Review: Ashes to Ashes by Jenny Han & Siobhan Vivian

Ashes to Ashes by Jenny Han & Siobhan Vivan
Publisher: Simon & Schuster's Children's Publishing
Publication Date: September 16th 2014
My rating: 4 stars

 

What have I just read? Seriously Burn for Burn was a brilliant start to this wonderful series and Fire for Fire just made me so happy, but also ripped me to shreds. With Ashes to Ashes I just wanted to hug the book but also throw it across the other room. Basically the same feelings I had a year ago were dredged up once more.

It was great being back with my favourite characters once more, yes their lives had been thoroughly shook up since the last book and I wanted to know how everyone had been coping with it. Of course things had gone downhill way than I’d expected, I don’t want to discuss spoilers, but if you’re a fan of this series you’ll know what I’m referring to within the first four chapters. Honestly it broke my heart, I knew that the only way a lot of the characters would get through this would be in the comfort of each other, and that’s what I wanted, I wanted them to go back to the way things were before. But I knew that would never happen, especially with one character stirring everything up, I disliked this character in previous books, I didn’t really want to spend time with her chapters either and it was the same again this time around, but this time she either just had me in full on vex mode or with my heart in my throat.  Honestly I think this person would be scariest person to be around Halloween, I would never like to cross paths with her, I know that she had been through her fair share, but if everyone else was moving on why did she have to come and wreck everything? I think she would need to listen to the frozen song Let it Go a few times. Along with this character I only had one other irk (highlight to view spoiler) the ending, seriously Han and Vivian, I had never wanted a happy ending in my life that I had for these characters, I wanted Kat to go to Oberlin, Alex to find his special one, maybe Kat? And Reeve and Lil to be together, did you see how much build up you gave me in this book, but only to crush my heart in the process, I thought with things being sorted with Mary, everyone would be fine, but that ending just about destroyed me. Okay let’s just pretend that didn’t happen, I’ve actually already suppressed it. Moving on there were some delightful moments that brightened up the crushing heart moments, scenes which left me with a dopey grin on my face and left me re-reading some scenes over and over again.

Han and Vivian did a wonderful job with this book, in fact this entire series never has one of these books let me down, they were the sole destroying, punch in the heart,  butterfly creating books that I have come to love and hold close to my heart. You’re probably asking Jasprit are you feeling alright?  But honestly books which evoke this many strong emotions are my go to books as they’re the ones that end up leaving a great mark on me amongst the 100 or so books I read a year, they’re the ones which have characters which you wished existed in real life and whom you’re actually tearing up about having saying goodbye to, the ones that anyone touches a hair on their head, you would like to go into a hulk smash mode for. This series was one that tore and sewn my heart back together multiple times, but it’s a series that I have no regrets over reading. Any books that Han and Vivian write in the future (can we have more collaborations please?) I know I will be pre-ordering immediately!

Cover Reveal: Becoming Rain (Burying Water #2) by K.A. Tucker

I'm excited to be part of the Cover Reveal for Becoming Rain by K.A. Tucker because I LOVED Burying Water (my review) I can't wait to get my hands on this installment because the synopsis sounds amazing! Here you go:

 

Becoming Rain (Burying Water #2) by K.A. Tucker

Expected Publication Date: March 3rd 2015

Publisher: Atria Books

Luke Boone doesn't know exactly what his uncle Rust is involved in but he wants in on it-the cars, the money, the women. And it looks like he's finally getting his wish. When Rust hands him the managerial keys to the garage, they come with a second set-one that opens up the door to tons of cash and opportunity. Though it's not exactly legal, Luke's never been one to worry about that sort of thing. Especially when it puts him behind the wheel of a Porsche 911 and onto the radar of gorgeous socialite named Rain.

Clara Bertelli is at the top of her game-at only twenty-six years old, she's one of the most successful undercover officers in the Washington D.C. major crime unit, and she's just been handed a case that could catapult her career and expose one of the west coast's most notorious car theft rings. But, in order to do it, she'll need to go deep undercover as Rain Martines. Her target? The twenty-four-year old nephew of a key player who appears ready to follow in his uncle's footsteps.


As Clara drifts deeper into the luxurious lifestyle of Rain, and further into the arms of her very attractive and charming target, the lines between right and wrong start to blur, making her wonder if she'll be able to leave it all behind. Or if she'll even want to.

US Purchase Links:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-a-Million | Indibound | Apple | Blio | Google

UK Purchase Links:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Apple | Google | Waterstones | Foyles

Burying Water (Burying Water #1) by K.A. Tucker:

  

The top-selling, beloved indie author of Ten Tiny Breaths returns with a new romance about a young woman who loses her memory—and the man who knows that the only way to protect her is to stay away.

Left for dead in the fields of rural Oregon, a young woman defies all odds and survives—but she awakens with no idea who she is, or what happened to her. Refusing to answer to “Jane Doe” for another day, the woman renames herself “Water” for the tiny, hidden marking on her body—the only clue to her past. Taken in by old Ginny Fitzgerald, a crotchety but kind lady living on a nearby horse farm, Water slowly begins building a new life. But as she attempts to piece together the fleeting slivers of her memory, more questions emerge: Who is the next-door neighbor, quietly toiling under the hood of his Barracuda? Why won’t Ginny let him step foot on her property? And why does Water feel she recognizes him?

Twenty-four-year-old Jesse Welles doesn’t know how long it will be before Water gets her memory back. For her sake, Jesse hopes the answer is never. He knows that she’ll stay so much safer—and happier—that way. And that’s why, as hard as it is, he needs to keep his distance. Because getting too close could flood her with realities better left buried.

The trouble is, water always seems to find its way to the surface.

 

Purchase Links:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Kobo | IndieBound

About K.A. Tucker:

Born in small-town Ontario, Kathleen published her first book at the age of six with the help of her elementary school librarian and a box of crayons. She is a voracious reader and the farthest thing from a genre-snob, loving everything from High Fantasy to Chick Lit. Kathleen currently resides in a quaint small town outside of Toronto with her husband, two beautiful girls, and an exhausting brood of four-legged creatures.

Connect with  K.A. Tucker:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Novel Goodreads | Author Goodreads | YouTube | Pinterest | Instagram

 

 

Blog Tour: The Extraordinary Life of Lara Craft by Lola Salt

Hi everyone today I get to share my review of The Extraordinary Life of Lara Craft by Lola Salt as part of the Xpresso Book Tours blog tour. This book was one of my highly anticipated reads as soon as I'd discovered that this book was co-authored by none other than Sarah Alderson and Becky Wicks. Before I share my review of this fun book with you here's a bit about it. 

Publication Date: October 7th 2014

From bestselling authors Becky Wicks (Before He Was Famous, Before He Was Gone) and Sarah Alderson (Hunting Lila, Fated, Come Back to Me) comes a new romance with a difference... After losing her job and her boyfriend on the same day, Lara's beginning to wonder if her life can possibly get any worse. Then along comes Jamie, a childhood friend, offering her a job delivering mysterious packages to random destinations around the world. Suddenly, things are looking up. Lara packs her bags and sets off on an epic adventure, meeting billionaire Arabic Princes in Dubai, rugged cowboys in Australia, a sparkling wannabe vampire in LA, a love guru with sex on the brain in Bali and Angelina Jolie's bodyguards in a hostage situation that can only be resolved with some very special eggs. But though trouble always seems to find Lara, it seems love is rather more elusive. Pack your bags. The adventure's about to begin!

Sarah Alderson has been a fantastic author in the last two years to me, she’d been able to deliver fantastic novels full with swoon and fast paced scenes and even try out the NA genre and give us another successful novel. So when I heard about her New Adult collaboration with Becky Wicks I was extremely excited to give this book a go.

Our MC Lara really has been having a tough time she’s lost her boyfriend and job in one day and is barely scraping by on money. It’s a depressing time as she doesn’t want to turn to her best friend or parents for a handout, she’d had a lot of fun these past few years, being part of the circus is not something she expected to fall into, but now with her mum pestering her about setting her up on a date with some bloke Jamie who she knew when she was younger, Lara decides to go for it, what else has she got to lose? Lara had already assumed her date with Jamie to be a flop, so I’m glad that things were turned entirely on their head. I won’t give too much away about Jamie, but if you’ve read Sarah’s previous novels, then you kind of know what to expect with her male love interests. Jamie was also the sweetest guy ever, it was obvious that he held a torch for Lara, my only complaint was that I wished that Jamie had been a little open from the beginning and that things didn’t have to end the way that they did. But I suppose that if they hadn’t done then we wouldn’t have been able to go on this weird and wonderful adventure with Lara in the first place. Jamie gets Lara this gig where she’ll be taking packages from one country to the next, she’ll never know what she’s taking each time, or who’ll she encounter on the way, but travelling to all these wonderful countries, who would say no to this wonderful opportunity?

Some readers may have got annoyed with Lara and the situations she found herself in, you could say that Lara just attracted trouble. Some of the escapades she found herself in were unbelievable at times, at times I did want to throttle her, as something bad would always crop up when the best thing for her (highlight to view spoiler) Jamie was around and then there were all those things which were mis-communicated wrong in the first place  (highlight to view spoiler) Jamie and her best friend being together, even I didn’t want this to be the case .Overall however Lara brought a lot of laugh out loud moments, she was a quirky character who could talk herself into trouble one minute, but always manage to find a way out. And I thoroughly enjoyed the whirlwind of fun we were able to experience with her on this epic adventure. The Extraordinary Life of Lara Craft was a very out there and fun read from Sarah Alderson and Becky Wicks, but one I’m grateful for giving a try!

AUTHOR BIO: Lola Salt is the pen name for two bestselling authors: Sarah Alderson & Becky Wicks. Becky has written several non-fiction travel diaries for Harper Collins; Burqualicious, Balilicious & Latinalicious, and the new adult Starstruck Series featuring Before He Was Famous, Before He Was Gone and Before He Was a Secret. Sarah is better known for her Young Adult novels, particularly the critically acclaimed Hunting Lila series (published by Simon & Schuster), as well as the Fated series. She also wrote the new adult romance Come Back To Me under another pen name of Mila Gray. The two authors met in Bali. Come visit us sometime and we’ll buy you a coconut.

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Mini Review & Giveaway: Make You Remember by Macy Beckett

Make You Remeber (Dumont Bachelors #2) by Macy Beckett
Publisher: Signet
Publication date: November 4th 2014
My rating: 3.5  stars 
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository

 

 He's about to make his own luck.

Ten years ago, Beau Dumont made the biggest mistake of his life by letting his high school sweetheart, Devyn Mauvais, slip through his fingers. Now the reformed bad boy will stop at nothing to get her back. Even if it means tricking her into taking a job on his family's riverboat, The Belle of the Bayou.

When Devyn's old flame offers her a stint at the boat's day care center, she sees it as a chance to prove she isn’t just the descendant of Louisiana's most infamous voodoo queen. Besides, it beats leading ghost tours around New Orleans. Yet when it comes to Beau, Devyn's all business. She won't give the sweet-talking playboy another chance to break her heart.

But there's no escaping temptation in such close quarters, and Beau won't be satisfied with a few hot nights with the girl he's always loved. As he strives to make Devyn remember the good times, will his passion and heart be enough to regain her trust?

My Thoughts:

Make You Remember was a sweet second chance romance with a sprinkling of paranormal, and the fun setting of a riverboat!

Devyn and Beau were high school sweethearts in an all-consuming love until Beau got cold feet, ran out on Devyn and joined the military.  She didn’t find out where he was until a couple of weeks after he left and even then it was only a six-word note: “Sorry, Dev, I joined the Marines.”

Ten years later Beau is back in town and wants a second chance with Devyn.  He regretted leaving almost immediately and has never forgotten Devyn.  He’s never had feelings for any other woman come close to what he felt and still feels for her.

I could understand Devyn’s hostility and reluctance to let Beau Dumont back into her heart. After all, the Dumont men had a horrible reputation with women dating…for decades. In fact, part of this story centers on the curse that Devyn’s great-great-grandmother cast onto Beau’s great-great-grandfather after he ditched her at the altar.  Only one Dumont man has been able to break the curse and it was not easy.  So Beau definitely has his work cut out for him.

On the other hand, I have to say that Beau was only a teenager when he skipped out on Devyn and who could blame someone so young for having a panic over the thought of permanence? In any case, Beau was very sorry and demonstrated that time and time again.  Devyn was slow coming around, but in the meantime they had some steamy hot encounters, and got to know each other more deeply than they did as teenagers.   Gradually Devyn began to trust Beau again, and it was obvious these two would eventually work things out.

This was a fun romance with a sweet ending.  Can’t wait to read Ella-Claire and Alex’s romance next!

 

Connect with Macy Beckett:

Website | Goodreads | Twitter | Facebook 

The publisher has generously provided a Paperback copy of Make You Remember by Macy Beckett to one Readers Den follower. US Residents only. Entrant must be 18 years or older. Simply fill out a the rafflecopter for a change to win.

Review: Famous in Love by Rebecca Serle

Famous in Love by Rebecca Serle
Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books
Publication Date: October 23rd 2014
My rating: 2 stars

She fell in love with him in the books - now she has the chance to star opposite him in the film . . . Paige doesn't think she's particularly special, but after getting the starring role in a massive film adaptation of the bestselling Locked trilogy, the rest of the world would disagree. Now she's thrown into the spotlight, and into a world of gossip, rumour and deceit. The only people who know what she's going through are her two male co-stars, and they can't stand the sight of each other. Paige knows it's a mistake to fall in love on the set of a movie, but days of on-screen romance and intensity start to change her mind. The question is, can she keep what happens behind the scenes a secret when the world is watching her every move?

Imagine finally getting your chance to shine, after little bit parts, getting that massive role which will thrust you in the limelight. This is what happens to Paige, she ends up auditioning for one of the roles for a book to movie adaption and ends up getting the part. She’s whisked off immediately to Hawaii to start filming, leaving behind her family and best friends and gets to work on set with heart throb actor Rainer. Rainer has been an actor from a young age, so he knows what’s it like, how to deal with fans and having paparazzi constantly buzzing around you, misinterpreting images of you. This is Paige’s first big chance, so she’s not had to deal with this before, but Paige was great, she wasn’t one of those people who let the limelight immediately go to her head. She actually struggled to become the actress that everyone wanted her to be, she felt isolated from everyone else, her best friends were back home doing who knows what and she didn’t really have the confidence in herself, she didn’t realise the reason she was cast was because she was that good.

When it came to the potential love interest I really didn’t know what to think, even though he seemed genuinely nice, I didn’t feel that his feelings for Paige were truly genuine. One minute he would be mucking around with Paige and the next he’d be sharing deep feelings for her. Don’t get me wrong, he was really a nice character, but probably not my favourite character. Then there was the other potential love interest, who I actually was really intrigued about, he wasn’t the big actor everyone loved, but he really kept himself to himself, when he did open up, I was kind of left wanting to know more about him, he was at times down to earth and quite humble, despite this whole different story being created about him. Also when he was around Paige I could feel the tension between them, and the desire they felt for one another that could take them who knows where if they would act upon these feelings!

The love triangle could be tiresome at times, especially when these three characters were together, it did at times bring out the obnoxious side to some characters and so the reason I much preferred it when two characters were together instead. Also I was actually really interested in whole making the movie storyline, I liked learning about everything that went into making a movie in the first place, how it wasn’t as easy as everyone assumed, seeing  photo shoots take place, how lovely it could be away on set. And I even wanted to know what would happen to the characters in the book that made this book to movie adaption happen in the first place (the book series the movie had been was a roaring success, it featured a love triangle, and fans would finally find out, who the character would end up choosing in the final book) but details like these were skipped upon and a love triangle ended up happening on set too!

Serle is certainly one talented author, this story was written beautifully and that is one of the main reasons I ended up reading until the very last page. Famous in Love was not one of my favourite reads maybe because I was expecting a lot more, but ended up being bothered by a few frustrating decisions or actions that some characters made. However I’m still willing to give Serle’s books another go, here’s hoping I’ll end up enjoying them even more.