Sunday, October 27, 2013

Review: Walking Disaster by Jamie McGuire

 Title: Walking Disaster (Beautiful #2)
Author: Jamie McGuire
Source: Won

Synopsis:

Finally, the highly anticipated follow-up to the New York Times bestseller Beautiful Disaster.

Can you love someone too much?

Travis Maddox learned two things from his mother before she died: Love hard. Fight harder.

In Walking Disaster, the life of Travis is full of fast women, underground gambling, and violence. But just when he thinks he is invincible, Abby Abernathy brings him to his knees.

Every story has two sides. In Beautiful Disaster, Abby had her say. Now it’s time to see the story through Travis’s eyes.




Review:





Walking Disaster is the second book in the Beautiful series by Jamie McGuire, and it's pretty much just the same book except it's from Travis' point of view. You don't even necessarily need to read the first book in the series, because it's the same story. This one had a little extra of Travis' past in the prologue, but he was only like, 3. It seemed like the events in the prologue were written to give the reader a glimpse of how the past shaped who he is. I don't know about anyone else, but I don't remember one thing from when I was 3.

In the first book, I thought that the character of Abby was just “ok”. She really got on my nerves so much throughout the book. During this book, I got to the point that I couldn't stand her. Really, she was a b*tch to Travis much of the time, and I have no idea why he spent so much of his time chasing after her. You could see how much she hurt him emotionally, yet he wouldn't give up on her. So, that was particularly frustrating. There were times when she acted like she didn't care about him whatsoever. I would have too much pride chasing after someone who didn't act like they wanted me.

So, just to sum this review up – I was a bit bored throughout it all. I mean, I really liked reading from Travis' point of view...BUT...I think chapters from his point of view just should have been put into the first book and this book wouldn't have needed to happen. There was an epilogue at the end of this book that had a little bit of future story, but honestly it felt weird to me. I can't even explain why – maybe partially because it was 11 years in the future. It just didn't seem very believable to me.


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New Releases





Title: Black and Blue (Otherworld Assassin #2)
Author: Gena Showalter


The sizzling second book in New York Times bestselling author Gena Showalter’s Otherworld Assassin paranormal romance series.

He is every woman’s fantasy…

Corbin Blue is a man of many talents. One of the most powerful otherworlders ever born, he is wealthy, a professional football star, and a legend in the bedroom. But only a select few know he is also a black ops agent…and there is no better killer. When he and his crew are attacked and separated, he’s forced to turn to his boss’s daughter for help—a woman with even more secrets than Blue.

She becomes his only obsession…

Evangaline Black has always been wary, guarded. No man has ever breeched her walls. Until Blue. He has never been denied something he wants, and now, he’s decided he wants her. As he sweeps her into his double life of seduction, intrigue, and danger, he helps her see beyond the darkness of her own past. But as an enemy closes in, Blue will have to let Evie go to keep her safe—even though he'd rather die than live without her…


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 Title: Seven Years (Seven #1)
Author: Dannika Dark


Seven years ago, my world ended.
Seven years later, my new life began.

It's been seven years since Lexi Knight lost her brother in a tragic accident. On the anniversary of his death, her brother's best friend shows up unexpectedly - a man she hasn't seen since the funeral. He is no longer the boy Lexi once knew, but a dangerous-looking man with tattoos and dark secrets. He broke her trust and abandoned her family, yet what he reveals makes it impossible to stay angry. Lexi has been secretly infatuated with Austin since childhood, so finding out he's a Shifter just makes him sexier. Dammit.

Austin Cole has returned to the city where he grew up, and just in time. He's lived a hard life these past seven years, and the shadows of his past are threatening to destroy Lexi's family. It's time that she learned the truth about her brother, but there is a shocking twist that Austin never saw coming. Now he must protect her family when her mother and sister wind up in mortal danger. Will Lexi learn to accept the truth about who he is, and can Austin salvage a relationship from the ruins of their past?


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  Title: Allegiant (Divergent #3)
Author: Veronica Roth


One choice will define you.

What if your whole world was a lie?
What if a single revelation—like a single choice—changed everything?
What if love and loyalty made you do things you never expected?


The faction-based society that Tris Prior once believed in is shattered—fractured by violence and power struggles and scarred by loss and betrayal. So when offered a chance to explore the world past the limits she’s known, Tris is ready. Perhaps beyond the fence, she and Tobias will find a simple new life together, free from complicated lies, tangled loyalties, and painful memories.

But Tris’s new reality is even more alarming than the one she left behind. Old discoveries are quickly rendered meaningless. Explosive new truths change the hearts of those she loves. And once again, Tris must battle to comprehend the complexities of human nature—and of herself—while facing impossible choices about courage, allegiance, sacrifice, and love.

Told from a riveting dual perspective, Allegiant, by #1 New York Times best-selling author Veronica Roth, brings the Divergent series to a powerful conclusion while revealing the secrets of the dystopian world that has captivated millions of readers in Divergent and Insurgent.


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  Title: The Temptation of Lila and Ethan (The Secret #3)
Author: Jessica Sorensen


On the surface, Lila Summers is flawless: good looks, expensive clothes, and a big, beautiful smile. But a dark past and even darker secrets are threatening to bubble over her perfect façade. She'll do anything to keep the emptiness inside hidden-which leads her into situations that always end badly. Whenever she hits bottom, there's only one person who's there to pull her out: Ethan Gregory.

Ethan set the rules a long time ago: he and Lila are just friends. He doesn't do relationships. Although his tattooed, bad boy exterior is a far cry from Lila's pretty princess image, Ethan can't deny they have a deeper connection than he's used to. If he's not careful, he could be in serious danger of becoming attached-and he's learned the hard way that attachment only leads to heartbreak.

When Lila falls farther than she ever has before, can Ethan continue to help as a friend? Or is he also getting close to falling . . . for her?


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  Title: Teardrop (Teardrop #1)
Author: Lauren Kate


Never, ever cry...

Seventeen-year-old Eureka won't let anyone close enough to feel her pain. After her mother was killed in a freak accident, the things she used to love hold no meaning. She wants to escape, but one thing holds her back: Ander, the boy who is everywhere she goes, whose turquoise eyes are like the ocean.

And then Eureka uncovers an ancient tale of romance and heartbreak, about a girl who cried an entire continent into the sea. Suddenly her mother's death and Ander's appearance seem connected, and her life takes on dark undercurrents that don't make sense.

Can everything you love be washed away?


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  Title: Trust in Me (Trust in Me #1.5)
Author: J. Lynn (Jennifer L. Armentrout)


It’s Wait for You as you’ve never seen it. Trust in Me lets you in on Cam’s side of the #1 New York Times Bestselling story.

Cameron Hamilton is used to getting what he wants, especially when it comes to women. But when Avery Morgansten comes crashing into his life – literally – he finally meets the one person who can resist his soulful baby blues. But Cam’s not ready to give up. He can’t get the feisty and intriguing girl out of his head.

Avery has secrets, secrets that keep her from admitting the feelings Cam knows she has for him. Will persistence (and some delicious homemade cookies) help him break down her barriers and gain her trust? Or will he be shut out of Avery's life, losing his first real shot at the kind of love that lasts forever?


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  Title: Beautiful Oblivion
Author: Addison Moore


Some people just don’t belong together, or at least that’s what the world would have them believe.

It was supposed to be just for the summer…

Reese Westfield comes from a world of old money, country clubs, cotillions, and expensive cars. She’s tired of dating Warren McCarthy just to make her father happy. Reese has long since had her eye on someone else, and this summer she’s determined to make it happen.

Growing up in Lake Loveless there has always been a strict monetary divide—there was the rest of the Lake and then there were the Waterman’s. Ace Waterman has worked for everything he has, and he doesn’t have a lot. He breaks his back doing grunt work while putting himself through college. He’s used to life passing him by.

Reese has loved Ace from afar for as long as she can remember. The summer of her freshman year she comes home with plans to land Ace in her bed at least for a few short weeks, and, if she’s lucky, forever.

Ace has loved Reese for as long as he can remember, but their friendship has never graduated beyond platonic, so when Reese comes home from her first year away and proposes the two of them have a summer fling, Ace is quick to comply. The rules: no strings, no expectations, just something hotter than the sun to set the sheets on fire.

But when their worlds collide, and neither of them is willing to admit to having true feelings, it becomes clear to Ace he’s nothing more than a dirty little secret—that the summer fling was just something meaningless to pass the time.

Reese wonders if she can ever stop trying to please her father, and it’s only through her mother’s letters that she finds the answers she truly seeks, but will they be the ones she wants to hear?

As summer draws to a close, Ace and Reese are still very much enraptured even though the time has come to douse the flame and move on—but neither one of them is prepared to leave this BEAUTIFUL OBLIVION.
 


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  Title: The Dollhouse Asylum
Author: Mary Gray


A virus that had once been contained has returned, and soon no place will be left untouched by its destruction. But when Cheyenne wakes up in Elysian Fields--a subdivision cut off from the world and its monster-creating virus--she is thrilled to have a chance at survival.

At first, Elysian Fields,with its beautiful houses and manicured lawns, is perfect. Teo Richardson, the older man who stole Cheyenne's heart, built it so they could be together. But when Teo tells Cheyenne there are tests that she and seven other couples must pass to be worthy of salvation, Cheyenne begins to question the perfection of his world.

The people they were before are gone. Cheyenne is now "Persephone," and each couple has been re-named to reflect the most tragic romances ever told. Everyone is fighting to pass the test, to remain in Elysian Fields. Teo dresses them up, tells them when to move and how to act, and in order to pass the test, they must play along.

If they play it right, then they'll be safe.

But if they play it wrong, they'll die.
 


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  Title: A Risk Worth Taking
Author: Heather Hildenbrand


When 22-year-old Summer Stafford’s parents split halfway through her senior year at college, Summer’s world is rocked. Everything she thought she knew—heck, everything she thought she wanted for her own life—feels like a lie. The truth is love is a risk. And the true kind, the kind that lasts, might even be a fairy tale.

Reeling from the divorce, Summer derails her own future by breaking up with her parent-approved boyfriend and giving up her lifelong plans for a big-city career. She moves back home, business degree in hand. Dad needs her to fill the gaps her mother left behind; Summer needs to find who she is outside of the cookie-cutter life that failed so miserably for her parents.

Ford O’Neal’s future involves one person: himself. He doesn’t have a permanent address and he definitely doesn’t commit. To a place or a person. Raised by hippies, he plans just far enough ahead to secure his next stop, this one landing him at a work-study program at Heritage Plantation where he can grow his own herbal and medicinal creations.

Summer is gorgeous and smart and fun to be with, the perfect way to pass five months. It won’t be love—Ford’s got too many things to accomplish, too many places to go, before he settles down. Yet Summer pulls him in, challenging him to rethink his own philosophy.

When Ford’s five months are up, each of them must decide if love is really worth the risk.


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Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Review: Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire



 Title: Beautiful Disaster (Beautiful #1)
Author: Jamie McGuire
Source: Purchased

 Synopsis:

Abby Abernathy is a good girl. She doesn’t drink or swear, and she has the appropriate number of cardigans in her wardrobe. Abby believes she has enough distance from the darkness of her past, but when she arrives at college with her best friend, her path to a new beginning is quickly challenged by Eastern University’s Walking One-Night Stand.

Travis Maddox, lean, cut, and covered in tattoos, is exactly what Abby wants—and needs—to avoid. He spends his nights winning money in a floating fight ring, and his days as the ultimate college campus charmer. Intrigued by Abby’s resistance to his appeal, Travis tricks her into his daily life with a simple bet. If he loses, he must remain abstinent for a month. If Abby loses, she must live in Travis’s apartment for the same amount of time. Either way, Travis has no idea that he has met his match.




Review:




Beautiful Disaster is the first book in the Beautiful series by Jamie McGuire. It's about a college freshman named Abby, who moves away for college with her best friend to start a new life. Here, she meets Travis – who she thinks is all wrong for her. She is attracted to him, but he is covered in tattoos, he makes his money by fighting, and he is the campus man-slut.


It's hard to completely stay away from him though, because he is the roommate of her best friends boyfriend. He makes a bet with her that she loses, and she is forced to stay in his apartment for one month. He tries his best to charm her, and she tries her best to ignore his efforts. She refuses to be his next one night stand. She doesn't realize though, that Travis sees her differently. He quickly finds out that she's not like the other bimbos.


Their relationship is slow moving, so by the time they have their first kiss the sexual tension is burning up the pages. This book has some pretty intense moments. Travis has some major anger management issues, but at the same time he had such a soft side for Abby. I actually really liked his character, despite the fact that so many reviewers are bashing him. Both characters had some frustrating actions, but Abby actually drove me nuts so much during this book. Travis was trying so hard to turn his life around, and she just kind of strung him along. She basically just couldn't make up her mind about him. There was one scene where she really angered me, but I don't want to give anything away.


I would probably give the first half of this book 5 stars. I just couldn't put it down. I stayed up until 4 in the morning reading one night. The second half just didn't hold my attention as much. I was a bit disappointed by Abby's deep dark secret past that wasn't revealed until the 2nd half. I was expecting it to be something huge, but really it was pretty minor (to me anyway).


If you love New Adult books, or edgy contemporary romances, then I really recommend this book. It's not a fairy tale romance or anything – there are ups and downs all over the place. It's like a roller coaster. The title of this book fits Travis and Abby's relationship perfectly. With the violence and the sex (even if it wasn't detailed), I would suggest this to readers 18 and over.

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BAM

Friday, October 18, 2013

Free eBooks!!


**Note - I have no idea how long these will remain free **


Title: Mortal Obligation (Dark Betrayal Trilogy #1)
Author: Nichole Chase

Ree will face the darkest form of betrayal before the year is out. Seventeen year old Ree McKenna has three goals: get through high school, convince her crush she is more than his best friend’s little sister, and save money for college. Fate, though, has other plans for her. After the untimely death of her older brother, Ree is haunted by dreadful nightmares and terrifying visions. To make matters worse, Ree has started to suspect that something dangerous is stalking her from the shadows. A night full of frightening surprises leaves Ree with unsettling news. Gifted by the gods with unusual powers, she must devote herself to a battle that could very well lead to not only her death, but the demise of everyone she knows and loves. After all, Ree is the only mortal standing between the Earth and utter darkness. Set in Savannah, Ga, Mortal Obligation is the first book of The Dark Betrayal Trilogy.
Free on Amazon and B&N


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 Title: Parched (Parched #1)
Author: Z.L. Arkadie
Discover a delicious new vampire novel series that will leave you yearning for more... Parched, Book ONE, A Paranormal Romance.

"Baron Ford," he says and pauses to pick apart my expression, attempting to read how familiar I am with that name. I nod stiffly to give no indication I know exactly, who that is. I'm shocked to hear it in this setting, at this stage of my life, the one far away from Cambridge, Massachusetts over five years later."

Advertising Executive, Clarity Parker thought she would never see Baron Ford again. Five years ago, she fell in love with him on their magical first date and then poof--he literally vanished into thin air. That's why she's stunned to hear his name again. After all, five years have passed since that night, and now, to add intrigue to insult, he's requested that she be exclusively assigned to his multi-million dollar account.

Clarity makes every effort to avoid Baron Ford but when he finally catches up to her he issues a warning; things are not safe for her in the city anymore, especially since the strange fog has settled over Manhattan.

Before the foggy day is over Clarity's entire world will come crashing down. Everything about her life that she thought was true is a lie! And there's no time to question her soap opera star mother or business mogul father about it because Baron was right, her life is in danger, and so is his!

One thing's for sure, from this point on, the world as Clarity Parker knows it will never be the same.

Free on Amazon and B&N



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  Title: Shadowborn (Light & Shadow #1)
Author: Moira Katson
It has been only two generations since Arthur Warden seized the throne of Heddred from the Conradines, and now the crown rests on the head of Garad, sickly and weak. Shadows gather: legacies of the centuries-long rivalries for power, old betrayals, the endless plots of the courtiers, and the murmur of rebellion in the southern provinces ...

Catwin, plucked from her life at the edge of the Kingdom, is thrust abruptly into the world of the Court when she is chosen by the Duke of Voltur to be a Shadow-spy, shield, and blade-to his niece, the Lady Miriel DeVere. The Duke's ruthlessness is legendary, and he will stop at nothing to become the power behind the throne, using Miriel as a pawn to catch Garad's heart.

But the Duke's carefully-laid plans are only a piece of the intrigue of the court, and greater forces than Catwin can imagine are massed against her, determined to eliminate Miriel and impose a new order of their own. If Catwin and Miriel are to survive, they must learn quickly who to trust, and when to turn their skills against the very people who have trained them ...

Free on Amazon and B&N


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  Title: Selling Scarlett (Love Inc. #1)
Author: Ella James
Elizabeth DeVille doesn't belong at a party like this - one where the gowns cost more than her Camry and cigars run higher than her grad school utility bills. Dragged out of seclusion by her best friend Suri, Elizabeth is merely playing dress-up, rubbing elbows with a crowd that banished her troubled family years ago.

Hunter West is tired. Tired of parties, tired of pretending, and tired of trying to right a wrong that haunts him every day. Bourbon heir and professional poker player by day, by night Hunter is gambling with his life in a high-stakes game of crime and blackmail.

When Elizabeth stumbles into Hunter's den of vices, she's a light in the darkness, a flame in the void. And, just like everything he touches, Hunter mars her in a record time. To rectify the damage done, Elizabeth needs money she doesn't have, and she's come up with a foolproof way to get it.

Follow Elizabeth - code-named Scarlett - to the lush Nevada brothel where she'll auction her virginity and risk the only thing that's not for sale: her heart. The highest bidder is a familiar face, with wicked hands and the devil's mouth. And a secret so dark that it could cost her life.

Free on Amazon and B&N



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  Title: Significance (Significance #1)
Author: Shelly Crane
Maggie is a seventeen year old girl who's had a bad year. She was smart and on track, but then her mom left, her dad is depressed, she's graduating - barely - and her boyfriend of almost three years dumped her for a college football scholarship. Lately she thinks life is all about hanging on by a thread and is gripping tight with everything she has.
Then she saves the life of Caleb and instantly knows there's something about him that's intriguing. But things change when they touch, sparks ignite. Literally.
They imprint with each other and she sees their future life together flash before her eyes. She learns that not only is she his soul mate, and can feel his heartbeat in her chest, but there is a whole other world of people with gifts and abilities that she never knew existed. She herself is experiencing supernatural changes unlike anything she's ever felt before and she needs the touch of his skin to survive.
Now, not only has her dad come out of his depression to be a father again, and a pain as well, but Caleb's enemies know he's imprinted and are after Maggie to stop them both from gaining their abilities and take her from him.

Can Caleb save her or will they be forced to live without each other after just finding one another?

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  Title: The Ghost and the Graveyard (Knight Games #1)
Author: Genevieve Jack
Grateful Knight isn't looking for love when she moves into a rent-free house on the edge of a graveyard. At twenty-two, all she wants is to recover financially so she can move back to the city where she belongs.

But sparks fly when the gorgeous cemetery caretaker, Rick, introduces himself and mentions his suspicion that her new house might be haunted. Her attraction to him seems supernatural, and despite her resolve to not get involved, she literally can't keep her hands off him.

When things in Grateful's house start moving on their own, another man enters her life, Logan, a sexy ghost with a dark secret. He says Rick isn't what he seems, and indulging her passion for him could cost her soul.

One thing's for sure, magical forces are at work in the tiny town of Red Grove, and they're converging on Grateful. Life will never be the same once she's forced to choose between the ghost and the graveyard.

Free on Amazon and B&N



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 Title: Collide (Collide #1)
Author: Shelly Crane
Sherry has always known there was something out there. She's eighteen, works for a tabloid newspaper in Chicago and has a brother, Danny who is a lazy mooch. They live a pretty normal dull life with hippie parents and a normal existence. Then the moon dissapears and people start to go missing only to reappear later, but different. Sherry has an abusive ex-boyfriend who shows up and claims to be one of these beings that have been showing up around the world. He's no longer the same person in that body. He tells her he has come to protect her and her brother and takes her underground, against her will to save her, where they meet others like them. She begins to unravel the truth about Merrick, about what he's really doing here, about the way he looks at her, about the crazy dangerous world they live in. Can he convince her that he's here to help? Will she like what she finds when she opens up to the truth? Will he be the one to love her when everyone else has failed her? Will he be able to protect her?
Free on Amazon and B&N



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  Title: Alone (Vampires and the Life of Erin Rose #1)
Author: Steve Perlow
Twenty-two-year-old Erin Rose wakes up one morning with no memory of her past. She’s in a strange apartment with only one clue: a vampire bite scar on her neck.

Determined to unravel the mystery of her true identity, she contacts the Spectavi vampires, who drink synthetic blood. When they can’t help her, she turns to the Sanguans, who feed on humans. Her investigation leads her deep into a centuries-old vampire war.

Erin must decide how far she’s willing to go to learn the truth about her origins. 

Free on Amazon and B&N



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Title: Fire Burns
Author: Trista Day

Callie Demasi just started her senior year at Crystalport High and her life couldn't be any more ordinary. Then the nightmares start, and a strange creature tries to attack her in her sleep. If that isn't bad enough, her body starts to do things she never imagined were possible; like hold fire in the palm of her hand. It seems that the only person who knows what's really happening to her is a ghost creature named Draven- if she can keep him from disappearing on her. It's not until after her best friend Zilla is kidnapped, and she meets the handsome and arrogant Cole, that Callie begins to put the pieces together. Will her newfound powers be strong enough to save the life of her BFF, or will they both be doomed to the same fate?
Free on Amazon and B&N


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  Title: Just Breathe (Just Breathe Trilogy #1)
Author: Heather Allen
Ever Harding, an average teenager with a passion for swimming is about to turn eighteen. Out of the blue she has been dumped by her long time boyfriend, which is the ultimate of tragedies in her life. Little does she know that on that fated eighteenth birthday, she will have to make a choice that will change her life as she knows it, forever.

A month before her birthday, Ever meets Jack, a mysterious new boy with mesmerizing eyes. He affects her like no one else. This meeting sets things into a whirlwind she never would have dreamed. With Jack's guidance she discovers a family line that leads her to the sea. She must make the ultimate choice, stay on land where life as she knows it, won't change, or go and live in the sea as a mermaid with Jack.
Ultimately her choice sets into motion an even bigger decision, in which she has the fate of a race of people, in her hands. The people in the sea are in a feud, she will tip the balance. She must battle the ageless moral delimma of prejudice and race. Once she comes to terms with her life changing choices, she must ask herself, did I make the right decisions? and Is Jack really who I think he is?

 Free on Amazon and B&N