Review: All For You by Laura Florand

All For You (Paris Hearts #1) by Laura Florand
Publication date: May 5th 2015
My rating:  4 stars 
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Some crushes aren’t meant to be

When her older brother’s best friend left to join the Foreign Legion, eighteen-year-old Célie moved on to make a life for herself as a Paris chocolatier. Now, five years later, the last thing she needs is another man to mess up her happiness.

Let alone the same man.

But five years in the Foreign Legion is a long time for a man to grow up, and a long time to be away from the woman he loves.

Especially when he did it all for her.

Half strangers, more than friends, and maybe, if Joss Castel has his way, a second chance…

My Thoughts:

When Célie and Joss were teenagers Célie feel in love with him, but he seemed to only look at her as his best friend’s little sister, someone to look out for.  But they became close, the brightest part of each other’s day, and just when Célie thought Joss’ feelings had changed to something romantic he left without a word, and joined the Foreign Legion gutting Célie’s heart in the process.   

Now five years later, Joss has shown up again in Célie’s life, proclaiming that he went away to become a better man all for her, and Célie is livid and just about every other emotion in the book because, hello!! FIVE years without a word!

It was all she could do not to just climb into his lap, bury her head in his chest and hold on tight. Why did you leave me, you bastard? Oh, thank God you’re home.

Joss was in love with Célie, too, back when they were teenagers, but what kind of life could he offer Célie, the brilliant, best thing in his life when he just lost his job?

“Celie.” He closed his eyes a moment. “The way you look at me.” –He opened his eyes, holding hers with that beautiful, beautiful hazel green. “Célie. You know I’m just a man, right?”—“Made of clay,” Joss said, his mouth turning down. “I’m not good enough for the way you look at me.”

Célie thought they could escape the poverty ridden neighborhood they grew up in and become something better, together.

Both Célie and Joss have a lot of conflicting emotions to work through: confusion, anger, hurt, but also longing, passion, and love.  Laura Florand brilliantly captures their powerful emotions, and makes you feel them profoundly.  I did appreciate the dollop of humor, and sexy banter she added to lighten things up every once in a while, too:

He smiled. “Kiss me or kill me, sweetheart? Which one do you want?”

So she kissed him because…well, he really was that infuriating. A woman had to do something. Killing him out here in public like this would get her arrested.

I was thrilled that Célie didn’t want to kill Joss all the time and that all those pent up feelings of longing on both sides could finally be explored and satisfied, and let me tell you it was utterly HOT!

Laura Florand once again worked her writing magic and created an emotional, sexy and fun romance! Be prepared to swoon and sigh while reading!  Loved the extra time with Dominque and Jaime, too! They were beyond adorable together. 

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Laura Florand burst on the contemporary romance scene in 2012 with her award-winning Amour et Chocolat series. Her books have appeared in ten languages, been named among the Best Books of the Year by Romantic Times and Barnes & Noble, received the RT Seal of Excellence and starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, and Booklist, and been recommended by NPR, USA Today, and The Wall Street Journal, among others.

After a Fulbright year in Tahiti and backpacking everywhere from New Zealand to Greece, and several years living in Madrid and Paris, Laura now teaches Romance Studies at Duke University. Contrary to popular opinion, this means she primarily teaches French language and culture and does a great deal of research on French gastronomy, particularly chocolate. For more information, please see her website:

www.lauraflorand.com.   

Connect with Laura Florand:

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Blog Tour: Hold Me Like a Breath by Tiffany Schmidt

Hi all, today for the Hold me Like a Breath by Tiffany Schmidt blog tour hosted by The Fantastic Flying Book Club, I get to share an excerpt from this story with you. But first here's a little about the book.

Publisher: Bloomsbury
Publication Date: May 19th 2015. 

Penelope Landlow has grown up with the knowledge that almost anything can be bought or sold—including body parts. She’s the daughter of one of the three crime families that control the black market for organ transplants. Penelope’s surrounded by all the suffocating privilege and protection her family can provide, but they can't protect her from the autoimmune disorder that causes her to bruise so easily. And in her family's line of work no one can be safe forever. All Penelope has ever wanted is freedom and independence. But when she’s caught in the crossfire as rival families scramble for prominence, she learns that her wishes come with casualties, that betrayal hurts worse than bruises, that love is a risk worth taking . . . and maybe she’s not as fragile as everyone thinks.

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Excerpt

“You know, if I were a regular girl, a guy walking me to my door at the end of the night would be a date”.

Garrett raised one reddish eyebrow in a look that made my pulse jump. “Oh yeah?”

I let him enter first, his gray-green eyes scanning all corners of the rooms that lit up automatically as we passed through. I liked the estate best late at night. There were still security at the gate and patrolling, but there weren’t family members and staff around every rounded corner. This was the only time of day it felt more like a house and less like the headquarters of business.

In the foyer I paused beneath the chandelier whose crystals seemed to drip down and form the abstract sculpture displayed on the round marble table placed halfway between the two curved staircases that led up to the second floor.

I put one hand on my hip and pointed a finger at him, at the muscles visible through the navy cotton of his shirt.

“Though he’d take me on a more romantic evening, than the clandestine parking lot shadiness and a rat-infested apartment”.

“Don’t let Carter hear you call his place rat-infested and don’t forget the dinner- that was good pizza”.

Garrett followed me up to the left branch of the stairs. His hand on the railing right beside mine, his breath was in my ear. I stopped at the top and turned to face him-our eyes, our noses, mouths were almost level from my vantage point two steps above him.

“On my date, we’d eat dinner off real plates, not ones made of paper”

Garrett’s smile changed from amusement to something warmer, something that touched his eyes and made him look younger, less intense-more like the boy I’d grown up crushing on than the duty-focused man who’d come home from college with a gun.

“And would you let this guy kiss you at your door?” He stepped around me and into the hallway that led to my bedroom.

“That’s for me to know.”

I dropped my voice so it wouldn’t carry down the opposite hallway toward the light that crept out from under my parent’s bedroom door. My heart was pounding so loud, I had a hard time believing they couldn’t hear its drumbeat.

Though maybe they could, because the door cracked open and mother stepped out, all regal elegance with her hair down and curling around the shoulders of her satin robe. I froze where I was, half in her hallway, half in my own.

“How was your night, sweet pea? How are you?” “Fun. Great.”

With my bruised hand behind my back, I made a stay put gesture to Garrett. He was close. So close I could feel his body heat and all I wanted to do was lean into it.

“Thanks for letting me go, but can we talk in the morning?” I yawned.

“Of course. Get some rest.” “You too.”

Before her door was even completely shut, I was turning to Garrett hoping the interruption hadn’t killed the flirtation and energy of the moments before. He was waiting eyes on me with an intensity that made me need to fill the silence.

“Where were we? Oh, right. I was knowing things.”

I could feel my cheeks warming with blushes, but I still added, “Kissing things.”

“And I was going to ask if I could find them out.” Garrett whispered, his voice deep. “May I?”

“That depends.” I continued down the hallway to my bedroom. He followed.

“Not if you’re going to treat me like I’m not old or smart enough to make my own decisions.”

“You can’t ask me not to care about you. I’m always going to want to keep you safe.”  He reached for my doorknob, and for a moment he was all stiffness and attention as he pushed it open and scanned my room. It was a moment I needed. To catch my breath. To convince myself that this was reality and not a fairytale fantasy. He turned away from my room and looked at me in a way that he never had before. This was not the look he’d given me when he’d lost a bet at eleven and Carter had told him to kiss me as punishment. It was a gaze of fire and flames and like he wanted to devour me whole- and something else too... fear? Like maybe he was as nervous as I was. It was a combination so intimidating and thrilling that even I edged closer and tilted my chin up, I couldn’t help but use my least favourite word.

“You’ll be careful? My counts are good, so you can touch me, just be gentle.”

“I’d never hurt you princess”. His voice was low, vibrating with emotion, and his hands were in my hair, the tips of his fingers barely skimming my skin. He leaned down-

“Pen? You still up?” Carter’s footsteps padded up the patterned carpet of the stairs, smashing the moment before it’d truly begun. Garrett let go of my hair and stepped backward, but not fast enough . Or maybe too fast. Maybe the sight of Garrett and I framed in the doorway to my bedroom wouldn’t have tipped off Carter if we hadn’t been so frantic to put space between our bodies.

“No” he growled. 

Review: Something Real by Heather Demetrios

Something Real by Heather Demetrios
Publisher: Henry Holt BYR
Publication Date:February 4th 2014
My rating: 4 stars. 

There’s nothing real about reality TV. Seventeen-year-old Bonnie™ Baker has grown up on TV—she and her twelve siblings are the stars of one-time hit reality show Baker’s Dozen. Since the show’s cancellation and the scandal surrounding it, Bonnie™ has tried to live a normal life, under the radar and out of the spotlight. But it’s about to fall apart…because Baker’s Dozen is going back on the air. Bonnie™’s mom and the show’s producers won’t let her quit and soon the life she has so carefully built for herself, with real friends (and maybe even a real boyfriend), is in danger of being destroyed by the show. Bonnie™ needs to do something drastic if her life is ever going to be her own—even if it means being more exposed than ever before.

I am what you could say a reality TV addict, I could sit there for all the whole day just watching back to back episodes of a TV programme and the same can be said for books which have reality stars as their subject. I love getting to know these characters and how things have worked out for them with the TV show. The last book I read based on this was Jennifer’s Castle You Look Different in Real Life and it was one which I loved, now I don’t know why I took so long in picking up Something Real, because it was a story I ended up adoring.

Chloe Baker has finally got a life of her own, she had been a reality TV star with her 12 siblings and family for as long as she can remember. Having a camera following you around for nearly every second of your life doesn’t always have its perks, it really sort of wrecked things for Chloe, that when her family finally decided to give it up, it really was the best thing she could have asked for, as it very nearly ended up wrecking her life and destroying her family. So when MetaReel turns up out of the blue four years later to film Chloe’s family once more, Chloe can’t believe it. If I was in Chloe’s shoes, I would have felt exactly the same way, Chloe was just about getting on track with everything, she had even changed her name to get away from it all, so does she really want everyone to get back up in her business again?. And Chloe’s mum was the worst, okay she had a big household to look after and feed, but she was just the most inconsiderate mother I’ve come across in a while. I know she wanted to make Baker’s Dozen the best show ever, but did she have to restort to playing up for the cameras? And not listening to a thing Chloe wanted? She really made me rage in this entire book, Chloe’s dad wasn’t the greatest person either, but with Chloe’s mother it seemed like she didn’t give a crap about anybody, as long as the ratings of the show were good. Chloe had so much to deal with, keeping everything under wraps from her friends before the show went live, trying to keep her panic attacks in check and when it finally seemed like her crush Patrick Sheldon may be liking her back, MetaReel and her cameras were all up in Chloe’s face.

Patrick Sheldon definitely ended up as one of my favourite fictional crushes, he was everything that I would love in a guy in real life. He was the sweetest guy ever, always looking out for Chloe, he knew the stress she had to deal with, but was still willing to make a go of their relationship, despite knowing their faces would be plastered all over the press and their every step would be heavily scrutinised. Which guy would want to be under this constant pressure? Some of his lines just made me swoon and his sweet gestures easily left a big smile on my face. All I know is that this book has so made me want my own Patrick Sheldon!

Family paid an integral part to this story, and I’m glad Chloe did have some members of the family that she could turn to when things got tough for her. Benton was the best brother that anyone could ask for, he was there for Chloe when she needed cheering up and was willing to take her side when people like her mother didn’t. I also loved how Benton just could brighten up an entire scene with his charm and goofy ways. I also appreciated that Chloe was able to forge some stronger relationships with some of her other siblings too. Things could be rocky at times for Chloe and one particular sibling, but I’m glad that through the stress of everything this one was able to come through for her. As Chloe, really did need all the support from her friends and family that were willing to listen.

Something Real was definitely a book which I’m so glad that I picked up, it dealt with a lot of serious issues, but Demetrios was able to weave in some pleasant lighter moments too and some swoony scenes with my Patrick which I hugely appreciated. Demetrios has certainly made me want to read the rest of her books right away.

Review: Grave Phantoms by Jenn Bennett

Grave Phantoms (Roaring Twenties #3) by Jenn Bennett
Publisher: Berkley Sensation
Publication date: May 5th 2015
My rating:  4 stars 
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From the author of Grim Shadows and Bitter Spirits comes the new Roaring Twenties novel in the series hailed as “Boardwalk Empire meets Ghost Hunters, but so much better” (Molly Harper, national bestselling author of the Jane Jameson series).

Feisty flapper Astrid Magnusson is home from college and yearning for the one thing that’s always been off limits: Bo Yeung, her notorious bootlegging brother’s second-in-command. Unfortunately her dream of an easy reunion proves difficult after a violent storm sends a mysterious yacht crashing into the Magnussons’ docks. What’s worse, the boat disappeared a year ago, and the survivors are acting strangely…

Bo has worked with the Magnusson family for years, doing whatever is needed, including keeping his boss’s younger sister out of trouble—and his hands to himself. Of course, that isn’t so easy after Astrid has a haunting vision about the yacht’s disappearance, plunging them into an underground world of old money and dark magic. Danger will drive them closer together, but surviving their own forbidden feelings could be the bigger risk. 

My Thoughts:

Supernatural evil, danger and a forbidden romance combined to make Grave Phantoms a thrilling read.  I’ve been eagerly awaiting Astrid and Bo’s story, since we’ve seen hints of their attraction in the previous books, and I was not disappointed!

Astrid, the baby sister in the Magnusson clan has been in love with Bo Yeung, her brother’s right hand man in the family’s bootlegging business, for years.  Now back home on winter break, Astrid is determined to do something about it, make Bo realize she’s a woman and not Winter Magnusson’s kid sister.  Little does she know that Bo returns her feelings, even if he feels their romance is impossible.

Winter, the Magnusson’s patriarch, took Bo under his wing, sponsored his education, gave him a place to live, and made him his right hand man, but that doesn’t mean he’ll approve of Bo for his little sister Astrid. Bo is of Asian descent and back in the 1920s when prejudices were running high, anything romantic with Astrid is near impossible and taboo. 

All this is put to the side when a mysterious yacht crashes into the Magnusson dock, and they find out its none other than the Plumed Serpent which has been missing for a year. Astrid climbs aboard with Bo and launches them straight into danger when she touches and absorbs the energy of an ancient idol. Now Bo and Astrid must solve this evil puzzle if they want any future, let alone a future together.

Normally a forbidden romance puts me on edge because I’m on pins and needles worrying when the romance will be discovered, but there was too much action, danger, and sexy times to fret about any of that.  Plus, Bo and Astrid were determined to make things work whatever the cost so there was never any despairing that they wouldn’t be together. I loved the pluck and courage of Astrid. Bo was amazing, protective, and a sexy surprise behind doors *wink, wink*! I loved his take charge attitude, and boy-oh-boy can Ms. Bennett write some HOT scenes!

I was completely immersed in this story and the Roaring Twenties that Jenn Bennett so cleverly recreated. Although I’m no expert in the time period, it felt authentically portrayed. (Check out Jenn’s Pinterest board as well as mine with character picks and the look of San Francisco in the 1920’s). “Seeing” the previous couples, Winter and Aida with their baby Karin and Lowe and Hadley still so madly love was a treat, but even more so was the amazing epilogue set years in the future!  If you haven’t picked this exciting and super sexy series you are definitely missing out!  

Connect with Jenn Bennett:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

 

 

Review: Archetype by M.D Waters

Archetype by M.D Waters
Publisher: Plume
Publication Date: June 24th 2014
My rating: 5 stars 

Emma wakes in a hospital, with no memory of what came before. Her husband, Declan, a powerful, seductive man, provides her with new memories, but her dreams contradict his stories, showing her a past life she can’t believe possible: memories of war, of a camp where girls are trained to be wives, of love for another man. Something inside her tells her not to speak of this, but she does not know why. She only knows she is at war with herself. Suppressing those dreams during daylight hours, Emma lets Declan mold her into a happily married woman and begins to fall in love with him. But the day Noah stands before her, the line between her reality and dreams shatters. In a future where women are a rare commodity, Emma fights for freedom but is held captive by the love of two men—one her husband, the other her worst enemy. If only she could remember which is which. . . .

With pressure from Lauren, Rachel and Joy to start this series, Rashika and I finally decided to pick Archetype up and let me just say I can totally understand why this book was a favourite for them. I was the worst buddy reader ever (sorry Rashika), I ended up gulping this book in a few sittings, it was that darn good.

I’m always eager to read books that deal with memory loss so I was thrilled that Archetype was one of those books that dealt with this story line brilliantly. Emma wakes up with no memory of who she is, she’s told she’s been married to successful billionaire Declan for the last eight years, but Emma has no memory of this, she’s been told by Declan and her GP that this is all because of the accident that she’d had, but neither of them tell Emma a single thing about the accident, they say she isn’t ready for it. But how come Emma has these strange dreams of another life and of loving somebody else who isn’t her husband? So what is really going on and who is telling the truth? I had an inkling of what really could be happening, but when the truth was revealed it was certainly something that I never expected. I was really torn with what life I wanted to be real for Emma. There was Declan her husband who was always looking out for her, he would step in when Emma would voice her concerns over Dr Travista and he was willing to offer her anything she wanted. Although things didn’t seem right at times I could believe that he genuinely loved Emma. Also did I mention he was hot? *fans self* guys who wear suits tend to do it for me these days, especially ones that have buff bodies that fill up these suits nicely and have floppy sort of hair, that always tend to droop over that you constantly want to push it back into place (okay you can tell me that I’ve been imagining all the time). Also his scenes with Emma were hot; he made you forget this other person Emma had been dreaming about. I’m not going to say whether my feelings change or not regarding Declan as the book progresses, but there were quite a lot of major developments that Waters likes to throw your way that make you want to take a step back and take a whole lot of things into consideration. And then when this other person was thrown into the picture I was all like Declan who? I liked the way that Waters introduced this other character into the picture, by giving us snippets of him from Emma’s memory, it was clear that Emma and him really cared for one another, but how and when could have their love for each other taken place if Emma has been married to Declan for the last eight years? It just doesn’t make sense. And then the more and more memories Waters throws our way I thought I knew what had happened, but Waters then would throw a horrible blow our way that would have my heart and head reeling.

I really felt for Emma, she had no explanation as to what had happened to her and no one was really trusting her to give her any explanation. On top of that she had a voice constantly in her head telling her things, on occasions this voice would be helpful but then at other times Emma didn’t want to hear any more. And the thing was I was pretty torn up too about what Emma should believe, I was hoping that certain things would be true, because in my mind that would have been the better ending for everyone, but even that was twisted upon its head. I’m probably not making a lot of sense right now, but there’s not a lot I can say without giving so much away. This book really messes with your head in the best way with the endless twists and turns along the way. And the romance, my gosh I didn’t think my heart has recovered, especially by the last few pages, I had hoped that things would end up okay in book two Prototype, but when I read the last page of this book, I don’t know what to think. Readers who haven’t read this book yet, all I can say is listen to the hype, this book deserves all the five star ratings and so much more!

On the side note I actually ordered book two Prototype before I started Archetype, I had a gut feeling that I would need it straight away, but being the dufus that I am I didn’t realise that I would devour this book so quickly, so now I just have to sit here twiddling my thumbs for my book to arrive. I don’t think I can read anything else until I know what goes in Prototype.