Book Review: Come To Me Quietly - A.L. Jackson

“Loving someone is one of the biggest chances we ever take. Maybe the most unfair part of it is that it’s rarely a conscious decision we’ve made. It’s something that blossoms slow or hits us hard, something that stirs and builds gradually, or something that shocks us with its sudden intensity. And sometimes it’s something that’s been a part of us our entire lives. But almost always, it’s inevitable.”

The queen of angst has done it again! This is a beautifully written story about childhood friends, Jared and Aly. The story was told in alternating views of Jared and Aly, tackling scenes of past and present. This is one of the few books where I fell in love with the heroine instead of the hero. I really loved Aly, I loved her outlook, her attitude, her patience and her way in handling things, but most especially I loved her heart. She is a really beautiful character. I loved how she handled the very troubled Jared. My heart both bled and was surrounded by love for her. I strongly felt her love for Jared. 

I also liked Jared but I kind of feel frustrated because he was a coward for not fighting for what he feels. He isn’t healed yet and I am really looking forward to more books on this two characters. I also loved the connection of Christopher and Jared; I felt their love for each other. 

Sorry for repeatedly stating love in my review, because I really loved everything in this book. I literally couldn’t put it down; it was consuming my every waking moment. This book captures your heart. I loved how the characters and their connection was build up, though the pacing is slow, it was how the connection is felt. There weren’t even detailed love scenes yet the love and the devotion of Aly and Jared is truly palpable.

I also want to gush about how the author’s writing improved in this book. I recently read one of her earlier books, though both are heart wrenching and full of angst, this book didn’t feel like the story was stretched just to prolong the agony. The writing was seamless and it didn’t feel dragged. This book will stay in my heart for quite a while. I cannot wait to read the next book in this series.

This is highly recommended to those who love stories of friendships that eventually lead to love. 5 stars!!!

Book Review: Inevitable and Irreplaceable - Angela Graham

“I'll never give up. You have my heart, my soul, my everything. When you're ready, I'll be here."

“I fucked up, Cassandra. I hate myself for it and I can’t take it back, but I will spend every day and every night proving I can be the man you need me to be.”

I read book 1 and book 2 consecutively and I must say that I liked the premise of the story. I found it interesting and when I started on book 1 I couldn’t put it down.

However I must say that I felt that book 1 was a bit dragging and I found myself browsing through some of the parts where Logan, Cassie or Oliver is not involved and I wasn’t really a fan of Caleb and Hillary. But the book has so much potential especially since the story pretty much captures the reader’s attention. I also liked the smart mouth heroine Cassie and the hot hero Logan.

Also, the story was slow building in the sense that it took too long for the characters to get together. And I was hoping for more Cassie and Oliver. I wanted more interactions between them to build their connection.

The ultimate climax came towards the end of the book.  My heart broke for Cassie and I felt her pain.

Told majority in Cassie’s view, I was also glad that that there was one from Logan.

The second book started right after the events in book 1.

When in book 1 is full of longing, book 2 is full of sexual frustration, but also full of angst and pain.

I was also became more drawn to the story because of Oliver and Logan. As with the first book I also read the other scenes in a blur. It also took a long time for them to finally get together. Mostly, I got tired with Cassie's “I’m done it's over speech”. Though she frustrates me, I still felt compelled to finish the book. And Logan couldn’t get any hotter. I loved him and Oliver.

Though I’m not 100% in love with the book I still want to read book 3 and I can't wait it. And something tells me book 3 is going to get even more angst-y and frustrating.

Book Review: Awaken - Nina Lane

Awaken (Spiral of Bliss, #3)

 “My white knight. My beautiful, strong, brave husband who loves me more than I ever knew it was possible to be loved.

This man would give me the stars, the moon, the sun. He has slain monsters for me and alongside me. He’s battled through dark, tangled woods with me because he has never once wavered in his belief that we are meant to be forever. He would do anything for me. For us.

He’s a rare gift, my husband, perfect and flawed and completely, unreservedly mine.”

This is another great story from Nina Lane.

This is the continuation of Professor and Beauty’s story.

Then again, I got lost in the writing and how the story played out.

Time passed by quickly and my whole day was focused on them. I finished it in one day. I didn’t even notice the page numbers. I felt that the whole book was a climax.

This is really a great ending to the series. I will surely miss them.

This is highly recommended to those who love reading about marriage issues and how this beautiful couple overcame all of them. 

Arouse (Spiral of Bliss, #1) 

Allure (Spiral of Bliss, #2) 

Book Review: Present Perfect - Alison G. Bailey

“You've always been my girl and always will be. No one will ever take me away from you, Tweet. You’re my heart and soul and that’s never going to change, no matter what you say.” 

“...perfection is an illusion nurtured by insecurities.” 

“Looks can be deceiving. You can’t always tell what’s going on inside a person from outside. People put on a brave face when they’re trying to get over heartbreak, but that doesn't mean they have.” 

This book had me from the get go. I was captivated within the first lines of the story. The sweet words are in abundance in this book. But this is where I draw the line because I felt frustrated with the story. The saving grace was the beautiful words and the lovable hero in the face of Noah.

Noah is a sweet, funny, playful character who is too mature for his age. At a very young age he is already full of sweet suckering love and sweetness. I love him. My heart broke for Noah for the repeated heartache.

Now the heroine is the opposite of Noah. Amanda is a damaged girl who thinks so little of herself which stemmed from the constant comparison to her big sister. I understand her in this aspect since it really sucks to be constantly compared, either intentional or unintentionally by her parents, to her sister Emily.

Now there are also funny scenes in the story that made me laugh out loud. But the irritating and stupid choices by the heroine are pretty apparent. I wanted to shake Amanda many times throughout the book. Readers better watch out since the stupidity of the heroine is repetitive. She's also a sucker for punishment and doesn’t have an ounce of self-respect. I really wanted to put down the book at 60%.

The story is nice but the heroine ruined it. But there was one instance where Amanda made me cry. I felt sad for her predicament. To be fair the story picked up at about 70%. I wished the story concentrated on this part more than the stupid choices of the heroine.

However to be fair, there were also other things that I love from the book like the character Dalton. The letters to Halle had been a nice touch to the story and I loved the epilogue as it was told in Noah’s view. I rate this book 3 stars.

Joseph Fallen - M.S. Willis

This is the prequel to Madeleine Abducted (The Estate, #1).

This is the story of Joseph and Arianna Carmicheal, Aarons parents.

This book is not for the faint of heart. It is dark and gritty and full of sadness and disappointment.

Because I loved book 1 so much, I had to read this and know more about the madness of The Estate.

The story started out with the newlyweds Joseph and Arianna. Told in third person view, it tells us of a time when Joseph is still human and has feelings and how his obsession made him become the vile creature that he is until his death. The story tells us of how his madness came to be and how it affected Arianna.

The story was heavy all throughout and the only redemption we get is by the end of the book when Arianna gave Joseph the final blow to his sanity.

This is a really good supplement to the series. Now we know more about Aaron and Xander. How they came to be and we get to know that Arianna is nothing like Joseph.

Oh and before I forget, I really liked the cover of this book because it is relevant to the story, it is actually one of the scenes in the story. Read it to find out.

I cannot wait to read about Xander’s life in the sequel Hope Restrained (The Estate # 2) coming out hopefully within this month.

Book Review: Eleonor & Park - Rainbow Rowell

“You can be Han Solo," he said, kissing her throat. And I'll be Boba Fett. I'll cross the sky for you.” 

“I just can't believe that life would give us to each other," he said, "and then take it back."

"I can," she said. "Life's a bastard."

"But it's up to us..." he said softly. "It's up to us not to lose this.” 

I am in love with a teenager. I am totally and unabashedly in love with a sixteen year old. His name is Park Sheridan.

I have already finished reading this book but the story of Eleonor and Park is still in my heart and mind. I have a major book hangover.

I totally get it now why this book won 2013 Goodreads Choice Award for Best YA Fiction. At first I was hesitant to read this because I thought it was a better fit for young teens, hence it’s young adult category. But I sucked it up and tried it and I never regretted reading it.

This book not only proves that even married wives will love this book but also that age is not a matter when reading wonderful stories like this book.

It is innocent, young and fresh. It talks about the wonders of first love, first kiss, first fight, first relationships and first heartbreak. It's thrilling, nostalgic and exciting.

It is swoon worthy and emotional, every pain and heartache is truly felt. My heart bleeds for Eleonor and it beats for Park. I felt every sadness and disappointment and I also felt the pure, unadulterated and untainted love between them.

I want to hug Park's dad and his mom. I want to be like them and follow their example of raising their children. I also want to slap and kick Eleonor's parents and her stepfather Richie.

The ending is not so clear, it's open ended. The readers get to determine it on their own. But I have a pretty good feeling that we will be reading more of them hopefully soon. I read somewhere that the author is not yet done with the characters and I really hope the she writes a sequel. I want to read more how Park and Eleonor will continue with their relationship. I want to see them get married and have kids. I want to know what happened to Eleonor’s awful mother and kid sister and brothers. And I also want to read more of Park’s crazy yet lovable family.

This is highly recommended! 5 stars! This is my first book for 2014 and I love it!!!

Book Review: With You and Torn From You - Nashoda Rose

With You (Tear Asunder, #0.5)

Torn from You (Tear Asunder, #1)

 

“Trust is built. Ours just needs to be rebuilt and it takes time. But baby, we’ll do it together.”

 

I decided to first read the prequel to the series, With You. Since it was a prequel to book 1, it was short and fast paced. It tells us of how Logan/Sculpt and Emily first met.

 

In this book their connection they built wasn't as strong yet. I wasn't feeling the connection at first. But what was clear was that Logan is an alpha male and I liked him from the start.  While Emily is a bit frustrating already, with all the repetitive Lego building and self-doubts.

 

The final scene in the prequel is a major cliffhanger. Good thing the next book is also out.

 

Meanwhile, book 1, Torn from You, started with a prologue taken from With You, on Logan/Sculpt and Emily's first time.

 

This book was slow paced and tells us the details of their ordeal. Logan and Emily are frustrating with all the secret b*llsh*ts.But I felt the thrill and frustration of their attraction, longing and disappointments. At about 70% we get snippets of the confusing and mysterious Logan in his view. It was refreshing with all the whining and indecision of Emily. I couldn't help but fall more in love with Logan for not giving up on them.

 

The book has the right amount of action, violence, mystery, romance and sex with light BDSM. This book is highly recommended to those who loved The Artists Trilogy series.

 

It is also important to note that I also loved the other supporting characters, Matt, Kat, Deck, Georgie, Crisis, Ream and Kite. I'd also like to know more about Kai and Raven.

 

I can't wait to read about Ream and Kat in Overwhelmed by You (Tear Asunder #2). I bet it is going to be so angst-y as I already felt it in this book.