*Grabby Hands* Release & Review - All Your Perfects by Colleen Hoover

Image and blurb from Goodreads

Title: All Your Perfects
Author: Colleen Hover
Age Category/Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance

Publication Date: July 17th, 2018
Publisher: Atria Books

Colleen Hoover delivers a tour de force novel about a troubled marriage and the one old forgotten promise that might be able to save it.

Quinn and Graham’s perfect love is threatened by their imperfect marriage. The memories, mistakes, and secrets that they have built up over the years are now tearing them apart. The one thing that could save them might also be the very thing that pushes their marriage beyond the point of repair.

All Your Perfects is a profound novel about a damaged couple whose potential future hinges on promises made in the past. This is a heartbreaking page-turner that asks: Can a resounding love with a perfect beginning survive a lifetime between two imperfect people?

Goodreads

Buy Links: Amazon

4 “No Black & White + Marriage” Stars

CoHo writes complex characters. I guess most people who are familiar with her books (or at least the ones I read) would agree that there are a lot of grey areas in her stories; meaning, the characters do shitty things and the situations they have to face are shitty, but you still feel for them because they’re only humans. That’s one of the things I love most about CoHo’s writing: she makes her characters flawed and humans. That makes it easier for me to relate to them and their stories.

It happened again with All Your Perfects, a book I’d been anxiously expecting for what felt like forever, but was actually less than six months.

Anyway… CoHo tackles another extremely important theme in this novel and it focuses on a (gasp!) married couple. I can’t remember the last time I read a love story between two people that have been married for a while, still love each other, but have been facing major problems.

For me, this was definitely a new and exciting reading experience. I loved how, even though Quinn and Graham have been married for 7 years, we still get chapters showing us how they fell in love, so we get to fall in love with them as they do for each other.

We also get to watch countless heartbreaking moments as these two struggle with something that is beyond their control (such an important topic and it was handled beautifully, in my opinion). It was impossible not to feel for Quinn and Graham, because they were dealing with the same problem but moving apart instead of coming together, which is what happens a lot of times in marriages.

Some might say, well, they could’ve talked about it, but a lot of times talking doesn’t come easy because the other person feels like what they have to say is too ugly/heavy, or they can’t even handle thinking about it, let alone speaking it out loud. I felt like some of that was what happened with Quinn, at least.

It was hard watching a couple that clearly loved each other deeply slowly fall apart because they were holding on to an ideal that wasn’t possible any longer. Sometimes we get so lost in what we want life to be that we forget to appreciate how it is. That’s a lesson Quinn and Graham had to learn the hard way.

And I’ll tell you, there was a moment there when I thought their relationship was unfixable. I’m keeping this review spoiler free, so I won’t get into details, but I was disappointed that CoHo chose to add that to the storyline. There was enough drama already, and this felt unnecessary and out of character. I’m trying to pretend it didn’t happen so it doesn’t ruin what was a beautiful, touching and important narrative.

Like all CoHo’s books I’ve read so far, All Your Perfects was feels upon feels upon feels, lots of angst, characters making good and bad choices, and me rooting for them to find their happy ending.

 

*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.

*Grabby Hands* Release & Review - Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren

Image and blurb from Goodreads

Title: Love and Other Words
Author: Christina Lauren

Age Category/Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance

Publication Date: April 10th, 2018
Publisher: Gallery Books
 

Love, loss, friendship, and the betrayals of the past all collide in this first fiction novel from New York Times and #1 international bestselling author Christina Lauren (Autoboyography, Dating You / Hating You).

The story of the heart can never be unwritten.

Macy Sorensen is settling into an ambitious if emotionally tepid routine: work hard as a new pediatrics resident, plan her wedding to an older, financially secure man, keep her head down and heart tucked away.

But when she runs into Elliot Petropoulos—the first and only love of her life—the careful bubble she’s constructed begins to dissolve. Once upon a time, Elliot was Macy’s entire world—growing from her gangly bookish friend into the man who coaxed her heart open again after the loss of her mother...only to break it on the very night he declared his love for her.

Told in alternating timelines between Then and Now, teenage Elliot and Macy grow from friends to much more—spending weekends and lazy summers together in a house outside of San Francisco devouring books, sharing favorite words, and talking through their growing pains and triumphs. As adults, they have become strangers to one another until their chance reunion. Although their memories are obscured by the agony of what happened that night so many years ago, Elliot will come to understand the truth behind Macy’s decade-long silence, and will have to overcome the past and himself to revive her faith in the possibility of an all-consuming love.

Goodreads

Buy Links: Amazon

4.5 "Eleven Years of Angst" Stars

Why is this book being marketed as WF when it's so clearly a romance. An awesome, slow burn, BFF to lovers, single POV Contemporary Romance? I don't get what's happening, but who cares because I really, really loved this book. I would've added another "really" (and probably the missing half star) had it not been for the big reveal. That was so bad that I spent a while contemplating retrieving the half star I already gave.

I realize this is a bad start to a review for a book I loved, but...

I absolutely LOVED 99% of this book, and I knew I'd probably love it from the beginning. 

I could not have connected with the voice more, since it was told in first person present tense from the perspective of a character that was instantly likable. It didn't hurt that Macy's mother was Brazilian (though I caught some pretty evident Portuguese mistakes in the book. Just saying) and that I always get Grey's Anatomy's vibe when I see the word "resident".

Macy became a favorite quite fast. I loved her maturity (even when she was running away from the love of her life after running into him after 11 years) and her personality. But if I'm being completely honest, Elliot was the star of this story for me.

Elliot who loves to read and knows pretty words and wears glasses and listen to his best friend talk abouth periods without acting all grossed out. Elliot was perfection. He's the kind of friend I wished everyone had in their teens. He is the friend that becomes your person (another GA's reference that hit me in the feels). I wish he was my person, too.

Throughout the entire thing I was madly in love with Elliot. And I was madly in love with narrative choice. I often dislike when books alternate between chapters in the present and past tense. It takes me out of the story and feels like too much backstory. Until it's done right. Here, it was done perfectly.

I can't imagine this story having the same impact if we didn't go back in the past and met Elliot when Macy did. If we didn't go with her every step of the way as she found in Elliot the best friend a person could ask for and the kind of love that can never, ever die.

I just have to put it out there: They're love was epic. 

Proof of that is that after eleven years apart--eleven years with no contact whatsover--the moment they see each other, they know that's it. They know their love never died, and what Elliot did next was just... Damn it, boy, you were going hard after my heart.

All the angst involving Macy and Elliot reuniting and rediscovering their love was just perfection. So was watching them fall in love for the first time through the "Then" chapters. I also loved how they deal with their present relationships in a mature, no-cheating-involved way. How Macy's relationship with her father was so sweet and loving and healthy. How Elliot's family was loud and loving and welcoming. Just talking about all of that makes me want to reread the story.

But then, the big reveal about what tore Elliot and Macy apart eleven years ago comes toward the end. And BOOM. I feel like an air-leaking balloon. It's almost painful to think about how wrong that reveal was. How unjust to the love story and to the characters. It's actually so unbelievable that I'm trying to convince myself the authors/editors and everyone involved just overlooked the fact that they inserted a segment of a different book in this lovely story. It just doesn't fit THIS story at all.

I could understand the second part of the reveal, and I even thought there was a way to make that second part the only reveal needed (the only excuse needed) for those two to be apart for so long. But the first part needs to go, so I'm deleting it and twisting the reveal in my head so it doesn't spoil the perfection that was this book.

Despite that reveal, I still highly recommend this book, especially for fans of slow burn, angsty romance that hits you right in the feels!!!

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

Blog Tour & Review - Nikan Rebuilt (Preload #3) by Scarlett Cole

Title: Nikan Rebuilt

(Preload #3)

Author: Scarlett Cole

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Release Date: January 2, 2018

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press SWERVE

Review & Excerpt Tour for NIKAN REBUILT by Scarlett Cole

Does the past ever really stay in the past? Find out in Scarlett Cole’s NIKAN REBUILT, the steamy, third standalone in her rockstar romance series, Preload. After years of no contact, Nik and first love Jenny’s connection still blazes between them. Will they have their second chance at love? Or will the weight of their past crush their future together?

  

Don’t know about you, but we love a great Rockstar romance. And Scarlett Cole knows how to write a great Rockstar romance. We are excited to share with you NIKAN REBUILT, book three in Cole’s Preload series. Follow the tour for reviews, excerpts, and enter to win a $50 Amazon gift card + ebook copies of JORDAN RECLAIMED and ELLIOTT REDEEMED!

 

From the queen of heart-pounding, sexy, emotional romance Scarlett Cole comes Nikan Rebuilt, the next novel in the Preload series.

Does the past ever really stay in the past?

Nikan can never be complete. He's got a rock group made up of the family he built for himself, more money than he knows what to do with, and a stream of groupies falling over themselves to date him. But none of them are her. The one regret that still plagues him, still taunts him with what he could have had.

Jenny is a survivor. Now running a group home after overcoming life in a cult lead by her manipulative father and watching her mother drink the poison he fed his followers, she fights to keep the light in the eyes of every boy who walks through her doors. Far from simple young love, Nik taught her to trust, showed her how good life could be. Before he formed the band. Before he became a famous rockstar. Before he destroyed it all.

A chance meeting after years of no contact shows the connection still blazes between them. But will they have their second chance at love? Or will the weight of their past crush their future together?

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | B&N | iBooks | Chapters Indigo

  

NIKAN REBUILT Excerpt

Copyright © 2017 Scarlett Cole

Nik took the towels out of her hands and placed them on the dryer. “Hey, come here,” he said as he reached for her hands. “Talk to me.”

She wasn’t ready to, not least because she didn’t understand the swirl of feelings sweeping through her. To put into words for Nik exactly how that felt was impossible. “I’m fine, I’m good. I just have a lot to do here now.”

Nik placed his finger under her chin and raised her eyes so she was forced to look at him. “I think we can safely say that lies have no place between us. So, I’ll tell you what I’m thinking, and then you can tell me what you’re thinking. Okay?”

Jenny sighed and nodded. “Okay.”

“I didn’t come here tonight expecting to kiss you like this. I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about it, but I know I have a lot of work to do to prove myself to you. But seeing you laugh, and seeing you look at me, just for a moment, without the pain I caused you in your eyes . . . Well, I don’t even know how to begin to explain what that felt like to me—except that I didn’t want to be away from you for another moment, and that it felt like a new beginning of sorts. If there’s any doubt in your mind about what that kiss did to me, I’d encourage you to touch me and check, but I think that might be a step too far, given where we are. Now it’s your turn.”

His words made her stomach flip, and despite her best efforts she was filled with a warm and fuzzy feeling. She looked over to the staircase again to check that nobody was within earshot. “We’re coming at this new friendship . . . relationship . . . from two completely different places. I’m mad at myself for letting you get this close to me again. It’s reckless to fall for you all over again and I know it. But when you stand so close to me, I can . . .” Crap. How could she explain that the way the smell of him, and the heat of him, and the proximity of him, and the touch of him took her straight back to that time and place where she wholeheartedly loved him?

“You can what?” Nik asked, moving his hands to her hips.

“I can remember us. Before.”

3.5 “Second Chances” Stars

ARC via NetGalley

Thank you, Swerve!

I’ve been following this series from the very first book, so I was obviously excited to get my hands on Nikan’s story.

While I have to say Lennon’s book is the one I’m most anxious about, I had a good time reading Nikan Rebuilt. It was a little different than what I expected, and maybe lower on the suspense and angst vibe than the previous titles in the series, but it was a pleasant read.

Speaking of Lennon, I often felt he was the star of this book, despite it being about the love between Jenny and Nik. At times, it almost felt like this was a book meant to set things forward for Lennon. But that’s not a complaint, because he is one of the most intriguing members of the band.

Now, about Nik and Jenny. I had my doubts I’d like the romance because it’s centered in two major problematic plot points for me: cheating and second chances.

Cheating is something that normally ruins the book for me, as made clear by many of my reviews. And of all romance tropes, second chances is probably my least favorite. Still, Scarlett Cole managed to write these elements in a way that didn’t make me dislike the story.

Yes, let’s make it very clear from the start, Nik cheated on Jenny when they were young and in love. This book brings an explanation to his behavior. Was it satisfactory? Not really. Would any explanation ever be? Probably not. It wasn’t a horrible explanation, either, so I’ll give him that. It doesn’t hurt that he spent the better part of the story trying to show Jenny he had changed. Was I convinced? Not really. Was I swayed? Probably.

The two of them had chemistry, and I could understand why Jenny decided to forgive him. I could easily tell she loved him a lot, and he did his best showing her he loved her, too. I just don’t know if maybe she should’ve held on a bit longer. Maybe that would’ve helped with the forgiveness angle a bit. Or maybe not. But that’s mostly on me and my intolerance for cheating.

I did love the way Jenny and Nik found purpose working with foster kids and giving them a chance at life. They were both important in the roles they played in those kids’ lives and it certainly helped build a connection between reader and character.

So, while Nikan Rebuilt was not my favorite book from this series, I was happy to see how it moved the overall story forward, and it’s always a pleasure to see the members of Preload again.

The tattoo across my right hip says it all really. A Life Less Ordinary. Inked by the amazingly talented Luke Wessman at the Wooster Street Social Club (a.k.a. New York Ink). Why is it important? Well, it sums up my view on life. That we should all aspire to live a life that is less boring, less predictable. Be bold, and do something amazing. I’ve made some crazy choices. I’ve been a car maker, a consultant, and even a senior executive at a large retailer running strategy. Born in England, spent time in the U.S. and Japan, before ending up in Canada were I met my own, personal hero – all six and a half feet of him. Both of us are scorpios! Yeah, I know! Should have checked the astrological signs earlier, but somehow it works for us. We have two amazing kids, who I either could never part with or could easily be convinced to sell on e-bay.

I’ve wanted to be a writer for a really long time. Check through my office cupboards or my computer and you’ll find half written stories and character descriptions everywhere. Now I'm getting the chance to follow that dream.

Connect with Scarlett: Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

 

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Release & Review - The Way Back to Us by Jamie Howard

  Title: The Way Back to Us

(Love Unplugged #3)

Author: Jamie Howard

Publication Date: December 12th, 2017

Age Category/Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Swerve

 

Gavin MacCormack found the one. He fell in love. Hard. Until one night he ran out for some ice cream and came back to an empty dorm room, closets bare and nothing but a quick hand-written note saying, I’m sorry. Those two words taught Gavin the meaning of heartbreak. A feeling he never wants to encounter again. And as the lead singer of a Grammy award-winning band he's had plenty of opportunities for casual, no-strings fun, which is just the way he likes it.

Dani Winters has had more names than birthdays. On the run with her father for nearly as long as she can remember, she’s lived her life by three rules—always plan for the worst, maintain a low profile at all costs, and never let anyone get too close. Except she broke that last rule once and her heart has never forgiven her.

One chance encounter changes everything. Seeing Dani resurrects feelings in Gavin he thought were long buried, and this time he’s not letting her disappear without getting some answers. But Dani’s life is the definition of complicated and she’s playing with fire by letting Gavin back in. When the time comes to run again, Dani needs to decide if a life without love is worth living, or if it’s time to stop running and fight.

 Goodreads

Buy Links: Amazon

3.5 “Second chances” Stars

ARC via NetGalley

Thank you, Swerve.

This is my fifth (?) book by Jamie Howard, and I'm ready for the next one, especially since I hope (please, please) it'll be about Ben and Rachel and all the angst of loving someone for years without moving it past friendship.

But while The Way Back to Us wasn't my favorite book by this go-to author, it was still entertaining.

Let me just pause for a second and say I'm still in love with Juliet, the heroine from the last book in this series. She kept pulling my attention toward her whenever she showed up in a scene in this new book, and she was consistent in how she kept seeing the good in people and giving them a chance. I also loved to see her get closer to her happy ever after with Felix. <3 font="">

Now, as to Dani and Gavin, the couple we get to focus on this time around, I wish I had connected more with their story. My main problem here wasn't Gavin. He was still as carefree and funny as I remembered him to be. Dani, on the other hand, took a little longer to warm up to.

I have to be fair and say I have a hard time connecting with the second chance romance trope. There's something about the characters already knowing each other and being in love and then breaking up for some reason or other than usually doesn't work for me. Though Dani's motive for running away and breaking Gavin's heart was strong, I guess not knowing the truth about it until much later in the story made it a little harder for me to understand and forgive her for what she did. Half the time I felt like Ben--ready to confront Dani about what she did and why she was back.

Maybe seeing her more reluctant about walking back into Gavin's life when she knew she'd have to leave again, or fighting the attraction between them harder or suffering a little more would've helped. I don't know. Maybe. I just didn't fall in love with Dani as hard and as fast as I wished.

Now, Gavin was another story. I felt sorry for the poor guy because he was so in love with Dani even after all those years. And even though she she had hurt him that bad, he was still willing to give her another chance because he didn't want to miss out on the opportunity to be with her. The whole Howgarts thing made sense because it was such a Gavin thing to think and say. Part of the reason I tried so hard to like Dani, despite her doing some things that made me cringe was because of how much Gavin loved her. That's how much I liked him.

I also LOVED, LOVED the beach house part of this book because I got to see all the characters from the series together. I loved the girls cooking, the girls and guys playing in the pool, the dinner conversation with them sharing secrets (I'm still in shock because I didn't remember the Gavin/Felix threesome thing. o.O). My absolute favorite parts of this book were when all the characters were together doing things. I want more of that.

So while The Way Back to Us didn't hook me the way the previous book in this series did, I still loved to read more about Gavin and get to see that great cast of characters interacting again. Also, there was a lot of Rachel and Ben, and do I need to say once again how excited about their love story I am?! In case I do, here's the perfect gif:

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