Waking Up Married, by Mira Lyn Kelly

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“Her first thought: “Who are you?”

It’s the morning after her cousin’s bachelorette party in Vegas and Megan Scott wakes up with the mother of all hangovers. Even worse, she’s in a stranger’s penthouse having woken up with something else as well – a funny, arrogant, sexy…husband!

Up until now, finding even a boyfriend had seemed impossible – been there, got the broken heart, sworn off men for good. Then a few martinis with Carter…no, Connor Reed and she’s gone from first meet to marriage in one night!

Megan wants a lawyer. But Connor’s shocking bombshell?

“I don’t want a divorce.”
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“What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.”

Waking Up Married is a sweet, light, erotic and emotional read.

Sure, this book won’t get any bonus points for originality and I know it is highly unrealistic too, but what can I say, I liked it. It was fun and entertaining and light and sweet. And I liked it.

“All the vital components that make a relationship successful, without any of the emotional messiness to drag it down. It’s about respect, caring and commitment. Shared goals and compatible priorities. It’s about treating a marriage like a partnership instead of some romantic fantasy. It’s about two people liking each other.”

This book had me fanning myself at times, often burst out laughing and smilling like a fool at my Kindle almost all the time. It was a feel good story of two very different people making a very big mistake and making the most of their situation.

“This guy and all his good looks weren’t a part of her plan. So what if he was handsome, or that she’d seen hints of the kind of humor she typically appreciated, or that she was, in fact, married to him? She’d had enough close calls in her life with the men she’d actually known, and she was through with the whole business.”

I fell in love with Megan and Carter…No Connor from the start. Their connection to each other and their growing relationship felt very real and authentic even though their situation was a bit out of the extraordinary. Their feelings for each other felt real to me.

“We’re good together, Megan. It’s not about glass slippers or fairy tales or love at any sight. It’s not about private schools or mutual goals or any of the other things we’ve talked about today. It’s about you and me fitting together. It’s about this feeling of rightness you told me about last night. The one I’ve had since I met you.”

The only remark I’ll make (and it’s something that doesn’t make the story any less good) is that the story ended a little abruptly and I think it deserved an epilogue. It would have been a nice way to end Megan and Connor’s story. But I had a good laugh, especially because of Jeff:

“8:42 p.m….REED: Need you to go to Denver w me.

8:46 p.m….JEFF: In meeting. Give me 1 hr.

8:53 p.m….REED: No can do. Want wife back. Going now. Think I cn talk her into it wth sperm.”

“8:53 p.m….JEFF: R U drinking?
8:55 p.m….REED: Have wht she wants. Solllid plan. Better than hers.
8:56 p.m….JEFF: Leaving now. Wait 4 me.
9:02 p.m….REED: Don’t worry botu it.
9:02 p.m….JEFF: WAIT 4 ME
9:04 p.m….JEFF: PICK UP YOUR PHONE
9:57 p.m….JEFF: You should stop for drink @ that bar in terminal with the big olives B4 flight
10:22 p.m….REED: Hey, UR at the bar. You look pissed.”

I really recommend this book for those looking for a fast, sweet and heart-warming love story. It’s one of those books that’s the perfect read for a weekend or during your vacation.

“And I’m asking you to let me give you a lifetime of what you’ve shown me matters most. Laughter, love, late-night conversations. I’m asking you to be my wife in the most conventional, traditional and time-tested meaning of the word, for as long as we both shall live.”

Wednesday’s Picture

Book Hangover

An Unplanned Lesson (Unplanned #1), by Beth Rinyu

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Nicole Morgan, the new second grade teacher at Pineview Elementary school, has it all together in the classroom; it’s her personal life that she can’t find peace with. Unable to let go of the guilt that she is harboring from her past, she punishes herself by running from all potential relationships.

Her patience is put to the test when Dailan O’Maley the obnoxious but very sexy uncle of one of her students enters her life. She slowly cracks away at Dailan’s crude, crass exterior when they are forced to work together for the sake of his nephew. The two of them learn a lesson in love that neither had planned as they discover that the guilt they are hiding deep inside isn’t the only thing they have in common. Unbeknownst to her, he holds more than just the key to her heart.
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“It’s so amazing when someone comes into your life and you expect nothing out of it and suddenly, there, right in front of you is everything you needed.”

It wasn’t exactly like that for me. I was a little disappointed by this book and quite bored while reading it. And in a weird way it upsets me because I really wanted to like this book.

I mean, when the main male character is an Irish guy with an arrogant and playful streak and a big heart, you kind of have to like the guy. And the whole plot and situation talked to me. So like I said, I was actually looking forward to reading this book when I started it.

I liked the characters a lot. Nicole and Dainan were nice characters to follow and get to know and I was curious to see how their relationship was going to play out.

Their first meeting didn’t actually do much for me but I liked that Dainan didn’t play games and was always straight forward with Nicole concerning his feelings and what he expected of her as we got more deeply into the story. Of course, he was far from perfect, considering a number of reactions he had in the story regarding Nicole, but in truth, it’s Nicole I had a hard time with while reading this book, but I’ll tell you why in a little while.

“Dailon O’Maley had opened his heart to me. Now I had to decide if I wanted to enter.”

The storyline was promising and all, but to me it really felt like that Beth Rinyu wrote what she felt was expected by the readers, and that made it so that I just couldn’t believe in Nicole’s feelings and emotions while reading. Like for instance, when Nicole talks about her feelings. It felt like she was thinking: “Well, that’s what I have to feel now that this happened. Okay, now I feel that way!” It actually came to the point where the story felt a little fake.

Another thing that didn’t work for me was the fact that the story never made my heart race and I was almost never taken by surprise (I say almost, because the ending actually did surprise me a little) and everything felt very predictable (again, except for the end).

I guess what I’m trying to say here is that it wasn’t a bad story in itself and the characters never annoyed me but something was definitely missing for me and the whole thing felt somewhat a little ….clumsy. But this story remains a cute, sweet and quick one that is easy to read (even though I got a little bored with the way the story was told).

Now, I know a book is never read the same way by two readers, so I won’t say don’t read this book, because you might like this one a lot. Unfortunately, it just didn’t work for me and it didn’t make me wanted to read more of Nicole and Dainan’s story in their sequel.

Wednesday’s Picture

Biggest Lie Ever…

The Pact, by Karina Halle

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It all started with a pinky swear…

Linden McGregor is tall, rugged, and gunslinger handsome; a helicopter pilot with a Scottish brogue and charm to spare. He’s also one of Stephanie Robson’s best friends and has fit into that box for as long as she’s known him.

But some relationships can’t be boxed, can’t be classified, can’t be tamed.

Back in their mid-twenties and tired of the competitive hit-or-miss dating scene of San Francisco, Steph and Linden made a pact to marry each other if neither one of them are in a serious relationship by the time they hit thirty.

It sounds like fun and games but as the years to thirty tick past and lovers come and go out of their lives, the pact becomes larger than life.
Sex is inevitable. Friendships are tested. Hearts are on the line.

The pact is about to change everything.
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“Nine years. I’ve been waiting nine years for this. Nine years to finally have you the way I’ve always needed you.”

I’m actually a little sad to say this but I expected more from this book. Not that I didn’t enjoy it, because as a whole, I did. But I can’t say that The Pact by Karina Halle blew me away like the other she wrote did.

“If neither of us are in a serious relationship by the time we are both thirty,” he says, looking at me so dead in the eye that I can’t help but hold my breath, “then we agree to marry each other. Agree?”
I find my voice. “Agree.”

Now I know this book was different from the stuff she usually writes so I didn’t go into it thinking I would get exactly what I was used to read by her. And the subject matter is actually one of my favorite plot settings. But even though there were definitely stuff that did it for me in this book, at the end of it, I wasn’t blown away, even though I enjoyed it.

“The two of you in a marriage? World’s pickiest woman with the world’s biggest manwhore? Yeah, have fun with that.”

I was on board with a lot of things starting this book. I was on board with the whole pact thing. I was on board with the friends falling for each other too. And I was definitely on board for the sex between said two friends falling for each other. What I wasn’t on board for was the drama my dear Linden created that could have been avoided and that kind of spoiled things for me.

“Don’t act like you haven’t been thinking about that kiss every single day since it happened. Don’t pretend you haven’t thought once about what it would be like to do it again. To do more.”

I liked Steph and Linden as characters. Sure they irritated me too because they were so stubborn in their friendship, but I liked them. I loved their connection and how even though they were hot for each other, most of all, they were friends. That’s truly something I like reading about. Two people having an actual connection and friendship as the foundation for their feelings. And that’s what Linden and Steph have in this book.

“That was real. That was something. Tell me you felt something, that you felt what I felt.”
“What did you feel?” I whisper.
He runs a thumb across my lips. “I felt you. The you I’ve always wanted.”

Sure they don’t realize it right away, and once they do they keep denying it with all their might (that’s kind of the downside of friendship growing into something more) which actually annoyed me at some point in the book because their denial of their feelings for each other (or should I say, someone’s denial of their feelings) almost ruined everything here, but (thank God) they eventually see the light!

“He grins at me. I wish he wouldn’t. Sometimes his smile rips the air from my lungs. It’s not an exaggeration. It’s messy, violent and abrupt and I wish it wouldn’t happen because, fuck it, I like breathing.”

It was hard sometimes being in Steph’s shoes. Seeing her lust and then love Linden from afar, with everything it entails. I felt sorry for her, especially when their respective partners got between the two of them, or when they tried to move on from their feelings for each other but just couldn’t. Thankfully, it wasn’t too angsty for me, just enough to make me tell them through my Kindle to just stop making themselves miserable and just be together finally!

“I want her to realize we’re both not with the people we should be. And if she already knows that, I want her to know it’s not too late.”

It was actually the back and forth between Linden and Steph that annoyed me. The fact that they had the worst timing ever in their relationships was irritating in and of itself because they spend half the book being with other people when all they want is to be together. But what really displeased me about this book was the useless drama and heartache Linden forced on himself and Steph out of some stupid and misplaced loyalty to his jealous and immature friend. Here were my thoughts on the matter at the time:

“You fucking idiot Linden! You just told each other you’re in love and just because James McFuckface wakes up 9 years too late you’re bowing out!!!!!! You’re as much of a fuck face as he is then!!!! Bros before hos doesn’t fucking work when love is involved!!!!!”

It’s that part of the book I have in mind when I talk about the difference between this book and Karina’s other work. I’m not used to finding unnecessary drama in her books, so I had a hard time with the bullshit Linden created here.

“This is huge, isn’t it?”
He cocks his head and grins, nodding his head. “Well, the ladies seem to think so.”
I roll my eyes… “I’m serious,” I tell him. “One minute we’re just friends and the next…”
“The next I’m kissing you. And I realize I’ve been a fool for not doing it sooner.”

His constant fear of hurting James and of losing Steph got old, especially when one minute he said stuff like “I love her and  I want to be with her and nothing can stop me from being with her”, and the next he was “sacrificing” himself for his so called buddy. The almost love triangle didn’t help things either here but anyway.

Something that didn’t change though from other books by Karina was the quality of her writing. As always, this woman shows her talent with words. And let’s just say that the sexy bits in this book were really well written too.

“Then again, my head is usually always inappropriate. It’s like a Pinterest page of hot, barely dressed men 24/7 up in there.”

I just wish the plot would have followed. But truly, apart from the fact that those two had the worst timing ever and that Linden screwed up (very badly), the book was good and after the agonizing moments where the characters lost their way, the ending was really sweet and made it all better. The secondary character (even James once he apologized for the bullshit) were cool and entertaining, and sometimes so nice to hate (I’m thinking Linden’s evil girlfriend here).

Now, even though this book wasn’t my favorite by Karina Halle, I’m actually looking forward to getting to know Linden’s brother and his story with Steph’s friend in The Offer. I don’t know why but it already sounds inappropriate enough for me 😉

Almost, by Anne Eliot

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At a freshman party she doesn’t remember, Jess Jordan was almost raped.

…Almost. Very nearly. Not quite. Three years later, Jess has managed to make everyone believe she’s better. Over it. Because she is.

…Almost. Very nearly. Not quite.

Unfortunately, until Jess proves she’s back to normal activities, her parents won’t discuss college. So, she lands a summer internship and strikes a deal with hockey jock, Gray Porter: He gets $8,000. She gets a fake boyfriend and a social life.

Jess has no idea Gray signed on for reasons other than money. She also never expects to fall in love. But Gray’s amazingly hot, holds her hand all the time, and makes her forget that he’s simply doing his job. It’s like having a real boyfriend.

…Almost. Very nearly. Not quite.

Gray Porter is hiding secrets of his own. About Jess Jordan. About why he’s driven to protect her, why he won’t cash her checks, or deny her anything she asks.

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“Number one: Make at least two friends your own age. Number two: Go places besides your room. Number three: Get boyfriend. Number four: Make sure Mom and Dad notice numbers one through three.”

Okay, so, I’m kinda overwhelmed right now.

I just finished the book and it was a lot to take in and those acknowledgements sort of knocked me on the ass! So, where to start?…

I’d say that if you don’t know yet if you want to give a chance to this book or not, then you really should. It was in my to-read list for a very long time, probably a year or so, and I don’t know why I didn’t read it sooner. It wasn’t that I wasn’t convinced that I wanted to read it or whatever. I really don’t know why. But it took some time.
But now that I’ve read it, well I know it wasn’t a mistake at all and I would have liked for someone to tell me to have faith and give it a try.
So here you go: “GIVE IT A TRY!”

“Almost. Almost.
How I hate that word and the way it defines me.
Almost raped. Almost over it. Almost normal.
I can almost forget. Way worse, I can almost remember.”

This book treats a subject that is hard, and at first you’d think that it is a subject that has already been treated in books a million times. But it’s not. Because this book doesn’t talk about rape. It talks about almost rape. And there is a difference. And I think that’s something that is, in a way, not easy to grasp because it almost happened. And this book is all about the difference it makes when it almost happens.

“Lucky. Lucky. Lucky girl.
Nothing happened.
Nothing happened.”

How Anne Eliot dealt with the matter of rape, almost rape, harassment and underage drinking was really well done. How Jess felt for what she did, had done to her and the consequences that resulted of it afterward. How she felt after all this. The psychology in this book was very subtle and well done and you can easily get in Jess’s shoes, even though it’s a stretch.

“YES. I’m mental. This is why I have a list called ‘how to be normal”

It is very well done. You are not overwhelmed by the fact that Jess has been traumatized but at the same time you cannot escape that fact because it changed her. Marked her. Broke her. And she tries her damnest to get back to normal. Hence the pretend boyfriend.

“Person slaughtered: Me.
Method used: Dimple.
The guy has a dimple. Of course he does. To match the Hollywood chin divot. To make the lump on my forehead pound even harder.
Pointes for Gray Porter: 3,000,000-bajallion, trillion to the millionth power.”

It is no easy subject to write about and no easy subject to read about either, but it is so well done that you can read about it and actually enjoy yourself, the story and the characters while reading. The fake boyfriend twist gave this book the lightness it needed I think and I loved falling for Gray the same way Jess did.

“He’s so good at his job, that I’ve fallen for him, the mirage of him being my boyfriend, all of it. Like everyone else. Like an idiot.”

I really loved this book. It was sweet, funny, moving, deep and intense. It’s one of those books that follow you long after you’ve turned the last page.
You will fall in love with Gray and how good he is. You will admire Jess for her courage. And you will remember this book for a very long time.

“I’ll make sure you forget every guy but me, Jess Jordan. And that’s a promise I mean to keep.”

Wednesday’s Picture

Beauty Of Reading

Play With Me (With Me In Seattle #3), by Kristen Proby

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Will Montgomery is a successful professional football player and seemingly has it all. He’s not used to being told no, and certainly doesn’t take no for an answer. So when he turns his charms on his sister’s sexy rocker-chick friend Meg, he’s not only turned down, but met with open hostility, piquing his curiosity and libido. He’s determined to show her that he’s not the arrogant jock she thinks he is, and to get her into his bed.

Megan McBride is not impressed with Will Montgomery, his fat contract, fancy car, or his arrogant public persona. She doesn’t have time for a relationship, and if she’s learned anything in life, it’s that loving means losing, so she guards her heart ferociously. But she can’t deny the overwhelming attraction to the sexy, tattooed athlete, and when Will starts breaking down her defenses and grabs hold of her heart, will she be able to admit her feelings for him, or will her troubled past cause her to lose the first man she’s ever truly loved? ______________________________________________

God that was painful!
My advice for you concerning this book (but probably the serie as a whole) is: DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME!!!!

I came across a review for the first book Come Away With Me, and I should have listened to the reviewer, because she was so so right.

The thing I liked about the book was the cover. That’s it. Of course there were other things that grabbed my attention, like the fact that the male character is an athlete and that they usually do it for me in books, or the city the story sets in, but sadly, even the fact that it happened in one of my favorite place in the world did not save this book, and the cover became the one thing about the book that I enjoyed.

Otherwise the characters were empty and flat and dull and oh so boring. After 29% in the book I started skipping all the descriptions and only read the dialogues it was so painfully bad.

“When I take you, you’ll know exactly what we’re doing, what you’re feeling, and I won’t stop until your legs are shaking and the neighbors know my name.”

I know a quote like this seems like a good sign as to the kind of steam we should get, but I even ended up skipping the sex scenes because it felt empty as well, and those are usually the ones that keep my attention when nothing else does, so it’s saying something that I couldn’t even keep on reading them.

I’m having a really hard time reviewing this book because I could comment on every little aspect of it and how bad it was but I feel like it would be wasting my time even more, so I’ll stop there.

So again, my advice to you is do not read this book and save your time and yourself the unnecessary hardship. But again, if you want to make your own opinion, go ahead. That’s what I did, because I’m stubborn, but now I know I’ll avoid every last book by Kristen Proby. Her brand of writing is really not for me, but it seems to be others’.

Wednesday’s Picture

Back Off

Crushed (Redemption #2), by Lauren Layne

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Lauren Layne’s latest novel about the healing power of redemption tells the story of a crush gone wickedly wrong, proving that what you want isn’t always what you need.

Growing up in New York, Michael St. Claire never expected to spend his twenties wearing cowboy boots. But that was before he learned about his real father, a total stranger with a family in Cedar Grove, Texas. Once in the Lone Star State, Michael meets Kristin Bellamy, who is exquisitely refined and everything Michael always thought he wanted in a woman. The only problem is that Kristin is dating Michael’s new half brother, Devon.

Kristin’s mouthy, curvy sister Chloe has always been in love with Devon Patterson. So when Michael offers to help Chloe break up Devon and Kristin, Chloe agrees to a deal that seems too good to be true. Before long, Chloe finally gets her man, only to make a startling discovery: She no longer wants the guy she had to fight for—she wants the one who stood by her side.

After all he and Chloe have been through, Michael swears he’s damaged goods. Can Chloe convince him that love is worth the risk?
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Out of everything I’ve read by Lauren Layne, the Redemption Series is my favorite. And surprising as it may be, this series is much closer to the YA genre than what I’m used to read but gosh does it work for me. I’m actually kind of sad Crushed will be the last book in this series and that it hasn’t come out in paperback yet. I so want to get my hands on it.

“With Chloe, it’s easy to forget that I’m nobody. Because she makes me feel like somebody.”

Crushed was such a great book. Just so you know, this week I was reading a book and it took me over a week to finish (and that’s kind of a long time for me). I was tired and busy and all and so I got a little behind on my reading. And then I (finally) picked Crushed from my TBR list and it took me about 24 hours to read it. That’s how good this book was.

“Michael, listen. I get it. Nobody’s ever loved you first. You’re tired of being second choice. Or nobody’s choice. I get it. Because nobody ever loved me first, either.”

I was actually really looking forward to Micheal’s story. Olivia’s and Ethan’s were really great ones too but I really wanted to know what was going on in Micheal’s head after he lost his two best friends. And I wasn’t disappointed.

“I’ve tried being someone’s second choice. I can’t do it again.”

Micheal was beautifully broken and in denial. I loved seeing him go from the very dark and numb place he was at the start of Crushed, to the “new” version of himself he found and was forced to show at Chloe’s contact. It was time Micheal faced his demons and he had the chance to find a friend along the way to face them with. Plus he was broody and a bit intense so that’s a plus (at least here it was) but I wish he didn’t think so little of himself and his worth.

“I don’t know why I keep doing that. Coming back to Chloe. She’s annoying as fuck, and yet there’s something strangely calming about her manic personality.”

Now Chloe. Gosh how I loved her. She was so funny and quirky and sweet and lovely. She’s this great loving girl, full of life and sass, and she just brings light and laughter where she goes. I liked her instantly and everything she is was such a delight to read about. I loved how she connected with Micheal even though he (and herself included) didn’t realize it at first. How they became friends and then more, how she was never fooled by Micheal’s attitude and somehow saw right through him, how she brought him back to himself. I just plain loved her. She was a blast to read about and I ate it all up. Basically, I loved her and she was great.

“A girl wants to be loved, sure, and I thought I wanted that. I thought I wanted that from Devon. And now…I don’t know about that. But I do know that I want to be wanted. I want to be wanted by you.”

The two of them made me smile and laugh like a loon. Even when things weren’t great between them I just couldn’t get enough of them. I loved how she never took shit from Micheal and never let him hold back from her. And I certainly loved the sexual tension between them after that first kiss. Daaaaaaaym that first kiss….and that second…but I won’t say more so you have the pleasure of experiencing it for yourself. Just know that Chloe and Micheal together are freaking hot and that sparks usually fly when they come together (pun totally intended).

“I love you best. More than I love anyone. More than you’ve ever been loved.”

I loved getting to know both Micheal and Chloe, separately and together. I have to say though, besides those two, the other characters were a little bit stereotypical. Don’t get me wrong, I liked the book as it was, but if you do read it, it pretty much enfolds like a rom-com, and you definitely feel the movie like ambiance of the book. It was a little bit like that with Isn’t She Lovely and that’s something I liked about this serie), but the end result is that even though we do have two main characters that are well shaped, the secondary ones are a little more stereotyped.

Take Chloe’s (evil) sister Kristin: in short, she’s The Bitch. She’s fake, perfect (at least from afar), has everyone wrapped around her little finger and whatever she desires, she gets (but mainly she gets male attention whereas Chloe… does not). The we have Devon, Chloe’s crush: he’s kind, smart, handsome….but in the end (even though he is all that) he felt a little bit tasteless, at least in comparison to Micheal.

“I don’t think it’s about who loves you first. It’s about who loves you best. And that’s me.”

So there’s that. But in the end, I still enjoyed the book. I especially liked the sexy and almost sexy moments in the book and the ending. And the fact that it was in fact a little bit predictable didn’t bother me …a all. I was glad to read a fluffy, funny and cute love story with a happy ending that felt like I was watching a rom-com where I knew the girl was going to get the guy and I loved it. This book (and this serie) makes for a great summer/beach read. It left me in a very good mood (pretty much the same way certain movies do). It made me smile, laugh and swoon a little. It was sweet and funny with just the right amount of cheesy and seriousness and quite simply, this book was just plain lovely. If you are looking for a nice, funny and cute NA romance, look no further because you’ve found you’re next (three) read(s).