Bye, bye, Blogger

Hi, everyone!
Just wanted to let you know that I'm moving this party from Blogger to Wordpress.

If you're one of my beloved followers, please keep reading my crazy, sometimes without sense, reviews in https://trishbookshelf.wordpress.com/.

Thank you so much and see you all there!

Trish ;)

REVIEW: Aligned: Volume 3 by Ella Miles

 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️PLOT:He’s alive.
I don’t know how, but he’s standing here in the doorway. A torn piece of green silk sticking out of his pocket matching the fabric that I carry with me everywhere to remember him.
My heart has been torn in two.
I don’t know who I’m supposed to love. A man that has stolen my heart or my husband who I thought was dead.
— —
He’s fucking alive.
That can’t be possible. I found someone I could finally love. Someone I want to spend the rest of my life with.
But I can’t love Alex.
Not now. I have to let her go. It’s the only way I can save her. I just hope I’m strong enough to save myself.

SPOILERS ALERT!!!

Since the beginning the book is as intriguing as the other two. I found myself wondering really hard what is Landon hiding? What did he do to Caroline? I’m afraid is going to be something along the lines of rape or abuse… Specially giving his tendencies towards BDMS and all that. I was hoping I could find out in this volume, but I guess I have to wait for the next.

And then there’s Ethan, which I can’t figure out between chapters. I didn’t know I like him or not and I had the impression Alexa was with him to find something out and to investigate him. But, as in the first two books, that impression could have changed so easily. What I do know from the start is that he and his mother somehow planned what happened to Alexa. So that puts Ethan in the “don’t like” lane even more strongly.

I was so happy when I found out Alexa rather to be call Alex in the past too. Like Landon calls her. These are the things that got me absolutely loving this book, that it keeps getting better and better.

Plus, now Caroline and Drew have a secret too - Wow, this mess keeps tangling more and more!

So I’m left with a lot of questions, AGAIN!
Who’s the killer?
Does Landon’s secret have anything to do with Alex?
Did they meet each other before?
Or is Ethan behind it all?
And, Caroline is pregnant!! Is it Landon’s or Drew’s? Because there is definitely something between Caroline and Drew!

I have that feeling where I really want to know what’s going on but I kind of don’t want the books to end either!
So, I’m jumping to the next… I’ll report the outcome soon!

Happy reading,
Trish 🗯

REVIEW: Aligned: Volume 2 by Ella Miles

 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️PLOT:My mind is a mess.
I can’t live this way anymore. He thinks I’ve told him the worst, but I’ve barely told him anything at all.
I can’t love Landon.
He just brings more confusion. I need to leave. Then I can break through the chaos that haunts me.
——
My mind has never been so clear.
I’m writing new songs faster than ever before. I’m falling for her, even as the secret that I’ve kept hidden for years threatens to reveal itself.
I can’t love Alex.
Everyone will know I’m a monster. I’ll stay away. It’s the only way.

SPOILERS ALERT!!

Wow, again this thriller left me with my mouth open! In the last book I really though Alexa was in love with Ethan and missing him after the accident but I never imagined she had lost her memories and she didn’t remember anything from her past life. But she keep surprising me and being a really brave character! I think going to NYC to find her own answers and face her demons is the best decision she ever made in this book.

I absolutely loved how Landon was incapable of staying away of Alex, no matter what. And we got to uncover another layer from his character: he was an alcoholic and like his dad, he lost control with the drinks, so he stopped. He also pushes Alex to live, to take risks because I cares about her (the best example is their scene in the cliff, awesome).

And what is it about Ethan? Was he a bully or an abuser? I’m so confused about him - sometimes he seemed nice through Alex’ perspective and other I wondered if he was mean to her. I guess I got the opportunity to find out in the next book, knowing he’s ALIVE and all! A really freaking turning point, if you ask me! Best way to end a book!ç

Maybe the only thing that seemed a little bit unrealistic to me was the fact that now Alex is a super woman and knows how to control her panic about her sex encounters. Now she seems to know what she needs when she needs it, no matter how rough or wild.

But other than that, I keep giving this thriller my 5 full stars!
Can’t wait to see what happens next!

Trish 🗯

REVIEW: Aligned: Volume 1 by Ella Miles

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
PLOT: “He’s an arrogant complication.
I don’t care if Landon Davis has sold millions of records. I don’t care that his damn crooked grin makes my panties wet.
I can’t want him.
I should be mourning, but I can’t. I just need him gone. Then I can align the chaos floating in my head.
——
She has a f*cking boyfriend.
I’ve seen the picture of them together. But Alex Blakely still wants me. And who am I not to oblige when her body is begging for me?
I need one night to own her body.
I should be focused on getting my career out of the gutter. I’ll take one night first. Then I’ll be gone.”
SPOILERS ALERT!!!!

WOW!! Just WOW!
This book blew my mind completely!! I almost don’t have word to describe how much I enjoyed it and how hung I’m on the story! I can’t wait to read Aligned: Volume 2.

I got hook since the beginning - I couldn’t stop reading and I finished it within hours of starting it. The first chapters helped me to get into Alexa and Landon’s frame of mind. I got to know that something happened to her and she lost something (and someone) important but we readers don’t get to much details and we start forming questions such as: why did she move to LA? Why isn’t she giving her full name?

Alexa come across as a very affected person - with self-esteem issues that are more than understandable considering she has scars all over her, she’s missing part of her leg and she has panic attacks very frequently. She keeps referring about herself as a monster, word that we keep reading between the lines not only from her, but also from Landon; he feels like a monster too.

But really, Landon just behaves as any rock star would: cocky, arrogant an with a huge ego. We see some of his “monster” side in the way he treats Caroline, but other than that he’s just another Justin Bieber. But while the books moves forward, we get to see Landon the guy, not the singer. He takes his time with Alex; he’s not jumping her or invading her (at least not after the first time in her house). And even if his intention aren’t the purest, I gave him points for being patient with her.

We get really good turns on the events during the chapters, like when we see Landon in the club and think nothing happen when in reality her already knows Alex is married but he goes after her anyway. This kind of spins keep us readers really interested.

Its also amazing how Ella Miles gives us pieces of Alexa’s story at the beginning of each chapter. At the end I came back to all of them and read them in order and understood better what was going on. We also get lyrics of Landon’s songs to Alex. This helped a lot to developed the characters emotional state and the motivation for their actions.

And wow! At the last chapter, the author left us in a cliff! Alexa is full of mystery: What’s going on with her mom? Is Ethan dead? Why is she lying to Landon? What is she hiding?

So, I can only give 5 enormous stars to this book and run to read the second and untangle the mess I’m in now!

Happy reading,
Trish 🗯

REVIEW: To Have and to Hold (The Wedding Belles #1) by Lauren Layne

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
PLOT:“Discovering her fiancé is an international con man just moments before they exchange vows devastates celebrity wedding planner Brooke Baldwin's business—and breaks her heart. Now a pariah in Los Angeles, she seeks a fresh start in New York City and thinks she’s found it with her first bridal client, a sweet—if slightly spoiled—hotel heiress. Then she meets the uptight businessman who’s holding the purse strings.Seth Tyler wishes he could write a blank check and be done with his sister Maya's fancy-pants wedding. Unfortunately, micromanaging the event is his only chance at proving Maya’s fiancé is a liar. Standing directly in his way is the stunning blonde wedding planner whose practiced smiles and sassy comebacks both irritate and arouse him. He needs Brooke’s help. But can he persuade a wedding planner on a comeback mission to unplan a wedding? And more importantly, how will he convince her that the wedding she should be planning... is theirs?”

SPOILERS ALERT!!!As usual, Lauren Layne didn’t disappoint with her new book “To have and to Hold”. This is the perfect reading if you are looking for an engaging story with a happy ending!
Lauren always manages to list her characters’ issues in a way we understand them and hurt for them. And, at the end, you definitely feel closure for their situations.

In this case, Brooke and Seth were both burn by past relationships. But while Seth was extremely realistic, maybe to the point of pessimist, Brooke always saw the glass half full. She believed in happy endings still, after being left alone in the altar by her con man past fiancé.

Her optimism was contagious and, even if I was glad she understood she couldn’t avoid pain because she couldn’t move forward, I really liked that she chose to see the happy and beautiful things in life instead of focusing in the mistakes and bad experiences. It’s easy to be a victim when this kind of things happen and she refused to be one.

Then when she fell for Seth, she knew he wasn’t a prince charming - he was a moody, cranky and extremely controlling man. But she fell for him nonetheless. The best part was that, at the end, Seth was still the same. He didn’t make any promises to change which was the most realistic outcome for this story. We love people as they are, we cannot expect them to change.

So, bravo Lauren!
Once again you made me fall in love with your tale.
Can’t wait for the next book, “For better or for Worse” on August 30th!

Happy reading,
Trish 🗯

REVIEW: Moonshot by Alessandra Torre

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
PLOT:
Baseball isn’t supposed to be a game of life and death… 

The summer that Chase Stern entered my life, I was seventeen. The daughter of a legend, the Yankees were my family, their stadium my home, their dugout my workplace. My focus was on the game. Chase... he started out as a distraction. A distraction with sex appeal poured into every inch of his six foot frame. A distraction who played like a god and partied like a devil. 

I tried to stay away. 
I couldn’t.
Then, the team started losing. 
Women started dying. 
And everything in my world broke apart.
 
SPOILERS ALERT!

There’s been a while since a book got me completely caught and I’m not anticipating what’s going to happen at the end. Most of the time I have a pretty good idea of how the story is going to end. No with Moonshot. Alessandra Torre made sure us readers couldn’t know how Ty’s story ended. I spent most of the book afraid of what I was going to find in the next chapter and thinking that probably Tyler was going to die or that Chase was going to cheat and leave her. Or that Tobey was the actual killer. Thousands of scenarios that weren’t real. I was absolutely surprised with the outcome and the final chapters and as a fan girl (in my case, soccer) I could relate to Ty’s feelings all the time.

Now, in truly spoiler’s form, the story starts as a teenage dream - Chase Stern was going to play in the Yankees and Tyler, ball girl and pitcher’s daughter, couldn’t believe her luck. I think how would feel if I had the chance to be close to David Beckham and understand her perfectly. What she doesn’t know is that Chase is not a golden boy, but a damage guy with a drug addiction and bad attitude.

I really liked the fact that we could hear Chase point of view in some of the moments because, otherwise, I would have hated him from word one (I mean, he’s inhaling cocaine and sleeping with a teammate’s wife!). He was trouble but Ty’s sweetness and innocence saved him from himself.

Then, the whole “I sleep with other man because you left me” part was really frustrating, but then again, Tyler is a fresh 18 years older by then and she clearly didn’t have enough experience to handle the situation. And besides, if my boyfriend (or whatever they were at that point) came out of my room, after we share a moment, to consume cocaine with other girls instead of talking to me, I would have gone drown myself in alcohol too. The sex part was just a consequence of that.

Apart from that, Ty and Chase’s relationship was gorgeous! Pure teenage love on her side and false expectations on his part. He though she was pure and virginal because she was 18 and she was going to forgive him for everything he did. She though he was a knight in shinning armor and was going to come back for her after he left. Then 4 years forward, full lives formed, he comes back expecting to find her the same - and yes, Tyler still loves him, but I think is great she wants to spare her husband the pain. If Chase wanted her, he had to wait! She even said so at some point! This was great because she’s not a little girl anymore and she cannot leave everything behind just because he decided it was time to reach out.

In the end, I never would have guessed a journalist was the killer and that it was because he was in love with Tobey. I though it was going to be Tobey himself for most part of the book, so it was nice how it turned out. And I didn’t feel bad because Tobey was cheating on Tyler because she was in love with someone else all that time too. So, perfect ending for all the characters.

Five moonshot stars to this book! ;)
Trish 🗯

REVIEW: One Night with a Hero (The Hero #2) by Laura Kaye

⭐️⭐️⭐️ ½
PLOT:
He wants just one night…
After growing up with an abusive, alcoholic father, Army Special Forces Sgt. Brady Scott vowed never to marry or have kids. Sent stateside to get his head on straight—and his anger in check—Brady’s looking for a distraction. He finds it in his beautiful new neighbor’s one-night-only offer for hot sex, but her ability to make him forget is addictive. Suddenly, Brady’s not so sure he can stay away.
…what they need is each other.
Orphaned as a child, community center director Joss Daniels swore she’d never put herself in a position to be left behind again, but she can’t deny herself one sizzling night with the sexy soldier who makes her laugh and kisses her senseless. When Joss discovers she’s pregnant, Brady’s rejection leaves her feeling abandoned. Now, they must overcome their fears before they lose the love and security they’ve found in each other, but can they let go of the past to create a future together?

SPOILERS ALERT!
I’ve read a couple of books with unwanted pregnancies on the story this past week. I don’t know if it’s the universe sending me a sign or something, hahahah. But joke aside, I think everything that has landed in my hands lately has the same subject on its pages.
In every final I can only think about the fact that these books are truly optimistic about the outcome. But then again, they’re suppose to be fiction. In real life, no one is so happy about these situations and everyone tends to be frustrated at the end.

Having said that, I have to take part of this book, One Night with a Hero, out of my judgmental analysis. Because in this case in particular Brady, the father, reacted as I expected any man to react to this situation. Like a jerk - I know, I don’t have much esteem for the male kind, but sadly this proves to be true in real life. He pushed Joss away of selfish reasons and only came back when he was sure he would stay and stick around no matter what.
This made the story so much believable for me.

So, I’ll give 3.5 stars to it ;)

Happy reading,
Trish 🗯

REVIEW: Her Forbidden Hero (The Hero #1) by Laura Kaye

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
PLOT:
She’s always been off-limits…
Former Army Special Forces Sgt. Marco Vieri has never thought of Alyssa Scott as more than his best friend’s little sister, but her return home changes that…and challenges him to keep his war-borne demons at bay. Marco’s not the same person he was back when he protected Alyssa from her abusive father, and he’s not about to let her see the mess he’s become.
…but now she’s all grown up.
When Alyssa takes a job at the bar where Marco works, her carefree smiles wreak havoc on his resolve to bury his feelings. How can he protect her when he can’t stop thinking about her in his bed? But Alyssa’s not looking for protection—not anymore. Now that she’s back in his life, she’s determined to heal her forbidden hero, one touch at a time…

SPOILER ALERT!
 
What a lovely story!
That’s the general idea this book left me with - not the typical “she’s my best friend little sister and I can’t have her”.  Their issues where legit and the reasons why they avoid each other part of the book were solid.

One of the things I liked the most was the fact that it was a pretty straight forward story - non undercurrent intentions or big secrets to uncover. The characters basically say what they mean (if they could jajaj) and act as they want.

Alyssa was a emotionally scarred girl that grew to fast and was forced to be independent and solved her own life by her own. And then Marco was physically scarred and emotionally unattached to himself; his guilt and shame were like a rope cutting through his throat.

At the end, both of them understood that they could fix each other if they sticked together.

The only thing I could phantom was the fact that, if they were so close to each other back in the day, why hadn’t they keep in contact after he came back from war. I know he came back damaged but she could have call or something.

Anyway, four stars to this lovely story!
Now moving to the next!!

Happy reading,
Trish 🗯

REVIEW: Fall with Me (Wait for You #4) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

 

⭐️⭐️⭐️½
PLOT:
Eleven months ago, bartender and weird-shirt-wearing extraordinaire Roxy and Officer Reece Anders had a one night stand. Well, kind of. She’s been in love with him since she was fifteen, and he wishes that night they shared never happened. She’s sworn him off forever, but the past and future collide, forcing her to rely on the one man who broke her heart not once, but twice.
Her best friend since birth has been in a long-term care facility since he became a victim of a hate crime years ago, and the person who put him in there is out of prison and wanting to make amends with him and Roxy. She’s not sure she has room for forgiveness in her and when she begins to receive frightening messages and is on the receiving end of escalating violence, she thinks she knows who is to blame. The man who already destroyed one life already.
But Reece isn’t convinced. The threats are too personal, and even if Roxy doesn’t believe him, he’s not willing to let anyone hurt her. Including himself. He’s already messed up more than once when it comes to Roxy and he’s not going to let history repeat itself.

SPOILER ALERT!

There are so many things I like about this series. One is the different subjects it touches, situations that happen in real life and it could happen to anyone. The second thing is the female character, some scared, some fragile, some strong but all of them determined. And third, and probably the most important, is the way these books make me feel; they can take me to relate to the situation and to suffer as if I was another character in the story.
 
Fall with me wasn’t any different from the 3 books before, except in the last category. For some reason, I couldn’t relate with this story as strongly as I did with the past ones. I couldn’t feel empathic with Roxy and I wasn’t as interested in Reece as I should (I mean, hot cop and all).

I certainly loved what Charlie’s character represented to the story - the gay friend that suffers because he’s parents don’t approve and because of the bullies. But I got the feeling that I could have known more about Charlie and i didn’t - I understand that it was painful for Roxy to think about him, but I’ve loved to get to know Charlie through her memories of him.

I also loved the moral struggle of Henry - and I did know from page one he wasn’t the stalker. He made a mistake and he owned it and for me that’s worth it of an apology. I also understood why Roxy didn’t want him around, but at the end it was good she listened to him.

Everything around the stalker gave me the creeps, so I think that was a good sign. I though it was Dean for the most part of the book but then, when we got introduce to Kip, he certainly looks suspicious. Totally freaked out about the photo-while-sleeping thing too! I would have run to my parents’ house as soon as weird things started to happen. But I get how Roxy could think it was her or a ghost around her house.

But finally, what disappointed me a little bit was Reece. Because Roxy was a girl with issues, but she was real - she had her crush, she had her pain and she had her pleasures. Reece, on the other hand, was an arrogant fool that, in my opinion, was taking the safe bet with the girls who’s been in love with him forever. Situations like the “lie” about their drunk night prove this statement. You are a guy, you know the girl’s been in love with you since forever and you were drunk and made a pass on her, or maybe she made the pass, but you have to know the next morning that you cannot be a jackass about the situation; you cannot ignore the girl and you cannot assume if you don’t ask. So, from my perspective, the “lie” was much his fault as it was hers. And I say “lie” with quotation marks because it wasn’t a big deal at all.

Anyway, I’ll give this book 3.5 stars and move forward with the series!
Happy reading!

Trish 🗯
 

REVIEW: Stay with Me (Wait for You #3) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
PLOT:
At 21, Calla hasn’t done a lot of things. She’s never been kissed, never seen the ocean, never gone to an amusement park. But growing up, she witnessed some things no child ever should. She still carries the physical and emotional scars of living with a strung-out mother, Mona—secrets she keeps from everyone, including her close circle of college friends.
But the safe cocoon Calla has carefully built is shattered when she discovers her mom has stolen her college money and run up a huge credit card debt in her name. Now, Calla has to go back to the small town she thought she'd left behind and clean up her mom’s mess again. Of course, when she arrives at her mother’s bar, Mona is nowhere to be found. Instead, six feet of hotness named Jackson James is pouring drinks and keeping the place humming.
Sexy and intense, Jax is in Calla’s business from the moment they meet, giving her a job and helping her search for Mona. And the way he looks at her makes it clear he wants to get horizontal . . . and maybe something more. Before Calla can let him get close, though, she’s got to deal with the pain of the past—and some very bad guys out to mess her up if she doesn’t give them her mom.

SPOILERS ALERT!

Definitely my favorite book of this series so far!
So much emotion and tension and the constant mystery of what’s going to happen next is the perfect combination that kept me hooked through the entire book.

And really, this is what love stories are made of - Jax was just awesome, I don’t have enough words to describe how much I liked him as a character and as a man. Even thou he’s not physically my type, the way he behaved towards Calla was just epic. Truly sweet, caring and committed. Even the last part when he confessed he knew about her before he met her, a situation that could have been creepy,  was romantic and sweet. He was the perfect hero for this novel. He was exactly what Calle needed so I’m beyond please with outcome of the story.

Calla was also great, considering all the things she lived and her lack of experience in the world. She was clueless of what was going on around her most of the times, but it was clear it was because she was naive and not stupid. And even when she was being stupid, she figured it out by herself and would tell us she was acting dumb.

Maybe the only thing I didn’t find completely necessary to the story was Calla’s friends involvement (meaning Teresa, Jase, Cam and Avery) but I understand it was the author’s way to keep the thread to the previous stories. But, I mean, couldn’t Teresa and Jase lived separated from Cam and Avery. At some point it was as if I was watching an episode of friends. But, again, I get it was to keep the characters involved in the overall story of the series.

Next story follows Roxy and Reece and I was really intrigued by what’s going on with them in Stay with me, so another positive point to J. Lynn for introduce this characters and their relationship with so much appeal ;)

So, five stars to this book!!!

Trish 🗯

REVIEW: Be with Me (Wait for You #2) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

 
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
PLOT:
Teresa Hamilton is having a rough year—she’s in love with her big brother’s best friend, but he hasn’t spoken to her since they shared a truly amazing, mind-blowing, change-your-life kiss. She got out of a terrible relationship. And now an injury is threatening to end her dance career for good. It’s time for Plan B – college. And maybe a chance to convince Jase that what they have together is real.

Jase Winstead has a huge secret that he’s not telling anyone. Especially not his best friend’s incredibly beautiful sister. Even though he and Teresa shared the hottest kiss of his life, he knows that his responsibilities must take priority. He certainly doesn’t have time for a relationship. But it doesn’t help that all he can think about kissing the one girl who could ruin everything for him.
As they’re thrown together more and more, Jase and Tess can’t keep denying their feelings for each other. But a familiar danger looms and tragedy strikes. As the campus recovers, the star-crossed couple must decide what they’re willing to risk to be together, and what they’re willing to lose if they’re not…

SPOILER ALERT!

This author really has a talent to make me feel everything her characters are feeling and for that I can actually forgive some of the mistakes this story has.
I had more or less the same feeling that with the first book -  Wait for you - but I applaud the fact that J. Lynn wants to touch really emotional and uncomfortable subjects such as women abuse. Sometimes we don’t realize how close we are to these situations until it hit us in the face.

And when I  say mistakes before I don’t mean mistakes in a literacy sense. I mean in a personal sense. I’ll list some of them in details:

1. The fact that Teresa is in love with a guy who ignored her for a year - I know that happens to us women when we are young and I forgive her for that but then, after everything that happens between them and everything Jase knows about her past, he goes and ignores her again. I felt it was also a way of abuse, of not physical then emotional abuse. He knows she loves him and still messes with her feelings with his hot&cold actions.

2. Then is the fact that Teresa was injured more or less the whole book and Jase is pushing her to do physical activities that I’m pretty sure you cannot do when you have a knee injury, like riding a horse for example. Even after she was almost bitten to death by Erik, he goes and fucks her just after leaving the hospital. I mean, really?? She has bruises and a concussion, for God’s sake!

3. Third, there’s Cam who almost killed a guy the last time he messed with Teresa but who was to preoccupied with Avery to care if Jase was being a dick or not. He had this whole tantrum when I found out and then, when it was the time to make a move because Jase was behaving as an idiot, he goes and takes Jase’s side. Not cool Came!

Anyway, it sounds as if i didn’t enjoyed but I actually did. Like I said, J Lynn’s books somehow move me and for me that’s one of the most important qualities a book should have.

I loved the fact that even if Teresa lost her dream and her capacity to achieve her goals, she still fought to get something good out of her situation. She found peace in the present and started to create something new for herself. That’s a great lesson for real life! Because, as sad as it sounds, is more common than the happily ever after.

Now moving to the third book of the Series - Stay with me.
Happy reading!

Trish 🗯

REVIEW: Wait for You (Wait for You #1) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

 

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ PLOT: 
Some things are worth waiting for…
Traveling thousands of miles from home to enter college is the only way nineteen-year-old Avery Morgansten can escape what happened at the Halloween party five years ago—an event that forever changed her life. All she needs to do is make it to her classes on time, make sure the bracelet on her left wrist stays in place, not draw any attention to herself, and maybe—please God—make a few friends, because surely that would be a nice change of pace. The one thing she didn’t need and never planned on was capturing the attention of the one guy who could shatter the precarious future she’s building for herself.
 
Some things are worth experiencing…
Cameron Hamilton is six feet and three inches of swoon-worthy hotness, complete with a pair of striking blue eyes and a remarkable ability to make her want things she believed were irrevocably stolen from her. She knows she needs to stay away from him, but Cam is freaking everywhere, with his charm, his witty banter, and that damn dimple that’s just so… so lickable. Getting involved with him is dangerous, but when ignoring the simmering tension that sparks whenever they are around each other becomes impossible, he brings out a side of her she never knew existed.

Some things should never be kept quiet…
But when Avery starts receiving threatening emails and phone calls forcing her to face a past she wants silenced, she’s has no other choice but to acknowledge that someone is refusing to allow her to let go of that night when everything changed. When the devastating truth comes out, will she resurface this time with one less scar? And can Cam be there to help her or will he be dragged down with her?

And some things are worth fighting for…
 
SPOILER ALERT!
 
I’ve read mixed reviews about this book so I wasn’t sure how to start my own review. When I finished the book, I felt happy and complete. Like the circle was closed. I’m pretty sure that’s the idea of every book, specially a romantic one, so great job J. Lynn.

At first I wanted to rank it with 5 stars and then, after reading some of the less positive reviews, I wanted to rank it with 2 stars but I got to think about what this book is really about and here’s what I figured out:

This book is a YA/NA novel, so the idea is to appeal to a new generation that have hope that fairy tales and epic love stories are on their way. If you see this story through that perspective, it serves its propose perfectly. And why shouldn’t we believe in love in the beginning of our lives?

So, these thoughts got this book into the high part of the ranking again. Because there wasn’t a single time when I didn’t feel hope or love and, yes, even if at some point the characters start to act stupid or stereotype, they are also <i>college students</i> and 20 years older, so they are entitle to.
 
Anyway, once in a while I like to read YA books because they are so bright and full of promises and, even if Avery’s story is kind of depressing, she turned her life around and learned how to believe in herself and other again.

So overall, I give 4 stars to this book and, yes, I will be reading the sequels as well! :)



Trish 🗯

 

REVIEW: Grin and Beard It (Winston Brothers #2) by Penny Reid

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 
PLOT:
"Sienna Diaz is everyone’s favorite “fat” funny lady. The movie studio executives can’t explain it, but her films are out-grossing all the fit and trim headliners and Hollywood’s most beautiful elite. The simple truth is, everyone loves plus-sized Sienna.

But she has a problem, she can’t read maps and her sense of direction is almost as bad as her comedic timing is stellar. Therefore, when Sienna’s latest starring role takes her to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park she finds herself continually lost while trying to navigate the backroads of Green Valley, Tennessee. Much to her consternation, Sienna’s most frequent savior is a ridiculously handsome, charming, and cheeky Park Ranger by the name of Jethro Winston.

Sienna is accustomed to high levels of man-handsome, so it’s 
not Jethro’s chiseled features or his perfect physique that make Sienna stutter. It’s his southern charm. And gentlemanly manners. And habit of looking at her too long and too often.

Sienna has successfully navigated the labyrinth of Hollywood heart-throbs. But can she traverse the tenuous trails of Tennessee without losing her head? Or worse, her heart?"

SPOILER ALERT!
Funny, inspiring and witty

There are so many things I loved about this book, I'm going to list a few here:
1. Not to judge someone for his/her past: Sienna, and everyone else, could has been scared about some of the stories about Jethro , but she embraced it and understood he'd changed. I loved this book for that.
2. The importance of self acceptance: We see this not only in Jethro attitude about his past and the way he hurt his family and friends, but also in Sienna's posture about her career and her fame. She accepts she's not the skinniest nor the most beautiful of all, and she's fine with it. In fact, she's more than fine with it - she embrace her position as a chubby Latina with a funny perspective of the world.
3. We should only care about what our love ones think, but no one else: Sienna doesn't mind people calling her fat and then, she doesn't mind what everyone's going to think about her relationship with Jethro. She even defended it from her sister (which wasn't my favorite character on the book - too pushy and judgmental for my taste). Same with Jethro, he doesn't care what other people think about his past actions, only his family and then Sienna.
4. Women empowerment: Sienna believes in new opportunity for all kinds of women in this world and she defends it in her statements and in her scripts.

Then, there's the way the story is written that just caught me from the beginning. There isn't unnecessary issues between Sienna and Jethro and every obstacle they faced it together, the way people in love should.

So, is safe to say I fell in love with the Winston brothers again! Their loyalty, their civility, their sensitive side and the way they see the world! I can't way to read Cleutus book now! 

Great job, Penny!

Trish 🗯

 

REVIEW: Ladies Man by Katy Evans

 
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Plot: 
"He’s not the guy you date.
He’s the one night stand.
You’d think the man who sends hot looks my way, who called me succulent, would want to strip me to my skin and spread me out on his bed like every other woman in Chicago.
Except he passed on my offer….
Just like I once did on his.
He’s wary, like I am.
He’s broken, like I am.
And everyone knows two broken parts can’t ever make a whole.
So I try to distract myself. I’m back to dating.
Tahoe and I are strictly friends. He doesn’t think my new beau is good enough, but to him, no man is good enough for me. Especially Tahoe himself.
But the more time Tahoe and I spend around each other, the more confused I feel.
I'm trying to open myself to love.
But I'm quickly realizing that the only man I want is stubborn, cocky, unattainable playboy Tahoe Roth.
The one your mother warned you about.
The one my body craves.
The only one who will surely break my heart." 

If you haven't read this book beware of the SPOILER ALERT!

I remember I loved the first book of this series Manwhore.
I loved the passion Rachel had for Saint and the careless attitude Saint displayed about everything in his world. I was kind of disappointed with the second book Manwhore +1 and I didn’t even read the third Ms. Manwhore.

But I have to say I think Katy Evans recovered some of that passion in this book. We can feel how Gina is falling for Tahoe little by little and, even if it gets a little repetitive with the descriptions (although I think is just Evans style), we readers kind of fall for him too.

I know he's this womanizer kind of character and it really annoys me when man characters get display as players without a care in the world, but the author got him out of that stereotype successfully at the end of the book - thou, if I have to see the man I like fuck 2 other girls, at the same time, I wouldn't think he's the best/honest man in the world the next day and I would run the other way for sure.

Anyway, I enjoy the story a lot and there were some ideas that Katy passed through some of her character that got my attention just like this one:

"No one is the way they seem. We all hide little pieces, either because we don’t want to be judged, or because we don’t think we’ll be understood, or simply because we don’t want those pieces of us to belong to anyone but us”

I totally agree with this statement and I think every human being can relate to the feeling of have something so personal, so our, that we don’t want the outside world to touch it.

I also liked Evans sticked to just one book this time, it gets to the climax faster, without that much of a drama and without more repetition.

So, at the end, I give 4 T-Rex stars to Ladies’ Man!
Waiting for Call’s book next year! 

Trish 🗯

Review: Avoiding Commitment by K.A. Linde

I don’t know how to start the review for this book so I just gonna jump into it, so if you haven’t read it STOP HERE because I’m sure as hell gonna share some SPOILERS.

So, long story short - Lexi met Jack at college - they started to hang around - she thinks he wants a relationship with her when in reality, he had a girlfriend back home and was messing with Lexi’s mind and heart. She gets pissed and ask him not to lie to her anymore - so from then on, she believes that he’s going to achieved that (Mistake #1!!!!) - Then they started and on and off, not healthy at all relationship (Mistake #2) where both of them cheated on their current partners and somehow thought it was OK because it was them (Mistake #3). After all of this, Lexi still thinks she and Jack belong together (after he never committed to her and never chose her as his number one option) and gave him a chance that he clearly screwed by sleeping with his roommate (Mistake #4). They part ways until the day he called her to ask for her help and you know what she does?? She goes!!!! (Mistake #5).

There are so many mistakes this girl makes for this guy that I can even begging to comprehend... I got really pissed by her denial attitude and her delusion about her “connection” with him.

Jack is an asswhole who treats women as he please and then is just full of shit at the end. He makes so many excuse that is impossible not to believe that he is actually lying ALL THE TIME!!!!!!!

Lexi is plain STUPID - she believes everything Jack says! HE DOESN’T WANT TO BE WITH YOU! Get that already!

Is so obvious that Lexi is just the easy lay for Jack that almost hurt to keep reading while she says he’s all that she wants and that she is sure he is in love with her!

Clearly he doesn’t have a minimal clue of what LOVE is - a don’t know if it is because his parents got divorce (like thousands of parents in the world) or because he just gets plenty because of his pretty face and always wants the easy way.

Girls! Listen to me! If a man does not leave his girlfriend for you and is always making excuses about why you’re not his number one option he DOESN’T LOVE YOU!!! Is as simple as that!

At the end, Lexi loose six years of her life chasing a fantasy and hurting everyone that is around her because she’s jus stubborn. Spencer, Clark and Ramsey - all of then perfectly good men who where doing right by her, but she was always thinking with her pussy and stuck in her mind that non of them where as good as Jack.

Seriously? a relationship is much more than a pretty face and sexual connection! And she had it with all the other guys - she just didn’t want to see it.

Then, please, the part where they fuck against the wall in his birthday - he just raped her! Really - what is it with this woman that she cannot realized that??? And then she goes and almost screw thing out with Ramsey???

Sometimes is good to listen to someone else! So, Lexi, why do you have a friend if you’re not going to pay attention to her??? Chyna is the only one with a right set of mind around the situation! So at least some of these characters weren’t crazy.

And Bekah was glowing in the fact that she gets to keep Jack to herself??? If it were I, she could’d have it with a bow and everything! Why do you want a man that doesn’t respect you and clearly sleeps around with every blonde with legs?? The answer to that question is beyond me.

But seriously talking about the book, is really good the way is written - you go back and forth in time and little by little uncovers the events of Jack’s and Lexi’s story. This fact keeps you loop in what can come next... the author reserved details since the beginning of the book and just drop them one by one in the develop of the story.

I guess the story really got me tangled, which is why I’m giving it three stars, beside the fact that most of the behavior of the characters of the book pissed me off! hahahaha - this proves that is not the perfect story but the emotions that the reader got from the story what makes a book readible!

At the end, the story leave us hanging and wanting to know more about Ramsey and Lexi - Did she believed him? Are they seeing each other again? When?

I guess this is where I start to read the second book of the series, Avoiding Responsibility, to figure it out! I’ll let you know later how that goes!

Thanks for reading!

See you between the pages...

Trish❥

Review: The Mason List by S.D. Hendrickson

 

(Goodreads rating: 4.25/5)

Before you start to read this book you have to know that more than a romantic story, this is a tragic story… is an important distinction since the mood that I’ve been since I finish this book is not lovely but sad and reflexive.

Also, is important to clarify that this fact doesn’t make it less of a great book, on the contrary – this book is a novelty in a sea of romance literature.

“The Mason List”, 2015 Goodreads Choice Award Semi-Finalist: Best Debut Author, not only tells us Alex Tanner and Jess Mason story but also gives us something to think about and this fact makes is an awesome book to read.

Like I said, I’ve been a little depressed since I finished, but at the same time happy for the outcome of the characters and for ending a great story – is the same feeling I got when I finished books like Jane Eyre, so congrats S.D. Hendrickson for the accomplishment. I really felt the story, was kind of like if I was living it – I felt in love with Jess (kind of hard not to) and truly was moved by everything that happened at Sprayberry.

The story goes like this:

Alex Tanner and his family lost everything – even her mother. They were homeless, moneyless and familyless until a knock in their car, where they’ve been living for a couple of weeks, changes everything. In that moment, the Masons enter their lives – Alex hated them instantly, she hated their money and their charity. All except one.

With blue eyes and charming personality, Jess Mason was a hard boy to say no to. Every adventure and crazy plan returned Alex to the land of the living. So time passed and thing got different – Alex and Jess were no longer kids, but struggling adults with decisions to make and scars from the past. Alex couldn’t forget her debt, even if that made her lost the boy with the blue eyes.

(SPOILERS from this on…)

Ok, after telling you the plot from my point of view, I have to say that I really really enjoy every word of this book… But the most interesting part was the way it was written. Leaving me hanging in every chapter, the book goes back and forth from the present, where you can tell something has happened but you can’t understand what, to the past – starting when Alex was 6 years old and a happy child with both of her parents alive.

This really picks out my curiosity and the wanting to know what happens next all the time. Also, it helps to grow with the characters, understanding where they come from and why they do what they do in the following chapters.

This is why, although I really wanted to hate Alex for putting Jess in so much pain, I couldn’t. I totally got where she was coming from and why she though she couldn’t be with him. For a happy child who once upon a time had everything, it was really difficult to accept charity, specially if her father didn’t bother to pay one penny of what they got (and I have to say that at the end this bothered me too!! Why didn’t he at least work at Sprayberry????)

She was totally in love with Jess but couldn’t accept the fact that being with him, she kind of took more of the Mason belongings to herself. And she did some stupid things to get rid of her feelings, like in the camping with the trashcan of Dutch. But taking that part away, she was faithful to her feelings for him most of the time, even when she though she couldn’t be with him.

Jess, on the other hand, was amazing! I cannot even describe how in love of this character I am at the moment. He was sweet since he was eight. And even when he was crazy doing shenanigans all the time, he always took care of Alex.

When he grew up, he was plain irresistible (and it doesn’t help that he was totally dark-hair-blue-eyes kind of guy, which means totally my style).

Only one things I don’t believe from this part of the story – being a teen and then a twenty something guy, how could he be “single” (meaning not having sex with anyone) for so long? I understand the romantic side of “I will wait for you forever” but really, this is like a lie in the real world. I’d have liked to see him with other girls, living his life while he wait for Alex to change her mind – that would have made him less unreal in this aspect of his life. But apart from this, he is absolutely perfect!

I kinda like the fact that is not a happy ending perfect story… At some point I even though the author was going to kill Jess, but leaving him injured makes this book a really human one. And I think it also teaches us that we cannot take things for granted. If we have something as amazing as what Jess and Alex had, we have to embrace because we don’t know what would happen in the future!

Leaving this philosophic side aside, I truly enjoy this book. Did you?? Tell me what you think in the comments below…

Hope you liked my review and, as always, see you between the pages!

Trish

Review: The Risky Business Series by Tiffany Snow

Usually I don’t like series that are focus on the same characters - I mean, I love series where everyone is involved and each book is focus in a different couple. That’s not the case with this one - The Risky Business Series is about the exact same three characters all two (and third) books.

But somehow that didn’t stop me to enjoy them both - A LOT - and to left me hang over because I have to wait until February 2016 to know what happens next between Sage, Parker and Ryker (Yikes!!!! ).

So to this series, since I read both books really fast, I’m gonna combined their reviews into one, because is the same story.

A little overview of the books and my impressions below:

Power Play (Risky Business #1)

So, the story goes like this - Sage Reece is the Executive Assistant of Parker Anderson, Financial Advisor for the almost everybody in Chicago - Parker is rude and commanding and Sage is always running errands and working which doesn’t allow her to have a life. One of her many working days is interrupted by sexy and dangerous Dean Ryker, a cop who’s looking for Parker in his office and who’s investigating the firm for trying to clean capitals for the Russian Mob.

It turns out Parker and Ryker have a long history together and they despised each other. Obviously both of them are gorgeous and at the end Sage have to decide between her loyalty to her boss or her attraction to the cop.

ALERT!!!! SPOILERS COMING!!!!

I actually loved this book! Because although the story is quite complete is not that complicated and allows the reader to focus in the important matters of it.

Love triangle from the beginning till the end, non of them can actually stay away from one another.

Sage is obsessed with Parker (I’m going to details later), Parker is oblivious to this fact but he’s kind of attracted to Sage too and the Ryker comes and explode everything with his easy smile and confidence. 

Ok, let’s star with Sage - in the beginning of this books she’s dumped because she cannot separate her work from her life - and don’t get me wrong - I get that this is quite a job with great salary and amazing benefits (which she can’t enjoy because she’s always working) but c’mon, is obvious she does it because she’s attracted to Parker.

Let’s see the facts:

1- She’s already rich, so the excuse of paying the bills is lame. She leaves in a really nice place that her father pays for her and dressed herself in designer clothes.

2- She’s not even in economics or business - she’s an art mayor so this is not the job of her life. She’s not even looking for a job in her area of expertise!

3- Based in the fact that her only friend works in the same company, she doesn’t even tries to have a life outside the office.

So, that being clarify, is pretty obvious to me why she works for him and why she defended him so much. Even when the facts incriminated him.

Then, there’s Parker - rude with everybody, even Sage. I wonder how can you love someone who makes you pick up his s$&t all the time and doesn’t even say Thank You. But I know that happens a lot so moving on. On the inside he’s a pretty decent guy - Ex Marine, with money and manners - but who doesn’t care about anybody else emotions but his. He plays with Sage all the time and he’s undecided if he wants her or not. He even used her feelings for him to manipulated her into do whatever that he want (not cool). But I get it, he gets away because his extremely hot.

And besides, what kind of best friends sleeps with his friend’s girlfriend, not matter what she says??? &%$&·/ - Yeah, that’s what I though too.

Finally there’s Ryker, which I think is the best character of this book - even If I think the author could do a little bit more with. He’s carefree, funny, spontaneous, attractive and strigh-forward. A what-you-see-is-what-you-get kind of guy. He has his complex regarding money and is kind of judgmental about it but other than that he’s the best heart of all of the three. He gets to Sage part because he wants to find whats going on on the inside of the company, part because he wants to get back of Parker because of the Natalie thing and part because he’s attracted to her. He always treats her right and tells her the truth.

What I liked the most is the fact that they have real relationships between them. Non of this men is advocated to give Sage EVERYTHING! Both have their lives and she is one part of it, not all of it!! Also, you get hang in the mafia situation wanting to know what happens next all the time.

This is why I gave this book 5 stars!

Playing Dirty (Risky Business #2)

Sage, Parker and Ryker are back. After Sage chose a relationship with Ryker over who-knows-what with Parker, they’re struggling to keep it together. His complex about her money and her inability to leave Parker in the past get in the way. And plus, now Parker seems to have a change of heart about her and wants her for him.

In the middle of the love mess, there’s this gang which Ryker used to go undercover and that now is looking for revenge - and which better way that killing the girlfriend of the cop.

Parker and Ryker have to put their animosity aside to protect Sage.

ALERT!!!! SPOILERS COMING!!!!

I gave this but half star less than the last one. Why? Because even if I loved how the author continued the story I have to say that this could’ve go totally different in my perspective. And I’ll tell you how.

This book starts with Parker’s confession of his feeling for Sage and - to my disbelieve - he had wanted her from the begging!!!! (What a way to show it!!!). I would’ve liked that he admitted his interest had increased because she was dating Ryker which was entirely true! He acts like a boy who didn’t want his toy but doesn’t want anyone playing with it either.

So Sage picks up Ryker over Parker at the end of the last book. But she doesn’t truly give him a chance - she’s constantly playing with fire with Parker (touching, eating, drinking with him) and daydreaming about what could have been with him - fact that is not fear for Ryker. 

Then Ryker is either blind or not wanting to see the true about Parker and Sage because he gets them in pretty compromising situations and always forgives her - she puts Parker so many times first that makes me sick and even at the end, when she chooses Parker over Ryker in a life or death situation, her choose to look aside and forgive her again.

And what does she does? She goes and sleeps with Parker, AGAIN!!!!! Minutes after telling Ryker that she loves him. Ok, so let’s say that the first time is justified - Ryker pretend to try to kill her and was making out with some other chick at a bar (Although she could have let him know that it was over then and there), but the second time it was deliberate cheating with a doubt. So, she’s not better than the Natalie girl.

It’s clear from the way everything turns out in the end that Parker in the main character (although I know that, like mine, most of our hearts belong to Ryker) She loves him more, she even chooses him in front of Ryker so there’s not much to say. 

In my opinion, the only available options is that Sage stays away from both of them because the mess is too big and she could never be happy with neither after everything that had happened. But I don’t see that happening anytime soon (specially with a new book coming up) since at the end Sage chooses Ryker again and ask her father to drop her in his house. (Because if she really thinks that Parker is death, she could have gone to mourn him in her house or something like that).

Oh, and one last thing about this book - Why, oh why if Sage father is suppose to be a Italian Mob’s leader she gets in so many trouble??? How he couldn’t know about Viktor in all this time and only saves her from Leo in the end?? If he’s so powerful how can he be blind about this situation???

Once again, I truly enjoyed the fact that the book kept me hanging from the begging and than now I’m dying to read “Play to Win” that’s gonna be publish in February 2016.

Until then, I’ll be hung over once again! hahahaha

Hope you like my review and if you have something to say to hesitated in the comments below.

As always, see you between the pages!

Trish❥