Entangled Teen Launch

Hey everyone.  Here's some cool stuff on the blog today for the launch of Entangled Teen.  I've got an exclusive excerpt from CHAOS by Christine O'Neil.  Check it all out!

"Our fires burn brightly for our readers and as a way to say thanks to our readers we've launched our latest division of Entangled Teen and it's name is Ember. We have two exciting launch titles: Darker Days by Jus Accardo and Chaos by Christine O'Neil. Read away!" Entangled Teen Ember is a division of Entangled Teen that specializes in digital-first YAs

My name is Maggie Raynard. After sixteen years being just plain me, suddenly, when I lose my temper, my fingers become weapons of mass destruction. Turns out I'm a semi-god, descended from Aphrodite. Sounds cool in theory, but when I accidentally put my ex-boyfriend in a coma, things go downhill pretty fast.

Now some new guy named Mac Finnegan has made it his mission in life to continually piss me off. I'm stuck learning how to use my new powers while also dealing with regular high school problems, and with this annoying and super-hot—guy all
up in my business, I'm about to flip out.

But it gets worse. I just learned there's this watchdog council of semis who keep an eye out for any bad apples. They think I'm the baddest one in the bunch and want to take me out before I do any more damage. My nemesis Mac might turn out to be my salvation, only he's got secrets of his own...and they may just kill us both.

An Exclusive Excerpt From Chaos!

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Christine O'Neil was born and raised in Connecticut, where she spent most of her childhood outdoors catching salamanders, frogs and colds. When she wasn't terrorizing Mother Nature, she was curled up under the covers with her nose in a book. As an adult, she's stopped stalking amphibians, but still loves books. When she isn't reading, she likes to spend her time people-watching. In fact, she's probably watching you RIGHT NOW O_O She's also pretty obsessed with writing YA books, but if she had to pick another profession she would be a ninja...or a Professor of the Dark Arts. Christine also writes adult romance under the pen name Christine Bell.

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A Post of Shameless Self Promotion

Hey guys.  So I am taking part in Jillian Dodd's Keatyn Chronicles Olympics.  Go Team Cush!  So what does this mean exactly?  Well essentially we are promoting her series, THE KEATYN CHRONICLES.  If you haven't checked them out, do it.  To further peak your interest, here is one of my favorite characters from the series, named Cush, who's team I happen to be on!  Feast your eyes peeps. :)

TAMING CROSS Review

Hey all.  So if you saw about a week ago, I had some promo up for Ella James' TAMING CROSS and said I would post a review at a later date.  Well folks today is that day.  To refresh your memory, let's take a look at the cover. 

For twenty-three years, Cross Carlson was a playboy. You know the type. Tall, dark, and wealthy. Blue-eyed. Charming. He seemed to have it all so easy. But Cross was harboring a terrible secret - one that helped ruin the life of an innocent girl and almost ended his own.

Finally out of the hospital, Cross is flailing, scarred in both body and mind and stifled by the weight of the secret he still keeps. The only way to absolution lies in a Mexican convent, and going there could cost him everything.

If there's anyone who knows what it's like to screw up big time, it's Meredith Kinsey. Just a few years ago, Merri was an ordinary girl with a job at her college newspaper and white picket fence kind of dreams. Now she's holed up in a Mexican convent, hiding from a drug lord who thinks he owns her.

What happens when the only way out of hell is with the son of the man who put you there? They say love conquers all, but does it really?

Review:   What I really love about the Love Inc. series is how it shows Ella James' ability to be diverse in her story telling.  If you've read her YA series TAMING CROSS is a complete departure from those stories.   The Love Inc. series is not your typical romance, unless you're someone who hangs out with crooks, prostitutes, and insanely wealthy people.  If you're not this someone, all of those ingredients are what make up TAMING CROSS. 

Cross was someone I really liked from book one in the series SELLING SCARLETT and him being the main protagonist of the book was a treat.  Cross is someone who is scarred and not just literally.  He has some deep issues that revolve around his parents.  Merri was someone who I wished we could have gotten a little deeper with.  We get backstory on her and how she ended up in a convent in Mexico, but I feel like there was something missing from her story that I needed.  But, I did like that the relationship between Cross and Merri wasn't one that claimed they healed each other.  

Rather, I think the relationship between them was very practical.  They have been tied together unknowingly for awhile, and then go through this insane experience together which makes their relationship unique, but ultimately strong and trusting, (In the end anyway).

The story moves fast.  I felt like I was on the back of Cross' motorcycle for the majority of the book flying through the Mexican desert.  Ella James doesn't hold back any punches too.  Where SELLING SCARLETT was raw in a seedy underbelly of a prostitution ring way, TAMING CROSS is gritty and rough in the "Middle of the Mexican desert having random gun fights way."   I like that TC is so different from a lot of what is out right now.  If I were to compare this to anything I would say that it has a similar vibe to that of Karina Halle's SINS AND NEEDLES series. 

So if that sort of out there gritty storyline is what appeals to you, I would say go for it.  

Now my only drawback for TC was the ending, and since I'm not a spoiler Sally I'm not going to get to detailed why the end fell a little flat for me.  It felt a little rushed in my opinion.  I understand where James' wanted her characters to end up setting wise, but I felt like it was just very abrupt in how they managed to get there.  That was really the only thing that made me pause.  I liked the progression of the story.  I thought the execution of the plot was insanely great as well, and it's over all a very solid read.  I am really looking forward to the next book in the series as well as what ever else Ella puts out in the future.  

Pick this one up, it's definitely worth a read guys!  Happy Reading! 

4/5 Oh Yeah I liked it a lot!

Also if you missed the excerpt on the last post, here it is again! 

  Taming Cross RDL-1 by Jwatterson90

TIES Blog Tour

Today's post is so exciting because I have mad love for both Steph Campbell and Liz Reinhardt!  I've been reviewing this series since book one came out and it amazes me how every subsequent book that comes out in this series just gets better and better.  Plus I got to meet them in L.A. last year and they are AWESOME in person.  

See look here's a picture with me and them! 

Hey look, here's the cover of TIES which is the brand-spankin' new book in the Lengths series! 

Ties is a companion book in the Lengths series NOT a sequel. It was written as a stand-alone title. The other books do not need to be read prior to Ties in order to follow the story.

When a shiny new convertible arrives for her twenty-first birthday, Hattie Beckett has had enough of her absent dad trying to buy a place in her life. It’s time for him to face her--or get out of her life forever. 

She tosses some clothes in a bag, looks up her father’s last known address, and sets her GPS for Silver Stand, California.

When she arrives at a beach-bum paradise that’s totally foreign to her New England upbringing and finds nothing but an empty lot where her dad maybe once lived, her immediate instinct is to pack up her car and head right back to Connecticut.

But she also finds... Deo. The half-brother she never knew she had. He and his hippy-dippy mom insist that Hattie stick around—at least for the summer. And with all of her friends spending the summer abroad, what else does she have to do? 

Her ideas about family are blown wide open as Deo and Marigold pull her in with their charm and love. But there’s still a huge question mark where her dad is concerned, and that question mark definitely looms over her ideas about love and relationships. 

When Hattie meets Ryan, the college dropout turned competitive sailor, her perspective flips with her heart. Like it or not, Hattie is falling fast and hard for Ryan... even if it’s the last thing that she expected - and the last thing her newly found brother wants for her.

REVIEW:  

One thing that you can absolutely guarantee about any of Steph Campbell's and Liz Reinhardt's books is the fact that they write GREAT male lead characters. I read LENGTHS and loved Deo.  Then I read DEPTHS and was head over heels for Cohen, (seriously he's still my favorite).  In LIMITS, Adam was seriously hot nerd charming.  In TIES, Ryan just might be battling Cohen for my favorite guy spot in the Lengths series.  I honestly couldn't recall too much about Ryan from book one where he makes an appearance.  But, from what I do remember I am SO glad he grew up and got his act together and became an even more appealing lead character. 

I honestly had a love hate relationship with Hattie.  As someone who grew up in a situation where I hadn't met my biological dad or older half brother until later in life I got where Hattie's hesitation about getting too close to people happens.  I also thought that the reunion between her and Deo was incredibly sweet and realistic.  What I didn't care too much for was her yanking Ryan's chain around so much.   It seemed odd to me that she was so resistant to getting together with him because she needed to protect her heart, and then it sort of flipped really fast to she didn't want to hold him back from his dreams.  Now, I feel like I need to reiterate.  I definitely get where her character is coming from in most scenarios.  The whole not knowing you have a sibling thing definitely throws you for a loop, and having a dad screw you over in life definitely makes you have trust issues.  But, some of the scenes where she treated Ryan like crap just made me scratch my head a bit. 

Now, I have to say that Deo's and Hattie's Grandpa kicks major butt.  He had me in stitches whenever he showed up on the page, and the line where he called Ryan and Deo douchebags made me laugh out loud. It was great getting to see characters from books past and reconnect with them. 

Steph and Liz create these character rich stories that keep you coming back for more.  I really enjoyed TIES and I think it's a good edition to the series.  With the way the story ended, I'm not too sure if we'll see a couple of characters around as much, which scares me a tad.  But, I was overall satisfied with how it ended.  I felt like it made sense for me, and is what the story was building towards. 

If you are a fan of the Lenghts series, TIES should definitely be added to your shelf/e-reader.  It's a great continuation of the series that further solidifies just how great a writing team Liz and Steph are! 

4/5 Oh Yeah I liked it a lot!

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Steph Campbell grew up in Southern California, but now calls Southwest Louisiana home. She has one husband, four children and a serious nail polish obsession.

Steph's works include Delicate, Grounding Quinn and Beautiful Things Never Last; My Heart for Yours and My Fate for Yours (with Jolene Perry); A Toast to the Good Times (with Liz Reinhardt) and the bestselling new adult LENGTHS series with Liz Reinhardt: Lengths, Depths, Limits, Ties & Riptides.

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Liz Reinhardt was born and raised in the idyllic beauty of northwest NJ. A move to the subtropics of coastal Georgia with her daughter and husband left her with a newly realized taste for the beach and a bloated sunscreen budget. Right alongside these new loves is her old, steadfast affection and longing for bagels and the fast-talking foul mouths of her youth.

She loves Raisinettes, even if they aren't really candy, the Oxford comma, movies that are hilarious or feature zombies, any and all books, but especially romance (the smarter and hotter, the better), the sound of her daughter's incessantly wise and entertaining chatter, and watching her husband work on cars in the driveway.

She is the author of the Brenna Blixen series (Double Clutch, Junk Miles, Slow Twitch), the Youngblood series (Fall Guy, Perfectly Unmatched), and co-writes with the awesome Steph Campbell in the Lengths series (Lengths, Depths, Limits, Ties, Riptides).

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Unafraid Blog Tour

Hey lovely readers.  Today is the kick off for Melody Grace's UNAFRAID blog tour!   Not only do I have a review for you guys, but I have an exclusive excerpt.  Needless to say, today's post is just chalk full of awesome!   Be sure to pick up your copy when it releases TOMORROW!

The first time I saw her, I knew this girl was wilder than any stallion I’d ever trained. She was headstrong, wounded, passionate and free. And I had to have her…”

Brittany Ray doesn’t care about her bad reputation. Growing up in a sleepy beach town with a junkie mom and a runaway dad, Brit’s learned the hard way that the people you love will only let you down. It’s no use hoping for love or happiness. Some dreams aren’t meant for girls like her.

Hunter Covington is one of those dreams.

Gorgeous, charming Hunter is damn near perfect—and it’s killing him. Son of Charleston royalty, he’s been trapped in a gilded cage since the day he was born. Now he’s breaking free. He’s quit law school to restore his grandpa’s old horse ranch, trying to soothe the demons in his soul. But Beachwood Bay is full of old ghosts, like the mysterious girl who spent an unforgettable night with him—and then slipped away before dawn. Brit. 

Everything about her screams danger, but Hunter doesn’t care: he’s never felt a connection so deep. And try as she may, Brit can’t resist the desire consuming her —or the safety she finds in Hunter’s arms.

A reckless passion. An undeniable bond. Scarred by their pasts, Brit and Hunter fight to heal old wounds. But will dark secrets tear apart their new beginning? And when love is the biggest risk of all, can they find the courage to face the future unafraid? 

REVIEW:

I absolutely adored book one in The Beachwood Bay series, UNBROKEN.  Melody Grace set the bar pretty high in terms of angst level addiction for me, so I was stoked to get my hands on UNAFRAID.

In UNAFRAID we meet Hunter and Brit.  Brit is Emerson's sister that we met briefly in UNBROKEN, and from the time I first came across her character I adored her.  She's outspoken and has a tough as nails attitude.  Hunter was someone I immediately liked.  He wasn't an alpha-male, but he has this take no prisoners attitude that was refreshingly attractive.  His dates for Brit were unapologetically romantic and sweet. 

The storyline in UNAFRAID was fast, but in a believable way.  For me, it really helped that there was this previous connection and knowledge between Hunter and Brit before the events in this book happen.  Melody Grace creates this wonderfully sweet story between characters that are holding onto these scarring battle wounds they've picked up in their lives. 

While I really loved Brit's growth throughout the duration of the book, Hunter made me really mad at certain points.  Some moments I was mad at him just because he did something that literally only a guy would do with the best intentions.  That moment was a laugh out loud, cringe inducing, oh my gosh Hunter that was such a stupid thing to do moment.  But, at one moment I felt like Hunter was a completely different person from who we'd come to know throughout the whole book.  However, he more than made up for his lapse in personality with the resolution of his and Brit's story. 

I think UNAFRAID was a great addition to the Beachwood Bay series, and it did make me excited to see what Melody Grace has up her sleeve next.  I also think Hunter showed up Emerson in the awesome hot guy department.  He was thoughtful and sweet, even though at times that landed him in some hot water.  

I think Melody Grace created a fantastic story for Brit and Hunter, and it's a very fitting read for the last days of Summer.  If you are a romance fan, definitely pick this one up! For now I will leave you with my recommendation and this insanely hot quote from the book. Happy Reading!

4/5 Oh Yeah I liked it a lot!

EXCLUSIVE EXCERPT OF UNAFRAID

  UNAFRAID Excerpt 1 by Jwatterson90

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Melody Grace is the USA Today bestselling author of UNBROKEN and UNTOUCHED. A small-town girl turned SoCal beach-lover, she spent years with her nose in a book before deciding it was time to write them for herself. She loves bad boys, good books, and pistachio-flavored ice-cream.

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