Luckiest girl alive by Jessica Knoll

Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll

Release date: May 12, 2015

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

My rating: 4

Buy here: Amazon

Synopsis:

HER PERFECT LIFE IS A PERFECT LIE.

As a teenager at the prestigious Bradley School, Ani FaNelli endured a shocking, public humiliation that left her desperate to reinvent herself. Now, with a glamorous job, expensive wardrobe, and handsome blue blood fiancé, she’s this close to living the perfect life she’s worked so hard to achieve.

But Ani has a secret.

There’s something else buried in her past that still haunts her, something private and painful that threatens to bubble to the surface and destroy everything.

With a singular voice and twists you won’t see coming, Luckiest Girl Alive explores the unbearable pressure that so many women feel to “have it all” and introduces a heroine whose sharp edges and cutthroat ambition have been protecting a scandalous truth, and a heart that's bigger than it first appears.

The question remains: will breaking her silence destroy all that she has worked for—or, will it at long last, set Ani free?

My Thoughts:

So many thoughts were going through my head while I was reading this book. My first reaction that this book was clearly marketed wrong as it was nothing like Gone Girl, but as I got further into the book I could start to see that comparison. We start out with Ani and her thinking that she has to have the perfect New York life. The perfect fiance, dream job, a killer wardrobe, and the latest purse trend. Ani at first comes off as shallow as hell. Literally picking apart women and comparing lives. That's not a cute look for anyone. As I got even further into the book and the flashbacks starting coming, TifAni was revealed.

 TifAni is the young girl who was abused and raped and with a Mother who didn't know how to properly parent. TifAni is the girl who just wanted to fit in a be popular. Reading about everything TifAni went through and endured broke my heart. It was really no shocker the way TifAni acted, especially after reading about her Mother. TifAni obviously got all of it from her Mom. 

Ani was like a made-up character that stemmed from everything TifAni went through. She tried to reinvent herself, to protect herself. 

I've had this book since last year and thank goodness I finally read it. Jessica Knoll did a great job with this book!

The Daughter by Jane Shemilt

The Daughter by Jane Shemilt

Release date: March 3, 2015

Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks

My rating: 3

Buy here: Amazon

Synopsis:

In the tradition of Gillian Flynn, Tana French, and Ruth Rendell, this compelling and clever psychological thriller spins the harrowing tale of a mother’s obsessive search for her missing daughter.

Jenny is a successful family doctor, the mother of three great teenagers, married to a celebrated neurosurgeon.

But when her youngest child, fifteen-year-old Naomi, doesn’t come home after her school play, Jenny’s seemingly ideal life begins to crumble. The authorities launch a nationwide search with no success. Naomi has vanished, and her family is broken.

As the months pass, the worst-case scenarios—kidnapping, murder—seem less plausible. The trail has gone cold. Yet for a desperate Jenny, the search has barely begun. More than a year after her daughter’s disappearance, she’s still digging for answers—and what she finds disturbs her. Everyone she’s trusted, everyone she thought she knew, has been keeping secrets, especially Naomi. Piecing together the traces her daughter left behind, Jenny discovers a very different Naomi from the girl she thought she’d raised. 

My Thoughts:

I was browsing amazon when I found this book and thought it sounded really good, so I bought it. 

This book just wasn't what I was expecting, it was still good, but I just couldn't really get into it. I found that my mind was wondering while reading. It could have been the fact that it kept going from past to present and that wasn't working for me.

I felt so bad for Jenny, the life she thought her family had turned out to be completely wrong. It was like she didn't even know her kids or husband. To me, that was tragically sad. She had blinders on and when everyone told her the truth, those blinders came off. 

When Jenny's young daughter comes up missing, she starts to discover that Naomi wasn't who she thought she was. Naomi had a whole other life that her Mom knew nothing about. As the time passed Jenny kept putting together different pieces of her daughter's life and she's shocked as she discovers some things. I'm probably not explaining this book very well. Think Gone girl meets The secret life of the American Teenager. Got the picture now? Good. You now know what this book is about. 

I have a serious question now for those who have read this book. Was that Naomi at the end of the book or not??? The author never comes right out and says. 

I wish you were mine by Lauren Layne

I wish you were mine by Lauren Layne

Release Date: February 2, 2016

Publisher: LoveSwept

My rating: 4

Buy here: Amazon

Synopsis:

In this charming Oxford Novel, hailed by Keri Ford as “a sizzling-loud friends-to-lovers story,” Lauren Layne poses a provocative question: What do you do when you fall in love with your sister’s ex?
 
A year ago, Jackson Burke was married to the love of his life and playing quarterback for the Texas Redhawks. Now he’s retired, courtesy of the car accident that ruined his career—and single, after a nasty scandal torpedoed his marriage. Just as he’s starting to get used to his new life as a health and fitness columnist for Oxford magazine, his unpredictable ex shows up on his doorstep in Manhattan. Jackson should be thrilled. But he can’t stop thinking about the one person who’s always been there for him, the one girl he could never have: her younger sister.
 
Mollie Carrington can’t say no to Madison. After all, her older sister practically raised her. So when Madison begs for help in winning her ex-husband back, Mollie’s just glad she got over her own crush on Jackson ages ago—or so she thought. Because as Mollie reconnects with Jackson, she quickly forgets all her reasons to stay loyal to her sister. Tempted by Jackson’s mellow drawl and cowboy good looks, Mollie is sick and tired of coming in second place. But she can’t win if she doesn’t play the game.

My Thoughts:

Every time I read a Lauren Layne book, it immediately becomes my favorite and I think that I can't possibly like a book more than that one. I thought that Cole and Penelope's book was my favorite, but after reading this one. it's my new favorite. 

Jackson and Mollie are just so right for each other. Jackson was married to Mollie's older sister, Madison. He has always had more in common with Mollie though, Madison's younger "nerdy" sister. No one really understood the bond that Mollie and Jackson had, not even Madison. 

After having his football career ended, Jackson takes a position at Oxford, a position that he will up and leave as soon as he gets a coaching job back in Texas. Mollie needs a new place to live and Jackson offers up his guest room, he has always been attracted to Mollie, but he never thought he would fall in and find himself in the position of having to choose his dream job or his dream girl. 

This book had steamy sex scenes , a manipulating ex-wife\sister, and all the hotness of the Oxford men. This is a book that you can't not read. 

Book Blast: Against the wall by Jill Sorenson

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AGAINST THE WALL
Jill Sorenson

Releasing on February 2, 2016

Loveswept

Fans of Katie McGarry, Simone Elkeles, and Tammara Webber will love Against the Wall! As teenagers, they fell for each other despite the odds. But now that Eric and Meghan are all grown up, they’re reunited by fierce passion and dangerous secrets.

Eric Hernandez is the bad boy of every schoolgirl’s fantasies—and every mother’s nightmares. But after serving time for manslaughter, he’s ready to turn his life around. He just needs a chance to prove himself as a professional tattoo artist. The one thing that keeps him going is the memory of the innocent beauty he loved and left behind.

Meghan Young’s world isn’t as perfect as it looks. The preacher’s daughter is living a lie, especially now that Eric is back. Tougher, harder, and sexier than ever, he might be the only person she can trust. But there’s no telling what he’ll do to protect her if he learns the truth, and that’s a risk Meghan won’t let him take. And yet, back in the arms of the troubled boy with the artist’s soul, Meghan can’t help surrendering to the man he’s become.

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Jill Sorenson is the RITA-nominated author of more than a dozen romantic-suspense novels. She has a degree in literature and writing from California State University. Her books have been selected as Red-Hot Reads by Cosmopolitan magazine, and have received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, Booklist, and Library Journal. Sorenson currently lives in the San Diego area with her family. She’s a soccer mom who loves nature, coffee, reading, Twitter, and reality TV.

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Book blast: His pregnant princess bride by Catherine Mann

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HIS PREGNANT PRINCESS BRIDE

Bayou Billionaires #1

Catherine Mann

Releasing on February 1st, 2016 (Digital) 
and February 9th, 2016 (Print)

Harlequin Desire 

A princess and a Southern billionaire are expecting twins! Only from USA TODAY bestselling author Catherine Mann!

His focus is on his family's football dynasty. Louisiana billionaire Gervais Reynaud has no time for romance. But he can't say no to a tryst with Erika Mitras. True, she's a princess, but in no way prim…or proper. Their time together is unbelievable…and all too short.

When Erika said goodbye, she meant it. But now she must tell Gervais the truth. He's about to be a father…to royal twins. After leaving her overbearing family, Erika wants nothing from Gervais. But the tempting tycoon just may charm her into a future she desires all too much.

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USA Today bestseller and RITA Award winning author Catherine Mann writes contemporary romance for Berkley, Harlequin, Sourcebooks and Tule. With over sixty books released in more than twenty countries, she has also celebrated six RITA finals, an RT Reviewer’s Award finalist, three Maggie Award of Excellence finals and a Bookseller’s Best win. Catherine and her flyboy husband live on the Florida coast where they brought up their 4 children – and still have 5 four-legged, furry “children” (aka pets). Catherine is an active volunteer with an animal rescue, serving on their Board of Directors and fostering over 200 puppies, ill dogs, and dogs with service/working potential.

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Book Blast: The Last Riders: First Four Votes by Jamie Begley

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Print Set of The Last Riders Books 1-4

THE LAST RIDERS: FIRST FOUR VOTES

Razer's Ride, Viper's Run, Knox's Stand & Shade's Fall

Jamie Begley

Released Feb 1st, 2016

Young Ink Press

The Last Riders are a Motorcycle Club created by eight ex Navy SEALS, that make no excuses for the life they have chosen to lead. These men fight hard and f**k harder. Get your first four votes from Razer, Viper, Knox and Shade. 

Razer’s Ride: Book One

Beth Cornett is the town good girl, so staying out of the way of the motorcycle club’s dangerous members was a no brainer. Unfortunately, she manages to catch the eye of Razer, who has every intention of tempting her to take him on despite her misgivings. When her worst fears are realized, she is left heartbroken, determined to forget her walk on the wild side. 

Razer was not going to change for any woman, not even Beth. Their lifestyles were too different; betrayed she ran. Realizing his mistake too late; she was not about to forgive and forget. It takes a killer intent on targeting Beth to bring her back to him and The Last Riders for protection. Razer may have learned his lesson, but this time, as long as she is at the club, she has to play by their rules. 

Viper’s Run: Book Two

Winter Simmons received the surprise of her life when she discovered the man she had  been dating for the last two years was actually Viper, president of the Last Riders. A high school principal, Winter has no intention of ruining her reputation in the community to be with a man who betrayed her trust. Unforgiving, she turns her back on him, only to find that Viper is not the gentleman he portrayed. 

Determined to find his brother’s killer, Loker James kept his identity as President of The Last Riders a secret from Winter. When the truth comes out, he is determined to make her see the real man who can control not only a group of dangerous bikers, but a woman whose life is a rulebook. Unable to prevent herself from being drawn into the very club she despises, Winter is about to lose everything important to her, unless Viper can prove she’s more than a moonlight run.

Knox’s Stand: Book Three

Knox, a former Navy Seal, has been in several dangerous situations, but nothing compares to dealing with Diamond Richards. Framed for murder, he needs the passionless lawyer to prove his innocence. But when he no longer needs her help, he’s going to show her the passion she’s capable of and walk away a free man.

Diamond plans on earning her huge fee to prove Knox is innocent, but she had no idea the muscled biker could bring out the passion she kept hidden behind her designer clothes. Trying to find a murderer is easier than dealing with The Last Riders and Knox’s sexcapades. He’s going to find out there is one woman worth standing and fighting for, despite his desire for freedom.

Shade’s Fall: Book Four

Shade is everything Lily doesn't want in a man. He's rude, obnoxious and he's definitely not a cowboy. The tattooed enforcer for The Last Riders is a mystery Lily doesn't want to solve. He's too much for her to handle, especially with the nightmares from her past constantly threatening her sanity.

Lily is everything Shade wants in a woman. She's sweet, kind and submissive. When she discovers the truth about The Last Riders, it threatens to tear apart every relationship within the club. Her rebellion causes the predatory instincts to rise in the ex Navy SEAL sniper.

When The Last Riders are threatened by another motorcycle club just as determined to claim Lily, Shade is her only hope of surviving the approaching confrontation. Could their passion be Shade's downfall?

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"I was born in a small town in Kentucky. My family began poor, but worked their way to owning a restaurant. My mother was one of the best cooks I have ever known, and she instilled in all her children the value of hard work, and education.

Taking after my mother, I've always love to cook, and became pretty good if I do say so myself. I love to experiment and my unfortunate family has suffered through many. They now have learned to steer clear of those dishes. I absolutely love the holidays and my family puts up with my zany decorations.

For now, my days are spent writing, writing, and writing. I have two children who both graduated this year from college. My daughter does my book covers, and my son just tries not to blush when someone asks him about my books.

Currently I am writing five series of books- The Last Riders, The VIP Room, Predators MC, Biker Bitches, and The Dark Souls.

All my books are written for one purpose- the enjoyment others find in them, and the expectations of my fans that inspire me to give it my best.”

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Hollywood Dirt by Alessandra Torre

Hollywood Dirt by Alessandra Torre

Release date: September 7, 2015

Publisher: EverAfter Romance

My rating: 4

Buy here: Amazon

Synopsis:

Cole Masten. Abandoned by his superstar wife, Hollywood’s Perfect Husband is now Hollywood’s Sexiest Bachelor: partying hard and screwing even harder. Watch out Los Angeles, there's a new bad boy in town. Summer Jenkins. That’s me, a small town girl stuck in Quincy, Georgia. I cook some mean chicken and dumplins, can bluff a grown man out of his savings in poker, and was voted Most Friendly my senior year. We were from different worlds. Our lives shouldn’t have collided. But then Cole Masten read a book about my small town. And six months later, his jet landed on our dusty airstrip, and he brought Hollywood with him. From the start, I knew he was trouble. For our town. And for me. Sometimes, opposites just aren’t meant to attract

My Thoughts:

When I was asked to review this book, I jumped on the offer. I've been eyeing this book forever because the blurb sounded so good! Not to mention its the whole "Hollywood heartthrob meets small country girl" kinda thing.

 This was such a great read! There was just something so sexy about Cole Masten. He kind of transformed from spoiled to almost self-sufficient. You couldn't help but to feel sorry for him for wanting to make it work with his ex-wife. The progress that Cole made through the book was what really stood out to me. I'm a sucker for great character development. I can't forget Cocky, that was Cole's "baby", and it was adorable how much he cared for him. 

Summer was the epitome of a strong, independent, southern woman. Did she make so really big mistakes? Yes, she did, but to me, they were almost justifiable. Summer and Cole's relationship was a hate/love thing filled with sexual tension. Summer was the one woman who didn't fall at Cole's feet. She resisted him and frankly, she didn't even like him at first. 

I can now see why this book has so many wonderful reviews. This may have been my first book by this author, but it will not be my last. This book should be on every readers shelf or kindle.