Review: Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover

 Title: Ugly Love

Author: Colleen Hoover

Source: Purchased

Synopsis:


When Tate Collins meets airline pilot Miles Archer, she knows it isn’t love at first sight. They wouldn’t even go so far as to consider themselves friends. The only thing Tate and Miles have in common is an undeniable mutual attraction. Once their desires are out in the open, they realize they have the perfect set-up. He doesn’t want love, she doesn’t have time for love, so that just leaves the sex. Their arrangement could be surprisingly seamless, as long as Tate can stick to the only two rules Miles has for her.

Never ask about the past.
Don’t expect a future.

They think they can handle it, but realize almost immediately they can’t handle it at all.

Hearts get infiltrated.
Promises get broken.
Rules get shattered.
Love gets ugly.



Review:

Ugly Love is another wonderful, emotional romance by Colleen Hoover. The heroine in this story is Tate, a young woman who moves to San Francisco to work on her master's degree for nursing. She moves in with her brother Corbin, who is an airline pilot. She meets her brother's friend Miles, who is also a pilot. And he lives just across the hall.

Tate is extremely attracted to Miles, but he is so closed off. He doesn't smile, show emotion, or talk about himself. Miles hasn't been with a woman for 6 years. Tate is the first woman to make him feel something since his life shattered 6 years ago. Miles offers Tate a sex-only relationship. The rules are that she's not allowed to ask about his past or expect a future. Tate agrees, even though she knows deep down that she won't be able to handle not having anything more than just sex from Miles. But that's all he's offering and she will take any part of him that she can get.

The chapters alternate points of view between Tate and Miles. Tate's chapters are told from the present. Miles chapters are mostly told from his past. You know that something big happened to Miles, but it's revealed very slowly throughout the book. You get to know why Miles is the way he is, including why he is so terrified of loving somebody. Every time Tate melts some of the ice around his heart, he pushes her away. He hurts her over and over until she can no longer take it.

This is such an emotional story. I don't want to give too much away, but I just have to say that I hate Rachel. We don't really get to know her, but I hate her for making Miles the way he is. For letting him believe that she blamed him for all those years.

I have to admit, the shift from past to present was distracting to me. It was really hard for me to read about Miles falling in love with Rachel in one chapter, and then read how Tate was falling in love with Miles in the next chapter. I realize it was necessary to show everything Miles went through, to fully understand how hard everything was on him. It was just hard to read.

The sex scenes between Miles and Tate were pretty steamy. I loved it. I knew that Miles was starting to have feelings for Tate, even though he refused to admit it. And I loved the slightly forbidden aspect of their relationship, because they were keeping it a secret from Tate's brother Corbin.

Everything that Colleen Hoover writes is so epic. She invokes so many feelings in all of her books. Corbin totally needs his own book, and so does Miles' friend Ian. I really hope that Colleen isn't finished with these characters!

Visit the author here:

http://colleenhoover.com/

Find this book at the following places:

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Review: Maybe Not by Colleen Hoover

 Title: Maybe Not (Maybe #1.5)

Author: Colleen Hoover

Source: Purchased

Synopsis:

Colleen Hoover, the New York Times bestselling author of Maybe Someday brilliantly brings to life the story of the wonderfully hilarious and charismatic Warren in a new novella, Maybe Not.

When Warren has the opportunity to live with a female roommate, he instantly agrees. It could be an exciting change.

Or maybe not.

Especially when that roommate is the cold and seemingly calculating Bridgette. Tensions run high and tempers flare as the two can hardly stand to be in the same room together. But Warren has a theory about Bridgette: anyone who can hate with that much passion should also have the capability to love with that much passion. And he wants to be the one to test this theory.

Will Bridgette find it in herself to warm her heart to Warren and finally learn to love?

Maybe.

Maybe not.




Review:



 

I'm so glad that Colleen Hoover wrote this follow up novella told from Warren's point of view. I absolutely loved Maybe Someday and wasn't ready to be done with the characters. Warren's character is just hilarious. I was a little curious about his relationship with Bridgette.

Honestly, I hated Bridgette in Maybe Someday. I'm still not a huge fan of her, but I dislike her a little less now. This book shows that she actually has some feelings – she just doesn't like them to show. She's slowly getting better though.

This was such a steamy read. I think these love scenes were steamier than any that I have read from Colleen so far. Colleen – you need to do this more often! I liked it!!! I would have liked to see more steam like this between Ridge and Sydney in Maybe Someday, but that's ok. Oh, and I loved how we got to see why Warren had such a porn obsession. Hilarious!

I definitely recommend reading Maybe Someday first. Find that book here:

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Find Maybe Not here:

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Review: The DUFF by Kody Keplinger

Title: The DUFF (Designated Ugly Fat Friend)

Author: Kody Keplinger

Source: Purchased

Synopsis:

Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper may not be the prettiest girl in her high school, but she has a loyal group of friends, a biting wit, and a spot-on BS detector. She's also way too smart to fall for the charms of man-slut and slimy school hottie Wesley Rush. But things aren't so great at home and Bianca, desperate for a distraction, ends up kissing Wesley. Worse, she likes it. Eager for escape, Bianca throws herself into a closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship with him.Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out Wesley isn't such a bad listener, and his life is pretty screwed up, too. Suddenly Bianca realizes with absolute horror that she's falling for the guy she thought she hated more than anyone.




Review:

The DUFF is an interesting and realistic look at teen life. I actually saw the trailer for the movie before I knew about the book. But I always like reading the books first, so I held off on the movie. When I saw the trailer, I just assumed that this was about college life. I love books about college aged students – though I really don't know why because I'm in my thirties... But anyway, I was a little surprised that Bianca – the main character – was in high school.

Honestly, I've been steering clear of young adult books lately because some of them are just too squeaky clean for me. However, The DUFF is not a squeaky clean book. I was actually surprised at how much sex there was in the book. The scenes aren't graphic, but some parents might not want their teens reading this. When a young adult book has sex scenes in them, I'm used to them at least being between two characters who are in love and have been together for awhile. That doesn't apply to most of the scenes in this book, but the characters do eventually fall for each other.

Bianca is a character I really liked. She's a very smart and cynical girl. She's not skinny or beautiful, but her two best friends are. Her confidence takes a bigger hit when Wesley, the school man-whore, tells her that she is the DUFF – the designated ugly fat friend. He is interested in her friends, so his goal is to get in good with Bianca. He thinks that if he is seen talking with the poor chubby girl that nobody is interested in, her friends will think he's a great guy. Bianca's not about to give him the time of day – she throws her drink on him and walks away.

In the beginning I assumed that her friends were using her to make themselves look better. I thought they would be the stereotypical popular mean girls. But they weren't that way at all. They didn't even know what a DUFF was, and they never saw Bianca that way. They were great friends to her.

Things are falling apart at home for Bianca, and she needs some sort of distraction. For some reason, she ends up kissing Wesley and likes it – even though she is convinced that she hates him. She uses him for sex because she doesn't think about all her problems when she is with him. Eventually, she finds out that Wesley's home life isn't so great either. They even sort of become friends. And then more...

In the end, there is a good message about having safe sex and there is also a good message about accepting yourself the way you are. I've been feeling pretty torn about what rating to give this book. I normally don't like books that have sex that doesn't mean anything. And I like some build-up to it – you know, sexual tension and all that. I like the characters to be falling for each other BEFORE they hit the sheets. It bothered me how, in the beginning, Bianca was complaining about all the girls who sleep with Wesley and she talked about how they probably have diseases. So, when she decided to just suddenly have sex with him...it just didn't feel right to me. Bianca seemed to smart for that. However, I liked how Bianca and Wesley changed throughout the book and became better people in the end.

Visit the author here:

http://kodykeplinger.com/

Find this book at the following places:

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Review: Losing It by Cora Carmack

 Title: Losing It (Losing It #1)

Author: Cora Carmack

Source: Purchased

Synopsis:

Virginity.

Bliss Edwards is about to graduate from college and still has hers. Sick of being the only virgin among her friends, she decides the best way to deal with the problem is to lose it as quickly and simply as possible-- a one-night stand. But her plan turns out to be anything but simple when she freaks out and leaves a gorgeous guy alone and naked in her bed with an excuse that no one with half-a-brain would ever believe. And as if that weren’t embarrassing enough, when she arrives for her first class of her last college semester, she recognizes her new theatre professor. She’d left him naked in her bed about 8 hours earlier.




Review:

Losing It is the first book in the Losing It series by Cora Carmack. This book is about Bliss, a senior in college who is still a virgin. She is determined to lose her virginity, so her friend takes her to a bar to help her find a man that will help her with her predicament. None of the guys are really interesting her, until she sees one in the back of the bar – reading Shakespeare. His name is Garrick and not only is he handsome, he has an adorable British accent.

She takes him home, but then freaks out once she has him naked in her bed. This scene was so hilariously awkward. I felt embarrassed and I wasn't even the one this was happening to. She runs out of her apartment with a stupid excuse about needing to get her cat – a cat that she doesn't even have. And she leaves Garrick naked in her bed.

If things couldn't get worse, the next morning Bliss finds out that Garrick is her new theatre professor. This book is too funny and completely adorable. I loved how awkward Bliss is, and her need to ramble when she's feeling nervous. Luckily, she didn't scare Garrick away. He still wants her, and she wants him. But she doesn't want him to find out that she is still a virgin and doesn't really have a cat. Oh, and also the whole relationship thing is sort of forbidden...

I'll admit, that it took me a little bit to “get into” the relationship between Bliss and Garrick. Bliss has a guy friend named Cade, whom she finds out likes her in a romantic way. I was actually rooting for Bliss and Cade for a little while. He just seems like such a great guy and I felt bad for him. I really liked how the book ended up though. Luckily, I noticed that the second book in this series is centered around Cade. I'd love to see him happy, and can't wait to read his book!

I really thought that this book was going to be more graphic than it was when it came to sex. It had the perfect amount of steam and sweet romance. If you're a fan of New Adult romances, then I definitely recommend this book. 

Visit the author here:

http://www.coracarmack.com/

Find this book at the following places:

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Name Change???

When I first started this blog in 2011, paranormal romances were all the rage. That's all I read at the time, which is how I came up with the name Paranormal Opinion. Now though, I read more NON paranormal books than I do paranormal books. I was thinking about a name change, but I'm not sure. I have a lot of followers and don't want to confuse people. If I change my blog name, then I will need to get a new blog - and that will mean starting all over with followers. However, I don't want authors/readers thinking that I only review paranormal books and I feel like my blog name is misleading now. Thoughts? Suggestions?

Review: Maybe Someday by Colleen Hoover

 Title: Maybe Someday

Author: Colleen Hoover

Source: Purchased

Synopsis:

At twenty-two years old, Sydney is enjoying a great life: She’s in college, working a steady job, in love with her wonderful boyfriend, Hunter, and rooming with her best friend, Tori. But everything changes when she discovers that Hunter is cheating on her—and she’s forced to decide what her next move should be.

Soon, Sydney finds herself captivated by her mysterious and attractive neighbor, Ridge. She can't take her eyes off him or stop listening to the passionate way he plays his guitar every evening out on his balcony. And there’s something about Sydney that Ridge can’t ignore, either. They soon find themselves needing each other in more ways than one.

A passionate tale of friendship, betrayal, and romance, Maybe Someday will immerse readers in Sydney’s tumultuous world from the very first page.


 


Review:

I have never been more frustrated with finishing a book. I'm so frustrated that I feel like I could cry. Or maybe part of that is because my body is so overwhelmed with the amount of emotions that I have felt while reading this. When I turned the last page, I was wanting more so badly. I didn't know it was the last page. I was scared to look while I was reading, because I knew I was nearing the end and didn't want it to be over.

Don't get me wrong...there is no cliffhanger. The book ended perfectly. I'm just so upset that it is over. I want more. I want to see what happens with these characters. And then I got to the acknowledgments at the end and saw that Colleen had mentioned this being her first stand-alone. Then I was just horrified. I mean, I know that there is a novella about a couple of background characters. And for that I'm happy. I'll take anything I can get. And I'm off to buy that as soon as I get done writing this.

This book took the place of my favorite book of all time. Why did I have it on my shelf for so long before I read it? I can't even do this book justice by writing a normal review and talking about the storyline and characters. I'm just in awe. And feeling a wee bit emotional. I've never had a reaction like this to finishing a book before. And this is why Colleen Hoover is my favorite author of all time. If you like romance at all, you HAVE to read this book. Parts of it are so gut-wrenching, but it's worth it. This will be a book you will never forget.

Now here's the part where I beg and plead Colleen to write a book about Ridge's brother Brennan. I would love to know more about him. And I would love for Ridge and Sydney to make an appearance. My heart won't be able to handle it otherwise. I'm not trying to give Colleen a guilt trip... Well, maybe just a tiny bit... Please. Please. Please.

(Oh. And the soundtrack to this book is wonderful. I haven't listened to the last 2 songs yet. But I will. I'm just afraid I'll start bawling when I hear them. And my husband is sitting right next to me and I don't want him thinking that I have fallen off the deep end.)

Visit Colleen here:

 http://colleenhoover.com/

Purchase Maybe Someday at the following places:

Amazon

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And here is the link to the music from the Maybe Someday soundtrack:

http://www.maybesomedaysoundtrack.com/

Review: Try With Me by Elyssa Patrick

 Title: Try With Me (With Me #3)

Author: Elyssa Patrick

Source: Received from author in exchange for an honest review

Synopsis:

There is nothing happily ever after about my life. My mom is dying of breast cancer. I work four jobs just to keep us going.

What I don't need to deal with?

Jamie McAlister.

Yeah. Him. Blond, tall, gorgeous. I had a crush on him throughout high school, but he never knew I existed. I don’t even think he knows my name. I was too shy to say a word to him. It seems that everywhere I go, he’s there. And now? He’s kissed me—a lot. And those hot kisses have led to even hotter nights.

I’m falling for him, head over heels. But I don't know how to fit Jamie into my life. I only know I need him. Which means I have to try for something I never thought was possible. I have to fight for him and a forever kind of love.

New Adult/Contemporary Romance with a HEA - Recommended for ages 17 and older.





Review:

Try With Me is the third book in the With Me series by Elyssa Patrick. I love this series, and this book was amazing. I love all the characters in this series. I love how each book focuses on a different person, but all the characters show up in all the books. The hero in this story is Jamie. He's the good looking, laid-back funny guy that has brought a lot of humor to this series. There's more to Jamie than what you see on the surface though.

This book is told from the point of view of Zelda – a young woman who has had a crush on Jamie since high school. She was never part of the cool crowd though, like Jamie, and never thought that he even knew her name. She couldn't have been more wrong.

First of all, I have to say that Zelda's name drove me nuts. Other than that, the book was awesome! I stayed up until 4:30 reading because I couldn't put the book down. Zelda reminded me so much of myself. No friends. No self-confidence. But she has such a horrible life. She has no family other than her mom, who is dying of cancer. Zelda is working 4 jobs and living in a run down apartment to take care of her mom. She finds out that her mom, the only person she has in life, only has 6 weeks left to live. And then Zelda's junker of a car dies, and she doesn't have the money to fix it. Everything that could go wrong does go wrong.

Jamie comes into her life though, and reminds her that she doesn't have to carry this burden alone. Zelda is so inexperienced, so I was surprised that her and Jamie moved so quickly with their relationship. The love scenes were hot. But it wasn't all about sex. I don't like books where the characters have sex without caring about each other. And I normally like more time and sexual tension before the characters jump into bed together. This book worked though.

This book also made me cry. That doesn't happen very often. Parts of this book were so very sad. And Zelda's character made me mad a time or two during her grieving process – the way she treated people... But I had to remind myself that I've never been in her shoes and everyone handles grief differently. I want to add though, that this book DOES have a happy ending. I don't read books without happy endings. Well, I try not to anyway. I hate it when books make me sad, but I knew a happy ending was coming so I was able to get though it.

The author really made me feel the emotions in the book, and that is one of the reasons why Elyssa Patrick is one of my favorite authors. This book was amazing and definitely deserves 5 stars. I am so excited for Griff's book. And I really hope that Griff's brother Jack gets his own book. I loved how Jamie is just so sure that Jack is a secret agent, and Jack's quiet, brooding demeanor and irritation with Jamie was just hilarious.

Visit the author here:

http://elyssapatrick.com/

Find this book at the following places:

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iBooks

Review: Deeper by Robin York

 Title: Deeper (Caroline & West #1)

Author: Robin York

Source: Purchased

Synopsis:

In Robin York’s sizzling debut, a college student is attacked online and must restore her name—and stay clear of a guy who’s wrong for her, but feels so right.

When Caroline Piasecki’s ex-boyfriend posts their sex pictures on the Internet, it destroys her reputation as a nice college girl. Suddenly her once-promising future doesn’t look so bright. Caroline tries to make the pictures disappear, hoping time will bury her shame. Then a guy she barely knows rises to her defense and punches her ex to the ground.

West Leavitt is the last person Caroline needs in her life. Everyone knows he’s shady. Still, Caroline is drawn to his confidence and swagger—even after promising her dad she’ll keep her distance. On late, sleepless nights, Caroline starts wandering into the bakery where West works.

They hang out, they talk, they listen. Though Caroline and West tell each other they’re “just friends,” their feelings intensify until it becomes impossible to pretend. The more complicated her relationship with West gets, the harder Caroline has to struggle to discover what she wants for herself—and the easier it becomes to find the courage she needs to fight back against the people who would judge her.

When all seems lost, sometimes the only place to go is deeper.





Review:

Deeper is the first book in the Caroline & West series by Robin York. It's a good New Adult romance that has an important plot line. It sends a good message to young women – never send anyone pictures of yourself that you wouldn't want others to see...and never EVER let your boyfriends take sex pictures of you.

Caroline is a good girl who was just trying to please her long-term boyfriend. However, when she broke things off with him – he decided to post her sex pictures all over the internet. Caroline is going to college in hopes to someday become a judge, and she is afraid how this will affect her future. She tries her best to have her photos deleted from as many sites as possible, but mostly she just wants to hide and fade into the background.

West is a guy at school who Caroline is interested in – especially after he stands up for her to her ex-boyfriend. West is kind of a shady character though. He is very mysterious, but one thing she knows is that he sells pot. She can't get mixed up with someone like him with the type of future she is wanting. Even her dad has told her to stay away from him. But there is something about him that she is drawn to.

The book is a little slow moving, but a nice romance develops between West and Caroline. Being with West makes her happy, and it makes her realize that she needs to stand up for herself and take action against her ex.

The frustrating thing about this book is the ending. It definitely didn't end the way I wanted it to, and I want to know what happens in the next book. I looked it up on Amazon though and book #2 is $8 – for the ebook. I have a personal rule that I never spend that much money on ebooks. I read so many books, that if I spent $8 on each ebook I would be broke. So, I'm torn. Maybe I will see if my library has the sequel. 

Learn more about the author here:

http://www.robinyork.com/

Find this book at the following places:

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Blog Tour & Giveaway: The Hurricane by R.J. Prescott

The Hurricane by R.J. Prescott
Publication date: February 16th 2015
Genres: New Adult, Romance

Emily McCarthy is living in fear of a dark and dangerous past. A gifted mathematician, she is little more than a hollow, broken shell, trying desperately to make ends meet long enough to finish her degree.

Through an unlikely friendship with the aging, cantankerous owner of an old boxing gym, Em is thrown into the path of the most dangerous man that she has ever met.

Cormac “the Hurricane” O’Connell is cut, tattooed and dangerous. He is a lethal weapon with no safety and everyone is waiting for the mis-fire. He’s never been knocked out before, but when he meet Em he falls, HARD. Unlike any other girl he’s ever met, she doesn’t want anything from him, but just being around her makes him want to be a better person.

They are polar opposites who were never meant to find each other, but some things are just worth the fight.

My Review:

The Hurricane is a New Adult romance that was recently released by R.J. Prescott. The heroine, Emily, is a college student who is barely surviving on her waitressing job. She has ran from her horrible past, and doesn't have anyone in her life. She is a scared, timid young woman who is trying to start a new life.

She becomes friends with an old man who gives her a job doing the bookkeeping at the boxing gym that he owns. Through him, she meets Cormac – a hot, dangerous Irish fighter that Emily can't keep her eyes off of. Because of her abusive past, she shouldn't be attracted to someone who likes to hit people. Cormac is gentle on the inside though, and she can't resist him. He makes her feel safe.

Cormac is used to women dropping their panties for him, but he seems to like the challenge of Emily. He can tell that she is fragile, and does his best not to scare her off. She is like no other woman that he has been with.

These two are so cute together. She makes him want to be a better person, and he really brings her out of her shell. Emily's character really grows and becomes more confident throughout the book. There are some really steamy scenes in this book, but they take their relationship slowly.

The background characters were great and definitely made the story more lively. I could see a few great sequels being written from these characters, especially Kieran, Tommy and Nikki. I'll be looking forward to more books by this new author. 

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 About the author: I was born in Cardiff, South Wales although I left to study law at the University of Bristol, England. Four weeks before graduation I fell in love, and stayed. Ten years later I convinced my crazy, wonderful fire fighter husband to move back to Cardiff with me where we live with our two equally crazy sons. Juggling work, writing and family doesn’t leave a lot of time, but curling up on the sofa with a cup of tea and a bar of chocolate for family movie night is definitely the best part of my week. “The Hurricane” is my debut New Adult Novel.  Facebook Twitter Pinterest Website ******************************** Giveaway!!!

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Review: Stepbrother Dearest by Penelope Ward

 Title: Stepbrother Dearest

Author: Penelope Ward

Source: Purchased

Synopsis:

You’re not supposed to want the one who torments you.

When my stepbrother, Elec, came to live with us my senior year, I wasn’t prepared for how much of a jerk he’d be.

I hated that he took it out on me because he didn’t want to be here.
I hated that he brought girls from our high school back to his room.
But what I hated the most was the unwanted way my body reacted to him.

At first, I thought all he had going for him were his rock-hard tattooed abs and chiseled face. Then, things started changing between us, and it all came to a head one night.

Just as quickly as he’d come into my life, he was gone back to California.

It had been years since I’d seen Elec.

When tragedy struck our family, I’d have to face him again.

And holy hell, the teenager who made me crazy was now a man that drove me insane.

I had a feeling my heart was about to get broken again.

Stepbrother Dearest is a standalone novel.

**Contains graphic sexual content and harsh language. It is only appropriate for adult readers age 18+




Review:

Stepbrother Dearest is a book that I just had to buy after reading all of the rave reviews. The forbidden aspect also helped to spark my interest in this book. However, this romance only works for me because these two characters didn't grow up together and they are not blood related.

Greta is a great character. She is fairly innocent and nice – almost too nice. She kind of reminds me of myself in ways. Elec is a bit of a jerk, but his antics to get under Greta's skin were pretty funny.

After a lot of fighting and sexual tension, these two finally gave into temptation knowing they may never see each other again. The problem is, they ended up falling for each other.

7 years and one tragedy later, they end up meeting again. Elec is in a serious relationship and it's all kinds of awkward. The fighting and sexual tension come back into play, and the book is hard to put down.

These two have a really steamy romance going on and I really enjoyed the book. There were just a couple of things that bothered me a little...

1. Elec's autobiography that he wrote was a little boring. I mean, I liked reading some of the story from his perspective, but a lot of it was word-for-word storyline that we had already read.
2. It wrapped up a little too quickly for me.

Overall, it's a good story and if you're a fan of forbidden romances – then I definitely recommend this book!

Find this author here:

http://www.penelopewardauthor.com/

Purchase this book at the following places:

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