Review: Walking Disaster by Jamie McGuire

Walking Disaster by Jamie McGuire

Series: Beautiful, #2
Release Date: April 2^nd 2013
Publisher: Atria Books
Format: Paperback
Genre: New Adult – Contemporary Romance
Source: My Collection
Author: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads
Buy it: Amazon | The Book Depository
Add it: Goodreads

Finally, the highly anticipated follow-up to the New York Times bestseller Beautiful Disaster.

Can you love someone too much?

Travis Maddox learned two things from his mother before she died: Love hard. Fight harder.

In Walking Disaster, the life of Travis is full of fast women, underground gambling, and violence. But just when he thinks he is invincible, Abby Abernathy brings him to his knees.

Every story has two sides. In Beautiful Disaster, Abby had her say. Now it’s time to see the story through Travis’s eyes.

Walking Disaster is the second book in the Beautiful four book series of companion novels. It is the same story as Beautiful Disaster but is told from Travis’s point of view. I know a lot of people were not fans of Travis and rated the last book poorly because of his anger problems. I went over all of this in my review of the first book; check it out HERE, so I won’t go into too much detail about it. I did however enjoy this book more than the first one.

I will say that even though these are companion books, I do recommend reading Beautiful Disaster first. There are some parts that happen and it’s was nice to know what Abby had been thinking during the scene. There was also a pretty big part that wasn’t in this book! It was briefly mentioned but I thought that was a pretty big flaw and is one of reasons that I knocked a star off. I would have really liked to see what was going through Travis’s mind during something that was actually bad. If you read the first book, then you know that Travis obviously has an anger problem. You see him grow more in this book compared to the first one because you are seeing his thoughts instead of just his reactions.

I was a little confused about the timing of this book. I felt like some parts moved a lot faster than in the previous book and then of course some parts were much slower. I ended up reading this book in two days rather than one like with the first book but I did enjoy it more. I’m don’t think I mentioned this in my review of Beautiful Disaster but Abby was a tad bit annoying. I felt she made some stupid decisions and sometimes it seemed like what Travis would tell her would go in one ear and out another. So I preferred reading about Travis than Abby.

I really enjoy the writing in these books and I ended up reading the novella’s, #1.5 & #2.5. However I don’t think I will be picking up books 3 or 4. The next two books tell the stories of two more of the Maddox brothers and I really don’t care to much about them. I liked the scenes they were in but I don’t feel like a new book is worth reading. I might have a change of heart though.

Review: Sweet Reckoning by Wendy Higgins

Sweet Reckoning by Wendy Higgins

Series: The Sweet Trilogy, #3

Release Date: April 29th 2014
Publisher:  HarperTeen
Format: egalley
Pages: 379
Genre: Young Adult – Paranormal Romance
Source: Edelweiss
Author: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads
Buy it: Amazon | The Book Depository
Add it: Goodreads

It’s time.

Evil is running rampant and sweet Anna Whitt is its target. Nobody knows when or how the Dukes will strike, but Anna and her Nephilim allies will do anything necessary to rid the earth of the demons and their oppressive ways.

The stakes are higher than ever, and Anna is determined that the love she feels will be her strength, not a liability. But trying to protect the ones she loves while running for her life and battling demonic forces proves to be perilous—especially as faces are changing and trust is fleeting. When the Duke of Lust sends Anna’s great love, Kaidan Rowe, to work against her, Anna must decide how much she’s prepared to risk.

In the most sensual and fast-paced installment yet, Sweet Reckoning brings all the beloved Neph together one last time to fight for their freedom.

*This is a review of the second book and it may contain spoilers.*

This book was so so good. I marathoned this trilogy straight through and even bought this book on the day it came out just so I would be able to go back and re-read parts that I enjoyed. That’s how good I thought it was. THE FEELS! I have to say this review is probably not going to be one of my bests (I’m pretty much just gonna say how much I love the book) because I actually read the book a couple months ago and I was so excited to read it that I didn’t even take notes. I was just flying through it. That says a lot since I think this is one of the only paranormal books I have read. Paranormal is just not my genre. Angels and Demons I apparently like though.

Ok anyway, on to the sort of review. This was probably my favorite book out of the trilogy. Even though I thought they were all great. Kaidan and Anna’s relationship in this book is fantastic and man there are a couple of steamy scenes and the ending was wow. Wendy Higgins is a fantastic writer and I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next. There is actually going to be a fourth book to this trilogy, which is going to be a companion novel, in Kaidan’s POV. AHHH I’m dying right now. Make sure and check out the short stories that Wendy wrote on her website that have certain scenes from Kaidan’s POV. I loved those so I’m sure that will be great too.

I completely recommend this trilogy and if you haven’t checked it out you should do so now. If you are hesitant on paranormal books like I was then at least go check it out from the library. It will be totally worth it.

My Rating:

*This book was provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review. 

Review: Clarity by Loretta Lost

Clarity by Loretta Lost

Series: Clarity, #1
Release Date: February 20th 2014
Publisher:  Createspace
Format: ebook
Pages: 162
Genre: New Adult - Romance
Source: Author
Author: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads
Buy it: Amazon | The Book Depository
Add it: Goodreads

Fiercely independent Helen Winters was born completely blind, but she vowed never to let her disability keep her down. She did not expect a traumatic event to devastate her life and force her to drop out of college. Disillusioned by the cruelty of people, Helen retreated from society to live by herself as a reclusive writer in the woods—where no one could ever hurt her again.

When a brilliant young doctor shows up on her doorstep, promising her that his new research can give her the ability to see for the first time, Helen stubbornly refuses. She has learned not to trust anyone, and to rely only on herself. But Dr. Liam Larson will not take no for an answer. He makes it his personal mission to rescue Helen from her loneliness, and bring joy into her world once more—the joy she has denied herself for so long.

When Helen’s demons come racing back into her life, threatening to rip her apart and destroy the strength she has carefully rebuilt, Liam is the only one who might be able to save her.

Can he reach the broken girl in time, helping her to heal and see the world in a different light? Or will Helen’s grief send her spiraling out of control, lost to him forever?

Helen Winters was born completely blind, however, she has always been independent. She didn’t like using her cane because she felt like it broadcasted her disability to the world. She also didn’t have a dog or any sort of help to make her life easier. The beginning of the book shows Helen lost in a staircase in her college. A man decides to be nice and help her find her class. Unfortunately she figures out way to late that he does not have good intentions. Obviously being blind she doesn’t have any details about him except for his voice. She doesn’t tell her family what has happened to her, but she drops out of college after that.

Jump forward three years and Helen is living alone in a secluded house in the words, far away from any family. She has changed her name and doesn’t tell anyone her new address. She has become a writer and still lives completely independent. One day two doctors, Liam and Owen, show up at her door and offer her the opportunity of a lifetime. They believe that a study on gene therapy drug treatment could possibly make her able to see for the first time. She is reluctant at first but she gets a call from her sister (who we will discuss in a moment), and makes a bargain with the doctors. If they take her to home, which is like two sates away, to see her sister’s wedding, then she will participate in the study. It pretty much goes downhill from here.

I have many problems with this book. One, what woman, blind or not, decides to take a more than one day road trip with two men that she has now for just a few minutes. Talk about stupidity. Then Owen decides that he is going to talk IN DETAIL about various porns for 3 hours straight! WHO DOES THAT TO A PERSON THEY JUST MET?!?! Then she starts in on it too! I really think my jaw was laying on the floor by this time. Granted, Liam was apologizing for him but still. Then we have Helens sister. Man that girl was a bitch. She guilt trips her sister into coming to her wedding then says that if she doesn’t have a date she is going to force her to go with someone. So Liam and Helen decide that they are going to go to the wedding together and pretend to be dating. Helen’s sister forces her to call him just to prove he’s real then starts talking about how big his dick is or something. I would walk out and that room and away from that girl forever.

As soon as the call from the sister happened I knew what the ending was going to be. Saying that though, the ending still pissed me off. It literally just ended at the climax of the story. That was the part I was actually continuing to read it for. I almost DNF’d this book at one point because I just found it too ridiculous in places. I’m not sure if they second book is going to start off right where the first one ended but I wouldn’t be surprised if it didn’t. I have absolutely no plans on reading it. I was reading some 5 star reviews of this book and serious wondering if I had read the same copy as these people…. I have now changed my rating from a two to a one star. 

My Rating:

*This book was provided by the publisher/author in exchange for an honest review. 

Review: Sweet Peril by Wendy Higgins

Sweet Peril by Wendy Higgins

Series: The Sweet Trilogy, #2
Release Date: April 30^th 2012
Publisher: HarperTeen
Format: Paperback
Pages: 372
Genre: Young Adult – Paranormal, Fantasy, Romance
Source: My Collection
Author: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads
Buy it: Amazon | The Book Depository
Add it: Goodreads

Anna Whitt, the daughter of a guardian angel and a demon, promised herself she’d never do the work of her father—polluting souls. She’d been naive to make such a vow. She’d been naive about a lot of things.

Haunted by demon whisperers, Anna does whatever she can to survive, even if it means embracing her dark side and earning an unwanted reputation as her school’s party girl. Her life has never looked more bleak. And all the while there’s Kaidan Rowe, son of the Duke of Lust, plaguing her heart and mind.

When an unexpected lost message from the angels surfaces, Anna finds herself traveling the globe with Kopano, son of Wrath, in an attempt to gain support of fellow Nephilim and give them hope for the first time. It soon becomes clear that whatever freedoms Anna and the rest of the Neph are hoping to win will not be gained without a fight. Until then, Anna and Kaidan must put aside the issues between them, overcome the steamiest of temptations yet, and face the ultimate question: is loving someone worth risking their life?

I really love this trilogy so far. It has blown way past my expectations. Which is awesome. It has been a while since I have wanted to pick one book up right after the other. The day after I finished reading the first book I went out and bought this one at full price! If you know me, then you know this is not the norm.

For those of you who did not go immediately on to the second book then there is something at the beginning that will be quiet helpful. There is a chart of the Auras and what all the colors are and what they mean. Then at the end of the book, which also happens in the first book, there is a list of all the Dukes and their sons, and what their jobs are.

The book starts off about six months after the last one ended. Anna has turned into a party girl, trying to show the demons that she is working like she is supposed to. Although she always feels bad for the people she persuades to do things. She hasn’t seen or heard from Kaidan since he left with his band to go to LA. Her friends Jay and Veronica have officially become a couple after making up for what happened at the New Year’s Eve party.

The book is broken up into seasons, starting with June the summer before senior year, then continues on to fall, winter, etc. Anna’s father sends her and her friend Kope to different assignments, recruiting people for “the good side”. They travel to many different places. There is a lot of sexual tension going on during their times together and one pretty big shocker. Because of their travels together we are introduced to some new characters. We also get to see Ginger and Marna from the first book again. I really like those girls and the relationship they have as sisters.

Kaidan is mentioned numerous times in the book but doesn’t actually show up until about half way through. This of course made their first encounter so much better. There is a lot of growing done between the two of them in this book.  There is one particular scene between the two of them that I have read more than once. Definitely written perfectly!

If you have read the first book then I highly recommend continuing on with the trilogy. It’s so worth it. I read this book in one day no problem. Can’t wait to buy the third book!

My Rating:

I Know Lucy by Melissa Pear Release Day Teaser!

I Know Lucy by Melissa Pearl

Series: A Fugitive Novel, #1
Release Date: April 20th 2014
Publisher:  Evatopia Press
Genre: Young Adult – Romantic Suspense
Author: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads
Buy it: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Add it: Goodreads

Lucy Tate is on the run. After witnessing the brutal murder of her parents, she's spent five years in hiding -- taking on different personas and faking her way through life. The authorities can't be trusted, so she remains in the shadows, always one beat ahead of the man who is forever hunting her. That is, until she meets Zach Schultz, a senior at Monte Vista High and the one guy she can’t bear to leave. Suddenly her natural instincts to lie, steal, and run are overshadowed by something else...the desire to stay. It’s her one shot at a normal life.

Curious by nature, Zach is immediately drawn to the new girl at school. How can a person look both confident and vulnerable all in the same moment? Determined to learn more about her, he tries to get close, but is thrown into a world of lies and confusion. The only thing that becomes apparent is that discovering the truth may get him killed.

{Teaser}

ZACH...

"This is different, you guys." I shook my head. "I mean yes, she is gorgeous. And yes, I'm attracted to her, but it's not just her looks. There's something about her. She's intriguing. It's like she's not all she appears to be or something."

"You can tell that after two minutes of interacting with her? Give me a break." Elliot balled up his napkin and threw it on the table. "I know I don't know her at all yet, but I can tell there's something more there." I rubbed my bottom lip.

"She looks normal to me." AJ shrugged.

"I think she's pretty. She looks sweet, but..." Liesl turned to spy her quickly. "AJ's right. She looks like any other transfer student. What makes her so different?"

"It's something about her eyes. There's a story in them. I can't even explain why I think that. I just feel like she's got a lot of layers and I want to peel back every single one of them."

"I bet you do." Elliot raised his eyebrows.

"Not like that." I threw him a droll look. "I just want to solve the mystery that is Danielle Harrison."

"Dude, there is no mystery." Elliot slapped his hand lightly on the table.

"Yes there is. I can feel it."

"Careful, Zachy, your Nancy Drew is showing." Jaeda's green eyes were large and round as she gave me a playful look.

"I don't care." I shrugged, confident in the truth that I really didn't.

"That girl over there has secrets and I'm gonna figure out what they are."

{About the Author}

Melissa Pearl was born in Auckland, New Zealand, but has spent much of her life abroad, living in countries such as Jordan, Cyprus and Pakistan... not to mention a nine month road trip around North America with her husband. "Best. Year. Ever!!" She now lives in China with her husband and two sons. She is a trained elementary teacher, but writing is her passion. Since becoming a full time mother she has had the opportunity to pursue this dream and her debut novel hit the internet in November 2011. Since then she has continued to produce a steady stream of books. Recently she signed with Evatopia Press and her first Evatopia book is coming out in February 2014 - True Colors, The Masks Series #1. She is very excited to be trying out new things this year while continuing to publish under her own name as well. She has six books planned for 2014 and is excited about writing each and every one of them.

"I am passionate about writing. It stirs a fire in my soul that I never knew I had. I want to be the best writer I can possibly be and transport my readers into another world where they can laugh, cry and fall in love."

Blog Tour Review: Undying by Valerie Grosjean (28 Days of Review #13)

Undying by Valerie Grosjean

Series: Undying, #1
Release Date: October 9^th 2013
Publisher: Creatspace
Format: Paperback
Pages: 198
Genre: Young Adult – horror, romance
Source: Author
Author: Website | Facebook | Goodreads
Buy it: Amazon | The Book Depository
Add it: Goodreads

This is a story of love . . . and zombies.

When eighteen-year-old college freshman Christian discovers his dormitory is crawling with the living dead, he knows he has a problem. But once he learns the whole country is overrun by the flesh-eating horde, he must race to protect what matters to him most.

Sixteen-year-old Iris, the girl he loves, is stranded eighty miles away, alone and completely unaware of the gruesome threat surrounding her.

Christian’s plan is to evade the zombies, drive the distance to rescue Iris, and get them both to his family farm—where there are guns, fuel, and everything else they’ll need to survive. His mission seems simple: Get the girl, get to the farm, and stay alive.

Things get complicated when Christian is forced to make an unthinkable choice between Iris and his family. Someone he loves must die, and he must decide.

This book is straight out of a zombie horror movie. It even states that a few times actually. Really though, the main character, Christian, goes to bed after talking to Iris, the girl he is going to profess his love to and when he wakes up all hell has broken lose. His dorm room is going crazy with zombies, as well as the rest of the world, and it seems him and his roommate are the only ones on campus that are not infected. It doesn’t last very long that way though.

When he finally realizes what is going on after checking his phone, his one goal is to get to the girl he loves. Not to his dad, or brother and nephew, but to the girl that might not even like him back that way. I didn’t much care for that part of the book but everything else was pretty good. I love a good zombie book so it really doesn’t have to do too much to impress me there. There is quite a bit of gore, as there should be with any good zombie book, so if you aren’t into that then I would skip this book.  

You quickly figure out what has caused the virus to spread which is nice because I hate not knowing that. It is a very short, quick read and would be great around Halloween time. I really wish it hadn’t of ended so quickly but I can see why it did. There really isn’t too much the author could have dragged on and it would have been noticeable if she had done that. I would have liked to see more in depth of what happens to Iris and I wasn’t a fan of how that went down. I am definitely interested in reading the second book to see what happens next. I feel like this series or trilogy may get better as it continues.

My Rating:

Giveaway

Prizes - open to US and Canada:

-1 signed paperback

- One bookmark

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{About the Author}

Valerie Grosjean is the author of the young adult novel UNDYING. She grew up on a Nebraska farm. After college, she married and moved to Northern California, where she lives with her husband and their two young children. Her obsession with zombie movies inspired UNDYING, her first novel and the beginning of the Undying series.

*This book was provided by the author, for a blog tour, in exchange for an honest review. 

Wishlist Wednesday #78

Wishlist Wednesday is a book blog hop hosted by Dani at Pen to Paper Blog where we will post about one book per week that has been on our wish-list for some time, or just added (it's entirely up to you), that we can't wait to get off the wish-list and onto our wonderful shelves.

Storm Warning by E. Lee & C. Quinn

Series: Broken Heartland, #1
Release Date: December 12th 2013
Format: Paperback
Pages: 214
Genre: Young Adult – Contemporary Romance
Author: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads
Buy it: Amazon
Add it: Goodreads

Sometimes you can’t see the storm coming until it’s too late...

Severe Storm Warning Tip #1:

Be alert to changing weather conditions. Look for approaching storms.

Severe Storm Warning Tip #2:

If you see approaching storms or any of the danger signs, be prepared to take shelter immediately.

Severe Storm Warning Tip #3:

They may strike quickly, with little or no warning.

Situated just outside of Oklahoma City, Calumet County is divided into two drastically different communities: Hope’s Grove and Summit Bluffs. One is the small backward town where dirt roads lead the way to field parties and railroad tracks. And the other, a sprawling suburb where paved drives lead to the landscaped lawns of the wealthy and over privileged.

For five teenagers smack in the middle of Tornado Alley, summer is heating up fast. The winds of change are blurring the invisible line that divides the rich and the rural.

One has a secret.

One has a crush.

One has been lying.

One will get caught.

And one might not make it out alive.

They’re from two different worlds…but one summer is about to change everything.

I featured a teaser and a giveaway on this book at the beginning of December (see that HERE) and I have wanted the book ever since. I fell in love with the cover. I am not sure why I like it so much but I just think it is really pretty. The story sounds really good too. I am not usually very big on contemporary romances but if it catches my attention enough then I am willing to give it a go. This looks like it is told from multiple points of view which is a favorite thing for me.

Have you read this book? What are your thoughts?