Saturday, September 14, 2013

Pretending He's Mine Lauren Blakely

"Pretending He's Mine" is a short novella in the Caught Up in Us series by Lauren Blakely. The story takes place in New York City and revolves around Reeve; a struggling actor/bike messenger and Sutten; a casting agent for many movies and TV shows. She is a very strong woman who is trying to land the casting director position for a major motion picture that is supposed to be the next blockbuster hit. Due to some bad decisions and woman chasing the producer's wife only wants women who are married or engaged. Sutton is neither of those things. So she does the only thing any one in her position would do. She hires Reeve (whom she had met previously) to be her fake fiance. A lot of kinkiness and wonderful sex scenes take place in this novel that make following the story fun and exciting. There are twists and turns and soon Sutten is beginning to believe she could seriously fall into "like" with Reeve for real but she refuses to believe because she doesn't date actors.

The book is a fun easy read and for single women can be very uplifting unlike a lot of romance novels. This being a novella it is a short book that will give you a little backstory into some of the main characters in the original series.

Blakely writes well and makes an extremely fictional story seem a little more nonfictional. I became very enraptured in the story and fell into "like" with sexy Reeve just as easily as Sutten did.

Pretending He's Mine purchase link

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Unexpected, Amazing Fall in Love With Gracie

For The Love of Gracie

So for the past few years I have taken great measure to avoid these types of books. Why may you ask?.....because I'm single and I tend to compare every guy I meet with the perfect fictional ones. Amy McClung sent me this as a "loaner" threw an unfair contest on Facebook. Since you only get it for 14 days I figured I would pause on my other 4 current novels and read it. Not only was I shocked to be hooked within the first 2 chapters but I found I couldn't put this thing down.

**Spoilers may happen read at your own risk (you've been warned)

Gracie is a very sweet girl in college with her very best lifetime friends around her including her amazing (and very believable) best friend Cameron (he's FABULOUS!!) We meet Gracie after she starts hooking up with Hudson who we find out quickly is an asshat (one of my favorite words.) McClung sends us on a journey of everyday struggles with love, acceptance, and ultimately rape and domestic violence. As I read this book I found myself completely becoming Gracie through Amy's words. I experienced Gracie's difficulty with dealing with a possessive boyfriend, finding her true (though seemingly) unattainable love and many issues today's novel do not deal with. McClung write on such an intimate level with her characters you can feel how much love and devotion she has placed in writing this book. I do not tend to get overly emotional as I read (it's happened but not like this). This book had me laughing so hard at the best Cam moments and thinking of some of my friends who are EXACTLY like him. The end had me crying like a baby as I said goodbye to characters as life moved on and dreams came true. I felt the joy Gracie felt as the epilogue played out in the end.

I was completely taken back by this book and I know anyone who reads it will be as well. As far as the writing goes it was great a few editor mistakes missed but nothing that takes away from the immersion of the story and probably not noticed by most people. All I can say is I definitely look forward to the rest of the series being written and hope Amy can capture the rest of the characters (Cameron) as well as Gracie and possibly expand on their endings and relationships with each other a bit more. The only bad thing I can say about the book is that it ended too quickly.

Monday, September 9, 2013

RaShelle Workman Blood and Snow Series

Complete Series Vol 1-12

Snow isn't an ordinary girl. She doesn't know that yet.

When Snow gets bitten by a Hunter, her life is thrown into a whirlwind of change where instead of worrying about what to eat, she has to fight not to drink the blood of fellow high school students. She becomes a revenant - not quite human, not quite vampire.

With the help of an eccentric old Professor, his seven adoptive sons, and her best friend, Snow learns to control her blood craving. Sort of. She drinks a bloodlust tea, but she'd rather drink from her Hunter.

Or, a human.
She also discovers a whole other realm, one filled with fairies, dragons, and magic. And not only does the Vampire Queen want her, but there's a pendant called the Seal of Gabriel created for Snow by the Vampire Queen's twin sister. And Snow's supposed to use it to restore balance to all magical creatures. Including vampires.

This short story series took me by surprise. I got the first book on a free offer from Amazon and I was hooked. Snow (while unlikely and unrealistic name in modern time) is a loveable character and all you can do is hope for everything to turn out perfect for her. There is a love story that you can't help but hold out hope for as well. The way Workman has the plot unravel is a bit rushed due to the fact that they are short stories. Snow is portrayed as a very clumsy young lady with a step mother obsessed with Disney's Snow White and parents that are never home until the most inconvenient moment of course. The high school element doesn't really seem necessary since there is almost NO part of the story that takes place in high school. The part where she meets a Chinese shaman is a bit confusing. I love the story and the plot and Workman's details but I felt she could have made these into novels probably about 6 of them with better detail and better character development for some of the secondary characters. All in all this series was very good and easy to read. It wasn't predictable and while it holds to the YA vampire genre craze it's well done.

Support the author and her hard work follow the link provided above and for $2.99 loose yourself in vampires, love, and mysticism.

Lips red as rubies, hair dark as night. Drink your true love's blood, become the Vampire, Snow White.

Enter to Win a Kindle Fire

This is a joint AUTHOR & BLOGGER GIVEAWAY EVENT!

Bloggers & Authors have joined together and each chipped in a little money towards a Kindle Fire HD 7″.

Kindle Fire HD 7″ Giveaway

The winner will have the option of receiving a 7″ Kindle Fire HD (US Only)

Or $199 Amazon.com Gift Card (International)

Or $199 in Paypal Cash (International)

Sponsoring Authors & Bloggers

Giveaway Details

1 winner will receive their choice of a Kindle Fire 7″ HD (US Only), $199 Amazon Gift Card or $199 in Paypal Cash (International).

There is a second separate giveaway for bloggers who post this giveaway on their blog. See details in the rafflecopter on how to enter to win the 2nd Kindle Fire.

Sponsor a future Kindle Fire Giveaway. Details can be found here.

Ends 9/30/13

Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and sponsored by the participating authors & bloggers. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

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In The Beginning.......

So I read a lot of books. When I say a lot I mean typically 3 different books at the same time and at least 5 a month. I have loved reading since I learned how. I have been to many countries, different worlds, different times within so many stories. Due to being an avid reader my vocabulary expanded throughout the years and I have come to know myself through some of my favorite characters. I can honestly say the fiction stories I have read throughout my life have changed my perspective on a lot of views I have. I am going to do book reviews on what I have read. I will give links to Amazon for the books along with Facebook and Author blog sites. My reviews will be very honest (sometimes brutally honest). Spoilers will be kept at a minimum because I hate reading a review where the story is given away. There are a lot of really good blogs out there with book reviews and this will be more for myself to discuss and re-experience a lot of amazing books and storylines. Characters I can't live without and sadly series that have ended. Whether or not I am looking forward to the movie/tv adaptation and why will be a part of certain reviews however I CAN say that typically I do NOT like book adaptations because Hollywood doesn't follow the storyline or just messes it up. Feel free to follow this blog and if you are an author please don't hesitate to give your thoughts on my reviews. I hope everyone has fantastic journeys and fall in love with amazing characters. Laugh, cry, love always.......happy reading!!