Review of Her Best Shot by Shannyn Schroeder

Synopsis: 

With college graduation looming, three childhood friends vow to make spring break their last blast of pure fun. But at least one of them didn't count on such incredible heat… 

Layla Sharpe is definitely more math ninja than bikini babe, and her future has been calculated with razor precision. Convinced to let loose over spring break, Layla is finally ready to party—until her car breaks down halfway to her destination, leaving her stranded in Georgia with a mouthwateringly hot pool shark. She knows more than enough about angles to learn the game, but this week she wants him to appreciate her curves… 

Phin Marks has never met a girl like Layla. She’s more Star Wars geek than seductress, and when he offers her a place to stay while her car is in the shop, he’s counting on the attraction between them to set the nights ablaze, no strings attached. But every moment he spends with Layla makes it harder to let her go. Can he persuade her to gamble in the most dangerous way possible…on forever?

Leia's Review:

When Layla decides to head south to meet her best friend for spring break, she has no idea what life has in store for her. 
After having her car break down in Atlanta, Layla meets Phin – a sexy, mysterious pool shark. They have an instant attraction that is hard to ignore. Once Layla thinks her luck is looking up, her purse is stolen, leaving her stranded and alone with no money or identification in a big city. Phin offers her a place to stay until she can figure everything out. But neither of them is expecting that one week together could change everything. 

This was a good short story. The writing was good. The plot was good. The storytelling was good.
But I didn’t find anything exceptional from the experience. I actually had a hard time connecting with the characters. I felt like both Phin and Layla lacked a depth that I normally crave. 

I am also not a huge fan of the insta-love concept in books. At all. And with the characters being a little two-dimensional, I couldn’t connect with the love that they had for each other. 

I did find the concept of the story interesting. And I loved that Layla was a bit of a geek. She wasn’t a super model. She wasn’t a rich heiress. She was just a normal girl with a little geek to her. 
And Phin was different as well. I don’t think I have ever read a story about a gypsy before, so that was an original concept and one that I found interesting. I would have loved for the author to dig deeper into these characters because I feel like they both had such promise. 

I realize that I may be in the minority with my opinions on this book, considering the rating that it has. And that’s okay. Not every book is for every person. I will say, that overall the book held my interest. It just lacked some of the qualities that make a bookexcellent for me. 

3 – 3.5 Stars

I was generously provided with a copy of this book by the author via NetGalley for my honest review

Review of Since Forever Ago by Olivia Besse

Synopsis: 

Fresh off the heels of a devastating breakup, Riley Benson is a mess. But with her ingenious plan to become a ball-busting heartbreaker herself, she’s pretty sure she’ll survive. After all, what better way is there to get revenge than to move on?

Riley’s determined to become the perfect bachelorette—she’s going to drink like a bro, belch like a beast and swear so much that she’ll make even the most seasoned sailors blush. After all, those are the qualities that every guy’s secretly looking for…. aren’t they?

Max Fletcher is in love with the girl who gave him chicken pox and his first broken leg. When his best friend seems to finally be out of the picture, he can’t help but want to keep Riley all to himself. And, after coaching her with the very best of the very worst love advice, it seems as if he might actually get what he's wanted after all those years. But just as the two come to the realization that they're actually kind of perfect for each other, along comes a secret that threatens to tear them apart.

Leia's Review: 

Since Forever Ago was a cute story. 
Though the story line wasn’t the most original, it was enjoyable. I found myself laughing through several of the situations and frustrated with others. 

Riley discovers that her boyfriend of 6 years, Noah has been cheating on her. A heart-broken Riley turns to her best friend, Max. Now, Max has harbored feeling for Riley for a long, long time. When she comes to him for dating advice, he decides to give her the most ridiculous dating advice I’ve ever heard. Most of it was on point to turn guys off immediately. 

Once Max finally tells Riley about his feelings, she realizes that she has feelings for him to. However, when her first love Noah comes back into the picture trying to win her back, things get a little confusing for Riley. And how is she supposed to choose between her best friend and her first love? 

Now, this book has been getting hit hard with bad reviews. I think that sometimes people focus on how annoyed that they are with characters, and they rate a book based on that. However, I don’t think that readers consider the fact that maybe the authorwanted that character to come across as clingy or naïve, as bitchy or sugary-sweet. Let’s keep in mind that this is a story of characters in their early 20’s. And Riley has been dating Noah for 6 years! That’s her entire adolescence. She hasn’t had the experience that most of the dating world has by the age of 21. So I tended to give her a little bit more of a break than it seems most of the other reviewers have. 

I will be honest, there were some things about this book that frustrated me beyond belief. I wanted to pull my hair out and scream. On that same token, there were parts that brought me back to my nights of crazy shenanigans with my friends and made me laugh out loud. 

Overall, was this my favorite book in the world? No. Was it as cute, fun story that I enjoyed? Yes, absolutely. 

3 Stars

I was generously provided with a copy of this book by the author via NetGalley for my honest review.

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Review - Fear for Hire by Natalie S Ellis

Jack Wylie is tall, dark, handsome and brave - he's everything you'd want in a kidnapper. Ex-cop Jack Wylie is a born protector, tormented by the day he misjudged a criminal and his life took a tragic turn. Now he's on a mission to kidnap a woman to help her overcome a fear of being tied up. He's been told by his psychologist brother to keep up the game until the woman gives him the sign. But there has been a big mistake. Jack has accidentally abducted the feisty and beautiful Molly Rhoades - a newly arrived local TV reporter who has secrets of her own. And she doesn't know the sign. After a dangerous and unlikely meeting, Jack and Molly find themselves consumed by sexual tension, but things get even more complicated when Molly finds out that Jack is engaged to the local Councilwoman Amanda Everett, a ruthless career climber determined to succeed no matter what the cost. But why did Jack kidnap Molly in the first place? Who is pulling the strings in this perverted puppet show? Jack vows to protect Molly until he finds out the truth, but the layers of deception and vengeance run deeper than he could have ever imagined.

This book to me, started out really good and full of promise. It had everything, suspense, angst, it was all there. Former cop Jack gets asked to help a woman overcome her fear of being abducted. He is hesitant at first because he is a good man and kidnapping a woman, even at her request just seems wrong to him.

He finds out that the woman he kidnapped is in fact NOT THE RIGHT WOMAN. Well that is when shit gets real. Jack is being set up but by who? 

The story doesn't end there- we find out that Molly (the lady who was kidnapped) is actually a reporter and is planning this huge break through story on her abduction and her beautiful abductor. I was constantly wondering what, who, why and I was a ball of nerves with all the unanswered questions.

Sadly, the book started to get a little slow for me. It was not bad but I wanted more from it I guess. More shock and more wow moments that I didn't get. I did kind of guess the who the "bad guy" was and I guess I just wanted it to be shocking. 

Overall it was a good book but I think it had way more potential. I will read more from this author in the future and i give it 3 stars!

Buy it here

REVIEW of The Bare Bones by Layla Wolfe

Synopsis: 

If you ain’t living on the edge, you’re taking up too much room.

The rose-colored illusion of Madison Shellmound’s girlish crush on biker Ford Illuminati is stomped into smithereens by his crude, perverse father Cropper, Bare Bones club President. Fearing Ford will kill Cropper if he finds out, Madison flees town, becoming an upstanding cardiology nurse.

Madison and Ford have an ill-fated, star-crossed love that will last their lifetimes. Ford is a lifer in a different sort of enterprise, the gritty full-throttle club of guns, blood, and allegiance to his brothers.

Twelve years and several tours of SEAL duty later, Ford is thrust back into Madison’s arms on the worst day of his life. Madison’s prospect brother Speed has screwed up big-time and owes the club his life. She offers herself to Cropper as a sacrificial lamb to save Speed.

But how long until the fiery, full-on outlaw Ford discovers that the woman he loves was treated like a degraded slave by his own father? Well, meet the new boss. He’s not the same as the old boss

Leia's Review: 

I consider myself a very open minded reader. 

I have ready my fair share of whirlwind romances, dark gritty stories and various paranormals. 

But occasionally, I run across a book that’s subject matter even I find…..overly taboo. 

Bearing that in mind, that is why my rating is the way it is. Some readers may not mind the content in this novel, and will no doubt enjoy the story immensely. 

This is the story of Madison and Ford. It isn’t your traditional love story. It is dark and dirty and filled with obstacles. 

Neither Madison or Ford have easy childhoods, they both have a lot to overcome and they do that in their own ways. After any idea of an easy “hearts and flowers romance” is crushed by Ford’s *ahem* scum of the earth father, Cropper – Madison and Ford head in different life directions. 

Then, through a series of…..unexplainable….events, Ford and Madison are brought together again. But through this, emotions are strung high, and allegiances are tested. It’s a rocky road to a happily ever after – will Madison and Ford make it? 

Now, why did I give this book only 3 stars?? – There are some scenes in this book that will no doubt make you cringe. The things that Cropper does are downright disgusting and hard to stomach. And there were times that I thought I might not be able to make it through. So, this story is not for the faint of heart (and obviously I fall into that category this time). Also, there were some editing issues - and if you know me, you know I normally DO NOT point these out - but there were some areas where the story got a little confusing because of the lack of editing. It wasn’t often, but it did happen. 

This story is full of twists and turns and LOTS of drama, and I know that some people out there are going to love the hell out of it, but this one just wasn’t for me. 

*3 Stars*

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Only For You *ARC Review*

 
When Scarlet realized Penelope was dumping Sean, her best friend, she was devastated. Penelope was the love of his life, the woman of his dreams. Scarlet knew how far her best friend was going to fall and she had to catch him. Scarlet became Sean’s rock and helped him through a very painful breakup, but her own hidden desires bubbled to the surface in the process. When they finally gave in and slept together, she thought it was the start of their new relationship. Unfortunately, Sean didn’t feel the same.

Humiliated and heartbroken, Scarlet moved across the country and found what she least expected. She rekindled her damaged relationship with her brother, who she hadn’t spoken to in a year, and her brother’s best friend was attractive and interesting. Their relationship was natural and unforced, and she was immediately drawn to him. Would she be able to get over Sean, forget about him, by sleeping with Cortland, or would that just be another repeated mistake?

                                                                                                 
The book opens with Scarlet being told by Penelope that she will be dumping Sean, Scarlet's best friend. Scarlet is heartbroken by this, and realizes how hard it will hit Sean. She wants Penelope to tell Sean why she is breaking up with him, but Penelope doesn't want to hurt him even more than she already will. This is hard on Scarlet because of how it will affect Sean, but also because her and Penelope have become friends in the three years that they have been together.  She wants to be there for him, and help him through this.

"What a fucking whore" he snapped.
"I agree."
"And a fucking bitch."
"You are too good for her, Sean."
"Fuck yeah."

 Her co-worker Janice is always asking her about what is between her and Sean. Scarlet denies having feelings for him. I really believe that at first, she just believed that they were friends. BUT, with as much time as they were spending together after the breakup, her feelings started to morph into something different.

"Sean was my friend, but for the first time I didn't see him as only my friend. I wanted him in a sexual way, too. Sean was the most respectable man I knew. I knew he was still buzzed, but I also knew he wouldn't take advantage of me or our friendship."

One night they sleep together and you can finally see that she is really in love with him. Unfortunately when the feelings are not reciprocated and she finds him with another woman, Scarlet runs.

She goes across country to be with her brother. While there, she hooks up with a close friend to her brother. She is trying all she can to get over Sean, but is sleeping with someone else really going to help her get over what she thought could be with Sean? Will her and Sean work out.... Will her and Cortland make a run for it?

I really liked Scarlet at first. She stood up for herself when her boss at the editing firm hit on her. She has a witty personality and her banter with Janice and with Sean really draw you in.

Sean seemed like a pushover, with all the wallowing he did over Penelope. The strong part of his character was the way he wanted to protect Scarlet.

Ryan is a great big brother who genuinely cares for his sister, and wants to protect her.

Cortland is a sweet guy, with a big heart.

3 Stars