MY BEST FRIEND'S GIRL: DOROTHY KOOMSON

I was sucked in to this story by page two. There were several factors in why I related to this story, but mostly I just felt the characters right away. I found this to be beautifully consuming. This is my favorite kind of chick-lit book. It isn't just shallow and silly, it isn't depressing while still being deep and real, it talks about sex without having detailed sex scenes. I find these kinds of books so rarely that I get very excited when I find one.

BOOK BLURB:

How far would you go for the best friend who broke your heart? This internationally bestselling novel tells an enchanting tale of life’s most unpredictable loves and heartaches, and the unforgettable bond between a single woman and an extraordinary five-year-old girl. From the moment they met in college, best friends Adele Brannon and Kamryn Matika thought nothing could come between them—until Adele did the unthinkable and slept with Kamryn’s fiancé, Nate. Now, after years of silence, the two women are reuniting, and Adele has a stunning request for her old friend: she wants Kamryn to adopt her five-year-old daughter, Tegan.

Besides the difference in skin color—many will assume that headstrong, impulsive Kamryn is Tegan’s nanny—there’s the inconvenient truth that Kamryn is wholly unprepared to take care of anyone, especially someone who reminds her so much of Nate. With crises brewing at work and her love life in shambles, can Kamryn somehow become the mother a little girl needs her to be? 

This was drama in the best way. Not over the top, but still enough out of ordinary life to make it very interesting as a reader. Plus, it is topped off with loveable and real characters. 

Read more about it HERE.

SERIAL HOTTIE: KELLY ORAM

I really enjoyed Oram's Being Jamie Baker and was excited to read her new book. Oram has a great voice and her stories move along in a delightful way. Serial Hottie gets extra points for being totally original, the premise is kind of strange, but it works. The heroine Ellie is sassy and adorable. However, I'm not sure what I thought about the "hottie" Seth, he is kind of a crazy, overprotective love interest. Yet, throughout the book, his nutso actions are not ignored by other characters, especially Ellie so Oram makes it work (in the context of the book). Although I have to say for my own sake that girls should NOT date boys like Seth, go out and find another less crazy boy to love and life will be much easier I promise you!

BOOK BLURB:

Hockey-obsessed tomboy Eleanor Westley has never been the object of a guy's affection before. So when the hottest boy she's ever seen moves in across the street and starts treating her like she's the center of his universe, naturally she's going to be a little skeptical. But everything starts to make sense when girls who look just like Ellie start dying all around the city. Obviously the new guy is the killer, and of course he only likes her because he wants to slice her into tiny pieces. Right? The more Ellie gets to know Seth the more she's convinced he's a psychopathic killer. Problem is, he's the sweetest psychopathic killer she's ever met. Not to mention he's brutally hot. No matter how hard she tries, she can't help but fall for him. Will Ellie find true love, or will her summer of firsts turn out to be a summer of lasts?

I also enjoyed the bonus material with a few snippets from Seth's POV, although it did not make him seem less nuts to me. 

Both Serial Hottie and Being Jamie Baker are available for your Kindle for a great price. You can check them both out HERE. 

Read more about Serial Hottie on goodreads HERE.

EDENBROOKE: JULIANNE DONALDSON

There were so many reasons for me to NOT like this book. The heroine is smart and funny, but completely clueless to the obvious men in her life, the plot was pretty darn predictable, and the scandal storyline seemed almost like an afterthought. However, I still totally loved it. I don't know why, but I did. Edenbrooke is super cute and swoony, and is a completely 100% clean read. I also had a very hard time putting it down.

BOOK BLURB:

Marianne Daventry will do anything to escape the boredom of Bath and the amorous attentions of an unwanted suitor. So when an invitation arrives from her twin sister, Cecily, to join her at a sprawling country estate, she jumps at the chance. Thinking she’ll be able to relax and enjoy her beloved English countryside while her sister snags the handsome heir of Edenbrooke, Marianne finds that even the best laid plans can go awry.

From a terrifying run-in with a highwayman to a seemingly harmless flirtation, Marianne finds herself embroiled in an unexpected adventure filled with enough romance and intrigue to keep her mind racing. Will she be able to rein in her traitorous heart, or will a mysterious stranger sweep her off her feet? Fate had something other than a relaxing summer in mind when it sent Marianne to Edenbrooke.

Read more about it HERE.

STUCK IN A GOOD BOOK GIVEAWAY: VIRTUOSITY

When I signed up for this hop, I thought it would be super easy to come up with a book to feature. But then I realized I don't like to put down any of my books. So I wanted to choose a read that kept me up late with excitement. I decided to pick Virtuosity by Jessica Martinez, because I remember staying up late to finish it because I really, really, really, really wanted to know what was going to happen. I stay up late reading every night, but not always as late as I stayed up with this one. 

Go HERE for my original review.

One winner will get a hardback copy of this clean, sweet, sassy, suspensful, swoony read!

TIGER LILY: JODI LYNN ANDERSON

This book completely transported me to a magical world, and I loved all of it. I don't even know what possessed me to pick this up. I don't really like fantasy books, and I didn't like Anderson's contemporary romance series Peaches at all. But I liked Tiger Lily right away. The poetic and full words swept me off to an island with a very loveable Tinkerbell as my guide.

BOOK BLURB:

Before Peter Pan belonged to Wendy, he belonged to the girl with the crow feather in her hair. . . .

Fifteen-year-old Tiger Lily doesn't believe in love stories or happy endings. Then she meets the alluring teenage Peter Pan in the forbidden woods of Neverland and immediately falls under his spell.

Peter is unlike anyone she's ever known. Impetuous and brave, he both scares and enthralls her. As the leader of the Lost Boys, the most fearsome of Neverland's inhabitants, Peter is an unthinkable match for Tiger Lily. Soon, she is risking everything—her family, her future—to be with him. When she is faced with marriage to a terrible man in her own tribe, she must choose between the life she's always known and running away to an uncertain future with Peter.

With enemies threatening to tear them apart, the lovers seem doomed. But it's the arrival of Wendy Darling, an English girl who's everything Tiger Lily is not, that leads Tiger Lily to discover that the most dangerous enemies can live inside even the most loyal and loving heart.

From the New York Times bestselling author of Peaches comes a magical and bewitching story of the romance between a fearless heroine and the boy who wouldn't grow up.

I don't generally keep track of quotes, but this book was so darn full of them that I had to make note of at least two:

" 'I'm not myself,' she offered, guilty. 

He smiled. 'You can never say that. You're just a piece of yourself right now that you don't like.' "

And then this one:

"To love someone was not what she had expected. It was like falling from somewhere high up and breaking in half, and only one person having the secret to the puzzle of putting her back together." 

At first this felt like a book that a mother could sit and read to her 8 - 10 year old daugter. But despite the fact that it is a clean read it is probably too dark for most children. The darkness was one of the reasons I loved it though.

Again, this book surprised me in so many ways because I just didn't think I could like it, but I freaking loved it. My cute daughter was fascinated when I told her I was reading a book about Tinkerbell and Peter Pan, and I promised my four year old that I would read it to her one day. Hopefully she will love it too.

 

WHO'S AFRAID OF MR. WOLFE?: HAZEL OSMOND

I really enjoyed this. It was kind of predictable, but then the way it went about it's predictableness (I know that is not word) was a surprise. It is probably not a book you can get at your local library, but it is available on amazon for way cheap.

BOOK BLURB:

Ellie Somerset is a great advertising copywriter going nowhere fast - a boyfriend who is always at work, a tendency to dress like a short-sighted bag lady and a Creative Director who rejects her fresh ideas - they all conspire to keep her just treading water. Even her Great Aunt Edith, a demon at filthy scrabble, has a better social life than she does. All that changes when Jack Wolfe becomes her boss. Whilst everyone else at the agency thinks he's Heathcliff in jeans, Ellie just sees a stalking, scowling Alpha male with a nasty redundancy plan up his sleeve. As Jack makes it his mission to smarten up Ellie's attitude and her appearance, it's time for her to prove herself. But that means getting closer to this very sexy, very wicked man, and as she does Ellie discovers that this particular Heathcliff has an awful lot to hide.

A few steamy scenes and mild language. Overall a light and enjoyable read without being silly. 

Read more about it HERE.

SPEECHLESS: HANNAH HARRINGTON

Last year, I really enjoyed Harrington's debut novel Saving June so I was looking forward to her new book Speechless. First off let me just tell you that the actual physical book is freaking beautiful. I'm not sure why the publisher decided to go with this cover, because it does not stand out online at all. However in person it is stunning and different. I'm glad I read the actual book and not just an ebook with this one. 

Harrington's writing is solid and she is definitely a talented story teller. Both this and Saving June didn't grab me like crazy, but I enjoyed reading them. I thought the story in Speechless was a great addition to current contemporary YA literature. This book explores some timely themes and shows that any moment can change you. 

I liked how Chelsea changes, but is still the same person. It reminded me of how I felt as I came of age in college. I was still me, but I changed and grew. I think most people can relate to a time in there life where they found themselves and Chelsea does that in Speechless.

BOOK BLURB:

Everyone knows that Chelsea Knot can't keep a secret

Until now. Because the last secret she shared turned her into a social outcast—and nearly got someone killed.

Now Chelsea has taken a vow of silence—to learn to keep her mouth shut, and to stop hurting anyone else. And if she thinks keeping secrets is hard, not speaking up when she's ignored, ridiculed and even attacked is worse.

But there's strength in silence, and in the new friends who are, shockingly, coming her way—people she never noticed before; a boy she might even fall for. If only her new friends can forgive what she's done. If only she can forgive herself.

I don't think I am giving too much away by saying that Chelsea outs a fellow student, who then gets attacked and nearly killed by two neanderthals that Chelsea is "friends" with at school. No matter how you feel about the gay issue I don't think anyone can say they are ok with this kind of violence against a student who says he is gay. I liked how Harrington talks about what happened without making you feel like she has a political agenda.

I did have one huge problem with one part at the end that was just too sugary sweet, feel good and I hated it because it did NOT feel like it went went the rest of the book. ("There's someone here tonight who deserves this title way more than I do"? Ugh!)

Great book overall though and I look forward to the next one by this author. 

Read more about it HERE.