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Saturday, July 26, 2014

Weekly Winners

Below is a list of all of the winners from the last week.

Courtney
Heather
Karen
Maggie
Donna
Apprehended by Jan Burke

Danielle
Never Been Kissed by Molly O'Keefe

Chanpreet
Between the Sheets by Molly O'Keefe

Maura
Rebel by Cheryl Brooks

Bette
All of You by Christina Lee

Julia
Personal Assets by Kelsey Browning


All winners have been notified via email. Thank you to everyone that stopped by and entered. =)

ARC Review: Unwritten by Chelsea M. Cameron


I have become a fan of Chelsea M. Cameron's after reading a few of her books now, and I was really excited to read Unwritten. I really liked the blurb and cover, and I couldn't wait to read about a librarian and author heroine. This book was really good, and I really enjoyed the story. While it had the same writing style I have come to know and love from Chelsea M. Cameron, this one had a different feel to it than other stories of hers that I have read. I really liked how fresh and different this story was, and I couldn't put it down.

Blair Walton is a tattooed children's librarian by day and one half of the romance writing duo that goes by the pen name of Scarlet Rose at night. Her writing partner is her best friend Raine, and the only people that know their identity are a select few in the industry. When they start struggling to complete their latest deadline, Raine suggests that Blair ask the sexy dad of one of the kids from the library out on a date. She thinks that the sexy Brit could be just the one to use for research and help them finish their story faster. Blair disagrees at first, but finds it harder to deny that she wants to be with Declan. When Declan asks her out on a date, Blair agrees and they instantly hit it off. Blair decides to keep seeing him but refuses to use anything from their relationship for their book. Soon things are heating up between them, but Blair isn't the only one that has been keeping secrets.

I really loved Declan. He was really sweet and he was so open and honest about how their relationship was. He didn't let Blair think that things were more serious than they were, and I was really glad that he didn't lead her on. Declan was also a great father, and he was so cute with Drake. I loved their relationship, and it was clear how much he loved him and was committed to making him his top priority. Declan was also really smart, and I was really amazed how he was able to balance work with classes and being a single father. I have to say that the way he was always there for Blair and how he got her books with flower names instead of flowers was absolutely perfect. He really knew her and did a great job showing her that she was special. Blair was a great heroine, and I loved that she was so unique from any other characters that I have read before. She was true to herself and didn't let others or their opinions dictate any part of her life. I liked her a lot, and she was just one of those cool chicks that you would want to hang out with. I thought that Blair and Declan had great chemistry and worked together really well. But I loved their emotional connection the most and the best part was how much Blair also cared about Declan's son Drake. She loved him right off and she didn't even have to try and like him or make him fit in.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It was definitely one of my favorites of Chelsea's and I really recommend this one. I did have a few issues with this book, and that is the only reason this one wasn't a five star read for me. I felt the ending was a bit rushed and abrupt, and I would have liked more. I also felt like the majority of this book focused on Raine and Blair's writing and the stuff going on in Blair's life rather than Declan and Blair's relationship. I wish that we would have seen a bit more of them together and how their feelings were developing. I also thought that while their was definite heat and attraction between them, this one didn't have the amount of steam that Chelsea's books usually do. Most of their physical activity was alluded to or faded to black, and I would have loved to have got more of that too. I still think that this book was really great despite those things though, and I just loved Declan, Blair and Drake. This one is a must read for Chelsea's fans and I think that contemporary fans will also really enjoy the story. This one had NA aged characters, but I really felt like they were more mature and acted beyond their years. This book is hard to really put in just one genre, and I think that romance fans should definitely give it a shot. I look forward to reading more from Chelsea in the future and can't wait to see what she writes next.

**ARC Provided by Inkslinger PR**

Purchase: | Amazon | Kindle | B&N | The Book Depository |





Feature and Giveaway: Enemies on Tap by Avery Flynn


Enemies

What’s a girl to do when the only person who can help her is the man who betrayed her? After years away, Miranda returns to Salvation, Virginia to save her family’s brewery, but her fate is in the hands of her first lover turned enemy, Logan Martin.

Lovers

Logan, Salvation’s de facto prince, can’t believe his luck when the woman who smashed his heart to smithereens walks into his bank asking for his help. What she doesn’t know is he needs the land is on.

An Irresistible Combination

But soon it’s a battle between their attraction for each other and their determination to win. With the town dead set against the Sweet Salvation Brewery’s success, Logan has to choose between what’s expected of him and what he really wants.

Purchase: | Amazon | B&N | Kobo | iTunes |

Feature and Giveaway: Unwritten by Chelsea M. Cameron


Children's librarian by day. Romance novelist by night.
British single father.
Someone else is writing this love story...

Blair Walton isn't your average curvaceous tattooed children's librarian. She's also one half of bestselling romance author, Scarlet Rose. Along with her BFF Raine, she spends her nights writing books so steamy, she's afraid they would shock her Southern conservative grandmother to death . . . if she knew about them. That's why she and Raine write in secret.

On deadline for their latest book and out of ideas, Raine suggests (demands) that Blair find a guy and "do some research". Declan Bennet has all the qualifications: He's British, looks fabulous in a suit, has glorious blue eyes and gets bonus points for being an amazing single dad to his adorable son, Drake. But what starts out as a research project quickly turns into something much more. And Blair's not the only one with secrets.

Purchase: | Amazon | Kindle | B&N |

ARC Review: Pick Me by Erika Marks


Pick Me is the third book in the Magnolia Bay series and is written by Erika Marks. This short and sweet novella can be read as a stand alone, and was easy for me to get into without having read the previous 2 stories in the series. I really enjoyed Thea and Calder's story, and I can't wait to read more in this series. 

After having been dumped by her boyfriend of 3 years, Thea Dunn heads to her hometown for a 2 week vacation. She never expects the neighbor next door to be the sexy bad boy that rescued her on prom night fourteen years ago. Calder Frye still has his motorcycle, but he is also now a handsome doctor that never stays in one area for long. He always regretted not kissing Thea on the night they skipped prom. With her staying next door, he decides now is his chance. Can Thea and Calder turn their teenage fantasy into reality? Or will they find that the fantasy was better than the real thing?

I really liked Calder and Thea. I loved that Calder had gone from the mysterious and sexy bad boy in high school to the handsome and sweet doctor committed to doing good. He wasn't a total womanizer and I really thought it was great that even though he only did casual before that he wasn't the stereotypical single guy out to see how many women he could go through. He was a good guy and was just trying to do the best he could while also being there for his family and enjoying his career. Thea was great as well. She was successful and driven, and I love that she knew she wanted to be a lawyer in high school and made it happen. She enjoyed her career and was happy with her life, and she was really close with her sisters. I liked how they were able to give each other a hard time, but that they were always there for each other. I thought that Thea was confused when it came to her love life though, and it took her quite awhile to realize that her ex was wrong for her. It was nice to see her getting to know Calder again and how they had both changed over the years. I thought that they had great chemistry together, but they were also a great pair that seemed to work really well together. Calder and Thea were really sweet together and I liked that they had such an easy and natural relationship.

Overall, I think that this book was really cute and I loved losing myself in this sweet story. It was short but I found it to be real and believable. I liked the secondary characters a lot, and even though at first I disliked Calder's brother Pete it was good to see him make progress over the course of the book. I would definitely recommend this book to contemporary fans that are looking for something that can be read quickly and will leave them feeling happy and satisfied. Pick Me was really enjoyable, and I look forward to reading more from Erika Marks in the future.

**ARC Provided by Author**

Purchase: | Amazon |




Friday, July 25, 2014

ARC Review: Tangled by Emma Chase


Stop what you are doing and get this book right now! Seriously, if you haven't read Tangled you are missing out. This book by far blew my expectations out of the water and I just couldn't get enough. From the first page to the last I just couldn't stop turning the pages. Tangled put a smile on my face and I just adored it.

Told only in the pov of the hero Drew, I found Tangled to be a breath of fresh air. I've had this on my Kindle for quite awhile and have been hesitant to read it because I thought it was going to be another rich alpha hero meets poor naive heroine. Yeah, that is definitely NOT this book. The characters in Tangled were realistic and seemed like people I could actually know.

I loved the chemistry between Drew and Kate. Their relationship starts off rocky with them both trying to one up and best the other but underneath all that animosity you could see and feel the sexual tension between the two. And once they finally gave into it things were explosive!

I simply adored this book and I can't wait to read more from Emma Chase. This is definitely going on my keeper shelf and I will definitely be re-reading this one in the future. I highly recommend you go out and get this book, you won't be sorry.

**ARC provided by Publisher**

Purchase: | Amazon | Kindle | B&N |



ARC Review: Tortured by Kate Givans


Tortured is the first book in the Tortured Soul series by Kate Givans and is also her debut novel. I think that this was a promising start for her, and I am interested to see where she takes the characters from here. I will tell you that this book does end abruptly and there is a cliffhanger. The second book Unraveled is said to be coming sometime this fall.

After a horrible accident in which he lost his best friend, Josh has been struggling with guilt. He has been torturing himself for the choices that he made and blames himself for his best friend's death. When he meets Willow, things start to get better for the first time since the accident. Willow helps him deal with his guilt and the panic attacks that he experiences, and he finally starts to really feel like living again. But Willow is dealing with her own problems and refuses to let anyone in. The closer that Josh and Willow get, the more she tries to push him away and keep him out. Josh wants to help her the same way that she has helped him though and refuses to give up. But when Willow's past starts to catch up with her, things quickly go from bad to worse and Josh is left feeling even more left out than he did before.

I really liked Josh. He was sweet and smart, but really vulnerable. He was struggling so much, and you could tell how hard it was to start to let someone in again. But once he started to let Willow see everything that had happened to him he really started to heal. I thought it was great that Josh was able to start fixing the relationship with his mother also, and it was nice to see her with Josh and Willow having dinner and spending time together. Willow on the other hand drove me nuts. I wasn't ever able to connect with her character. She was flighty and confusing, and I didn't understand any of what she was doing. I felt like she was constantly pushing and pulling when it came to Josh, and as much as she did to help him she was also hurting him as well. It really irritated me that she was always pushing him to get out of his comfort zone and wanted him to tell her everything and get over his fears but she wasn't willing to do the same. She pretty much forced him to face his fears of driving and yet she couldn't even open up about anything real in her life. While I thought that they had some chemistry between them and got along great, it was hard to really believe in their feelings for one another because I felt like Josh didn't really know Willow. That wasn't Josh's fault, but rather Willow's because she never let him.

Overall, I think that this book was a promising start to the series and I am interested to see what happens next for Josh and Willow. I do think that their feelings of love felt rushed and unrealistic considering that they really didn't know one another. Josh had opened up but Willow was still a complete mystery. I really hope that in the next book that Willow is finally able to start letting Josh in and that we start getting some answers when it comes to her story. It is really hard to root for a heroine that repeatedly runs hot and cold without ever revealing anything about herself. I think Willow has a lot of work ahead of her to redeem herself to Josh and readers. I will say that this book definitely deals with those that are broken and damaged, and has a darker and more gritty feel than most NA reads. I think if that is what you are looking for then you might give this one a shot. I look forward to seeing where Kate Givans goes with these characters in the future.

**ARC Provided by A Little Bit of R&R**

Purchase: | Amazon |





Interview with Author Kara Braden and Giveway

Meet Kara Braden, author of The Longest Night.

Kara Braden makes her debut in modern romance with a story of love in isolation. She believes that engaging, romantic fantasy can be found everywhere in the world, even in the most unlikely places. With the support of her wonderful husband, cats, and dogs, she writes from her home office outside Phoenix, Arizona, where she spends her time hiding from the sunlight and heat.

Find Kara at:

Feature and Giveaway: Back to You by Jessica Scott


He's in for the fight of his life . . .

Army captain Trent Davila loved his wife, Laura, and their two beautiful children. But when he almost lost his life in combat, something inside him died. He couldn't explain the emptiness he felt or bridge the growing distance between him and his family-so he deployed again. And again. And again...until his marriage reached its breaking point. Now, with everything on the line, Trent has one last chance to prove to his wife that he can be the man she needs ...if she'll have him

. . . to win back his only love.

Laura is blindsided when Trent returns home. Time and again, he chose his men over his family, and she's just beginning to put the pieces of her shattered heart back together. But when Trent faces a court martial on false charges, only Laura can save him. What begins as an act of kindness to protect his career inflames a desire she thought long buried-and a love that won't be denied. But can she trust that this time he's back to stay?

Purchase: | AmazonKindle | Barnes & Noble |

ARC Review: Unequaled by Charity Parkerson


Unequaled is the third book in Charity Parkerson's No Rival series, but each book can be read as a standalone. I would recommend reading these in order though since they are short and it gives you insight into each character and what they have been through. I have been waiting for Rhys's story since I finished Undaunted, and I couldn't wait to see him get his HEA. While it was good to see what happened for him, this one wasn't what I had been expecting. I loved Rhys though, and I think that a lot of my problems were how other characters treated him.

Rhys and Kerry have never gotten along well, but when she sees his pain at Knox and Mandy's wedding, she decides to help him out. She never expected his claims of love for Mandy to be real, but she has just the way to help him move on. She makes a bet with Rhys to which they both agree to submit to the other for one night to see who breaks who first. When Kerry gets to go first, she takes him to a fetish club and straight into the arms of sexy Italian lawyer Asher. Rhys and Asher quickly hit it off besides just having great sex together and begin to see each other. But when the rumors start about Rhys being with a man threaten his future and MMA title, Asher must decide if he is willing to risk Rhys's success on a public relationship with him. Rhys is finally happy and is being open with Asher, but when Asher treats him as only a client in public and won't acknowledge who they are to each other Rhys begins to wonder if he is destined to be alone and unhappy.

I really liked Rhys. I felt like he had made some mistakes in the past, and he didn't handle things well with Mandy. But he had not had the best childhood and family life and it definitely affected him. I felt like his friends and family didn't really see him for who he was, and that they weren't really that supportive of him. They all seemed to make assumptions and they didn't really seem to believe or care about his feelings. I felt like he deserved so much more from all of them, so it really broke my heart when he believed that even Asher was ashamed of him. Asher was really great for Rhys and I thought that they were really hot together. It was fun to see them get to know each other, and I loved their flirty banter and texting. They were so sexy and hot, but they also were really developing feelings for each other. I understand what Asher was trying to do by protecting Rhys's image in public, but I just wish that he would have talked to Rhys about it rather than assume he knew what was best or what Rhys needed.

Overall, this was a good story and I did like the ending. I just felt like it was hard to really get into this story because of how everyone treated Rhys. I didn't feel like he deserved what he got, and honestly no one really seemed to catch on or feel bad about it. Rhys was great though, and I absolutely love his character. I liked that Asher came to his senses and that he truly cared about Rhys. He ended up proving to me that he was worthy of Rhys, and I was glad that Rhys hadn't been wrong about him. I think that this series is really great for Erotica fans that are looking for short and sexy stories. These are quick and hot and are the perfect way to squeeze in some sexy moments when you are short on time. I look forward to reading more from Charity Parkerson in the future and can't wait to read the next book in this series.

**ARC Provided by IndieSage PR**

Purchase: | Amazon | B&N |





Thursday, July 24, 2014

ARC Review: Lady Windermere's Lover by Miranda Neville


This was my first time reading Miranda Neville so I was not sure what to expect. I had some issues with the plot and the story. I found her writing to be engaging and it flowed. There were times that I really enjoyed the book and times I struggled with it. I made my peace with a three star rating.

So when the story begins, our hero, Damian, Earl of Windermere, is out partying with this friends celebrating his twenty-first birthday. In the mist of all this partying he gambles away his mother’s home which was a part of his inheritance. So right off we are starting off with a hero that is very questionable. The story continues as he has to tell his father the news but Damian eventually ends up gaining it back… So one way that he wins back his mother’s home was by marrying Lady Cynthia. Although Lady Cynthia is not a peer of the ton her uncle set up a nice inheritance for her making it very appealing for Damian.

Lady Cynthia is very simple. Her dresses are picked by her aunt and she is not a reigning beauty. Also, because she lives in the country she does not have polished manners of London society. These are traits that apparently bother Damien. He is not in the least bit interested in his new bride. Damien is such a snob and really a right down jerk to Lady Cynthia. After a short time married he goes off to serve in the Foreign Service, but not before making it clear to Lady Cynthia that she is to turn herself into the proper wife for a diplomat. I felt so horrible for Lady Cynthia… she went into the marriage knowing that it was not for love but it didn’t stop her from trying to be the best wife. All this takes place in the past… In the present, Lady Cynthia is a London society lady. She is beautiful, elegant and knows the proper manners for London society. She is no longer the young bride that she was a year ago. Damien returns to London from his assignment and finds Lady Cynthia at the theatre with his once friend now enemy- Julian Fortesque, the Duke of Denford, Julian is after Lady Cynthia but has really provided her only with the company that she lacked.

Ok, in the mist of all this Julian is said to have some priced paintings in his possession. Although Damien still bares a grudge against Damien for things that happened that fateful night he has a duty to the Foreign Office to uncover if he really has these paintings. This means that he has to start up an acquaintance again with him after their falling out and even after he believes that he is Cynthia’s lover. Julian was a fascinating character in this story, and I really enjoyed reading about him. So Damien is back and tries to make amends with his wife. He realizes that he treated her very poorly and is making amends for his past.

Some issues I had… One besides the incredibly irritating hero, the jumping around from past to present. It made the story choppy. First it’s the past then it’s the present then it’s the past… It was hard to figure out where we were. Also, a HUGE part of the drive of this story was miscommunication or lack of communication. There was a lack of communication with his wife/ new bride and a miscommunication with Julian. I don’t want to give away what that was since it also was a driving force in the storyline. If all these characters sat down and had a conversation much would have been resolved earlier. These miscommunication/lack of were a little irritating. Even after Lady Cynthia and Damian are living together again they have very poor communication skills. Lady Cynthia was fantastic. She was a great heroine and I really enjoyed her. Overall, I enjoyed this story. I would have liked there to be more of drive in the plot then the above mentioned. I do recommend this story and will read more by this author.

**ARC provided by Publisher**

Purchase: | Amazon | Kindle | B&N | iTunes |



ARC Review: Payoff Pitch by V.K. Sykes


Payoff Pitch is the fifth book in the Philadelphia Patriots series written by the husband and wife writing duo going by the name V.K. Sykes (Vanessa Kelly and Randy Sykes). This book immediately drew me in because I am a huge sports romance fan, and I also was really intrigued by the idea of a husband and wife writing together. While I did like Noah and Teddy and I liked several portions of this story, I did have a few issues overall though. The first half of this book was promising and I was really enjoying the way things were going, but then it started to go downhill for me and I found myself wanting to skip ahead or skim large portions of this book.

Noah Cade is a pitcher for the Philadelphia Patriots and is still recovering from a career threatening injury. After having surgery, he has been working to get back in the game. When his aunt's health condition gets worse, he finds himself not only balancing his career but also two standard poodles that she has entrusted him to take care of. When Noah sees the pretty dog walker from the next door neighbors chasing their dog, he immediately seeks her out to help her and also get her professional services for the dogs. Teddy agrees to come and work for him and also live with him and the dogs to ease their transition while he is away so much. The attraction between Noah and Teddy is strong, but they agree to put their feelings aside in order to maintain their professional relationship. Soon things being to escalate though, and both find the chemistry to be inevitable and give in to their feelings. With the uncertainty of Noah's career, and his family pushing for him to take a place in their company things soon get complicated. When Teddy finds out about his family's business, she quickly realizes that they are on opposite sides of an important issue to her and her family. Can they work through their differences and learn to keep those things out of their relationship? Or will it be too much for them to overcome?

Noah was really easy to like, and I loved how sweet and loyal he was. He really cared about his family, and I loved how dedicated he was to his aunt and her dogs. He was really struggling with his injury and the thought of his career ending, and yet he went out of his way to not only put his aunt's mind at ease but to also make sure that the dogs had the proper care and love that they deserved. I thought that Teddy was great as well, and it was nice to see how much she loved what she did. It wasn't just a job for her and she really gave it her all while also studying to become a lawyer. I thought that she was really great for Noah as well, and it was good to see her supporting him and showing him that someone worried about him and cared what was going on in his life. I thought that the chemistry between them was great, but I do think that they circled around each other a bit too much. They needed to be more open with each other and communicate better. I also wish that they wouldn't have let outside forces interfere with their relationship as much as they did.

My main issue with this story though was that about halfway through, it suddenly became very political and turned into a debate on environmental issues. I can understand that that would definitely cause friction between the hero and heroine, but I honestly felt like it was taken way too far in this. The second half of this book felt less like a romance, and more like an environmental PSA. I got tired of the constant talk about fracking and why it was bad or why it wasn't proven to have conclusive evidence against it. It just really distracted me from the story and cause me to lose interest quick. I honestly would have put the book down and not finished if it weren't for the fact that I wanted to see if Teddy and Noah would end up together. I really wish that this book wouldn't have gone there. I read to get away from the real world and for enjoyment, and this pretty much killed that for me. I would say that if you ar fans of this series, you will probably enjoy this story and that you will appreciate seeing familiar characters. I also think that some contemporary fans will enjoy this one if they can get past the environmental stuff as well. But if you are looking for a romance that focuses mainly on the relationship and development of feelings between the hero and the heroine, I think this might not be what you are looking for. This being the first book that I have read by V.K. Sykes, I am not sure if this is common in their books or just happened to be this story. I would be interested to read another one of their books though to see if they worked better for me.

**ARC Provided by Author**

Purchase: | Amazon | B&N |






Feature and Giveaway: Accidentally Married on Purpose by Rachel Harris


One ring plus one wild night equals one crazy love

Sherry Robicheaux loves men. She loves love. And she loves an adventure. So when she meets a mysterious man while working backstage at a country music concert in Vegas, she’s all about what happens in Vegas staying there.

Country music superstar Tyler Blue just wants a weekend of anonymity…though there’s something about the spunky waitress with the streaks of purple hair that tempts him like no other. Until the next morning, when they both wake up with fuzzy memories…and rings on their fingers.

Convincing Sherry to maintain the ruse for his public image isn’t the hardest part—it’s reminding himself that their time spent playing husband and wife in her small town of Magnolia Springs can’t last. Tyler’s first love will always be music—and the road is no place for a sweet downhome girl.

Purchase: | Amazon | B&N |

ARC Review: Fated for Love by Melissa Foster


Fated for Love is the most recent addition to the Love in Bloom series by Melissa Foster, and is the eighth Bradens book as well as book number sixteen in the series. I have really enjoyed all the books I have read in the series so far, and Fated for Love was no exception. I relly liked both Wes and Callie, and Callie's friends were so much fun. This book was enjoyable and sweet, but it also had its sexy moments as well. I highly recommend this series and the great thing about these books are that you can really start with any of them since they are standalones. I do think that they are great when read in order though and it adds so much to the experience by seeing how the characters and their lives progress with each book.

Callie Barnes moved away from Denver and her best friends in order to start her dream job of being a librarian in the small town of Trusty, Colorado. She looks forward to Thursdays when the sexy Wes Braden comes in to pick up her latest recommendations for him. Wes is the kind of guy that all the girls in town are after, and Callie finds it hard for her to even speak when he is around. She never thought that someone like him would be interested in her. When her friends take her away for the weekend she is expecting the spa retreat that they promised her, but when they arrive they have actually brought her to a dude ranch. When Callie finds out that it is actually owned by Wes and that he will be their wrangler for the weekend, she immediately regrets allowing her friends to talk her into staying. Callie struggles with her fears while Wes helps to guide her through many physically demanding activities all while supporting her and encouraging her. Soon Callie realizes that Wes wasn't so oblivious to her after all, and actually has been feeling the same thing for her as she was for him. As Callie and Wes confront their fears together, they learn to lean on each other and their new relationship while looking forward to their future together.

I really loved Wes. He was seriously one of the sweetest if not the sweetest book boyfriends I have ever read about. He was thoughtful and romantic, and I could not believe how great he was. He embraced his feelings with Callie, and didn't struggle with the changes that brought to his life at all. He was pretty much perfect in every way, and I really loved how great he was helping her through the week at the ranch. He was supportive and understanding, and you couldn't help but fall in love with him right along with Callie. Callie was brave and sweet, and I really liked seeing her outside her comfort zone. I loved her from the start, and felt like she was really easy to relate to. But it was so nice to see her trying new things and never giving up. She was great with Wes, and I thought that they were the perfect match together. They had a lot of chemistry, but they also had such a strong connection and you could see how emotionally tied to each other they were. They might have fallen for each other quickly, but it was so real and believable and I never questioned it for a second.

Overall, I thought that this book was really good. It was so much fun to read, and I adored Callie and her friends along with Wes. I also loved Wes's puppy Sweets. They were so cute together, and I loved how dedicated he was to taking care of her and loving her. I will say that this book was beyond sweet and romantic. While it was good, at times it felt like it was a little too good to be true. While there was passion and sexy times, it was for the most part overly sweet and adorable. I found it enjoyable, but I think that for some it might be too much. Callie and Wes were definitely the lovey type of couple that in real life you would love to see happy but also make you a little sick with how happy they are. I still would recommend this story and the rest of the series, especially to contemporary fans and fans of Melissa Foster and the Love in Bloom series. I think that these books never disappoint, and always leave you feeling happy and satisfied. I look forward to reading more about the Bradens and can't wait for the next book.

**ARC Provided by Tasty Book Tours**

Purchase: | Amazon | Kindle | B&N |





Wednesday, July 23, 2014

ARC Review: One Night With Her Ex by Lucy King


I was really excited to read this book after reading the blurb. I couldn't wait to start this second chance love story and see Lily and Kit get their HEA. I was a little bit apprehensive because I had never read anything by Lucy King before, but figured it was worth a shot. While I did enjoy the first bit of this book, after about half way through this one really went down hill for me. I have to say that this wasn't at all what I had been expecting and I had some pretty big problems with this book. Beware that there will be spoilers in this review, because I can't possibly give you my opinion without stating a few things that happened.

After a bad ending to a date on New Year's Eve, Lily is shocked when her ex-husband shows up at her door wanting to talk. After their marriage fell apart and Kit cheated on her five years ago, they haven't spoken at all. Things start off bad between them, but after they start talking they both realize that they are different people than they were when they were married. After a bit of talking, they also realize that the attraction is still between them and things heat up between them. Kit starts to think that maybe it is time that they gave things another chance and see if they could make a go of it together. But Lily has her doubts, and doesn't know if she can let herself trust him again. Can Kit convince her that they are meant to be together and that things will be different the second time?

I really wanted to like Kit and Lily, but every time that I would start to like them they would do something that drove me nuts. Kit and Lily were both at fault for the failure of their marriage. They didn't communicate well, Lily ran rather than face what was going on, but I don't think that any of that excuses Kit's cheating. He made a horrible decision, and I felt like it was pretty much unforgivable. Every time it was brought up it almost seemed to be attributed to Lily rather than Kit, and I really wanted him to take responsibility for his mistake. I felt like Lily was constantly apologizing when she wasn't the one who had screwed up the most. Yes she had things to apologize for and that she had done wrong, but for some reason it seemed to be her that was blamed every time. Lily had absolutely no back bone and I just felt like she was so weak. It was hard to relate to her, and honestly I didn't really have any sympathy for her when she couldn't even face her problems or stand up for herself. Because when she wasn't running and avoiding, she was saying she was sorry. I did think that Kit and Lily had chemistry, but honestly I just couldn't get past everything that had happened between them.

I also had a huge problem with the fact that Lily let a huge thing go later on in the book as well. After finding out that Kit still works with the woman he cheated on her with, Lily gives him an ultimatum and demands that he either fire her PR firm, have the woman fired, or have her transferred to another team. Kit flat out refuses and Lily waits all of a few hours before she is calling him to try and apologize for being unfair and demanding too much. Are you kidding me? If I was her, the cheating would be bad enough but for him to still be working with her would be game over. Especially when he didn't even clue her in until she found out herself. For someone trying to prove that they love you and never stopped and that they are worth a second shot, he sure was bad at regaining her trust and being completely upfront. If all that wasn't bad enough, Lily's sister then starts telling Lily what a huge mistake she is making and that she needs to apologize more and that she has no reason not to trust him again because he hasn't done anything wrong recently. I just couldn't stop rolling my eyes and face-palming, and honestly it just went from bad to worse. Not really sure why I finished, except at that point I felt like I had to see it through. I have to say that this is not a book that I would recommend, and I think that a lot of people will have the exact same problems with this story that I did. It just didn't work for me and I couldn't get behind anything in this story.

**ARC Provided by Harlequin**

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