Book Review: No Way Back by Chloe Adams

Title: No Way Back
Author: Chloe Adams
Series: Mia's Way #1
Date Published: October 27, 2012
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Rating: ★★★★✩

Sometimes bad things happen to beautiful people.

The wealthy daughter of a high-ranking politician, seventeen year old Mia Abbott-Renou has everything: designer clothes, wealth, spring breaks in Monte Carlo. She lives blissfully unaware of her family’s secrets, until the night she is raped by the son of her father’s greatest political ally.

Her father forbids her from going to the police and threatens to throw her out if she does. It’s a critical election year, one that his party might lose, if the public sours on his doting father image when they realize his daughter is an underage lush and party girl. He can’t risk splintering the party in a nasty court battle that’s certain to draw way too much press, even if that means sacrificing his daughter.

Mia’s world is shattered twice, once by the men who hurt her, and once by the betrayal of her family. She does what her father says. But the rapists strike again and beat their next victim near death.

With the help of her best friend and a couple of unlikely allies, Mia must decide: does she risk losing everything to do what’s right? Or does she turn her back on the truth and preserve the family name?

What’s privileged girl to do, when her perfect little world isn't so perfect anymore?

Book Review: Light in the Shadows by A. Meredith Walters

Title: Light in the Shadows
Author: A. Meredith Walters
Series: Find You In The Dark #2
Published Date: March 26, 2013
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Review: ★★★★✩


How do you keep going when you feel like your life is over?

Maggie never thought she’d see Clay again. So, she attempts to put her life back together after her heart has been shattered to pieces. Moving on and moving forward, just as Clay wanted her to.

Clay never stopped thinking of Maggie. Even after ripping their lives apart and leaving her behind to get the help he so desperately needed. He is healing...slowly. But his heart still belongs to the girl who tried to save him.

When a sudden tragedy brings Maggie and Clay face to face again, nothing is the same. Yet some things never change. Can the darkness that threatened to consume them be transformed into something else and finally give them what they always wanted? And can two people who fought so hard to be together, finally find their happiness? Or will their demons and fear drive them apart for good?

The thing about love, is even when it destroys you, it has a way of mending what is broken. And in the shadows, you can still see the light.

Book Review: The Bridgertons: Happily Ever After by Julia Quinn

Title: The Bridgertons: Happily Ever After

Author: Julia Quinn

Publisher: HaperCollins, April 2, 2013

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Review: ★★★★✩

For the first time in print, New York Times bestselling author Julia Quinn presents a collection of "second epilogues" to her Bridgerton series, previously published as e-originals, plus a new bonus Bridgerton novella: Violet in Bloom," a short story in which we finally meet Edmund Bridgerton.

Book Review: This Is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith

Title: This Is What Happy Looks Like
Author: Jennifer E. Smith
Publisher: April 2, 2013 by Poppy
Amazon|Goodreads
Review: ★★★★★

If fate sent you an email, would you answer?

When teenage movie star Graham Larkin accidentally sends small town girl Ellie O'Neill an email about his pet pig, the two seventeen-year-olds strike up a witty and unforgettable correspondence, discussing everything under the sun, except for their names or backgrounds. 

Then Graham finds out that Ellie's Maine hometown is the perfect location for his latest film, and he decides to take their relationship from online to in-person. But can a star as famous as Graham really start a relationship with an ordinary girl like Ellie? And why does Ellie want to avoid the media's spotlight at all costs? 

Book Review: Tempting The Bride

by Sherry Thomas

Book Description:

In this new masterpiece of historical romance from the acclaimed Sherry Thomas, a headstrong beauty is rescued by the notorious rake she has always despised...      

Helena Fitzhugh understands perfectly well that she would be ruined should her secret love affair be discovered. So when a rendezvous goes wrong and she is about to be caught in the act, it is with the greatest reluctance that she accepts help from David Hillsborough, Viscount Hastings, and elopes with him to save her reputation.       

Helena has despised David since they were children—the notorious rake has tormented her all her life. David, on the other hand, has always loved Helena, but his pride will never let him admit the secrets of his heart.       

A carriage accident the day after their elopement, however, robs Helena of her memory—the slate is wiped clean. At last David dares to reveal his love, and she finds him both fascinating and desirable. But what will happen when her memory returns and she realizes she has fallen for a man she has sworn never to trust?

Book Review: 4/5

“Sometimes people fall in love with those who do not return the same strength of feelings. It is as it is,” he said with a quiet intensity. “What I give, I give freely. You owe me nothing, not love, not friendship, not even obligation.” 

Sherry Thomas is one of my favorite romance author and this is the story I've been dying to read since I started the series - and my expectations were met. Ms. Thomas made an amazing love story of a man who can't say the right words to the woman he wanted for a long time, and a woman who is deeply in love with another and is willing to risk everything.

I don't know whether I'd fall in love with David or not. He can be annoying at times and lovable the next. His tactics are so high school - trying to get the attention of the girl he likes through teasing and not-so-amusing bantering. I wish he can just be honest with Helena and tell her what he really feels for her. On the other hand, he is an amazing father to his illegitimate daughter. He's very patient, kind and just. He didn't want to shun his daughter away like any noble man would do to children who were born outside the blanket. Instead, he took her in his roof, and be the best father that a special child needs. 

Helena - the perfect epitome of the woman who is blinded by love. She was in love with Andrew for a long time, and when an opportunity knocked, she took it - without looking at the consequences of her actions. Good thing David was there to save her reputation. 

The clean slot David wanted came when Helena lost her memory, and despite that - he tried to come clean. But what happens when Helena regains her memory and remember that she loved another? 

Despite the familiar plot that I'm not really fond of (amnesia), I fell in love with this book and its characters and would gladly recommend it to friends. Especially for those people who look too far for love, not noticing what is in front of them.

Favorite Quotes:

• “I beg you to exercise wisdom and restraint and remember that not all opportunities are created equal. Some are nothing but steps leading down toward catastrophe.” 
• “Perhaps you forgave him too much, but who among us would not wish to be so generously loved and generously forgiven?” 
• “I’ve always loved you,” he said, his eyes a blue that was almost violet. “You know this.” She swallowed a lump in her throat. “I only wonder whether I deserve such devotion.”
  “Sometimes people fall in love with those who do not return the same strength of feelings. It is as it is,” he said with a quiet intensity. “What I give, I give freely. You owe me nothing, not love, not friendship, not even obligation.” 

Book Review: Let Me Be The One (The Sullivans Book 6)

Book Description:
When Vicki Bennett saved Ryan Sullivan’s life as a teenager, it was the beginning of a close friendship that never wavered despite her failed marriage to someone else and Ryan’s well-earned reputation as a ladies man. So when she suddenly needs a pretend boyfriend to protect herself and her career from a powerful man’s advances, he is the only person she can imagine asking.

Ryan will do anything to protect Vicki from harm, but when their “fake” kisses and caresses lead to an incredibly sensual night that neither of them can resist, will he have made the biggest mistake of all by irreparably jeopardizing their friendship? Or is it possible that what they’ve both been looking for has been right there the whole time…and the perfect combination of wicked and sweet, friendship and love, is finally within reach?

Book Review: 4/5
"And still, even when he’d told her how he felt about her, and that he wanted their fake relationship to be real, she’d held herself back out of fear that their friends-to-lovers story was too good to be anything but fiction." 

One of the hardest bridge to cross is the one that connects love and friendship. Finally! I get to read Ryan's story - and I was glad it was worth all those book that I skipped to read this one. As expected, it was hot on the edges as two friends try to deny what they feel for each other. The tension, the sexual chemistry and the inner conflict of crossing boundaries had me hooked and excited that I have finished this book in a day!

Ryan, truly a swoon-worthy knight-in-shining-armor is a guy any girl would want to have as her best friend. He's kind, generous, thoughtful, and always there when you need him. As a teenager with raging hormones, he tried to control every urges he has in respect to Vicki and their friendship. But as a grown man, (at last) he found some courage to finally pursue what he wanted for a long time: his best friend 

Vicki worked hard to gain recognition in the art world, to prove to everyone that she can be famous because of what she can do and not who she knows. I admire her dedication to her craft and her struggle to do what she really loves. There were several problems she encountered along the way, and one of these problem is the reason why she called Ryan. Pretending to be his girlfriend is not that hard when it was almost close to reality. But doubts and fear of losing her best friend gave her some pause and a lot of thinking. 

Their friendship had been through rough times, especially when they separated and Vicki wanted to pursue art for college. Even when she got married - their communication stayed and their friendship stayed alive.

Bella Andre makes a perfect love story for an ordinary plot of two best friends falling in love with each other.

Favorite Quote:

• “She’d painted her nails with rainbow stripes and it occurred to him that Vicki was just as beautiful and mysterious as a rainbow.
  One he’d been chasing for years without ever coming close to reaching the pot of gold at the end.” 
• “Kindness is incredibly sexy.” 
• “Unrequited love made right is the ultimate, isn’t it?” 
• “I’m bad at some things.”
  She raised an eyebrow. “Name one thing.”
  Making you fall in love with me the way I’ve always been in love with you. You only ever saw the jock while you let those artist assholes chase you. And hurt you.” 
• “You’re every single fantasy I've ever had.” 
• “And still, even when he’d told her how he felt about her, and that he wanted their fake relationship to be real, she’d held herself back out of fear that their friends-to-lovers story was too good to be anything but fiction.” 

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Book Freak: If I Were You

Book Description:

Fifty Shades of Grey meets Basic Instinct 

Book 1: If I Were You
Book 2: Being Me 
Book 3: Revealing Us 

About IF I WERE YOU…

How it began…

One day I was a high school teacher on summer break, leading a relatively uneventful but happy life. Or so I told myself. Later, I’d question that, as I would question pretty much everything I knew about me, my relationships, and my desires. It all began when my neighbor thrust a key to a storage unit at me. She’d bought it to make extra money after watching some storage auction show. Now she was on her way to the airport to elope with a man she barely knew, and she needed me to clear out the unit before the lease expires.

Soon, I was standing inside a small room that held the intimate details of another woman’s life, feeling uncomfortable, as if I was invading her privacy. Why had she let these items so neatly packed, possessions that she clearly cared about deeply, be lost at an auction? Driven to find out by some unnamed force, I began to dig, to discover this woman’s life, and yes, read her journals—-dark, erotic journals that I had no business reading. Once I started, I couldn’t stop. I read on obsessively, living out fantasies through her words that I’d never dare experience on my own, compelled by the three men in her life, none of whom had names. I read onward until the last terrifying dark entry left me certain that something had happened to this woman. I had to find her and be sure she was okay.
Before long, I was taking her job for the summer at the art gallery, living her life, and she was nowhere to be found. I was becoming someone I didn’t know. I was becoming her.

The dark, passion it becomes…

Now, I am working at a prestigious gallery, where I have always dreamed of being, and I’ve been delivered to the doorstep of several men, all of which I envision as one I’ve read about in the journal. But there is one man that will call to me, that will awaken me in ways I never believed possible. That man is the ruggedly sexy artist, Chris Merit, who wants to paint me. He is rich and famous, and dark in ways I shouldn’t find intriguing, but I do. I so do. I don’t understand why his dark side appeals to me, but the attraction between us is rich with velvety promises of satisfaction. Chris is dark, and so are his desires, but I cannot turn away. He is damaged beneath his confident good looks and need for control, and in some way, I feel he needs me. I need him.
All I know for certain is that he knows me like I don’t even know me, and he says I know him. Still, I keep asking myself — do I know him? Did he know her, the journal writer, and where is she? And why doesn’t it seem to matter anymore? There is just him and me, and the burn for more.

Book Review: 2/5

I think an intelligent person knows the old adage, Curiosity kills the cat . But I didn't think she had heard of it despite being a school teacher with an masters in Art. 

BDSM-themed book has been the hype in the literary world when the Fifty Shades Trilogy made it to the top of the best seller's list. Even in countries like in the Philippines in which Sex is still considered a taboo, it became the most sought-after book (whether it's an ebook or the tangible one). Now, the main point is that: should I expect another to-die for Christian Grey in this novel? Or an annoying Anna Steele? 

Well - yes. There's a rich as Croesus artist Chris who wanted a simple, art-major, school teacher Sara. It's a classic FSoG-like character. BUT what I love about this novel is that the mystery does not only surround the characters, most especially Chris. There's Rebecca and her journal - where is she and what happened to her? The male characters who are also a wonder to most readers, the gallery owner, Mark and the artist Ricardo. Who are they? What are their connections to Rebecca? Some things to look forward besides the steamy scenes. 

I am left with a major cliffhanger in the end that left me breathless (and not really panting for more). I'm looking forward for the next book and hopeful that the suspense conclusion is worth the wait :)

Favorite Quote:

• “The art does not always mimic the artist. You never know the real person until you slide beneath their surface” 
• “Other people’s perfection is a facade we create when we are second guessing ourselves” 
• “The end of starvation is quite delicious.” 

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Book Review: The Thing About The Truth

by Lauren Barnholdt

Book Description:

In this humorous love story from the author of Two-Way Street, an unlikely romance is the best sort of surprise—but the wrong secret can ruin everything. Kelsey’s not going to let one mistake ruin her life. Sure, she got kicked out of prep school and all her old friends are shutting her out. But Kelsey’s focused on her future, and she’s determined to get back on track at Concordia High.

Isaac’s been kicked out of more schools than he can count. Since his father’s a state senator, Isaac’s life is under constant scrutiny—but Concordia High’s his last stop before boarding school, so Isaac’s hoping to fly under the radar and try to stay put for a change.

When Kelsey and Isaac meet, it’s anything but love at first sight. She thinks he’s an entitled brat, and he thinks she’s a stuck-up snob. So it surprises them both when they start to fall for each other. Kelsey’s happy for the first time in months, and Isaac’s never felt this way about anyone before...But nothing’s ever completely perfect. Everyone has secrets, and Isaac and Kelsey are no exceptions. These two may have fallen hard, but there’s one thing that can ruin it all: the truth.

Book Review:

Review Grade: 3.5/5

“And that's when I realize the thing about the truth. It always comes out, no matter what you do.” 

I can't believe I finished two books in one sitting - Jennifer Echols' Such a Rushand this one. This one is shorter, and with more humor compare to the former - and this book made me cry. Argh!

I love Lauren Barnholdt because she can write a short novel that can shake her readers. You can finish The Thing About The Truth in one sitting, and reach for the next one, but her novel can stick inside your brain with nagging questions you'd want to know the answers. 

What happens when a prep-school drop out and a senator son's who has been kicked out of every private school he's ever been enrolled in, meet?Fireworks! 

Kesley - she's someone you'd love to hate in your local high school. She has been kicked out of the prep school because of the scandal she made when someone broke her heart. Her life was not the same afterwards - her relationship with her parents were strained and she's losing her best friend. After being enrolled in a public school, Kesley was willing to do anything to be back in her family's good graces at the same time be back on track with her college applications. She was planning to apply in Ivy League Schools and a scandal in her records is detrimental to her future, she needs something to overshadow it, thus she organized a club with Isaac.

Kesley has a type A personality, and a little bit of a control freak. She is the perfect example of how an intelligent person drops her IQ when in love. She hated being lied to, that's why I didn't understand (at first) why she lied to Isaac. 

Isaac - another bad boy being add to my list. He's the senator's son - so he's used to being treated nicely by most people (because of who his father is: The Senator). He was surprised when Kesley gave him a cold shoulder on their first meeting. This made him curious about her. He like her so much, that in impulse he made up an idea about an activity: Face It Down . This activity made them closer to each other. 

He and his father didn't have the best father-son relationship because his father was more interested in public opinion and the votes he will receive rather than his very son. He describes himself as mischievous rather than bad or naughty, but what I love about him is that he tells Kesley the truth - even if it hurts. Even if Kesley wouldn't like it. 

This book is alternating the voice of both Kesley and Isaac - the before and the aftermath of the big activity that both of them were planning. We see a budding relationship of two great people that was destroyed by a lie. Kesley didn't tell him the truth because she was scared, she wished it didn't happen and she broke his heart because it was the first time Isaac fell in love, and he gets lied to. So, I do understand why he's very angry with Kesley and why forgiveness is just far from reach. This chapter that belonged to the Before had me in tears. I hated Kesley for lying, but I can feel the panic and desperation when she new she'd be busted any minute from now (my heartbeat accelerated and my breathing got heavier #panicmode). Her secret was out, and Isaac was very mad at her for lying. And of course, Isaac fed the press its nightly news. The whole activity became a circus and they found themselves being called to the principal's office once again.

I like how Lauren Barnholdt emphasize the importance of telling the truth, of not keeping important secrets from the people that are important to you. Yes, the fact may not put you in the best light, but honesty will help you save your relationship, honesty builds trust. 

However... 

The BIG PROBLEM about this novel: the conflicts that I was dying to know the resolutions to were left open. 
1. The relationship with both their fathers: did they make up or it was still strained?
2. Kesley-Rielle friendship: what happens now?
3. The consequence of their actions during the Face It Down activity

The ending was a bit abrupt, and of course, I wanted more, more, more. I wish Ms. Barnholdt would extend another chapter to close all the conflicts that she opened which will help me get over this novel! 

That's why I couldn't give it a 5 even if I wanted to.

Favorite Quotes:

• “I hate that about guys. At least girls have the decency to be fake and pretend everything’s okay when shit gets weird. Whenever guys get upset, they get all angry and scary” 
• “Parents don’t get that, though. They don’t understand about the fragility of teen friendships. They don’t understand how easy it is for things to break apart, how someone you thought would be by your side forever can just disappear, or turn on you, or decide she likes someone more than she likes you. Parents always talk about romantic relationships being so ephemeral and fleeting in high school. What they don’t get is that friendships can be the same way.” 
• “But now I’m thinking that wanting to end up with a great storyteller might have been a bad idea. Because girls who can tell great stories are also great liars.” 
• “Because sometimes when someone is telling you something really important, it’s best to just let there be silence, to really think about what they’re saying. A lot of times people think they have to say something all insightful or wise or something to try and make the person feel better. But really, sometimes silence is best.” 
• “And that's when I realize the thing about the truth. It always comes out, no matter what you do.” 
• “Because the truth is, I wouldn’t care if she lied to me, except for the fact that I love her. And once you love someone, you can’t really put up with them lying to you. It just doesn’t work. It makes things into a big mess.” 

Book Review: Pushing the Limits

by Katie McGarry

Book Trailer 

Book Description

"I won't tell anyone, Echo. I promise." Noah tucked a curl behind my ear. It had been so long since someone touched me like he did. Why did it have to be Noah Hutchins? His dark brown eyes shifted to my covered arms. "You didn't do that-did you? It was done to you?" No one ever asked that question. They stared. They whispered. They laughed. But they never asked.

So wrong for each other...and yet so right.

No one knows what happened the night Echo Emerson went from popular girl with jock boyfriend to gossiped-about outsider with "freaky" scars on her arms. Even Echo can't remember the whole truth of that horrible night. All she knows is that she wants everything to go back to normal. But when Noah Hutchins, the smoking-hot, girl-using loner in the black leather jacket, explodes into her life with his tough attitude and surprising understanding, Echo's world shifts in ways she could never have imagined. They should have nothing in common. And with the secrets they both keep, being together is pretty much impossible.Yet the crazy attraction between them refuses to go away. And Echo has to ask herself just how far they can push the limits and what she'll risk for the one guy who might teach her how to love again.

Book Review: 5/5

"Fuck me and the rest of the world, I was in love." 

I fell in love with two scarred teenagers who at a young age, has already a lot on their plates. 

Echo, her name is unique, which I really like. It makes her different from the rest of the heroines I have encountered in the YA-world. She's an artist, and gets good grades. She used to be Ms Popularity, dated the hottest boy in school but she disappeared for a month. She returned a different person - recluse and a loner. She is scarred - literally and figuratively. After losing her brother in the war, everything changed. Her family fell apart - she could no longer see her mom, her father was busy with his new wife who was her former babysitter and she was just lost. Especially when she couldn't remember something important. She had a memory lapse, and she wanted to regain that memory no matter how painful it is. 

Noah lost both his parents at a young age, and was passed from one foster home to the other. He lost hope in the system, and only wants one thing: his brothers. He'd do anything for the both of them. I love that about him, the importance he gave to his family, but sometimes too much love can blind a person. It's a good thing that he saw the light before he made a bad decision he'd regret for life. 

Mrs Collins she had my heart. My sister is a social worker and I am amaze how these people can change and touch lives. Both of her 'wards' are strong-willed and really hard-headed. But she still stayed with the both of them and tried her best in dealing with their issues. She didn't give up and saw some results that paid off her hard work. Social work and helping these kids were more than just a work that pays off her bills for her - Mrs. Collins really cared. You can feel her sincerity at the same time her concern for both Noah and Echo. If people in the social welfare office are like her, then kids inside the foster homes and those who needs a lot of help because of trauma/abuse are in good hands. 

Pushing the limits has its share of protagonist and antagonist that will have you confused as you go along - but I like that every character has its own roles to play. Everyone is important and their own time to shine in one point in the novel. 

Katie McGarry had me hooked, I can't stop reading this book for the whole day. Yep, I finished Pushing the Limits in one sitting. I was so into it because it's more than just an ordinary love story - it revolves around sensitive topic that was delivered with tact. It was discussed carefully, yet extensively. Hot topics such as family dynamics, abuse, foster homes, drugs, sex, social welfare, and mental health. A lot to digest, right? But everything went flawlessly. No doors were left unopened and putting down the book didn't made me crave for more of the characters, instead I was looking forward for more Katie McGarry books. 

Favorite Quotes

• “I love you enough to never make you choose.” 
• “Luke used to give me butterflies. Noah spawned mutant pterodactyls.” 
• “Her shoulders never shook. No tears streamed down her face. The worst type of crying wasn't the kind everyone could see--the wailing on street corners, the tearing at clothes. No, the worst kind happened when your soul wept and no matter what you did, there was no way to comfort it. A section withered and became a scar on the part of your soul that survived. For people like me and Echo, our souls contained more scar tissue than life.” 
• “We’d read about sirens in English this fall; Greek mythology bullshit about women so beautiful, their voices so enchanting, that men did anything for them. Turned out that mythology crap was real because every time I saw her, I lost my mind.” 
• “I gazed into her beautiful green eyes and her fear melted. A shy smile tugged at her lips and at my heart. Fuck me and the rest of the world, I was in love.” 
• “I've already lost a piece of my mind. I can't trust you with what's left.” 
• “Because growing up means making tough choices, and doing the right thing doesn’t necessarily mean doing the thing that feels good.”