Review: Aflame (Fall Away, #4) by Penelope Douglas

4 stars! ****

Author: Penelope Douglas

Title: Aflame (Fall Away, #4)

The tables have turned. Now I have the power—and it’s his turn to beg…

Everyone wants to be me.

Maybe it’s the sway of my skirt or the way I flip my hair, but I don’t care. Even though their attention is the last thing I crave, I just can’t stop. I dominate the track, the speed rattles my bones, and the wind and the crowd screams my name.

I’m her. The girl driver. The queen of the race. And I’m surviving—something he thought I’d never do.

They all still talk about him. Did you see Jared Trent on T.V? What did you think of his last race, Tate? When is he coming back to town, Tate?

But I refuse to care too much. Because when Jared does come home, I won’t be here.

Tatum Brandt is gone. I’m someone new.

ARC review: Marrying Christopher (A Hearthfire Romance, #3) by Michele Paige Holmes

 3.5 stars! ***

Author: Michele Paige Holmes
 
Title: Marrying Christopher (A Hearthfire Romance, #3)

Having seen both his sisters Grace and Helen happily married, Christopher Thatcher is free to pursue his dream of life in America. With adventure in his heart and mind, he boards one of the first steamships set to cross the Atlantic in the record breaking time of only twenty-five days. Within the first two of those, his resolve—to avoid women and the complications they often bring to a man’s life—falters when he meets Marsali Abbott, a young woman with a past even more troubling than his own. Whether from years of habit protecting his sisters, or simply because he feels drawn to Marsali, Christopher chooses to help her and becomes her friend. As the truth about what awaits Marsali in America becomes evident, he is faced with a more difficult choice, one that will impact their lives far beyond four weeks together at sea.

Review: Falling Away (Fall Away, #3) by Penelope Douglas

4 stars! ****

Author: Penelope Douglas

Title: Falling Away (Fall Away, #3)

Jaxon is the guy she’s supposed to avoid.

K.C. is the girl he won’t let get away....

K.C. Carter has always followed the rules—until this year, when a mistake leaves her the talk of her college campus and her carefully arranged life comes crashing to a halt. Now she’s stuck in her small hometown for the summer to complete her court-ordered community service, and to make matters worse, trouble is living right next door.

Jaxon Trent is the worst kind of temptation and exactly what K.C. was supposed to stay away from in high school. But he never forgot her. She was the one girl who wouldn’t give him the time of day and the only one to ever say no. Fate has brought K.C. back into his life—except what he thought was a great twist of luck turns out to be too close for comfort. As the bond between them grows, he discovers that convincing K.C. to get out from her mother’s shadow is hard, but revealing the darkest parts of his soul is nearly impossible.…

Review: Rival (Fall Away, #2) by Penelope Douglas

3 stars! ***

Author: Penelope Douglas

Title: Rival (Fall Away, #2)

Madoc and Fallon. Two estranged teenagers playing games that push the boundaries between love and war…

She’s back.

For the two years she’s been away at boarding school, there was no word from her. Back when we lived in the same house, she used to cut me down during the day and then leave her door open for me at night.

I was stupid then, but now I’m ready to beat her at her own game…

I’m back.

Two years and I can tell he still wants me, even if he acts like he’s better than me.

But I won’t be scared away. Or pushed down. I’ll call his bluff and fight back. That’s what he wants, right? As long as I keep my guard up, he’ll never know how much he affects me….

Review: Until You (Fall Away, #1.5) by Penelope Douglas

5 stars! *****

Author: Penelope Douglas

Title: Until You (Fall Away, #1.5)

Have you ever been so angry that hitting things felt good? Or so numb that you actually felt high? The past few years have been like that for me. Traveling between fury and indifference with no stops in between.

Some people hate me for it, while others are scared of me. But none of them can hurt me, because I don't care about anything or anyone.

Except Tatum.

I love her so much that I hate her. We used to be friends, but I found out that I couldn't trust her or anyone else.

So I hurt her. I pushed her away.

But I still need her. The sight of her centers me, and I can pool all of my anger into her. Engaging her, challenging her, bullying her...they are my food, my air, and the last part of me that feels anything human.

But she left. She went to France for a year, and came back a different girl.

Now, when I push, she pushes back.

Review: Bully (Fall Away, #1) by Penelope Douglas

5 stars! *****

Author: Penelope Douglas

Title: Bully (Fall Away, 1#)

My name is Tate. He doesn't call me that, though. He would never refer to me so informally, if he referred to me at all. No, he'll barely even speak to me.

But he still won't leave me alone.

We were best friends once. Then he turned on me and made it his mission to ruin my life. I've been humiliated, shut out, and gossiped about all through high school. His pranks and rumors got more sadistic as time wore on, and I made myself sick trying to stay out of his way. I even went to France for a year, just to avoid him.

But I'm done hiding from him now, and there's no way in hell I'll allow him to ruin my senior year. He might not have changed, but I have. It's time to fight back. 

I'm not going to let him bully me anymore.

It's Austen time

A long time ago I bought a paperback copy of Pride and Prejudice for almost nothing and recently I bought Emma in the same edition.

And when I say almost nothing I mean that. They were cheap. Like e-book cheap. I just couldn't leave it there. Now I regret that I didn't buy all of them but hopefully they will be available later.

I also love the covers - it seems pretty authentic and there's no picture from movie. I don't get it why they do that. The original covers are usually much nicer. Publicity probably (well, I'm quite sure of that), so I get it actually.

I started Emma and I'm looking forward to reading the rest. I'm not sure I will like it as much as I did Pride and Prejudice

*I discovered little magic (read: no magic for anyone who uses instagram or uploads tons of pictures on facebook or anywhere else basically aka I'm probably the only one who never used it before). There are tons of apps that do collages. And you can do almost whatever you want! And it's easy to use for a technival antitalent like me.

Any Austen fans out here? What's your opinion on Emma?

Review: On the Ropes (Hearts and Minds, #4) by Holley Trent

2 stars! **

Author: Holley Trent

Title: On the Ropes (Hearts and Minds, #4)

Her life on hold for too long, Janette Hinson has returned to the United States in search of a mother she hasn’t seen in twenty-five years.  But to find her Jan will have to accept help from the one man she desperately wants to avoid: Stephen Scott. Sexy, rich, powerful, and dominating, Stephen has been pursuing Jan for the last year, and she’s the first to admit he more than has what it takes to hold a woman’s interest. But her traumatic past has kept from true intimacy all these years. Yet she senses a darkness in Stephen, one that goes beyond the rumors of his kinkier side…

Stephen Scott is not a man to take no for an answer. Ever since he met Jan he hasn’t been able to get her off of his mind. And no matter how many hours he spends at work, he can’t get the hot little vixen out of his system. It’s time to prove he wants more than just a fling, despite his dark sexual history. What he wants from Jan is to Master her. In every way.

This is what you call a book about absolutely nothing. There was basically no plot, no twists, no romance, anything..

Janette was raised by her father after she and her mother were involved in an accident. He already has his own little family by that time and he didn't care for her. She had lonely and quiet childhood. Afer twenty five years she decided to hire an investigator to look for her mother. To her surprise her mother is still alive. Jan decided to leave her tiny island and fly to the USA. Here she meets her friend Stephen.

Stephen is a lawyer and spends way to much time at work. His partners didn't even want to let him leave on a four-day vacation. He's completely spend, tired and doesn't even like his job anymore. When Janette calls him and asks him for help he agrees. He wanted her for a long time and hes going to finally get her. And not just as a temporary hook-up.

It was long, tiring book. I didn't even enjoy it. I saw no development - either in the relationship (it went from zero to hundred in two pages) or in Janette herself. She was afraid of her own shadow. And everything else.

If this book was a novella and the author cut it about hundred pages shorter it would have been a lot better and I might have even enjoyed it. But it wasn't and I didn't. 

*ARC courtesy of publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*