True Love Story by Willow Aster
Sparrow Fisher is transforming. No longer dressed up in antiquated clothes and ideals, she is finally trying on her freedom.
Before she moves to New York City, she meets Ian Sterling, a musician Sparrow has dreamed about since she first saw him. The attraction is instant, but their relationship isn't so simple.
Over a five year span, Sparrow and Ian run into each other in unusual places. Each time, Sparrow has to decide if she can trust him, if he feels the same for her, and finally, if love is really enough.
My rate & take
This was a beautifully written book. It flowed so well and brought this reader along with every emotional draw. It was so good I'm left still daydreaming about it and I'm afraid this review is going to be a sparse because of it. I think well written books are works of art, clearly this author is on her way to becoming a great artist.
NEW NEW NEW NEW NEW NEW NEW NEW NEW
I am now doing a secondary rating for books with descriptive steamy scenes...
...a heat index of sorts
one ☼ sun - moderate heat
three ☼☼☼ suns - the heat is on
five ☼☼☼☼☼ suns - solar sensation
Under the new rating system this book rates (1) ☼
Close to You by Kate Perry
When Treat Byrnes walks into her bookstore café, Eve Alexander wants to eat him up. Bad boy isn’t her usual flavor, but for the sexy contractor, she’s willing to take a walk on the wild side.
Treat meets Eve on a reconnaissance mission for his mother, who owns a neighboring teashop, but he keeps going back to Eve for her sweet smile and sassy shoes. He has a history of falling for damsels-in-distress, but Eve doesn’t need rescuing. Not even when her cafe is sabotaged.
But when Treat finds out the saboteur is his own mother, he knows he has to do something before things go too far.
My rate & take
This book was a treat that I devoured in just a few enjoyable hours. Sweet, steamy, and just the right bit of plot made this a fun read. This book should be with you on your next trip to the beach or holiday.
I found this article, "Stop Apologizing for What You Like to Read" and I just had to share.
I'd like to think I am passed the point in life where I feel the need to apologize or defend the things I love...but if I am being honest that is only partially correct. Say a stranger (or even someone I don't know well) asks me what kind of books I like to read I just might feel compelled to do that low voiced mumble thing while shifting my eyes to look for a distraction, or start talking about what I used to read.
I've had stints all over the reading map, spent years reading only literature, memoirs, travelogues, and non-fiction, for a time it's what fueled me. Eventually I found myself both bored and curious (not always a recipe for a good outcome in life but in this case it worked out very well) so I started exploring other genre's. Ever since I made that decision my reading life has soared in enjoyment. So why then am I reluctant to yell from the roof tops what I love reading right now? I don't have that answer to that yet, but until I do I know I'll take any help I can get to keep reminding myself to cherish what I love, even if it's not for anyone else.
I Hope you have something in your life you'd like to shout about too! Feel free to leave a comment on whatever that might be.
Taboo Kisses by Gracen Miller
"WARNING: This book is intended for a mature audience at least 18 years of age or older. Contains graphic sexual content and high amounts of sexual content..."
Dispatched to the mortal realm from Atlantis to seek the source of a brewing rebellion, Sameya is thrown for a tailspin when she discovers her fated mates. As a siren her songs entice mankind and immortals alike to their death. She’s stunned to be seduced by a taboo union with a tiger-shifter and vampyr. Mating the pair could complicate everything and threaten her freedom. Fueled by her duty to Atlantis, Sameya rejects fate’s wisdom and refutes her attraction to the men.
My rate & take
The warning above is real and certainly warranted. I did shorten the warning...in went into vivid detail on what kinds of situations one could expect to read in this book...I didn't think all the details were needed, you either know it's your cup of tea, or you know it's not by what has been provided.
I will say when I started reading this book I was really skeptical but within the first few pages I found I really liked the characters so continued and I found it a pager turner from start to end. And the steamy parts were super steamy. I now know why the fans of this author seem to be very loyal.
My Unfair Godmother by Jeanette Rallison
Tansy Miller has always felt that her divorced father has never had enough time for her. But mistakenly getting caught on the wrong side of the law wasn't exactly how she wanted to get his attention. Enter Chrysanthemum "Chrissy" Everstar, Tansy's fairy in shining, er, high heels. Chrissy is only a fair godmother, of course, so Tansy's three wishes don't exactly go according to plan. And if bringing Robin Hood to the twenty-first century isn't bad enough for Tansy, being transported back to the Middle Ages to deal with Rumpelstiltskin certainly is. She'll need the help of her blended family, her wits, and especially the cute police chief's son to stop the gold-spinning story from spinning wildly out of control.
My rate & take
There were plenty of morals to this story....so many I could not pick just one, which is why it makes such a great Young Adult read. Wait, I take that back, I think the best moral of the story is, if your Fairy Godmother shows up to grant you three wishes, you had better turn her around with a polite 'no thanks!' And let her be on her way. Because she just may take your wishes and cause more disaster than she actually helps. Come to think of it, isn't that what happens in a lot of stories that involve a Fairy Godmother?
Hard to Love by Kendall Ryan
Cade’s always taken risks…
Cade takes cares of his sick younger sister by doing what he does best--cage fighting and starring in adult movies, his newest harebrained moneymaking scheme designed to pay for his sister’s growing medical bills. But when his latest gig finds him admitted to the ER sporting an erection from hell, thanks to the little pill given to him by the director, he can’t get the pretty little nurse who treated him out of his head, even though he knows she’s so far out of his league it should be illegal.
Alexa’s always played it safe…
Tired of being pigeonholed as the sweet, innocent one, hardworking nursing student Alexa has been looking for ways to break out of her Goody Two-shoes image. When her friend suggests the outlandish idea of losing her virginity to the sexy and sure-to-be-skilled porn star, Alexa is mortified. But then when Cade refuses her proposition, she finds herself pissed off and embarrassed. When she tracks him down to give him a piece of her mind, she isn’t prepared for what she finds. Watching him care for his little sister tugs at her heart, and suddenly it’s no longer just about losing her virginity, but about helping Cade. Because Lord help her, she might actually be falling for a porn star.
My rate & take
I was really sceptical of this one, a porn star? How is that going to work? Well thankfully it did work because the porn star job was very exaggerated in the blurb. This is a sweet and quick read, perfect for the beach, or whatever comes close to a beach-like time for you.
I would have liked to have seen a little more depth to the characters but in the short span of the book I get why that didn't happen. The dialog, pacing, and steamy scenes were nicely balanced and enjoyable.
Crazy Love by Nicola Marsh
All's fair in love...and matchmaking!
Sierra Kent doesn’t do love.
While she embraces the quaintness of her home town Love and delights in matchmaking her clients through her Internet dating agency Love Byte, she doesn’t trust her intuition when it comes to the one emotion that has repeatedly let her down.
City-slick Marc Fairley, CEO of LA's premier acquisition company, doesn’t have time for Love.
From the minute he enters the kitschy town he can’t wait to hotfoot back to LA with his deranged mother in tow.
Instead, he gets roped into the town's Love Fest hoopla, investigates the shady farmer his mom is engaged to, berates his butler for a mad crush on a brash Aussie waitress, and finds himself falling for the brazen red-head who continually baits him.
His life couldn't get any crazier.
Until he discovers in exacting revenge on his father and achieving his lifelong goals, he may lose the one thing he values most...
Can Sierra and Marc create enough sparks to send Love up in flames?
And prove that winning isn’t everything in the love stakes, it’s how you play the game.
My rate & take
AND 1/2 
While this is only the second book in a row, it feels like I have gotten myself into some kind of pattern...the first part of the book is 'meh' at best, I get ready to get my claws out and rip it apart but then the middle comes along and things get a lot better. Then I find I am really liking the characters and caring what happens next. And I love that I could finally connect with the book, I just wish it could always happen for me right from the beginning. Ah well, that it happened at all is what I am focusing on. This was a sweet story made all the sweeter by the fact that I have a crush on small towns (the type that is maybe only real in books - where everyone cares about everyone else but never gets too nosy) and I could not stop myself from loving the town that is called Love and markets itself to those that have it and those that want it. In the end all was a happy ending for the story and my reading fun.
