ARC Review: Some Kind of Normal by Juliana Stone

After reading Boys Like You by Juliana Stone, I was looking forward to reading Some Kind of Normal. Each of these books can be read as a standalone, but you do get more of Trevor's back story if you read Boys Like You first. I thought that this was a short and sweet YA read, and I enjoyed it. 

Trevor Lewis had it all until one night changed everything. After having a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) from an accident, he was left in a coma for months. In order to graduate he has to pass a history test, and with his brain malfunctioning at times he needs a tutor. So when he finds out that he has to spend the summer being tutored by the good girl and pastor's daughter Everly Jenkins, he is anything but excited. But the more time they spend together, the more Trevor begins to realize that Everly's life isn't as perfect as he thought it was. As they grow closer together, they both find themselves finding comfort in the last place they expected. 

I liked Trevor and Everly. I thought that they were really great together and though they were really different, they understood one another. Trevor was struggling with finding his place after experiencing something really horrible. Everything he had known and planned on was suddenly taken from him, and he had no idea if he would be able to get it back. But Everly helped him to realize that he needed to work hard and go after what he wanted. She liked him for who he was in the present and not who he had been before the accident. Everly was great, I liked that she was a good girl but that she wasn't uptight or snobby. People had made assumptions about her, but she wasn't anything like most of them saw her. I liked that she didn't judge others, and she was always supportive of those she cared about.

Overall, this was a sweet YA book and I liked it. I did find myself rolling my eyes at times with both Trevor and Everly and they handled things poorly on more than one occasion. But these were young kids just getting out of high school and I think a lot of it was just their age. I will also say that while I did like how things were at the ending, I also felt like it wasn't fully satisfying. I wanted a bit more and I was hoping to see a bit into the future. While I like the YA genre, I think that is my biggest complaint about it. I don't expect every story to end with a marriage or engagement or fully tied up conclusion, I do like to see a bit into the future after all the dust has sort of settled. There was a lot going on in this book with Everly's family as well as with her and Trevor, and it would have been nice to see a bit more of how things played out. If you are a fan of YA books though, I think you will find these books enjoyable. They are great for a quick and light read that also touch on some deeper subjects. I thought that Juliana Stone handled some tough things really well, and I was glad that she was able to show that being different doesn't have to be a bad thing.

**ARC Provided by Publisher**

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ARC Review: The Gentleman Mentor by Kendall Ryan

I feel like I need to just start off by saying that I loved this book! I started The Gentleman Mentor figuring I would read a few chapters then cook dinner and get some housework done before going back, but once I started I could not put this book down! Seriously this book was great and it sucked me right in! I have loved books by Kendall Ryan before, but The Gentleman Mentor might just be my favorite! I could not resist Hale and his dirty talking ways! 

Tired of pining for her best friend Kirby, Brielle decides to contact the Gentleman Mentor. She found his ad online and he promises to help any woman become the sexy and confident woman they need to be to achieve whatever they go after in life. Upon meeting him, Brielle is nervous yet excited to start their six lessons together with her end goal to be the type of woman that Kirby can't resist. But the more that Brielle learns from Hale and the more that she experiences with him, she begins to wonder if any guy can compare to him. She finds herself forgetting Kirby altogether as she gets lost in Hale. But Hale has a past that he is trying to escape and he doesn't allow himself to get close to anyone as he doesn't do commitment. What he feels for Brielle threatens the life he has come to know though, and he finds himself wanting things he never has with a client before. But is he willing to risk everything for a chance with Brielle? 

I loved these two together! The chemistry between them was instant and explosive. Hale and Brielle were the perfect match for one another, with Brielle being a little timid and shy and Hale being dominant and in control. What I loved about Hale was that while he exercised control in everything they did, he was exactly as advertised, a complete gentleman. He was sweet and kind, and very patient. I liked that he was so great with Brielle, while showing her what she deserved. He helped her to face and conquer her insecurities, and brought out a passion that she had never experienced before. Brielle was just as good for Hale, showing him that he was a great guy that deserved to have love in his life. She was into the real him, rather than the sexy dominant that knew his way around a woman's body. I loved that although they had lessons together, it was more than just a job/client situation. Right from the start things were different between these two, and it was clear to see that they clicked on every level. 

Overall, I really loved this book and the characters. The story was captivating and I could not put it down. I had to keep turning the pages to get more of Brielle and Hale. This book was sexy and sweet, and I really enjoyed seeing these two interact from their very first email right up to the end. I will say I wasn't ready for this book to be over, but I thought that Kendall Ryan wrote a fantastic story. I just wasn't ready to say goodbye to these two and found myself greedy for more. I am very excited to see that she is writing a book for Hale's friend Reece, and I cannot wait to get my hands on The Dominant. If you are a Kendall Ryan fan, you are definitely going to want to pick this one up! If you haven't read any of Kendall's books yet, I highly recommend you start here! This book is one of my favorites, and I can't wait for more from Kendall Ryan in the future.

**ARC Provided by Inkslinger PR**

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Feature and Giveaway: Some Kind of Normal by Juliana Stone

What is Normal?

For Trevor normal was fast guitar licks, catching game-winning passes and partying all night. Until a car accident leaves Trevor with no band, no teammates and no chance of graduating. It’s kinda hard to ace your finals when you’ve been in a coma. The last thing he needs is stuck-up Everly Jenkins as his new tutor–those beautiful blue eyes catching every last flaw.

For Everly normal was a perfect family around the dinner table, playing piano at Sunday service and sunning by the pool. Until she discovers her whole life is a lie. Now the perfect pastor’s daughter is hiding a life-changing secret, one that is slowly tearing her family apart. And spending the summer with notorious flirt Trevor Lewis means her darkest secret could be exposed.

This achingly beautiful story about two damaged teens struggling through pain and loss to redefine who they are–to their family, to themselves, and to each other–is sure to melt your heart.

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ARC Review: Shadows and Lies by Eden Butler

This is my first Eden Butler novel and I had no idea what to expect. What I got was a really well woven mystery/suspense, an agonizing love story and some truly great characters. This was a really good book.

Super fast non-spoiler rewind: Ryan "pinches" Alex for trying to lift some guys wallet. He discovers that she is a familiar face from the past. Together they figure out that they have more in common than a little petty theft. They join forces to keep Alex safe and to try to untangle the mystery surrounding the deaths of their closest family members.

The first thing that got my attention is that the writing of this book is just really good. Some books are good because I love the story and other books are good because they are just really well written. This book was both. I appreciated the description of life in New Orleans and the impact that it had on Alex. There was something about Alex's depiction that I just found painfully good. She was written so well that you could feel her past pulling on her and you could feel her yearning for a different future.

Ryan is also well created and depicted. The thing that I like the most is how Ryan was torn between his constant urge to "save" Alex and his knowledge that "saving" was exactly what she didn't want from him. So Ryan is in a position where he is trying to be what Alex needs without letting her know that's what he's doing and it's beautiful.

The other thing that I liked was the honesty of the characters. Ryan is attracted to Alex pretty quickly and vice versa. Ryan, however, thinks Alex is a "low life" who is off limits despite his yearnings. Alex thinks Ryan is a boy scout who thinks she's a low life. I thoroughly enjoyed both Ryan and Alex's emerging understanding of one another. It's just interesting to see that you can arrive at a true conclusion based on a total misinterpretation of the significant facts.

A criminal boss of sorts named Timber is obsessed with Alex in the book. I found the story of Alex's connection to and history with Timber just really compelling. The description was rich and helped the reader to understand why and who Alex was.

There isn't enough sex for my personal taste but hey what else is new? I'm not holding it against the author because I love mystery and suspense and there was enough of that to sort of make up for the absence of monkey love. I was intrigued by the mystery and was trying to figure out from the beginning how everything tied together. I wouldn't have minded if there was a little more resolution in the end but I was happy and I will be back for more.

I have to note, I wasn't thrilled with the first few pages of the book. I found the sudden reference to Simmon's a little confusing. Trust me, things quickly get right and I'm glad I hung in for the ride. I highly recommend this book.

**ARC provide by As the Pages Turn**

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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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