So, I’ve missed writing these two, as they are my babies, so I decided to drop in and see what they were doing on Valentines Day, and as you know, Nic and Craig can’t keep their hands off each other. Enjoy!! (It’s a little bit long, sorry not sorry!)
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Continue reading “Craig and Nic’s Valentine’s Special”
SynopsisIn the final installment to the trilogy begun with “Awaken, ” Maddie returns home to make her final stand against Digital School, and uncovers deeply guarded secrets about her family an new truths about herself.
2012 review of Awaken
2013 review of Middle Ground
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Parents show you life is a paved road. Friends show you the road isn’t there yet, its waiting for you to carve it out. Parents show you life is a handbook, with rules set in place. Friends show you how to break the rules you’re handed.
*ARC from the publishers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*
I first read Awaken back in 2012. I was captivated by this dystopian novel because it spoke truth. It’s about a digital era where everyone hides behind a computer, too afriad to go outside and converse face-to-face. And it got me thinking about right now. How we are all attached to our phones and computers and anything else that is digital and means you don’t have to speak to anyone in person. I used to look around the train station on the way to work and count how many were on their phones. It was nearly everyone, including myself. And I think that’s why I became attached to this series, that and because it is amazing. It has so much depth into the storyline, it evolves at every turn and you become fascinated about the characters, the digitalisation of everything, of where Katie is going to take you.
I’m not one for reading YA. It takes my fancy every now and again but this is one series I pined over. For each book released, I have been anxious for them to release so I can get my next fix of Justin and Maddie, the next chapter in the Digital world and how everything will or wont play out.
Still Point is the third and final book in the Awaken and holy crap, it’s full of twists and shocks. I cant even give you a brief overview without spoiling the story, Let’s just say, it shocked me; I was not expecting anything of what happened, to happen in book three!
After the slight cliffy in Middle Ground, I was waiting to see what Maddie was going to do. And although her decision is one I didn’t think would happen, I was proud of her for doing it. She has always been up against her father, fighting against his creation since she was fifteen and she wants to destroy the digital world, wanting people to actually talk face-to-face, go to school in a classroom, and just spend time together without a computer screen in front of them.
I was proud of her for pushing and seeing it through. Although my heart pained when you could see her dilemma about her dad, about Justin, about her feelings, about how she just didn’t know what to do anymore. I felt so sorry for her, because Justin is obsessed with taking down the digital world and yes, Maddie wants it too, but she wants to be at the top of the list, not third or forth and you could see it did effect her to be pushed down the list. You watch her fight against herself, dig deep into her soul and watch her see exactly what she really wants; from herself and from her life. And yes, I was just a little bit shocked at her choice but you know what, I could definitely see it. And I really want to write more about that, but I cant. It will spoil it all so I will just smile to myself and mentally high-five Maddie for taking charge of her life and making the right choice – for her!
Also the tattoo makes an awful lot of sense now. I have read Maddie’s tattoo, the short novella about how she got her tattoo and how it came about. We also meet the guy who designed it, Jax and he is swoon worthy. I really liked him. And that’s all I am saying on him haha. You need to find out about him throughout this book. It was a push and pull situation and I was in the middle not knowing what to do.
Justin’s whole life is taking down the DS (Digital Schools) and DC’s (Detention centers). It goes 1) Destroying DS 2) Maddie and although I completely love Justin; he’s passionate and determined and completely focused on the plan at hand, DS would always be his number one, no matter how much he wants to be with Maddie. And picking and choosing is a hard decision, when your heart wants both.
I loved how selfless he was at the end though. How he actually put Maddie’s feelings first for once. He wanted to see her happy and not sad and broken over him and I felt proud of him for doing what he did, even if I wasn’t expecting it. He has gone through so much in his life – with fighting against DS, recruiting members and then falling for Maddie but when the time came, her happiness definitely meant more to him and although I was shocked at how it ended, it was kind of perfect for Justin too. He got what he had always wanted and he fought the hard way to get there but he deserved it after the hard work he has put in year after year.
I would love to see a little novella about him, Katie. Hint hint;) I think it would be amazing to see him after Still Point or even before Awaken, how he began to be so passionate about taking down the DS and finding Maddie. To be honest, I am being greedy and want more Justin haha.
There are a lot of twists and turns throughout Still Point – many had me gasping and eyes wide open. I was not expecting any of the things to happen. And I love that! I loved that everything I thought I knew during the first two books, just completely messed me over and it wasn’t all that it seemed. But it completely made sense, and I trusted that Katie knew what she were doing and it worked! I also was not expecting that ending. Not after everything that happened in Awaken and Middle Ground. But as I said, it made sense. And I really want to blab about what happened, but I know I cant. I need someone else to read this book so I can talk about it because, man, I NEED to talk about it. I need to know someone else was like “Oh holy crap” and “Oh holy crap, I cant believe Justin did that, but bless him.” SEE, I’m being vague, but you will understand when you get the chance to read this book.
If you haven’t had the chance to get acquainted with this series, I demand that you do. It is one of my favourite dystopian series because, really, it could happen.
SynopsisEmma Harris is learning that life is just a series of lessons.
Lesson #1: Nothing goes the way you plan.
Lesson #2: You can’t trust men. Especially not the pretty ones.
Lesson #3: Turns out, appearances are almost always deceiving.
Emma thinks she has life all figured out, and what she knows isn’t good. For years, she’s put her big sister, who was born with Down syndrome, first. Now Emma’s ready to start her own life, but fate has other plans. To do the right thing for the sister she loves, Emma’s dreams will just have to wait.
She doesn’t plan on meeting Landon — a rich, flirtatious jock, who never has to wait for anything. Not for attention, not for money, and certainly not for girls. Meeting Emma marks the first time in his life that he’s had to fight for something. And Landon doesn’t know how to lose.
Emma has no interest in wasting her summer with a superficial guy like Landon. But very soon she realizes she is wrong about him. The question is, can she trust him? Or will he let her down like every other guy in her life? But most importantly, can Emma trust herself enough to live the life she’s always dreamed of?
Life has a way of sneaking in the most important lessons when you aren’t looking. And once the heart gets involved, that’s when the real learning begins.
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As you know, I have stopped writing reviews in turn for focussing on my writing. But I did say if a book I NEEDED you all to read came along, then I would write a review for it. And here it comes. I HAVE a book for you – Not Yet by Laura Ward. I need to write this review, I need you all to read it and just bask in the beauty of the book with me. Because it is such a 5 star book, its out of this work.
From never reading a book about people with disabilities to finding a whole array and gobbling them down like they are my next breath, Not Yet is definitely a top contender. As a debut novel, Laura pulled me in. Her writing, the story, it hooked me in and I read this book in about three hours, only stepping to express my emotions for what was happening. From smiling, to giggles, to the steam factor. And then the twist. Oh man, my heart stopped, and I kept re-reading that passage. Eyes wide open in shock. And then I felt the emotions from Emma and Landon. The heartbreak, the pain and love. Laura had me throwing my kindle, clutching it to my chest and I cannot think of a better book to read on my lazy Sunday morning.
Not Yet is about Emma. She’s had to finish college early to come home and help her mother out with bills and her sister, Evie, who has Down’s Syndrome. Over the summer she takes a job in a country club managing lifeguards where she meets the devilishly handsome, Landon.
Landon slowly breaks down Emma’s walls and the more time they spend together, the more they fall, but a secret comes to light and ends everything. But they say love prevails, so will it for both Landon and Emma when it really counts?
I was sold on this book from the synopsis and cover and then we meet our two characters and I was sucked into them.
Emma is a strong character. She knows what she wants and is determined to get there but her plans are put on hold when she had to return home. She puts her walls up, she’s bitchy and argumentative and keeps to herself, keeps her personal life private. She loves her family hard, especially her sister and you can really see the love she has for Evie. She will do anything for her older sister. She’s old beyond her years but there is something utterly special about Emma that I was smiling at everything she was doing. Proving and showing that everyone is equal, that everyone is the same regardless of who you are, regardless of your disability. We all want the same – to have and to be loved.
I loved watching her walls break down around Landon. Loved seeing her carefree and smiling and giggling and doing things twenty-one years old should be doing. She learnt life lessons along the way, both negative and positive but it all comes down to learning. Never regretting anything you do because it leads you to the path you finish on. The path in which love prevails if you just wait. If you love hard and deep enough, true love will always be there. Sure Emma went through some dark paths; heartbreak, shock, anger and gossip but she got through it. She proved how strong and selfless and amazing she was and she’s a character that everyone should look up to.
I was hooked on Landon from then get-go. That smoking hot, cocky guy who has all the girls falling at his feet? Who wouldn’t be a part of that? Emma, that’s for sure. A footballer who is starting school in the fall, he’s superficial. He acts all cocky and like a playboy but there’s so much more to him. So much underneath that façade that that side of him gets stripped away the more he spends with Emma.
I loved the changes in Landon. The more time he spent with Evie and Emma, the more he moulded into the guy who was always there, just hidden. He proved himself, he proved he wasn’t an ass, he proved just how amazing he was, asking questions about Evie, helping out Trevor and helping him progress with the water and the pool. I was laughing at him making a fool of himself, swooning over everything he was saying and doing to Emma and I just loved seeing them together, seeing him carefree and seeing him care. He learns some lessons too, about himself, about life and love. About secrets and heartbreak. He begins to see things differently but when his secret comes out, everything around him and Emma comes crashing down. His secret shocked me to the depths. I was not exprecting something like that and it broke trust and everything between them. You could feel the pain from Landon. How utterly upset and shocked and disappointed he was in himself for keeping it from Emma.
The ultimate betrayal. But I loved how he fought for her. He fought for her love, for his love and he would wait forever for you. A year to him was nothing when the end was the love of his life. You see a massive change in Landon. From cocky to loving. From superficial to being his true self. Everyone could see it and I was so proud of him for everything he did throughout the book.
It wasn’t just Emma and Landon’s journey, it was Trevor and Billy and Evie and Garrett and Amy’s journey too. You meet them, you love them and you root for all of them. They all have disabilities but do they let them hinder them? No, not by any means and you feel so happy for them, that they grow stronger and more resilient everyday, teaching us that no matter who you are, you can do it, regardless.
What I adored about this book was that the main focus was love, in all kinds. That everyone deserves something and someone special. How disabilities shouldn’t matter, that we should all be treated equally, because at the end of the day, we ARE all equals. I loved that Laura integrated different people with special needs. From Down’s Syndrome, to Autism and she made me really open my eyes and learn along with Landon. People with special needs can teach us so much more than we can teach them. They are truly amazing and they teach Landon and Emma, at times, so much more. About love, about life and being in the moment.
Please read this book. I really need you to. It will change your whole perception on everything. It really did to me.
I’m quitting.
Yes, you read that right. I am quitting my blog. Okay, maybe quitting is too harsh a word, perhaps stepping aside indefinitely?
This decision has been a hard one… scrap that it was kind of easy to make as it has been on my mind for months, but its hard to actually type it and say it out loud. I haven’t been happy, I haven’t wanted to write reviews and to be honest what started out as a hobby seems to take up so much time and effort that there isn’t enough hours in the day to go to work, juggle reading and reviewing in the night and editing my novel.
If there are enough hours, someone please throw them my way. I can’t keep up any more and as you can see, I hardly ever post any more and I hate that. I also started this blog as an escapism. I started it when I was unemployed and it was easy to maintain, I had nothing else to do. Then it became an escapism when I was so unhappy in my job that if I kept it up, it would lead me somewhere else. And now I am really happy in my new job.
I’ve only spoken about this properly to about two people – Anna Bloom and my best friend. Anna has been a massive support to me and I am so glad I know her. She sees that I have new things in my life – my novel – that is taking my time and I am going in a new direction. My best friend is also supportive and thinks that I;m this way because my blog used to be my safe sanctuary because of my job. And they are both right. I have other things to focus on now and I cant be panicking about what goes on my blog at what time and all that other stress that comes with technically having two full time jobs.
That;s not to say I wont post occasionally. I’m still keeping this blog open and I will fulfil everything I have signed up for in the next few months but after that posting will be scarce. I’ll still be on Twitter and Facebook – just under my author name – and I’ll still pimping authors and books but reviews wont be around as much. I’m not enjoying writing them – as you can see I only post them occasionally – and its not fair on the authors if I write a crappy review when I am a book blog and I should put my all into them.
It’s scary stepping away from blogging. It’s been my life for two years now and its brought me new friends and I’ve met some amazing authors thanks to it, but I have new goals in my life now that I want to see through and its exciting. And when the time comes, and i’m happy in myself and everything, i’ll come back to being a part of The Book Lovers.
But for now, I want to focus on my book and being Z. Elizabeth. It’s been a long time coming and my book has been in the back of my mind for the past few years and to actually see it through, with the first draft done, well, I am so happy with myself for finishing it. It’s been hard, its been draining but i’ve had the support of some great people kicking my ass to get it done, to finish Nic and Craig’s story and I am nearly there.
And I cannot wait to share it with you all. Even if a handful only read it, it doesnt matter, I will be so grateful to each and every one of you who want to love my characters like I do.
So yes, The Book Lovers is on a hiatus for the unforeseeable future. I want to thank you for following my blog and social media accounts, it means a lot to me and I just hope that you will continue to follow my new goal – my book, The Deal.
If you want to read THE blurb, you can find it on Goodreads, minus the cover, as I will be doing a cover reveal real soon 🙂
I’d love it if you would add it on GR.
And join in my COVER REVEAL on AUGUST 29th, you can sign-up HERE 🙂
I’ve also changed my Twitter handle and my Facebook. I know that is going to confuse a hell of a lot of people i talk to, but my picture will be a sign that I *used to be* The Book Lovers hahaa.
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SynopsisWhen 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.
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If there is one author who I will come back to EVERY SINGLE TIME, it’s Colleen Hoover. She is my one constant whom I know will never disappoint me with her books. There is something new and refreshing with each book that captivates me and I need to point out now that UGLY LOVE is most definitely her best book to date. I am obsessed with the Slammed series and with Will and the Hopeless series and Holder and Daniel, but I think I have a new obsession with the deliciously broken Miles Archer and his and Tate’s story.
I can’t even begin to tell you how devastatingly beautiful and haunting Ugly Love is. I cant put into words how much this book tore me apart and then put me back together. Ruined me, tore my heart into tiny pieces and then like a jigsaw, it was put back together perfectly in the most beautiful ending this book could receive.
I knew it would be a tear-jerker, but holy crap, it was broke me apart. I was tearing up throughout the whole damn book and then the flood gates opened at one critical point in the book and my heart was killing me. My chest was tight and I was texting Holly from Holly’s Hot Reads in all caps because although I kinda guessed this one thing would happen, it still shocked me to the core because it DID happen. Authors, if you make me cry and sob and lose my breath, you have an avid fan in me and Colleen has done that with ALL her books. I LOVE IT.
Ugly Love is told in dual POV’s. With Tate in the present and Mile’s in the past, when he was eighteen, telling us of how he found and fell in love with the love of his life. If there is anything Colleen can do, its differentiation characters voices and to see a carefree younger Miles and a broken 24 year old Miles, well, you definitely feel and get sucked into his past and wonder how it made him how he was in the present. And then we have Tate who is just amazing and she tells us of her and Miles in the present. She doesn’t have time for love, he doesn’t want love. You just know your heart is going to be shredded watching and reading these two. HEARTBREAKING.
I pretty much adored Tate from the get-go and at times I could see myself in her and it killed me. She’s such a strong, selfless and beautiful character who gets her heart broken by how much she loves Miles but can’t have him. That broke me too because i know the feeling. My chest would tighten at certain scenes. I was crying throughout the whole book too because i just felt every single emotion – from each character but especially Tate. What technically starts as fuck buddies inevitably turns into much more for Tate. She wants to be the one to beak down Miles’ wall and be the one who he can see a future with. I was so emotional reading how Tate was falling for Miles. How she wanted to be the one who had a future with him but tried her damn hardest to have him any way she could, even if it meant walking away in the end.
The more she fell, the more she wanted to know Miles. Break his rules and ask him about his life. I urged her to as well. I urged her to break them all. The more she fell, the more my heart pained knowing that she was about to be shattered and ruined and broken by Miles. And when that time came i couldn’t swallow. What i read on the page, dear God, it was heart-breaking and gut-wrenching and fuck, even i cried with and for Tate. How she still had an once of strength i will never know. To just up and walk away, her heart scattered on the floor. To turn her back on the one who she loved. That is a hard decision but an easy one when you deserve to be loved. And as the book is so aptly titled, Love is Ugly.
Miles. He is sexy and mysterious and someone you spend the whole book trying to work out. Pilot Miles who is broken and tortured and can’t get past the events from his past, from six years ago. As mentioned, we learn about his past through flashbacks. I was trying to figure out his past, why he forbid himself to love again, to be happy, to have a future and so I began to create theories. I did, in fact, get it right but that’s not the point. The point is that Miles can’t get past the event and it limits him in his life. My heart was breaking and cracking for Miles and at times i was so angry at him for the way he was treating Tate but then i thought that, technically, it was sex and they weren’t in a relationship. I enjoyed seeing the later parts of Miles. Especially in the present with Tate. How he would smile and laugh and it made my heart bloom because he doesn’t show any form of happiness when we first see him. We see a broken down man, a vulnerable being and someone who doesn’t feel worthy of himself or being loved. He doesn’t want a future or to move on from the past as he blames himself and that in itself made me want to climb into the book and hug the crap out of him. Let him know that he needs to face his past to be able to face the future.
Despite the fact he was completely ignorant to his feelings for Tate, the way he kind of showed her what he was feeling, in the touches, the smiles, it proved that he did like her. That perhaps, she could break down his barriers and could be someone he could bare his soul to about his past. They made the’relationship’ that bit more real although Miles was adamant that they were never going to be together. That it was just sex. But when he saw the light, when he faced his past to have a future with Tate, i couldn’t help but cry and feel so utterly proud of him. For accomplishing something that has been on his mind for six years. For breaking him for that long too and putting a leash on him. For making him never want love, nor a future. And Tate was the hidden one, the one who he could see himself with, despite not wanting to see it. She broke him apart and he flew. He flew and uncaged his heart…for her.
The chemistry between Miles and Tate is breath-taking. It’s sizzling and intense and you can see why they are so drawn to each other; they are magic together. The little touches, the stolen glances, everything that makes you feel giddy is what Tate and Miles do. As the reader, you feel all smiley and fuzzy and full of love. The sex scenes are intimate and sexy without giving too much away. Colleen knows how to keep a scene hot without indulging in too much and that is something i adore of her and all her books. Eeee I get all tingly and swoony just thinking of the times they are together.
This is another unforgettable CoHo book. One that should be read as soon as it’s delivered to your kindle/house because you feel. All the feels in the world are wrapped into this special and unbelievably beautiful and soul-destroying story and i want you to sob your heart out. I want you to become besotted with Tate and Miles and I want you to feel how i did reading it. Put your big girl pants on and stock up on the tissues. You’re going to need them.
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SynopsisRebecca Walters harbours a dark secret, and as the fifty-three bangles she wears on her wrists as a self-imposed sentence of guilt remind her, she can’t even begin to consider moving on. Not after what happened on that night six months ago… a night which she can’t remember and yet managed to change her life forever.
When Rebecca comes across Joshua Adams, man equally haunted by past tragedies, on a moonlit beach, both of their lives are destined to change forever, and when the girl made out of the sun meets the boy made out of the moon and sea, anything can happen… but will the knowledge of their murky pasts bring them together or drive them apart?
Will Rebecca finally be able to claim her freedom? Will she stay and fight to be the girl she found on the sandy beaches of Cornwall or is she destined to keep running and hiding from a past that won’t stay Gone? One thing’s for certain: either way, nothing will ever be the same again.
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If you know me, you know that I am actually pretty much in love with Anna. I read The Art of Letting Go before anyone (okay, so I am boasting now) and she’s been stuck with me ever since. Anything she writes, she knows that I will pester her until she gives it to me. And Gone was no exception. (I’m kind of her writing buddy, BUT I will never ever be bias when writing this review, full honesty is what I am about, and what I have always been about, and regardless, I will never favour anyone).
If you are thinking its similar to The Uni Files then you are sourly mistaken. It couldn’t be further away and d’ya what, I love that. Gone is beautiful and devastating and it’s just refreshing from other books out there that I have read recently. Anna writes with a flare just draws you in. She puts blood, sweat and tears into her books and she produces master pieces. Gone is definitely one and its one that you should recognise too. One that should be downloaded and read immediately.
I love books that are set in the UK too and Gone is set by the beach where a super hot surfer artist called Joshua (or dreadlock boy to me) and a grungy, angry and sad girl called Rebecca, or Bex meet. They are both as broken as each other, both hiding secrets from each other but together, they are something else. They make the past, the bad things just disappear. They ease the pain a little bit more each day. Until they are both ready to bare their secrets to one another.
Rebecca, at eighteen has led a rough couple of months. Due to her secrets, her family up and move to Cornwall from London to leave the past behind. Bex is a feisty one (I just had an Inbetweeners moment). She wears grungy clothes, she stomps around and all she has to do is stay for two weeks, show her parents she can behave and they will let her go and pay her university fees. Can she do it?
I adored Bex. She is keeping a deep secret and the bangles she wears are a reminder of that secret. From start to finish, you feel a sense of pride. Like she is your friend or sister or daughter. We watch her blossom throughout the book. We watch this feisty redhead break her barriers down, and let in Joshua and her family. We watch her style change too. No more heavy make-up, no grungy clothes. She becomes herself. And its all thanks to Josh. That bloody amazing boy.
Despite her guard, there is a sad and vulnerable girl behind the façade and when we see her shed it, you feel so proud of her for letting Josh in. For becoming stronger in herself and welcoming love from everyone in her life. She’s been so scared and afriad of everything, always blaming herself that she didn’t take the time to see how everyone else sees her, especially Joshua, his girl who is made of the sun.
Joshua. Dreadlock boy. I LOVE HIM. I did claim him too but I got called greedy because Ben is mine. This boy. This amazing, broken surfer boy who is a genius with a paintbrush has a secret too. He no longer paints. He no longer goes clubbing or drinking and he feels like he will never be the same again. But a chance meeting with Bex has him all tizzy.
I grinned at how he would describe her, how he would tell us of his thoughts and feelings over her. He is the perfect gentleman and he makes my heart swell watching him become alive. Watching him, just like Bex rid of the guilt and the pain and succumb to each other. He wants to get to know her. He wants to be with her that he will do whatever he can to make her stay.
GAH I cannot begin to explain my love for my dreadlock boy. There is just something about him. Some kind of aura that makes you drawn to him, to his characters, his actions. He is healing as much as Bex is and my heart swelled at the both of them together. How they fought the past, the guilt, the haunting demons and they did it together and alone. They faced them and knew that if they can do that, then they can do anything together. Love prevails after all and the Boy made of the Moon and the Girl made of the Sun deserve every bit of happiness.
Gone is set over a two week period but in no way was it insta-love. To be honest, Anna has done something that a few authors cant. She made it seem like Joshua and Bex had known each other forever. That their relationship was a slow burner and it felt like months instead of two weeks. THAT is why you should pick this book up. And you know, because it is freaking amazing and deserves all the success that comes its way.
The chemistry between the two of them is magical. They dont get off on the right foot but once they talk, you can see that they are both going to change one another. They are going to enjoy each other’s company. There is that spark that will melt your heart and you will insta-love them too ;). They are two characters that you will smile over, laugh over and swoon over. But their stories will break your heart and you will understand so much more about their little titbits, especially Bex’s. But they bring out the best in each other, they bring out so much more than I can say and I am so glad I got to be a part of knowing them because I adore Dreadlock boy and Bex so much.
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Anna Bloom is a contemporary romance writer who writes about life as it happens. Combining a busy schedule of looking after two small children whilst working in a local school and completing The Uni Files series she also spends a lot of time imagining kissing hot guys – all in the name of her art.
Synopsis“So you wanna be part of the Six, huh? You wish…”
~Jared, Ace, Mark, Josh, Aiden & Eli
Riley Clifton can’t remember a time when she wasn’t a part of the Six, a group of rowdy boys who would do just about anything for her. Growing up alongside of six guys is never easy. Especially in high school. Falling in love with one of the Six? Even harder when Ace has a hold of her heart, and he doesn’t even know it.
Jake (Ace) Aceton has loved Riley for a long time, but has kept the secret oath of the Six. Riley was off limits. At least until after graduation. When he overhears Riley admitting to her best friend, Paige how she feels about him, Ace doesn’t let his chance slip by. Riley, in his mind, has always been his.
When her college plan falls through, and her future is left to the hands of fate, Riley finds herself scrambling to keep up with all the changes. But that’s not the hardest part. The hardest part is saying good-bye, especially to Ace.
Heartache, hard lessons, and a love deeper than her Alabama roots will threaten to crumble Riley’s world as she waits for Ace’s return.
Will Riley and Ace’s love be strong enough to hold them together when life tries to tear them apart?
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‘We love you Riley. We always have…we always will.’
I just need to say that as I write this review, I am sobbing my heart out and my vision is definitely blurry. OH MY JESUS CHRIST. My heart is actually hurting and being torn apart by The Summer I Fell. I don’t know how to accumulate all my thoughts because my mind is spinning circles over the ending. I need book two asap, I need to know what the hell is going to happening and if my heart will survive it all.
This is my first book by Sonja and she has me in a tizzy. I always say if an author can make me cry, then their book is a damn bloody great one, and The Summer I Fell definitely is a book you all need to read – right now. Sonja has a flare in which you will go from page to page, relishing in the scenes you are reading, loving the relationship between the guys and Riley, the relationship between Riley and Ace and the whole group dynamic. They just all gel, they wind each other up, they show-off but you know that The Seven of them love each other unconditionally. No one else matters to them, no one will get in between them. You know each of their personalities, know who is who – their voices are distinguished. You will laugh at the craziness of the group, their banter, their comebacks and biting, you will swoon over Riley and Ace, you will feel the heat sizzle between them and then comes to barrage of emotional scenes. The scenes which will tear at your heartstrings, both good and utterly devastating ways. Ways in which you can see above – in which I am an utter mess.
The Summer I Fell is about Riley and her boys – The Six. She has been with them for as long as she can remember and she will do just about anything for them, and vice versa. She doesnt have it easy in school, especially as her best friends are six boys. It’s also hard when she’s in love with one of them – Jake ‘Ace’ Aceton. She just cant tell him.
Ace has been in love with Riley for as long as he can remember, but due to an oath The Six made, Riley was off limits until Graduation. When he overhears her telling her best friend she loves him. It’s fair game now, and he wants Riley for himself. He’s pined and waited long enough.
But with Riley’s college plans falling through, and The Six going their separate ways, Riley is trying o hold it all together, hating the change happening but she cant stop it. Saying goodbye is hard, but saying it to Ace is even harder. But when life comes crashing along, crumbling Riley’s world, all she wants is Ace back.
But what happens if that isn’t possible?
Riley is the glue to The Six. The guys will do anything for her; protect her, tease her, love her, make her feel part of the group and you can really see how much they dote on her and how much she adores them all too – apart from one of them. Jake ‘Ace’ Aceton. She is actually head over heels in love with him. I loved her character. She’s feisty, she’s hotheaded yet there is a vulnerability to her. That comes with a parent who works away a lot, how she feels the guys just put up with her and due to her college dream falling through. But once her gets over her inner battle, she is carefree, she’s caring and just wants to see her friends reach their dreams and leave their small town, even if it kills her that she is left behind.
I understood her pain when the guys left, especially Ace. We all have that constant pain in our heart and chest when the one we love goes away, and although I understood why she cracked, I loved that she put herself back together and got on with it. Got on with filling up her day, trying to keep herself and her mind busy until she could wind down and think about Ace. I connected with Riley, I understand how hard long distance is and not knowing when you are going to speak again but she is strong and she had her best friend, Paige and Ace’s mum around, as well as her job and being a surrogate sister, in a way, to Seth. Who was the cutest little guy.
And then everything came tumbling down within weeks. No joke, I sobbed for the last parts of the book. My chest hurting, my eyes blurry and I wanted to reach through my kindle and hug Riley and sooth her, let her know I was there for her. She has a tough ride – she needs the Six with her and you understand her denying, her pain, her tears; everything that leads her to breaking down. Her life has now been altered and its a lot to take in. Man I cried. And I need book two to know just what the hell is going to happen!!!
Jake / Ace is the strong and silent type. You can see why he choose the career he did. He has a bit of a temper, but the guys and Riley know when to reel him in and calm him down. I truly loved his character because from the get-go you could see how much Riley meant to him, how he would do anything to see her happy, take he pain away and to just be with her; chilling with her, comforting her, loving her.
Riley had an affect on him. He was in a trance when she was around, she was is everything and had been for years, but due to an oath the Six made, she was off limits. I loved that he felt the same way as she did for him. How he didn’t want a life without her in it, damn he didn’t want a future without her in it and you knew, just knew, that wherever he went, he would take her with him.
His love for her was unbelievable. You could see the adoration shine from him, could see that he wanted to spend every single moment with her and never let her go. But then he had to leave and you could see how much he didnt want to, but he had to, it was his dream. I loved the little scenes between he and Riley. The teasing, the love, the declarations he made before I left her. Even I wished I was Riley to have Ace. He was the perfect mix of loving, dominant and everything inbetween. A guy who you would be lucky to have, but he would say he was lucky to have Riley. They were lucky to have one another.
There are some sizzling scenes between the two of them as well. Sonja has written their transaction from friends to lovers perfectly. She has gotten their chemistry down to a T. Every little feeling, look and emotion they both convey for each other, when they were friends and to lovers could be felt and you could see the love they had for one another, the bond they had, both in and out o the bedroom. Yeah, these two have been pining over each other for years and now they have each other, there isn’t anything that can tear them apart…
I’m going to reiterate that ending. THAT ENDING THAT KILLED ME. My heart is in pain and I need book two now. Sonja, please don’t make me wait long to find out what happens. I don’t think I could take it!
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NA / Coming of Age
*The book contains adult content and is appropriate for ages 17+*
This means, the characters like to swear – or as we say in the south, cuss. While there is no strong sexual content, the story does imply the act itself. You have been warned 😉
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Other works by Sonya Loveday
The Casted Series
About The Page Girls
The Page Girls (www.thepagegirls.com) is a new online mag with an emphasis on books, cocktails, and female friendships. Each week, they publish a themed issue containing short stories, book reviews, personal and funny essays, videos, cocktail recipes, and more. Some sample issues include The Craziest Thing I Did For Love and LYLAS (Love You Like a Sister).
From July 21-25, The Page Girls is celebrating its first official “birthday week,” which means a giveaway every day plus other goodies.
Sign up for The Page Girls’ weekly newsletter to get notified about new issues, and be sure to follow them on Twitter and Facebook.
For their birthday week, I shall be giving away a copy of the HDU by India Lee.
I LOVE this series (HDU is the first book, DIRT is the second) and you will absolutely love Liam Brody and and don’t see why you won’t either.
You can check out my review here for HDU (and DIRT)
Here is the blurb for you:
Amanda Nathan just lost everything – her first real boyfriend to her lifelong best friend, her half of their shared apartment in St. Louis and her first post-grad job as a receptionist. Forced back under her parents’ roof in Merit, Missouri, the gossipy town she’d spent her life trying to escape, Amanda has but one saving grace – being an anonymous moderator on HDU, the Internet’s largest celebrity gossip community. Unemployed and alone, Amanda relishes in the one thing she has control over – Hollywood gossip. Now, her idea of fun is getting lost in the glamorous lives of others and posting nasty rumors about her former bestie’s favorite actor, Liam Brody, a playboy notorious for dumping his model girlfriends on a monthly basis.
So who would’ve thought that Liam Brody would be Amanda’s answer to escaping Merit? When the controversial womanizer needs an image boost to land a new role, he turns to none other than HDU for some good press. As it turns out, Liam is as eager to shed his playboy image as Amanda is desperate to move out of Merit. The solution to both problems? Fake a romance in which Hollywood’s biggest playboy falls for an unknown, sweet and shockingly plain Jane.
With the help of Ian, a fellow HDU moderator and self-developed expert on stardom, Amanda packs her bags for her new life in New York, where the overnight fame and glamour of being a celebrity girlfriend awaits. But Amanda soon discovers that their little ploy is a lot more emotionally complicated than she imagined. And while she finds that life works a thousand times better in her Hollywood circle, so does manipulation.
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You can follow the birthday week here too:
SynopsisWhat started out as a joke— seduce Coach Wilder—soon became a goal she had to score.
With Olympic tryouts on the horizon, the last thing nineteen-year-old Kinsley Bryant needs to add to her plate is Liam Wilder. He’s a professional soccer player, America’s favorite bad-boy, and has all the qualities of a skilled panty-dropper.
• A face that makes girls weep – check.
• Abs that can shred Parmesan cheese (the expensive kind) – check.
• Enough confidence to shift the earth’s gravitational pull – double check.
Not to mention Liam is strictly off limits . Forbidden. Her coaches have made that perfectly clear. (i.e. “Score with Coach Wilder anywhere other than the field and you’ll be cut from the team faster than you can count his tattoos.”) But that just makes him all the more enticing…Besides, Kinsley’s already counted the visible ones, and she is not one to leave a project unfinished.
Kinsley tries to play the game her way as they navigate through forbidden territory, but Liam is determined to teach her a whole new definition for the term “team bonding.”
A fun & sexy New Adult Romance (age 17+)
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‘She believed she could, so she did’
I LOVE sports books so when Scoring Wilder was released and it was about Football – oh, sorry soccer, it was an instant download. Especially with the forbiddeness of coach and player. I love these stories so when I was waiting for my flight to Edinburgh, I sat and became embedded in Wilder and Kinsley forbidden romance. It is the first book of R.S Grey’s that I have had the pleasure of picking up and it certainly wont be the last. Scoring Wilder is firmly on my favourites list and is inexplicably one of the best books of the year so far – without a doubt.
R.S Grey’s writing is flawless. I turned page after page, soaked in every word, every feeling, every character without a blink of an eye. They caught my attention, they drew me in and despite having to put the book down for a few days while I attend the Author Event, Wilder and Kinsley played heavily on my mind. Their personality, their characteristics, everything about them and their friends were all I could think about so when I had to wait hours in the airport due to a cancelled flight, I was straight back to my kindle, devouring the continuation of their story.
Scoring Wilder is about nineteen year old Kinsley Bryant. She may not have the best luck with keeping boyfriends but she is an up and coming soccer star. Now in college, she is focused on her soccer, focused on being picked for the Olympic team and making it big in the football world. Boys can take a seat back, her future is more important to her. Sidetracking the bitchy girls on her team who are ultimately jealous of her, nothing is going to stop her accomplishing her dreams. Her tattoo is proof of that.
But then dangerous sexy and tatted up twenty-five year old Liam Wilder walks into her life. Wilder is big in the soccer world so of course, Kinsley knows who he is. She propositions him one night and the next day he turns out to be her coach. This makes him forbidden to each and every member of the team, but there is something between them that they can’t seem to quit. Why is it about being forbidden that tastes so damn fucking great?
Man, Kinsley is an utter fucking hoot. Seriously! She had me creasing with laughter at every step – just take a look at one of the things I had to try and hold my laughter in for:-
‘His hand had been resting two inches above my shorts. Which is about five inches above my vagina. So…yeah, he was basically touching my vagina.’
SEE! I haven’t come across an amazing female character in a long time that had me pissing myself over her words and actions, and Kinsley was just the breath of fresh air I had been waiting for. I enjoyed her passion for soccer (I write this cursing myself at not writing Football haha), for having a big ass dream and ambition and seeing it through. Putting blood, sweat and tears into making herself the best she can be and more. For pushing herself and being pushed to the maximum.
I loved her determination, especially against the bitches of the team. She stood up to them, she protected her friends, Becca and Emily and although she took shit, she was the better one. The one who proved she was strong, she could do whatever was thrown at her – and she took some shit along the way.
But she’s a strong and feisty and freaking hilarious heroine that you cannot help but fall in love with her and want her to be your best friend. She has some cracking lines that just spurt from her rambling mouth but on the other side, you can see that at points she just wants to give in, to give up on all the bullshit but with her best friends around her, her family and Wilder, she pulls her big pants on and gets on with it. Life can be tough, but if you want it badly, you will push past it and grab it with both hands. And I can say that I am proud of everything Kinsley does because she proved herself that in the end, with determination and love, you can achieve anything you put your mind to – definitely on my book girlfriend list!
SHIT ME NOT. Holy Crap, Wilder is just a man after my own heart. Pinned as the playboy soccer player, he decides to clean his act up and get back on track as the poster boy for the soccer world. And that means helping to coach the girls team on the side. And not falling for the main star of the team – Kinsley.
Wilder exudes sexiness. He can grab the attention of girls as soon as he steps foot anywhere but its Kinsley who has caught his eye and she is off limits. The thing that drew me to Wilder was 1) His tattoos, 2) He plays FOOTBALL OH YEAH! 3) He cant keep his feelings for Kinsley on lock down, no matter how hard he tries.
I love his loyalty, his compassion, his overpowering feelings for Kinsley and the need to love and protect her. Everything was pure with him and there are so many scene where you will swoon like hell over him, over his actions, his words; the way he treats Kelsey and how he cant keep his eyes or hands off of her when they are together. He bickers and banters back with her and you just know that the bad boy of the LA Stars has found ‘the one’.
‘That’s not surprising to hear. Your daughter is definitely in love with me, Mrs. Bryant. She hasn’t told me yet, but she will soon.”
and
‘I’m not playing around with you, Kinsley. I want to be with you.’
How can you not fall in love with him? He will do ANYTHING for this girl and, shit, where do I find me a Liam Wilder?
The chemistry between Wilder and Kinsley sizzled. You can feel it throughout the book and feel it the instant they lock eyes and banter. The connection is genuine and undeniable and unbreakale, with everything that stands in their way – from the forbidden relationship to the utter bitchiness of her team-mates and the media too, once they latch onto Kinsley and Becca, who are set to be rising stars. I loved their moments together, the sweetness of them both, the banter and flirtiness they gave one another and the hopeless devotion and love they put into their relationship, both behind and in front of the doors. R.S Grey added so much depth and fizzle and steam around these two it was easy to see just how flawlessly they fell for one another, how – even though they hated hiding their relationship – they would do just about anything to be together, even if it meant sneaking around. I believed in their feelings, their relationship and it definitely makes a change where I am completely and utterly invested in two characters from start to finish. Wilder and Kinsley for life 😉
I cannot recommend this book enough to you. The writing is perfect, the characters and secondary characters are amazing. Scoring Wilder had the package that I look for in books and it is one that needs to be on my bookshelf asap. If you are looking for a laughable, sweet, fun and low on angst romance then pick up Scoring Wilder, dive into the football world with Kinsley and Wilder and swoon over the whole book. Do not miss out on reading it…AT ALL.
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Z. Elizabeth 