Category Archives: It’s a Binge Read

Review Post: The Difference Between Someday and Forever by Aly Martinez (Difference Trilogy #3)

Posted in Books I love, It's a Binge Read, Releasing Now Book Addicts, Review Post by
The world took everything from us.
And we would stop at nothing until we took it all back—forever.

The Difference Between Someday and Forever, the much anticipated and stunning conclusion to The Difference Trilogy from USA Today bestselling author Aly Martinez is now live!

The world took everything from us.

As survivors of not only a plane crash, but two other impossible tragedies, we’d more than earned a life of peace. But time and time again, we were shown that fate had no intention of giving that to us.

Remi and I were soulmates. Plain and simple. Our love should have died in the depths of our darkness, but the sun still exists even when it’s not shining.

The secrets of our past threatened to destroy us at every turn, but for Remi, I would never stop fighting for our future.

The world took everything from us.
And we would stop at nothing until we took it all back—forever.

Fall in love today!
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3FMcUte
Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/SomedayForever

Start the trilogy today!
FREE in Kindle Unlimited
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3u82l1L
Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/SomebodySomeone

*****5 Absolutely Amazing Stars*****

There are so many things that I want to tell you about this book and the absolutely magnificent ending that Aly Martinez crafted for Bowen and Remi. I want to tell you everything. I want to tell you how this last book, this epic and unforgettable ending, delivered it all. I want to tell you about how this book made me cry, made me laugh, made me blush, how it literally stole my breath multiple times. I want to tell you all of the things that made this book and this trilogy absolutely amazing. I want to give you every single detail and more sol that makes this story one of the best stories that I’ve ever experienced.

I want to tell you everything, but I can’t do that For a couple of reasons. One, because spoilers ain’t cool. Two, because my words will never do this authors words justice. And they deserve every bit of damn justice for what Aly Martinez creates and gives you in this book and ending. And three, this ending is one that you just need to experience for yourself.

Trust me when I say that.

I am an ending person. There is just something so utterly spectacular about a good ending. When you’ve spent a long amount of time with characters, when you’ve been able to understand every piece of them, when you fall and heart first in love with them and just traveled and experienced it all with them, you want an ending that they deserve. You crave that satisfying conclusion that delivers everything. You desperately hope and pray that the author will bring together an ending that will give you everything and more that you needed with the characters you loved from the start.

Good endings are what I live for as a reader. A good ending is what makes my reader heart happy. They are one of the many reasons why I love a good series, and I knew coming into this last book of this trilogy that I wanted the most epic and emotional and unforgettable ending for Remi and Bowen. And let me tell you, I got the most perfect ending for those characters in this book.

What Aly Martinez so beautifully and breathtakingly and thoughtfully creates in this last book with them will truly blow you away. It will eviscerate all of your heart and emotions. It will simultaneously heal every broken piece of you and them as they fight for their love. It will keep you on the edge of your seat through every twist and turn that comes their way. It will have you in all of what you get with them, what you feel with them, what you come to understand and live and take in with them. It will deliver everything you didn’t even know you needed with them. And I promise you it will also answer every single question you’ve had about their story and their journey together.

I truly could not have asked for a more fitting an epic conclusion for Remi and Bowen. Those two are soulmates. Those two are complicated and amazing and messy and wonderful characters that have owned my heart from the very first page of this series. Getting to see the two of them face every hurdle, every heartbreaking moment, and every bit of in between, has just seared them to me. They have permanently burrowed themselves so deep in my heart, so to say that I needed them to get that ending they deserved, is literally putting it too mildly.

I needed EVERYTHING for them.

I needed them to heal. I needed them to get the answers they sought. I needed them to be okay. I needed them to believe in themselves and each other. I needed them to experience more of the beautiful and absolutely mesmerizing love that they gave one another. I needed them to get the happily ever after that they had fought so damn hard for.

I don’t want to ruin anything about that ending that they so epically and magnificently give you, and I don’t want to spoil anything, but let me just say… I was not disappointed in what I got with those two at all. Not one little bit. They delivered it all and then some, and they gave me an ending that was beyond worthy of their journey and story together.

What Aly Martinez has delivered and created in this epic trilogy is something I will never forget reading.

This trilogy is a story of two characters who have a literally been put through the wringer. Two people who are soulmates, who are the endgame we all root for, but who have what feels like insurmountable challenges in front of them. They go through it all in this series. They have to fight for it. They have to put their hearts on the line. They have to be willing to feel everything and give it all for the chance and experiencing the love that they share. Their story will break your heart. But it will also give you life. It will put you back together again. It will amaze you in every way with the depth of what they share and feel. And while it might not be easy and it might not always be pretty, it is beyond worth it. And it is one of the most epic and exhilarating and all feeling romances I have ever had the pleasure of reading.

This book allows you to feel everything with Remi and Bowen. It allows you to understand their choices, their motivations, their drive, and every facet of their hearts and souls. It allows you to remember again and again why you need them to be together and find that chance at a forever live after everything they’ve been through. It shows you on every page why they are meant to be and it reminds you that the level of what they feel for one another and the emotion of it all is so beyond beautiful and breathtaking and just utterly spectacular. Getting to experience and live that and practically touch all of that with them as they fight like hell for one another and their love is absolutely everything.

It truly is.

I really don’t even have the right amount of words to accurately capture what Aly Martinez delivers in this final book. This story has kept me on the edge of my seat from the very start, it has made me cry all of the tears, and it has made me feel just about every emotion possible. There have been moments that have shattered me. Moments that have given me everything. Moments that have truly stolen my breath with what these characters go through and experience. Moments that have made me laugh my ass off and moment so full of joy and elation that you will feel the warmth and the happiness emanating from these characters and those moments. All of those moments come together in this final book to deliver the ending that these characters deserve.

I never could’ve asked for a better ending than what I got in this final book for Remi and Bowen, and the way that this author so thoughtfully and intricately brings together their story for this final chapter just reminds you again and again why they are meant to be, why they are truly soulmates, and why no matter what happens, those two will always find a way.

This book was the perfect conclusion for this absolutely mesmerizing and consuming love story, and it honestly was a shining example of why this author is one of the best authors I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading. The way that she crafts her words, the way that she allows you to live and feel everything with her characters, and the way that she pushes them as characters just as much as she pushes you through every moment of her story, lets her writing and storytelling talent shine. This author immerses you in this world for a final chapter that will make you feel everything under the sun, that will show you that soulmates are definitely real, and that will show you love can truly see you through anything and give you the world, if you keep yourself open to it and fight like hell for the chance to have it.

Remi and Bowen make this ending theirs and I promise that if you have loved every book in this trilogy, you will not be disappointed in this ending. Not one little bit. This author culminates the story in a way that you will never forget and in a way that will have you feeling everything well after you reach that last page.

I finished this book days ago and I still can’t stop thinking about the ending and what I got with these characters. I still can’t stop feeling the heart and the emotion and the meaning behind what they built and shared in this entire trilogy, but especially in this last book. And I especially can’t stop loving every single thing about them.

Those two made me smile until my cheeks hurt, made me laugh so hard, shocked me to my core to the point that I literally lost my voice while reading their story because I was so taken with everything they threw my way. They made me cry so hard I hurt my sinuses, they physically hurt my heart, but they also put me back together again in a way that I will never forget. They showed me what it meant to feel everything, to love with your entire soul and being, and to fight with all you have for the chance at love and happiness and forever.

Aly Martinez so thoughtfully and magnificently crafted the perfect ending to a love story that I will never forget reading. This book captured the fire of these characters, every facet of their hearts and souls, and it emanated with one of the most epic and deep and true love stories that I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading. The way that it all comes together will blow your mind and your heart away, but will also have you knowing that you’ve just read the most fitting ending to the most incredible love story…and it doesn’t get better than that.

Remi and Bowen will always own a part of my heart after what they gave me in this trilogy. They may have made me work for it, and they may have made me shed quite a few tears along the way with them, but they made it so beyond worth it. They are love and the possibilities of them and everything they give you is so beyond worth it. They are so beyond worth it.

Their love story is one of fate, heartbreak, spark, connection, every single emotion, and a hell of a lot of paperwork….and boy is it everything.

So much glorious everything that will give the world and them and their love.

In the end, getting that, feeling that, living and experiencing that, and just being in the presence of that and them and their epic, feel it in your bones and marrow of your soul, love, is the absolute best.

The. Absolute. Best.

Excerpt from The Difference Between Somebody and Someone

“Sorry, is my mood killing your buzz?” I asked.
Her blue eyes sparkled in the glow of the airplane reading light. “It really is.”
I shook my head and went back to mindlessly flipping the pages of a magazine I’d bought at the terminal back in Colorado. I’d picked it up with hopes it would be a distraction from the cyclone raging within me on our way back to Atlanta. The minute she ordered that drink, I’d known it was a lost cause.
Her hand came across the armrest and landed on my thigh. “Bowen, stop. It’s not a big deal.”
It was the truth. Compared to everything we’d been through, our house could have been swallowed by a sinkhole and it wouldn’t have been considered a big deal.
Honest to God, I was lucky to still have her at all. It had only been nine months since we’d met, but we’d lived a thousand lives in that time. Unfortunately, that also meant we’d died almost as many deaths.
Terrifying, tortuous, agony-filled deaths.
We’d also found love though—immeasurable amounts of it.
I stared down at her engagement ring. I’d cashed out a huge chunk of my savings account and still had to open a line of credit with the jewelry store to buy the three-karat princess-cut ring. The payment was roughly the same as I paid for my truck each month, but the tears in her eyes as she’d sat in her hospital bed, clutching it to her chest the day I proposed, made it all worth it.
She was worth it. Every day, every tear, every worry-filled minute shaved off my life.
I’d do it all again.
If only I weren’t so helpless to save her. I loved that woman. Whole heart. Whole soul. Bend me, break me, crack me open and she would have been there. No matter how bad it got, she was always a part of me.
I wasn’t sure anymore if she could say the same.
“Bowen,” she whispered, just as she’d done so many times before. It was a plea. One she knew I’d answer no matter the situation. No matter how mad I got. No matter how much I feared losing her again.
My gaze instinctively lifted to hers.
She smiled and the sight caused an ache in my chest. It was a lie.
God, I missed her smile.
“Baby, I’m okay.” She tilted her head to her drink. “I hate flying. That’s all this is.”
That was a lie too.
My shoulders fell and a loud breath tore from my burning lungs, but I let myself pretend, my mind going back to a time when it could have been the truth.
I thought of the nights we’d shared multiple bottles of wine and made love, laughing and moaning under the covers until the sun crept across the horizon. She’d rested peacefully in my arms. No nightmares. No crying in her sleep. No insomnia. Just even breaths, her head on my shoulder, and her body wound around mine so tightly it was like a second skin.
But that was the past.
The unreachable, insurmountable past.
The plane jerked, forcing me back to the present.
“Shit.” She moved her hand off my thigh to grasp her drink as it sloshed all over her. “Crap, crap, crap,” she chanted, using a cocktail napkin to dry the dark-red pool of tomato juice on her white pants.
For a moment, I sat there and watched her struggle. It wasn’t the most chivalrous thing to do, but I was all out of grand gestures.
She unbuckled her seat belt and lurched to her feet, her phone along with a handful of ice cubes from her lap falling to the floor. “Damn, this is going to leave a huge stain.”
The plane jerked again and she stumbled forward, crashing into the seat in front of her before I could catch her arm.
“Dammit, sit down before you get hurt.”
Ignoring me, she bent over to fish her phone from under the seat. “Hit the button for the flight attendant. I need some club soda and a lemon. STAT.”
“No, what you need is to sit down.”
I gave her arm a tug and dragged her down to the seat. Using the tip of my boot, I swept her phone toward her. Aforementioned lack of chivalry aside, I was no contortionist; leaning over to pick it up was out of the question.
She folded her upper body over my lap and blindly patted around the floor. I fought the urge to run my fingers through the back of her hair. In the beginning, it would have been a no-brainer. I’d have curled forward and suggestively whispered in her ear, “Since you’re already down there…”
She would have grinned up at me, her whole face filled with mischief as she traced a finger over my zipper, ignoring anyone who dared to watch her as she replied, “You mean down here?”
I’d have grabbed her hand and made her stop even though I was the one who had started it. She had no filter. She always took it one step too far. I’d loved that about her when we’d first met. It was fresh and exciting, a far cry from the stuffy women I’d dated in the past.
But now, she was in the past too.
We were in the past.

About Aly
Originally from Savannah, Georgia, USA Today bestselling author Aly Martinez now lives in South Carolina with her four hilarious children.
Never one to take herself too seriously, she enjoys movies that can surprise her with a twist, charcuterie boards, and her mildly neurotic golden retriever. It should be known, however, that she hates pizza and ice cream, almost as much as writing her bio in the third person.
She passes what little free time she has reading anything and everything she can get her hands on, preferably with a glass of wine by her side.

Connect with Aly
Facebook: http://bit.ly/2RvbjCA
Twitter: http://bit.ly/2DUCq1Z
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2We92eT
BookBub: http://bit.ly/2V32S4B
GoodReads: http://bit.ly/2UKGUOM
Facebook Reader Group: http://bit.ly/2DEpPAh
Instagram: http://bit.ly/2DUgzrJ
Website: https://alymartinez.com/
Stay up to date with Aly by joining her mailing list today: http://bit.ly/2WnkxjS

Releasing Now: The Difference Between Someday and Forever (The Difference Trilogy #3) by Aly Martinez

Posted in Books I love, It's a Binge Read, Releasing Now Book Addicts by
The world took everything from us.

The Difference Between Someday and Forever, the much anticipated and stunning conclusion to The Difference Trilogy from USA Today bestselling author Aly Martinez is now live!

The world took everything from us.

As survivors of not only a plane crash, but two other impossible tragedies, we’d more than earned a life of peace. But time and time again, we were shown that fate had no intention of giving that to us.

Remi and I were soulmates. Plain and simple. Our love should have died in the depths of our darkness, but the sun still exists even when it’s not shining.

The secrets of our past threatened to destroy us at every turn, but for Remi, I would never stop fighting for our future.

The world took everything from us.
And we would stop at nothing until we took it all back—forever.

Fall in love today!
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3FMcUte
Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/SomedayForever

Start the trilogy today!
FREE in Kindle Unlimited
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3u82l1L
Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/SomebodySomeone

About Aly
Originally from Savannah, Georgia, USA Today bestselling author Aly Martinez now lives in South Carolina with her four hilarious children.
Never one to take herself too seriously, she enjoys movies that can surprise her with a twist, charcuterie boards, and her mildly neurotic golden retriever. It should be known, however, that she hates pizza and ice cream, almost as much as writing her bio in the third person.
She passes what little free time she has reading anything and everything she can get her hands on, preferably with a glass of wine by her side.

Connect with Aly
Facebook: http://bit.ly/2RvbjCA
Twitter: http://bit.ly/2DUCq1Z
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2We92eT
BookBub: http://bit.ly/2V32S4B
GoodReads: http://bit.ly/2UKGUOM
Facebook Reader Group: http://bit.ly/2DEpPAh
Instagram: http://bit.ly/2DUgzrJ
Website: https://alymartinez.com/
Stay up to date with Aly by joining her mailing list today: http://bit.ly/2WnkxjS

Review Post: The Difference Between Somehow and Someway by Aly Martinez (The Difference Trilogy #2)

Posted in Books I love, It's a Binge Read, Releasing Now Book Addicts, Review Post by
“Mind blowing!”—Goodreads

The Difference Between Somehow and Someway, the jaw-dropping, sexy and intense second book in The Difference Trilogy from USA Today bestselling author Aly Martinez is now live!

The world gave me everything.

After surviving a plane crash, I was lucky to be alive. It was a harsh truth, but one that changed my perspective on how fragile life could be.

So when a fellow survivor caught my eye, I owed it to myself to take a chance and follow my heart.

Bowen Michaels was guarded and broody, but I saw through his well-formed armor. Much like me, he was broken and lost, but together we found our way through the darkness.

For a brief moment, wrapped in his arms, it felt like maybe he was right about fate and we’d been destined to find each other all along.

But when buried secrets of the past erupt, igniting us both, it was hard to believe we’d been fated for anything other than failure.

The world gave me everything.
And then it took it all away.

Read today!
FREE in Kindle Unlimited
Amazon: https://amzn.to/32n2we4
Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/SomehowSomeway

Start the trilogy today!
FREE in Kindle Unlimited
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3u82l1L
Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/SomebodySomeone

Pre-order the rest of the trilogy today!

The Difference Between Someday and Forever
Releasing March 24th
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3FMcUte
Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/SomedayForever

Excerpt from The Difference between Somebody and Someone
Book 1

*****EXCERPT*****

“Sorry, is my mood killing your buzz?” I asked.
Her blue eyes sparkled in the glow of the airplane reading light. “It really is.”
I shook my head and went back to mindlessly flipping the pages of a magazine I’d bought at the terminal back in Colorado. I’d picked it up with hopes it would be a distraction from the cyclone raging within me on our way back to Atlanta. The minute she ordered that drink, I’d known it was a lost cause.
Her hand came across the armrest and landed on my thigh. “Bowen, stop. It’s not a big deal.”
It was the truth. Compared to everything we’d been through, our house could have been swallowed by a sinkhole and it wouldn’t have been considered a big deal.
Honest to God, I was lucky to still have her at all. It had only been nine months since we’d met, but we’d lived a thousand lives in that time. Unfortunately, that also meant we’d died almost as many deaths.
Terrifying, tortuous, agony-filled deaths.
We’d also found love though—immeasurable amounts of it.
I stared down at her engagement ring. I’d cashed out a huge chunk of my savings account and still had to open a line of credit with the jewelry store to buy the three-karat princess-cut ring. The payment was roughly the same as I paid for my truck each month, but the tears in her eyes as she’d sat in her hospital bed, clutching it to her chest the day I proposed, made it all worth it.
She was worth it. Every day, every tear, every worry-filled minute shaved off my life.
I’d do it all again.
If only I weren’t so helpless to save her. I loved that woman. Whole heart. Whole soul. Bend me, break me, crack me open and she would have been there. No matter how bad it got, she was always a part of me.
I wasn’t sure anymore if she could say the same.
“Bowen,” she whispered, just as she’d done so many times before. It was a plea. One she knew I’d answer no matter the situation. No matter how mad I got. No matter how much I feared losing her again.
My gaze instinctively lifted to hers.
She smiled and the sight caused an ache in my chest. It was a lie.
God, I missed her smile.
“Baby, I’m okay.” She tilted her head to her drink. “I hate flying. That’s all this is.”
That was a lie too.
My shoulders fell and a loud breath tore from my burning lungs, but I let myself pretend, my mind going back to a time when it could have been the truth.
I thought of the nights we’d shared multiple bottles of wine and made love, laughing and moaning under the covers until the sun crept across the horizon. She’d rested peacefully in my arms. No nightmares. No crying in her sleep. No insomnia. Just even breaths, her head on my shoulder, and her body wound around mine so tightly it was like a second skin.
But that was the past.
The unreachable, insurmountable past.
The plane jerked, forcing me back to the present.
“Shit.” She moved her hand off my thigh to grasp her drink as it sloshed all over her. “Crap, crap, crap,” she chanted, using a cocktail napkin to dry the dark-red pool of tomato juice on her white pants.
For a moment, I sat there and watched her struggle. It wasn’t the most chivalrous thing to do, but I was all out of grand gestures.
She unbuckled her seat belt and lurched to her feet, her phone along with a handful of ice cubes from her lap falling to the floor. “Damn, this is going to leave a huge stain.”
The plane jerked again and she stumbled forward, crashing into the seat in front of her before I could catch her arm.
“Dammit, sit down before you get hurt.”
Ignoring me, she bent over to fish her phone from under the seat. “Hit the button for the flight attendant. I need some club soda and a lemon. STAT.”
“No, what you need is to sit down.”
I gave her arm a tug and dragged her down to the seat. Using the tip of my boot, I swept her phone toward her. Aforementioned lack of chivalry aside, I was no contortionist; leaning over to pick it up was out of the question.
She folded her upper body over my lap and blindly patted around the floor. I fought the urge to run my fingers through the back of her hair. In the beginning, it would have been a no-brainer. I’d have curled forward and suggestively whispered in her ear, “Since you’re already down there…”
She would have grinned up at me, her whole face filled with mischief as she traced a finger over my zipper, ignoring anyone who dared to watch her as she replied, “You mean down here?”
I’d have grabbed her hand and made her stop even though I was the one who had started it. She had no filter. She always took it one step too far. I’d loved that about her when we’d first met. It was fresh and exciting, a far cry from the stuffy women I’d dated in the past.
But now, she was in the past too.
We were in the past.

*****MY REVIEW*****

5 Utterly Incredible Stars

I would like to start this review by saying that this book made me lose my voice for multiple days. You might be asking yourself in this moment, how did a book make you lose your voice? Well let me explain. Reading this book, getting so many gloriously emotional and unforgettable moments with these characters, getting more of the pieces of this puzzle that I desperately needed, while simultaneously asking about 50 bajillion more questions that I needed the answers to, had me yelling at this book.

Literally.

There were so many shocking turn of events, so many mind blowing reveals in this book, so many effing amazing emotionally breathtaking pieces brought together in this book that I literally lost my voice from how hard and loud I was screaming. I’ve never had that happen before from reading a book. Ever.

So suffice to say, I loved every single thing about this book.

I loved every single word of this continuation of Remi and Bowen‘s absolutely consuming love story. I loved every ounce of emotion and feeling that Aly Martinez made me feel from the very first letter of this book through the very last period. I loved that this book kept me on my toes through every single page. I loved that I once again had no idea what this book would bring, yet I knew with every fiber of my soul that it would bring me one of the most amazing love stories I’ve ever read. I loved that my breath was literally stolen by this book and the shocks and the twists and the feels of it all. I loved the love. I loved the heartbreak. I loved the fact that this book puts these characters through the ringer with everything that comes their way. I loved that this book makes them work for it, but also simultaneously shows that they are beyond worth it. I loved that this story was once again so fully and truly and authentically Remi and Bowen.

I loved everything about this book. I truly cannot say that enough.

Aly Martinez is one of my favorite authors for a reason. She makes me feel everything in her books. She makes me cry. She makes me laugh my ass off. She makes me feel the tangible emotion of her characters. She keeps me hooked like there’s no tomorrow, and she has me guessing at everything that is to come. Her writing allows for one of the most visceral and all feeling experiences that you will ever experience as a reader, and this trilogy encapsulate all of that and magnifies it. This book is everything I’ve ever loved about one of her stories, multiplied times a million.

It is just more. So much glorious more.

The way that you feel the story, the way you live it and breathe that and just practically take a hold of it is everything. The way that this author just allows you to be in the thick of it with these characters through their struggle, through their strife, through their second chances at it all, and through everything they put on the line is everything. The way that you are just in this story with Remi and Bowen, figuring out the puzzle just as they do, the way you’re sent reeling right along with them at what you get, and the way that you’re just left in awe by it all is everything. The way this author perfectly balances giving you that fiery intensity and connection, that spice that is on a whole different level, while also cultivating a romance that will sucker punch your heart and on your soul and emotions in every way possible, is absolutely everything.

What you get with Remi and Bowen in this continuation of their story is absolutely everything. Those to just take it to the next level. This book picks up right where the last one left off, and it has you right on that edge desperate to see what that next page will bring. Through it all you realize that these two have so much more ahead of them, so much to figure out, and so much to fix and make better, but you also know that they are resilient, that they are determined, that they are in it. Even in the hardest of moments, even in the midst of that struggle, and even in those moments when they are put through the ringer, they show you that they are worth it, they show you that their love is beautiful and meant to be, and they show you that they are the definition of soulmates. Coupled with the most eviscerating moments, that simultaneously give you the absolute best banter, that also simultaneously envelop you with in every crazy twist and turn in revelation that comes their way, makes for a book you will not be able to put down.

I was literally owned by this book. Like I said, it made me lose my voice because I was that invested in these characters and in the events of the story and in what I was feeling with them, and in how much I needed them to put the pieces of themselves and each other back together again. I just lived this book. As a reader there is nothing better than fully living and experiencing a story. The way that Aly Martinez allows you to do that in the first book, and just amplifies that even more in the second book, exemplifies her writing and storytelling talent. And the way that she just lets you be there with them, through thick and thin, through hardship and struggle, through highs and the sweetest moment, through everything in between, makes for one of the best books and stories that I’ve ever read in my entire life.

I seriously want to sit here and tell you everything about this book, but I also don’t want to reveal anything about the story because you need to just experience it for yourself. Do not look too much into these reviews and ruin the reading experience with this author so authentically gives you with Remi and Bowen. This trilogy is a wild roller coaster ride in the best way. It hooks you, it consumes you, it owns every part of your mind and your heart and your very soul from the very first page.

The moment I started the second book, was the moment I already needed the third one because I have so many questions right now. I have so many questions and I cannot wait to get answers to. This author or not only keeps you hooked through all of those crazy twists and turns, but she also gives you one of the most deeply felt love stories between two very dynamic and complicated and real characters who could not be more meant to be.

Remi and Bowen are the real deal and you will absolutely treasure this continuation of their story and the moments you get with them.

Those two are the definition of soulmates. They are two characters who are ingrained in each others lives, who have imprinted on each other’s hearts, and who own each other’s souls. They show you in this book that they have a lot to figure out and process, that there is so much at stake here between them, and they show you that they’re worth it. They show you through every second with them that every ounce of struggle, every bit of heartache, every moment that hurts them, also has them both knowing deep down that they’re meant to be together. It has them knowing that they’re worth the fight. It has them knowing that they have to figure this out because there’s no way they can’t be together.

This book will make you laugh, it will make you cry, it will probably have you losing your voice just like I lost mine because you will be so shocked by what you get and what is revealed in this book, and it will also just make you believe in the love that is coming to light on the pages of this book. The way that the story deepens and extends the love that you get with these characters from the first book and amplifies it even more in this book is just one of the things that makes it so absolutely incredible to read and experience. The way that this author just allows you to hit the ground running with these characters, and has you desperate for everything they’re giving you is nothing short of everything. And simply put, the way that you are able to experience what you do with these characters will have you in every breath of this book and desperately ready for that final chapter that will reveal what’s happened, the depth of what they share, and what is to come for both of them.

I really can’t say enough good things about Remi and Bowen. Those two are something special. And when I say they are the real deal, I mean it with every part of my heart. Those two complete each other. Those two ignite each other. They make each other want more. They make each other want to be the best versions of themselves. They make each other question everything about themselves in the best way possible. They make each other want to fight for more of what they make one another feel. They make each other question their own sanity at times, but they also make each other feel everything.

Getting to see just how far these characters will go to save one another, to heal one another, to fight for one another, and two love one another is absolutely beautiful. It just shows you in every way possible why these two characters have to find a way to make it all work and get that happily ever after. And it will have you believing in the truth of them and in the depth of what they feel and share because they will make you believe in everything that they feel for one another. It might not be easy and it might not always be pretty, but it is them. It is heartfelt and honest, so beautifully authentic and layered, and it is one of the most deeply felt in epic love stories that I’ve ever read.

This book was the perfect second part to this trilogy that will go down as a favorite top read for me. This book answered so many of the questions that I had, it gave me so many of the moments I was desperate for, but it also made me want more. It made me need more. It made me crave every ounce of more that I could get my hands on. And when I tell you that I will be running to my Kindle the day that the third book drops, I mean that with every fiber of my being. I will be running to get this final part, to get more of Remi and Bowen, to get answers to the bajillion questions I still have, and to get more of this epic and deeply emotional love story that has addicted me in every way possible.

I cannot recommend this trilogy enough. It is Aly Martinez at her best. The story is epic, it is beautifully emotional, deeply consuming, phenomenally layered and crafted, and it will have you yelling at your Kindle, feeling it all, crying all of the tears, while simultaneously swooning and melting and just loving what you get with these characters. Throw in some fantastic banter and a plot that’ll have you feeling like you’re on the most exhilarating roller coaster ride of your life, and you have this book and this story.

The way that all of those pieces come together in this book adds to the entire puzzle that is this trilogy in a way that will just own you. And you will love it. So very very much.

I cannot wait for the conclusion of the epic trilogy. I cannot wait for more Remi and Bowen. I cannot wait for everything I know these characters will deliver in the finale of this absolutely magnificent trilogy. Aly Martinez has outdone herself once again, and while I know that I’ve used all of the words to tell you how amazing this book and this trilogy are, just know that my words are not even close to enough to capture what you’ll get in the story with Remi and Bowen.

So just do yourself a favor and read these books. Go in blind, read them, live them, feel at all, live through this epic and unforgettable romance, and just embrace it all. It will have you feeling all of the feels, smiling so hard your cheeks hurt, and just in awe of what this author captures and creates through her words. And in the end it will have you desperate for every single part of this story and what you get with these characters.

Also, maybe get yourself a lot of drinks while you read this book. It will help you to not lose your voice like I did from all of the feelings and all of the yelling you’ll be doing at the twists and the craziness and the reveals of this book. But also trust me when I say that you will be so enthralled and ecstatic over the fact that you feel so much with this book and what it gives you and what it reveals that you will literally yell at it and lose your voice. I know that’s how I felt for days after finishing this book and I honestly wouldn’t have it any other way. Because if you can read a book that makes you feel everything so much and so truly and deeply that you lose your voice because of what that book made you feel, well then that is one hell of a book. And let me tell you, this is one hell of a book and you NEED it in your life. This very instant.

About Aly
Originally from Savannah, Georgia, USA Today bestselling author Aly Martinez now lives in South Carolina with her four hilarious children.
Never one to take herself too seriously, she enjoys movies that can surprise her with a twist, charcuterie boards, and her mildly neurotic golden retriever. It should be known, however, that she hates pizza and ice cream, almost as much as writing her bio in the third person.
She passes what little free time she has reading anything and everything she can get her hands on, preferably with a glass of wine by her side.

Connect with Aly
Facebook: http://bit.ly/2RvbjCA
Twitter: http://bit.ly/2DUCq1Z
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2We92eT
BookBub: http://bit.ly/2V32S4B
GoodReads: http://bit.ly/2UKGUOM
Facebook Reader Group: http://bit.ly/2DEpPAh
Instagram: http://bit.ly/2DUgzrJ
Website: https://alymartinez.com/
Stay up to date with Aly by joining her mailing list today: http://bit.ly/2WnkxjS

Releasing Now: The Difference Between Somehow and Someway by Aly Martinez

Posted in Books I love, It's a Binge Read, Releasing Now Book Addicts by
The world gave me everything.
And then it took it all away.

The Difference Between Somehow and Someway, the second book in the moving and captivating The Difference Trilogy from USA Today bestselling author Aly Martinez is now live!

The world gave me everything.

After surviving a plane crash, I was lucky to be alive. It was a harsh truth, but one that changed my perspective on how fragile life could be.

So when a fellow survivor caught my eye, I owed it to myself to take a chance and follow my heart.

Bowen Michaels was guarded and broody, but I saw through his well-formed armor. Much like me, he was broken and lost, but together we found our way through the darkness.

For a brief moment, wrapped in his arms, it felt like maybe he was right about fate and we’d been destined to find each other all along.

But when buried secrets of the past erupt, igniting us both, it was hard to believe we’d been fated for anything other than failure.

The world gave me everything.
And then it took it all away.

Read today!
FREE in Kindle Unlimited
Amazon: https://amzn.to/32n2we4
Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/SomehowSomeway

Start the trilogy today!
FREE in Kindle Unlimited
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3u82l1L
Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/SomebodySomeone

Pre-order the rest of the trilogy today!

The Difference Between Someday and Forever
Releasing March 24th
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3FMcUte
Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/SomedayForever

About Aly
Originally from Savannah, Georgia, USA Today bestselling author Aly Martinez now lives in South Carolina with her four hilarious children.
Never one to take herself too seriously, she enjoys movies that can surprise her with a twist, charcuterie boards, and her mildly neurotic golden retriever. It should be known, however, that she hates pizza and ice cream, almost as much as writing her bio in the third person.
She passes what little free time she has reading anything and everything she can get her hands on, preferably with a glass of wine by her side.

Connect with Aly
Facebook: http://bit.ly/2RvbjCA
Twitter: http://bit.ly/2DUCq1Z
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2We92eT
BookBub: http://bit.ly/2V32S4B
GoodReads: http://bit.ly/2UKGUOM
Facebook Reader Group: http://bit.ly/2DEpPAh
Instagram: http://bit.ly/2DUgzrJ
Website: https://alymartinez.com/
Stay up to date with Aly by joining her mailing list today: http://bit.ly/2WnkxjS

Review Post: The Difference Between Somebody and Someone (The Difference Trilogy #1) by Aly Martinez

Posted in Books I love, It's a Binge Read, Releasing Now Book Addicts, Review Post by
The world owes you nothing.

The Difference Between Somebody and Someone, the first book in the The Difference Trilogy, filled with emotional twists and turns from USA Today bestselling author Aly Martinez, is now live!

The world owes you nothing.

It took losing the woman I loved and facing the paralyzing task of moving on without her for me to truly understand that.

Consumed by regret and razor-sharp memories, I’d resigned myself to a life of loneliness until a survivor from the same plane crash that took my fiancée stormed into my life.

Remi Grey was chaos and sunshine, fire and freedom. With her in my arms, I began to believe that fate had other plans for me.

But as secrets of the past exploded around us, it seemed the only thing fated about our relationship was that I had been destined to lose her from the start.

The world owes you nothing. But for Remi, I would risk it all. No matter the cost.

Start the trilogy today!
FREE in Kindle Unlimited
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3u82l1L
Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/SomebodySomeone

Add The Difference Between Somebody and Someone to Goodreads→ https://bit.ly/3n8QpJb

Pre-order the rest of the trilogy today!

The Difference Between Somehow and Someway
Releasing February 24th
Amazon: https://amzn.to/32n2we4
Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/SomehowSomeway

The Difference Between Someday and Forever
Releasing March 24th
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3FMcUte
Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/SomedayForever

*****MY REVIEW*****

5 Utterly Incredible Stars

When I sit down to read a book by Aly Martinez, I know to buckle up for one hell of a ride. I know to expect the most glorious emotional murder, the craziest twists and turns, and a love story with equal parts fire, intensity, and so much heart and emotion. This is what I’ve come to love and expect from every book by her, and boy has she delivered on all of those things in every single way in this book. Honestly, she delivered on all of that and more in this book and I am still in shock and blown away and just truly in all of what she gave me with Remi and Bowen in this book.

The Difference Between Somebody and Someone is Aly Martinez at her best.

It’s almost as if she took everything that makes her books and her writing and her characters so unique and breathtaking and amazing and just amplified that. It’s like she lit that all on fire and exploded it all into this book and this story. I finish this book days ago and I’m still thinking about it. I’m still feeling everything with these characters. I’m still absolutely mesmerized by what I got within this book.

This book is absolutely unforgettable. I’m every way possible. This book is hands-down one of the best books I have ever read. This book is probably the most shocking and twisty turny book that I’ve EVER experienced. Just when I think this author can’t surprise me any more than she already has, she goes and does just that. Just when I think she can’t make me feel more, she goes and does just that times a million. Just when I think that there’s no way she can make me love her words and her characters more, she definitely goes and does just that in every way possible.

What Aly Martinez creates in this book is literal perfection. It is one of the most romantic, all feeling, absolutely consuming stories I’ve ever read. Throw in a plot that will bend your mind and have you guessing through every turn of that page until the very last word, along with some serious fire and intensity and connection, and you have just the surface level of amazingness that is this book.

What Aly Martinez allows you to get with Remi in Bowen is truly on a whole different playing field. This book and this trilogy is her at her absolute best. I truly cannot say that enough. Her writing is everything. The way that she allows you to feel and live and breathe and just take in every single syllable of what these characters say and feel and think is EVERYTHING. The way that it all plays out unfolding like the craziest puzzle you’ve ever put together will blow your mind to pieces. By the time you reach that last book you will feel your heart in your throat, you will simultaneously be desperate for that next book, and you will be just completely mesmerized and in awe of everything you got with these characters in this book.

It’s honestly a struggle to write this review right now because I know that my words will never come close to capturing what you get in this book. I know that my words will never be enough to tell you what this book will give you. I know that my words will never even scratch the surface of how literally amazing the story and these characters are. I know that my words will not give you that, but you know what will give you that? Reading this book as soon as humanly possible.

What I got with Remi and Bowen in this book was emotionally eviscerating in the absolute best way. Those two characters have been through so much and the way that this author allows you to understand that, to understand them, to understand their journey of grief and healing is phenomenal. That coupled with the instant and very real connection between them add a level of heat and build up to this book that is practically tangible. Throw in the fact that they’ve both survived this plane crash and the many after effects of that, and you have a book that you will never ever forget.

I’ve never read a book like this one. I’ve never experienced a story like this one. I’ve never met characters quite like these two. And that’s just a fraction of the outstanding things that this book and this story will offer you.

This story is about so many things. It is a story about healing after a very traumatic event. It is a story about putting yourself back together physically and emotionally and mentally after something that is not easy. It is about finding that one person who you shouldn’t like, and who you shouldn’t feel that pull towards, but yet you can’t help but want more of everything with them. It is a story about an actual grump falling for the best ray of sunshine in his life. It is about feeling everything. It is about giving love a chance. It is about the laughter and craziness and antics that ensue when the straight laced accountant starts to fall for the spirited real estate agent with an addiction to buying plants.

It’s about what happens when two people with a shared traumatic experience of a plane crash, realize that there are so many ways that they are being drawn together, but what draws them together the most, is there need to know and feel and experience everything with one another.

It’s about feeling everything. It’s about giving someone a chance. It’s about allowing that vulnerability to show because even when it’s scary as hell, it might give you everything you never thought you’d have again. It’s about embracing the chaos because the beauty and the honesty and the truth of that can give you at all…If you only allow yourself to feel that.

Remi and Bowen allow you to experience all of that and more in this book. This is the first book in their journey, and I will just tell you right now, just buckle up and prepare for a ride. You think you know where you’re going, but you don’t. You think you know what this story will give you, but you don’t. You think you know what you’ll get with them, but you don’t even have a fathom of an idea of how deep and real and all feeling this story will get with them. So just buckle up, grab your tissues, be prepared for one hell of a ride that will twist and turn you in the best way, make you laugh and smile with their banter and antics, have you blushing like a tomato from the literal fire building between them, and that will definitely have you guessing from beginning to end what it all means and what will happen next.

When I said that this is this author at her best, I mean that with every bone in my body. I have loved every book by this author. It is not a secret that I am a huge fan of her books. She is one of the best riders I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading. The way that she lets you live and experience her stories, and feel that emotion in such a real and authentic way, is truly everything.

This book amplified all of that love I’ve ever felt for her stories and books and characters in the most magnificent way. It made me feel more.

It made me want more.

It made me question everything more. It made me experience the story more. It made me get everything more. And I think that’s just the true testament to this author and her storytelling talent that she makes you feel and want and crave and be desperate for the more that she creates on the pages of her books. And this book had that in spades. Because through every single word, I wanted and needed and had to have more because of what she was so breathtakingly giving me.

I’m truly so blown away by the story and what I got with these characters. They are flawed, they are real, they are messy and complicated in the best way, and they will burrow themselves so deep into your heart that you will need every happily ever after possible for them. Because let me tell you, if there are two people on this planet who deserve a happily ever after, it is Bowen and it is Remi. And you will absolutely treasure getting their love story in this book. This is just the first part and there’s more to come, but this author delivers everything and more for them in this first installment.

This is hands-down one of my top reads of the year and one of the best books I’ve read, and I really just can’t say enough how much you need to read this book. It was absolute perfection. From start to finish it was consuming, gripping emotionally and mentally and honestly on a soul deep level, and it gave me a story that I will never forget. Honestly I’m still thinking about it right now because that is how much I loved it, how much I loved these characters, and how much I absolutely loved everything I got with them. I cannot wait for the rest of the series to continue because when I tell you I need answers, I NEED ANSWERS.

I need ALL the answers to the 50 bazillion questions this author brought up in my mind while reading, and I cannot wait to get all of those as the series continues.

If you want a book that will shock you, that will wow you, that will consume you in every facet, and that will have you desperate for more of the love building between two characters, then run yourself to this book. Do not wait to read it, do you not miss the opportunity to feel one of the most heart wrenching and awe inspiring love stories I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading. Do not wait to fall in love with Remi and Bowen. I promise you their story might make you cry and it might break your heart a million times over, but they will also fix it.

They will also show you that anything is possible with the right person, with the right amount of love, and maybe with also the right amount of craziness, safety-pins, and emotional support plants.

Read this book. Feel it. Love it. Live every breath of it. Keep your heart open to its story and characters, and be prepared for the craziest ride that you’ll never forget. And trust me when I say that this book is one you NEED in your life…right this second.

The moment you start this book, the moment you really get into the thick of it with these characters, I promise you will know that and feel that with every bit of your heart and soul. That is just one of the many things that makes this an absolutely incredible and beautiful and deeply emotional story that you will love every single second of. And getting that in a book, in a story, and with characters like these ones, is something that will make your reader heart happy. I mean it will also break your reader hard to pieces, but you’ll love it because you’ll get it and you’ll want it and you’ll be desperate for more of all of it. And the way that Aly Martinez has you going back for more even when it hurts in the best damn way, is just one of the many things that makes us an absolutely incredible read from start to finish.

About Aly
Originally from Savannah, Georgia, USA Today bestselling author Aly Martinez now lives in South Carolina with her four hilarious children.
Never one to take herself too seriously, she enjoys movies that can surprise her with a twist, charcuterie boards, and her mildly neurotic golden retriever. It should be known, however, that she hates pizza and ice cream, almost as much as writing her bio in the third person.
She passes what little free time she has reading anything and everything she can get her hands on, preferably with a glass of wine by her side.

Connect with Aly
Facebook: http://bit.ly/2RvbjCA
Twitter: http://bit.ly/2DUCq1Z
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2We92eT
BookBub: http://bit.ly/2V32S4B
GoodReads: http://bit.ly/2UKGUOM
Facebook Reader Group: http://bit.ly/2DEpPAh
Instagram: http://bit.ly/2DUgzrJ
Website: https://alymartinez.com/
Stay up to date with Aly by joining her mailing list today: http://bit.ly/2WnkxjS

Dark Reads October: The Dark Duet by CJ Roberts

Posted in All The Mumbo Jumbo, Books I love, It's a Binge Read, Review Post by

When I think about dark romances that have been recommended to me over the years, the two that come to mind first definitely have to be Monsters in the Dark by Pepper Winters and The Dark Duet by CJ Roberts. Having already devoured one of those series during Dark Reads October, I knew that I had to read the other. Especially since I had already read half of The Dark Duet almost a year ago. 

Let me explain. 

Almost exactly a year ago I read Captive in the Dark by CJ Roberts. I devoured it. I couldn’t put it down. Literally. I couldn’t stop thinking about Livvie and Caleb, their dark and at times depraved story, and I couldn’t stop wondering what the next book would bring for those two. I actually started that second book, Seduced in the Dark, but I had to stop. I needed a breather. The reason I needed a breather was 100% on me, and not that book, so I was determined to finish their story during Dark Reads October...and I’m really glad I did.

Seduced in the Dark was a fantastic conclusion to this duet, and it definitely had me thinking and feeling all of the things with Caleb and Livvie. Those two definitely push you to the edge. In fact, at times I think they push you over it, but in a way that works because that’s what this story is. This story is dark and twisted in so many ways. It’s about kidnapping, trauma, sex trafficking, abuse on every level, and so much more. But it’s also a story about two characters who shouldn’t be together, but you also can’t help but root for them in a crazy way. 

This duet is a story of two broken people who have a seriously dark and twisted story, who soon find that the one person they shouldn’t fall for is the the one who might just give them the absolution they never thought they’d get. 


I have to say that CJ Roberts really got me with what she created in this duet. 

She made me think and consider so much while reading this book. She made me reconsider so many things while I got what I did with Livvie and Caleb. She made me root for characters who did the wrong thing, who did bad things. But more than that, she let me see that there was hope within this story and within these characters. I might’ve had to dig a bit for it, and I might’ve had to go through so much with these characters to get to that, but I found it. 

And honestly, while reading this book I found that everything these characters went through, every life altering choice they had to make, every moment when they had to go through the worst, made what I got with them even more impactful and memorable…and it also made the last moments with them feel even more memorable.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, I am definitely an ending person, and I liked how CJ Roberts brought this duet and series to a close. I felt like she did a good job of reminding me why I couldn’t stop thinking about these characters and their story, while also making me work for it with all that I had until the very very end. And that felt very Caleb-esque and beyond fitting quite honestly. 

I will tell you now that Caleb and Livvie’s story is definitely not for everyone. Over the course of my reading career, and even in Dark Reads October, I have read a range of dark romances. I have even said before that a book might not be for everyone, but I do really mean that with this one. This book is dark. I know it’s not the darkest out there, but it is definitely dark and covers a range of topics that are bursting with trigger warnings. Livvie and Caleb both go through a lot. They both do things that aren’t okay, but they also allow you to understand the why behind that in a way that is truly riveting. 

CJ Roberts definitely knows how to write and craft a layered story that will have you thinking and feeling it all. She allows you to really see these characters, their flaws, and everything in between. She lets you get why they do what they do, why they stay, why they don’t, and she lets you see that even the darkest of situations and scenarios can give you something or someone you didn’t even know you needed. 

And that person might be the exact last person you should feel anything for, but they also just might change everything for you. 

And that? Well that is just part of what makes this an all consuming story that will have you second guessing everything you thought and felt as a reader. And in the end, it’ll bring you a story that is intricately layered, consuming, raw and twisted, and that will have you guessing until the very end what you’ll get with Livvie and Caleb. 

And that is the actual best. Trust me. 

I am really glad that I went back to this duet. It only took me a year to finish it (again, my bad completely), but it was worth the wait. I see why this series has stood the test of time and I know why everyone has recommended it. It was well written, consuming in so many ways, and dark in a way that pushed every boundary and moral compass I had. I shouldn’t have wanted to root for these two, yet this author made it so I had to. She made me rethink everything, and by the end of it all she had me feeling all the things for these two in a way that truly blew me away. 

I loved that so much. I loved that I finally made the time to go back to these books. I loved that Caleb and Livvie had one of the most unorthodox and dark stories I’ve read, yet I still found myself rooting for them in a way I didn’t think was possible. I loved that this book turned every thought and feeling I had on their head, and it did it in a way that I didn’t expect. 

The Captive Duet was definitely a read that gave me so much, and I can’t say enough how glad I am that I finally got to experience its well written and beyond fitting conclusion. If you are looking for a read that will captivate you on every level, push you to and over the ledge, while giving you an intense as all get out story, then run yourself to this duet this second. 

You won’t be disappointed you did.

Not one little bit. 

****

There is only 1 week left in October, which means Dark Reads October is officially almost over. 

*makes all the sad faces*

I can’t believe this blog series is almost done. I’m not ready y’all! But don’t worry, I plan to keep reading all of the dark romance after this month, and I actually already have my next couple of reads planned out to finish out the month strong. I’ve got 2 standalone reads planned for this week by two authors I’ve never read before, and I am ready! 

Be sure to stay tuned to see what I picked to read, and as always, thank you for your support of me and this blog series! It has meant everything and I can’t wait to keep sharing all of the dark and amazing reads with y’all! 

Read My Reviews:

Captive in the Dark

Seduced in the Dark

The Epilogue

Buy The Series:

Amazon

B&N

KOBO

Dark Reads October: Still Beating by Jennifer Hartmann

Posted in All The Mumbo Jumbo, Books I love, It's a Binge Read, Review Post by

When I set out to do Dark Reads October, I knew I needed help in deciding what to read. I knew I needed all of the recommendations because I wasn’t sure where to really start with my dark romance reading. Even though I have read and loved some seriously amazing dark romance books, I also knew that I was really more of a novice in this particular subgenre, so I needed help. 

I wanted to read new authors. I wanted to discover new worlds and series. I wanted to find some amazing new dark romance reads that I wouldn’t have been able to find on my own. 

And let me tell you, my book friends showed up in the absolute best way. On TikTok and this blog’s Facebook page, I got tons of great recommendations. Some I’d heard of, some were absolutely brand new to me, and some were books I had owned for years. 

I also found that many books and series were recommended over and over again by my fellow readers, and I have to say that those were some of the ones I was drawn to most. Not just because so many readers had recommended them, but because so many of the books recommended multiple times were ones that were brand new to me…and I LOVE me a brand new book and author to fangirl over. 

If Monsters in the Dark was the number 1 series that was recommended to me for Dark Reads October, then Still Beating by Jennifer Hartmann was the number 1 standalone novel with multiple recommendations, so I knew I HAD to read this book. 

And I am damn glad I did because this book was absolutely INCREDIBLE y’all. 

It has to be one of the most unique dark romances I have EVER read. 

It was exceptionally written, thoughtfully crafted, and brought to life through words and feelings and every emotion under the sun that OWNED me. This book consumed me in every way possible. I read it in one sitting because I literally could not put it down. 

I needed answers. 

I needed everything with these characters.

I needed more of every single ounce of what this story so authentically and deeply gave me. 

I needed everything that this book delivered.

I was obsessed with this book, this story, and these characters. And quite frankly, I think I’m still obsessed with them, and I love it. I haven’t stopped thinking about this book since I finished reading late last night. My mind has been thinking about Cora, about Dean, about their story, about their shared trauma, about their fight for what could be and the possibilities of them. 

I haven’t been able to stop thinking and feeling and experiencing what this author creates with them and their story. Hours later, and I’m still hooked. Hours later, and I’m still processing and feeling it all. Hours later, and I’m still enamored and enveloped within this dark, heart wrenching, and deeply emotional story. 

So suffice to say, this book is definitely going on my top reads list for the year because all of that is just part of what I LOVED about this phenomenal book. 

Still Beating is a dark romance that explores trauma, healing, every step in between, but most of all, what happens after. I think one of my favorite aspects of this standalone dark romance was the fact that it does look at that after. That after is a huge integral part of the story, and honestly, it was that after that made this book for me.

It is what showed me so much about these characters. It is what allowed me to connect so deeply to both Cora and Dean as they attempted to heal and make sense of what they went through together. It is what pulled my heart and soul to those two as they became more vulnerable than they thought possible, as they tried to wade their way through the ocean of feelings and thoughts they had about one another. 

This book was absolutely incredible. 

From start to finish I was floored in the best way by this author’s writing and storytelling and what she allowed me to get with these characters. She throws you in the thick of it, let’s you feel and breathe and live it all with them, and you hit the ground running with those two. Switching so thoughtfully between their points of view, Jennifer Hartmann does the most exceptional job of allowing these characters to reveal themselves to you. 

She let’s you get the simultaneous past, present, and future of these characters in a dark, forbidden, and all-consuming romance that will make you question everything, that will pull your heart to these characters in the most fierce way, and that will have you NEEDING these characters to find the ending they both so deserve. 

I truly could go on and on about how much I loved this book and what I got with Cora and Dean. Those two have a complicated relationship from the start, and things only get more complicated with the shared trauma they experience and the battles they’re about to face….But I am telling you, if you stick with them they will make it all worth it. I promise you that. If you go in blind, ready to feel it all, ready to experience darkness, struggle, but also so much light and hope and heart. If you just keep yourself, your heart, and your mind open to what could be, you will not be disappointed in what you get with these two. 

Not one little bit.

And in the end, you might just find right along with Cora and Dean that the one person you discounted, the one person you thought you hated most in the world, and the one person you never wanted to be around just might be the exact person you need. That person might be off limits, they might be the last person you expected them to be, but they also might be your salvation from every hurt that’s been thrown your way. 

They might just be your lifeline and they also might be the one thing that keeps you going through it all. 

Still Beating is a dark, heart wrenching, deeply emotional love story that will make you think and feel and question everything about what is right, what is wrong, and what is possible. It isn’t an easy story to experience, not at all, but that doesn’t take away from the breathtaking beauty and heart and vulnerability these characters will so authentically give you and show you. It will hurt you, it will heal you, and it will make you feel everything, all while showing you that true human connection and heart can save you…if you let it. 

*****

I cannot tell y’all enough how glad I am that I picked up this book. The recommendations for it were very well deserved, and I am so glad that I finally listened when y’all told me to read something!!  

It was definitely the right choice to read, and it is shooting its way to the top of my favorites list for the year. I can’t recommend it enough, so be sure to check it out! 

Thanks again for sticking with me through another installment to Dark Reads October. I already know what I’m planning to read next, and I can’t wait to share it with all of y’all, so stay tuned! I will be back soon with more dark romance read recommendations!  

Read My Review:

Still Beating

Buy The Book:

Amazon

Dark Reads October: Monsters in the Dark Series by Pepper Winters

Posted in All The Mumbo Jumbo, Books I love, It's a Binge Read, Review Post by

When I decided to do Dark Reads October, there was one series that everyone told me to read. 

And I mean everyone. 

There was one series that everyone told me I had to read if I was going to jump head first into the world of dark romance. This is a series and an author that have been recommended to me for YEARS. And honestly, I don’t have a good reason for waiting so long to read this particular series and author. I should have read these books years ago. I should’ve listened to the many recommendations I have gotten for this author and this series. 

But so goes the story of my life.

I once again waited to read something when I shouldn’t have…and only a few pages into this series, I knew that it had been so wrong to wait to dive into this dark, immensely intense, pain and pleasure filled world. I knew that I had messed up waiting to experience this deeply emotional, seriously layered, and completely unforgettable world that contains two of the most enigmatic, dynamic, and gloriously complicated characters I have ever had the pleasure of reading. 

And that series I waited waaaayyyy to long to read, you ask? 

Well that would be The Monsters in the Dark Series by Pepper Winters. 

This series, comprised of 3 full length books and a novella, is hands down one of the best series I have read this year and ever. It contains a story unlike any other I have read before, and it has two characters that OWNED me from start to finish. And boy let me tell you, did I go on one hell of ride with those two. 

Q and Tess are an epic love story. They will take you for the ride of your life and will have you questioning EVERYTHING. They will push your boundaries, push your moral compass beyond what you thought possible, all while rooting for a love story you didn’t even think was possible. Through it all you will get to know them. You will peel back their complicated and flawed layers to see them. The real them. The messy and honest and dark versions that they hide from the world.

The thems that you will soon find are only meant for one another. 

Told through an intense, adrenaline spiking, and dark and twisty story, the more you get with them, the more you crave. The more you crave them. The more you crave their pain and pleasure. The more you crave the answers that they so meticulously reveal to you and one another. The more you NEED them. The more you need what they share. The more you need what only they can give one another. The more you crave every single morsel of what they bring to life within the pages of their story. 

I will warn you now, their story isn’t easy. In fact they have many hurdles and obstacles that they must face head on to even have a chance to be together. But what I will tell you, is that if you stick with them, if you keep the faith in them and what could be, and if you keep your heart open to intense vulnerabilities and passions and emotions these two will share, then they will not do you wrong.

In fact, they will make it all so beyond right. 

They will fix it all. They will see you and each other through. They will show what true depth of love means and the utter beauty it can give you if you let it. They will show you that darkness and light are two sides of the most sensual, beautiful, deeply flawed, and very real coin. They will show you that anything is possible with the one who makes all the difference. They will show you and each other that through every fight, every dark and broken piece of themselves, through every heart wrenching twist and turn, that they are one. That they are real. That they can be what each other needs, if they only allow themselves to feel it, to take it, and to never let it go. 

What can I say? I loved these books. So damn much.

I loved how dark and twisty they were. I loved that it was one wild and adrenaline filled ride from start to finish. I loved that every time I sat down to read a book in this series, I couldn’t put it down. I loved that I devoured these books as much as they devoured me. I loved that Q and Tess were complicated and messy and flawed because it made what they shared and built together so beyond right. I loved that these two pushed EVERY limit. I loved that they made each other work for it and that their fight for what could be wasn’t easy because that fit them. 

Their love, their passion, their desires, their hearts, and who they were together wasn’t easy, so it completely fit that their love story would be just as hard fought and complicated as they were…but in the end, they showed that as uneasy as it all was to get there, as much as they had to go through to peel back those hardened layers to find each other and what could be, being together was the exact right thing they needed to do…and that, well that was the easiest, hardest, most beautifully complicated decision those two ever made. 

Suffice to say, I loved this series.

I am so glad that I finally read these books and I’m even happier that this is the series I chose to start with for Dark Reads October. It just seems fitting that I start with the best. It seems even more fitting that I opened the gates to dark romance with a couple that definitely put me and themselves through the wringer. But most of all it just seems fitting that I opened up this month of dark romance reading with a series that I know will forevermore be one of my all time favorites. 

Thank you Tess and Q for one wild, dark, and twisty ride. Y’all sure know how to make a girl work for it, but I wouldn’t trade one second with the two of them because it was perfect. It was perfectly them in its flawed and intense beauty and pain, and it gave me a love story that I will truly never forget. 

A love story that truly shows how one person can change everything.

A love story that shows that beauty and pain, darkness and light, and monsters and salvation are one in the same.

A love story that will stick with me forever.

And honestly, it NEVER gets better than that. 

****

So there you have it y’all! The first read of Dark Reads October is finished and I am in LOVE. I cannot wait to read more dark romance! I feel like I have so much to catch up on and the month is flying by too quickly, but don’t you worry! I plan to squeeze as much dark romance as I can into these next couple of weeks because I want it all! 

And I may (read: definitely) already know what I’m reading next….so stay tuned!

Read My Reviews for the Series:

Tears of Tess

Quintessentially Q

Twisted Together

Je Suis A Toi

Buy the Series:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

iBooks

Releasing Now: The Fall Up Series Boxset by Aly Martinez

Posted in Books I love, It's a Binge Read, Releasing Now Book Addicts by

The Fall Up Series, featuring two full novels and a brand new, never before seen short story from USA Today bestselling author Aly Martinez is available now and at a special price of $0.99!

Fall in love today or read FREE in Kindle Unlimited!

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3uKIYtV

Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/TheFallUpBS

This complete series contains two full-length novels, The Fall Up and The Spiral Down, as well as bonus short story, Going Down.

The Fall Up:

I wanted to jump.

He made me fall.

As a celebrity, I lived in the public eye, but somewhere along the way, I’d lost myself in the spotlight.

Until he found me.

Sam Rivers was a gorgeous, tattooed stranger who saved my life with nothing more than a simple conversation.

But we were both standing on that bridge for a reason the night we met. The secrets of our pasts brought us together—and then tore us apart.

Could we find a reason to hold on as life constantly pulled us down?

Or maybe there’s only one direction to go when two people fall in love at rock bottom—up.

The Spiral Down:

I was afraid to fly.

He made me soar.

After years of climbing the ladder of success in the music industry, I finally had everything I could want. Yet I still found myself wandering through life alone.

Captain Evan Roth was the one man I never saw coming.

We were both damaged beyond repair and searching for something so elusive we weren’t sure it even existed.

But, when two broken souls collide in midair, falling is a given.

I just never expected to come alive on the spiral down.

Dark Reads October

Posted in All The Mumbo Jumbo, It's a Binge Read by

It is no secret that I am a lover of love stories. 

I love all kinds of love stories. 

Emotional ones. Sweet ones. Seriously angsty ones. Ones that make you want to throw the book across the room, ones that you want to hug tight and swoon in forever, and ones that have every kind of love story in between. 

I love every kind of love story, but I have to admit that I find myself having not read enough of certain kinds of love stories. It’s not that I don’t want to read these books, it’s just that I haven’t found myself reading them. I haven’t made the time to read more of them. 

But I want to fix that. 

I want to read more kinds of love stories. I want to keep finding new authors. I want to keep broadening my love of love stories. 

And that is where Dark Reads October was born. 

A month dedicated to only reading dark romance novels.

You see, for a long time I’ve really wanted to read more dark romance books. I also love a good theme. Like a lot. (See: Summer of Series) So I decided to dedicate some real time to reading dark romance books. I want to not only read dark romance, I want to find some new to me authors to fangirl something fierce over. I want to experience the unique and dynamic kinds of love stories that you get within dark romance. 

This is my TBR list for the month! THANK YOU to everyone who sent me recommendations!

Plus with it being October and all, it felt only fitting that this is the time I committed to finding myself some new dark romance to read. So for the next month I will be doing just that. I will only be reading dark romance. And let me tell you, I am ALL kinds of excited for this. I have a good long list of books and authors to read, and I am ready! 

Super shoutout by the way to my fellow book lovers on TikTok and Facebook for helping me make my list of books and authors I want to try to read over the next month! I have so many amazing dark romance books to get me started this month. Even though I know there’s no way I’ll get to read them all this month, I’m SO dang excited that I have them so I can go back to them! 

I’m ready to finally read some dark romance books that have been on my TBR list for years. I’m ready to experience a bunch of different kinds of dark romance books. I’m ready to fall even more in love with the dark side of romance.

And I’ll be documenting it all right here because that is what the best thing about book love; spreading it around! I truly will never get enough of sharing the book love and connecting with fellow readers about books and love stories. It is the absolute best, and I am beyond looking forward to connecting with y’all about these dark romance reads!  

I can’t tell y’all enough how excited I am for this next month of reading! It’s going to be epic. I can feel it. I can’t wait to write about all of the amazing dark romance books I’m going to read. I can’t wait to discover some incredible dark romances. I can’t wait to share all of it with you, and I can’t wait to chat about all of the glorious, angsty, layered and dynamic dark romances.  

So are you ready? I know I am. 

Let the dark romance reading begin! 

Welcome to Dark Reads October. 

P.s. If you have a dark romance read recommendation that isn’t on my list, please let me know! I am always eager for more recommendations!

@megankathleeen22

#Inverted Tell me your fave dark romances! 💔📚 #booktok #spicybooks #darkromance #tellmewhattoread #bookrecsneeded #bookblogger #darkreadsoctober

♬ original sound – Megan Kathleen

My Reviews from Dark Reads October: