The Love Game (Game #1) by Emma Hart

His challenge? Make her fall in love with him.

Her challenge? Play the player.

Until life changes the rules of the game.

Maddie Stevens hated Braden Carter on sight. Arrogant, egotistical, and the playboy of the University of California, Berkeley, he's everything her brother Pearce has taught her to despise. So why, when the girls challenge her to play the player, doesn't she say no? She doesn't know either.

Braden wanted fiery little Maddie the second he laid eyes on her - and he'd do anything to have her, hence why he's agreed to make her fall in love with him. After all, it's the only way he'll get what he wants. Sex.

But, as Braden discovers, there's more to the girl from Brooklyn than he ever imagined - and he can't help but care about the broken girl behind those pretty green eyes.

Maddie finds Braden isn't just a walking erection - he actually has feelings. He can be sweet, funny and his good looks don't exactly hurt. That means trouble - but when her brother Pearce turns up in Berkeley begging for her help, she realises Braden and Pearce aren't so alike anymore.

And maybe, just maybe, they're exactly what each other needs

Four Stars

“Maddie Stevens. Your mission, should you choose to accept it.” She grins and puts her hand out. “Is to play the player at his own game. Do you accept?”

I inhale deeply, every bit of my mind screaming at me to say no and run. Play the player. “Accepted.” 

So this book was brought to my attention yesterday and as soon as I read the description, I wanted to read it. I don’t know. This was exactly the type of book I was looking for: A little angst, a strong heroine and a player that needed to be taken down a peg or two. Yep. I was all over this. 

For some reason, this story kinda reminded me of that movieHow to Lose a Guy in Ten Days. Granted, I was not a big fan of that movie, but the basic plot is pretty similar: Both the H/h were playing each other. Like the movie, we know how it all ends, but unlike the movie, the actual story itself is actually entertaining. Seeing these two fight their feelings made this book hard to put down. 

“Challenge accepted, boys,” I say, resting my arms behind my head. “One month from now, Maddie Stevens will be in love with me and in my bed. You can count on that shit.” ~Braden 

Braden will do anything to get Maddie into his bed. He wants her. Badly. Even desperate enough to make a wager with his friends: To get Maddie to fall in love with him, get in her knickers and dump her. It’s a done deal, right? I mean no woman can resist such a player. Braden can be such an asshat. However, Maddie has her own plans. 

Braden personifies everything Maddie hates: He’s arrogant, smug and a big time womanizer. She left all that behind when she moved from Brooklyn to Berkeley. When her friends come up with a plan to teach the infamous Braden a lesson, to be humped and dumped, Maddie reluctantly agrees. Her mission: To get Braden to fall in love with her, sleep with him, then dump him…all within a month.

What these two didn’t plan was actually falling for each other. Oh trust me, they fought their feelings with all their might, but you knew what was going to happen. But when both find out each other’s motives, can their fake relationship survive?

“I’m not possessive over you, Maddie,” he says into my ear. “I’m protective, and there’s a difference. I’d never try to control you or tell you what you can and can’t do, but I know every guy i this frat house wants to be me right now. And you know why? It’s because you’re so fucking beautiful.” My breath catches in my throat. “They all want you, but I have you, and there’s not a chance I’m gonna risk one of them taking you from me, all right? So yes, Angel, yes, you are fucking mine!” 

And there it is! The main reason why I enjoyed this book: Possessive and jealous Braden. You guys know how much I love these types of Heroes. Now don’t get your panties in a twist, Braden isn’t really over the top, but it was just enough to quench my appetite. 

However, there were a few drawbacks to this story. One, the constant repetitiveness. No, I can’t feel this way / This is starting to feel like more than a bet / I’m scared of my feelings I’m developing…so on and so forth. Second, I kinda wanted more of an ending. The story just ended a little too abruptly. An actual epilogue would’ve been nice. So there you have it. Aside from those two negatives, the story is pretty good and it was hard to pass up. Enjoy! 

Flat-Out Matt (Flat-Out Love #1.5) by Jessica Park

Matt is a junior at MIT. He’s geeky, he's witty, he's brilliant.

And he’s also very, very stupid.

When beautiful, cool, insightful Julie moves in with Matt’s family, why (oh why!) does he pretend to be his absent brother Finn for her alleged benefit? 

It seems harmless enough until her short-term stay becomes permanent. And until it snowballs into heart-squeezing insanity. And until he falls in love with Julie, and Julie falls in love with Finn. 

But … Matt is the right one for her. If only he can make Julie see it. Without telling her the truth, without shattering them all. Particularly his fragile sister Celeste, who may need Julie the most.

You saw Matt through Julie’s eyes in FLAT-OUT LOVE. Now go deeper into Matt’s world in this FLAT-OUT MATT novella. Live his side of the story, break when his heart breaks, and fall for the unlikely hero all over again.

Take an emotional skydive for two prequel chapters and seven Flat-Out Love chapters retold from his perspective, and then land with a brand-new steamy finale chapter from Julie.

I LOVE YOU MATT

4.75-5 Stars

**DISCLAIMER: First off, if you have not read Flat-Out Love, there’s something seriously wrong with you. GO And read it NOW! Secondly, this is not a stand-alone story. It will NOT make any sense, you will get spoiled and you will not appreciate the awesomeness of this novella.**

How you find love means nothing. It’s what you do with it when you see it that does. 

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Jessica, for writing this kick ass novella. I read Flat-Out-Love back in October 2011 and that story is still one of my all time favorites. I will never forget that story. Ever. And now to get this novella in Matt’s POV? OMG! I was in heaven. Pure freaking heaven. God, how I missed my Matty. It was such a treat to get our favorite chapters from FOL in his POV. Though two prequel chapters created more depth and emotion to the story, my heart ached for Matt in those two chapters. To read about him and Finn, how close they were, planning their future adventures -- sigh…just bittersweet. And to read about how hard Matt fought to keep some sanity when taking care of Celeste, plus the introduction of Flat Finn…Fuck! It made me love Matt even more. 

Reading this novella brought back so many wonderful memories of how I felt while reading FOL. Oh, and that last extra/bonuschapter with Matt and Julie was…OMG…I don’t even know what to say. I melted, I swooned, and I smiled with knowing smirk. I’m just giddy after that last chapter. Pure. Fucking. Bliss. I wish there was more, but I'll take what I can get. Again, thank you, Jessica for writing this novella. I am forever grateful!

Music of the Heart (Runaway Train #1) by Katie Ashley

For Abby Renard, the plan was supposed to be simple—join her brothers’ band on the last leg of their summer tour and decide if she’s finally ready for the limelight by becoming its fourth member. Of course, she never imagined stumbling onto the wrong tour bus at Rock Nation would accidentally land her in the bed of Jake Slater, the notorious womanizing lead singer of Runaway Train. When he mistakes her for one of his groupie’s, Abby quickly lets him know she sure as hell isn't in his bed on purpose.

Jake Slater never imagined the angel who fell into his bed would resist his charms by promptly kneeing him in the balls. Of course, the fact she seems like a prissy choir girl makes her anything but his type. So he is more than surprised when after betting Abby she wouldn’t last a week on their tour bus, she is more than willing to prove him wrong. But as Jake’s personal life begins to implode around him, he finds an unlikely ally in Abby. He’s never met a woman he can talk to, joke with, or most importantly make music with.

As the week starts comes to a close, neither Abby nor Jake is ready to let go. Can a sweetheart Country songstress and a bad boy of Rock N Roll actually have a future together?

Four Solid Stars

“I don’t think a girl has ever talked to me like you just did.” A shudder rippled through him. “Damn, that was hot.”

I shoved him against the kitchen counter. “You’re impossible!”

“And you’re everything I could ever want.” 

I am content. I am satisfied. My rocker fix has been fulfilled. I was clicking away at my TBR shelf when I noticed that this book just came out. Of course I jumped all over it. First off, look at the cover: Very sexy! Then when I read the description, I was hooked even more. A straight laced preacher’s daughter stepped onto the wrong tour bus, thinking it was her brothers’ Christian band, but ended up falling in bed with the notorious lead singer of the rock band Runway Train, Jake Slater. 

“I’ve only managed to do the drummer and the bassist so far, but I’m thinking I could get a threesome going and knock the others. Maybe I’ll gang-bang with the roadies when we stop for dinner!” 

Most heroines annoy me, but I immediately took a liking to Abby after that above quote. LOL. She didn’t take any shit from any of the guys in the band, especially from Jake. Hence why she didn’t leave their tour bus for a week. A bet was made between her and Jake: That Abby, and all her Christian glory, couldn’t last a week with them on the tour bus. Abby took that challenge and went with it. She quickly won over the other members of the band, though she did have to fight off some advances, but she didn’t mind. To her, they were harmless. It was Jake she was worried about. 

It’s a wonder I don’t need a chiropractor from your emotional whiplash. 

OMG. Just to warn you, as much as I loved Jake, he pissed me off a lot in the book. Even though he only knew Abby for a couple days, she was starting to get under his skin. Everything about her called to him: Her voice, her looks, her attitude – She was hisAngel. So of course what do guys do when they’re confused? Think with their dicks and end up doing stupid stuff to make her run away. I swear, Abby was a saint to forgive Jake with some of his antics. Time and time again, Abby forgave and left Jake so confused as to why this Angel had such a pull on him. 

“You just have an amazing, tender heart, baby. Because of that, you’re always going to feel more and hurt more than other people.” ~Abby 

Jake might be a badass rock star, but underneath all that, he is an emotional wreck. First off, he’s a Mama’s boy through and through. His mother is battling Cancer and he doesn’t really have any good coping mechanisms. He uses women as a temporary fix, but now that Abby has come into his life, he knows there’s so much more than a temporary fix. He has a good heart and Abby has her work cut out for her if they decide to try and make more out of their situation. 

“¡Agrrale el culo, chica!”

Abby’s eyes narrowed before she shouted, “Callete, cabron!” 

“What did he just say?” I questioned with a grin.

“Grab his ass, girl,” she replied.

“And what did you say to him?”

She grinned. “I told him to shut up and called him an asshole.” 

I think most readers will like this story, but in regards to the steam, well, bring your patience because our Abby makes our Jake work for it. Though their relationship happened fairly quickly, it was not short on drama, especially in the beginning when Jake was being an asshat. As much as I loved Abby and Jake, his band mates were freaking awesome, too, especially AJ. Yea, that’s him up there shouting Spanish obscenities. LOL. He made me smile numerous times. I cannot wait to see what he’s up to in book two. Highly enjoyed this story. 

Picture Perfect by Alessandra Thomas

Fashion design major Cat Mitchell has a closet full of gorgeous clothes - and not a single thing fits. After two years of runway modeling for easy cash, an accident shattered her lower leg bone and her self-esteem in just one swift fall. Ten months of no exercise, prescription steroids, comfort eating and yoga pants meant returning to campus as a size twelve instead of her former size two. 

When her gorgeous long-time friend with benefits sees her for the first time after her accident and snubs her in front of all her friends, Cat’s self-image hits rock bottom. Her sorority sisters all insist that she looks gorgeous, but all Cat sees is the roll of her stomach when she sits down, or the dimpling at the back of her thighs that wasn't there last year. Cat’s therapist prescribes something radical to stop the downward spiral - nude modeling for a nearby college's human form drawing classes. 

When Cat faces her fears and bares it all for the class, she realizes that she's posing naked in front the most gorgeous, buffest guy she's ever seen in her life. He asks her out after the class, and after one steamy night together, Cat's absolutely smitten.

Nate’s pretty close to perfect – he takes Cat rock climbing when he discovers that it makes her feel strong and becomes a great chef after he learns that the perfect pesto sauce makes her swoon. Cat starts to feel like her old self again - confident and beautiful - as long as Nate's around. Even when he discourages her from entering the Real Woman Project, a design competition for plus-sized apparel, she reasons that he's just trying to prevent old body image wounds from splitting wide open again.

But when Cat goes home with Nate for Thanksgiving, she discovers something shocking from his recent past that proves that he hasn’t always been so encouraging of women of all shapes and sizes. Cat has no idea what to think, but she does know one thing - this might destroy their relationship before it's even had a chance to get off the ground. 

Before Cat can figure out whether the real Nate is the sensitive, adoring guy she fell in love with, or an undercover asshole, she'll have to finally feel comfortable in her own skin - even if it means leaving him forever.

(This book contains sex and adult language.)

3.25 Stars

I am real. I am beautiful. 

I was so freaking excited for this book and for it to come out early made me just giddy. I was so amped up to read this. The description of the story was something right up my alley, as well very relatable to a lot of women with body issues. With that said, once I started to get going, I was starting to feel slightly disappointed. 

“My whole identity was wrapped up in being a model. In people thinking I’m beautiful. I loved that feeling. I don’t know how to get it back.” ~ Cat 

The majority of the book, at least to me, was Cat going off on how awful she looks. How she will never bet that “model” thin ever again and that no one will ever date her again. COME THE FUCK ON, CAT!! You are tall, blonde and a size twelve, maybe fourteen at most. I don’t know about you, but that is NOT fat. She kept going on and on about her “bulges,” and how she had to hide it constantly….yada, yada yada blah blah blah. It got repetitive and old fast. I get it. I’m empathetic believe me, but it’s like she was non-stop whining. PLUS, she had everyone (with the exception of one asshole named Jake) telling her she is gorgeous. Ugh. Just frustrating. I’m just happy she decided to get some professional help and that Nate entered her life. 

“But the truth is, from the moment I saw her again, I realized that not only do I not find the thinnest bodies the most attractive, but that what our bodies look like doesn’t even factor into the equation. I love her just as much meeting her now as I would have if I met her two years ago, when she looked different.” ~ Nate 

Nate is sweet, caring, wonderful, crazy sexy gorgeous and he has the hots for Cat. Cat of course constantly doubts a guy like him would like a girl like her. As if!! Yea, she got on my nerves a bit. He definitely helps Cat get her confidence and self worth back, but is tying all your happiness to one guy really a good idea, Cat? Apparently her therapist doesn’t think so. Nate does honestly love her, but if she ever found out about his past, will Cat just spiral downward again? 

Like I said, I was a little disappointed in this book. It was good, yes, but it just didn’t give me that swoon/wow factor I was hoping to get. Cat’s whining didn’t help the cause either. Please don’t hate me for this review. I understand her lack of self-confidence, but having her say she’s fat, unwanted, unlovable, when she TOTALLY isn’t ,was starting to give ME a complex. That was my biggest beef about the story. I realize that the story is trying to send a positive message and I commend that, but I just didn’t mesh with Cat’s character. 

Falling into You (Falling #1) by Jasinda Wilder

I wasn't always in love with Colton Calloway; I was in love with his younger brother, Kyle, first. Kyle was my first one true love, my first in every way.

Then, one stormy August night, he died, and the person I was died with him.

Colton didn't teach me how to live. He didn't heal the pain. He didn't make it okay. He taught me how to hurt, how to not be okay, and, eventually, how to let go.

4.75 Stars

Fermented grief is far more potent. 

HOLY SHIT! Man, this was just what I needed. I was so emotionally invested in Nell’s story, that I could not put this down and easily read this in one sitting. It’s emotional stories like this that make reading so much fun. Fuck. I was a blubbering mess by a third of the way through. It’s not really spoiler-ishconsidering you know someone important is going to die. I knew I was going to be a hot mess, but waiting for the axe to fall was excruciating. Be warned: You will cry. I did. Seriously. How can you move on from a loss like that?

This was such a unique story simply because I fell in love with the first Hero, Kyle, only to have him taken away like that…well, it broke my heart into a million pieces, I’ll tell you that much. Our main Hero, Colton, had a lot to live up to. How can you replace such a character as Kyle? Just like Nell, I found myself reluctantly drawn to Colton. In a way, it felt wrong to move on, but you honest to God, couldn't help it. I was so torn. 

“I find myself forgetting him. I see him dying over and over, but I can’t remember what he smelled like. What his arms felt like holding me. What sex with him felt like. What kissing him felt like. I can’t remember him. I can’t remember him. And I wonder sometimes if I ever really loved him. If it was just teenage infatuation. Thinking I loved him because he was my first. Because we’d fucked. I don’t know. I don’t remember. And now there’s you, and you’re…better than he was. Stronger. You turn me on in a way I don’t remember with him. You make me feel things he never did. The way you kiss me, it’s better than I remember his kisses being. When you made me come, I realized I’d never felt anything like it, ever. Ever.” 

Nell & Kyle

After the first few pages of the book, I was HOOKED on Kyle. He was so sweet and so sexy. He and Nell have been best friends since, like, forever. They’re the same age, born only two days apart. Together they learned to ride bikes, did homework, studied and just grew up together. They were thick as thieves and it was assumed that sooner or later they would end up together. Of course both were reluctant to try anything more until one day another boy asked Nell out, and Kyle flipped. Something was about to change between them, and let me tell you, their first kiss: So sweet and so amazing. As in the other firsts they will inevitably have: Exciting, thrilling and HOT. I loved where these two were headed. However, you knew something awful was coming and waiting for that axe to fall was torturous. And when it did fall, I was a just as heartbroken as Nell. It was a horrible feeling. No wonder Nell ended up a fucked up mess. Could she ever get over first love? Could I? 

But Colton is…I’m safe with him. He draws the truth out of me. He draws the pain out of me. Colton knows pain. He’s intimately familiar with it. Lives with it. Guilt, too. 

Nell & Colton

After falling hard for Kyle, part of me wondered how this author was going to proceed in making me fall for Colton. He had HUGE shoes to fill. Amazingly enough, I slowly fell for him. He left his home at only eighteen, moving to New York. Colton didn’t really become a prevalent character until the day of Kyle’s funeral. Nell and he were practically strangers, but for some reason, while mourning Kyle, they found a small sense of solace with each other, even sharing an illicit kiss. It wasn’t until two years later that fate intervened once more and threw Colton and Nell back together. 

“I’m not just falling in love with you, Nell. I’m falling into you. You’re an ocean, and I’m falling in, drowning in the depths of who you are. Like you said, it’s scary in a way, but it’s also the most amazing thing I’ve ever experienced. You are the most amazing thing I’ve ever experienced.” 

Le Sigh. They’re both damaged. Nell has never fully healed from losing Kyle. As for Colton, well, we find out there’s a reason for why Colton left home at eighteen, broke and alone in the big city of New York. His story was far more than I expected. He suffered so much since moving out. He is such an amazing character and I can easily say that he is one of those unforgettable Heroes: Beautiful, protective, possessive, and oh so sweet. I Love Colton. All my doubts about loving him as much as Kyle, were shattered once I got to truly know him. 

“God, fuck me. Don’t do that,” he says, his voice ragged.

I’m puzzled. “Do what?”

“Bite your lip. It drives me wild. Bite your lip, and it’s over. Your mouth is mine.” 

Fuck! I have no words to describe the intensity of the relationship between Nell and Colton. For me, these two were like each other’s therapy; soothing each other’s wounds to the point where they could finally move on from their past. The way these two communicated, whether it’s through music, or through sex, one thing is for certain: They are fucking intense. The whole story was intense. I just fucking LOVED. Every. Single. Moment.