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BOOK REVIEW – Flat Out Love (Flat Out Love #1) by Jessica Park

BOOK REVIEW – Flat Out Love (Flat Out Love #1) by Jessica ParkFlat Out Love (Flat Out Love #1)
by Jessica Park
Purchase on: Amazon
Add to: Goodreads

I have been asking people constantly for good recommendations for what to read next, and while they have all been good, this is the book I have been waiting for. The books don’t have to be over the top sappy romance (although I love those stories too ;)..), just well-written with the right amount of sass and a compelling story line. I was completely consumed and enthralled in this story and could not put it down. There was a certain amount of relativity that was easy to identify with, thank God, which I have been having a terrible time of lately.

Stunning, breathtaking, beautiful, heartbreaking and the perfect amount of angst and/or heartache are just a few of the words that come to mind when assessing Flat Out Love. Celeste, Matt, Finn, Flat Finn…just the best characters ever-especially Flat Finn lol. Celeste was the most intriguing character to read about, and I truly enjoyed the journey of Julie trying to help her leap out of her comfort zone. My breaking point? When Celeste tells Matty she loves him-can you cue the huge smile and awwwwwwwwwww? I teared up like crazy-nothing like a brother realizing how much his sister loves and idolizes him. I cherish those tender moments, because those are what real life is all about, and I couldn’t help but to relate that to my younger sister and I-the love we share (while when we were younger I swear we fought so much it almost led to hair being pulled out-a complete show of my inner strength as an older, more mature sis-yeah, right *rolls eyes*). You can’t help but to root for all the characters and wish them the very best, and this is a hard thing for the author to accomplish since in many books you just want to smack some sense into at least one of the main people.

An absolutely amazing read and I loved every second of it, even if I did see the ending coming within like….30 seconds lol. But that just goes to show you have much I LOVED this book! I hate complete and utter predictability, yet I couldn’t help but love every minute of the predictability. The perfect mixture of sweet, funny, witty, and entertaining I have ceaselessly been searching for; yet another staple to add to my favorites collection. I don’t know if the online plot could ever work for me again, but this author nailed it, and I am going to enjoy it in the here and now and continue to search for more books that have the stamina to match this one and many other of my long time favorites. I will most definitely be revisiting this read very soon in the near future.

Purchase on Amazon

BOOK REVIEW – Awaken (Abandon Trilogy #3) by Meg Cabot

BOOK REVIEW – Awaken (Abandon Trilogy #3) by Meg CabotAwaken (Abandon Trilogy #3)
by Meg Cabot
Purchase on: AmazoniBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Anything can happen in the blink of an eye. Anything at all.
One. Two. Three.


Blink.

Once upon a time I read literally everything, and I do mean everything, Meg Cabot wrote. I would wait forever for her books to come in and I would read them to the point of exhaustion. My favorite was the Mediator series. Jump twelve years later to 2013 and I still think about her fun, witty writing and why I loved the books so much. I was so happy to find this series and see that she had added some more stories to her long list of awesomeness. I immediately bought Abandon, and while it was okay (it could be dry at times) I knew there was so much potential for the rest of the series.

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BOOK REVIEW – Just One Night (Sex, Love & Stiletto #3) by Lauren Layne

BOOK REVIEW – Just One Night (Sex, Love & Stiletto #3) by Lauren LayneJust One Night (Sex Love & Stiletto #3)
by Lauren Layne
Purchase on: AmazoniBooks
Add to: Goodreads

**ARC kindly provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**


The truth was, she could count her sexual encounters on one hand.
On one thumb, actually.
Because Riley McKenna, sex expert extraordinaire, was exactly one tepid, beer-fueled college encounter away from being a virgin.

Aaaah okay. Something weird is happening here. This is my THIRD Lauren Layne book, and while the beginning did scare me a bit, what with it’s content, I still ended up giving this five stars…for the THIRD time. 3/3.

That’s crazy. I don’t know what it is about his author that makes me so happy while other NA/Contemporary authors don’t, but MAN this woman can write. No matter how skeptical I am of the storyline, she always somehow manages to make me smile like crazy and giggle like some deranged loon.

I don’t want any of them. “I don’t want this to be just another meaningless how-to article.”
“What the hell headline do you have in mind? ‘I Slept with My Brother’s Best Friend and Lived to Tell About It?'”

This story centered around Riley and Sam. Riley is a writer for Stiletto magazine and Sam is her brother’s best friend. Riley’s column centers around sex advice and totally off the wall sexual experiences…so naturally everyone thinks she has a wild and fruitful sex life considering how knowledgeable and realistic her stories are. But what if it’s all a sham? Anyone can write about sex….but doesn’t it take a sex expert to make the articles so noteworthy and helpful and realistic? Or is Riley just a natural at ‘faking’ it?

He turned back around, disappearing into the kitchen, and thank God for that, because letting Sam Compton see her tears was one path she was never going down.
But beneath the tears threatening to overflow was something else. Something deeper and darker.
It was the desire to tell Sam just how wrong about her he was.

And then there’s Sam-the minute he walked into her family’s door she’s had a huge crush on him. Many long years have passed with her pining for the guy who has never seen her for anything other than his brother’s baby sister…but yet she still wants him. So, when Stiletto asks Riley and all the rest of the staff of the magazine to write a ‘personal’ article, Riley knows she needs to end her years of celibacy (and practically virgin-hood) or she won’t have an article to write. So, in the end, she propositions Sam to help her out for ‘just one night’, but what happens when he has been wanting the same things…and what happens when just one night isn’t enough?

Riley ignored her, her eyes scanning for the white shirts of the serving staff. Yeah, so she had a great metabolism. She liked to think it was the universe’s way of evening the score for depriving her of sex.
Ah. There was the crab cake lady.

I’m going to be frank: There are quite a few things I hate in a book. I hate insta-love. I hate alternating POV if not done correctly. I hate books that center only around sex. I hate books where both people are intertwined with the family and fall for one another. Inevitably…this book had all of those-aside from insta-love, that is. But, and I am being as candid as I can be, Lauren Layne takes all of my issues and makes them completely vanish. They both have liked each other for a while? Poof. Gone-don’t care. She propositions him for just sex? Who cares…it’s hot. Oh, another alternating POV book? I LOVE BEING IN HIS SEXY, JEALOUS MIND. Oh, friends of the family and bro’s best friend and his lil’ sis’? All the better for a secret romance. Literally everything I could complain about is handled so well. Even in her last book, Broken, the guy was damaged and mean beyond repair-She made me love him, too. I don’t think this woman could write a bad book. And that’s the most honest thing I’ve said in this review.

This was it. Sex. Making love. Hell, it didn’t matter what she called it. She was finally going to figure out what all the fuss was about.
And then her hands did shake. Oh God. What if she was bad at it?

One point I want to center around that I mentioned above is the sex as a main point in the story. I got really nervous because at one point early in the story…they decide to try it. I mean, it was SO EARLY in the story and I just had these thoughts scrolling through my mind in rapid fire like-‘Oh gosh the whole book is essentially going to center around this night and they are going to do some weird BDSM and….’ yeah that was what I was thinking. But, no! I was SO wrong! Somehow, in every one of her books, she makes the lust and sex tasteful. It’s never overdone, there’s just enough to satiate us. And this book literally centered around sex…now how does one make this work without it being overdone? I don’t know…but she does it. And she makes companionable relationships on top of it to boot.

Riley reclaimed her glass off the table and settled back into the couch. It wasn’t that she didn’t like vegetables. She just liked other stuff better. Like carbs. And fat. And stuff that didn’t taste like, well…healthy.

Some people complained Sam was boring. Why? Because he wasn’t a kinky business man with a throbbing cock? Hmm. I don’t get it. He was kind, caring, flawed, slightly tortured, and he was in the closet about his business plan. He was scared to upset his best friend and yet couldn’t get enough of Riley. He was jealous, protective, and absolutely adorable. A certain puppy scene comes to mind ;). Everyone who knows me knows I’m a sucker for puppies. He made me laugh, he made me swoon, and he made my heart hurt. I don’t understand why not as many people liked him-not every hero can be a flashing neon lights type of guy-he’s simple, understated, he never rushed Riley into sex, and he was kind. I would take him as my own man any day.

“So sneaking in the back door of a man’s home, snooping through his stuff, and then startling the shit out of him isn’t your typical MO?”
“How do you know I snooped through your stuff?”
“Didn’t you?”
“Well, of course,” she said, fishing the cherry out of her drink. “But it was a total waste of time. There was no diary or dirty magazine or leopard-print boxers.”

And, ya know, lastly-I laughed a ton. Again. It’s hard to make conversations funny, but Layne does it. I won’t dwell on it because I have mentioned this a million times for her Redemption series, but I just wanted people to know that the snark and humor was there in spades-as always. I can’t wait to pick up her next work and add it to my collection. She is an amazing author and she never fails to brighten my day. To any who haven’t read a Lauren Layne book-what are you waiting for?? You will most likely find your happy place in one of her novels-take a pick, any of them would suit you.

Reading Order & Links:
Amazon (click on covers), iBooks (click on titles)
***Each book can be read as a standalone, but best enjoyed in order.***
after the kiss lauren layne
After the Kiss
Reviews:
Jen

Chelsea
love the one you're with lauren layne
Love the One You're With
Reviews:

Jen
Chelsea
just one night lauren layne
Just One Night
Reviews:

Jen
Chelsea
the trouble with love lauren layne
The Trouble with Love
Reviews:

Jen

Chelsea

BOOK REVIEW – The Forever of Ella and Micha (The Secret, #2) by Jessica Sorensen

BOOK REVIEW – The Forever of Ella and Micha (The Secret, #2) by Jessica SorensenThe Forever of Ella and Micha (The Secret #2)
by Jessica Sorensen
Purchase on: AmazoniBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:

Ella is back at school, trying to focus on her future and forget the darkness of her past. Still, her ongoing family drama is making it harder and harder to get through the days. All she really wants is Micha, but no way will she let her problems get in the way of his dreams.

Micha is busy touring the country with his band, seemingly getting everything he's ever wanted. But deep down he knows something is missing. Being away from Ella is harder than he expected. And while he longs to have her with him, he won't ask her to leave college just to be at his side.

When Ella and Micha are together, anything seems possible . . . but lately those shared moments aren't so easy to find. When a new tragedy shakes their already fragile world, one of them will make a dramatic choice that could break them apart forever . . .

Review:

***Unfortunately, I will not be finishing this series. The further I get in this series, the further I dislike the characters. The characters are continuing to make the same mistakes again and again, and therefore are going through the same struggles all over again. It’s very disappointing because I truly enjoy the way she writes. ***

People never mean to do things that are hurtful, yet sometimes it just happens, through an intense moment, through brief rationalization, or by simply speaking words that only belong inside one’s head. Or simply by giving up for a second. People hurt each other all the time.

I am so confused, I feel like I read two different books. I LOVED the beginning and then somewhere towards 3/4s of the way into the book everything changed. I didn’t feel the emotions from Ella and Micha anymore. I felt as though I was BEING told the end of their story instead of FEELING the end of their story. The first part of the book I laughed when they laughed, I cried when Ella cried and I was anxious when Ella and Micha were struggling. I felt everything that Ella and Micha felt. Then somewhere along the way their words and actions lost their emotional power. I still enjoyed The Forever of Ella and Micha, I just didn’t love it nearly as much as The Secret of Ella and Micha.

It feels like we’re slipping away from each other, and he was the one thing that brought me back out of my dark place. If he leaves me, I’m not sure I can hold onto the light.

Ella is seeing a psychologist, which is a huge step towards fixing herself. She is trying to move on from her traumatizing past, being ok outside of her comfort zone, and working on slowly forgiving herself. She still struggled emotionally throughout the book and she also continued to push Micha away. Ella made mistakes but at the same point she grew into a better person. Though her growth was one the many reasons I loved Ella, it was the reoccurrence of her spit fire attitude that had me falling in love with her all over again. She can be hilarious when she wants to be! The scene where Micha chooses the song “Closer” by Nine Inch Nails had me laughing so hard. I laughed so hard I couldn’t breathe. Not only because of what took place in that scene but because OH MY GOSH it reminded me of a time in my high school years. When a book reminds you of your past it can be a good thing or a bad thing 🙂 Maybe it wasn’t as funny to everyone else, but I still loved that part of the book.

Micha – With each tear shed, she steals more of my heart, until she owns it completely. I realize that even through the hard times I’m sure we’ll face, I’ll never be able to walk away from her.

And then of course there is Micha. He is still sexy, patient, and thoroughly dedicated to Ella. He is still her knight in shining armor and he is still dealing with his demons. Together they were still (see a theme here?) a beautiful mess. And I was still rooting for their happy ending!

He consumes my thoughts, my body, my dreams – he’s what drives me to be better.

Something happened 3/4s of the way into the book. Nothing dire, nothing that made me hate the characters, nothing that deviated from the flow of the book, but still something happened. Maybe it was me? I don’t know. The passion in their words and the intensity of their actions didn’t exist anymore. There were struggles, hardships and happy moments, just like the beginning of the book, but I felt as though I was just going through the motion of reading and not feeling anything. This was so disheartening. I SO wanted to love the rest of the book, but sadly I didn’t. Instead of being a great book, it was just a good book.

“It isn’t as important to feel great about all the things we do,” I say softly. “But how we feel toward the end when we look back at everything we’ve done.”

I’m hoping to fall back in love with this series so I will continue onward. Hopefully Lila and Ethan will give me the emotional closure I want from a series!

Our Reviews: (The secret of Ella and Micha – Jen) (The Forever of Ella and Micha – Jen) (The Temptation of Lila and Ethan – Jen)

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BOOK REVIEW – The Secret of Ella and Micha (The Secret #1) by Jessica Sorensen

BOOK REVIEW – The Secret of Ella and Micha (The Secret #1) by Jessica SorensenThe Secret of Ella and Micha (The Secret #1)
by Jessica Sorensen
Purchase on: AmazoniBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:

A rule-breaker with a fiery attitude, Ella always wore her heart on her sleeve. Then she left everything behind to go to college, where she transformed into someone who follows the rules, keeps everything together, and hides all her problems. Now it's summer break and she has nowhere else to go but home. But once there, Ella fears that everything she's worked so hard to bury might resurface-especially with Micha living right next door.

Smart, sexy, and confident, Micha can get under Ella's skin like no one else. He knows everything about her, including her darkest secrets. If he tries to tempt the old Ella to return, he will be impossible to resist. But what Ella doesn't realize is that when she left, she took a piece of Micha's heart with her. Now he's determined to win back the girl he lost, no matter what it takes.

Review:

***Unfortunately, I will not be finishing this series. The further I get in this series, the further I dislike the characters. The characters are continuing to make the same mistakes again and again, and therefore are going through the same struggles all over again. It’s very disappointing because I truly enjoy the way she writes. ***

He is my best friend, my soul mate. In a perfect world, full of roses and sunshine we’d be together, but this world is full of broken homes, drunken fathers, and mothers who give up easily.

Sometimes you just need a good book that is full of anguish, sorrow, frustration and the hope of a happily ever after. Ella is still reeling from the horrors of her past. She is desperately trying to shove those memories deep down inside where they will never see the light of day. She honestly believes this can be accomplished by pretending to be someone she is not. Once she returns home her resolve starts to shatter once Micha, her best friend, re-enters her life. I really liked Ella. She has a smart mouth, is fierce, and she grew as a person from the beginning to the end of the book. She learned from some of her mistakes and tried her hardest to emerge as a better person. To me, this is huge. I love that Ella is a fighter and other than a smart-mouth slip up here and there she tries to grow with the help of Micha.

I want to allow myself to breathe again, but I fear the loss of control-I fear I’ll have to feel everything, including my guilt.

The heartache of her world is so vast. Her Dad has become a shell of a man, drinking himself into oblivion. He was always a drunk but she honestly believes it is because of her actions that he is spiraling further down this dark path. Then there is the train wreck that was her mother. Ella carries her mother’s past action on the weight of her shoulders. She can’t ever forgive herself for not being able to rectify that situation. Then you have her brother. They have a non-existent relationship and she believes he blames her for everything that happened one year ago. And then there is Micha. Oh, thank goodness for sweet, loving, loyal Micha.

Micha saw too much of me and it scared me too much to let him in all the way.
As much as I would love to melt into him, it just can’t happen. I can’t open up like that and lose control. I need control.

Micha desperately tries to shatter Ella’s walls. And each attempt made me fall more and more in love with him. He may be struggling with his own demons but he is the knight in shining armor that Ella so desperately needs. His patience, perseverance, dedication to Ella was admirable.

It was an earth shattering kiss, one that stole breaths, stopped hearts, and scared the shit out of me because it surfaced feelings I’d never felt before, ones that rendered me helpless.

This book isn’t a light hearted or fluffy read. Not everyone is going to love it or let alone like it. But I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It’s different than what I normally read and I am definitely looking forward to reading the rest of this series!

Our Reviews: (The secret of Ella and Micha – Jen) (The Forever of Ella and Micha – Jen) (The Temptation of Lila and Ethan – Jen)

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