Tag: bad boy

Posted in Book Blitz

RELEASE DAY: Better When He Is Bad – Jay Crownover (+ Giveaway)

Posted on by Z. Elizabeth

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We are so excited to bring you the Release Day Launch for BETTER WHEN HE’S BAD by Jay Crownover! BETTER WHEN HE’S BAD is the first novel in her Welcome to the Point Series published by William Morrow, and imprint of HarperCollins. This book, and the series to come, is one you don’t want to miss!!

 

Better WhenHe's Bad

 

Amazon US ** Amazon UK ** iBooks ** Barnes and Noble ** Kobo

About  BETTER WHEN HE’S BAD:

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Jay Crownover returns with a heart-stopping new series… Welcome to the Point.

There’s a difference between a bad boy and a boy who’s bad . . . meet Shane Baxter.

Sexy, dark, and dangerous, Bax isn’t just from the wrong side of the tracks, he is the wrong side of the tracks. A criminal, a thug, and a brawler, he’s the master of bad choices, until one such choice landed him in prison for five years. Now Bax is out and looking for answers, and he doesn’t care what he has to do or who he has to hurt to get them. But there’s a new player in the game, and she’s much too innocent, much too soft…and standing directly in his way.

Dovie Pryce knows all about living a hard life and the tough choices that come with it. She’s always tried to be good, tried to help others, and tried not to let the darkness pull her down. But the streets are fighting back, things have gone from bad to worse, and the only person who can help her is the scariest, sexiest, most complicated ex-con The Point has ever produced.

Bax terrifies her, awakening feelings she never thought she’d have for a guy like him. But it doesn’t take Dovie long to realize . . . some boys are just better when they’re bad.

 

Welcome to the Point

EXCERPT:

I let out the breath I was holding and took another step closer to her. The water was splashing on the sleeve of my shirt as I reached up to grab both of her cheeks in my palms. “Are you scared of me?”

It was the start of the questions I had asked her what felt like a lifetime ago. Her answer didn’t change, but this time when she answered, she was holding back a smile that made my heart hurt.

“Terrified, but I kind of like it now.”

“Do you trust me?” My voice broke. I had never really trusted anyone but Race and now there was her and my brother and just all kinds of new things making my life so much more complicated and undeniably fuller.

“With my life. I trust all the parts of you, Bax. You need to know that.”

“You going to go to bed with me?” That made her outright laugh and she reached up to curl her hands around my wrists.

“As often as I can and anyplace in between when the mood strikes.” The rest of the blood racing around my system went solidly south.

I dropped my forehead so it was resting on hers and the water from the showerhead was cascading down around us. I was making a mess, but I didn’t care because I had her, and she was my home. “Do you love me?”

The words sounded so foreign, but so right, when I was saying them to her. She brushed her full lips across mine and the last three months without her faded away.

“Do you want me to lie to you or tell you the truth?”

I smiled against her mouth and kissed her back twice as hard as she had kissed me. “Lie to me.”

She reached up and put her arms around my neck and took a step back, dragging me all the way into the shower stall with her. The water was lukewarm at best, and it made me shiver. So did the fact that she started to impatiently pull the tail of my shirt up over my head. A task made increasingly difficult considering I was now soaked head to toe and the material was clinging to me.

“Of course not. You’re the last person in the world I could love.”

Welcometo the Point Banner

 

GIVEAWAY:

There is an international giveaway. It includes 5 prizes for 5 individual winners!

1st $100 Amazon gift card and a signed BETTER WHEN HE’S BAD for 1 winner

2nd $50 Amazon gift card and a signed BETTER WHEN HE’S BAD for 1 winner

3rd $25 Amazon gift card and a signed BETTER WHEN HE’S BAD for 1 winner

4th BETTER WHEN HE’S BAD swag and a signed BETTER WHEN HE’S BAD for 1 winner

5th BETTER WHEN HE’S BAD swag and a signed BETTER WHEN HE’S BAD for 1 winner

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Jay CrownoverAbout Jay Crownover:

Jay Crownover is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Marked Men series. She will also be introducing the dark and sexy world of The Point in a new series this summer starting with Better When He’s Bad. Like her characters, she is a big fan of tattoos. She loves music and wishes she could be a rock star, but since she has no aptitude for singing or instrument playing, she’ll settle for writing stories with interesting characters that make the reader feel something. She lives in Colorado with her three dogs.

 

 

 

 

Website ** Blog ** Facebook ** Twitter

BETTER WHEN HE’S BAD Goodreads ** Jay Crownover Goodreads

Posted in Erotica

Hard Time – Cara McKenna

Posted on by Z. Elizabeth

19091520Synopsis

In this all-new novel from the author of Unbound, a woman with a rocky past finds romance in the last place she’d ever expect…

Annie Goodhouse doesn’t need to be warned about bad boys; good sense and an abusive ex have given her plenty of reasons to play it safe. But when she steps into her new role as outreach librarian for Cousins Correctional Facility, no amount of good sense can keep her mind—or eyes—off inmate Eric Collier. 

Eric doesn’t claim to be innocent of the crime that landed him in prison. In fact, he’d do it again if that’s what it took to keep his family safe. Loyalty and force are what he knows. But meeting Annie makes him want to know more. 

When Eric begins courting Annie through letters, they embark on a reckless, secret romance—a forbidden fantasy that neither imagines could ever be real…until early parole for Eric changes everything, and forces them both to face a past they can’t forget, and a desire they can’t deny.

5++++++++ stars

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My Review

“Would’ve been worth anything they took from me, just to hear you say my name.”

Before I begin this review, I’d like to say MAJOR BOOK HANGOVER. No joke, I am suffering so much. I have been in a bit of a slump recently, all the book seems to be the same and then BANG Hard Time came along and I was in deep. Hook, Line, Sinker. It’s been weeks since I finished this book and it’s still all I can think about (it’s taken me this long to write a bloody review!) About Eric, about his letters, about Annie and their forbidden romance. Seriously, why hasn’t a movie been made around this topic? LIKE REALLY? I’d be there opening night, front row.

Hard Time is the first book I have picked up and read by Cara McKenna. The topic had me intrigued – a librarian who works in a Correctional Facility once a week and becomes entangled in a forbidden romance with an inmate through letters. Sexy letters at that. I’ve never read anything like this before and Cara really does make you think about if this was your life, you were in Annie’s situation. We all love a bad boy, you know it, but then would you indulge in this ‘fantasy’? Would you reply to his letters and just, for a slight moment, feel towards him, believe him and not be freaked or scared because we know he’s locked away and cant do anything, cant come near you apart from that brief encounter every week? It’s enough to actually think it through and decide if you would play on it or not. And as weird as it seems, I would, because you get to know Eric through his letters and you see him each week; granted there is a police officer in the room too, but its enough to not feel scared for those few hours each week.

It’s taken me so long to write this, because I had no idea how to formulate a review. When I read this book, I spammed my Twitter and Facebook about Hard Time and now it comes to it, its so hard to write a review on a book that took me by storm, but I will try my best. You already know the premise but there is so much more to it. What happens when he gets released? What are in his letters? Does Annie stay away from him or get with him when he’s out of prison? I actually wish this was the book I had written.

I need to begin with Eric. Although a convict, he was like unlike any other inside. He kept to himself but he had authority in the way he came across. He was the strong, silent type who stayed out of trouble but respected why he was inside; what he did. He was the brooding type but you could tell Annie had a massive effect on him and he wanted help from her, which I adored from him. He wasn;t afriad to ask for help and Annie, unconsciously, was the fire he needed to better himself inside with his literacy and writing. Thus beginning the letters he would send to her. The letters are the way into his body, his heart, his soul. He bares all; the romance, the sexual feelings he had towards Annie but also little titbits about himself, revealing himself to her. I was like a dog on heat awaiting the next letters from him, much like Annie was and I was obsessed with knowing what he was going to say next, what he was going to tell her to do, what he wanted to do to her. The way he began and ended the letters made me sigh. For a convict, someone whom, in a way, you would feel scared of, I felt nothing like that. I just wanted him in my bed. But as I said, it felt safe because he wasn’t outside the prison and it was like a ‘fantasy’.

But when he was released, he was the same, if not more timid around Annie. You can imagine her reaction when he was out and he stayed away. He was scared of seeing her, scared of bumping into her. The feelings he had for her were so strong, but he respected her decision. It was all on her terms and I loved that about him. Not all convicts are the same and Eric was definitely not a bad guy. He dud what he did to protect his sister and I understood that when you find out what happened. I saw a passionate guy, a guy who would do anything for the ones he love, Annie included and I saw a guy who was sweet and considerate and worked bloody hard after prison to make a better life for himself. The love he eluded, the passion for his hobbies made my heart sing and I knew that I would totally snatch Eric up if I was Annie because despite spending five years in prison, he was nothing the sort of a convict and he just wanted his life back, he wanted Annie and he wanted to live the rest of his life with her.

Annie was a timid character too. She hasn’t been with a guy in five years, not since her college boyfriend thought to be abusive towards her, which is how she ended up in a small town. Annie is polite, she’s sweet and really, keeps to herself. She doesnt really know anyone in the town and is scared when she begins to visit the prison. She has to be strong though, not show weakness because that is how the prisoners will intimate her and that is what she does. She stands up strong. But then helllllo fitty! She spots Eric and something awakes inside her. Something that has been dormant for five years.

I liked her as she felt real. You could feel her feelings, her emotions and how awaken she felt by each letter she received. During her life throwing colours at her, she came out of her shell, made friends in the pub downstairs and she become stronger. She clung to the weekly letters much as I did and they made her feel great, made HER FEEL again. I was so happy it was Eric doing this to Annie. I loved the forbidden factor as much as she did. But then she finds out Eric is coming out and the fantasy is smashed up. She bounces back and forth about the letters, what they have shared and it shares the crap out of her. You know she feels something for Eric but you know that she was only doing this too because he was behind bars; she struggles with her feelings. I understood her reasons for what happened when Eric got out. How she was scared of bumping into him but after a while she couldnt stay away. She needed him just like he needed her.

I also loved that she could get mouthy, put her point across and be angry, at Eric, at his situation, at his sister too. I enjoyed this part of her. She wasn’t a push over and knew what she wanted, what she didn’t like and told it as it was. She was also a little bit protective over Eric. I truly enjoyed the realism of this character. Of her being shy to growing into a fully blossomed woman with the help of Eric.

When Eric and Annie are finally together, holy hell, you can feel the thick, sexual tension between they sizzling. It is just as strong in person as it is on paper and you know that when they sleep together it is going to be amazing. And reading it, it was. God, you will feel all hot and bothered and hot damn, mixed with the things on the paper and their chemistry together, inside and out of the bedroom, there was nothing that could stop it being utter rubbish sex. No way in hell. Not with those two.

There were two things that irked me and one was the ending. It did end rather abruptly and I would love to know what happened next between them but other than that, i’m not going to drop a star because of the ending. And two; I wanted Eric to meet Annie’s parents. You will understand why when you read it. Other than that, I loved this book and everything inside it.

Seriously, give this book a read. Its sexy, its heartfelt and dangerous 😉 Cara McKenna has made me want to read every single one of her books now, and that is actually what I will be doing! But first, I think a re-read is in order!

(Hard Time is out in the US, and it WAS out in the UK until it got taken down because it got snatched up. It will be back up in November so GET IT THEN!!!)

Posted in Cover Reveal, New Adult

**NEW** COVER REVEAL: April Showers – Karli Perrin

Posted on by Z. Elizabeth

So a few nights ago, my twinnie found out that her cover is on not one, but two other books and after much deliberation she has decided to change the cover. As it;s her first novel, she wants the cover to be exclusive to April Showers, so when people see it they will think of her book, and after seeing the cover, I agree with her.

I loved her old one, but by god, i LOVE her new one too.

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???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????Title: April Showers
Author: Karli Perrin
Genre: New Adult
Release Date: June 14th
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Synopsis

What happens when your head and your heart pull you in completely opposite directions?

April Adams is about to find out the hard way.

When April enrols at Manchester University, it feels like a whole new life. New city, new house, new friends…new crush.

Isaac Sharpe is the hottest guy on campus – with an even hotter reputation.After a chance meeting, April quickly finds herself wrapped up in all that he is. But what if all that he is isn’t what it seems?

Caught up in a battle between what she wants and what she thinks she needs, April meets Lukas Roberts.

Lukas is the security blanket that she craves so desperately and she finds solace in their friendship. But what happens when she finds more than she bargained for?

April has always been a big believer of fate, but will she learn that she’s in control of her own destiny before it’s too late?

Join April as she embarks on a life changing journey of love and loss, which will have you laughing and crying until the very end.

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7057541Author Bio

Karli Perrin is a 25 year old English Language & Linguistics graduate from Manchester. She has always been a big lover of books and is currently writing her first NA novel – April Showers. She is a big believer of fate and is a sucker for a happy ending. She honestly believes that there is a reason why you are reading this right now (apart from the fact that you are awesome!) Her ultimate goal in life is to live in a house made entirely out of books with her best friend, who also happens to be her fiancé.

…Hogwarts is plan B.

Posted in New Adult, Suspense

Breathe Into Me – Amanda Stone

Posted on by Z. Elizabeth

16222687Synopsis Eighteen year-old Kelsey Rien is more than ready to leave her past behind her. Wanting nothing more than to walk into a room without everyone knowing the horrific details of an event that changed her life six years ago, she vows to concentrate on school and make something of herself. But then she meets Kane Riley – the local bad boy. Kane’s reputation is far from perfect, but is there more to him than what everyone else sees? Kelsey soon learns that you can’t run from your past, no matter how hard you try. When her nightmares find her once again, Kelsey must find the courage to face the demons that have been haunting her and save the people she loves most. 4 / 5 Stars add-to-goodreads-button3 ——————————————————–
My Review

Six years ago, something horrific happened in Kelsey Rien’s life. It changed her world upside down and changed who she was. As it would anyone who went through what she did.

For those six years, she has wanted nothing more than to just walk into a room and not have people know her history. Now eighteen, she and her best friend Jesse leave their small town behind and leave for college, away to a state where no one knows her and she can try to leave the past behind.

She never expected to meet Kane Riley, the resident bad boy. His reputation is anything but perfect yet there is more to him that meets the eye that has Kelsey intrigued by him. He’s nothing like his bad boy persona, yet everything still thinks he is. Has Kane really changed? He has some demons he’s fighting too.

Still battling her demons and her nightmares, Kelsey realizes she can’t run from the past, but opening up to Kane is the first step. But when her demon’s come to haunt her, she must face up to them and save the people she loves the most.

I had been waiting months for Breathe Into Me to be released. When I saw the cover on Goodreads it was an instant add to my TBR list and bad boys and tattoos and piercings always get my vote. The synopsis made me want to read it too. I like a bit of mystery wrapped up in books, so I really wanted to know what Kelsey’s past was so I had some theories.

I read this book over two days – mainly because I had to go to inductions for my new job, but I really did not want to put it down. I was hooked with the plot, with the characters and just with the book in general. Amanda Stone developed the story nicely, along with the characters, which you see journey throughout the book into better versions of themselves – due to being in love and growing up over the weeks. She has me laughing, smiling, crying and kindle throwing (throughout certain events throughout the book which frustrated me and of course, had me panicking over what was going to happen).

Although there are many books with the same storyline, it was a cute read with college characters falling in love, dealing with heartbreak with a terrible past added into the mix, but overall, I really did enjoy the book!

We first meet Kelsey when she is moving into her college dorm with her best friend Jessie. It’s a chance at a fresh start away from her past. We don’t find out until a few chapters in but there are hints about what happened to her those six years ago that changed her from the out-going little girl she was to a shy and reserved teenager. She has gone through so much. She feel guilty and although it wasn’t her fault, she harbours this guilt always.

One trip to get some lunch and everything changes. She catches eyes with a pair of grey eyes and from then she can’t stop thinking of them. It helps that the guy is friends with the guy her best friend is seeing later that night.

After that night, Kane and Kelsey become friends. They spend every day together, hanging out, doing work, generally becoming best friends until one night when it all changes. Kane has never seen Kelsey in anything dressy so when the four of them head to the club he works out, he’s stunned. Kelsey is simply stunning and Kane can’t hold back his feelings for her anymore. She’s consumed his every thought and he wants her.

Things are going great for Kane and Kelsey. They have both bared their souls to each other, they love one another greatly and spend all their time together until one night, everything goes wrong and Kelsey gets her heart broken even when it wasn’t Kane’s fault.

Battling heartbreak, even more drama occurs for Kelsey and when it’s a battle of life or death for her and her loved ones, she will do whatever she can to make sure they live.

Kelsey was a delicate character in the beginning. You could see the guilt pouring off her, for what, we did not know yet. She was shy to an extent; she didn’t like ‘putting herself’ out there even though she wanted to be the girl she used to be. You really do feel sorry for Kelsey. Her past has overtaken her life – throwing nightmares at her during the night at times, so she relives that one moment that changed her.

But throughout the book, we see her change; her friendship with Jessie and her friendship with Kane are both factors of this change. We see her turn back into the girl she was, the strong, playful, loving girl. We see her open up her past to Kane which took courage and trust. We see her think of the ‘best’ parts of her past which in turns makes her get a tattoo in memory of that one memory she tells us about. (Hint, it’s on the book cover)

I applaud Kelsey for the journey she took throughout this book. She learned to trust, learned to open up and learned to love and be loved. Although she still harboured the guilt, in time she began to realize that none of what happened was her fault. She has a strength to her that took over her in the end and although that was the past that made me panicky, I am glad that she let go of her past for good and did what she did. So kudos Kelsey.

Now Kane. Before he met Kelsey he had a rep. Love ‘em and leave ‘em rep. But this was his way of dealing with the guilt he had racked up inside of him too. Then one day he just flipped and decided he didn’t want to be that way anymore. Didn’t want to drink, do drug or sleep with numerous women whom he didn’t give a rat’s ass about.

He really didn’t have a bad boy rep if I’m being honest. He was the sweetest guy around. He changed himself for the better, even if he was protective around Kelsey; it was due to never feeling this way before. All these feelings he had, they were new to him and it was pretty lush to watch him fall in love with Kelsey. To want to be the one for her. He’s had his struggles too, he has guilt over his past too, but he bears his past to Kelsey too and in turn, they learn to trust and try to not let their demon’s get to them.

I love that Kelsey and Kane both let one another in. Their relationship was cute and I loved the trust and love they had for one another. It was instant, their attraction was undeniable and it was just perfect for them to be with each other. It was sweet and the things Kane told Kelsey, I just wanted to sweep him up into a hug and keep him for myself, plus I wanted to kiss his lips! Pierced lip is hot…I should know, I used to have my lip pierced 😉

I have to say, my favourite part was when they first had sex. I know, I know, but it was like the perfect scene. It was the perfect time for them to consummate their relationship (HAHA) and it was all Kelsey’s doing, Kane didn’t pressure her or anything and he was so careful and loving with her that he made it that much special for her. I was smiling like an idiot over that scene. I just loved the connection they had and the love for one another for them to take it to the next level.

Although there are quite a few questions that I would love to have answered, I am still giving this book 4 stars. I did enjoy it and I love a tattooed boy, as you should all know by now. If you are looking for a cute college romance, with broken characters with a past that they eventually try to get over together, then Breath Into Me is the book for you.

Mentioned above, I love the bald, tattooed drummer that is Jesse. Growing up with a drunk of a father who used to beat him until Jesse was old enough to fight back, protecting Emmie along with his band mates was the only thing that mattered. Making sure she was safe, especially when the band became famous. Nothing mattered more than Emmie.

Jesse really is a brilliant character. He loves unconditionally, hes strong yet he’s gentle, hes confident and cocky but he never really uses his famous status, more content on being grounded and just basking in the love that all this band mates and Emmie share together.

As everyone in the band, he has a past. He’s never really had anyone who he has felt ‘more’ with apart from Emmie, but he’s just her best friend, so when he hears and meets Layla for the first time, its like a shock to the system. He can’t get this girl out of his head. He just needs her, needs to be with her and have her. It was so nice to see Jesse this way; to find someone who he wants to be with, to pursue romantically because he and Layla had this sizzling chemistry right from the start. As much as she told herself to stay away, she couldn’t, and Jesse was adamant on having her. Their pull just overtook them both and they just had to be together.

I loved how he (and the group) took Layla’s sisters under their wings, treating them with care and love. It was perfect to see this band, who love music and don’t care for the famous status to embrace three new characters into their dynamic and love them unconditionally too.

Jesse really would do anything to make Layla happy – even when they had a tipping point during parts of the book – but in the end, Jesse loved Layla with everything. You will find out just how much throughout the book ;).

Posted in New Adult, Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday: April Showers – Karli Perrin

Posted on by Z. Elizabeth

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine. It’s a weekly event that allows all us book bloggers and lovers to talk about what upcoming book we’re most looking forward to reading.

Young hugging couple kissing under a rain, in passionTitle: April Showers
Author: Karli Perrin
Expected Release Date: May/June 2013
Goodreads link: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17831683-april-showers
[This is a self-published title so no pre-order purchase links will be available prior to publication.]

Synopsis

What happens when your head and your heart pull you in completely opposite directions?

April Adams is about to find out the hard way.

When April enrols at Manchester University, it feels like a whole new life. New city, new house, new friends…new crush.

Isaac Sharpe is the hottest guy on campus – with an even hotter reputation. After a chance meeting, April quickly finds herself wrapped up in all that he is. But what if all that he is isn’t what it seems?

Caught up in a battle between what she wants and what she thinks she needs, April meets Lukas Roberts. Lukas is the security blanket that she craves so desperately, and she finds solace in their friendship – but what happens when she finds more than she bargained for?

April has always been a big believer of fate, but will she learn that she’s in control of her own destiny before it’s too late?

Join April as she embarks on a life changing journey of love and loss, which will have you laughing and crying until the very end.

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Links

Blog link: http://karlijperrin.blogspot.co.uk
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17831683-april-showers
Twitter: @karli_uk

Posted in Cover Reveal, New Adult, Romance

COVER REVEAL + BLURB: April Showers – Karli Perrin

Posted on by Z. Elizabeth

I am SUPER EXCITED to share the cover and blurb with you. Karli has become a good friend in a short amount of time and I love that she asked me to be a part of this reveal for her because she had been teasing me with snippets from April Showers and to be honest with you, from those short paragraphs I am already NEEDING to get my hands on this book and fall even more in love with Isaac. Yes, I have dips on him. Sorry guys 😉

So without further ado, here is the big reveal 😀 (And i LOVE LOVE LOVE this cover. Kissing in the rain? Swooooon)

Young hugging couple kissing under a rain, in passion

Title: April Showers
Author: Karli Perrin
Expected Release Date: May 2013
Goodreads link: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17831683-april-showers
[This is a self-published title so no pre-order purchase links will be available prior to publication.]

Synopsis

What happens when your head and your heart pull you in completely opposite directions?

April Adams is about to find out the hard way.

When April enrols at Manchester University, it feels like a whole new life. New city, new house, new friends…new crush.

Isaac Sharpe is the hottest guy on campus – with an even hotter reputation. After a chance meeting, April quickly finds herself wrapped up in all that he is. But what if all that he is isn’t what it seems?

Caught up in a battle between what she wants and what she thinks she needs, April meets Lukas Roberts. Lukas is the security blanket that she craves so desperately, and she finds solace in their friendship – but what happens when she finds more than she bargained for?

April has always been a big believer of fate, but will she learn that she’s in control of her own destiny before it’s too late?

Join April as she embarks on a life changing journey of love and loss, which will have you laughing and crying until the very end.

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Links

Blog link: http://karlijperrin.blogspot.co.uk
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17831683-april-showers
Twitter: @karli_uk
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So what are you all waiting for? Go add April Showers to your TBR list because it is definitely added to mine 😀

 

Posted in Romance, YA

The Kissing Booth – Beth Reekles

Posted on by Z. Elizabeth

13410943Synopsis

Meet Rochelle Evans: pretty, popular – and never been kissed. Meet Noah Flynn: badass, volatile – and a total player. And also Elle’s best friend’s older brother… When Elle decides to run a kissing booth for the school’s Spring Carnival, she locks lips with Noah and her life is turned upside down. Her head says to keep away, but her heart wants to draw closer – this romance seems far from fairy tale and headed for heartbreak. But will Elle get her happily ever after?

2/5 stars

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My Review

I had wanted to read The Kissing Booth for a while now but when my computer crashed one night, I forgot what the book was called, seeing as I had a whole load of books in different tabs. But when I was browsing on NetGalley, this book appeared and reading the synopsis, I knew this was the book.

So thanks to NetGalley for approving me to read The Kissing Booth.

I really started out liking this book. The whole good girl/bad boy, best friend’s brother scenarios really catch my attention and I love reading them!! You’ve got to love a bad boy and how deep down he’s not really that bad, he’s just been ‘looking’ for the right girl.

Elle started off great. She’s popular, had the same best friend, Lee, all her life and has harboured a crush on Lee’s brother for years – even if she denies it to everyone and herself. She’d never been on a date, let alone kissed a guy, but it’s never seemed to bother her. She seemed content in her life, going to school, hanging out with Lee and their friends, life seemed great. Then The Kissing Booth came along and she kisses Noah – Lee’s brother – and that changes everything about her. And that is when Elle changes too. When her crush grows once again for Noah and he starts to harbour feelings for her too.

But then I started to get bored. It started to get tedious and Elle started to grind on me really badly. After the kiss, it was all back and forth, hiding this ‘relationship ‘which wasn’t even a relationship really. I’d describe it more as hook-ups – even though all they did was kiss. She never acted like she was taken, but I suppose you wouldn’t if you were keeping it a secret from your BFF, but still! She got pissed at him like all the time. I literally wanted to shake her and be like ‘GIRL! Just tell Lee so you can stop acting so goddamn bitchy and irritating.” If I was Noah, I’d tell her to grow the F up and tell Lee they were together. If my BFF and brother got together, I’d be more than happy they were both happy with one another. Although her reasoning was because she didn’t want to lose Lee, if he was any kind of best friend, he’d support they relationship, even if he didn’t really approve of it.

Okay so Noah. It seemed that he had always liked Elle, seeing as he warned off every guy from going near her or asking her out. Okay, so that would majorly have annoyed the hell out of me if my BFF’s brother did that, but Elle didn’t know he was doing that until someone tells her. I never really understood why Noah did that, because it’s just immature. She’s a big girl, she can date whomever she wants, but each to their own I suppose.

I didn’t actually think Noah should have been blamed for everything that happened. Elle should have taken the blame too. She seemed to let Noah take the blame, which annoyed me so much. He wasn’t even a player, like everyone dubbed him. We never saw that side. What we did see was a hot, overprotective, caring and sweet guy who truly liked Elle, even if he went a weird way of showing her at times. I never really understood why he wanted Elle though. She was just so irritating. But you can’t help who you fall for.

I did love the friendship that Lee and Elle had. It was great to see BFF’s that didn’t fall in love. Their friendship withstood anything thrown their way AKA the Noah fiasco. They were protective of one another, spent all their time together and were just there for each other, through the happy and sad times. I truly did love their relationship and it did show you the value of friendship, being there for one another when you don’t actually approve. (Even though Lee did get over the fact his BFF and brother were together in the end.)

I have to say, when I was sixteen and in 6th form, I was going to 6th form parties hosted by people in our school and getting drunk beforehand as we knew we wouldn’t get served alcohol. I was also going to house parties and drinking. I know many people are moaning about that fact, but most people who are 16 are drinking and having sex, so this didn’t bother me in the slightest.

The ending. Yeah it was okay. It did end on a way where there could be another book but if there isn’t, then it’s a nice way to finish it. We, as the readers, can think about what happens to Noah and Elle and if they do stay together or not. I, for one, would like to see another book, to see how they manage the relationship, but if there isn’t, then I can only imagine.

I’d also like to say that before reading The Kissing Booth, one of my friends mentioned that a girl from our (old) secondary school wrote it (This was before she knew I was about to read it) and when I googled Beth Reekles and the book, it really made me proud that someone local wrote this book and also acknowledged my old English language teacher at the end. He was a great teacher, got to be said!

So would I recommend it? I’m going to say yes. It probably wasn’t the book for me but it may be the book for you.

 

Posted in Erotica, Romance

Private Practice – Samanthe Beck

Posted on by Z. Elizabeth

17413439Synopsis

He’ll teach her how to bring a man to his knees…

Dr. Ellie Swan has a plan: open her practice in tiny Bluelick, Kentucky, so she can keep an eye on her diabetic father, and make hometown golden-boy Roger Reynolds fall in love with her. But Ellie has a problem. Roger seeks a skilled, sexually adventurous partner, and bookish Ellie doesn’t qualify.

Tyler Longfoot only cares about three things: shaking his bad boy image, qualifying for the loan his company needs to rehab a piece of Bluelick’s history, and convincing Ellie to keep quiet about the “incident” that lands him on her doorstep at two a.m. with a bullet in his behind.

The adorable Dr. Swan drives a mean bargain, though. If sex-on-a-stick Tyler will teach Ellie how to bring a man to his knees, she’ll forget about the bullet. Armed with The Wild Woman’s Guide to Sex and Tyler’s lessons, Ellie is confident she can become what Roger needs…if she doesn’t fall for Tyler first.

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My Review

Dr. Ellie Swan or Sparky as her childhood nickname goes, moves back to Bluelick to open a surgery and to be closer to her dad, to keep an eye on him, maybe build a relationship with him. Overhearing that her childhood crush Roger Reynolds has called off his engagement to his high school sweetheart, Melody, she’s determined to make him fall in love with her. But there’s a problem. Roger is looking for a skilled, sexually adventurous partner and that is just not Ellie at all.

Tyler Longfoot is known for his bad boy image, and that is what he needs to shake off if he is to qualify for the loan his company needs to rehab a piece of Bluelick’s history. When he ends up at Ellie’s one night after an incident which leaves him with a bullet in his behind. He needs Ellie to keep quiet about the while incident though, which in turns makes the clogs turn in her head.

She’ll keep quiet, if Tyler will teach her how to be wild in bed. After agreeing, Ellie comes armed with chapters marked in ‘The Wild Woman’s Guide To sex’ and makes Tyler teach her everything. Shes confident that with her new skills, she’ll get Roger and fulfil his needs…but there’s a small catch and that includes falling for Tyler.

When I read the synopsis to Private Practice (and saw the swoon worthy cover) I knew I had to download it straight away. I love the whole girl likes boy, girl wants to impress boy so gets a bad boy to make her more sexy but she ends up falling for said boy and said boy, falls for her too, leaving behind his playboy image. Super love books like this and I love the journey both characters have to make to end up together.

Private Practice, to me, has a kind of Hart of Dixie feel to it. Although I haven’t watched it in a while…the last time Zoe and Wade were sleeping together and George was single (is this still happening?) but this book kind of reminded me of that. Wade is the ‘bad boy’ in HOD and George is the one that everyone loves. Anyway, the setting felt familiar as Private Practice is set in a small town where everyone knows everyone and knows everything and the main character, Ellie is also a Doctor like Zoe Hart and George, like Roger – Ellie’s love interest, is also a lawyer. So yes, there were some comparisons but that didn’t put me off, I actually liked it. Reading about small town romances always makes me want to go visit/go live there and experience them too!

Ellie’s a likeable character. She has bite, can hold her own, but she’s also a little misguided. Perhaps that could be due to the fact that her relationship with her father is non-existent and she still feels, at 28, that she can prove shes grown up and grown into herself. She wants him to be proud but he just doesn’t seem to notice all that much about her. This made me feel sorry for her, because she’s grown up with a father who didn’t pay attention to her, and now, shes moved back to keep an eye on him and to try and make a relationship with him. It was utterly sad that she still held on to him after he didn’t put any effort into their relationship throughout the years. She still wants his love.

Other than that, there were times when I literally wanted to shake Ellie. You can’t use a book to teach you how to ‘do’ sex. Sex is spontaneous; you can’t schedule it because it will feel forced and awkward. I think that’s what made me frustrated at her when it was time to ‘have sex’. I just wanted her to take the stick from her ass out and let loose. I think that’s why I loved it when she was with Tyler. He made her have fun and when it came to sex, even when she kept pressuring him to do this chapter and that chapter; he made her forget everything with one touch. Such a brilliant way to get her to stop over thinking everything and their chemistry together was smoking hot, which in turn made their time together even more heated.

She also seemed a bit naive at times as well. There were so many signs about Roger, she didn’t know what ‘a bunny’ was and she was just blind sighted by what was in front of her the whole time. She wanted the whole ‘white picket fence and kids’ with Roger, but to be honest, she and Tyler had more chemistry than those two did. He was just a fantasy, a little girls’ vision of a fairytale and now she was grown up, she still held onto it. I was actually really proud of her towards the end when she realized she didn’t want the fairytale, she didn’t want prince charming, she wanted the grown up vision, the real thing, and that was Tyler.

Tyler ‘footlong’ Longfoot. Oh my. What can I say about him? He’s hot, hot, hot and wellllll, he’s got a reputation around town as being a bit of a playboy, and because of this, it’s harming his company and jeopardizing the outcome of gaining a loan. He’s a reformed playboy with a rep that he is trying to shake off. But to his friends, he’s incredibly loyal. He’s built a company from the ground up, he’s charitable and by gosh, he owns a motorbike. HELL YES. My kind of guy. A definite new book boyfriend. I love how patient he was with Ellie’s OCD over the chapters of the book and I loved how we saw his journey from not wanting to be tied down to falling in love with Ellie.

He and Ellie can sympathize with each other about their childhoods. They both grew up with mothers and their dad’s were anything but attentive, maybe too attentive when drunk in Tyler’s case but they both knew how it felt to feel abandoned. Tyler is there for Ellie throughout everything with her dad and gives her father an ultimatum which kicks his ass into gear as he knows sooner or later Ellie will cut ties with him.

Tyler is a brilliant person and his and Ellie’s chemistry was off the scale. They both go through a journey of growing up and finding love together, even if that journey takes a while to kick them in the butt and get them to see what’s in front of them, especially Ellie. Together, these two are hysterical, and sarcastic but also caring and these things bring them closer together. Yes, it started off as just sex, but feelings and emotions come into play for both of them, and it seems that they have finally found the one person they were meant to be with. Their sexual chemistry had me needing someone to throw cold water over me and the sex was smoking. I especially loved the outside sex. Oh Jesus, that was so intense and passionate that I was wishing to be Ellie.

So yes, that was one of my favourite scenes. It was the penultimate scene for her realizing her feelings for Tyler and Tyler knew his feelings for her and wanted to show her. But of course, not everything turns out fine. If you want to know how this scene goes, you’re going to have to download this book 😉

The ending had me in stitches when Tyler brought along his own book for Ellie and bookmarked his own chapters, asking her for help. She didn’t understand why he was asking her and told him to ask someone else as she wouldn’t be able to take it. I shook my head over how blind she was, that she couldn’t see what he was doing. It was brilliant of him to do the exact same thing she did to him. I utterly loved the ending. It was brilliant and long awaited.

Private Practice is a sexy read. Its fun and it’s steamy, but it also deals with serious issues with father/daughter relationships. It’s also about finding love, even if it’s not the person you always wanted it to be. It’s with the person who is the real deal, not a fairytale fantasy. I freaking loved this book and you all should read it too. Make Tyler your new book boyfriend.

I definitely recommend Private Practice.

 

Posted in New Adult, Romance

Torn (Torn #1) – K.A Robinson

Posted on by Z. Elizabeth

17214221Synopsis

Chloe hasn’t had the best life. With a mother who is gone more often than not, she has had to raise herself. After graduating high school, she leaves to start a new life away at West Virginia University with her best friends Amber and Logan, determined to leave her demons in the past.

On her first day, she meets a stranger who takes her breath away at first sight. Until she met Drake, no one had ever sparked her interest. Now this tattooed and pierced bad boy is all she can think about, no matter how hard she fights it.

Falling for Drake was never part of her plans, but when it happens, things seem to do anything but fall into place.

Dealing with a tragic past, Drake has never cared about anyone else but himself and his band. But when Chloe takes the empty seat next to him in class, things start to change. Instantly drawn to her, he begins to wonder if one girl can take a cold hearted womanizer and change every part of him?

Long hidden feelings are revealed and friendships tested to the brink.

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My Review

Chloe, along with her two best friends Amber and Logan are off to start another chapter of their life at West Virginia University. Chloe hasn’t had the best childhood, with a mother who was gone more than often, leaving her to fend by herself. Now, she’s off to start a new life and to hopefully leave the demons in the past.

On her first day, she meets a guy, Drake, who literally takes her breath away. She has never felt like this before, but there is something about this guy. He’s tattooed and pierced up and hes all she can think about, despite not wanting to.

Becoming friends with Drake and falling for him wasn’t her plan. She just wanted to finish college and start her life, but no matter the attraction, from both of them, things just don’t fall into place for either of them.

This book had to the substance to be a great book. I’m not saying I didn’t like it, because some parts I did, like the flirting and some of the cuter scenes, but most of the characters literally annoyed the hell out of me due to their ways.

Chloe is classed as the hot (but she doesn’t know it) rocker chick, with D sized boobs and long, blonde hair down to her waist. (That hair would literally piss me off and I would chop it off). She’s oblivious to all the male attention YET she dresses provocatively when going out clubbing/pub and she seems to get steaming drunk every time– just like her mother, who she hates.

She’s indecisive when it comes to Logan and Drake, and that annoyed me because HELLO! If you wanted Logan you would have liked him before jumping into bed with him and if you liked Drake, you wouldn’t have got with Logan. Oh woman! You do my head in, and I am one too and I know who I would have chosen. If she was my friend, I’d tell her to stay away from both of the guys, until she was certain of which one she had feelings for. It wasn’t fair on the guys to be messed around and hurt because she couldn’t make her mind up. She does cry a lot in the book, over her past and the things she has does, but she doesn’t try to make amends until right at the end when everything goes tits up.

I have to say, Logan just didn’t warm up to me at all. I found myself shouting at him and Chloe through my Kindle because their relationship/friendship was just too much. He was possessive and not in a good way. Yes, he loved Chloe but they weren’t even going out and he was like overpowering with his possessiveness and jealousy. If he was my best friend, I would tell him to take a leap and let me live my life as I’m not in a relationship with him, nor is it any of his business who I see/dance with/ kiss. As much as Chloe did tell him to back off, it annoyed me that he kept pushing himself to be the ‘protector.’ Now, I like possessive, just not the extent that Logan was dealing it out. As I said, I would tell him to back off and leave me alone. Saying that, when he wasn’t in caveman mood, he was sweet to the Chloe, especially when her mum calls her and Chloe is literally shaking in her boots. It was nice to see another side to Logan, a softer side.

Drake. Now he’s a one character that I felt drawn to. The whole bad boy (Who really wasn’t bad at all), tattoos, piercings everywhere – and I mean everywhere and the lead singer in a band. I think the only thing that makes him a ‘bad boy’ was his womanizing ways which you didn’t really read about, other than girls sitting on his lap. You never hear him bragging about sleeping with this or that girl. Other than that, he was a sweetheart and a flirty so and so to Chloe. I can see why she fell for him.

Their will-they-wont-they friendship annoyed me at times. Yes, he has slept with shit loads of girls and yes he told her he couldn’t be in a relationship with her and to go to Logan, but dear Chloe, you utter stupid girl, everyone was telling you Drake wanted you but no, you wouldn’t listen and did go to Logan. *Rolls eyes* Dear god, if it was that easy to go to Logan, then did you really have such strong feelings for Drake like you say you did? You would have fought for him and not taken no for an answer.

Chloe and Logan’s relationship was all wrong. I didn’t understand how Chloe could magically decide that she should give Logan a chance after never having romantic feelings about him and I think she got with him to spite Drake. He told her to get with him so that’s what she did. I think she knew being with Logan was the wrong thing to do, hence why she did what she did with Drake – Twice. Logan was a safe option. He wouldn’t hurt her, knew everything about her and loved her, but her feelings for Drake were much stronger than her feelings for Logan. Plus I would have dumped Logan’s ass if he had told me I couldn’t see Drake again. No one should EVER dictate who anyone can be friends with. I would have punched him.

Now, the scene I really liked reading was at the end of the book, near enough, where Chloe and Drake are at the ‘cheat lake’ and Drake takes his top off and he has the exact same tattoo as Chloe does – Never loved. I thought it was really cute and sweet that he got it to remind him of her, about their pasts and how that tattoo really has no meaning to them as they both love each other.

As much as I liked this book, I didn’t too. The characters need more development because I didn’t really feel much for any of them because I didn’t know them. I’m hoping in Twisted they are developed much more so I at least feel something. Saying that, I did enjoy the story; bad boy, good girl who can’t decide who she wants – love these kinds of books.

I will be reading Twisted, just because the end kind of left at a cliff-hanger and I need to know where the relationship is going, especially with how the ending finished and the person who entered their life. I want to know what they want and how they tracked Chloe down.

Posted in Music, New Adult, Romance

The Mighty Storm (Book #1) – Samantha Towle

Posted on by Z. Elizabeth

15724654Synopsis

It’s been twelve years since Tru Bennett last saw Jake Wethers, her former best friend and boy she once loved.

Jake Wethers, sexy, tattooed and deliciously bad lead singer, and brains behind The Mighty Storm, one of biggest bands in the world, left Tru with a broken heart when he moved from England to America with his family when they were both fourteen.

Sent to interview Jake for her music column by the magazine she works for, they are both unprepared for the sparks that fly the instant they reconnect. Only, there’s a complication to their instant feelings for one another – Will, Tru’s boyfriend of two years.

Then Jake makes Tru a job offer she can’t refuse – travelling the world with him and his band. But taking the job means leaving Will behind, and being on the road with the band means spending an inordinate amount of time with Jake.

Is Tru strong enough to resist the delectable bad boy who once held her heart so completely, or will she willingly risk it all for one night with the worlds most notorious womanizer?

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My Review

Trudy Bennett hasn’t seen her former best friend and the boy she once loved in over twelve years. Not since he moved to America from England when they were fourteen leaving her with a broken heart.

Now a music journalist at a small magazine, she is sent to interview the boy she once loved, Jake Wethers – now the brains behind and lead singer of the band The Mighty Storm, one of the biggest bands in the world. Albeit completely nervous to see Jake after 12 years, walking through that hotel suite and seeing his face brought back the sparks and feelings she felt for him at 14, but there’s a small complication in those feelings – Tru’s boyfriend of two years, Will.

Not wanting to let her go a second time, Jake offers Tru a job – write his autobiography which means she will be travelling the world with him and the band. It’s a great offer and it would be great for her career and the magazine, but it means leaving Will and spending a lot of time with Jake.

Saying ‘yes’ to his offer and spending 7 weeks with Jake, while trying to resist him will be so much more harder than it seems day by day. Will she resist him or end up risking everything for a night with her best friend and the world’s most renowned womanizer?

I have no idea why I waited so long to read this book. Everyone on Twitter raves about it and today, after a mad birthday weekend, I curled up in bed and read it all day. SHIIIIT I frigging fell in love with this book. It’s easy to see how everyone loves this book and now I am part of that group and part of the group of ladies that absolutely adore Jake Wethers.

Jake moved away when he was 14 to America with his mum and stepdad. During his years in England, he and Tru were best friends. They did everything together, spent all their time together and of course, fell in love with one another, even if they were too young to understand their feelings. When he left, they both felt the pain of being apart but when communication stopped between them, they never forgot one another.

Now a world famous bad boy musician in The Mighty Storm, his life is full of parties, booze, drugs and women – never with the same girl longer than a week and known in the media as a womanizer. He only fucks, he doesn’t do relationships.

But when Tru walks back into his life, all that stops. He stops it for her because he wants to be with her so bad. The spark between them reignited and he did everything in his power to make her stay in his life and prove that she’s the only one for him. Only problem? Her boyfriend.

Tru was completely heartbroken when Jake left. Finishing school and university she got a job at a small magazine and thus began her career as a music journalist. She never told anyone about her past and knowing Jake, but one drunken party and she spills to her really cool boss Vicky, who seems to always try and get Tru to get back in touch with him. Although Tru follows Jakes career, she doesn’t want to get back in touch but when Vicky manages to get an interview with Jake – who NEVER does interviews – she’s nervous for this meeting. Will he remember her? Hmm of course he does and they are both unprepared for the attraction to ignite and reconnect again, but Tru can’t do anything because of her boyfriend, Will, even though her feelings for Jake have resurfaced once again and she doesn’t know what to do. She loves Will but then she’s always loved Jake. You obviously know who she’s going to pick…but you need to read how they got there and what happens after.

I do have to say, this book deals with cheating, so if you don’t like books that include this topic, then maybe it won’t be for you. I don’t condone cheating at all but in this book, it’s handled well. It’s not drawn out and it’s only for a small part of the book, but in a way, you could see that Tru and Jake were meant to be together – they were soul mates – and the cheating kind of just pushed them along. It’s a difficult situation to write a review on, because cheating is so wrong, but in this instance, I could see why it happened because they had loved each other for so many years – even when they were apart and Will was told a few days later, so they weren’t having an affair for months. It did suck because Jake hated being ‘the other man’ and he just wanted Tru to himself and Tru hated it because she did care for Will but she just didn’t know how to tell him and she couldn’t stay away from Jake. Albeit, it was completely messy but Jake and Tru did get to be together in the end.

I will keep repeating this too, but Tru and Jake were truly meant to be together. The attraction they had is unbelievable and they had so much history, growing up together then spending years apart, it was really nice to see that they still felt the same way once they had become adults. They are intense together and you could feel the love pouring off the page. As a bad boy, you’d never imagine Jake to be romantic, but by gosh, he was such a sweetie and would literally do anything for Tru. Their love was so strong, it was breathtaking.

There were a few major incidents that happen, and it broke my heart. I hated what Jake was doing to himself after he promised he wouldn’t do it again and although Tru is a strong women and it took a lot to walk away, I would have done the same. But then Tru did annoy me at times especially when everyone was telling her it was a lie yet even though she knew it she didn’t want to believe it and found it easier to blank Jake. It made me want to put my hand through my kindle and give her a good slap and tell her to talk to him – he’s was hurting too, not being with her and having lies spread about him. But things do get resolved and the ending was so sweet! I was glad it all worked out.

Other than that, the supporting characters are brilliant. I loved the whole band, Stuart, Simone and Vicky. They also brought life to the book and were amazing to read. Stuart stole my heart and reading about him just made me want him as my best friend, as well as Simone. They were both great friends to Tru and Jake and were always there with them through thick and thin. You definitely need a friend like those two when you’re in the public eye – someone to keep you sane and to talk some sense into you *uhum*Tru*uhum*.

At the end, we are treated to the scene where they first meet in Jakes POV. Oh hell, I loved seeing his reaction to hoping it was HIS Tru walking through the door to interview him and once it was, you got to see his reaction and into his own thoughts in Tru and I loved reading it! Swooooon.

I love books that are about childhood sweethearts – as you’d know if you’re an avid reader of my reviews – and I loved how their love for each other hadn’t gone away in all the years they were apart. Although neither of them ever told the other they liked one another when they were younger, it was clear to see from the start, even in Tru’s POV throughout the book, that Jake didn’t ever want to be apart from Tru again, even when she thought he was in ‘big brother’ mode, which obviously he wasn’t – it was just jealousy raging through him.

I loved every single scene but the one that had me fluttering was in the car when Tru was being a bit of a tease and then Jake ended up being very naughty in the back of the car with her. Wowwy! I loved reading that part (and not because I’ve done it either ;)) But it’s such a thrill to do something when someone else is close by and them not having any idea what is happening. THAT is what made it sexy.

If you love reading about bad boys, musicians and childhood sweethearts who have great sex then definitely download this book and give it a read. It does deal with cheating and drugs but it’s not heavily focused on that at all. You will fall in love with Jake – he’s the sweetest guy ever and totally bares his soul to Tru – why can’t all guys do that? You can see they are made for one another. Now on go, read this book and become swooning for the amazing Jake Wethers too!