REVIEW: Forever Lost by Laura Morgan

Cassie Taylor has issues… 

Much like any other young woman who turns to a life filled with escorts, hookers, drug-dealers, and gangsters. 

Enter Leonardo Solomon… 

The hottest guy Cassie has ever seen. 

The only problem is he’s a scary, intimidating, drug-lord who surrounds himself with whores, and personal minions. 

Leo is a man who does what he wants, and gets what he wants, and Cassie soon finds herself desperate for his affection. However, at the same time, his powerful prowess scares her too much to let him in. Cassie has a past that still haunts her, a life left behind, but not forgotten. 

So when Leo tries to lay claim over Cassie, and she refuses him, the game is on…

**Mature Content Warning** Recommended for ages 17+ due to language and sexual content.

Purchase: Amazon l Barnes & Noble

My Thoughts:

When Laura Morgan contacted me regarding a review of one of her books, I was intrigued by them being described as dark. Forever Lost jumped out at me immediately. Drug dealers and gangsters sounded to be perfectly right up my alley, and since I had taken a little detour from my regular YA reads, I decided to continue that and jump right in.

What first grabbed me about Forever Lost was the authors writing. It was easy to read and flowed really well. I liked that I was immediately able to immerse myself into the story and I liked the characters. And very quickly I was reminded that this book was a long way from YA and even the New Adult books that I'd been reading of late. Even as I found the sexual escapades that were occurring a bit out of the blue, I wasn't fazed. To the contrary, I was actually enjoying it.

Unfortunately, at about the halfway point the story took a turn into the realms of the unbelievable. I just found myself unable to picture the events in any way realistic. I have no doubt that bad things happen. That there are men who are as controlling as Victor was. That drug lords and gangsters are a part of our world. But I just couldn't grasp any threads of realism in the twists and turns of the story.

I found Cassie to be a little on the unstable side. The decisions and the choices that she made had me scratching my head in confusion. The events of her past should have made her shy away from the world of drug dealing that she was introduced to, but instead she almost embraced it. Then there were her feelings for the men in her life... She seemed to change her opinions as quickly as the wind. I couldn't really understand her.

To be completely honest, the character who I liked the most was Victor. I don't want to give away what his role is in the story but let's just say that I think he was the character that I was supposed to despise. And I did. But I just found him to be the most consistent out of an unstable bunch of characters. 

So, my star rating... Well the first half of this book was incredibly enjoyable, and I could have easily given it four stars, but unfortunately the second half let it down somewhat for me. I suppose I'm sitting somewhere around the two and a half to three star mark for the first half of the story and the authors writing style.

2.5-3/5 Stars.

Thank you so much to Laura Morgan for providing me with a copy of Forever Lost for review. 

REVIEW: Uncross the Stars by Janell Rhiannon

Fiona Lavender is the new girl at school. She has a chip on her shoulder and a pension for poetry. Dario Martinez is the star quarterback, and the most unattainable guy on campus. Their stars cross when they are paired to study Romeo and Juliet for a senior English project. Their connection is fragile and undeniable. But, Dario is afraid of what love will do; and Fiona is waiting for love to claim her.

Will they uncross the stars and find the love they both need to heal their pasts?

My Thoughts:

Fate mean's our future's already determined. It's in our blood running through our veins like threads tying us to what's written in the stars.

When I first saw the cover and read the synopsis for Uncross the Stars I was in love. The cover is simply beautiful and I was intrigued by the books description. And when the author contacted me in regards to doing a review I did a little happy dance and dropped everything to read it.

Uncross the Stars was a really quick read that I managed to finish over the span of a day as I went about my daily routine. The writing style was so easy to read and it was interspersed with real moments of beauty.

The story centres around Fiona and Dario and their growing feelings towards each other. As they both try to deal with demons from their past, they are confronted with many trials as they are put to the test by forces from their present. People that they thought they could trust turn out to be anything but loyal and the main instigator was a rather evil young man. 

So, she let herself drift off to sleep, hand in hand with the boy who was stealing her heart one beat at a time.

The romance between Fiona and Dario was rather sweet despite the quickness of their feelings. They were dealing with the normal teenage progression of relationships and the decisions of how far and how fast to take things. But things barely ran smoothly for these two and they seemed to be pushed apart at every turn.

"I think love at first sight happens smile by smile. The first one hooks you. The rest keep reeling you in."

Uncross the Stars dealt with quite a lot of hard hitting topics. But I think that one that I enjoyed reading the most was the storyline between Meagan and Ryan. As sad as it is, the interaction between the two of them is probably something that occurs every single day. Girls wanting to be loved who are willing to commit to doing things for a boy that they wouldn't normally do just to get some affection and love, and vice versa.

One of the drawbacks for me was that there were times when I found the characters to be a little younger than their years. They were rather quick tempered and tended to react without much thought to the situations that they were presented with. I found myself wishing that they would just talk to each other. They were professing their love but the communication between Dario and Fiona was rather limited.

All in all, Uncross the Stars was a quick, relatable story that picked up in intensity in the second half of the book when there was something happening on almost every page. 

3/5 Stars

Copy provided by the author for an honest review.

REVIEW: AnguiSH by Lila Felix

Anguish was the status quo, until she walked in.
Breaker James Collins is confined in a prison of his own making. Scarred doesn’t begin to define his hell since finding out his girlfriend had cheated, stolen, and lied two years ago. It led to a single event—one that would blacken his days and his nights from then on. Since then, he hasn’t left his house, crippled by fear of people and any social interaction.
Ashland talks too much and has the voice of a meth-laden prairie dog, or so she’s always been told. She’s been called annoying and irritating all of her life and gave up on having friends for a long time. College has given her a new lease on a social life and she’s embraced who she is. But now she’s waiting for the one guy who can take her breath away and put up with her antics. 
A simple note pinned to a corkboard will lead Ash right to Breaker’s solitary world and she will learn that just because a guy doesn’t fit her ideal, doesn’t mean she won’t fall head over feet in love.

My Thoughts:

If I were a regular person, I could actually walk out of this prison - house, it's a house.

When Lila Felix contacted me to review AnguiSH, I was so keen. I love realistic fiction and once I found out it actually contained a topic that I know a great deal about, I was even more intrigued and excited to jump in.

Breaker James hasn't left his house in two years. Nothing his family does can entice him to leave the confines of the prison he's created for himself inside the walls of the house where he lives. Seeing the conditions he is living under and the low point that Breaker has reached, his Mother's finally had enough and takes matters into her own hands. She advertises for a live in maid to clean Breakers house and the possibility of being able to entice him back to some sort of normal existence. Enter Ashland Cormier. They push each others buttons from their very first encounter, but there is an attraction that neither of them can deny. Will Ash be the saviour that Breaker needs?

My want to be a better man twisted into a need to feel worthy of her hand and her heart.

There were things about Breaker and Ashland that I really liked. And then there were some things, not so much. Separately they each brought something different to the table. When they first cross paths, Breaker is rather timid and reserved, where Ashland is somewhat loud and outgoing. I really felt a connection to Breaker and his situation and was devouring the book waiting to see how he would handle things. Because this is quite a quick read, everything seemed to happen really fast in regards to Breaker dealing with his anxiety and panic attacks. I would have liked to have seen a deeper look at his struggles, but he was a character that I couldn't help but really like. For the most part I liked Ashland as well. She seemed like she could be a whole lot of fun. But when it came to them as a couple, I just didn't feel it. Every now and then, there would be a moment, and I would get it, I would feel that connection between them, but for most of the story, it just wasn't there for me unfortunately. 

A girl like that, obviously a good head on her shoulders and beautiful as all get out; the last thing she needed was a head case like me.

If I take away the romance, Breaker and Ashland had a great friendship. I loved Ashland for helping Breaker through some of his struggles and for having the strength to step back when she needed to. It takes a really strong person to be able to do what she did.

Lila Felix has a real ease about her writing, and I was able to easily immerse myself in the story, but unfortunately, it was just lacking a little something for me to fully love it.

"Whoever made you think that you don't deserve anything you want should have a one way ticket to hell."

3/5 Stars.

REVIEW: Unbound (All Good Things #1) by Georgia Bell

After her father dies, Rachel realizes she is scared and stuck. Scared of heights, of cars, of disasters harming the people she loves. Stuck in a life that is getting smaller by the minute. Stuck with a secret she has kept all her life: Someone has been watching over her since birth. Someone who tends to show up when she needs him the most. Someone she believes is her guardian angel. 

Eaden is a 1,500-year-old immortal who wants to die. Drained by a life stretched too thin, he has requested his final reward – a mortal sacrifice bred specifically to bring him death. But something went wrong. Rachel’s ability to grant death has mutated in ways that threaten to upset the uneasy alliance between mortals and immortals. And utterly beguiled, Eaden discovers that although Rachel is the key to his death, because of her, he no longer wants to die. And he will do anything to protect her. 

Swept into a world of legends, caught between the warring political factions of immortals, and carrying the future of mortal kind in her flesh and bone, Rachel must risk everything to save her world and the man she loves.

My Thoughts:

My desperate screams fade into the fog. Because I know what's coming. It's death, of course. And it's looking for me.

Eighteen year old Rachel is a shy and timid girl. She is often overcome with fears and insecurities. With only one real friend to speak of, her social life consists of not much more than going to work in the local library. Since she was a very young girl, she has been convinced that she has a guardian angel watching over her. She feels protected by him from afar. But after a series of events Rachel vows to get to the bottom of her protectors appearances and what she learns about Eaden and herself will change her life in ways she never could have imagined.

I found Unbound to be quite a unique and original story. I hadn't read this concept of mortals and immortals being so intricately connected before. I loved learning the back story to the immortals and the consequences of living so long, and where Rachel fits into it all.

For the most part the story flowed quite smoothly, but there were occasions when I found things to be a little stilted. I think it may have in some part been to how formal Eaden came across at times. I suppose that comes down to Eaden being 1500 years old.

"For the last five years I've been so afraid, all the time." I looked at her through my tears and shook my head. "But I'm not afraid of him. Never him. He's the safest thing I know."

I really found myself enjoying the uncovering of the mysterious Eaden. I found him to be quite a multilayered character. At first he comes across as quite solitary, and that's really how he lives his life. But once Eaden and Rachel begin their journey, we get to know Eaden on a much greater level and he is quite a respected and admired member of his community.

Rachel was at times much older than her age. And then at others she seemed so very young. But above all else she is strong when she needs to be. Forced to grow up much quicker than most girls due to the death of her father and her mothers subsequent inability to be a consistent parent.

The best part of the story for me was the last third as the action and suspense picked up. This was when I really felt most connected to the characters and was really convinced of the feelings that Rachel and Eaden shared.

Unbound started out incredibly promising. I was loving the mystery of being watched over by someone your whole life. Always feeling protected even though you don't really have any great physical contact. Then the story became a little lost in the middle section and I did find my mind straying a bit during that period, but then the pacing and excitement level picked up again in the last third and I was on board again. A nice read, just not one that blew my mind.

3/5 Intriguing Stars

REVIEW: It's All in Your Mind by Ann Herrick

17-year-old Vija Skalbe wants to be an all-American girl—no matter how hard her parents try to impose their strict Latvian standards on her. Then one day Nolan, a folksinger, steals her heart at a coffeehouse.

Soon Vija is cruising from one adventure to another, dizzy with joy, her new-found freedom and the excitement of being with the kind of guy who is a challenge.

However, when Vija's father has a heart attack, she must take over running the family lawn-care business. She feels overwhelmed until sweet brainiac Joel volunteers to help. He shares the workload and lifts her spirits with his humor. But it is Nolan who fills her heart.

It doesn't matter that Nolan wants everything his way. Or that he's constantly eyeing other girls. Or that he can be pouty and punitive. Or that he says she's seeing things all wrong. Until it does matter. But Vija's in so deep. The thing is, she likes the excitement of being with him. Now, she is about to find out just how much she likes it.

My Thoughts:
After reading It's All in Your Mind, I'm a little bit torn. The premise of the story sounded great, the authors writing was really good, but I just felt like there wasn't a great deal happening a lot of the time, although I did really enjoy reading about Vija and her family and watching Vija's growth throughout the book.

Vija Skalbe is a seventeen year old girl from a Latvian family. Despite her parents reluctance, Vija wants to fit into the American way of life. After an outing to a coffeehouse with her friend, she meets Nolan, the gorgeous folk singer. Much to her surprise Nolan is interested in her and they start dating. Being with Nolan is exciting and challenging. But when her father suffers a heart attack school friend Joel is the one that's there to lend a hand.

I don't usually reread a books synopsis before I start reading it for review. I like to go in and be surprised. But after a few chapters I had to stop and go and check out the book description on Goodreads. This was after meeting Nolan. Surely he couldn't be the romantic interest for the whole book? Whilst the physical description of him was appealing, good looking, confident, folk singer... I was thinking, okay, this could work, his personality was way shory of what I wanted. Vija would have an opinion on something and he would shoot her down. She wasn't permitted to make any sort of decision for herself. Not what she ate, when she ate or how much she ate. Not where they went or what they did. He constantly flirted with other girls, no matter if Vija was there or not. If she wasn't there he would just tell her about it. I didn't like the person the Vija was with him. She was reserved and stumbled over her words. She constantly had concerns about his feelings. However she readily admitted that he was a challenge and she wanted a challenge. Despite all of that, I had times where I really liked him, but inevitably he would do something to have me offside again. But when she was with Joel she was a different person. Able to have opinions and to have her opinions and thoughts and feelings matter. She was fun and happy with him. It was like seeing two completely different girls.

When I first opened the book to start reading, I was excited to see that it was set in the late fifties. Most of my reads are set in modern times, or sometime in the future, so this was something new and interesting. And I have to say that I loved all of the references to the music throughout the story. 

A real standout of this story for me was the sense of family. When Vija's father suffers his heart attack, she stepped up to the plate to take on his duties at work without hesitation. Another thing was Joel's easy going nature. It was a real pleasure to read the scenes that he was a part of.

If you're looking for a clean, quick, Young Adult contemporary, It's All in Your Mind may be what you're looking for.

3/5 Stars

REVIEW: This Is Now by Maggie Gilbert

A gritty, urban New Adult Cinderella story where the princess can do her own rescuing — she just needs someone to believe in her.
Sister to car thieves, ex-girlfriend to a drug dealer, high school dropout, no-hoper and loser — Jess is on the sidelines, watching her life become one epic fail. Her dreams of university are fading fast, as the people in her life fight to confine her to their own expectations. 
Then she meets Sebastien, a gifted cellist from a very different walk of life. Sebastien is clean and strong and talented. He likes and respects her, but he too has expectations. Sebastien seems to think she can do anything, and Jess, despite her fears and the secrets she hides, is starting to believe him.
But just as Jess dares to hope, the secrets in her past and the lies in her present catch up with her. All seems lost and she has to make a choice. Between past and future. Between home and hope. Between now and never. And this is now.

My Thoughts:

Dream guy, oh yes he was, thank you God. I may not have done anything already to deserve a guy like this but I promise I'll do something that good sometime, somehow. 

One of my favourite story dynamics to read is when opposites attract. Sebastien and Jess are almost as opposite as two people can get. But love doesn't care for such trivial things as wealth and social standing. It only cares for whats deep in the heart. 

Jess has lived the life that's been expected of her. Dropping out of school, partying and drinking, drugs and sex. But when she looks around at her family, she is adamant that theirs is not the life she wants. An alcoholic mother, who settles for whatever man she can get, and drug dealing brothers who do a bit of stealing on the side. She wants a career and a better life than the one she has. So she sets out to finish her schooling, work hard and save money to set her dreams in motion. Then she meets Sebastien. And he sees in her the person that she wants to be.

Jess wasn't a character that I could instantly like. She seemed to sway between the two different guys that showed interest in her, depending on who she was with at the time. And without giving too much away, she does something that almost instantly turns me off a book. But I kept reading because we had the chance to meet Sebastian. Sebastian was so sweet and dreamy. A gifted musician from a well to do family. Their attraction is immediate, but it also wasn't love at first sight. It was a definite attraction which flowed into deep feelings. But I found myself consistently frustrated with Jess for not being honest with Sebastian. I could understand her reluctance to keep him separate from her dysfunctional family, but without honesty, a relationship just can't grow and flourish. But in saying that, while Sebastien's family seems perfect from the outside, they have their own secrets as well.

Imagine having parents that were so excited to see you that they didn't care about embarrassing themselves. Imagine having both parents. And imagine being so comfortable with them that extreme public affection didn't embarrass you.

I also found myself feeling really sad that Jess had such low self esteem. She constantly questioned Sebastien's motives for spending time with her or doing something nice for her, and almost sabotaged things before they had even really begun.

I love when an Aussie author sets their book in Australia. This is Now had so many little things peppered throughout that I could relate to and visualise so well. From the mention of places to the different shops that were talked about. Maggie Gilbert's pacing of the story was also spot on for me. It flowed so well. And the secondary characters added a nice layer to the story.

This Is Now was a quick read that I found I enjoyed for the most part, although it did fall a little short of my high expectations. Sebastian and the Aussie references and feel to the story are what kept me interested. 

3/5 Opposites Attract Stars

Copy received for review from the publisher via Netgalley.

REVIEW: Painted Boots by Mechelle Morrison

When her father drags her to a new life in Wyoming, Aspen Brand doesn’t expect to fall for a cowboy named Kyle Thacker—but she does. At seventeen, Aspen and Kyle share unexpected ground: guitar, running, physics. And guilt. Aspen blames herself for her mother’s car accident, while Kyle can’t find a way past his brother’s suicide.

On their first date they open up to each other, forging an unbreakable bond between them. But Kyle has spent two years living with a vicious secret—one his ex-girlfriend will do anything to protect—and sharing his truth with Aspen makes her a target. Now if Kyle is to be her love story, Aspen must first win the fight of her life.
                   
                          

My Thoughts:

You've been collecting pieces of me: my attention and my heart, my everything. That first day I saw you, Aspen. Something in the sight of you made the sun rise inside me. It's a lot to lay on you, maybe. But when I saw you I knew, finally, that I was still alive.

As I sit her pondering what I'm going to say in my review, my biggest challenge is going to be how to portray my mixed emotions adequately. There were things that I loved so much, and then things that bugged me the whole time that I was reading Painted Boots. So please forgive me while I try to get my feelings across in the way that I intend.

My very first thoughts when I started reading Painted Boots was how impressive the authors writing was. I was immediately captured by her words. Her descriptions and word choice for me were perfect. I saw and felt everything that I think she was intending for her readers to feel. She managed to immediately have me either loving or hating her characters. Kyle and Aspen were so sweet and loving together. Kyle's parents were wonderful and for most of the book, so was Aspen's Dad. And Em, our bad guy was so incredibly evil.

I don't have a problem with instant love, but a lot of people do. Aspen and Kyle are ready for a lifelong commitment pretty quickly after the very first time that they talk. They have each been attracted to the other since they first set eyes on each other, but things did move pretty quickly from that point on. But I have to say that I found their feelings believable, I think because the author wrote the characters the way she did. They are both broken and dealing with hurt and pain, so the impact that they each have on the other is incredibly intense. But I bought it. Completely.

The difficult topics that are tackled throughout the book came across loud and clear. Death, pain, bullying, tragedy, loss, grief... All were dealt with by the author really well.

And now for what I had a hard time with. First up was with the fact the Kyle called Aspen girl. Now some of you may find that endearing, but for me it grated on me. I love terms of endearment so much, but for me, girl just didn't do it and it took away from the beautiful things that Kyle was saying. He speaks and feels such beautiful things, and I just wish that girl hadn't been tacked onto so many sentences.

Then there was Aspen's Dad. There is a point towards the end of the book where his actions stunned me. After everything that Aspen has endured, what he did didn't fall far from the horrors that she had already experienced. Yes, I completely understood why he felt he had to intervene, but in my opinion, it was way beyond the wrong way to go about it.

And lastly, when a person is so far removed from reality as Em was here, that there comes a point when the authorities have to be bought on board. Surely a person that far on the side of crazy can't constantly portray a level of sanity at all times. She was doing some crazy stuff and the ones most affected where sweeping it under the carpet somewhat. Covering it up or hoping she would get past the faze she was going through.

So what it comes down to is where I sit after getting all that off my chest? I think I'm somewhere in the middle. I loved the writing and the characters, but the little issues I have prevent me from giving it more than three to three and half stars.

3/5 Intense Stars.

REVIEW: Sometimes Never, Sometimes Always by Elissa Janine Hoole

Cassandra fears rocking the family boat. Instead, she sinks it. Assigned by her English teacher to write a poem that reveals her true self, Cassandra Randall is stuck. Her family's religion is so overbearing, she can NEVER write about who she truly is. So Cass does what any self-respecting high school girl would do: she secretly begins writing a tarot-inspired advice blog. When Drew Godfrey, an awkward outcast with unwashed hair, writes to her, the situation spirals into what the school calls "a cyberbullying crisis" and what the church calls "sorcery." Cass wants to be the kind of person who sticks up for the persecuted, who protects the victims the way she tries to protect her brother from the homophobes in her church. But what if she's just another bully? What will it take for her to step up and tell the truth?

My Thoughts:

I find out on the first day of the New Year that I am the least interesting person I know.

Cassandra Randall is at that stage we all go through in our teenage years of trying to discover who we are. What makes us tick, what we believe in and how to be the person that we want to be. She's questioning the things around her, which is the first step in that discovery. When all of her friends start completing an online survey, Cass can't think of any answers to the questions and believes that she is completely boring. To make matters worse, she is assigned the task of writing a poem about herself for school. Cass has nothing to write. Nothing whatsoever that is worthy of making it's way onto that piece of paper. 

So, what does Cass do? She buys a pack of tarot cards and starts an anonymous online blog to offer people advice to their problems. Never did she expect the chain of events that her blog would produce. Her very religious family and her church label the blog as evil, and when her blog is the forum for cyber-bullying, Cass is lost in a sea of wrong choices, emotions and consequences.

I have to say that for almost all of the novel, I didn't really like Cass. I found her to be quite whiny and self absorbed. For someone who was questioning their thoughts and beliefs, I thought she was so easily led by others. And not very nice others either. But the one person that she strove so hard to protect was her brother Eric. Their relationship was wonderful to read. They were always there for each other, even if they didn't agree with what the other was doing.

As for the supporting characters, I loved her brother Eric, Drew, the girl who always seems to be at the centre of everyone's taunts, Cass's classmate and crush Darin and even Cass's teacher Mr D. All of these characters displayed traits that I admire in a person. Traits that we should all strive to achieve. They were caring, kind, considerate and compassionate, almost always able to look at the bigger picture. 

The thing that I loved about this book the most was the authors writing style. Even with my dislike for Cass, the author managed to keep me invested in the story. And there was a lot going on. Lots of different tangents to the main story of Cass, but all would impact on her to varying degrees.

"Terrible things do happen, Cass. But so do good things. And sometimes we can't tell the difference between the tow until afterward."

Nestled amongst the usual teenage dramas were some pretty deep subject matters. Bullying, sexuality, religion, drugs and alcohol. But even with the tough subjects, the story was never weighed down or preachy.

Even though I guessed the direction that the storyline with Drew was going to go, it didn't detract from the journey that the characters were taking. I think by the end of the book, with everything that Cass had gone through, she finally became the girl I could like. She started to take ownership for her actions and the impact that they would have on others.

This is the first book that I have read from this author, but it definitely won't be my last.

3/5 finding yourself stars.

Thanks so much to Flux, who provided this book via Netgalley.