*Grabby Hands* Blog Tour & Review - The Good Girl's Guide to Being Bad by Cookie O'Gorman

Image and blurb from Goodreads

Title: The Good Girl's Guide to Being Bad 

Author: Cookie O'Gorman

Publication date: April 25th, 2019

Category/Genre: Young Adult Contemporary Romance

Seventeen-year-old Sadie is tired of being a good girl.

Her Career Aptitude Test results say she's ideally suited for a career in the clergy (aka a nun), and on top of that, she receives yet another rejection. An aspiring dancer/choreographer, Sadie dreams of being featured on Dancer's Edge—but they say she's too sweet, needs more life experience. Her BFF, Kyle, and her oldest friend, 79-year-old Betty, agree: Sadie is in desperate need of a life makeover.

But she'll need a coach.

Sadie doesn't lie, cheat or steal--heck she doesn't even curse (part of the reason she hasn't checked off anything on her "Carpe Diem List"). Sadie doesn't know the first thing about being bad. But Kyle's twin brother, Colton, does. And he's willing to teach Sadie on one condition: she has to do everything he says for the next month.

A dazzling first kiss, two smokin' hot brothers and a bet that changes everything. In this enemies-to-more YA romance, Sadie learns:

Breaking the rules can be fun—especially when it leads to happily-ever-after.

Goodreads

Buy Links: Amazon 

4.5 “Carpe freaking Diem” Stars

ARC provided by the author

Thank you!!!

Cookie O’Gorman’s fourth YA romance was the absolute perfect choice for my long bus drive. It was everything I needed and more swoony than I expected. It was damn hot, too.

This author first made my go-to list when she released Adorkable back in 2016. If you haven’t read that book yet, I don’t know what you’re doing with your life, but you should definitely fix this problem and grab your copy.

Now, four books later (I still need to read her third), I got all the same feels reading The Good Girl's Guide to Being Bad as I did  when I first read her debut. I’m one happy and highly satisfied reader, because this story made me laugh, swoon and fan myself countless times. This means Cookie O’Gorman’s magic is still very much alive!

While she gave me best friends falling in love in Adorkable, now we get enemies to haters with identical twins involved and those elements alone were enough to make me want to devour this book. That’s exactly what I did. The moment I was comfortable in my seat, I started reading and only stopped when I got my HEA.

The Good Girl's Guide to Being Bad is full of famous YA romance tropes: bucket lists that are actually called Carpe Diem lists (or Naught List); nemesis falling in love; hot identical twins; good girls wanting to be a little bad and enlisting a bad boy’s help. But that’s not a problem at all, because in the hands of talented writers, a story full of tropes can still be unputdownable. This one was.

I’m so in love with both Sadie and Colton. Their chemistry was exactly what I look for in romance books; their banter made me laugh and smile so hard; and the way they slowly fell in love filled my slow-burned heart.

Sadie was a likable goody two-shoes, because despite being almost too nice (so much so that she gets a little annoyed with it and decides to add a little more edge and excitement to her life), she was funny, loyal and lovable. It was such a delight to read about a teenage girl who wasn’t embarrassed to have a healthy relationship with her mother, based on honesty, freedom and trust. There’s this scene where she calls her mother to tell her about something “bad” she did, and it made me laugh so hard, but also made me fall in love with her all the way.

I was also 100% into how her best friends where two ladies who were old enough to be her grandmother. Their encounters were always funny, full of love and wisdom that you only get when talking with people who have lived full lives.

For his turn, Colton was the bad boy with a heart of gold. The way he stood up for his twin brother was proof enough that he was one of the nice ways, despite the bad boy image he tried to keep. He had the makings of a great love interest from the start and he didn’t disappoint me.

I feel like I'm already talking too much and I don't want to spoil anything because there's nothing like reading a great book for the first time, right? But be warned that the slow burn and the intensity of Colton and Sadie's attraction might set things on fire (like your reading device), so proceed with caution.

Joking aside, I highly recommend The Good Girl's Guide to Being Bad (and the author's other books) to everyone who loves YA romance. If you're already a fan of Cookie O'Gorman, then keep an eye out for your favorites because there's a scene in this book that will make you want to go back and reread her previous stories immediately.

Cookie O’Gorman writes stories filled with humor and heart for the nerd in all of us. Fiery
first kisses, snappy dialogue, smart girls, swoonworthy boys, and unbreakable friendships are featured in each of her books.

Cookie is a hopeless romantic, a Harry Potter aficionado, and a supporter of all things dork.
Chocolate, Chinese food, and Asian dramas are her kryptonite. Above all, she believes that real life has enough sorrow and despair—which is why she always tries to give her characters a happy ending. She is the author of Adorkable, Ninja Girl, The Unbelievable, Inconceivable,

Unforeseeable Truth About Ethan Wilder and The Good Girl's Guide to Being Bad.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cookieogorman/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/cookieowrites

Author website: http://cookieogorman.com/

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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*Grabby Hands* Release & Review - The Wicked King (The Folk of the Air #2) by Holly Black

Image and blurb from Goodreads

Title: The Wicked King

(The Folk of the Air #2)

Author: Holly Black

Category/Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Publication Date: January 8th, 2018

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Adults

You must be strong enough to strike and strike and strike again without tiring.

The first lesson is to make yourself strong.

After the jaw-dropping revelation that Oak is the heir to Faerie, Jude must keep her younger brother safe. To do so, she has bound the wicked king, Cardan, to her, and made herself the power behind the throne. Navigating the constantly shifting political alliances of Faerie would be difficult enough if Cardan were easy to control. But he does everything in his power to humiliate and undermine her even as his fascination with her remains undiminished.

When it becomes all too clear that someone close to Jude means to betray her, threatening her own life and the lives of everyone she loves, Jude must uncover the traitor and fight her own complicated feelings for Cardan to maintain control as a mortal in a Faerie world.

Goodreads

Buy Link: Amazon

4.5 “Scheming and Twists in the faerie world” Stars

These first days of 2019 haven’t exactly been the best reading-wise. I’m not saying that because of Wicked King (hello, I’m rating it 4.5 stars), but because Holly Black’s sequel is the first book I’ve managed to finish since the year started.

On one hand, that sucks, because I’ve DNF’d a lot of books already. On the other hand, at least my first read of the year was a great one! For starters, Wicked King is better than Cruel Prince, which was already a good book.

Again, though, the romance (full of sexual tension and hate-me-love-me-can’t-have-me angst) was still a little too on the background for me. I still love Jude and how badass she is; Cardan and how you can never really tell what he’s hiding behind his don’t-give-a-crap attitude; and all the other characters that scheme and twist reality even though they can’t lie. But I wanted more Cardan and Jude. A lot more than the amazing scenes we had between them. That’s my only complaint, to be honest.

The plot was once again full of twists and turns, though Jude seemed to be more on the receiving end of those twists and turns than in Cruel Prince. Still, I love being surprised, and the last part of the book did that to me time and time again. I will say that Jude and Cardan’s choice near the end was a obvious one; one she should’ve come up with before he did and a lot sooner in the book (or so I kept trying to tell her), but I was still surprised by what Cardan did in the last chapter.

Taryn still annoyed me too much—I don’t know why Jude insists on protecting the sister who clearly doesn’t care for her at all. Locke was still useless. Madoc and Jude still reminded me of Olivia and Papa Pope’s troubled complex relationship. So none of those things changed much since the first book.

In a way, Wicked King kept the same elements I noticed in Cruel Prince (both the ones I liked and disliked), but it still read somewhat better than the first title in the series. Maybe it’s because I’m still thinking about that “Tell me you hate me” scene.

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

*Grabby Hands* Release & Review - Rebel Hard (Hard Play #2) by Nalini Singh

Image and blurb from Goodreads

Title: Rebel Hard
(Hard Play #2)
Author: Nalini Singh
Publication Date: September 18th, 2018

Category/Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance

New York Times bestselling author Nalini Singh continues her Hard Play series with a sweet, sexy romance featuring big, fat, OTT weddings, a meddling grandma, and a too-serious hero who needs to be unbuttoned…

Nayna Sharma agreed to an arranged marriage in the hope it would heal the fractures in her beloved family… only to realize too late that a traditional marriage is her personal nightmare. Panicked, she throws caution to the winds, puts on the tiniest dress she can find, and ends up in the arms of a tall, rough-edged hunk of a man who has abs of steel—and who she manages to mortally insult between one kiss and the next.

Abandoned as a child, then adopted into a loving family, Raj Sen believes in tradition, in continuity. Some might call him stiff and old-fashioned, but he knows what he wants—and it’s a life defined by rules… yet he can’t stop thinking about the infuriating and sexy woman who kissed him in the moonlight then disappeared. When his parents spring an introduction on him, the last woman he expects is her. Beautiful. Maddening. A rule breaker in the making.

He’s all wrong for her. She’s all wrong for him. And love is about to make rebels of them both.

Goodreads

Buy Link: Amazon

5 “My heart can barely take all these feelings” Stars

This is the best romance book I read this year. Simple, beautiful, touching, full of feels and sexy AF.

I’m so in love with this book and these characters I don’t think I have words to describe my feelings.

Nayna is the kind of protagonist that steals my heart from page one and refuses to give it to back to me even after the story is over. She’s such a gentle soul. A beautiful person that I wish was real and my friend. Her desire for freedom and adventure never gets in the way of her love and respect for her family, and that balance is just another reason to love her.

Raj is book boyfriend material at its best. Thoughtful, respectful, serious, committed, sexy, smart. I can’t even with this man. He’s ridiculously perfect in a way that should be annoying but totally isn’t. I love, love, love his relationship with his parents and siblings. He’s one of those men who learned that he should treat women with the same care and respect he wants men to treat the little sister he dearly loves. He owes up to his mistakes, fights for the people he cares and protects them in a way that doesn’t feel suffocating.

The chemisty between Nayna and Raj is out of this word. I felt every scene between them from start to finish. Their adorable, sexy and perfect together. It also helps that Raj was so out-of-this-world in love with Naya. The “man who madly loves the woman who is reluctant to commit to her feelings” always gets me.

The romance was everything I didn’t know I needed.

Aside from Nayna and Raj’s perfect relationship, I adored the family dynamic. It was a beautiful thing to see both Nayna and Raj interact with their own families and with each other’s parents, grandparents and siblings. Nayna’s grandmother is probably my favorite character aside from the main couple. She made me laugh out loud more than a couple of times. But in truth, I loved everyone in Nayna’s family. Same goes for Raj’s parents and little sister. In fact, I was dying to read a  YA book about Aditi, because she came across as such a smart and strong young lady.

And there were happy endings delivered like Xmas presents and I can't even bring myself to care that some were unrealistic. Real life is hard so books are allowed to give me as many happy ever afters as they want.

Honestly, I can’t think about anything I didn’t like in this book. Even the annoying sister-in-law had her place in the story and the third person narrative, despite not being my favorite in general, worked wonderfully here. The book was just that amazing!

Well, I don’t know what you’re doing, but whatever it is can’t be more entertaining than reading this book, so stop and go get your copy.

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

*Grabby Hands* Release & Review - Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren

Image and blurb from Goodreads

Title: Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating
Author: Christina Lauren
Publication Date: September 4th, 2018

Publisher: Gallery Books
Category/Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance

Hazel Camille Bradford knows she’s a lot to take—and frankly, most men aren’t up to the challenge. If her army of pets and thrill for the absurd don’t send them running, her lack of filter means she’ll say exactly the wrong thing in a delicate moment. Their loss. She’s a good soul in search of honest fun.

Josh Im has known Hazel since college, where her zany playfulness proved completely incompatible with his mellow restraint. From the first night they met—when she gracelessly threw up on his shoes—to when she sent him an unintelligible email while in a post-surgical haze, Josh has always thought of Hazel more as a spectacle than a peer. But now, ten years later, after a cheating girlfriend has turned his life upside down, going out with Hazel is a breath of fresh air.

Not that Josh and Hazel date. At least, not each other. Because setting each other up on progressively terrible double blind dates means there’s nothing between them...right?

Goodreads

Buy Link: Amazon

4.5 “Guide to Falling for you BFF” stars

I wasn’t the biggest fan of Christina Lauren’s early books, but between the releases of Dating/Hating You and Loved and Other Words, I went from reluctant to when is the next book coming, out, please?

Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating only reaffirmed that feeling.

A friends-to-lovers romance, this book had everything I needed: a protagonist that was unique enough that I’ll remember her for a long time, an adorable love interest who stole my heart, enough banter to make me fall hard in love and tons of laugh out loud moments.

Hazel was one of the funniest protagonists I’ve come across in a while. She’s unapologetically quirky and she gets herself in the most embarrassing situations because of her lack of filter. I loved, loved meeting her.

Josh was Hazel’s opposite. More on the serious side, he came from a traditional family with traditional values, but as soon as he got to know Hazel better it was clear he didn’t care she saw life differently. He embraced her completely and never looked back, and that’s because the man had a heart of gold. Josh is one of those beta males who makes me believe there are still good people out there. The world needs more Joshes.

I was obsessed with their chemistry, with how their friendship developed and how they fell in love with each other so organically. There was nothing forced about their relationship. It was everything it needed to be and more. And the hot scenes???

The double dates were fun, some a little awkward, but still fun. Hazel and Josh’s relationship with her sister and brother-in-law made the book even richer. So did their relationship with their mothers. I only wished the ex-boyfriend plot had never happened. That’s probably my only complaint about this story.

Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating was not only an amazing read, but it left me yet again anxious for what these authors will write next.

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

*Grabby Hands* Review - Smoke in the Sun (Flame in the Mist#2) by Renée Ahdieh

Image and blurb from Goodreads

Title: Smoke in the Sun

(Flame in the Mist#2)

Author: Renée Ahdieh

Publication date: June 5th, 2018

Category/Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Publisher: G.P. Putman's Son Books for Young Readers

 

For weeks, seventeen-year-old Mariko pretended to be a boy to infiltrate the notorious Black Clan and bring her would-be murderer to justice. She didn't expect to find a place for herself among the group of fighters—a life of usefulness—and she certainly didn't expect to fall in love. Now she heads to the imperial castle to resume a life she never wanted to save the boy she loves.

Ōkami has been captured, and his execution is a certainty. Mariko will do what she must to ensure his survival—even marry the sovereign's brother, saying goodbye to a life with Ōkami forever.

As Mariko settles into her days at court—making both friends and enemies—and attempting Ōkami's rescue at night, the secrets of the royal court begin to unravel as competing agendas collide. One arrow sets into motion a series of deadly events even the most powerful magic cannot contain. Mariko and Ōkami risk everything to right past wrongs and restore the honor of a kingdom thrown into chaos by a sudden war, hoping against hope that when the dust settles, they will find a way to be together.

Set against the backdrop of feudal Japan, Smoke in the Sun is the breathless, romantic, not-to-be-missed fiery conclusion to a spell-binding adventure.

Goodreads

Buy Links: Amazon

4 “Feminist Mulan in Japan - Part 2” Stars

Another win for super talented writer Renée Ahdieh.

This book...no, this series left me feeling super proud of being a girl.

Even though we had a lot less Mariko this time around--she shared the spotlight with many others, including badasss Kanako, the former Emperor's consort (more on her later)--whenever Mariko made an appearance my love, respect and admiration for her grew. She was not a lovesick fool and, even when she was risking much for the person she loved, she did it in a clever way. I loved all her experiments, all the times she sacrificed what she truly wanted for the greater good and put herself out there to defend those who couldn't.

I loved, loved, LOVED her conversations and the growing friendship between Mariko and Yumi. There's nothing like reading about smart girls having smart conversation and making smart choices.

There was less Okami in this book than I wanted, because I love him. LOVE him. But when he came into scene, he was as clever and perfect as I remembered him. His support of Mariko, even when he worried about her safety, was just BEAUTIFUL to watch.

The Black Clan guys that I grew to love in the previous books were also quite absent, since most of this book took place in court and around it. But there were some special scenes involving them. I thought I'd feel one of those scenes a little more than I did, but I blame it on the fact that we didn't spend too much time with them this time around.

As you can see, the main characters from the first book had to share "book time" with the others, but that wasn't exactly a bad thing since Renée Ahdieh introduced us (or reintroduced us, should I say) to some awesome royal characters: Raiden, Mariko's soon-to-be husband; his mother, Kanako, a woman who possessed great magic and was obsessed with the idea of making her son Emperor; and Roku, the new Emperor.

I didn't expect to like Raiden's journey as much as I did, but the author managed to make me care for a character I was convinced I would hate by the end of the book. Same goes for Kanako. The woman does unspeakable things to achieve her goal, but I found it extremely hard to hate her. Sorry.

So, while I miss the special romantic vibe and most of the lovable characters from book One, as well as though the ending was a little rushed (because I wanted to know what happened to some of the other characters), I was enchanted by Renée Ahdieh's beautiful writing, the complex new main characters and the feminist and powerful narrative. It also didn't hurt that the epilogue was AMAZING!!!

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

Release Blitz & Review - Tiebreaker by P. Dangelico

Title: Tiebreaker
Author: P. Dangelico
Age Category/Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance

Publication Date: July 25th, 2018

All is fair in love and second chances.

Professional tennis star and everybody’s darling, Maren Murphy is going home. Unfortunately, going home is the last thing she wants to do. She doesn’t know what’s worse, being named the executor of her grandfather’s estate, or having to deal with her grandfather’s business partner, Noah Callahan. That devil’s spawn may have broken her young, tender heart, but this time it’s advantage Murphy. If anyone’s calling game, set, and match, it’ll be Maren.

Re-match on.

Noah Callahan is a screw up. Well…he used to be a screw up. Bad boy reputations, however, are not easily shed. He’s been a successful business owner for over a decade. You would think the people in his hometown would’ve forgiven and forgotten already, but alas no. Until his one shot at redemption walks into his office. Maren Murphy is the only woman he ever loved––and the one he purposely drove away.

She’s vowed to hate him for all eternity. He’s vowed to love her forever. Can a second chance be the tiebreaker.

Read Today! 

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/2LCe0zV 

Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/2A7Dq3X 

Add to Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2KSNguI

3.5 “Tennis and Second Chances” Stars

ARC provided by the author

Thank you!

First, let me make it clear that I will read anything P. Dangelico writes because she created Ethan freaking Vaughn and she’s up there with Mariana Zapatta as slow-burn queens for me. So there’s that.

I didn’t know about this book until I got an email about an ARC tour and I immediately clicked the PLEASE, I NEED AN ARC button. As soon as I got it, I started reading. That’s what happens when I get my hands on stories by my favorite authors.

First page and once again I’m hit by that feeling of “I’m going to love this”, because all the right elements are there: voice, great writing, humor.  Mid chapter 2 and I’m already madly in love with the entire thing and with Maren, the main character. She’s super funny, relatable and has such a strong personality.

I’m normally slow to warm up to second chance romance, but this had a childhood friends that were lovers and now hate each other theme, so it was much easier to get into it.

Another thing I’m usually not a fan of but ended loving here were the flashback chapters. Maren and Noah had some pretty adorable moments as kids, like this:

“Will you marry me when we get old? I promise I won’t fight with you.

It sounded like a good plan at the time. She liked sports, jumping off cliffs, and video games.

Something else I loved about this was Maren’s relationship with her family. There were some heartbreaking moments, but mostly they were adorable and fun together. Her sister, Annabelle, is already my favorite person and I can’t wait for her book.

So, about Noah…He didn’t narrate as many chapters as Maren’s, but I got to know him a little bit more through his POV. I still wish there had been more Noah in this book (especially more Noah working hard to earn Maren’s forgiveness). Sometimes it felt like Maren and everything else in her life had more space in the narrative than the romance between Maren and Noah; and I missed more scenes with them in between the reveal and the happy ever after.

It was pretty clear from early one what the reveal would be about. It’s something that usually makes me dislike the book, but I still wanted to give it a chance because of my love for this author’s previous work. Well, the reveal turned out to be what I expected, and the reasons for the character’s behavior was there. There were a lot of extenuating circumstances surrounding the whole thing. I’m just not sure if they made it better or worse for me.

In the end, this book wouldn’t have worked had it been written by a less talented author with a less relatable main character. Since those two elements were present, it made for a fun read, with a lot of great moments.

Dangelico loves romance in all forms, cuddly creatures (four legged and two), really bloody sexy pulp, the NY Jets (although she’s reconsidering after this season), and to while away the day at the barn (apparently she does her best thinking shoveling horse crap). What she’s not enamored with is referring to herself in the third person and social media so don’t expect her to get on Twitter anytime soon. Oh, and although she was born in Italy, she’s been Jersey Strong since she turned six.

Connect with P. Dangelico:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p.dangelico/ 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/PDanAuthor 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pdangelicoauthor/ 

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2C91Fv7 

Website: http://www.pdangelico.com/ 

Stay up to date with all things P. Dangelico. Join her mailing list, today: https://www.pdangelico.com/contact

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