Book Review: Miracle on 5th Avenue (From Manhattan with Love, #3) by Sarah Morgan

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Format: Kindle

Publishers: HQN Books

Published: 29th November 2016

Pages: 384

Genre: Adult, Contemporary Romance, 

Main Characters: Eva, Lucas
Date Read: 8th August - 15th August 2016

Rating Given:

Synopsis:
It will take a Christmas miracle for two very different souls to find each other in this perfectly festive fairy tale of New York! 
Hopeless romantic Eva Jordan loves everything about Christmas. She might be spending the holidays alone this year, but when she's given an opportunity to house-sit a spectacular penthouse on Fifth Avenue, she leaps at the chance. What better place to celebrate than in snow-kissed Manhattan? What she didn't expect was to find the penthouse still occupied by its gorgeous—and mysterious—owner. 
Bestselling crime writer Lucas Blade is having the nightmare before Christmas. With a deadline and the anniversary of his wife's death looming, he's isolated himself in his penthouse with only his grief for company. He wants no interruptions, no decorations and he certainly doesn't appreciate being distracted by his beautiful, bubbly new housekeeper. But when the blizzard of the century leaves Eva snowbound in his apartment, Lucas starts to open up to the magic she brings…This Christmas, is Lucas finally ready to trust that happily-ever-afters do exist?

 I received a review copy from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I'm not the biggest fan of the covers for this particular series but I do think they have slightly improved as they went along and if I had to pick one that I liked the most this one would be the one I would choose. I like the Christmasy feel to the book which is in keeping with the book. 

From the moment I started this series I was the most excited about reading Eva's book and I'm so glad it lived up to my expectations. I loved every minute of this book from the very beginning to the last word there was just nothing that I didn't enjoy about this book. What I really loved about this book was the connection between the two main characters as even when they where just friends they were good together. Yes, there was moments when Lucas didn't want to acknowledge any kind of feelings he had for Eva but I could still tell there was something there. It wasn't just about love it was also about loss and how people deal with their loss which was a sad part of the story but how everything was written I didn't mind the sadness as it was balanced out with the light heartedness. I loved the ending to this story and the three friends and I hope that there will be a spin off from this series as I'm not ready to say goodbye.

I loved every character with only one new character I knew I already loved these characters but I wasn't sure I was going to love Lucas as much as the others but thankfully I did. He did have his moments but that was understandable with what had happened with him in the past so it was easy to forgive him especially when we see how he treats Eva (well most of the time). Eva has always been my favourite character in this series as she comes across as such a sweet person that would do anything for anyone and I felt so sorry for her with the loss of someone close to her as well as her just wanting to be loved. It was nice to have a bit of a catch up with the previous main characters I just wish they where in it a bit more than what they where.

Overall, I adored this book and it is hands down my favourite of the series.

Book Review: Blocked (Blocked, #1) by Jennifer Lane

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Format: Kindle

Publishers: Psyched Publishing

Published: 21st October 2014

Pages: 300

Genre: New Adult, Contemporary Romance, Sports Romance

Main Characters: Lucia, Dane
Date Read: 2nd August - 7th August 2016

Rating Given:

Synopsis:
College freshman Lucia Ramirez has a secret crush on Dane Monroe. He’s a tall drink of water — blond, brash, and one hell of a volleyball player. ¡Híjole! Lucia hopes her volleyball scholarship to his school will make him notice her.
Too bad what’s noticeable is Dane’s obvious hatred for Lucia. Her family’s politics contradict everything he stands for. And politics are front and center in both their families. Dane’s mother is about to face Lucia’s father in the race for US President. 
When Secret Service throws them together, Dane can’t deny his frustrating attraction to Lucia’s athletic curves and sweet faith in the world. Amid the intense pressure of college athletics and presidential politics, can opposites not just attract, but overcome overwhelming odds to be together? Or do their differences block their match from the start?

I received a review copy from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I'm not overly excited about this cover as I do think it looks a little plain and I don't think it stands out over any other sports book covers that I've seen. Having said that it is giving us an idea of what the book is about with the use of the volleyball.

When I first started this book I wasn't quite sure that I was going to enjoy this book as it was hard to get over certain things that was said/done. I've now read a few sports romance novels and this is the first time reading about volleyball which was a refreshing change as it's also a new sport to me yet I was able to understand all the terminology. The whole politics side of the story annoyed me a bit as I just couldn't get my head around plus it just dragged the story out. The romance side of the story was not as believable as I would've liked as I didn't like how Dane was with Lucia for most of the first half of the book. In the second half of the book he was a lot sweeter to her as he was able to help her and look out for her. I felt they were better friends than anything else plus I don't feel as though we got an ending to their story so I hope we get to see more from them in upcoming books. As well as sports and romance this book had also had issues being tackled such as eating disorder which I don't feel as though its tackled nearly enough. The ending kind of annoyed me as I know the next book is not focused on these two and the way in which it did end made me feel that there was another chapter to come but there never was.

I had a bit of a love hate relationship with most of the characters as they all had good and bad moments except for Maddie which is actually a good thing as she has her story told next. Lucia started off a bit annoying as she was too soft with Dane as I just wanted her snap back at him more than what she did do. I felt sorry for her with all her issues as you can actually see where she's coming from and you could see her struggle throughout the book not just one section which felt realistic as she wasn't magically fixed straight away it took longer than that. Dane like I said before he annoyed me in the way he treated Lucia in the beginning as to me it was just not nice and I don't why she would forgive him even if he did change how treated her through the course. Dane had his issues that he also needed to deal with but by the end I did warm to him because of those issues and how he tackled them.

Overall, a good start to this series that I am looking forward to continuing on with it I would just like less politics involved in the series.

Book Review: The Secret Fire (The Alchemist Chronicles, #1) by C.J. Daugherty & Carina Rozenfeld

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Format: Kindle

Publishers: Atom

Published: 3rd September 2015

Pages: 424

Genre: YA, Paranormal, Fantasy 

Main Characters: Taylor, Sacha
Date Read: 23rd July - 1st August 2016

Rating Given:

Synopsis:French teen Sacha Winters can't die. He can throw himself off a roof, be stabbed, even shot, and he will always survive. Until the day when history and ancient enmities dictate that he must die. Worse still, his death will trigger something awful. Something deadly. And that day is closing in.
Taylor Montclair is a normal English girl, hanging out with her friends and studying for exams, until she starts shorting out the lights with her brain. She’s also the only person on earth who can save Sacha.
There’s only one problem: the two of them have never met. They live hundreds of miles apart and powerful forces will stop at nothing to keep them apart.
They have eight weeks to find each other.
Will they survive long enough to save the world?

I received a review copy from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This cover is a bit different to the covers I've seen around at the moment so for me this one stands out because it's different. I love the colours used in this cover especially the fire looking part of it as my eye is drawn straight to the title of book, plus with the use of fire it's in keeping with the story.

I wasn't quite sure I was going to like this one when I first started this book as things was happening in the first chapter that annoyed me but after I got over that it really started to get better and better. At certain moments I was hooked so much so I didn't want to put it down. It was about halfway through when for me it stalled a bit but again once I got over that bit it was back to it's thrilling stuff again. There wasn't very much romance involved in the story but there was a bit of attraction there so I can see there's bound to be more to come in the future books. Even though there wasn't really any romance involved with the two main characters I did love their friendship and how they grew closer and closer with each other. I loved the whole paranormal side of the story as it was a little different to the normal paranormal books that I've read before. I felt the ending was good as it was left open for the rest of the series but it wasn't a huge cliff-hanger which makes a refreshing change.

I liked the characters but I do think they grew into stronger characters the further I went into the book. Taylor started of a little bit too perfect for my liking but by the end that didn't feel like the case which made her a bit more likeable and realistic. In the first chapter I didn't think I was going to like Sacha but after that little blip I really started to warm up to him.

Overall, this was a good start to this series and I'm very excited to see where things are going to go next.

Book Review: A Fine Mess (Over the Top, #2) by Kelly Siskind

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Format: Kindle

Publishers: Forever Yours

Published: 2nd August 2016

Pages: 340

Genre: Adult, Contemporary Romance, 

Main Characters: Lily, Sawyer,
Date Read: 16th July - 22nd July 2016

Rating Given:

Synopsis:Some guys should come with a warning label . . .
Sawyer West is Mr. One-Night Stand. He doesn't do relationships or promises or feelings. He's never cared enough to get involved. Until Lily Roberts. She's sweet and shy and sexy as sin, and resisting her is testing his self-control. She believes Sawyer can be a better man, and for the first time in his life, he wants to be. But change isn't easy, and Sawyer would do anything to protect Lily from his past self. Even break his own heart . . .

I received a review copy from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I love this cover it's so cute and romantic plus it helps that it's in black and white which is always a favourite of mine. The hint of colour in the title really sets the whole cover off.

Another book that I was expecting so much more from and then for me it just fell short of what I was expecting. With the first book I was laughing out loud so when I knew that this book had Sawyer who made me laugh so much in the first book, I was even more excited but for some reason I just didn't find him or even very much of the book funny which is what I think disappointed me the most. I didn't believe in the romance for most of the book as I just didn't see how Sawyer could get over all his issues. There was a subject tackled in this book that I haven't seen tackled before so that was nice to see. There was a part of the book during the mid section when I really got into the book so much so I really thought I could end up giving it a lot higher rating but then it descended after they left the holiday. Once they got back I got more and more annoyed with how things where played out especially with Sawyer. I felt that the ending felt a bit too cheesy even for me and I also felt it was all a bit too rushed.

I thought I was going to continue to love the characters from this series however that wasn't the case for this book. Lily was my favourite in this book as she was sweet and had a lot of issues that could've easily gone against her but everything that she did do made me like her all the more. Sawyer was the one annoyed me the most which surprised me but he just did and said things that just annoyed me and I wasn't able to forgive him. I liked seeing more from Shay and Kolton and how they were getting on with each other.

Overall, this one was not as good as the first book but I'm still excited to read the last book in the series though just to see how it the last couple get together.

Book Review: Me Before You (Me Before You, #1) by Jojo Moyes

MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!

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Format: Paperback

Publishers: Penguin Books

Published: 5th January 2012

Pages: 512

Genre: Adult, Contemporary Romance, 

Main Characters: Lou, Will
Date Read: 8th June - 21st July 2016

Rating Given:

Synopsis:Lou Clark knows lots of things. She knows how many footsteps there are between the bus stop and home. She knows she likes working in The Buttered Bun tea shop and she knows she might not love her boyfriend Patrick.
What Lou doesn't know is she's about to lose her job or that knowing what's coming is what keeps her sane.
Will Traynor knows his motorcycle accident took away his desire to live. He knows everything feels very small and rather joyless now and he knows exactly how he's going to put a stop to that.
What Will doesn't know is that Lou is about to burst into his world in a riot of colour. And neither of them knows they're going to change the other for all time.

This book only came across my radar this year as I saw the trailer for the film and thought that I would love to read it before I watch it and now that I've read it I don't know whether I will bother with the film.

There's so many covers for this one book and I think this one that I got was my favourite. You can't really tell in this picture but most of the book is like brown paper which is different to what I've seen on any cover before. I like the simplicity of the cover with the main focus being the title.

I'm actually struggling to find words to how I feel about this book without spoiling anything so I'm going to try my best but some of my issues with the book may be considered as spoilers. This was something completely different to what I have read before so I really wanted to fall in love with this book as it sounded like something I could like but I just couldn't get into it. I was very disappointed with the romance side of the story as to me it didn't feel like a romantic book and the tiny bit that there was I didn't believe in what they where feeling. I think in their own way you could tell they cared for one another but as for love well who would say "If you love me you'll come with me" Will that's who, which bugged me to no end it's just something I couldn't get over and still think about it a couple of weeks later. I didn't like the ending as I just didn't like how it all played out but even after all that I find myself wanting to read the next book just to see what happens next.

I wasn't a huge fan of most of the characters but what I'm pleased about is that Lou grew into a much better person through out the book. I felt she started of a little childish and I actually thought that she was the younger sister however, she was the eldest. Lou did change throughout the book into a much stronger and wiser person. Will I liked at the very beginning before anything happened to him but then obviously he changed into a more difficult person which I could understand. What I didn't like was how he treated Lou for most of the book. I really didn't like Lou's sister I felt she was so selfish and just not likeable enough for me.

Overall, I was expecting so much from this book but unfortunately it felt flat for my liking.

The Aftermath Release Day Blitz + Excerpt

ABOUT THE BOOK

Title: The Aftermath

Author: R.J. Prescott

Series: The Hurricane, #2

On Sale: August 2, 2016

Publisher: Forever

Formats: Trade Paperback & eBook

Price: $14.99 USD (TP) / $3.99 USD (eBook) 

Add to Goodreads

Now available in Trade Paperback!

Cormac "The Hurricane" O'Connell's star is on the rise. Billed as the most promising young boxer of his generation, his new career is taking him to places he never dreamed. But O'Connell only needs one thing in life: his wife.

In her final year of college, Em cannot follow him around the world but together they make it work. Just when everything they ever wanted is on the horizon, the past resurfaces to haunt them, and O'Connell realizes that justice might not be a part of his happy ever after. He couldn't protect Em once before, but in the aftermath of the hurricane, he will make sure that never happens again.

THE HURRICANE SERIES

The Hurricane, #1

The Aftermath, #2

Series Page on Goodreads

BUY THE BOOK HERE

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

USA Today bestselling author R.J. Prescott was born in Cardiff, South Wales, and studied law at the University of Bristol, England. Four weeks before graduation she fell in love, and stayed. Ten years later, she convinced her crazy, wonderful firefighter husband to move back to Cardiff where they now live with their two equally crazy sons.

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Excerpt

It never occurred to me that mail was something to fear. Not until the day I came home and found Em sat on the floor, her arms wrapped around her knees, and a ripped open white envelope on the bed behind her.
“Sunshine, what’s wrong?” I asked. She swallowed hard and sniffed a few times like she was trying to hold back tears long enough to talk to me. I reached for the envelope, thinking it would give me some clue as to why she was so clearly freaked out.
“Don’t,” Em croaked. “Please,” she added pleadingly. I knew then, as a tear rolled down her cheek, that whatever was inside had to be bad. Contained within a folded sheet of plain white paper were about a dozen or so photos. They were different sizes and all taken at different times, but Em was in every one of them. The earliest photo was of a smiling happy nine year old. Just a normal kid out riding her bike. When the next one showed the same kid, fast asleep in her bed, I felt sick to my fucking stomach. The older that Em was in the pictures, the more invasive they became and none of them looked like they were taken with her knowledge. The last photo was really grainy, like it had been through a window maybe, or within a really bad camera, but it showed in intimate detail, her frail, bruised body taking a shower.
“Mother fucker,” I yelled, wanting to fucking hit something. Anything. I grabbed the envelope looking for some clue who’d sent it, like I didn’t fucking know. Frank was still in prison, pending trial, so someone on the outside must have sent this for him. The postmark on the envelope read London, which didn’t tell me much. The knuckles on Em’s hand were white where she gripping hold of her legs so hard.
“Shit love. You okay?” I said, hating that she looked so fucking scared. She nodded unconvincingly, but didn’t answer. I gathered up the pictures and stuffed them back into the envelope, not wanting her to see them anymore, but I knew we’d need to give them to police as evidence. The idea of her being on display like that to the police and the prosecution lawyers was as bad as knowing what she’d been through. Sitting down next to her, I wrapped my arm around her tiny body and pulled her into my chest. She was stiff as a board and shaking slightly. Rubbing up and down her arms, trying to get her warm I waited for her to talk to me. That was the way of it sometimes with Sunshine. She needed to think shit over before she could get it off her chest.
“I didn’t know about any of them. He’s been taking pictures of me for years. How could I not know? How could I let that happen?” she asked me.
“You didn’t let anything happen. He’s a violent, abusive rapist who’s sick in the fucking head. He did what he did because he’s a fucking whack job. Nothing you said or did gave him permission to do this.” I could see by her face that the pictures shamed her. Fuck that. There wasn’t a single fucking thing for her to be ashamed of.
“It was bad enough dealing with what happened, but he could have hundreds of these pictures and God only knows what he does with them. As if that’s not bad enough he knows where we live. Even in prison he can get to me. I’ll never be free of him will I?”
“Sunshine, even if it means killing him, I swear he will never touch you again. This is just a sign of desperation. In a few more months he’ll be too concerned about how to pick up the soap in the shower without getting arse raped to worry about getting you
back. He’s going away for a very long time and there’s fuck all he can do about it. This kind of shit just gives the barristers more ammunition against him.” I did my best to reassure her, but as I was as freaked out as she was. The fact that he could get hold of the pictures and post them from prison had me worried about what else he could do from the inside.
She wiped her eyes and leant across to give me a quick kiss.
“You’re right,” she told me. “A few more months and this will all be over.” It had to be, because I hadn’t been exaggerating. If Frank came after her again, I’d kill to keep her safe.

Books of July

Books Read in July
Another slow month of reading and not all of them that I did read I loved although I didn't DNF a book this month so that's a plus.

Here's what I read in July:

• Can't Help Falling by Kara Isaac - 2/5
• Charged (Saints of Denver, #2) by Jay Crownover - 5/5
• Me Before You (Me Before You, #1) by Jojo Moyes - 2/5
• A Fine Mess (Over the Top, #2) by Kelly Siskind - 2.5/5
• The Secret Fire (The Alchemist Chronicles, #1) by C.J. Daugherty & Carina Rozenfeld - 3.5/5

And the book of the month goes too...

Charged (Saints of Denver, #2) by Jay Crownover

Synopsis:

The next book in the smoking hot SAINTS OF DENVER series from NYT bestselling author of the MARKED MEN series, Jay Crownover

Avett Walker and Quaid Jackson’s worlds have no reason to collide. Quaid is a high powered criminal attorney as slick as he is handsome, and Avett is a pink-haired troublemaker with a bad attitude and a history of picking the wrong men.

When Avett lands in a sea of hot water because of one terrible mistake, the only person who can get her out of it is this insanely sexy lawyer. The last thing on earth she wants to do is rely on a man who thinks of her as nothing more than a nuisance, yet there is something about him that makes her want to convince him to loosen his tie and have a little fun…with her. Quaid never takes on clients like Avett. She could stand to learn a hard lesson or two, but something about her guileless hazel eyes intrigues him. But keeping their relationship strictly business is becoming more impossible with each day he spends with her.

They have to figure out a way to get along and keep their hands off each other – because the chemistry between them is beyond charged.

In the same series as my book of the month in June and what's even better is that this was a lot better than the first. This one was so addictive and I can't wait to continue on with this series.

Books Received in July

From now on in my Book of the Month post I'm going to also let you also know the books that I was either bought or was given for review that I am excited to read.

  

These three book were available on Amazon UK for free so I just had to get them as they sound really good.

  

  

These are just a few of my books I got for review from netgalley/publishers. These are the ones that I was very excited about getting accepted and I am even more excited to read them all.

What's your book of the month?

Also what books did you receive this month?