Review: The Darkest Part by Trisha Wolfe

Title: The Darkest Part

Author: Trisha Wolfe 

Age:  NA

Genre: Contemporary Romance

SYNOPSIS:

Pressing the boundaries of both the psyche and the heart, Sam and Holden embark on a dangerous journey that will test the limits of love.

Sam Wintry’s life used to be almost perfect. She was engaged to her childhood best friend and high school sweetheart, Tyler Marks, planning an amazing cross-country honeymoon during her college break. But after a hit-and-run leaves her in ruin, she begins seeing Tyler’s fractured, ghostly presence, and her family believes she’s losing her mind. Not until she completes their journey, stopping along the way to scatter Tyler's remains, will Tyler be able cross over. Only...is Sam ready for him to leave her?

When the black sheep of the Marks' family, Holden Marks, returns to check on Tyler's case, Sam convinces him to give her his brother's ashes. Despite their shaky history, she needs him...plus, he owes it to Sam and his brother. What she doesn’t count on is Holden’s relentlessness to go on the trip.

On the road, Holden realizes just how unhinged Sam has become. Dealing with her psychosis forces him to confront his dark past, making it harder to keep secrets hidden that should remain buried. Especially from Sam, the only woman he’s ever loved. And as Sam starts to unravel the truth, she begins to question if the brother she's unwillingly falling for again is in an even darker place than her.

MY THOUGHTS:

4.5 out of 5 stars

I was a little nervous about this one, I have to admit.  Don't get me wrong, I wanted to read it, but I was scared that I'd have issues with it.

And at first, I thought my worries were justified.  There was no way I was going to be able to get through this story.  I was totally crazy about Tyler and my heart was broken for Sam and Holden was just a selfish ass who didn't care about anybody but himself.

Yeah...not so much.

This story rocked my emotional world.

I have been craving a book that made me feel all the feels.  And there have been a few that were close, so very close - but this one was exactly what I had been needing to read.  My heart was shattered in parts, bursting in others.  What I thought I wanted at the beginning was the opposite of what I ended up needing at the end.  There were layers to these characters that you don't see in the synopsis and these layers make this story so much more than what you think you are getting.

Before The Darkest Part, I had never read anything by Trisha Wolfe.  That will change.  I've already added the other upcoming books in this series to my to-read list and I'm excited to get my hands on her previous works.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

From an early age, Trisha Wolfe dreamed up fantasy worlds and characters and was accused of talking to herself. Today, she lives in South Carolina with her family and writes full time, using her fantasy worlds as an excuse to continue talking to herself.

For more information on Trisha Wolfe and her works, please visit: www.trishawolfe.co.

To be the first to hear about new releases and sale events, sign up for Trisha Wolfe's Newsletter: http://bit.ly/1rXTKI7.

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Review: Broken Course by Aly Martinez

SYNOPSIS:

Seven years ago, my life changed forever. One accident and the person I saw in the mirror no longer resembled the woman I used to be. I was lost and confused inside my own body. I felt alone and disconnected from the world, carrying the incredible weight of guilt and loss that wasn't even mine to harbor.

Then fate led me to Leo James. He taught me that crazy could be perfectly normal and it shouldn't hurt to breathe. Don't get me wrong. Leo isn't perfect. He has his own cross to bear, and the truth is, that might be why I fell for him in the first place. But despite everything he does for me, learning to forgive myself is infinitely harder than overlooking the flaws of another.

Now, the secrets and lies of our past have begun to dictate our future—threatening to ruin us before we get the chance to try. Perhaps we were cursed from the start. Or maybe, just maybe, the remnants of our fractured lives will fit together to form one whole, where love isn’t questioned and being happy is…well, easy.

Can a second broken soul be enough to fill the voids of my own? Or will such scarred pasts prove too much for our love alone to overcome?

 
MY THOUGHTS:

5 out of 5 stars

Before I get officially started with my review, I need to put this out there:

Dear Aly Martinez...my birthday is in February and I want Leo.  Or Christmas.  Christmas would also work.  Or tomorrow.  I have no issue with tomorrow.  You just let me know when.
 

I'm not even joking.  It is like when you were creating Leo, you crawled inside my head and picked every single one of my weaknesses.  I'm pretty sure you have ruined me for any other contemporary romance heroes.  Dark, dirty and flawed...I mean, hellllllo Leo.

Ahem.  So back to the review of the story.

There MAY have been a bit of trepidation on my part going into this story...you see, I have a tendency to hold grudges longer than is probably healthy and I loathed Sarah in Changing Course.  And yes, I know that Stolen Course sheds light on her situation, but still.  I haven't hated a character like I hate Sarah since reading Gone Girl.  There may have been a few WTFs uttered when finishing Among the Echoes.  Okay, so maybe more than a few.

BUT...I love Aly and I have faith in Aly and then Celeste from The Book Hookup tweeted me about Leo and I knew I couldn't put it off any longer.

My plan was to simply pretend Sarah was somebody else.

Y'all...this may be my favorite book of the series.  If you haven't read the first books in this series, I'm not going to rehash what brings Sarah and Leo together, but once they are together their chemistry is undeniable.  But it isn't just the intense attaction between Sarah and Leo that makes their relationship work, it is the fact that they are both broken.  Yes, I say "are" because what the two of them had experienced in their separate lives are events nobody could ever let go.  The scars are long.  The scars are deep.  And the scars are permanent.

That being said, that doesn't mean that Sarah and Leo have to let the scars define them.

And I think that is what I love most about this book.  Aly Martinez doesn't write a story that erases the past simply because the future happens.  She writes a story that allows a future in that happens because of the past.  What Sarah did and what Leo experienced doesn't just go away because they are in love.  Actually, their emotions bring everything closer to the surface and it isn't sunshine and rainbows.

I loved this story.  It had everything I look for -- intensity, emotions, unf, humor and an ending that fits the characters.  This whole series and Beyond the Echoes have a permanent place on my Kindle because I know I will be rereading them...I refuse to say goodbye to these characters.  And I can't read what Aly Martinez gives us next.

Review: Break the Sky by Nina Lane

SYNOPSIS:

A sizzling hot, new SPIRAL OF BLISS spin-off novel from New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Nina Lane

“Do you ever let go, storm girl?” he asked. “Ever lose control? Ever surrender?”
“Never,” I whispered. “I never surrender.”
A smile of both promise and warning curved his beautiful mouth.
“You will.”

Atmospheric scientist Kelsey March is under siege. Her tornado research project is on the skids and she’s fighting conflict in her university department. So when irresistible bad boy Archer West suggests a hot, wild fling while he’s in town, Kelsey is unable to resist his sexy offer.

Kelsey and Archer embark on a intense, exhilarating affair. But soon their differences and private battles encroach on their desire, and Kelsey discovers that Archer is a storm she can’t control.

MY THOUGHTS:

5 out of 5 stars

I've been on a bit of a Contemporary Romance kick here lately, so when I got an email about reading this one, I jumped at the chance to try a new-to-me author. 

The Spiral of Bliss series by Nina Lane has been on my to-read list for a while and I figured this was the perfect excuse to spend some of the last few days of my summer vacation binge reading.  I consumed all 3 books in that series in 2 days.  I couldn't put them down. 

Which then made me a little bit wary about reading a spin-off.

Like I've mentioned before, when I get attached to characters in a story, I don't like to say goodbye.  While I clamor to get my hands on a completed series, sometimes I will leave the final book(s) unread because I don't like to let go.  The same goes with a spin-off...if I am perfectly happy with the original characters, maybe I don't WANT to learn more about what happened to "other people".  I was perfectly happy with Hot Professor Dean and Liv.

But since I'm not one to back away from a commitment, I started reading Break the Sky...and I absolutely loved it.

Kelsey March is one tough cookie, so when paired up with Archer...um, yum.  The chemistry between the two of them was intense from the very first moment.  You just knew that there wasn't going to be a slow burn, there was going to be an explosion.  GAH!

That being said, there was a solid well-told story line written within the "fan-yourself moments".  I love a strong female character and it was great to see Archer find his place in the world when he has felt alone for so long.  Yes, Dean (and Liv) played an integral part in the story, but I didn't feel like they were toooooo present or that their moments overshadowed Kelsey and Archer -- yes, this is a spin-off, but it didn't feel like a spin-off.  So yay!

Now...here is the hard part for me.  I've read it and I want more.  Not because I feel like there story was lacking, but because I have developed an attachment to these characters in this world Nina Lane created.  My emotional reader cup runneth over. 

What a problem to have, right?   

   

Review: The Vixen and the Vet by Katy Regnery

SYNOPSIS:

Burned by an unreliable source, Savannah Carmichael, returns to her hometown of Danvers, Virginia with her once-promising journalism career in ruins. Given the opportunity to get her skin back in the game by writing a patriotic human interest piece, Savannah turns her attention to the town hermit, Asher Lee, a wounded veteran who returned to Danvers eight years ago, and hasn’t been seen since.

After an IED explosion in Afghanistan took Asher’s hand and disfigured half of his face, he's lived a quiet life on the outskirts of Danvers where the locals respect his privacy…that is, until Savannah Carmichael comes calling in a borrowed sundress and a plate of homemade brownies. When Asher agrees to be interviewed by Savannah, he starts feeling things for the beautiful reporter that he hasn’t felt in years.

Misfits in small-town Danvers, Savannah and Asher create a bond right away, touching each other’s hearts in ways neither thought possible. When a terrible mistake threatens to drive them apart, they’ll have to decide if the love they found in one another’s arms is strong enough to fight for their hard-won happily ever after.

MY THOUGHTS:

3 out of 5 stars

This book was probably one of my toughest reviews.  While I still dream of the day that I can give half-star ratings on Goodreads, I now wish I could give multiple ratings for different aspects.  

There were so many things I really really liked about this book. I'll even go as far as to say there were some things I even loved. I LOVED the concept. I'm a sucker for anything Beauty and the Beast-esque, which this story is. Cute girl, scarred boy (both physically and emotionally in this case) who doesn't let anybody in until they are thrown together. Walls come down, emotions take over...yeah. Like I said, SO many good things about this book. I loved Savannah and Asher together. Sure there were times when I wanted to tell her she was stupid and tell him to get over himself, but you can say that about any couple in any book.

Now, here is what brings down my rating. To be quite honest, I wish there was a way I could rate this book twice. For the characters and the story itself, I'd give it a solid 4-4.5 stars.

But OMG, the ridiculous over the top Southern stereotypes drove me up the wall. I live in the South and have for my entire life. My family lives all over the South. We DO know how to pronounce the 'g' sound in -ing words. Not every single active verb has to end in an '. Callin', comin', visitin', talkin',. Does it happen occasionally, absolutely. Does it happen every time we talk. Nope. And I have never ever heard anybody say "Oh my stars!" What's next? Smelling salts?

And the names. Katie Scarlett? Really? I was totally waiting for a character in the story to be named Rhett. Or Ashley.

I've made no secret of the fact that I am an emotional content reader. If the story captures my attention, I can overlook just about anything. But it was just too much this time. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't offended or feel like the author was making fun of those of us that speak with a bit of a drawl (again, OCCASIONALLY)...it was just WAY WAY WAY too much icing on the cupcake. The fluff distracted from the substance which really really makes me sad because there were so many things that I loved.

That being said, I do plan on searching out other works by this author. Maybe just not one set in the South.


**on an unrelated yet particularly awesome note, 50% of the June and July proceeds from this book will be donated to Operation Mend which helps wounded veterans. You can learn more about this program while reading Savannah and Asher's story :)

Burn for Me by Lauren Blakely - Review and Giveaway

SYNOPSIS:

She’s the one fire he can’t put out...

Jamie Lansing has had it bad for firefighter Smith Grayson for as long as they’ve been friends. Yes, he’s ridiculously charming and she might stare a little too long at his abs, but his dirty-talking, rough-around-the-edges ways aren’t for her. Plus, she knows that as a serial dater, Smith isn’t the type to settle down. But then a terrible, fantastic, mind-blowing mistake leaves her body craving more than one night.

Smith Grayson has only ever had eyes for one woman in town—his best friend Jamie. But convincing her a relationship between them will work is next to impossible with her refusing to see beyond his past. But when she asks for a week of no-strings-attached sex to get him out of her system, Smith knows this is his one chance to prove he’s not just the man she needs in her bed, but the man she needs in her life.

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MY THOUGHTS:

 3 out of 5 stars

CFM -- this one is for you :)

Here is a little secret about me. If you write a book about a firefighter -- I'm gonna have to read it. And if it happens to be a novella that I can start and finish in one sitting, even better.

Burn for Me by Lauren Blakely takes the friends to more concept that I love so very much and turns it into a scorching (pardon the pun :) ) story that had me still thinking about it the next day.

The tension between Jamie and Smith is palpable from the very first scene. A bit of a ladies man, Smith knows how to push Jamie's buttons, no matter how fiercely she tries to resist. But dude, I don't blame her a bit for falling for his...charms. There were more than a few moments where I needed to fan myself. I found myself routing for him to win her over while at the same time wanting to smack her a bit when her overly-paranoid imagination tried to take over. I get the whole her hesitation, but there is a big difference between being cautious and being ridiculous. Thankfully Smith has a bit more patience than I obviously do :)

Since it IS a novella, I did find that there were times that I wish I had a bit more information/back story and that maybe scenes could have been a bit more detailed, but if you are looking for a quick read that will both entertain and scratch an itch, you can't go wrong with this one.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Lauren Blakely writes sexy contemporary romance novels with heat, heart, and humor, and her books have appeared on the New York Times, USA Today, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iBooks bestseller lists. Like the heroine in her novel, FAR TOO TEMPTING, she thinks life should be filled with family, laughter, and the kind of love that love songs promise. Lauren lives in California with her husband, children, and dogs.

She loves hearing from readers! Her novels include Caught Up In Us, Pretending He's Mine, Playing With Her Heart, Trophy Husband, Far Too Tempting, The Thrill of It, and Every Second With You, Night After Night and After This Night. She also writes for young adults under the name Daisy Whitney.

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