Tag: Humor (Page 2 of 4)

BOOK REVIEW – Perfect Kind of Trouble (Finding Fate #2) by Chelsea Fine

March 29, 2015 / Jen / 0 Comments

Perfect Kind of Trouble (Finding Fate #2)
by Chelsea Fine
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
Sometimes when perfect falls apart, a little trouble fixes everything . . .

Twenty-one-year-old Kayla Turner has lost everything. After spending most of her life taking care of her ailing mother, she just wants to spot a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. So when her late father-a man she barely knew-leaves her an inheritance, she finally breathes a sigh of relief . . . until she learns the inheritance comes with strings. Strings in the form of handsome playboy Daren Ackwood, her father's protégé. To see any of her inheritance, she's forced to team up with him. From his expensive car to those sexy dimples, Kayla's seen his type before. But Daren isn't who he seems to be . . .

Struggling to make amends for his family's mistakes, Daren has a life more Oliver Twist than Richie Rich these days. He's beyond grateful that James Turner included him in his will, but working with Turner's princess of a daughter to fulfill his cryptic last wish is making Daren wonder if being broke is really so bad. Still, she's just as beautiful as she is stubborn, and the more time he spends with Kayla, the less it feels right being without her. Soon Daren and Kayla begin to wonder if maybe the best gift Kayla's dad could have left them . . . was each other.

Review:

Perfect Kind of Trouble was the perfect kind of book to put a smile on my face. It was exactly what I needed! It was heart-warming, smile inducing and when the last page closed, I had this happy feeling floating around me. There’s a reason I love this author’s writing and that’s because in my eyes she always creates female leads who are like-able and that will have you rooting for them, males who are drool worthy, broken and definitely hard to forget, and a fun, entertaining story-line that makes you want to read the book again and again!

Kayla Turner’s father has passed away. She has traveled from Chicago to Arizona, to not only attend his funeral, but to deal with his will. But Daren Ackwood is involved with the will also. As far as Kayla knows, Daren use to mow her father’s lawn, has a crazy amount of drama clouding his past, and is gorgeous. Now they have to make a choice together. If they want to receive whatever it is that Kayla’s father has left them, they have to team up together. Handcuffed. Little do they know what is in store for them!

An elderly couple walks past us, looking horrified when they see the glinting metal binding us together, and the old woman’s mouth drops open.
I smile at them reassuringly and explain. “We’re not felons,” I say, shaking my head. “We handcuffed ourselves together on purpose.” They look even more horrified. “Not for a kinky reason,” I quickly add. “For money.”
Kayla mutters, “Please stop talking.”

Kayla was so easy to like! She is level headed, careful in her life plans, and thinks things through. She deals with a lot of stigma for being gorgeous, but instead of coming off as stuck-up or trying to use her beauty as an advantage, it nearly hinders her at times. Plus, the fact that she does not put up with any of Daren’s douche-bag ways, made me love her resolve! She puts him in his place again and again, and I almost started to feel sorry for him. Almost.

“Hi. I’m Daren Ackwood— all-around nice guy and legendary lover. Nice to meet you.”
She doesn’t even look at my hand.
“No.” I blink.
“No?”
“No.”

As I said, Darin could be a douche-bag, but then two seconds later his heart would peak out and he verged on the border of being a sweetheart. Probably my favorite aspects of Darin was that he was cocky and charming. He kept asking Kayla for a kiss and to be her friend. Such simple requests, and it was so hilarious when Kayle would turn him down. But there’s more to Darin than meets the eye. What he has going on underneath it all? Oh wow. He truly is a beautiful, broken person inside. His situation and past seemed so real. That it could have happened to anyone in his situation. And with how he handled it all, just made me love him that much more.

I trail my eyes over her face, down her body, and to our joined wrists, oddly satisfied by the fact that she’s literally locked to my side. Twisted, I know. But everything about this girl tangles me up.

This was an adorable, feel good book. I was guaranteed that when Kayla and Darin were in the same area, I got to witness hot sexual chemistry and hilarious banter! But personally, the beginning was a little slow for me, since we have to learn about each of them separately. Thankfully that part doesn’t last too long and shortly after, I found myself snagged and falling for their story. I’m so happy I read this book, and I can’t wait to start Right Kind of Wrong next!

Reading Order & Links: Amazon (click on covers), iBooks (click on titles) & Book Depository (click on book #) *Each book can be read as a standalone, but best enjoyed in order.*
Best Kind of Broken #1 Reviews: Jen	Perfect Kind of Trouble #2 Reviews: Jen	Right Kind of Wrong #3 Reviews: Jen

BOOK REVIEW – Best Kind of Broken (Finding Fate #1) by Chelsea Fine

March 15, 2015 / Jen / 8 Comments

Best Kind of Broken (Finding Fate #1)
by Chelsea Fine
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
SOMETIMES MOVING ON MEANS MOVING IN

Pixie Marshall wishes every day she could turn back time and fix the past. But she can't. And the damage is done. She's hoping that a summer of free room and board working with her aunt at the Willow Inn will help her forget. Except there's a problem: the resident handyman is none other than Levi Andrews. The handsome quarterback was once her friend-and maybe more--until everything changed in a life-shattering instant. She was hoping to avoid him, possibly forever. Now he's right down the hall and stirring up feelings Pixie thought she'd long buried . . .

Levi can't believe he's living with the one person who holds all his painful memories. More than anything he wants to make things right, but a simple "sorry" won't suffice--not when the tragedy that scarred them was his fault. Levi knows Pixie's better off without him, but every part of him screams to touch her, protect her, wrap her in his arms, and kiss away the pain. Yet even though she's so close, Pixie's heart seems more unreachable than ever. Seeing those stunning green eyes again has made one thing perfectly clear--he can't live without her.

Review:

I loved this book. It was beautiful, raw, sexy, funny and utterly heartbreaking. But the most astonishing thing to me, was my ability to connect with the storyline and characters on a level I never have before. Of course I’ve felt characters pain, happiness and horror, but this felt as though their emotions became embedded in my soul. Their joy and despair were mine, long after I closed the book. I’m not sure if it was the seamless writing, the characters that I understood inside and out, or a personal connection I have to what took place in their past, or maybe it’s all three meshed together? But whatever it was, reading this book was truly astonishing. I will remember Pixie and Levi’s story for as long as I live.

Haunted eyes stare back at me in the mirror as I slowly finish shaving.
I wish I would have known back then how significant Pixie was going to be.
I wish I would have known a lot of things. – Levi

Pixie and Levi have known each other forever. They were best friends since childhood. Until an event that was beyond painful and horrifying made them fall apart. But now they are now faced with seeing each other every day. Working and living together is bound to lead them down a path they are unsure of. Because feelings don’t just disappear, they continue to build and now they are a ticking time bomb waiting to go off.

Pixie’s been living here for only twelve days and I already want to stab myself with a spoon. Not because she keeps blowing the fuse, though that reoccurring shenanigan of hers is certainly stab-worthy, but because I can’t do normal around Pixie.
But fighting? That I can do. – Levi

Pixie had me cackling like a mad woman in the first chapter alone. Her inner thoughts, along with the games she played against Levi to annoy him were hilarious. Like tears pouring down my face because I’m laughing so hard hilarious. I loved those moments. And they were much needed because they still drowned from so much pain. The pain you could feel radiating from the both of them was intense and devastating. I have never cried and felt a pain as deep as theirs in a book. It honestly felt as though my heart kept breaking apart and I just needed them to take that step to fix the other, so I could heal too.

My eyes drop to her mouth, her throat, her hands. Every instinct I have is screaming to touch her. To cross the space between us and wrap my arms protectively around her small frame. To shield her from all the bad things, the sorrowful things. All the things I’m made of.
But that can’t happen. We can’t happen. – Levi

But it’s hard to move on when there’s still so much broken history and unsaid words between them. And within that history, is a desire for one another. Their sexual tension was intense! It was fun but edgy, and that combination gave me sweaty palms and a smile that couldn’t be knocked off my face. But in the next instance, the mood would switch and it felt as though they were on the edge of the precipice and I was terrified to breathe. Because I kept thinking it was all going to crash to the ground eventually, and in some irrational way I believed any movement or breath from me would provoke the situation. Oh yeah, I was that deep into this book.

Our eyes meet beneath the dimmed lights, colliding in a tangle of shared emotions too raw to touch. How did we get so broken. – Levi

Even though I was obsessed with Pixie and Levi, I loved that we got to watch their coworkers and best friends became wrapped up in their lives. The familiarity of it all worked perfectly, and they felt like an extension of true “family”. They stuck up, argued, and meddled (loved Mable!) with each other. It was constant entertainment!

I used to know him. I don’t anymore. – Pixie

Best Kind of Broken was a flawless story of ones hopes, crushed hearts, and being lost while desperately trying to find your way out of the dark. It was impossible not to have my emotions tangled throughout these pages and love every broken moment of it. Even the snippets of their past were woven throughout the story beautifully. An important memory placed here and there never once distracted me from the story, and I loved learning as much as I could about their past. Because they use to be the truest of friends, and watching them trying to find their way back to each other was incredible.

Reading Order & Links: Amazon (click on covers), iBooks (click on titles) & Book Depository (click on book #) *Each book can be read as a standalone, but best enjoyed in order.*
Best Kind of Broken #1 Reviews: Jen	Perfect Kind of Trouble #2 Reviews: Jen	Right Kind of Wrong #3 Reviews: Jen

BOOK REVIEW – After the Kiss (Sex, Love & Stiletto #1) by Lauren Layne

February 14, 2015 / Jen / 2 Comments

After the Kiss (Sex Love & Stiletto #1)
by Lauren Layne
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
Julie Greene loves flings. Loves steamy first dates, sizzling first kisses, and every now and then, that first sexy romp between the sheets. Comfy pants, sleepy Sundays, movie nights on the couch? Shudder. But when Julie gets assigned the hardest story of her career—a first-person account of that magical shift between dating and “I do”—she’ll need a man brave enough to give a total commitment-phobe a chance at more.

Normally, Mitchell Forbes would be exactly that man. A devastatingly hot workaholic who tends to stay in relationships for far too long, he should be the perfect subject for Julie’s “research.” But what Julie doesn’t know is that Mitchell is looking to cut loose for once in his life. And the leggy journalist notorious for avoiding love is exactly the type of no-strings fling he’s looking for. In other words, Mitchell is the polar opposite of what Julie needs right now. And, at the same time, he’s exactly what she wants.

Review:

I was extremely giddy while reading this book. It is going on my favorite’s list, and not just because it made me squeal out loud multiple times. I loved the characters she created, the passion you felt from them, the angst between them, I loved every single page of this book! I was completely lost in those pages. At some point, I felt as though my heart was on the line, right along with Julies. Tears became unavoidable, and keeping my fingers crossed while hoping for the best was my only choice. After the Kiss was a beautiful love story that I fell deeply in love with.

“Do you have plans tonight?” he asked.
Tell him you’re busy. It’s too soon to be seeing each other every night of the week. Tell him—
“Nope, no plans.” Idiot.

Julie is on a mission to finding out what happens after that first kiss and first few dates. She’s never cared before, but now she’s left with no choice. If she doesn’t write an article, at the high profile magazine she works at, about how to advance a relationship to the next step, then her arch nemesis’ article will be printed instead. But Julie has only written what she knows. So she needs help finding a man who will take her to that next step, who she won’t get attached to and can dump at the end of it all. Her friend finds her mark. A boring suit who works in Wall Street. But that suit, Mitchel, has other plans. He’s just made a bet with his friend that he can date, woo, and not fall in love or have a long term relationship with the next woman he goes on a few dates with. See, he just got out of another long term relationship. If he wins, then he gets amazing seats to Yankee games, but if he loses then he switches offices with his buddy. Mitchell’s friend sets the mark on Julie. What unfolds is constant entertainment.

It was happening.
After six years with a flawless record, the queen of dating had just done the unthinkable.
She’d failed to land the second date.

Julie is used to being at the top of her game and having control of her dating life. But when Mitchell enters her life, she keeps get shaken around and left a little confused. Mitchell clearly isn’t what she expected, and it was fun to watch Julie slip into the unknown. But there’s so much more to Julie then what meets the eye. She has so many layers buried underneath her. She is pain, she is closed off, yet she is successful and exceedingly skilled in the dating world. Ha, until Mitchell that is. I loved Julie and felt a connection to her, as though she was a close friend. A close friend that I desperately wanted a happily ever after for.

Julie took a deep breath and looked at him again. Maybe she was underestimating him. Julie braced herself and waited for it. The zing, the sizzle. And she felt … absolutely nothing. He was like dry toast.

Mitchell, how deceiving you were. While at first glance he screamed boring and practical, his personality was shockingly wild. Mitchell was control, sexy and a heart of gold…….for the most part. We all have our flaws, so of course Mitchell is going to also. But regardless of his mistakes, it’s impossible not to swoon! I love that he called out Julie when she tried to play games with him. I love when he pushed Julie out of her comfort zone. Oh, and I love that he was downright seductive when he told Julie what to do. Be prepared for Mitchell to win your heart and leave you hot, flustered and fanning your face!

Her hands slid up behind his neck, her nails scraping lightly at his skin as though wanting to mark him. She wanted to leave a mark on him. Mark him the way he seemed to be marking her very soul. Mitchell growled before his mouth slammed down on hers.

After the Kiss was lovely, funny and gut wrenching. Probably one of my favorite things about Lauren Layne books, besides the characters, emotions and storyline, is that she has this amazing ability to make her books hot yet classy. It makes me love her books that much more! This is a fantastic book that I can’t recommend highly enough!

P.S. One of my favorite quotes which is spoilerish…. View Spoiler »

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 Reviews: Jen Chelsea	Love the One You're With Reviews: Jen Chelsea	Just One Night Reviews: Jen Chelsea
The Trouble with Love Reviews: Jen Chelsea

BOOK REVIEW – Isn’t She Lovely (Redemption #0.5) by Lauren Layne

February 8, 2015 / Jen / 0 Comments

Isn't She Lovely (Redemption #0.5)
by Lauren Layne
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
Stephanie Kendrick gave up her whole summer to ace her NYU film school screenwriting course, so she’s pissed to be stuck with a preppy, spoiled frat boy as her writing partner. Then again, with her piercings, black-rimmed eyes, and Goth wardrobe, Stephanie isn’t exactly Ethan Price’s type, either. He’s probably got his eye on some leggy blonde with a trust fund . . . or does he?

As the summer scene kicks off in the Hamptons, Ethan is desperate to make his snobbish mother forget the pedigreed girl who broke his heart. While Stephanie’s a stretch as a decoy, the right makeover and a pastel cardigan just might do the trick. She may not love the idea of playing Ethan’s brainless Barbie girlfriend, but the free rent and luxurious digs make a tempting offer. So does the promise of a ready-made screenplay idea inspired by their charade.

But when Stephanie steps into Ethan’s privileged world, the “acting” begins to feel all too real. The kissing and touching that were intended to fool the Hamptons crowd wind up manipulating them. And Stephanie faces a question she’s too afraid to ask: Is Ethan falling for the real her or for the dolled-up princess he wants to see?

Review:

I laughed, I cried, I fell head over heels in love with Isn’t She Lovely. It was the perfect blend of everything that makes a book fabulous. It was sweet but sexy and hilarious yet serious. And the banter between Stephanie and Ethan was spectacular! I’m still in shock over how much I loved this book!

After an embarrassing run in, Stephanie and Ethan get stuck as partners in a summer college film class where they have to write a script together. Stephanie is a closed-off goth girl who recently just lost out on where she was supposed to live. Ethan is a rich, preppy frat boy who is in desperate need of a fake girlfriend for upcoming family events. In an attempt to not only have material for their school project, Ethan proposes that Stephanie pretend to be his girlfriend in exchange for getting a free place to live in his two bedroom apartment. Sounds innocent enough right? Wrong! Because in the middle of kissing and acting like you love someone, what happens when you start to feel more than you should? When you don’t want it to all be an act anymore? Where do you go from there? Be prepared for an amazing story!

I’m thinking that Ethan Price is putting on a damned good show in an effort to cheer me up. In an effort to make me forget.
But mostly I try not to think about what I’m feeling.
Because what I’m feeling has nothing to do with our charade.
What I’m feeling seems ***real*. – Stephanie**

Stephanie is a multi-layered girl that you can’t help but love and sympathize with. She is quick witted and hilariously sarcastic! She made me laugh time and time again and quite a few of those laughs were so hard that I had tears pouring down my face and couldn’t breathe! But at the same time when she was experiencing self doubt, I felt her pain and just wanted to reach through those pages and hug her. Not like she would let me though haha. Her past and family will tear you apart but at the same time her ability to hold her own and tackle uncomfortable situations will make you so proud of Stephanie. She was a phenomenal character that constantly pulled at my emotions.

She doesn’t finish the sentence, so I turn to glance at her, and … ah, hell, she looks vulnerable. Those wide blue eyes are silently begging me to reassure her that yes, she can pull this off, and yes, she’ll be okay without her black-eyeliner defense against the world.
“You look beautiful,” I say softly. – Ethan

Ethan was a beautifully flawed person. Not only was he gorgeous, but his intentions were breathtaking. He made me weak in the knees how he would tease and banter Stephanie one moment and then the next he would be holding her cheeks in his hands. His past will drag you in, and the sadness of it all is so unfair. It’s hard not to get twisted in everything that is Ethan. He was sweet, stubborn, hilarious and guarded. And when you pair Ethan with Stephanie together, be prepared to be hypnotized and for fireworks to explode right before your eyes!

I want to get back to the easy companionship we had before the trip. Before that kiss. Because now I don’t just have to play pretend when other people are around. I also have to put on a show when we’re alone. And in some ways, the act when it’s just the two of us is that much harder. Who knew that pretending you’re not falling for someone would be so much more difficult than pretending you are.

Isn’t She Lovely is like eating you’re favorite ice cream (or cheesecake for me) while curled up in front of a fire with your favorite throw. I still have a smile on my face and my heart is so happy from all of those sweet, beautiful and heartbreaking scenes. You don’t want to miss this one! Now don’t mind me while I go devour the rest of Laruen Layne’s books!

Reading Order & Links: Amazon (click on covers) & iBooks (click on titles) *Each book can be read as a standalone, but best enjoyed in order.*
Isn't She Lovely Reviews: Jen Chelsea	Broken Reviews: Chelsea	Crushed Reviews: Jen Chelsea Anna

BOOK REVIEW – After the Kiss (Sex, Love & Stiletto #1) by Lauren Layne

August 21, 2014 / Chelsea / 0 Comments

After the Kiss (Sex Love & Stiletto #1)
by Lauren Layne
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

On second thought, Stiletto readers wouldn’t be getting that little bit of wisdom. This was one memory she was saving for herself.
She was starting to worry she wanted to save it all for herself.

Aaaaaaah she’s done it again. By now I assume anyone who has read any of my Lauren Layne reviews is rolling their eyes and saying…Okay, we get it, you LIKE the woman and OF COURSE you gave her book 5 stars. Well, to address issue numero uno-Yes. Yes, I ADORE Lauren Layne and apparently everything she writes. And to defend numero dos-No, it’s not an ‘OF COURSE’ situation. There’s way more to why I have been rating her stories the way I do. I don’t go in thinking, ‘Oh, this is SO guna be a five star, just like her others!!’ It’s more like, ‘Aahh I HOPE this is another five star read JUST like her others and I HOPE it makes me feel the way all of her others did.’ It was and it did.

Julie moved slowly, sliding his glasses off and setting them carefully on her coffee table. Her breath hitched as she got the first close-up look of his eyes. No wonder he kept them covered. Eyes like that could kill a girl.

So, there’s this super popular movie called How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. Heard of it? Yeah. I love that movie. Well, if you ever wanted more, if you ever wished you could have been inside their heads and hear what they’re thinking-this is your opportunity. No, this book isn’t a rip off of that movie, but it is a damn good portrayal of what could have happened behind the scenes. Julie works for Stiletto magazine, and Mitchell is a Wall Street stiff (With NERD GLASSES, might I add-yum). Julie is the ‘first-date’ guru of her magazine and now her boss has ordered her to write an article about the next step-a real relationship. Julie doesn’t do relationships. Ever. Mitchell is recently single after a never-ending line of long-term relationships based on compatibility and what he believes is good for his lifestyle-his checklist, if you will. But when he is challenged by his co-worker/friend to engage in a meaningless fling where he can’t get attached to a girl and has to break it off after a certain amount of dates, Mitchell refuses….until box seat Yankees season tickets come into play in exchange for participating in the bet. What ensues is a fabulous journey about finding everything you never knew you needed through a completely ridiculous search for what you thought you wanted.

He let out a sleepy snort, and Julie stiffened in surprise. He was asleep? She didn’t know whether to be flattered or insulted. Then his arm curled around her waist, pulling her closer, and Julie’s own eyelids began to droop.
Then Julie marked yet another first off her dating checklist: she fell asleep with a perfectly nice man on a quiet afternoon. Not because it was good material for her column. But simply because she wanted to.

One of the many, many reasons I deem these books five star worthy is because of how they make me feel. I can be a tad skeptical and overly judgmental about the books I read sometimes, which begs the question why these books touch me like they do. Why this contemporary romance author has brought me out of my hate for ‘normal’ romances. In truth, I don’t know. Maybe it’s because I read so many bad contemporary/NA/YA romances before deciding to swear them off and pledge allegiance to dystopian/paranormal romances, that when I actually picked up a good, no, excellent, one that I fell head over heels and gave the rest of her series a chance. I’m going to say it was a classic case of right book-right time, but it’s more than that. It’s her stories. They are the same stories that plague the contemporary romance genre, but yet she makes them her own. She has amazing, steamy, butterfly-inducing sex in the stories, and yet it isn’t trashy. It’s so utterly overwhelming that it curls your toes, but then she moves on with the story. She doesn’t let the toe-curling sex command the story. No, she then can focus on what comes after: The cuddling. The love.
That look the hero gives that says
‘I’m falling in love with you.’ Do you know how hard it is to make ME, ME see that look in a book? I never believe it. I love my books and I fall head over heels in love with stories all the time, but that look between two people where they are falling in love? That means something to me to be able to feel the gravid atmosphere of that situation. And that is why her books get five stars. I may not binge on NA/contemporary like my fellow friends, but I know what makes a good story, and Lauren Layne does it beautifully.

Mitchell’s mouth turned sour at the thought of being just another of Julie’s throwaway toys. But hell, that was why he’d picked her, right? This type of casual, meaningless dating was her world.
It was all she’d want or expect from him.
So just why the hell did that bother him so damn much?

I have this thing where, inevitably, I hope and I wish for a certain scenario to unfold and then I not so realistically hope and pray it will happen exactly the way I want….and then when it doesn’t, I kind of pout and then move on. But with LL, either what I WANT to happen actually happens or…and this is 90% of the time the case…she does it better. She makes the ending or a situation unfold with more ferocity than I could EVER have dreamed up. And that is why I love her. Plain and simple. She does what I can’t-She takes the things I didn’t even know I wanted and makes them come to life…and makes them fifty times better.

“Probably for the same reason you balked at it last night,” she said bluntly. “Because it means something.”
He looked at her. Looked away. “I know what it means. Why do you think I suggested it?”
Julie didn’t think it was possible to choke on one’s heart, but it certainly felt like her heart had lodged somewhere near her esophagus. “But last night you said-”
“Last night I was a scared little boy who thought I’d be happy with a quick lay and a few laughs over the occasional dinner.”
“And now?” she whispered.
His fingers drifted over her cheek, a whisper of a touch. “Now I’m a man, spending a quiet evening with a woman I’m crazy about.”

I literally have to decrease my reading speed because I’m trying to absorb every word slowly so as to squeeze every little emotion out of the sentence as if the words will dry up the moment my eyes graze over them. I guess I hadn’t realized I read VERY fast until the moment when I had to slow down to feel I was getting every sensation from the scenes before me. It’s crazy to think a story (or in this case, this authors words) means so much to me that I’m willing to change my whole reading ritual.

She didn’t blame them. She felt dull, listless, and irritable. And while a part of her longed to fix a smile on her face and fake her sparkle, the other part of her was tired of putting on the show.
She felt like she didn’t have a single genuine sparkle left.

Is it weird that the two bets/assignments they had going on didn’t really bother me that much? As in, if it were me and I found out, I don’t think I’d be all, ‘OMG, this is the end of the world! Why did this happen to me?!’ I feel the answer to that question as to what that makes me would be unsavory…so I will ponder that little dilemma at a different time.

“Nothing has ever tasted this good. Never,” she said with a full mouth. “How many calories do you think I burned? Two thousand?”
Mitchell nodded toward an elderly couple sitting on the bench across from them. “Seeing as they passed you about a half mile back, I’d say you burned around fifty.”

So, hats off to Layne for making me give 5 stars to all five of her novels I’ve read. This one by far had the most painful explosion between the two leads, making my heart tear in two, but it was a beautiful disaster and I loved it. I’ve read all the way from frat boy to this successful Wall Street businessman, and I love each and every type of man she’s created. See, but Mitchell? I think he surprised me the most. Major points for that, because I have never been so surprised by a character’s persona…well…ever. He was a Wall Street guy and while I knew he’d be awesome, he was even better than I could have imagined…but I won’t ruin why I was so shocked-you’ll have to read to find out ;). In this story, it was so dramatic and painful that I had an ‘oh, no she di’in’t’ moment with a dramatic gasp (The ‘she’ in question was not the main character, FYI-wanted to make that clear). I was being a tad over-dramatic (as I tend to get) and was a complete mess-pulling my hair out and grasping for them to make up. So, again, I loved this story, so now I need to chill the eff out and try to save literally THE LAST available novel by Layne for a dreary day, because after that it will be at least a couple months before her next release…five down, one to go.

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 Reviews: Jen Chelsea	Love the One You're With Reviews: Jen Chelsea	Just One Night Reviews: Jen Chelsea
The Trouble with Love Reviews: Jen Chelsea

Jen	Chelsea
Arielle	Cassie

Jen	Chelsea
Arielle	Cassie

BOOK REVIEW – Perfect Kind of Trouble (Finding Fate #2) by Chelsea Fine

Synopsis:

Review:

“Hi. I’m Daren Ackwood— all-around nice guy and legendary lover. Nice to meet you.” She doesn’t even look at my hand. “No.” I blink. “No?” “No.”

I trail my eyes over her face, down her body, and to our joined wrists, oddly satisfied by the fact that she’s literally locked to my side. Twisted, I know. But everything about this girl tangles me up.

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BOOK REVIEW – Best Kind of Broken (Finding Fate #1) by Chelsea Fine

Synopsis:

Review:

Haunted eyes stare back at me in the mirror as I slowly finish shaving. I wish I would have known back then how significant Pixie was going to be. I wish I would have known a lot of things. – Levi

Pixie’s been living here for only twelve days and I already want to stab myself with a spoon. Not because she keeps blowing the fuse, though that reoccurring shenanigan of hers is certainly stab-worthy, but because I can’t do normal around Pixie. But fighting? That I can do. – Levi

Our eyes meet beneath the dimmed lights, colliding in a tangle of shared emotions too raw to touch. How did we get so broken. – Levi

I used to know him. I don’t anymore. – Pixie

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BOOK REVIEW – After the Kiss (Sex, Love & Stiletto #1) by Lauren Layne

Synopsis:

Review:

“Do you have plans tonight?” he asked. Tell him you’re busy. It’s too soon to be seeing each other every night of the week. Tell him— “Nope, no plans.” Idiot.

It was happening. After six years with a flawless record, the queen of dating had just done the unthinkable. She’d failed to land the second date.

Julie took a deep breath and looked at him again. Maybe she was underestimating him. Julie braced herself and waited for it. The zing, the sizzle. And she felt … absolutely nothing. He was like dry toast.

Her hands slid up behind his neck, her nails scraping lightly at his skin as though wanting to mark him. She wanted to leave a mark on him. Mark him the way he seemed to be marking her very soul. Mitchell growled before his mouth slammed down on hers.

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BOOK REVIEW – Isn’t She Lovely (Redemption #0.5) by Lauren Layne

Synopsis:

Review:

I’m thinking that Ethan Price is putting on a damned good show in an effort to cheer me up. In an effort to make me forget. But mostly I try not to think about what I’m feeling. Because what I’m feeling has nothing to do with our charade. What I’m feeling seems real. – Stephanie

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BOOK REVIEW – After the Kiss (Sex, Love & Stiletto #1) by Lauren Layne

On second thought, Stiletto readers wouldn’t be getting that little bit of wisdom. This was one memory she was saving for herself. She was starting to worry she wanted to save it all for herself.

Julie moved slowly, sliding his glasses off and setting them carefully on her coffee table. Her breath hitched as she got the first close-up look of his eyes. No wonder he kept them covered. Eyes like that could kill a girl.

Mitchell’s mouth turned sour at the thought of being just another of Julie’s throwaway toys. But hell, that was why he’d picked her, right? This type of casual, meaningless dating was her world. It was all she’d want or expect from him. So just why the hell did that bother him so damn much?

She didn’t blame them. She felt dull, listless, and irritable. And while a part of her longed to fix a smile on her face and fake her sparkle, the other part of her was tired of putting on the show. She felt like she didn’t have a single genuine sparkle left.

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“Hi. I’m Daren Ackwood— all-around nice guy and legendary lover. Nice to meet you.”
She doesn’t even look at my hand.
“No.” I blink.
“No?”
“No.”

Haunted eyes stare back at me in the mirror as I slowly finish shaving.
I wish I would have known back then how significant Pixie was going to be.
I wish I would have known a lot of things. – Levi

Pixie’s been living here for only twelve days and I already want to stab myself with a spoon. Not because she keeps blowing the fuse, though that reoccurring shenanigan of hers is certainly stab-worthy, but because I can’t do normal around Pixie.
But fighting? That I can do. – Levi

“Do you have plans tonight?” he asked.
Tell him you’re busy. It’s too soon to be seeing each other every night of the week. Tell him—
“Nope, no plans.” Idiot.

It was happening.
After six years with a flawless record, the queen of dating had just done the unthinkable.
She’d failed to land the second date.

I’m thinking that Ethan Price is putting on a damned good show in an effort to cheer me up. In an effort to make me forget.
But mostly I try not to think about what I’m feeling.
Because what I’m feeling has nothing to do with our charade.
What I’m feeling seems ***real*. – Stephanie**

On second thought, Stiletto readers wouldn’t be getting that little bit of wisdom. This was one memory she was saving for herself.
She was starting to worry she wanted to save it all for herself.

Mitchell’s mouth turned sour at the thought of being just another of Julie’s throwaway toys. But hell, that was why he’d picked her, right? This type of casual, meaningless dating was her world.
It was all she’d want or expect from him.
So just why the hell did that bother him so damn much?

She didn’t blame them. She felt dull, listless, and irritable. And while a part of her longed to fix a smile on her face and fake her sparkle, the other part of her was tired of putting on the show.
She felt like she didn’t have a single genuine sparkle left.