Friday, October 12, 2018

September Wrap-Up - What I've Been Reading


It seems that I really picked a bad month to begin this monthly feature. We changed internet providers and we were without internet for a week. I woke up the day that our new internet was to be set up only to discover that my cat had dumped a large cup of water on my laptop during the night and completely fried it. Needless to say, this feature is a little bit later and not quite all that I had intended.

So... let's move on to happier things. Thanks to my Audible Romance Package, I was able to read and listen to lots of books this month. Below I give the fast and furious version of a few book reviews. Click on the book image or title to see more information on each book.


Rescue My Heart by Jill Shalvis - Rescue My Heart is book #3 in the Animal Magnetism series. This series follows a close-knit group of animal lovers who rescue, treat, and/or train animals. Rescue My Heart features Adam Connelly and puts his rescuing skills to the test when his archnemesis's father goes missing after a bad break-up. When Adam agrees to help Holly find her father, he has no idea that he would lose his own heart. Jill Shalvis always gives great romance and this book is no exception. 
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

One Hundred Proposals by Holly Martin - Suzie and Harry are best friends and partners in a wedding proposal business. As a marketing project, Harry sets up 100 wedding proposals in 100 days. The friendship is sweet and the proposals vary from outrageous to down-right precious. My only problem with this is how long it took these two to pull their heads out of their respective rear ends. 
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Hot Winter Nights by Jill Shalvis - Jill Shalvis' Heartbreaker Bay series continues with Molly Malone finally getting her shot at love. This series is like watching an episode of Friends. It's like small-town romance in a big city. I love the close-knit group of friends. They support each other, encourage each other, and call each other out on their crap. In this series you can expect to find Alpha Males with heart and the spunky females who love to challenge them. 
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️




The Distance Between Us by Kasie West - This was the first Kasie West Book I ever read back in 2014. It started my love affair with all things written by Kasie West. Caymen Meyers has always seen the distinction between herself and the rich customers that come into her mother's doll store but never has she felt it more than when Xander Spence stops in to pick up a doll for his grandmother. As a friendship begins between Xander and Caymen, the trust disintegrates between Caymen and her mother. What is her mother hiding? Who is the strange man asking questions about her? But most importantly, can Xander ever view her as more than the poor girl who lives in the doll shop?
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Trust by Kylie Scott - Edie and John bond together through tragedy. After a robbery in which Edie was injured and John's friend was killed, Edie and John struggle to return to the real word. As they discover their new normal, they are faced with prejudice, animosity, and actual physical danger. Loyalties are tested, friendships are strained, and families are torn apart while two survivors seek to rebuild their lives and open up their hearts. 
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

To Kill A Kingdom by Alexandra Christo - This re-imagined Little Mermaid tale came out of nowhere and blew me away. It's dark and a lot more viscous than Disney's version, but in the end it was the absolutely perfect way to tell this tale. It was full of intrigue, vengeance, and love. I enjoyed it immensely. 
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️




Other Books Read This Month

 
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️        ⭐️⭐️⭐️         ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️         ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️        ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️



⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️           ⭐️⭐️⭐️          ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️          ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Tuesday, October 9, 2018

Releasing This Week 10/8/2018

This is not a list of all books releasing this week, but rather a list of books
 releasing this week that I am excited about getting in my hands.

**All purchase links are provided as a courtesy to the blog followers.  I receive a small compensation for purchases made through these links.  These links may not lead to the best price and you can always shop around for a better one.**
Arthur is only in New York for the summer, but if Broadway has taught him anything, it’s that the universe can deliver a showstopping romance when you least expect it.

Ben thinks the universe needs to mind its business. If the universe had his back, he wouldn’t be on his way to the post office carrying a box of his ex-boyfriend’s things.

But when Arthur and Ben meet-cute at the post office, what exactly does the universe have in store for them?

Maybe nothing. After all, they get separated.

Maybe everything. After all, they get reunited.

But what if they can’t quite nail a first date . . . or a second first date . . . or a third?

What if Arthur tries too hard to make it work . . . and Ben doesn’t try hard enough?

What if life really isn’t like a Broadway play?

But what if it is?

From the New York Times bestselling author of Dear Martincomes this illuminating exploration of old friendships, new crushes, and the path to self-discovery.

Courtney "Coop" Cooper
Dumped. Again. And normally I wouldn't mind. But right now, my best friend and source of solace, Jupiter Sanchez, is ignoring me to text some girl.

Rae Evelyn Chin
I assumed "new girl" would be synonymous with "pariah," but Jupiter and Courtney make me feel like I'm right where I belong. I also want to kiss him. And her. Which is . . . perplexing.

Jupiter Charity-Sanchez
The only thing worse than losing the girl you love to a boy is losing her to your boy. That means losing him, too. I have to make a move. . . .

One story.
Three sides.
No easy answers.


New York Times best-selling author Cynthia Leitich Smith turns to realistic fiction with the thoughtful story of a Native teen navigating the complicated, confusing waters of high school — and first love.

When Louise Wolfe’s first real boyfriend mocks and disrespects Native people in front of her, she breaks things off and dumps him over e-mail. It’s her senior year, anyway, and she’d rather spend her time with her family and friends and working on the school newspaper. The editors pair her up with Joey Kairouz, the ambitious new photojournalist, and in no time the paper’s staff find themselves with a major story to cover: the school musical director’s inclusive approach to casting The Wizard of Oz has been provoking backlash in their mostly white, middle-class Kansas town. From the newly formed Parents Against Revisionist Theater to anonymous threats, long-held prejudices are being laid bare and hostilities are spreading against teachers, parents, and students — especially the cast members at the center of the controversy, including Lou’s little brother, who’s playing the Tin Man. As tensions mount at school, so does a romance between Lou and Joey — but as she’s learned, “dating while Native” can be difficult. In trying to protect her own heart, will Lou break Joey’s?





A series of chance encounters leads to a sizzling new romance from the New York Times bestselling author of the On Dublin Street series. 

The universe is conspiring against Ava Breevort. As if flying back to Phoenix to bury a childhood friend wasn't hell enough, a cloud of volcanic ash traveling from overseas delayed her flight back home to Boston. Her last ditch attempt to salvage the trip was thwarted by an arrogant Scotsman, Caleb Scott, who steals a first class seat out from under her. Then over the course of their journey home, their antagonism somehow lands them in bed for the steamiest layover Ava's ever had. And that's all it was--until Caleb shows up on her doorstep.

When pure chance pulls Ava back into Caleb's orbit, he proposes they enjoy their physical connection while he's stranded in Boston. Ava agrees, knowing her heart's in no danger since a) she barely likes Caleb and b) his existence in her life is temporary. Not long thereafter Ava realizes she's made a terrible error because as it turns out Caleb Scott isn't quite so unlikeable after all. When his stay in Boston becomes permanent, Ava must decide whether to fight her feelings for him or give into them. But even if she does decide to risk her heart on Caleb, there is no guarantee her stubborn Scot will want to risk his heart on her.





Spend the coldest days of winter on a Caribbean beach with New York Times Bestselling author Elin Hilderbrand. 

Join New York Times Bestselling author Elin Hilderbrand on the stunning beaches of St. John for the beginning of her thrilling new winter series-The Paradise. Welcome to Paradise, the first book in the Paradise series, has everything that readers have come to know and love about an Elin Hilderbrand novel, plus a healthy dose of intrigue. Irene Steele's idyllic life-house, husband, family-is shattered when she is woken up by a late-night phone call. Her beloved husband has been found dead, but before Irene can process this tragic news, she must confront the perplexing details of her husband's death. He was found on St. John island, a tropical paradise far removed from their suburban life. Leaving the cold winter behind, Irene flies down to the beautiful Caribbean beaches of St. John only to make another shocking discovery: her husband had a secret second family. As Irene investigates the mysterious circumstances of her husband's death, she is plunged into a web of intrigue and deceit belied by the pristine white sand beaches of St. John's. This exciting first book in the Paradise series will transport readers to a new beach locale-another world that Elin knows as well as her beloved Nantucket-and have them longing for winter





There are a million reasons why Miles Hart isn't the man I should date but allow me to enumerate the top three. 
He's friends with my brother, he's a single dad, and he's a sexy, in-demand rock star. He might as well wear an off-limits, totally unavailable, and don’t-even-attempt-to-ride-this-ride sign.

And there’s one more, little itty-bitty thing -- he's never asked me on a date.

That is, until he asks me to be his plus-one when his band plays at his high school reunion. It shouldn’t be a big deal. After all, we’re just friends, and no one is giving us our own hashtag. Except me . . .

***

I have three good reasons to keep my hands off Roxy Sterling—her brother’s my business manager, my kid is the center of my world, and the last time I fell hard for a woman I was burned so badly that my interest in relationships has gone up in flames. But once I bring Roxy’s body next to mine on the dance floor, I want all the not-safe-for-work things I can't have with her.
My brain knows there’s no way for us to work, but tell that to my big mouth. Because the second she plants a hot, sexy kiss on me, I have the bright idea to ask her to keep being my plus one—turning one night into a few.

What’s the harm in spending a little more time with her and having her by my side at all these events? Nothing at first, until I learn exactly how risky we might be.





Marlena Oliveira has—mysteriously, miraculously—been given the power to heal all kinds of ailments. People around the world believe she is a saint. But her power comes at a price: she can’t go to school, she can’t have friends her own age, and she certainly can’t date.

Then she meets Finn, a boy who makes her want to fall in love. For the first time, she begins to doubt whether her gift is worth all that she must give up to keep it.




Vera Woods is at her wit’s end.

Her husband has run off with the nanny, leaving Vera with a broken heart, three very angry sons, and even less time to juggle the demands of family and her career. After her boys scare away a sixth replacement nanny, Vera is out of time off from work and desperately out of options. Still nursing an aching heart, she turns to an unlikely source for help―a manny.

Lincoln Scott is no stranger to family chaos. But rather than grow jaded, he has thrown his natural talents into building his own business―providing live-in childcare for families as a manny. The money is great and the perks are a blast, but when his family of six years moves to Germany and their plans to bring him along fall through, Lincoln is suddenly unemployed and aware of how much of himself he’s given to other people’s families.

Brought together by circumstances, Lincoln and Vera’s mutually beneficial business arrangement becomes complicated by the undeniable chemistry they share. Vera needs a manny and Lincoln needs a job, but they both may have found the very thing neither one had realized they needed―a whole lot more.



He’s a player.


He plays the bass with expert fingers. He plays women with intoxicating charm. And he’ll play me with the ease of a virtuoso.

Who better to teach me to play than the master himself?

I’m his model student, front row, pencil sharp. Pick up lines? I’ve got them. Free drinks? By the dozen. Kissing? Let me grab my chapstick.

But the most valuable lesson I’ve learned is that there’s so much I don’t know. Like why his touch sets off a chain reaction straight to my nethers. Or how I’m certain each kiss is the best I’ll ever have, until the moment his lips take mine again.

There’s so much I don’t know.

Like the fact that I’m only a bet.

But we are what we are. He’s a player, through and through.

And I’m the fool who fell in love with him.










From the show's creators comes the groundbreaking novel inspired by the Broadway smash hit Dear Evan Hansen.

Dear Evan Hansen,

Today's going to be an amazing day and here's why...


When a letter that was never meant to be seen by anyone draws high school senior Evan Hansen into a family's grief over the loss of their son, he is given the chance of a lifetime: to belong. He just has to stick to a lie he never meant to tell, that the notoriously troubled Connor Murphy was his secret best friend.

Suddenly, Evan isn't invisible anymore--even to the girl of his dreams. And Connor Murphy's parents, with their beautiful home on the other side of town, have taken him in like he was their own, desperate to know more about their enigmatic son from his closest friend. As Evan gets pulled deeper into their swirl of anger, regret, and confusion, he knows that what he's doing can't be right, but if he's helping people, how wrong can it be?

No longer tangled in his once-incapacitating anxiety, this new Evan has a purpose. And a website. He's confident. He's a viral phenomenon. Every day is amazing. Until everything is in danger of unraveling and he comes face to face with his greatest obstacle: himself.

A simple lie leads to complicated truths in this big-hearted coming-of-age story of grief, authenticity and the struggle to belong in an age of instant connectivity and profound isolation.







**You will not be charged for Pre-orders until release.**



Also Coming in October

 

 Coming in November



Coming in December