"Spin" By: CD Reiss Review

Spin
By: C.D. Reiss

Synopsis

Mafia capo, Antonio Spinelli blew through my orderly life like a cyclone.
Gorgeous and passionate, with a breathtaking brutality, he put me under his spell the moment he touched me, drawing me into his underworld of risk, violence and betrayal.
And I found, just as this sophisticated savage didn’t trust me, I didn’t trust myself. Something happened to me. Some alchemy from the heat between us.
I discovered I was a savage, too

My Thoughts
     Theresa is in a bit of a tailspin. Having just discovered her fiance has been cheating on her, Theresa isn’t in the mood for any new men in her life. Adrift in her romantic life with a job that is lackluster, Theresa finds herself transformed when she meets Antonio.

     Raw, violent, passionate and emotional, Antonio brings out facets of Theresa she never knew existed. When she discovers that Antonio may be more than just a pretty face, maybe even a crime boss in the mafia, she has to decide if having him in her life is worth the pain she may have to endure or the passion she knows will overrule.
    I have a hard time describing this book. While I finished it, I will admit I almost didn’t. The story itself held promise but the execution of the idea fell short of its mark. I had a hard time figuring out who was talking half the time, so I was continually flipping back to even understand what was happening.
     While the story was fast paced and a superb amount of heat if you know what I mean, the actual tale itself seemed choppy and uneven. It looks like the author is planning two more titles in the series and I’ll probably pick up number two to see what happens. I enjoyed the characters, just not the actual story telling.

Book Details

Publisher: Fido Publishing

Date of Publication: March 12, 2014

# of Pages: 240

ISBN: 9785214636

Source: Personal Purchase

Challenges
2014 Contemporary Romance Challenge
2014 New Author Challenge
2014 Ebook Challenge
2014 Where Are You Reading Challenge?

"Raw" By: Belle Aurora Review

Raw

By: Belle Aurora

Synopsis

Growing up the way I did, you’d think I’d be more screwed up than what I actually am.

Soon as I turned sixteen, I left that bump in the road I called home and took my chances on the street.

Best decision I ever made.

Now, at the age of twenty six, I’m educated, employed and damn good at my job.

My friends have become my family. Like me, they know what it’s like to grow up unloved.

But the saying is true.

The world makes way for those who know where they are going.

That’s me.

I know where I’m going and I’ll get there eventually. On my own terms and at my own pace.

But then there’s him.

I feel his eyes on me. I see him hiding in plain sight. He watches me.

He makes me feel.

It’s unconventional.

But it’s real.

I’m sure you’re wondering how a person falls in love with their stalker.

So am I.

This isn’t a story.

This is my life.

My Thoughts

    Lexi, living in Australia, works as a social worker dealing specifically with children and teens. Having lived through a tough childhood and even spending time on the streets, Lexi now does what she can to ensure no other teen has to go through what she went through. Slowly, she has been noticing a man watching her from the shadows. Never really too concerned, until she is attacked outside of her apartment, Lexi’s stalker becomes her savior.

    Twitch has been watching Lexi for a long time. Attracted to her and thinking she’s in need of someone to save  her from herself, Twitch watches her from the shadows. Disreputable an less than law abiding, Twitch is intense and strong in his beliefs. When he finally makes his move to bring himself closer to Lexi, he can no longer keep himself away, even if it might be better for everyone involved.

“Monsters don't always lurk in the shadows. Sometimes they hide in plain sight.”― Belle Aurora, Raw      

    Raw is what I felt when I finished Raw. The ending is emotionally draining and absolutely shocking. I read hundreds of books a year and for something to surprise me this much really tells how different it truly is.

    Lexi and Twitch are both such strong and independent characters. I loved how each complemented one another, even though the story itself was so intense. You have to suspend belief a bit (Twitch had apparently knew Alexa when she lived in the US) but I was happily along for the ride. Super sexy and frankly hot, Twitch has got the gift of speech. A bit creepy with the whole watching thing, I was able to put it behind me because of the pure emotional intensity of the characters.

     Leaving the ending wide open for a sequel, Belle Aurora delivers with Raw. I actually teared up at the ending that was just emotionally jarring and so unexpected. I can’t wait to see what comes next. Excellently written, sexy, and just plain good, Raw was fantastic.

“Kissing her once more, I tell her without hesitation, "if you promise to never leave me, I will love you. And be good to you. I'll treat you like a queen." My queen. I heard somewhere that a king only bows down to his queen. And I'm bowing down to Lexi.”― Belle Aurora, Raw

Book Details

Publisher: Self Published by Author

ISBN: 2940148861119

Date of Publication: January 2, 2014

# of Pages: 333

Source: Personal Purchase

Challenges

2014 Contemporary Romance Challenge

2014 New Author Challenge

2014 Ebook Challenge

2014 Where Are You Reading Challenge - Australia

2014 Erotic Romance Challenge

"Find a Cow Now" By: Janet Stevens and Susan Crummel Review

Find A Cow Now

By: Janet Stevens & 

Susan Stevens Crummel

Synopsis

Ruff! Ruff! Yip! Yip! Dog is rounding up whatever he can find in his urban apartment, even chairs. He is also driving his bird companion crazy with the commotion. Bird sends him to the countryside to find something more appropriate to herd, such as a cow. But since dog has never seen a cow, he finds all the wrong animals. After being pecked by a chicken, spattered with mud by a pig, and walloped by a donkey, Dog needs a friend. By chance a mysterious and kindly animal helps lead him back to the city, only to cause chaos there, before revealing her identity--as a cow!

My Thoughts

     Incredibly cute, funny with earthy illustrations that add relevance to the story, Find a Cow Now is great for early learners. Dog is tired of living in the city, so Bird suggests he go to the country to find himself a cow to herd. As he travels to the country, Dog encounters lots of strange animals he tries to herd but neither the pig nor the chicken want anything to do with him. When he loses his way, he is helped by a large animal who coincidentally, as he learns out later, is a cow.

     Cute story that will appeal to kids who love animals, Find a Cow Now uses simple words and sounds to tell its tale. Perfect for early readers, I personally enjoyed the different animal sounds that organically appeared throughout. The illustrations are very well done and in such a way to give credence to the story. All in all a darn cute story great for librarian’s needing a farm story in story time or that mom needing her next nighttime tale.

2013 Missouri Building Block Nominee

Book Details

Publisher: Holiday House

Date of Publication: September 1, 2012

# of Pages: 32

ISBN: 9780823422180

Source: Library Checkout

Challenges

2014 New Author Challenge

"Rock It" By: Jennifer Chance Review

Rock It

By: Jennifer Chance

Synopsis

Lacey Dawes is a total pro at the talent agency where she works, and it doesn’t hurt that IMO Worldwide Media represents Dante Falcone. The rock god has starred in her fantasies since she was sixteen—and remains her secret crush to this day. So when Dante picks her to be the interim manager on his Dream It tour, Lacey can’t believe her luck. Handling Dante is sure to be the most exquisite, spine-tingling, nerve-wracking mix of business and pleasure ever. Although Dante is grateful for the adoring fans who scream for one more of his full-throttle, soul-searing songs, being surrounded by a cadre of corporate types backstage is wearing thin. Then Lacey shows up. Yeah, she’s organized, smart, quick to get him what he wants before he knows he wants it—but Dante senses there’s something else going on with sweet, sexy Lacey. One kiss tells him what that “something” might be . . . and makes him hungry for more.

My Thoughts

     Lacey Dawes has it all, or so she thinks. Her dream job, in her dream city, with everything going right, Lacey is on top of the world. Her talent agency has just signed with Dante Falcone, one of the hottest rock stars on the planet and coincidentally, her crush since she was a young teen.

    Dante has been a rock idol for so long, its almost as if he’s forgotten how to be a normal guy. When he meets Lacey, he suddenly sees himself wanting to change and be different for her. He wants to be a better person for her and uses her crush for him as a catalyst for a relationship.

      I found this book on Netgalley and was incredibly excited just by the cover alone. Isn’t it gorgeous? Loving rock star heroes, I was sure I would love this book...unfortunately, that’s pretty far from the truth. Pretty cover does not equal pretty book.

     I found both Dante and Lacey to be poor characters. Dante is this mythical thing in Lacey’s mind, she’s followed him for years. Suddenly when faced with touring with him, she jumps at the chance. That part didn’t bother me, but the immediate jumping into bed with him without a how do you do drove me insane.

    Dante felt empty. We are supposed to believe he’s been this star for these many years, but he just seemed juvenile and devoid of character. Again, he’s super attracted to Lacey immediately and doesn’t find the fact she was a rabid fan before creepy at all. Not even enough to be a little cautious, they are just friendly in the biblical sense in the beginning.

    The book had promise and even the story itself isn’t that bad. I enjoy the idea of fan and star falling in love, but with this one it is just poorly executed. Not realistic in the least and the characters fell flat. Poorly executed and flat, this may be one to skip.

Book Details

Publisher: Loveswept

Date of Publication: March 4, 2014

# of Pages: 240

ISBN: 978-0553390957

Source: Netgalley - For Review

Challenges

2014 Contemporary Romance Challenge

2014 New Author Challenge

2014 Ebook Challenge

2014 Where Are You Challenge - Boston, MA

2014 Erotic Romance Challenge

"Who's Who" By: Ken Geist Review

Who’s Who

By: Ken Geist

Synopsis

Over in these pages where it's hard to tell who's who, live six pairs of twins who are the best at what they do.
"Laugh!" say the twins. "We laugh!" So will you.
And you'll giggle as you read while you try to tell who's who.

My Thoughts

     I’m not a children’s librarian, and although I do enjoy a good picture book, I sometimes don’t agree with what’s on the best of lists. I read them purely for enjoyment, and some more than others as with everything in life, are simply better. This is not one of those books. While the illustrations are incredibly cute and playful, the text and rhyming rhythm of the book seemed off to me.

     The story is comprised of small poems in the wildlife kingdom. From a farmyard to the jungle, the author describes two animals’ antics through rhyming. While it was a cute concept, it didn't work for me. The rhyming doesn’t seem well done in places and the story is disjointed.  In contrast, the illustrations are well done in pastel and earth tones. I enjoyed the subtle jokes within the illustrations, especially the twin bats with the “Batman” shirts. So I guess I would suggest this one for the pretty pictures, but definitely not a good one for read alouds or using to learn rhyming words.      

2013 Missouri Building Block Nominee

Book Details

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

Date of Publication: August 7, 2012

# of Pages: 28

ISBN: 9780312644376

Source: Library Checkout

Challenges

2014 New Author Challenge

"The Plan" By: Qwen Salsbury

The Plan

By: Qwen Salsbury

Synopsis

Day of Employment: 359
11:05 a.m.
Location: Cubicles outside Canon’s office.Co-workers: Betting on how long Canon’s new PA will last.Me: No doubts. Ms. Gum-smacker won’t last the day. I need to place my bet.Manolo Blahnik’s New Fall Shoes: Mine. As soon as Madeline hands over my winnings.
Emma Baker has never spoken a word to Alaric Canon, nor has he to her. But she’s studied him every day across the office tundra for almost a year. Canon is hard and fierce, terrifying and beautiful. He’s also the most stern, unforgiving person Emma has ever seen. Emma’s co-workers run a betting pool for Personal Assistant terminations. There’s a separate pot for the day one leaves without crying. Not likely…Canon made a former Navy SEAL cry.
He has high standards and low tolerance. Everyone knows it. Everyone stays away. Everyone who can, that is. Except Emma. She can’t look away. Alaric Canon is the single most attractive man she’s ever seen. Bar none.
Canon has never noticed her. Not once in almost a year. She’s not even a blip on his radar. But she will be. His radar will be blipless no more.
It is a goal. Emma has a plan

My Thoughts

    Emma has worked at her job for a bit more than a year and is no closer to making the notice of her hottie coworker than she was on day one. Alaric Canon is one of the bigwigs at her work, but nothing she does will ever make him actually see her. He’s grumpy and known for being a bear at work, the long line of assistants that have been fired will attest to that, but Emma thinks she knows the real Alaric. She knows his favorite drinks, how he likes coffee, and his penchant for admiring women’s footwear. She isn’t prepared for his it though when she herself is assigned as his new assistant and he really does notice Emma.

     Written in a diary format and from first person, The Plan was really different than what I’m used to. The story format allowed for us to go back in time seamlessly and I enjoyed how the different segments were broken up. The author would preface each section with a time or a date and it almost felt as if I was reading it in real time.

   The characters were hilariously funny and incredibly sincere. Emma has an absolute crush on Alaric and you yearn for his attention as she does. When she  goes with Alaric on a business trip to Kansas City, you wince when you think he’s shooting her down and may even hate him a little bit. Alaric is just as confused and uncomfortable as Emma, he just has a different way of showing his attraction. Handsome and Alpha, I loved Alaric and probably could have read another hundred pages I loved them so much.

     All in all, The Plan is an incredibly cute story of a personal assistant falling in love with her boss. Sounds cliche I know, but its a new take on the genre and sweet. There were a few typos that threw me for a loop and the story dragged in a few places, but overall these small blips are easily overlooked. Qwen is  a fantastic new voice in the romance genre and one I will be following closely!

Book Details

Publisher: Omnific Publishing

Date of Publication: February 11, 2014

# of Pages: 260

ISBN: 9781623420

Source: Personal Purchase

Challenges

2014 Contemporary Romance Challenge

2014 New Author Challenge

2014 Ebook Challenge

2014 Where Are You Reading Challenge - Kansas City, MO

"After Math" By: Denise Grover Swank Review

After Math

By: Denise Grover Swank

Synopsis

Before she agreed to tutor Tucker Price, college junior Scarlett was introvert, struggling with her social anxiety and determined to not end up living in a trailer park like her mother and her younger sister. A mathematics major, she goes to her classes, to her job in the tutoring lab, and then hides in the apartment she shares with her friend, Caroline.

After junior Tucker Price, Southern University’s star soccer player enters the equation, her carefully plotted life is thrown off its axis. Tucker’s failing his required College Algebra class. With his eligibility is at risk, the university chancellor dangles an expensive piece of computer software for the math department if Scarlett agrees to privately tutor him. Tucker’s bad boy, womanizer reputation makes Scarlett wary of any contact, let alone spending several hours a week in close proximity.

But from her first encounter, she realizes Tucker isn’t the person everyone else sees. He carries a mountain of secrets which she suspects hold the reason to his self-destructive behavior. But the deeper she delves into the cause of his pain, the deeper she gets sucked into his chaos. Will Scarlett find the happiness she’s looking for, or will she be caught in Tucker’s aftermath?

My Thoughts
     Scarlett is a college Junior working in the Mathematics department and just trying to get through one day at a time. An extreme introvert, Scarlett is flabbergasted when the Dean suggests she tutor soccer star Tucker Price. He’s rude, he thinks he’s entitled, he can be sarcastic but at times when they are alone, he seems like a different person. As Scarlett comes out of her shell and Tucker learns there can be more to life than soccer, they slowly fall in love and become better versions of themselves.
     In a world inundated with New Adult fiction right now, I was happy to see a new take on the genre. Swank’s voice seemed original and fresh and I fell into the story quickly. As with some of the greatest library finds, I picked this one purely for the cover and am glad I did.
     Well written characters, I sometimes empathized with Scarlett and at other times became extremely flabbergasted with her. Which can be a good or a bad thing, depending on the day. I did care for her though, and understood her motivations for a majority of the time. Tucker was a jerk for much of the book and I admit to not liking him much, but in the end he totally redeems himself and actually becomes one of my favorite characters by the second book. (He’s kickin’ some butt and takin’ some names in Redesigned.)
     A fresh voice in the New Adult genre, I enjoyed After Math so much I immediately purchased the second book in the series. And to be completely honest, I think I even liked Redesigned a teensy bit more. Great world building, with an even better cast of characters, Denise Grover Swank is a new author for me to definitely watch.

Off the Subject Series

1. After Math

2. Redesigned

3. Business As Usual

Challenges
2014 Contemporary Romance Challenge
2014 New Author Challenge
2014 Ebook Challenge
2014 Where Are You Reading Challenge - Tennessee

Book Details

ASIN: B00BSIPO7W

Date of Publication: March 11, 2013

# of Pages: 250

Source: Personal Purchase

"16 Things I Thought Were True" By: Janet Gurtler Review

16 Things I Thought Were True

By: Janet Gurtler

Synopsis

Heart attacks happen to other people #thingsIthoughtweretrue

When Morgan's mom gets sick, it's hard not to panic. Without her mother, she would have no one—until she finds out the dad who walked out on her as a baby isn't as far away as she thought...

Adam is a stuck-up, uptight jerk #thingsIthoughtweretrue
Now that they have a summer job together, Morgan's getting to know the real Adam, and he's actually pretty sweet...in a nerdy-hot kind of way. He even offers to go with her to find her dad. Road trip, anyone?
5000 Twitter followers are all the friends I need #thingsIthoughtweretrue

With Adam in the back seat, a hyper chatterbox named Amy behind the wheel, and plenty of Cheetos to fuel their trip, Morgan feels ready for anything. She's not expecting a flat tire, a missed ferry, a fake girlfriend...and that these two people she barely knew before the summer started will become the people she can't imagine living without.

My Thoughts

     Morgan is having a bit of a hard summer. She’s got a job at the local theme park working with snacks, she’s not making any friends, and her Mom just had a heart attack. She doesn’t know who her dad is, never has really. Her twin brothers aren’t any help so Morgan can’t help but feel alone in world filled with people. However, her one lifeline is Twitter and this is going to be the summer she passes 5,000 followers. She knows once she passes that milestone, something amazing is bound to happen.

     As Morgan’s mother lays on the hospital table, she begins to tell Morgan about her birth father. Having assumed he was dead, Morgan is surprised to find out that he is in fact still alive and living just across the border in Canada. A shy girl, Amy, who has become attached to Morgan, offers to drive her to finally meet her Dad. Her boss, and maybe crush at work, Adam offers to go too.  As the three set off on an epic road trip, they question themselves, family, and what is really means to be a friend.

      I was extremely impressed with how well written this is. I was drawn in from page one and couldn't set it down. Characters, setting, and story come together perfectly to create this fantastic blend. 

     16 Things I Thought Were True is a wonderful character study of teens and what they are going through right now. Life isn’t perfect but moments can be. Morgan begins the book disliking life. She doesn't have any friends that aren’t online, she’s had a terrible embarrassment that chased off her real friends so she’s alone. Friendship plays a key role in this story, both old and new and how they affect our lives.

    Completely delightful, I loved 16 Things I Thought Were True. A great road trip story that has a little bit of everything. Bullying issues, friendships, family problems, insecurities, love, and happiness are all thrown in there to create one of the best Young Adult novels I’ve read in quite a while. Great characters and a heartwarming story show how gifted of a storyteller Janet Gurtler is.

Book Details

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

# of Pages: 304

Date of Publication: March 4, 2014

ISBN: 978-1402277979

Source: Advance Reader’s Copy from Publisher

Challenges

2014 Contemporary Romance Challenge

2014 New Author Challenge

2014 Where Are You Reading Challenge - Seattle, Washington