This book has been on my TBR for years and I could never bring myself to read it. I guessed the secret from the blurb, as intended, and I figured the book would be an ugly cry read. What I didn't expect was that I not only ugly cried while reading this, but I couldn't stop crying and I couldn't put it down.

Geez Sophie literally went through hell in every aspect of her life. There wasn't a single person who stood by her or even second guessed the story. Even the people closest and involved and for most of the book I couldn't understand why Carey was letting her drown like that. I started to hate him. Then Blake with his push and pull, I went on a whole rollercoaster twice on how I felt about him and how I wanted things to play out.

George was the absolute star of the show. He was the only person who actually saw Sophie and guided her towards seeing the rest of everyone's pictures. Because by the end of that story when you stand back and see the view from everyone's frames you can see what you were missing.

Sophie broke me with how much she was carrying. And parts of her story are parts I could completely understand, other parts I could only watch and image the pain that was inflicted. But she never once wavered from being her beautiful self. And she just took it all on with so much dignity I loved her. But I loved her even more when everything finally came to light, and she just quietly did what she needed to do for herself.

Now for me as a die-hard romance reader, I would have killed for an epilogue for Sophie and Carey and Blake to be all together again with everything out on the table. I also am dying to know what Angel was thinking and what was going on with her and Blake. But the way that ended was beautiful and I am going to have this book and especially Sophie living in my head rent free for years.

https://amzn.to/3XFSvTt

I fell in love with the Dark Knights when I first picked up Tru Blue what feels like forever ago and got sucked in by the awesomeness of Melissa Foster's words. And I have loved every book in that series. Some of them have been sweet and gentle while others have ripped me apart and pieced me back together with pieces of their story embedded.

Right before I jumped into this book I read the warning that this book was emotional so I put it off for a bit so I could read it free from toddler interruptions. And I am so glad I did because by 10% of this book I was clutching the tissues with tears streaming down my face. And although the book wasn't sad and depressing, I did have moments throughout the book where those tears would pop back up.

Tank was everything we expect from the Dark Knights with their motto of love, loyalty and respect for all. And even though he had been through hell he came out forged by the fire. I loved every little thing about him. He was so all in from the moment he laid eyes on Leah and when he realised the full extent of her situation, he didn’t even bat an eye before he doubled down on his efforts to win her over.

Of course, Leah was a strong and independent woman who despite everything that had happened didn't need anyone to save her. She was fully capable of looking after herself and everyone around her. But once she opened up to everything Tank was dying to offer her she just got even better. Because the two of them together was a beautiful thing to witness and I put the book down with a big goofy grin on my face and a feel good feeling I couldn’t shake.

As can always be expected from a Melissa Foster book I read this as a standalone and loved it, I will absolutely come back and read book 1 in the series. There were an awesome number of secondary characters who were just as beautiful as the main characters and the family was awesome.

Loved it.

★ NOW AVAILABLE ★

𝗖𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘆 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗦𝗸𝘆 by Ginger Scott is LIVE! This is a coming of age love story, stand alone. One-click your copy and take a peek inside below!

 

“This book is coming of age PERFECTION. You’ll see pieces of yourself, of your heart and your soul in this story. This is a top read forever for me. There aren’t enough stars. HIGHLY recommend!” - Bestselling Author Dylan Allen

 

 

★ BLURB ★

Jonah Wydner has been in love with his neighbor Eleanor Trombley for years. He has watched her life play out from the sidelines—homecoming dances, football parties, and first dates. Her life seemed easy…simple…𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵. The complete opposite of his own.

But when Eleanor’s younger sister goes missing and the national media sets up camp in the middle of their street, the girl with the seemingly perfect life shows up in Jonah’s garage in search of a place to hide from the hurt and chaos. What begins as one night becomes many filled with unexpected surprises and unveiling, healing truths about Jonah’s own messy past. 

Soon, Jonah gets to know the real Eleanor, and discover all the ways they’re the same. Friendship blossoms into more, plans turn into promises, and hopes and dreams become shared under the warm glow of the fading Midwestern sunsets. But how far can a kiss under a candy-colored sky take them? And what happens when the clouds close in?

★ Add it to your TBR ★

 

 

 

 

★ EXCERPT ★

 “You know, it’s an excellent time to climb up on the roof and watch the sun go down.” Her fingers slip away as she makes the suggestion, and I find my hands frozen in place for a moment all on their own. I shove them back into my pockets.

“Is it really that late?” I lift a brow.

“It’s almost four.” She winces and I join her.

“I don’t think I’ve slept this late since I had the flu sophomore year,” I admit.

She laughs at my response, then hits the button for the garage door.

“This used to be a regular Saturday morning occurrence for me,” she says.

“I’m pretty sure you can’t call it morning,” I add.

She spins on her heels as she moves out of the garage and points at me.

“You are probably right.”

We cross my driveway to the very dead grass in our side yard. Eleanor leaps up to grab the eave but her fingers slip at her first attempt. She crouches to jump again but stops, spinning to face me as she points over her shoulder with her thumb.

“You been sunset watching without me?” she asks.

The ladder is still out. I haven’t touched it since the last time we went up there.

“That would sound a lot better than admitting I’m too lazy to put it away, but sadly, I’m a lazy ass.” I mush my lips together and shrug.

“Well, my muscles are not feeling it today, so let’s just say you were planning ahead.” She marches to the ladder and scales it two rungs at a time. Even at her laziest, she’s got me beat.

She waits at the roof’s edge for me this time, and I’m a little embarrassed because I climb ladders the same way my grandfather does—like one wrong move might break a hip. I crawl onto the shingles as she stands and holds a hand out for me.

“I can’t run and leap over there like you do,” I say, waving my hand just out of reach. It’s like I’m about to shake on a deal and I want to make sure I know the terms.

Eleanor leans her head back and the sound of real laughter pours out with the rasp that I’ve missed.

“It’s fine. I’ll go slow,” she says, taking my hand and helping me to my feet.

I sway a little, only half joking that I’m searching for my balance. I notice that she walks along the rooftop on her toes, almost like a ballerina making her way to center stage. I move with the grace of a Clydesdale.

We settle in the ridge this time and I lower myself carefully, dividing my weight over both sides of the roof. Eleanor seems to collapse into a sitting position, her legs knotted together as she perches at the apex facing me. I breathe out a laugh at how different we are.

“What?” she asks.

“Just, you can tell you do things like gymnastics and stuff. It’s pretty clear I work out math equations.” I shrug.

“You’d think that would make you more confident up here, being able to compute the exact angles and all that junk,” she argues.

“Huh,” I say, taking her reasoning to heart. I glance to my left and then my right, but before I can fully take in the angle of the descent behind me I grip the roof’s surface beneath my thighs.

“Nope. There’s no math logic for this,” I say.

She giggles, an actual giggle. It’s the best sound, like a children’s birthday party with a petting zoo kind of glee.

 

 

 

 

 

★ MY REVIEW ★

 

 

★ PURCHASE ★

★ Amazon ★ Apple ★ BN ★ Kobo ★ Google ★

 

 

 

This is one of those times I’m so glad I didn’t read the blurb for this book before I jumped right on in. Otherwise, I would have psyched myself out of reading it now, waiting for the right time to be in the mood for it. And honestly now would not have been that time, because man we are busy. Like stupid, crazy busy. And I probably didn’t do the book the justice that it deserves of my full attention on the pages, but the story was gripping enough that even though I put it down so frequently I still couldn’t get the characters out of my head.

The first thing of note, that I wasn’t expecting, is that the whole book is told in Jonah’s point of view. Which was simply perfect for showing everything that Eleanor was going through from the outside. And this who book was a really scary look at how everyone deals with the tragedies that can occur in life while not actually delving too deeply into the actual tragedy. I really felt like I was on the outside looking in on Jonah who was looking in on Eleanor and it made it bearable.

The love story between Jonah and Eleanor was really sweet and despite the outside drama really simple. Jonah had been crushing on Eleanor from across the street for years. And he was such a beautiful soul, with the nicest family. I just want to steal his grandpa for my own. Everything about Jonah was adorable and having gone through his own share of tragedy and still being in the process of dealing with it made him the perfect person to help guide Eleanor through her circumstances.

The epilogue gave me a whole heaping of hope for the future of these two and having it told in Eleanor’s point of view reinforced that her feelings were as pure and solid as Jonah’s had been proven to be the whole way through the book. So even though I read this at a less than perfect time, I’m so glad I read it when I did. I think I needed it as much as Eleanor needed Jonah to pull me out of my drama and give me something positive and beautiful to focus on. Thank you.

Rebecca Yarros is one of the best romance writers. Her books are so perfectly written with so much depth and emotion that I anticipate reading them as much as I dread it. I have to read them and I know I will love them and rave about them and 5 star them every single time. But I also know I will break while I read this book. I will need to be left alone with my emotions and tissues while I wait for Rebecca's writing to put me back together.

From the first page I was struggling to get a reality break so I could wrap myself up in this story. Because there was so much happening and every single piece of it had me captivated. Watching Noah and Georgia fall in love while they traversed the history, life and love of Scarlett and Jameson was beautiful.

Georgia had my heart breaking for her and I wanted so much to just love her. But she was so strong under all of that pain, that I couldn't pity her. I just wanted to slay all her dragons. Luckily for all of us Noah was already there with his sword and armour racing off to keep anything from touching her. He just did it so unceremoniously, you didn’t notice until you were standing in a river or dragon blood wondering where it came from.

But damn the twists and turns and heartbreak just kept right on coming. For Georgia and for the readers. Naturally, the other emotions were just as strong and the hope had me sitting on the edge of the seat. I knew coming into this that one of the love stories ended in tragedy which kept me in suspense and made me read this as slowly as possible. Because I couldn’t be ugly sobbing while waiting on my son’s ankle to be x-rayed or while sitting in the school pick up line so I had to take my time while my heart was broken and rebuilt.

This book was just amazing and I know I'm going to reread it a million times. 

Well I thought since I made it through Release without needing to hit the mini bar I would jump right on into Reclaim. Big mistake. I have spent half my night ugly crying and wondering why I willingly let these authors reduce me to this.

Obviously since I had just put down Release I knew Nora's story was going to be hard. But omg that poor girl, the hits just kept right on coming. And every time I thought we were turning a corner to happiness the rug was pulled right out from under me. The strength of Nora was beautiful to witness but I kept praying that she wouldn't need more.

And beautiful, sweet Camden just kept right on proving how much he was there for Nora. I adored his quiet worship as he tried best to navigate how to help Nora without inflicting more pain on either of them. And then just when I thought we were finally there he threw us another curve and I wanted to hate him for it.

By the time I got to the end I can't honestly say if Aly is a wonderful writing genius or just Satan. But I couldn't have put it down if my life had depended on it and I ended the book completely in love with Camden and Nora. I love how everything ended with both couples and I have to admit by the time I put it down I was ready to forgive Aly for the torture she put me through. And now I just want her next book.

Being a massive Aly Martinez fan I grabbed this on KU as soon as it was released with plans to jump straight into it. But then I remember Aly does this cute thing where she rips my heart open, kicks it around for a little bit then puts it back laughing so I thought I would hold off until I was emotionally capable of handling it. But you know 2020. So here I am forever later finally reading it because Reclaim releases next week and has spoilers for this and I HAVE to read Reclaim because I signed up for an advanced copy before I realised what it was.

Luckily for me I’m a spoilt princess and hubby sent me away for a few nights so I pulled up my big girl panties, opened the bottle of sparkling and grabbed the tissues. I do have to confess that I read a few reviews while I was gaining the lady balls to read this and I got nervous. But after having read it I’m thinking the reviews I read were from people with a lot different reading tastes to mine because Aly rocked it.

Before reading this book I wondered about Thea. Why would you sit around waiting for a man that told you to move on. And after getting to know her and Ramsey I get it. Ramsey was golden to the very depth of his soul. And he loved Thea so much that no matter the time or space between them she knew it and felt it and I loved that about their dynamic.

The history between these two was heartbreaking and beautiful. They never got the chance to grow up together and have all those firsts that they deserved but instead got this horrible injustice to deal with and they both dealt with it in different ways but both trying to do the best for each other. Thea’s strength through out the whole story was shining through so strong that I actually got mad at Ramsey right along with her for his actions. Then I would see things through his point of view and understand, still want to smack him in the head, but understand.

This whole story had me holding my breath wondering how these two tortured souls could come out of the flames together. But they did and they did it stronger than ever. And now I am so glad I get to dive straight into Reclaim and relive some of it from Nora’s perspective and get my heart shattered by all she will go through to get to her HEA.

💜 𝙍𝙀𝙑𝙄𝙀𝙒 𝘽𝙇𝙄𝙏𝙕 💜

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘶𝘦𝘵 𝘣𝘺 𝘑𝘢𝘺 𝘔𝘤𝘓𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬. #𝘖𝘯𝘦𝘊𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺!

𝙃𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙖𝙘𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙃𝙤𝙥𝙚 (𝘽𝙤𝙤𝙠 1)

 

 

TEASERS

 

I knew that this duet would destroy my ability to adult. Honestly, I struggled to put it down and ended up reading it in a day. Because after the end of Heartache and Hope I NEEDED them to get to their happily ever after.

But I had this idea in my head of how it would all play out and I was so wrong. Not that I'm disappointed with what I got from this story but damn did it just keep making my heart hurt more and more. The twists and turns on this were so perfectly executed I couldn't even be mad at Jay for making me cry.

I had moments where I was like “seriously Ava how are you always crying?” Then realising I was crying and mentally apologising to a fictional character. Luckily my family is used to my brand of crazy.

Everything about this story was perfection. Ava and Connor were the best kind of magic together and I am so glad I finally found my lady balls and read this because it was beautiful. Now I just need to recover enough to pick up my kindle again without crying.

I have had this on my TBR for so long but knowing it's a duet that I would have to find time to devote to it I kept pushing it down. Because I knew it would wreck me and I wouldn't be able to put it down and adult while I was reading it. But then Jay decided to go and re-release it and put it all over Facebook I couldn't help myself.

I got to the last 15 percent at 2am last night and I KNEW I had to put it down to finish when I had more time. Because the angst of what was going to happen had me all tied in knots. I was so scared that one of them was going to do something to break my heart. And then I was going to cry, try write this review and then jump straight into book 2.

And as it turned out I'm glad I waited. Ava absolutely gutted me. Her strength, determination and perseverance made me love her so much. And Connor was truly beautiful too. The sheer volume of things against these guys made me want to wrap them up and hide them away.

But now I have to dive into book 2 because I need them both to be okay. But more I need them to thrive and live happily ever after because if anyone deserves it, it's them.

It feels like a lifetime ago that I picked up the first Flight and Glory series and fell in love with Rebecca Yarros's writing. And I have read every book as she has written them. She is right at the top of my one click authors list.  But for some weird, me, reason I wasn't able to read Hallowed Ground. It had been so long since I had read the first book and I felt like I would need to do a series re-read and I just haven't had the emotional fortitude or alone time to do it.

But when I found out this one was being released and I ascertained it could be read as a standalone I was all in. And a stay in a 5 star resort with no kids and a few cocktails absolutely helped. First I need to say that I adore Rebecca Yarros, I truly believe that there isn't another author who gives every word the weight she does. But oh my god does it take her long enough to write them. Seriously. Although, now I need to do a series re-read because I HAVE to read Hallowed Ground even though I am already destroyed from the events that occurred in it to form this one.

I guess for now I should actually address Morgan and Jackson and how absolute beautiful, painful, devastating and awe inspiring their story was. I am lying here at 4am after not having been able to put the book down from the second I started it. The book gave me all the feels and then some. I am still feeling Morgan's pain and the strength it took to put herself back together. Jackson was beyond perfect.

The whole story was amazing and I am so glad that I had the opportunity to read it when I could lie in bed sobbing like a baby with no distractions. And now I have to try get some sleep with a book hangover I'm going to be feeling for days. This book is one of my 2020 favourite reads but I highly recommend going in with a full box of tissues and an emotional support animal.