Review: Fight or Flight by Samantha Young

Fight or Flight by Samantha Young
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I received this ebook novel from the author and Edelweiss. This is my honest review.

Ava has a very sophisticated and professional job and lifestyle now. She dresses fancy with suits and stilettos and she is an interior designer and creates wonderful products for both professional and personal reasons. When she has to go back home for funeral for her once best friend, she is desperate to come back to Boston and get back to her life that she created rather than the chaotic mess that she had to grow up with in Arizona.

But when the weather causes cancellations for her flight Eva is determined to get back to Boston as quickly as possible. Unfortunately at all brooding handsome Scotsman keeps getting in her away by taking a seat that she wanted and ends up on another flight to avoid the bad weather. Then she has to sit next to him and the plane and during all of this he is treating her like she is a bug on his shoe.

When they keep bumping into each other, the Scotsman, Caleb, suggest that maybe they should have a one night stand to get the tension between them dissipated. At first Ava was not interested but the more she thought about it the more intrigued she was by it. However after their night together, she finds out that she will be seeing the Scotsman more and more than she thought she would.

Eva usually doesn't do things like this because she loves structure and routine but she is slowly starting to enjoy having Caleb around. That's a problem though because Caleb is very Stern on the fact that they are just friends with benefits and won't be anything else.

Soon everything starts to explode with their plan and Ava signs that her heart might be broken for the second time. She's just not sure if she'll be able to recoup from this broken heart in the end.

I love this book! The tension between the two characters was off the charts and flying off the pages and I loved how they bantered and argued at every turn when you knew that they were attracted to one another. I also loved Ava especially because she is such a strong determine character who is making a name for herself spite the fact that everyone that she grew up with failed her in some way.

I also love Caleb who was obviously tortured by something in his past. I also wouldn't mind having my own Scotsman who was attracted to me haha. I wouldn't even mind his bad attitude because I can dish it right back to him! Not that Ava didn't do that because she's certainly gave Caleb a run for his money.

There were moments when I found the characters to be too stubborn to look at what was really happening but honestly that happens in real life so it was very realistic and easy to relate to. I wanted to strangle them at moments and then other times I was just living in their life full of romance and chemistry.

I am so so so glad that I was able to get an early copy of this book because I knew just from reading the description that I was going to fall in love with it. I almost wish that there was another book coming to continue Ava and Caleb's story but maybe Samantha Young will do a spin-off or a companion book perhaps with Ava's friend Harper or Caleb's brother Jaimie? :)

I know that's the main thing fans will love this novel and hopefully new fans will pick it up to and see what they're missing with her books!

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Review: As Dust Dances by Samantha Young

As Dust Dances by Samantha Young
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received this eARC novel the author. This is my honest review.
Release date: August 7, 2018

Skylar have the perfect life before. She was famous. She was able to sing and write her music that she love to do. But when something terrible happened she decided to leave everything behind and escape from the reality that was now her life.

Just when things were starting to get rough and she wasn't sure what she was going to be able to do, she was approached by a stranger who basically blackmailed her into her old life again. Usually when people love music and making music they want to create records and albums for their fans but Skylar doesn't enjoy that life anymore after she did it for the majority of her life.

Killian has been involved with music his whole life and has found a lot of talented and great musicians working at his uncle's company. When he heard Skylar singing on the streets he knew he had to sign her at his company. He knew exactly who Skylar was I knew that her talent should not be wasted as a busker girl on the streets.

While kind of blackmailing her into making another album, Killian was only trying to give her another shot at the career she's obviously great at. But the more they got to know each other, the more Killian wonders if Skylar really wants this life style again.

When Skylar's past comes back to haunt her and Killian's uncle goes against their contract Skylar has to really think about what she wants to do with the rest of her life.

I enjoyed this novel. For some reason the series has been a little harder for me to get into than the on Dublin series from Samantha Young but I still enjoyed the storyline and the struggles that both Skyler and Killian went through during this novel.

I can't even imagine how Skyler coped with everything that has happened to her. Not only what happened with her family back in the States but also how she had to survive in Scotland when she ran out of money during her traveling. She is definitely a strong person who is determined to take care of herself and to deal with issues that come up in her life by herself. She was healing in her own way which many did not understand why she did that but it helped her cope with what happened to her loved ones.

It was wrong of what Killian did to Skyler to make her sign with a contract with no other options but I feel like he did in the good of his heart and the good of his company. More so his company when they first met and then realizing his mistake later after they get to know each other.

The tension between the two characters was off the pages most times. I tried to get into the story but at some points I was a bit distant from it which made it a little harder for me to keep up with it. I felt like this during the first book in the series two though and I still enjoyed that book as well.

I'm very glad I got a chance to read this Advanced reader copy from the author and I know that many of Samantha Young fans will enjoy this book and immensely.

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Review: Play On by Samantha Young

Play On by Samantha Young
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Living in a small town in Indiana was never Nora's dream. She wants to be on a stage performing and loving life. Instead, her father became disabled and lost his job, forcing Nora and her mother to work constantly. Nora can't even go to college anymore, because her college fund was used to help pay for medical bills and groceries and such.

Now Nora is living day to day, working as a waitress and trying to avoid home as much as possible.

When Jim and Roddy come to her small little town, they are road tripping and traveling abroad, since they live in Scotland. Nora is instantly attracted to Jim, and makes a crazy decision: she is going to marry Jim and move to Scotland to live her life.

While things may have started off well, by year 3 of marriage, Nora felt like something was missing. When she meets a mysterious, older man, she feels the connection that she doesn't and has never had with Jim.

Nora is haunted by her past decisions and it's limiting her to make amazing choices in her future. She is presented with so many different twists and turns throughout her short life, and eventually one of those choices will lead her to happiness... Right...?

This was a good novel! I love Samantha Young so much and was so glad I got my hands on a copy of this book! I do have to admit, I didn't think it was as great as her On Dublin series, but I still enjoyed it immensely!

Because I have read a lot of Samantha Young's books, I am now dying to go to the UK and visit Scotland, though I'm not much of a traveler, so maybe I'll just live other people's lives through Young's novels :)

Nora has had a very very rough life and such a short life as well! I don't know if I would have been as optimistic and cheerful and volunteering my time if I lived her life, to be honest. She is such a joy and she is such an inspiration for people to want to strive for in life.

Aiden is yummy and sophisticated and just a dream come true, honestly. I would have been tongue tied if I had met him the way that Nora met him, and definitely wouldn't have made as good of an impression as Nora did.

Overall, I really enjoyed this novel, and I cannot wait to read the next one in the series!

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Review: From the Embers: A Havenwood Falls novella by Amy Miles

From the Embers: by Amy Miles
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I received this eARC novel from Red Coat Publishing. This is my honest review.
Release Date: June 22, 2018

Ember is hunting. She's been hunting for over 6 years. She needs to find the man who killed her mother and make him pay. And finally she has a lead and is SO close to getting her justice.

While following him, she finds herself in a town called Havenwood Falls. Her GPS doesn't register this town, but Ember figures this is a great place to lie low and let her healing abilities catch up to her pretty brutal wounds.

And Havenwood Falls is a very interesting town. After a few encounters on her first morning there, she runs into a very attractive man - literally. She backed her stolen jeep into him and knocked him over.

After being blackmailed into having breakfast with him, he tells her that Havenwood Falls is not a normal town. It might even be a sanctuary for someone like Ember, with her abilities.

Ember thought it just might work, but then she remembered she was on a mission. Little did she know that her fairy tale ending will be interfered by her nightmare past... Happily ever after might not be in the cards for Ember after all...

Ahhh!!! I loved this! So much! I loved Ember and I loved Atticus and I loved the story! It was amazing! I've had hit and misses with the Havenwood Falls books - especially the adult ones. The Havenwood Falls High I usually love instantly, so I was extremely happy with this book!

Ember has been through crap, and she has a "I don't give a shit" attitude that I really love. It shows she's been through hell and back and she is on a mission because that is all she has known for the past 6 years. And to be put through the foster system with her abilities had to be horrible for a teenage girl. So when she got to Havenwood Falls, the sanctuary for people like her, she knew it was too good to be true. Otherwise she would have to realize that she suffered for no reason with a place like this existing.

And Atticus is just amazing. He gets hit by a car, bounces back from it, and then is determined to take Ember to breakfast. He knew instantly that Ember was someone he wants to know and wasn't going to let her slip through his fingers for even a second.

This book was full of twists and turns the entire novel, and I loved every second! There were so many revelations throughout the novel - some that I figured out beforehand and some that were a surprised when it was revealed.

I'm very glad I got a chance to read this book, and I really, really, REALLY hope that there will be a follow-up novel to this book?? I don't know what it will be about - the conflict - but I really want to read about these two characters again because I loved them so much! :)

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Review: Going for the Hole by L. P. Dover

Going for the Hole by L.P. Dover
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received this eARC novel from Red Coat Publishing. This is my honest review.
Release Date: June 25, 2018

When Ashley goes on a week long bachelorette trip, she's a bit leery as to what will happen. She hasn't been out partying for a very long time, with breaking up with her boyfriend 4 months ago and working at her doctor's practice, she just hasn't had the time or the ambition.

So when she gets a chance to have a little fun, she makes up a name and has a one night stand... Well, she was thinking it was a one night stand until he wouldn't leave her alone...

Lucas Montgomery has won many, many tournaments and championships for golfing, but now he wants a bit of a break. So he decides to take a month off and take a vacation. Of course, he can't stop golfing completely, so he goes to the beach, where there is a golf course as well.

When he meets Ashley, he also gives a fake name since he is pretty well known and doesn't want the news or paparazzi around. And after the first night with Ashley, he knows he is a goner. He can't get enough of the woman who fights him with every turn, which is a change of pace from the women who throw themselves at him for his fame and money.

Winning over Ashley's heart is hard work, but Lucas is bound and determined to do it. With every obstacle that comes between them, he always tries to find a way to fix it.

But a mistake he made before really meeting her comes between them, and they may not be able to fix everything in the end. Hopefully Lucas's one mistake won't cost him the girl of his dreams...

This was a cute novel. I love sports related romance novels, and this was a nice change of pace for me because I haven't read too many golfing ones. And while I don't know about golf, I still loved having that competitiveness in the novel when they were on the golf course.

Lucas fell pretty hard, pretty fast for Ashley, which I was okay with. It just felt like he was attracted to her when he saw her across the room and the next day it was love. It was too much too fast for me.

I loved how Ashley fought him at every turn and made Lucas, who is used to girls falling at his feet, really work to get her to trust him. But, as many men are, he messes up a lot, which makes him backtrack a lot to get her trust back.

I also liked how Ashley was a doctor and that it was incorporated a lot in the novel. She is a strong, determined, successful woman and she didn't NEED Lucas for anything, but just liked being around him because she was attracted again.

Overall, I liked this book. There were some things that weren't quiet believable, and I thought it was ironic that everyone met each other because of Ashley's brothers wedding, and yet we got a brief mention of the wedding but nothing too detailed.

I am very glad I got a copy of this novel through Red Coat Publishing! I've enjoyed L. P. Dover's works and hope I continue to read them in the future!

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Review: Rocked by Theresa Hissong

Rocked by Theresa Hissong
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I received this eARC novel from Red Coat Publishing. This is my honest review.
Release Date: July 10, 2018

Bristol has been the manager of Cycle of Sin band for 2 years. She knows the ins and outs of all 5 guys in that band, and she keeps their schedule together on very busy days. But now she is starting to have thoughts of all the guys...They are obviously attractive, but that's never got in her way before. But now she is starting to wonder "what if..."

Of course, she won't do that because it might affect her job, and she loves what she does. So she ignores it.

Until she realizes that the guys are feeling the attraction for her too. All five of them...

In addition to her steamy feelings for the guys, she is also getting a bad vibe from one of the photographers that comes to the Cycle of Sin concerts to take photos. She can't explain what she feels, but it's not a good feeling.

There is so much changing at once, Bristol isn't sure what she wants.

But the guys are very patient, and they really want to explore some options with her. Bristol is scared to try, because she cares for the guys and her job, but she's very interested as well.

One thing is for sure, things are about to change in her world. But whether it's for better or worse...?

This is my first reverse harem novel. Actually, it's really my first harem novel period. I'm all for a good romance, smutty book, but I haven't ventured into this genre. So I was willing to try this eARC and it was also a shorter book, so if I didn't care for it, it wouldn't take too much time to finish it.

But I think because it was a smaller book that I had a few issues with it. I didn't feel like there was enough story to give the deep connection that the characters were feeling. It was co-workers one minute, lovers the next with no segue into it, for me. And sometimes I feel like I was just given a list of what was going on, making me realize that I was legit reading it and not really involved in it like most books. Usually I can lose myself into the story and not have the realization I'm reading it, but there were many times in this novel that I was thrown outside of the story and just reading a normal book.

And the ending? Yeah, didn't really work for me. I'm definitely not like Bristol, so none of this will happen in my life, so I can't relate to any of it, which made it hard for me to immerse myself into the future of these characters.

Overall, it was an okay novel for me. I don't know if I will stick to what I know in the future and stay away from this genre or if I will venture into it a bit more, but I am glad I got a chance to read this and see what it is about. I think people who really enjoy this genre will enjoy it when it comes out on the 10th!

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Review: From Here to You by Jamie McGuire

From Here to You by Jamie McGuire
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received this eARC novel from Edelweiss. This is my honest review.
Release Date: August 21, 2018

Darby can't marry her abusive fiance. Not when she finds out that she is pregnant. She can't let her child get hurt by the man she's found herself stuck with. So with the help of a friend, she runs away from Texas in her wedding dress and ends up in Colorado. She hopes that is far enough that he can't find her, and hopefully changing her last name will throw him off guard.

Trex has been waiting for his one true love his whole life. He's dated off and on, whenever his jobs allowed him to, being ex-Marine and ex-FBI, but he knew those women were not the one for him. All of his friends make fun of him for saying that "the one" is out there and he will find her, but Trex is determined they will find each other.

So when Trex sees Darby working the front desk at the hotel, he just knew. Darby is the one for him. However, he has to tread carefully with her, because he can't be completely truthful about his current job, and she has sworn off all men who are military, firefighters, police, etc. due to her ex-fiance being in the Armed Forces. She doesn't want to be with anyone who could be anything like her ex.

Trex slowly gets inside Darby's heart and has her thinking about how kind and thoughtful and attractive he is. When secrets come out little by little, though, Darby starts to loose the trust in Trex that she has built. And Trex hasn't even told her his biggest omission...

Things were pretty perfect for Trex and Darby, and they had everything set up for the baby to arrive, when everything exploded. Now, Trex and Darby are going to have to be honest and truthful with each other, and hope they can get out of the really bad situation they have found themselves in to get their happily ever after.

I love Jamie McGuire's books, so I was super excited to get this eARC of From Here to You! And I liked it, but it wasn't my all time favorite of hers. Which does NOT mean it's a bad book, but I don't think anything can top Beautiful Disaster for me, to be honest.

Both Trex and Darby were characters with a dark past and a bit beaten up by the time we meet them in this novel. Darby was scared, didn't trust well, and was on edge. I can't relate to her at all, so I can't judge, but her getting upset about the littlest things got on my nerves a bit. I totally get it, but after the 5th time of hearing the same thing and excuses, it was getting to be a bit much for me.

And I honestly missed the moment that Trex knew Darby was the one. It was like, one minute they were talking to each other and the next, Trex is badgering her over and over because she is the one for him. I don't get the instant love, and usually in books both characters feel that connection, so to see just Trex have that and not Darby made it feel a bit stalkerish at the beginning until Darby came around to the idea of it.

I do feel for Darby because that is a scary place to be with an abusive fiance and find out your pregnant on your wedding day. She was very brave to leave with the wedding dress as her only clothes, knowing that her ex would 95% come after her. I can't imagine what she was going through and feeling, so I'm very proud of her for doing that to protect her unborn child.

I'm hoping that we will be able to move forward in time with the upcoming novels. A lot of the Beautiful books and now this one have been during the same time frame, so we are reading the same events through other people's viewpoints. It was really cool at first, but now after so many books, it's becoming repetitive, even though it's different characters stories. I would like to see the secondary characters move forward in their life while reading a different characters main story for the novel.

Overall, I really enjoyed it and I cannot wait to buy the physical book to add to my Jamie McGuire collection. I think everyone is going to really enjoy this novel!

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Review: A Secret One by Aleatha Romig

A Secret One by Aleatha Romig
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was a very short novel that confused me, but also left me wanting more. I haven't read the other books in the series, so I was a bit lost and thrown into the book. My mistake for not doing my research before getting this book on amazon.

However, I loved the way the characters were around each other and the tension they had with one another. I can't even imagine how it is going to be in book #2 where it is all about them and to get more involved and in depth with them!

I'm glad I read this, and if I find the time and read a lot of books, I may get the other ones in the series. For now, though, I need to truck through my thousands of other books before I get more :)

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Review: The Accidentals by Sarina Bowen

The Accidentals by Sarina Bowen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received this eARC novel from the author. This is my honest review.
Release Date: July 10, 2018

Rachel has gone through the worst thing she will ever have to go through: her mom dying. It's just Rachel and her mom, and now Rachel is lost without her. Sure, they argued. A lot. But that only makes it worse, because now Rachel wants to go back in time and stop the arguing and enjoy the time they had.

In just ONE MONTH, Rachel turns 18. But because she's not 18 just yet, she's at a foster group home. And it sucks. She just has to wait 30 more days, and she will be free and on her own. But then her father, the famous rock star, comes into her life. The only way he's ever been in Rachel's life is when he sends his monthly check to help Rachel and her mother out.

Now, though, Freddy Ricks wants to get custody of Rachel and take care of her. 17 years too late. However, if he gets custody of her, then she won't have to be in the group home, so she's willing to take it.

Plus, she is already going to Claiborne Prep for a year, and then will go off to college after that, so she won't have to see him too much.

But once she is in Freddy's life, she sees all of the things that she's missed not being a part of it. And the more Freddy is around, the more depressed Rachel is becoming.

Maybe her dad showed up too late, or maybe Rachel needs to have the real conversation that they have been ignoring ever since he showed up in her life.

This was such a great novel. It was heartbreaking and raw and it will touch the hearts of many readers. Rachel has gone through an emotional time with her mother's illness and it is understandable that she is having a really hard time cooping with it.

And then her father just waltzs back into her life like nothing happened? Yeah, I don't think I would have been as quiet as Rachel was. I would have yelled at him and made him explain why things happened the way they did and why things were different now. When Rachel finally did talk to him, it was a bit of a let down for me.

I loved the parts when Rachel is at school and is doing her music thing and is with her cool roommate and Jake, her crush.

I feel like this book will touch many hearts and also readers will respond well to the story because many of us can relate to at least one part of this novel.

I'm so glad I got a chance to read this book!

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