Colleen Hoover: Hopeless

Colleen Hoover

Series: Hopeless

Book One: Hopeless

Synopsis:

Sometimes discovering the truth can leave you more hopeless than believing the lies.

That's what Sky Davis realizes after she meets Dean Holder. A guy with a reputation that rivals her own and an uncanny ability to invoke feelings in her she's never had before.  He terrifies her and captivates her all in the span of their first encounter.

Sky struggles to keep him at a distance, but Holder insists on learning everything about her. Unable to deny their intense connection, Sky finally caves to his unwavering pursuit.  However, she soon discovers that Holder's erratic and unpredictable behavior comes with a very good explanation.  One that will ultimately test her faith in the hopeless boy she's fallen in love with.  

 

Publication Date: November 28, 2013

 

Review:

Love the story behind this book. It isn't at all what I was expecting it to be like which is a nice surprise. It seems like lately most books all seem the same, but this one is really different. Maybe not what the book is actually about, but how it is told. This book covers romance, abuse, bullying, and very different things in between. The chemistry between Sky and Holder is amazing. You can't help but be drawn to them. I read this book in one sitting. I just couldn't put it down. I'm looking forward to reading it from Holder's point of view. I want to know how he was feeling during all this. maybe it will better explain his reactions to some of the things that happened in this book. I would highly recommend this book to other readers!





Book Two: Losing Hope

Synopsis:

Sometimes in life, in order to move forward you must face the past…

The story of what happened when a troubled girl named Sky encountered a long-lost childhood friend, Dean Holder. With Holder’s help, Sky uncovered shocking family secrets and came to terms with memories and emotions that had left deep scars.
Hopeless was Sky’s story. Now, in Losing Hope, we finally learn the truth about Dean Holder.
Haunted by the little girl he couldn’t save from imminent danger, Holder’s life has been overshadowed by feelings of guilt and remorse. He has never stopped searching for her, believing that finding her would bring him the peace he needs to move on. However, Holder could not have anticipated that he would be faced with even greater pain the moment they reconnect.
In Losing Hope, Holder reveals the way in which the events of Sky’s youth affected him and his family, leading him to seek his own redemption in the act of saving her. But it is only in loving Sky that he can finally begin to heal himself.

 

Publication Date: July 8, 2013

 

Review:

Have not read yet!




Book Three: Finding Cinderella

Synopsis:

A chance encounter in the dark leads eighteen-year-old Daniel and the girl who stumbles across him to profess their love for each other. But this love has conditions: they agree it will only last one hour and it will only be make-believe.

When their hour is up and the girl rushes off like Cinderella, Daniel tries to convince himself that what happened between them only seemed perfect because they were pretending it was perfect. Moments like that with girls like her don’t happen outside of fairytales.
One year and one bad relationship later, his disbelief in insta-love is stripped away the day he meets Six: a girl with a strange name and an even stranger personality. But Daniel soon realizes that fairytales don’t exist, and unfortunately for Daniel, finding Cinderella doesn’t guarantee their happily ever after…it only further threatens it.

 

Publication Date: October 14, 2013

 

Review:

Have not read yet!

Addison Moore: 3:AM. Kisses

Addison Moore

Series: 3:AM Kisses

Book One: 3:AM Kisses

Synopsis:

Baya Brighton is looking forward to her first year at Whitney Briggs University, new friends, dorm life, and finally being close to her brother again. Love is the last thing on the list, but when Baya meets her brother’s roommate she begins to have thoughts and feelings that make even her blush.
Bryson Edwards has a secret he prefers buried in the past and long forgotten. He keeps himself busy with the important things, loose girls, fast cars, and long nights working at the string of bars his family owns. When his roommate’s sister shows up on the scene, she’s far too innocent and sweet for him but he can’t shake Baya out of his mind and worse, it looks like she’s seeping into his heart as well.
Baya seems determined to show her brother she’s not a little kid and equally determined to use Bryson’s body to prove her point. It’s been made pretty clear that Baya is off limits to Bryson but their undeniable sparks explode into a whole lot more than just a few 3:AM KISSES.


Publication Date: September 17, 2013
 
Review:

Purchased this book because it was recommended to me by my Kindle. It looked pretty interested and I wasn't disappointed. It was a little unbelievable at first though. These two characters fall for each other pretty hard and pretty fast. The girl has been pretty sheltered when it comes to a love lift, whereas the boy, is a hardcore player trying to relieve the pain from his past. It just doesn't seem plausible to me that a player would suddenly decide to change his ways after one look at a girl. The story line was really cute and I'm really happy I read the book. It has a crazy ending that you wouldn't seem coming. It almost comes out of left field, but it ties into the story and makes sense. I would recommend this book to other readers. 



Book Two: Winter Kisses

Synopsis:

Laney Sawyer used to believe in love and all of the trappings that happily ever after could provide until Ryder Capwell crushed her heart. When Laney is auctioned off as a prize at the drama department fundraiser the last person she expects to trade cold hard cash for her company is Ryder.
Ryder Capwell is in love with Laney Sawyer. One year ago she walked out of his life and took the light of his world right along with her. Ryder would do anything to have another chance with Laney, including purchasing her for the evening courtesy of Whitney Briggs University, and he does just that.
One thing leads to whiskey, which leads to a one-night stand. She thinks it’s revenge sex—he thinks its make-up sex. Things can only go wrong from here.


Publication Date: December 21, 2013  
 
Review:

Have not read yet!



Book Three: Sugar Kisses

Synopsis:


Sugar Kisses—nothing tastes sweeter than revenge…
Roxy Capwell couldn’t be more miserable. She just had her heart stomped on by her cheating boyfriend, and the last thing she’s looking for is love. She hates men.
Cole Brighton couldn’t be happier. He’s a player of the highest order, there’s not a girl at Whitney Briggs University that he can’t tag and bag. He loves the ladies.
Roxy’s dream is to own and operate her own bakery one day, but with no oven in her dorm, and a lucrative baking competition on the horizon, she agrees to move in with her best friend’s brother, the obnoxious, womanizing, Cole Brighton.
Between the heavenly scent of baked goods, and Roxy’s perfect body strutting around the apartment, Cole can’t think straight. So when Roxy’s ex starts sniffing around again, Cole volunteers to play the part of her new boy-toy and things get heated both in and out of the kitchen.
Roxy discovers she might not hate every man on the planet, and Cole discovers nothing tastes better than Roxy and her late night SUGAR KISSES.
 Roxy is ball of stress and anger.
Cole is all ego and sex.
Their attraction is unstoppable.
And when their bodies collide—its combustible.

Review:

Book not out yet!



Book four: Whiskey Kisses

Synopsis:

Holt's story.


Review:

Book not out yet!

Ashley Rose: Brothers and Best Friends

Ashley Rose

Brothers and Best Friends

Synopsis:

Eighteen-year-old Janine Bradley is shy, naïve, virginal, and has a big problem. Her brother's sexy best friend, Jess—a total playboy, and Janine's life-long crush—has a strong, muscular shoulder to cry on. He is shocked to see Janine on his doorstep after three years of no communication. Now a college student studying in New York City he is even more handsome than Janine remembers. Struggling to understand why his best friend’s kid sister decided to come to him for help, Jess finds himself seeing the girl who once followed him around relentlessly in a different light.
Janine moves to New York City to live with Jess, and is quickly taken in by a group of his friends. Unfortunately, and unbeknownst to everyone, one of those friends poses a huge threat to Jess and Janine. Demons from past relationships threaten to come between them, as Janine struggles to trust this man she has loved for years.

Publication Date: November 9, 2013 

Review:

I bought this book because it was recommended to me by another book I had been reading. It looked like an interesting book by the title and cover, so I thought "What the heck?" Turns out it wasn't all that good. The story line is interesting and makes you feel good that the characters were able to find love, but it all seemed implausible. Also, there were way too many J names for me to keep straight lol. The main character Janine finds herself pregnant after she was raped at a party she attended at her brother's college. She goes to the only person she thinks is able to help her, her brother's best friend Jess. This fact alone is the most implausible thing to me. The girl barely had a relationship with him to begin with and hasn't talked to him in over four years; of all the people that she knows, why would she choose him? I know she has had a crush on him this whole time, but still doesn't make sense. If I found myself in that situation, he would not be the first person I would turn to, but again that is just me. The couple ends up forming a relationship together and Jess decides it would be best to tell people that he is the father of her child since she doesn't want people to know how it actually happened. At the end of the book, you find out who actually raped her (because she was drugged, and didn't remember anything) and the guy blackmails her. Jess and Janie end up running away together after their wedding. They don't tell anybody where they are. She ends up giving birth to the baby and that how it ends. The ending is completely unsatisfactory. Nothing is solved. You are left wondering if things blow over with the blackmail. How her family is going to react. Nothing. Just wish there had been an epilogue or something to sum up what happened to everybody.

Lauren Blakely: Caught Up in Us

Lauren Blakely

Series: Caught Up In Us

Book One: Caught Up in Us

Synopsis:
 
A second chance at first love...Five years ago, Kat Harper fell into a dizzying summer romance with her brother's best friend Bryan. It was a mad, crazy love full of kisses all through the night -- but he broke her heart and she had to move on. Five years later, Kat is finishing her graduate degree and building her business as a jewelry designer, when Bryan, head of his own successful company, walks back into her life. Bryan has been assigned to Kat as her new business mentor and the rules are clear. No hanky panky permitted. Kat can handle that because she's totally over him... right? Except, he still makes her laugh, and he remembers all the things she likes. Not to mention that he's even more handsome now than he was then. Then there's the spark between them -- the simply undeniable chemistry, and the tender ways he shows he still cares for her. Can they resist each other the second time around or will first love trump all?

Publication Date: January 21, 2013
 
Review:

This book went by pretty quick, but you got a lot of information in the story. It didn't leave anything out really. It told you what you needed to know about the past that shaped the current relationship that they were in and then went on to tell you have their relationship is developing as of now. It is a cute love story of a guy who was willing to sacrifice his happiness with his one true love so that she could experience the full college life. It is told in her point of view, but revolves around the decision he had made five years ago. The characters have great chemistry and you can't help but want things to work out. This is a stand alone novel. Caught Up in Him is a prequel to this book that tells about the romance that happened five years prior, but it is not necessary to read to know what is going on now. The other books are also stand alones that reflect characters that you meet in this book. I would recommend this book if you are looking for a quick and fun read!



Book 0.5: Caught Up in Him

Synopsis:

Seventeen-year-old Kat Harper has always dreamed of silver-screen kisses, the kind of love you see in the movies.
That’s exactly what she gets the summer before college when she meets her brother’s best friend Bryan.
He’s five years older, but that doesn’t stop them from falling into a summer romance so perfect it could have been scripted by Hollywood. They kiss in the back row of the movie theater, on the beach at night, even on the quiet streets of her hometown when no one’s looking.
Surely, he’s falling as hard for her as she is for him, right? But Bryan breaks her heart and leaves with barely an explanation, forcing Kat to move on from her first love... until five years later, when he walks back into her life. Now she has to face the truth that she's never gotten over him. Is it possible he hasn’t stopped thinking about her too?

Review:

Have not read yet!



Book Two: Pretending He's Mine

Synopsis:

Reeve Larkin needs a job. Sure, the actor is talented and gorgeous in that dreamy, broody sort of way that makes all the women swoon. But he lost out on a part in a big movie, and now his day job hours have been slashed too. What's a handsome young thing in need of a role to do? Sign up to be the fake fiancé of the sexy and shrewd casting director Sutton Brenner, who must appear temporarily attached if she's to land a coveted gig casting a red-hot film. So Sutton strikes a pact with Reeve to play the role of her fiance until she closes the deal. The trouble is - she's sexy-as-hell and damn near irresistible to him. And he's not only a great guy, but also the best dirty talker she's ever met. It doesn't take long for their pretend love affair to heat up, especially after that toe-curling night in the balcony of the Broadway theater. And that scorching afternoon in the stacks of the New York Public Library. 

A red-hot love affair. An intense connection. But as the lines between make-believe and matters of the heart blur, can two people working in the world of acting fake it til they make it?

 

Publication Date: March 2, 2013

 

Review:

Have not read yet!




Book Three: Playing With Her Heart

Synopsis:

Twenty-three year old rising theater star Jill McCormick has built a life out of pretending. Pretending she's happy, pretending she's not haunted by the dark secret that shattered her world six years ago. But then she comes face to face with her new director - sexy, sophisticated, possessive, all-alpha Davis Milo. He tries to resist the actress he's cast, but the attraction between them is too powerful, and soon their private rehearsals spiral into new, forbidden territory. The passionate connection, the intense chemistry is undeniable, and it hits them anywhere, and everywhere - in the theater, on the piano, in the limo, in the restaurant...But the tragedy in Jill's past stands between them. Davis has walls too, so they can either face their fears together, or risk the deepest love and greatest passion either has ever felt...

 

Publication Date: December 15, 2013

 

Review:

Have not read yet!

Kirsten DeMuzio: Safe with You and Just One Reason

Kirsten DeMuzio

Series: First and Last

Book One: Safe With You

Synopsis:

After overcoming a difficult childhood, Taryn Ross has a fairy tale life - her father is a Senator contemplating a run for President, her mother loves to take her shopping for ridiculously expensive clothes, and she is finishing up her junior year at NYU.
What she doesn’t have is love - the heart pounding, mind blowing, passion filled love that she reads about in her collection of steamy romance novels. But that might change when she accepts a cup of coffee from a sexy mysterious stranger.
Wyatt Hunter has experienced a loss that has him living each day just going through the motions. His world is in dull shades of gray - until the day he meets Taryn. She brings vibrant brilliant color back into his life, and he can’t stand the thought of going on without her.
But Wyatt is holding a secret that could send Taryn running when she finds out.

Publication Date: April 27, 2013
 
Review:

I was actually a little disappointed with this book. It all happened so fast. There wasn't anything to the book really. Don't get me wrong the story line was very well liked, but I just wish there was more to it. There wasn't anything all that exciting. And the ending SUCKED! It just ended in the middle of a story. What kind of crap is that?!?!?! I loved Taryn and Wyatt, and all the other characters. They had amazing chemistry together and their story was really cute. It just had NO filler it seemed like. It went straight to the point. I was quite disappointed. Another downer is that the second book does not even pick up where this one left off. It tells of her best friend/cousin's, Lindsey, story. I don't know if there is even a third book or not coming out. I have a feeling though that the third book still won't pick up with where this went left off. I'm hoping it does, but I feel like it may pick up on a story that we hear about in the second book about one of Lindsey's friends.


Book Two: Just One Reason

Synopsis:

As teenagers, Lindsay and Grady found a love together that few people are lucky enough to ever experience.
When Lindsay Ross decided to visit her aunt for the summer in a small lake town in New York, she didn’t expect anything other than an escape from her demanding parents. She certainly didn’t expect Grady Hawke. At the end of the summer, Lindsay and Grady made plans for their future and vowed to be together forever. Back in New York City, events beyond her control forced Lindsay to turn her back on Grady and their love.
Grady has spent the last five years trying to forget the one girl who broke his heart. But when Lindsay arrives back in town unannounced, will Grady get to know the woman she has become and find out the real reason she left him all those years ago? Or will he push her away for good?

Publication Date: July 18, 2013

Review:

Kirsten did a whole lot better with this story. It has a lot more to it. It doesn't feel as rushed as the first book. You get the background story between the two main characters, their history in between, and what happens when they are reconnected. It is a tragic love story that turns out for the best. You feel so heartbroken for Lindsay and can't help but to cry right along with her. You feel Grady's anger towards Lindsay for the way she left, but you know why she had to do what she did, so you just want to yell at him for being so callous towards her. This book tells you everything you need to know without rushing into anything. It also tells the story from both point of views. It isn't just one sided. The epilogue is also one that will have you loving the story even more. I am hoping that Kirsten writes more for this series and ties up a few loose ends. Here's to keeping my fingers crossed!

R. J. Sable: Right There With You, Stronger With You, and Always With You

R. J. Sable

Series: With You

Book One: Right There With You

Synopsis:

Jamie-Lea Carter has been living under the thumb of her older brothers for eighteen years. Having finally moved out to start her new life as a university student, she tries to faithfully follow the strictly ordered life they've lain out for her. These rules haven't been an issue for her before because she knows she owes them everything. More than any sibling can ever owe. 

She dutifully follows these rules until she meets Jason Reed and the biggest one becomes a problem. No boyfriends. Torn between her loyalty to her brothers and the sizzling attraction to the intriguing ladies' man, Jamie-Lea finds herself on dangerous standings with her overbearing and somewhat aggressive brothers. 

Jason Reed isn't intimidated by the Carters. He knows what he wants the moment he sees it and nothing is going to come between him and the girl he never expected to fall for.

With the odds stacked against them, where will this forbidden romance take them?

 

Publication Date: July 4, 2013

 

Review:

It seems lately I have been reading a lot of books that are about girls that are pretty sheltered and are finally being able to move out on their own to start college. This one was no different.
Jamie-Lea, aka Jelly (as her brothers call her), has been living with her six, seven if you count Matt, brothers her entire life. She was raised by them and they are extremely protective, and may not have the best disciplining skills, but she never questioned it. She knew she had made their lives extremely hard and whenever she messed up, she knew she deserved to be punished. Jamie is able to move into a flat on campus with several other students and instantly clicks with them. When her flat mates ask her to go out for a freshman party, she agrees, and this is where she meets Jason. Jason is the epitomy of what you would think a bad boy would be. He clicks with Jamie right away. After he learns of her relationship with her brothers and how they treat her, he can't seem to let go of the anger he has towards them. He doesn't see how her brothers don't see how wrong it is for them to treat her the way they do. Their love overcomes it all though.
This is a very intense book. You are automatically drawn into the characters and the chemistry they share between each other. Jamie's relationship with her brothers, her relationships with her friends, and the relationship with Jason...they all captivate you. You feel what they feel. Understand where each person is coming from. You can't help but turn the page to know what is going to happen next. Definitely a MUST READ!





Book Two: Stronger With You

Synopsis:

Jamie-Lea Carter and Jason Reed have been through the mill. Jason has been there for her in every way he could be. After a tough start to her life at university, Jamie-Lea is only now coming to realise who she really is. She makes a resolution not to let herself get pushed around as much but that's easier said than done as part of the Carter family.
Guilt still plagues her for everything that her family has been through but, with Jason's support, she's growing stronger in more ways than one. She loves her brothers whole-heartedly but deep down she knows things aren't right and never really have been. What has to give for something to change?

 

Publication Date: September 29, 2013

 

Review:

Jamie and Jason have been through so much, but it hasn't dampened their relationship. Yes, they have had their hardships, but it has only seemed to strengthen them. Jamie knows that she needs to defend herself more, but she also knows that she has caused her family severe pain. She doesn't necessarily condone how they punish her, but then again she doesn't really want to push the issue. She feels so guilty for everything that her family as had to suffer at her expense. Jason is having any of that. He doesn't think Jamie should be punished for something that was out of her control and he has no problem voicing these opinions/facts to her older brothers. He isn't afraid of them. If they want someone to take the pain out on, then it can be him, not Jamie. Jason is helping Jamie become such a stronger person, she thinks that it is only right that she help him with his demons as well. She doesn't know how things will end up when he finds out what she is doing, but she is willing to take the risk. They both just want what is best for each other.
This is such a great continuation of the first book. It captivates you from the beginning. You are drawn in. You want to know what is going to happen next. You cry right along with the characters, feel their hurt and pain, and just want everything to be for the best. You can't help but want to help them out. R. J.Sable knows how to write a book that keeps you guessing and waiting to see what will happen next. The book has such a wide variety of different types of characters. You don't see that very often. I was super ready to see how this trilogy was going to end. Hope you will like it just as much as I did!


Book Three: Always With You

Synopsis:

After an unexpected and unwelcome turn of events, Jamie-Lea Carter and Jason Reed find their lives altered drastically. They don't know who wants to hurt Jamie, or even why, but Jason and the Carter boys aren't about to let it happen.
Jamie and Jason's love is strong. They've overcome too many bad things to let this ruin what they have but Jason is terrified of losing the love of his life. Jamie wants to break down Jason's last remaining walls and convince him that, together, they can get through anything.
With Jamie's life on the line, will her brothers go back to their old ways? Or will Jamie and Jason get through it with the strength of their love? Many questions will be answered in the final book in the 'With You' trilogy.

 

Publication Date: November 29, 2013

 

Review:

I will just say that I seriously hated the epilogue for a few minutes. I was ready to get on Facebook and start a rant on the authors page. However, when I got a few paragraphs into the epilogue I loosened up a bit. I still didn't appreciate what R.J. was saying, but then I forgave. I was in such an emotional roller coaster ride the entire book that when the epilogue came I didn't think I was going to survive this series. I had been rooting for Jamie and Jason since the beginning and to think that they hadn't made it was such a blow to my heart. I will not give any spoilers of what this book is about. All I will say is don't jump to any harsh conclusions at the end of the book and start of the epilogue. Hold out for just a bit longer and everything will make sense. If you are anything like me, you will be crying your eyes out for the majority of the book. I didn't think I was going to have enough tissues to make it through this book. It was a great way to end the trilogy. I am very pleased with how everything turned out. :)