Soooo, I'm back!! I took a bit of a blogging break this past month, but I am going to be going back to blogging once or twice a week and possibly build up to more as I go. I got hit with a major case of blogger burnout. BUT I am back with another "What I read" post. I have kept up on my reading! I read 28 books last month! A ton of romances, as usual, but also some fantasy books sprinkled in there. I labeled the types of books they were to make it easier for people to skip the genres that they aren't interested in.
My rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Matt and Grace meet during their senior year in college and being fast friends. Grace was cellist and Matt was there for photography. After spending almost every day together their feelings grow to something even more. Towards the end of the semester Matt gets the opportunity to travel with National Geographic until the end of summer. They make plans to be with each other when he gets back, but after a misunderstanding, they don't see each other until 15 years later. Matt only saw her for a split second on the train platform before her train pulled away. After seeing her he can't stop thinking about how in love they were and decides to write a "missed connections" post on Craigslist with hopes that she'll see it.
Never Never by Brianna Shrum (Fantasy)
My rating: 2 out of 5 stars
This is Captain Hook's story. I feel like this once started out okay but then quickly lost some steam. The middle section of the book really dragged on for me. I also didn't really understand why Peter Panwas a happy boy playing around Neverland one second and bloodthirsty murderer the next. I expected some kind of reasoning. I'm also not a huge fan of stories that are depressing the whole way through with no redemption at all. I mean, I knew it wasn't going to end well for James but it just felt like watching someone repeatedly kick an injured dog. While others may enjoy this one, it just wasn't for me
A Perfect Curse by Shereen Vedam (Fantasy)
My rating: 2 out of 5 stars
I really love any story that is inspired by a fairy tale but I had a hard time getting into this one. I didn't feel like the story flowed very nicely. It could be because I missed the first book in the series. The beginning of the story really dragged for me until it got past halfway, so that was disappointing. I really didn't feel the attraction between the two characters much. It seemed a bit forced.to me.
Next Stop: Love by Miranda J. Fox (Romance)
My rating: 3 out of 5 stars
I really loved the way this one started out. It was a lot of fun watching them try to get under each other's skin while stuck in the train compartment together. It was a different kind of story than I'm used to, being a hate to love kind of thing, but I loved it. I thought it lost a bit of steam towards the middle and end though.
Breaking a Legend by Sarah Robinson (Romance)
My rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Rory was one of the biggest MMA stars around until an injury destroys his career. He is depressed and has no direction until he meets Clare. She makes him want to change and get his life back together. Clare is new to town but she has a dark past. She is running from something and has a lot of secrets. She just wants to move on and forget everything that happened but her plans didn't involve falling for a tough MMA fighter.
A Wedding in Truhart by Cynthia Tennent (Romance)
My rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Annie grew up idolizing her brother's best friend, Nick, and has had a crush on him since she was a kid. When her sister asks her to be the maid of honor at her wedding, she is surprised to find out that Nick is the best man. Through their bickering and all of the wedding drama they start to have a lot of chemistry with each other.
Driving Her Crazy by Kira Archer (Romance)
My rating: 3 out of 5 stars
This was a cute fast read, filled with funny moments. It was centered mostly around the road trip itself so it all took place in a short span of time. I thought the ending was a little rushed, and they left a lot of loose ends with their families. I liked it but I didn't love it.
Brave the Heat by Sara Humphreys (Romance)
My rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Fire Chief Gavin is shocked to run into his high school love, Jordan, after leaving the school for a false alarm. He never really got over her and he's still hurt by there way that she disappeared on him 15 years ago. Jordan is trying to start over in her hometown after divorcing her husband in New York. She starts feeling all of the old feelings coming back but she is nervous about starting over with someone again.
Proving Paul's Promise by Tammy Falkner (Romance)
My rating: 2 out of 5 stars
I was really excited about the idea of a tattoo shop family, but this one just wasn't for me. Paul's relationship with his ex was extremely weird and Friday handles it WAY too well. She claims to be the jealous type but never really showed it when there was a big reason for it. I just couldn't get into the story with this one. I haven't read any of the others in the series, so maybe I was missing something from an earlier story.
Her Unexpected Detour by Kyra Jacobs (Romance)
My rating: 3 out of 5 stars
I thought this was really sweet and I love that they both had troubled histories that helped them bond and heal together. I thought they both acted a bit immature at times and the story moved a little slow. I think my favorite part of the whole book was the grandmother, Ruby, who owned the Inn
The Rebel by Victoria Purman (Romance)
My rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Cooper was professional surfer until a career ending injury forces him to take it easy. His best friend of 6 years, Maggie, insists that he stay at her house with her and her son while he recuperates. There has always been an attraction between the two of them but they have kept their relationship strictly friendship. But after being in each other's company for days they are both having issues keeping it that way. Cooper doesn't want to ruin their friendship and Maggie doesn't want to have her son be hurt when Cooper goes out traveling again.
My rating: Did not finish
Lainey's high school crush, Danny, dies in a tragic hit and run accident. The whole school, including the the popular girl/bully Wynter, blame her for his death. Danny's ghost appears one day and asks Lainey to solve his murder. This one moved extremely slow for me. I couldn't get into the story at all. She didn't even see a ghost until halfway through the book!
Irresistibly Yours by Lauren Layne (Romance)
My rating: 4 out of 5 stars
I loved both of these characters. I could really relate with Penelope because I grew up a big tomboy, and as "just one of the guys". I had a lot of the same self esteem issues too. Cole was introduced as kind of a womanizing type but he didn't really come off that way to me at all. He treated Penelope great and did a lot of really sweet things for her. I am definitely going to try to get my hands on the other books in this series because the secondary characters were so much fun!
The Trouble with Love by Lauren Layne (Romance)
My rating; 4 out of 5 stars
My rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
I had a bit of a hard time with parts of this one. My biggest problem with this was that Isabelle decided to completely change her looks to try to get his attention. That just rubbed me the wrong way, I guess. And then how Devon proposed this affair between the two of them is just insulting and sounds cheap. Some of the things that he said to her to give her a "reality check" were really harsh and cruel and she lets him get away with it! I would have like to see her take more of a stand for herself. She ended up coming off very weak. All of that being said, I still managed to enjoy pieces of this one.
Playing with Fire by Kate Meader (Romance)
My rating: 4 out of 5 stars
I loved the whole love/hate relationship that they had with each other. I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about Eli at first because he seemed so sneaky but I feel like he really grew on me. Alex had such a great tough-girl personality and I loved the banter between her and Eli. I also loved Alex's protective brothers. I'm definitely going to go back and read the first one in the series, since I missed that one.
The Name of the Game by Jennifer Dawson (Romance)
My rating: 4 out of 5 stars
I was surprised by how much I liked this one! First of all the heat factor is through the roof! I think I was just as surprised as Gracie when it came to James. At first he came off kind of snooty but after a while you realize he's not really that way at all. They had a crazy amount of chemistry. I was pleasantly surprised that Gracie wasn't just a bubbly airhead type too
A Promise Of Home by Wendy Vella (Romance)
My rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Brenna decides to head back to the town of her old high school when when of her older friends passes away. She is a very closed off person so she has to try to get used to living in a small town again where everyone knows everything about each other. One person she wasn't prepared to see was her old crush Jake. Jake has some demons in his past that he is trying to hide from as well. Whenever they are around eachother they both feel the attraction but are both weary of acting on it.
Friction by Sawyer Bennett (Romance)
My rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Leary and Reeve are opposing attorneys in an upcoming case. Leary isn't afraid to use her charms to win cases but she's never come up against anyone like Reeve. They begin a relationship but both worry what's going to happen between them once the case is over.
To Dare A SEAL by Sara Jane Stone (Romance)
My rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Once Upon a Power Play by Jennifer Bonds (Romance)
My rating: 5 out of 5 stars
A big part of this book was their sexual relationship since they were "friends with benefits" but I thought the author wove their growing feeling into the story nicely. It never felt forced to me. It seemed like Chloe was the one that had to get over her emotional hangups the most, even though what Ryan's ex did to him was pretty awful. I was surprised that Ryan let it go and still had his friendship with his team mate. The ending was so perfect, especially with the epilogue added. So sweet
Calling the Play by Samantha Kane (Romance)
My rating: 2 out of 5 stars
After reading the first one in this series, I was really looking forward to Ty's story. I thought the emotional connection between him and Brian was great and I really loved them together but unfortunately I just didn't feel like it worked with Randi added too. Randi and Brian were too "inst-love" for me. It seemed like once they added Brian, she didn't really care about Ty anymore. She seemed to get more of an emotional connection with him right off the bat, even though she was supposedly falling for Ty. It just seemed off to me.
Her Accidental Husband by Ashlee Mallory (Romance)
My rating: 3 out of 5 stars
It was so much fun on their trip when they would start to bicker with each other and rile each other up. I loved how sweet they were with each other at times but towards the end of the book I just wanted to hit them both for acting like children. When the HEA came along I felt like it was too rushed and didn't answer some of the questions in the book. I didn't dislike this one but it probably won't be something that I remember a few months from now
Seducing Seven by M.K. Meredith (Romance)
My rating: 2 out of 5 stars
I thought some parts of this were really fun with their flirting and chemistry, but sometimes when Blake opened his mouth I wanted to punch him in the face. Any time he would feel any sort of emotion towards her he would insult her repeatedly. And she would let him!! It made me crazy! She was a girl with a stronger personality but she just let him say awful things to her on multiple occasions. She just forgives and forgets instantly...I guess I'm just not wired that way
Slow Ride by Cathryn Fox (Romance)
My rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
I really enjoyed this one but I wish it was just a little bit longer. This is a pretty short story. I was able to read it pretty quickly in one sitting. The story takes place in just a week's time so I think instead of skipping a few days, it would have made the story a little bit stronger to talk more about their time together even if it would have added more pages. I still enjoyed this one though, and I would definitely read the others in the series
Snowflake Bay by Donna Kauffman (Romance)
My rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Fiona and her family grew up in their small hometown being great friends with Ben, but Fiona always had a huge crush on him. He always treated her like the annoying little sister, and was chasing after her older sister. But now that she is back in town to plan her sister's wedding, he is starting to take notice of her.
Playing With Fire by Alison Bliss (Romance)
My rating: 3 out of 5 stars
I definitely had a few moments where I laughed out loud at this one, and then other parts where I was cringing at the awkwardness. I liked Cowboy's cocky attitude, but there was definitely a point where I wanted to punch him for being a jerk. I liked it but I didn't end up loving it as much as I thought I would
All Wrapped Up by Kimberly Kincaid (Romance)
My rating: 3 out of 5 stars
I really loved Nick's character but I have to be honest, I didn't really care for Ava. I liked her wit but other than that I just couldn't understand her. Even after hearing about the way she grew up, she still didn't make sense to me.
** All of these Kindle books (with a couple exceptions) were given to me for free from NetGalley or Entangled Publishing for an honest review. All opinions are my own. **
