VAIN by Fisher Amelie

I have been looking for a book that has touched me as much as The Sea of Tranquility.  VAIN was just what I was looking for.  I spent Super Bowl Sunday, not in front of the TV with chip and salsa, (okay I had some chips and salsa)  but in front of an amazing and powerful story.  

It's rare that I am able to read a book in one day.  It usually takes at least two to three days to finish a book.  I devoured this book and now that I am finished, I am sad that it's over.  Once again, I am dealing with a massive book hangover!  

There was more than one moment where I needed to take a break because I was sobbing.  At times when it was touching and times when it was absolutely heartbreaking.  At one point (and this was close to the end ) I almost put the book away fearing I would be heartbroken even further and not be able to handle it.   I am glad I stuck it out and finished it, but now I fear nothing I read next will compare.  

Not only did it have a beautiful love story that developed so perfectly, it shed some light on problems and struggles from other less fortunate parts of the world.  

Brief synopsis: 

Sophie Price is a beautiful spoiled rich girl who only cares about herself.  She gets anything and everything  her heart desires, except for what she really wants, the love and attention from her parents.  Without parental guidance and support, she becomes a wild child and finds herself in some legal trouble.  After her second arrest in a short period of time,  the judge decides on an unconventional sentence where she is sent to Uganda, Africa to work in an orphanage for six months.   Little did she know how much this "punishment" would change her, her life and her heart. 

I won't go into any more detail of the story.  It's best to read it without too much knowledge.   Just let the eloquent writing and the beautiful characters take you on this amazing journey.

My Rating
5 Stars

                                                                 

Rush By Maya Banks

I was given an advanced copy of Rush (THE BREATHLESS TRILOGY) in exchange for an honest review and I was so excited to read it!  

Rush was one sexy, hot and steamy read!!  Whew!  I think I need to take a break from this genre for a while (and a cold shower!)   :)  Out of all the erotica/BDSM books I have read, this was by the far the most intense.   There were times I thought' "should I really be reading this?"  Uh, of course!!!  

Rush is the first book in the Breathless trilogy.  This story focuses on Gabe, the intense and previously scorned billionaire, who only has a relationship with a signed contract.  Unfortunately, the only woman that he envisions as his next contractual relationship is his best friend and business partner's little sister, Mia.

It just so happens that Gabe had been the high school and young adult fantasy of Mia's.  Although, she thought he wouldn't be interested in her since he always kept his distance and the 14 year age difference between them.  Until one night at Gabe's hotel's grand opening, he decided it was time and he made his move.

The story takes you through the journey of Mia and Gabe and their Dom/sub relationship.  At times it seems that Gabe is wonderful, caring and the perfect partner, and then suddenly he can't control his intense need for her and becomes selfish and at times animalistic.  The more time he spends with Mia, the more he needs her and can't be without her, which then scares him and he wants to pull away.  

Mia was a great heroine. She may have been Gabe's submissive, but she didn't take any of his crap.  And when a difficult situation was presented she did the right thing.  At 24 years old she was much more mature than 38 year old Gabe, just like a typical male/female relationship! ;)

For the majority of the book you see the progression of their relationship.  As I moved through the book I thought, "ok when is the s#!t going to hit the fan"  You know it is, It always does!  I thought it happened when they were on a business trip to Paris.  Did I mention he made her his Personal Assistant so he could have access to her at all times?  In Paris, Gabe's conscience gets the best of him and he decides on something that ends up being a monumental mistake (One, I would never have forgiven him for!).  I was so angry with him I had to put the book down, I couldn't look at him...or read about him.  Whatever, I was  so mad!  

I thought that was it, the big climax (no pun intended)  but nope!  The author got me again with a whammy!!  I looked to see how many pages were left and I thought, Oh no!  Is there enough time to fix this?  Without, spoiling the story, I will say that it wrapped up without a cliffhanger and I did not want to throw the book out the window.  ;)  I don't think I could of handled a cliffhanger or a disappointing ending.    

Of all the books that I have read in this genre, I can't pick a favorite.  I liked them all but for very different reasons.  This one was more.....informative.  Not that I will apply anything I learned to my real life!  Even though the story was very racy, it still had a sweet love story.  There were definite times where Gabe made me swoon!  Even control freaks can be sweet and romantic sometimes!   

I can't wait to see what's going to happen in the next book.  The second one, Fever (THE BREATHLESS TRILOGY), focuses on Jace, Mia's brother.  Jace and Ash (the other best friend and business partner) always share the same woman they "date".  It looks like Jace may not want to share anymore.  Interesting!! 

My Rating

4.5 Stars


                                   

The Story of Rachel by K.D. McLean - Review

Recently,  I was given two books to review.    Both books are erotica with the subject of BDSM .  This is not the typical genre I read, but I will also not shy away from it.  Let me clarify...reading it, not living it!  I loved the 50 shades of Grey trilogy but for the love story that developed and not the intense and crazy sexual situations.  Really, I swear!

Here is my review of the first book,  The Story of Rachel (Tales of Pandora) by K.D. McLean.    

Rachel is a 36-year-old journalist and divorcee, looking for "the one".  However, she seems to find only undesirable losers through her online dating site.  During a work assignment at an erotica art exhibit, she meets Michael, an attractive author in his 40's, who is more than happy to teach her the lifestyle of a Dom/Sub relationship.  Surprisingly, this intrigues the innocent Rachel and she wants to learn more.   

The story was a little slow in the beginning.  However, I could see the author took her time to develop the characters and their relationship.   Normally, the  books I read have high angst and a roller coaster ride of emotions from the start.  It was a nice change to not have anxiety through the entire story and it still be entertaining.  Around the 50% mark, it started to pick up and I could see the conflict and the story start to build.  At 60%, the story takes off and you start to learn about Michael's past and the reason he is holding back in the relationship.  This was the point where I couldn't put the book down until it was finished.    

I enjoyed the two main characters, Rachel and Michael, and felt they were easy to connect with and relate (with the exception of their BDSM lifestyle of course).   I liked that Rachel wasn't the cause of the problems in the relationship.   I commend her for standing up for herself and going after what she wants.  It was Michael that made me want to scream "grow up and man up"  and stop thinking so much!  Ughh...he was a little frustrating but he made up for it in the end.  

The erotic scenes were descriptive without being excessive or repetitive.   I was able to visualize what was happening without feeling too uncomfortable or blushing.  Well….most of the time.  Once Rachel and Michael went to the club, Pandora, I could feel my cheeks heat a little and had to look around to make sure no one was reading over my shoulder. 

Michael may have been a Dominate, but he wasn't over the top controlling like some other characters in other books (ahem.. Christian Grey)  He was quite normal, sweet, and caring.  And Rachel wasn't some inexperienced naive 20 something that goes from one extreme to another overnight.  This made the story a little more realistic than 50 shades of Grey.  Don't get me wrong 50 Shades is still one of my favorites, but The Story of Rachel (Tales of Pandora) was a bit more believable.

My Rating
4 Stars

                 

Is it too late for a New Year's resolution?

I have never been the person to make a resolution for the new year, mainly because I don't want to set myself up for failure.  However, if  I state one on my blog then maybe I can hold myself accountable and achieve my goal.

I have been a little lax on my blog and would like to be more consistent and update it regularly.  I usually write a review after I finish a book.  However, lately, I have been reading one book after another and pushing the reviews to the side.   When it comes the time to write, I have too many stories mixing in my head and I am unable to write a proper review.

Since I accepted a challenge on Goodreads for 2013 to read 52 books this year, I would also like to challenge myself to update my blog a minimum of once a week.  So there it is, my New Year's Resolution.

You can follow my Goodreads challenge on my updated TBR list or on Goodreads.com.

Wish me luck!





                                                                                                                                           

A Beautiful Lie by T.E. Sivec - Review

I know that I had planned on re reading some books to write  more in depth reviews.  And I had a  lengthy TBR  to follow… But when there is a book dangling in front of me that screams "READ ME NOW!", I have to do what it says, right?   A Beautiful Lie (Playing with Fire, #1)  was one of those books and I am so glad I put everything else aside. 

I had a difficult time in the beginning getting used to the story written in the third person's point of view.   The majority of the books I read are told in the first person's POV and it took awhile to adapt.  As the story progressed,  I realized it couldn't be written any other way to tell the story with the right amount of detail and without getting repetitive.   

Speaking of details!  My thoughts kept interrupting the flow of the story because I was thinking how much research this must have taken, and if the author knew people in the military and CIA.   Or was this personal experience??  Ahhhh, my brain couldn't handle all that!   I had to force myself to push my curiosities and thoughts of secret agent scenarios aside and enjoy the story.  

There were so many twists and turns that kept me from putting the book down.   I stayed up into the early hours of the morning waiting for a stopping point but there wasn't one.  I had to see how it ended!  My dark circles and zombie like appearance was well worth it! ;)

 I was worried since it was part of a series it would end with a cliff hanger.  It did say it was a  romantic suspense story!  Was that the suspense?  Waiting for the next book to be released ?????   Whew,  thankfully it ended like a stand alone and still made me curious to see what she has up her sleeve for the next one.   I wonder if it will focus some of the supporting characters and what crazy situations they get into.  I can't wait to find out!

  

Oh, I forgot to mention the romantic scenes were HOT!!!!!   I have been reading a lot of YA  lately and forgot how sexy and steamy adult contemporary can be!   Tara knows how to write contemporary romance!!!

My Rating

5 Stars

He's Back!!!....well almost

My #1 book boyfriend is back!  Actually only a little bit of him is back, but I will take whatever I can get!!  S.C. Stephens, the author and creator of the most amazing fictional man EVER, Kellan Kyle, from Thoughtlessand Effortless, has given us a little treat and released the first chapter of the third installment,  Reckless.  All I can say is OMG!!!  Of course it's bittersweet, because after reading the first chapter I just want to lock myself in my bedroom and finish the book.  But, I will have to wait until March before I can do that.

If you haven't read the the first two books, DO NOT I repeat DO NOT read this first chapter! It will spoil the first two and what fun would that be?  I would suggest that you stop whatever you are doing download Thoughtlessand Effortlessand read them now!!  Have I mention how much I love this series? ;)

 For those of you that have read them here's the link to the first chapter.  Enjoy!
                         http://www.fictionpress.com/s/3089151/1/Reckless



                                          

                                                 

If you can't say anything nice....

You know how the saying goes... "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all."  Well, that's how I feel about my blog.  I am not here to rip apart anyone's hard work just because it wasn't something I particularly liked.  It takes a lot of heart and guts to put your work out there for everyone to read, critique, and judge.  I know I don't have the strength to do it, even though the thought had crossed my mind a few times. (writing this blog gives me enough anxiety as it is!)

The sole purpose of my blog is to discuss and review the books I love.  Any rating that I give over 3.5 is an excellent book in my opinion.  Therefore, I will only review the books that receive my 3.5 or above rating. Don't get me wrong I have read some not so great books or stories that I just couldn't get into. You just won't see them on my blog.   I don't want to put my negative feelings in someone else's head when they might actually love the story.

Speaking of an excellent book that I loved!!  I just finished A Song for Julia (Thompson Sisters) by Charles Sheehan-Miles.  And what I will say right now is Wow and Amazing!!  I will hold off on my full review because I'd like to add my review on the other book in the series Just Remember to Breathe (Thompson Sisters).  I read that a few weeks ago but my life was a little crazy at the time and I was unable to sit down and write out my thoughts.  This book was also an amazing and powerful story that I will enjoy re-reading, which is the plan.  Once I'm finished, I will review them together.  But, don't wait for me go read them both NOW!  You won't be disappointed.

 

PS.  The author states that these books can be read in any order, but I suggest you read A Song For Juliafirst.