Release Day Book Blitz: Ignite by Lily Paradis

Ignite by Lily Paradis

Published: August 26, 2014

Publication: Empire Books

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Synopsis

After her father’s untimely demise in a mining accident and her mother’s abandonment, Lauren Lindsay is no stranger to loss. She’s used to living life for one person: herself. That is, until another family tragedy thrusts three children into her care and uproots her life in ways she could never imagine.

Lauren's first instinct is to run, until she meets their striking, mysterious neighbor Dean Powell. Their immediate chemistry and his connection with her late father just might be enough to keep her in town long enough to uncover pieces of her past that she never had answers to. Dean’s shady past and her reluctance to trust him could cost her the life she's always been searching for, but will she run back to her old life?

Or will she choose to stay and live the life her father always imagined for her?

Excerpt

“I don’t want there to be a pause button,” I said.

“Me neither.”

He leaned in and I thought it was going to happen. I thought he was going to finally kiss me for real, instead of what I think happened last night but was possibly imagined in my delirious, scared brain.

I even shut my eyes in anticipation, but it never happened. I opened them to find him staring out the window behind me. It was finally snowing.

Seriously?

This was not how I pictured this moment in my head.

“Earth to Dean,” I said, slightly annoyed as I waved my hand.

He snapped out of his reverie and smiled bigger than I’d ever seen him smile.

“What’s going on?” I asked warily.

He looked like a kid in a candy shop. He stood and pulled me to my feet, and then knelt down before me all in one fluid motion. Whenever this guy proposed to someone, it was going to be smooth as hell. I knew he wasn’t proposing, but I was curious about what he was doing beaming at me from the floor as he clutched my hands dramatically.

“Lauren Annabelle Lindsay.”

He paused for effect.

“Would you do me the honor of accompanying me to the Snow Ball?”

About the Author

Lily is 22 and recently graduated from the University of Colorado where she earned a degree in English Literature. She lives with her family and loves reading, running, and hiking. Although she’s a Colorado native, New York City is her favorite place in the world and fosters her borderline unhealthy obsession with the Empire State Building and F. Scott Fitzgerald. IGNITE is her debut novel.
Lily's Blog

See ya soon!

Hey everyone! I’ll be taking a week long break starting today. I’ve got big family plans coming up so it won’t be a total vacation. I do plan to get a lot of reading done so that’s a plus. I’ll be back after Labor Day and I hope to see ya then!

Mini Review: The Right Thing by Amy Conner

The Right Thing by Amy Conner

Published: May 27, 2014

Publisher: Kensington

Format: via NetGalley

Rating: 4/5

Synopsis

On a scorching August day in 1963, seven-year-old Annie Banks meets the girl who will become her best friend. Skinny, outspoken Starr Dukes and her wandering preacher father may not be accepted by polite society in Jackson, Mississippi, but Annie and Starr are too busy sharing secrets and playing elaborate games of Queen for a Day to care. Then, as suddenly as she appeared in Annie's life, Starr disappears. Annie grows up to follow the path ordained for pretty, well-to-do Jackson women--marrying an ambitious lawyer, filling her days with shopping and charity work. She barely recognizes Starr when they meet twenty-seven years after that first fateful summer, but the bond formed so long ago quickly reemerges. Starr, pregnant by a powerful married man who wants her to get out of town, has nowhere to turn. And Annie, determined not to fail her friend this time, agrees to drive Starr to New Orleans to get money she's owed.

During the eventful road trip that follows, Annie will confront the gap between friendship and responsibility; between her safe, ordered existence and the dreams she's grown accustomed to denying. Moving, witty, and beautifully told, The Right Thing is a story of love and courage, the powerful impact of friendship, and the small acts that can anchor a life--or, with a little luck, steer it in the right direction at last.

My Thoughts

Okay if you don’t know by now I love a good Southern read and this one is no exception. This is the story of Annie and Starr who were friends when they were little until one day Starr leaves without a trace. Fast forward decades and Annie is married and while out shopping one day she sees a woman who looks kind of familiar. Starr knows who she is and lets it be who she is. Annie is shocked and surprised to see Starr who is the town gossip after she finds herself pregnant from her married boyfriend. Annie and Starr have always had a connection so Annie feels bad for her friend and decides to help her out seeing how she is basically all alone.

I really enjoyed this book. I loved how we get flashbacks on them as children and see how even back them how sassy they were. We see how the way they grew up made them who and how they are today. Friendships are one of the first loves in our lives. They show us how to love and care for someone else. From the very start you can see these two girls were soul mates of a different kind, bringing out the best in each other. They can make you laugh and/or cry but regardless they always have your back. This is one read you have to get into. It’s a rich story of friendship and how they can impact our lives. No matter how much time has pass, if you are meant to have someone in your life nothing will take that connection away. 

Review: Falling into Place by Amy Zhang

Falling into Place by Amy Zhang

Publication: September 9, 2014

Publisher: Greenwillow Books

Format: via Edelweiss

Rating: 5/5

Synopsis

On the day Liz Emerson tries to die, they had reviewed Newton’s laws of motion in physics class. Then, after school, she put them into practice by running her Mercedes off the road.

Why? Why did Liz Emerson decide that the world would be better off without her? Why did she give up? Vividly told by an unexpected and surprising narrator, this heartbreaking and nonlinear novel pieces together the short and devastating life of Meridian High’s most popular junior girl. Mass, acceleration, momentum, force—Liz didn’t understand it in physics, and even as her Mercedes hurtles toward the tree, she doesn’t understand it now. How do we impact one another? How do our actions reverberate? What does it mean to be a friend? To love someone? To be a daughter? Or a mother? Is life truly more than cause and effect?

My Thoughts

Where do I start exactly? First off this book is phenomenal! It’s like nothing I’ve ever read before. It’s the story of Liz and how she decides to kill herself, but this book is so much more than that. It’s about cause and effect how one tiny thing can change the course of your life. Liz wasn’t the best person and she now knows this and at some point it just becomes too much. She is lonely and knows that she has done things to people and knows that they are that way because of her.

This book gripped my soul and kept me intrigued until the very end. I like how it’s told through different characters and also by the timeline. I loved the tug of war I had with myself in deciding how I felt about Liz. At times I thought she was an utter bitch, while at other times I truly felt sorry for her. She is a teen who is so alone, physically and emotionally. She feels as if she doesn’t have anyone to turn to. She feels guilt over events that have happened in her life and feels responsible for what happened. And while I was never good at science or physics I thought this was used very uniquely in this read. Definitely something different and I thought it was brilliantly used here. This book puts you through so many emotions I was utterly drained when I was done, but in a GOOD way of course.

I highly recommend Falling into Place, Amy Zhang is an amazing writer who gives us a book that is different and addicting. Once you start you won’t want to stop until you're done. It takes you on a ride that you soon won’t forget. It’s simply beautiful yet heartbreaking at the same time, two things that don’t usually go together but here it works out seamlessly.

Review: All's Fair in Love and Cupcakes by Betsy St. Amant

All’s Fair in Love and Cupcakes by Betsy St. Amant

Expected Publication: September 2, 2014

Publisher: Zondervan

Format: via NetGalley

Rating: 4/5

Synopsis

Kat inspected rows of the same old cupcakes. They seemed to blink back at her, as if they knew she was capable of so much more. Kat Varland has had enough of chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry.

At twenty-six years old, Kat is still living in the shadows of her family in Bayou Bend, Louisiana. Still working shifts at her Aunt Maggie s bakery. Still wondering what to do with her passion for baking and her business degree. And still single. But when Lucas Brannen, Kat s best friend, signs her up for a reality TV bake-off on Cupcake Combat, everything Kat ever wanted is suddenly dangled in front of her: creative license as a baker, recognition as a visionary . . . and a job at a famous bakery in New York.

As the competition heats up, Lucas realizes he might have made a huge mistake. As much as he wants the best for Kat, the only thing he wants for himself her is suddenly in danger of slipping away. The bright lights of reality cooking wars and the chance at a successful career dazzle Kat s senses and Lucas is faced with a difficult choice: help his friend achieve her dreams . . . or sabotage her chances to keep her in Louisiana.

My Thoughts

Talk about a super sweet read! I loved this cute story all about sweets and love. Kat and Lucas are best friends who are both feeling each other yet they don’t know if the other one feels the same. Not wanting to mess up the friendship they both keep their feelings under wraps for the time being. Kat works at her aunt’s bakery but not fully working to her potential. She loves to explore and make quirky concoctions but her aunt is old school and believes in tradition baking. However Lucas knows she is wasting her time and talent is signs her up for a reality competition, knowing she is a shoe in to win. Little does he know if she wins it will force her to leave everything behind including him.

This is just the sweetest story I’ve read in a long time. It’s a quick read and I love the characters. Kat and Lucas are just the best; I love how they know each other so well and really truly care for each other. Their relationship feels so real and genuine. I love the whole will they or won’t they let their feeling take over. Sometimes it worth taking the chance and going for it you never know unless you try. That goes for both romance and life’s chances. I highly recommend satisfying your reading sweet tooth and indulging in this wonderful book.

WoW [86]

Waiting on Wednesday [WoW] is a weekly event hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

The Start of Me and You by Emery Lord

Expected Publication: March 31, 2015

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Synopsis...

It’s been a year since it happened—when Paige Hancock’s first boyfriend died in an accident. After shutting out the world for a year, Paige is finally ready for a second chance at high school . . . and she has a plan. First: Get her old crush, Ryan Chase, to date her—the perfect way to convince everyone she’s back to normal. Next: Join a club—simple, it’s high school after all. But when Ryan’s sweet, nerdy cousin, Max, moves to town and recruits Paige for the Quiz Bowl team (of all things!) her perfect plan is thrown for a serious loop. Will Paige be able to face her fears and finally open herself up to the life she was meant to live?

Why I Can’t Wait…

I loved Open Road Summer and this one sounds just perfect, can’t wait to get my hands on a copy.

Feel free to link me to yours.

Review: A Pinch of Ooh La La by Renee Swindle

A Pinch of Ooh La La by Renee Swindle

Published: August 5, 2014

Publisher: NAL Trade

Format: via publisher

Rating: 4/5

Synopsis

Abbey Ross, who runs her own bakery in Oakland, California, is known for her visually stunning wedding cakes. But lately, Abbey’s own love life has become stale. According to her best friend, Bendrix, Abbey’s not the spontaneous young woman she was when they were teenagers listening to the Cure and creating attention-grabbing graffiti. Of course, her failed relationship with a womanizing art forger might have something to do with that. Nevertheless, it’s time for Abbey to step out of the kitchen—and her comfort zone—and Bendrix has even handpicked a man for her to date.

Samuel Howard is everything Abbey’s dreamed of: handsome, successful, and looking to raise a family. But a creamy icing might be needed to hide a problem or two. When Samuel complains about disrespect for the institution of marriage, Abbey’s reminded of her nontraditional family, with thirteen children from various mothers. And when Samuel rails about kids having kids, Abbey thinks of her twenty-year-old sister who’s recently revealed her pregnancy.

Soon Abbey is facing one disaster after another and struggling to make sense of it all. Her search for love has led her down a bitter path, but with the help of her unique family and unwavering friends, she just might find the ooh la la that makes life sweet.

My Thoughts

This was the bit of fresh air that I needed and wanted in my life right now. The story is about Abbey and her inability to want to get back into the dating world. After being humiliated by her ex she focuses on herself and her business, her bakery SCRATCH. All aspects of her life seem to be in gear except her love life. With encouragement from her huge family and best friend she enters the online dating world. She meets a bunch of losers but soon meets a guy who is maybe too good to be true. Samuel is everything she has ever wanted in a man and soon she finally finds herself in a relationship. However after she is married she founds out Samuel has issues and a family that is the totally opposite of her own. But like all things she soon finds herself making excuses and compromising in her new life. She finds herself unhappy and wondering if she’s not being true to herself.

I found myself at times in the beginning very upset with Abbey. I felt she wasn’t being true to who she was after she met Samuel. I felt she was compromising who she is and what she really wanted. I thought at times if she was just settling thinking her time was running out in order to have a family and love that she really wanted. At times I thought she didn’t stick up for herself and just did whatever Samuel wanted. I get that in relationships it’s a give and take but I felt she was just giving and wasn’t getting anything in return. Needless to say I wasn’t a fan of Samuel. However later on I see he has issues that made him the way he was.

On the other hand I totally loved Abbey’s family and best friend Bendrix. They were both funny and so relatable. She has the best people who supported her though everything and we should all be so lucky to have that in life. The journey that Abbey takes is so amazing. Seeing her experiencing the lows makes it so much sweeter when she finally hits her highs. This is one read that will make you laugh and makes you root for a woman whom you want to see have it all. This story is as sweet and rich as those delicious concoctions that are being made at Abbey’s wonderful bakery SCRATCH. So do yourself a favor and savor this book as your next read.

Late to the Game [6] If I Stay/Where She Went by Gayle Forman

Late to the Game is a series I do featuring books that everybody and their mommy have read…except me. The thing is 99% of the time I have these books but they have just been pushed back on my TBR pile. This won’t be a review of sorts seeing how everyone already knows the basics of the story but more of what I felt and how it affected me. I’ve dedicated this feature to try to put a dent in my pile and also to see if they live up to the hype…good and/or bad.

      

If I Stay/Where She Went by Gayle Forman

Publisher: Dutton Juvenile

Format: purchased

Rating: 5/5

Synopsis [If I Stay]

On a day that started like any other. Mia had everything: a loving family, a gorgeous, admiring boyfriend, and a bright future full of music and full of choices. In an instant, almost all of that is taken from her. Caught between life and death, between a happy past and an unknowable future, Mia spends one critical day contemplating the only decision she has left. It is the most important decision she'll ever make.

Simultaneously tragic and hopeful, this is a romantic, riveting, and ultimately uplifting story about memory, music, living, dying, and loving.

Synopsis [Where She Went]

It's been three years since Mia walked out of Adam's life. And three years he's spent wondering why. When their paths cross again in New York City, Adam and Mia are brought back together for one life-changing night.

Adam finally has the opportunity to ask Mia the questions that have been haunting him. But will a few hours in this magical city be enough to lay their past to rest, for good - or can you really have a second chance at first love?

My Thoughts

Talk about heart wrenching! If I Stay will pull at your heart strings like no other book I swear. It’s a story of strength and a love that’s like no other. I dare you read this and NOT feel something….anything! Where She Went picks up a few years later and is told by Adam’s view point. 

Mia and Adam’s love is like no other I’ve read. The love is so grand and powerful that you completely forget that they are very young. It will stand the test of time because you know it’s real, it’s meant to be, it’s simply something that can’t be denied.

When I read that it was being made into a movie I was like NO!! Let’s be honest film hasn’t been too kindly to novels. However after seeing that Chloe Grace Moretz was cast as Mia I was convinced this would be awesome, she is one of my faves she can’t really do wrong in my eyes. Plus after seeing the trailers…OMG I was done. If I can ball my eyes out in a 2 minute trailer I will be a wreck once I see the whole film. While the film looks like it will be true to the book and awesome I HIGHLY encourage anyone who hasn’t to read the books now before the movie comes out, you won’t be disappointed although you may be kicking yourself that it took you so long to read it to begin with.

   

Mini Review: Until I Found You by Victoria Bylin

Until I Found You by Victoria Bylin

Published: May 6, 2014

Publisher: Bethany House Publishers

Format: via NetGalley

Rating: DNF

Synopsis

When Kate Darby swerves off a mountain road to avoid hitting a California condor, she ends up trapped in her car, teetering on the edge of a cliff. Terrified, she breathes a prayer that changes her life: "God, if you're real, I want to know you."

It's Nick Sheridan who comes to Kate's rescue. Nick is handsome, confident, and seems to develop a habit of rescuing her, but Kate is in town only until her grandmother recuperates from a stroke. She's not planning to fall in love with one of the locals.

Nick Sheridan is a reformed veteran of life in the fast lane, a new Christian, and a travel writer. When he sees a car dangling on the edge of a cliff, the daredevil in him jumps into action. He doesn't expect to be swept off his feet by the car's occupant. He's made a vow: no dating for a year. And it's a vow he intends to keep in spite of his attraction to Kate Darby.

My Thoughts 

I really wanted to like this more than I did but sadly I didn’t. While I’m not the biggest fan or romance this was just too cheesy for me. I found this read just very typical of what romance novels tend to be. I couldn’t get into the storyline and none of the characters really spoke to me. Needless to say I didn’t finish this, maybe it’s just me but this one just wasn’t the one for me.

Mini Review: Since You've Been Gone by Anouska Knight

Since You’ve Been Gone by Anouska Knight 

Published: July 29, 2014

Publisher: Harlequin HQN

Format: via NetGalley

Rating: 3/5

Synopsis

How do you learn to love again? In one tragic moment, Holly Jefferson s life as she knows it changes for ever. Now to the external world, at least she’s finally getting back on her feet, running her business, Cake. Then she meets Ciaran Argyll.

His rich and charmed life feels a million miles from her own. However, there’s more to Ciaran than the superficial world that surrounds him, and he too is wrestling with his own ghosts. Will Holly find the missing ingredient that allows her to live again and embrace an unknown and unexpected tomorrow?

My Thoughts 

This was an okay read for me. Kind of predictable but a cute read nevertheless. It’s all about finding love when and where you least expect it. Holly wasn’t looking for love while she was trying to deal with the aftermath of losing her husband. Then enters Ciaran who is everything she never expected to be attracted to. Meanwhile Ciaran is dashing but underneath he has issues of his own but by the looks of him no one would ever imagine he did. i like how these two are quite different yet they are very similar in some aspects. i love how they balance each other out. This is great if you want a purely fun and cute read. It’s not heavy in content but sometimes that’s a good thing. This is definitely a good for those who love and enjoy a good chick lit book.

Here's my other love...

Happy Friday Ya’ll!

I thought I would do something different today. While I love books I am more than a book lovin’ chick…I’m also I football lovin’ one! Yep, I know some people don’t like or even get it but I love it. It’s signals the start of fall and winter which are my fave times of the year. 

Maybe it’s because I’m from Texas where football is king, or maybe it’s because I grew up around a ton of men in my family and it was always around who knows but it’s that time of year and I’m so excited!

Of course I love my hometown team – Houston Texans...

but I love the game as a whole. Yeah we were awful last year but with a new year comes new hope…at least I hope so. Lol. I live for game days and spending time with the family. We even do a fantasy football league and its fun. Everyone has their favorite teams they root for and we all poke fun at each other but it’s all in good fun. Although football can be seen as a mean and vicious game I see it as bringing our family together. Nothing is better than cool crisp weather and a Sunday filled with family, food and football. So if you haven’t given it a try I dare you to not get caught up in the excitement, it’s one of the best sports around. 

*Here's my fave player...JJ Watt...

Late to the Game [5]: Amy & Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

Late to the Game is a series I do featuring books that everybody and their mommy have read…except me. The thing is 99% of the time I have these books but they have just been pushed back on my TBR pile. This won’t be a review of sorts seeing how everyone already knows the basics of the story but more of what I felt and how it affected me. I’ve dedicated this feature to try to put a dent in my pile and also to see if they live up to the hype…good and/or bad.

Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

Publisher: Simon & Schuster BYR

Format: purchased

Ratings: 5/5

Synopsis

Amy Curry is not looking forward to her summer. Her mother decided to move across the country and now it's Amy's responsibility to get their car from California to Connecticut. The only problem is, since her father died in a car accident, she isn't ready to get behind the wheel. Enter Roger. An old family friend, he also has to make the cross-country trip - and has plenty of baggage of his own. The road home may be unfamiliar - especially with their friendship venturing into uncharted territory - but together, Amy and Roger will figure out how to map their way.

My Thoughts

I loved this book on SO many levels! Although it deals with some tough issues I loved how the road trip was almost like therapy. The chemistry between Amy and Roger was very interesting. I enjoyed how it slowly grew and wasn’t rushed like in some other novels. I felt that we were passengers with them as they explored the country and worked out their issues. As much as I adore books I also enjoy music so finding out that music played a major role in this book was such a highlight for me. The playlists were amazing and I thought they went well with the storyline and the states they travelled through. This is one road trip book that is so wonderful and amazing it’s beyond words. It’s all about healing, life lessons and most importantly finding yourself. Sometimes life’s little detours are way more healing that things that are planned.

WoW [85]

Waiting on Wednesday [WoW] is a weekly event hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

The Good Sister by Jamie Kain

Expected Publication: October 7, 2014

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Synopsis...

The Kinsey sisters live in an unconventional world. Their parents are former flower-children who still don’t believe in rules. Their small, Northern California town is filled with free spirits and damaged souls seeking refuge from the real world. Without the anchor of authority, the three girls are adrift and have only each other to rely on.

Rachel is wild. Asha is lost. Sarah, the good sister, is the glue that holds them together. But the forces of a mysterious fate have taken Sarah’s life in a sudden and puzzling accident, sending her already fractured family into a tailspin of grief and confusion. Asha has questions. Rachel has secrets. And Sarah, waking up in the afterlife, must piece together how she got there.

Why I Can’t Wait…

I actually just got this and I hope to start reading this ASAP! Sounds like a good story with some mystery to it.

Feel free to link me to yours.

Cover Reveal: Stan/Max by C.J. Duggan

Stan [Summer Series #1.5] & Max [Summer Series #2.5] by C.J. Duggan

Publication date: December 2014

Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance

Add to Goodreads

Purchase: Summer Series / Stan / Max / Ringer / Forever Summer

Synopsis: Stan

I had plans, big plans, but all that changed the night Bel Evans darkened my doorstep. Stan Remington is the go-to man; what he doesn’t know about Onslow means one of two things: it doesn’t exist or it hasn’t happened yet.

And when it comes to Onslow, for Stan, being an only child has meant a guilt-riddled sense of duty to help out at his parents’ caravan park every summer. Same old town. Same old story. Until Belinda Evans.

The wild and annoying doctor’s daughter spends her summer family holidays at Remington’s Caravan Park, and normally she’s not Stan’s problem. But then she sabotages his planned weekend escape. Now Stan finds himself not only caretaking the caravan park on his own, but also responsible for Bel.

Just the two of them.

Under the one roof.

For one long, long weekend.

In a world where mundane routine and small-town boredom is his norm, one weekend changes every element of his world to anything but boring.

—-

Synopsis: Max

Max Henry thought he’d left the dusty flats of Ballan behind, but when the past slams into his present, suddenly there is no escaping – even if he wanted to.

Melanie Sheehan didn’t set out to be a liar, but her last lie landed her in big trouble. Now Mel must suffer a harsh consequence – she’s not allowed out of her father’s sight. No friends, no parties, no life.

Since impeccably good behaviour is now all she’s about, her dad, renowned Ballan local ‘Bluey’ Sheehan, is about to finally cut Mel some slack. The catch? While he heads out of town on business, she has to stay at the Onslow Hotel, and he’s entrusting Max Henry, the eldest son of Bluey’s best mate, to look out for her. He just doesn’t know it yet.

Max, the new head barman at the Onslow Hotel, is the one boy Mel has been crushing on since forever. At a time when Mel plans to go on the straight and narrow, she is about to tell the biggest lie of all. Will Max be able to handle the fiery farm girl or should he be considered the last boy in Onslow to trust?

Summer Series Trailer

AUTHOR BIO

C.J Duggan is a Number One Best Selling Australian Author who lives with her husband in a rural border town of New South Wales, Australia. When she isn’t writing books about swoony boys and 90’s pop culture you will find her renovating her hundred-year-old Victorian homestead or annoying her local travel agent for a quote to escape the chaos. The Boys of Summer is Book One in her international best selling New Adult Romance Series.

The 'Summer Series'

The Boys of Summer

Stan (Summer Novella)

An Endless Summer

Max (Summer Novella)

That One Summer

Ringer (Summer Novella)

Forever Summer

Author Links:

Website / Goodreads / FB / Twitter  

**GIVEAWAY**

The author is hosting a giveaway to celebrate the reveal with a swag prize pack.

Click HERE to enter