{Review} Against the Ropes by Sarah Castille

Title: Against The Ropes
Series: Redemption #1
Author: Sarah Castille
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Publication Date: September 3, 2013
Genre: Adult Sports Romance

He scared me. He thrilled me. And after one touch, all I could think about was getting more…

Makayla never thought she’d set foot in an underground mixed-martial arts club. But if anyone needs a medic on hand, it’s these guys. Trouble is, at her first sight of the club’s owner she’s the one feeling breathless.

All sleek muscle and restrained power, the man they call Torment plays to win at any cost. Whether it’s in the ring or in the bedroom, he knows exactly when to use a soft touch and when to launch a full-on assault. He always knows just how far he can push. And he’s about to tempt Makayla in ways she never imagined…

Review

Although the premise isn't completely original, it is a fun ride being in Makayla's head. She's a strong-headed, compassionate woman with quick wit and a sharp tongue, and her humor is refreshing. Author Sarah Castille has a way with words, I will tell you that. Not only is it well-written, but the humor will leave you in a laughing fit even in the most inappropriate times. That's what the characters is all about -- inappropriate. All thanks to our minx and her fighter, along with their friends. She knows exactly when and where it's appropriate to be detailed, and when it's time to let them have their privacy. This will keep you on the balls of your feet while dancing around, trying to uncover the tension and mysteries.

Makayla and Torment's dynamic is really light and fluffy fun at the start of the story. With the exception of the heavy lust they have for each other, of course. Torment makes her blush like a virgin, and Makayla makes Torment act like a teenager hitting second base for the first time. I kid you not, it was cute and at times sensual. The first aid room scene where Makayla checks out Torment's shoulder was so thick with sexual tension, I'm surprised they were able to breathe and form somewhat coherent words. It's easy to tell that Torment is in a state of flux between wanting to throw Makayla on the bed and have his way with her, and stunned beyond knowledge of his own name. I love that they have the ability to challenge each others limits like no other could before. Their first kiss is a long time coming, and to say that it's overdue is an understatement. When the time came, their first kiss was disappointing. I expected it to be as explosive as their touches and the burning desire in their eyes when they look at each other. It was short and Max/Torment left without so much as a word.

Things shift after Makayla finds out Torment's true (or other) identity. Not only is he the top underground fighter with the respective stage name Torment, but he's Max Huntington the successful high society businessman. I found his character was less appealing. I mean don't get me wrong, I love a guy in a suit attached to a successful business he built as much as any other woman, but that side of Torment did not do that for me. That side didn't suit the real him. It took some adjusting to refer to Torment as Max for the remainder of the story.

They both are hiding things from each other, and it all derives from their dark pasts. It's what gets in their way in the present. Vague thoughts from Makayla when it comes to violence, hints at having been abused in her past which is why she's so adamant about Torment and the underground fighting circuit. It's also the reason behind her need to heal people as an EMT. Then Makayla gets flashbacks of that fateful night that changed her life. She's not the only one hiding a dark past, and Makayla and Torment struggle to let each other in.

Torment/Max's dominant side can be a bit cringe-worthy. Not only the "dirty talk" but the sex as well. Angry/punishment sex, when done well, can be steamy and delicious, however a lot of their sex scenes were more frightening than hot. He takes it above the comfort zone who are unfamiliar and uncomfortable with bondage and BDSM play, but he knows when enough is enough. When Makayla plays off the flashbacks of her dark past, Max stops and asks her what's wrong and doesn't push any further. That, along with her past, is the reason for her lack of trust in him. After diving into the depths of his heart, Makayla realized that he would never hurt her.

Their friends at the club took a while to warm up, but when they did during their after parties and strip poker games, they are fun as they are tough and they grow to care about Makayla. Rampage, Obsidian, Hurricane, and Jake kind of grow on you after a while as it did for Makayla. They will go out of their way to protect their friends girl. They also help keep them, as well as the underground circuit, grounded.

The scene where Max ties Makayla atop of his desk and he's licking her favorite ice cream off of her body is erotic. Something about licking dessert off of her body agonizingly slow is a turn-on. I guess it's the sensuality in the act. For some reason I imagined that there was one spotlight focused on them in their own little show while listening to FU by Miley Cyrus ft. French Montana. Which is incidentally what played on my iPod whilst reading that scene. Weird, I know. It was more of the music, not the lyrics. It had a cirque du soleil feel to it. Or it could be how fitting it would be to say "F U" to Max for tormenting (pun intended) her past her limit of arousal.

In the end, Torment is a southern boy at heart with a heart of gold laid thick with sexuality. As Makayla, his demons still haunt him. Still believing that his family blames him for his mothers death, and his father's hurtful words branded into his brain which is the root of his overbearing protectiveness toward Makayla. He doesn't want to fail or lose her just as he lost his mom. After reuniting with his family, he knew then that he hadn't failed his mom, and he hasn't lost Makayla either. Makayla may not have a tolerance for violence, but she's a fighter when it comes to those she loves. They fit together like puzzle pieces, as cliche as that sounds. Makayla is the EMT that heals the wounded fighters injuries as well as his heart.

{Review} Stripped by Jasinda Wilder

Title: Stripped
Series: Stripped #1
Author: Jasinda Wilder
Publication Date: August 14, 2013
Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance

So how did I get myself into this situation, you ask? Simple: desperation. When you're faced with being homeless and hungry or taking off your clothes for money, the choice is easier than you'd imagine. That doesn't make it easy, though. Oh no. I hate it, in fact. There's nothing I'd like more than to quit and never go into another bar again, never hear the techno beat pulsing in my ears again, never feel the lecherous gazes of horny men again.

Then, one day, I meet a man. He's in my club, front and center. He watches me do my routine, and his gaze is full of hunger. Not the kind of desire I'm used to though. It's something different. Something hotter, deeper, and more possessive. I know who he is; of course I do. Everyone knows who Dawson Kellor is. He's People Magazine's Sexiest Man alive. He's the hottest actor in Hollywood. He's the man hand-picked for the role of Rhett Butler in the long-awaited remake of Gone With the Wind.

He's the kind of man who can have any woman in the entire world with a mere crook of his finger. So what's he doing looking at me like he has to have me? And how do I resist him when he looks at me with those intoxicating, changeable, quicksilver eyes?

I'm a virgin, and he's an American icon of male sexuality. I'm a stripper, and he's a man used to getting anything and everything he wants. And he wants me. I know I should say no, I know he's the worst kind of player…but what my mind knows, my body and my heart may not.
And then things get complicated.

Review

Upon the first few chapters, it was a bit difficult to connect with Grey for me. Her mentality made her seem younger than 16 and 18, I almost forgot how old she was a few times. She's a frequent crier which made me irritable toward her. Being the pastor's daughter, you're more sheltered from the things in the outside world. Unfortunately, that's what held her back from going after her dreams for years. Even though I, as a Christian, respect Grey's dads beliefs in terms of morality and the eyes/words of God, I felt for Grey when her dad told her that he will not allow her to take up dance and film in Los Angeles. If only he didn't have such a narrow mind when it came to LA where she wants to pursue a career in film, they could have salvaged their tarnishing relationship. He would see that what she wanted to do was not at all like what is seen on tv and papers.

In Matthew 12:25, Jesus says, "Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand." The same applies to a home, and it's unfortunate that Grey's dad's stubbornness drove a wedge between them. Grey's dad says he's a man of faith, yet he didn't put it into practice when it came to his daughter. Jesus is supposed to be a bridge, not a wedge. Grey's dad tried to propose a compromise, but on his terms. Unfortunately, he didn't go about it the right way. In the end he was just too overbearing, and put words in God's mouth just to convince Grey that her dreams are all sins which is what drove her further and further away.

I applaud Grey for finally standing up for herself and chasing her dreams. All her life, she has been controlled under her father's thumb, and it's time for Grey to take matters into her own hands. Albeit, I don't like the fact that she stopped believing in God. After losing her mom, I can understand why she no longer believes in Him, because in pain you will say and believe in the worst of things. Things hit the fan fast after that, that neither Grey nor her dad had expected until it was too late.

The first 20% or so is slow-paced because we're getting to know the foundation of Grey's upbringing. Fast forward a couple years and Grey has been settled at a university in Los Angeles pursuing a degree in film, and takes up an internship at Fourth Dimension. Desperate times calls for desperate measures. Grey has no choice but to, what they say, "strip her way through school," at a Gentlemen club to make ends meet when her scholarship runs out.

At that point, she realizes that her father was right: she's doing a sinful act by taking her clothes off just as he feared and told her about. She hates to identify herself as a stripper. Then in comes Dawson Kellor, Hollywood's heartthrob. In that awful, slimy club is where we first meet Dawson. His behavior when they first encounter, you can tell that he sees something more in Grey straightaway. Instead of ogling her in the VIP room at the club like the other men have done, he saw right through her. He saw her potential, and knew that she did not belong there. That sets things up for his genuine interest in Grey.

THAT kiss between Grey and Dawson was uniquely sensual. The one in her dorm room which should have been their first kiss. How it made Grey feel foreign, outside of her comfort zone that seems dangerous but turns out erotic. The type of kiss that scares you out of your wits, but makes you want to take that plunge and get lost in it that you're not sure if you'll find your way out. Each kiss just gets hotter and hotter after that.

It was a good move of Wilder to take the time to write out Grey's appreciation of Dawson in detail after their declaration. The thought she puts into the details made it all the more vivid. It's moments like that, that they shared when you see your partner and even yourself in a new light. Their declaration of their feelings for each other may seem sudden, but after hearing Dawson talking about the lack of familial love in his life it makes sense.

Dawson is generous and compassionate when making love.

Grey: "Make love to me, Dawson. Please, make love to me."

Dawson: "With all my heart, yes."

I did not expect that from him, which made him all the more of a perfect lover. And their love making sessions steam up the pages. And the fact that Dawson did not get upset at Grey for fleeing the state to her hometown after they hit the sheets for the first time, and once again Dawson surprised me by following her and sticking by her side as she decides to make peace with her father. I was a bit disappointed that we didn't get to see Grey and her dad grow close once again after they reunited. But was rewarded with them being arm in arm in the epilogue.

I like how they bring each others primal side out with wild abandon when being intimate, and venturing out to try new things that is outside of their (more like Grey's) comfort zone. Grey, hardly using any crass and dirty language at all, but tries it out in the heat of the moment was a bit awkward yet comical. It's just Grey exploring her sexuality with Dawson. As a couple, it's good to explore each other as well as the above and beyond. They bring something different to the table to indulge in and it helps strengthen their bond. In doing so, they also enjoy torturing each other with building anticipation that makes them embarrassingly responsive beyond coherent words, which is highly amusing and erotic all the same.

As the story progresses we see Grey grow, and with that, we grow with her as we're reading. She discovers who she is and who she's not. Her past of her stripping days doesn't define who she is, it's just what she used to do in order to make ends meet. With Dawson by her side, she found who she really is and where she belongs.

{ARC Review} Whose Bed Is It Anyway? by Natalie Anderson

Title: Whose Bed Is It Anyway?
Author: Natalie Anderson
Publication Date: September 1, 2013
Genre: Contemporary Romance

"You’re wearing my T-shirt."

Returning home after a daring rescue mission, all James Wolfe can think of is sleep. So he’s furious to find a beautiful stranger curled up in his king-size bed! Normally no woman ever gets between his sheets without prior invitation—who does she think she is?

Disgraced celebrity Caitlin Moore has been offered a place to stay and she won’t give it up—not with the paparazzi outside, baying for her blood! Reluctantly she agrees to share the apartment with James—but, with enough electricity to short-circuit the whole of Manhattan, keeping to their own sides of the bed might prove impossible…

Review

Imagine coming home after long weeks of rigorous work to find someone occupying your bed when all you want to do is sleep. Lack of sleep can bring out the worst in you. We see that in James when he saw Caitlin sleeping in his bed. I like how the story opened up with that. It created the foundation of the story, which becomes their circumstance: living arrangements and agreements. Then as the story progresses and we learn more about the characters, we discover why they are the way they are.

The first half of the book was carefully paced and built a firm foundation for the story, but the last half was fast paced--a little too fast. I'll excuse the punctuation errors and sentence structure since it was an ARC; mistakes are bound to happen. It was kind of difficult to jump from Cailtin's POV to James's, because there was no indication that deciphered whose head we're in. Having the story told in third person was what helped clear things through. With those minor details, it did not affect the context of the story. And after doing some research, Anderson did good job with the accuracy of the Big Apple.

I liked how playful Caitlin and James are throughout the story. The banter exchanged between the two will leave you in a laughing fit. The dynamic between them -- once they accepted they're stuck rooming together for a month -- may have started out with just sex, but lines start to blur and kisses replaces oxygen. Their bond grew the more they spent time together touring around New York, between the sheets, spending a couple of days with James's family, and learning about each others past, they soon find themselves develop feelings that run deeper than on a platonic level. It was interesting to see that James wanted Caitlin to get her fill out of his bed as much as in his bed, if not more. Very gentlemanly of him to be Caitlin's personal guide when he knew that it's best to stay away from her.

After much denying their own feelings as well as each others, they're in too deep to back out. And before they know it, they've already fallen for each other before they realized it. With their playful dynamic, James brings out Caitlin's inner minx, and Caitlin makes James feel alive again. That's what I love to see in characters: that they bring out qualities you don't usually see in them. They both have that fire and primal spirit in themselves that will have you in need a cold shower once their urges surfaces. And their steamy marathon sex sessions turns into a passion-induced making of love. The first time they have sex, it started out as James teasing Caitlin (as a lot of guys like to do), but once James slowed down I felt there was more to it than just torturing her need for release. And that's where we see the dynamic between them start to change. As the saying goes, don't sleep with someone you don't want to be with.

Both Caitlin and James have family issues--who doesn't? The way Caitlin repeatedly pushed James to see his family and work things out, made her seem like a hypocrite for not doing the same with hers. Their issues are different -- understandable. However, Caitlin is not in a place to lecture about family when she doesn't put her advice into practice. Since James resolved things with his family, I was disappointed that we didn't get to see if Caitlin's family worked through their issues or not.

There wasn't any dark secrets as there was some mystery when it came to their past. A lot of books have played off those broody characters that have such a dark secret that may tear the couple apart if it gets out, but James and Caitlin weren't like that. Not exactly. Although we knew Caitlin's deal with the media scandal since we were in her head first, it took us readers some guessing and time to find out why James feels the need to work all the time and doesn't keep in touch with his family often. Caitlin found solace in James, and Caitlin became James's saving grace.

As mentioned, I felt that the ending had ended in an abrupt manner. Days were skipped, and James and Caitlin's thoughts weren't very detailed by the time James left for the conference in Japan to the time he came back home to find Caitlin has moved from the condo. We didn't get to fall into the sulking mode with the characters, so it took away from the intensity of their "agony" of their time apart after they realized they were over before they even started officially. Once James finds Caitlin's whereabouts, it was sweet that James finally realized his feelings for Caitlin and stopped fighting it and confessed his feelings, he intends to win her back and never let her slip between his fingers again. 

Although this is a light read, you still feel what the characters feel. You hurt when they hurt, you laugh when their humor gets the best of them, and you feel that knowing sensation of being turned on when they're in that mood.

Meet Natalie Anderson

USA TODAY bestseller Natalie Anderson writes fun, frisky, feels-good contemporary romance for Harlequin Mills & Boon, Entangled Publishing and independently. With over thirty books published, she's also been a Romantic Times Award nominee & a finalist for the R*BY (Romantic Book of the Year). She lives in Christchurch, New Zealand with her husband, four children and what feels like a million ducks.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Purchase Whose Bed Is It Anyway?

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**I received an advanced review copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I was not monetarily compensated, nor did it influence my review.**

{Review} The Edge of Never by J. A. Redmerski

Title: The Edge of Never
Series: The Edge of Never #1
Author: J. A. Redmerski
Publication Date: November 15, 2012
Publisher: Createspace
Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance

Twenty-year-old Camryn Bennett had always been one to think out-of-the-box, who knew she wanted something more in life than following the same repetitive patterns and growing old with the same repetitive life story. And she thought that her life was going in the right direction until everything fell apart.

Determined not to dwell on the negative and push forward, Camryn is set to move in with her best friend and plans to start a new job. But after an unexpected night at the hottest club in downtown North Carolina, she makes the ultimate decision to leave the only life she’s ever known, far behind.

With a purse, a cell phone and a small bag with a few necessities, Camryn, with absolutely no direction or purpose boards a Greyhound bus alone and sets out to find herself. What she finds is a guy named Andrew Parrish, someone not so very different from her and who harbors his own dark secrets. But Camryn swore never to let down her walls again. And she vowed never to fall in love.

But with Andrew, Camryn finds herself doing a lot of things she never thought she’d do. He shows her what it’s really like to live out-of-the-box and to give in to her deepest, darkest desires. On their sporadic road-trip he becomes the center of her exciting and daring new life, pulling love and lust and emotion out of her in ways she never imagined possible. But will Andrew’s dark secret push them inseparably together, or tear them completely apart?

Due to sexual content and language, this book is recommended for 17+ – Adult Contemporary Women’s – New Adult Fiction

Review

Almost every person at some point in their life had felt the need to break free from everyday routine, and craved to escape and live in the moment. This adventurous story strayed away from overused plotlines. It may be yet another story about roadtrips, but Redmerski did a well job of showing that there are roadblocks. The Edge of Never broadened the stigma of roadtrip stereotype. There was great dialogue, a careful pace, thoughtful editing, easy flow between the duel POVs, and the plot was never lost which makes for a likable story. The story is told in dual alternating POVs between Camryn and Andrew. Having dual alternating POVs between multiple characters can be troubling to follow at times, but Redmerski wrote them in a way where it was easy to jump from one mind to another. All the while, whomevers mind we jump to, the characters briefly rehash their thought about something that happened in the previous chapter when we were in the other characters mind.

The story maintained an inspirational vibe in life, adventure, loss and love. There is so much we take for granted and not even realize it. Discover new things, take chances, try new experiences, take nothing for granted and live with no regrets. Fate has a knack for timing and playtime, whether you believe in it or not. The romance in the story isn’t like a typical cheesy love story. Like I said, it breaks from the sterotype and avoids the stigma. What sets it apart is that since the characters share a crass and dry sense of humor, they can’t help but express it in terms of their dynamic and relationship. The points that are made on the concept of love and it’s involvement with young adults made for some valid reasoning. For instance, Camryn made a point where adults think that teenagers/young adults don’t know anything about love because of their age, presented a valid argument on whether love can be assessed by age — as the law is to the legal age for drinking — or not is something that every young adult can relate to. When I found out that this is about a roadtrip, I decided to pick myself up a copy. And since I read for escape and adventure, The Edge Of Never was a perfect choice to do so vicariously.

I guess my reasons for liking it so much is because of my own biased preferences. I can relate to it all the way down to the characters sense of humor and banter. I’m a sucker for green eyes and dark hair. So love interest, Andrew Parrish, was my undoing. I found myself relating to the story in a way because of my love for road trips and escapades. As the main characters were on the road in their adventure, I was crossing my fingers that they would stop in New Orleans, and when they did I couldn’t stop myself from entering borderline fangirl mode. And they didn’t just pass through, they stayed for a few weeks, so we got to see how it’s like there. And yes, they’ve spent some time on the iconic Bourbon street. After doing much research since I, myself, have never been, a lot of the setting was accurate. Another thing I like was the characters banter, it was witty, crass, sarcastic, foul, dirty, funny, inspirational, and heartfelt. That Walmart scene was very comical. That was by far my favorite. My friends and I do that all the time. I guess I relate to Andrew in that way. Camryn and Andrew’s love for music drew me in, too. Especially when it came to The Civil Wars. All I could think about is how fitting it would be to have Everlong by Foo Fighters be their roadtrip anthem. Also the story of Eurydice and Orpheus that the two main characters shared together was touching because it means so much to them. The characters shared a backstory of Orpheus that was not taught in English/Literary class, so it was nice learning something new. It makes you wonder if a man really can find his Eurydice on the road. Fate has a mind of it’s own and will decide when it’s time to play. Andrew and Camryn need a canon name because I ship them so hard (pun included).

The last couple chapters had me bawling to no end. I’ve had a fair share of shed tears over a book — John Green’s The Fault In Our Stars for example — and The Edge Of Never is the new addition. It really pulled at my heart strings, but I can assure that there is a happy ending.

{Review} Ten Tiny Breaths by K. A. Tucker

Title: Ten Tiny Breaths
Series: Ten Tiny Breaths #1
Author: K. A. Tucker
Publication Date: December 11, 2012
Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance

Kacey Cleary’s whole life imploded four years ago in a drunk-driving accident. Now she’s working hard to bury the pieces left behind—all but one. Her little sister, Livie. Kacey can swallow the constant disapproval from her born-again aunt Darla over her self-destructive lifestyle; she can stop herself from going kick-boxer crazy on Uncle Raymond when he loses the girls’ college funds at a blackjack table. She just needs to keep it together until Livie is no longer a minor, and then they can get the hell out of Grand Rapids, Michigan.

But when Uncle Raymond slides into bed next to Livie one night, Kacey decides it’s time to run. Armed with two bus tickets and dreams of living near the coast, Kacey and Livie start their new lives in a Miami apartment complex, complete with a grumpy landlord, a pervert upstairs, and a neighbor with a stage name perfectly matched to her chosen “profession.” But Kacey’s not worried. She can handle all of them. What she can’t handle is Trent Emerson in apartment 1D.

Kacey doesn’t want to feel. She doesn’t. It’s safer that way. For everyone. But sexy Trent finds a way into her numb heart, reigniting her ability to love again. She starts to believe that maybe she can leave the past where it belongs and start over. Maybe she’s not beyond repair.

But Kacey isn’t the only one who’s broken. Seemingly perfect Trent has an unforgiveable past of his own; one that, when discovered, will shatter Kacey’s newly constructed life and send her back into suffocating darkness.

Review

K.A. Tucker's does an incredible job of helping readers understand what the characters go through and how they feel. The storyline was great and the pace was carefully written. It covers very serious topics such as PTSD, and making ends meet and providing for another person under your arm at such a young age. Each character brings something different to the table. They all went through something and are still living with the after effects of it all, so they somehow become each others rocks to get through it. Usual New Adult books share the same concept like starting college or a band, but this digs deeper realistically because, like Kacey, not everyone can go to school.

Being inside Kacey's mind was entertaining. She has the sense of humor that I understand and enjoy, and can't help but go into a laughing fit. Her mindset, however, I had trouble seeing certain things the way she did, and believing the things she did. And she understandably struggles with offering her forgiveness to those who ripped her family from her. With every tragic event a survivor goes through, they cope in rather controversial but common ways. Kacey turned to alcohol, drugs, and meaningless sex in exchange of forgetting the pain momentarily until her sister begged her to stop living that way. 

So Kacey turned to kickboxing, and turning over a new leaf in their move to Miami. While starting a new life in a new place doesn't always mean leaving old ways behind. Kacey's sister fears that if she doesn't get help soon, she'd fall back into her old destructive habits. I loved how feisty and strong, yet compassionate she is. That is one hell of a combination. As much as I admired Kacey's relationship with her sister, her relationship with the unconventional doctor was extremely comical given the situation.

Trent Emerson. He's the newest addition to my list of book boyfriends. Since he was in the same boat as Kacey, his idea of fixing things was not properly well-thought out and instead became more of a coping mechanism. What was refreshing was that he did not put up an arrogant bad boy/playboy facade. He was just himself...well, the new reinvented him that he tried so hard to be anyway. I was kind of disappointed the sex scenes were fade to black because they've built so much anticipation and fought temptation to wait for the right time, so I didn't feel that part of their connection in the next level in their relationship. 

I felt something was up with Trent at first, so the plot twist that lands Kacey in a treatment facility didn't surprise me. Trent and Kacey share a world of pain: Kacey felt she had died along with her family in the accident, and Trent believed he did too, so he changed his identity. Forgiveness is another aspect they struggle with. In a way, he lost his family as well as himself, just as Kacey had. While they both seeked help, Trent's unconventional "goodbye" to Kacey as part of their recovery process had me teary-eyed. I almost wish that Trent had his own POV because I'd really like to dive into his mind.

I loved how the characters each found their HEA in the end, though I wish the epilogue was a bit longer. But on the other hand, that's not needed because the rest is up to the readers imagination. The book may end, but the story lives on. Kacey's moms breathing mantra never worked for her before because she didn't understand it until Trent came into her life and became her breath of life. There's a reason why there are particular lines that are repetitive that didn't make sense in the beginning, but makes sense in the end. Kacey was Trent's saving grace, and Trent was her salvation. They finally found their way to each other again above water. 

Needless to say, the story is a wild ride but it is such a thrill. I'm glad that Kacey and Trent crossed paths and paved a new one together.

{Review} Love Me If You Dare by Kate Laurens

Title: Love Me If You Dare
Series: Safe Haven #2
Author: Kate Laurens
Publication Date: June 25, 2013
Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance

Some things change... It’s been three years since Kaylee Sawyer has been home—home to the alcoholic mother she can’t handle, home to the painful memories of her sister Ella... and home to the guilt she’s carried for years. About to enter her final year of college, she is determined to come to terms with the mess of her past—and to ignore the guy whose single kiss has been tattooed into her mind forever.

Some things stay the same...

Dylan McKay is still golden haired and dangerous, the flame Kaylee was always afraid to touch for fear of getting burnt. But despite the damage that’s been done, she finds that she still can’t stay away from the one person who accepted her the way she was.

Some things are meant to be.Kaylee is no longer the innocent girl she once was. Though tragedy ripped them apart before, one look from Dylan brings all of the old feelings rushing back. Torn between her past and her future, she’s not sure if a person can ever truly go home again.But Dylan doesn’t plan to let her go without a fight.

Review

Kaylee struggles with the demons of her past, her absentee father, helping her alcoholic mom, finding a summer job, keeping food on the table for her and her mom, keeping her old life apart from her new one, and keeping a certain boy who still holds her heart at a safe distance. Just when she thought her life couldn't get more complicated as it is, her two worlds collide and threatens everything she tried to hide and the life she built for herself. As the characters struggle with inner turmoil full of guilt, blame, and heartache they still carry from the past, as a reader you can really feel how deeply it hit them.

Even after all these years, the burdens of the past still has a control over Kaylee. Kaylee coped by staying as far away from home as possible while hiding behind a facade polar opposite of her own. Adopting the wild party lifestyle her sister once lived, she comes to realize that she's been trying to keep a part of her sister alive, and the alcoholic tendencies they share must run in the family. But the one guy who shouldn't be able to see past the facade, can see right down to her heart and soul.

The former bad boy and crush, Dylan McKay -- the one she thought she couldn't have. Dylan becomes an obstacle of his own in Kaylee's life while she tries to figure out his motives, and keep him at arms length when he tries to persue her. As Kaylee tries to figure out if he's trying to reconnect with her sister vicariously through her now that her personality is identical to her late sisters, he reveals that the feelings between them are mutual.

Staying away from him doesn't come easy for her because he is still wrapped around her heart after all these years. Should she dare to let him in knowing the risk of potential heartbreak, and guilt for taking the guy who belonged to her sister? I keep encouraging her to go for what her heart desires.

Author Kate Laurens does a great job of conveying feelings with her writing and use of imagery to help readers feel what the characters feel, and to understand them as well. As the characters comes to terms with their roles in the death of her sister, they learn to let go of guilt and blame, and find peace and love. With a surprising help from usually incoherent mom, and meddling best friend, Jax. Although the HEA (happily ever after) is a bit short and fast-paced, the story in it's entirety is anything but. The pace and flow was easily to follow each step the characters take throughout the story.

The epilogue, short as it is, hints at where Kaylee and Dylan go in their life together. Spoiler alert for any Kaylee/Joel shippers out there. This story teaches us that the past can rear it's ugly head, but you can overcome it.

{Review} Frigid by J. Lynn

Title: Frigid
Series: Frigid #1
Author: J. Lynn
Publication Date: July 15, 2013
Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance

For twenty-one-year-old Sydney, being in love with Kyler isn’t anything new. They’d been best friends ever since he pushed her down on the playground and she made him eat a mud pie. Somewhere over the years, she fell for him and fell hard. The big problem with that? Kyler puts the ‘man’ in man-whore. He’s never stayed with a girl longer than a few nights, and with it being their last year in college, Syd doesn’t want to risk their friendship by declaring her love.

Kyler has always put Syd on a pedestal that was too high for him to reach. To him, she’s perfect and she’s everything. But the feelings he has for her, he’s always hidden away or focused on any other female. After all, Kyler will always be the poor boy from the wrong side of tracks, and Syd will always be the one girl he can never have.

But when they’re stranded together at a posh ski resort due to a massive Nor’easter, there’s nothing stopping their red-hot feelings for each other from coming to the surface. Can their friendship survive the attraction? Better yet, can they survive at all? Because as the snow falls, someone is stalking them, and this ski trip may be a life-changer in more ways than one.

Review

Add best friend turned love interest, Kyler Quinn, to the list of swoon-worthy book boyfriends because he definitely fits every criteria and then some. He is so protective of Sydney, he puts her above everyone else including himself. And they can start a fire with the heat between these two. There is a bit of skinny love going on between the two best friends which they had thought was unrequited at first. Their dynamic starts getting a little rocky right when they leave for their trip, and even more so during and afterward. But soon their walls break down and the truth about their feelings for each other slips out. All the while surviving a brutal Nor'easter and someone who is out to kill them for bitter revenge. It's no easy feat for them to save their friendship, so working on getting back to the way things used to be or persuing a relationship is quite a challenge for these two. They say trips changes things, and Sydney and Kyler find out how.

Sydney's mom was hilarious, even over the phone. My mom and I's relationship is similar to Sydney's and her mom's relationship. I, like Sydney, am studying Psychology and whenever my mom and I are on the topic, she always mistakes it for therapist or psychiatrist just as Sydney's mom has. The conversations between them had me laughing tears, it sometimes took me a while to come up for air.

Frigid has romance, a ton of snow, one hilariously drunk Sydney moment, steamy bedroom scenes, mystery, and suspense to stir things up. The only thing missing was an epilogue. I would love see a bit more of where Sydney and Kyler ended up in their lives together. If Frigid 2 isn't about them, I'm guessing it'll be about their friends Andrea and Tanner. If you like a light read filled with romance and suspense in equal measure with an easy flow and a steady pace, this book is for you.