Review Post: Some Sort of Crazy by Melanie Harlow

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

When a psychic tells Natalie Nixon her life is about to be upended by a mysterious stranger, she laughs it off. After all, she has everything she’s ever wanted—a successful bakery, the perfect boyfriend, and the keys to her dream house.

Who could possibly make her want to throw all that away?

Then Miles Haas comes back to town.

But he’s no stranger—they’ve known each other since high school. Plus, he’s only around for the summer, he’s still a shameless playboy, and he makes a living writing articles for a men’s magazine with titles like ‘Should You Bang the Boss’s Daughter? A Flowchart’ and ‘Butt Stuff for Beginners: A Field Guide.’

He’s not the man of her dreams, and she’s not about to abandon everything she’s worked so hard for just for a little fun. Except he makes her laugh like no one else, smells like heaven, and wears panty-melting glasses.

5 Crazy Feeling Stars

Some Sort of Crazy had the perfect blend of vibrancy, chemistry, and that effervescent spark that made this book and these characters come to life in the most extraordinary of ways. It also had a healthy dose of fun and crazy, which was the cherry on top to this outstanding book. Melanie Harlow’s phenomenal writing brought it all to life in a way that made these characters so beyond easy to love and fall for, and had me truly invested in their story together.

What can I say? I loved every lively, fun, and heat filled bit of this book. Melanie Harlow is assuredly one of my favorite authors, and this book and her magnificent and consuming writing just reiterated that fact to me over and over again. There is just something about the way she writes her books…the feelings she lets you experience so fully through her words, the passion that she so immensely creates that has you blushing in more ways than one, and the dynamic characters she so authentically creates and glues to your heart combines to make a story bursting with everything that makes a book truly exceptional and enjoyable to read.

I think it’s pretty safe to say I highly enjoyed this book, and I have to say that I am loving this new series by this author. Her Frenched Series is one of my all-time favorites, but the girls and guys of the Happy Crazy Love Series just might be giving that series a run for its money. I absolutely loved Some Sort of Happy, so it was no surprise to me to find myself loving Some Sort of Crazy just as much, if not more.

Miles and Natalie’s story was one that I could not put down from the moment I started it. I ate up every word of it. Every word that I breathed in, and lived, and felt, and basked in. Their story was just so good to read and experience. It was bursting with charm and liveliness. It had more passion and heat and chemistry than you can shake a stick at. It also had two characters I adored from the start, and not a page went by that I wasn’t melting or swooning or laughing or feeling for those two. Melanie Harlow made it so easy to love every word of this book with everything that she so thoughtfully created within its pages.

Some Sort of Crazy follows the spark filled journey of Natalie and Miles. The two of them have always just been friends, but now things are starting to change. You see Natalie had a psychic tell her something crazy was going to upend her life, and in comes Miles. Throw in the fact that her picture perfect life isn’t as perfect as it seems, and that’s when things really start to get interesting. She’s someone who knows exactly what she wants and she craves a plan. He’s a fly be the seat of your pants kind of guy who isn’t looking for anything serious. They think they know what they want, but boy were they not prepared for each other. Some Sort of Crazy follows the two of them as they see if that spark they share, that immense level of chemistry, and want they have for one another could lead to something more…or it it’s all just too crazy to work.

Natalie Nixon is a girl with a plan, and I immediately loved and related to that with her character. That girl knew what she wanted, and wasn’t afraid to go and get it. At the beginning of Some Sort of Crazy Natalie has the seemingly perfect life, only to have that life crumble just a bit. She was comfortable, maybe too comfortable with how things were, and now she must see where a little unpredictability can lead her. She always has a plan and is prepared for anything, but she was not prepared for Miles Haas and what he would bring to her life.

I absolutely loved Natalie’s character. I found her very real and easy to relate to on so many levels. She was honest and lovable and downright good. She also had a quite a determined streak that was the absolute best, and that fire and spunk that came out with that determination had me loving her even more. What I loved most though about Natalie’s character was that even though her world was thrown off kilter and sometimes she didn’t know which way was up with what she was feeling for Miles, she keep fighting and charging ahead because that girl wouldn’t sink. She was a vibrant and resilient little thing through and through, and I think it’s truly impossible not to love her.

Now Miles Haas was one of the most charming, lovable, and honest to goodness melt worthy male characters I have had the pleasure of reading. I loved being in that man’s head in this book, and it was such a treat to get into his mind and understand exactly what he was thinking and feeling. That not only allowed me to understand him more, it allowed me to fall for him more, right along with Natalie. Miles is definitely a character and has charm bursting from him that will win you over from the moment you meet him. He will make you smile and swoon and laugh your butt off on every page that he’s on. I guarantee it.

What I really loved about Miles was that I got to see so many sides to his character. I got to see the fun and flirty side to him that gave off a spell that is impossible to resist, but I also got to see a more vulnerable side to him. I got to see and experience what it was like for him to realize he might want more. To be there when Natalie throws him off kilter and gets him thinking that maybe what he thought he always wanted couldn’t be further from what he actually wants. Seeing that side to him, that honest and open and vulnerable side made me fall so hard for him. As I sit here writing this review, I don’t think I’ve yet to stop falling for him, and I couldn’t be more thrilled with that.

Like any couple in a Melanie Harlow book, the connection and chemistry between Natalie and Miles is off the charts. Those two have some serious heat that sparks off the page in the most alluring and all-feeling way. Melanie Harlow did an outstanding job in this book of blending that heat and passion and desire, with the true feelings and emotions of these characters. She gives you both of them so truly and authentically, and she lets you be there when the two of them start to realize the crazy things they’re feeling and sharing, and how it all might mean something more and reach deeper places than they ever expected. Going along with Natalie and Sam in this book as they explore all that their feeling made for one seriously enrapturing ride, full of all the feels, all the emotions, and all the unforgettable moments that made this book the spectacular thing that it is.

Melanie Harlow’s effervescent writing brought this book to life right in front of my eyes while I was reading. What she created between Natalie and Miles was so easy to love, believe in, and root for. The supporting characters in this book were amazing and highly enjoyable, making the world of this book an even better place to be. I cannot wait for more from each and every one of them. The feelings, the wants and desires, the hopes, and all the moments that melted and hurt my heart made this book so good. I felt it all, and loved living and experiencing every vibrant and consuming moment of it.

This book gives you every single bit of everything that makes a book memorable and enjoyable in every way. Some Sort of Happy is filled with light and spark and connection, but it’s also filled with meaning and so much feeling that you will feel so deep in your heart. The story within its pages, and Natalie and Miles gave me everything. They gave me themselves so honestly and fully through this author’s fabulous writing in a way that made the impossible not to love and root for through every page.

Some Sort of Crazy is a book about a lot of things. It’s about what can happen when you meet the right person, who throws you off kilter and into a bit of tailspin. It’s about what happens when you think you know what you want, only to have that vision completely obliterated piece by piece, making you rethink everything you thought you knew. It’s about what can happen when you throw that caution to the wind, give into the pull of what you’re feeling, and see where all of that intensity and vibrancy can take you.

It’s about taking that risk, that leap of faith, and seeing where it leads. And sure it’s probably kind of crazy, but only the best things are.

This book gives you every happy, crazy, and love filled moment it has to offer with Natalie and Miles, and you won’t want to miss a single second of it. Trust me. Some Sort of Happy gives you it all, and you will relish in that because when you read a book as good as this one, a book that lights your heart up like a firecracker in every way and has you feeling it all…well that is everything and not to be missed.

The light was off in my room when I returned, and I could barely make out her shape under the blanket. Leaving my glasses on the bedside table, I slid between the sheets, careful to stay on my side. When was the last time a woman slept in my bed without orgasms being involved? I couldn’t think of one time, actually. I didn’t even know what to do with myself.

I lay there for a while on my back, hands beneath my head, breathing slowly and deeply, trying to stay calm. But I could smell her perfume, and it was making me hard again. Fuck! Was she asleep already? Could I rub one out without her knowing? I braved a look at her, and my eyes had adjusted to the dark enough to see that she was facing away from me, curled up on her side. Long, agonizing, minutes ticked by, during which I imagined rubbing my cock along the crack of her ass, which was sticking out in my direction. Taunting me.

“I lied to you last night.” Her voice was so soft, I thought I might have imagined it. Or dreamed it.

“Huh?” Stop thinking about her ass.

She rolled to her other side and faced me, tucking her hands beneath her cheek. “I lied last night. I told you I didn’t remember what you said to me the night we said goodbye. The night before you left for school.”

I blinked in surprise. “Oh.”

“Did you really mean the things you said?”

“Of course I meant them. I stand by every word I’ve ever said to you.” And my cock is standing straight up right now. So if you could please stop being beautiful and sexy and vulnerable, I’d appreciate it. Thanks.

She took a shuddery breath. “And yet…tonight, you wouldn’t—”

“Tonight was not about us, Natalie.”

“But…what if it was?” She paused. “What if it could be?”

Fuck, was she serious? Because I wanted that. I wanted a night that was just about us, wanted to show her what it was like to be with someone who appreciated her. Just one night, even if it was all we ever had. But I couldn’t be the one to initiate it, not without knowing it was really OK.

“Natalie,” I started, but she interrupted me.

“I’m lying here thinking, a week ago my life seemed so complete, everything in order. My relationship. My business. My house. I had everything I wanted.”

“And now?”

“Now I feel like I’ve been missing something. Like maybe I was wrong about what I wanted. I feel…lost.” She looked at me with her huge, round blue eyes, making my whole body heat up.

“You’re not lost.” Rolling onto my side, I met her forehead with mine. “You’re right here with me.”

And I kissed her. Just like that, I kissed her.

.99 Cents for a Limited Time

Melanie Harlow likes her martinis dry, her lipstick red, and her history with the naughty bits left in. When she’s not reading good books, she gets her kicks from TV series like Game of Thrones, Boardwalk Empire, Masters of Sex, Deadwood, Mad Men, and Downtown Abbey (although she wishes it were more HBO and less PBS). Melanie is the author of the FRENCHED contemporary romance series (FRENCHED, YANKED, FORKED) and the sexy historical series SPEAK EASY (SPEAK EASY, SPEAK LOW), set in the 1920s. She lifts her glass to romance readers and writers from her home near Detroit, MI, where she lives with her husband and two daughters.

Connect With Melanie

Melanie’s Website: http://www.melanieharlow.com/

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30Oct2015

Releasing Now: Fusion by Tessa Teevan

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

Fusion (Explosive #5) by Tessa Teevan

Release Day: October 30, 2015

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Cover Models: Don Allen and Faith Danielle

Photographer: Kelsey Keeton at K. Keeton Designs

Cover Designer: Robin Harper at Wicked By Design

Add to Goodreads

Where do babies come from?

The question every parent dreads hearing has finally fallen from the lips of six year old Ava Banks, the curious, precocious little girl that you fell in love with in Ignite. Jeremy and Sierra, normally blunt as can be, struggle to find the right words to answer her. So instead, they rewind sixteen years to that one fateful day where a game of Seven Minutes in Heaven inevitably led to life-long romance filled with laughter, love, and many, many mishaps along the way.

Falling in love with your best friend? It’s the most incredible thing in the world. But when a love comes so easily, will it truly be able to last? When the world comes crashing down around you, can even the strongest relationship withstand great tragedy?

Stay tuned for lots of laughs, teenage awkwardness, a few tears, and most of all, mullets. Because what good love story doesn’t do business in the front, and party in the back?

Buy Fusion Today!!

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1GKP3uB

Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B017AK0UKM?*Version*=1&*entries*=0

Amazon CA: http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B017AK0UKM?*Version*=1&*entries*=0

Amazon AU: http://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B017AK0UKM?*Version*=1&*entries*=0

**While Fusion is a standalone romance, it’s best read after Ignite.

Ignite (Explosive #1)

One Click on Amazon

5 Utterly Fantastic Stars

How do I even begin to describe my all out, full force, head over heels love for this book, these heart melting and lovable characters, and this author’s outstanding writing? I don’t even know if it’s humanly possible for me to tell you how much I loved this book without feeling like I’m not saying it enough. I’m not sure I’ll be able to truly capture the true firework level love that was Jeremy and Sierra’s story, but I am sure going to try because this book and its true amazingness deserve it.

Fusion by Tessa Teevan was enrapturing, full of all of the feels, and it made me swoon and melt and just bask in everything that Jeremy and Sierra were sharing on just about every single page. This book gave me everything I’ve come to love and know from this author, and all throughout reading I was reminded of why this series is one of my all-time favorites. While I don’t know if I could pick a favorite book from Tessa Teevan’s Explosive series (because I’ve LOVED them all), this one is definitely at the top of that favorites list.

The story was so beyond captivating, I was so consumed with Jeremy and Sierra through their journey together, and Tessa Teevan’s phenomenal writing brought every moment of this book to life in the most authentic and beautiful way.

Tessa Teevan just hit this book out of the park. I have wanted Jeremy and Sierra’s story ever since I fell in love with them in Ignite. They always stood out in the very best possible way, and I knew they had one helluva story to be told, and I wasn’t wrong. Fusion gives you it all with them. It allows you to fall in love with the two of them all over again, as you finally get their story and how they came to be. Their story is full of emotions and feelings that you will feel and live every ounce of, and you will relish in every moment you share so fully with them in this book.

From the first word until the very last you will feel it all and have one huge smile on your face because of what you’re getting to experience with these remarkable and heart squeezing characters. They’ll warm your heart again and again in this book, and you’ll truly never want it to end.

What was absolutely amazing about Fusion:

Jeremy Banks is going to make you melt & swoon simultaneously. Jeremy Banks is officially one of my top book boyfriends ever. There is no way, and I seriously mean no way you won’t fall under his charming, lovable, and bursting with goodness spell. That man will melt your heart and a few other things as you read this story. He is an honest to goodness good guy who falls for a girl he meets when he’s 8 years old, and you will fall for him more and more the more you read this fantastic story. The feelings and emotions you get to experience with him over the course of the story will melt your heart and have you wishing that he was a real guy because it honestly doesn’t get better than Jeremy Banks. He is honest, sweet, charming as all get out, and he cares with all of his heart. It is literally impossible to not love that man. Seriously. You’re going to read this book and love him by like page 3. Believe me. It’s going to happen.
Sierra is a girl you’ll instantly connect to & love. Sierra was such a fantastic character to know and love. She is real and honest and she is so beyond easy to relate to. I loved how easy it was to relate to her while reading, and I immediately connected to her while reading this book. I felt with her, I loved with her, and I lived through every moment with her because of how fantastically Tessa Teevan created her character. What I really loved about Sierra was that she never gave up. Through all the ups and downs of life, she kept pushing and giving it her all to end up exactly where she knew she wanted and needed to be. I have mad love and respect for that girl. Sierra is fun, lively, and so very real. She felt like my best friend while reading, and I loved every moment I got with her on her journey with Jeremy. She’s kind of the best, and there truly is something so special about her.
How this story is set up. I really loved how this actual story was set up. It starts off in the present tense of this series, and then jumps back to where it all started for Jeremy and Sierra. This story not only shows you where it all began for them, it gives you more of the other characters that I loved in this series. (It honestly made me want to go back and read Ignite again, and I absolutely loved that!) You get to see some new things from them, and the way that Tessa Teevan weaves this story together shows her true talent as a writer, and the truly phenomenal stories and characters she can create.
From friends to lovers to something so beyond beautiful. Fusion is a friends to lover’s story to the T, and it has all the feels and vulnerabilities and glorious awkward and lovable moments to go with it. It begins when both Jeremy and Sierra meet at 8, and spans 20 years of their relationship. You get to be with them through all the stages of their lives and relationship, and that invests you so immensely in them and what they’re sharing. You’re there in the moments when their feelings turn to something more, when they have their setbacks and their moments that’ll hurt your heart for what they’re going through, and in those moments that make it all worth it. You are there living through it all, and I can’t tell you enough how extraordinary that was to experience. Tessa Teevan’s outstanding writing brings it all to life in the most incredible and authentic way that’ll have you basking in what you get from every step of Jeremy and Sierra’s beautifully emotional journey together.
The feelings and chemistry that spark off the page. To say that Jeremy and Sierra have intense feelings for one another is the understatement of the century. These two have feelings upon feelings upon feelings, and you get to feel every single glorious bit of them. You get to feel that spark and that connection they so fiercely share, and that’ll have you experiencing every single bit of what they do. Everything they share sparks off the page in the most exceptional way, and that combined with their charm and humor that just makes them them will have your heart beyond in this story. Like I said, they have a firework level love. A love that will mesmerize you, have you feeling it all, and will captivate you with its beauty, and in the end, after its all said and done, you’ll be in literal awe of everything you’ve experienced with them and those fireworks.
So many moments that’ll melt your heart again and again. This book will melt your heart. Then it’ll do it again, and again, and again. It’ll keep melting your heart from the first page to the very last with everything that Sierra and Jeremy build to, fight for, and share within its wonderful pages. That’s not to say that these two don’t have their struggles and moments that’ll break your heart just a bit, but through it all your heart will be with them, feeling it all, and loving them through it all because they are that exceptional. Sierra and Jeremy have a truly beautiful story together that is real, honest, and full of a million moments that will have you melting and swooning simultaneously. It truly doesn’t get better then what you get with these two.

Fusion truly was an exceptional book to read and experience, and I know without a doubt that this will be one of my favorite books from this series. This book gives you Jeremy and Sierra in all their incredible heart melting glory. You get to see and live through it all with them from the very beginning. You get all the feelings and emotions, all the changes and vulnerabilities they have and go through, and you get all of them, which is nothing short of perfection.

This book will make you swoon, tear up, and feel so much that your heart will literally feel like it’s about to burst because of all you’re experiencing with these two. You’ll smile, laugh, tear up, and go through so much, and you’ll bask in every moment you get with Jeremy and Sierra as you see where it all began, and what gets them to the present of this book. It wasn’t always easy for those two, but it was real and true and honest, and the love those two share for one another is pure and beautiful in the most magnificent way.

I guarantee you’ve never read a love story quite like this one, and that is just part of what makes this a truly exceptional read.

Jeremy and Sierra are phenomenal in every way. What these two so truly share will have you knowing and believing that true love and first loves do exist, and you’ll get to see firsthand where that love can take you if you let it. You’ll get to feel every ounce of that love and all the amazingness it brings, and your heart will be so beyond full from the incredible things you get from this unforgettable book and love story.

This series is one of the best and most enrapturing around, and Fusion just solidified my love of these characters, their enthralling stories, and the magic that Tessa Teevan so thoughtfully creates within the pages of her books. I cannot recommend this book and series to you enough. They are amazing, and full of everything that makes a book exceptional to read and experience. Period.

This is a book and love story you never stop loving and feeling. It is that good, that full of everything, and it is so beyond beautiful that it will blow you away with everything it’s got. Trust me. What Jeremy and Sierra share will leave you so full and so satisfied that you’ll never want to leave the firework level love they so breathtakingly share.

“It’s fine, Jeremy. I promise. I have no problem being the Tod to your Copper. Or the Joey to your Dawson. That’s who I am.” She hesitated for a brief moment. “That’s who I’ll always be. You’re my best friend, Jeremy. It’s okay that you don’t see my boobs. Hell, it’s probably better that way.”

My stomach plummeted and if I was man enough to admit it, my eyes burned with an unexpected rush of tears. I stepped back, out of the streetlight so she couldn’t see me. It was a move she misinterpreted, but before I could find a single ounce of courage, she was waving goodbye and running into her house, leaving me there to watch her go.

Something I never wanted to do again.

It wasn’t until after Sierra left for Ohio and I had a chance to reflect on her words that I realized what she’d said. Dawson and Joey, as of right then, weren’t even speaking. Copper and Tod went their separate ways, and even though their friendship remained, they were still apart for the rest of their lives.

I didn’t want to be Copper anymore. I sure as hell didn’t want to be Dawson.

But it was too late. I’d lost my chance. I’d missed my window. Sierra was gone and there was nothing I could do about it.

Jenna was right.

I was an idiot.

Playlist

I’m a twenty something book junkie who is also obsessed with sports. Bengals, Buckeyes, Reds are my teams! I work for the government during the day, hang out with Air National Guard on the weekends, and have been married to my own book boyfriend for over seven years. We currently live right outside of Dayton, OH with our two cats.

If I’m not writing or looking through tons of photos of hot men, all in the name of research, then you can probably find me curled up with my Kindle, ignoring the rest of the world. I love my sports almost as much as I love my books. My other obsessions include red wine, country music, and all things Grace Potter.

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28Oct2015

Review Post: The Fall Up by Aly Martinez

Posted in Books I love, Cover Reveal, Review Post by mkcooke

Maybe there’s only one direction to go when two people fall

in love at rock bottom—up.

NOW AVAILABLE!

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1Gt7jsy

iBooks: http://apple.co/1PNWYKO

Kobo: http://bit.ly/1PPOmCv

I wanted to jump.

He made me fall.

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

Until he found me.

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

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

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

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

5 Breathtakingly Emotional Stars

I’d like to start this review by saying that I would like to fall up into this book and live there for the rest of time. Seriously. If it were humanly possible I would do it. I would find myself within the amazing pages of this breathtakingly beautiful story that is chalk full of some of the best characters I have ever had the pleasure of reading, and I would never leave.

The Fall Up by Aly Martinez was that good. It was that memorable. It was that emotional and moving and heart squeezing. It was that consuming. It was that everything.

This book, just like every other book that Aly Martinez has ever written, completely awed me mind, body, and soul. The Fall Up and its unforgettable characters glued themselves to my heart from the moment I started reading, and I don’t ever want them to fully leave me. When I tell you I felt every word of this book, I mean I felt, and breathed, and lived every single word. My heart and mind were there every step of the way, living and experiencing it all fully in the most magnificent and all-feeling way. That was all possible because of what Aly Martinez so phenomenally crafted and created with her outstanding writing.

This book moved me. This book allowed me experience an enrapturing story laced with everything that makes a book exceptional. It made me laugh, and cry, and think, and hope, and just feel. It gave me it all, and I basked in that because it was all extraordinary to experience. The Fall Up gave me everything, and that is just part of what made this book so utterly unforgettable.

The Fall Up tells the breathtakingly emotional story of Levee Williams and Sam Rivers. Two people from very different walks of life, who find themselves on the same bridge, contemplating a world of things. They’re both on that bridge for different reasons, but they share the fact that they’ve both experienced more pain than any one person deserves to go through. They both know pain and loss, and what it feels like to not know which way is up because it feels like you’re just going to succumb and get lost in every heartbreaking thing you’re feeling. You see when Sam and Levee meet on that bridge their lost, and they’re looking for something. When they meet they don’t even know that they’re looking for something, but they know something needs to change.

That feeling along with so many other things is what brings them together on that bridge. In the most unlikely of meetings, something sparks between them. They see something in one another that they can’t let go of. Something they can’t forget or stop thinking about. Something that gives them hope and makes them feel and starts bringing them back to life. The Fall Up explores what happens when two people who’ve got some pretty heartbreaking cracks decide to see if they can fight together to heal those cracks and find their way up.

Now let me tell you that the characters of this book are some of my favorite characters EVER. They were just kind of the best. They were easy to fall for, easy to care and fight for, and so beyond easy to love and connect to. I heart them all something fierce, but Sam and Levee, the main couple of the hour, will always hold a special place in my heart.

Levee Williams is a famous singer who is beyond lost, and she’s sinking fast when you meet her. Over the course of the story you get to see what led Levee up to that bridge, and why she feels the immense level of things that she does. I can’t tell you enough how much I was blown away by her character. Aly Martinez allowed me to understand her, to get why she felt the way she did, and to feel for her so much because of all that she was going through. There were so many times while reading that I wanted to reach in, hug that girl, and tell her she could do it. I was so beyond emotionally invested in her, and I loved getting to see all the different sides to her character. There was the side of her the whole world go to see, the side of her that Sam got to see that was full of sass and banter and goodness, and the side of her that she let us and Sam start to see that was full of authenticity, vulnerability, and more heartfelt beauty than you can shake a stick at. Levee is an extraordinary character that you will love with your entire heart. Trust Me.

Sam Rivers is hands down one of the most endearing and heart stealing male characters that I have ever read. He was charming, and hysterical, and he made me feel so much through every single page. Like Levee, Sam finds himself on that bridge for a lot of reasons. He’s got a past full of pain and hurt that is revealed as the story progresses, and you get the phenomenal chance to see how that past shapes Sam’s character and the choices that he makes in both the past and present. One of my favorite things about Sam though has to be how honest and downright good his character is. He isn’t afraid to say the hard stuff, to be honest, to make the right choices even if they aren’t easy, and that had me loving and respecting his character all throughout this book. I think it’s literally impossible to not fall under the effervescent and wonderfully distinctive spell of Sam Rivers. You can’t meet his good, repurposing, tattoo covered self without falling hard, and I guarantee by the end of this book you’ll never want to say goodbye to him.

Sam and Levee definitely go on one helluva journey in The Fall Up that is full of emotional ups and downs you feel every lick of. These two don’t have the easiest of beginnings or middles for that matter, but those two are fighters. They’re flawed and real and have experienced a world of pain, and through this book you get to experience how they attempt to fight through all of that. You get to see them explore the immense and spark filled connection they share, while they try to find some much needed healing along the way. The more they fall, the more you fall right along with them. Their feelings are intense, visceral at times, and woven throughout this story in the most extraordinary way.

Sam and Levee’s journey together is full of banter, sparks, feels, jaw dropping moments, and real honest to goodness emotions that will blow you away with everything they’ve got.

Like I said, Sam and Levee don’t have the easiest of journey’s, but their missteps, their flaws, their pasts, and their presents make them who they are, and they make this story so distinctive and them in the very best way. Their story and what they share is so much more meaningful because of everything that they go through, every ounce of fight that they have, and everything that they’re doing to get that ending that they both so truly crave and deserve. All throughout reading The Fall Up, you’ll fall more and more under their dynamic and effervescent spell, and you’ll just love what you get from them both as they try to figure out what they could share if they really gave it all a chance.

Like any book by Aly Martinez this book was brimming with the most amazing supporting characters, so many moments and lines that’ll have you laughing like crazy, blushing in the best way, and tearing up for a multitude of reasons, and a distinctiveness that defines her books in the best way. You get it all in this book. It not only gave me all the feels, all the triumphs, and all the falls, it gave me a set of characters I truly loved and felt so enraptured with. All of the characters were fantastic and real, and I could write a whole other review on my love of Henry. Really. (I a book for him like yesterday!) There’s also an extraordinary distinctiveness that weaves its way through any Aly Martinez book through her dynamic characters, the story she so fully gives you, and her magnificent writing that creates the moments and incredible reading experiences that highlight what sets her books a part.

Aly Martinez allowed my heart to be in this book every moment. I will never forget what it was like to experience the literal reading magic that she so thoughtfully creates in every page of this book. She weaves together an incredible story that is bursting with two outstanding and well-developed characters that give you a story you will never stop loving and feeling. Her talent as a writer brings this book to life in the most exceptional of ways, and I know that I will always carry this book with me in some way, shape, or form.

The Fall Up is a book that gives you it all. It gives you Sam and Levee, two people searching for what comes next, what will heal them, and what could happen if they take that leap of faith, and see where that breathtaking fall could take them if they only take that terrifying and incredible step. It gives you moments with them that’ll blow you away with everything they’ve so truly give you, and moments that’ll give you them so authentically and fully in a way that’ll have you loving them both by page 2. It gives you such a well-rounded reading experience that will thrill you, squeeze your heart, and heal you, while filling you with so much, hope, love, and fight as these two try to figure out what they could share together.

Like I said, if I could live in this book I would. What I got to experience with Levee and Sam is truly something else, something all-feeling, and something that you don’t often get in the books you read.

Simply put, The Fall Up by Aly Martinez is superb in every way, and if I could give it all the stars in the world, I would.

“Thank fuck!” Sam said, swinging the door open before Devon even had the car in park.

“Oh, this isn’t my place. We’re just dropping Devon off. I’m about twenty minutes across town?” I tossed him a sugary smile then boldly shifted my hand into his lap, purposely brushing the bulge under his denim.

Grabbing my wrist, he narrowed his eyes and called out, “Devon, I’m gonna need to borrow a bedroom.”

I burst out laughing as Devon cursed loudly.

“Fine. This is my place. No smoking inside though,” I snipped as I climbed from the SUV.

“You better have some seriously exciting extracurricular activities to keep me distracted, then.”

“I have Ping-Pong!”

“Not exactly what I was thinking.” He mischievously cocked his head. “But I guess paddles and balls are as good a start as any.” Dipping down, he hoisted me over his shoulder. “Point me to the Ping-Pong table, my lady.”

I didn’t. I laughed hysterically as he carried me inside. Then I directed him to my bedroom instead.

I heard Devon locking up the house as Sam deposited me on the bed.

“Jesus. This view.” He pushed the curtains back. “Why the hell would you ever go up to the bridge when you have this here?”

“I don’t know,” I answered, pulling my earrings off and placing them on my nightstand.

Oh, but I knew. It might not have been what had originally sent me up that bridge, but it was why my feet carried me back every night. And that very reason was currently standing in front of me with entirely too much clothing on.

“You want a beer?” I asked, sliding my shoes off.

“Nah, I’m good.” He faced me, and I could tell something was off with his demeanor. He didn’t inch any closer. Instead, his lips were tight and his eyes uncomfortably flashed around the room.

It suddenly didn’t feel like Sam standing in front of me at all.

He felt like a stranger who had just come face-to-face with Levee Williams.

Damn it.

“Why are you looking at me like that? Are you about to freak out?” I whispered, nervously moistening my lips.

He shoved his hands into his pockets. “I’m not really sure yet. But I’m gonna need you to stop licking your lips long enough for me to figure it out.” His mouth cracked into a wide grin, and my shoulders relaxed.

Now that was a flash of my Sam.

“Want to tell me what’s going on?” I asked.

“It’s just… I think this is the first time I’ve realized that you’re some big-time celebrity. I might be in over my head here, Designer Shoes.”

“I just make music, Sam.” I returned his smile and very slowly prowled in his direction. “Imagine how I feel though. You’re Samuel Nathan Rivers. A tough, tattooed furniture designer who makes six figures a year but is too afraid to tell his mommy he votes democratic.” I giggled as he frowned humorously. Stopping in front of him, I dragged a fingernail down his chest then teased the waistband of his jeans. “Have you considered that maybe I’m the one who’s in over her head here?” I leaned forward to nip at his lips, but he spun us around.

“Excellent point. I’m going to need you to try really hard to keep it together, Levee. You haven’t even seen my six-pack and huge cock, yet.” He smirked and attempted to return my nip, but I stepped out of his reach.

“You brought beer and chicken?” I feigned excitement.

That one corny joke was all it took to bring my Sam back completely.

With a sexy smile and a coy shrug, he seductively backed me toward the bed. “What can I say? I like to be prepared.”

“Clearly,” I breathed.

He moved in close so his lips were only a centimeter away, but for as much as I wanted him, it was agonizing. “Clearly,” he repeated, his smoky yet sweet breath breezing across my mouth.

His strong arm looped around my waist, tugging me against his chest, while I stared into his hooded eyes, eagerly waiting for him to make a move.

Any move.

Every move.

Born and raised in Savannah, Georgia, Aly Martinez is a stay-at-home mom to four crazy kids under the age of five, including a set of twins. Currently living in South Carolina, she passes what little free time she has reading anything and everything she can get her hands on, preferably with a glass of wine at her side.

After some encouragement from her friends, Aly decided to add “Author” to her ever-growing list of job titles. Five books later, she shows no signs of slowing. So grab a glass of Chardonnay, or a bottle if you’re hanging out with Aly, and join her aboard the crazy train she calls life.

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26Oct2015

Review Post: Playing With Fire by Alison Bliss

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

Playing With Fire (Tangled in Texas #2)

By: Alison Bliss

Nothing ignites a fire like the perfect match…

Anna Weber is every inch the proper librarian–old-fashioned, conservatively dressed right down to her tightly clipped flaming red hair. She’s just moved to a small Texas town, and is determined to spend time with her friend before she has to disappear. Relationships aren’t easy for her. She knows too well what it means to be burned. And the last thing she ever wants to do is fall in love…

Especially not with a fireman who’s hot enough to set the entire state of Texas on fire.

Cowboy can’t resist the fiery little librarian, and he’s determined to make her his. Beneath that prim-and-proper exterior is a woman he very much wants to know–if she’d let him. She’ll test his patience. His control. Hell, his very sanity. And for the first time, Cowboy wonders if he’s found the one fire he can’t control…

5 Amazing and Phenomenal Stars

Let me start this review by saying that not only was this book utterly fabulous, I know for a fact that it’ll be one of my top reads of this year because it was that good. To say that I loved Playing With Fire is putting it very mildly, and the fantasticness of this book is nowhere near mild. This book was enrapturing, vibrant, and so full of the best amount of humor, feelings and emotions, and fierce connection that will have your heart feeling so much.

Playing With Fire had it all, and Alison Bliss’s phenomenal writing brought it all to life in the most real and captivating way. From the minute I started this book I couldn’t stop reading because I was so beyond invested in Cowboy and Anna’s story. I had to know what would happen next, I had to have more, and I just couldn’t stop reading, and that was all because of what Alison Bliss so authentically created and captured in this story.

Cowboy and Anna completely stole my heart right from the get go, and I don’t know if I’ll ever fully get it back from them. I heart those two something fierce, and throughout this book I fell more and more under their consuming and magical spell. There’s just something about them that’ll enamor you, and you’re going to love every second you spend with those two.

This book is the second book in Alison Bliss’s Tangled in Texas Series, though you don’t have to read that book to love this one. The first book in the series, Rule of Protection, was one of my favorite books I read last year, so I wasn’t surprised one bit to find that I loved Playing With Fire just as much, if not more. The world that Alison Bliss so authentically creates in this series is fun, lively, and full of the best characters around. I have to tell you that I truly never wanted this book to end, and I am already looking forward to the next time I get to fall in love with the wonderful and distinctive characters she so thoughtfully created in this book and series.

What was absolutely fabulous about Playing With Fire:

Save a horse, ride a Cowboy. Cowboy, Cowboy, Cowboy. How do I even being to describe how much I loved that man. I have wanted his story ever since the first book in this series, and I wasn’t disappointed one bit with what I got from him. He is charming, flirtatious, and definitely knows the way to a woman’s heart, but more than that he just an honest to goodness good guy. You know that through every page, and even while he’s trying to figure out Anna and what they could share while all the while being his boisterous self, he is a good guy with a heart that’ll definitely melt yours. Cowboy is who he is, he doesn’t apologize for that, and owns every moment of it too. He isn’t afraid to just be him, and that confidence emanating from him just made me love him even more fiercely than I already did.
Anna completely stole my heart. Anna was a character I loved and felt so fully for right from the start. This book is told from her perspective, which really allows you to get to know her so well, and the more you learn about her, the more you’ll feel for her, love her, and just connect to her. I loved Anna because I was able to relate to her a lot. She’s on the quieter side, but don’t let that make you think she’s a meek little thing, because that girl certainly has a fiery side that likes to come out to play. She is such a strong female character in her own way, and I had mad respect for her because she kept fighting for the life she wanted to lead after she’d been through more than any person deserves. Anna is kind, good natured, and will just warm your heart completely, and it’s impossible not to become captivated by everything you get with her in this book.
Fiery connection that continues to ignite. Anna and Cowboy certainly have a fiery connection that continues to spark and ignite throughout this book. That spark begins the moment these two are together, and it keeps sparking and sparking more and more with their continued interactions. Alison Bliss did an extraordinary job creating this build, and this push and pull between them, which invests you so much in everything that they’re sharing. That build and spark gets hotter and fierier the more you read, and you will be in awe of the fireworks when it finally explodes. Anna and Cowboy are seemingly opposite, but there’s this raw and immense connection they share that they can’t ignore, and you get to explore the explosiveness of that connection all throughout this fantastic book.
Mystery and suspense, oh my! One of my favorite aspects of this book had to be all of the mystery and suspense so thoughtfully weaved into the story. There’s definitely a few different mysteries weaving their way through these characters and story, and the more you read the more you find out. With each new puzzle piece you’ll want to read more, and all of that mystery pulls you in so immensely to every bit of what you’re reading, and I am telling you when it all comes together you will be shocked in the best possible way. You not only get the best amount of romance and feels in this book, you get the mystery and questions and suspense to thrill you every step of the way while reading, making everything you’re experience that much more incredible.
Getting the vulnerabilities of the characters. As you get to know Anna and Cowboy more, you also get to see so many different sides to them. They both have their strong and fierce sides, but as you delve deeper and as their feelings for one another strengthen, you get to see their vulnerabilities too. You see and understand their worries, their hesitations, what scares them a bit about giving into what they’re feeling. Seeing that vulnerable side to them both allows you to understand so much of where they’re coming from, while also allowing you completely understand the why behind the choices they make. You just get them. Their vulnerabilities are so fantastically brought out and explored from Alison Bliss’s writing, and I loved them both more because I got to see and feel that from them.
The feeling of family in the heart of Texas. Reading Playing With Fire kind of felt like going home. This world of this book and its fabulous characters welcomed me with open arms, and that warmed my heart and had me loving what I was reading all the more. I read this book with a huge smile on my face and my heart feeling so much, not just because of Anna and Cowboy and their magnificence, but also because of the other characters that make this series so exceptional. Jake, Emily, Hank, Floss, Junior, Bobbie Jo, Ox, Judd, and everyone else completely won me over once again, and I love all of them for the distinctive people they are. They each add something different to the story, and experiencing this book so fully with them is nothing short of incredible. They all felt like family to me, and that feeling of family warmed my heart a million times over and incorporated itself so perfectly into this book.
All the many vibrant moments you feel every ounce of. Playing With Fire is full of so many vibrant moments that you will feel so immensely. You’ll have moments that’ll make you laugh and just enjoy the life you’re living with these characters. Moments that’ll break your heart and having you want to reach in and make it all better for both Anna and Cowboy. You’ll also have moments that’ll take your breath away because of what these characters are sharing, and the jaw dropping moments that are revealed around every corner. Alison Bliss’s writing allows you to feel and fully experience every one of those moments making this book all the more memorable and enjoyable to experience.

Playing With Fire was an all-around exceptional book that gave me every single aspect that I loved. It had a story that kept me hooked through every word and twist and turn. It had characters that were dynamic, thoughtfully crafted, and easy to connect to and love. It also had the best amount of feeling and emotion, heat and chemistry, and moments that’ll have you laughing, crying, cheering, smiling, and just loving every bit of what you’re getting.

I could honestly go on for so many more words about how much I loved this book. I felt alive reading it, and I was so captivated by Anna and Cowboy and their vibrant and fiery journey together. They don’t have the easiest of stories, but as the saying goes, everything worth having is worth fighting for. Anna and Cowboy and what they share is worth fighting for.

These two characters are amazing and distinctive and so very strong, and yes they are serious opposites, but what they share together and what they could have if they gave into it all is truly mesmerizing in the most magnificent and all-feeling way.

Playing With Fire lets you go on an enrapturing journey with Anna and Cowboy as they try to figure out what in the world they’re feeling for one another. Their journey is full of twists and turns, and plenty of emotion, and I promise that you will be blown away with everything you get from them. You’ll love them, you’ll feel them, and you’ll bask in every moment you share so fully with them in this book.

It truly doesn’t get better than what you get in every outstanding word of Playing With Fire by Alison Bliss. Trust me. This book will have you loving every bit of what you’re reading, and experiencing, and you truly won’t want it to end. Ever.

Just a little tease….

Buy Playing With Fire today!!

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And be sure to see where the series started in Rules of Protection!!

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Read My 5 Star Review

As the youngest of five girls, Alison Bliss has never turned down a challenge…or been called by the right name. Her writing career may have started out as a dare by one of her sisters, but Alison hasn’t put her pen down since.

She grew up on a small island off the Texas Gulf Coast, where most of her childhood vacations consisted of camping or hunting trips to the deer lease. Although she’ll always be a Texan at heart, Alison currently resides in the Midwest with her Iowa farm-boy husband and their two sons. With so much testosterone in her home, it’s no wonder she writes “girl books.”

She’s an animal lover, a closet video game enthusiast, and believes the best way to know if someone is your soul mate is by canoeing with them because if you both make it back alive, it’s obviously meant to be. Alison’s an avid romance reader who enjoys penning the type of books she loves to read most: fun, steamy love stories with heart, heat, laughter, and usually a cowboy or two. As she calls it, “Romance…with a sense of humor.

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Be sure to check out the AMAZING book trailer for Playing With Fire too!

22Oct2015

Review Post: Blue Horizons by Kathryn Andrews

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

Title: Blue Horizons
Author: Kathryn Andrews
Genre: New Adult, Contemporary Romance
Published: October 19, 2015

Will Ashton

Music is my motivation. I’ve always believed that, because of it, I would be somebody. Somebody to someone, and something to myself.At age four, I picked up my grandfather’s acoustic guitar and, up until three weeks ago, I’ve never put it down. From a single chord to a full arrangement, music fed my soul. I craved it with every fiber of my being, but now, I just don’t know. That driving force that’s always pushed me has somehow stalled, along with the thrill, the passion, and the familiarity . . . it’s all gone. I’m beginning to worry that my love for music just isn’t enough.

As the summer tour finally comes to an end, I head to the Blue Ridge Mountains instead of returning to Nashville. It’s here that I’ve always been able to lose myself amongst the solitude and the lake, but what I didn’t expect to find was her.

Wild blonde hair, light blue eyes, and a laugh I find myself trying to coax from her has me completely enamored. She’s quiet, incredibly poised, and driven by secrets as big as the mountains around us. They’re what’s made her untouchable, and left me wanting to know more.
Maybe that’s what I need. Maybe I need more. Maybe I need her.

Ava Layne

They say that life isn’t about how many breaths we take, but how many moments take our breath away. But what if those moments aren’t filled with happiness and love, but something dark and haunting? For me, it’s those moments that’ve shaped and taken over my life. I can’t change who I am, God knows I’ve tried, and, because of this, I’ve accepted the silver lining . . . I’m alive.

Fifty-two white keys, thirty-six black keys, ten fingers, seven notes, two friends, and one stage. At the piano, on the stage, with my two best friends, I finally found myself, and I live for those moments. One by one, I collect them, cherish them, patiently waiting for the next, until it arrives and changes everything. That’s the moment I meet him.

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5 Breathtakingly Emotional Stars

Every once and awhile I come across a book that I know will stay with me forever. A book that moves me, that allows me to feel everything, and gives me the chance to so truly and authentically live and breathe within its magnificent pages. A book filled with such phenomenal characters weaving their way through an unforgettable story that captures me in mind, body, and soul, and truly never lets me go.

Blue Horizons by Kathryn Andrews was all that and more.

This book is hands down one of my favorite books that I’ve read this year, and I know that Ash and Ava and their emotionally breathtaking story will stay with me in so many ways. You don’t read a book so eloquently and beautifully written as this one without having some part of it stay with you permanently. The fantastic characters, the captivating story, and all of the superb feelings and emotions emanating so outstandingly from Blue Horizons found their way deep into my heart right from the very start, and I know they’re here to stay.

It’s pretty safe to say that Kathryn Andrews is one of my favorite authors. Her books are ones that I love and feel every word of, and they’ve all taken me on some incredibly enrapturing journeys with some amazing and wonderful characters. Her writing is so fluid and seamless, and allows you to become so wonderfully consumed and invested in what she is creating. You don’t just read her books, you live through them with these characters because of how outstanding her writing is. She puts you there, heart first, feeling, experiencing, and loving it all because of how connected you are to the story and its characters.

I could honestly go on and on about how much I love her fantastic writing, and how much I connected to Ash and Ava throughout her thoughtfully crafted and beautifully written book. Her words just give so much, and I gladly took all of it because it was all amazing to experience.

Blue Horizons tells the emotionally enrapturing story of Ash and Ava, two musical souls searching for something more. They both find themselves in the mountains of North Carolina, a bit lost, seeking some time to recharge, and looking for that something more that they both so truly crave and seek. What they find is each other, and a whirlwind of immense feelings that leads them to places they never thought they’d be. Ash and Ava have both gone through so much in their pasts and present, and in Blue Horizons you get the phenomenal chance to go along with them on their emotional journey as they figure out what they could share with one another, if they only gave it a chance and fought for that light in the dark.

Kathryn Andrews weaves so many phenomenal aspects together in this Blue Horizons to make it such a well-rounded book that gives a truly extraordinary and all-feeling reading experience. You get the emotions and feelings from both of these characters that drive this story to the most breathtaking places. You get a bit of mystery that is fantastically added into the story pulling you into everything you’re reading so immensely, and with each new puzzle piece to the story and characters you get, you end up loving these characters and everything you’re experiencing with them all the more.

You also get music. So much amazing and beautiful music that is woven so fantastically into the core of these characters and the story itself in such a way that reading this book is like listening to your favorite song. Your love for it just builds and builds throughout, and once you reach that cadence and that peak that love is amplified times a million, and all throughout you simply can’t get enough and want to replay it over and over again.

I couldn’t get enough of Ash and Ava. I still can’t get enough of Ash and Ava as I sit here writing this review. I love those two something fierce, and all throughout Blue Horizons, I wanted to reach in and hug them both, cheer them on, and let them know that they were the best because that’s what they were.

Ash was just an honest to goodness good guy. I can’t say enough how much that goodness emanated from him in Blue Horizons, and how much I love and respected his character. I fell so hard for him right from the start, and I lost count of the amount of times that man made me full on swoon. He’s pretty much the best, and you will love, feel, and connect to him right from the moment you start this book. When you meet him, he is burnt out and looking for a break and maybe a little something more. What he finds on that break is certainly the more he’s been searching for, and will scare him, move him, and bring out so much in him that will leave you breathless in the best possible way. Suffice to say, I heart me some Ash, and that man is truly golden in my eyes.

Ava’s character was one that I felt connected to from the moment I met her. She is very real and relatable, and so easy to love. She also has one of the most heart squeezing and pain filled stories I’ve ever read, yet she is fighting through it all and doing her best to just be. There were so many moments where my heart shattered for her. I felt beyond emotionally connected to her as I got all of the pieces to her, and I was so invested in her journey as a character because of how breathtakingly beautiful Kathryn Andrews created her character. When you meet Ava in this story she is pushing through it all, just trying to get by and past the darkness that has surrounded her for so long. She’s looking for that light, that beacon of hope to pull her through and to fill her with everything she’s been searching for, and that is where one Will Ashton comes in and changes everything.

Ash and Ava definitely go through a journey in Blue Horizons. It isn’t always easy for them, in fact it’s downright hard from time to time, but through it all these two keep pushing and fighting and giving it their all so that they can explore what it is that they share. Their evolution together and the effect they have on one another will have you loving them all the more, and truly feeling what those two mean to one another.

They have so many moments in this book that will make your heart melt from the feeling what they’re sharing, and what they’re putting on the line. So many moments where your heart will break and squeeze for them because of what they’re going through as they try to figure out what it is that they could share. They also share so many moments that will have your heart racing because of the butterflies and spark that they so authentically and immensely create for one another.

You get it all with Ash and Ava. Their emotional and all-feeling journey is one that will consume you from beginning to end, and have you experiencing every ounce of what they are as they give their all in the hopes of finding that light and that more that they both are seeking and so truly deserve.

I really could continue telling you about how much I loved Blue Horizons by Kathryn Andrews. I could tell you more about the amazingness that is Ash and Ava, and their emotional and breathtaking journey together that you will feel so truly with your entire being. I could let you know about all the supporting characters that round out this book, and make it even more enjoyable to read. I could keep telling you about every single memorable moment of this book that had me smiling like crazy, tearing up more times than I could count, laughing and blushing and just feeling it all. I could even keep talking about Kathryn Andrews and her outstanding writing that brought the world of this book and these distinctive and wonderful characters to life.

I could continue for pages and pages about how much I loved this book, and I still wouldn’t come close to capturing how extraordinary Blue Horizons is. I wouldn’t come close to doing this book, its unforgettable story, and its phenomenal characters the justice they so rightly deserve. Kathryn Andrews truly blew me away with everything she gave me in Blue Horizons.

I felt it all. I lived it all. I loved it all.

Like I said, every once and awhile you read a book that moves you. A book that lets you feel and experience it all so wholly. A book that makes you realize why you read, because when you read a book like Blue Horizons, you’re reading pure literary goodness and magic that will take you on a journey you won’t soon forget. Reading a book as exceptional as this one just reminded me over and over again why this author is one of my favorites, and why the stories and characters she so beautifully crafts are ones I will always remember and treasure.

Blue Horizons by Kathryn Andrews is a book that gives you everything. It’s book about two musical souls searching for that something more, and the pure, unadulterated magic that can happen when you get a glimpse and find that someone who shows you the light and the feeling you’ve been searching for. It’s a story about giving it your all, finding the beauty in overcoming all the pain, and experiencing that glorious and beautiful light that can truly change your life if you let it.

This book is beautiful, feeling, and breathtaking in every way, shape, and form, and I promise you that you will be left in awe with all that Ash and Ava give you. They will blow you away with everything they’ve got, and in the end, you will love and bask in every single incredible and remarkable moment they so truly give you in this exceptional book.

Read this book. Feel this book. Let it consume you, and let Ava and Ash steal your heart a million times over. You won’t be sorry one little bit that you gave them that chance. Trust me.

OVER TEN YEARS ago my husband and I were driving from Chicago to Tampa and somewhere in Kentucky I remember seeing a billboard that was all black with five white words, “I do, therefore I am!” I’m certain that it was a Nike ad, but for me I found this to be completely profound.Take running for example. Most will say that a runner is someone who runs five days a week and runs under a ten minute mile pace. Well, I can tell you that I never run five days a week and on my best days my pace is an eleven minute mile. I have run quite a few half marathons and one full marathon. No matter what anyone says . . . I run, therefore I am a runner.

I’ve taken this same thought and applied it to so many areas of my life: cooking, gardening, quilting, and yes . . . writing.

I may not be culinary trained, but I love to cook and my family and friends loves to eat my food. I cook, therefore I am a chef!

My thumb is not black. I love to grow herbs, tomatoes, roses, and lavender. I garden, therefore I am a gardener!

I love beautiful fabrics and I can follow a pattern. My triangles may not line up perfectly . . . but who cares, my quilts are still beautiful when they are finished. I quilt, therefore I am a quilter.

I have been writing my entire life. It is my husband who finally said, “Who cares if people like your books or not? If you enjoy writing them and you love your stories…then write them.” He has always been my biggest fan and he was right. Being a writer has always been my dream and what I said I wanted to be when I grew up.

So, I’ve told you who I am and what I love to do . . . now I’m going to tell you the why.
I have two boys that are three years a part. My husband and I want to instill in them adventure, courage, and passion. We don’t expect them to be perfect at things, we just want them to try and do. It’s not about winning the race; it’s about showing up in the first place. We don’t want them to be discouraged by society stereotypes, we want them to embrace who they are and what they love. After all, we only get one life.

In the end, they won’t care how many books I actually sell . . . all that matters to them is that I said I was going to do it, I did it, and I have loved every minute of it.
Find something that you love and tell yourself, “I do, therefore I am.”

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21Oct2015

Releasing Now: Infatuation by River Savage

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

Title: Infatuation (Knights Rebels MC #4)

Author: River Savage

Release Date: October 20, 2015

Add to your TBR: Goodreads

Purchase Links:

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon CA |

Amazon AU | B&N | Kobo | ibooks

Beau McIntyre is driven by a past smothered in blood and covered in bruises. Though tragic, it’s help shape his future and define the man he’s become.

Day in and day out, he’s reminded of his failures in the faces of the women he saves. But what happens when one girl threatens to blow all of that apart? Will Beau lose his grip on the controlled lifestyle he abides by?

Mackenzie Moore is running from a past she needs to forget. A past that has molded her into a woman living in fear. One fateful night, her carefully constructed world is pulled down around her, forcing her to make a decision she’s not sure she can live with.

Turning to the Knights Rebels MC for help is the last thing she wants, but everything she needs.

Can Beau save her once again, or is what she running to far worse than what she’s running from?

4.5 Unforgettably Emotional Stars

I have loved each and every one of River Savage’s Knights Rebels MC Series and Infatuation was no different. It was intense, enthralling to say the least, and gave me a story that I couldn’t wait to get my hands on from the moment I met these characters in this series. River Savage is hands down one of my go to authors, and I have loved all of the phenomenal stories she has written because they are all unique, pack a serious punch, and just give me one helluva reading experience that stays with me for days after reading.

When I sit down to read a book by her, I know I will be getting a story that will completely captivate me from beginning to end, characters that will root themselves into my hear while reading, and the most fantastic balance of intensity and feeling that I could ask for.

I got all of that and more while reading Infatuation.

Like I said, I have been waiting for this book ever since I met Beau’s character. He’s always intrigued me, and the whole storyline with Mackenzie that River Savage so seamlessly added into the other books of this series had me more than ready to see what in the world was going on with these two. I wasn’t disappointed one bit by what I got in this book, and all throughout reading I was just reminded again and again why this series is one of my favorites.

What I absolutely loved about Infatuation:

Beau, Beau, and more phenomenal Beau. The mysterious and alluring Beau has intrigued me since the moment I met his character in Incandescent. The bits of him I’ve gotten over the course of this series has had me more than ready for his character, and River Savage brought him to life in the most phenomenal way. Beau is intense and a force to be reckoned with, but in this book you get to dive so deep with his character. You get so much for him, showing a completely new side to him, and that melted me while reading. There is so much to Beau that will just blow you away, and with each passing page in this book I fell more and more for his brooding self because he was who he was, had no apologies about it, and that just made him all the more fantastic.
Mackenzie’s heart squeezing story. Mackenzie’s character was one that I felt for from the instant I met her. Her story will break your heart a lot, because that girl has been through it all, but through this book you get to see her journey evolve a lot. You get to see her become stronger, surer, and more of who she is now that she’s back with Beau. I loved how much I felt for Mackenzie, how connected I felt towards her character, and just how real she was. She was an easy character to love, and I felt like I was with her on her journey throughout this book because of how thoughtfully River Savage wrote her character. Mackenzie is so many things, but most of all she is a fighter with a true spirit, and you get that tenfold in Infatuation.
All the feels and more feels. One of my favorite aspects of this book was all of the feels that River Savage so fantastically incorporated into this story. I felt every bit of this book. Every intense moment, every moment that took my breath away, every moment that had fear and adrenaline coursing through me. Along with that I got so many moments from both Beau and Mackenzie that had me feeling everything that they were. Every hope, every worry, every moment of desire and connection, and every feeling they had towards one another. All of those amazing feels made reading this book even more enjoyable because I got to feel it all.
The thoughtful weaving of the past. In Infatuation, River Savage thoughtfully and outstandingly weaves the past of Mackenzie and Beau into the present day story. I loved that so immensely because it allowed me to see how these characters got to where they were in the story, and gave so much meaning to the present events taking place. I got to see where the past went so wrong for Mackenzie, how she fought through it all, and how those events eventually brought her and Beau together. The way the past is weaved into this story heightens everything that you’re reading, and makes it all more real, all the more meaningful, and all the more powerful. That past is downright scary at times, but it brings Mackenzie and Beau’s heart squeezing story to life in the most authentic and memorable way.
Heart racing, heart tugging, and heart squeezing moments. Infatuation gives you so many moments you feel in your heart. There are the moments of heat and passion and desire that send it racing. The moments that tug and pull at your heart because of all the pain and anguish these characters are experiencing. The moments when your heart squeezes because of the hurt that they’re feeling, the fight that they’re giving, and all that they’re going through as the events of this book unfold. You get all of those moments and more as you read Infatuation, and you feel them all so truly in your heart. Each and every one of those moments makes this book one you will so fully experience and love because of it.
All the glorious fight. There is so much fight in this book, and that defines this story and its characters in the best possible way. Beau and Mackenzie are fighting their pasts, fighting for their future, and fighting the demons that lurk around every corner. Through every fantastic page of Infatuation you feel and get the full force fight these two are putting towards it all, and it just makes you love what you’re reading more because you’re getting all of that fight. That fight illuminates so much about them both, and you’ll love all that that fight gives you as you read Beau and Mackenzie fight their way through their magnificent journey together.
The wonderfully distinctive members of the Knights Rebels MC. Now it wouldn’t be a Knights Rebels MC book without the fantastically distinctive characters that make up this group of people. Getting to spend more time with all of the characters I’ve come to know and love is just one of the many things I love about this series. They are all them, and they are all downright wonderful. Nix, Kaydence, Brooks, Kelly, Sy, Holly, Jesse, Bell, and all the rest of the crew are back and better than ever. You not only get to see where the events of this series have taken these characters, but you also get to see why you love them all so much in the first place. This book just reminded me once again why they are some of my favorite characters around, and I can’t wait to see more of them all soon!
A very tough topic that’s so thoughtfully captured. River Savage takes on a very heartbreaking and tough topic in Infatuation: Domestic Violence. She explores this topic in a very well thought out way, and captures it honestly and authentically. She brings that aspect into this story in a way that fits, and in a way that makes you fully feel and understand the ramifications of domestic violence. Her writing and thoughtfully crafted storytelling covers a real and very horrid situation in a way that does this story and its character justice, while also highlighting a very real issue. River Savage and her phenomenal writing blew me away with this, and all I wish I could thank her in person for what she captured and created in this book with this topic because it was outstanding.

Infatuation was another fantastic addition to a series that I just love to pieces. It had every single aspect that I’ve come to love and expect from River Savage, and all throughout reading I was reminded over and over again why this is one of my favorite series. River Savage gives you a story you won’t soon forget with Beau and Mackenzie, and I guarantee the moment you start this book, you won’t be able to put it down.

Beau and Mackenzie’s story isn’t easy. It’s hard and intense, and has more pain and darkness in it than you can shake a stick at, but it’s also bursting with the most amazing level of fight and feeling that will have your heart feeling so much. You go through it all with Beau and Mackenzie, and through every incredible word you will fall more and more for the two of them and all that they’ve been through. Infatuation gives you their heart squeezing story that gives you it all, and I for one am thrilled with what I got from them.

Infatuation was a book that I loved, and one that reminded me over and over why this series is so good. Beau and Mackenzie and their emotional journey together had me feeling and experiencing so much, and through it all I was just happy to be along for the ride. This series and these characters are some of the best and most memorable around, and I honestly can’t wait for the next book in this series because I kind of already miss them and their fantastically distinctive selves. Like a lot.

“Kenzie, I’m heading out. Will you be all right on your own?” I call out to her but receive no reply. Her door is ajar a few inches, so I knock, letting the force push it open further.

She is standing there. Her pert tits take my attention first and instantly my cock stirs back to life. She doesn’t stop to cover herself and I don’t look away.

“I’m heading out.” I manage some cough mumble thing, my throat becoming dry. She doesn’t say anything and her eyes don’t leave me. I should turn away, let her change in private, but I’m lost in the sight of her.

The soft glow of her bedside lamp highlights her against the dark room but even from this distance, I can see every one of those goose bumps glazing her skin.

We continue to stand silent for what feels like hours, until the soft whisper of her nightgown falling to the floor shocks me back, like the first momentary sonic boom that fills the skies on a Fourth of July weekend. My eyes follow its descent, pausing at the lace covering her pussy.

Jesus, fuck, turn around, man.

I swallow past my hunger and try to will myself to leave, but fail when her fingers hook into the side of her lace panties.

“Mackenzie, don’t.” My warning comes out strangled, my resolve slipping, but it doesn’t stop her. She continues to undress, sliding her panties down her legs then stepping out of them, leaving her completely exposed to me.

She’s beautiful. Fucking perfect. Every fucking inch of her. But there’s an innocence to her. One touch, one taste is going to destroy me.

What the fuck is wrong with you, man? Go to her. Fucking take her.

“Darlin’,” I say with a heavy breath, forcing my eyes away from her naked body and back up to her face. Her pink, plump lips, swollen from our kisses, slightly part as she draws in a long breath.

“You’re making this really fucking hard to stay away.” My voice cracks as my gaze catches her hand sliding between her legs.

“If you’re not going to help me, then leave.” Her voice is barely a whisper as her finger slips between her pussy lips disappearing from view. And fuck it turns me on.

Before I realize what I’m doing, my legs carry me to her. Not giving it a second thought, I slap her hand away from her pussy and pull her naked body to me. She comes willingly, a small cry filling the room at my touch.

“Fuck,” I groan, knowing I’m close to losing control. “I need you to think this through, darlin’. Be real fucking sure, ‘cause once we start, I don’t think I’ll be able to stop,” I tell her when her chest hits mine.

“I’ve never wanted anything more, Beau.” My name coming from her lips in a plea cancels out all my reservations, and before I can comprehend what’s happening, I have her on her back on the bed.

Pulling off my cut and shirt in record time, I flip the button of my jeans. Mackenzie comes up on her elbows and watches as I lose my jeans.

“Holy shit, you have it pierced.” She looks down at my cock, intrigue turning to wonder.

“I have two.” I point to the Apadravya piercing. The small barbell runs through the head of my penis. I then pull to show her the Frenum piercing on the underside of my cock.

“Did they hurt?” She bites her lip, her eyes not leaving the piercing.

“I survived. Had it done years ago.” She nods but doesn’t say anything.

“You keep looking at me like that and I don’t think I’ll last long,” I admit. Her inquisitive eyes move from my piercing up to my face and I realize it wouldn’t matter what way she looked at me. I’m wound up so fucking tight from not having my cock in a woman for God knows how long, I’m not going to last long regardless.

“Like what?” She looks back down at my cock and it bounces its own hello.

“Like you want to wrap your mouth around my dick and milk it dry,” I offer the visual, the picture playing out in my mind.

Yep, there is no way I’m going back on this, now.

“No one has ever spoken to me like this before.” Her teeth graze her bottom lip, and I don’t know if she’s afraid of me, or fucking turned on.

“You want me to stop talking to you this way?” I ask, placing a knee down on the bed and moving over her.

“I don’t think so.” She lays back, her dark hair spilling around her.

“You don’t think so? It’s a yes or no question, darlin’.” I keep my eyes on her, like I need to memorize every inch of her body.

“No,” she answers instantly.

“Then I won’t.”

More from River Savage

Incandescent (Knights Rebels MC #1)
(FREE)

*****

Affliction (Knights Rebels MC #2)
(99c SALE- ENDS SOON!)

*****

Reclaimed (Knights Rebels MC Novella)
(FREE-Ends Soon!)

*****

Paradox (Knights Rebels MC Novella)

*****

Desertion (Knights Rebels MC #3)
(SALE-Ends Soon!)

*****

River Savage is the Author of the Knights Rebels MC Series. She released her debut novel, Incandescent, in August 2014.

An avid reader of romance and erotic novels, her love for books and reading fueled her passion for writing. Reading no longer sated her addiction, so she started writing in secret. She never imagined that her dream of publishing a novel would ever be achievable.

With a soft spot for an alpha male and a snarky sassy woman, Kadence and Nix were born.

River would love to hear from you. You can contact and/or follow her via…

Facebook | Twitter ( @RiverS_Author ) | Pinterest | Website | River’s Rebels Fan Group

Email: riversavageauthor@gmail.com

*****

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6Oct2015

Review Post: Until Jax by Aurora Rose Reynolds

Posted in Uncategorized by mkcooke

Meet Jax and Ellie in this instalove, alpha romance!

Until Jax is LIVE! #Boom

Now Available at the following retailers:

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1KULa6i

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1MO4CDW

iBook: http://apple.co/1KHpoiN

B & N: http://tinyulr.com/qdz9p3b

KOBO: http://bit.ly/1NYU70L

Ellie Anthony isn’t looking for love. She isn’t even looking for a man, but when Jax Mayson insists on keeping her and her daughter safe, she’s left with no choice but to trust him. Now she just hopes she doesn’t get hurt when she falls hard for a guy who’s known for breaking hearts.

Jax Mayson knows that Ellie is his BOOM the moment he sees her. When he finds out she has a daughter, he realizes he wants a family, and he will do whatever is necessary to keep both of his girls safe, even if that means facing the demons from his past.

4.5 FANTASTIC STARS

Aurora Rose Reynold’s books are an instant one-click for me. Her Until Series is one of my all-time favorites, and those Mayson brothers along with their seriously fantastic lady friends are some of my favorite characters around. (I mean hello, Nico Mayson anyone?) So when she started her Until Her and Until Him series following the children of those characters, I knew that I was in for another round of stories that I would completely love.

Whenever I sit down to read a book by this author I know I’m going to get one outstanding read filled with fantastic characters, a story that just doesn’t quit, and one mesmerizing boom that I will feel so truly and deeply.

Until Jax gave me all of that and more, and I loved every word I got to experience with Ellie and Jax in their heart melting story. Through every page, as I fell more and more under Jax Mayson’s spell as he gave it all he had to win over Ellie, I realized over and over again why this author’s books and her stories continue to be some of my favorites. The feels, the romance, and the overall experience of reading a book by Aurora Rose Reynolds is something truly memorable.

I loved every single minute of reading this book, and by the end of it I just wanted more because I loved these characters, their heart squeezing story, and the phenomenal world of this book so much. Knowing and feeling so connected to these characters that I hated to leave them is just one of the many tells I had to know that this book was outstanding. Suffice to say, I loved Until Jax something fierce, and I can’t stop thinking and loving everything I got from Jax and Ellie over the course of their all-feeling, swoonworthy, and romance filled story.

What I absolutely loved about Until Jax:

Sweet and endearing Ellie. Ellie was a seriously endearing character that my heart immediately cared and loved from the moment I met her in this book. Her character was previously introduced at the end of Until July, and I couldn’t wait to learn more about her in this book. Ellie is warm, loving, and a truly good person doing all that she could to take care of her daughter. She is selfless and kind, and the goodness that emanates from her completely won me over the instant I met her. The more I got to know her, the more I loved her fiercely. Over the course of Until Jax, a true strength develops in Ellie, and it was fantastic to see that side come out of her after everything that she goes through, and how that new side to her comes into play into the story. She truly is a gem of a character with a heart of gold that I completely loved.
Jax Mayson stole my heart and I never want it back. Jax Mayson stole my heart completely in this book. He took it from the moment he started calling Ellie baby and taking care of her and Hope, and he just kept taking more and more of it as this story continues. I gladly gave it all to him because that man is good. He is honest, and swoony, and has you falling so hard under his charming and spark filled spell that is bursting with so much feeling. Jax, like all of Aurora Rose Reynold’s male characters, is strong and protective and a definite force to be reckoned with, but can still be brought to his knees from one sweet little girl and her selfless as all get out mother. I loved that about him, and just how much he cared and did everything he could to protect his girls throughout this book. Jax is honest, persistent, and just a good guy, and you feel that on every single page.
The build to the relationship and feelings. One of my favorite aspects to Until Jax was that there was such a build to the relationship that Jax and Ellie share. Sure there’s the boom and these characters have chemistry out the wazoo, but they both take it slow too because they know they need to for both theirs and Hope’s sake. Their cautious and patient, and they definitely hit some bumps in the road, but through it all they keep trying and pushing and fighting in hopes of being together. I loved experiencing that build, and it just connected me more to Jax and Ellie as they journeyed together in this story. That build made all that they were sharing more, and had me so invested in them both because of how their relationship so outstandingly begins, grows, and evolves.
Moments you feels so truly in your heart. There were so many moments in Until Jax that I felt so deeply in my heart. Moments that had me feeling all the passion and fire hot chemistry Jax and Ellie were sharing. Moments that had me feeling the love and devotion that Ellie had towards her daughter, and how those feelings begin to develop and grow between Ellie and Jax. Moments that had me melting and swooning from the things that were coming out of Jax’s mouth balanced perfectly with the moments that had me wanting to shake some sense into that man for some of the things that happened. I felt and lived through all of these moments because of how thoughtfully Aurora Rose Reynolds crafts this book, and I loved every all-feeling moment I got to experience because it just made me love this story more.
Twists and turns galore! One thing that is guaranteed in a book by Aurora Rose Reynolds is twists and turns that keep you so beyond hooked into everything that you’re reading. Until Jax definitely has some twists and turns you don’t see coming, and I am telling you that your jaw will drop more than once while reading this book. The events of this story definitely put these characters in some situations they never thought they’d be in, and you will be so pulled into those events and what they bring out in both Jax and Ellie. Those moments make them fight and push and give it their all, and they’re truly magnificent to experience.
The gangs all here! The supporting characters in Until Jax are fantastic, and I honestly loved each and every one of their fabulous and distinctive selves. You not only get to catch up with the original Mayson brothers in this book along with their wives, but you get the phenomenal chance to get to know all their children and what’s been going on with them. Aurora Rose Reynolds adds all of their characters into this story so seamlessly, and makes it so you have to know what in the world is to come with all of them too. Suffice to say, I can’t wait to see where this author takes their characters next as she continues this series!
Here comes the firework level boom. Every book in this series has a boom. That person who these characters instantly connect and feel so much for, and that is what sets this series apart in the best way. That boom defines these books, gives them so much feeling and emotion right from the start. That boom is also bursting with so much hope and fight and firework level spark, and leaves you feeling so much right from the start for these characters because they experience that oh so remarkable boom. Aurora Rose Reynolds brings that aspect back once again in this book, and includes that into the story in the most extraordinary that leaves you knowing what that boom is so freaking amazing.

Until Jax was another all-around outstanding read from Aurora Rose Reynolds. It gave me all that I’ve come to expect and love from this author’s fantastic writing and storytelling, and honestly it gave me so much more to love. I loved every bit of this book, and every word that I got to so fully experience while reading. Aurora Rose Reynolds and her fabulous writing makes it so easy to sink right into what you’re reading from the moment you begin, and has you feeling and living through it all until well after you finish.

Jax and Ellie completely won me over right from the get go in their story. They were real and honest and they both had their vulnerable moments where my heart just stuck to them like glue, and through it all I just felt so much for them. They are two fantastic characters, with hearts of gold, trying to make their way through the immense feelings and connection they are sharing, and in Until Jax you get a front row seat to it all. You’re with them every step of the way, and I promise you that if you’ve loved any books by this author or if you’re just a lover of love stories, then you will love this book.

Until Jax shows what it means to truly give your all to someone, and that all is pretty darn spectacular to experience. Trust me. Ellie and Jax are so good and easy to love, and the spell they cast in this book is impossible to resist!

“Thank you again for taking me.” Pulling my eyes from the road for a brief moment, I look at Ellie. Her head is resting against the window, her legs pulled up onto the seat, tucked near her ass, and her arms are wrapped tight around them. One thing I’ve noticed about her over the last few hours is she’s always wrapping her arms around herself or tucking her body into a tight ball. It’s like she’s forcing herself to stay together.

“I told you I got you, baby,” I say gently, wanting more than anything to take her hand in mine, but every time I touch her, she freezes up like she’s waiting for me to strike out at her, and I would be lying if I said that didn’t piss me the fuck off. It does; it feels like a slap in the face every time it happens.

“I know,” she whispers, and the tears I hear in her voice cause a sharp pain in my chest.

Fuck.

“This is the turnoff.” Her feet go to the floorboard and her hands to the dash as she sits up taller, moving her face closer to the windshield. We drive up a long dirt driveway with forest and the occasional broken down car on each side. When we make it to the top of the hill, a singlewide trailer comes into view, with junk cars and garbage piled up out front.

As soon as I come to a stop, she opens her door and hops out before I can tell her to keep her little ass in the cab. I don’t even know how I’m going to deal with the range of emotions that have settled over me since seeing her for the first time.

“Fucking Boom,” I mutter, getting out behind her and doubling my steps until I’m able to reach her side, where I wrap my hand around her waist and pull her closer to me. She’s so fucking tiny that the top of her dark head sits right at my chest. So fragile, from her too soft skin to her petite size. And she’s mine.

Until July (Until Her)

Meet Wes & July in Until July!

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1aEdj2u

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

Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/1CFrgmZ

Kobo: http://bit.ly/1IVcmy2

Aurora Rose Reynolds is a navy brat who’s husband served in the United States Navy. She has lived all over the country but now resides in New York City with her Husband and pet fish. She’s married to an alpha male that loves her as much as the men in her books love their women. He gives her over the top inspiration everyday. In her free time she reads, writes and enjoys going to the movies with her husband and cookie. She also enjoys taking mini weekend vacations to nowhere, or spends time at home with friends and family. Last but not least she appreciates everyday and admires it’s beauty.

Website: http://aurorarosereynolds.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Aurora-Rose-Reynolds

Twitter: https://twitter.com/auroraroseR

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/1pzLVIO

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/creynoldsauthor/

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1Oct2015

Review Post: Anchor by M. Mabie

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

Anchor (Wake #3) by M. Mabie

Anchor…LIVE NOW.
Amazon US http://amzn.to/1YuQhQx
Amazon UK http://bit.ly/ANCHORUK
Amazon CA http://bit.ly/ANCHORCA
Amazon AU http://bit.ly/ANCHORAU
iTunes http://bit.ly/ANCHORITUNES
B&N Nook http://bit.ly/AnchorNook
Kobo http://bit.ly/ANCHORKOBO

I believe in love at first sight.
Now I know soulmates exist.

Nothing has ever been easy for us.
Every fight, every struggle, has been worth it.

I’m stubborn, but what woman isn’t?
She’s hard work and I love the overtime.

He’s frustrating and unpredictable. I hope he never changes.
I love driving her crazy. That’s half the fun.

Lou’s sexy curls.
Honeybee’s pink nose.

He still looks at me like I’m precious and unflawed.
She treats me like I’m the center of her world.

Our future will be full of happiness.
Despite everything, we’re two of the lucky ones.

I took the bait.
She was a lucky catch.

He is the wind in my sail.
She’s the anchor that grounds me.

The wake our love made is beautiful.
Every day I thank God for her.

No matter the hurdles, we’ve jumped them side-by-side.
No matter the obstacles, we’ve made it through together.

For better or for worse, I’d do it again.
I’ll love and protect her all the days of my life.

We made it.
We always will.

5 Unforgettable Blake & Casey Stars

How do I even begin to describe my love for Anchor by M. Mabie?

I could say reading Anchor is like having one last weekend, with all the people you love and adore, having the best and most memorable times of your life. I could also say reading this book is like eating a whole jar of Nutella, because it just keeps getting better and better the more you have it, and once you start it, you definitely have to devour the entire glorious thing until you’re practically licking it. I could even say reading this book is like coming home, and realizing what made that home so special, so unforgettable, and so distinctly perfect in the first place.

I could say so many things about what reading Anchor was like, bring out my comparisons until the cows come home, and yet I don’t think I would even come close to capturing how utterly wonderful, amazing, and downright phenomenal this book was.

Anchor follows Blake and Casey as they finally get their well-deserved and extremely hard fought happy ending. While there are so many things you need to know about Anchor, please know this: Anchor gives you the most satisfying, all-feeling, beautiful, and immensely meaningful endings EVER. It is hands down, one of my favorite books ever, and it also gives one of the best endings I have ever read. Seriously. M. Mabie knows how to give you an ending that will literally leave you in awe, and leave your heart, mind, and soul beyond filled with what you get from Blake and Casey in this book.

Now I am an immense lover of endings in general. They’re my jam, and they’re why I love series so much, because I get to go on such a journey with the characters in hopes of getting an ending that does them and their story the justice they warrant. M. Mabie does Blake and Casey, and their emotional rollercoaster of a story justice in every single way possible. I want to live in this book with Blake and Casey, and what M. Mabie so outstandingly creates for them through her exceptionally crafted writing. What she gives them is everything. It’s perfect, it’s wonderful, and it’s them through and through.

Reading Anchor was experiencing pure, unadulterated, swoonworthy literary perfection. It had all the feels. And I mean feels, upon feels, upon give me more of those amazing and heart melting feels. It had some definite twists and turns that had my jaw dropping, my heart soaring, and my mind going crazy with what those twists and turns revealed.

Anchor also had so many of the wonderfully distinctive things that made Blake and Casey them. Their humor and banter, their personalities that never failed to bring a smile to my face, and continued filling my heart over and over again as I read, and most of all their endearing, soul stopping, and awe inspiring love. My heart was bursting with Blake and Casey while reading Anchor, and I loved every incredible moment of it.

Blake’s pink nose? It’s there. Casey’s crazy and seriously touchable curls? Even better than before. Lou & Honeybee? They’re there in all their unforgettable glory. All the love, and feels, and laughs, and meaningful moments that make you want to laugh, cry, cheer, smile, and fist pump in the air all at once? You’ve got that all in spades in Anchor.

When I say Anchor gives you everything, I mean it truly gives you everything. It gives you so many moments that give you so many extraordinarily crafted feelings and emotions and thoughts. It gives you so many moments that make you cry the most meaningful tears because of what Blake and Casey are sharing in their the truly unforgettable, wholly mesmerizing, and completely soul touching moments. It also gives you so many moments that make you think some certain choice expletives in the best possible way, and will have your mind reeling at what you are learning. It’ll also have you chomping at the bit to see what comes next for some of the other seriously fabulous characters that make up these books. (Let’s just say I have no doubt that the books to come from Blake & Casey’s siblings will be nothing short of amazing too!)

You also get so many phenomenal moments in Anchor that reinforce why you love Blake and Casey, and their distinctive and highly wonderful flavor of love. Over and over again while reading, I kept being reminded of why I love these characters so much. They’re two of my favorite literary characters ever, and I know that so much of them will stay with me always. I personally think it’s impossible not to fall for their authentic, flawed, and wonderfully messy and highly endearing characters. They’re just the best, and I love them so fiercely. Anchor gave me one last amazing ride with them, and I basked in everything that I got to experience with them on that wonderful rollercoaster ride.

I think one of my favorite aspects of Anchor has to be that you really feel and see how far these two characters have come since they first met in Bait. You fully experience their evolution and journey, and it makes everything you get in Anchor that much better, and that much more beautifully meaningful.

Over the course of this series I’ve fallen heart first in love with Blake and Casey. Even in those moments when they were being two of the most stubborn characters around, and were making choices that completely broke my heart for them, I loved them. So fiercely. I have loved them every single step of the way on their journey together because through it all they kept fighting and trying and giving it their everything in order to be in the exact place they wanted and so truly deserved to end up at.

They had their missteps, their falls, and their moments that cracked your heart in two, right along with theirs leaving you heaving on the ground with what that gave you. (Taking that Bait never hurt so good!) Then they had their moments when they started to turn it all around, admitted to their wrongdoings, and started doing everything within their power to make themselves better and to fix what they shared. (The wind in those Sails definitely took!) In the end they came together in the most literal and soul connecting way, working together towards an ending they both craved and needed with every ounce of their being, and basking in the power and true awe of the love they shared. (That Anchor goes about as deep as it could ever possibly get!)

And in the end you had Blake and Casey at their absolute best, in the place they fought tooth and nail to get to, and relishing in the true beauty of their love and what it gave them.

Blake and Casey are very real, can be so messy and raw at times, and they don’t always get it right, but going through everything that they did in this series, made what you get from them in Anchor mean that much more. The ending that M. Mabie so perfectly crafts and gives you in Anchor is everything. It gives you the full force impact of Blake and Casey’s deep, heartfelt, and exceptional love. It allows you to realize and get how far these two have come, and all that they did to get to where they end up in this book. It also gives you a plethora of incredible moments that will melt your heart into a gooey pile of swoon and feels.

You get it all in Anchor, and I am telling you now that you will love everything that this book so fantastically gives you. You get every ounce of the unique and whole-hearted love and connection Blake and Casey share, and in the end you will be beyond thrilled with what you get from them both in Anchor. You’ll also never want their story to end, or to say goodbye to Blake and Casey, but even when you reach that ultimate end and have to say that last farewell, you’ll be in true literal awe of everything you’ve just experienced with them along their breathtakingly emotional rollercoaster ride of amazingness. That will make you feel everything under the sun, all at once in the most extraordinary way, and in that moment of pure and real awe as you reach “the end” you will bask in every single thing you got from Blake and Casey and their unforgettable love story.

That is all possible because of what M. Mabie so phenomenally gives you with her thoughtfully crafted and emotionally driven writing. Her writing and storytelling makes this book and this series the fantastic things that they are, and her true writing talent shines in this book. Her writing gives you so much, and you’ll want to take it all because it is so good. So. So. Good.

So what are you waiting for? Go get your Lou and his sweet honeybee. Go get the ending you fought and desired for just as much as they did. Go get your unforgettable and amazing feels. Go get your swoonworthy moments that will have you swooning all over the place. Go get your Blake and Casey. They’re waiting for you, and they’re ready to give you one helluva last ride on that rollercoaster they’re on together.

And you know what?

That ride, and what Blake and Casey so truly give you on it, is nothing short of spectacular.

It’s so distinctly them in the best possible way, because they are the absolute best. Period.

Bait… Wake, #1 FREE everywhere! ‪#‎LIMITEDTIME‬
Amazon Kindle http://amzn.to/1Kd2vWm
iTunes http://bit.ly/baititunes
NOOK http://bit.ly/BaitNook
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Sail… Wake, #2
Amazon Kindle http://amzn.to/1OtDglR
iTunes http://bit.ly/sailitunes
NOOK http://bit.ly/SailNook
Kobo http://bit.ly/SailKobo

M. Mabie lives in Illinois with her husband. She writes unconventional love stories and tries to embody “real-life romance.”

She cares about politics, but will not discuss them in public. She uses the same fork at every meal, watches Wayne’s World while cleaning, and lets her dog sleep on her head. She has always been a writer. In fact, she was born with a pen in her hand, which almost never happens. Almost.

M. Mabie usually doesn’t speak in third-person. She promises.

Amazon Author page → http://www.amazon.com/M.-Mabie/e/B00JG5A6D6
Goodreads Author Page → https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7420449.M_Mabie
Newsletter → http://goo.gl/forms/917BIwS57v
Website→ mmabie.com
Facebook → facebook.com/AuthorMMabie
…and pretty much everywhere you can be on social media.

25Sep2015

Review Post: Sweet Obsession by J. Daniels

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

Title: Sweet Obsession

Series: Sweet Addiction #3

Author: J Daniels

Genre: Contemporary/Erotic Romance

Release Date: September 22, 2015

***Author’s note*** Sweet Obsession can be read as a standalone novel.

Everyone knows Brooke Wicks loves to have a good time. She’s not interested in getting serious, settling down, or limiting herself to one man. So when she meets the sexy, irresistible Mason King, she sees another opportunity to let loose and go wild. But the gorgeous Aussie isn’t interested in just a quick fling with Brooke, and if she wants to get into his bed, she’s going to have to do it on his terms.

Loving fast and hard has always been Mason’s philosophy. He doesn’t want a meaningless connection, he wants it all, and he wants it with Brooke. When she makes her one desire known—to hit it and quit it—Mason wages a plan to ensure Brooke keeps coming back for more. Or so he hopes.

Getting her attention was the easy part. Keeping it might be damn near impossible.

Sweet Obsession is where the Sweet Addiction series meets the Alabama Summer series.

ADD TO GOODREADS

Read my 5 Star Review of Sweet Obsession

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SWEET ADDICTION SERIES

AMAZON US / UK

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AMAZON US / UK

B&N / KOBO / iBOOKS

ALABAMA SUMMER SERIES

AMAZON US / UK

B&N / KOBO / iBOOKS

AMAZON US / UK

B&N / KOBO / iBOOKS

AMAZON US / UK

B&N / KOBO / iBOOKS

AMAZON US / UK

B&N / KOBO / iBOOKS

J.Daniels is the NY Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Sweet Addiction series, and the Alabama Summer series. She loves curling up with a good book, drinking a ridiculous amount of coffee, and writing stories her children will never read. J grew up in Baltimore and resides in Maryland with her family.

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23Sep2015

Releasing Now: Some Sort of Happy by Melanie Harlow

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

Some sort of Happy is LIVE!

Buy it from Amazon

Skylar Nixon is a twenty-seven year old failed actress with no Plan B. After a humiliating stint on a reality TV show crushes what’s left of her childhood dream, she finds herself back in her hometown with no money saved, no college degree, and no confidence she’s anything but a joke—a small town starlet who couldn’t hack it in the big city.

When she runs into former classmate Sebastian Pryce, she can’t believe the hot body and chiseled jaw belong to the shy, troubled loner she knew ten years before. He’s not exactly friendly at first, and she’s heard the rumors about his tragic past, but something in his sad eyes intrigues her. She only wants to get to know him better.

Until the night she wants more—and takes it. (Hard and deep. Twice.)

Are they just two lonely people seeking solace? Or can a disgraced beauty queen and flawed, frustrated man find some sort of happy ever after?

**SOME SORT OF HAPPY is a full-length, dual POV novel, complete with a happy ending.**

Goodreads

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26125005-some-sort-of-happy?from_search=true&search_version=service

5 Vibrant and Amazing Stars

Some Sort of Happy was another vibrant, fantastically written, and downright enrapturing read from Melanie Harlow. The minute I began this book I was pulled into everything that I was reading, and I’m pretty sure I didn’t put this book down once until I reached the end. (Even though I truly didn’t want it to end because I was so enjoying Skylar and Sebastian’s outstanding story!)

I loved every wonderful bit of this book. I felt so connected into it while I was reading, and I felt like I knew these characters so well because of how well Melanie Harlow crafts and creates their characters. Her writing allowed me to get to know them in a way that made them real, made them flawed and honest in the best way, and just made them distinctive. She gave me both of them whole heartedly in Some Sort of Happy, and that just made me love every word of what I was reading.

I’m not surprised I loved this book so much though. I have loved every story and character that I’ve gotten from this phenomenal author, and reading this book just cemented why she is one of my favorites. Melanie Harlow has a true talent when it comes to bringing life to a story and a set of characters, and Some Sort of Happy was no different. This book was engaging, meaningful, and bursting with the many distinctive qualities and vibrancies of Melanie Harlow’s phenomenal writing, and I loved every word and feeling and thought that I got from it.

What I absolutely loved about Some Sort of Happy:

Some seriously distinctive voices. Melanie Harlow never fails to create some seriously distinctive character voices in her stories, and I definitely got Sebastian and Skylar’s voices in this book. Their characters just have such unique and mesmerizing voices. They’re real to you when you read this story, and you get their personalities, who they are, and all the quirks that make them them. You get their voices full force in such a way that you know them as if they’re real, living and breathing, people with these unique voices and thoughts. Getting those voices allows you to connect and understand their characters in a truly memorable way.
Skylar and her sometimes wonderfully ridiculous self. Skylar was a gem of a character. A sometimes ridiculous, never failed to bring a smile to my face, good hearted, authentic gem. I loved that her character was who she was, that she had her flaws and her issues, but that through it all she was just her and trying to find and be the best person she could be. That warmed my heart while reading, and instantly had me liking how honest and real she was because it showed that she was a fighter who wasn’t afraid to give it all she had in order to be exactly who she wanted to be. Suffice to say, I hearted me some wonderfully ridiculous Skylar something fierce, and I loved everything about her dynamic character.
The complexity of Sebastian. I don’t know if I’ve ever read a male character quite like Sebastian’s before, and that’s just one of the many aspects I loved about his magnificently layered character. He’s different. The way his mind works is different. The things he goes through are different, yet they’re extremely relatable and understandable because of how thoughtfully Melanie Harlow captures his character. What she writes with him allows you to get him, and to understand exactly where he’s coming from. That man is a tad complicated, and definitely has a world of things he goes through on a daily basis just to get by, but through all of that I just fell for his complex character that completely stole my heart.
Leaving the past in the dust. Some Sort of Happy is very much a story about two characters trying to overcome their different pasts. Sebastian and Skylar both have some not so great things in their respective pasts, and they’re both fighting like crazy to not have those pasts define them. They’re giving it their all in their attempts to move on from what they’ve both gone through, and that gives them such a deep connection that you just feel because they understand each other. They get it. They both get what it’s like to want to escape their pasts and who they were. Reading these two try to fight through those pasts is outstanding to experience, and it just makes you realize the true depth of what they’re sharing together.
Chemistry that’s sparking all over. To say that Skylar and Sebastian share some chemistry is the understatement of the year. They have chemistry sparking all over the place, and it just sparks right off of the page in a way that definitely brings a certain kind of blush to your cheeks in the most wonderful way. You feel this pull and this connection between them the moment they are on the page together, and there is such an immense level of build and tension that keeps building and intensifying so extraordinarily over the course of the story. (And trust me, when all of that tension and build explodes into a fiery, passionate, feeling mess…it is everything.) You feel these two, and everything that they share in every way, shape, and form, and that heightens everything that you’re reading from them because you feel all the authentic and spark filled feelings and connections behind what they share.
Feelings and emotions that make you swoon. In Some Sort of Happy, Melanie Harlow gives you so many incredible and varied feelings and emotions that have you feeling every lick of what these characters do. She evokes such beautiful and consuming emotion and feeling from her writing, and allows you to connect and emotionally invest in every word of what you’re reading. Those feelings and emotions give you such a better understanding of Sebastian and Skylar, and everything that they share with one another. All of that feeling and emotion just makes everything that they’re sharing more powerful and memorable, and gives this story an unforgettable umph that you feel every all-feeling step of the way.
The fantastic balance of lightness and meaning. In this story you get the perfect balance of lightness and meaning. You get those fantastic moments of lightness where you smile, and laugh out loud, and just feel the vibrancy of these characters and their liveliness. But with that you also get so much heartfelt meaning from them and their story that you feel truly in your heart. Melanie Harlow exceptionally balances both of those aspects to make this one well rounded and amazing story to experience. She seamlessly balances both of those aspects, so that your heart is fully enraptured within every magnificent and lively and meaningful word that you’re reading, and so that you fully get the magnitude of what Sebastian and Skylar are sharing.

Sort of Happy is a book that gives you so many different kinds of moments to experience. You get the ridiculous and personality brimming scenes that have you laughing out loud and smiling like crazy more times than you can count. You get the moments of heat and passion that have you searching for the nearest fan, and that have you melting into a puddle of serious girl emotion from what’s being shared. You get the moments of hurt and doubt that you feel in your heart so deeply, and that make you want to reach in and comfort and encourage these fantastic characters. You also get the moments of glorious feeling and happiness that heal you, put life in you, and just makes it all worth it.

Melanie Harlow gives you all of those moments and more in Some Sort of Happy, and she truly and beautifully creates two extraordinary characters with a world of captivating thought and feeling that you can’t help but love.

Some Sort of Happy is a story about Sebastian and Skylar, two exceptional, distinctive, and highly wonderful characters trying to figure out who they really are, who they want to be, and the mesmerizing things that could happen if they gave it all a go and gave into the immense feelings they have for one another. Their story is vibrant, lively, meaningful, and consuming through and through, and it will have you feeling and loving and relishing in the amazingness that is them every single memorable step of the way.

This book was one that I loved to pieces. I loved what it allowed me to think and feel and experience as I read it. I loved the vibrant, spark filled, and meaningful journey it allowed me to go on with Sebastian and Skylar’s characters. I loved every bit of what it gave me because everything that it gave me was amazing to say the least. Some Sort of Happy reminded me over and over again why I love Melanie Harlow’s books so fiercely, and why her writing is truly fabulous, and I honestly can’t wait to read whatever comes next from this author because I have no doubt that it will rock my proverbial socks off.

Melanie Harlow likes her martinis dry, her lipstick red, and her history with the naughty bits left in. Her stories are inspired by a sense of place, an appreciation for the past, and unexpected pleasures in life—especially the romantic kind. She lifts her glass to readers and writers from her home near Detroit, MI, where she lives with her husband and two daughters.

*****5 Crazy Feeling Stars*****

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*****5 Utterly Fantastic Stars*****

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Maybe there’s only one direction to go when two people fall

in love at rock bottom—up.

*****5 Breathtakingly Emotional Stars*****

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Playing With Fire (Tangled in Texas #2)

By: Alison Bliss

*****5 Amazing and Phenomenal Stars*****

Just a little tease….

Buy Playing With Fire today!!

And be sure to see where the series started in Rules of Protection!!

Be sure to check out the AMAZING book trailer for Playing With Fire too!

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*****5 Breathtakingly Emotional Stars*****

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****4.5 Unforgettably Emotional Stars****

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****4.5 FANTASTIC STARS****

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Anchor (Wake #3) by M. Mabie

*****5 Unforgettable Blake & Casey Stars*****

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Some sort of Happy is LIVE!

*****5 Vibrant and Amazing Stars*****

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5 Crazy Feeling Stars

5 Utterly Fantastic Stars

5 Breathtakingly Emotional Stars

5 Amazing and Phenomenal Stars

5 Breathtakingly Emotional Stars

4.5 Unforgettably Emotional Stars

4.5 FANTASTIC STARS

5 Unforgettable Blake & Casey Stars

5 Vibrant and Amazing Stars