Category: Review (Page 169 of 297)

REVIEW – About That Kiss (Heartbreaker Bay #5) by Jill Shalvis

February 13, 2018 / Jen / 2 Comments

About That Kiss (Heartbreaker Bay #5)
by Jill Shalvis
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
When love drives you crazy . . .

When sexy Joe Malone never calls after their explosive kiss, Kylie shoves him out of her mind. Until she needs a favor, and it’s a doozy. Something precious to her has been stolen and there’s only one person with the unique finder-and-fixer skills who can help—Joe. It means swallowing her pride and somehow trying to avoid the temptation to throttle him—or seduce him.

the best thing to do . . .

No, Joe didn’t call after the kiss. He’s the fun time guy, not the forever guy. And Kylie, after all she’s been through, deserves a good man who will stay. But everything about Kylie makes it damned hard to focus, and though his brain knows what he has to do, his heart isn’t getting the memo.

. . . is enjoy the ride.

As Kylie and Joe go on the scavenger hunt of their lives, they discover surprising things about each other. Now, the best way for them to get over “that kiss” might just be to replace it with a hundred more.

Review:

About That Kiss is my new favorite Jill Shalvis book! The characters captured my heart, the sexual tension between the two of them was scorching hot, and I could not put this book down. I loved that there was a fabulous group of friends, an intriguing mystery, and scenes that made me have tears in my eyes. About That Kiss was such a huge win for me! If you haven’t read this series yet, you can jump in anytime. Each book can easily be read as a standalone, which is always an added bonus!

“What kiss?”
**He gave her a get real look.
“Oh, that kiss.” She shrugged nonchantely as she reached for her water bottle. “I barely remember it.”
“Funny,” he said in a voice of pure sin. “Cuz it rocked my world.”
She chocked on her water, coughing and sputtering. “The mirror’s still not for sale.” she finally managed to wheeze out, wiping her mouth.
*I rocked his world?***

One night, Joe and Kylie ended up sharing a passionate, smoldering kiss. But afterwards, Joe never attempted to contact Kylie because he’s not a relationship type of guy. And Kylie had no plans of letting Joe’s lack of actions hurt her heart. But when something sentimental got stolen from Kylie, she knew that Joe could track it down. He worked for a security company and this was his area of expertise. Yet what started off as a simple search, ended up being something more than either one of them could have imagined.

He grinned. She was teasing him, and for some sick reason he loved it. “You’re also not all that nice,” he said. “And I really like nice.”
“Uh-huh. I bet ‘nice’ is right up there on your list next to, let me guess…a good personality?”
He laughed. “So young and yet so cynical.” he tsked, enjoying the hell out of himself. “You’re assuming the worst of me.”

While Joe was the one working the case, and wanted to keep Kylie safe, Kylie embedded herself into every part of the search. So they ended up spending a lot of time around each other, and I found my heart melting. I loved that we got to watch them slowly learn more about each other. But their interactions weren’t always easy, so fireworks were definitely guaranteed! You see, there was still a lot of tension from that last kiss. And then there was an intense, sexual chemistry between the two of them. It was so much fun watching their slow burn romance play out. And I loved that slowly overtime, a true friendship started to emerge between the two of them.

She was an irresistible dichotomy of sweet charm and heart-stopping sexy, and she threw him off guard with every look, be it a smile or a glare. In fact, he kinda liked when she gave him dirty looks, which meant he was seriously losing his shit. And he never lost his shit.
Never.
Yeah. He was royally screwed and the thing was even knowing that, he didn’t want to walk away because he enjoyed her so much. How crazy was that?

I have to let you know that I absolutely loved Kylie and Joe. Kylie was smart, stubborn, amazing at her job, honest, had the hugest heart ever and was so much fun! I loved all of her little quirks and she was someone that I would have loved to have as a friend. But one of my favorite things about her was how she brought Joe out of his shell. And that’s because Joe was jaded and kept so many parts of himself hidden, because of his past. Yet he had this loyalty, endurance and trust that was so beautiful. He was such a hard worker and such a wonderful brother and son. Ohhhh and I loved that he was very protective of those he loved. So while the two of them were very different from each other in certain aspects, other times they resonated with one other. They way they meshed together was breathtaking.

Vinnie trotted off toward the kitchen, stopping just short of the doorway to lift his paw and poke at the air. When he was sastisfied that he wasn’t going to encounter a glass door, he happily made his way to the water bowl.
“What was that?” Joe asked.
“He has trust issues.”
Joe let out a low laugh. “Well, at least we know where he gets them from.”

But there was so much more in this story that I fell for. I Ioved Kylie’s adorable little dog, Vinnie. He added so much heart and playfulness to the scenes! And I loved this fabulous group of friends that this series revolves around. They feel more like family to me and I loved seeing what they were up to! So now I’m left beyond ecstatic for the next book in this series. It’s going to be about Joe’s little sister and one of his coworkers, Lucas. I already like the both of them so much and I can’t wait to read their story! So yes, I absolutely loved this book and can’t recommend it enough!

PS When Vinnie finally learned to fetch?! Oh my gosh, I was laughing SO hard I had tears pouring down my eyes lol!!

*Book was kindly provided by Avon Books in exchange for an honest review*

Buy Links:

Excerpt:

[scroll-box]

Joe studied her. “I asked you once before, but now I’m going to ask you again. Is there something going
on between you two?”

She tossed up her hands. “Why do you both keep asking me that about each other?”

His eyes narrowed. “I thought nothing was going on.”

“And before today, I could’ve passed a lie detector test on that,” she said.

“What happened today?”

She paused. Not because she had anything to be ashamed of, but because she wasn’t quite sure what
had happened.

“Kylie.”

She sighed. “It’s nothing.”

“Try again,” Joe said and gave her the very male universal go on gesture.

She rolled her eyes. “Fine. He . . . finally made a move on me.”

Joe didn’t budge. Not a blink, not a muscle twitch, nothing, but she could’ve popped corn off the electric tension coming off him.

“Describe ‘made a move,’ ” he finally said.

She crossed her arms. “And again, how is this relevant to my case?”

He just gave her that careful stare again and she thought wow, those eyes of his should be registered as a lethal weapon, because she found herself opening her mouth and spilling her guts. “He kissed me.”

“He kissed you.”

“Yeah,” she said. “Do you know that you often repeat what I say?”

“What kind of a kiss?” he asked.

She was momentarily bewildered. “I don’t know. It was a kiss. A normal kiss. A nice kiss.” She cocked her head at him. “How many kinds of kisses are there?”

He just looked at her for a long moment before coming toward her. He backed her to the wall and pressed his big hands on either side of her head.

“There are many kinds of kisses,” he said.

Her breath had backed up in her throat, where her heart had lodged, pounding wildly. “S-s-such as?”

“Such as this one.” And then he leaned in and covered her mouth with his.
At the touch of Joe’s mouth, Kylie’s brain stopped being capable of rational thought. His tongue gave a knee-weakening stroke against hers and she let out a shockingly needy moan as she clutched at him, fisting her hands in the material of his shirt at his chest. Only when he’d thoroughly plundered and pillaged and left her boneless did he lift his head and
look into her eyes.

“Wow,” she whispered, fully aware she was still holding on to him like he was a lifeline, but the bones in her legs had liquefied. “I mean . . .” She shook her head. “Wow.”

He nodded. “Yeah. So to be clear, that wasn’t ‘a normal kiss’ or even ‘a nice kiss.’ It was a ‘wow’ kiss. Any questions?”

“Just one,” she said softly. “Can I have another?”

Joe didn’t have to be asked twice. His mouth immediately descended again, his fingers sliding into her hair to change the angle of the kiss to suit him. It was a controlled, alpha thing to do, but she had only one thought—nothing about the usually carefully, purposely leashed Joe was in control at the moment.

And she liked it.

She had no idea how long they went at it because she was in absolute heaven. Who knew that the man could use his preferred silent mode to communicate in a way that she finally approved of?

Only when she was completely breathless and about to strip him down to his birthday suit did she manage to pull back.

“Any more questions?” he asked, also a little bit breathless, which was more than slightly gratifying. Dumbly, she shook her head. His eyes softened and he gently he stroked his thumb over her bottom lip. “And FYI? Gib’s an idiot.”[/scroll-box]

About Jill Shalvis:

New York Times bestselling author Jill Shalvis lives in a small town in the Sierras full of quirky characters. Any resemblance to the quirky characters in her books is, um, mostly coincidental. Look for Jill’s bestselling, award-winning books wherever romances are sold and visit her website, www.jillshalvis.com, for a complete book list and daily blog detailing her city-girl-living-in-the-mountains adventures.

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BOOK REVIEW – From Lukov with Love by Mariana Zapata

February 9, 2018 / Arielle / 6 Comments

From Lukov with Love by Mariana Zapata
Purchase on: Amazon
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
If someone were to ask Jasmine Santos to describe the last few years of her life with a single word, it would definitely be a four-letter one.

After seventeen years—and countless broken bones and broken promises—she knows her window to compete in figure skating is coming to a close.

But when the offer of a lifetime comes in from an arrogant idiot she’s spent the last decade dreaming about pushing in the way of a moving bus, Jasmine might have to reconsider everything.

Including Ivan Lukov.

Review:

My mom had always warned me that some people would always be eager to believe the worst. That was the unfortunate and shit truth. But I knew who I was and what I did. I couldn’t find it in me to regret it. At least most of the time. Maybe life would have been a lot easier if I’d had my sister’s sweetness or my mom’s personality, but I didn’t and I never would. You are who you are in life, and you either live that time trying to bend yourself to make other people happy, or… you don’t.

THIS BOOK. *incoherent mumbling* INSTANT TOP FIVE FAVORITE ROMANCE OF ALL TIME YOU GUYS, NO JOKE. I feel like I should apologize in advance for the number of lengthy quotes that will be in this review but if we’re being honest, I had WAY more highlighted and these were the ones I felt like I couldn’t live without. If you don’t end up wanting to read this book solely based on the quotes themselves…..then you must not have a heart, lol. But really.

But I wanted to win. I wanted this. I’d always wanted it. I’d bled for it, cried for it, bruised for it, had broken bones, had concussions, pulled just about every muscle in my body, never made friends, never went to a single school anything, never loved anyone, ignored my family, all for this. For this love that was greater than just about everything and anything I had ever known. For this sport that had given me the confidence to know I could get up after every fall I’d ever take.

I don’t even know where to begin here. I feel like this entire review is just going to be word vomit and fangirling and I am entirely alright with that so without further ado, I’ll dive right in.

This book is about Jasmine Santos. Jasmine is a figure skater with hardcore determination. When we first start the book she’s in a bit of a slump. Her partner of three years ditched her without saying anything and because of her smartass/hardass mouth, she’s inherited the stigma of being hard to work with. Enter Ivan Lukov. Long-time enemy of Jasmine, total babe, world-champion pairs skater, and brother of Jasmine’s only friend (other than her family). It turns out that this tool of a guy (lol he’s really not tho) and his trainer want Jasmine to be the new half of his pair’s team and she’s just desperate enough for a win to agree.

Was I dying? Was this what having you heart broken felt like? Because if it was, I was sure fucking glad I’d never fallen in love before because goddamn. My God.

This was my first book written by Zapata so I really didn’t know what to expect going in other than seeing that it had a good rating already. What I did not expect was to fall so deep in love with these characters and their story that I would be fully immersed for a solid two days.

I’ll start with Jasmine since this book is about her. Right off the bat I loved her. She is so tough and BA and her inner monologues seemed to be pretty similar to my own sometimes (I’m a bit of a potty mouth so if you don’t like strong language, parts of this book might not be fun). You can tell she is SO passionate about figure skating and about her family and all of the sacrifices that she has made/ they have made for her throughout the years. Sometimes she can almost be too stubborn but I never got sick of it. For me, she was too real, too honest to ever dislike. Watching her go through the transformation that she did from cover to cover was incredible. I was so happy for her by the end when she realized that if she was going to win, it was going to be because she finally, truly believed in herself. Ugh what great character development.

“Is that a French bulldog?” We were already on the road and heading toward the nearest major freeway when Ivan nodded, his eyes on the rearview mirror.
“Yes. The diva in the back is Lacey. She’s in time-out. I should’ve left her at home, but she can’t be in the car with anyone else other than Russ, and today’s his day for a ride.”

WHICH BRINGS ME TO IVAN LUKOV. Guys. He is….so good. The verbal sparring that went on between him and Jasmine was HILARIOUS. Oh man I was dying so many times laughing because of the horrible crap they said to each other..and his nickname for her. Lol, sigh. Really though, I also loved watching his journey, or at least the journey of Jasmine (and us as readers through her perspective) actually discovering who Ivan was as a person. He seems like such a stuck up, pretty boy at first until more of Jasmine’s walls get broken down and we see glimpse of this other Ivan. One that takes care of people when they’re sick and has five rescue pets that he treats like children (omg that part made die it was so cute). He is basically everything and to top it all off, is also the reason that Jasmine is able to have faith in herself—because he has an unwavering faith in her. It’s beautiful.

And after a beat, then five, I said, “We’ll win.”
His gaze went even more intense as he said, with no hesitation, “You’re goddamn right we will.” He pressed his mouth, so quick, so hard against me, I didn’t have a chance to react until he pulled back an inch and said, hoarsely, his fingers threading through the damp hair right above the nape of my neck, “I’ll drag you back on the ice if I have to, Jasmine. I swear on my life.” Something about his words made me shake on the inside. Maybe it was the conviction. Maybe it was the anger. The passion. The reality that he wasn’t leaving me any room to not do what he said. Mostly though, it was something else completely. I loved him. I loved this man so much that losing him was going to break my cold, dead heart into so many pieces I was just going to have to stick them in the same box I kept my dreams and carry it around with me forever.

My other favorite part of this book was the Santos family. I come from a really close family myself and always love to read about other families that have close and hilarious dynamics such as this one. They all loved each other so much and meant so much to one another. I just about sobbed when Jasmine and Ivan were talking about how every family member has a specific favorite white Jasmine love them all equally, the good and the bad parts. I’m having a daughter (my first baby) mid-April and while the thought of being a mom is kind of scary, I know as long as I do my best to make sure that she knows that she is always loved and supported like Jasmine’s mom did with all of her children, then I know that I’ll be doing something right.

This was my partner. This was more than my partner. He was my other half. And the only thing I could do to thank him for this gift he’d given me, this knowledge that he thought I was invincible, was to make sure we won. I’d give him the thing he had wanted me for in the first place. I’d give him my fucking all.

So here it is. I honestly could probably go on to fangirl about this for another few thousand words but I hope you don’t need more to convince you. ESPECIALLY SINCE THE OLYMPICS ARE COMING UP. It’s relevant and just a damn good book. I honestly can’t wait to reread it again someday.

BOOK REVIEW – Assassin of Truths (Library Jumpers #3) by Brenda Drake

February 5, 2018 / Jen / 8 Comments

Assassin of Truths (Library Jumpers #3)
by Brenda Drake
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
The gateways linking the great libraries of the world don’t require a library card, but they do harbor incredible dangers.

And it’s not your normal bump-in-the- night kind. The threats Gia Kearns faces are the kind with sharp teeth and knifelike claws. The kind that include an evil wizard hell-bent on taking her down.

Gia can end his devious plan, but only if she recovers seven keys hidden throughout the world’s most beautiful libraries. And then figures out exactly what to do with them.

The last thing she needs is a distraction in the form of falling in love. But when an impossible evil is unleashed, love might be the only thing left to help Gia save the world.

Review:

Assassin of Truth was fast paced, action packed, and a fabulous conclusion to the Library Jumpers trilogy! And in this final review, I wanted to talk about the characters that affected me the most, which were Bastien, Gia and even Arik. But before I start, I have to recommend that you read this final book close to the previous books. There’s a ton of people, locations, facts and clues that were sprinkled throughout the first two books and visited again in Assassin of Truth. So if it isn’t fresh in your mind, you could get confused. Okay, now on with the characters! And of course I’m going to talk about Bastien first!

Before I went inside, Bastien caught my hand and kissed my temple. “Stay strong, Gianna.” It was the first time I saw fear in his striking blue eyes. We’d been through scarier things than this, and he had never flinched. An uneasy feeling settled in my stomach.
“We’ve got this,” I said, holding his stare.

✮Bastien –

I won’t let you face the storm without me. If you fall, I fall. – Bastien to Gia

Sigh. Bastien was EVERYTHING. In case you missed me gushing about him in the first two books, here I go again lol. I loved that Bastien loved Gia fiercely and would do anything to protect her, no matter the cost. And while he showed his devotion in the second book, with his sacrifice, he does it again in this book. How could I not fall harder for him? But that’s not all, I loved that not only is Bastien thoughtful and sexy, but he treats Gia as an equal. He stands right by her side and he respects her. Bastien was everything I could ever want in a book boyfriend and I found myself loving every single thing there was about him.

✮Gia –

More heads bowed as I passed.
That last word sounded like ***salvation*. I was just a girl. How could I be that for them? This was too big for me.**

Gia had such a tough road ahead of her. She had so much growing up to do while having the weight of the world on her shoulders. Yet she preserved again and again. Did she make mistakes along the way? Oh yeah. But that’s one of the many reasons I loved her. She wasn’t perfect and she had still so much learn. Especially when it came to relationships. And while I wanted to knock some sense into her, the few times she butted heads with Bastien, I knew better. Because here’s the HUGE thing about Gia. She always comes to her senses. Even if it took a while for her to assess and analyze everything. And I absolutely loved that about her! But the thing I loved most about her, was even though she was 17, she tried her hardest to be true to who she was and protect those that she loved. Looking back, I’m SO extremely proud of how far she has come since Thief of Lies.

✮Arik –

“Gia.” He grabbed my hands, squeezing them tight around the cold bars. “Come with me. You don’t belong in the middle of this.”
“I was born to be in the middle of this,” I said.- Gia & Arik

Oh Arik. Him and I never really meshed. I never once believed that he was the right guy for Gia. And this book solidified that opinion. We watched as Arik struggled hard in this book. His choices failed him. His blind loyalty failed him. He didn’t trust or have faith in Gia. And he never seemed to grasp when his actions or words hurt her. He had so much learning and growing up to do. And I loved watching him struggle and find his way in Assassin of Truth. I want to say more, but just know that I’m very thankful for how his story wrapped up.

He kissed me deeply, as if it would be the last chance we’d ever have. I wrapped my arms around his neck, wanting desperately to keep him there with me. Tears slipped from my eyes. – Bastien & Gia

But Assassin of Truth encompassed so much more than Bastien, Gia and Arik. There was Emily, Demos, Lei, Jaran, Royston, Deirdre, The Red, Nick, Edgar who was Philip’s guard, Uncle Philip and so many more. And they each added so much to this beautiful story. I cherished each and every one of them. My only hiccup I had with this book was that there were a lot of places and names to remember. And sometimes I got confused or couldn’t place them, even though I knew we had already met them or been there in the past. But regardless, this story was so much fun and I loved all of the magic found in the pages! The ending was beyond fabulous and if there’s ever a future novella showing what everyone is up to, I couldn’t pre-order it fast enough!

*ARC kindly provided by Entangled Publishing:Teen via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

Reading Order & Links: Amazon (click on covers), iBooks (click on titles) & Book Depository (click on book #)
Thief of Lies #1 Review: Jen	Guardian of Secrets #2 Review: Jen	Assassin of Truths #3 Reviews: Jen

BOOK REVIEW – Return Once More (The Historians #1) by Trisha Leigh

February 2, 2018 / Arielle / 8 Comments

Return Once More (The Historians #1)
by Trisha Leigh
Purchase on: Amazon
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
If you could learn the identity of your one true love—even though you will never meet— would you?

Years have passed since refugees from a ruined earth took to space, eventually settling a new system of planets. Science has not only made the leaps necessary to allow time travel, but the process engineered a strange side effect—predicting your one true love.

If you could save your one true love from an untimely death, would you be able to resist?

Sixteen-year-old Kaia Vespasian is an apprentice to the Historians—a group charged with using time travel to document the triumphs and failures of the past—and she can’t resist a peek at her long-dead soul mate in Ancient Egypt. Before she knows it, she’s broken every rule in the book, and the consequences of getting caught could destroy more than just her new romance.

Or would you have the strength to watch him die?

But when Kaia notices a fellow classmate snooping around in a time where he doesn’t belong, she suspects he has a secret of his own—and the conspiracy she uncovers could threaten the entire universe. If her experience has taught her anything, to changing history means facing the consequences. The Historians trained her to observe and record the past, but Kaia never guessed she might have to protect it— in a race across time to save her only chance at a future.

Review:

I actually had read this book for the first time a few years ago, but I feel like it hasn’t reached nearly enough people for how good it is! Check it out ASAP!

Wowwww. Going into this book I had mixed thoughts. I had read some really great reviews and the premise looked great but I was worried about the time travel aspect. Ever since I started watching Doctor Who I have standards on what I think does and doesn’t work when it comes to time travel–I feel like it mostly can be messed up pretty easily. I was very pleasantly surprised that what Leigh did in this book worked out tremendously.

But I wanted to live moments, not just record them.

The main character, Kaia, is training to be a Historian. She lives in different solar system, Earth having been abandoned at least a generation before due to a depletion of resources. In her lifetime they have perfected things like time travel to the past, calculating who a person’s “True One” is, and how to life in a peaceful society with next to no weapons. As a Historian, Kaia and her classmates are charged with traveling to the past to observe and record certain moments in the past to reflect back on and decide how things could have been different in society (which is way cooler than just reading about certain events in a textbook).

Kaia is mostly an average teenage girl who mostly follows by the rules. After her brother runs off their planet and joins with a band of space pirates, she and her family are more closely watched. Her first bout of trouble comes when she turns seventeen and finds out who her “True One” is. A True One is essentially the person who is the most compatible to you in every way. The tricky part is that they could have lived in the past, could live in the present, or could be born in the future. Kaia’s is Caesarion, son of Cleopatra and Caesar. She decides that she wants to meet him–just once, just to see. When she does it’s like nothing she has ever experienced before and she in instantly enamored with this young man. She leaves thinking that she will not return, satisfied to at least meet him once.

Meanwhile, she discovers that Oz, a classmate of hers and “True One” of her roommate, is also going along to other time periods and feels that something is not right about it. She begins to realize that something big is going on that the Elders have been keeping them all in the dark about. Something that could terribly impact all of their lives.

“Tell me a story about the sky.”

Okay feelings timeeeeeeee.

I LOVEDDD this book. Like I said, this was a good example of time travel that makes sense. They can only travel to the past, and they have to make sure to be extremely careful because even bumping or talking to one person could have terrible consequences (WHICH MAKES SENSE!!!). The romantic parts between Kaia and Caesarion were incredibly swoon worthy. Yes, there might have been an insta love connection BUTTTT because they were “paired” as being the most compatible people for each other, you can forgive that. Plus, even though Kaia would like to bring him back with her, both of them realize that that is impossible and accept that. They take the short time that they have together and enjoy it, which I love.

Kaia in general is also a character that I felt like I could easily relate to. She loves her family and friends and wants to do things by the book but also wants to live her own life and take her own risks. I wouldn’t say she is foolish with all of her decisions (even though she should have known better with returning back to her True Love) because I would have made those same decisions too.

Oz and the whole plot about a return to Earth grabbed my attention right away. Leigh gave us just enough to be hooked on the plot and to ensure we come back for the rest of the series. I really hope we get a lot more back story in book two. I was fine with not having it in this one because I felt like we needed to find out about how jumping back in time can cause such consequences and because we had to find out who the characters were in the grand scheme of things. By the end though, Oz was no less a mystery and I’m excited to learn more. Overall I was very impressed and I can’t wait to pick up book two.

It was something we’d lost along the way—the ability to be awed by the unknown, to create myths that made sense of the inexplicable, instead of boiling mysteries down to their basest components.

BOOK REVIEW & GIVEAWAY – Runaway Groom by Lauren Layne

January 29, 2018 / Jen / 1 Comment

I. Loved. This. Book! It was hilarious, sexy and so much fun! So check out my Five Star Review below and enter a fabulous giveaway. Enjoy!

BOOK REVIEW & GIVEAWAY – Runaway Groom by Lauren Layne

Runaway Groom (I Do I Don't #2)
by Lauren Layne
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
For one charming playboy, getting cast on a Bachelor-esque reality TV show is the shock of a lifetime—until he finds love where he least expects it. And now the chase is on!

Gage Barrett’s reputation as a ladies’ man has been greatly exaggerated, but none of that matters after a drunken bet lands him on Jilted, a reality TV show that matches runaway grooms with wannabe brides. Now he’s stuck at a Hawaiian resort with nineteen women competing to drag him back to the altar—and one contestant who’s even more miserable than he is. Gage has no idea how feisty, independent Ellie Wright wound up in the cast, but it’s obvious she hates his guts. And if there’s one thing Gage likes, it’s a challenge. . . .

Ellie can’t believe she let her best friend talk her into exchanging her dignity for a glorified bikini contest. Still, she could use the exposure—her business is struggling—and she’ll probably be one of the first to get eliminated anyway. But Gage isn’t the shallow jerk Ellie anticipated—and he’s in no rush to send her home. As stolen kisses turn into secret trysts, she finds herself losing track of what’s real and what’s for the camera. With the wedding finale looming, this runaway groom is tempting Ellie to start believing in storybook endings.

Review:

Runaway Groom was hilarious, sigh worthy, crazy at times and so much fun! If you’re a fan of the Bachelor, Bachlorette or Lauren Layne, then I have a feeling you’re going to absolutely love this book! Back before I had kiddos, I’d get together with friends, make dinner and we’d eat, talk and laugh while watching those shows. So when I heard that this book was going to be about a Bachelor-esque reality tv show I was sold. I forgot how much I missed this type of drama in my life and I found myself laughing so hard I could barely breathe.

But once, just once, I want someone I care about to look at the crapshoot that is my life, to take in the Jilted contract and the Killboy movie shoots and the never-ending tabloid rumors and say, “Yeah, that stuff sucks, but Gage is worth it.”
I want to be worth it.
Just once.

Famous movie star and player extraordinaire, Gage Barrett, lost a drunken bet which landed him on the tv show Jilted. It’s a lot like The Bachelor, except it’s about a past runaway groom (him) being matched up with potential brides. And in the final episode, there’s to be a wedding. While Gage stuck to his agreement to be on the show, he definitely wasn’t happy to be there. And while he was grumpy about it, a tiny part of him couldn’t help but wonder if maybe this was for the best. His heart was broken in the worst of ways and this could be the perfect distraction he needed. Ohhh I absolutely loved Gage and his wounded, playful, seductive, charming ways.

“Send me home, Gage. Please. It’ll be better for both of us.”
He studies me. “You really want that?”
“I’m a businesswoman, not a groupie.”
He’s silent for a moment. “True. You did compare my eyes to avocados.”
“Exactly. You usually get, what . . . moss?”
His lips twitch, although the smile doesn’t reach his mossy eyes. “Emeralds, mostly.”
I turn away with a snort, opening the door slowly, listening for voices. When I’m met with only silence, I stick my head out.

To start the show off, Gage met all of the possible brides. The shenanigans and drama started right from the get go, well until he met contestant Ellie Wright. You see, Ellie is kinda like Gage, because she was not happy to be there either. She never thought she’d make it as far as she did, and the only reason she was sticking it out was so her business could hopefully get some free publicity. From the first time Ellie and Gage met, they got off on the wrong foot. And it wasn’t the only time that happened lol. The tension and emotions coming off of the both of them created a whole lot of banter that had me smiling, laughing and begging for more.

I want her lips against mine, her body under mine. I want her to sigh my name. I want to make her gasp. I want her to want me back, to fight for me.
But she won’t. I see it in the stubborn set of her chin, the confusion in her eyes, as though she can’t figure out why the hell I’ve singled her out.

But the story isn’t just about the two of them. They’re in the middle of a reality show, and there’s also the producer, crew and all of the other woman. And it was a crazy mesh with lots of drama behind the scenes. The other women ranged from the sweet girl next door, to gorgeous supermodels to bat shit crazy. Although there was wayyyyyyyy more contestants in that last category ha. So we watched, along with Ellie, as these women would go to great lengths to get Gage’s attention or even spend a second of alone time with him. The stuff that they would do was so insanely over the top, yet so perfect for reality tv, that I found myself laughing so hard that I just couldn’t stop the tears pouring down my face. And it kept happening again and again. If you adore hilarious drama, you’re definitely going to get your fill in this book. I absolutely loved it!

For the second time today, my eyes sting with the threat of tears—for myself, yes, but also because I’ve been so damn worried about not letting him hurt me that I haven’t really realized . . . what if I hurt him?
And why does that bother me so much?

Shockingly in the middle of it all, Ellie and Gage found moments where they were alone with each other. Where they were away from Jilted, the cameras and the other contestants. And they started to see a different side to one anther. Yet it’s all so complicated because Gage has a part to play in front of the camera and Ellie is stuck in her horrible assumption of who Gage is as a person. And of course her thoughts are verified when he’s in front of the camera. It was inevitable that feelings got hurt and I found my heart aching for the both of them. But underneath it all, it created a whole lot of emotions and I loved when they were arguing. They were intense and the tension between the two of them was electrifying. It was so addicting and I couldn’t wait to see how it all played out! So yes, I definitely recommend this book. Runaway Groom was sexy, hilarious and oh so addicting. I absolutely loved it and I hope that if you give it a try, you’ll love it just as much as I did!

PS This book is a stand alone. It’s characters aren’t found in the first book in this series, Ready to Run.

*ARC kindly provided by Random House Publishing – Loveswept via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

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About Lauren Layne:

Lauren Layne is the New York Times bestselling author of romantic comedies. She lives in New York City with her husband.

A former e-commerce and web marketing manager from Seattle, Lauren relocated to New York City in 2011 to pursue a full-time writing career. She signed with her agent in 2012, and her first book was published in summer of 2013. Since then, she’s written over two dozen books, hitting the USA TODAY, New York Times, iBooks, and Amazon bestseller lists.

Author Links: WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | T WITTER | GOODREADS | INSTAGRAM