bring the injured Navy SEAL back to Terrebone Parrish, where he must face his past-and Emelie, who's even more beautiful than she was all those years ago.

Bourbon Street blues singer Emelie is once bitten, twice shy. When she learns that Justin is back in town, she wants nothing to do with the once wild Cajun teenager who fled with the law on his tail-and broke her heart. But she can't deny the red-hot attraction between them . . . or his efforts to prove he's finally changed his hell-raising ways. Can she trust that this time the bad boy of the bayou will be the best man for her?

So basically I now need to read every one of Sandra Hill’s books ever written. SNOW ON THE BAYOU is the first book I’ve read by her and it will in no way be my last. In this book we see hints of the characters from her previous books and just by their brief descriptions, I need to know their story. SNOW ON THE BAYOU takes place in Louisiana with two lost lovers who promised each other forever as teens then got torn apart by the girl’s father. Justin “Cage” and Emelie’s story was one for the soul. And it made me really want red beans and rice. Not crawfish though; food of the gods? More like cockroaches of the water.

After their departure, their lives take opposite paths. Emelie is now a divorced mask designer well-known everywhere. Her business is booming and her life is pretty fantastic. Something’s missing though. COULD IT BE? After her father shoved Justin out of town and shipped him off to the army, Justin made something of himself. He is now a Navy SEAL. And not the scrawny teen he one was. Nope. Not one little bit.

And then we have Tante Lulu who you can’t help to love to death with her Saint Jude affixation and healing powers. And her wardrobe choices.

SNOW ON THE BAYOU is just a good book. It’s funny, sweet, sexy, but also has a dangerous edge to it. It’s an un-put-down-able: I read it all in one sitting. Quick, sweet and oh so very lovely, this book needs to be on your to-read list!

Music Monday #4

Music Monday

Facebook / Twitter

I saw them for the first time yesterday at the State Fair. Let's just say I fell head over heels hard. SOUL TRACK MIND has this blue eyed jazz vibe with a rockin' hint of THE BLACK KEYS. And their energy was epic. 

Equal parts rock n' roll, jazz, and soul, this band is one to keep on repeat. 

The Lovely and The Lost by Page Morgan {Review}

The Lovely and The Lost by Page Morgan
Copy via Publisher + Netgalley
Goodreads

Synopsis

Ingrid and Gabby survived the Underneath. They saved their brother, Grayson, from a future of dark servitude and exposed a plot to undermine the Alliance. But danger still lurks in the streets of Paris, and the Dispossessed, perched on the city's bridges and rooftops, might not be able to save their human wards this time.

How the hell am I supposed to put thoughts down for a book that I don’t even know what to think about? Am I supposed to lie and say this this book was so freaking perfect that I can’t even. But that’s not true. I don’t know what I’m supposed to say, y’all. Okay, so I’ll say this: the first book was perfectly epic. It was gargoyles and forbidden romance and beautiful clothing and Paris. I mean how can you go wrong with Paris? Or hot guys? That’s right. It’s really, super-dee-duper hard to. But in The Lovely and the Lost, something changed. And I’m sorry *looks from under eyelashes* we need to break up.

I just wasn’t feeling this book. At all. I was actually rather bored for the first part (50%) of the book. Then came the action and I was all like HELL YEAH! BOOH YAH! And it was good and fun and exciting. I was on the edge of my seat. I was anticipating and hoping and rooting and cheering. Then, I was let down. And confused. Oh so very confused.

I love Luc. And Vander is friend zone material, if you ask me.

Honestly, I really don’t have much to say about this book other than the ending was very dramatic. And not the good kind of dramatic. It was the kind that makes me not really want to read the next one. It disappointed me. Maybe I wouldn’t have been to let down if I didn’t positively freaking adore THE BEAUTIFUL AND THE CURSED.

So everyone. Read the first one in the series because it is perfect. But don’t have as high of expectations of the second one as I did. Hopefully you’ll enjoy it more.

 Most the reviews I've read of this one were raving. Did I miss something? 

Teaser Thursday #8

The Kiss of Deception 

Summary / Goodreads Profile / Book Review

 A princess must find her place in a reborn world.

She flees on her wedding day.

She steals ancient documents from the Chancellor's secret collection.

She is pursued by bounty hunters sent by her own father.

She is Princess Lia, seventeen, First Daughter of the House of Morrighan.

The Kingdom of Morrighan is steeped in tradition and the stories of a bygone world, but some traditions Lia can't abide. Like having to marry someone she's never met to secure a political alliance.

Fed up and ready for a new life, Lia flees to a distant village on the morning of her wedding. She settles in among the common folk, intrigued when two mysterious and handsome strangers arrive—and unaware that one is the jilted prince and the other an assassin sent to kill her. Deceptions swirl and Lia finds herself on the brink of unlocking perilous secrets—secrets that may unravel her world—even as she feels herself falling in love.

Book Look #42: Nothing Sweeter by Laura Drake

Nothing Sweeter by nobentspines featuring brown boots

A Love as Wild as the West...

Aubrey Madison is starting over. Leaving Los Angeles and everything behind except the scars of her ruined past, Bree sets out for cowboy country. Now she has a new home, a new job—and a new worry: the ruggedly sexy rancher who makes her long for things she shouldn't...

Rough and tumble cattleman Max Jameson has broken wild stallions and faced angry bulls. Yet the redheaded city cupcake who turned up at the High Heather Ranch might be his undoing. Bree has a plan to rescue the ranch from foreclosure that's just crazy enough to work. But will Max gamble his future on a beautiful stranger?

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