Restore Me by J.L. Mac
Navigating the world alone is all Josephine Geroux has ever known. Life altering tragedy struck early on for her. She endured an admirable struggle through her youth and learned the hard way how to adapt and survive. She managed to arrive at adulthood in one piece in spite of it all.
After such chaos, maintaining a life free of complications is a priority for her. Everything changed when a man with amber eyes came through her door and claimed her heart. She fell hard in more ways than one. The pull between Jo and Damon seemed like fate bringing things full circle.
With another devastating loss looming, Jo fights to hold on to the very thing that brought her to her knees. She finds herself torn between a promising future and clinging to a devastating past. But that’s not the most worrisome problem on her hands.
She must convince more than just herself to let the past stay in the past, where it belongs, but on her journey to find closure and resolution, she does the exact opposite. An old wound caused by a heinous act becomes exposed for what it is. The truth is catastrophic and Jo is helpless, watching as the ruins of her fragile world endure more turmoil.
Can something conceived from tragedy and malice end well? Can something so completely poisoned conquer adversity? Jo is left to make a decision; accept the circumstances she finds herself in or fight with unwavering ferocity to restore what has been damaged.
My rate & take
Heat Index 3 ☼☼☼
When you open up and let love in, sometimes life slips right in too with some hard realities and all of sudden you find you have much more to lose than you ever did.
That above is exactly what is going on with our main female lead in this the second book of the Wrecked series.
The author did a very decent job of writing the emotional journey for the female character but I will say the male character seemed like he came out of the worst part of the difficulties much more easily than I would have expected... maybe he was just being the stoic male.
Still in all a very entertaining story and I even got surprised by a plot twist I did not see coming...and I am intrigued by another plot development that won't be fully divulged until book three. Ah the wait and wait for a publication date!! T'is the bane (well one of them anyway) of my existence.
Wreck Me by J.L. Mac
Life can be cruel. People can be ruthless and evil. The world can be cold and uninviting. No one knows these things better than Josephine Geroux. By her own definition, she is a twenty-five year old “nobody with nothing,” and she is content to stay that way. Growing up an orphan has made her tough and indifferent to the people around her until she meets a strangely familiar man with a face that haunts her for reasons she can’t understand.
Despite the pain that will inevitably ensue, she makes it her mission to discover what parts of her tragic puzzle she is missing. On her journey to discovering why the she feels an alarming connection to an absolute stranger, her greatest fear is reawakening the demons and darkness from the past that will surely overtake her if she lets her guard down.
Little does Josephine know that the past should be the least of her worries. She is toying with a man who has already broken her heart once. She just doesn’t realize it.
Although she makes it a point to avoid interactions with others, Josephine’s life becomes entangled with the enigmatic stranger. Before she realizes it, she has given herself over to the one person who is close enough to wreck her.
My rate & take
Heat Index 3 ☼☼☼
This is book one of the Wrecked series, book two is out now (review to follow) and book three will be out this summer, and I think that may bring the story to a close.
From reading the first few pages I already had a very good idea of the main plot twist but that in no way halted my enjoyment, there was plenty of other things going on to keep my interest, like her mysterious connection to the hot stranger, and of course the stranger himself! I found myself liking the leading characters so much that the minute I finished this book I was off to the second book...the only hitch is now I have to once again wait for the book that will give me the (HEA) happily ever after that I always look for.
Make Me Yours by Kendall Ryan
Emotionally crippled Liz isn’t looking for a relationship when she meets delish boy-next-door, Cohen. He’s a few years younger, a volunteer firefighter, oh…and a virgin, making him totally off limits. But never one to back away from a challenge, she’s drawn to him even while she continues to satisfy her physical needs elsewhere.
Even as she spends her evenings in another man’s arms, she somehow finds herself curled up in Cohen’s bed each night. It’s been a long time since she had a true honest-to-goodness make out session, but Cohen’s showing her just how much fun not having sex can be.
When Cohen’s injured, her real feelings for him rise to the surface, and she has to decide if she’s willing to take a risk on love after enduring so much heartbreak in her past.
MAKE ME YOURS is the sexy conclusion to UNRAVEL ME.
My rate & take
Heat Index 1 ☼
While the above states it is a follow up book to Unravel Me it really is fine to read Make Me Yours as a stand alone. The story features two female friends and each book highlights one friend finding the love of their lives.
This book was quick and enjoyable, and most importantly there was a nice happy ending. There were no shocking plot developments but the book moved along nicely all the same. I would recommend this as a nice beach read.
Opal by Jennifer L. Armentrout
No one is like Daemon Black.
When he set out to prove his feelings for me, he wasn’t fooling around. Doubting him isn’t something I’ll do again, and now that we’ve made it through the rough patches, well... There’s a lot of spontaneous combustion going on.
But even he can’t protect his family from the danger of trying to free those they love.
After everything, I’m no longer the same Katy. I’m different... And I’m not sure what that will mean in the end. When each step we take in discovering the truth puts us in the path of the secret organization responsible for torturing and testing hybrids, the more I realize there is no end to what I’m capable of. The death of someone close still lingers, help comes from the most unlikely source, and friends will become the deadliest of enemies, but we won’t turn back. Even if the outcome will shatter our worlds forever.
Together we’re stronger... and they know it.
My rate & take
This series had been keeping me happy and my digital pages turning until the last page...when we leave the heroine in trouble so deep I'm not sure even the author can get her out of it. And now I've got to wait until August to find out what happens next. Big sigh on that score.
While there were lots of difficulties for our hero and heroine and their friends and family, they did manage to fine some time to be alone. What there was of private time brought them closer together which was wonderful to experience with them, but on the flip side it made it much harder when the time came for them to be separated so forcefully while trying to do the right thing.
Why do I always pick series that aren't finished?? It just prolongs my torture!!
Onyx by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Being connected to Daemon Black sucks…
Thanks to his alien mojo, Daemon’s determined to prove what he feels for me is more than a product of our bizarro connection. So I’ve sworn him off, even though he’s running more hot than cold these days. But we’ve got bigger problems.
Something worse than the Arum has come to town…
The Department of Defense are here. If they ever find out what Daemon can do and that we're linked, I’m a goner. So is he. And there's this new boy in school who’s got a secret of his own. He knows what’s happened to me and he can help, but to do so, I have to lie to Daemon and stay away from him. Like that's possible. Against all common sense, I'm falling for Daemon. Hard.
But then everything changes…
I’ve seen someone who shouldn’t be alive. And I have to tell Daemon, even though I know he’s never going to stop searching until he gets the truth. What happened to his brother? Who betrayed him? And what does the DOD want from them—from me?
No one is who they seem. And not everyone will survive the lies…
My rate & take
I am so happy I found this series, it just keeps pulling me in - even though I did find the first half of the story slower going than the first book. In part that might be due to my own impatience, I may have wished to rush certain elements of the story along, (if you think I am referring to the boy/girl kissy scenes...you're right) but I'm glad the author did not allow it since there is a larger story unfolding and I should just sit back, shut up, and read. Following my own advice has found me happily enjoying book 3.
Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Starting over sucks.
When we moved to West Virginia right before my senior year, I'd pretty much resigned myself to thick accents, dodgy internet access, and a whole lot of boring.... until I spotted my hot neighbor, with his looming height and eerie green eyes. Things were looking up.
And then he opened his mouth.
Daemon is infuriating. Arrogant. Stab-worthy. We do not get along. At all. But when a stranger attacks me and Daemon literally freezes time with a wave of his hand, well, something...unexpected happens.
The hot alien living next door marks me.
You heard me. Alien. Turns out Daemon and his sister have a galaxy of enemies wanting to steal their abilities, and Daemon's touch has me lit up like the Vegas Strip. The only way I'm getting out of this alive is by sticking close to Daemon until my alien mojo fades.
If I don't kill him first, that is.
My rate & take
This is book one in the Lux series and I loved it so much I jumped right to book two the minute I was done (review to follow).
Just being the new girl in a small town and a small town school can be enough to complicate a girls life royally, but when mixing with your neighborhood aliens it can get downright messy. Being forced to spend time with the hot boy next door is made worse with his bad attitude...but he protested a little too much for me to buy that he was hating every minute of his protection duty. With this title I got it all, good writing, a great dose of alien culture and angst-y boy/girl relations.
Relentless by Cassia Leo
Claire Nixon is a twenty-year-old college dropout with a secret.
To Claire, Adam Parker is just another flirty customer at the cafe, until a chance encounter and seemingly innocent comment spurs a bet between them. The bet is simple: If Adam can get Claire to reveal the secret that made her drop out of college, she has to re-enroll. If he doesn’t succeed, she gets to keep her secret and he has to stop stalking her at the cafe.
Claire thinks she has this one in the bag. She’s perfected the art of forgetting her past. But she isn’t prepared for Adam’s relentless pursuit or for him to share his own secrets. And she’s definitely not prepared for her rock star ex, and her secret, to come banging down her door one year later.
My rate & take
Heat Index 1 ☼
This was an enjoyable read, I did have one exception though, our duo fell in love way too fast....well maybe two weeks isn't too fast but there was not enough connection/action/dialog shown to make the reader understand why they fell in love. The end of the book brought us the beginnings of an interesting love triangle that I am guessing will fully play itself out in book two due out in May entittled Pieces of You. I can say I have more than enough curiosity to give it a read.
Restore Me by J.L. Mac
