Review: The Upside to Being Single by Emma Hart

The Upside to Being Single by Emma Hart
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received this eARC novel from the author. This is my honest review.

Mardi Gras week is always a fun week in New Orleans. When Mellie had a bad day at the hotel she was working at - arguing with a grandmother as to why there are too many boobs being flashed around when her grandchildren are with her on vacation - Mellie may have made a few unconventional decisions. Such as flashing a stranger (no bra, mind you) with her two friends Chloe and Peyton. She's never going to see him again, right? What's a little fun?

Well, she did see him. Because he's her new boss, Jacob Creed. And now Mellie has to deal with the consequences of flashing her boss. That should have been enough embarrassment, but now it seems that whenever her really hot new boss is around, Mellie because accidental prone and is always finding herself in compromising situations around Jake.

She knows that she should not be attracted to her boss, because office relationships are never a good idea. And she has been working at her establishment for 9 years - she's good at her job and doesn't want to start over again.

So she tries oh so very hard to ignore the attraction between her and Jake, Unfortunately, Jake is not ignoring it, and it desperately testing Mellie's restraint of keeping her hands to herself.

Eventually, Mellie and Jake are going to have to make a decision, but hopefully it is not one that they both regret in the end...

This was a great book! I am a huge fan of Emma Harts so I was extremely excited to get this eARC from her!

Mellie was awesome. She is a strong woman who has basically been running this hotel for years now, when the actually owner came in probably two times a year, so when Jake came in, she knew that things were going to be different. She just didn't know how different!

Her reaction to Jake was hilarious, to be honest. From the moment she flashed him to the moment she met him at work and dropped an entire bottle of alcohol, it was a wild ride for those two. And I can't blame her for reacting the way that she did - I would have probably reacted the same way, to be honest.

Jake seems like he is a handful, and he definitely does not play by the rules that they made at the beginning. He's a cheat when it comes to his attraction to Mellie, and it was definitely hot between the two of them.

Mellie's friends, Chloe and Peyton, are so terrible, funny, and wild. The job that Peyton made herself? I definitely wouldn't be able to be a part of that job, let me tell you!

Overall this was a great book and it was a fast read. Fans of Emma Hart will enjoy this new novel from her and will be dying for the next installment - Peyton's story!

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Review: Surviving Adam Meade by Shannon Klare

Surviving Adam Meade by Shannon Klare
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received this eARC novel from Edelweiss. This is my honest review.
Release date: August 14, 2018

Claire is having a rough time right now. Because her father got a new job coaching football in North Carolina, she is being forced to move her senior year from Alabama. Away from her friends, her cheerleading squad, and her boyfriend.

And because she was moving away, her ex, Seth, decided to dump her because he didn't want to do long distance with her and wanted to have fun his senior year in high school.

So now Claire is devastated, heart broken, and mad. It doesn't help that she is trying to grovel her way to use the car that her and her brother, Case, share, to get back to Alabama so she can see all of her friends and also, maybe, kind try to convince Seth to get back together with her. And part of that groveling is to help her father with his practices with the football team. And when the cocky quarterback, Adam Meade, decides to make her life hell, she decides to come back at him with all that she has.

Because she might as well make life interesting for the next few months until she can go to Auburn - her dream college in Alabama.

The more that she is stuck with Adam, though, the more she realizes that she might have feelings for him. But she has been down this road with a different football player, and she will not fall for it again! Because heartbreak is not on her agenda for the near future.

Adam is persistent, though. He is used to the girls wanting everything from him, so when he encounters Claire's indifference, he wants to figure out what is so special about her and how he can get under her skin. But the more he tries to get a reaction out of her, the more he is realizing that Claire is getting under his skin as well.

When Claire gets some news about her ex, she realizes that she hasn't been 100% truthful with Adam, and with their rocky relationship and their arguments about colleges, she may have ruined the best thing that has happened to her.

This was a cute high school/football novel. You have teen angst, end of the world event, Friday night football, and stressing about college and the future. While I didn't go through nearly anything that Claire went through, I do remember a lot of classmates going through this exact same thing, so this book is very realistic in that way.

I did, though, want to strangle Claire throughout most of the book. I get that it was like the end of the world for her for most of the novel, but she just needed to stop thinking so much and just do what she needed to do. Things work out in the end, no matter if it is heartbreak or happiness. And at age 17, she has her whole life ahead of her to make things right, even if it doesn't seem like it at the time.

I thought that the football games were very realistic and I think a lot of readers who watch football can relate to it.

I saw on Goodreads that there is a second book available, and it's on Wattpad right now... So basically I found it and I am now going to read it to see what happens when Claire and Adam go to college, because I am very curious about how this will play out.

I'm not sure how long the link will be available on Wattpad, since Shannon Klare got signed on with a publishing company, but I'm going to put the link here if you want a chance to read it before it goes away :)

Finding Claire Collins: https://www.wattpad.com/217341640-fin...

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Review: Ryan's Bed by Tijan

Ryan's Bed by Tijan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received this eARC novel from the author. This is my honest review.

MacKenzie's life changed in a second when she found her twin sister, Willow, dead in her bathroom after she committed suicide. Mac was found by her mother, lying on the floor holding her sister's hand.

Four hours later, Mac and her younger brother Robbie were dropped off at a collegue of her mom's while they dealt with the terrible situation of what happened with Willow. Mac didn't know anyone who she was staying with. Peach, the daughter, was a year younger than Mac and Ryan, her brother, was in the same grade as Mac. Peach and Ryan's parents decided that it would be best if Mac stayed with Peach for the night - to not have her be alone after everything she just went through.

But after a mistake in the middle of the night after going to the bathroom in a strangers house, Mac realizes that she got into Ryan's bed - not Peach's. The second she got into his bed, Mac felt better. She felt safer. And she stayed there all night and was able to finally close her eyes to get a little rest after the horrible nightmare she just went through.

And so begins the friendship and relationship of Mac and Ryan. Ryan is the only person that Mac feels good around. She is always acting the tougher person when Robbie is around - to make sure that he knows he is safe and that things are going to be okay. Both of her parents don't look at her anymore because she reminds them too much of Willow and it breaks their heart. And since they just moved to a new town, Mac doesn't have her old friends who knew Willow, so she isn't talking to them. But they aren't reaching out to Mac either, so it goes both ways, in the end.

But Ryan? He's been through a similar thing in his life with his cousin, and Mac can rely on him to not push her to do anything she can't do at the moment.

Mac goes through a lot of emotions, but when Willow starts talking to Mac in her head and showing up out of nowhere, Mac realizes that she might not be doing better like she thought. Mac might be getting worse, but she doesn't want to confront everything that happened.

And as much as it seems that Ryan is helping her, he may not be enough to save Mac from her unstable mind after everything she's gone through.

This book.

Man. This was so emotional. I couldn't imagine losing a family member or a best friend, but for Mac to lose her TWIN SISTER, her other half, and for her to find her in the bathroom with the blood everywhere and to know that she can't save her at all - that she was too late? That is just heartbreaking.

And it's not just the fact that she found her like that, but Mac is so upset that she didn't see the signs, that she didn't try to stop her sister from going through with it. She wants her other half back so much, and there is nothing she can do about it except take one breath at a time and work her way through the pain, heartache, and try to fill the hole up that has appeared inside of her the minute she found Willow .

I loved the way Ryan was with Mac. He could see her going through so much and he was there for her, no matter which way he was there. As a friend, as a buddy, as a lover, as a rock for her to grab on to. He was there for every second that she needed someone, and that is all Mac needed during this terrible time. He didn't try to fight her battles for her, but knew that she needed to do it herself if she was to get any better after time.

Because Ryan is so popular at his school, the girls were so nasty toward Mac. They want Ryan for themselves because they grew up with him and know just how amazing he was, but Ryan decided that he wanted Mac and those girls were pure evil after that. But I am so proud of how Mac was because at this point in her life, nothing could get worse. She fought back. She was a mean girl, and she knew she needed to be that person in order for her not to get pushed around. And most of it was because she knew that is what Willow would have done to these girls, but I also think it was another way for Mac to work through the issues and problems she was having since Willows death.

All I know was that I was cheering her on each and everytime her inner bitch came out, because those girls needed to be put in their place real quick. No one should act that way, and no one should be treated the way they were trying to treat Mac.

I loved all of the side characters and their part in Mac's story as well. It may not have seemed like much, but they did so much to help Mac to back to "normal" as she could possible get.

This was such a great novel, and as much as I wish there was more coming, I'm really glad how the book ended. I saw that ending coming a little bit early on, but I'm glad that Tijan decided to leave it like that and not have a sequel. It leaves the reader with a way for them to end Mac's story.

I'm so glad I got a chance to read this novel! I think other readers will really be impacted by the story that Tijan created.

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Review: The Viking's Chosen by Quinn Loftis

The Viking's Chosen by Quinn Loftis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received this eARC novel from Red Coat Publishing. This is my honest review.
Release date: February 12, 2018

Being the oldest daughter of a king, out of three girls, Allete knows that she is destined to leave her home for an arranged marriage. So it is no surprise when her father tells her that King Cathal has made an agreement with her father, and that she will be married to him and go to his kingdom.

What is a surprise, though, is how evil Cathal is. He has the attractive looks, but he is a terrible man who does terrible things to women. Because Allete is his intended, Cathal is taking a lot of risks to put her in her place - as a woman should be. Allete is a strong willed girl, so bending to Cathal's demands is very hard for her. But she doesn't want to put her father in a bad position and risk putting their kingdom into war if he backs out of the arranged marriage.

Torben is a Viking - a warrior. He is following his crazy jarl, and they are planning to attack the two kingdoms when King Cathal comes to claim his bride. When his mother, the Oracle, tells him that he will find his future bride and the love of his life in the palace, he is unsure how he feels about this. On the one hand, he believes his mother because she has the gift, but on the other hand, bringing a foreign bride to his tribe is not going to go over well.

But when Torben meets Allete, he knows that she is the one. He is in disguise, but tries to tell Allete everything about him because he wants her to fall for him the way that he is falling for her. The biggest problem is that Torben has to watch Allete be mentally and physically abused by Cathal while he poses as her guard and he can't do anything to stop it.

Torben and Allete have to wait for just a little longer, and then they can go through their their plans to be together. But there are a lot of factors that are going to happen, and things may not go as planned for them. Torben and Allete won't let anything get in the way between them, but some things are beyond their control.

This was a great book! I haven't read any historical romances in awhile, so it was a nice, refreshing story for me!

Allete is an awesome character and is a total boss! She knows how to be a princess and a Queen and she knows how the society works, even if she doesn't agree with it. She is so poised and mature, but she is so sneaky and devious when she wants to be. Seeing her with Torben cracked me up to much because they are definitely a match made in heaven and can give the other a run for their money.

When she was dealing with Cathel, I just wanted to scream. I know she was doing well, but she should have gotten backup with her parents because no one should have to go through that - ever. She may be tough and can handle it, but her family loves her too much for her to go through that abuse.

I loved Allete's little sister, Dayna! She is feisty and funny and so too much, but she is a hellion and she knows it and loves it. She makes the book so much better with her random statements and is definitely good for a good laugh. I really hope she gets her own story soon because I would love to see her battle it out with Brant!

Torben is such a macho manly man and he is so easy to swoon over. I loved the way he was around Allete cause you could really see how much he cares for her and would do anything to make her happy.

The only bad part about this book is that it has a CLIFFHANGER!!!! AAAHHHH!!!! I despise cliffhangers and that is usually why I won't read books in a series. But, alas, here I am wanting to know what happens to everyone and I have to wait until who knows when... :( sad face.

I think a lot of readers will really enjoy this great novel! I can't wait to get my hands on the next one already, and I am so glad that I was able to read this through Red Coat Publishing :)

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Review: The Fall (Havenwood Falls HIGH #3) by Kristen Yard

The Fall by Kristen Yard
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received this eARC novel from Red Coat Publishing. This is my honest review.

Serena is starting her senior year in high school, but what she is really excited about is to graduate and have her gap year in Europe. However, her aunt is pretty determined to keep her in Havenwood Falls for some reason.

With her best friend Nikki acting out more and more, become less of the best friend Serena knows, to her younger twin sisters acting like complete opposites of their normal selves, and her other friend Logan becoming more and more lovey dovey toward Serena, life has exploded and is pretty much stressing her out.

When her Aunt gives her a strange, almost ugly, necklace for her 18th birthday, things get even more complicated for Serena. She thinks she is going crazy when the necklace burns her, and she might be imagining a lot of things, such as a guy with pale green eyes and always wearing a hood who is following her and her aunt.

Serena just wants a normal life of traveling and creating paintings, but it seems that Serena might be more special than she ever wanted to be.

I really enjoyed this book! It was hard to get into at first because there are a lot of characters, and I've been bouncing around in the Havenwood Falls series, but I was able to figure everything out and really enjoy this suspenseful novel.

The reader doesn't figure out what Serena is until the very end, where basically a cliffhanger happens and you are left wanting more. Because of that, I'm not telling you what supernatural being Serena is, even though I'm sure you can read other books to spoil yourself! :) I just had to be on the edge of my seat, so I won't make it easy for other readers to cheat ahead of time, ha!

I'm very curious how things are going to end with Serena's story, so I'm very anxious for April 2018 to come soon to get the sequel!

I think a lot of readers will really enjoy this story like I did, and I am definitely excited for more books in this series to come out soon!

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Review: The Winged & the Wicked (Havenwood Falls #5) by Kristie Cook

The Winged & the Wicked by Kristie Cook
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I received this eARC novel from Red Coat Publishing. This is my honest review.

Teeny Weeny Tahini is not who she seems to be. In Havenwood Falls, she is a psychic reader, but in reality she is a faerie. When things are going a bit haywire in Havenwood Falls, she decides to figure out what is happening and how she can fix it. After finding an injured owl and discovering that it is her long lost nephew, Mathew, who's life has been in danger for a long time, and then noticing that there are strangers in Havenwood Falls - a rarity - Tahini knows there is something fishy going on.

Shayin Pisik came to Havenwood Falls to find her betrothed, but she is hiding many secrets from this town. She has to do a ceremony in a specific place on a specific date to finally find him. But it seems she needs the help from a faerie, even though one probably won't willingly help her with this ceremony.

Both Tahini and Shayin are going to have to be winged and wicked to be able to help one another out in their searches.

I have been a huge fan of this series, but for some reason this book fell flat for me. I couldn't really get into it that well, and I was skimming a lot of pages to finally find a place that I could connect with and keep me engaged with the storyline. Sadly, that didn't happen at all during this book, and it is the only one so far that I've encountered that I couldn't love as much as the other ones.

That being said, I think that fans of this series will really enjoy this next installment of the series and will love the retelling of Snow White with supernatural beings. It just wasn't meant for me!

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Review: The Game Can't Love You Back by Karole Cozzo

The Game Can't Love You Back by Karole Cozzo
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received this eARC novel from NetGalley. This is my honest review.
This book will be published May 2018.

Being the only girl on the baseball team, Eve is looking forward to her senior year to win the Cy Trophy. But when her school has an unexpected catastrophe happen, her entire school is forced to join the other high school in her town. Which means that the entire class has to join together, and all of the sports now have to be changed from 2 teams to 1, losing half of the team.

Eve wanted the school to host both teams as separate teams and keep her Bulldog status, but she was disappointed when the schoolboard told her that they will only have one team and it will be the Pirates.

But Eve loses the game of baseball, so she is willing to play as a Pirate to enjoy her last year in baseball. Because she knows that she is not going to be able to play after high school. She may be getting a lot of publicity for being amazing at baseball, but no one is going to sign her on professionally and she is also starting to get a woman's body, which is hard to play the game with the boys.

Jamie is the pitcher for the Pirates, so he's not excited at all that Eve is coming over as a rival in his place, because he is going to win that Cy Trophy again for the second year in a row. He has to in order to get a scholarship to be able to go to college.

At first, Jamie and Eve hate each other. They don't talk to each other, they aren't civil with each other, and they wish the other would stop playing.

But then things change. They start to get to know each other. They start to see the person behind the rival, the enemy, of their trophy. And they see how their home lives are and what they are wanting in life. Soon, they start to like one another, but things are not that easy. Feelings are jumping around and indecision is high in the air.

Soon, a decision has to be made between baseball and life, and Eve and Jamie are right in the middle of it all.

This was a cute novel. I really loved how dedicated Eve was - especially with the "hazing" part that the original Pirates did. She didn't let anything faze her and she was determined to keep her place because was dedicated and passionate about it. She took so much crap for being on the baseball team when they have a softball team, but her mother was hardcore and told Eve that she was only allowed to do baseball, because she wasn't going to go to 4 different sports in the springtime with all of her siblings.

Jamie was an okay character. He was popular and acted like an ass most of the time, but he was actually struggling at home. I think he should major in drama and acting, because he sure knew how to fool his friends into thinking he was a completely different person.

The way that Eve and Jamie were together was a bummer for me. I wish they were brave enough to tell everyone around them that they liked one another instead of keeping it a secret. Because then things blew up in their face and they had to face the consequences of their actions.

I really enjoy YA sport theme books, and this was another one that I really enjoyed! I think fans of sport romances and fans of this author will really like this novel when it's published.

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Review: Written In The Stars (Havenwood Falls HIGH #1) by Kallie Ross

Written In The Stars by Kallie Ross
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received this eARC novel from Red Coat Publishing. This is my honest review.

Willa is the alpha to her werewolf pack. The only problem is that she hasn't been able to shift yet, which poses a problem to her being the alpha. She has until she turns 18 before that status leaves her family and moves on to another family in her pack, ending the long-line tradition of her family being the leader of their pack.

So Willa has been kind of outcasted in her group. She decides to stop listening to the harassment and bullying that's been doing on, and do things for herself. Because if she can't learn to shift into her wolf, she's going to need to figure out something else to do for the rest of her life, so she might as well get a head start.

Sitting down with the "outcasts" at school was the best thing that Willa has done. Becoming friends with a vampire, dragon shifter, witch and an elf made her realize that many of the supernaturals in Havenwood Falls do not venture off from their own species, but Willa has decided that this is her new family for now.

When her father asks her to give the pack one more chance, Willa can't say no. But the longer she stays away from her new friends, and more into the vile atmosphere of her pack, the more Willa has to realize where she wants to belong, and how she is going to get control of the situation that she is in.

This was a great novel! I loved seeing the different species come together and become friends with one another, and how Willa's character grew so much. She had to make a lot of decisions, but I feel like they were all great ways for her to figure out who she is and where her place in not only in her friendships, but also in her pack and in the community of Havenwood Falls.

The romance between her and Tarron was a little too much for me - it just seemed awkward and forced and not as much chemistry as I thought they should have. But it proved a point in the story and I feel like it needed to happen, even if it was a bit stilted for me.

I can see now that reading this first might be better than the way that I read it, but I still thoroughly enjoyed this book, no matter what order I read it in.

Definitely enjoying this series full of amazing supernatural stories!

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