Review: Reckless by S.C. Stephens

Title: Reckless
Author: S.C. Stephens
Blurb:
Can love survive when life gets Reckless?

When the band hits it big, Kiera and Kellan must ask themselves: Can their love for each other survive the constant pressures of superstardom? The friendships they've formed, the new family they've found, and the history they've forged will all play a part in helping them navigate the turbulent waters of the band's exploding popularity. A greedy executive hell-bent on success, a declining pop star looking for an edge, and a media circus that twists lies into truths are just some of the obstacles the lovers will have to overcome if they are going to remain together. Fame comes with a price-but will it cost Kiera and Kellan everything?

Links:
Reckless on Goodreads
 
 Kala's Review:
I really really really wanted to like this book a lot. While Thoughtless and Effortless weren't without flaws, the books were both compelling and I found myself sucked in to Kiera and Kellan's trials and tribulations. Reckless just doesn't come anywhere near that.

This book just shouldn't have been written. It really brings nothing new to Kellan and Kiera's relationship. In fact, the two get along just fine for pretty much the entire novel outside of a few minor spats that Kiera gets over almost instantly. The first 20-25% of the book is downright boring. I was wondering what the heck I was reading, because I haven't ever been BORED by S.C. Stephens before.

Perhaps it's because nothing new was introduced. I mean, yes, Kiera gets drunk and Denny takes her home and takes care of her (Kellan is out of town). But Kellan doesn't get mad about it and Denny is a perfect gentleman. Yes, one of Kellan's exes shows up and blackmails him about a sex tape, but Kellan's former man-whore status was already a dead horse beaten to death in the first two books. Kiera is mildly upset about the tape, but gets over it after a page or two. We spend the majority of the first 20-25% listening to KIera and Kellan call each other husband and wife (THEY ARE NOT ACTUALLY MARRIED) and be all lovey dovey with each other. It's cute, but a couple getting along perfectly doesn't make a good novel.

The middle of this book is good. I really liked the conflict that Sienna Sexton brought to the picture. While Kellan and Kiera still got along perfectly throughout all of it, it made sense and was still interesting because I wanted to find out exactly how everything was going to play out with Sienna as Kellan's fame continued to rise.

SPOILERS AFTER THIS POINT! READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!!

Then we get to the last 20% where things just go to shit again. Not in the sense that Kiera's life goes to shit. Quite the opposite. There is a car accident, but we're never afraid Kellan will die. He doesn't, of course, and the accident suddenly changes the public opinion on Kiera and from that point on, we spend probably 100 pages reading about how perfect life is for Kiera and Kellan and all the D-Bags.

Seriously, it's like a 100 page epilogue and that doesn't even include the ACTUAL epilogue which is pretty much pointless. Before we even get to the epilogue, we get to read all about how Kiera and Kellan have a 'perfect' wedding (in the hospital), how all of Sienna's fans suddenly hate her and now everyone loves Kiera (when before all the fans thought Kiera was 'stealing' Kellan from Sienna), how Kiera and Kellan go to the Grammys and of course the D-Bags win, how Kiera gets pregnant and has a baby, how her book becomes a huge self published bestseller and gets picked up by a traditional publisher, how they buy a huge house on 11 acres and it's so perfect...it just goes on and on and on. Complete overkill!

Then we get a horribly long epilogue that really doesn't say anything new. I mean, we already know that Kiera and Kellan are happily married with a baby and a Grammy and a #1 album and a bestselling novel. What could the epilogue POSSIBLY TELL US? And the answer is... nothing really.

Stephens also tied up EVERY OTHER character's storylines as perfectly as possible. Griffin turns in to the perfect dad who marries Anna. Denny and his girlfriend get married and live happily ever after as they become the perfect managers for the D-Bags.

This book just reeked of Breaking Dawn syndrome. Completely unnecessary and everyone gets exactly what they want in the end without really losing anything. If the first 20% and the last 20% were cut out, this book would have been a lot better. Pretty much the only interesting parts were the entire storyline with Sienna (til the end) and almost everything with Griffin and Anna.

I don't know. This book just really disappointed me.

2 out of 5 stars.

Link to Kala's review on Goodreads:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/403143603

Review: Beautiful Bastard by Christina Lauren

Title: Beautiful Bastard
Author: Christina Lauren
Blurb:
An ambitious intern. A perfectionist executive. And a whole lot of name calling. Discover the story that garnered more than two million reads online.

Whip-smart, hardworking, and on her way to an MBA, Chloe Mills has only one problem: her boss, Bennett Ryan. He’s exacting, blunt, inconsiderate—and completely irresistible. A Beautiful Bastard.

Bennett has returned to Chicago from France to take a vital role in his family’s massive media business. He never expected that the assistant who’d been helping him from abroad was the gorgeous, innocently provocative—completely infuriating—creature he now has to see every day. Despite the rumors, he’s never been one for a workplace hookup. But Chloe’s so tempting he’s willing to bend the rules—or outright smash them—if it means he can have her. All over the office.

As their appetites for one another increase to a breaking point, Bennett and Chloe must decide exactly what they’re willing to lose in order to win each other. Originally only available online as The Office by tby789—and garnering over two million reads on fan fiction sites—Beautiful Bastard has been extensively updated for re-release.

Links:
Beautiful Bastard on Goodreads
 
 Kala's Review:
Alright, because I was approved for this via NetGalley/Gallery Books (thank you!), I went ahead and read it.

I still have a major issue with p2p fanfiction being marketed as original. If you want to see a great post on WHY I feel it's unethical, read this comment by Alicia.

Now, on to the book...

I like to read a lot of Twilight fanfic (the actual fanfic, not the p2p kind with new names!) and my boyfriend always calls it Twilight porn. THIS STORY is exactly why he calls it that. If ever there was a story that was pretty much porn without a plot, this is it.

Bennett and Chloe hate each other. For the first 2/3-3/4 of the novel, they have a lot of hate sex. They snipe at each other in public, then in private they have rough sex. Shirt ripping, buttons flying everywhere, bent over the desk type of sex. The sex scenes themselves are pretty hot - I will admit that.

But that's all there is. Lots of sex.

Towards the end, the sex becomes less hateful and the characters snipe at each other less frequently, but it's still just a sex story. I can give you the entire plot in a few lines:

Hate sex
Hate sex
Hate sex
Hate sex
Hate sex
Hate sex
Hate sex
Love/Hate sex
Love/Hate sex
Argument/Break up
Make up
I love you sex
The end

The book wasn't poorly written, but there just isn't any substance here. It's Edward and Bella having hate sex all over an office. That's it.

2 out of 5 stars.

Link to Kala's review on Goodreads:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/471025587

Waiting on Wednesday... on Thursday

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

I had every intention on posting this yesterday... but real life intervened and I was too busy to get online!  As usual, so many books I'm looking forward to!  I just recently saw the trailer for Reckless by S.C. Stephens and it got me really excited about the book coming out (FINALLY!) on March 5th!

Here's a really awesome fan-made trailer:

Happy Reading all! <3

Hot Ticket by Olivia Cunning

Title: Hot Ticket
Author: Olivia Cunning
Blurb:
Book #3 in reading order of events in book series, per author

There are things in bassist Jace Seymour’s past that he is unwilling to share with anyone. To cover his guilt and anguish, he seeks dominatrix Mistress V (Aggie) to temporarily placate his inner turmoil.

Aggie doesn’t have much use for men–besides the power rush she gets when they’re begging for mercy at her feet–but Jace isn’t like her usual clients. His cool defiance and unexpected dominance in the bedroom drives her to distraction and quickly steals her heart.

When circumstances threaten Jace’s position in Sinners, Aggie must help him regain his rightful place in the band while showing him that time and love can heal all wounds.

Links:
Hot Ticket on Goodreads
 
 Kala's Review:
I absolutely LOVED the first Sinners book (Brian and Myrna). I felt a little meh about Sed/Jessica and I sorta liked the Trey threesome book. In those three books we really don't see much of Jace or get to know him very well at all, so I was a little bit worried when I got to his book.

And I shouldn't have been.

Cause JACE IS AWESOME!

I loved him! BDSM and dom/sub stuff isn't usually my thing, so I was really expecting to have mixed feelings about this one. Instead, I loved it!

Getting to know the story behind Jace was my favorite part. Where he came from. His past. His feelings about his bandmates. I thought all of the tie-ins between Jace's pre-Sinners past and various bandmates was a teensy bit convenient, but it was still okay.

I LOVED Aggie. I think she completely won me over in the mugging scene. I don't want to give anything away, so I won't go in to more detail, but yeah. Aggie rocks!

While I loved Aggie, I thought she got kind of clingy after that scene and while she redeemed herself later, her overly mothering/nurturing personality was reallllly annoying.

The sex was hot, as usual. Olivia Cunning writes some really awesome 'alternative lifestyle' sex scenes! I did laugh out loud a few times during the scenes with Eric - now I'm REALLY curious to read his book and see his motivations for why he is the way he is!

If you're a fan of the Sinners books and/or love erotic romance with a side of kink, this book is DEFINITELY something you should check out!
 
4 out of 5 stars.

Link to Kala's review on Goodreads:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/527739936

Sins & Needles by Karina Halle

Title: Sins & Needles
Author: Karina Halle
Blurb:
Ellie Watt is used to starting over. The daughter of a grifting team, Ellie spent her childhood being used as a pawn in her parents' latest scam. Now she’s much older, wiser and ready to give her con artist life a rest. But returning to the dry desert town of Palm Valley, California means one more temptation than she bargained for – Camden McQueen. Once known as the high school weirdo, Camden is bigger and badder than the boy he used to be and a talented tattoo artist with his own thriving business. Ellie’s counting on Camden still being in love with her but what she’s not counting on is how easily unrequited love can turn into obsession over time. When Camden discovers Ellie’s plan to con him, he makes her a deal she doesn’t dare refuse, but her freedom comes with a price and it’s one that takes both Ellie and Camden down a dangerous road.


**The Artists Trilogy is a dark and sexy contemporary ride about three flawed individuals caught in a world where it's so easy to justify the bad things we do. This is a pure adult read (Not YA or NA).**

Links:
Sins & Needles on Goodreads
 
 Kala's Review:
I went in to this book with zero expectations. I had never heard of Karina Halle before and the cover/title wasn't something that would usually draw me in. Not that it's a bad cover, it's nice, but lately I've been on more of a YA Contemporary kick and I've been in to the fluffy pretty covers. However, I saw this book floating around GR and noticed some of my GR friends buying it and talking about reading it. At $2.99, I'll generally give a new (to me) author a try and WOWZA I am SO GLAD I DID!

Ellie Watt is a con artist and a grifter and she's on the run from some pretty bad people. In fact, she's been on the run for most of her life, except for a brief stint during high school where she stayed with her uncle. It was during that time she met and befriended Camden McQueen - whose description made me think Marilyn Manson.

Most of the book is about adult Ellie, who I believe is around 26. She's on the run and has returned to her uncle's to seek refuge for awhile. While trying to find a job, she runs in to Camden, who has turned from lanky/skinny goth freak in to a muscled tattoo-covered hottie with a septum ring and nerd glasses. What happens next... well... I want to talk about it, but I can't, because it would ruin everything.

I will say this.

It's not easy to surprise me in novels. I often find myself guessing what happens next and I almost always guess who the killer is in mystery/thriller novels.

Karina Halle, you totally got me here.



What happens in the middle was a complete and total surprise to me that I did not see coming from a mile away! Perhaps I was too engrossed in the story.  Perhaps I wasn't paying enough attention. Maybe all the red flags were there and I missed them. Maybe, but I don't care. I freaking LOVED IT.

The twists and turns after that point...let's just say I started reading this book around 11pm at night and planned to put it down around midnight and go to sleep. I hit the 40% mark around 12:30 and that's where the shit hit the fan and from there, I HAD TO FINISH IT. I couldn't stop.

Action, romance, surprises, twists...

“I hate you Ellie Watt,” he whispered, lips coming closer to mine, “because I still love you after all these years.”

That about sums it up.

This book is amazing. It's a wild ride and BELIEVE me, once you get on you will not want to get off! And Karina Halle, you evil EVIL EVIL woman! That cliffhanger ending.



SO BEYOND EVIL!

I don't rate things 5-stars very often, as there just aren't that many books that blow me away. This one did. I've already started buying everything else I can buy this author and I can't wait to dig in to more of her stuff while I wait until MAY for the sequel to this book.

MUST KNOW WHAT HAPPENS!

Buy this book! Buy it! Read it! You won't regret it!
 
5 out of 5 stars.

Link to Kala's review on Goodreads:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/517368675

Luck of the Draw by Kelley Vitollo

Title: Luck of the Draw
Author: Kelley Vitollo
Blurb:
Rowan McKinley isn’t looking for one wild night while vacationing in Vegas, but she gets it anyway when she meets professional poker player—and professional ladies’ man—Breck Wilder. Breck’s easygoing charm and lighthearted banter draw in the reserved Rowan, and though she’s always dreamed of the kind of forever love her best friends Sidney and Kade share, she’ll settle for one night with the charismatic player.

After their crazy one-night stand, Breck never expected to see the mysterious redhead again. So when he shows up at a Shamrock Falls B&B looking to get away for a few weeks and Rowan answers the door, he’s floored. Breck’s rolling-stone lifestyle and ill-fated history with women means he’s not interested in anything long-term. But the longer he stays at the B&B, the more he considers dropping the poker face and putting all his cards on the table…for Rowan.

Links:
Luck of the Draw on Goodreads
 
 Kala's Review:
*I received a free copy of this book via netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!!*

I got this book from Netgalley last week and finished it up a few days ago. Luck of the Draw is one of those fluffy romance novels that I hear a lot of people referring to as a beach read or a plane read. I'd have to agree in this case. Luck of the Draw is cute and fun, but lacks much substance. There's nothing wrong with that - I enjoy fluff - but I was surprised when I later found out that Kelley Vitollo is another name for one of my favorite YA/NA authors, Nyrae Dawn.

Nyrae Dawn's books tend to have these awesome flawed, but likable, characters. While I got a hint of that here, especially with Breck's baggage from his former relationships, the characters in Luck of the Draw just weren't as compelling as I've come to expect from Dawn.

Mild spoiler after this point!

The plot is fairly stereotypical of something you might find in a Harlequin category romance. Rowan has a one-night-stand with Breck, but of course it's something she wouldn't normally do. Of course circumstances have them running in to each other again a month or so later and surprise! Rowan's pregnant!

Overall, cute story, but the stuff Vitollo has written under the Nyrae Dawn name is MUCH MUCH better. Check it out if you haven't already!
 
3 out of 5 stars.

Link to Kala's review on Goodreads:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/517378796

Love's Rhythm by Lexxie Couper

Title: Love's Rhythm
Author: Lexxie Couper
Blurb:
"His music moves the world. Can his love move her heart? "

Nick Blackthorne knows all about words of love. They re the reason he s the world s biggest rock star. The irony? He turned his back on love a long time ago, lured away by the trappings of fame.

An invitation to a friend s wedding is a stark reminder of how meaningless his life has become. When he enters that church, there s only one woman he wants on his arm the one he walked out on a lifetime ago. But first he has to find her, even if all she accepts from him is an apology.

Kindergarten teacher Lauren Robbins once had what every woman on the planet desires. Nick. Their passion was explosive, their romance the stuff of songs and it took fifteen years to get over him. Then out of the blue Nick turns up at her door, and all those years denying her ache for him are shattered with a single, smoldering kiss.

But molten passion can t hide the secret she s kept for all these years. Because it s not just "her" heart on the line anymore and not just her life that ll be rocked by the revelation.

Warning: Remember your first crush on a rock star? Now add smoldering sex, a raw and undeniable passion, soul-shattering orgasms. And secrets.

Links:
Love's Rhythm on Goodreads
 
 Kala's Review:
I REALLY wanted to like this book. REALLY bad! I love the rock star bad boy romance/erotica books, but this one just fell short for me.  The cover is absolutely stunning though - LOVE IT!

I liked the main characters, but everything seemed so rushed. The first time Nick and Lauren meet again he starts making out with her. He hasn't seen her in 15 years, he dumped her to become famous and have groupies, and she doesn't really fight it at all. The book is 90% sex, 10% plot and the plot is weak. I guess I just prefer my erotica to be slightly more deep.

If the sex was actually sexy, I could deal with the plot being a little less than stellar... but the sex was kind of weird. Couper uses a lot of weird terms during sex scenes that are jarring and completely ruin it for me. Anytime there is gushing, it kind of destroys the scene.

I probably would have liked this better with toned down and more well written sex scenes, and another 100 pages of character development and plot. For a a short novella, it wasn't terrible... I just think this author's style is not my thing.
 
2 out of 5 stars.

Link to Kala's review on Goodreads:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/507751555

Avoiding Responsibility by K.A. Linde

Title: Avoiding Responsibility
Author: K.A. Linde
Blurb:
Lexi has finally given up her once destructive relationships and moved onto bigger and better things with a sexy new man in town. Just when she is starting to figure it out with him, her world is tilted once again with a phone call from none other than Ramsey Bridges. A year after his entrance into her life, Ramsey is trying to make amends and does the one thing she never expects—invites her to Jack's wedding.

The wedding she had evaded at all costs. But no matter what she does, Lexi can't seem to escape her past with Jack. But does she really want to?

Despite the explosive chemistry between Lexi and Ramsey, she is skeptical about trusting him after everything that has happened. When things are amiss with him, she starts questioning his motives. Can Ramsey be the one to remove Jack from Lexi's life permanently or should she move on with her blossoming new life?

Links:
Avoiding Responsibility on Goodreads
 
 Kala's Review:
This book was almost as much of a roller coaster as the first.

When Avoiding Responsibility starts, it's a year later and Lexi isn't speaking to Jack or Ramsey. She's dating some unknown mystery guy and is surprised when Ramsey calls to ask her to Jack's wedding. She is a badass and says HELL NO. At first.

Then we start flashing back to see what happened over the last year, and we find out about the relationship that started and ended between Lexi and Ramsey.

I admit, I was left feeling unsatisfied at the end of Avoiding Commitment. Not because it was a cliffhanger, but because I felt like Lexi just got totally shit on by the end (by Jack and Bekah) and it felt like the "bad guys" won. The only part of the ending of Avoiding Commitment I liked was Lexi finally standing up to Jack and realizing how poisonous he was to her.

Then Ramsey asks her to the wedding. She says no, of course, but then she finds out Ramsey is in New York WITH JACK for Jack's bachelor party. Somehow, Lexi ends up at Jack's party where a drunken Jack begs her to come to his wedding.

Of course, Lexi agrees. This part bugged me. I hated that she would agree to go to his wedding to Bekah. There was absolutely no reason for her to go, other than to make herself feel like total shit. Again.

But she does go. And there is a bunch of the same sort of underhanded passive aggressive conflict between Lexi and Bekah, ridiculous sexual tension between Lexi and Jack, and the hint of something really special between Lexi and Ramsey.

At the end of Avoiding Commitment I was completely Team Jack, hoping and praying for some sort of redemption in this book.

**SPOILER ALERT**

That redemption doesn't come. However, I was okay with it. While the end of this book has some loose ends, I felt better about things. I felt that Bekah finally got a tiny bit of what she deserves. I felt like Jack stooped so low that I didn't even want him to redeem himself anymore. And Ramsey stepped up and I'm really hoping that things work out for him and Lexi in book 3. I'm really hoping that Bekah and Jack both end up alone, but I'm starting to realize they deserve each other and will probably make each other miserable.

K.A. Linde has a real talent for creating these realistic and flawed characters that you can't help but feel SOMETHING for. Her books also flow so well that you just lose yourself in the pages and suddenly it's two hours later and you're done and you're wondering what the heck just happened.

I'm really looking forward to seeing what else she comes out with and she's going on my auto-buy list for sure.
 
4 out of 5 stars.

Link to Kala's review on Goodreads:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/471712861

Animal Magnetism by Jill Shalvis

Title: Animal Magnetism
Author: Jill Shalvis
Blurb:
Jade Bennett couldn't be happier to escape her past for the quiet ranching town of Sunshine, Idaho. Plus, there's nothing like working for veterinarian Dell Connelly. And though Dell has no intention of settling down, Jade's strength and sass are enticements no red-blooded male can resist.


Links:
Animal Magnetism on Goodreads
 
 Kala's Review:
A free copy of this book was provided via Goodreads First Reads :)

This book was really cute! Dell is the hero and he's a vet (yay!). Jade, the heroine, is his office manager and has been for over a year. They've had an attraction but haven't acted on it, yet!

Jade came to Sunshine, Idaho to run from a trauma that happened to her in Chicago and her family has been begging for her back. She has finally agreed to go back, but things heat up between Jade and Dell in the last few weeks and leave her wondering if she really wants to return to her old life.

The side characters are where this book truly comes to life. Adam (Dell's brother) is hilarious, especially since he keeps finding Dell and Jade in compromising/funny situations. The parrot is also really funny, especially when he repeats random bad words that come out at the wrong time.

I really liked it and will be checking out more Jill Shalvis books for sure!

3 out of 5 stars.

Link to Kala's review on Goodreads:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/437897240

The Edge of Never by J.A. Redmerski

Title: The Edge of Never
Author: J.A. Redmerski
Blurb:
Twenty-year-old Camryn Bennett had always been one to think out-of-the-box, who knew she wanted something more in life than following the same repetitive patterns and growing old with the same repetitive life story. And she thought that her life was going in the right direction until everything fell apart.

Determined not to dwell on the negative and push forward, Camryn is set to move in with her best friend and plans to start a new job. But after an unexpected night at the hottest club in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina, she makes the ultimate decision to leave the only life she’s ever known, far behind.

With a purse, a cell phone and a small bag with a few necessities, Camryn, with absolutely no direction or purpose boards a Greyhound bus alone and sets out to find herself. What she finds is a guy named Andrew Parrish, someone not so very different from her and who harbors his own dark secrets. But Camryn swore never to let down her walls again. And she vowed never to fall in love.

But with Andrew, Camryn finds herself doing a lot of things she never thought she’d do. He shows her what it’s really like to live out-of-the-box and to give in to her deepest, darkest desires. On their sporadic road-trip he becomes the center of her exciting and daring new life, pulling love and lust and emotion out of her in ways she never imagined possible. But will Andrew’s dark secret push them inseparably together, or tear them completely apart?


Due to sexual content and language, this book is recommended for 17+ – Adult Contemporary Women’s – New Adult Fiction
 
Links:
The Edge of Never on Goodreads
 
 Kala's Review:
This book wasn't terrible by any means, but I don't understand all the OMG GLOWING 5STAR THIS IS THE BEST BOOK EVER reviews.

The characters were, for the most part, likable and well written. I like how they both had fleshed out back stories and most of their stories were not dumped on us via weird monologues, but instead was slowly revealed over time.

I had some issues with the book though. At first, I really liked how Camryn was independent and interesting, but she ended up being a complete wuss. I also don't like how the author constantly had every male character (except the few good guys) turn in to a wannabe rapist. I hate that.

First, Camryn is at a club with her best friend. She's on the roof of the club chatting with a guy and her best friend's boyfriend shows up, beats the crap out of the guy, then tries to force himself on Camryn. Ok, he was a total douchebag and I get that. No problem.

Later on, Camryn is on the bus and she's chatting with Andrew. There's another guy on the bus who later tries to rape Camryn in the bathroom and she has to be saved by Andrew.

Okay, fine.

But then Andrew goes into this macho man mode that totally put me off. He tells Camryn that she can no longer travel by bus, he will not allow it. She MUST either take a plane home or go with him. She agrees. WTF? She barely knows this guy and she's letting him tell her what to do?

Fortunately, Andrew acts decently throughout the majority of the book so I didn't flip out too much by his "I'm the man, you will do as I say" behavior. But later on, he and Camryn have this weird conversation where he tells her that he won't have sex with her because he can't do that unless she agrees that he will own her.

Say what??

Then Camryn starts talking about how she's sexually submissive (girl, you are submissive in EVERYTHING, not just sex) and there is this whole dominant/submissive thing that's just thrown in there and seems completely opposite to Andrew's personality throughout the rest of the entire book.

I also just can't stand the whole "I can't breathe without you" or "I will die without you" or "I want to own you" crap, and there is a decent amount of that. Whenever I read that kind of stuff (and there's a decent amount of it in The Edge of Never) I want to just do this:



(sigh)

I didn't have a huge problem with the reveal Andrew made at the end, though I did think it was out of nowhere and went bad way too fast.

Overall, the book wasn't bad. I liked the main characters (outside of those issues above and most of that wasn't commonplace in the book, it happened sporadically). The plot was interesting and the writing was decent.

3 out of 5 stars.

Link to Kala's review on Goodreads:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/466521690

The Mighty Storm by Samantha Towle

Title: The Mighty Storm
Author: Samantha Towle
Blurb:
It's been twelve years since Tru Bennett last saw Jake Wethers, her former best friend and boy she once loved.

Jake Wethers, sexy, tattooed and deliciously bad lead singer, and brains behind The Mighty Storm, one of biggest bands in the world, left Tru with a broken heart when he moved from England to America with his family when they were both fourteen.

Sent to interview Jake for her music column by the magazine she works for, they are both unprepared for the sparks that fly the instant they reconnect. Only, there’s a complication to their instant feelings for one another – Will, Tru’s boyfriend of two years.

Then Jake makes Tru a job offer she can't refuse - travelling the world with him and his band. But taking the job means leaving Will behind, and being on the road with the band means spending an inordinate amount of time with Jake.

Is Tru strong enough to resist the delectable bad boy who once held her heart so completely, or will she willingly risk it all for one night with the worlds most notorious womanizer?

Links:

The Mighty Storm on Goodreads

The Mighty Storm on Amazon

Samantha Towle's Website

 
 Kala's Review:
 
I found this book through one of my Goodreads friends who compared it to Thoughtless, which is another rock star love story that I really enjoyed. The comparison was pretty spot on, considering this book deals with cheating and a rock star, but The Mighty Storm was definitely its own story. I never felt like I was reading Thoughtless again with different characters.

Trudy (aka Tru) is the main female character here and she's been dating her boyfriend Will for two years. She is a music journalist and gets the chance to interview Jake Wethers, one of the most famous rock stars in the world. The catch is, Trudy and Jake were best friends growing up but split apart at age 14 when Jake moved to the USA and Trudy stayed in England.

When Trudy and Jake meet up again for the first time, there is instant chemistry. They don't act on it immediately, but when Jake manages to get Trudy to come on tour with the band to write his biography things eventually heat up. Trudy feels terrible about cheating on Will, but she can't bear to break it off with him over the phone so there is quite a bit of drama as Trudy and Jake argue about her relationship with Will.

That whole part of the book I really enjoyed. I didn't feel much of a connection with Will, and while Trudy felt guilty, I didn't feel like she was really in love with Will at all. She seemed to sort of like him, but she called him a snob and had quite a few issues with him.

Jake was terribly flawed, but very likable. I'm happy that the author tackled a lot of the issues celebrities have instead of making Jake in to one of those "perfect" rock stars who don't drink, don't do drugs, don't sleep with groupies, don't have to deal with paparazzi, etc.

MINOR SPOILER BELOW!!

That said, my one major issue with the book was how Jake's drug addiction was handled. Another reviewer talked about how it felt rushed, and I have to agree. I'm not a fan of authors writing sequels just to write them, but she definitely could have split off the drug thing and wrote an entire second novel really focused on Jake's addiction issues and Trudy dealing with them. It seemed the author really wanted to focus on the cheating aspect instead, and turned the drug use into a fairly minor issue compared to the cheating.

My minor issue with the book was the constant typos and grammatical errors. The major one I would see all the time is erroneous use of apostrophes. It was all over the place! Please please, get a better editor and go over this book again with a fine tooth comb! I don't usually mind a few errors in a self-pubbed book, but there were a TON here. It didn't majorly detract from the story, but it was distracting.

Overall though, this was a great story. I read the entire thing in one sitting, because I wasn't able to put it down! I found the characters enjoyable, the plot well paced, and the story itself compelling. I will check out more books by this author for sure. :)

3 of 5 stars.


Link to Kala's review on Goodreads:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/419755158

On Dublin Street by Samantha Young

 

 

Title: On Dublin Street
Author: Samantha Young
Blurb:
Four years ago, Jocelyn Butler left her tragic past behind in the States and started over in Edinburgh. Burying the grief, ignoring her demons, and forging ahead without any real attachments has worked well for her so far but when Joss moves into a fantastic apartment on Dublin Street, her carefully guarded world is shaken to its core by her new roommate's sexy older brother.

Braden Carmichael is a man who always gets what he wants. And what he wants is Jocelyn in his bed. Knowing how skittish Joss is concerning any kind of relationship, Braden proposes a sexual arrangement that should satisfy the intense attraction between them without it developing into anything 'more'. An intrigued Jocelyn agrees, completely unprepared for the Scotsman and his single-minded determination to strip the stubborn young woman bare... to the very soul.

Contains strong adult content. For readers ages 18+

Links:

On Dublin Street on Goodreads

On Dublin Street on Amazon

Samantha Young's Website
 
 Kala's Review:

As soon as I finished this book I said to myself THIS is what all those damn ignorant 50 Shades of Grey fangirls should be reading if they want actual GOOD romantic erotica. Seeing everyone swoon over Edward CullenChristian Grey makes me sick to my stomach. Seeing FSoG being held up at this shining standard of sexy erotica has caused me to almost lose faith in humanity.

However

I truly believe that if some of those FSoG fans were given truly amazing erotica to read, something like ON DUBLIN STREET, they would realize what complete and utter TRASH FSoG is.

THIS is how you do sexy alpha male who is NOT crazy abusive controlling stalker.

THIS is how you do fleshed out, tortured, fucked up characters without making them pathetic and weak and crazy beyond redemption.

Jocelyn was nearly perfect as the heroine with a completely messed up path who has tried to deal with all her shit in the best way she knows how, though it hasn't been the most healthy way. She's smart enough to realize her way hasn't been the best way, and she struggles to change it, but that doesn't happen overnight.

Braden. HOLY SHIT SEXY ALPHA MALE ALERT. The guy has a dirty mouth and is a monster in bed, but also has a softer side that we eventually get to see. His soft side doesn't make him a complete sap though. When he falls for Jocelyn there isn't a flip of the personality switch where he becomes a lapdog - he stays the same person and FUCKING A IT IS SEXY AND HOT!

This story wasn't perfect, but I'm sitting here so happy after reading is that I want to go read it again. That's after spending the last two hours or so reading it nonstop, unable to stop turning pages. I have a million other things I want to be doing right now, but I'm so worked up over this book that I HAD to come online and read other reviews about it and write my own. I am seriously considering hitting the "go to beginning" button on my Kindle and reading it again tonight. I don't mind a story with a few flaws when it makes me feel like that.

There was one, and only one, scene where I actually facepalmed and had a WTF moment. Early in the books there is a scene where Braden walks in on Jocelyn and it's a pretty embarrassing situation. During that scene, Jocelyn refers to her vagina as her "vajayjay"



PLEASE NO!

Never use that word, ever! It completely ruins the entire scene when I burst out laughing and smack myself in the forehead. Most awful term for vagina EVER!

Fortunately it happened early on and I was able to get past it. :P

I also felt like the trauma some of these characters suffered was a little too much. I don't want to get in to detail here, because a lot of it is major spoilers, but damn there was enough angst and shit going on without adding in more. Primo example is the whole scene where Braden gets mad at the guy who was flirting with Jocelyn and we find out how he knows that guy. How realistic was that? Was that really necessary? I think the scene would have been just as good without that added 'bonus.'

Even so, this book is fucking awesome.

5 out of 5 stars :)

Link to Kala's review on Goodreads:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/413064791