Release & Review - A Messy, Beautiful Life by Sara Jade Alan

Image and blurb from Goodreads

Title: A Messy, Beautiful Life
Author: Sara Jade Alan

Category/Genre: Young Adult Contemporary
Publication Date: October 2nd, 2017
Publisher: Entangled Teen

Life is funny sometimes. 

And not always the ha, ha kind. Like that one time where a hot guy tried to kiss me and I fell. Down. Hard. And then found out I had cancer. 

I’m trying to be strong for my friends and my mom. 

And I’m trying so hard to be “just friends” with that hot guy, even though he seems to want so much more. But I won’t do that to him. He’s been through this before with his family, and I’m not going to let him watch me die. 

So, I tell myself: Smile Ellie. Be funny Ellie. Don’t cry Ellie, because once I start, I might not stop.

Goodreads

Buy Link: Amazon

3.5 “Fighting with Humor” Stars

ARC via NetGalley.

Thank you, Entangled Teen!

Even though I should've expected it, this book still took me by surprise by its funny approach on such a serious topic--and I say surprise and funny in a good way.

Comedy was the theme for A Messy, Beautiful Life. From the main character's voice to the way she dealt with her diagnosis, there was a light vibe the story maintained from start to finish.

Since Ellie and her friends were a part of an improv comedy group, the book introduces humor right from page one. I was immediately drawn into Ellie's world by her voice, her group of friends and Jason, the love interest. I loved that they met during an improv show and that they were in sync from moment on. There was enough chemistry to make me want them together from moment on.

The entire improv comedy scene made this book fresh and entertaining. I can't remember reading anything with this theme, and while some of the scenes were a bit of "fade to black" (for a lack of a better term), there were a few other that showed the jokes and they were pretty funny.

But the things I liked most about this story were Ellie's relationship with her friends, parents, Jason, and the way she dealt with her disease.

This was a character-driven story that worked because the characters were interesting. Ellie's two best friends could've used a little more work, since they didn't have different enough personalities to set them apart, but they were still amazing friends to Ellie. There was none of the unecessary girl-hate drama.

But the star of friendships for me was the one between Ellie and her stepbrother. I loved how Craig came out of his shell and showed Ellie how important she was and how great of a big brother he could be. Every scene between Ellie and Craig was awesome.

Ellie's relationship with her mother was another plus, and even the drama with her father was handled well.

Now, as for Ellie and Jason, like I said before, I felt their chemistry from the start and I liked that Jason's past was connected to Ellie's present in a sad, but still meaninful way. I also liked how they worked through it and found a way to be happy.

When I say A Messy, Beautiful Life handled Ellie's diagnosis in a funny way, I mean funny as in a "this won't get me down and I'll keep fighting" approach and not as in "I'm making fun of something serious." Even Ellie's stand up comedy show focused on her cancer was tasteful.

In the end, I think this book succeeded in bringing a different, light and funny way to deal with such a serious topic, and the good dynamic between the characters and cute romance acted as a bonus.

*If you liked this review (or not), if you read the book (or not), come say hello and leave your comments bellow.

Release Blitz - Legs (One Wild Wish #1) by Kelly Siskind

Title: Legs

(One Wild Wish #1)

Author: Kelly Siskind

Genre: Romantic Comedy

Release Date: September 27th, 2017

Running into your one-night stand is a special kind of awkward. Competing against him in a wine tasting contest is delicious torment…

On Rachel’s twenty-seventh birthday, she wishes to finally find a rewarding job. What she doesn’t wish is to drink a boatload of wine, sleep with a tattooed bad boy, and drunk email her boss in one glorious, career-ending move. But the fiasco pushes her to pursue a career inspired by her late father’s love of wine: sommelier. 

Unfortunately, she’s competing against her infuriating one-night stand, a man as intoxicating as a Pinot Noir.

Two years ago, Jimmy was set to inherit his family winery. Then it got ripped from his grasp. To close that dark chapter of his life, he plans to win a local sommelier contest and use the press to expose his family’s tainted wines. 

Jimmy loves studying the streaks of alcohol that cling to a wineglass, known as the wine’s “legs,” but other shapely legs are stealing his focus. Tantalizing legs. Legs that had wrapped around his waist for one wild night. Jimmy, sadly, has a weakness for legs. 

He also hates to lose.

LEGS is a full-length, standalone Smart, Sexy Romantic Comedy with a swoony Happily Ever After. No cheating or cliff-hangers here! Perfect for fans of Christina Lauren, Avery Flynn, Alice Clayton, Emma Chase, and Lauren Blakely.

Author Heather Van Fleet - “Kelly is a masterful story teller, and this book proves just that. HIGHLY rec it.”

Bookgasms Book Blog - “This was the perfect way to lose a day - wrapped up in this seductive and satisfying love story.”

Author Elizabeth Zane - “You guys, if you want the perfect book to curl up and read with a nice glass of wine, if you want a book that has romance--sexy, steamy, funny, real, romance--then look no further, you've found your book.”

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Rachel settled onto the stool beside me, her spine ramrod straight. She tucked her elbows to her sides. Not exactly relaxed.

A drink could help. “What’s your poison?”

“Apparently dangerous men I don’t know, but I’ll have a glass of the Lynmar Pinot.”

I could do dangerous. “If I’m your poison after two minutes, imagine how you’ll feel in a few hours.” That earned me a long swallow from her. “She’ll have the Foursight,” I added to Cameron. It was sweet how confident she was ordering that wine, but her lips would taste so much better after a sip from my glass.

She shot me a look, her freckles sharp against her reddening cheeks. “Pretty sure I can order for myself, and I’d like the Lynmar.”

“You don’t want the Lynmar. 2011 was a brutal year. Trust me.” No need to bore her about the early rains that season and the lack of fruit.

“Actually I do want the Lynmar.”

Cameron moved to grab the bottle, but I held up my hand. He halted. 

To her, I said, “I’ve been sipping the Foursight since I got here. You telling me you don’t want a taste?”

Her attention dropped to my lips again, and she grazed her teeth over hers. Fire sparked in her brown eyes. “I may want a taste of that wine. Later. For now I want the Lynmar.”

“It’s inferior.”

“It’s splendid.”

“The season was crap.”

“The season was hard, not crap.”

“The Foursight is a sure thing,” I said. She must have seen the heat in my gaze.

“I like the underdog,” she countered, a sultry note to her voice. “Finding a diamond in the rough. The vines that survived 2011 were stronger, and a few vintages shone. Like the Lynmar. Hints of spice. Creamy mouthfeel.” A quiet hum passed her lips.

Okay. The girl knew her wine, and my attraction to her spiked. With the haunts I’d been frequenting, and my bartending gig at Rudy’s Tavern, I hadn’t been around a woman like her in ages. No visible ink, her outfit more conservative than racy. Her straight brown hair would look sexy as hell tangled in my fist. “You sure you don’t want to skip to the mouthfeel part?”

She smiled freely, the first hint of her letting loose. “I’m still not sure how bitter the aftertaste will be.”

My answering grin was just as carefree. “I know how to make it sweet, Sunshine.”

She barely reacted, but her nostrils flared. “Then get me a glass of the Lynmar.”

“You’ll regret it.”

“I’m already regretting walking in here.”

I chuckled, unsure the last time flirting had been this much fun. “How about a bet?”

“I don’t bet with strangers.”

“But you have drinks with them?”

She paused. “What sort of bet?”

Between her rejection at Vesper and her stiff posture now, sitting beside me was probably pushing her beyond her limits. Limits I wanted to test. The women I’d messed around with weren’t tough to reel in. We were always after the same thing: a fun night between the sheets. The girl at my side was tipsy, but not so drunk she didn’t know what she was after. Something told me if I could unlace her, it would be lightyears beyond fun.

“You do a blind tasting of the Foursight and the Lynmar,” I said. “If you can’t tell them apart, then I buy you a glass of my choosing, and I get to taste it on your lips. At my place.”

“That escalated fast.” So did her breathing.

“Did you want this to go slow?”

Instead of turning me down, she said, “If I win…if I guess each wine, what do I get?”

“You tell me.”

“A winery?”

I barked out a laugh, but there was nothing funny about her joke. Two years ago, I’d have been able to ante up. “Might be out of my budget. Anything else?”

She looked at me through lowered lashes. “My place.”

Now we were getting somewhere.

Kelly is the author of CHASING CRAZY, MY PERFECT MISTAKE, A FINE MESS, and HOOKED ON TROUBLE, the latter three being part of her Over the Top series. A small-town girl at heart, she moved from the city to open a cheese shop with her husband in northern Ontario. When she’s not neck deep in cheese or out hiking, you can find her, notepad in hand, scribbling down one of the many plot bunnies bouncing around in her head. She’s also an incurable romantic, devouring romance novels into the wee hours of the morning.

HOSTED BY:

Release Blitz with Giveaway - Hot Stuff by Kim Karr

🏈 🏈 🏈

🏈 🏈 🏈

  

Get ready to fall in love with this new standalone sports romance from New York Times bestselling author Kim Karr.  

He’s the newly drafted quarterback. 

 Hot. 

Arrogant. 

Too sexy for words.  

Ready to score.  

I’m an athletic intern, and the coach’s daughter.

  Driven. 

Determined. 

Prepared to conquer the world. 

 Completely off-limits.  

The NFL is full of rules. Rules I’ve never broken. Never challenged. Never even scratched—until the day Lucas Carrington crashes into my life with his hard body and I-don’t-give-a-f*ck attitude.  

After I almost injure my father’s star player, I volunteer to make sure he’s in top shape. At first, it’s hell. I don’t like his attitude, his cockiness, his easy smile. Don’t like the way he oozes sex. Or how his penetrating eyes follow me everywhere.

  That doesn’t stop me from wanting him.  

He’s meant to be a distraction—something to occupy my mind for these precious few remaining hot summer nights before I’m forced to leave football behind forever.

  I know what we’re doing will lead nowhere good. I know we’re crossing the line. And I know my father will never understand. 

 None of that matters. 

 But maybe it should.  

Rules aren’t meant to be broken.           

 Or are they?​

 

 

🏈 🏈 🏈

 

 

🏈 🏈 🏈

 Click HERE to enter the Release Day Promotion! 

🏈 🏈 🏈

 

Kim Karr is a New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal Bestselling author.

She grew up in Rochester, NY and now lives in Florida with her husband and four kids. She's always had a love for reading books and writing. Being an English major in college, she wanted to teach at the college level but that was not to be. She went on to receive an MBA and became a project manager until quitting to raise her family. Kim currently works part-time with her husband and recently decided to embrace one of her biggest passions--writing.

Kim wears a lot of hats! Writer, book-lover, wife, soccer-mom, taxi driver, and the all around go-to person of her family. However, she always finds time to read. One of her favorite family outings was taking her kids when they were little to the bookstore or the library. Today, Kim's oldest child is seventeen and no longer goes with her on these, now rare and infrequent, outings. She finds that she doesn't need to go on them anymore because she has the greatest device ever invented--a Kindle.

Kim likes to believe in soul mates, kindred spirits, true friends, and Happily-Ever-Afters. She loves to drink champagne, listen to music, and hopes to always stay young at heart.

 

🏈 🏈 🏈