The Feeling of Forever by Jamie Howard
The Feeling of Forever by Jamie Howard
Ready Set Rogue by Manda Collins
ARC via Publisher + Netgalley
Goodreads || Amazon
Published: January 10, 2017 || St. Martin’s
WHO WILL WRITE THE BOOK OF LOVE?
When scholarly Miss Ivy Wareham receives word that she’s one of four young ladies who have inherited Lady Celeste Beauchamp’s estate with a magnificent private library, she packs her trunks straightaway. Unfortunately, Lady Celeste’s nephew, the rakish Quill Beauchamp, Marquess of Kerr, is determined to interrupt her studies one way or another…
Bequeathing Beauchamp House to four bluestockings—no matter how lovely they are to look at—is a travesty, and Quill simply won’t have it. But Lady Celeste’s death is not quite as straightforward as it first seemed…and if Quill hopes to solve the mystery behind her demise, he’ll need Ivy’s help. Along the way, he is surprised to learn that bookish Ivy stirs a passion and longing that he has never known. This rogue believes he’s finally met his match—but can Quill convince clever, skeptical Ivy that his love is no fiction?
Hit Man by Michele Mannon
eARC via NetGalley + Publisher
Goodreads || Amazon
Published || December 6, 2016
He always gets what he wants.
The seasoned seducer, who probably charms the panties off of every woman he meets. Diego is handsome. Arrogant. Dangerous. Far more dangerous than anyone I’ve ever met. And with one look from across a crowded room he has me; hook line and sinker, I’m his for the night.
Diego is not a man to mess with, I know that. I just can’t seem to resist his kiss, his touch. But can I trust him with my heart, with my body?
I’m being hunted for something I may or may not have seen, and Diego is my only way out of a world of death and destruction. If only I can believe his dark promises.
Happy Christmas Eve to all who celebrate!
Verdict: I’m in love; somebody hold me
Lord have mercy, but do I ever love mercenaries and romance and accents and YES talk dirty in different languages. And then maybe translate so I know what you said. And then switch back to the foreign language please, because it sounded a hell of a lot hotter that way. SWOON. In Michele Mannon’s newest novel HIT MAN there is all of this and soooo much more. Like things being blown up. A woman with novel aspirations so do amazing things. Incredibly amazing things. Of course, then there’s the hit man who-much to his dismay-is falling head over heels for her. Things don’t go as planned, and people get caught in the crosshairs of unimaginable horrors…
Let’s begin this review journey with some character analysis: Aubrey and Diego. As you may have figured out via pronoun usage, Aubrey is out resident do-gooder and Diego is out hired exterminator of human beings. Obviously his job has left him a little rough around the edges—and he claims he’s loved only three people in his entire life: his mother, father, and sister. When Aubrey comes crashing into his mission in a suspicious way, he takes it upon himself to figure out what this American is doing. I’m sure you know what follows: things are shot into the sky, cartels are run by powerhouses, and government conspiracies. It’s all rather dramatic in the best way possible.
And then we’ve got Aubrey, who, despite all of her amazing intentions, is fantastic at getting herself into situations that most people wouldn’t walk away alive from. Of course, they don’t have a hit man following them around like a protective puppy dog.
So cute.
As you can probably tell, I love both of these characters so much. I think it’s kind of hard to craft a human with real flaws that don’t seem overdone, or oversimplified. You’ve got to make them 3-D. Diego and Aubrey are. Full color. Living. Breathing. Freaking hot as hell. Make incredibly poor decisions. Are actually really rude.
BUT. Despite being rude is all about consent when it comes to sex. So, you know, ALL THE STARS. This right here is a HUGE thing for me. It’s a button pusher, as well it should be for everyone. Something shouldn’t be done to/with your body without your permission. The fact that Diego made sure that the active consenting of sex was clear was my favorite. Like, yes. Please pass this valuable skill on to every human being ever. PLEASE.
All that being said, I did grow annoyed with these two folks on occasion. This is the reason for the deduction of the half star. I think four and a half though is a quite nice rating.
I wasn’t expecting to love this book as much as I did. It did take me a bit to get to it, and then a bit more to commit to actually reading it. Then, still, I had finals in college. However, now that I’ve finished, I kind of want to read it all over again. YES. It was that good.
A Tragic Kind of Wonderful by Eric Lindstrom
ARC via Publisher
Published || February 7, 2017 by Poppy
Goodreads || Amazon
In the vein of It’s Kind of a Funny Story and All the Bright Places, comes a captivating, immersive exploration of life with mental illness.
For sixteen-year-old Mel Hannigan, bipolar disorder makes life unpredictable. Her latest struggle is balancing her growing feelings in a new relationship with her instinct to keep everyone at arm’s length. And when a former friend confronts Mel with the truth about the way their relationship ended, deeply buried secrets threaten to come out and upend her shaky equilibrium.
As the walls of Mel’s compartmentalized world crumble, she fears the worst–that her friends will abandon her if they learn the truth about what she’s been hiding. Can Mel bring herself to risk everything to find out?
In A Tragic Kind of Wonderful, Eric Lindstrom, author of the critically acclaimed Not If I See You First, examines the fear that keeps us from exposing our true selves, and the courage it takes to be loved for who we really are.
You know what I wish we all talked about more? I wish we talked about mental disorders. There’s this stigma around those who’s minds spark up differently that someone else’s, and it seems to me that this maybe because of lack of understanding. The main character of A TRAGIC KIND OF WONDERFUL mentioned this more than one.
She said she is not like her Aunt, or like her brother– even if her mood wanes and waxes more similarly resembling her brother’s than her Aunts. It’s important to recognize that no one person’s symptoms are exactly like the other. This books does a slow reveal on just about everything, and for this, well, it was glorious.
What do I mean by the slow reveal? Everything—relationships and lives and heartbreak—in this book is riddled in secrets, may that be conscious or otherwise. Everything—those relationships and lives and heartbreaks—were something to behold. It is messy, and scary, and wrenched at the strings of my still-beating heart. It broke it. A thousand times over. That is another thing this books does well. I saw it in NOT IF I SEE YOU FIRST too. Obstacles. Facing life with them. People in your life facing them with you, but not sure how to broach them.
This book is about bipolar disorder, and it is about Mel Hannigan. It’s how bipolar disorder, or any mental illness for that matter, is not a One Size Fits All Deal. I mean, no one has the same brain as another person, so why would how that brain work be any different?
A TRAGIC KIND OF WONDERFUL is also about friendship. I think Lindstrom approached friendship is a really cool way. We sort of have the Before friends and then we have the After friends. Before and After the bipolar disorder made itself known, I mean. The reader gets to see how the Before friendships worked, how they contributed to making Mel the darling, self-conscious human she is today. The After friendships are the protective sort.
After the fall-out. After the deception, and the lies, and the low-key betrayal. After the mistakes, and the fear.
One other part of the book that I loved besides the way mental illness was approached along side different kinds of friendship was (I know; I know) the romance. It wasn’t hot and heavy; this guy is going to save me. He isn’t. I personally believe that people are an important aspect in allowing one to come to the realization that they are worth saving. People help to bring to light the irrationality of some rationalizations. This is what David is, to a certain extent. He’s also someone who did not see the Before or the After. He’s a fresh set of eyes who sees Mel as nothing more than she is in the moment.
So what do we have? Variations of friendship. An approach to mental illness that shows that, like friendship, these things vary. And, finally, we have Mel trudging through her own set of rough waters. All these different things make this book what it is. What is it? Well, it’s fantastic, and tragic, and wonderful.
Iron Cast by Destiny Soria
Amazon || Goodreads
ARC via Andye @ readingteen.net
Published || October 11, 2016
It’s Boston, 1919, and the Cast Iron club is packed. On stage, hemopaths—whose “afflicted” blood gives them the ability to create illusions through art—captivate their audience. Corinne and Ada have been best friends ever since infamous gangster Johnny Dervish recruited them into his circle. By night they perform for Johnny’s crowds, and by day they con Boston’s elite. When a job goes wrong and Ada is imprisoned, they realize how precarious their position is. After she escapes, two of the Cast Iron’s hires are shot, and Johnny disappears. With the law closing in, Corinne and Ada are forced to hunt for answers, even as betrayal faces them at every turn.
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The Lovely Reckless by Kami Garcia
ARC via Andye @ Reading Teen
Published: October 4, 2016
Goodreads || Amazon
I’ve become an expert at avoiding things that could hurt me—which means I will figure out how to stay away from Marco Leone.
Seventeen-year-old Frankie Devereux would do anything to forget the past. Haunted by the memory of her boyfriend’s death, she lives her life by one dangerous rule: Nothing matters. At least, that’s what Frankie tells herself after a reckless mistake forces her to leave her privileged life in the Heights to move in with her dad—an undercover cop. She transfers to a public high school in the Downs, where fistfights don’t faze anyone and illegal street racing is more popular than football.
Marco Leone is the fastest street racer in the Downs. Tough, sexy, and hypnotic, he makes it impossible for Frankie to ignore him—and how he makes her feel. But the risks Marco takes for his family could have devastating consequences for them both. When Frankie discovers his secret, she has to make a choice. Will she let the pain of the past determine her future? Or will she risk what little she has left to follow her heart?
Venators by Devri Walls
ARC via author for an honest review
Amazon || Goodreads
Published October 1, 2016
Six years ago, Grey Malteer was attacked by creatures he thought couldn’t possibly exist. They repeated a word, calling him a name he’d never heard before…Venator. Since then, his life has been a hellhole of secrecy—hiding old pain alongside strange new abilities.
Rune Jenkins has an itch, as she calls it, but it’s more than that. It’s an anger that builds up like the inside of a boiler whenever she’s around anything remotely supernatural. The pressure is growing steadily worse and she can’t understand why. All she knows is—her control is slipping.
By order of an unknown council Grey and Rune are pulled through a portal in the St. Louis arch, landing them in an alternate dimension where creatures of myth and legend exist. A realm that calls them, Venators.
Made up of centuries old fae, vampires, werewolves, elves and succubi the council’s corrupt nature becomes obvious as they seek to wield the newly returned Venators as weapons. Wedged in an impossible position, Grey and Rune must decide their fate—do they go against the council’s wishes and help the innocents of this unforgiving land, or face the possibility of execution by the council.
First of all: yaaaassssss.
This—THIS—is what I have been waiting for. Wing of Nestor, looking out. Because the queen of high fantasy is back and better than ever before. The first book in the series follows Grey and Rune as they are taken to a different world and subjected to the will of the ruling group of supernatural powers: succubus, fae, wizards, vampires, and incubus. As they find their place in this world, they have to battle internal fears as well as a powerful magical queen-like figure. (SHE HAS A DRAGON). VENATORS is the best mix of fantastical worlds, romance, and discovering how much of a force to be reckoned with you can be.
Rune is amazing. I’ll just begin my actual review portion of the rant with that. She’s so real and scared and fierce as all get out. After being dragged into another dimension in hopes of saving her brother from supernatural forces, she herself is forced to re-evaluate her priorities. I adore how she reacts when she’s confronted with things that she’s not used to, and, frankly, shouldn’t be possible. Her relationship with the other characters is built up in a way that is believable.
It’s sort of like this: you’ve got to do what you have to do (in this case, save her brother from the forces of evil) and it’s okay to be freaking out (vampire biting is a no-no, and screaming is a natural reaction when something is way weird) along the way. I love the take-it-as-it-comes savior folks, but I also want the ones who I can relate to. I mean, let’s be honest, not everyone is going to be totally okay with dragons and blue not-humans being a real life thing.
This honest (sort of) human being, her (once again, sort of) friend from her normal life, and the (sort of) allies they meet along the way. This, my darlings, is what I call an adventure. This is why I love Devri Walls. I like the world-building, and the characters who are magical, and the guys who are swoony. So much YES.
And VENATORS had that.
The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis
Published September 20, 2016
ARC via Andye @ ReadingTeen
Goodreads || Amazon
Alex Craft knows how to kill someone. And she doesn’t feel bad about it. When her older sister, Anna, was murdered three years ago and the killer walked free, Alex uncaged the language she knows best. The language of violence.
While her crime goes unpunished, Alex knows she can’t be trusted among other people, even in her small hometown. She relegates herself to the shadows, a girl who goes unseen in plain sight, unremarkable in the high school hallways.
But Jack Fisher sees her. He’s the guy all other guys want to be: the star athlete gunning for valedictorian with the prom queen on his arm. Guilt over the role he played the night Anna’s body was discovered hasn’t let him forget Alex over the years, and now her green eyes amid a constellation of freckles have his attention. He doesn’t want to only see Alex Craft; he wants to know her.
So does Peekay, the preacher’s kid, a girl whose identity is entangled with her dad’s job, though that does not stop her from knowing the taste of beer or missing the touch of her ex-boyfriend. When Peekay and Alex start working together at the animal shelter, a friendship forms and Alex’s protective nature extends to more than just the dogs and cats they care for.
Circumstances bring Alex, Jack, and Peekay together as their senior year unfolds. While partying one night, Alex’s darker nature breaks out, setting the teens on a collision course that will change their lives forever.
“My violence is everywhere here” (ARC)”
“I’m this raw, bleeding thing feeling everything for the first time, the joy and the pain” (ARC).
Worked Up by Tessa Bailey
ARC via Entangled
This did not influence my review or opinion
Goodreads || Amazon
Published August 1, 2016
Factory mechanic Duke Crawford just wants to watch SportsCenter in peace. Unfortunately, living with four divorcee sisters doesn’t provide much silence, nor does it change his stance on relationships. But when a fellow commitment-phobe stumbles into his life, getting him good and worked up, he can’t deny his protective instincts.
Samantha Waverly’s brother just put her in an impossible situation. The only way out? Marry huge, gruff, gladiator look-alike Duke—for show, of course. She doesn’t make promises—she knows too well how easily they can be broken—and this is no exception.
As the blistering attraction between them grows, the lines around the no-strings relationship blur. But Duke and Samantha’s marriage is only for show…or is it?
Amazon || Goodreads
ARC via Andye@ ReadingTeen
August 2, 2016
After a cyber bullying incident turns her life upside down, a handsome wheelchair rugby player shows a former mean girl that everyone deserves a second chance in this swoonworthy new novel from the author of How to Say I Love You Out Loud.
The party was at her house. The photos were posted to her Facebook account. That’s all the evidence anyone needed to condemn Nikki Baylor for a cyberbullying incident that humiliated a classmate and nearly resulted in the girl’s suicide. Now Nikki’s been expelled from her old school, her friends have abandoned her, and even her own parents can’t look her in the eye. With her plans for the future all but destroyed, Nikki resigns herself to being the girl everyone hates – almost as much as she hates herself. But then Nikki meets Pax, a spirited wheelchair rugby player who knows what it’s like when one mistake completely shatters your life. Refusing to judge her because of her past, he shows her that everyone deserves a second chance… and everyone deserves to be loved.
I really enjoyed this book. Like y’all, I really, really, enjoyed this book. And, to be honest, I’d been putting it off for a little while. Not only because of school work, but because I was becoming less and less interested as time went on. However, once I started this book I really could not stop. It begins with the Nikki running into the brother of the girl whose pictures were leaked, and Pax commenting to her about some aspect of life and the beauty of it. Sort of. He treats her like she’s human, which hasn’t happened for some time (months) and he’s just so stinkin’ sweet. (cue the fan girl squealing because y’all he’s my literal soul mate) This is a story about the other side of bullying, family relationships, and (as cheesy as it sounds) how to keep rolling after a fall.
I could literally fan girl all day long about Pax. Pax is confined to a wheelchair after a car accident. He’s the eternal optimist, generally happy dude. He’s sort of tasked himself with making Nikki see the life after a negative defining moment. He takes her to fairs, and impromptu sushi dates, and tries not to fall in love with her. Because the negative moment doesn’t make her who she is, and he knows that. He works to help he forgive herself, and offer up forgiveness. He is what we call a round character in English class. Fully fleshed out. Capable of knowing and growing and being. Dynamic and lovely.
Nikki, like Pax, is capable of growing and knowing and being. After her fall resulted in a very public form of hate, and a sort of outcast from her family, she’s pretty much done. She’s switched schools, lacking friends, and lacking support from herm om and dad. I felt for her. I felt for her so incredibly much. I’m amazed that I felt for the the capacity that I did, and the Other Side Of The Story was amazing. And important. Because then I got the whole story.
The reader gets to see the how friendships develop, and how life changes, and the depth of human mistakes and insecurities. We get to see how everyone involved turns out, and how not everything ends that way we want it to. But that makes it real and true.
Overall, I really like this book. The plot is centered around the development of Nikki, and the aftermath of the bullying. With the swoon-worthy characters and the great story line, I totally recommend this book.