Review: Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

Source: we received an e-ARC of the book through NetGalley for review purposes.

Have I mentioned how much I’m enjoying all these New Adult books? With some exceptions, I’ve loved everything I’ve read. Pushing the Limits is in part to blame for it because it was one of the first NA --or adult-ish YA’s-- I read.

Our leads are Echo and Noah. The book is told alternating between them and their stories are equally important. 

First we have Echo. Something happened to her, something involving her mother. But she can’t remember and no one wants to tell her what happened. All she knows is that there’s a restraining order and that she isn’t allowed any contact with her mother; that she has some terrible scars on her arms; and that months ago something triggered an attack that left her in the hospital for days. She’s desperate to put all the pieces together to find out what happened.

Review: The Sleeping Night by Barbara Samuel

Source: we received an e-ARC of the book through NetGalley for review purposes.

I came across this book on NetGalley by mere chance. I was intrigued by the setting and the premise so I requested it. It wasn’t an easy book to read but the story was riveting and very romantic. 

The Sleeping Night is set in Texas just after WWII but it goes back in time through the character’s memories and a series of letters that the hero and heroine exchanged during his time in the war. 

Isaiah and Angel were best friends while growing up. Angel’s dad was a progressive man who didn’t mind setting up a store that sold goods to the black part of their small town. His quiet nature and his own experiences during WWI, made him open and close to the black men and women in town, Isaiah’s father in particular. So they grew up together and their connection ran deeper than that of a mere childhood friendship. But it’s an impossible relationship so he joins the military. It will take war, tragedy and love for them to reunite, explore what could be and maybe have a second chance.

Oldie but Goodie Guest Review: Prince of Dreams by Lisa Kleypas

Credit: Zawezome

It's been a while since we posted an Oldie but Goodie review, so today I'm happy because Sarah is back and with her comes a blast from the not-so-distant past!

About Sarah: Who am I? I'm a part-time library science student, part-time librarian, and full-time mom. When I'm not wrangling my little girl or my husband, I'm reading all sorts of books to be able to recommend that "next" book for shy readers or those new to the romance genre. I can be found on Goodreads or on my blog at sarahsbookshelf.com.

Tell me if this sounds familiar to you. You have a huge TBR pile, but there are a few books in that pile that you don't want to read because you know you are going to read them way too fast. You know that you are going to love them and you know that you are going to be sad when you have to move onto something else when you are finished. So you procrastinate and procrastinate reading the book, simply because you don't want it to end. Lisa Kleypas is the author that writes books that fall into this category for me. I cannot help myself when I pick up one of her books. It's like a buffet on a cruise ship: you know you can eat as much as you want, and it's so yummy, but you also know that your time is finite. So the question becomes do you want to savor it? Or do you want to stuff your face as fast as you can, while you can, and suffer the heartburn? For me, it's the face-stuffing/heartburn, because I just can't help how quickly I read when I really like a book. If it's a book I own, I'll probably give it another read in the future when I have more willpower to pace myself.

Review: Where the Heart Lies by Michelle Garren Flye

Source: we received an e-ARC of the book through NetGalley for review purposes.

I’ve been reading a lot of stories about widows falling for their husband’s best friends, especially widows whose husbands were soldiers. I think it’s a new trend in Contemporary Romance. This one in particular looked like a sweet story and that’s why I read it.

Alicia’s husband, Ty, died in the war. Since his dream was to move back to his hometown and take care of his father’s bookstore, Alicia decided to do just that. So now she and her kids are in a new town, trying to settle down and adapt to life alone. 

Liam was Ty’s childhood friend but they didn’t stay friends after he joined the military because on a faithful night there was an accident that thwarted the husband’s career in sports and forced him to join the military. An accident everyone in town still blames Liam for, even though it’s been years and Liam was a troubled teen that needed more help than scorn. Now Liam is a college professor and has a PhD, and still everyone hates him. I guess he feels the need to atone for his sins because he still lives there. It makes no sense.

Nice Girls Don’t Review Books

That's my cat! He's now a LOLcat.

This year has been convoluted at best, ugly and frightening at its worst. What started as a series of flameouts and dramas involving authors behaving badly, took an unexpected turn in the form of a blogger plagiarizing. Worse, now we’re in the presence of something that’s disturbing and demoralizing: the Stop the Goodreads Bullies (StGRB). They are a group of people who created a website dedicated to hating, intimidating and bullying, all in the name of a twisted version of good used as an excuse to hide their hateful ways. They consider negative reviews as bullying and personally attacking authors. They say they want everyone to be nice, when in truth what they really want is revenge. These are people who went off their rockers and decided to punish, intimidate and demoralize reviewers (1). Let’s focus on the “be nice” part.

Guest Review: Before the Scandal by Suzanne Enoch

About Sarah: Who am I? I'm a part-time library science student, part-time librarian, and full-time mom. When I'm not wrangling my little girl or my husband, I'm reading all sorts of books to be able to recommend that "next" book for shy readers or those new to the romance genre. I can be found on Goodreads or on my blog at sarahsbookshelf.com.

A few years ago I attended RomCon in Denver, Colorado. It was the first year of the conference and it was a wonderful opportunity to meet many authors (both known and unknown to me), as well as other readers of the genre. I went home with a car full of books (yes, we drove all the way from Connecticut) and this book was in the goodie pile from the event. It took me a long time to take the plunge and give historical romance a try, which is why I'm only just now getting to this book.

Review: One Small Thing by Piper Vaughn and M.J. O’Shea

I bought this book on a whim and read it in one sitting. I wasn’t expecting much, and I certainly wasn’t expecting such a cute story. But cute was exactly what I got.

Rue is a flamboyant cosmetology student that works as a bartender at nights while dreaming of becoming a famous stylist in LA. He’s also very promiscuous. One night when he apparently runs out of men, he decides to make a girl-experiment and has sex with a woman. If you take a look at the cover you can guess what comes next: she gets pregnant. When she tells him that she will give the baby away, he remembers what was like to be an unwanted kid, so he decides to keep the baby. Now he has a newborn baby, school, a job, and no one to take care of it. That’s when he remembers his new neighbor.

Second Time isn’t Always a Charm: Re-Reading Expectations

Sorry creepy dude, that second date will be a total fail.
(Source)

I’m not a fan of re-reading books. There are a few that I often revisit, but mostly because I like a character in particular and I skip to his/her parts. But I almost never pick a book for the second time and read it all the way through the end. However, lately I’ve been re-reading more and more books that I love and always recommend. The results have been mixed. 

Weeks ago I decided to re-read two of my all-time favorite books:  Blue-Eyed Devil  and  Smooth Talking Stranger, both by Lisa Kleypas. I love these books so much I recommend them to everyone, even if they don’t like romance. And if I had a Romance Conversion Kit (something I don’t need it because all my friends go to sleep just by hearing the word “book”) they would be in it. But when I read them for the second time I realized that although they remain good, the original awesomeness wasn’t there. So I started thinking about reading, and how time, reviews and re-readings can change that experience and make you see flaws in something you originally thought to be near perfect.

Review: What I Didn’t Say by Keary Taylor

In case you didn't notice, I’ve been reading a lot of YA/New Adult books and Amazon keeps recommending new titles to me. That’s how I came across What I Didn’t Say. It had an original premise and it was told from the hero’s POV, so I decided to get it.

Jake Hayes dreams of three things: leaving the small island he calls home, flying planes and Samantha Shay. The first two dreams are related, he yearns to fly and see the world and and to do so, he plans to join the Air Force once he graduates from High School. His other passion is Samantha, the girl he’s been in love with since he first met her. The problem is that she doesn’t know it, he’s not even sure she knows him, and he’s too afraid to do anything about it. So life goes by and Jake keeps counting the days until the Air Force.

Guest Review: When Harry Met Molly by Kieran Kramer

Or friend and fellow blogger, Sarah, is back with another wonderful review. This time a fun historical romance!

About Sarah: Who am I? I'm a part-time library science student, part-time librarian, and full-time mom. When I'm not wrangling my little girl or my husband, I'm reading all sorts of books to be able to recommend that "next" book for shy readers or those new to the romance genre. I can be found on Goodreads or on my blog at sarahsbookshelf.com.

This past week I found myself in an awkward spot. I have a huge TBR pile, but nothing was holding my interest for more than a few moments. I made the decision to do something I very rarely do: reread a book I remembered liking. I am so glad I did, because the second reading was even better than the first! The book was When Harry Met Molly, which was the debut historical romance by Kieran Kramer, the first installment of the Impossible Bachelor series.

Review: Carolina Home by Virginia Kantra

I’ve been a fan of Ms. Kantra’s paranormals for a while now, but I also loved her older category romances. When I realized that her new series was a contemporary with no shifters in sight I was very excited. It was a long wait but the payoff was well worth it.

Allison Carter came to Dare Island to make a home and live her dream of teach. She comes from a wealthy family that doesn’t understand her choices in life and believe she’s just going through a phase. But while her parents keep pressuring her to come back and marry a doctor, her love for the island and her students grows, and her plans to stay cement. One of her students is Josh Fletcher, a 16-year-old full of promise but lacking in enthusiasm. When she goes to his father to talk about Josh’s problems, the least she expects is to find someone like Matt Fletcher. The guy is tall, dark and hunky, and the attraction instantaneous.

Review: Once Burned by Jeaniene Frost

I've enjoyed most of the Night Huntress books, especially the first three, and I loved the spinoff books. When I heard about this book, I was excited about it until I realized that it was the first of a new series, which gave me pause. I decided to wait because I never paid much attention to Vlad (who happens to be a widower and you know how I feel about those). So I figured I could wait. Obviously I have no willpower whatsoever because I lasted one week. But you know what? I’m really glad I did because I thoroughly enjoyed the book, it was great fun and it made me very happy. 

If you’re a fan of the original series you already know who Vlad is. But for those new to the books –and you definitely can start here, it stands alone perfectly well—the most important thing you should know is that Vlad is the real deal, as in The Impaler, or Dracula (although he hates the name). He lives in Romania, has a castle and a huge entourage. He can also can control and produce fire (and not just with his hotness). But the book isn’t really about him; the real protagonist is Leila, our heroine.

Review: Ravishing the Heiress by Sherry Thomas

Lately I’ve been unsuccessful finding a Historical Romance that I like enough to finish. When I heard about this book, I was so curious that I even considered pre-ordering it. Then I kept hearing more and more about how angsty it was and I became a bit wary, but after reading a couple of Ms. Thomas’ previous books, I decided to give it a try. 

This is the second book in a series featuring the Fitzhugh siblings, but I think they stand alone well, or at least well enough to enjoy them separately. I haven’t read the first book but I didn’t have any problems getting into the story.

The first time Millie saw Fitz, she fell desperately, profoundly and irrevocably in love with him. Because they were about to enter a marriage of convenience, one would thing that falling for him would have been a welcomed feeling, but in truth it was the worse that could happen because Fitz was desperately, profoundly and irrevocably in love with someone else. So when Millie discovers this, and after witnessing how miserable he was, she offers him a bargain: they will wait eight years to consume the marriage, and once the time comes, they will only have sex until she gets pregnant, then they will go their separate ways.

Joint Review: Tangle of Need by Nalini Singh

Today I’m over at Breezing Through buddy reviewing Tangle of Need by Nalini Singh with our friend and awesome blogger, nath.

Stop by and let us know your thoughts on the book and the series, theories about the future are encouraged. If you haven’t read the books you probably won’t understand a word we’re saying but stop by anyway, maybe you’ll feel like reading them afterwards!

I will be out for the rest of the week so I won’t be able to answer comments until Sunday. Have a fun week and if you’re in the US, happy Independence Day!

More Someecards here.

Review: Hearts of Fire by Kira Brady

Source: we received an e-ARC of the book through NetGalley for review purposes.

I have a love/hate relationship with prequel novellas. Some are fantastic because they feel like they’re all about their story, truly belong to the series and aren’t there to sell you something else. But then there are those whose only purpose is to sell you the next book. Unfortunately, Hearts of Fire falls under the latter category.

The story takes place in 1889. Alice, our heroine, is the daughter of the Kivati’s leader – a shifters clan residing in Seattle. One day, she meets a dashing stranger. Just by looking at him she can tell there’s more to him than meets the eye, and by the mighty power of the insta-love, she falls for him. Fortunately for her, the same happens to him. But this guy isn’t even a regular shifter, nope, his name is Bran and he’s a Drekar, an ancient dragon-shifter race that happens to be the Kivati’s mortal enemies. So we also have a Romeo and Juliet situation in our hands. Will love conquer hate?

Guest Review: Tempted Again by Cathie Linz

Today, fellow blogger Sarah is joining us with a guest review. Let’s give her a warm welcome!

About Sarah: Who am I? I'm a part-time library science student, part-time librarian, and full-time mom. When I'm not wrangling my little girl or my husband, I'm reading all sorts of books to be able to recommend that "next" book for shy readers or those new to the romance genre. I can be found on Goodreads or on my blog at sarahsbookshelf.com.

I first became a fan of Cathie Linz (and subsequently, Pamela Clare) when I read a novella she wrote in  Catch of the Day a few years back. Her fast-paced romantic comedies have become some of my favorites to kick back and relax with when I need to regroup. I was pretty psyched when I found out that she had a book published earlier this year, so when I had a free moment to read I picked up a copy ofTempted Again from my local library.

Winner! Enslaved in Shadows by Tigris Eden

Thank you so much to everyone who commented, and to Tigris and the team behind the Ensaled in Shadows blog tour for making the giveaway possible.

The winner is: andieleah

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