Say I’m Yours by Corrine Michaels

Book Description:

Published: March 25, 2017

Format: Audio/Audible

I spent twenty years waiting for Trent Hennington to open his eyes and see me. But it was all for nothing. He chose to keep himself guarded and let me walk away, proving that my time and efforts were wasted.

I’m done being invisible.
It’s time to move on.

A single dance sets my new reality into motion, and I welcome it. After all, Cooper Townsend is perfect. He’s kind, sexy, and attentive—everything a girl could want.

I thought I got it right this time.
That my heart could mend, and I would be happy.
Apparently, some things really are just too hard to walk away from.

Review –

Say I’m Yours  is a heartbreaking story about not giving up on your own dreams. Grace and Trent have been together for a long time, but Grace wants more than Trent is willing to give her. Choosing her own happiness breaks Grace’s heart, but in the end she’s living her dream.

For the past twenty years Grace and Trent have been “together”, but Grace is ready for more; marriage and her own family. Trent has proven over and over again he won’t give her that so Grace does the hardest thing in her life; walking away from the man she so deeply loves. Dating Cooper is sweet, but also weird. She knows him and his family so well, and Trent sudden change of heart doesn’t make it easy for her. Choosing between the two men seems impossible, but in her heart Grace already has the answer.

My heart breaks for Grace and I feel so sorry for her. She didn’t ask Trent for outrageous things, all she wanted was to build a normal, happy life with him. I felt her hurt when she told Trent it was over for real this time, and like her I was stunned when he did his 180. I know I’m probably in the minority, but I think Trent is a arrogant SOB. Yes, in the story told in this book he’s the standup guy who realizes his mistake and fights for his woman. But he and Grace also have a twenty-year history and during those years he wasn’t always that standup guy. He hurt her time and time again by refusing her into his heart, by making her believe she wasn’t loved. And a few lovely words and romantic promises doesn’t make it okay in my book right away. But I believe Trent is serious with Grace this time, and that he doesn’t just say the words to win her back.

Second Chance Romances are really not my thing but It was free on Audible Escape and so I thought I’d give it a try.

 

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Until You (Fall Away #1.5) by Penelope Douglas

Book Description:

Published: February 18, 2014

Format: Audio/Audible

Have you ever been so angry that hitting things felt good? Or so numb that you actually felt high? The past few years have been like that for me. Traveling between fury and indifference with no stops in between.

Some people hate me for it, while others are scared of me. But none of them can hurt me, because I don’t care about anything or anyone.

Except Tatum.

I love her so much that I hate her. We used to be friends, but I found out that I couldn’t trust her or anyone else.

So I hurt her. I pushed her away.

But I still need her. The sight of her centers me, and I can pool all of my anger into her. Engaging her, challenging her, bullying her…they are my food, my air, and the last part of me that feels anything human.

But she left. She went to France for a year, and came back a different girl.

Now, when I push, she pushes back.

Review –

If you’re expecting Until You to just be a retelling of Bully in Jared’s POV, well, you’re in for a lovely surprise. Until You has so much more than what happens in Bully, and the timeline is longer. We get more of the year that Tate left for Europe (when Jared is totally moping about how Tate won’t be there for him to bully), more flashbacks of Jared and Tate’s childhood , and  more of what happens after the end of Bully. And Penelope Douglas writes this all with Jared’s no nonsense, totally badass POV. 

What is it with boys who are totally hot but complete jerks? And WHY do I still keep on loving them? Maybe it’s the sweet side that they show only to the women they love, or maybe it’s the whole redemption thing, but whatever reason it is, I can’t stop reading about them! And Jared is probably my all-time favorite jerk. He’s the jerk of my dreams. The lovable jerk. Sometimes he takes it too far, but whenever that happens, we know that he feels guilty (even though he tries to be badass and not show it). 

We get to see how devastated Jared felt when he came home from his father’s, and how he kept spiraling downward, and pushing Tate away. But then, when Tate comes back, everything changes for him. It’s not so easy to bully her or to bottle up his feelings for her. Because no matter how many times Jared tries to push Tate away, she is always in his heart. And when he’s finally done with the bullying… He turns on the charm because he knows Tate can’t resist him, just like he can’t resist her, and the two of them together are explosive.

Jared’s lantern tattoo!!  The sweetest thing I’ve ever read. Until You is perfect. Reading from Jared’s POV about how much he loves Tate, and how he tries to redeem himself is just the best thing ever. Penelope Douglas is a goddess for creating one of my favorite book boyfriends.

Fantastic read!

The Ruins by Scott B. Smith

Book Description:

Published: August 1, 2007

Format: Audio

Craving an adventure to wake them from their lethargic Mexican holiday before they return home, four friends set off in search of one of their own who has travelled to the interior to investigate an archaeological dig in the Mayan ruins.
After a long journey into the jungle, the group come across a partly camouflaged trail and a captivating hillside covered with red flowers. Lured by these, the group move closer until they happen across a gun-toting Mayan horseman who orders them away. In the midst of the confrontation, one of the group steps inadvertently backwards into the flowering vine. And at that moment their world changes for ever…

Review –

This is the second time I have listened to this book but since I knew the story it didn’t shock me as much. It is creepy, suspenseful, and terrifying. You know the minute the vines have been crossed the outcome will be very bad and very bad doesn’t begin to describe the end of the story.

Our neighbor has a chain link fence and we have a wooden one and some sort of VINE is growing through his fence and through the slats of ours and every time I rip them down they grow right back. That bought this book to mind so I decided to listen to it again.

If you haven’t read or listen to this you might want to give it a try.  There is a movie but I didn’t even bother to watch it when it came out in 2008 (it so doe not stick to the book)

Five stars.

 

 

 

 

Dirty Little Secret (Forbidden Desires #1) by Kendall Ryan

Book Description:

Published: September 14, 2017

Format: Free Digital Book

She’s much too innocent for me, but that doesn’t stop me from wanting the sweet, young librarian. I’m dominating and possessive, and my control streak runs a mile wide.

The way she looks at me—like I’m one of the heroes in the books she loves, like I’m broken, and she wants to be the one to piece me back together—it only complicates things further. I’m nobody’s hero.

But there’s no denying my tragic past reads like one of her favorite literary classics. It’s raw. Visceral. Captivating. And together, we’re a perfect mess.

How can I resist when the sexual sparks zapping between us set me on fire? The need to control, and claim her force my walls to come tumbling down, but when she learns about my dirty little secret, will my world come crashing down with it?

Review –

I just noticed that I hadn’t published a review on the second (really the first) book in the Forbidden Desires series so let’s blame it on today’s VERTIGO.  It’s crazy today!!!!!

Anyway, I’m glad this book was a freebie because the first half was Dirty Little Tease, which I had already read but goes on to show Gavin trying to seduce Emma Bell, sexy librarian to be his, while his brother Cooper is doing the same thing. Quinn, the oldest brother tells her that she HAS to pick one and let the other down easy. Naturally she chooses Gavin, the bad boy dominant and poor Cooper is never the same. Emma also finds out that Gavin’s first real girlfriend had died under mysterious circumstances in his apartment with ligature marks around her neck and wrists. She keeps her distance from him for a while and gives in and listens to his side of the story and there is a minor HEA.

All in all a good read.

 

Dirty Little Promise (Forbidden Desires #2) by Kendall Ryan

Book Description:

Published: October 9, 2017

Format: E-Book

The secret I’d discovered about sexy billionaire Gavin Kingsley was so big, so haunting wasn’t something I could overcome. I had a decision to make—hear him out and see where things went, or turn to his brother Cooper, who I was fairly certain was in love with me. But something dark inside of Gavin called to something dark inside of me. And I wasn’t willing to just walk away—not yet anyway.

This is the conclusion to Emma Bell’s epic love affair with the alpha and enigmatic Kingsley brothers. Secrets will be exposed, sides will be chosen, and nothing will ever be the same.

Review –

This book concludes the story of Gavin and Emma even though the series will continue and I was less impressed by this installment than the other two because there wasn’t as much sexual angst. There was conflict and dangerous turmoil but in the end you knew there would be a great big HEA. 

I will take a break and read some other genre before coming back to finish the series but I want to find out what the author has in store for Cooper and Quinn Kingsley.

No One Knows by J.T. Ellison

Book Description:

Published: March 22, 2016

Format: Audio/Audible

The day Aubrey Hamilton’s husband is declared dead by the state of Tennessee should bring closure so she can move on with her life. But Aubrey doesn’t want to move on; she wants Josh back. It’s been five years since he disappeared, since their blissfully happy marriage—they were happy, weren’t they?—screeched to a halt and Aubrey became the prime suspect in his disappearance. Five years of emptiness, solitude, loneliness, questions. Why didn’t Josh show up at his friend’s bachelor party? Was he murdered? Did he run away? And now, all this time later, who is the mysterious yet strangely familiar figure suddenly haunting her new life?

In No One Knows, the New York Times bestselling coauthor of the Nicholas Drummond series expertly peels back the layers of a complex woman who is hiding dark secrets beneath her unassuming exterior. This masterful thriller for fans of Gillian Flynn, Liane Moriarty, and Paula Hawkins will pull readers into a you’ll-never-guess merry-go-round of danger and deception. Round and round and round it goes, where it stops…no one knows.

Review –

I will not tell you what happens in this book because there are so many twists and turns and it keeps you on the edge of your seat until the end and then you are left with your mouth agape.

No One Knows will have inevitable comparisons to Gone Girl, but this is a more realistic storyline. It will have readers guessing who can be believed and what are their ulterior motives.  Ellison messes with the character’s head as well as the readers with her many directional path changes.

I will say that I thought that Opryland in Nashville as  the scene of Josh’s disappearance was genius. It is huge and so very easy to get lost in. The author has said that it is a metaphor for this story because anyone who visits there can get turned around and see different things at different times.

I loved this book all the way through and got whiplash from all the twists and turns but loved every minute of it!

YOU HAVE TO READ THIS BOOK!

Five stars.

 

 

The Life We Bury by Allen Eskens

Book Description:

Published: October 14, 2014

Format:

College student Joe Talbert has the modest goal of completing a writing assignment for an English class. His task is to interview a stranger and write a brief biography of the person. With deadlines looming, Joe heads to a nearby nursing home to find a willing subject. There he meets Carl Iverson, and soon nothing in Joe’s life is ever the same.

Carl is a dying Vietnam veteran–and a convicted murderer. With only a few months to live, he has been medically paroled to a nursing home, after spending thirty years in prison for the crimes of rape and murder.

As Joe writes about Carl’s life, especially Carl’s valor in Vietnam, he cannot reconcile the heroism of the soldier with the despicable acts of the convict. Joe, along with his skeptical female neighbor, throws himself into uncovering the truth, but he is hamstrung in his efforts by having to deal with his dangerously dysfunctional mother, the guilt of leaving his autistic brother vulnerable, and a haunting childhood memory.

Thread by thread, Joe unravels the tapestry of Carl’s conviction. But as he and Lila dig deeper into the circumstances of the crime, the stakes grow higher. Will Joe discover the truth before it’s too late to escape the fallout?

Review –

This book is like a tree with many branches – the story is the tree and the sub-story lines are the branches and it makes for a wonderful thoughtful tale of a young man used to taking on burdens beyond his years—none more dangerous than championing a dying  old man convicted of a horrific crime.

What starts out as a college English assignment leads  Joe and his stand-offish neighbor, Lila and his autistic  brother, Jeremy discover that a man in prison for thirty years and recently put in a nursing home because he’s dying of cancer is not guilty of the crime which locked him away. They run into many obstacles but will not be deterred and eventually get the proof they need. Add in a drunk mother, losing his college fund and getting badly beaten by the killer and you have a very thought provoking novel.  I loved it.

I really think you need to add it to your “to be read” list.

 

Prick Tease (Tangled Desires #1) by Misti Murphy

Book Description:

Published: October 21, 2015

Claire Hadley shouldn’t even be on my radar.

There are a million damn reasons why I shouldn’t touch her.

Her brothers are my best friends. We grew up together, under the same roof.

I’m supposed to think of her like a little sister.

I won’t break my loyalty for a f*ck.

Razer Bennington forgot me when he joined the marines.

One kiss. Seven years. I can’t get the taste of him out of my mouth.

I’m meant to be the good girl. A virgin. A role model.

I’m supposed to live up to their expectations.

Screw that…

I’m going to get what I want.

I should be careful what I wish for.

***
Claire Hadley was about to check the perfect fiancé off her checklist.
Until she found him underneath a hooker.
Running home to her brother, she doesn’t expect to be rescued by Razer Bennington.
Seven years ago he left her behind.
But she hasn’t forgotten their last night together. Or the kiss they shared.
Tired of living up to the expectations of others, she throws caution to the wind.
This time she’ll get what she wants.
Even if getting what she wants could destroy him.

Review –

Razer grow up with Claire and her three brothers and has always been treated like a member of the family. Until Claire grow up into a beautiful strong sexy woman.

Will they be able to fight the attraction they have for one other and keep their hands and wicked thoughts to themselves?  Not a chance and that’s what made this such an enjoyable read. The harder they try the more the sexual tension builds and I swear smoke was coming off the pages.

It’s a short standalone book and the first in the Tangled Desires series and  is a hot read with steamy explicit sex scenes.

Adult

Blond young athlete with strong muscles is posing

Asher’s Mark (Resolution Series #1) by Amy Durham

Book Description:

Published: August 24, 2014

Grace Ballard has been in love with Asher Howell for a long time. When she was sixteen, he became her hero, and she fell head over heels for the boy with a ring through his eyebrow, a big heart, and an unending sense of justice. But two years ago he left for college without a backward glance, leaving Grace to wonder if she’d imagined everything.

With no reason to wait for Asher to return, Grace moved on, and Asher’s brother, Adam, stepped in to help her pick up the pieces. But Asher never left her thoughts… or her heart.

Now, two years later, tragedy brings Asher home and back into Grace’s life. The boy who left her behind is now very much a man – a licensed tattoo artist, much to his parents’ dismay, and still carrying a major torch for Grace. But two years apart has changed them both, and the things that happened during their separation may create a divide that can’t be crossed.

Asher and his brother both left their mark on Grace’s heart. Will Asher’s be able to stand the test of time?

Review –

Such a wonderful story about young love, break-up,  tattoos,tragedy, guilt and true love.  It warmed my heart and the ending brought tears to my eyes.  I love it when a book does that.

 

It’s Not Summer Without You (Summer#2) by Jenny Han

Book Description:

Published: April 27, 2010

Can summer be truly summer without Cousins Beach?

It used to be that Belly counted the days until summer, until she was back at Cousins Beach with Conrad and Jeremiah. But not this year. Not after Susannah got sick again and Conrad stopped caring. Everything that was right and good has fallen apart, leaving Belly wishing summer would never come.
But when Jeremiah calls saying Conrad has disappeared, Belly knows what she must do to make things right again. And it can only happen back at the beach house, the three of them together, the way things used to be. If this summer really and truly is the last summer, it should end the way it started–at Cousins Beach.

Review –

We found out, in the beginning of the second book of the Summer Trilogy, that when Conrad came to pick up Belly in December, they drove to Cousins Beach and stayed in the summer-house overnight, but all they did was kiss (a lot)  and drink hot chocolate. The relationship seemed to slowly  fall apart after that  and then after he took her to the prom in May he broke up with her. Now it is July and Jeremiah calls to say Conrad is missing and he wants Belly to help, so of course she’s going to go and help find Conrad. She packed her bags and tells her best friend Taylor to lie to her mother if she called because she is going to be her alibi. Jeremiah picks her up and then they drive to Brown University and talk to Conrad’s roommate, which is no help so they find another friend to ask  and they find out that he mentioned the beach so they know that he’s going to Cousins Beach so that’s where they go.

Once they get there  Conrad is mad that they came and told them to go right back but of course they don’t. They fight and  argue and Conrad says he still is not coming back. The next morning Belly finds out that Conrad’s father is planning to sell the summer-house and that’s why Conrad is here, not to disappear but to save the house. Conrad’s father says that he definitely is going to sell the house and there’s a lot of yelling and arguing but finally he leaves and they decide that they need to have a party because it’s the last night  in the house on the beach, so they get liquor and beer and pizza and Belly gets drunk and at 4 o’clock in the morning calls her mother and tells her the situation and her mother gets in the car and heads for Cousins Beach.

Once Belly’s mother gets there she tries talking some sense into the boys’ father, but to no avail-BUT finally he concedes and says he will not sell it because he now understands that the boys want to keep it as a way to staying close to their dead mother.

Conrad is still acting indifferent to Belly and her feelings for him. It’s true deep inside he knows he loves her but won’t admit it. Belly is hurt and Jeremiah confesses him feelings for Belly and they kiss and Belly is a bit taken aback at how the kiss makes her feel. It’s not said, but it’s implied that form a relationship because at the end of the book two years have passed and Belly is questioning if she has chosen the right boy.

Can’t wait to read the next book.

Five stars *****