Love Realized (Real Love #1) by Melanie Codina

For Jake, it's always been Gillian

It's been her since that day she unknowingly stole a piece of his heart.....when he watched her fall for one of his best friends. Resolved to the fate that she couldn't be his, he locked up the deeper emotions he felt for her and loved her as a friend. As friends, they went through it all together. Marriages, births, divorces and even death. But when a shameful secret Gillan has kept from her friends is revealed, Jake realizes that she needs him more than ever. He knew what it was like to go through heartbreak and he wasn't about to stand back and watch her endure it alone. He also knew she would turn to him for support. What he wasn't prepared for was the return of the emotions he had long ago locked away. Could he control these emotions again and did he even want to? Could he make her realize his love for her was real, or would she slip through his fingers again?

Four Stars

A promise is a promise, and if a man doesn’t stand by his word, he really doesn’t have much to offer. 

So after my last read, which was pretty intense (and a bit disappointing), I was in search of a light, fluffy, steamy read. I don’t know what drew me to this book, but I’m really happy to have read it. Though it wasn’t as fluffy as I would’ve wanted, it still helped me get rid of that dark cloud that my last book left. 

This story is classic Adult Contemporary: Lots of drama (which left me teary eyed and emotional) and just enough steam to wet the appetite. I really couldn’t put it down. 

“Tell me you didn’t forget, Logan. Tell me you didn’t forget that I told you, if you cheated on me again it was over!” With that, his eyes opened wide, and he reached for her. 

Gripping her shoulders, eyes actually tearing, he pulled her close to him, begged her, “Please, Gillian, no, please don’t do this. I’m begging you, don’t do this.” 

On the surface, Gillian seemed to have it all: a loving husband and three wonderful children. Gillian and her husband, Logan, were high school sweethearts, had their first child while in high school, but have defied odds and have been married for the last sixteen years. We first meet her having a birthday party for her eight year old son where everything seemed to be going smoothly until a her co-worker shows up, with his wife, whom she has never met. However, when she first sets eyes on her, she almost loses her composure. There in front of her was the woman that Logan had an affair with. Shit was about to hit the fan. 

“Why wasn’t I enough for him, Jake? Why wasn’t I good enough?” 

For the sake of her children, Gillian has kept her husband’s affair a secret. She forgave him the first time, but when she found out that he was still seeing her, she knew it was over. Logan loves Gillian, but he knew he fucked up (again) and there was no going back. That his second chance was all used up, there will no longer be another; this was the breaking point in their marriage.

“You would be much more than ‘just enough’ for me, Gillian.” ~ Jake 

Jake has loved Gillian since he was seventeen years old; he knew it the moment he first saw her. Unfortunately, his friend Logan beat him to the punch, and has been on the sidelines looking in. No woman ever compared to her, even his ex-wife. No matter, though, they have always remained best friends and will always be a part of her life. However, with this new turn of events, he knows he has a chance at more and this time, he is not going to let her slip through his fingers. 

“Can I have you, Gillian?” he repeated, and she realized she hadn’t actually responded to his request. Her body was screaming hell yes, but she had yet to verbalize it to him. Could she do this? Could she take this step with one of her oldest and best friends? 

This was such a good story, which included a very likeable heroine and a sexy Alpha male Hero (jealous, very protective of what’s his and very possessive….LOVE those types of Alphas). 

The beginning was a bit slow to start, with lots of narration, but things picked up pretty fast. It was heartbreaking to read the dissolution of Gillian and Logan’s marriage. It literally made me cry seeing how heartbroken the two were. These two loved each other, there was never a doubt, but Logan was an asshat to cheat. Men can be such idiots. However, I was happy to see Jake finally have his chance at winning the girl of his dreams. The only problem, of course, was: Were they ready to take their close friendship to the next level? 

Like I said before, I am a sucker for friends-to-lover stories, and this was a prime example of one. Very happy to have picked it up.

Love & Relativity by Rachael Wade

Love, life, and happily ever after? It’s all relative.

Marine biology student Emma Pierce lives in paradise—geographically speaking, anyway. Stranded on Sanibel Island, Florida, she works at a nursing home by day and spends her nights dodging the island's infamous bad boy, Jackson Taylor, at her favorite karaoke bar. Trying to heal from the loss of her sister and a failed relationship she rerouted her life for, she's ready to graduate and finally leave Florida behind.

When a run-in with Jackson and his rowdy crew goes sour at the bar one night, sparks fly and irreversible damage is done. It’s no secret that Jackson loves to get underneath her skin, but this time he's gone too far. Now all he wants is to earn her forgiveness before she's gone for good, but their ideas of closure—and the future—are enough to keep them worlds apart.

This is a stand-alone title but coordinates with The Preservation Series:

Preservation (Book One, Available Now)

Reservation (Book Two, Coming March 6, 2013)

Declaration (Book Three,TBA)

4.25-4.5 Stars

My torso spasmed and heated beneath his touch, and my eyes fell shut. "Open your eyes, baby. Look at me." He pressed his forehead down to meet mine, my eyelids fluttering open at his command. "Look at me and tell me you don't want it." 

**Smirks** Nice teaser line, eh? I was privileged enough to beta read this for the awesome Ms. Wade. This was whole lot fun to read, too, especially when I would vent out my frustrations, bang the palm of my hand to my forehead and vent my frustrations regarding Jackson to her. You know what? Now that I think about it, this isn’t the first Hero that she created that made me want to both reach out and strangle the asshat, but at the same time kiss the fucking shit out of him. **coughs** Ryan.Preservation. **coughs** Ugh! You’re a wicked, wicked person Ms. Wade. lol 

That smile lit up a room. Always wide, always perfect, always accenting his plump lips. Jackson Taylor was the whole tempting, sexy, albeit frustrating package: Playful, charming, and rebellious. All together, it made for one delicious dish. 

Jackson Taylor has got one heck of a reputation on Sanibel Island: Resident bad boy and well known womanizer. Emma and he have been good friends for the past three years. Jackson wants more from Emma and has made his intentions clear, but Emma’s not having any of it. She does not want to be another notch on his bedpost. Besides, if she gets in to her chosen University in Seattle, she’ll be leaving the island soon anyway. She has no time for the complications of romance. However, things start to snowball between the two and before Jackson even knows what’s happening between them, he confesses his true feelings for Emma. How much longer can she deny her feelings as well? 

“Yes.” I braced myself against the stovetop, his carnal appraisal sending me into hot flash overdrive, and holy hell, did it feel too good to deny. Why was I here again? Why were we fighting? What was my name?
“Then what are we waiting for?”
“Jackson.” I arched a brow.
“Emma.” He arched one back.
“I’m still mad at you. Don’t come any closer,” I said feebly attempting to peel his fingers away from my waist.
“Or what?” 

**Smirks** I’m telling you, Jackson really knows how to push Emma’s buttons (and mine, if I can be truly honest). Unfortunately, Emma is a tough chick to crack. She’s recently gone through some tough times. First the break up with her ex, Chris. The second and biggest change, being the loss of her beloved sister; a loss that she feels is her fault. Plus, Jackson was there that fateful night, too. Is he a constant reminder of that night? She carries some serious baggage, but Jackson somehow manages to crack her shell and they start a relationship. Unfortunately we do not get to enjoy their relationship before shit starts to hit the fan fast. The next thing you know, they’re fighting and Jackson forces decisions without Emma’s consult. I know Jackson wants what’s best for her, but the way he goes about it drove me crazy. The things he says and does to force Emma away made me so angry. At this point, I was unsure if Jackson was even redeemable. 

“I hope you can forgive me someday, Emma. I really do. I’m begging you, forgive me for all of it.” 

If I can be honest, the relationship between Jackson and Emma drove me insane. Both were stubborn in their own right, but I know they had nothing but good intentions. The ending just made me smile :) 

In addition, the secondary cast of characters were nothing short of awesome. I LOVED Emma’s best friend Whitney. She is my girl! She's just full of awesome. Quirky and fun, thy name is Whitney. However, she is very unlucky in love. However, her luck is about to change. Carter from Preservation joins the cast. This is a HUGE PLUS in its own right. I adored him in Preservation and just fell in love with him some more in this book. He’s such a sweet guy and he's just delicious with his glasses and tattoos **SWOON!!** Seriously, my heart melts for this man. AND! There’s something brewing between he and Whitney. Gahhh!!! I LOVE IT! Did you know that they’re going to have their own book? Oh yea. I’m all over that. Anyway, just do me a favor and pick this up. The story has a lot of drama and a lot of heart. Great overall and I can’t wait for more.

The Mistress (Original Sinners #4) by Tiffany Reisz

The final book in The Original Sinners Series - The Red Years.

There's punishment-and then there's vengeance.

Nora Sutherlin is being held, bound and naked. Under different circumstances, she would enjoy the situation immensely, but her captor isn't interested in play. Or pity.

As the reality of her impending peril unfolds, Nora becomes Scheherazade, buying each hour of her life with stories-sensual tales of Søren, Kingsley and Wesley, each of whom has tempted and tested and tortured her in his own way. This, Nora realizes, is her life: nothing so simple, so vanilla, as a mere love triangle for her. It's a knot in a silken cord, a tangled mass of longings of the body and the heart and the mind. And it may unravel at any moment.

But in Nora's world, no one is ever truly powerless-a cadre of her friends, protectors and lovers stands ready to do anything to save her, even when the only certainty seems to be sacrifice and heartbreak....

3.5 Stars

…And so the game continues. The pieces are in place; the board is set. Who will walk away intact and who won’t walk away at all?

How I felt when I got approved for the Mistress: Excited, ecstatic, deliriously happy, worried and scared shitless

How I felt when I finished the Mistress: Confused, bewildered, sad, happy, heartbroken and I-need-a-drink

The jumbled mess of feelings after re-reading the last 30% over again and reassessing: Brilliant writing, still incredible storytelling, still love Nora’s world of beautiful men, ignore and resolved

First and foremost, I have to give props to Tiffany for giving us this gift of a series. I have nothing but respect and awe for her. I will forever be a fan of stories. They get me so riled up (see my status updates for further details). You have to love it.

Okay. Fangirling aside, here I go. Are you ready?

So I’ve had a week to stew over my initial disappointment in the story. Then after a few days, I decided to reread the last third of the book and with a more open mind. Though not a whole lot of my initial feelings changed, I was able to see a few things in a newer light. Whatever I say in this review, please remember that these are my opinions and my feelings alone. 

Tell me. 

I think the majority of you who love the series will probably LOVE this installment, but alas, not I. I will probably be in the minority, but this wasn’t what I expected. Don’t get me wrong, there are still some scenes that made me smile, cry, squirm and made reading it so intriguing, but they were pretty few and far in-between. 

The King & The Queen

“What father doesn’t want his children to play nice together? Come…let’s go play nice.” ~ Kingsley to Nora 

Once again, I found myself loving Nora’s character. If I have to be honest, I loved when the chapter was going to feature her. Even though she’s being held captive, her wit and wicked smart tongue had me smirking and kept the darkest moments, a bit more tolerable. Her stories about Søren left my heart pounding and me speechless. The way she would talk about him, you just knew that he would always be the love of her life. However, her stories that had her, Søren & Kingsley…together **smirks** left me squirming. 

As for Kingsley…No words can describe how amazing he is. He’s one of the strongest characters I’ve ever come across. His love and his sacrifice knows no bounds. He continues to astound me. I love him. Plain and simple. 

The Knight: Oh, Wesley. What happened to you, my love? If you guys know me, you know I’m OBSESSED with this man. I would totally crazy stalk him if he actually existed. After the first three books, I thought he could do no wrong in my eyes, ever.

WRONG!

He broke me in this book. I have never been so angry and confused in all my life. Pardon my rant, but I’m going to lay it all out: So Nora’s been taken. The love of Wesley’s life has been kidnapped. You would think the man would be inconsolable; a wreck. Ask me now if that happened? Go ahead. Ask me…NOPE! He wasn’t. This version of Wes left me heartbroken. I didn’t know what alien crawled into his body, but this was NOT the Wesley I came to know and love. I won’t give away what happens, but he disappointed me most of all. You can’t just love someone with your whole heart, your whole being, then turn around and just fall for another…**snaps fingers** like that. After finishing this, I chose to ignore this version and erase this stranger from my heart. The Wesley of books one to three will always be the love of my life. The version in this book is dead to me. 

The Rook & The Pawn: Grace & Leila, respectively. I’ve spoken with a couple of reader friends of mine who have read this too, and they agree with me when I say: “Who the fuck are you and Why are you in this story?” Seriously? I did NOT know the point of having these two added characters joining in. They made minor appearances in the previous three books, but to make them essential in the storyline did NOT make any sense to me. 

Checkmate 

So there it is. The Red Years portion of Original Sinner Series is done. I had hoped it would end better, but don’t fret dear readers, the ending really wasn’t an ending. Though I wouldn’t really consider it a cliffhanger, it did leave me with gaping. Then I shrugged it off and told myself that only the brilliant Tiffany would leave it like that. It’s has been one crazy, crop-inflicted-pain journey she has taken us on, but there’s always room for more. I beg for more stories of this world. With that, I’m anxiously awaiting the beginning of the White Years portion of the series. 

Thank you Harlequin MIRA and NetGalley for providing me this ARC

Real Ugly (Hard Rock Roots #1) by C.M. Stunich

Turner Campbell is an asshole.

I f*cking hate him.

But I can't get enough either.

He sings like an angel and f*cks like a devil.

If I could, I'd run away and never look back because to tell you the truth, I think this man might be the death of me.

***

Naomi Knox is a bitch.

I can't f*cking stand her.

But I can't stop thinking about her either.

She looks like an angel and plays like a devil.

If I could, I'd f*ck her good and forget all about her, but to tell you the truth, I think this woman might be my last saving grace.

4.5 Stars

Real Ugly. That’s life. Fucking hideous and hateful and bloody. I wish I could see it otherwise. ~ Naomi 

Holy fucking shit. Well, you know a book is good when I start a review by swearing my mother fucking ass off. Don't be shocked when the rest of my review is more cursing vomit. 

What the fuck did I just read?

This was very different from any other rock star books I’ve read. It seemed more angsty and more dirty than normal. It’s far from pretty, or predictable. I’m not going to lie to you, but the title of this book really fits the story. It isn’t a pretty story, so far from it actually. This story, with its flawed characters and take-no-shit attitude created a very Ugly world full of angst, anger and raw vulnerability. I’m going to warn you right now, this book pissed me off, like a lot. No worries though, you’ll love every minute of it. 

All this time hating Turner, wishing him ill, wanting him dead, has built up into this angry sexual fervor that begs me to ride him until my heart explodes from my chest and my fingers draw blood from his back. 

The H/h in this book are prime examples of people walking the thin line between love and hate. They hate each other so much that I don’t think they could ever love anyone else but each other. Does that make sense? I know it’s confusing, but trust me, when you read this, you’ll understand. 

What is with this chick and who the hell does she think she is? Why doesn’t she worship me like everybody else? 

I don’t even know where to begin describing Naomi and Turner’s volatile relationship. A few words come to mind: Explosive, unstable, unpredictable, and hot-tempered. They are crazy fucked up. 

I have to remember that he’s not just a devil, but The Devil. 

No matter how angelic Turner is on stage, Naomi knows better. She and Turner have a past, but Turner doesn’t remember it. That is what pisses Naomi the most. He saved her, was there for her when she most needed it, but Turner is an asshole. In her mind, she was just one of his many nameless conquests. 

Something about her just pisses me off at the same time it gets me off. 

Turner is an asshole, plain and simple. I fucking hated him, but fucking loved him at the same time. Everytime Naomi stuck up for herself and knocked him down a peg, were joyous moments for me.

Turner cannot get Naomi off his mind. As the lead singer of Indecency, he’s had his share of women, still does actually. No woman has ever imbedded herself into his skin like she has. Unfortunately, she’s hard to avoid since her band is touring with his. There’s something vaguely familiar about her, but with his intermittent drug highs, he could be just hallucinating. Whatever the case may be, her supposed hatred and anger towards him just fuels his want for her. Naomi knows when Turner wants something, he’ll stop at nothing to get it. 

Fuck the past. The present’s all that matters anyway, right? 

So many things happened in the book. Along with fighting her feelings for Turner, there’s something, or someone, in Naomi’s past that is haunting her. Like I mentioned earlier, this story is NOT predictable. This story is far from the cookie-cutter rock star love stories out there. C.M. Stunich is so talented. I love her stories. They’re so full damaged characters that they always make for such interesting stories. This was no exception. However, before you decide to pick this up, I warn you now, this does end in a massive cliffhanger. Luckily, we don’t have to wait to long for the sequel. Can’t wait. 

Thank you C.M. Stunich for providing me this ARC

Good Vibrations (Welcome to Paradise #1) by S.L. Scott

I grab her exploring finger just as it reaches my happy trail—a trail that if I let her wander down further will lead us to do things we can’t take back. Things like three-word phrases being confessed that would end me if I was rejected. Things like selfishly wanting to own her body and doing things to her that would make my fantasies blush. And things like making her promises too soon that won’t do either of us any good. She makes me want a future that’s not possible, and one I don’t deserve.

Listening to my ego got me into this situation. Will listening to my heart get me out?

 

Four Stars

Welcome to Paradise!

College student Mallory Wray is all set for an awesome summer. She's living with her best friend in beautiful Hawaii for 2 months. Sounds lovely, right? Well, what she wasn't expecting was meeting super hot Evan. Mmmm, how shall I best describe Evan? He may be one cocky and arrogant surfer dude, but what I love is that he is honest with Mallory right from the start that he's a no relationship kind of guy.

Although things heat up pretty quickly for these two early on, it took a while for their emotions to catch up. These two make assumptions and frustrate one another so much that I just wanted them to sit down and talk already. However, I promise you that it's worth getting to the point when they finally open up to each other. They're playful and just so darn adorable together! I also love how their friends become a big part of the story, too.

“Desire bubbles inside of me. I haven't desired anyone in years. I've lusted and I've always gotten what I lusted after. But desire, desire feels like an old friend that I didn't know I missed until it returned. I desire this girl.” --Evan

Oh...Swoon! Ladies, you have got to let Evan welcome you to paradise!

Good Vibrations ends on a good note, so no cliffhanger, but there are issues left open. I'm curious to see where Evan and Mallory's story goes. S.L. Scott did a superb job with the setting. I truly felt like I was escaping to the tropical beaches of Hawaii, the land of gorgeous surfers and juicy pineapple. I wanted to book an island getaway right away!

Good Vibrations is definitely a great choice if you're looking for something easy to read for the long, hot summer days at the beach or pool. It's one fun-in-the-sun, steamy-licious and romantic read. Just be sure to have your ice cold drink on hand, because you're going to need it to cool off afterward for sure. Aloha!