Friday Fling! - Lucky Number Four

During Friday Fling , I share with you a "just for fun" romance book or novella that I read and really enjoyed.  It will generally be a "mini review" instead of a full review and I'll stray from my YA focus into the realm of new adult/adult romance (which, in case you're curious, is my not-so-guilty pleasure).  These are books that I think are fun, quick (sexy) reads that are definitely worth checking out!

Publisher: C.A. Kunz, LLC
Release Date: January 2014

Dora needs somewhere new to live and fast.  While living with her now married best friends seemed like a good idea and totally doable, their sex life has taken off and Dora is finding it a little hard to concentrate on her own life--not to mention hearing all the good sex is making her wish for some of her own!  A serendipitous roommate posting at the grocery store and three pushy models later, Dora is moving in with three drool-worthy men and she may have truly opened her own Pandora's box.  Attraction ensues, as one might suspect with three hottie roommates, but things are not necessarily quite as Dora is perceiving them

Ms. Pandora...well...she wasn't my favorite character ever in a new adult romance. She's clearly a beautiful young woman who can't fathom that she is, even with multiple handsome young men and her best friend drilling it into her head frequently.  While this was a fun and quick read, I felt like, for me, the character connections fell a little flat.  I wanted to like Pandora more (and to stop calling her Dora because does anyone NOT think of the little cartoon character when they say that name?), but something just didn't click there for me.  I also wasn't quite sold on the main love interest's instantaneous attraction to her.  I'm no stranger to love at first sight storylines but this one was lacking something and I'm not quite sure what.  That being said, I did enjoy this author's writing and general storytelling and I would probably pick up something from her in the future.

Friday Fling! The Next Forever by Lisa Burstein

During Friday Fling , I share with you a "just for fun" romance book or novella that I read and really enjoyed.  It will generally be a "mini review" instead of a full review and I'll stray from my YA focus into the realm of adult romance (which, in case you're curious, is my not-so-guilty pleasure).  These are books that I think are fun, quick (sexy) reads that are definitely worth checking out!




Follow-up novellas tend to be hit or miss for me, but I have to say that this little gem was spot on...

Publisher: Ever After (Entangled Publishing)
Release Date: January 2013
Get it! Amazon | B&N

Amy and Joe have known each other for a long time, but it was only at the end of their high school career that their friendship was rekindled and blossomed into something more. Now together in college, Amy and Joe must navigate the uncertainties and difficulties of college life.  Amy must reconcile her new (actually, old) self with the person that she was while hanging out with Lila and Cassie.  Joe is trying to find his own path while holding on to Amy as his anchor.  Will they be able to forge a path forward together?

Told in alternating POVs, The Next Forever offers up both Amy and Joe's perspective on a single college night that proves a turning point for both of them.  For such a short novella, I felt like Lisa really packed it in with this one.  The reader gets a deeper sense of connection to Amy and gets to spend some time in Joe's head.  This was a quick, fun read--a definite MUST for fans of Pretty Amy. 

Cover Reveal: Hollowed by Kelley York

You should know that I LOVE, LOVE, LOVED Kelley York's debut novel, Hushed, when I read it last year.  I've read it in its entirety at least twice and in bits and pieces on numerous occasions. I pimped it out to a close friend who loved it just as much and we talk about it ALL THE TIME.  I stalk follow Kelley's blog and Twitter a lot some to keep an eye out for more from her because I LOVE her writing. You know when you read a book and you know you'll love everything that author does?  That was Hushed for me. Am I rambling? Yes?  Okay, well, when I saw on her blog that she had decided to self-publish a book this fall AND she has a new Entangled Pub book coming out next year, this was me:

So OF COURSE I wanted to participate in revealing her new cover!  Have I made you wait long enough yet? Maybe you want to see this beautiful gem now?  OKAY!

Fab {Indie} Friday: Callum & Harper by Fisher Amelie

Release Date: 24 December 2011

Publisher: Self-pub
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased from B&N

Get a copy! Amazon | B&N
(It's only $2.99 and totally worth it.)

Goodreads description:

Life sucks for orphans Callum Tate and Harper Bailey.

Kicked out of their foster homes because they suffer the 'eighteen disease' with nothing but a hundred dollar check from the government and a pat on the back, they're forced to rely on a system that failed them miserably.

So they sit. They sit inside Social Services, waiting for their social workers to call their names and offer them the miracle they know will never come but they sit anyway because they have nowhere else to go, no other options on their very literal and figurative empty plates.

But as they sit, they notice the other. Although captivated, they each come to the conclusion that life is complicated enough without throwing in a boiling tension that can't ever be acted upon because they're both too busy thinking about where their next meal will come from but when their names are called and both are placed on a year long waiting list for permanent housing, suddenly relying on each other seems like a very viable plan B.

And, oh, how lovely Plan B's can be.

Well, except for the psycho from Harper's past that haunts her and, oh, yeah, there's the little issue that neither of them knows they're in love with the other.

Needless to say, Callum & Harper's life just got a bit more complicated.

My Thoughts...

Fab {Indie} Friday Review: Easy by Tammara Webber

Release Date:25 May 2012

Publisher: Self-pub
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased from B&N

Get a copy! Amazon | B&N
(It's only $3.99 and totally worth it.)

Goodreads description:

When Jacqueline follows her longtime boyfriend to the college of his choice, the last thing she expects is a breakup. After two weeks in shock, she wakes up to her new reality: she’s single, attending a state university instead of a music conservatory, ignored by her former circle of friends, stalked by her ex’s frat brother, and failing a class for the first time in her life.

Her econ professor gives her an email address for Landon, the class tutor, who shows her that she’s still the same intelligent girl she’s always been. As Jacqueline becomes interested in more from her tutor than a better grade, his teasing responses make the feeling seem mutual. There’s just one problem—their only interactions are through email.

Meanwhile, a guy in her econ class proves his worth the first night she meets him. Nothing like her popular ex or her brainy tutor, Lucas sits on the back row, sketching in a notebook and staring at her. At a downtown club, he disappears after several dances that leave her on fire. When he asks if he can sketch her, alone in her room, she agrees—hoping for more.

Then Jacqueline discovers a withheld connection between her supportive tutor and her seductive classmate, her ex comes back into the picture, and her stalker escalates his attention by spreading rumors that they’ve hooked up. Suddenly appearances are everything, and knowing who to trust is anything but easy.

My Thoughts...