The Hating Game - Sally Thorne (Review)

The Hating Game by Sally Thorne
Genres: Fiction, Romance
Publication date: August 9th 2016
Publisher: William Morrow
Format: paperback, 384 pages
How I got it: I won it from a  Goodreads Giveaway!
Buy it: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
My rating: 5/5
 
Nemesis (n.) 1) An opponent or rival whom a person cannot best or overcome.
2) A person’s undoing
3) Joshua Templeman

Lucy Hutton has always been certain that the nice girl can get the corner office. She’s charming and accommodating and prides herself on being loved by everyone at Bexley & Gamin. Everyone except for coldly efficient, impeccably attired, physically intimidating Joshua Templeman. And the feeling is mutual.

Trapped in a shared office together 40 (OK, 50 or 60) hours a week, they’ve become entrenched in an addictive, ridiculous never-ending game of one-upmanship. There’s the Staring Game. The Mirror Game. The HR Game. Lucy can’t let Joshua beat her at anything—especially when a huge new promotion goes up for the taking.

If Lucy wins this game, she’ll be Joshua’s boss. If she loses, she’ll resign. So why is she suddenly having steamy dreams about Joshua, and dressing for work like she’s got a hot date? After a perfectly innocent elevator ride ends with an earth shattering kiss, Lucy starts to wonder whether she’s got Joshua Templeman all wrong.

Maybe Lucy Hutton doesn’t hate Joshua Templeman. And maybe, he doesn’t hate her either. Or maybe this is just another game.

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My thoughts:

I am pretty upset with myself that I let this one sit on my shelf for so long! This book is amazing and it ended up being the perfect weekend read romance!! 

The book is told exclusively though Lucy's eyes. Lucy works for a publishing house that had recently merged with another publishing house, which immediately made me feel like Lucy is a huge book lover like me! The two publishing houses that merged had two owners who both had their own assistants Lucy and Joshua. Lucy and Joshua have a bunch of games that they play with each other that comes off as they hate each other, but do they really hate each other.

I really enjoyed that the book was told through only Lucy's eyes because then we only got to feel her emotions and they felt so real.  I felt like I was experiencing Lucy's craziness right along with her since we only knew how she was feeling.  The author did a great job sticking with the character and giving us a full look at Lucy's life.  I loved the descriptions that the author used during all the settings of the office and their apartments it felt like I could completely imagine myself sitting right along side the characters and listening to them banter.  

The premise of the story is pretty simple, but the way the author goes about telling the story is what makes it great.  The author did a great job with having the reader fall in love with the characters and also learn so much about them that I was routing for them to get together about half way through the book.  In my mind the book was the perfect length I couldn't have imagined it longer and the author did a great job keeping the story flowing with no side stories.

I loved the growth that Lucy's character goes through by the end of the book.  We start to see a peak of the growth once she is getting ready for the job interview with her boss.  She has a lot of potential and just needs to start taking action and expressing herself.   Joshua helps her to see her potential and express herself more. 

I would suggest this as a vacation read or weekend read! Once I started reading I wanted to know what was going to happened between Lucy and Joshua after reading the back of the book I didn't know how things where going to change between them and will it stay that way so I needed to find out.
 
I won a copy of this book from a Goodreads giveaway for the purpose of providing an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

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About the Author

Sally Thorne lives in Canberra, Australia, and spends her days writing funding submissions and drafting contracts (yawn!) so it’s not surprising that after hours she climbs into colorful fictional worlds of her own creation. Sally believes that romance readers are always searching for intensity in their next favorite book—and it isn't always so easy to find. The Hating Game is her first novel.

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Angel6: HOPE: A Jon Jaxon Adventure - J. Bowers (Review)

Angel6: HOPE: A Jon Jaxon Adventure by J. Bowers
Genres: Fiction
Publication date: December 31st 2014
Format: ebook, 292 pages
How I got it: J. Bowers for an honest review
Buy it: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
My rating: 4/5  

Summary:

Islamic State has acquired nuclear weapons and is determined to show the world that they are the new nuclear power on the planet. A power to be feared. They brutally attack Western capitals, including Washington DC, where a ‘little guy’, Jon Jaxon, is thrust into the center of a desperate, frantic battle to save the unprepared American city from thermo-nuclear annihilation. Jaxon, a nationally ranked precision rifle shooter and Army sniper instructor, must push himself beyond his self-imposed limits to overcome near impossible odds at every turn. Jaxon is America’s point of the spear that has to call on his martial skills, the US military, his ‘old breed’ values, and some divine intervention in order to defeat ruthless,  blood-thirsty terrorists before a ticking nuke goes critical.

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My thoughts:

This book is told through the eyes of several characters.  We first meet Jon Jaxon who is a nationally ranked rifle shooter and a boy count volunteer.  He wanted to be in the military, but never made it.  He did train a large amount of officers in shooting though.  We then meet the terrorist in the next section talking about the nuclear bombs he is going to set off in three cities around the world on 9/11.  The last major character is Colonel Walt Wolfe who is leading the home security team once the incident breaks out.  All of the characters help to create a complete picture of what is going on as well as how we ended up in this situation.

I felt like the author did a large amount of research on this book.  It felt very life like and that it could really happen. The author did a great job with the storyline as well as the descriptions used in the book.  The pace of the book was perfect it kept me hooked and I needed to know what was going to happen next.  Since the timing would start each chapter you knew how much time you had left until the bomb could go off.  The author did a great job describing injuries as well, I didn't think it was to gruesome, but readable in my opinion. 

The ending of the book was great because it summed everything up nicely.  We got a look at exactly what the author was trying to portray to the reader and after reading it I felt the entire book made complete sense.   I was questioning why the author added in the random journalist, but after the comments on journalism as a whole it made complete sense.  

I would suggest this as a weekend read when you have a lot of time to digest what you are reading.   The author brings up some powerful ideas and the topic he presented of nuclear war felt very real so it was a harder read for me. 

I received a copy of this book from J. Bowers for the purpose of providing an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Arctic Dawn - Karissa Laurel (Review)

Arctic Dawn by Karissa Laurel 
Series The Norse Chronicles Book 2
Genres: Fantasy, Mystery
Publication date: July 5th 2016
Publisher: Red Adept Publishing  
Format: ebook, 276 pages
How I got it: I got the book from Karissa for a honest review.
Buy it: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
My rating: 4/5
 
Alone and exhausted after her month-long sojourn as a shooting star, Solina Mundy flees to southern California to lie low, recuperate, and plot a survival strategy. The one person she trusts to watch her back is her best friend, Skyla Ramirez. But Skyla has been missing for weeks.

The arrival of a dangerous stranger and the discovery of a legendary weapon of mass destruction forces Solina out of hiding and back into the fight for her life. Solina knows she won’t last long on her own. She must find out what happened to Skyla and unite her contentious allies if she hopes to track down this devastating weapon before her enemies use it to burn the world to ash.

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My thoughts:

I was so excited to receive a copy of Arctic Dawn! I loved the first book of the series about Solina and couldn't wait to start reading the second book! I am so glad I did get a copy because the second book is just as great as the first book in the series!! 

The second book starts off with Solina being sort of lost and not knowing what really happened to her at the cabin.  She know needs to put her life back together while regaining her strength.  Solina doesn't know if she wants to jump right back into her old life since she isn't 100% sure exactly who she can trust.  Trust does become a big issue thought out the whole book. 

I loved the relationship that we get to see develop between Solina and Thorin.  In the first book they had a very odd relationship I couldn't tell where it was actually going to go.  I am still unsure of where the relationship will end up, but I felt like we got a lot more insight into the Solina and Thorin.  Solina is having a hard time letting her feelings come to the surface for Thorin because she is afraid to get hurt.  I feel like in this book they both have up such high walls and they are slowly starting to come down.   We got to see how upset Solina is over Thorin's constant need to be by Baldur and help him.  Solina does seem to have strong feelings for Thorin, but also wants his undivided attention to fix the crazy predicament she is in. 

I feel like I kind of want an entire book about Skyla.  I have a zillion questions about Skyla because I feel like her character can go in so many directions going forward.  I love the loyalty that Skyla shows even after finding out some shady stuff from the Aeria.  Skyla has a lot of potential to do great things she seems like a very strong character and a great friend to Solina.

The author did a great job with all the descriptions of the what was going on in the book.   I felt like I could imagine the scenes she was describing and felt like I was part of the orchard at one point.   All of the scenes and characters really came to life in Karissa's writing. 

I really enjoyed all the twists and turns while reading this book.  So much more action happened in this book then the first one.  I did sort of lose track of what we were looking for because there would be another twist when I thought I figured out what was going on.  The book was a fast read for me due to the pace being full of action and wanting to figure out exactly what was going on.   Also, the ending of this book I did NOT see coming at all.  I can't wait to see where the author goes with the next book in the series. 

I would suggest this as a weekend read. I got completely sucked into the story line again and couldn't put the book down! I had to know what was going to happen next and what was really going on! 

I was received this book from Karissa Laurel for the purpose of providing an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

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About the Author

Karissa Laurel has tried her hand at many things -- cooking/catering, law, art -- but writing makes her the happiest.

When she's feeling brave, she's on the slopes or riding off-road motorcycles with her guys. When she's less adventuresome, she's on the couch with her nose buried in a book.

She lives in North Carolina with her kid, husband, occasional in-law, and a hairy husky named Bonnie.

Author Links:

   

Visions of My Heart: 101 Tales Told in Verse - Garikai Nhongo (Review)

Visions of My Heart: 101 Tales Told in Verse by Garikai Nhongo
Genres: Poetry
Publication date: February 20, 2016
Format: ebook, 136 pages
How I got it: From Garikai Nhongo for an honest review
Buy it: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
My rating: 3/5
 
This book contains one hundred and one (101) poems told from the passionate heart of an ordinary man.

This body of work is a journey, so please read it as a journey. It’s a journey of the many conflicting roads my mind and heart have taken. I have been through a lot but my hope is that each piece inspires you in some way. When you laugh or cry, let it be a lesson for your tomorrow.

The poems speak of love, sorrow, loss and joy. They speak of happiness and sadness in equal turn. At the end of it all, they bring hope to all who open the pages of this text. Each of the poems are the encapsulation of an aspect of life put down in words. They speak of the journeys of a single man which are also the journeys that we will all travel at some point in our lives. Read these with an open heart and an open mind. You will find that they will speak of your journeys as well. If not the journeys that you have travelled already, then these are the journeys that you will travel one day.

Learn from them. Feel them. Enjoy them.

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My thoughts:

I can't remember the last time I read a book of poetry.   This book contains 101 poems on various topics.  Each topic is broken up into a mini chapters. 

The beginning poems are very uplifting and positive.  The author does a great job to show the importance of sticking with something and achieving goals.  By far my favorite poem in the collection was Alive, I felt like it captured the sense of overcoming obstacles and really going for it.   I loved the idea of nothing that can knock you down. 

The poems continue with the idea of hoping for a better future as well as making your future brighter.  I felt like this idea of making your future what you want really stayed throughout the poems.   Other topics that where learning to move forward after something happened in your life and looking forward to another day.

I did feel like in the middle portion of the poems the tone began to change and the author was more conflicted feelings and they where no longer positive in nature.  The section on love I felt was more about love from a distance then being in love.   Also, a lot of loss of love was covered in the poems.  I felt hard to connect the darker the poetry got.   The reader does get a full range of emotions coming through the poetry. 

I felt like some poems did become somewhat repetitive in nature touching on the same themes but just said in different ways.

I would recommend this as a great read when you are looking for something different.   Even if you only read a few poems in the book it is worth the read.  It is a short quick read to break up your heavy reads!   
 
I was received a copy of this book from Garikai Nhongo for the purpose of providing an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

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About the Author

Garikai Nhongo was born in Harare, Zimbabwe in 1983.

He is a business executive, an entrepreneur, a writer, a poet, a trainer, a speaker, a thinker, a husband, a father and an achiever. His life motto is simply, “be the best you can be” and he lives by it. He started writing poetry at the age of 14 and has thousands of personal pieces and hundreds of published pieces on his blog (www.garikainhongo.blogspot.com). Garikai became a corporate Director at the young age of 24 in Zimbabwe and has been in Senior Management in Advertising and Media firms since.

Garikai has spoken at various business events and has been the Master of ceremonies for various business and poetry events.

He has been the MC at Awards Ceremonies, Business Competitions and other corporate events. He has spoken at events on varied topics such as Creativity, Personal Branding, eCommerce, Networking, Public Speaking, 360 Degree Leadership and various Performance Management events. He has also become a fixture at the Global Entrepreneurship Week where he inspires young entrepreneurs.

He currently lives in Pretoria, South Africa with his wife and 2 daughters.

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