[Book Review + Giveaway] Suddenly Last Summer by Sarah Morgan

Suddenly Last Summer 
by Sarah Morgan

USA TODAY bestselling author Sarah Morgan introduces another irresistible O’Neil brother who’s more tempting than dessert and twice as sinful!

Fiery French chef Élise Philippe is having a seriously bad day. Not only have the grand opening plans for her beloved café fallen apart, but Sean O’Neil is back in town and looking more delectable than ever. Memories of the electrifying night they shared last summer leave Élise very tempted, but she knows all too well that eventually Sean will be leaving…again.

Being back in Vermont—even temporarily—is surgeon Sean O’Neil’s worst nightmare. Returning home to the Snow Crystal Resort means confronting the guilt he feels about rejecting his family’s lifestyle years ago. But discovering that Élise is still in Vermont and still sets his blood racing is a very welcome distraction! Remembering last summer and how good they were together is going to make walking away more difficult than he could imagine…

AMAZON | GOODREADS 

Oh Snow Crystal, how I want to make reservations & soak up the amazing views and setting that Sarah Morgan introduces us to. Morgan is an incredible author, her writing is alive and brings together an interesting plot that is entertaining and sweet at the same time. A year later, Elise and Sean meet again. They are over the head in their career & the last thing they need right now is a serious relationship. But with history, Sean's grandfather's condition, and the heat of the moment, there might be something way more between them that either of them are ready for. 

I loved these characters!! Even though it felt a little like a cliche, the romantics of the book world do love their cliches. You have Elise, a French chef who is gorgeous, smart, and has a personality of a firecracker. I loved how classy and stylish the author portrayed her, she was really someone that I enjoyed reading about. Sean is definitely in your "Hot Doctor" category. He has the looks, the career, and he definitely likes things that are better in life. I loved his relationship with his grandfather and just his personality overall. Reading about their chemistry made me want to actually watch it on the screen & melt in their love.

 

Suddenly Last Summer is definitely a must-read this summer! It's cute, romantic, and definitely a piece of art. Even not being a big fan of romance, I really felt the connection between the characters and really enjoyed this book.

ARC copy was provided by CBB Promotions‏ in exchange for an honest review as a part of a virtual blog tour. This did not influence my review in any way and the reviewer had not been compensated. 

About the Author:

USA TODAY bestselling author Sarah Morgan writes hot, happy contemporary romance and her trademark humour and sensuality have gained her fans across the globe. She has been nominated three years in succession for the prestigious RITA© Award from the Romance Writers of America and has won the award twice, in 2012 and 2013. RT Book Reviews has called her ‘a magician with words’ and she has made numerous appearances in their ‘Top Pick’ slot. Sarah lives near London, and when she isn’t reading or writing she loves being outdoors, preferably on vacation so she can forget the house needs tidying. She loves chatting with readers by email and on Facebook and Twitter. More information can be found on her website.

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[Book Review] The Taking by Kimberly Derting

The Taking
by Kimberly Derting 

A flash of white light . . . and then . . . nothing. 

When sixteen-year-old Kyra Agnew wakes up behind a Dumpster at the Gas ’n’ Sip, she has no memory of how she got there. With a terrible headache and a major case of déjà vu, she heads home only to discover that five years have passed . . . yet she hasn’t aged a day. 

Everything else about Kyra’s old life is different. Her parents are divorced, her boyfriend, Austin, is in college and dating her best friend, and her dad has changed from an uptight neat-freak to a drunken conspiracy theorist who blames her five-year disappearance on little green men. 

Confused and lost, Kyra isn’t sure how to move forward unless she uncovers the truth. With Austin gone, she turns to Tyler, Austin’s annoying kid brother, who is now seventeen and who she has a sudden undeniable attraction to. As Tyler and Kyra retrace her steps from the fateful night of her disappearance, they discover strange phenomena that no one can explain, and they begin to wonder if Kyra’s father is not as crazy as he seems. There are others like her who have been taken . . . and returned. Kyra races to find an explanation and reclaim the life she once had, but what if the life she wants back is not her own?

AMAZON | GOODREADS 

3.5 Magical and beautiful stars... 

The Taking is a story about accepting your fate and trying to find some normalcy in events where you are the only one who seems sane. 

After Kyra wakes up behind a garbage dumpster, she realizes that she doesn't remember anything that happened after her and her dad's fight. Everything seems the same but at the same time, everything is also different. That's when she finds out that it's been five years since the night of the fight and everything around her changed except Kyra. Parents are divorced, her old boyfriend is dating her best friend, and she needs to figure out what to do with her life because she's officially 21. The only thing that makes her feel better is Tyler, a boy across the street who is not a twelve year old that he used to be. 

"Awkward or not, you should know I'm glad you're back. And now that I'm older, I'll try to be a little more memorable."

Tyler seems to be the only one who understands her struggle and accepts her situation. But when she gets a tail from NSA who want to do testing on her, Kyra needs to disappear from their eyes. She finds a group of people who claim to have gotten through the same thing as she has and now they have to run from danger and from experiments that government wants to put them through. 

"Love required sacrifice and makng hard choices and doing things that were bigger than just you. It wasn't something you asked for, or could control or change. It was something you accepted. Love was a force of nature."

I'm a huge fan of Kimberly Derting and absolutely love her writing. That why I was confused when I started reading The Taking.. Story started out a little slow and since the beginning was mostly already written in book's summary, it wasn't surprising. I mostly knew what was going to happen anyways. The "insta love" that happened between Kyra and Tyler was a little cheesy but as the story progressed, I actually appropriated the progress that was described. 

After about 50% of the book that's when it started being interesting. The whole alien invasion started to become twisted and that was that. That was the point where I saw why I love Derting's writing so much. Action, raw emotions, the chase - this is what I was expecting. Ending was incredible and I cannot wait to the sequel. 

[Book Review] All That Glows by Ryan Graudin

All That Glows

by Ryan Graudin

Emrys—a fiery, red-headed Fae—always embraced her life in the Highlands, far from the city’s draining technology, until she’s sent to London to rejoin the Faery Guard. But this isn’t any normal assignment—she’s sent to guard Prince Richard: Britain’s notorious, partying bad boy and soon-to-be King. The prince’s careless ways and royal blood make him the irresistible for the dark spirits that feed on mortals. Sweet, disheveled, and alive with adventure—Richard is one charge who will put Emrys’s magic and heart to the test.

When an ancient force begins preying on the monarchy, Emrys must hunt through the London’s magical underworld, facing down Banshees, Black Dogs and Green Women to find the one who threatens Richard’s life. In this chaos of dark magic, palace murders and paparazzi, Emrys finds herself facing an impossible choice. For despite all her powers, Emrys has discovered a force that burns brighter than magic: love.

AMAZON | GOODREADS 

Trying to get through this book was painful. Not only because I wanted to find things that I liked about it but also trying to find some sort of excitement in writing.

Story begins with Emrys being assigned to rejoin the Faery Guard and her assignment is Prince Richard – party animal who just graduated and needs some serious protection from soul feeders that are roaring London. But since advanced technology been growing, the Fae cannot stay within the city long enough without getting sick. With ancient Fae starting to rise against mortals to go back to the way it used to be, Emrys needs to protect Richard and figure out if loving him will be worth losing all of her magic.

I definitely couldn’t get into the story and one thing that bothered me most was narrator’s voice. Emrys is supposed to be this elder Fae who lived through centuries and supposed to be one of the most powerful Guards. But reading her thoughts and view on the world is like reading teenager’s diary.

Teenager: “Ahhhhhhhhhh he’s so cute, like OMG! I totally wanna kiss him but my mom is gonna find out but I want to risk like everything just to be with him”.

It’s like the author had a great idea for a great Fae warrior but got side tracked by an amazing romance idea. The story did have some potential but was poorly executed and was not for me.

[Book Review] Uninvited by Sophie Jordan

Uninvited 

by Sophie Jordan

The Scarlet Letter meets Minority Report in bestselling author Sophie Jordan's chilling new novel about a teenage girl who is ostracized when her genetic test proves she's destined to become a murderer.

When Davy Hamilton's tests come back positive for Homicidal Tendency Syndrome (HTS)-aka the kill gene-she loses everything. Her boyfriend ditches her, her parents are scared of her, and she can forget about her bright future at Juilliard. Davy doesn't feel any different, but genes don't lie. One day she will kill someone.

Only Sean, a fellow HTS carrier, can relate to her new life. Davy wants to trust him; maybe he's not as dangerous as he seems. Or maybe Davy is just as deadly.

The first in a two-book series, Uninvited tackles intriguing questions about free will, identity, and human nature. Steeped in New York Times bestselling author Sophie Jordan's trademark mix of gripping action and breathless romance, this suspenseful tale is perfect for fans of James Patterson, Michelle Hodkin, and Lisa McMann.

AMAZON | GOODREADS 

*ARC copy was provided by the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review*

Uninvited is the kind of book that you cannot give up to. The thrill and the adventure only begins in the second part of the book that makes you question the blurred line between dystopian genre and the real world.

With high violence rate, 2021 brings promise where everyone is required to get tested for HTS – a gene that is also known as Homicidal Tendency Syndrome, or – kill gene. People that have this gene are dangerous to society and eventually will snap and kill someone. Before Davy Hamilton got tested positive for HTS, she was the girl that everyone wanted to be. Popular, talented, accepted to Juilliard, and with the hot boyfriend who will do anything for her. But when everyone finds out that she is a carrier, they see her as a monster. Someone who will eventually snap. Davy is forced to go to a different school with other carriers where the real threat is not what the outside the “Cage”, but on the inside.

First 60% was definitely sometimes out of Chick-Lit genre. Girl likes a boy and then there’s a big tragedy and he rejects her with her best friend betraying her back. Davy was a typical teenager with thinking a little too high of herself. I wasn’t sure if I was going to like this book because of the way she acted. Her simple “I am better so I cannot be a carrier” demeanor was a complete turn off.

However…. Once you get to the second part of the book, this is where the action begins. With military grade training and high alert security, the world-building becomes less of a reality. You can clearly see the switch that was made in Devy and her realization that only the strongest will survive. She became strong, fearless, and simply amazing.

[Top Ten Tuesday] (12)

This is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish where each week bloggers share a list of books for the prompt given. 

This Week's Topic: Top Ten 2014 Releases We Are Dying to Read!

Promise of Shadows by Justina Ireland - Release March 2014

Paranormal book with a twist of mythology? Yes please! & the cover is gorgeous, I've always been a sucker for pretty covers and anything that's pretty. 

Magnolia by Kristi Cook - Release August 2014

Arranged marriage story between royally rich teenagers smells like rebels! Totally excited for this one but that is almost a year away to be released! :(

Dissonance by Erica O'Rourke - Release July 2014

New series involving Time Travel with dystopian theme sounds like the new Divergent series! And the cover is gorgeous, I'm definitely hoping to get my hands on this.

#scandal by Sarah Ockler - Release June 2014

This is definitely going to be my summer read! I heard so many good things about it & cannot wait to endoulge myself in some romance.  

The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith  - Release April 2014

This is more of a Chick Lit story and even though I have to be in the mood for it, I really think that I will enjoy this one. & it's published by one of my favorite publishers! 

Lies My Girlfriend Told Me by Julie Anne Peters - Release June 2014

I haven't been a big fan of GLBT genre but I'm winning to give this one a shot just because it sounds very emotional and I think it will be good. But who know.. So far there's 5 star rating on Goodreads.

To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han  - Release April 2014

Teen writes letters to every boy that she had crush on. This is totally a new level of desperation that I would love to read hehe

Being Sloane Jacobs by Lauren Morrill - Release January 2014

This is more of a sports-romance but I've seen it on RandomBuzzers and pretty excited to check it out!I heard a lot good things about the author.

What's on your list today? Leave the link below so I can stop by and check it out!! Happy Tuesday! xoxo