Saturday 22 November 2014

A Little Something Different - Sandy Hall

A Little Something Different
The creative writing teacher, the delivery guy, the local Starbucks baristas, his best friend, her roommate, and the squirrel in the park all have one thing in common—they believe that Gabe and Lea should get together. Lea and Gabe are in the same creative writing class. They get the same pop culture references, order the same Chinese food, and hang out in the same places. Unfortunately, Lea is reserved, Gabe has issues, and despite their initial mutual crush, it looks like they are never going to work things out.  But somehow even when nothing is going on, something is happening between them, and everyone can see it. Their creative writing teacher pushes them together. The baristas at Starbucks watch their relationship like a TV show. Their bus driver tells his wife about them. The waitress at the diner automatically seats them together. Even the squirrel who lives on the college green believes in their relationship. 
Surely Gabe and Lea will figure out that they are meant to be together....
This book was incredible. I had it on TBR list for a long time, but never got to it. I finally did and I was blown away. 

I am not usually a fan of multiple POV type books, but this one worked incredibly well. The humour was spot on and the chemistry was the best.
The book follows, through the perspectives of many people, the coming together of, a very shy and very cut boy and a sweet girl. 
It is very hard to get the type of humor and very good writing style when you are writing so many POV's. I have only read one other authors work, R.L. Mathewson, who does it perfectly and seamlessly.

My favourite characters have to be the bench and the squirrel. Never thought I would ever say those words. Seriously. Amazing.

5/5 stars for a short but brilliant read. Highly recommended.

Sugar Rush (Friend-Zoned #3) - Belle Aurora

Sugar Rush (Friend-Zoned, #3)

Max Leokov has watched the people around him find love.

At one point in life, he not only wanted that, but lived for it.
He loved once. He loved with all his heart.
His heart broken, he was left to care for his young daughter.
He deserves a second chance.
Helena Kovac has spent years studying.
She has worked her ass off to get her degree.
She doesn't have time for love. Hell, she doesn't have time to mess around, even.
Books and work are her life. Everything else comes second.
When Max and Helena join forces to help his daughter, Ceecee, they are shocked at the spark between them.
A cynic.
A workaholic.
When love hits, it hits hard.
And sometimes, love hurts.

I am a huge fan of belle aurora. I love her writing and her easy humor. The way she structures her books and the fact I fall in love with all the characters makes me very happy.

It is very important that I feel the emotions of the characters.  If I can't sympathise or empathise with the character, it is not a very good book in my opinion.  This book, all of her books really, make me laugh and smile without realising I'm doing it. Max's parts made me want to hug him and tell him that its all going to be Ok.

Max had always been a favourite character of mine and I couldn't wait to read his story. This book did him justice. I loved Helena and CeeCee to bits.

I would have liked the part where CeeCee met her mother to be a little more detailed, but all in all, it was a cute funny and just plain amazing read.

Asher is still my favourite. I need another book with him and Nat as the protagonists. Please. He is amazing. The overprotective brother, but insanely cute. LOVE LOVE LOVE.

5/5 stars with a huge recommendation for the whole series.

Sunday 16 November 2014

Books that Bring Me Out of a Reading Rut

I, like most of you, have days when I don't fancy reading anything on my TBR list. I have hundreds of books on there, but none of them tickle my fancy.

There are a few books which help me get back in the reading mood. These aren't in any particular order. I just have 6 (ish) books which I always go to.

1. Reason to Breathe - Rebecca Donovan

This book is just incredible. I cannot sing (or write) its praises enough. It makes me laugh, smile and cry. It is extremely well written, and it doesn't hurt that Evan is awesome. It is one of those books, which gives you moments of unknown smiles. You know, when you read a book and you start smiling without knowing, unless someone points it out. LOVE. I would read anything written by her.

The chemistry between Emma and Evan is torture to read. If any of you watch Arrow or The Vampire Diaries, it is like waiting for Oliver and Felicity to kiss, or waiting for Delena to happen. Pure torture.

2. Beautiful Disaster - Jamie McGuire

Travis Maddox. That is all.

3. Any book by - Jennifer L. Armentrout

I could have picked any book by this author. All of them are amazing. She has a formula for her protagonists and it works a charm. Her male characters are hot, sexy, sarcastic and just swoon-worthy. Her female characters are very strong willed and can hold their own, which is one of my favourite things about her books.

It is difficult to choose one favourite male so I would go for a mixture of Cam and Daemon. I'm greedy like that.

4. Any book by - R.L. Mathewson

Very much like JLA, this author has a formula that is the best. Her male protagonists are very funny and hot. They are so annoying but so so hot. Her female protagonists are cute. I have no other words to describe them. thy're just cute.

The books are a great pick-me-up. They are really funny and sweet. A must read.

6. Starcrossed - Josephine Angelini

This is my favourite Greek Mythology book. It is very well written and the chemistry between Helen and Lucas is agonising. I will never tire of reading this book.

There are a few more books, but these are the ones that I will go to first.

There are links to Goodreads pages for the books, and website links for the Authors.

Thursday 13 November 2014

Mara Dyer Series - Michelle Hodkin

So I finished the books....

This is going to be very short. Some of you may have read my review to the first book. This is an extension to that.

The second book was good, not as good as the first but still enjoyable.

The twists and turns did catch me off guard, but some you could just see coming and I was not that impressed.

I did not enjoy the ending of the third book. The cliffhanger in the second book did not leave me as distressed as I usually would be, since I knew I had the last book.

I felt as though the series just ended without giving any explanation into what happened next. In some cases it is okay. For example, the last book in the Breathing Series did have somewhat of an abrupt ending, but we knew that everything would be okay. With this book that did not happen. We were told bad things would happen, but that was never explored.

Overall, I did enjoy the story and the writing was very good. However, I feel as though the story was unfinished, therefore, making my experience less enjoyable. I would recommend these books, as I did like the series as a whole.

3.5/5 stars for the series as a whole.

Below are links to the Goodreads pages for each book.

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer

The Evolution of Mara Dyer

The Retribution of Mara Dyer

Monday 10 November 2014

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer - Michelle Hodkin

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Mara Dyer believes life can't get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there.It can. 
She believes there must be more to the accident she can't remember that killed her friends and left her strangely unharmed. There is.
She doesn't believe that after everything she's been through, she can fall in love. She's wrong.
 I am very late reading this book. It has been on my TBR shelf for years, but I wanted the whole series to be out before I started. I have only started the book series today, reading the first book, and I LOVE IT. It is weird and wonderful. Mysterious and very entertaining. 

Mara Dyer is a very complex character. I love her strength but it also annoyed me at times. Her decisions were stupid, and you wanted to scream at her to listen, but she didn't. Instead of putting me off, it only fueled my hunger to read on. 

Noah, English, sexy, playboy. Classic male protagonist and I loved it. With a twist you don't see coming, his character is awesome. I have to say, not my favourite male ever, but he is up there. 

WARNING!?! THERE IS A CLIFFHANGER AT THE END OF THIS BOOK. 

I seem to be a sucker for books with cliffhangers. Most of the books that I read are series books, so the pain that comes it having to wait for a book to come out, is one I am familiar with.  Luckily I waited for all of the books in this series so I can start The Evolution of Mara Dyer.

4.5/5 stars.

Thursday 6 November 2014

Forgive Me - Eliza Freed



The thing he loves most in the world will kill him. It's only a matter of time . . . "
College student Charlotte O'Brien is lost and she can't find her way home. Devastated by her parents' tragic deaths, she aches for any kind of connection…and finds it in a man who is all wrong for her. Jason Leer is a rough-hewn steer wrestler from Oklahoma-and the hottest thing Charlotte has ever laid eyes on. Yet he has his own dark secrets…
Burying herself in Jason, Charlotte soon discovers that life doesn't have to be so painful. When they're together their passion eclipses everything-and Charlotte can finally begin to see a way out of the darkness of her past. Fighting for a future with Jason won't be easy, but for the first time since her parents' deaths, this lost soul might have finally found a place that feels like home.
FORGIVE ME by Eliza Freed (November 4, 2014; Forever Yours E-Book; $3.99/£1.99) 

A little excerpt from the book:

And so it goes. The days are blurs of Sean, Jenn, and Margo helping me with the administration of my life. There’s a will, a house, cars, belongings. Too much to comprehend. And my nights are Jason Leer.
He comes when the others leave; always here within minutes of loneliness setting in. He saves me from my thoughts and my memories. Two days ago I showed him the key under the turtle rock and now he no longer knocks. Knocking would imply asking permission to come in and he’s already here.
Something’s different about tonight, though. Sean and Michelle brought dinner over and drove Dad’s tractor back to their house. They left an hour ago, later than expected, and he’s still not here. I haven’t slept without him since the funeral and now that he’s absent, the depth to which I need him scares me.
I look in the mirror as I brush my teeth and my face is distraught. I refuse to let myself consider why. Too afraid it has more to do with Jason’s absence than with my parents. That’s impossible, though. Did he say he had something to do tonight? Did he say anything? Do we ever say anything? I thought I understood. Until tonight. Now that he’s not here the last week no longer makes sense.
I button the last button on my favorite nightshirt and climb into bed. It’s enormous and cold without him. The silent darkness allows the memories to seep in. The moonlight invades my room and everything is gray and sad. Why?
Why did you die?
Why aren’t you here?
Where the hell is Jason Leer?
Tears fill my eyes, and I roll onto my stomach and bury my face in my pillow. I can’t be without them. They have to come back. I hear the truck tires on the gravel of my driveway and hurry out of bed. His truck door moans as he closes it and I go to the back door to meet him. I open it just as he’s fitting the key into the lock.
His smile fades as the look on my face registers. He steps to me and wipes the tears from my face, which makes me cry a little more.
“I’m sorry I’m late,” he whispers, so as to not disturb the quiet that’s descended on the house. He smells of cigarettes and dirt. Actual dirt. And I’m so thankful he’s here.
“I was worried.”
“Worried I wasn’t coming?” Jason moves closer to me and I lose my breath as he pins me up against the wall. I nod my head slowly, my eyes never leaving his.
“I came as soon as the rodeo ended.”
“The rodeo.”
“Did you forget the rodeo?”
“No. I know the rodeo is on Saturday.” Jason’s face turns to confusion. “I didn’t know today is Saturday,” I say, and my complete disconnection from the living makes me start to cry again. If my parents were alive, I would know what fucking day it is.
Jason pulls me close to him and kisses the side of my head as he runs his fingers through my hair.
“I need a shower,” he says, but I can’t be concerned with what he needs.
“I need you.”
I lay my soul bare; Jason’s, to do with what he wants because I can’t seem to care about it anymore. He forces me back to the wall and presses his body against mine until I can feel him. Until I can feel something.

Buy Links:

About the author:

Eliza Freed graduated from Rutgers University and returned to her hometown in rural South Jersey. Her mother encouraged her to take some time and find herself. After three months of searching, she began to bounce checks and her neighbors began to talk; her mother told her to find a job.

She settled into Corporate America, learning systems and practices and the bureaucracy that slows them. Eliza quickly discovered her creativity and gift for story telling as a corporate trainer and spent years perfecting her presentation skills and studying diversity. It's during this time she became an avid observer of the characters we meet and the heartaches we endure. Her years of study have taught her laughter is the key to survival, even when it's completely inappropriate.

She currently lives in New Jersey with her family and a misbehaving beagle named Odin. An avid swimmer, if Eliza is not with her family and friends, she'd rather be underwater. While she enjoys many genres, she has always been a sucker for a love story...the more screwed up the better.

Social Media Links:

Aamzy’s Book Wonders Q&A w/ Eliza Freed

1.      Which came first: the story, the characters, or the setting?

This should be a lot easier to answer, but the story came as a part of the setting. I moved back to my rural hometown a decade after leaving it and as I was driving the country roads I thought to myself, “What if someone moved home humiliated? What if this wasn’t a happy homecoming? What if they were broken? This is where Book 2, Redeem Me, began. Forgive Me was actually written second, as a prequel.

2.      How important are names to you in your books? Do you choose the names based on liking the way they sound or the meaning? 

I completely obsess over names. Each one’s meaning is researched.  I have the hardest time naming unlikeable characters because I feel bad for real life people with those names. The names in the Lost Souls Series have changed several times throughout the process, even up to the final editing round.

Charlotte was Kathryn, then Ariana, and finally Charlotte. I dressed as a spider for Halloween and my friend kept yelling, “Charlotte” across the room at me, and I thought it’s perfect.

3.      What song(s) would be on the soundtrack to FORGIVE ME?

Rihanna’s Stay, featuring Mikky Ekko. I must have listened to this song three thousand times on repeat while writing a lot of the book. Definitely during every heart-wrenching fight between Charlotte and Jason.

4.      What topics did you want to explore when you started writing the Lost Souls series?

Betrayal, Forgiveness, and Faith

5.      What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

I would love to say read, travel, and swim, but the reality is I barely have time to write. Like so many other women, I’m part of an active family and when I’m not writing I’m happy just to be a passenger as they travel through life.


Monday 3 November 2014

Tall, Silent & Lethal (Pyte/Sentinel 4) - R.L. MAthewson

This is the book that will change it all…….
Never again……
Christofer lives by those words while Cloe would rather die by them……..
Too many years living on the run, of always being seen as nothing more than a monster and a freak, has left Christofer cold and distant. He hates his life, his fate, but he’s made promises and nothing on earth will stop him from keeping them….
Except for the woman that invades his world, takes him by surprise, aggravates him, gives him hope and makes him wish that things could be different, but they can’t…….
Not unless he’s willing to risk everything.
Cloe doesn’t need anyone, doesn’t want any complications, but things quickly change when she accepts a job that destroys her world and brings her the one thing that she never thought she’d find again….
Peace. 


I am a huge fan of R.L. Mathewson's writing, especially her male characters. Christofer did not disappoint. Although he is not my favourite in this series (that has to go to Ephraim), he was everything you expect in a Mathewson male. 

There was a lot more going on in this book than the others and I loved that. Kale had a larger role to play and so did the other Shifters. I felt sorry for Chris. He was everyone's punching bag in this book. 

The reason that this book is not getting 5/5, is because I found it hard to like 
Chloe. She did annoy me at some points of the book. AND THE ENDING!?! What on earth?????????

I would totally recommend this book to everyone. PLEASE READ THIS. IT IS AMAZING.

4/5 stars

Sunday 2 November 2014

Made - J.M. Darhower

Made (Forever, #0.4)

Corrado Moretti.
The world knows the notorious Kevlar Killer, but few have ever seen what lies beneath his armor. The abused child. The neglected teenager. The broken man. He always did whatever he had to do in order to survive.
It's kill or be killed.
Throughout his life, he has been there in the shadows, a witness to everything from beginning to end. Bound by loyalty and honor, there's only one thing he would sacrifice it all for: family.
Never get close. Never get attached. It's a lesson that has been brutally pounded into him since childhood, but they're words the DeMarcos make it difficult for him to follow. Through them he finds love and grieves loss, realizing the world isn't quite as black and white as it's made out to be.
Made. 
This book can be read as a prequel to Semper (Forever).

Corrado was, by far, my favourite character in the Sempre (Forever) and Sempre: Redemption. There was just something about him that attracted you to him. This book did him justice. 

Finding out where Corrado came from was heartbreaking. You truly understand why he is the way he is and you love him for it. The fact that he is a killer, The Kevlar Killer, is shadowed by his reasoning. Like I said before, you understand. Some may not like it, but you understand it. 

You meet Antonio Dominic DeMarco, The Boss. Antonio was a hard character to have feelings for. I didn't know whether to like him or hate him. I do know that he was annoying at some stages of the book and awesome in others. 

The story with Maura and Vincent is so cute. Your heart breaks for the two of them.You really see the personality of Vincent, a true Demarco, like Carmine. 

Overall, I loved this book. This was amazing. I read it in one sitting as I'm sure you will. There is only one point of view here, Corrado.

5/5 stars.

P.S. You will hate the last part of the book.