All of Me (The Bridesmaids Club #1) by Leeanna Morgan

Blurb: Four friends. Twenty-two bridesmaids’ dresses.
One random act of kindness that will change their lives forever.

Tess has given up looking for Mr. Right, but that doesn’t mean she’s given up on love. When she reads a newspaper article about a young couple who’ve had everything stolen from their home, including four bridesmaids dresses, she knows she has to help.

But by helping the bride, Tess risks exposing a past she doesn’t want anyone to know about. She does everything she can to minimize the danger she’s in, but she does the one

thing guaranteed to destroy everything – she falls in love with the wrong man.

Logan Allen has spent most of his career reporting on the news from around the world. When a letter arrives from Afghanistan, the trauma he’s been living with is about to explode back into his life. He betrayed a small Afghan village and Tess thinks he’s betrayed her.

From their first random act of kindness comes an experience Logan and Tess will never forget. And maybe, if they work together, they can create a future that’s better than anything they’ve left behind.

DNF

I tried. Like really hard to get into this book.  The chemistry was there, the adventure was there.  It was just going soooooo slow.  And I apparently have an issue with patience since I just quit on it after about 33%.  The cover, title and blurb attracted me. Unfortunately, the pacing of the story killed my enjoyment of this book.

The Ring (Cursed #1) by Mantissa Creed

Blurb: Alexandra is determined to know her true nature.
However, with the truth, comes love, intertwined with lust, infatuation and unfulfilled desires. Knowing her inescapable past, Alexandra realizes that her existence is not only uncertain, but is also bound by a curse that threatens her existence. Not only does she need The Ring to stay alive, she also must kill The Vangel. Soon she’s tangled in a love triangle if not quadrangle of which one of her close companions is The Vangel.
One lifeline. One true love. And a Curse.

 

 

 

 

DNF

I got about three percent in and couldn’t take the tropey-ness anymore.  Honestly, I think I strained my eye muscles.  Its a shame too because I really liked the cover and the title. Geez, I’m having some serious bad luck with my backlist of books.

This book is currently unavailable to purchase.  Darn, I was gonna ask you all to read it and compare notes.

Revenge (Coming Home #2) by Meli Raine

Blurb: MY HEART WANTS A KIND OF JUSTICE THE LAW CAN’T GIVE
Everything I know about my life is a lie. The more I dig into my father’s death the more I find myself in peril.
Mark turns out to be a liar, someone I thought I could trust. He’s not what he seems, and worst of all, a part of me can’t let go.
My boss might be an international drug lord disguised as a dean at one of the top five universities in the country.
Like anyone’s going to believe me if I try to out him?
But I can’t help myself. I should learn to keep my mouth shut.
Someone’s decided to do that for me.
Make me quiet once—
And for all.

 

DNF

The previous book ended in a cliffhanger. And I had to know what happened between Mark and her so I purchased this book.  Well, I got to find out what happened between them pretty early on. Then my interest waned pretty quickly, mostly due to the sharp turns the mystery was taking.  And it started to get confusing so I ditched it.

The Art of Hiding by Amanda Prowse

Blurb:

What would you do if you learned that the life you lived was a lie?

Nina McCarrick lives the perfect life, until her husband, Finn, is killed in a car accident and everything Nina thought she could rely on unravels.

Alone, bereft and faced with a mountain of debt, Nina quickly loses her life of luxury and she begins to question whether she ever really knew the man she married. Forced to move out of her family home, Nina returns to the rundown Southampton council estate—and the sister—she thought she had left far behind.

But Nina can’t let herself be overwhelmed—her boys need her. To save them, and herself, she will have to do what her husband discouraged for so long: pursue a career of her own. Torn between the life she thought she knew and the reality she now faces, Nina finally must learn what it means to take control of her life.

DNF

This book was a bit disappointing.  I wanted to like it, but I had to start skimming.  And I RARELY skim. I had to stop at 30%. It was frankly too depressing and I just didn’t care what happened to the characters anymore.

I felt the hopelessness, guilt and despair were overdone and focused on too much.  We get it, she was blindsided.  It was the focus of the story for more of the book than it should have been. by the time she put on your big girl pants and dealt with things I had already lost interest.  I found her to be a weak female lead and therefore could not find myself to have any sympathy for her.  Her children were not people I found myself caring about either.  They didn’t have much in the way of layers.  It was mediocre IMO. Sorry if that sounds harsh, but I just didn’t like it.

I was given this book in exchange for an honest/unbiased opinion.

The Winning Side (University Park #3) by C.M. Doporto

Blurb: Lexi’s determined to keep her word and stand by Raven’s side because her love for him is too strong to deny. As Raven learns to deal with the issues that are destined to destroy him and their relationship, their love is taken to a new level. As doors are closed and new ones are opened, Lexi and Raven find themselves in a heavenly bliss, but not without the challenges from Raven’s past. With a true test of love, Lexi and Raven have to decide if they are willing to do whatever it takes to be on the winning side.

 

 

 

 

DNF

This story was sooooo slow.  I started reading this series in 2014 I think and I breezed through the first two books.  Then when I started the last one I stopped reading it.  Fast forward three years later and I figured I’d come back and try to finish it since I’ve been on this kick lately about trying to finish all the series I have ever started.  (This is gonna be a lifelong commitment. )

I don’t know if my tastes have changed but I found this book kinda basic.  The scenes were going from showing to telling quickly with little to no transition. It was choppy and repetitive.  And I found some things that just didn’t jive with the plot.  It’s too bad. I really wanted to add this to my list of series finales for the year.

Carter Reed (Carter Reed #1) by Tijan

Blurb: Emma decided to skip the gym and went home early. It was the last easy decision she made because she found her roommate being raped by her boyfriend. She had two choices. Call the cops and be killed by his family’s mafia connections or kill him first and hope to survive. There was no choice to her. She killed the bastard first and went to the one person who could protect her. Carter Reed. He’s a weapon for the rivaling mafia family, but he’s also Emma’s secret. Not only was he best friends with her brother, but she’s the reason he became that weapon in the first place.

 

 

DNF

This book started off with a bang and I was excited to see how it would play out.  But then….it got boring and repetitive with her running away and his possessiveness.  And things were happening that were really explained in the book until after they happened. I tried to hold on but then I thought, “Why?”  So, I let it go.

Vanishing Act by A.M. Madden

Blurb:
In this captivating standalone romance from the USA Today bestselling author of Stone Walls, Hollywood’s hottest actor meets his dream woman: a free spirit who has no idea who he is.

After personal heartbreak and professional setbacks, Landon Price is running on empty. If he doesn’t take a break from the public eye soon, he’ll risk becoming another cautionary tale in a town that’s full of them. So in between film projects, Landon asks his agent to clear his schedule and then he simply . . . vanishes. Renting a discreet home on a remote Hawaiian beach for the summer, Landon begins to recharge. And in the process of finding himself, he meets a beautiful, feisty local who challenges everything he thinks he knows.

Zara Jobert has no interest in being a conquest for a cocky playboy from the mainland—even one with undeniable charisma and movie-star good looks. So she’s pleasantly surprised when the handsome newcomer’s persistent advances mellow into cozy banter and a sneakily seductive intimacy. When Landon reveals his true identity, Zara’s hurt that he lied, but she doesn’t care that he’s famous. Unfortunately, not everyone feels the same way. And falling for Landon might come with a heartbreaking choice—between Zara’s old life, and a new love.

     

My Review:
DNF @ 40% — I received a free copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review/opinion.

I really tried with this one.  I will say one thing right from the start, this was not a *bad* book.  It just wasn’t capturing my attention AT ALL, and I just have too much to read to spend my time reading something that’s not captivating me.  Basically I was bored.  And when I looked at my Kindle’s prediction of time left in this book and it said 4.5 hours, I said I’M DONE!

If the book kept going as it was going, I probably would have given it a 3 star.  Like I said, it wasn’t bad.  But I’m behind on things as it is, so I gave up.  The first bit until we meet Spike/Marshmallow was really slow, and I did not get a great feel for Landon at all.  He didn’t have personality traits that bugged me, but I really had no idea what he was like, other than self-important.  There really just didn’t feel like there was any depth there.  I was already considering DNFing it at that point, b/c I think the writing style just wasn’t jiving with me either.  I know it was just an ARC, but the tenses felt funny, and I kept getting tripped up on sentences because of the weird way the words were organized sometimes.

BUT!  Then we met Spike/Marshmallow.  AND OMG HE STOLE THE SHOW!  And it wasn’t just because he was freaking ADORABLE, but b/c he brought out something that I had been waiting for in Landon — a personality!  Landon was HILARIOUS when he was interacting with Spike.  Like, he was funny, and sassy, and I just started to love him!!  Things were looking up!!

And then we met Zara.  And again, nice girl, but she felt a bit flat.  And part of that is because Landon concentrated so much on how beautiful/hot she was, it really felt like the physical aspects were the main ones in their attraction.  And even at 40%, I still wasn’t feeling them together.  We were *told* that he liked other aspects of her, but not shown really.  I enjoyed his teasing, and I thought we were getting a wee bit more depth, but for some reason I was just bored.  Too slow?  I don’t know.  But I wasn’t even remotely invested.  OK, I was like 1% invested, b/c that part of me wants to know what happens.  If anyone wants to spoil it for me, please feel free.

Honestly, in that entire 40%, the bits where Spike/Marshmallow were present were the absolute highlights for me.  But an awesome dog is not enough to make a book great.  Good?  Yes.  Great?  No.  And so I gave up.  Ah well, they can’t all be matches right?

Sunlit Surrender by Jess Dee

Blurb:
Bianca Rogers is ready to forget her worries for a while and celebrate her brother’s wedding at the exotic Bandicoot Cove resort. The last thing she expects is to be knocked off her feet—literally—by Brody Evans.

The chemistry between Brody and Bianca is undeniable. She’s everything he wants in a woman. She’s sexy, warm, friendly…delicious, and overwhelming attraction quickly grows to full-blown lust.

But they’ve come to the island with baggage that can’t be ignored forever, and their previous mistakes and the circumstances that have led them to the island soon demand attention. As desire transforms into love, it’s time to see if the past is going to get in the way of any happy-ever-after there could be in their future.

     

My Review:
DNF — I received a free copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review/opinion.

OK, technically I did get to the end of this book.  But at 34% I started skipping to get to a point, and after that I skimmed to the end.  This book’s “hook” did NOT work for me.  Not only did it not work for me, it actually made me irrationally angry.  I’m not even kidding.  I started reading, got to the point where our heroine and hero meet, started getting REALLY confused, had a theory, then read something that nullified that theory, then got more confused, then wondered if my theory was correct despite inner musings that made it truly unbelievable, and finally couldn’t take it anymore and started skipping until I could confirm my theory.  Then I got really really mad because the way the heroine’s inner thoughts were written, it did NOT make sense.  So not only did I not like this hook (my theory) in general, but I felt like it was not done well.

The stupid thing is, I’ve read a few books by this author before, though granted they were a few years ago, so I’d been anticipating an enjoyable read.  But despite all the anger from above, I was actually pretty bored.  Bored with the characters, even bored with the sex!  And being bored with the sex is not a good sign for an erotica type book.  Maybe I was bored because I didn’t like the characters, or because I was already so irrationally angry; it’s a distinct possibility.

And after my theory was confirmed, I started skimming to see where this all was going to go, and got mad at the miscommunications that were continually perpetuated for no reason I could understand.  And I just didn’t care about their problems.

Take all this with a grain of salt.  I can’t divulge the hook, b/c that would be spoilery to the extreme, but not everyone will have a problem with it.  And since I think that affected my enjoyment of every aspect, it kind of makes the rest of my opinions null and void outside of that.  Sometimes I just get heated, you know?  And yesterday was definitely a day for that.  Since I did skim to the end, if I rated it it would probably be a 1 star for me.  But since I didn’t honestly read the whole thing, I usually don’t give a rating.  I can’t decide if the skimming was enough to validate my opinion.  I almost think it was.  *shrugs*

Shifter in Paradise by Susan Kearney

Blurb: Ari Dillon is not your ordinary hero. He’s willing to lie, deceive, and hijack a private jet—all in the name of his cause. So if abducting billionaire Samantha Bessinger is the only way Ari can get her alone, he’ll do it.

Real estate mogul Samantha has never met anyone like Ari. He’s charming, ruthless, and almost irresistible. Yet when he crash-lands her jet onto a deserted Caribbean island and reveals his shapeshifting secrets, she can’t deny he’s one of a kind.

But just because he shows her things she never knew were possible, doesn’t prove they are soul mates as he claims. While Samantha didn’t become a success by being a pushover, is she enough of a match for the devil in paradise?

DNF

I had to DNF this one at about 30%. As soon as the female MC allowed her attraction to override her common sense I was done. I just lost interest with this one REALLY fast after that.

Enforce (Eagle Elite #1.5) by Rachel Van Dyken

Blurb: There’s two sides to every story…

And ours?
Isn’t pretty… Then again,
what’s pretty about the mafia?
Trace Rooks, that’s what.
But she only wants one of us, and I’ll kill him before I let him have her.
The only problem ?
We’re cousins .
And she may just be our long lost enemy.
Whoever said college was hard, clearly didn’t attend Eagle Elite University.
Welcome to hell also known as the Mafia where blood is thicker than life, and to keep
yours?
Well, keep your friends close, and your enemies?
Even closer…

DNF

This book made NO sense whatsoever! I’m so upset because I have never reacted this way to a book by RVD before. I don’t even know what plot was. Something like, mafia were trying to protect there asses by running a college and also they were the heads of their families, but they were only like 22? And then there was a new girl who was nice so they were mean to her to protect her? From what I have no idea. And they murdered and sexually manipulated people but I’m supposed to care about them? I just don’t get it.