Review: Wreck Me by Maria E. Monteiro

Wreck Me by Maria E. Monteiro

Expected Publication: June 17, 2014

Publisher: Rebel Road Publishing

Format: via author in exchange for an honest review

Rating: 4/5

Synopsis

All Piper Walker wants is to feel normal again, and for the pain of losing the one person she truly loved to go away. But no matter what she does she feels like she keeps hitting a wall of hurt.

 Chase Whitman has finally moved back to town after running away from his troubled home life. He’s trying to fill the emptiness in his heart with all the wrong women, making sure he doesn’t fall in love with any of them. Now in her sophomore year of college, Piper is trying all she can to right all the wrongs she has done the past year. Which includes almost getting thrown out of school, becoming distant from her best friend, and moving way too quickly with her boyfriend.

After a night of heavy drinking Piper wakes up to find Chase in bed with her. She panics and runs off hoping never to see him again. Little does she know Chase will invade her life in every way possible and become the person she needs the most. Will they be able to fill the void in each other? Or will their past wreck everything?

My Thoughts

This is the story of two broken souls of sorts who are brought together in a way that can only be explained as fate. Piper has been all over the place especially emotional and is now trying to fit the pieces of her life back together after a series of life’s mishaps. I loved seeing Piper grow and face her issues head on and overcoming her past.

Chase has recently come back home and is a mystery man. After a fight with his dad he has been away and refuses to any help from his father. Some people think he is a hot head and a bad person but he is the total opposite of that.

They first met when they wake up next to each other in the morning and Piper has no idea where she is and who is lying next to her. She soon finds out who he is and that he helped her out by looking after her when she had too much to drink the night before. The next time they meet is when they find out they are soon to be roommates. I love how Piper and Chase didn’t really click from the get go. I really enjoyed seeing their relationship evolve. Nothing was forced and we saw them fall for one another. What I really enjoyed the most was when they shared their life stories with one another. They didn’t share anything right away both waited when they felt they could trust each other.

This is one of the realest stories I read in a while. I truly felt a connection with these characters and their backstories. I shared some of these issues that Piper had to face. One in particular is the one dealing with her father and not having a relationship with him. And while we took different actions with dealing with it I still felt what she had to go through. This book has something for everyone. It has some serious issues but it also has a great and awesome romance in Piper and Chase. One of most well written and interesting couples I’ve read in a long time.

Mini Review: Up to Me by Christi Barth

Up to Me [Shore Secrets #1] by Christi Barth

Published: June 23,, 2014

Publisher: Carina Press

Format: NetGalley

Rating: 4/5

Synopsis

Ella Mayhew's always appreciated the beautiful view of Seneca Lake from the spa window of her family's hotel. But the view improves dramatically when a hot stranger runs across the grounds—shirtless. He's the first man to kickstart her hormones in the three years since she lost her parents, and she doesn't even know his name.

Graydon Locke's on his umpteenth undercover assignment. The routine's always the same: assess a business, recommend it for closure, then roll out before anyone discovers his decisions impact hundreds of lives. He's always believed nothing good comes out of small towns. Why would this one be different? Then he makes two classic rookie mistakes—falling for the sweet, sexy girl who owns the very business he's on the verge of axing. And letting the town's residents get involved in both his life, and his relationship with Ella.

Ella's the best thing to ever happen to Gray, but he's lied to her from the start. If he pulls the plug on Mayhew Manor, the entire town may crumble. Ella couldn't save her parents, but it's up to her to save their hotel. Even if that means turning her back on true love.

My Thoughts

Maybe I’m a little biased, but I really love and enjoy Christi Barth’s novels and this one is no exception. Up to Me is the first in a new series by her. This novel is about Ella, her parents have past and she hasn’t wanted a relationship in her life. She has been dealing with family issues and just hasn’t felt ready until Garydon walks into her life. She just thinks he’s this nice and sweet guy the first one she has felt anything for in a long time. She doesn’t know the real reason why he showed up at her parents’ hotel and he wants to keep it that way.

Graydon never imagined he would fall for Ella it was never part of the plan. He knows if she really found out she would never forgive him ever again. He can’t decide what to do. It’s a no win situation, he either saves his relationship with Ella or lose his job. I like how either one was looking for love yet as they say you will always find something when you're not looking for it. It's like two lost souls who finally became one. I’m a sucker for a small town, I love the whole closeness and how they usually have quirky characters and of course nosey folks. And while everyone always knows your business nothing beats the loyalty and love they have for one another.

This book is yet another great work from Christi Barth she always writes amazing storylines and well-rounded characters. I for one can’t wait for the next installment of what seems to be a great new series. Do yourself a favor a check out any of her reads you won’t be disappointed.

WoW [81]

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

Girl Before a Mirror by Liza Palmer

Expected Publication: January 27, 2015

Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks

Synopsis...

An account executive in a Mad Men world, Anna Wyatt is at a crossroads. Recently divorced, she’s done a lot of emotional housecleaning, including a self-imposed dating sabbatical. But now that she’s turned forty, she’s struggling to figure out what her life needs. Brainstorming to win over an important new client, she discovers a self-help book—Be the Heroine, Find Your Hero—that offers her unexpected insights and leads her to a most unlikely place: a romance writers’ conference. If she can sign the Romance Cover Model of the Year Pageant winner for her campaign—and meet the author who has inspired her to take control of her life—she’ll win the account.

For Anna, taking control means taking chances, including getting to know Sasha, her pretty young colleague on the project, and indulging in a steamy elevator ride with Lincoln Mallory, a dashing financial consultant she meets in the hotel. When the conference ends, Anna and Lincoln must decide if their intense connection is strong enough to survive outside the romantic fantasy they’ve created. Yet Lincoln is only one of Anna’s dilemmas. Now that her campaign is off the ground, others in the office want to steal her success, and her alcoholic brother, Ferdie, is spiraling out of control.

To have the life she wants-to be happy without guilt, to be accepted for herself, to love and to be loved, to just be—she has to put herself first, accept her imperfections, embrace her passions, and finally be the heroine of her own story.

Why I Can’t Wait…

I love and adore Liza Palmer’s work. She’s an amazing writer and I LOVED her last book Nowhere but Home. I CANT WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Feel free to link me to yours.

Review: It Comes In Waves by Erika Marks

It Comes in Waves by Erika Marks

Published: July 1, 2014

Publisher: NAL Trade

Format: via publisher

Rating: 4/5

Synopsis

For competitive surfer Claire "Pepper" Patton, the waves of South Carolina’s Folly Beach once held the promise of a loving future and a bright career—until her fiancé, Foster, broke the news that he and Claire's best friend, Jill, were in love.

Eighteen years later, now forty-two and a struggling single parent to a rebellious teenage daughter, Claire has put miles between that betrayal and that coast. But when ESPN invites her back to Folly Beach for a documentary on women in surfing, Claire decides it might be the chance she needs to regain control of her life and reacquaint herself with the unsinkable young woman she once was.

But not everything in Folly Beach is as Claire remembers it, most especially her ex-best friend, Jill, who is now widowed and raising her and Foster’s teenage son. An unexpected reunion with Claire will uncover a guilt that Jill has worked hard to bury—and bring to the surface years of unspoken blame.

When Claire crosses paths with a sexy pro-surfer who is as determined to get Claire back on a board as he is to get her in his bed, a chance for healing might not be far behind—or is it too late for two estranged friends to find forgiveness in the place that was once their coastal paradise, where life was spent barefoot and love was as dizzying as the perfect wave.

My Thoughts

Hands down one of the best summer reads out there this year! It has surf, sand, and the beach but most importantly it focuses on forgiveness. This is the story of Claire and how a documentary about her surfing past takes her back to where she spent her best years at Folly Beach. We learn of her greatest love Foster and how he broke her heart so much she never surfed again.

What I loved most of all was the telling of her past, how she came to know Foster, Jill and Shep. Also how she came to Folly Beach in the first place and her relationship with her parents. Claire was a natural at surfing and that’s what brought her and Foster closer together. They spend summers surfing the days away and fell completely in love. Claire envisioned they would always be together until Jill her good friend and roommate ended up in love and pregnant with Foster’s baby. She left Folly Beach never to return again and eventually never surfing again in the process. She was crushed and her love for everything just fell to the wayside.

While this is a book about surfing and the beach it isn’t the main focus here. It’s all about forgiving. Sometimes it isn’t enough to try to forget things; they will always come boiling back to the surface in time. We have to try to forgive not necessarily for the benefit of others but for ourselves. It’s not a good thing to harbor bad feelings it only hurts us in the end. I loved how once Claire deals with and releases the past everything in her present life seemed to fall into place. Sometimes it’s good to revisit the past in order to make our present come alive. This is one read I highly recommend.

Review: Let's Get Lost by Adi Alsaid

Let’s Get Lost by Adi Alsaid

Expected Publication: July 29, 2014

Format: via Edelweiss

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Challenge: NetGalley/Edelweiss

Rating 4/5

Synopsis

Five strangers. Countless adventures. One epic way to get lost.

Four teens across the country have only one thing in common: a girl named LEILA. She crashes into their lives in her absurdly red car at the moment they need someone the most.

There's HUDSON, a small-town mechanic who is willing to throw away his dreams for true love. And BREE, a runaway who seizes every Tuesday—and a few stolen goods along the way. ELLIOT believes in happy endings…until his own life goes off-script. And SONIA worries that when she lost her boyfriend, she also lost the ability to love.

Hudson, Bree, Elliot and Sonia find a friend in Leila. And when Leila leaves them, their lives are forever changed. But it is during Leila's own 4,268-mile journey that she discovers the most important truth— sometimes, what you need most is right where you started. And maybe the only way to find what you're looking for is to get lost along the way.

My Thoughts

Four people all on a journey trying to find themselves, all different yet all of their lives connect and run through one person Leila. This story is told in five voices and each story we learn who these people are and where they are in life and where they want to be.

I won’t go through each story since I don’t like to spoil things for those of you who might want to read it but I highly enjoyed each tale. While each story is different they all have one thing in common a drifter named Leila who is on the ultimate road trip. She is a mystery yet she comes into each of these people lives for a reason. It seems that she arrives just when they are in need.

We slowly come to see who Leila is and what her backstory, and while we think she was brought to these people for whatever reason we realize that they give her more than she gives them. She is the one who is looking for something that in the end was always there from the very beginning. This is a story of truly finding yourself. Sometimes we have to get away and free ourselves from everything so that we can refocus and deal with things head on. In finding these individuals Leila came to see who she really was and realizing that running away from things isn’t always the solution. Maybe you can’t force things to happen, sometimes we have to just relax and things will come to us in the end.

Let’s Get Lost definitely one of the best road trip books around. Great characters, it’s funny yet very touching, this book is one truly worth getting lost in.

Mini Review: Four Weddings and a Breakup by Elyssa Patrick

Four Weddings and a Breakup by Elyssa Patrick

Published: May 12, 2014

Format: via NetGalley

Rating: 4/5

Synopsis

One fake relationship . . .

Ginny Michaels has always been a good girl and—ever since surviving a school shooting a little over a year ago—hailed a hero. Except she doesn’t feel like a hero. She can't even have a one-night stand with sexy Wes Dalton properly. When her big city fling resurfaces in her hometown with an intriguing proposition, she's powerless to resist. A fake relationship is exactly what's needed to keep her small town's matchmakers at bay during the upcoming wedding season. If only her attraction to Wes were as easy to ignore.

Too many real kisses . . .

Wes Dalton doesn’t have many regrets, and that includes his night with Ginny. But he's always hoped to strengthen his relationship with his estranged family. When his father’s health takes a bad turn, Wes puts his life on hold and moves to the meddling seaside town of Cape Hope. With his barriers in place—and a beautiful woman to help him hold them up—he's prepared for anything. Or so he thinks. Despite his determination to leave as soon as the summer is over, those fake kisses are starting to feel an awful lot like the real thing.

My Thoughts

I LOVED this book! It’s cute, funny and I enjoyed the storyline. While I’ve read a lot of stories that start off as a night one stand this one sets them apart. What starts off as a fake relationship might have the beginnings of something real that anyone could imagine.

I loved the characters, the banter and chemistry between all of them. Although romance is the main subject here what I loved most was Ginny and Dalton individuals’ stories. Ginny was dealing with the aftermath of surviving a school shooting and dealing with people seeing her as a hero, while Dalton was hoping to connect more with his family. This is just one of those reads that is a great book...plain and simple. There’s romance but also an underlying plot of two people just trying to make their way and deal with their issues. There is definitely a little something for everyone here.

Review: Don't Try to Find Me by Holly Brown

Don’t Try to Find Me by Holly Brown

Published: July 8, 2014

Publisher: William Morrow

Format: via Edelweiss
Challenges: NetGalley/Edelweiss

Rating: 3/5

Synopsis

Don't try to find me. Though the message on the kitchen white board is written in Marley's hand, her mother Rachel knows there has to be some other explanation. Marley would never run away.

As the days pass and it sinks in that the impossible has occurred, Rachel and her husband Paul are informed that the police have "limited resources." If they want their 14-year-old daughter back, they will have to find her themselves. Desperation becomes determination when Paul turns to Facebook and Twitter, and launches FindMarley.com.

But Marley isn't the only one with secrets.

With public exposure comes scrutiny, and when Rachel blows a television interview, the dirty speculation begins. Now, the blogosphere is convinced Rachel is hiding something. It's not what they think; Rachel would never hurt Marley. Not intentionally, anyway. But when it's discovered that she's lied, even to the police, the devoted mother becomes a suspect in Marley's disappearance.

Is Marley out there somewhere, watching it all happen, or is the truth something far worse?

My Thoughts

This is a hard one for me to review. I liked it but I just kept waiting for something bigger to happen. It’s like I kept feeling this build up but there was no real payoff in the end. Marley runs off to meet this guy online whom she thinks really gets her; you know the same old plot line you've seen in real life over and over. When her family discovers this they don’t know if she was kidnapped or was a runaway. There were two different plots going on at the same time.

We see Rachel, the mom, and how she recounts her view on the last morning she saw Marley. We see into her marriage which is falling apart and her husband whom she feels doesn’t want her or their marriage. People start to doubt her story, did she have something to do with Marley disappearance? We also learn a secret that Rachel has been caring and soon it is revealed and many wonder what else has she lied about.

Then there is Marley’s side. She goes cross country to meet this guy she met online whom has promised her a better life. She thinks he is the only one who loves her and cares for her. She soon finds out he is not who he claimed he was. She soon finds out the lengths that her parents have taken to try to find her. Even after all of this she still doesn’t try to leave.

This is where I kind of lost it. I don’t get why she doesn’t try to flee. She knows this guy isn’t stable yet she does at times feel sorry for him. She knows of her parent’s trouble in their marriage but doesn’t let on.

I kept reading thinking something big was going to happened. I just felt there could’ve been a bigger story than the one told. Don’t get me wrong this is a compelling read I just felt there was more. There are some good twist and turns not to mention a great little shocker. This one definitely speaks to time of online relationships and never trusting people right off. You never know who people really are online much less in real life.