Review: Searching for Someday by Jennifer Probst

Publish Date: November 26, 2013
Trade Paperback {p.375}
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Searching For #1
Source: Publisher
Kate Seymour, Slade Montgomery

Kate has given up on love—at least for herself. She is both blessed and cursed with the ability to sense a romantic connection between two people—a gift that her family passed down for generations. When Kate launches her own matchmaking company, Kinnection, with her two best friends in a cozy New York town, she has to put aside her own romantic disasters to make her business a success.

But when a furious man stalks into her office and accuses her business of being a scam, Kate is given the ultimate challenge to prove herself. Slade puts himself in her hands and asks Kate to find him love. Enraged at his arrogance but stubbornly eager to prove herself, Kate agrees, dedicating herself to the journey of finding him love...only to find herself falling for him along the way.

I really enjoyed this, although it took a couple of chapters before it picked up for me. It started a little bland, but around chapter four or five is when it came alive for me. Kate and Slade both seemed to develop around then. It was a fun, flirty read that kept me enthralled from that point forward.

All the characters were well-written, well-rounded and had both strengths and flaws. I loved each and every one of them, including Robert, Kate's dog.

What I truly liked about Kate and Slade's relationship, is that although they had that instant connection and attraction, it wasn't instant love. They went through their share of rough patches trying to deny their connection to one another. The chase is what kept it interesting.

A couple of background characters, Genevieve and her twin sister Izzy, really caught my attention. I'm interested in seeing where their story is going to go. There was definitely something much deeper going on there.

Kate and her business partners have a great relationship and they kept me laughing. I did discover a few movies I need to add to my to-watch list while I anxiously await the next installment in the series.

In My Mailbox {159}

In My Mailbox (IMM) is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi @ The Story Siren. Every week I'll post what books I've received either by mailbox/library/store.

I'll try to post an entry of IMM every Sunday that I receive books by mail/library/store of that week.

Books via Books-a-Million

Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Onyx by Jennifer L. Armentrout

 

Books via Paperback Swap

Gone Too Far by Suzanne Brockmann

Rush by Maya Banks

 

Books via Reader Service

Always On My Mind by Bella Andre

A Fine Romance by Christi Barth

What a Hero Dares by Kasey Michaels

When We Met by Susan Mallery



Raining Romance Giveaway Hop

Hosted by Stuck In Books

WANT TO WIN 2 HARLEQUIN INTRIGUE ROMANTIC SUSPENSE NOVELS?

{April 5-18, 2014}

• Only residents of the U.S. are eligible to win
• Winner will have 48 hours to respond to email or a new winner will be chosen
• Giveaway copies will be sent USPS

  To win, please complete the following:

Mandatory Entries:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: Twisted by Emma Chase

Publish Date: March 25, 2014
Trade Paperback {p.241}
Genre: New Adult
Source: Publisher
Katherine Brooks, Drew Evans

When spontaneous and carefree meets cautious and responsible, falling in love can get just a little Twisted

There are two kinds of people in this world: the ones who look first, and the ones who leap. I've always been more of a looker. A planner. Cautious. Then I met Drew Evans. He was so persistent. So sure of himself. He made it easy to leap with him.

Did you think Drew and I were going to ride off into the sunset and live happily ever after? So did I. But life is about choices, and Drew already made his. In fact, he tried to decide for the both of us; but you know that's not my style. So I came back to Greenville, to spend some time alone . . . sort of.

Because old habits die hard, and sometimes you have to go back to where you began before you can move ahead again.

Where to begin. This whole sh*t-storm could have been prevented if only Kate had not lied. I was never a fan of Drew from the last installment, and this one didn't change my mind about him. If anything, it just cemented that indeed he and Kate are perfect for one another. I must agree with Kate's ex-boyfriend in that both Kate and Drew need some serious therapy.

Drew has always been the spoiled, jealous type that throws a tantrum when he doesn't get his way, so I didn't understand why Kate would take the lying approach with him when she knows exactly how he is. On cue, he lashes out at her trying to hurt her as badly as he perceives she's hurt him. They have a somewhat destructive type of relationship. When the story started, I liked Kate and Drew was tolerable, but when the lies from Kate started, both characters seemed to take a turn for the worse. Kate's immediate forgiveness of Drew was a bit much in that, yes it was a misunderstanding, but his way of handling these things is not okay and it didn't seem to be properly addressed. So what's to say that the next time they have a misunderstanding, he won't becoming a complete as*hole every time?

With all that, I must admit I did enjoy this one more than TANGLED. That could be because this one had less Drew and more Kate. The characters are very vivid, funny and well-written, I just don't tend to like them as people. Which is difficult for me to understand because I love all the secondary characters. Matthew, Delores, Alex, Carol, Billy, Mackenzie, etc.; just not Drew and sometimes not Kate. The author writes some really strong characters, so much so that you're not on the fence with them. You either love them or hate them.

I am however looking forward to reading Delores and Matthew's story next. These two, I've loved from the start.

Review: Perfectly Broken by Prescott Lane

Publish Date: March 25, 2014
Kindle {p.293}
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Source: Author
Peyton Mayfield, Reed Langston

Even after years of trauma therapy, Peyton still believes she’s broken. She has little desire to date or show off her natural beauty, content simply to hang out with her best friends and run her pie shop in New Orleans. But her world turns upside-down when a handsome architect and self-confessed player shows up in her shop and thinks she’s perfect, much more than the usual hook-up.

While Peyton does her best to resist his charms, believing she could never be enough for him, she can’t deny the obvious heat between them. With Reed determined to have her, Peyton must decide whether to continue to hide behind her apron and baggy clothes or take a chance and share her scars with Reed, a man with a playboy reputation and scars of his own -- a dark past he can’t possibly share with Peyton, not after learning the horrors she’s endured. But if they can find a way to trust each other, and themselves, they just might be able to heal, to save each other, to live perfectly broken together.

The story seemed to start a bit slow for me, and took some time to get into. It took some time for me to warm up to both Peyton and Reed. But the secondary characters, Dr. Lorraine, Quinn and her boyfriend Bret, were hits with me from the start. It's not that I disliked Reed and Peyton, I just felt that the time it took for her to finally agree to go out with him dragged on too long. But once they did get together, that's when the story came alive.

Peyton truly seemed to blossom into this great person when she got with Reed. I'm sure she had always been that person, just suppressed it until Reed came along and revived it. Together they seemed to bring out the best in one another. He helped her to trust, and to live again, where as before she was just merely existing.

On another note however, it sadden me to see what became of Peyton's twenty year friendship with Quinn's brother became by the end. I'm still on the fence about how feel about that whole ordeal.

The only time I ever had an issue with Reed was when he made his final break from his friend-with-benefits, Heather. Yes, she was a horrible person, but I just couldn't get behind the way he spoke to her. His vulgarity and blackmailing of her was too much like something his father would do. And Peyton's reaction to Reed not telling her about his father's past seemed to be more of an over reaction. It wasn't something Reed had done, but something his father had done. Plus, Peyton already knew that there was something off with Reed's relationship with his father, she just didn't have the full story.

The ending felt somewhat rushed, but overall, I enjoyed the story. Everything was neatly tied up some years down the road in the epilogue, but one thing I would have liked to seen in said epilogue was more about Quinn's brother. Other than that, it was definitely worth the read.

Review: Waiting on You by Kristan Higgins

Publish Date: March 25, 2014
Mass Market Paperback {p.457}
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Source: Publicist
Colleen O'Rourke, Lucas Campbell

Does being nobody's fool mean that you're nobody's love?

Colleen O'Rourke is in love with love... just not when it comes to herself. Most nights, she can be found behind the bar at the Manningsport, New York, tavern she owns with her twin brother, doling out romantic advice to the lovelorn, mixing martinis and staying more or less happily single. See, ten years ago, Lucas Campbell, her first love, broke her heart... an experience Colleen doesn't want to have again, thanks. Since then, she's been happy with a fling here and there, some elite-level flirting and playing matchmaker to her friends.

But a family emergency has brought Lucas back to town, handsome as ever and still the only man who's ever been able to crack her defenses. Seems like maybe they've got some unfinished business waiting for them—but to find out, Colleen has to let her guard down, or risk losing a second chance with the only man she's ever loved.

I loved both Colleen and Lucas,in the beginning of the book, although I was a tad bit upset with Colleen after reading their back-story. She was so upset with Lucas for breaking her heart, but in my opinion it wasn't Lucas who broke her heart but her father. Colleen just took it out on Lucas instead of her father. After seeing how Colleen treated Lucas and how she handled the situation of their breakup, I have to say I sided with Lucas 100%. Sure, he probably should have said something to Colleen, but I understand why he didn't. Colleen thought her dad hung the moon, and who wants to be responsible for telling her otherwise.

When it came to Ellen, Lucas just seemed like he had checked out of their relationship. His heart just wasn't in it. I liked Ellen, she seemed a wonderful person, but Lucas just didn't love her enough. Where at times Colleen came across as being cocky and full of herself to the point of being annoying.

Lucas' uncle Joe, I felt snubbed him in the end. Maybe it's just me, but I felt Joe could have, should have, done better by Lucas. As far as his cousin Bryce, didn't like him one bit. I never understood why everyone just loved him. Sure, he may have been nice to look at, but the bus stopped there. He was about as deep as a mud puddle. I so thought Paulie deserved someone better than him. Plus Colleen was constantly trying to get Paulie to be the one to change to snag Bryce when it should have been the other way around. Bryce was the one who needed some major growing up to do.

This book started out as though it was going to be a five-star read for me, but around the end when it came to light what Colleen had done, I lost all respect for her. Her actions dropped this book to about a 3 for me. I just couldn't get past what she did. Lucas was able to forgive her, which is great for her, but she was irredeemable for me. Maybe if her actions were revealed earlier in the story and she had a chance to make amends, instead of it being revealed in the chapter before the last, where there is no time to turn her character around, maybe I could have rebuilt my image of her. But as it stands, Colleen is not one of my favorites. I know the characters are supposed to be flawed, and still find love, but there should be time for the reader to repair that love of the character, or don't make their flaws so insurmountable. To me, Colleen turned out to be more like her father than expected.

Although I would have liked to have seen the author address whatever became of the guys from Colleen's prom night,overall it was a funny, quick paced read which is to be expected from Higgins. She never disappoints when it come to the humor in her novels.

I'm very much looking forward to seeing Colleen's brother Conner find love, as well as Faith and Honor's brother Jack. I can't wait to see which ladies will have these two men toeing the line.