Tag: chick lit

Untouched (A Beachwood Bay Love Story Book 1) by Melody Grace

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Hellllllo readers, I know it’s Monday and Monday’s suck but I’m going to try and help you through with a beachy read! I’ve written a post for Friday on the worst reading slump of all my reading slumps, so I’ve been trailing back through my Kindle purchases and reviewing books I’ve read but not quite got round to reviewing here. Additionally, if you’re waiting for reviews on Amazon/Goodreads they will be there soon, it’s just a case that I’ve left it realllllly long and now I’ve got lots to do so I’m putting it off! Hopefully this weekend they’ll make it on there (SORRY.)

Welcome to Beachwood Bay: the small town where passion and romance are making waves…

Emerson Ray is trouble. Juliet knows it the minute she lays eyes on Beachwood Bay’s resident bad boy. Forced to spend her summer before college in the sleepy beach town, she never expected to crash into the most devastating guy she’s ever met–or for Emerson’s blue eyes to strip through her dark secrets, and make her feel a desire she’s never known. Their connection is undeniable, but Juliet is torn. She knows, once she gives him everything, there’ll be no turning back.

Juliet McKenzie is dangerous. Emerson can tell from the way she blows through all his defenses, laying bare the demons he’s carried alone all his life. He’s left a trail of broken hearts and empty beds in his wake, but Juliet is different. Her innocence is intoxicating–and the passion she keeps hidden, just below the surface. He wants to be the only one to set it free, but with every kiss, he’s closer to losing control and doing the one thing he swore he never would: fall in love.

One summer. Two damaged hearts. Their story is only just beginning…

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There’s quite a lot of blurb there but I’ll do a quick re-cap. The book follows the lives of Julia, who has applied for college  far away from her family to get a new start away from her alcoholic father, her sister who has no time for her and her mother who just craves attention but first she must get through the family vacation at Cedar Cove. Emmerson is the local bad boy who hasn’t had the most rosy of starts in life. Working numerous jobs to support himself and his younger siblings and struggling with his broken relationship with his mother he’s lost all hope until he crashes into our lovely female protagonist.

So a little predictable and the writing is very much sweet 16 kind of love. I must admit despite myself the first chapter did really reel me in. There is a lot of sexual tension mixed into the first scenes and the heat between the two is palpable. The first few chapters are really well-written and pack a punch and we see their personalities really shine through. Both are utterly stubborn and refuse to take help from the other. I loved Julia’s gutsy personality although at times she does come across a little whimsical and tiring but I think the target audience for this book is a little younger than me – I think sixteen-year-old Lizzy would have loved this a lot more. Emmerson is a HOT MESS – HOLLA. He’s stubborn, loving, utterly gorgeous and a total heart-throb so thumbs up.

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Throughout the book a number of side-stories as woven in especially with the use of both the main characters families which helps to add interest and is impressive seeing how short the book is. This also helped to make the relationship feel like it was more than just lust but there was a connection which helped to make the book feel more genuine. There are additionally a number of incredibly steamy scenes that were written with a lot of guts and passion. These two are infatuated with each other but the use of the back-stories helps to add intrigue whether they can be together and whether it will work between them.

There are two main wobbles with this book – first it is incredibly short, and although novella’s are short it shouldn’t mean that the story is compromised. Here the story inside the book has to be squashed and that means the descriptions of the characters, how they meet, and the build up of their relationship is also squashed. The book is ninety pages long and just couldn’t help but think write in maybe just another hundred pages or so and it would have allowed a little more room for development.

I guess the way to finish up is this is the perfect, easy beachy read with a hot romance. Yes, it might not be so developed but for me it was just what I needed.

Linnnnks

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Loving Lies (Dangerous Desires #1) by Tina Donahue

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Hellllllo readers, time for another review and this time it’s a lovely romantic tale and I think my first of 2016. I’ve been working my way through a stack of ARC copies and I’m working towards my Goodreads target which I’ve recently set hopefully I will hit my goal and make sure I start completing my resolution to update my Goodreads more. However, for now, onto the review of Loving Lies by Tina Donahue.

When she is kidnapped, Senorita Isabella knows the men have been sent by her uncle in a murderous attempt to control her family’s fortune. But when she is rescued by a dashing and mysterious warrior, Isabella can’t imagine why a stranger would risk his life for her—until she discovers her rescuer believes she’s someone else…

Fernando de Zayas loves nothing more than the cry of battle. Defying death is his way of life. But when he discovers his betrothed has been kidnapped, he rushes to her aid—never suspecting that spirited beauty would soothe his warrior heart…

With her uncle’s minions close on their heels, Isabella finds herself drawing closer to Fernando. But as the desire between them builds, her secret could keep them apart forever…

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As the blurb suggests we follow the story of Isabella the daughter of a Spanish Grandee and a Duke – however due to the terrible deeds of her evil Uncle she finds herself in the middle of a slave auction, except Isabella’s sister was the one that was supposed to be taken! Abducted and sold as a sex slave Isabella is saved by the Holy Man Fakir. Everything however is not as it seems as it turns out that he is not Fakir but instead Fernando, a Spanish Knight. Once again a twist; Fernando thinks he is saving his betrothed but instead he is saving her younger sister. Deciding to keep the truth a secret Isabella wards off the advances of Fernando knowing she is not the one for him – but can she help herself falling in love and what will happen when he finds out the truth? All will be revealed!

So that’s the premise of the story, onto the nitty-gritty. This is a book full of love, deception, sacrifices and family. Throughout we see Isabella doing all she can to protect her sister – sacrificing her life to keep her safe. It’s a lovely passionate story and I thought the feelings that was woven between Isabella and Fernando were well written and I adored the push and pull of it. Seeing Isabella attempting to stop herself from falling for Fernando was exciting and helped to push the plot forward making it gain pace. The love story is written with power and gusto and it shows that the author really understands how to create such an all-consuming romantic plot line.

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Overall the pace is strong and helps to propel the adventure forward. This is a historical fiction and the writing style definitely fits the time period in terms of the language used and makes sure that the reader continuously feels transported to a different world. During the tale we see the two travel back to the castle and they are faced by a number of adversities that helped to add to the excitement of the tale. They are written well and help to add tension and suspense to the tale.

In terms of characterisation both are built wonderfully – Isabella is gutsy and strong and yet she continuously struggles with the guilt of the love she feels for Fernando. Fernando is a sweet character and although I didn’t feel as much as I do for some fictional characters I did enjoy reading about him and following the story. The only wobble for me really was at times I felt as though the writing style didn’t match in all places –  during the more passionate scenes the writing is heady and over-the-top which works but then during some of the spoken scenes the writing wavers and becomes more simple.

Overall I enjoyed reading this more – the plot moves with pace and the characters are well-built. For me the writing just lacked a little to really pull me in  in places, but it may be because I found the plot a little cloying. It was a lovely little romantic read that didn’t quite do it for me (although was very close!)

Linnnnnks

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Rhythm of Deceit (The NightHawk Series) by Rachael Richey

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Hellloooo readers, hope you’re well and not too hungover/full of christmas turkey because I have another really exciting review for you. I reviewed Rachael’s first book a little while back and had the sequel just lingering and waiting to be read. In my slightly bookish slow down in terms of reading I’ve been going to authors I know will engage and excite me and this one definitely did. Thank you to Rachael for sending her book and helping me with my bookish slump – with no more delay onto the review.

Two years after finally being reunited, Abigail Thomson and Gideon Hawk are happily married and living in Cornwall with their children.

While Gideon is busy focusing his energies on his musical career, Abi makes an unexpected discovery of old diaries dating from 1950. As she and her daughter read through them, the reasons behind Abi’s mother’s destructive actions become much clearer, and they discover a shocking sixty-year-old deception.

Meanwhile, Simon Dean, the vengeful ex-drummer of Gideon’s band NightHawk, is about to make life very difficult for them all—again—and he is prepared to go to desperate lengths to achieve his goals

I think I’ll start by saying that I really did enjoy Rachael’s first book and this one really just follows on just a few years from where the first book ends. Abi and Gideon (*swoons*) are very happily married and have a new little one called Ollie. Gideon is in the thought process of creating a new solo career in London whilst Abi and her daughter Natasha stay at home and look after darling little Ollie. After a slightly unwarranted visit to Abi’s father a suitcase is discovered which belonged to Abi’s mother. Here we get to dip into the story of Joan and Pauline (Abi’s mother and her sister) and see the heartbreaking story that has been hidden for so long. Whilst this is all developing, Gideon is still have trouble with Simon who just can’t leave his dreams of reuniting the band alone. Will it all end in happiness? You’ll have to read the book to find out (you know me by now, no spoilers here!)

Now I’ve got that out of the way onto the details. I must admit, and Rachael did warn me, I loved this book even more than the first – the relationship between Abi and Gideon grows and they really become a power-house of a couple and it left me feeling so warm inside. Simon becomes even more of an aggravating git but the evil side of him definitely adds a smidgen of drama and made me gallop through the book. Natasha is also utterly utterly wonderful which to a point I knew she would be – young yet gutsy and determined she adds an extra spark to the story. I found the backstory between Joan and Pauline incredibly heartwarming and I found myself feeling incredibly torn with my feelings during the first book. Hindsight is a wonderful thing and spending the first book cursing Abi’s parents I found myself torn. The author has really worked to make this tale a emotive and evocative tale.

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The writing is exciting and moves with pace throughout and we get to experience each different story-line as it develops; the diary, the story between Gideon and Simon and the life of Abi and Natasha. They all intermingle throughout and the story really pulls it all together in a way that is so clever and found my gabbling to get to the end and find out the final conclusion. The writing is heady exciting and has a warmth to it overall. I write reviews where I want more from the characters but here it really is thrown at you.

I can’t really put into words why I liked this so much better but I think it’s that the relationships and the dangers are emphasised so much more and having been so excited about the first book watching everything develop I felt I had such a connection with the characters which doesn’t happen in all books. I honestly couldn’t put this down and I honestly cannot wait to see what happens next. Thumbs up – this book is pretty fantastic.

Linkkks

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High Heels in New York by A. V Scott

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Helllllo readers, hope you’re well. I recently realised that WordPress hasn’t been picking up a lot of my silly spelling mistakes so when they get published there have been quite a few letters missed out, or extra letters. I’ve spent today going through and editing again – there are always a few you miss no matter how carefully you check. Additionally I’m in the process of putting about 15 reviews on Amazon and Goodreads – I think I might make it a monthly thing because I just don’t have time so if you’re waiting they will be there soon. To today’s review – enjoy.

A romance best seller in 2013 and 2014, High Heels in New York is the first book in the High Heels Fashion series that weaves together suspense, love, and betrayal within the lives of two best friends.

Melissa De La Rosa has never felt luckier. She is to marry her ideal man, and about to launch her shoe line during the coveted fashion week in New York. But in one afternoon her “happily ever after” begins to fall apart when tragedy strikes, unleashing a string of events she never in her wildest dreams anticipated.

Then there’s Angelina, is a Hollywood has-been who can’t break her addiction to drugs, which she basically needs to actually function. Banking on her latest picture to launch her back into Hollywood royalty, a long kept secret vows to destroy the life she’s so carefully crafted.
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In the city that never sleeps, secrets are never truly hidden.

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As the blurb suggests the book follows Melissa who loses her dream life when her supposed prince charming is really a thief who not only ruins her big day, but has been lying for years, and stole her money and her heart. However, our main protagonist picks herself up and decides to throw herself back into her dream of making and creating beautiful, perfect shoes. On the other side of the story, Angelina is an old and tired actress who is desperate to keep herself in the spotlight. However a family tree mistake and her best friend Melissa nearly losing her mind it’s all going to get a bit messy.

This review is going to be a little tough because there are lots of what I call wobbles. The first thing to note is the characters that are built, are both shallow and incredibly frustrating. They lack traits that make readers fall in love with them and although Melissa tries to push forward this strong, dutiful woman it feels vague and unbelievable. There’s just a lack of depth. The writing is also (really unfortunately) poor in it’s entirety. If you ignore the grammatical and spelling mistakes the consistency errors are awful. At one point we hear a lot about a character going to visit a city and all the places she wants to go. When we go to the city it’s a completely different one with completely different tourist hot-spots, not to mention a characters name changes entirely for a few chapters – SORRY WHUT!

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As you might imagine this makes the plot difficult to pull together. Not only does the story jump all over the place but the sub-plots are a little confused and get muddled with the rest of the characters. It doesn’t feel consistent and it makes it difficult to keep a hold of the plot-line. There are bits that are written with real skill and do show the potential of the author but they are just ‘bits.’ It’s a shame because I kept reading only to see what on earth would happen next – it was so unstable in it’s telling that it became enjoyable for allllll the wrong reasons. Another big wobble is that the tense changes, uncomfortably and regularly, as in, in the same paragraphs multiple times at points.

I guess, overall, it felt a little like a first draft, because the editing was just not there. There are mistakes that I believe 16 year old Lizzy could have picked out pretty easily and quickly. These errors should have been picked up by any editor easily and suggested to be changed. The plot felt like an outline that needed developing and there was space too. I’m not going to go into the ending because it was honestly a car crash. It just ended with nothing to let the reader feel they had finished a really interesting and exciting book.

It’s horrible but there is little to say about this book other than it direly needs an edit. The premise of the book isn’t too far off and with an big edit of grammar/spelling/consistency there is potential there. There needs to be a big focus on Melissa’s back-story, her love for shoes, the fashion show and the author could have gone to town on that but it doesn’t. Overall this book struggles and it’s a darn shame.

Linnnks

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Wild Water (The Wild Water Series 1) by Jan Ruth

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Hellllllo readers, hope you’re all well and happy bunnies as of today! It’s getting soooo close to Christmas and I’ve had no time at all to get any festive books read. In trying to get my review inbox clean and sorted I’ve had to really put my TBR on hold and that means lots of Christmassy books aren’t getting read *boo* – however I’ve had the chance to read some utterly fantastic books too. Without delay – the review.

The tragedy and comedy that is Jack’s life; secrets, lies and family ties.
Jack Redman, estate agent to the Cheshire set. An unlikely hero, or someone to break all the rules? Wild water is the story of forty-something estate agent, Jack, who is stressed out not only by work, bills and the approach of Christmas but by the feeling that he and his wife, Patsy are growing apart. His misgivings prove founded when he discovers Patsy is having an affair, and is pregnant. At the same time as his marriage begins to collapse around him, he becomes reacquainted with his childhood sweetheart, Anna, whom he left for Patsy twenty-five years before. His feelings towards Anna reawaken, but will life and family conflicts conspire to keep them apart again?

As the blurb suggests the book follows Jack Redman – a successful and wealthy estate agent who realises that something is terribly wrong as he and his wife’s relationship takes a tumble. As his life begins to sway and he finds himself struggling to juggle the balls in his life – one person, his first love, Anna is keeping him sane, but she’s involved with another and she would be crazy to try anything with him again after he left to marry Patsy? Wouldn’t she?

This novel is utterly wonderful – the characters are so strongly built and created that I really felt emotional investment towards them. Patsy is a deplorable character and to see Jack trying so helplessly to keep it all together it really pulled on my heartstrings. I really rooted for Jack throughout and that is a real merit to the author. To create something that makes the reader believe it is almost real, shows serious writing strength and I found myself sucked into the book and the characters. Jack, is also a little bit of a hot mess but in an utterly rogueish way. I could imagine him surrounding by the Welsh landscapes, hair blowing in the wind *sighs.*

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The plotline although not swift moves with a reliable pace and that helps with the overall story line. This tale is unfortunately one that we hear over and over again. Affairs, heartbreak, broken families this novel doesn’t try to do anything clever and that’s why  I think it works so well. The writing is strong and smooth and feels mature. There is no bitty writing and it feels so real. The story, the characters, the location it all jumps off the page and envelopes you in a wonderfully bookish fug.  My only fault could be that there is does feel a little predictable, there aren’t many twists and turns to really confuse the reader. But, and it’s a big but, I didn’t feel like I needed that here – it tells a tale and beautiful one at that.

Would I recommend this book – yes? It is the perfect mix between a lighter romance and a truly distressing romantic tale. It makes for a really lovely telling tale, with great characters, a well thought-out plot and a real understanding of describing a landscape and transporting the reader to another place.

Linnnnnks

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Diary of a Size 12 by Sophie Quinn

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Hellllllo readers, bit of a sad review today because it’s a DNF book or a ‘did not finish book,’ in non-bookblogger lingo. It’s one of those horrible things when you’re reading a book and you just think I would rather be reading anything, anything other than this. As with many bloggers it takes a lot for me to brand a book DNF but here it had to be: without delay le review.

When Georgia McAllister – self-named fashion goddess, store-branded size twelve – applied for a new job as a CEO’s secretary, she was far from imagining she’d just taken the very first step towards her dreams. It’s definitely not easy to start a new career at thirty – could that even be called a career, by then?

Either way, she got it and she wasn’t letting it go, not even for the latest Chanel clutch she’d been keeping her eye on for months. But she might have to, if she doesn’t gather the strength to deal with Mr. OCD, Mr. All-kinds-of-rude-and-cold, Mr. CEO, Julian von Hauser

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As the blurb suggests the book follows Sophie as she applies to become the secretary for a very well to do fashion magazine. From the very first sentence Sophie and Julian find it difficult to stay on the same page and argue throughout. Struggling with OCD Julian argues with Sophie’s often not so perfect or professional approach to her new job whilst Sophie can’t quite put her finger on whether she likes or loathes her new boss: can’t see where this is going, can you?

That’s a very quick plot-line to sum up, but this book was awful, awfully awful. I tried to read this numerous times because I thought you can’t give up on chapter three but I seriously couldn’t see this through. Firstly the characters are exhausting; Sophie could be summed up in the word oxymoron; one minute she is telling Julian to stuff his job where the sun doesn’t shine and then she’s basking in the attention of a fashion designer. She’s exhausting, whiny and her speech is drivel.

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In terms of their relationship which I have to admit I saw very little of, there is a minute where poor Julian is having a panic attack in a lift and Sophie decides to tell him at that moment that she’s decided he has OCD and that this panic attack is utterly normal. What? What? It’s so bad it’s just aggravating. Additionally I wouldn’t be utterly surprised if I found out that the author didn’t read a single sentence back before uploading this; not only were there grammatical errors on every single page the author tended to add her own words like – screwerer? or millimetricaly?

I’ll bring this review to an end soon but I thought there was definite promise here in terms of the ideas; the use of the size 12 and the idea of Julian needing Sophie and their relationship blossoming despite this (I assume) but there were too many issues. Character’s that didn’t deliver, a lack of understanding of spelling, grammar and the totally lack of care when writing about OCD and panic attacks was difficult to read. I couldn’t finish this and I won’t be trying again.

Linnnnnks

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The Morning After Memoirs by Kate Michaels

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Helllllo readers, hope you’re well. I’m currently going through a quarter-life crisis which my best friend Dan says it utterly normal; he’s on his second. I feel like a real-life Bridget Jones I have no idea what I’m doing in my life or what I want to do or anything. Gah, I feel like a cliché but how do people get to stages in their lives where they know what they’re doing? Or do you just never get there. I loved this book but it fell a little close to home, either way a brilliant book to read over a glass of wine or two.

A smart, irreverent slant on modern dating, Kate Michaels’ sexy, laugh-out-loud debut reimagines the world of Sex And The City with the biting realism of Lena Dunham’s Girls.

Twenty-nine-year-old Jess wakes up on New Year’s Day a touch hungover and a whole lot confused. The man in bed next to her is not her boyfriend, Ben. In fact, she doesn’t even remember Not-Ben’s name. It won’t be the first time she finds herself in a questionable situation in a year that proves her new single-in-the-city lifestyle is far from the glamorous, Sex And The City world she’s been promised on TV. Between hacking through last year’s leg hair, accidentally snogging someone who may well be her cousin, getting hit over the head with a sex toy that isn’t even hers, and ending the night with a walk of shame into her parent’s garage, Jess’s single life is turning out more cockroaches than cocktails.

The Morning After Memoirs is the story of one woman’s search for love, meaning, and a low-calorie alternative to wine. The Morning After Memoirs is a story essentially about Jess and her drunken antics.

I thought this book was a hell of a lot of fun – it’s one of those books that you can just dive into, have a good giggle over and relate so easily to the humour and the comedy feels. As the blurb suggests the book follows Jess as she struggles through a terrifying break-up with Ben. Moving on from the terrible event eating a Chinese for two in front of an exercise DVD we watch Jess in her newly single life and find that it’s not so much fun. Leg hair, fat jeans, a sex toy or two and her new neighbour it’s going to be a little nuts to say the least.

I immediately fell for Jess, probably because she reminds me so much of myself unfortunately; I loved the way that she named the people around her – Not-Ben, Tweedledum and Tweedledumber, Hot Waiter Number Two to name a few.) I wouldn’t say she’s a lot like Carrie Bradshaw, more a Bridget Jones character but that doesn’t make her any less amusing. She’s just like us; she eats, drinks, swears too much and gets herself in some seriously amusing situations. The book starts and ends at consecutive New Years so we get a whole year in the life of Jess. I also thought the fact that every time a new potential suitor is introduced he gets his own mini bio – Chris – 5ft 8″, brown eyes, likes pugs was really lovely. It just added a special touch.

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In terms of wobbles it didn’t have a big story line – it is very much a look at the life of a woman working and living in London. For me there wasn’t a hell of a lot more than that to a point. There is a lot of narration but just not quite enough action for me as a completed story and I struggled with that because it feel at times that things were being repeated just to get to a certain length of book. I also thought that relationship with Ben, after four years just kind of stopped. Apart from a couple of weeks where we see her lose herself she kind pulls it back together.

However, the writing is witty and fun, it shows a lot of style and I enjoyed the characters that were well built up throughout; even the supporting character got enough time in the spotlight and that helped to add depth to the book as a whole. For me  I would have enjoyed a more substantial plot line but overall a very fun and interesting read.

Linnnnks

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Almost Perfect (Perfect Trilogy Book 1) by Julie Ortolon

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Hellllllo readers, it’s time for another book from the depths of my kindle. I’ve been working super hard this month to make sure that allllll my reviews make it onto Amazon and Goodreads; it’s my blog resolution, but I seem to have made sure that it takes less than a month for them to go live there. I know that’s still quite a bit of time but it’s the best I can do right now, will continue to attempt weekly but, I’m human. Forgive my little bookish self. Today’s book was once I read on the train to somewhere in the UK and just needed something simple and easy for my tired mind – for that, this was pretty perfect.

A Free Spirit and a Reformed Bad Boy — a Perfect Match

Maddy was always the artistic one of the group, alive with color and mischief from her saucy red curls to her vintage hippie skirts. Her challenge, the friends decide, is to get her artwork accepted at a gallery. A job as arts director at a summer camp near Santa Fe—with its multitude of galleries—seems like a start in the right direction.

There’s just one catch: The camp is run by Maddy’s high school flame, Joe, whose heart she broke—okay, smashed—and his anger towards Maddy hasn’t cooled one bit. But neither has their attraction.

Old desires burn hotter than ever as Joe makes it clear there’s only one way back to his heart: She has to get serious about her art. But will falling in love help or hinder Maddy as she struggles to meet her challenge?

As the blurb suggest, the book (number one in the series) follows Maddy, Amy, Christine, and Jane who were roommates in college ten years ago. Jane has become a very successful TV anchor and has released a self-help book titled “How To Have The Perfect Life”. The girls are thrilled for her until they realise that they have been used as bad examples within the book. Although they are a little angry at their former friend they decide to listen to Jane and decide to face their biggest fear in an attempt to have their perfect life. This book follows Maddy who is challenged to have her work shown in a gallery in Santa Fe but to do so she signs up to be the Arts & Crafts Coordinator at Mama’s camp site, Camp Enchantment where former flame Joe is working after leaving the military. Can the two work through their differences, will Maddy have her art shown?

I’m going to throw in now that this isn’t a really new surprising idea for a book; it is predictable but I’m going to look over that for now. The characters are build well – Maddy is feisty and sure of herself but she lacks precision and the ability to choose. She has a way of not allowing herself to do what she really wants – Joe, finds this difficult to understand and is continuously pushing her and I found the sexual angry chemistry between them enjoyable to say the least. I thought Joe was particularly well written although he was a little madening; he does have that army, military vibe and I thought his dominance but his need to be with Maddy was sweet to read about. There’s quite a lot of intensity and I thought that hiding of their burgeoning relationship and the running of the camp created a mood.

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In terms of negative, the book isn’t particularly deep as I mentioned and I think although the book wasn’t short that all three stories could have been woven in together because I’m not thinking of getting hold of the next two. I think books that manage a number of plotlines are a lot more sophisticated and resonate more with me because it allows for the interweaving of stories more than just the relationship we get between Maddy and Joe. I found the story between the two a little sickly; although Maddy breaks Joe’s heart (in the past) he is immediately right back to where they were when they first dated and although it’s passionate it’s just not real. I don’t think anyone would be so driven to be back in a relationship after what he goes through and although the author does discuss this, throughout it’s more him desperate to get her back.

Overall this was the perfect book for a tired train journey, it moved with pace, developed a number of characters and did interest me. Unfortunately all a little the same as to all the other romance books I’ve read recently and didn’t keep me on my toes but if you want a cute romance this may be perfect for you.

Linnnnnks

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Tangled Up in Blue by J.D. Brick

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Helllllo readers, another book for you today from the wonderful J.D Brick. I read this when I was struggling with a classic reading block. Some days you just need something a little lighter and I thought a steamy romance might help. Was I right? Hella yes and today I can bring you another exciting review. I won’t go on here because the blurb is supppper long so let’s get stuck in shall we?

Blue

The last thing I need in my life is another damsel in distress. No f*ing way I’m going down that road again. All I want is someone to help pay the rent. All I want is to party like there’s no tomorrow. Get my degree. And forget the past.

But then she shows up, running through me just like a freight train. She’s definitely a distressed damsel, and all my hero instincts start kicking in. I try to play it cool; I try to resist. Somehow, though, she burrows deep under my skin, and I can’t even think straight. It’s not just that her body turns me into a walking, talking boner. The thing is, I’m wrestling with demons I can barely control. What happened in Afghanistan, what I did over there, it never really leaves my mind. Being with Keegan, though, soothes my soul. I can’t explain it any better than that.

I want this girl. I need this girl. Deep down, I know that having her could destroy us both. But I just can’t stop myself.

Keegan

I’ve got no time for the playboy party animal who has suddenly become my accidental roommate. Even if he’s hot. Even if every other girl on campus wants him. Even if he is intense and seductive and so passionate about his music that watching him play makes my heart sing.

Because he’s exactly what I don’t need. Except that, dear God, Blue turns out to be everything I’ve ever wanted. He turns out to be so much more than I could have imagined that day I moved in with him.

But then, he becomes an agonizing mistake. At least that’s what most people would say. And I’ve got one hell of a choice to make…

Pretty exciting if not, long blurb although it doesn’t give too much about the plot. The book follows Blue (gah that man is a hot mess) and Keegan. They are opposite through and through but as soon as they meet the sparks begin to fly. It’s not going to be easy though; both are hiding secrets. Blue is hiding the damage caused by the events surrounding the deaths of his best friends while serving in Afghanistan. Keegan is hiding the reason why she moved from the campus; a stalker is becoming more and more of a nightmare and their threats are becoming more dangerous. Throw in the raucous parties, a few nightmare housemates and you’ve got one hell of a story.

Apparently the genre of this book is New Adult Contemporary? Ignore that, this book is hot and heady. I hate to say this but it pulled me in from the first page and I didn’t put it down much to the annoyance of my parents who I was visiting at the weekend. I thought the idea of throwing the delicate Keegan into such a party house was a really strong idea. It helped to make her come out of her shell and develop which is what we want. In terms of character she is gutsy, sarcastic, but also delicate and easily hurt she’s a darling of a character and I loved her. Blue is just, well *sighs.* Any man who pens a song for a friend and then sings it almost exclusively for her is just, well, pretty goddamn sweet. Through he is this constant changing character; hot hunk to utterly sweet and thoughtful, I thought he was a delight.

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The plot is really strong; we have a multitude of different plots. The relationship between the two main characters, the stalker storyline and the back stories of both our main characters as well as a number of supporting characters. I thought the stalker storyline was handled well although I was surprised how well Keegan dealt with it. I would have been a shivering wreck of a human being. Through all of the dilemmas we get to watch their relationship develop and it is good, really, really good.

In terms of writing it is told as a dual POV which is something I don’t normally like but here it really worked. The plot moves with pace and the author knows how to build suspense. The characters fall for each other pretty quickly but there are so many things that could cause it to all blow up so you’re constantly wondering whether it will all go to plan. The writing is evocative and descriptions deep, and the erotic scenes. Well I wouldn’t want my mother to know what I was reading. My only real wobble was that the tale ended on a cliffhanger and the second book isn’t out yet! Lkjkjfahgauhg *groans.*

It is cheesy, it is a little perfect, it is what I would normally rave about, but I loved this. Gah damn it where is that second book!

(Additionally I believe the cover has changed but I much preferred the one I was sent so that’s why I’ve included it! ^^^)

Linnnnnnks

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