Sunday, April 26, 2015

5 STAR #REVIEW & #GIVEAWAY: LoveLines by @swaldenauthor

LoveLines by S. Walden

Description:


"That’s how I constantly felt, that I lacked the abilities others had to function normally."

Thirty-one-year-old proofreader Bailey Mitchell is a slave to her tics. She inherited Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder from her father, and it’s done nothing but inhibit her love life. She’s run the gamut of boyfriends—none of them willing or able to cope with her condition.
When she meets 32-year-old Reece Powell, her new coworker at Beach Elite Marketing Firm, everything changes. He falls in love with Bailey just as she is—quirks and all—and she, in turn, opens her life to him. His love seems to change her—to help her better manage her OCD. But when tragedy strikes, she is consumed by the destructive nature of her condition. Reece sees the ugly side, and he’s left with a choice: stay or run.


Review:
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

From the cover to the content to the characters, LOVELINES was the perfect combination of a sweet and sometimes heartbreaking romance. I laughed, cried, and fell in love with Reece, Bailey, and their journey.

Bailey has been dealing with her OCD since childhood. Not the cutesy eccentric habits kind of OCD, but real and true diagnosed OCD. Her life is ruled by schedules, counting, and routines. When she meets Reece, he helps her fight some of those tics, but she knows one day it will all blow up in her face. She’s had too many failed relationships when the guy couldn’t deal with her neuroses to believe there’s any alternative.

Reece is the perfect hero. He is just imperfect enough to be believable and yet perfect enough to be swoon-worthy. He makes mistakes, but at the end of the day he truly loves Bailey, tics and all. In fact, he thinks all the things that drive everyone else crazy about Bailey are cute. He wouldn’t even attempt to help her improve if he didn’t know it was the right thing to do. He’s lived a life full of broken promises but he’s determined that his relationship with Bailey will be his first to break the mold.

When the inevitable happens and tragedy strikes, Bailey finds herself drowning in her disorder. She is determined not to bring Reece down with her, even if it breaks her heart in the process.

There truly wasn’t one thing I would change about LOVELINES. Bailey was flawed and insecure and yet she had a heart of gold and a desire to live and to love. Reece was this broken, amazing man who I just wanted to wrap up and cuddle. He was so patient with Bailey and yet he loved her so passionately that he could lash out in a fit of emotions and pain. He didn’t always handle her OCD the way he should, but who would? Nobody is perfect and that’s what I loved about LOVELINES. It embraces the imperfections in humans and makes us fall in love with them anyway. It was told in a very unique perspective, alternating between a first-person narrative whenever Bailey was narrating but switching to third-person when told from Reece’s point-of-view. While I’m usually very picky about perspectives and it can be a deal breaker for me, I thought the way S. Walden wrote it worked. It made me pause a few times, but it didn’t remove me from the story or break up the flow.

Anyone who reads LOVELINES will get sucked into the storyline and the romance. I couldn’t get enough and I’m excited to read the other books in the series. It promises to be an interesting series, each involving different characters, and S. Walden promises to be an author to watch out for. If the three books I’ve read by her are any indication, she is here to stay and to make a name for herself. I’m just excited to get to experience her magic as it happens.

**Haha – guess what?!? After writing my review, I realized there had been an update—to the cover and to the series. It’s no longer a series though there will be a separate, stand-alone book that S. Walden intends to write at a later date. Apparently the original cover (which I loved because it so perfectly embodied Beboppin’ Bailey and Reece and who they were as a couple) didn’t translate to the author’s image as a writer of tough, taboo topics. I started reading S. Walden for her taboo subject matter and so in hindsight, I can see why the new cover will better translate to her target audience. It’s more like a cover I would pick up if I weren’t familiar with the author. As I am familiar with S. Walden, however, I will pick up her books regardless of the cover.

**Complimentary copy provided by the author/publisher for an honest review.

**Reviewed by preppea on I ♥ Bookie Nookie Reviews.

Enter to Win! 

• LoveLines Signed Paperback

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the Author:

S. Walden used to teach English before making the best decision of her life by becoming a full-time writer. She lives in Georgia with her very supportive husband who prefers physics textbooks over fiction and has a difficult time understanding why her characters must have personality flaws. She is wary of small children, so she has a Westie instead. Her dreams include raising chickens and owning and operating a beachside inn on the Gulf Coast (chickens included). When she's not writing, she's thinking about it.

She loves her fans and loves to hear from them. Email her at swaldenauthor@hotmail.com and follow her blog at http://swaldenauthor.blogspot.com where you can get up-to-date information on her current projects.

Social Links:  
Website  Blog  Facebook  Twitter  Goodreads

Buy Links:

Amazon B&N  Smashwords  

Friday, April 24, 2015

5 STAR #Review: This is Falling by @TheGingerScott

This is Falling by Ginger Scott
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

THIS IS FALLING. And I just fell something awful for this heartrending and heartwarming story of tragedy, growth, and love.

Rowe has been in hiding for the last two years after a terrible incident left her scarred and hurting. Trauma from the incident leaves her in a constant battle to face her fears or remain in stasis indefinitely. Starting college is Rowe’s attempt to move on but she’s terrified of letting go of those she once valued the most. When Rowe meets Nate, he represents all she could gain by moving forward but also forces her to choose between her past and her future.

From the first page to the last, Ginger Scott had me captivated. Rowe’s internal battles were so real and raw and brought tears to my eyes more than once. Nate’s steadfastness and patience were such an amazing turn on—he couldn’t have been a better hero for this story. Rowe and Nate’s relationship was funny, sweet, and moved at just the right pace. From their first bouts of jealousy to the moment they had to decide if they could really be together, it was an amazing love story.

THIS IS FALLING was the kind of story I couldn’t get enough of and couldn’t put down. It reminded me of everything I liked about Ginger Scott’s writing in WAITING ON THE SIDELINES and GOING LONG and magnified my expectations for all future novels by her. I’m moving right into YOU AND EVERYTHING AFTER in the hopes of continuing on this book high.

**Complimentary copy provided by the author/publisher for an honest review.

**Reviewed by preppea on I ♥ Bookie Nookie Reviews.

View all my reviews

BUY IT NOW! - Amazon

Thursday, April 23, 2015

4 STAR #Review: Burned by @KarenMMoning

Burned by Karen Marie Moning
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Blissful frustration is how I’d describe my state of mind after finishing BURNED. Blissful because every moment of Karen Marie Moning’s Fae world is epic and amazing and I can never get enough. Frustrated because I feel like I just went in a 360 degree turn. I’m basically at the exact same point as when I started BURNED. Did I learn a lot? Sure. Do I know more about Dani and the Nine? Absolutely. But basically it all just set the stage for what promises to be an amazing book #8. Dani is where she needs to be, which trust me, I needed, but I didn’t get any instant gratification and knowing it will be at least a year before I get to read FEVERBORN frustrates me to no end because I want it NOW!!!

BURNED starts off a little choppy because there are multiple perspectives, some from characters we don’t even know. Finally Mac takes over and finishes out the second half of the book while still exploring Dani, Ryodan, and even Barrons’ characters. It was interesting because even though the second half of the book was from Mac’s perspective, it really seemed to be from an objective point of view because it was clear the point was to further explore the other characters’ personalities, not Mac’s. In fact, I never felt as close to Mac in BURNED as I did in her five Fever books, almost as if I didn’t know her like I thought I did.

I’m eager to finally get to the meat of Dani and Ryodan in FEVERBORN. In fact, I’m so anxious I can hardly stand it. I will once again be on pins and needles waiting to see what Ms. Moning writes. Even though BURNED was equal parts wonderful and exasperating, I’m still amazed at the creativity and depth in this series. I can’t think of another series that is so involved and so well-developed. I’m blown away by Karen Marie Moning’s talent and in heady anticipation of her next book!

**Reviewed by preppea on I ♥ Bookie Nookie Reviews.

View all my reviews

BUY IT NOW! - Amazon

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

4 STAR #Review: Reviving Izabel by @JRedmerski

Reviving Izabel by J.A. Redmerski
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Sarai, aka Izabel, returns with a thirst for vengeance in REVIVING IZABEL.

Victor may have left Sarai so she could live a normal life, but Sarai has her own plans and they don’t involve anything resembling ordinary. She sets off under the pretense of a vacation with her best friend and boyfriend only to sneak back into Hamburg’s restaurant. Before long, she’s in over her head and in need of a hero. Victor is forced to face the fact that Sarai won’t be able to lead a simple life whether he’s a part of it or not. He agrees to help train her so that she’s equipped with the proper tools to become an assassin by her own right.

REVIVING IZABEL is an adventurous story of rogue assassins leaving a trail of bodies in their wake as they complete missions and determine who they can trust. The story is exciting, fast-paced, and never had a dull moment. For such a good tale, I had to give the story 4 stars. But the missing star was because Victor and Sarai’s love story took a backseat to their missions. In KILLING SARAI, I’d been sucked in by Sarai and Victor’s chemistry. Victor was such an unlikely hero but that was precisely why I couldn’t get enough of him. In REVIVING IZABEL, I felt like Victor and Sarai were a lot harder to get a read on. They didn’t seem as fleshed out or fully dimensional and I missed the couple I’d fallen in love with.

The concept behind the IN THE COMPANY OF KILLERS series is a great one and I’m excited for Fredrik’s story, THE SWAN & THE JACKAL. I have no idea how Ms. Redmerski will spin Fredrik but I can’t wait to find out.

**Reviewed by preppea on I ♥ Bookie Nookie Reviews.

View all my reviews

BUY IT NOW! - Amazon