ARC Review: My Serenity by M. Clarke

My Serenity is the standalone sequel to My Clarity by M. Clarke. It is not necessary to read My Clarity first, however the characters are interconnected. I have become a huge fan of Clarke's, and I couldn't wait to read this one. I really enjoyed the story and the characters, and was invested in this second chance romance right from the start. 

After the loss of his father, Seth returns home to help out his mom with their family restaurant and garage. By returning home, Seth had to turn down a great opportunity knowing that his family came first. Not long after returning, Seth comes across his childhood sweetheart, and he can't believe that he is face to face with Josefina after she disappeared when they were children. Though they were both young, their feelings were real and he was never able to forget her. Josefina has kept many secrets and hides herself away from everyone, especially Seth. But she can't help herself from wanting to get to know him again, even knowing that she shouldn't allow him to get too close. But when her past suddenly returns, both Seth and Josefina will have to decide if they can move forward together or if there will be too many obstacles for them to have a second chance. 

I really liked both Seth and Josefina. They were both sweet and nice, and super easy to like. I felt for both of them instantly, and my heart broke for all that each had been through. The connection they shared was so real and natural, and it was amazing that they had found it at such a young age. Yet it was undeniable, and I never once questioned their love in the past or present. These two just fit together in every way, and I loved that they complimented each other so well. They supported and encouraged one another, and brought out the other's best side. I thought that they had great chemistry, and it was really interesting to see them explore more of the sexy side of each other as adults as well as the sweet side as kids. 

Overall, this was a great story. It was fun and sweet, sexy and emotional. M. Clarke really gave Seth and Josefina a solid story that was well written and hard to put down. I will say that it does shift back and forth in time, as well as in POV and at times that was a little disorienting. I also wanted Josefina to open up to Seth more, and it took awhile for him to really see everything that she had been going through. But besides those minor criticisms, this story had everything that I enjoy as a reader and I couldn't get enough of these two together. I highly recommend this book and anything written by M. Clarke. I look forward to reading more from her in the future and can't wait to see what she writes next.

**ARC Provided by TRSOR Promotions**

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ARC Review: Toxic by Kim Karr

I have been a huge fan of Kim Karr's since I first read Connected. I have had my ups and downs with a few of her stories, but overall she is one of my go-to authors. So I couldn't wait to read Toxic when I first heard about it. That being said, I had a lot of issues with this book and unfortunately this was my least favorite of hers to date. I wanted to love this book so much, but it was absolutely exhausting to read. 

Phoebe St. Claire has been trying to save her family's legacy by getting their company back on track after her father went to prison. She is engaged to her boyfriend, yet she can't set a date for the wedding and she can't even picture a future together. She can however still remember Him and the summer they spent together. But when Jeremy McQueen reenters her life, she realizes that he isn't the same guy she once knew, and everything is different. Though the connection between Jeremy and Phoebe is still undeniable, things are more complicated than ever. When Phoebe and Jeremy start spending more time together and end up working side by side, things appear to be finally turning around for them. But soon Phoebe and Jeremy both realize that things aren't as they seem and both will be faced with whether they can trust one another, or if it is best to walk away from each other once and for all. 

My biggest issue with this book was the characters. As much as I wanted to love both Jeremy and Phoebe (and at times I really did!), they drove me absolutely nuts. I have never seen two characters who were so hot and cold that absolutely couldn't talk to one another! They would say that they needed to talk and leave the past behind them, moving forward with honesty and trust. Yet when it came down to it, they both kept things from one another and didn't say what they should. You would have thought after their past that they would have understood the importance of complete honesty and being open with one another, but apparently that wasn't something these two could figure out. They would both shut down and shut the other out, and it got to be more than I could take. At the end of this book I felt like I had run a marathon just trying to get through the story, and I found myself more frustrated with them than ever. I really thought that these two had a ton of chemistry and when they were together they were good together. But I really think that these two let too many others influence their relationship and I think that they needed to either learn to believe in each other or just move on.

I also felt like this story had a lot going on, and unfortunately at times it felt like too much. It had a Gossip Girl feel to it with the rich and privileged group of friends, and it was at times too much about them and not enough about Jeremy and Phoebe. I found myself wanting to skim the parts that didn't really pertain to anything that was going on with Phoebe and Jeremy, and that was far more often than I would have liked. For me, this book just missed the mark and wasn't what I had been hoping for. I don't really know what happened here, but it wasn't like anything I have read from Kim Karr before. As much as I wanted to love this book, I was forcing myself to get through it to see what happened rather than actually enjoying the story. There was just too much push and pull between the characters, and their relationship lived up to the book's title a little too much for my taste.

**ARC Provided by Publisher**

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Guest Post with Author Callie Hutton and Giveaway

Meet Callie Hutton author of The Highlander's Choice.

Callie has been making up stories since elementary school, and writing gave her a way to turn off the voices in her head. After having a number of articles and interviews published in newspapers and magazines, she took on what she’d always dreamed of. Writing that book. She currently has a number of both historical and contemporary romance books published.

She currently lives in Oklahoma with her husband and adult children who move in and out with alarming regularity. Add three rescue dogs and the household is complete—and full. She enjoys hearing from her readers, and would love to have you visit her.

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ARC Review: Put Up Your Duke by Megan Frampton

Reading Put Up Your Duke by Megan Frampton was like riding a roller coaster for me. The book would build and build and I would be more and more into it. Then the story would tumble back towards the ground with just a paragraph. I’m not one who enjoys reading the “F” word when describing sex. I know many other readers don’t mind it, but it takes away from the romance for me. So if you don’t mind it, this book would be more like four stars.

Isabella is betrothed to the Duke of Gage. However, the ton erupts with scandal when some documents are found proclaiming the Duke isn’t actually the duke. Nicholas then discovers that he in fact is the rightful Duke of Gage. Isabella’s parents insist he keep up the contract of their upcoming nuptials. Nicholas agrees that it would be best, and the two are quickly married.

The relationship between the Duke and Duchess of Gage is one of very stereotypical issues between men and women. Isabella expects Nicholas to know what she wants without her having to say a thing. Nicholas finds himself absolutely clueless when she gets angry with him. Nicholas handles arguments and issues very quickly, believing them solved, when in actuality Isabella was not finished and hadn’t believed him. They lacked communication.

I was extremely frustrated with Isabella. She was so hypocritical. She expected him to know everything about her, but she wouldn’t talk to him about anything. She was a believable character, but I just wanted to grab her shoulders and shake her. Nicholas’ character was not believable. His attitude and personality seemed to change quickly back and forth. He almost seemed like two different people. In the beginning quite the rake and then the second he learns about being a duke becomes responsible. From that point on, there would be random points where the rake would return. I did like the gentleman version of him, though. He was sweet, considerate, and trying his best for their marriage to work.

Most of this review seems negative, but the bad parts didn’t take over this book. All of the good romantic scenes were swoon worthy. I just didn’t like how my regard was lifted and lifted, then dropped down like a bowling ball. If those few instances hadn’t been in this book I would have loved it much more.

**ARC provided by Publisher**

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ARC Review: Breaking Her Rules by Jennifer Snow

I had high hopes for this book when I started out and while I’m not entirely disappointed, it didn’t quite make it into the shining star hall of fame as I thought it would.

When the book begins Gracie is a strong career woman and Walker is the down on his luck hero struggling to make it in the MMA world. The reason I really got into the book at first is because it’s well written, the dialogue was entertaining and I felt a good connection between Gracie and Walker. Where things went wrong is when Gracie just refused to get any good damn sense about her boyfriend. Yeah, Gracie had a boyfriend when the book began and it was clear that he was not “the one.” And when I say clear, I mean it was clear to me but completely incomprehensible to Gracie. At first I liked that Gracie was secure in her relationship and understanding of her boyfriend’s busy schedule. But eventually, it just became a series of “oh c’mon, really?” And I was over it but the relationship wasn’t over. Honestly around the 50% point of the book I was completely frustrated with Gracie and her boyfriend.

I know I know, you are probably wondering what happened to Walker. To be honest, Walker just didn’t give me anything. From the beginning I was thrown off because the author said Walker dropped out of law school after 3 years but law school is only three years so….that made no sense. Also, Walker was the got it all guy who drops everything to become an MMA fighter when law school should have been done (because it’s ONLY 3 years people) and I still to this day don’t know why. I just don’t understand how Walker randomly woke up one day and decided, eff the court room, what I really want is to get in the ring and kick a-s??? By the time the book was over, I just didn’t have a real good sense of who Walker was. Because Gracie was trampling on my last good nerve for her part, I started not to care about the relationship between the two main characters.

Lastly, I’m willing to work with an author when there isn’t enough sex. If a storyline is really really good, I can survive pages and pages of steamless reading. What I can’t do is abide one character who borders on being boring and another who is annoying and also get no sex. NO, now you’re just asking too much. This author asked WAY too much because I was over half way through with the book and there was no exchanging of bodily fluids. I just…I can’t live like that.

Well written, definitely some good parts, light on the sex and I’m giving it a read at your own risk recommendation.

**ARC provided by Publisher**

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