Category: Review (Page 155 of 297)

BOOK REVIEW- Addicted After All (Addicted #3) by Krista and Becca Ritchie

July 25, 2018 / Arielle / 2 Comments

Addicted After All (Addicted #3)
by Krista and Becca Ritchie
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
Two addicts. One epic love story.

Prepare for the worst.

That’s what Lily and Lo try to do when Jonathan Hale schedules an “important” meeting. The problem: after being swept into the public eye and battling their addictions, they’re not sure what the worst is anymore.

In a sea of many changes—including Ryke & Daisy living with them—Lily realizes that the best part of her fluctuating hormones might just be the worst.

Her sex drive is out of control.

Loren knows that she’s insatiable, but he’s not giving up on her. She’s too much a part of him. And as he carries more and more responsibility, some of the people that he loves doubt his resolve.

In the conclusion to their love story, Lily & Lo stand side-by-side to fight, one last time, for their happily ever after.

I fell in love with Lo like a little girl opening her heart to magic. It always seemed surreal until the moment it became true.

What a ride this series has been. It has been so fun re-reading these books again after having read about their children in the About Us series. While you could read those separately, and even the Calloway Sisters series separately, it makes more of an impact if you had started at the very beginning with Lily and Lo.

And there is a hope, a chance, that he could be more than what I am. That he could be better than me.

Initially I had decided to go back and read this series despite the negative things that I had seen about book one because of how much I fell in love with this family in the Calloway Sisters books. So much so that I felt like I owed it to Lily and Lo. In the other series, which really focuses on Rose and Daisy, I felt like I just didn’t know enough about this couple that had struggled with two very serious addictions for nearly their whole lives. I found myself being put off my Lo’s abrasiveness because I did not understand where it was coming from. I also found myself being annoyed with Lily’s skittish nature and her inability to talk about anything sex related without either turning bright red or hiding. I still came to love them though and connected with them through their talk of all things geek so I wanted a chance to remedy that.

A feeling swirls inside of me—one where you know someone all your life, but in a singular moment they look strangely different. Like you’re unearthing a fragment of them that has never surfaced or been touched before.

By the time that this book came around, the progress that both Lily and Lo have made has been tremendous. Yes, that first book is heartbreaking and hard to read –it’s about two terrible addictions. HOWEVER, if you can weather through it (and I hope you do) it gets better. It’s not all completely smooth sailing, as both of them continue to struggle with their addictions but they TRY. They gain their strong support system and try and they gain hope which is good.

“Fly away with me, Lily Calloway?”
She whispers, “Only if we make-believe that we never, ever have to grow up.”

My favorite part of this book in particular was reading about the pregnancies of Rose and Lily. I almost felt cheated in Fuel the Fire because the last time I had seen the two girls, they had just found out they were pregnant and then then it skipped straight to them having the babies. I wanted to DEFINITELY see a fierce, pregnant Rose but I also wanted to see how Lo and Lily handled it seeing as they weren’t sure if they ever wanted kids. It was delightful. ALSO—that friggen scene where Rose has her baby….INTENSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! CONNOR ♥ Loved it.

“For what it’s worth,” I tell Connor, “it’s kind of extraordinary that you can transcend sexual orientations. You’re like an amoeba.”
“Amoebas are asexual,” he says. “I’m more like a god.”

Another important thing that you get to see in these books are the relationships that form between Lo and Connor and especially, Lo and Ryke. Right away in Kiss the Sky you see that Lo and Connor have this really close relationship and hilarious banter but you never really get the gist of how it all happened. I loved being able to see Connor meeting the two and then how Ryke ends up inserting himself into their lives. It really is a special thing and you can really see how much Lo ends up depending on his brother for help staying sober.

“Or you could write one,” I shoot back, rising to my feet. “Perks of having the Hots for a Sixteen-Year-Old Supermodel and Having to Wait until She Turns Eighteen, Only to be Cock-blocked by Your Bastard Half-Brother.”
I flash a bitter smile.
“That title needs some work,” Connor says, clipping on his Rolex watch. “And that’s if we all agree Ryke can write a full-length novel.”

What I am TRYING to say is that if you have read the Calloway Sisters and fell in love with the characters like I have, you realllllly need to read this series too. It may be hard at first but believe it, it is so worth it being able to get into ALL of their lives, learning about every facet of each of them. I haven’t been able to read anything else since starting this series and am SOOOOO excited to read Some Kind of Perfect (which is basically a 664 page prologue of the three couples growing up and having babies).

“Your name is on her ass,” I state blankly.
“I’m so fucking in love with her,” is all he says. And I believe every word.

BOOK REVIEW: Furyborn (Empirium #1) by Claire Legrand

July 24, 2018 / Cassie / 5 Comments

Furyborn by Claire Legrand
Purchase on: Amazon
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
Follows two fiercely independent young women, centuries apart, who hold the power to save their world...or doom it.

When assassins ambush her best friend, the crown prince, Rielle Dardenne risks everything to save him, exposing her ability to perform all seven kinds of elemental magic. The only people who should possess this extraordinary power are a pair of prophesied queens: a queen of light and salvation and a queen of blood and destruction. To prove she is the Sun Queen, Rielle must endure seven trials to test her magic. If she fails, she will be executed...unless the trials kill her first.

A thousand years later, the legend of Queen Rielle is a mere fairy tale to bounty hunter Eliana Ferracora. When the Undying Empire conquered her kingdom, she embraced violence to keep her family alive. Now, she believes herself untouchable--until her mother vanishes without a trace, along with countless other women in their city. To find her, Eliana joins a rebel captain on a dangerous mission and discovers that the evil at the heart of the empire is more terrible than she ever imagined.

As Rielle and Eliana fight in a cosmic war that spans millennia, their stories intersect, and the shocking connections between them ultimately determine the fate of their world--and of each other.

We all have darkness inside us, Rielle,” he said, his voice rough. “That is what it means to be human.”

Whew. This book was a beast to tackle. It comes in at a whopping 512 pages of non-stop action, following two kick-ass women: Rielle Dardenne and Eliana Ferracore. The book jumps back and forth between Rielle and Eliana and a span of 1,000 years.

From the very start, we are off and running, as we see Rielle handing off her daughter to a young boy before dying by the hands of someone named Corien (more about him later).

After that opening, we jump back to follow Rielle performing in trials to prove she is the Sun Queen, who was foretold in a prophecy.

Two queens will rise. One of blood. One of light.

Through these trials, Rielle is aided and supported by her two friends: Audric and Ludivine. I adored both of these characters. Ludivine was a fantastic supportive friend and very much cared for Rielle. And Audric, oh Audric, was Rielle’s forbidden love. He was entirely swoon-worthy and I enjoyed watching as Rielle and Audric grew closer. During Rielle’s story, we also meet Corien, who at first appears as only a voice in her head and who meet later on in-person. What a fascinating character Corien was — we know what he ultimately does to Rielle based on the prologue, but it was engrossing learning how Rielle and Corien came to know each other.

And then there’s Eliana. I’ve seen a number of other reviewers say they enjoyed Rielle’s story more, but honestly, I was more attached to Eliana’s story. She was entirely unapologetic about who she was and what she was doing to keep her family safe (until she couldn’t); I was also completely enamored with her back and forth with Simon.

“Have you always been this unspeakably irritating?”
“Has your face always looked so temptingly carvable?”

While I definitely enjoyed Eliana’s relationship with her little brother, Remy, and her newfound friendship with Navi, I was very much invested in the complicated relationship between Eliana and Simon. A LOT happens between when they first meet and the end of this book, but I’m very intrigued by what will follow.

But Simon only smiled. “Oh, Eliana,” he murmured, his voice no longer playful, “I want so much more than simply a peek.”

A few other things of note:
-There are some important TW: abuse (child and adult), death/gore/violence, sexual content, slavery, torture, and my VERY least favorite, animal death (I will say, however, the main character does feel quite terribly afterword…but still, UGH)
-I think this book explored what loss means and how that can shape your actions very well. Both Eliana and Rielle experience death early on and it has a large impact on their future decisions and life out look. I really appreciated the subtle nuances for each character as she dealt with her grief and guilt.
-I’m still deciding how I feel about the ending. Obviously there are more books to come, but it just didn’t end how I expected. Especially for Eliana.

All things considered, I really enjoyed this book. I’ll be honest, after the prologue, I found myself struggling to get started from the beginning, especially the drastically different timelines. But once I got near the 40% mark, it started to pick up and as I approached the end, I was very much into it. I look forward to the next installment!

“You are so like her,” he muttered darkly. “I am like myself,” she hissed, “and no one else.”

REVIEW: Over Raging Tides (Lady Pirates #1) by Jennifer Ellision

July 23, 2018 / Jen / 4 Comments

Over Raging Tides (Lady Pirates #1)
by Jennifer Ellision
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
A mythical map. A pirate's quest for revenge.

The pirate crew of the Lady Luck lives by many rules, but chief among them is this: they do not allow men on board.

That’s a rule that first mate and quartermaster Grace Porter is willing to break when a shipwrecked young nobleman offers her information of an omniscient treasure map, stolen from his warship by an enemy vessel. Until now, the map was only the stuff of legend… but with its help, Grace may finally be able to hunt down the Mordgris, the sea monsters who stole her mother away from her.

Unfortunately, some members of her crew have other plans...

To find the magic map and face the Mordgris, Grace will have to confront her past, put the Luck between warring nations, and uncover treachery aboard the ship. And ultimately, her revenge and the destruction of the Mordgris will come at a hefty price: the betrayal of her crew.

Grace promised them they wouldn’t regret this.

She just isn’t sure that she won’t.

Review:

Over Raging Tides was completely consuming and so easy to devour! The writing had an effortless feel to it, which I loved, and each of the characters stood out easily in my mind. So if you like books filled with adventure, mystery, strong women and a man who is so much more than first glance would seem, you definitely have to give this book a try!

“Captain?” My voice is low, waiting for the order.
She grins. “Take it.”
Planks are thrown from our ship to theirs, and like animals loosed from a cage, we storm our way across.

The Lady Luck was an all women’s pirate ship. Grace was first mate and the captain of the ship was Captain Ilene. They had what felt like a mother-daughter relationship and I loved learning about their past. Two other woman captured my attention completely and they were Sam, who seemed like Grace’s only true friend and Cecilia who wanted Grace’s position. While sailing, they ran acros a battle between two ships. And once it was over, The Lady Luck veered towards the loser to hunt for treasure. While searching for treasure Grace saved two brothers, a boy her age and his little brother, and brought them on the ship. Even though no men were allowed on The Lady Luck. And from there an addicting path was torn and I couldn’t help but be glued to the pages to see what was going to happen next.

He scuffs his foot against the deck, but doesn’t have the cowardice to look away from me. “You’re…pirates,” he says, shrugging.
“And?” I cross my arms, waiting for him to go on.
“And all we ever hear of pirates are the atrocities your kind commit. Theft, death…”
“We’re still human. We laugh. We cry. We love.”
“I see that now. But it would be easier if I could still think of you as a heartless lot.”

I liked Grace from the start. She was a strong, brave woman and she took care of those she cared for. I loved that she was a hard worker and even if she didn’t always show it, she had a lot of compassion in her heart. I could easily see Grace being a captain of her own ship someday. But when Grace found herself around Leo, the boy close to her age she rescued, we got to see a more playful side of her. There was definitely something between them, but it was a slow burn and I’m hoping it will turn into more. And while I quickly liked Leo, I still have so much to learn about him. I feel like we’ve only scratched the surface and I would have loved to get into his head or had more scenes between him and Grace. Especially since he turned into someone more than Grace or I expected.

He’s bold, I think as I step away. Too bold. He goes from spoiled weakling to something just this side of dangerous. And I’d prefer him to stay in the safe zone.

Leo and his brother got to stay aboard the Lady Luck since he could help them find a map that would lead them to treasure. But nothing was simple and so many difficulties happened. Between treasure maps, to a male pirate group and even the Mordgris, there was a lot of mysteries and it was fun to look for all of the clues. And while I have some guesses for how it will all pan out, I love that I’m still left unsure if I’m right. Especially in regards to the Mordgris. They were sea creatures who seemed bent on death and had abilities that were terrifying. They could easily haunt ones nightmares.

“Do you mind the company?” Leo asks.
I grin, tossing him a wink so he knows I’m joking when I say, “I think I can stand the company of a spoiled nobleman. That is, if you’re not terrified to be in such close proximity to a pirate.”
His eyes, warm with an emotion that sets a fire to light in me, rove my body. “I think I’ll manage somehow.”

Over Raging Tides was filled with excitement and intrigue and I devoured this book. When I reached that last page, I couldn’t help laughing and covering my face because it ended on a huge cliffhanger. So I can’t wait to see what happens next, I’m very excited for what the future holds!

*I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book, provided by the author. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

BOOK REVIEW: Nowhere Else But Here by Rachel Cotton

July 20, 2018 / Cassie / 2 Comments

Nowhere Else But Here by Rachel Cotton
Purchase on: Amazon
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
“He was reckless. He was exciting. He was Theo.
And he was a breath of fresh air in my otherwise extremely dull life”

What if the missing person is your missing piece?

Rose has always played by the rules – now it’s time to break them.

Life’s easier when you stay away from other people. Rose Valentine knows that. But some people are impossible to ignore. Take Theo Lockhart. He’s handsome, funny and beyond intriguing. He’s a mystery; one that Rose dreams of solving.

Then one night the mystery deepens. Theo turns up on Rose’s doorstep, desperate to hide out at her house. He’s keeping secrets, and Rose has a million questions. Not least – why did he choose to run to her?

If Rose lets him in, she’ll be going against everything she holds true. It’s reckless, risky – and definitely not in the rulebook. But Theo makes Rose long to break the rules After a whirlwind week of brat-pack movies, midnight snacks and non-stop chat, where do Rose and Theo go from here?

Thank you NetGalley, the author Rachel Cotton and the publisher Ink Road for my free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

3.75/5

“Breathe, Rose,” Theo whispered into my ear, and I realised that it was him I was holding on to; I was clutching him like I was drowning and he was the life jacket keeping me from sinking below the water. “Just breathe.”

Meet Theo and Rose. In the beginning of the book, Theo has gone missing and suddenly shows up at Rose’s house, asking for her help. Rose is quite surprised, as she has been nothing more than his chemistry lab partner. So why would he turn to her for help?

And that’s how the story begins. Staying spoiler free, the rest of the book follows the events and ramifications of Rose’s decision to help Theo.

Theo and I were like two ships that were used to passing each other without any interaction, but now we had crashed into one another and we were trying desperately not to sink.

This book is cute. Like really cute. Rose is wonderful and sweet and learns to come out of her shell, while Theo, who is dreamy and damaged and unpredictable, is a great foil. Their scenes are adorable and funny and charming.

Plot-wise, there’s not a ton going on. Most of the conflict stems from characters refusing to just talk to each other or share important information, which then leads to a lack of trust and hurt feelings. However, I honestly didn’t mind too much. I loved Theo and Rose so much that I still found myself enjoying this story even without much happening outside of their relationship.

If you are looking for a cute, fun and quick read, I would definitely recommend this book. However, if you are looking for something with a lot of depth and conflict, look elsewhere.

And, ultimately, I was letting him break down the walls that had taken me for ever to build up so he could worm his way into my hear, capturing it and claiming it for his own.

BOOK REVIEW- Addicted for Now (Addicted #2) by Krista and Becca Ritchie

July 19, 2018 / Arielle / 1 Comment

Addicted for Now (Addicted #2)
by Krista and Becca Ritchie
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
He's addicted to booze. She's addicted to sex... staying sober is only half the battle.

No. More. Sex.

Those are the three words Lily Calloway fears the most. But Loren Hale is determined to be with Lily without enabling her dangerous compulsions. With their new living situation—sleeping in the same bed, for real, together—Lily has new battles. Like not jumping Lo’s bones every night. Not being consumed by sex and his body.

Loren plans to stay sober, to right all of his wrongs. So when someone threatens to expose Lily’s secret to her family and the public, he promises that he’ll do anything to protect her. But with old enemies surfacing, Lo has more at stake than his sobriety.

They will torment Lily until Lo breaks.

And his worst fear isn’t relapsing. He hears the end. He sees it. The one thing that could change everything. Just three words.

No. More. Us.

New Adult Romance recommended for readers 18+ for mature content

“Lo?” Ryke’s voice turns serious. “Hey, talk to me.”
I let out a breath. “Tell me why I shouldn’t.” I pinch my eyes. I want this to end. This torment. These feelings. I want to help Lily without needing something to drown my own thoughts.

“Because you love Lily more than that.”

This book picks up right at the end of Lo’s three month stint at rehab. Lily had already moved in with Rose when Lo left so this is the first time that they will really be tested together since they both made moves to work on their addictions. This is the first book of the series that has both of their POVs which is great because now the reader gets to see firsthand how Lo struggles instead of just seeing Lily’s side of things. I was so glad that his POV was added because in the first book, even though you can clearly see how much he loves Lily, it might be still easy to not like him because let’s face it, he can be a major ass. Once you get to see into his head and how much he struggles and how sometimes even though the first words out of his mouth are meant to hurt a person as much as possible, you realize that he isn’t a bad person. He’s just a fragile human who has an addiction and grew up with a father that has that very same addiction and who could tear Lo down better than anyone else (even if he clearly loves his son—it’s all a pretty messed up and vicious cycle).

Fortunately in this book Lily’s addiction is still a secret so she spends most of the book doing normal things like wading through schoolwork and working for Rose at Calloway Couture. She ended up transferring to Princeton because of her move with Rose and while I don’t think that Lily is dumb, it’s pretty obvious that she only got into Princeton because of her last name (no offense, dear Lily!!). Instead of having Connor the wonder tutor available, she gets stuck with Rose’s jackass friend. Basically I hate him because he gets Lily to cheat by giving her old tests and tries to manipulate Rose/ break up her and Connor’s relationship. He’s the worst—and obviously an idiot if he thought he could break up the nerd stars.

“I don’t know how to live without you.” And I shake my head quickly as tears pool. “And I don’t want to know how. I don’t want to find out.” He is my breath. My soul. My life-force. I have spent forever with him. Being apart is the most unnatural feeling in the world. Three months—I could handle that like a bad itch. Forever without him?

All in all this is basically a transition book that is once again more focused on the characters. While one of the main threads of the book deals with all of the nasty, anonymous tests that Lily and Lo are getting about exposing her addiction, a lot more of it just focuses on the two of them going through their lives while the battle their addictions. Because I read Kiss the Sky first (after Lily’s secret had been exposed) it was actually really nice to read about their lives before they got SUPER chaotic. Obviously they still are really rich and help run their own companies and go to galas…but still. They are safe from the paparazzi and their lives are semi private. Other than their addictions they live relatively “normal” lives.

Certain parts that I loved included Rose and Connor going to different therapists pretending to be Lily and Lo to find the perfect one for Lily. I literally can’t imagine Connor pretending to be an alcoholic with Lo’s attitude bahaha. I also loved their trip to Mexico because we get to see more interactions between Ryke and Daisy and how protective Lo and Lily are. Also there’s the fact that Rose gets drunk so that’s a funny bonus too.

In the end you finally find out who leaks Lily’s secret and it’s pretty devastating for all involved. We see the very beginning of the fallout for Lily and things obviously spiral out of control very quickly. It’s honestly so heartbreaking to see how people treat her..including her own mother and father. What’s also hard is when Lily goes through enough therapy to figure out what might have pushed her down the path she ended up going down. Despite that though, I was reminded how darn funny she is. Sweet Lily is so kind and geeky and I laugh so hard every time she hides underneath Lo’s shirt or climbs up his body like a koala. I love that her and Lo talk about fandoms and and Marvel and that even though Connor is a certified genius, that he doesn’t know what she’s talking about half of the time, lol. Other than the sex addiction I would definitely relate the most to her out of the three sisters. So yes, this might have been one of the “tamest” books of the series but it still was enjoyable to read. Any more pages spent with this group of people is a win for me.

So in Harry Potter’s epic final words, “All was well.”