Showing posts with label ARC Review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ARC Review. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

ARC Review: Montana Bride by Joan Johnston



*Received from NetGalley*
Montana Bride
(Book #3 in the Mail-Order Brides series)
Amazon | Goodreads | BN

Author: Joan Johnston

Publisher: Dell (January 7, 2014)
Genre: Adult, Historic Western Romance, 416 pages
ISBN-10:  0345527488
ISBN-13: 978-0345527486
ASIN: B00DXKHGIS
My Copy: ARC eBook






SUMMARY:
When Karl Norwood’s mail-order bride meets an untimely demise on the way to the Montana Territory, Hetty Wentworth steps in to take her place. Hetty has no idea how she’s going to pretend to be all the things she isn’t—including the mother of two kids. She only knows her deception is necessary if she’s going to save two orphans from the awful fate she suffered as a child.

Karl smells a rat when a much younger woman than he was expecting arrives with two children who look nothing like her. But his mail-order bride is so beautiful, he doesn’t object—until he realizes that his charming new wife has been lying . . . about everything. Can a woman forced to keep secrets and a man hindered by distrust ever hope to find happily ever after in each other’s arms?
MY REVIEW:
ERMERGERD. Joan Johnston does it again. *le sigh* I absolutely loved books 1 & 2 of the Mail-Order Brides series and book #3 is no different. We first met Hetty in book #1, a brief introduction as one of Miranda's little sisters. And then again in book #2 when she was traveling with her little sister, her twin sister Hannah and Hanna's sick husband Mr. McMurty.

Keeping secrets and lies is something Karl Norwood does not approve of, but that's exactly what Hetty Wentworth does to help two children on their mission to a better life. And Hetty just can't bring it to herself to leave these children behind. So she takes on the lie that she is a woman who she is not and has these children whom she just met and hardly knows. Not only is Karl expecting a woman with children, but a woman with experience as a wife: in the bed. And Hetty is far from an experienced woman.

When Karl first meets Hetty he already notices she's a lot younger than she pretends to be and that these children can't possibly be hers. As they look much different from her. They must have different fathers! Despite the fact that Hetty didn't want to do this in the first place, she goes on about it, to give herself and these children a better life. All the while carrying guilt with her about her previous "loves" death. And I put love in quotations because when you first get a real glance at Hetty's personality, she's flirty and beautiful and loves the vying attention of men. Even if that meant she had to put them at each other so that the one she wants will pop the question and that eventually that led to the death of a man she loved. I liked Hetty's character. She's not a push over, a bit stubborn and she's caring to a boot, definitely a Wentworth breed. 

Throughout the book Hetty is having a hard time keeping these secrets and she's having a harder time falling in love with Karl. She knows she doesn't deserve him but as time passes she slowly starts seeing things with a clearer eyes and falls for Karl. Does she tell him? Of course not, not like he would believe her, especially since their marriage started out with a pack of lies. Karl, Karl, Karl. *swoon* bookish nerdy and slowly learning to become a leader and an alpha, yes, I said it, ALPHA male. He knows what he wants but he's too scared to give his heart what it wants, and what it wants is Hetty. And not just her beautiful body, but her heart as well. Will Hetty and Karl free themselves of the lies that surrounds them and become a family or will the lies tear them apart? Well, you're just gonna have to read and find out!

LOVED this book, like all of JJohnstons' books. If you love yourself a good historical western romance, then you definitely need to pick up this book! BUT, before you do that pick up books 1 & 2 :)

Click HERE for my review of TEXAS BRIDE (Book #1 in the Mail-Order Brides series)
Click HERE for my review of WYOMING BRIDE (Book #2 in the Mail-Order Brides series)

MY RATING:
 



Wednesday, January 8, 2014

ARC Review: Crash into You by Katie McGarry



*Received from NetGalley*
Crash into You
(Book #3 in the Pushing the Limits series)
Amazon | Goodreads | BN

Author: Katie Mcgarry

Publisher: Harlequin Teen (November 26, 2013)
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary Romance, 496 pages
ISBN-10:  037321099X
ISBN-13: 978-0373210992
ASIN: B00DPAN5H2
My Copy: ARC eBook






SUMMARY:
The girl with straight As, designer clothes and the perfect life-that's who people expect Rachel Young to be. So the private-school junior keeps secrets from her wealthy parents and overbearing brothers...and she's just added two more to the list. One involves racing strangers down dark country roads in her Mustang GT. The other? Seventeen-year-old Isaiah Walker-a guy she has no business even talking to. But when the foster kid with the tattoos and intense gray eyes comes to her rescue, she can't get him out of her mind.

Isaiah has secrets, too. About where he lives, and how he really feels about Rachel. The last thing he needs is to get tangled up with a rich girl who wants to slum it on the south side for kicks-no matter how angelic she might look.

But when their shared love of street racing puts both their lives in jeopardy, they have six weeks to come up with a way out. Six weeks to discover just how far they'll go to save each other.

MY REVIEW:
Boy meets girl...at a drag race no less. Need-for-speed junkies Isaiah and Rachel meet at an illegal drag race, and when shit hits the fan, Isaiah takes Rachel for a ride. A ride that will have their lives entwining with emotions and fast cars. 

EEK. YES! After the first few pages of Crash into You, I was completely hooked! I love almost everything about this book. I was kinda crushed when in Dare You To (Book #2 in the Pushing the Limits series), Isaiah wasn't "the one" that ended up with Beth. I was crushed, CRUSHED I tell you! But after all my squealing and jumping around had settled down, I finally gained the courage to start this book. The problems that these characters go through are a bit unrealistic to me, but KMcGarry does a great job of pulling all the feels out of you and onto the page. ALL THE FEELS.
Reeling you in and making, YES, MAKING, you fall in love with her characters.  And by the time you're done reading the book all you can do is stare at the last word, of the last sentence, of the last paragraph, of the last page, of the last chapter and think to yourself: why? why is it over? I'm not over exaggerating here people. It's that damned good. The characters are all well developed and have these personalities that either you hate or you love, but regardless of your feelings towards said characters, they were made to make you feel that way. And in this case, I absolutely loved Rachel and I loved Rachel with Isaiah even more. 

If you can recall, I stated in the previous paragraph that I loved ALMOST everything. And I say almost because some of it was a bit irritating. And by irritating, I mean that I wish the characters would have handled things a bit differently. But that's just me.  Other than that, I thought this was great book.

Raised in foster care, Isaiah has the mental attitude of someone working against the world. Or, rather, the world is working against him. Trusts no one and has the "big bad" label that no one messes with. YEEEAAAAH, who wouldn't love this? Tattoos, charming smile (when he smiles), and a heart of gold! You know damned well under all that rough bad boy exterior lies a heart of gold just waiting to swoon you off your feet and into bed... ahem.. I mean, yeaaah. lol. I absolutely loved Isaiah from the very first book: Pushing the Limits. So you can be damned sure that I was reeling with excitement when he finally got his own book and a damned good book at that. 

Rachel and Isaiah make a great pair in this YA novel, although, Ana and Isaiah sounds a bit better. HAHA. *sigh* I know, I can keep dreaming. I would definitely recommend Crash into You. If you're looking for a Young Adult novel to sweep you off your feet and will have you glued to your book until the very last page, then you should stop reading this review and pick up your copy NOW!

Click HERE for my review of PUSHING THE LIMITS (Book #1 in the Pushing the Limits series)
Click HERE for my review of DARE YOU TO (Book #2 in the Pushing the Limits series)

MY RATING:
 



Thursday, October 3, 2013

ARC Review: Dare You To by Katie McGarry



*Received from NetGalley*
Dare You To
(Book #2 in the Pushing the Limits series)
Amazon | Goodreads | BN

Author: Katie McGarry
Publisher: Harlequin Teen (May 28, 2013)
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary Romance, 470 pages

ISBN-10: 03732106391
ISBN-13: 978-0373210633
ASIN: B00BED2UE6
My Copy: ARC eBook

SUMMARY:
If anyone knew the truth about Beth Risk's home life, they'd send her mother to jail and seventeen-year-old Beth who knows where. So she protects her mom at all costs. Until the day her uncle swoops in and forces Beth to choose between her mom's freedom and her own happiness. That's how Beth finds herself living with an aunt who doesn't want her and going to a school that doesn't understand her. At all. Except for the one guy who shouldn't get her, but does....

Ryan Stone is the town golden boy, a popular baseball star jock-with secrets he can't tell anyone. Not even the friends he shares everything with, including the constant dares to do crazy things. The craziest? Asking out the Skater girl who couldn't be less interested in him.

But what begins as a dare becomes an intense attraction neither Ryan nor Beth expected. Suddenly, the boy with the flawless image risks his dreams-and his life-for the girl he loves, and the girl who won't let anyone get too close is daring herself to want it all....

MY REVIEW:
Daring games taken to a whole new level. ROMANCE level that is. *swooning* Why...oh, why. Can I just kick Beth to the curb and take Ryan for myself?

I absolutely LOVED this book. The way Ryan doesn't give up on Beth and tries his damndest to make her feel loved and open her up, not just to him, but to herself as well is so damned cute! *sigh* where's my Ryan Stone? Baseball player? HELLO?!? HAWT! I will admit one of the things I wasn't hot about, was the fact that it took Beth forever to finally understand, but, hey, character building right? I guess I just wanted a fast HEA. But, then again, I'm a very impatient person.

The little cutsie things that Ryan would do for Beth just had my heart MELTING!

(yes, I would totally over dramatize myself swooning like this)

ME! ME, ME, ME! Yeah, I totally replaced Beth in those, it's-so-fluffy-I-could-DIE moments, while reading this book. KMcGarry definitely knows how to put a big ol' cheesy grin on your face. You know, those grins where you get an unexpected text/call from your boo thang/honey bee/role playing master and you just can't help but smile. Yepp, those. And not just those either. KMcGarry also has you wiping tears from your eyes with the heartbreaking moments in this book as well. WOW. Talk about an emotional roller-coaster. Not in the wow-fuck-me-this-book-was-horrendous, but in the omfg-that-roller-coaster-was-the-BOMB-I'm-getting-on-it-again. Or in this case, totally reading it again ;)

I kinda liked the fact that although Beth had her major issues, so did Ryan. With his ever perfect parents wanting him to do what they want him to do, and him going against the grain and pushing them to their limits had me enjoying the book that much more. I felt sorry for both characters, yeah, Beth has it bad, with her drug addict mom who is stuck with an abusive boyfriend, but in Ryan's world, his problems are big too. What he wants to do with his life and who he wants in his life is his decision not his parents.

From Pushing the Limits to Dare You To, KMcGarry definitely knows what she's doing. Delivering a book that will keep you up well past dawn, hooked on the boiling romance that is building between Beth and Ryan. Katie McGarry gives you another full blown teen drama, filled with indecision, hurt, acceptance and love. If you're into new adult novels, then definitely pick up Dare You To and if you haven't read this series before, go ahead and pick up the first book in the series: Pushing the Limits. 

Click HERE for my review of PUSHING THE LIMITS (Book #1 in the Pushing the Limits series)

MY RATING:

Friday, February 22, 2013

ARC Review: Devil's Bargain by Rachel Caine


*Received from NetGalley*
Devil's Bargain
(Book #1 in the Red Letter Days series)
Amazon | Goodreads | BN

Author: Rachel Caine
Publisher: Silhouette Bombshell (September 28, 2005)
Genre: Adult, Mystery, Urban Fantasy, 331 pages
ISBN-10: 0263857042
ISBN-13: 978-0263857047
ASIN: B000MAH97U
My Copy:
ARC eBook

SUMMARY:

What's the price of a deal with the devil?

Playing by the psychic underworld's rules has cost.

Jazz Callender's whole life just got turned upside down. Her friend Ben's been convicted of a crime he didn't commit, and Jazz is determined to clear his name, even if it means enlisting the help of dark forces.

Enter James, a stranger with a mysterious offer. If Jazz pledges to work for The Cross Society, a shadowy secret organisation, he'll help her save Ben.

But as she's thrust into a world of psychic powers and dangerous magic, Jazz isn't just bargain for her friend's freedom. She's bargaining for her soul too.

And how high a price is she willing to pay?

MY REVIEW:
Jazz Callender has been handed an offer she can't refuse. She needs the money. And they know it. What's she gotta do? Just follow the directions that are given to her via a red envelope. Jazz isn't alone though, she's been given a partner, whether she likes it or not, Lucia who is the opposite of Jazz in every way. But one thing they have in common? They're both being offered something they both really want. All they have to do is sign on the dotted line. And they minus well be signing in blood.

Devil's Bargain is the first book in the Red Letter Days series. It starts off with a bang. Jazz gets down and kicks some ass. All while being buzzed. Pretty badass, right? Rachel Caine slowly drags you into this mysterious world, where people are chess pieces and that opponents playing are masterminds, so to speak. Psychic more like it. Moving ponds and knights where they see fit all to gain the upper hand in this deadly game. While this book starts off with a bang, Caine leads you in slowly. But there is no lack of entertainment. Caine has a firm grasp on you, slowly baby feeding you tidbits of information so that you're not lost.

When you start the book you kind of get the feel and you think you know who the bad guy is, but as the story moves along, the game changes. Ponds are taken off the game board. Knights are defending the queen and king. Rooks are moving stealthily...and then BAM the story changes with it. More information is revealed and you're stuck with a "wtf just happened" kinda face. There is romance in this book. Like the story itself, it's slow in building, but it is building. It's not a big part of the story, but I do get happy when these little scenes come up in the book (My ever beating heart dying for romance lol). When the book ends you're left at a cliffhanger. The final red envelope of this book has you at the edge of your seat wanting more.

I would definitely recommend this book. While browsing NetGalley I saw this beaut and just HAD to request it! And I was approved *happy dancing* I'm no stranger to Rachel Caine, I love her Young Adult works (Morganville Vampires) as well as her Adult works (Weather Wardens). Rachel Caine has no problem working her magic with words and delivering a story with a world so different, you kinda actually wish you lived in it. And that doesn't stop with this series.

MY RATING:

Monday, February 18, 2013

ARC Review: The Guardian of Bastet by Jacqueline M. Battisti


*Received from NetGalley*
The Guardian of Bastet 
Amazon | Goodreads | BN

Author: Jacqueline M. Battisti
Publisher: Carina Press (August 20, 2012)
Genre: Adult, Urban Fantasy, 405 pages

ASIN: B0088NH1Z8
My Copy: ARC eBook

SUMMARY:

Cat-shifter Trinity Morrigan-Caine has discovered a demon is killing supernaturals. Magically challenged, she has every intention of letting handsome Alpha werewolf Gordon Barnes handle it. But after a dying vampire gifts Trinity a mystical amulet, she is drawn into the fray as the legendary Guardian of Bastet, a warrior born when the need arises.

Though Trinity initially rejects the role, she warms to the idea when Gordon agrees to train her—and their passion for each other grows as he teaches her to embrace her animal instincts.

As she begins to accept her destiny and believe in her growing powers, Trinity realizes the danger is even closer to home than she ever imagined—and she and Gordon are going to have to face the demon in a fight to the death...

MY REVIEW:
Jacqueline M. Battisti delivers to you on a some finely printed paper (or screen resolution) a book with some pretty feisty characters and blends them into a world of mythical creatures. (Yes, some of those creatures scream "BITE ME" too.)

The Guardian of Bastet has all your raging supernaturals in one nicely lit up town. You've got your main heroine, Trinity, whom is a cat-shifter. MEEEEOOOWW. Who is the daughter of a powerful Witch and an Alpha Puma daddy. RAAAWR. So, you see where she gets her shifting abilities from.  Not so alpha in her kitty form though. Trinity, as well as her cousin, have been having problems casting spells and doing the whole witchy thing since they were children. And after realizing this, they have forfeited themselves riding the back seat of living a paranormal life.

While Trinity is out patrolling the streets (the only thing she has to do since she's no mighty witch or pack leadin' alpha) at night and keeping the peace, some spooky shit goes down. And she is warned by the oldest vamp in the entire history of the planet (major exaggeration, but the dude is quite old) that something is going down and that she has a role to play. And it's far, far higher than a mighty witch or an alpha pussy cat, thus causing her powers to manifest (oh, yeah I said it...MANIFEST) into something bigger and badder. She is the Guardian of Bastet.

I absolutely loved this book. JBattisti takes you on this journey with all these different paranormal creatures and it's FAN-FKN-TASTIC! It's got a spin, you have this Guardian who is the guardian over all these creatures that go bump in the night and is it easy? Hell no! And it's a learning process for Cat-shifter Trinity Morrigan-Caine, seeing as she had zero magic running in her fingertips, aside from shifting into a cat. Trinity is pretty danged bad ass and she makes some pretty crazy mistakes (but, hey, no one is perfect) and that makes me like her all the more. She's taken the back seat growing up and has decided that shifting into a kitty cat is all she's got going for her, but no siree, she's challenged and put into a path of righteousness (or kickassery?)

I would definitely recommend this book. All your Urban Fantasy lovers out there, you'll love this! It does have its kinky side, so you'll enjoy the romance side of things as well. If you're easily irritated with heroines who don't have there shit together, then this one is going to be a bit tough for you to swallow at first, but believe me, it gets better. 

MY RATING:
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