Review: "Keeping Mr. Right Now" by Robin Bielman

A temporary agreement neither could keep… Brainy, organized Sophie Birch is no beach bunny. In fact, she’s totally out of her element among the sun-bronzed crowd at a film festival in beautiful White Strand Cove. When a surf lesson introduces her to Zane Hollander, suddenly she's up close and personal with the world's sexiest surf star. But what can a great-looking, experienced athlete possibly see in a klutzy out-of-towner who’s never set foot in the ocean? Zane Hollander's playboy reputation has never been a problem…until recently. Now his management team wants him on his best behavior to entice a meaningful new sponsor. Sophie Birch is the perfect girl to help reform his image. She's genuine and respected—and their relationship is purely fictional. But the more Sophie blooms under the beachy sun, the more Zane knows he'll just break her heart. Because nothing's more important to Zane than following the tide.

Super cute book! This is pretty much the perfect beach read - not too long, with a beautiful setting and an evenly paced plot, as well as some interesting characters.  I really enjoyed both Sophie and Zane, and the supporting characters were intriguing enough to warrant a look at the next books in the series.

Although I was able to identify with Sophie, being that she's a nerdy, inexperienced career girl, Zane is the character I really empathized with. I can't imagine what it would be like to grow up with such an emotionally abusive father. Even being at the top of the surfing world isn't enough to erase the scars that were inflicted during Zane's youth. He's doing a good job of trying to get past all that, with the support of his closest friends and remaining family, but when his dream sponsorship opportunity comes up, he still needs to work through his self esteem issues in order to become a real contender. His friends also believe that his image needs a bit of an overhaul, and that's where Sophie comes in.

I really enjoyed the development of Sophie and Zane's relationship.  It was a bit of a slow burn, but it was never boring and I was never left hoping that they would just jump each others' bones and put an end to that ever present sexual tension. Plus, the slow build up seemed to suit Sophie's somewhat shy personality. It was great to see Zane share things with her that he'd never shared with others, and I was satisfied to see Sophie becoming more confident and self assured as their week together progressed. 

If I were to change anything about "Keeping Mr. Right Now", it would probably be the ending. Things just seemed to work out a bit too quickly and neatly. All in all, though, I still thoroughly enjoyed this novel and would be happy to check out more by Robin Bielman.

My rating:  3.5 stars

Review: "We Are The Goldens" by Dana Reinhardt

Nell knows a secret about her perfect, beautiful sister Layla. If she tells, it could blow their world apart. When Nell and Layla were little, Nell used to call them Nellayla. Because to Nell, there was no difference between where she started and her adored big sister ended. They're a unit; divorce made them rely on each other early on, so when one pulls away, what is the other to do? But now, Nell's a freshman in high school and Layla is changing, secretive. And then Nell discovers why. Layla is involved with one of their teachers. And even though Nell tries to support Layla, to understand that she's happy and in love, Nell struggles with her true feelings: it's wrong, and she must do something about it.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

First off, I gotta say, I freakin' LOVE Felix de la Cruz!  He is the awesomest boy best friend ever!  Nell's relationship with him really had a positive impact on this story - it's probably what will stand out most in my memory of this book.

The rest of this novel is really good, too.  I enjoyed the San Francisco setting, the complex yet loving relationship Nell shared with Layla, and watching Nell navigate all the challenges of being a high school freshman.  Even though there's twenty plus years between myself and Nell, I could still totally relate to her.  In fact, one part of the story in particular resonated with me because I found myself in the exact same situation as Nell once upon a time.

I guess my one criticism of this book is that it tried to deal with a  wide variety of issues in such a  short span, and thus there were a lot of loose ends.  Although I don't always mind when things aren't tied up nice and tidy - it's more realistic that way, after all - in the case of "We Are The Goldens", I would have liked just a little bit more closure. 

My rating: 3.5 stars

Review: "On the Fence" by Kasie West

For sixteen-year-old Charlotte Reynolds, aka Charlie, being raised by a single dad and three older brothers has its perks. She can out-run, out-score, and outwit every boy she knows--including her long-time neighbor, and honorary fourth brother, Braden. But when it comes to being a girl, Charlie doesn't know the first thing about anything. So when she starts working at a chi-chi boutique to pay off a speeding ticket, she finds herself in a strange new world of makeup, lacy skirts, and bedazzlers. Even stranger, she's spending time with a boy who has never seen her tear it up in a pick-up game. To cope with the stress of faking her way through this new reality, Charlie seeks late night refuge in her backyard, talking out her problems with Braden by the fence that separates them. But their Fence Chats can't solve Charlie's biggest problem: she's falling for Braden. Hard. She knows what it means to go for the win, but if spilling her secret means losing him for good, the stakes just got too high.

My thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for allowing me to read and review an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

One of my top reads of the year!  This was my first Kasie West book and I absolutely loved it!

The characters were fantastic!  I honestly wasn't sure if I was going to like Charlie in the beginning because of how she acted, but I quickly came to adore her.  Braden was the perfect mix of friend and something more - I loved him!  And Charlie's brothers - also awesome!  I hereby vote for Gage to get his own book!

Of course, there was more to this book than just the fabulous characters.  The plot was perfectly paced - I was never bored or wanting to skim.  And I was really surprised at how deep things got at the end.  I definitely wasn't expecting that and maybe shed a tear or two!  It was also so much fun to see Charlie getting in touch with her more feminine side - definitely a few laugh out loud snorts from me!

So I've used 8 exclamation marks in this review so far, which normally I would think is too many, but in this case doesn't feel like nearly enough.  If you haven't got the gist of what I'm trying to say so far, then here it is in a nutshell - awesome book, go buy it and read it now! (!!!)

My rating: 4.5 stars

Review: "Shredded" by Tracy Wolff

In this intense and exhilarating New Adult series debut, a hotshot snowboarder and a vulnerable rebel with a cause try to let go of the past—and find a future in each other. Twenty-one-year-old professional snowboarder Z Michaels is the bad boy of Park City, Utah. He’s always had his pick of any girl in town—and on the competition circuit. But underneath his cool exterior is a young man in turmoil, trying to take the edge off tragedy by overindulging in sex and shredding the slopes. In fact, Z’s reckless behavior is a thinly veiled attempt to blunt his emotional suffering with physical pain. Ophelia Richardson isn’t like any girl Z has ever met. Though she’s from New Orleans high society, she’s no Southern belle—and she’s not shy about being miserable in frozen, godforsaken Park City. But laying low is her only option after her ex, a rich boy who couldn’t take no for an answer, nearly killed her in a jealous rage. Following that terrifying encounter, the last thing Ophelia needs is a boyfriend—especially one as rich and arrogant as Z. But Ophelia soon discovers that he isn’t what he seems. If anything, Z may be even more damaged than she is. Tormented by their pasts and feeling alone in the world, Z and Ophelia find a connection unlike any they’ve ever known. But with Ophelia hiding the details of her life in Louisiana and Z’s death wish reaching terrifying new heights, their relationship seems to be going downhill before it even begins—unless they can find the strength in each other to trust, grow, and love again.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group for allowing me to read and review an ARC of this book.

I quite enjoyed "Shredded"!  I liked all the characters, the steaminess, and the snowboarding.  One thing that was missing that I would have liked to see is an explanation for Z's name.  We get an explanation for Ophelia, but nothing on Z.  And I'm assuming with it being an American book by an American author that it's pronounced "Zee", but every now and then I'd find myself slip and call the guy "Zed".  Just a funny little aside!

Even though Z is a total dog, people can't help but like him.  He's got charisma out the ying yang!  Ophelia knows his reputation with women, and even though she has no reason to believe Z will be any different with her, she eventually succumbs to his charms.  Ophelia's no pushover, though - she fight Z pretty hard in the beginning, which is all part of the fun.  It's not just surface stuff with these two, though.  They're both dealing with some serious tragedies in their past, and this affects how they deal with each other.  

"Shredded" might sound like a "typical" New Adult romance, but I think what gives this book an edge in a genre flooded with mediocrity is the characters.  I was rooting for both Z and Ophelia the whole way through, and really hoped things would work out between them.  Being introduced to Z's friends added an interesting dynamic that I appreciated, too, and I can't wait to read more about them in future books.

My rating:  3.5 stars

"Real Book Challenge" Update - June 2014

I'm not sure where my head was at in May, but I forgot to do a "Real Book Challenge" post, so I'll just fill you in on those books here.  I managed to read two "real" books each month, and they were all great reads - totally recommended!  I am well within range of my goal of reading 24 "real" books this year, so I'm happy with my progress.

May's books:

And June's reads:

All awesome!!!!  If you're interested in reading any of these books, just click the picture to go to the Goodreads page!

Review: "Boys Like You" by Juliana Stone

One mistake. And everything changes. For Monroe Blackwell, one small mistake has torn her family apart –leaving her empty and broken. There’s a hole in her heart that nothing can fill. That no one can fill. And a summer in Louisiana with her Grandma isn’t going to change that… Nathan Everets knows heartache first-hand when a car accident leaves his best friend in a coma. And it’s his fault. He should be the one lying in the hospital. The one who will never play guitar again. He doesn’t deserve forgiveness, and a court-appointed job at the Blackwell B&B isn’t going to change that… Captivating and hopeful, this achingly poignant novel brings together two lost souls struggling with grief and guilt – looking for acceptance, so they can find forgiveness.

Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Fire for allowing me to read and review an ARC of this book.

"Boys Like You" is very much the story of Nathan and Monroe, but lest you think this is a typical girl-meets-boy kind of story, let me assure you that it's not.  The story is told in dual POV, and I liked both main characters equally.  Monroe's depression and Nate's guilt are written such that it's easy to empathize with both of them, and while we know right off the bat what Nate's issues are, we are kept in the dark in regards to Monroe's much longer.  The mystery behind Monroe's tragedy and the chemistry between Monroe and Nathan is what kept me cruising right through this book. 

There are also some side relationships explored here as well - Monroe and her grandmother, Nate and his ex, and then the very complicated relationship between Nate and the family of Tyler, the best friend who Nate put in a coma.  (I have to admit I shed a tear or two at one intense scene between Monroe and Tyler's dad!)  These interactions add to the overall depth of the book.  

This is a good read, but I can't help feeling like I wanted more.  More of what, I'm not sure.  Some more elaboration on Nate's musical talent would have been nice.  Although we're told that music is important to him, and we're told that he can't/doesn't want to  play because of how he put Tyler in the hospital, we're not really shown how this is true.  It almost seemed like football was just as important to him as music.  I also would have appreciated an ending that wasn't quite so neat and tidy.  But still, "Boys Like You" is worth a go if you're looking for a romantic YA contemporary read.  Perfect for summer!

My rating: 3.5 stars

Release Day Launch and Giveaway: "Harder" by Robin York

We are thrilled to bring you the Release Day Launch for Robin York's HARDER!! HARDER is a New Adult contemporary romance being published by Random House’s Bantam imprint and is the 2^nd novel in Robin York’s Caroline & West Series. This book, y'all.

  HARDERSynopsis: In Robin York’s provocative new novel, two young ex-lovers find themselves together again in the shadow of tragedy—and an intense, undeniable attraction.  Caroline still dreams about West. His warm skin, his taut muscles, his hand sliding down her stomach. Then she wakes up and she’s back to reality: West is gone. And before he left, he broke her heart. Then, out of the blue, West calls in crisis. A tragedy has hit his family—a family that’s already a fractured mess. Caroline knows what she has to do. Without discussion, without stopping to think, she’s on a plane, flying to his side to support him in any way he needs. They’re together again, but things are totally different. West looks edgy, angry at the world. Caroline doesn’t fit in. She should be back in Iowa, finalizing her civil suit against the ex-boyfriend who posted their explicit pictures on a revenge porn website. But here she is. Deeply into West, wrapped up in him, in love with him. Still. They fought the odds once. Losing each other was hard. But finding their way back to each other couldn’t be harder. 

   

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Advance praise for HARDER: “Bursting with chemistry, emotion, and heart, Caroline and West’s story will take your breath away!”—Katy Evans, New York Times bestselling author of the REAL series “Robin York writes exceptionally real characters in achingly real situations. Harder had a hold on my heart and didn’t let go until the very end.”—New York Times bestselling author Cora Carmack And don’t miss the first book in the Caroline & West Series….DEEPER!

Advance praise for DEEPER: “The perfect new adult story . . . West will make you swoon!”—New York Times bestselling author Monica Murphy “Beautifully written and full of swoony tender moments, toe-curling chemistry, and delicious, twisty angst . . . Stop whatever you’re doing and read this book.”—Christina Lauren, author of the Beautiful Bastard series   Excerpt: When West’s ringtone starts playing in my darkened bedroom, it slips into my subconscious, and I have one of those last-second-before-you-wake-up dreams that’s pure sensation—his skin warm against me everywhere, his weight and smell, the muscles in his thighs against the backs of mine, his hand sliding down my stomach. All of that, slow and melting and West, until the song finally manages to pierce through the haze of my sleep and pinch me awake. I fight my way from under the sheet, turned on and pissed off because I know how this goes. The rock in my stomach, the day ahead during which I’ll try and fail to shake that flood of sense-memory. I’m going to have to live through it, and then I’m going to lose it, every good memory I have of West, again, when what I want is to drop back into that dream and live there instead. It sucks. It sucks, and I’m so distracted by the suckage that I’m picking up the phone and swiping at the screen with my thumb before I completely register what’s going on. West’s ringtone. West is calling me. West is calling me at one a.m. when I haven’t heard from him in two and a half months. If he’s drunk-dialing me, I’m going to fly to Oregon and kick him in the nuts. That’s what I’m thinking when I put the phone to my ear—but it’s not how I feel. I wish it were. I wish I could say Hello?and hear West say Hey, and not feel . . . I don’t even know. Plugged in. Lit up. Juiced. I stand in my dark bedroom, aware in every centimeter of my skin that he’s breathing on the other end of the phone, somewhere on the far side of the country. I have too many memories that start this way. Too many conversations where I told myself I wouldn’t and then I did. I have this enormous burden of longing and pain, so heavy I can hear it in my voice when I snap, “What do you want?” “My dad’s dead.” My head clears in an instant, my attention sharpening to a point. “He got shot,” West says, “and it’s . . . it’s a fucking mess, Caro. I know this is—I shouldn’t ask you. I can’t ask you, but I just need to tell you because I can’t fucking—” A crackling whooshing noise interrupts him, the kind of interference that fills your whole head with white sound. I just stand there, waiting for his voice to come back. I’m pushing the phone so hard against my ear, my breath coming shallow and fast, aware with the kind of clarity I’ve only found in moments of crisis that it doesn’t even matter. Whatever he says next. It doesn’t matter. The thing I never understood before West was that there are some people who, when it comes to them, reason and logic are never going to be in charge. He left me. He hurt me. But I stand there in the dark, holding the phone, and I know that in a few hours I’ll be on a plane.     Robin York Bio: Robin York grew up at a college, went to college, signed on for some more college, and then married a university professor. She still isn’t sure why it didn’t occur to her to write New Adult sooner. Writing asRuthie Knox, she is a USA TODAY bestselling author of contemporary romance, including RITA-finalistsAbout Last Night and Room at the Inn. She moonlights as a mother, makes killer salted caramels, and sorts out thorny plot problems while running, hiking, or riding her bike.        

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