ARC Review: Mister Hockey by Lia Riley

Mister Hockey is the first book in the new Hellions Angels series by Lia Riley. Though I have both loved and had mixed feelings on books by Lia Riley in the past, I am a huge hockey fan so I had to read this book after seeing the blurb. Unfortunately this one was another story that I had some issues with and while it had promise, it ended up just being okay for me rather than me loving it. 

Jed West is Mr. Hockey. The sexy captain of the NHL's hottest team, Breezy is a super fan of his and he frequently stars in her fantasies. But when he walks into her library as a last minute addition for a special event, they hit it off. The only problem is that he doesn't know she is his biggest fan and she lets him believe it, while he has a strict policy of never getting involved with a fan. But can Breezy show Jed that they can be great together, despite the fact that she has always been a fan of his?

I liked Jed and Breezy. There were cute and had some great interactions. But while I liked them, at times they felt a bit too cookie-cutter to me. As though they were created using the standard romance novel formula and there wasn't much that stood out about them. I ended up just feeling kind of ho-hum about their story since there really wasn't anything about them drawing me in here. Not that I didn't like them, there just wasn't anything special or unique that had me anxious for more. 

The other thing that kept me from really loving this book was the the story itself was on the predictable and cliched side. Lia Riley is a great writer and she has a lot of talent, but it just felt like she phoned this one in. There wasn't a lot of passion here and I didn't feel connected to the characters or story like I have with her books before. While I always want the romance to be the focus in a romance novel, I also felt like this book could have used a bit more hockey as well. I didn't want the majority of the focus to be on Jed's career, but this one took place off the ice and I would have loved to have seen some of the action on the ice as well. Overall, I think that contemporary fans looking for something quick and easy might enjoy this one. But if you are looking for something new or different, this might not be the book for you.

**ARC Provided by Publisher**

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Guest Post with Author Lia Riley and Giveaway

After studying at the University of Montana-Missoula, Lia Riley scoured the world armed only with a backpack, overconfidence and a terrible sense of direction. She counts shooting vodka with a Ukranian mechanic in Antarctica, sipping yerba mate with gauchos in Chile and swilling fourex with stationhands in Outback Australia among her accomplishments.

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RFTC I've Got a Secret Event with Author Lia Riley

Lia Riley writes contemporary romance for Grand Central/Forever and Avon Impulse. She's been published in four languages and received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly. USA Today has called her work "refreshing" and RT says she is "sizzling and heartfelt." Her next series Everland, Georgia will begin releasing April 2007 with It Happened on Love Street. Learn more at www.liariley.com or say hi at www.facebook.com/authorliariley

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ARC Review: With Every Breath by Lia Riley

I have become a fan of Lia Riley's after reading several of her books now. The one thing I love about her stories is that she always takes the reader on an adventure, and the location is always interesting and somewhere different. With Every Breath takes the reader and the characters to Patagonia, and I was excited to see how Lia Riley would bring it to life here. There was a lot to enjoy with this book, and this was a good story that captured my attention right away.

Auden Woods is used to playing it safe and being the girl that isn't noticed. So when she gets the chance at her dream job, she knows that she needs to take a risk and that happens to be an adventure that sends her to Patagonia. Out of her depth, a disaster leads her to a sexy Scot named Rhys and in order to survive she will have to ask him for help. Rhys MacAskill is tired of being the center to so much negative attention, and he knows that redemption isn't in the cards for him. But when a terrifying storm brings Auden into his life, he knows that he will do whatever it takes to protect her and keep them both safe. But when one night together turns into more, Auden and Rhys find themselves feeling something that they never expected. Soon things between them are more than just survival and they begin to wonder if they could possibly have a chance at love. 

I liked both Rhys and Auden. They each had issues that they were dealing with and their struggle was easy to see. I felt badly for each of them and it was clear right away that they needed each other. Their connection was very quick, but you could see that it was real and genuine. I did think that there was a definite case of insta-love here, but the relationship that was forming between them was believable. They had a lot of chemistry and I liked them together. 

There were a few times that I was frustrated with these characters and their actions, but overall I really enjoyed this story. My biggest complaint was that the ending seemed to be pretty rushed and abrupt. Though there was an epilogue, it just seemed to wrap things up far too quickly to be completely satisfying, and I wish that we had been given a bit more. This was an enjoyable story though, and I think that readers will enjoy this one. If you like NA stories or travel romance stories, this is one worth checking out.

**ARC Provided by Publisher**

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Interview with Author Lia Riley and Giveaway

Meet Lia Riley author of With Every Breath. 

Lia Riley writes offbeat New Adult and Contemporary Adult romance. After studying at the University of Montana-Missoula, she scoured the world armed only with a backpack, overconfidence and a terrible sense of direction. She counts shooting vodka with a Ukranian mechanic in Antarctica, sipping yerba mate with gauchos in Chile and swilling XXXX with stationhands in Outback Australia among her accomplishments.

A British literature fanatic at heart, Lia considers Mr. Darcy and Edward Rochester as her fictional boyfriends. Her very patient husband doesn't mind. Much. When not torturing heroes (because c'mon, who doesn't love a good tortured hero?), Lia herds unruly chickens, camps, beach combs, daydreams about future books, wades through a mile-high TBR pile and schemes yet another trip. Right now, Icelandic hot springs and Scottish castles sound mighty fine.

She and her family live mostly in Northern California.

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RFTC Back to School Event with A.J.Pine

AJ Pine writes stories to break readers’ hearts, but don’t worry—she’ll mend them with a happily ever after. As an English teacher and a librarian, AJ has always surrounded herself with books. All have one big commonality–romance. Naturally, her books have the same. When she’s not writing, she’s of course reading. Then there’s online shopping (everything from groceries to shoes) and, of course, a tiny bit of TV where she nourishes her undying love of vampires and superheroes. And in the midst of all of this, you’ll also find her hanging with her family in the Chicago burbs.

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RFTC Back to School Event with Lia Riley

Lia Riley writes offbeat New Adult and Contemporary Adult romance. After studying at the University of Montana-Missoula, she scoured the world armed only with a backpack, overconfidence and a terrible sense of direction. She counts shooting vodka with a Ukranian mechanic in Antarctica, sipping yerba mate with gauchos in Chile and swilling XXXX with stationhands in Outback Australia among her accomplishments.

A British literature fanatic at heart, Lia considers Mr. Darcy and Edward Rochester as her fictional boyfriends. Her very patient husband doesn't mind. Much. When not torturing heroes (because c'mon, who doesn't love a good tortured hero?), Lia herds unruly chickens, camps, beach combs, daydreams about future books, wades through a mile-high TBR pile and schemes yet another trip. Right now, Icelandic hot springs and Scottish castles sound mighty fine.

She and her family live mostly in Northern California.

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Guest Post with Author Lia Riley and Giveaway

Meet Lia Riley author or Right Wrong Guy.

After studying at the University of Montana-Missoula, Lia Riley scoured the world armed only with a backpack, overconfidence and a terrible sense of direction. When not torturing heroes (because c'mon, who doesn't love a good tortured hero?), Lia herds unruly chickens, camps, beach combs, daydreams about as-of-yet unwritten books, wades through a mile-high TBR pile and schemes yet another trip. She and her family live mostly in Northern California.

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Guest Post with Author Lia Riley and Giveaway

Meet Lia Riley author of Inside Out.

After studying at the University of Montana-Missoula, Lia Riley scoured the world armed only with a backpack, overconfidence and a terrible sense of direction. When not torturing heroes (because c'mon, who doesn't love a good tortured hero?), Lia herds unruly chickens, camps, beach combs, daydreams about as-of-yet unwritten books, wades through a mile-high TBR pile and schemes yet another trip. She and her family live mostly in Northern California.

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Feature and Giveaway: Side Swiped by Lia Riley

Love is their best adventure yet . . .

Talia Stolfi is deeply in love with the brooding Aussie surfer who stole her heart-but their infrequent letters only get her so far. While she fulfills her dream of being in the Peace Corps, a dangerous condition jeopardizes her life . . . and threatens to shatter her heart.

After nearly losing Talia forever, Bran Lockhart sailed to the stormy seas at the ends of the earth. Deep down, he knows that all roads worth traveling lead back to the beautiful California girl with the sunny smile. There's no denying that he belongs with her, but to have her by his side means Bran must dare to do something he's never done before: hope. Everything they've fought for has come down to this moment. Can Talia and Bran discover the courage to claim their future and learn that sometimes, in order to earn true love, you need to venture off the map?

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Guest Post with Author Lia Riley and Giveaway

Meet Lia Riley author of Upside Down.

After studying at the University of Montana-Missoula, Lia Riley scoured the world armed only with a backpack, overconfidence and a terrible sense of direction. When not torturing heroes (because c'mon, who doesn't love a good tortured hero?), Lia herds unruly chickens, camps, beach combs, daydreams about as-of-yet unwritten books, wades through a mile-high TBR pile and schemes yet another trip. She and her family live mostly in Northern California.

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ARC Review: Carry Me Home by Lia Riley

Carry Me Home is the newest story in the Off the Map series by Lia Riley. This novella takes place after the first three books, and can be read as a standalone. I would recommend reading these in order though, as you do get to know both Sunny and Tanner a little from the previous books and it helps to know some of what they have gone through. Tanner and Sunny had always thought that they would be each other's firsts. But things suddenly changed and they haven't spoken for years. Now, Tanner is back and Sunny finds her world turned upside down once again. The last thing she wants is to feel something for Tanner, especially since she doesn't do commitment. But Tanner isn't willing to let her go easily and is determined to show her that what they have is worth taking the risk.

We had seen some of both Tanner and Sunny in the previous books, but I felt like we didn't really know much about either of them. In fact I had no clue that these two had a past, and all I really remembered was Tanner's history with Talia and her sister Piper. But I really liked seeing how Sunny and Tanner had known one another as kids, and I really felt like they had been meant for one another all along. Since we never really saw all the details of Tanner's relationship with Piper, a lot came to light in this story and I felt bad for Tanner. I kind of thought he was a jerk after what had happened with him and Talia, and this book changed that for me. It was clear that we didn't have the whole story and I was glad that Lia Riley showed us more of what Tanner had been going through. I will say that I didn't really connect with Sunny, and I didn't like her for most of this story. I thought that she was pretty callous and she had an attitude that just didn't work for me. She was really mean to Tanner, and I felt like it wasn't justified at all. She had no clue what all he had been through, and he had never done anything to her personally for her to act the way she did. I will say that towards the end of the book she started to change and was better, but at that point I had already made up my mind about her and it was too little too late. I felt like these two should have been together all along and that they did have a connection, it was just an example of life getting in the way. It was nice to see them get a second chance though, and it was easy to see that they had great chemistry and cared about one another. 

My biggest complaint with this story though was that I felt like the pacing was off for the entire book. Being a novella, I understand that things tend to happen rather quickly and I expect a bit of that. But the beginning of this one felt pretty slow to me, which only made the rapid change of feelings and personalities seem that much more rushed. With everything going on between these two and in their lives, the conflict and ending seemed to happen at almost warp speed and it felt like this one just ended. I think part of that was the fact that it was only at about 80% when it ended, with the last 20% being author stuff and previews. I felt like this book could have really benefited from a few extra chapters or an epilogue, something to give these two a bit more of an ending without it being so abrupt. While I have liked this series, the last few books haven't been as good in my opinion as the first book in this series. I loved that book so much, so I felt like these were all a bit of a let down coming off of that one. I think that fans of this series will enjoy getting to know Sunny and Tanner better, but if you haven't read the other books in this series I am not sure that I would recommend this one.

**ARC Provided by Forever (Grand Central Publishing)**

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Feature and Giveaway: Carry Me Home by Lia Riley

Love doesn't have to be perfect to be true...

Years ago, Tanner Green loved Sunny Letman. She was meant to be his first kiss, first love, firsteverything. Then their world spun upside-down and out of control. Free-spirited Sunny doesn't do commitment. Sure, guys are great for a night or a week, but shealways leaves first. That is, until professional skateboarder and town golden boy, Tanner Green, unexpectedly walks back into her life.

Despite their broken history, a fragile and undeniably electric connection still holds them together. Now Tanner has to convince Sunny that even though love isn't always perfect, it's worth sticking around for. . .

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RFTC Hall Pass Event with Lia Riley

Lia Riley writes offbeat romance. After studying at the University of Montana-Missoula, she scoured the world armed only with a backpack, overconfidence and a terrible sense of direction. She counts shooting vodka with a Ukranian mechanic in Antarctica, sipping yerba mate with gauchos in Chile and swilling XXXX with stationhands in Outback Australia among her accomplishments.

A British literature fanatic at heart, Lia considers Mr. Darcy and Edward Rochester as her fictional boyfriends. Her very patient husband doesn't mind. Much. When not torturing heroes (because c'mon, who doesn't love a good tortured hero?), Lia herds unruly chickens, camps, beach combs, daydreams about as-of-yet unwritten books, wades through a mile-high TBR pile and schemes yet another trip. Right now, Icelandic hot springs and Scottish castles sound pretty sweet.

She and her family live in Northern California.

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ARC Review: Inside Out by Lia Riley

I will admit that this review is a hard one for me to write. I have been waiting for Inside Out and the conclusion of Bran and Talia's story, and I have loved these characters since I first read about them. But I found with Sideswiped I had a few problems, and I was worried that Inside Out would be the same for me. Unfortunately, I have to say that it was. While I wanted to love this one, I just couldn't. I was happy with how things ended and I am glad that Talia and Bran were able to figure things out, but this one had a few things that I just had some issues with.

Inside Out picks up after the events of the first two books. Talia and Bran are once again together, but have been struggling with their new relationship status. While Talia was in Africa and Bran was in the Sea Alliance, they hardly got to speak to one another. Now as they are finally reunited, they are forced to face yet another obstacle that stands in their way. Though they have always made it through together before, will they be able to this time?

Bran and Talia have been two of my favorites since I started this series. I loved them both almost instantly and I think that is because they are so different yet real. I will say that in Sideswiped I had issues with both. It was clear to me after reading that story that they both had a ways to go before they could ever really be ready for a serious commitment. They both had things to face, and a lot of growing up to do. I think that we got to see some of that with this book. Talia and Bran have never had it easy, but they were able to make it through because of the love and support between them. I felt like they both were really there for one another in this book, and it was nice to see each one encouraging the other when they needed it most. Bran and Talia have always had chemistry and a connection, but this book really felt like it had been a bit dimmed for me. For some reason, I just wasn't feeling the spark that I had felt between them before.

For me, Inside Out just felt like something was missing. It felt almost like a really long epilogue to me that was a bit drug out and slow. I liked how things ended for these two, but I honestly don't think that we needed this much more. There just didn't really seem to be a story to tell, and I found my attention wondering a lot. As I tried to get through this one, my interest would waver and I would have to walk away for awhile before coming back to try again. I'm a bit disappointed that I found myself wanting to skim with these characters, because I really have loved them and reading their story. If you have already read the previous two books in this series, I think that you will still want to read this one even with the criticisms I had. If you haven't already read those two books, then you definitely need to read those before starting Inside Out. I think Lia Riley created some great characters though, and I will look for more from her in the future.

**ARC Provided by Forever (Grand Central Publishing)**

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ARC Review: Sideswiped by Lia Riley

Sideswiped is the second Off the Map book by Lia Riley and is a continuation of Bran and Talia's story. This book is not a standalone and the series should be read in order. I couldn't wait to get more Bran and Talia after the first book. I really loved their characters and thought that they were so different. But honestly this book was a bit disappointing for me and the main reason was the characters. I will definitely be reading the next book, and I am hoping that it doesn't have the same problems that this one did for me.

Talia and Bran were facing a deadline for their relationship when Talia returned home to California. But a research assignment offered her the chance to return to Australia for a limited time. When Bran showed up at her door, Talia quickly forgave him and things seemed to be back on track. But as Talia and Bran face new obstacles, they both begin to wonder what is best for their future. Talia knows that they both need to pursue their dreams if they have any chance of being happy and having a successful relationship. But Bran vows to never do a long distance relationship again, and sees Talia's wanting to pursue her dream as her abandoning him. While Talia tries to convince Bran that she will love him no matter where they are, Bran struggles to see the love she has for him.

I loved Talia and Bran in the first book. Talia is strong and independent, and really mature despite her age. She has had to make some hard decisions and she has struggled through her pain. But she always chose what would not only be best for her but also for Bran. She loved him fiercely and wanted them both to be happy and fulfilled. She continues to struggle with her OCD, but in this book it was much more in control than the first. Bran was my biggest issue this time around. He was whiny and immature. He acted like a child and refused to open his eyes. He let his fears and insecurities get the best of him and held on so tight that he actually ended up making things worse. I really wanted him to get over his insecurities, and really see just how much the love he shared with Talia meant. But he just seemed to do the same things over and over and refused to wake up.

For me, this story felt so similar to the first book with the constant hot and cold. It drove me nuts because I really felt like this book was basically rehashing the same problems that they had already gone through. Bran continued to fall into the same behaviors and I didn't like the pattern that he was forming. Talia was so understanding and supportive, and I really felt like she deserved more from Bran. I wanted them to work things out and didn't stop rooting for them, but the whole time I couldn't stop wishing that Bran would just get his act together already. I am looking forward to reading the next book and seeing how things play out for these two. But I really don't think I can take much more of the push and pull between them. Bran has some serious making up to do, and I really hope that he is able to redeem himself. Talia deserves someone who will be loyal and understanding and support her dreams, I just hope that Bran can be that person.

**ARC Provided by Good Choice Reading and Forever (Grand Central Publishing)**

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