ARC Review: Making A Comeback by Kristina Mathews

Kristina Mathews is a new to me author, but one look at the cover and the blurb for Making A Comeback had me interested in reading this one. This book is the third book in Kristina's More Than A Game Series, with each book being an interconnected standalone. You do not need to read these in order, and I had no problems diving right into this one. I will say that after reading Cooper and Annabelle's story though that I want to go back and read the others since I enjoyed this one so much. 

Annabelle Jones is moving forward with her life. After years of living with her husband though not being happy, she has finally started the divorce process and is trying to get her modeling career back in order to provide for her two young twin daughters. But when an accident forces her to rely on her handsome neighbor, the future she was planning suddenly begins to look a lot different. Nathan Cooper is paying for a mistake he made while trying to revive his own career as a profession relief pitcher. He knows that he needs to focus on getting back in the game, but he can't stop himself from helping out Annabelle and her daughters. As much as these two try to stay away from each other thinking that it is best to keep one another at arm's length, they find themselves wanting a life together that they never expected. 

I really liked Cooper and Annabelle. I will admit that these two both frustrated me at times, but I did understand why the did some of the things that annoyed me. They were both focused on getting their careers back and thought that they couldn't have a relationship as well as their careers, but yet they were better when they were together than apart. I loved Annabelle's little girls, and I thought that they were so cute. They immediately took to Cooper, and I loved seeing him with them. He was so sweet and kind, and I love how natural he was with them. These four were so good together that it was really hard to believe that they hadn't been a family all along! I loved Cooper and Annabelle as a couple, and they had a clear connection and great chemistry. But it really was the four of them that made this book so special.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I liked all the characters. I loved Cooper and Annabelle, and I enjoyed seeing them interact with Annabelle's friends from the previous book. I am curious to go back and read their story and see how everything happened that led up to this story and Cooper's being traded. If you are a fan of contemporary or sports romance stories, I would recommend giving this one a shot. I enjoyed Kristina's writing style and I felt invested in these characters right away. I will definitely look for more stories from her in the future.

**ARC Provided by Tasty Book Tours**

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Guest Post with Author Kristina Mathews and Giveaway

Meet Kristina Mathews author of Making a Comeback.

Kristina Mathews doesn't remember a time when she didn't have a book in her hand. Or in her head. But it wasn't until she turned forty that she confessed the reason the laundry never made it out of the dryer was because she was busy writing.

While she resigned from teaching with the arrival of her second son, she's remained an educator in some form. As a volunteer, parent club member or para educator, she finds the most satisfaction working with emergent and developing readers, helping foster confidence and a lifelong love of books.

Kristina lives in Northern California with her husband of more than twenty years, two sons and a black lab. A veteran road tripper, amateur renovator and sports fanatic. She hopes to one day travel all 3,073 miles of Highway 50 from Sacramento, CA to Ocean City, MD, replace her carpet with hardwood floors and serve as a “Ball Dudette” for the San Francisco Giants.

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Review: Divergent by Veronica Roth

I have become so completely obsessed with this book/series. I must admit that I watched the movie before reading it (I know, I know, I can’t believe I broke such a huge reading law). After watching the movie I wasn’t crazy about it. It wasn’t horrible, but nothing to write home about either. Then I watched Insurgent at the theatre, and I was blown away! It really urged me to read the books. I am so glad that I did because this book was much better than the movie. The whole time, I thought, “Oh they should have put that in the movie!” or “This makes so much more sense, now!”

Beatrice is at the age where she will take a test that will help her decide which faction to join in her community. She was born into the Abnegation faction which mainly focuses on acts of selflessness. She has always struggled with their ways and doesn’t know if it is where she belongs. It’s a huge decision in this dystopian society since if they choose a faction different than the one they’re born into, they must leave their families. Or if they choose wrong and fail, they could become factionless (which is shown to be poor and awful).

To make everything more confusing, Beatrice’s test results come back inconclusive. The test won’t be able to help with her choice, and the test proctor explains that her results indicate that she is Divergent which is dangerous in this world. Beatrice ends up choosing Dauntless which is the faction for Bravery and Courage. This decision only contributes to unrest between the Abnegation faction and the Erudite faction over which is the optimal faction to govern their city.

Beatrice goes through some serious changes when becoming a Dauntless. Her lifestyle is very different and she struggles a bit through training. Throughout it all she makes some friends, and an attraction forms between her and her teacher, Four. It wasn’t weird though if your nervous about a huge age difference. She is 16 and Four is 18. There are some very sweet romantic scenes, and a lot of kick butt action scenes as well. I really enjoyed learning about the politics of this book which was a very bizarre experience for me.

Tris (Beatrice) is the sole point of view in this book. It is also written in the first person. Normally I shy away from this, but because of all the hype I thought I should still go for it. First person narratives tend to come across whinny to me. I got that vibe when reading The Hunger Games. Tris didn’t give me that impression at all. She never complained through her struggles, inside her head or verbally. She is very smart. I liked her a lot, and I loved this book. I’ve already bought the next one.

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ARC Review: Caged by Lorelei James

Caged is the fourth book in Lorelei James’ Mastered series. I didn’t know it was a part of a series when I picked it up but it’s a standalone so you don’t need to have read the other books in the series to read this one. I will say, however, that I read some other reviews of this book and a couple suggested reading these books in order to increase your enjoyment level. I’m not going to disagree with that advice because I seem to be a bit less enthusiastic about Caged than other reviewers. In fact, there are references in this book that connect to other books in the series (I know that NOW) that can be confusing if you start reading here.

Caged is Deacon and Molly’s story. Deacon is a Southern boy who teaches kickboxing classes. Molly signs up for one of Deacon’s classes and Deacon is instantly attracted to her, sweat and all. Right away I was little put off by the conflict between Molly and Deacon. Deacon blows his initial shot with Molly for a reason which I still don’t fully get and to the extent that I do get it, I just didn’t like it. When Molly runs into Deacon months later (underneath a stripper!) he is still attracted to her and is instantly on her seeking another chance. Molly gives in pretty easily since she’s been pining away for Deacon ever since their failed first connection. I think the book is supposed to be about the push and pull between Deacon and Molly as he tries to get back into her good graces and she resist only I didn’t really see a whole lot of that in the book.

Deacon is an extreme alpha. He comes complete with grunts, indecipherable facial expressions and a communication void the size of Nevada. Of course, he is also hella bossy. Eventually we see a sweeter side to Deacon but the weird thing is that his sweeter side doesn’t seem to be what drew Molly in. I know that because it doesn’t come out until after Molly has already agreed to give Deacon another chance. So their whole relationship up until that point was giving me a “I’m here for the orgasms” vibe. Again, I think not reading other books in the series may be an issue here because apparently there is some relationship development between Deacon and Molly which occurred in other books in the series. I didn’t benefit from that material so it all seemed very insta-lovey to me.

In terms of the events in the actual book…there was a lot going on emotionally. Because Deacon is brooding and alpha-ey, he holds a lot of things inside. This, of course causes complications in his relationship with Molly because she doesn’t understand or misinterprets some of his actions. Deacon eventually reveals more about himself and the sh!t really is devastating stuff that anybody would probably hide. The thing that finally got me feeling something about Molly’s character is that she really is good at understanding Deacon and supporting him as he finally deals with his past and heals. Post-open up Deacon and Molly’s relationship is compelling and the connection is really well described. The sex scenes were hot and added to the overall chemistry between Deacon and Molly. The BDSM stuff can always go either way. If you read a lot of BDSM books, the stuff in this book wasn’t all that intense but it still made things spicy and interesting.

The one thing that really annoyed me about this book is that in order to build some conflict into the story line, there is a lot of melodrama and angst. I’m actually allergic to melodrama and excessive angst and this book damn near made me break out in a rash. I know things are bad when I start screaming grow the fu!k up at my Kindle. However, because this book was well written, I had a lot of fun with the entire cast of characters and there was some hot sex, I still enjoyed the book overall. My suggestion for you potential readers is that you can read this book out of order in the series but you SHOULD read the other books in the series first.

**ARC copy provided by Publisher**

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Feature and Giveaway: Take the Fall by Marquita Valentine

Fans of Abbi Glines and Katy Evans will adore Take the Fall, the first spinoff novel from Marquita Valentine’s New York Times bestselling Boys of the South series. In this emotional new romance, passions run hot as a rugged, brooding Marine rekindles an old flame.

As a teenager, Seth O’Connor went to jail for a crime he had nothing to do with. He took the fall to protect the girl he loved, but the cruel realities of prison hardened him. After doing his time, Seth shuts her out and enlists in the Marines—until his grandmother’s funeral forces him to come home and face Rowan Simmons once again. The woman she’s become puts all his high-school memories to shame, and Seth wants her more than ever. Can he be honest about why he denied her for so long?

After Seth pushed her away, Rowan swore that no man would ever hurt her again. But the boy who broke her heart has become a sexy Marine, capable of fulfilling her every desire—and now that he’s back in town, old feelings are simmering to a boil. Rowan wants to stay strong, even as her body surrenders to his expert touch. She only hopes that by taking him back, she can finally help heal the wounds that drove them apart

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