Review Post: Wilde Magic by Suzanne Halliday

Posted in Books I love, Releasing Now Book Addicts, Review Post by mkcooke

WildeMagic

Wilde Magic
by Suzanne Halliday
Wilde Women #3
Publication Date: April 20, 2016
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

WildeMagic

Read for Free in Kindle Unlimited: Amazon

Not all romantic fantasies come with a happily ever after.

While gallivanting around Europe, artist and happy hippie, Charlize Baron-Wilde meets a charming and princely knight who awakens the romantic yearnings locked away inside her heart.

But who is this romantic hero? Caleb Tyler Merrill is not a happy camper. Restless, and dissatisfied he happens upon an American wild child stealing peanut butter from his pantry. Nothing in his life is ever the same after that.

Their sexy Roman affair however did not have a happy ending. Secret identities. Manipulation. Desire. Fascination. Regret. All intersect in the wrong place and at the worst possible time. Torn apart by pride and miscommunication, the two lovers struggle for a way forward.

The younger brother and the little sister. Will the innocent Wilde child find her hearts and flowers ending or is she right to wonder if not all knights and princes are the best choice in the long run?

The conclusion to the Wilde Women saga has it all. Humor. Love. Heartbreak. Sexy times. The bonds of family. Even a meddling grandmother and two sets of pushy parents.

Wilde Magic … believe.

4.5 Fantastic Wilde Stars

Wilde Magic was a book that I had been anticipating for a long time, and it is one that did not disappoint. Ever since I read the first book in Suzanne Halliday’s beautiful, romantic, and so thoughtfully crafted Wilde Women Series, I knew I wanted and needed each of these sisters stories. First I got Brynne and how Jax brought her and her love back to life. Then I got Rhiann and her intense second chance with Liam. And last, but certainly not least, I got Charlie and her story with Caleb with what happens when one fierce and vibrant woman, meets a man who could just be exactly what she needs.

To say I have loved each and every one of these books is putting it mildly. I have adored them. I have looked forward to them. I have loved every bit of their romance and build and heat, as they gave me stories of intense and all-feeling love. I have been blown away by the eloquent and mesmerizing writing of Suzanne Halliday that creates the most tangible experiences, and characters, and stories. I have loved every piece of the Wilde Women Series, and getting to know these three dynamic, headstrong, and vibrant sisters has been simply fabulous.

As sad as I am to see them all go, I must say Suzanne Halliday takes them all out on the highest of notes with a book that devivers it all. She gives you one last fulfilling bit with them all, and with that she gives you the phenomenal story of Caleb and Charlize. He’s Jax’s younger brother, and she’s Brynne’s little sister, and together they have a kind of fireworks that will enrapture and mesmerize you through every page. Those two start off hot and heavy to say the least, and they can’t stop thinking about each other, yet some not so great things threaten to tear their love story apart.

Wilde Magic follows Charlize and Caleb on their consuming journey together as they try to figure out what they want, what they so desperately need, and if their immense feelings for one another can see them through even the bumpiest of roads as they try to figure out their path together.

What I loved about Wilde Magic:

The many wonderful sides of Caleb. Caleb Merrill has so many sides to him, and you will fall so hard for all of them when you read this book. You’ll fall for the side of him that’s the Formula One racer, the side of him that is sweet and endearing, and the intense and alluring side of him that comes out in between. Over the course of Wilde Magic, you really get a sense of the many sides to Caleb, and how those sides came to be. Suzanne Halliday lets you dive heart first into his character to see who the real Caleb is, what the real Caleb wants, and what’s holding him back from having it all. I loved getting to understand and experience all those sides to Caleb because it really showed me what he was all about, the many intense things going on in his head, and all that he had been though. Suzanne Halliday let me understand him on the deepest of levels, and she showed me again and again what that man was all about. Even in the moments when he made his missteps and even when he faltered a bit, I got him, I loved him, and I rooted like crazy that he’d be able to find a way to figure it all out.
Charlize is a sparkler. Charlize Baron-Wilde is a firecracker that is dazzling, vibrant, and so easy to be mesmerized by. That girl has sprit, a ton of spirit, and that spirit reveals so much about her. It shows the tenacity she has to do what she loves and believes in, it shows how open her heart is and how much she feels, and it reveals all the wonderful things that that girls has to offer to the world. I absolutely loved Charlie’s character, and I especially loved how truly and viscerally she felt. She wasn’t shy, and she didn’t hold back. She felt. She lived. She loved. Suzanne Halliday creates her character in a way that allows you to experience that literal magic with her through every page of this book, and I for one could not get enough of what that magic brought her and me as the reader as I fully experienced this book. Charlize is spirited, vibrant, and determined to get her life where she wants it to be, even if she’s not so sure yet what that actually means, and experiencing this story with her as she tried to figure it all out was nothing short of phenomenal.
Feelings, and feelings, and feelings, oh my! The amount of feeling that exists between Charlize and Caleb is everything. It’s intense, it’s heated, and you will feel it in your bones while reading this book. From the moment those two meet, the sparks truly start to fly, and they soon find themselves building towards something neither of them expected. Their feelings soon become deeper and that’s when things get interesting. Some not so great things come their way, and force them apart, yet they soon find themselves closer to each other than they could ever believe. Through it all, both Charlie and Caleb feel so much for one another. Sometimes those feelings were good, and sometimes they weren’t so good, but boy did they feel. Suzanne Halliday creates and evokes those feelings with them through every page and she truly allows you to feel as if you are living this book with them. Feeling that, well that’s everything.
Rough roads and twists and turns. Wilde Magic and the events within it definitely put Charlize and Caleb to the test a bit. The two of them fall hard and fast for one another, but not all is as it seems, and they soon find themselves separated and reeling after some seriously shocking moments. These two definitely have a path that is bumpy and full of twists and turns, yet through it all, they’re both there, trying to make sense of it all, and trying to figure out what in the world they’re going to do with all the feeling they feel. Those twists and turns and bumps aren’t easy for Charlize and Caleb, but they reveal so much about these two. Those events push them to be honest, to realize things about what they want and need, and it forces them to take a good old look at their lives and to take stock. Though it isn’t always easy for those two, what I will say is that it is so beyond worth it, and you will love getting to be there through it all!
The tangible vibrancy! The title of this book has the word magic in it, and I don’t think there could have been a better title for the story you get within its wondrous pages. This book, this story, the feelings within it, and the characters that burst from it are full of vibrancy and color and life. It’s dazzling to experience, and it shows the true magic that Suzanne Halliday created with her words. She shows that that magic can change everything, and that the feelings that come with it are so deeply felt. Charlize and Caleb share that magic, and that tangible vibrancy brings it all to life in a way that will have you feeling and living it all in the most all-encompassing way.
A sense of family. Like any of Suzanne Halliday’s books, Wilde Magic has this true sense of family within it from the supporting characters. That’s one of the major reasons I love her books because she always creates this sense of loyalty, this sense of connection and togetherness that emanates from each page and brings all these characters together. The bond and relationships between all of the Baron-Wilde sisters is fantastic to experience, and you will love how they all bring you into the fold. The dynamic between them is fun and engaging and so authentic, and how that all weaves its way into the story will have you feeling the deeply felt connection they all share. Add to that the brotherly relationship between Jax and Caleb, two sets of parents that are meddling in the sweetest of ways, and the matriarch of the family, with the one and only Bryanna Charles Baron-Wilde, and you have yourself one dynamic and distinctive family that will have your heart beyond full.

Wilde Forever was a story that I loved. It was a story of fireworks, connection, and what can happen when you meet someone who makes you want to hope and feel it all. This is a story of life and love, and what can happen when things get a little bumpy on that path to finding what you so desperately want and need. The story in this book with Caleb and Charlize allows you to experience the literal magic of falling, and how even though giving into that fall might be scary and it might hurt a bit, it is oh so worth feeling and experiencing every ounce of.

Caleb and Charlize’s story in Wilde Magic was full of the best romance, feels, and story that a girl could ask for. Suzanne Halliday allowed me to understand these characters on the deepest of levels in the authentic world she created within this book. She gave me every single wonderful bit of them, and I simply couldn’t get enough.

As sad as I am to say goodbye to them all, I have to say that the Wilde Women have given me one helluva ride full of romance and love and life and magic, and that will stay with me forever.

This series is phenomenal, and Suzanne Halliday brought it to a fulfilling end with her unique and beautiful writing. This series doesn’t disappoint one bit, and neither does Suzanne Halliday, so I am telling you, you need to read these books. They are fantastic, and I can’t recommend them to you enough!

Also in the Series

About Suzanne Halliday

Suzanne Halliday writes what she knows and what she loves – sexy adult contemporary romance with strong men and spirited women. Her love for creating short stories for friends and family has developed into a passion for writing romantic fiction with a sensual edge. She finds the world of digital, self-publishing to be the perfect platform for sharing her stories and also for what she enjoys most of all – reading. When she’s not on a deadline you’ll find her loading up on books to devour.

Currently a wanderer, she and her family divide their time between the east and west coast, somehow always managing to get the seasons mixed up. When not digging out from snow or trying to stay cool in the desert, you can find her in the kitchen, 80’s hair band music playing in the background, kids running in and out, laptop on with way too many screens open, something awesome in the oven, and a mug of hot tea clutched in one hand.

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3May2016

Review Post: The Wedding Agreement by Elizabeth Hayley

Posted in Books I love, Releasing Now Book Addicts, Review Post by mkcooke

The Wedding Agreement by Elizabeth Hayley

Releasing: May 3rd, 2016

The author of Just Say Yes is back with another sweet and sultry Strictly Business novel about working hard and falling harder into an unexpected romance…

Love doesn’t always follow the same schedule…

Alex Walker doesn’t need a woman in his life. In fact, he doesn’t have time for one. Between his career in the FBI and the demands of being good father, romance is an unwanted distraction.

Likewise, Cassidy Mullen is fine on her own. The independent career woman has never had a husband in her plans—forget about kids. But when her friend Alex gets into a bind with his ex over their daughter, Cass finds herself suddenly playing the part of Alex’s stable, child-loving fiancée—and liking it a lot more than she’d care to admit.

Soon Alex and Cass can’t deny the real passion growing between them. But as fake affection turns into real love, Cass and Alex will have to make a choice: say “I Do” to their feelings or give up on happily-ever-after for good…

5 PHENOMENAL STARS

Elizabeth Hayley is probably my favorite writing duo around, and they have given me some pretty fantastic reading experiences over the past few years with their phenomenal books. Their writing is so seamless, so vibrant, and so fun, and they never fail to deliver a story with the perfect level of heat, connection, and feels that has me loving it all. They also never fail to make me laugh my butt off with their dynamic and distinctive humor, and by the end of their books my cheeks usually hurt a bit because that’s how much they’ve made me laugh.

The Wedding Agreement is the third and final book in their Strictly Business Series, and I have to tell you that I absolutely loved every word of it. It was fun, meaningful, and it packed a story that just didn’t quit with two characters I loved instantly. With their trademark writing style that created an undeniable connection to these characters and this story, I was immediately swept up into it all, and I truly could not get enough.

This book filled my heart with all the feels, made me blush in the best possible way, and it had me laughing and smiling and feeling all the way through, and I honestly could not have asked for more.

The Wedding Agreement gave me everything I’ve come to love and expect from a book by this fantastic duo, and the more I read, the more and more I realized how fantastic this book was, how much I was falling for Alex and Cass and their story, and how much I could not get enough of the vibrant charm bursting from this books pages.

This was just an honest to goodness good book, and even though I could use a million different positive adjectives to describe how much I loved it, I still wouldn’t be able to fully capture how much I loved it and just how good it was.

What I absolutely loved about The Wedding Agreement:

A wedding agreement, oh my, oh my! I have to say the first thing that drew me into this book was the actual premise of the story. I was immediately hooked into it all with how Cass saves Alex in a pinch, the friendship that Alex and Cass already shared, and how she offers to help him in more ways than one with spending more time with his daughter Nina. I found the plot to be so interesting and fun, and that really pulled me into the book because I was eager to see how those pretend feelings that Cass and Alex were sharing would soon turn into something more. I thought Elizabeth Hayley brought this story to life in the best possible way, and they really invested me from the start in everything that was happening between Alex and Cass. The actual plot of the story unfolded seamlessly over the course of this book, and it was never to fast or too slow, it was just right for everything that happened, which just made this book even better to experience.
Who can resist a single dad? So I am a major sucker for stories with single dads, and The Wedding Agreement was no different. I absolutely loved Alex’s character, and I really loved getting to experience and see his relationship with his daughter Nina, as he tried to fit family, job, and love into his life. What I loved about Alex was that he really tried in this book. He tried with his daughter, he tried with Cass, and he tried with himself, and sure sometimes it wasn’t always easy for him, but he sure as hell tried. Alex fought with all he had to spend time with his daughter and to make her happy, and there was no doubt in my mind while reading that that man would do anything for his kid. That fierce determination in him one me over in a nanosecond, and at the same time I loved how charming he was with Cass. I absolutely loved being in Alex’s head throughout this book and getting to be there when things started to change with him and Cass. Seeing that man fall, understanding his hesitancies and doubts, and getting to experience him try and fight through it all had me loving him to pieces.
Cass and her journey of realizations. Cass is an independent, sassy, and fun loving female character that will have you laughing and smiling in no time. She’s also a girl with a heart of gold that will shine through every page of this book. What I loved about Cass’s character in this book was that she really goes on a journey of self-realization in this book. At the start she is fine being alone, fine being all about her career, and she is sure as heck fine without the white picket fence and all that that might entail, but as this book progresses she soon starts to feel and think differently. I thought Elizabeth Hayley did an extraordinary job showing how her character comes to realize so many things about her wants and dreams, and how she might just be able to actually have it all if she only lets herself be open to it. Going along with Cass in this book as she comes to realize all of these things was fantastic, and I found her to be such a relatable and easy to love character because of all of that and just because of who she was. Cass is fun, real, and so easy to connect to in this book, and that is just part of what made her such a phenomenal character.
A spark and dynamic that just won’t quit. Alex and Cass certainly share the best kind of banter with one another, and that not only had me laughing like crazy, it had me feeling that undeniable spark between those two. The closer these to get and the more they pretend to have feelings for one another for the sake of their fake wedding, the more they both start to realize that they just might be feeling more for one another than they bargained for. Elizabeth Hayley gives you the outstanding opportunity to jump into both of these characters heads to experience the true connection and feelings they share. Those feelings are certainly real and a tad bit scary for Alex and Cass, and you will love every second with them in this book as they try to make sense of it all. And have no doubt, that through all of that you will be blushing from the heated connection they share, laughing and smirking at their hysterical banter, and really just falling even more for those two as they simultaneously fall for one another.
The perfect balance of feels and laughs. Elizabeth Hayley never fails to deliver a story with the best balance of everything, and The Wedding Agreement was no different. It had the feels and emotions I love to get when I read, it had the romance and heat that just made it all the more intense and spark filled, and it had the laughs and the banter to bring it all home. All of that combined to give me such a fulfilling reading experience that left me completely satisfied. I laughed, I melted, and my heart even hurt a bit for these characters as they tried to figure it all out, and most of all it fell like crazy for Alex and Cass and all they were sharing. That is a true testament to what Elizabeth Hayley’s thoughtful storytelling and writing creates in this book, and it made reading The Wedding Agreement so undeniably phenomenal and fulfilling in every way.
The gangs all here, and they’re kind of the best. The supporting characters of this series are some of my favorite around. They are so fun, so wonderfully distinctive, and they just made reading this book even better. I loved every single interaction with them, and getting to see how Cass and Alex interacted with all of their friends made this book feel so real and so enjoyable. I loved too that their friends were never afraid to call them both on their crap and tell them how it was, while at the same time being there for them in ways only real friends can be. That just made me love them all the more because it showed that the fantastic characters of this series makeup one helluva crazy good family.

The Wedding Agreement was a story that gave me it all in one exceptionally written package. This book was fulfilling, it was fun, and it gave me a story that I felt every word of. Throughout every page of Alex and Cass’s story I fell harder and harder for those two and all that they were sharing, and I couldn’t help but hope with all that I had that they’d be able to figure out a way to make it all work. I was wholly invested in them and their laugh out loud banter, and I truly couldn’t have asked for more with them and their story in this book.

This is a vibrant, lively, and oh so enrapturing read that will have you feeling and experiencing it all with these characters, and in the end you will love every single moment you get with them within the pages of this wonderful book.

Elizabeth Hayley sure knows how to write a book I love with all that I have, and this one was no different. As sad as I am to say goodbye to all of these characters and this series, I can’t help but be so thrilled with every single word I got with all of them. This book just exemplifies the talent this writing duo has, and I for one can’t wait to read whatever they come up with next.

I have no doubt it’ll make me laugh, and smile, and feel a helluva lot, and I can’t freaking wait.

The Wedding Agreement is a surefire must read, and I am telling you, you will love it.

~The Wedding Agreement~

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Be sure to check out Elizabeth Hayley’s other books because they are all AMAZING!

~Pieces of Perfect~

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~Perfectly Ever After~

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27Apr2016

Review Post: Between Us by Ella Fox

Posted in Books I love, Releasing Now Book Addicts, Review Post by mkcooke

Between Us by Ella Fox is NOW LIVE!

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His lifestyle. His rules.

Is she willing to risk her heart to play his game?

Guitarist Cole Hayes learned early that falling in love is the easiest way to lose. Determined never to go down that road, he sealed his heart off, numbing himself with erotic and sensual pleasures–with men and women alike. The rules were simple: group sex only and never one-on-one.

It’s all so simple until he meets Devon Bannister, the beautiful director shooting the documentary on his band. Suddenly, she’s all he can think about. Neither can deny the attraction and desire between them.

Although Devon is open to exploring Cole’s lifestyle, for the first time in his life, he finds himself reluctant to share.

How can he own all of her, if he’s only willing to give half of himself?

4.5 Rocker Stars

It’s no secret that I am a huge fan of Ella Fox. She never fails to give me a story that packs the most intense heat, the perfect build, and that gives me characters that are so beyond easy to fall for. Each and every one of her stories have this intensity to this, this emotional and visceral pull that lures you in heart first, and that has you practically melting and falling even more on every page. Her stories are exciting, so well-paced, and they pack the best kind of punch in more ways than one.

Between Us had all that I’ve come to love and appreciate about her outstanding writing, and it gave me a story I have been wanting and needing for so long.

This book was consuming, it was so easy to sink right into, and it put me back with some of the most memorable characters I have ever read. From the first page of this book, I was completely enraptured with Cole and Devon as they tried to figure out how they could be together. Ella Fox completely connected me to both of these characters in this book. She let me experience every event with them, and she let me understand exactly why he was so hesitant, and why she wanted him to give in so desperately.

Every page of this book gave me more of them to love and care and fight for, and the further I read, the further I fell for everything those two were sharing. It was equal parts heated and emotional and real, and I loved every bit of it.

What I absolutely loved about Between Us:

A story I’ve been waiting for. Ever since I read the first book in The Renegade Saints Series, I have been eager to get Cole’s story. I got hints of what was going on with him in Picture Perfect, and I was beyond ready to get into his head to see what was really going on. I was also super ready to get to know Devon and Cole more, because from the moment I met them, I knew that I would love them. (And boy was I right on that one!) Ella Fox did a phenomenal job of weaving together everything that happens between Devon and Cole into the story that I’ve already to come to know and love with this series and these other supporting characters. She gave me so much of them, and it complimented everything else going on so well, and really it just made me love this series even more.
Cole’s journey of self-discovery. Cole definitely goes on a bit of journey in this book. The way that Ella Fox starts this book allows you to really understand why Cole feels the way he does about commitment and being in a relationship. She gives you such a phenomenal understanding of him, his fears and his doubts and how they take root and continue to grow, and you get to see him at so many important parts of his life. Then you get to see him as he meets Devon, and when everything starts to change for him. Ella Fox allows you to be there through every moment of this book with him, and she really allows you to see how Devon starts to affect him and the way he thinks and feels about relationships. It isn’t always easy for Cole in this book, and there were so many times while reading this book that I wanted to reach it in and make it all better for him, but through every turn of the page I was with him and rooting for him that he would figure it all out. Getting to be there as he figured out what he really wanted and what he could really give to Devon was everything, and I loved every word of it.
Devon’s got that spark. Devon’s character charmed me to pieces from the moment I met her in this series, and I fell even more in love with her character while reading this book. Devon just has this spunk about her that bursts from the page, and she was such an engaging character to get to experience. I loved that fire and spark that she had, and how she poured herself so truly and fully into everything she was doing and feeling in this book. The more I read Between Us, the more I connected to her character. I loved getting to be there with her as she started falling for Cole, and as she really determined what it is she was feeling and wanting with him. Like Cole, Devon goes on a bit of a journey in this book, and every step of that journey made me fall even more for her charm, her energy, and the phenomenal vibrancy that exuded from her.
Heat, heat, and more mesmerizing heat. Ella Fox certainly knows how to build some intense heat, and the chemistry and build that she creates between Cole and Devon certainly had that heat in spades. The more I read this book, the more I fell under the pull that those two shared, and Ella Fox allowed me to feel every lick of what those two did for one another. The sexual chemistry and tension between them is so thick, you can practically cut it with a knife, and the more these two try to figure out what they could share and where it could lead, the more I felt that glorious tension. What Cole and Devon share is heated, real, and so raw and visceral on the deepest level, and I loved every single moment of this book that allowed me to feel that.
Giving into something new. A huge part of the story in Between Us focuses on Cole’s journey to figuring out what it is he wants and needs, and how Devon could just be the one who changes everything. Along with Cole, Devon goes on a journey of discovering what it is her and Cole could share, if she allows herself to give into it, and if she’s able to help Cole figure out what he wants for the two of them. Both of these characters are giving into something new and seeing what that something new could bring them, and through every page of this book you become more invested in them finding and accepting that something new. Ella Fox hooks you into every bit of what Cole and Devon share together, every fear and worry they have, and every ounce of feeling they share with each other, and that will have you loving them both so much as they see what they could really have together.
The best supporting characters a girl could ask for. Ella Fox certainly knows how to create a world of characters that find themselves right in your heart. I was beyond thrilled to be back with the amazing and distinctive characters of this series, and I absolutely loved every bit I got with them in this book. Gram and Pop, Flynn and Tessa, Gavin and Tyson were just the best, and I truly couldn’t get enough of them, and I absolutely loved getting to meet Lana in this book too. Ella Fox gives you so many memorable moments with them all, and she even hints at what’s to come next. It’s easy to say I heart these characters something fierce, and I can’t wait for more of them. Every moment with them all in this book and all these characters’ interactions with Cole and Devon made me love them even more. They’ll make you smile and laugh and feel so much, and that is just the best.

Between Us is a story about what happens when you meet that one person who can change everything. It’s about what happens when you meet someone who makes you second guess everything you think you know about yourself, and everything you thought you wanted. It’s about what happens when that person gives you hope, makes you look twice at those fears and doubts you’ve always had, and how that one person might just be exactly what you need.

This book is about taking chances, feeling it all, and experiencing the mesmerizing and heart melting things that can happen with that right person, as long as you let yourself actually have it.

Cole and Devon’s story in this book had the best level of heat, build, tension, and emotion, and it gave me so much of them to love. The more I experienced this book with them, the more I hoped with all that I had that they would be able to figure it all out. Ella Fox brought their story to life in a way that felt right, felt so good to read, and felt completely fulfilling. I can’t wait to read more of this series, and to get more of Ella’s phenomenal writing. I truly can’t get enough of this book, and everything I read in Between Us proved that over and over again!

He’s dead still for a second, but then he wraps his arms around me and pulls me in close. He’s right between my legs, and I shiver when I feel the cotton of his T-shirt against my inner thighs. I gasp as the implication of why I can feel him hits me.

“Oh my God,” I sputter as I pull back. “Holy shit!”

Cole quickly pulls back and looks up at me with concern.

“What’s wrong?”

When I went to dry the monitor, the thing I grabbed to do it was the hem of my white cotton dress—the hem of which had rested about an inch above my knee. I’m now sitting here with it bunched up around my thighs. I try not to look down, but can’t help it. As quick as I bring my eyes back to his, it’s too late. His gaze follows the path mine just did, and he lets out a choked noise when he realizes the state I’m in.

“Jesus, Devon,” he growls. “Fuck.”

Lifting his head, he meets my eyes. My breath stops, lodging somewhere in my chest when I see the look of hunger in his eyes. The breath rushes out of me in a whoosh when he leans back and runs his hands up the inside of my thighs.

“You’re so soft,” he murmurs. “So beautiful.”

I expel the breath I’ve been holding in a rush. Seemingly of their own volition, my legs spread wider, allowing him to come in closer.

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Ella Fox writes like a woman possessed whenever she gets the chance! She is the author of The Hart Family Series, The Renegade Saints Series and The Catch Series.

When she’s not writing, Ella indulges the gypsy in her blood and travels the country. Ella loves reading, movies, music, buying make-up, reading Tmz, Twitter and pedicures… not necessarily in that order. She has a wild sense of humor and loves to laugh. Her favorite thing in the world is hanging out with her family and watching comedy movies.

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26Apr2016

Releasing Now: Shameless by Lex Martin

Posted in Books I love, Releasing Now Book Addicts, Review Post by mkcooke

Title: Shameless

Author: Lex Martin

Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance

Release Date: April 26, 2016

Brady…

What the hell do I know about raising a baby? Nothing. Not a goddamn thing. Yet here I am, the sole guardian of my niece. I’d be lost if it weren’t for Katherine, the beautiful girl who seems to have all the answers. Katherine, who’s slowly finding her way into my cynical heart.

I keep reminding myself that I can’t fall for someone when we don’t have a future. But telling myself this lie and believing it are two different things.

Katherine…

When Brady shows up on a Harley, looking like an avenging angel—six feet, three inches of chiseled muscle, eyes the color of wild sage, and sun-kissed skin emblazoned with tattoos—I’m not sure if I should fall at his feet or run like hell. Because if I tell him what happened the night his family died, he might hate me.

What I don’t count on are the nights we spend together trying to forget the heartache that brought us here. I promise him it won’t mean anything, that I won’t fall in love.

I shouldn’t make promises I can’t keep.

Shameless
is an adult contemporary romance/spinoff featuring a character from The
Dearest Series, but it can be read as a complete standalone.

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AMAZON US / UK / UNIVERSAL

B&N / KOBO / iBOOKS

5 Absolutely Amazing Stars

There are certain things I’ve come to know and appreciate in life: books keep me happy, coffee keeps me upright, and Lex Martin writes one helluva phenomenal book.

I have loved each and every one of her books so fiercely. She continues to be not only one of my favorite authors, but an author I can count on for an exceptionally good and fulfilling read. She never fails to deliver a story that weaves together the perfect amount of undeniable heat and connection, the most thoughtfully crafted and all-feeling level of emotion, and an effervescent vibrancy that is tangible through ever extraordinary word she writes.

It’s pretty suffice to say that I love her books, her characters and stories, and her writing, hard. Reading a new book from her is something I so look forward to because I know without a doubt that she will literally give me it all between the pages of her books. She’ll give me the feels I crave, the romance that makes me melt, the vibrancy and life that is beyond mesmerizing to experience, and everything else in between that makes me love what I’m reading even more.

Shameless was a book that was equal parts beautiful and emotional and meaningful, while simultaneously making me blush and melt and fall so wonderfully hard for everything that Brady and Katherine were sharing. This book was romantic, it was fun, it was full of feels, and it was real. So genuinely real, with real, easy to love and understand characters that were spectacular on every page. The distinctive authenticity and life and spark that Lex Martin created within Shameless is something I know I won’t soon forget. (It’s something I’m missing already, now that I’ve finished the book.)

This book is about what happens when life throws you one seriously emotional curve ball you never saw coming. It follows two phenomenal characters as they try to figure out what in the world they’re going to do after that curve ball is thrown, and how they’re going to handle everything that curveball leaves in its wake. This book is about how that curveball throws Brady and Katherine onto a path they never expected to be on, yet how that path just might be exactly what they never knew they needed in this new normal they find themselves in.

Shameless is an immensely enrapturing story of loss and meaningful emotion, and how new life and love and hope might just be able to grow from that loss, if these characters just allow themselves the chance to have it.

The opening of this book finds Brady and Katherine thrust together unexpectedly, after an unimaginable loss ties them to each other in ways they never expected to be. He’s a cynical tattoo artist who’s got a lot on his plate, and she’s a dreamer who’s trying to put her life back together. He just lost his brother, and she just lost her best girlfriend, and now they have to figure out what in the world they’re going to do with all the heartache they now share. Throw in the fact that Brady was left with sole custody of his one year old niece Isabella, and you have the makings of one downright phenomenal story as these two try to put one foot in front of the other, while simultaneously trying to fight the intense attraction they have for one another.

What ensues between them is heartfelt, emotional, and meaningful to say the least, and experiencing what they share together and what they start to feel towards one another is nothing short of spectacular. It’s real, it’s honest, it’s kind of messy in the most genuine way, and it isn’t always easy, but it’s oh so wonderful and so damn worth it, and you will be invested in them right from the start. You’ll live and breathe and feel every word of this book with Katherine and Brady, which will have you hoping with everything you have that these two can figure out a way to take their not so easy situation and turn it into something more.

Brady was a character that pretty much stole my heart, and my ovaries, from the moment I met him. He’s certainly got a presence about him that will have your attention from page one, and the more you get to know him, the more you’ll see that that man has a heart of gold. He’s doing everything he can to keep it together, to make up for the regrets he feels with his brother, and to be there for his baby niece who has just lost everything she knew. You really get to see all that Brady does to figure out what’s right for him and his new future with Isabella, what needs to happen between him and Katherine, and what’s best for everyone.

I am telling you that along the way with him on his journey to discovering all of that, you will fall so hopelessly in love with him. I know I did. He is one of the most thoughtful, charming, and heart melting male characters I have read, and his tenacity, determination, and level of heart will have you beyond smitten with every bit of him.

Katherine is a female character I related and connected to on so many levels. I found her to be honest, sweet, and beautiful, both inside and out. She is so selfless and so endearing, and she is just trying to figure out what it is she wants from life and what truly makes her happy. Over the course of Shameless you learn that Katherine has been through a lot, and that that emotional upset is what brought her to that Texas farm in the first place. She was looking for calm and ease and solace, which is exactly what she found until one fateful night when everything changed, but then Brady enters the picture and makes it all mean so much more once again. He’s a game changer, and as much as she says she won’t fall for him, she can’t help but be drawn to his heart of gold.

In Shameless, Katherine is trying to figure out a lot of things about herself, Brady, and the life that she lives. The events of this book push her, and Brady for that matter, to realize what is truly important, what is truly worth fighting for, and the possibilities that can come when you meet that one person who literally changes everything.

Shameless explores the budding relationship Katherine and Brady share, and how the intense sparks and connection they have might just lead them both to something they so desperately crave. He’s trying his best to hold back, and she’s wearing her heart on her sleeve, and as much as they want to explore the world of feeling they share for each other, they both know there’s an expiration date on it all. They develop and honest to goodness friendship that soon turns into something much more than they bargained for.

That more is real, it’s raw and vulnerable, and it’s messy and emotional as hell, but at the same time it shows them what they could really share together if they only take that leap of faith and risk their hearts in order to see what could happen.

Lex Martin creates the most inviting world in Shameless with Katherine and Brady. She throws you knee deep in that good old Texas charm, with some amazing supporting characters that make it all the more memorable. Experiencing that charm and that wonderful world will have you even more consumed by this book. It will also have you feeling like you’re experiencing every lick of it.

Lex’s extraordinary writing gives you it all with these characters. She puts you in this book whole heartedly, she invests your heart right from the start, and she gives you so many exceptionally crafted moments to experience with them.

You’ll laugh with them, cry and hurt and feel right along with them, and you’re going to be consumed by the feelings and the intensity of the pull Brady and Katherine share towards one another. The more you read, the more you’ll get them and understand exactly what they want and so desperately need. You’re going to love them, you’re going to want to hug them and occasionally shake some sense into them, and more than that, you’re going to hope with all that you have that they can find a way to figure it all out, and make something more out of what they share.

I could literally go on and on about how phenomenal this book was, how vibrant and emotional and meaningful and wonderful it was, and how much I absolutely loved it. It was a fulfilling read all the way through, and it highlighted the true writing and storytelling talent of Lex Martin. I already know this will be one of my top reads of the year, and I can’t tell you enough how literally amazing it was to read and experience.

Shameless gave me two wonderfully distinctive characters trying to make the best of a situation neither one of them expected to be in, and it showed what happened between them as they tried to figure out exactly what they needed and wanted, for themselves and from each other. Their story pulls at your heart, it makes you feel every emotion under the sun, and in the end, it gives you a story of the extraordinary possibilities that can bloom even in the darkest of moments, if you only take that leap of faith and give into it all.

I loved everything about this book. I loved Katherine and Brady. I loved me some Isabella. I loved their journey and story together, and I loved every phenomenal aspect Lex Martin encapsulated into this book. Shameless is one of those perfect reads that reminds you why you love reading so much in the first place, and I truly can’t recommend it to you enough.

Read this book. Embrace its feels. Fall hopelessly in love with Katherine and Brady. Invest yourself in them, and what they so authentically share. Give yourself over to Shameless and everything it has.

It’s worth it. They’re worth it. And everything you get you get within the pages of this book is worth it.

I am telling you: run yourself, don’t walk yourself to this book immediately and experience the literal amazingness it has to offer. It would be wrong not to.

Also Available

The Dearest Series Boxed Set is FREE on KU for a limited time. Get all three Dearest Series books, including Dearest Clementine, Finding Dandelion and Kissing Madeline, as well as Dearest Series bonus scenes and the first chapter of Shameless.

Purchase Links

AMAZON US / UK / UNIVERSAL

Lex writes adult novels, the sexy kind with lotsa angst, a whole lotta kissing, and the hot happily ever afters. When she’s not writing, she lives a parallel life as an English teacher. She loves printing black and white photos, listening to music on vinyl, and getting lost in a great book. Bitten by wanderlust, she’s lived all over the country but currently resides in the City of Angels with her husband and twin daughters.

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12Apr2016

Releasing Now: Forever Rockers by Terri Anne Browning

Posted in Books I love, Releasing Now Book Addicts, Review Post by mkcooke

Title: Forever Rockers

Series: The Rocker #12

Author: Terri Anne Browning

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Release Date: April 12, 2016

My Happily Ever After was turning into a living nightmare…

All I wanted was Harper’s happiness and I would move the world to give her anything she ever wanted. We’ve searched for answers, talked about our options, and finally—FINALLY—found hope.

Yet, just when things seemed to be perfect, it all came crashing down around us all. The one person I’ve always counted on to hold us together—to hold me together—was lost in her own nightmares and I felt like I was losing everything.

Everything.

I wasn’t going to lose the woman I loved. I would hold onto her until the last breath left my body. It was my mistakes that were hurting us and I would be the one to fix it. I wouldn’t let my past ruin my forever with Harper.

ADD TO GOODREADS

5 Perfectly Rocker Stars

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: I am an ending person. Endings are my jam, and they’re why I am such a huge fan of series, not because I want those series to end, but because when an ending is done right, it makes that series for me. A good ending makes a series unforgettable. A fulfilling ending makes you realize why you loved that series so much in the first place. An exceptional ending gives you it all and more, and really just has your heart filled with your love of that series, those characters, and everything they’re about.

That my friends is why I am an ending person, and that is also why I absolutely loved Forever Rockers by Terri Anne Browning because it gave me all of the above and more.

I could not have asked for a better ending to one of my favorite series, and I could not have asked for more from these characters that have all stolen my heart in their own distinct way. Forever Rockers was fantastically written, wholly enrapturing, and it packed a story that just didn’t quit all the way through. Terri Anne Browning’s fantastic writing connected me once again to all of these dynamic characters, and she allowed me to feel and live and experience every lick of this book with them because of how phenomenally she wrote it.

I loved this book. So damn hard. Throughout every page, throughout every moment with these characters, and throughout everything I went through with them, I just fell more and more in love with the world of these books and with them. I couldn’t have asked for more from them all, and as sad as I am to say goodbye to them with this book, they gave me one helluva reading experience over the past few years, and for that I will be forever grateful.

What I absolutely loved about Forever Rockers:

Shane and Harper’s happily ever after. The Rocker Series is made up of so many different and fantastic couples that I have all loved, and while I don’t think I could ever pick a favorite, Shane and Harper are definitely up there for me. I have absolutely loved them ever since I got their love story in The Rocker Who Loves Me, and I have loved going with them on their journey together over the course of this series. They’re probably the ones I have been most invested in because I wanted, and actually needed them to get that happily ever after that they both wanted and so deserved. This book gives you their magnificent journey and fight to get that happily ever after, and through every twist and turn, and every emotional up and down, you will be beyond invested with them both as they fight for what they both want and so desperately need. You will also have no doubt about the depth of their feelings, and I for one could not get enough of the love those two share with one another. It is honest, heartfelt, and so real that it’s almost tangible, and getting to experience that love and its power once again had my heart beyond full.
Everyone gets a point of view! I think one of my favorite aspects of Forever Rockers was getting the many different points of views from these fantastic and distinctive characters. Not only did it allow me to spend time with all of these characters, it also wove together their individual stories into the whole big picture seamlessly. Getting into all of their heads and getting to experience their stories allowed me to get such distinctive experiences with all of them, and to experience the evolution of those characters. It also just gave me one last little bit of them all to love, and really it just reminded me of what made me love them all so much in the first place. Each new point of view added immensely to this story, and made it even more captivating to read because you never knew who or what that next page would bring. Those phenomenal points of view are just part of what made this book so fantastic to read, and they pulled me so immensely into this book because of everything different story and aspect that they each gave me.
The perfect balance of everything! Forever Rockers definitely had the best amount of everything. It had the romance and feels that had me swooning and melting over the love that Shane and Harper, along with the other couples in this book felt and shared. It had the depth and emotions that this author rocks, and I felt every ounce of that emotion, that love, that desperation, that fear, that hope, and everything in between with them all. It had some blushworthy heat that certainly brought a certain kind of pink to my cheeks, and that had me mesmerized by the sparks these couples and characters shared. It also had some serious action, some major suspense, and more jaw dropping moments than you can shake a stick at. Bottom line, this book had it all, and Terri Anne Browning wove it all together in a way that had made this story so consuming, so fulfilling, and just downright enjoyable. She invested me in this story from the start, and that along with the connection I felt to these characters had me loving every word I was reading.
Twists and turns galore! It wouldn’t be a Rocker Series book without some serious twists and turns that will have your heart simultaneously racing, breaking, and feeling it all while you’re on the literal edge of your seat to see what will happen next. This book finally reveals who has been stalking Harper and causing that torment towards all of these characters over the past few books, and I have to say I was hooked through every single page because I had to find out who it was, I needed to know how things would work out for all of these characters, and I had to make sure that they would all be okay. While I won’t tell you what happens in this book, I will say it is one wild, phenomenal, and twisty turny ride that does not disappoint one little bit.
Family is family. I think one of the biggest things that has made me love this series, and really what sets this series apart, is how much of a family all of these characters are. Sure many of them aren’t blood related, but these characters are the definition of family. They are there for one another through it all. They have fought for one another, defended each other to the ends of the earth, and have supported each other through the darkest points of their lives. They have cheered each other on, done everything in their power to make their family happy, and at the end of the day, they are all there for one another, one hundred percent. That feel of family emanates from this book in the most tangible way, and connects these characters so authentically. These characters love each other, they do everything they can for one another, and they laugh and love and live with one another with all that they have, and that just makes them all the more exceptional to experience in this book, and really this entire series.
A love and life and family worth fighting for. Forever Rockers gave me so many moments to love, and it truly made me appreciate and love every single character of this world even more, but what I think I loved most of all was the shear tenacity these characters have. The level of fight they all have, how they all face the adversity and darkness that threatens them and their loved ones, and how they keep going and pushing and giving it their all blew me away. I’ve felt that level of fight and tenacity in all of the books in this series, but I felt it even more in this one. Terri Anne Browning thoughtfully crafts that fight in a way that shows just how far these characters are willing to go for one another, how much they care and feel for one another, and how determined they are to make sure each and every one of their family members is okay and in the exact place they need to be. These characters struggle in this book and they face so many things that no person should, but through it all they keep fighting for their lives, their love, and their family and that makes them and all that fight they have everything you could ask for.

Forever Rockers was the exact book that I needed to bring this phenomenal series to a close. It was enrapturing, fantastically written, and it had the best amount of everything to make it a read that I know I won’t soon forget. This book gave me every single aspect and every single wonderful character that has made this series so phenomenal to experience. When I reached that last page of Forever Rockers, all I can say is I felt immensely fulfilled, and so freaking happy about every moment I got with these characters in this book.

Every moment of Forever Rockers made this book the outstanding book that it is. Every moment that hurt my heart, every turn of the page that made my jaw drop, every single instance that filled my heart with so much love and adoration towards these characters, every emotion and feeling I got with these characters, and every second of healing and love and joy this book gave me was well worth it.

I couldn’t have asked for a better send off to these characters, and in the end, when I closed this book, I did it with a full heart and one helluva smile on my face because this book was that good, that fantastic, and that everything. The Rocker Series is one of my all-time favorites, and Terri Anne Browning brought it to a close in only a way that she could. If you’ve loved this series, these characters, and these unforgettable rockers, then I am telling you, you will love this book with all that you have.

I know I did. So much.

AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU
B&N / KOBO / iBOOKS

Also Available

The Rocker Series: Demon’s Wings Collection

(includes #1-6) #1 The Rocker Who Holds Me

#2 The Rocker Who Savors Me

#3 The Rocker Who Needs Me

#4 The Rocker Who Loves Me

#5 The Rocker Who Holds Her

#6 The Rockers’ Babies

#7 The Rocker Who Wants Me

#8 The Rocker Who Cherishes Me

#9 The Rocker Who Shatters Me

#10 The Rocker Who Hates Me
#11 The Rocker Who Betrays Me

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Terri Anne Browning is the USA TODAY bestselling author of The Rocker…Series. She started writing her own novellas at the age of sixteen, forcing her sister to be her one woman fan club. Now she has a few more fans and a lot more passion for writing. Reese: A Safe Haven Novella was her first Indie published book. The Rocker That Holds Me changed the tables and kicked off The Rocker… series featuring the sinfully delicious members of Demon’s Wings. The Rocker… Series has since expanded to OtherWorld with Axton Cage and his band members. Terri Anne lives in Virginia with her husband, their three children, and a loveable Olde English Bulldog named Link.

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6Apr2016

Review Post: Roots and Wings by M. Mabie

Posted in Books I love, Releasing Now Book Addicts, Review Post by mkcooke

ROOTS & WINGS is LIVE!
No billionaires. No professional athletes. No celebrities.
Low on drama. High on love.

Amazon US → http://amzn.to/1PAGekM
Amazon UK → http://bit.ly/rawamzuk
Amazon AU → http://bit.ly/rawamzau
Amazon CA → http://bit.ly/rawamzca

Welcome to Wynne, population 3,401.No billionaires. No professional athletes. No celebrities.In this small town, current events are pondered in mirrors at the local salon or around crowded tables at the diner, and there’s a new couple to gossip about. A rough and tumble woman who works in her dad’s garage, not yet ready to spread her wings, shows the new guy in town what it’s like to finally have roots.

It’s your run-of-the-mill, sexy, Astro van driving dentist meets smart-ass, bass fishing tomboy in a story of real-life romance.

Low on drama. High on love.

Pull up a chair and stay a while.

*************************************
Roots and Wings is the first book in the City Limits series of standalones.
Learn more at http://www.mmabie.com

5 Sweet Small Town Stars

Have you ever read a book that just felt right from the very first words? You know, one of those books that sweeps you up right from the start with its ease, its goodness, and its personality. Have you ever experienced a story that flowed so naturally, so fluidly, and so vibrantly that you were just about smitten with everything that story was giving you? Have you ever fallen heart first in love with two unique and so easy to love characters in the midst of experiencing that story that just felt right and so good?

Well I certainly have because I just read Roots and Wings by M. Mabie, and it encapsulated all of those things and more into its oh so wonderful pages.

This book was sweet, it was meaningful and beyond easy to fall right into, and it gave me a story that took hold of me right from that very first page. Roots and Wings just felt right. Mutt and Vaughn’s story felt right, and I can’t tell you that enough. Experiencing this book felt so right, it felt so real, and it felt so perfect for the story, characters, and world I was experiencing within its pages. The more I read, the more I experienced all that Mutt and Vaughn were, the more I fell for those two as they fell for each other, and the more I fell love with everything this beautiful book gave me.

Now it’s no secret that M. Mabie is one of my favorite author’s around. I’ve loved each and every one of her books, and they always give me an extraordinary reading experience to say the least. She’s one of my go to author’s without a doubt, and she never fails to deliver a story with characters you will feel in your bones and your heart, a story that allows you to feel and think and experience every lick of, and a story with so many moments that you will never forget.

Roots and Wings was no different, yet at the same time this book has a bit of a different feel than her other books. That difference in the feel fit Mutt and Vaughn’s story to a T and was perfect for them and what they were sharing, and it showed that while Roots and Wings felt different, it still had that trademark M. Mabie writing that blew me away. The thoughtful weaving of romance, connection, authenticity, personality, and that oh so wonderful humor highlighted the true talent of M. Mabie and the exceptional stories and characters she weaves together.

Roots and Wings throws you smack dab in the middle of Wynne. Population 3,401. This town is what small towns are made of, with the characters and fantastic nuances to boot, and you definitely feel right at home when you enter the world of Wynne. From the very first page of Roots and Wings you meet Mutt O’Fallon, a wonderful, easy to love, rough around the edges kind of girl who tells it like it is in the best possible way. She’s lived in Wynne all her life, and has the nickname to prove it. She’s good with her life and the people in it, and she has no real desire to change anything…that is until the new dentist in town shows her what it might be like to use those wings of hers and fly.

Vaughn Renfro is new in town, and he’s looking for roots. The kind that stick. Vaughn is a charismatic, sweet, endearing, and oh so easy to fall for man who is just looking for that something special. He’s searching for that more, that family, and the feel and connection he’s always longed for, and that brings him to the wonderfulness that is Wynne. What Vaughn doesn’t expect is that on that very first day in Wynne, when everything seems to be going wrong, is to meet a woman that will change everything, a woman that might just show him what those roots are all about.

From the moment he meets Mutt, he can’t stop thinking about her or wanting to know more about her. He’s entranced, and she’s just as hooked into him from that very first meeting, and what ensues is a story bursting with real life romance that allows you to fall right along with these two. Roots and Wings follows Mutt and Vaughn as they try to figure out what exactly they’re sharing, and where in the world it’s leading them, as they both try to discover what it is they truly want, and how discovering that want might bring them the exact thing that they need.

In the synopsis for this book there’s a line that says “Low on drama. High on love.” and I don’t think there’s a more accurate description on the planet for Roots and Wings than that one. This book is all about the love and the feels. It’s all about what it’s like to fall in love, what it’s like to experience those unforgettable sparks when you meet the right person, and what it’s like to have that right person push you in the exact way you never knew you needed to be pushed. It’s full of connection, intense and exceptionally building heat, and a love that will melt your heart into a puddle of the best kind of emotion.

This story is certainly high on love and low on the drama, which felt amazing to experience. That’s not to say that Mutt and Vaughn don’t face their share of issues, because they do, but those issues fit into the story and what they were sharing so well. I completely understood why things went the way they did in Roots and Wings for Mutt and Vaughn, and I was there through the ups and downs that sometimes happened with them. I understood why they happened, and why Mutt and Vaughn’s characters needed to go through them because of what M. Mabie so phenomenally created in this story with them.

I understood their fears and worries and even their doubts as they tried to find those wings and establish those roots, and I loved being there every step of the way as they pushed and tried to find exactly what they both wanted and so desperately needed together.

What I loved about Roots and Wings was that Vaughn and Mutt’s love story just felt right. It felt right for them, it felt right for what they were going through and experiencing together, and it felt right that they shared what they did. It was never too fast or too slow, it was them and it was right. M. Mabie’s extraordinary writing let me experience every bit of these two falling for one another, and she melted me again and again with the two of them. She let me have butterflies with them, she made me audibly sigh and swoon with what they experienced together, and she even made me blush. A few times.

Mabie made Mutt and Vaughn and their love story real. She made every aspect of this book so authentic, so easy to love, and so easy to be mesmerized by, and it truly doesn’t get better than that when you read and experience a book.

Roots and Wings not only gave me the love story of Mutt and Vaughn, it gave me a whole cast of characters to fall in love with. The town of Wynne is almost like another character in this story, and M. Mabie creates that character in a way that made everything that I was reading come to life. Throw in a slew of characters I can’t wait to know more about, and I am telling you that you will be knee deep in your love for all things Wynne and the people who live there. M. Mabie truly shows what it’s like to live in a small town, the connections and relationships that all of these characters have, and the way she brought that into the story was nothing short of wonderful. I felt the connection of these characters, I loved their relationships and how they started to change a bit, and I loved having the chance to experience life, love, family and friendship with all of them.

Roots and Wings is a story about love. Real life love. Consuming, heartfelt, make you stop and think, melt your heart along with a few other things, love. It’s about what it’s like to meet that one person who changes everything, that person who makes you think and feel and wonder in the best possible way, and that person who gives you everything you never even knew you needed. It’s about what happens when you start to fall, start to feel, and start to realize that you just might have found the one things that’s been missing for so long.

This book is about what happens when a girl who’s always had those roots, starts to see what it might be like to use her wings and fly into something so extraordinary. It’s also about what happens when a man who’s always used those wings, starts to see the benefits of establishing those longed for roots that just might take root into something he never expected.

Roots and Wings gives you Mutt and Vaughn’s unforgettable, sweet, and heart melting story together as they look for those roots, push for those wings, and truly discover what love is all about.

Mabie once again blew me away with this book. She connected me to this story and these characters so authentically right from the start, and she let me experience what love is all about in Roots and Wings. This story was so beautiful, so sweet, and it just felt good to read through every single page. It melted me, it made me hope and think and feel, and in the end I could not get enough of its literal amazingness.

I already know this will be one of my top reads of the year, so I am begging you, run yourself, don’t walk yourself, to this book this very instant. Mutt and Vaughn are waiting for you, and they’re kind of the best, so it’s a Wynne Wynne all around. (See what I did there?!) But seriously….Read. This. Book. It would be wrong not to.

I am telling y’all, you NEED to read this book. I LOVED every single word of it, and you will love it too!!

1Apr2016

Review Post: So Much More by Kim Holden

Posted in Books I love, Releasing Now Book Addicts, Review Post by mkcooke

So Much More by Kim Holden

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Love is strange. It comes out of nowhere. There’s no logic to it. It’s not methodical. It’s not scientific. It’s pure emotion and passion. And emotion and passion can be dangerous because they fuel love…and hate.

I’m now a reluctant connoisseur of both—an expert through immersion. I know them intimately.

When I fell in love with Miranda, it was swift and blind. She was the person I’d elevated to mythical status in my head, in my dreams.

Here’s the thing about dreams, they’re smoke.

They’re spun as thoughts until they become something we think we want. Something we think we need.

That was Miranda. She was smoke.

I thought I wanted her. I thought I needed her.

Over time reality crept in and slowly dissected and disemboweled my dreams like a predator, leaving behind a rotting carcass.

Reality can be a fierce bitch.

So can Miranda.

And I can be a fool…

who believes in dreams.

And people.

And love.

5 Exceptional Stars

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Sometimes you read books. Sometimes you experience them, and every unforgettable moment they give you. Sometimes you feel them with every ounce of feeling and emotion you have. Sometimes you even read a book so extraordinary that it swallows up your body, and your mind, and your very soul for every single word within its pages. And sometimes, if you’re lucky enough, you find a book that gives you all of that and more.

Books like that is why I am a reader. I live for books like that. I love books like that and what they make me think and feel and experience and wonder. When I come across them, it makes me want to shout that books praises from the proverbial rooftop…

So get ready for some shouting, because So Much More by Kim Holden was that kind of book.

So Much More was that kind of book because honestly it was so much more than a book. It was an experience, it was a journey, and it was a breathtakingly emotional story unlike any other I’ve read. It was so many unforgettable and raw and heart squeezing moment woven together perfectly through the eyes of 3 very distinctive characters.

It was real. It was life. It was love. It was also utter heartbreak and pain. Yet at the same time, it was also healing in so many ways.

It was everything.

I feel like this story is so hard to accurately describe because it was so many things, and it encompassed so many different stories with Miranda, Seamus, and Faith. Kim Holden seamlessly weaves together their stories in So Much More, and she connects them all in ways that you will be blown away by. Ways that will make you feel every ounce of what these characters do. Ways that will hurt your heart and shatter it into a million pieces, yet at the same time, ways that will bring you back together again and make it right. Experiencing these characters’ interwoven stories in So Much More is something I know I will never forget experiencing.

Even though I find it so hard to tell you what this book is about (since it’s about so much), and why you should read it (which you obviously should), I’m going to try to find a way to tell you what this book will give you…but really you should just read it, because my words do not do this book the immense amount of justice it deserves.

So Much More is a story of love. A father’s undying love for his children. One girl’s journey to seek the love she’s always been missing. One woman’s bumpy as hell path to love that is certainly unorthodox, yet oddly fitting for her. It’s a story of the love and compassion you can share for others, the love you can feel for yourself, and the extraordinary kind of love you can feel for the right person if you actually let yourself feel it.

So Much More is a story of hate. Unbridled, feel it in your bones, hate that consumes you with everything it has. It’s about how that hate changes you, how it alters your mind and how it puts you on paths you never wanted to be on. It’s about how that hate can devour you if you let it, and how that hate can bring you to be a person you never wanted to be.

So Much More is also a story of resiliency. Of the heart, of the mind, and of the soul. It’s about what happens when you break, when things come your way that you don’t deserve and you experience the worst of the worst, yet you push through and fight with everything you have. That tenacious resiliency is everything, and reveals a vulnerability, honesty, and level of realness in these characters in the most extraordinary of ways. This book gives you that resiliency, and makes it tangible, it makes it real. Experiencing that resiliency from these characters will give you hope, it will give you love, and most of all, it will give you life.

So Much More is a story of Faith and Hope, and the life changing things that can happen when you have both of those things. It’s about what can happen when you open yourself up to the joy and light and happiness they can both bring you, and how that will change everything. (And yes those words are capitalized for a reason. Read this book and you’ll get that.)

This book is extraordinary. It’s unique and real. It’s wholly enrapturing and it’s raw and messy and it ain’t easy. It’s also one of the most honest portrayals of family and life and love that I have ever read, and it is a book I know I will never forget reading. This book consumed me. It took over my heart and my mind as I read it, and I couldn’t get enough. I needed more. Even when it hurt. Even when it made me shake my head. Even when it made me cry…I needed this book. I needed Seamus, I needed Faith, and as much as it kind of kills me to say this, I needed Miranda.

These characters in So Much More are unlike any other, and their wonderful distinctiveness sets them in a league of their own, yet at the same time they’re so beyond easy to relate to. Even Miranda. Kim Holden allows you to understand them all so fully, so authentically, and in such a way that you get them. I’ll repeat that. You get them in this book on every level possible. Even Miranda. You get them, you understand them, and you feel for them. Even Miranda. Even when you want to strangle them, or shake them, or even knock some sense or fire or something into them, you get them and you love them, you know them, and you understand them, and you sympathize and feel for them. Even Miranda.

So Much More gives you the unforgettable and so thoughtfully intertwined stories of Miranda, Seamus, and Faith, along with a slew of utterly fantastic supporting characters that I can’t get enough of.

Seamus is the epitome of a good father. He’s a man who would do anything for his kids. He’s also a man that is struggling something fierce, and So Much More presents him with even more struggles. And boy does he struggle, and boy does that break your heart, like a lot, but at the same time those struggles reveal all of Seamus. They reveal the good, what makes him so amazing and such a good father and person, and what makes him a person you want to root for. His resiliency and fight in this book, and really the amount of love he has, will have you in awe of him, and really you’ll just love him. All of him.

Faith is the dreamer. She’s an optimist, and she is the definition of what it means to be a good person, a caring person, both inside and out. That doesn’t mean she hasn’t struggled, because she has and in this book she faces so many of those struggles head on, yet she still does it with her good heart and her caring self. Faith is the kind of person I aspire to be. She feels with all she has, she fights just as hard, and in the end she tries, and she does it all with a genuine smile on her face. Reading and experiencing Faith’s character is like a warm hug that just never ends, one that gets better and better, and just feels right all the way through. I love her so damn much. So damn much.

Miranda is…complicated. To say the least. I’ll be honest with you and let you know that I spent much of this book hating her. I hated her thoughts, I hated her choices, and I hated and despised the things she was doing to those around her, along with herself. The more I read this book though, and the more I got in her character’s head, the more I found myself understanding her, and the more I felt bad for her. Yes, she mad horrible choices, did unforgiveable things, and she is definitely no ray of sunshine, yet I still understood where that came from, and why she did the things she did, and more than that, so did she. And she hated it just as much as I did. Her character is one of the most complex and emotion inducing ones I have ever read, and though she sure as hell wasn’t easy to love, like, or even tolerate, I got her. I understood her, and many times, I even felt for her. I got her on the realest and rawest of levels, and that is a true testament to how exceptionally Kim Holden crafted her character because she gave me all of that.

Kim Holden gives you each of these characters in ways you will never forget. She makes these characters real, and messy, and flawed, and that just makes them even more dynamic, even more distinctive, and even more unforgettable. She lets you see them at their highest, their lowest, and at every single point in between as they all journey together in this book, and that is just part of what makes this story the exceptional thing that it is.

I am completely in awe of how she wove together this story, these characters, their flaws, their realities, and everything they shared in So Much More. I honestly don’t have the right amount of words to tell you what it was like to truly experience this book and their story.

This book was so much more than a story. It’s so much more than a book. It’s so much more than just words on a paper.

It’s an experience, it’s a journey, it’s something I’ll never forget reading… and really, it’s everything rolled into one exceptional package.

So Much More is so much more, and Kim Holden’s exquisitely emotional writing made it all possible within the pages of this breathtaking book. What she gives you within the pages of this phenomenal book is a story of love, a story of hate, hurt, and pain, and a story of the tenacity and resiliency that can see you through even the darkest of days, and even the worst moments, if you only you let yourself feel it and embrace what it could give you.

I loved this book. I loved every moment, and feeling, and hurt, and hope, and experience it gave me with these characters. I could probably go on for thousands of more words, and I still wouldn’t even come close to telling you how much I loved this book, and how much you need to read it.

You need this book. You need its powerful emotions. You need its unforgettable moments. You need its incredible characters and everything they so honestly give you. You need its words, its feelings, and its messages. You need its love and its hurt and its life.

You need it all.

Even Miranda.

So please, I beg of you, read this book. Let it consume you, let it move you, and in the end, let it fulfill you in ways you never knew possible. Trust me. You need this book in your life. You need Seamus, you need Faith, and you even need Miranda.

I am telling you that this book will blow you away with everything it has, and honestly, it doesn’t get better than that.

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30Mar2016

Releasing Now: Edge of Chaos by Molly E. Lee

Posted in Books I love, Releasing Now Book Addicts, Review Post by mkcooke

Release Date: March 30, 2016

Photo & Cover Design: Regina Wamba / MaeIDesign and Photography

Models: Ripp B. (Dash) & Mackenzy T. (Blake)

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1RF4yq9

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1VRF4ZD

Amazon CA: http://amzn.to/1TgAcfQ

Amazon AU: http://bit.ly/1UzLJZl

Blake Caster has been in an emotionally abusive relationship with Justin for so long, she can’t tell what is normal anymore, and so she clings to the one thing that is solidly hers—her passion for extreme weather.

Three years into her Meteorology degree, Blake meets professional storm chaser, Dash Lexington, who is as gorgeous as he is daring. Instantly recognizing her passion and skills in analyzing weather data, he makes a spot for her on his tight-knit storm chasing team. Dash and Blake form a fast friendship and it forces her to realize just how toxic her relationship with Justin is. She can’t deny the lightning-worthy chemistry she has with Dash or how her heart stalls every time he gets too close to a tornado.

With each chase and the cherished moments with Dash, Blake discovers her own self-worth and gains the strength to end things with Justin for good. But he won’t go easily. As Blake tries to sever ties with one man, she fears she’ll lose the other to his dangerous obsession—and she doesn’t know if she’ll be enough to save him from the impending storm that could end them all.

Goodreads

4.5 Must Read Stars

From the moment I read the blurb for Edge of Chaos by Molly E. Lee, I knew I had to read this book. You see, I have a thing for extreme weather. Like a big thing. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book, let alone a romance novel, that explored extreme weather and meteorology, so with that fact along I was hooked into this book. I also have a thing for emotions that are sure to pull at all of mine, and I could tell just from the blurb that Edge of Chaos would do just that…and boy was I right. To say that I felt the emotions of this book is putting it mildly. I felt it all in Edge of Chaos.

This book had the best blend of adrenaline pumping moments, heart squeezing emotion, and more thoughtfully crafted and varied moments than you can shake a stick at.

Edge of Chaos was exciting, it was enthralling and wholly mesmerizing to experience, and from the second I started it I could not put it down to save my life. Along with that captivating experience it gave me, this book also gave me so many emotional moments that I felt every bit of. Every moment of pain and hurt, every moment of strength and fight, every moment of longing and hope, and every moment in between of these characters journeys was one that I lived, breathed, and felt every ounce of. I felt this book, I felt its characters, and I lived through every page of this engaging story with them.

Molly E. Lee completely blew me away with this story of love, self-discovery, excitement, and of course storm chasing that is sure to set your heart racing just a bit.

What I absolutely loved about Edge of Chaos:

Blake’s journey and fight. Blake definitely has a bit of an emotional journey in Edge of Chaos. She’s got to discover who she is, what she really wants, and what she is and isn’t okay with. She needs to face some hard truths, and make some even harder choices, and getting to experience that journey with her through every page of this book connected me to her character in so many ways. That journey made this book for me, and it illuminated so much about Blake’s character. It showed the fire that that girl truly had, it exemplified the strength and tenacity that she had within her all along, and it showed that Blake was bound and determined to figure out exactly what she wanted, and exactly what she needed and was missing all along. Getting all of that with Blake had me loving her to pieces, and I truly could not get enough of her character. She was real, easy to understand and root for, and I found her to be such an authentic female character.
Overcoming the toxicity of the past. Now a huge part of Blake’s story centers on the emotionally abusive relationship she has with her boyfriend Justin. As much as I hated that Blake had to go through what she did with Justin, I understood everything she thought and felt with him because of how fantastically Molly E. Lee connected me to her character. This author let me understand Blake, her shared past with Justin, and with the glimpses of both past and present I understood how things got to be in the present of this book. Much of Edge of Chaos shows the emotional journey and fight Blake goes on in order to end the toxicity that she has with Justin. Reading and experiencing her overcoming that painful past pulled at every single one of my emotions, and connected me even more to Blake because I saw how hard it all was for her, how much she fought, and how she gave it her all to try to be in the exact place she needed to be.
I need a little Dash of that. Dash Lexington is what storm chasers are made of. He’s charming, smart, and a tad on the reckless side. That man stole my attention from the moment he entered the story, and I could not get enough of his goodness, his allure, and just everything that he was. What I loved about Dash is that he really felt like this force to be reckoned with, and he was definitely someone you noticed and felt through every moment, yet he was still genuine and good. I never doubted his intentions or his growing feelings for Blake, and the more I read Edge of Chaos, the more I fell under the storm and power that Dash was. I was smitten to say the least, and really I was completely in love with who he was, what he was all about, and all that he did for Blake in this book.
Build, build, and more build. Now Dash and Blake definitely don’t have it easy in this book. They both have current relationships that aren’t going so hot, and they both have this undeniable connection for one another that they can’t deny. Their shared passion of storms and weather, along with that electric chemistry and heart melting ease they share when they’re together had me loving every interaction they shared. Each and every moment with them was different, was heated and enrapturing in its own way, and added to the immense build between those characters. Their relationship grows, evolves, and builds like crazy through every page of Edge of Chaos, and I was consumed by every bit of that. Blake and Dash’s connection, their feelings for one another, and how it all builds had me loving those two with all that I had.
Twisters and Storm Chasers, Oh My, Oh My! I said it before and I’ll say it again, I love me some extreme weather and storm chasing, and that aspect was weaved so perfectly into this book. It made the book so exciting, so vivid and vibrant, and so easy to hook into. Like I said, I could not put Edge of Chaos down once I started it, and a huge part of that was because I was so enraptured by the science and the storms and the adrenaline pumping moments that Molly E. Lee so thoughtfully crafted in this book. I loved that the extreme weather aspect complimented these characters so well, and that aspect of the book showed so much about Dash, Blake, and all of the rest of the crew while simultaneously pulling me in even more to what I was reading. It felt so real to experience too, and that had me loving every single bit of weather and storm chasing I got in Edge of Chaos.
Writing that had me loving it all! Molly E. Lee’s writing brought Blake’s character and this entire book to life, and I loved everything that that writing gave me. Her writing was so fluid, so easy to sink right into, and it created a world that was so believable, so authentic, and almost tangible at times. Her writing also crafted and created some serious emotion that had me feeling it all, and I for one could not get enough of what that let me experience while I was reading Edge of Chaos. I can’t wait to get my hands on more of this talented author’s writing, and I definitely have my fingers crossed for more of these fantastic characters soon.

Edge of Chaos is a book that seamlessly blends a story of love and a bit of heartbreak, hard choices and truths, and what can happen when you really discover what you want for yourself and what you truly deserve. It’s a story of extreme weather and how far your passions can take you, if you only allow yourself the chance to embrace them. It’s also about what can happen when you meet that one person who can change everything in more ways than one, and how that person just might be the exact thing you need.

This book was mesmerizing to say the least, and the story within its pages was one that I thoroughly enjoyed getting to experience. Experiencing that story and falling in love with the characters I got to meet along the way made this book an all-around outstanding read that gave me everything I was looking for. It had the romance and heat, the connection and feels, and it had the varied and phenomenal level of emotion I crave and need when I read. It also had the wonderfully distinctive moments and experiences that came with storm chasing and extreme weather, and that along with everything else in this book made is so fantastic to read.

I am telling you that you need to read this book and give it a chance to win you over with everything it has. Edge of Chaos has outstanding writing, a story that you won’t soon forget, and characters that will glue themselves to your heart in no time flat. You will love and feel and experience every word of this book, and that will have you loving every bit of what you get with Blake, Dash, and the rest of the gang in this fantastic book.

Kindle Fire (7″ Display, Wi-Fi, 8 GB w/ Special Offers, Blk) & Signed paperback of Edge of Chaos

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Book Trailer

https://www.dropbox.com/s/txz261b9q6y2c31/Edge%20of%20ChaosTrailer.mp4?dl=0

Edge of Chaos_FINAL

Molly Lee is an author, editor, and mentor best known from Pitch Wars, a program that connects promising writers to established authors in the community. She writes NA contemporary and YA urban fantasy with strong heroines who are unafraid to challenge their male counterparts, yet still vulnerable enough to have love sneak up on them. Throw in high-octane action or any kind of supernatural element and she’ll be hooked. A military spouse with two children and one stubborn english bulldog, Molly enjoys watching storms from the back porch of her Midwest home and digging for treasures at local antique shops.

Connect with Molly

Newsletter Signup Link: http://eepurl.com/8uco5

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Goodreads Author Page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14975678.Molly_E_Lee

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MollyELee

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mollyelizabethlee/

15Mar2016

Review Post: Foolish Expectations by Alison Bliss (The Sutherlands Anthology)

Posted in Books I love, Releasing Now Book Addicts, Review Post by mkcooke

Title: The Sutherands – One Family Saga: 10 Sexy Stories

Authors: USA Today Bestsellers Robin Covington and Kelly Jamieson, Wall Street Journal Bestseller Terri Osburn, and critically-acclaimed and Amazon best-selling authors Alison Bliss, Shyla Colt, Avery Flynn, Abby Niles, Julie Particka, Joya Ryand and Naima Simone

Release Date: March 15

Of Note: 20% of all royalties earned from the sale of the box set will go to the Reach Out and Read Charity. Also, the box set will only be available until April 15, 2016. After that, the stories will be split up and sold individually for $2.99 and up.

Meet the Sutherlands, a Texas oil family that doesn’t break the rules…they make their own. This box set of sizzling hot, never before published full-length novels and novellas about the Sutherland family alpha heroes and kickass heroines just might melt your e-reader and will definitely help you find your next book boyfriend. Featuring:

Shadow Ranch by USA Today Bestseller Robin Covington

Screwed by USA Today Bestseller Kelly Jamieson

Wrecked by WSJ Bestseller Terri Osburn

Foolish Expectations by Alison Bliss

Under the Evening Star by Shyla Colt

Brazen by Avery Flynn

Stripped by Abby Niles

Not the Marrying Kind by Julie Particka

One Forbidden Virgin by Joya Ryan

Sweet Surrender by Naima Simone

5 Charming and Wonderful Stars

This is a review of Foolish Expectations by Alison Bliss.

Foolish Expectations was another charming, perfectly heated, and completely enjoyable read by Alison Bliss. From the very first word until the very last, I was wowed once again by this author’s undeniable talent for creating such a distinct level of humor and charm, for crafting dynamic characters that jumped rooted themselves right into my heart, and her ability to create an authentic connection that just doesn’t quit. Her writing wholly submerged me into this book, heart first, and I could not stop reading it to save my life, and better yet, I didn’t want to stop because it was just that good.

This book was lively, had the best kind of vibrancy and charm with two unforgettable characters, and it gave me a story with the best level of feels, emotion, and fierce chemistry laced all the way through. Foolish Expectations had it all, and I loved every bit of everything that it was giving me because when you read a book as good as this one, there isn’t anything not to love.

Now it’s no secret that I am a huge fan of Alison Bliss. I have read each and every one of this author’s books, and they just keep getting better and better. Her writing is so fluid and easy to sink right into, and the stories she creates are so thoughtfully crafted that they completely take you over when you’re reading them. She always gives me a story that fantastically blends the right amount of everything into a book that is sure to give you one fulfilling reading experience.

Looking for a book with fierce characters that have a dynamic that will have you equally laughing and smirking and blushing through every page? Then this is the book and author for you. Looking for a story that will completely melt your heart from start to finish, and pull at your emotions in the best and most all-feeling way? Then run yourself, don’t walk yourself, to Foolish Expectations. (Or any of Alison’s other phenomenal books.) Looking for an enrapturing book that packs the most superb level of heat and story and fun and meaning into one fantastic package? Well then you guessed it, Foolish Expectations is for you, and I truly can’t say that enough.

I loved this book, and everything within it. Bailey and Nash’s story was full of their sparkling personalities, their unadulterated chemistry, and more humor, heat, and heart than you can shake a stick at. It had it all, and as I sit here writing this review, I just can’t help wanting and feeling like I need to read their story all over again to experience the literal amazingness that is them.

What I absolutely loved about Foolish Expectations:

Bailey’s got some fire. Bailey was a character that I completely loved from the start. The fire shot out of that girl like fireworks on the Fourth of July, and I loved that she wasn’t afraid to tell it like it is no matter what. She was spunky and real and that fire that emanated from her made her so easy to love because it showed the fighting spirit she had. What I also loved about that fire was that with it, I also got to see a more vulnerable side to her too. I got to see what happened when that fire went away, and when those doubts and fears came in and how that affected her. Alison Bliss created her character in such a way that she let me understand and get every part of Bailey. She let me understand her fears and trust issues and where they came from, she let me get why she was scared and why she shielded her heart, and she let me get where that fire came from and why Bailey needed it, and that just had me loving her character to pieces. Bailey was strong yet soft, sassy yet guarded in ways too, and a firecracker to say the least, and that is just part of why I loved her so much.
Nash is a man with a heart of gold. Now Nash Sutherland just about had me from the moment he locked eyes with Bailey in Foolish Expectations, even if she was bound and determined to give that man a run for his money. That man is a charmer, and I truly mean that, as he will have you eating out of the palm of his hand in no time flat because that’s the presence he has. He is charming and sweet and will just about melt your heart every chance he gets, but more than that, he is just an honest to goodness good guy. That’s what shined through the most about him, and that was probably my favorite thing about him. (You know besides the fact that he could melt me with just one look and smile!) He was real and honest and true with his feelings for Bailey, and he was determined to show her that what they were sharing was real and meant something. I loved that that goodness shined through every page of this book, and even when he had those moments of doubts or questions, he was still that good guy I knew him to be, and that just made him golden in my eyes.
One undeniable connection. Bailey and Nash’s connection hits the ground running from the moment they lock eyes in Foolish Expectations, and it doesn’t stop for a second. Not for one single second. Their connection is full of heat and passion and need, and it’s something that neither of them can deny. As much as they might fight it from time to time, and as much as it might make them a bit unsure of what’s happening between them, it’s there, it’s real, and it’s practically palpable. Alison Bliss creates and evolves that connection in a way that is perfect for what Bailey and Nash are sharing. Though their connection never wavers, she couples that fierce connection with the ups and downs they face in a way that works so well and makes sense for them. It also makes the love story they share that more real, undeniable, and full of heartfelt feeling that you won’t soon forget because of the tangible connection Bailey and Nash share.
The pains of the past. Both Nash and Bailey have things from their past that come into this story and threaten the connection that they can’t escape. She’s guarded and has trust issues from the last time she opened her heart, and he’s got some family drama that tends to cloud his thinking and reasoning from time to time. They both have pasts and they both have ramifications from those pasts that work their way into this story, and Alison Bliss weaves it all together in a way that fits their characters and everything that they’re sharing in Foolish Expectations. As much as I hated that they had to experience the pain and doubts that their pasts brought them both, I got it, and I completely understood why they felt the things they did because of their pasts. Understanding their pasts made me love them all the more, and it allowed me to understand them both on such a deeper and meaningful level.
Some good ol’ southern charm. Now like any of Alison’s books, these characters and the world they’re in have the best, and I mean best, southern charm that is sure to have you feeling the southern love in no time. That charm is so distinctive, so vibrant, and so fun, and Alison Bliss weaved it all into Foolish Expectations in the best and most memorable ways. She makes the world of this book come to life with all of that charm and sass, and it makes everything you read in this book that more meaningful, that more fun, and that more undeniably southern in the most fantastic way. I loved that charm and everything it allowed me to feel with Bailey and Nash something fierce, and I truly couldn’t get enough of the vibrancy and effervescent spark that charm gave off through every page.

Foolish Expectations is a story about what happens when life throws you a couple of curve balls you never quite expected. It’s about what happens when you end up down a road you never thought you’d be on, a road full of twists and turns, and a bump or two. It’s about taking risks with your heart, letting go of the past even though it’s hard, and seeing where that new road, that new journey, and all that it has to offer can take you, as long as you give it all a chance and get in the damn car. Let me tell you, you need to get in the damn car and take that chance with Nash and Bailey.

This book was fantastic in every single way. It had dynamic characters that were vibrant, real, and so easy to love and root for. It had a sparkling story that was completely captivating from start to finish, and burst with the best level of connection, charm, and feeling that is sure to melt your heart in more ways than one. It also had Alison Bliss’s phenomenal writing that brought it all to life in the most all-feeling and memorable way that will seriously have you loving this book, these characters, and everything they have to offer in no time flat.

Simply put, Foolish Expectations is a must read book that gives you everything that makes a book exceptional. If I could give this book more than 5 stars I would, because it was that undeniably good, that undeniably fun and heated and wonderful, and that undeniably memorable all the way through. Alison Bliss rocked every single aspect of this book and its characters. She let me be there with them through it all. She let me feel everything they were, she let me understand them in the most authentic of ways, and she invested me whole heartedly in everything that Bailey and Nash were sharing, and it truly doesn’t get better than that.

This is the perfect addition to The Sutherlands Anthology, and I for one can’t wait to experience and get more of this author’s utterly fantastic books, stories, and characters real soon!

Get the book for just .99 cents today before the price goes up!

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14Mar2016

Review Post: Freeing Destiny by Faith Andrews

Posted in Books I love, Releasing Now Book Addicts, Review Post by mkcooke

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Cover Design: Najla Qamber/Najla Qamber Designs

Words to live by:

Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.

Don’t break the rules.

I’d managed to fail at both by fraternizing with the enemy’s brother. Guess I’d followed in my mother’s footsteps by ignoring all the rules when it came to love.

Mom was marrying a man only six years older than me. A man who was also her student. But the biggest surprise that came out of their wedding wasn’t my new stepdad’s academic status or his age.

It was Jack Davis—my stepfather’s best friend.

Jack was the guy who could change the whole game. He was quite possibly my soul mate. But time and circumstance were against us—there was no easy way around it. I was moving back to New York in two weeks and his sister, Aubrey, was the one person my family hated most in this world. How would his sister—the enemy—deal with another Edwards girl claiming what she believed was hers? The idea of letting Jack go crippled me.

Would I have to cut ties with the only man I’d ever let into my heart?

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5 Amazing & All-Feeling Stars

From just the prologue of this book, I knew without a doubt that Freeing Destiny by Faith Andrews would be a book I wouldn’t soon forget. That very first page, and that very first chapter really, had me so beyond ready for what this book would give me, and I knew I would love it. I just knew. Sometimes you just know when you start a book that you’re going to love it, that it’s going to give you everything you want and need, and that it’s going to blow you away with everything it has…and Freeing Destiny by Faith Andrews did that. It did all of that and so much more.

By the end of this book I was so enraptured with this soul touching story, so in love with these amazing well rounded characters, and so emotionally touched by this story, that I truly didn’t want it to end.

When I tell you I loved this book, I mean that I LOVED this book. It was beautiful, full of heart touching meaning, and bursting with more thoughtfully crafted feeling and emotion than you can shake a stick at. I felt every word with these characters, I lived and breathed it right along with them, and I fell harder than I thought I possibly could for Jack and Stella. From beginning to end I was in full on, swept off my feet, let me feel it all, love with these characters and their breathtakingly emotional story.

Now I have to say I wasn’t surprised one little bit that I loved this book so much, or that I felt so deeply connected to it, as this is a book by Faith Andrews. I have read every single one of this talented author’s books, and she never fails to deliver a story that will make me feel everything, will pull at my heart more times than I can count, and will literally give me it all in one meaningful, fulfilling, and mesmerizing package. Freeing Destiny was no different, and I think it just might be my favorite of Faith’s books to date. There was just something so real, so magical, and so destined about what Jack and Stella were sharing, and they both touched every part of my heart through Faith Andrews’ stellar writing.

Freeing Destiny was one of the most emotionally touching stories I’ve read. It was full of beautiful meaning, had a powerful love story of two authentic and amazing characters, and had the perfect balance of fate, destiny, and romance that you will not forget anytime soon.

The events of Freeing Destiny follow Jack and Stella, two people who share an instantaneous connection that literally sparks off the page, as they try to see what could happen if they give into the fate and destiny and take that proverbial leap of faith. From the moment these two’s eyes meet, they can’t look away, and more than that, they don’t want to. They can’t stop looking and thinking and wanting to know more about one another… There’s just a slight problem: she’s moving away to New York in just two weeks, and his sister is the one who tried to destroy her mother’s life and happiness. The odds seem to be stacked against these two, yet they can’t seem to stop wanting to discover the possibilities of what they could share together.

She’s cautious and guarded with her heart, and he’s bound and determined to find his way into it. He’s a man who’s never believed in settling down, yet one look at her changes everything he’s ever thought before. She’s never been one to take a chance on love or deviate from her plan, yet one look at him changes it all. He soon needs her like his next breath, and he doesn’t want to let her go. Just as quickly, she’s questioning everything she thought she knew about what she wanted and what comes next, and she can’t stop falling hard and fast for him.

Even though circumstances are against them, and there are quite a few things threatening to tear them apart, Jack and Stella decide to take that leap of faith and embark on a journey together that will change their lives in ways they never expected.

Freeing Destiny is their unforgettable story about the amazing, beautiful, and breathtaking things that can happen when you take a chance, risk it all, and see what destiny and fate and love can give you, if you only open yourself and your heart up to it.

I am telling you now that their story will touch you on every emotional level, and you will feel and experience every ounce of this book with them because of Faith Andrew’s vivid writing. She puts you in this book, heart first with them, through every moment of romance, every touch of heat, and through every instance that will break your heart just a bit. She lets you be there with them through it all, through every twist and jaw dropping turn, as Jack and Stella see if they can make it all work through everything that comes their way. The level of emotional connection you feel towards their characters will make this book mean everything to you when you read it, and it’ll allow you to fall so hopelessly for the two of them, as they do the same with one another.

You will be hoping with all you have through every page that these two can find a way to make it all work because you will know with every beat of your heart and every breath on your lips that these two are destined to be together.

It’s pretty suffice to say that I loved Jack and Stella’s characters with everything that I had. I loved that Jack was just a good guy, and that you knew that through every page. His tenacity, his charm, and his true feelings for Stella had me loving that man in a heartbeat. The more I got of him, the more I knew that he was man doing all that he could to be with the woman he needed. Stella’s character was so easy to relate to on every level, and I found her to be very real, so so sweet and good natured, and a genuine person with a heart of gold. I loved that she took everything that came her way in this book in stride. She never wavered and she fought with all she had, and I have a serious love and mad respect for her after reading this book.

Like I said, the connection those two share is out of this world, and it will soon find itself into your heart. The sparks literally fly between Jack and Stella, and those sparks continue to fire and dazzle and mesmerize you with all that they have. Their relationship might go from 0 to 60 in no time (much to Jack and Stella’s surprise, I might add), it might break few rules, and it might have these two questioning everything they thought they wanted and knew, but their connection and their need for one another can’t be denied one little bit.

Every moment of questioning and wonder they have, every fear and doubt that enters their mind, every leap of faith they take with their heart, every single bit of feeling they share with everything that comes their way, and every moment you get with them that makes you blush or melt or break or fall is worth it because what Jack and Stella share is everything. It’s fated, it’s destiny, and it’s full of effervescent spark and magic that can’t be denied no matter what way you look at it.

Faith Andrews not only wrote a love story that I felt and embraced every word of, she gave me such a fulfilling reading experience that wove together superb supporting characters, a fantastically crafted and paced story, and the best twists and turns you don’t see coming.

It’s no secret that this series is one of my favorites, so it felt a bit like coming home to be with all these wonderful and distinctive characters again. The connections that all of these characters share is real, deeply felt, and weaves its way through this story in such meaningful ways. I really can’t tell you enough how much I enjoyed feeling that connection along with everything that Jack and Stella were sharing because it made me feel like I was a part of this story and this family.

Freeing Destiny is about love, life, and taking chances. It’s about what can happen when you give yourself over to fate and destiny, and the beautiful, emotional, and life changing things that can come your way when you take that leap of faith and give that love and feeling a chance to grow. It’s about believing in what you feel, and having the fight and tenacity and determination to see it all the way through even when it’s tough or scary or even when it means going into the unknown.

It’s about finding that one person who changes you, who changes what you think and feel and want. It’s about finding that person who changes everything, and how that everything sets you on the path you were always meant to be on, and even though that path might be bumpy and different and you might not know what’s around every corner, it is oh so beyond worth it.

And really, in the end, this book is about love. True, soul touching, deeply felt, can’t get out of bed because it means leaving my love, love.

Getting to experience that level of love and adoration, along with everything else Faith Andrews so phenomenally creates and crafts makes Freeing Destiny a book you need in your life and your heart this instant. This book will move you, touch every part of your heart and soul, and in the end you’ll just be grateful you had the chance to experience everything that it so breathtakingly and beautifully gave you with Jack and Stella.

Signed paperbacks of First Came You, Feel Again & Freeing Destiny

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Faith Andrews is living out her dream right outside the greatest city in the world, New York City. Happily married to her high school sweetheart, she is the mother of two beautiful and wild daughters, and a furry Yorkie son named Rocco Giovanni. When she’s not tapping her toes to a Mumford & Sons tune or busy being a dance mom, her nose is stuck in a book or she’s sitting behind the laptop, creating her next swoon worthy book boyfriend. Coffee addict, lover of wine and cheese, and sucker for concerts and Netflix, Faith believes in love at first sight and happily ever after.

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Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Faith-Andrews/e/B00FER153A/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1457669040&sr=1-1

****4.5 Fantastic Wilde Stars****

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The Wedding Agreement by Elizabeth Hayley

Releasing: May 3rd, 2016

*****5 PHENOMENAL STARS*****

~The Wedding Agreement~

~Just Say Yes~

~The Best Medicine~

Be sure to check out Elizabeth Hayley’s other books because they are all AMAZING!

~Pieces of Perfect~

~Sex Snob~

~Picking Up the Pieces~

~Perfectly Ever After~

~Pieces Series Box Set~

To learn more about Elizabeth Hayley and their books check out the following links:

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Between Us by Ella Fox is NOW LIVE!

****4.5 Rocker Stars****

Have you seen the HOT NEW Covers for this amazing Rock Star Series?

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

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*****5 Sweet Small Town Stars*****

I am telling y’all, you NEED to read this book. I LOVED every single word of it, and you will love it too!!

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So Much More by Kim Holden

*****5 Exceptional Stars*****

Check out more on Kim Holden and her books at the following links:

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****4.5 Must Read Stars****

Kindle Fire (7″ Display, Wi-Fi, 8 GB w/ Special Offers, Blk) & Signed paperback of Edge of Chaos

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*****5 Charming and Wonderful Stars*****

Get the book for just .99 cents today before the price goes up!

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*****5 Amazing & All-Feeling Stars*****

Signed paperbacks of First Came You, Feel Again & Freeing Destiny

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4.5 Fantastic Wilde Stars

5 PHENOMENAL STARS

4.5 Rocker Stars

5 Absolutely Amazing Stars

5 Perfectly Rocker Stars

5 Sweet Small Town Stars

5 Exceptional Stars

4.5 Must Read Stars

5 Charming and Wonderful Stars

5 Amazing & All-Feeling Stars