Vegas Love by Jillian Dodd

Vegas Love by Jillian Dodd
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Vegas Love was a cute and lighthearted read. It was fun book about a Vegas wedding that held my interest more than I expected it to.

I checked out the reviews before downloading this book even though it was free. I was slightly torn about whether I'd like it since some of the more negative reviews flagged some things not a fan of. However, I decided to give it a go and I'm pleased I did because I didn't agree with the 1 and 2 stars I read. I ended up really enjoying this and it was a perfect read to relax with.

I will agree with other reviews and say it didn't exactly delve too deeply into the character, either their backstory or their personality. However, I didn't care. I wanted a chilled read I didn't h e to think about and that's what I got. Cash and Ashlynn were a cute couple and I did think there was chemistry between them.

Overall, this book surprised me in a good way. It was exactly what I needed.

*Ebook downloaded for free via Amazon.

Review ~ Game On by Katie McCoy

Game On by Katie McCoy
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Game On was a cute read. I found it via BookBub, but had never heard of the author before. The cover initially pulled me in and the blurb sounded interesting. Therefore, considering it was free I couldn't really resist downloading it.

Not knowing what to expect from this author, I found myself pleasantly surprised. McCoy's writing flowed well and I quickly became lost in her story. It was a sweet romance and things developed at a good pace. The events kept me interested and intrigued, but they weren't too drama-filled. It was a perfect book to relax with. It was something easy that could put a smile on my face.

As for the characters, I enjoyed watching Nathan and Sophie grow together. I definitely believed in the spark between them and thought they bounced off each other well. I especially liked the arcade section.

Overall, this was a pleasant read to relax with. It was an easy story that didn't require much thought from me, which was what I needed, but it was paced well and held my attention. I loved the sport element and would definitely recommend it.

*Ebooks downloaded via Amazon for free.

Review ~ Fame And Obsession by Cora Kenborn

Fame And Obsession by Cora Kenborn
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Actual rating 3.5

This is another new author to me. I've had Fame & Obsession on my kindle a while, since I downloaded it when it was free on Amazon, but never had a chance to read it even though it's a book I've wanted for a few months.

Now I've read it I'm torn. In general, my feelings can be summed up with: liked the plot but it could have been executed better.

I'll start with the story. I enjoyed the plot and the idea behind this book. I also enjoyed the romance. I connected with Julian and Phoebe, and I wanted them to work things out. I also thought the suspense element was well developed--even though I knew who was behind everything. It kept me engaged and was interesting.

However, where I felt this book was let down is in the length. It took too long for things to get started, and personally, there were sections that dragged. I think it could have been paced better and another content edit would weed out the slower, unnecessary sections that stalled the events. I also think this would have allowed for less of a cliff hanger ending. I assumed this was a standalone and one plot thread wasn't going to be tied up, but it turns out that plot thread will be the basis for book 2. While this isn't necessarily a bad thing, I'm not sure a second book would have been needed with better editing. I'm not sure I want to start the drama all over again once the characters reach a happy place.

Overall, I enjoyed the plot but think it could have been cut down to improve the pacing. The characters were well-rounded and I enjoyed the romance. I might read book 2, but I'm not quite sure yet.

*Ebook downloaded for free via Amazon

Review ~ Harley (West Coast Rock Star, #1) by Michelle Jo Quinn

Harley by Michelle Jo Quinn
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Actual rating 3.5

I've been dying to read this since I saw the cover when it was released. However, with my out of control tbr pile I could never find the time to buy it since it would have sat on my kindle unread. However, I happened to come across it on a free day on Amazon and couldn't resist downloading it. It renewed my interest in the book and I had to make time for it.

Harley is a mixed bag of emotions for me. On one had I enjoyed it. For the most part it was a sweet read with a little romance thrown in. It did hold my interest, but on the other hand I wanted to like it more than I did after waiting so long to read it. That's not to say I didn't like and enjoy it, it just didn't live up to my hope.

The main reason for this is that it felt underdeveloped. There are a lot of plot strands in this book, yet they never seemed to flow and merge. They also didn't seem fully fleshed out. For example there's Cade and Jax's relationship, the situation with Fiona, the issues Cade has with her job and more. Individually they all had the potential to be intriguing plot threads. However, it felt like altogether they were never really expanded upon or brought into the same book. It felt a bit disjointed whereby the book skipped from one idea to another randomly.

The other reason was things fizzled out in the end. This book started strong but because of the issue above it fell apart at the end.

Overall though, I did enjoy this book. I think it has more potential and could be a great read but as it stands now it's only a good read.

*Ebook downloaded for free via Amazon

Review ~ Sweet Dreams (Sugar Rush, #1) by Nina Lane

Sweet Dreams by Nina Lane
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Actual rating: 3.5

Sweet Dreams was an easy read that I enjoyed. Its title sums it up well: it was a sweet book.

Overall, this book held my interest. It was cute and I love baking so that aspect sold me on reading this. I will be honest and say I did skim text that wasn't speech from 60% onward, and felt things could have been cut down to help the pacing. I also didn't feel the sparks continue after the initial meet.

However, saying it was still a sweet read that allowed me to escape the drizzly weather for a bit.


*Ebook downloaded for free via Amazon

Review ~ The Bachelor Contract (The Bachelors of Arizona, #3) by Rachel Van Dyken

eARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Release Date: November 28th 2017

Publisher: Forever

Description:
She's everywhere.

Ex-wife.

Love of his life.

The last person in the world he wanted to see...ever.

And now that he's working beside her every day, he can't escape her. Her scent, glimpses of her smile, even the tension in the air that makes his body hum with the kind of need he'd only experienced with one person-all of it is driving him over the edge.

Brant Wellington was certain of three things: 

Alcohol wasn't going to solve this. 

He really was losing his F-ing mind. 

And his gorgeous ex-wife was going to be the death of him.

My Opinion

It's getting harder and harder to review a Rachel Van Dyken book. Not to sound repetitive, but I simply adore her work and this read was no exception.

As part of The Bachelors of Arizona series, this book is one of my favourites. It kept me engaged from start to finish and I felt for the characters. I especially liked the fact Rachel made Nikki legally blind.  It made me feel for her even more and gave this book a little uniqueness.

With regards to the plot, it was a sweet second chance read. Like I said, I kept me engaged like every other book I've read by this author. Seriously I can't get enough.


Overall, another great read. I would definitely recommend this series, or any other book by Rachel if I'm honest.

4.5

Review ~ Heir Untamed (Latvala Royals, #1) by Danielle Bourdon

Heir Untamed by Danielle Bourdon
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

To be honest it was the cover that caught my attention with this book. It came through on my BookBub email and after reading the blurb I had to check it out.

Heir Untamed held my interest. I liked the overall idea behind the book and there was one twist I didn't see coming. However, for me , the chemistry wasn't quite there and the plot lacked in execution. While it intrigued me, I didn't feel it came to fruition in a satisfying way. The suspense element was resolved too quickly and kind of fizzled out. From then on I was just reading to the end. Personally, I would have liked more information, more build up of motives, and more involvement. The little hints didn't seem to reflect the culprit.

Saying that, I still liked the idea behind the book and I'm intrigued to see if the two leading characters can sustain a relationship with all of the pressures so might read book 2.

Moreover, despite this book being part of a 7 book series, it doesn't leave on a major cliff hanger, which I'm glad about. There was a small amount of resolve that ties this section of the characters' stories up so that book 2 can be the story of a new phase in their relationship--or so in assuming.

Overall, this held my attention and I'm curious to see where the author takes it.

*Ebook downloaded for free via Amazon.

Review ~ Black Roses (The Mitchell Sisters, #3) by Samantha Christy

Black Roses by Samantha Christy
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a touching and moving read. I have never heard of this author before so I didn't know what to expect, but I saw this book on my BookBub email and its blurb caught my eye.

Black Roses was, like I said, a touching read about Piper trying to heal herself after everything she's been through. I thought the author created a well-developed and well-structured story that held my attention from the first page to the last. Piper's journey is a moving one as she breaks in front of the reader's eyes. Her story is tough, but I think the author dealt with the issues well.

As for the romance, I liked the characters. I thought Mason and Piper worked well together and I especially loved the fiery meeting. The relationship was well paced and I felt it evolved naturally. I wouldn't say there were sparks because of the nature of Piper's past. However, there was a connection between them of love and tenderness. I felt their emotions for each other and thought they were two well-rounded characters.

Overall I thought this was a great read. I'd definitely recommend it and will more than likely read the previous books in the series to find out about the other Mitchell sisters.

4

*Copy downloaded via Amazon for free.

A Note About Reviews

Hi everyone!

I'm sorry I've been so bad at posting reviews lately. Things have been crazy in my life and new changes meant I haven't been able to get to my laptop as often.

Anyway, I'm finally getting back on track and have a ton of reviews sitting in my inbox for books I've been reading, which need to be scheduled.

Because there are so many, the format for reviews of books I've purchased myself is going to change for this one bulk of posts. I'm going to be using the Goodreads HTML so I can catch up, meaning not all books will have a blurb, but they will have an easy link to follow and find out more.

ARCs will still use my standrd format and provide all of the usual information.

Thanks for bearing with me. xx

Review ~ Bad Princess by Julianna Keyes

eARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Release Date: November 27th 2017

Publisher: Self-published

Description:
Notorious for leaping off roofs, maiming foreign royals, and thattwerking incident, Brinley Cantrella of Estau is nobody’s definition of a good princess. She’s fearless and bold, not good and gracious. And after a lifetime of being told she’s unfit to be queen, wearing the crown and helping to usher Estau into a new era is the one dream she’s never dared chase.

But when her older sister abdicates the throne, all Brinley has to do to inherit the role is not twerk, not maim anybody, and definitely not get caught fooling around topless with Prince Finn, her childhood crush, the only man she’s ever loved…and her sister’s former future husband.

Finn embodies the definition of good. Tall and handsome, serious and honorable, he always does the right thing—including agreeing to marry his ex’s sister to cover up this latest scandal. Brinley has fallen down stairs, broken teeth and broken bones, but this is the first time her heart has ever been broken. She now has the crown and the prince, and on the surface, life is good—but is being married to a man everyone swears could never love her back good enough?

My Opinion

First, I want to say I was drawn to this book by the cover, and then when I read the blurb the idea intrigued me. I mean a bad princess sounds intriguing, right? The idea had a lot of potential, but having never read anything by this author before I wasn't sure what to expect. I also knew it was a novella going in, which will be important in a minute so bear that in mind.

In general I liked the concept. The idea behind the story remained intriguing and this story grew on me. I say that because the start didn't exactly hook me. In fact, I read 10% then picked up another ARC by my all time favourite author before deciding to go back to it. The big info dump at the start wasn't the most gripping scene, and there was a lot of telling rather than showing the characters' personalities. I wasn't sure I'd actually pick it back up, but I did and thankfully the more the book developed the better the writing got.

Looking back, I would say I enjoyed this read. However, I did feel it could be so much more. There was so much potential, but the novella length didn't do the idea justice. Remember I said it would be important? Well, I wanted more. Things happened at breakneck speed in this book and while I understand the motives behind the events, it didn't leave a lot of time to develop a relationship. I felt the sparks between the characters but I didn't believe in the love because it had no time to grow. It felt like lust and so the ending didn't align for me.

That's not to say it's a bad thing. I've read enough novellas to know how they're structured, but I grew to enjoy this more than I thought I would after the start and felt it could have been so much more. The concept was bigger and there were so many ideas and scenes that could have been developed rather than been provided in a whistle-stop-tour of Brinley and Fin's life. That's my main issue with this book. It felt like a taster or a prequel to something bigger and I want more. I enjoyed it but I'm not sure it was satisfying.


Overall, it's a short and to the point read. It grew on me more than I thought it would as the plot developed, and I'm glad I stuck with it. I wish it had been longer, but it's a good read to kill a couple of hours with.

3

Review ~ Lips Close to Mine (Wherever You Go, #2) by Robin Bielman

eARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Release Date: November 20th 2017

Publisher: Entangled Publishing LLC

Description:
I wasn’t supposed to see Levi Pierce ever again. A few months ago, he charmed the pants off me and we spent one incredible night together.

End of story.

Only it wasn’t. Pretty soon everywhere I turn, I see him. Our best friends are dating. My mother mistakenly—and happily—thinks he’s my plus-one to my cousin’s wedding. And he’s the guy I have to work with on the most important job opportunity of my life.

Here’s my problem: I like Levi. I like his killer smile and his dreamboat eyes and definitely the way he makes me feel in bed. But I’ve sworn off relationships. So when the sexual tension reaches epic proportions and we fall back into bed together, I tell myself it’s temporary. When I start to feel more, I tell myself it’s over. 

Only Levi isn’t a forget-it kind of guy. When his lips are close to mine and he swears he’s always wanted me, my defenses disappear. But some things in life just aren’t meant to be.

Or are they?

My Opinion

This is the third book I've read by this author now. I'll be honest and say the cover caught my eye first with Lips Close to Mine--because come on, he's hot. Anyway, Robin's name was the second element that pulled me in and made me want to read the blurb.

Having enjoyed this author's previous work, I was excited to jump in this read. However, while I enjoyed it, I don't think it's my favourite book by her so far.

In general, I liked the plot of Lips Close to Mine. I felt for Harley and rooted for her relationship with Levi. I thought they worked well together, and I did feel a bond between them.

However, saying that, I thought this book was paced a little slowly at times and it took a bit long to get to the relationship and drama. I'll be honest and say I enjoyed Teague and Mateo's story more. That's not to say I didn't like Lips Close to Mine, but there was just something missing that slowed everything down.


Overall, this was an enjoyable read. It took me a bit longer to get through than normal, but for the most part it held my attention. If you haven't read anything by this author she is worth checking out.

4