Reading to Unwind

Thursday, April 20, 2017

The Fill-In Boyfriend - Kasie West (Review)

The Fill-In Boyfriend by Kasie West
Genres: Young Adult Fiction, Romance, Contemporary
Publication date: May 5th 2015
Publisher: HarperTeen
Format: paperback, 343 pages
How I got it: My public library
Buy it: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
My rating: 4/5

When Gia Montgomery's boyfriend, Bradley, dumps her in the parking lot of her high school prom, she has to think fast. After all, she'd been telling her friends about him for months now. This was supposed to be the night she proved he existed. So when she sees a cute guy waiting to pick up his sister, she enlists his help. The task is simple: be her fill-in boyfriend—two hours, zero commitment, a few white lies. After that, she can win back the real Bradley.

The problem is that days after prom, it's not the real Bradley she's thinking about, but the stand-in. The one whose name she doesn't even know. But tracking him down doesn't mean they're done faking a relationship. Gia owes him a favor and his sister intends to see that he collects: his ex-girlfriend's graduation party—three hours, zero commitment, a few white lies.

Just when Gia begins to wonder if she could turn her fake boyfriend into a real one, Bradley comes waltzing back into her life, exposing her lie, and threatening to destroy her friendships and her new-found relationship.

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My thoughts:

To continue with my love of Kasie West books I moved onto The Fill-In Boyfriend. This book follows Gia as she is dumped in the parking lot before her prom. Hayden who just dropped off his sister for prom happens to still be there sitting in his car and becomes fill-in Bradley for the prom. Several issues arise from this one fake date, but my favorite is maybe one fake date wasn’t enough for Gia.

Things I loved in the book was the character development that the author did. Gia went from being one person to an entirely different person by the end of the book. Gia took a close look at her life, friendships, family, and relationships and evaluated what was important to her. Gia could see that she might not be as happy as she was acting and she needed to evaluate decisions she was making, but she was also a little afraid to rock the boat. I loved how the author exposed these deep issues that Gia was having and could walk her thru making things better. Gia also didn’t realize that her family lead her down the path of putting on a happy face. I enjoyed how Gia wanted to work on fixing her family as well during the book.

Hayden is such a great male lead in this book. We first meet him as the fill-in Bradley and he takes that role in stride and performs to the best of his abilities. Hayden has his own ex-girlfriend that he is trying to get back with in the beginning of the book, but she had done him wrong by dating his best friend. Hayden also brings his family to the table in this book and they are great to read about. I love how his family is so close and can talk about anything with each other. I love the family dynamic that the author created with Hayden.

I love that the author included the mean girl idea. Gia was realizing how she was hurting other people with her group of friends, but she didn’t see it at first it was like an onion slowly peeling back the layers. I like that she gave examples of flash backs as well so that we can see where Gia felt like she went wrong.

The author did a great job creating the romance between Gia and Hayden. It was so back and forth between the two of them and they just weren’t saying how they truly felt. I feel like the back and forth worked for these two. We got to see the characters put it on the line and mature into different people.

My one issue was at some points in the book Gia just became too much. I wanted to shake her and be like get it together. I felt like she just needed to learn how to speak up for herself with her friends. She was so afraid of letting anyone down she wasn’t being herself. It was a little challenging for me to read parts about Gia when she was making the same mistakes, but I also find it refreshing when I am so invested in a character I want them to make the right decisions.

I would suggest this as a nighttime read. It was a perfect book to read before bed. The story was very nicely paced that there were natural stopping points and you could put the book down, but not lose your place.

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About the Author

I write YA. I eat Junior Mints. Sometimes I go crazy and do both at the same time. My novels are: PIVOT POINT and its sequel SPLIT SECOND. And my contemporary novels: THE DISTANCE BETWEEN US, ON THE FENCE, THE FILL-IN BOYFRIEND, PS I LIKE YOU, and BY YOUR SIDE. My agent is the talented and funny Michelle Wolfson.

Author Links:

Wednesday, April 19, 2017

Splintered Souls - Raye Wagner (Review)

Splintered Souls by Raye Wagner

Genres: Young Adult Fiction, Fantasy

Publication date: April 18th 2017

Publisher: Amazon Digital Services

Format: ebook/ 87 pages
How I got it: The author for exchange for an honest review
Buy it: Amazon
My rating: 4/5

Aricela Topaz trusts no one.

At seventeen, she learned that promises are nothing more than lies, honored only by the weak or naïve. And Aricela is no longer either.
After Narcos destroyed her innocence, they took her life, but Aricela escaped her childhood village with a new purpose. As Valkyrie, she is charged to take the souls of fallen warriors and athletes to Valhalla to await the final battle. But souls need to trust her before they’ll follow, and Aricela has no trust to give.
When collecting failures, instead of souls, draws the attention of the Norns, they give Aricela an ultimatum. If she can’t collect, she’ll be stripped of her powers and sent to Hel.
But when she meets Chase Adymn and Kai Cipriano in the small town of Kayville, everything changes. Forced to face the myths of her past, Aricela will also have to decide the fate of her future.

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Review

I love Raye Wagner’s Sphinx series and when I found out she had a new series coming out I knew I needed to read it.

This is a new series that follow Aricela who is a Valkyrie in charge of gathering souls for a battle. Aricela has a few issues that she facing herself and she now must work on keeping her job.

The ending of this book is very intense and very well written. There is a lot of action going on and decisions that must be made. The author does a great job keeping emotions involved as well as having the story move along. It captured my attention and I couldn’t put it down once the story developed. I became very invested in the characters and wanted to know more about what was going on with collecting the souls.

The author does a great job creating Aricela’s background and showing us why she doesn’t trust anyone. We get a great view her past and she opens up as the story progresses. Aricela has real reasons for not trusting anyone and she changes as the book develops. We get to see a whole new side of Aricela once she is faced with a new set of hard decisions to make.

Chase is an interesting character in this book. We get him to open up a little bit during the book as well, but I would love to see more on him. Chase had a rough childhood and he has had a lot to deal with on his plate. Chase and Aricela hit it off in a very intense way that works for these two in this book.

My one complaint would be that the beginning starts off a little rough. I feel like we are thrown into the action right away, which I like in a book, but we are missing so much background information it is a little too confusing for me. Once the story picks up a lot of the information that is missing is explained, but I felt off when I first started the book and that makes it harder for me to read.

Also, I am not sure where the series will be going after this book. I still have a lot of question and want to get a lot more details on what exactly the Valkyrie is planning the ware for. The author is great at giving a lot of details and creating a whole story so I can’t wait to see where the story will go and what will happen next.

I would suggest this as a weekend read. The book is very short and has a quick pace so you will be able to read it quickly.

I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. This does not effect my opinion of this book.

My Rating: 4/5

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About the Author

Raye Wagner grew up in Seattle, the second of eight children, and learned to escape chaos through the pages of fiction. As a youth, she read the likes of David Eddings, Leon Uris, and Jane Austen. Inspired by a fictional character, Raye pursued a career in nursing, thinking to help the world one patient at a time.
One summer afternoon, when her then young children were playing in the pool, a plot dropped into her head, and she started writing.
She enjoys baking, puzzles, Tae Kwon Do, and the sound of waves lapping at the sand. She lives with her husband and three children in Middle Tennessee.

Origin of the Sphinx, a novella detailing the story leading up to the creation of the mythological creature, is her first publication. It is the beginning of the Sphinx series.

Curse of the Sphinx, the first book in the series, is completed, and set to be released in August 2015.

Author Links:

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{Blog Tour} Forbidden Promises - Katee Robert (Spotlight)

A First Look at Forbidden Promises by Katee Robert!

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Katee Robert delivers the next book in her sizzling O'Malleys family series, hailed as "The Godfather meets Romeo & Juliet." FORBIDDEN PROMISES features Sloan O'Malley and her mysterious new next-door neighbor, Jude MacNamara.

Meet Jude!

Pre-order FORBIDDEN PROMISES and add it to your TBR pile on Goodreads! Then keep reading to get a sneak peek at FORBIDDEN PROMISES and to enter the giveaway for a $15 Amazon gift card!

Title: Forbidden Promises

Author: Katee Robert

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Release Date: May 30, 2017

Publisher: Grand Central/Forever

Series: The O’Malleys

Page Count: 336 pages

Format: Digitial and Print

ASIN: B01KT7YSJM

ISBN-13: 9781455597031

Synopsis:

Some lines should never be crossed . . . not even for love.

Sloan O'Malley just left her entire world behind-her family, her wealth, and even her real name. For the first time in her life, she's free. She can live the "normal" life she's always wanted. A life without fear. But there's nothing safe about her intensely sexy next-door neighbor.

Jude MacNamara has no room for innocence in his life. Only revenge. Still, he's never been able to walk away from the forbidden, and Sloan-who is every inch of pure, mouthwatering temptation-has forbidden written all over her. Only after it's way too late does he discover the real danger: claiming Sloan as his puts a target on her back. To protect her, Jude is willing risk everything . . . and to hell with the consequences.

Pre-order at:

Amazon → http://amzn.to/2oQ7Ikw

B&N → http://bit.ly/2nWvcFc

iBooks → http://apple.co/2mxsWi0

Kobo → http://bit.ly/2mxvcG9

Enter to win a $15 Amazon Gift Card from Katee Robert!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Forbidden Promises Excerpt

She nearly tripped over Jude when she opened the door, and that was the last straw. “What is your problem?”

He raised a single eyebrow, not looking perturbed in the least. “Sorry?”

“No, you’re not. You’re not sorry that you turned me down last night, or that you left in a hurry, or that you were an…an insufferable jackass this morning.”

If anything, his eyebrow inched higher. “You’re in a mood.”

“Are you kidding me?” She pushed at his chest, but he didn’t even pre

tend she had the strength to move him. “You weren’t interested last night, so you don’t get to waltz into the diner and order me to go out with you. I’ve taken orders my entire life, and I’ll be damned before I take one from you.” The outburst left her feeling deflated, but she clamped her mouth shut and refused to apologize. Maybe she was being the slightest bit dramatic, but that didn’t mean she was wrong.

Jude took a step closer, towering over her, his shoulders so broad, they filled the doorway. “Are you done?”

Just like that, she had a whole lot more to say. “Actually—”

“That was a rhetorical question, sunshine.” His big hand cupped the back of her neck, his thumb tracing over her jaw and up to drag against her bottom lip.

The touch shocked her into silence.

For a moment. “Jude—”

Apparently he wasn’t finished. “I didn’t say no last night because I wasn’t interested. I wouldn’t have apologized—twice—if I wasn’t interested.”

“But—”

“You want to know the truth? The truth is that I can’t look at you without wanting to strip you down, to run my hands over that tight little body of yours, to spread those sweet thighs and fuck you with my tongue until you’re screaming my name and begging for mercy.”

She swayed, her anger, her ability to think or move or talk or do anything except stare helplessly at him, all gone. She licked her lips, forgetting that his thumb was there, and stroked him with her tongue instead. His chocolate eyes went even darker, and he suddenly seemed larger.

Say something.

“You shouldn’t say things like that.”

“It’s the fucking truth, sunshine.” He stroked her bottom lip with his thumb, his hand gentle yet holding her in place easily. “You’re a good girl. I don’t have to spend any time with you to know that. You deserve better than the likes of me, even for a fuck. But that’s the difference between us. I’m not good. I might as well be the goddamn devil as far as you’re concerned, but I’ve never been good at walking away when I have my mind set on something. And, sunshine, I have my mind set on you.”

She couldn’t speak, couldn’t take a step, though she was at a loss if she’d move away from or toward him. It was like he held her captive with only a single hand, stalling out any and all reasoning ability.

Jude’s grip tightened, ever so slightly. “I was going to take you out. It’s not my scene, but I was willing to give it a shot. I changed my mind.” He stepped into her, his chest lightly pressed against her breasts, his thighs bracketing hers, his…Oh my good lord. His hard length pressed against her stomach, and it felt perfectly in proportion with the rest of his massive body, not that she was an expert on these matters.

His other hand came to rest on her hip, fingers bunching the fabric of her dress as he kneaded her. “Tell me to stop, and it’s done. I’ll walk away, and I’ll do my damnedest to leave you alone. Tell me to walk away, sunshine. Just say the words.”

She knew he was right. He was no good for her, and this would only end in tears on her part. The man wasn’t asking to date her. He didn’t want to get to know her. He was telling her all the things he’d do to her body.

But she couldn’t say the words to make him leave.

Sloan had never taken anything for herself in her entire life. She’d stayed in the background and gone with the flow and done everything in her power to play least in sight. Her brothers ran off any boy remotely interested in her, and she’d allowed it to happen. If her father had decided to move forward on his plans to marry her off, she would have walked down the aisle to a man of his choosing.

She’d never done a single selfish thing in her life until she asked Teague to help her escape.

Until she tentatively ran her hands up Jude’s chest, sucking in her breath at the way his muscles tensed beneath her fingers. Until she looked up into his stormy dark eyes and said the word that would damn them both. “Stay.”

Praise for The O’Malleys Series

"It can be hard to make a ruthless assassin into a sympathetic character, but Robert handles the task with ease. She also deftly shows Sloan’s transformation from a pampered and protected naïf to a strong woman with a backbone of pure steel. A tension-filled plot full of deceit, betrayal, and sizzling love scenes will make it impossible for readers to set the book down."—Publishers Weekly on FORBIDDEN PROMISES

“You will finish it in one sitting and die after you’re done because the next book isn't out yet. This was one sexy ride!”—Reviewer Top Pick, Night Owl Reviews on FORBIDDEN PROMISES

“Two story lines end up converging into one explosive finale at the end. A great read from the talented Robert!” —RT Book Reviews

“Katee Robert's has created a fictional underworld of such veracity, that one almost expects the characters to turn up on the front-page news. It never feels over the top or implausible; the author writes extremely well-crafted stories… The romance between Cillian and Olivia is very beautiful, tender and real.”—Fresh Fiction on AN INDECENT PROPOSAL

“Will keep you turning pages.”—RT Book Reviews on THE WEDDING PACT

“If you like angsty reads, this book is right up your wheelhouse.”—Heroes & Heartbreakers on THE WEDDING PACT

"Dark, dirty, and dead sexy."—Tiffany Reisz, bestselling author of The Original Sinners series, on THE MARRIAGE CONTRACT

Other Books in The O’Malleys Series

THE MARRIAGE CONTRACT

THE WEDDING PACT

AN INDECENT PROPOSAL

UNDERCOVER ATTRACTION (Coming soon!)

About Katee Robert

New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Katee Robert learned to tell her stories at her grandpa’s knee. Her 2015 title, The Marriage Contract, was a RITA finalist, and RT Book Reviews named it 'a compulsively readable book with just the right amount of suspense and tension." When not writing sexy contemporary and romantic suspense, she spends her time playing imaginary games with her children, driving her husband batty with what-if questions, and planning for the inevitable zombie apocalypse.

Connect with Katee at: Website | Facebook | Twitter| GoodReads | Instagram

Tuesday, April 18, 2017

By Your Side - Kasie West (Review)

By Your Side by Kasie West
Genres: Young Adult Fiction, Romance, Contemporary
Publication date: January 31st 2017
Publisher: HarperTeen
Format: paperback, 346 pages
How I got it: My public library
Buy it: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
My rating: 4/5

In this irresistible story, Kasie West explores the timeless question of what to do when you fall for the person you least expect. Witty and romantic, this paperback original from a fan favorite is perfect for fans of Stephanie Perkins and Morgan Matson.

When Autumn Collins finds herself accidentally locked in the library for an entire weekend, she doesn’t think things could get any worse. But that’s before she realizes that Dax Miller is locked in with her. Autumn doesn’t know much about Dax except that he’s trouble. Between the rumors about the fight he was in (and that brief stint in juvie that followed it) and his reputation as a loner, he’s not exactly the ideal person to be stuck with. Still, she just keeps reminding herself that it is only a matter of time before Jeff, her almost-boyfriend, realizes he left her in the library and comes to rescue her.

Only he doesn’t come. No one does.

Instead it becomes clear that Autumn is going to have to spend the next couple of days living off vending-machine food and making conversation with a boy who clearly wants nothing to do with her. Except there is more to Dax than meets the eye. As he and Autumn first grudgingly, and then not so grudgingly, open up to each other, Autumn is struck by their surprising connection. But can their feelings for each other survive once the weekend is over and Autumn’s old life, and old love interest, threaten to pull her from Dax’s side?

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My thoughts:

After I read my first Kasie West book I knew I needed to read another one by this author and when I saw she had a new book out I knew I wanted to give it a try.

This book follows Autumn as she gets accidentally locked into the library for an entire long weekend with Dax the bad boy of the school. Autumn tries to escape and then she tries to make the best of her situation. The major issue is that Autumn has very bad anxiety and being trapped is something that is hard for her to deal with.

I had a lot of conflicted thoughts about Autumn as the main character. I felt like she did have a condition that effects a lot of people and is something you can speak up about to your friends. Autumn was trying to hide her anxiety, but that was only making things much worse for her. I wanted her to be able to stand up for herself, because your friends should accept you for who you are. During the book, she did grow on me and you can see that deep-down Autumn was a very strong character I just wish she was strong in all aspects of her life because she came off as a little shallow due to her importance of image in the beginning.

I loved Dax as the lead male character. He was very guarded with his life and you can see why as the story develops all the issues that he is facing. Dax is trying to lay low and just make it through high school without any additional altercations. Dax is a very strong character and does a great job with guiding Autumn along and helping her to develop into a strong individual. Dax is just trying to help Autumn where he can and that is why I loved reading about him.

The author does a great job with keeping the story moving along. The two characters are only trapped in the library for a portion of the book and then they go back to their normal routines. It felt like just the right amount of time having them trapped so we got to learn a little about each of them and then see where these issues could take us once they leave the library. I love that we get to see what Autumn friends are like and her interactions at parties it is very interesting to see her actions.

I enjoyed the storyline and how it developed. I did feel my one complaint would be that the accident that occurs seems a little crazy on the timing and I feel with the amount of anxiety that Autumn has explained to the readers her recovery time is a little quick. She also steps up and help after the accident and takes on a great burden, which seems to be a lot in my mind for someone with anxiety

I would suggest this as a beach read. It was very fast paced and a lighter read. It was easy to sit down and just want to devour this book!

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About the Author

Author Links:

Monday, April 10, 2017

February & March Wrap Up - April TBR

Goodbye
February & March

Hello April

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I just fell off the blogging train. I was focused on trying to read more and then I signed up for to many blog tours and then I just fell behind. My goal is now to get back on track since work should slide into a period of a lot of traveling so I should have a little more free time while waiting on flights!

February and March seemed to both fly by too! I had a lot of stuff going on at work and my husband and I had a lot of things to do in the past two months it felt like we had no free time. After this weekend we should be able to relax a little bit before the end of April. My goal is to just stay on top of all my reviews and start to get into my back log of book reviews!

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My top clicked on post for February was: