Review: The Learning Hours (Sara Ney)

The Learning Hours
Series: How to Date a Douchebag
Author: Sara Ney
Publication Date: September 26, 2017
Genre: New Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Sports

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Synopsis:

He’s not a douchebag; but that doesn’t stop his friends from turning him into one.

MY FRIENDS WANT ME TO GET LAID.

So much so that they plastered my ugly mug all over campus, in bold printed letters:

Are you the lucky lady who’s going to break our roommate’s cherry?
Him: socially awkward man with average-sized penis looking for willing sexual partner. You: must have a pulse. He will reciprakate with oral. Text him at: 555-254-5551

The morons can’t even spell. And the texts I’ve been receiving are what wet dreams are made of. But I’m not like these douchebags, no matter how hard they try to turn me into one.

THIS ISN’T THE KIND OF ATTENTION I WANT.

One text stands out from hundreds. One number I can’t bring myself to block. She seems different. Hotter, even in black and white.

However, after seeing her in person, I know she’s not the girl for me. But my friends won’t let up–they just don’t get it. Douchebags or not, there’s one thing they’ll never understand: GIRLS DON’T WANT ME.

Especially her.


Oh my goodness. This book was just too dang cute!

When I started reading The Learning Hours, I didn’t realize it was the third book in the How to Date a Douchebag series. I got the blue and light green covers mixed up and started this book first. I was about 16% in by the time I figured out, but I decided it didn’t matter because I already loved the story and characters so much.

Despite the name of the series, Rhett is not a douchebag. In fact, he’s a very standup guy. Rhett’s smart, nice, and a talented wrestler. One would think he could possibly be a little full of himself, but he wasn’t. Rhett was convinced he wasn’t good-looking and a hot girl wouldn’t be interested in him. His low self-confidence was kind of cute. It was nice to read about a guy with a few hangups. Usually it’s the girl who is not so sure of herself.

Laurel didn’t have that problem. The girl had confidence in spades. She actually could have been the douchebag in the beginning of the story. I wasn’t really impressed with her until she started connecting with Rhett. Her attraction to him was eye-opening to her. The thing I loved most about her was her persistence when it came to Rhett, and how she was the one to make most of the moves. I don’t find that often in college romances.

Laurel and Rhett’s relationship built nice and slowly. I loved reading their thoughts and insecurities as they navigated their feelings for each other. There were so many sweet and funny moments. I was surprised by how funny this story was! I loved the chapter headers and how they related to what was happening in it. They were perfect!

I couldn’t get enough of this love story! It was adorable and I loved that it was about two great people. I am so excited to go back and read the first two books in the series!

Reviews: A Holiday for the Books & From the Beginning (Mignon Mykel)

A Holiday for the Books
Series: Prescott Family, #2.5
Author: Mignon Mykel
Publication Date: December 2017
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Note: This review is for an ARC and is my unbiased opinion.

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ½

My thoughts:

The blurb starts out by mentioning that not everything is merry and bright with the Prescott family. Man, do I wish I had read the blurb before I jumped into reading A Holiday for the Books! I love Mignon Mykel’s writing so much that I didn’t stop to read the blurb before starting the book, and that made the book shock me a bit. I wasn’t expecting the beginning to be such a downer.

Life was at a hard stage for some of the Prescott family. Caleb and Sidney were still trying to get back on track from the death of little Bri, and it was taking a toll on their relationship. Asher was trying to be the perfect mother to her twins, and Porter was trying to get her to let go a little. Jonny wishes he were in a different place in his life. Noah and Ryleigh are getting their kids together for Christmas while hiding a secret. It was all kind of sad.

Mignon Mykel did an excellent job making the Prescott family’s journeys feel real. It was a little painful for the characters at first, but Christmas (luckily) was a turning point for all of them. Being back in Wisconsin put everything in perspective and I loved how the story ended. Fans of the series will like being back with their favorite hockey family at the holidays.

From the Beginning
Series: Prescott Family, #2.75
Author: Mignon Mykel
Publication Date: November 28, 2017
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Note: This review is for an ARC and is my unbiased opinion.

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ½

My thoughts:

From the Beginning was a novella about the Prescott family matriarchs, Noah and Ryleigh. I loved learning how they met and fell in love through Noah’s eyes. He reminisced about all the important moments in their lives. It was so sweet!… And it was a little sad. There were many moments where I found tears in my eyes.

From the Beginning was a very emotional read. I would highly recommend it to readers who love the Prescott Family series.

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books On My Winter TBR

Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday!

Top Ten Tuesday is an original weekly feature created by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s topic is Top Ten Books On My Winter TBR. Here they are…


1. Love, Life, and the List
by Kasie West

Seventeen-year-old Abby Turner’s summer isn’t going the way she’d planned. She has a not-so-secret but definitely unrequited crush on her best friend, Cooper. She hasn’t been able to manage her mother’s growing issues with anxiety. And now she’s been rejected from an art show because her work “has no heart.” So when she gets another opportunity to show her paintings Abby isn’t going to take any chances.

Which is where the list comes in.

Abby gives herself one month to do ten things, ranging from face a fear (#3) to learn a stranger’s story (#5) to fall in love (#8). She knows that if she can complete the list she’ll become the kind of artist she’s always dreamed of being. But as the deadline approaches, Abby realizes that getting through the list isn’t as straightforward as it seems… and that maybe—just maybe—she can’t change her art if she isn’t first willing to change herself.

This is the first in a set of three standalone books with crossover characters.


2. Brave (Contours of the Heart, #4)
by Tammara Webber

Courage means rising up to defend your beliefs…
or daring to question them.

Erin McIntyre was captivating, but forbidden
His professional subordinate
The embodiment of unearned privilege
The daughter of his sworn enemy

Isaac Maat was impossible to read
Smart, ambitious, and emotionally detached
Hotter than anyone’s boss should ever be
And definitely hiding something…

He told himself that getting to know her would help him take down her father.
She told herself that getting under his skin would distract her wrecked heart from its misery.

Neither predicted their private war would lead to an intimate battle in which the victor would be the first one to SURRENDER.


3. Foolish Hearts
by Emma Mills

A contemporary novel about a girl whose high school production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream leads her to new friends—and maybe even new love.

The day of the last party of the summer, Claudia overhears a conversation she wasn’t supposed to. Now on the wrong side of one of the meanest girls in school, Claudia doesn’t know what to expect when the two are paired up to write a paper—let alone when they’re both forced to try out for the school production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

But mandatory participation has its upsides—namely, an unexpected friendship, a boy band obsession, and a guy with the best dimpled smile Claudia’s ever seen. As Claudia’s world starts to expand, she finds that maybe there are some things worth sticking her neck out for.


4. Now That You Mention It
by Kristan Higgins

One step forward. Two steps back. The Tufts scholarship that put Nora Stuart on the path to becoming a Boston medical specialist was a step forward. Being hit by a car and then overhearing her boyfriend hit on another doctor when she thought she was dying? Two major steps back.

Injured in more ways than one, Nora feels her carefully built life cracking at the edges. There’s only one place to land: home. But the tiny Maine community she left fifteen years ago doesn’t necessarily want her. At every turn, someone holds the prodigal daughter of Scupper Island responsible for small-town drama and big-time disappointments.

With a tough islander mother who’s always been distant and a wild-child sister in jail, unable to raise her daughter–a withdrawn teen as eager to ditch the island as Nora once was–Nora has her work cut out for her if she’s going to take what might be her last chance to mend the family.

But as some relationships crumble around her, others unexpectedly strengthen. Balancing loss and opportunity, a dark event from her past with hope for the future, Nora will discover that tackling old pain makes room for promise…and the chance to begin again.


5. Still Me (Me Before You, #3)
by Jojo Moyes

From the sensational #1 New York Times bestselling author Jojo Moyes, a new book featuring her iconic heroine of Me Before You and After You, Louisa Clark

Louisa Clark arrives in New York ready to start a new life, confident that she can embrace this new adventure and keep her relationship with Ambulance Sam alive across several thousand miles. She is thrown into the world of the superrich Gopniks: Leonard and his much younger second wife, Agnes, and a never-ending array of household staff and hangers-on. Lou is determined to get the most out of the experience and throws herself into her job and New York life within this privileged world.

Before she knows what’s happening, Lou is mixing in New York high society, where she meets Joshua Ryan, a man who brings with him a whisper of her past. In Still Me, as Lou tries to keep the two sides of her world together, she finds herself carrying secrets–not all her own–that cause a catastrophic change in her circumstances. And when matters come to a head, she has to ask herself Who is Louisa Clark? And how do you reconcile a heart that lives in two places?


6. Bad for You (Dirty Deeds, #3)
by J. Daniels

Shayla Perkins isn’t the kind of girl who makes the same mistake twice, especially when it comes to Sean “Stitch” Molina. So when he gives her the world’s biggest rejection, that’s it—she’s done. Until the sexy, silent, unavailable Sean makes Shay a very personal offer. Of course, it still doesn’t mean he’s interested in her. Or does it?

Sean has done things in life. Bad things. And he’s paid the price. All he wants now is to make up for his past by doing good in the present. And no one deserves more good than Shay. Beautiful on the inside and out, Shay is the kind of woman who should be cared for and protected—especially from a man like Sean. He’s tried to keep his feelings for her in check, but a single, reckless impulse pulls them closer than ever before.

Soon the two are sharing their biggest dreams and satisfying their deepest desires. But what will happen if the only way to truly give one another want they want most . . . is to let each other go?


7. Runaway Groom (I Do, I Don’t, #2)
by Lauren Layne

For one charming playboy, getting cast on a Bachelor-esque reality TV show is the shock of a lifetime—until he finds love where he least expects it. And now the chase is on!

Gage Barrett’s reputation as a ladies’ man has been greatly exaggerated, but none of that matters after a drunken bet lands him on Jilted, a reality TV show that matches runaway grooms with wannabe brides. Now he’s stuck at a Hawaiian resort with nineteen women competing to drag him back to the altar—and one contestant who’s even more miserable than he is. Gage has no idea how feisty, independent Ellie Wright wound up in the cast, but it’s obvious she hates his guts. And if there’s one thing Gage likes, it’s a challenge. . . .

Ellie can’t believe she let her best friend talk her into exchanging her dignity for a glorified bikini contest. Still, she could use the exposure—her business is struggling—and she’ll probably be one of the first to get eliminated anyway. But Gage isn’t the shallow jerk Ellie anticipated—and he’s in no rush to send her home. As stolen kisses turn into secret trysts, she finds herself losing track of what’s real and what’s for the camera. With the wedding finale looming, this runaway groom is tempting Ellie to start believing in storybook endings.


8. Forget You, Ethan
by Whitney G.

Keep your friends close and your enemies closer…

I’ve hated Rachel Dawson since I was seven years old. My next door neighbor and number one sworn enemy, she’s the reason why almost all of our childhood fights ended with me setting something of hers on fire. (Or, vice versa.)

She snitched on me when I broke curfew.
I snitched on her when she lied about having a boyfriend.

We went back and forth like this throughout high school, both vowing to never talk to each other again when we went off to college.

But that was until she showed up at my apartment during my senior year and asked me for a temporary place to stay. Until I realized just how much between us had changed, and the line I thought we’d never cross became harder and harder to ignore…

This is a standalone friends (to enemies) to lovers romance


9. The Last to Let Go
by Amber Smith

How do you let go of something you’ve never had?

Junior year for Brooke Winters is supposed to be about change. She’s transferring schools, starting fresh, and making plans for college so she can finally leave her hometown, her family, and her past behind.

But all of her dreams are shattered one hot summer afternoon when her mother is arrested for killing Brooke’s abusive father. No one really knows what happened that day, if it was premeditated or self-defense, whether it was right or wrong. And now Brooke and her siblings are on their own.

In a year of firsts—the first year without parents, first love, first heartbreak, and her first taste of freedom—Brooke must confront the shadow of her family’s violence and dysfunction, as she struggles to embrace her identity, finds her true place in the world, and learns how to let go.


10. The Great Alone
by Kristin Hannah

Alaska, 1974.
Untamed.
Unpredictable.
And for a family in crisis, the ultimate test of the human spirit.

From the author who brought you the phenomenon of The Nightingale.

Review: So Over You (Kate Meader)

So Over You
Series: Chicago Rebels, #2
Author: Kate Meader
Publication Date: December 4, 2017
Publisher: Pocket Star
Genre: Contemporary, Romance, Sports
Note: This review is for an ARC and is my unbiased opinion.

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★

Synopsis:

Three estranged sisters struggle to sustain their late father’s failing hockey franchise in Kate Meader’s sizzling Chicago Rebels series. In this second entry, middle sister Isobel is at a crossroads in her personal and professional lives. But both are about to get a significant boost with the addition of a domineering Russian powerhouse to the Rebels….

Isobel Chase knows hockey. She played NCAA, won Olympic silver, and made it thirty-seven minutes into the new National Women’s Hockey League before an injury sidelined her dreams. Those who can’t, coach, and a position as a skating consultant to her late father’s hockey franchise, the Chicago Rebels, seems like a perfect fit. Until she’s assigned her first job: the man who skated into her heart as a teen and relieved her of her pesky virginity. These days, left-winger Vadim Petrov is known as the Czar of Pleasure, a magnet for puck bunnies and the tabloids alike. But back then… let’s just say his inability to sink the puck left Isobel frustratingly scoreless.

Vadim has a first name that means “ruler,” and it doesn’t stop at his birth certificate. He dominates on the ice, the practice rink, and in the backseat of a limo. But a knee injury has produced a bad year, and bad years in the NHL don’t go unrewarded. His penance? To be traded to a troubled team where his personal coach is Isobel Chase, the woman who drove him wild years ago when they were hormonal teens. But apparently the feeling was not entirely mutual.

That Vadim might have failed to give Isobel the pleasure that was her right is intolerable, and he plans to make it up to her—one bone-melting orgasm at a time. After all, no player can perfect his game without a helluva lot of practice…


Earlier this year, I read the first book in the Chicago Rebels series. I liked Irresistible You, but so much of it was a setting up the Chase family drama for books to come. I felt like Harper and Remy’s relationship took a back seat, and I didn’t connect to them as much as I wanted. I finished that book wondering if Isobel’s story would feel the same way.

It didn’t. Isobel and Vadim’s story felt more like their own. There wasn’t as much family drama, and what there was fit into their lives. It made it easier to connect with them and their love story — which I adored.

Isobel and Vadim had a lot in common. They were both in love with playing hockey, both had previous injuries, and both were strong-willed. The first two things bonded them. The third had the potential to destroy them. Every interaction between them was passionate. I never thought coaching someone in drill could be fiery, but I was wrong. I loved how their shared hockey experiences connected them.

The sisters weren’t quite as involved in this story, but the moments they were together were magic. Instead of bonding, they had moved onto a deeper relationship. They were there for advice and friendship. It wasn’t such a struggle for them anymore. I liked that.

I also liked Vadim’s family dynamic. It was almost as scandalous as the Chase family. His relationship with his sister was so sweet. (Can she grow up and get her own book?)

Overall, So Over You was a fun second chance romance. It moved the Chase family onto a new time in their hockey owning career while spotlighting a special relationship.

Review: Bad Princess (Julianna Keyes)

Bad Princess
Author: Julianna Keyes
Publication Date: November 27, 2017
Publisher: Julianna Keyes
Genre: New Adult, Romance, Contemporary
Note: This review is for an ARC and is my unbiased opinion.

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★

Synopsis:

Notorious for leaping off roofs, maiming foreign royals, and that twerking incident, Brinley Cantrella of Estau is nobody’s definition of a good princess. She’s fearless and bold, not good and gracious. And after a lifetime of being told she’s unfit to be queen, wearing the crown and helping to usher Estau into a new era is the one dream she’s never dared chase.

But when her older sister abdicates the throne, all Brinley has to do to inherit the role is not twerk, not maim anybody, and definitely not get caught fooling around topless with Prince Finn, her childhood crush, the only man she’s ever loved…and her sister’s former future husband.

Finn embodies the definition of good. Tall and handsome, serious and honorable, he always does the right thing—including agreeing to marry his ex’s sister to cover up this latest scandal. Brinley has fallen down stairs, broken teeth and broken bones, but this is the first time her heart has ever been broken. She now has the crown and the prince, and on the surface, life is good—but is being married to a man everyone swears could never love her back good enough?


I don’t always read princess stories, but when I do, they’re by a trusted author. I had faith that Julianna Keyes could make me fall in love with her bad princess, and she totally did! Bad Princess was delightfully fun.

Princess Brinley wasn’t a horrible person; she was just a young woman who acted on her impulses. Sometimes they were good, most of the time they didn’t work out so well for her. Hence, her nickname Bad Princess. I loved that no matter what, Brinley stood true to who she was.

Prince Finn came across a little stuffy, but there was more hidden beneath his rule following exterior. I was surprised by how much I ended up loving him. All of the moments between Finn and Brinley were special and sweet. I didn’t expect their story to be what it was, and I loved that.

Another thing I loved were all of the side characters. They were all so animated. I could easily imagine them in my heads. The one that ended up shocking me the most was Princess Elle. I didn’t expect her at all. I’m hoping we get a story about her someday.

Bad Princess was a fun, fast-paced read filled with a lot of tenderness and little bit of sexiness. It would be a good starting point for those mature enough to advance from YA to NA royalty.

Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Books I’m Thankful For

Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday!

Top Ten Tuesday is an original weekly feature created by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s topic is Top Ten Books I’m Thankful For (Happy Thanksgiving week in the USA!). 


1. Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

This was the first book that really made me examine my beliefs on life and death.

2. Bright Side by Kim Holden

Every day should be my best. Do epic. That’s what this book taught me.

3. When it Rains by Lisa De Jong

There was a description of different kinds of love that really hit home with me in this book.

4. Nine Minutes by Beth Flynn

Nine Minutes taught me to push my reading boundaries. It made me realize that even if I don’t like a blurb, I may like a book. Take chances.

5. Slammed by Colleen Hoover

I don’t remember how I came across Slammed, but it opened me up to a whole new genre and made me search for new adult writers.

6. Grip by Kennedy Ryan

The social commentary in this book was amazing. It really hit home in today’s society. I can’t recommend it enough.

7. The Sweet Valley Twins by Francine Pascal

I’ll always be thankful to my first favorite series for my love of reading. It’s the first book I can remember wanting desperately to read.

8. The Beach Trees by Karen White

After my daughter was born, my mom used to watch her once a week so I could get away. I would hang out at Borders and browse. The Beach Trees caught my eye and I decided to give it a shot. It made me fall in love with fiction set in the South. It also made me a fan of women’s fiction.

9. Making Faces by Amy Harmon

I can’t really explain well how much this book touched me. I would just say read through the quotes section for it on Goodreads.

10. The Hard Count by Ginger Scott

The Hard Count is yet another book with a great social commentary, but this time from high school students’ perspectives. It really resonated with me. Well, anything Ginger Scott writes does.


Have you read any of these books? Would they make your list?

Mini Reviews: Perfect Ten: A Rockstar Romance and Forgetting You, Forgetting Me

Perfect Ten: A Rockstar Romance
Author: Kelley R. Martin
Publication Date: October 1, 2017
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Novella

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★

My thoughts:

I wasn’t immediately drawn into reading Perfect Ten by the blurb. I’m not always big on rockstar romances, but I decided to give it a shot because I am a fan of Kelley R. Martin’s romances. I loved Knockout Love series. I was pleasantly surprised by Perfect Ten. Despite sounding like it might completely revolve around sex, there was a ton of courting and build up. I was amazed at how much considering this was a novella.

Perfect Ten was really cute, kind of sweet, and pretty funny. It was a blast to read. I would recommend it if you’re looking for a quick, fun romance to read.

Forgetting You, Forgetting Me
Series: Memories from Yesterday, #1
Author: Monica James
Publication Date: June 26, 2017
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Note: This review is for an ARC and is my unbiased opinion.

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ½

My thoughts:

I’m not a big fan of love triangles — especially involving siblings — but this one kind of worked for me. Monica James did an amazing job of making me not care about the love triangle, but about Lucy’s entire journey. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. There was a good amount of angst and emotion throughout it. I did wish the author hadn’t left the end the way she did. I needed a more concrete HEA. I’m guessing that’s not coming until later on in the series.

Review: Ninja Girl (Cookie O’Gorman)

Ninja Girl
Author: Cookie O’Gorman
Publication Date: March 30, 2017
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Synopsis:

Seventeen-year-old Snow-Soon Lee kicks ass–literally. She teaches at her family-owned martial arts gym, The Academy, and cares more about training to be the next Bruce Lee than hooking up. In fact, Snow’s never even been kissed. But when Girls Night rolls around, Snow decides to prove to her friends (and herself) that she’s not just some boring tomboy. Impulsively, she kisses a hot stranger and even manages to escape his two security guards.

One stolen kiss…

Ash Stryker’s senior year sucks. His politician father pulled him out of Chariot High, separating him from his championship-winning soccer team. Now he’s stuck at a prissy private school with no friends, no team and no chance of being scouted. On top of that, thanks to the death threats his dad’s received, Ash has a security tail aka professional babysitters. When the mystery girl from the movies shows up at his school, rappelling from the rafters, Ash knows one thing: he won’t let her get away again.

One interesting job proposition…

After a seemingly random attack, Ash’s mother surprises everyone. She hires Snow to be Ash’s personal bodyguard until after the election. But can Snow’s kick-ass skills hold up against the rising threats to Ash’s family? More importantly, can Ash convince his ninja girl to screw ethics and kiss him again?

Opposites attract in this YA romance where a smooth talker meets his match in the tough girl who (literally) sweeps him off his feet. Moral of the story:

Sometimes even bad boys need a bodyguard.


I adored Ninja Girl. I adored it so much. I thought I might considering I loved Cookie O’Gorman’s Adorkable, but I loved it even more than that book. Ninja Girl was one of those books that made me happy the entire time I was reading it. It was so cute!

Ninja Girl is a book I will want my daughter to read when she’s older because of how Snow’s character was portrayed. It’s how every female character should be portrayed. Snow was physically and mentally strong, and she was super smart. She had her insecurities just like all teenage girls, but Snow knew those things weren’t what was important at the end of the day. I loved that Snow was the hero of the story.

Another cool thing about Snow was that she was Korean. I don’t know much about the Korean culture, so I can’t say whether it was a good representation or not, but I liked how it was included in everything from food to family to language. It was cool to see how Snow’s life experiences compared to Ash’s.

Ash was your typical YA love interest. He gets bonus points, though. Ash may have wanted to be “the man” and save his woman at times, but he also respected the fact that she could save herself. He was able to let go of what society might suggest is what should be or happen, and let Snow guide him. It made their relationship equal. I loved it.

Snow’s character was my favorite part of this book, but the plot was a close second. I loved the mystery behind it (even though I could guess who it was). It was fun how Snow and her mom worked into that. I also liked how it set up Snow and Ash’s relationship.

I can’t get over how stinking cute Ninja Girl was! Seriously, everything about it was cute. It was exactly what I’m looking for when I reach for a YA contemporary romance. Ninja Girl has officially cemented Cookie O’Gorman as one of my go-to YA authors. You need to read it!

Review: Killman Creek (Rachel Caine)

Killman Creek
Series: Stillhouse Lake, #2
Author: Rachel Caine
Publication Date: December 12, 2017
Publisher: Thomas and Mercer
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
Note: This review is for an ARC and is my unbiased opinion.

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Synopsis:

Every time Gwen closed her eyes, she saw him in her nightmares. Now her eyes are open, and he’s not going away.

Gwen Proctor won the battle to save her kids from her ex-husband, serial killer Melvin Royal, and his league of psychotic accomplices. But the war isn’t over. Not since Melvin broke out of prison. Not since she received a chilling text…

You’re not safe anywhere now.

Her refuge at Stillhouse Lake has become a trap. Gwen leaves her children in the protective custody of a fortified, well-armed neighbor. Now, with the help of Sam Cade, brother of one of Melvin’s victims, Gwen is going hunting. She’s learned how from one of the sickest killers alive.

But what she’s up against is beyond anything she feared—a sophisticated and savage mind game calculated to destroy her. As trust beyond her small circle of friends begins to vanish, Gwen has only fury and vengeance to believe in as she closes in on her prey. And sure as the night, one of them will die.


Killman Creek was one of my most anticipated releases of the winter. The end of Stillhouse Lake promised the mystery and suspense would go on. I couldn’t wait to find out what was next for Gwen, her children, Sam and Melvin.

Tension ran high in Killman Creek. I was constantly on the edge of my seat, and slightly uncomfortable the entire time waiting for something horrible to happen. I feared for all of the characters. My fears didn’t stop me from reading this gem of a thriller, though. I couldn’t put Killman Creek down. It was just as fast paced as Stillhouse Lake, but the stakes were higher. Rachel Caine kept the twists and turns coming right up until the very end.

One of my favorite things about Killman Creek was how the relationships between the characters were constantly changing. No one was ever one hundred percent sure about anyone. The relationships really helped drive the story, especially the slightly awkward relationship between Sam and Gwen.

Killman Creek was the perfect follow-up, and a standout thriller all on its own. I absolutely loved it. If you loved Stillhouse Lake, this book would exceed your expectations. Be ready for some surprises!

Review: Spider (Ilsa Madden-Mills)

Spider
Author: Ilsa Madden-Mills
Publication Date: November 13, 2017
Genre: New Adult, Romance, Contemporary

Rating: ★ ★ ★

Synopsis:

He’s a British rock star.
And my stepbrother.
What can go wrong?

He called himself Spider. I just knew him as the sinfully gorgeous guy with eyes of fire that fate sat next to me on the airplane. I didn’t know who he really was…rock star…my stepbrother.

He kissed me because he thought we’d never see each other again. We would.

Everyone warned me about him.
They said he was ruthless and cold and screwed up.
They said he’d leave me with a hole in my heart.

Maybe I should have listened.
Maybe I should have built up a fortress to keep him out.
But I crumbled instead.

Some have said there’s an unbreakable thread that connects those who are destined to meet. If that’s true, then the moment he sat next to me, we were bound together forever.

He just had to figure it out before it’s too late…


I almost didn’t read Spider. I saw “stepbrother” in the blurb and was like no thank you. Then, I reconsidered. I love Ilsa Madden-Mills’ writing. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to miss out on one of her books. When I realized Spider was part of the KU program, I went ahead and downloaded it.

I have some mixed feelings about Spider. I liked it for the most part. The whole stepbrother thing wasn’t an issue for me. Rose and Spider are newly acquainted stepsiblings. They didn’t grow up together. Their attraction preceded their knowledge of their new familial status. I liked their connection and most of the scenarios they ended up in.

My biggest problem was Rose’s age at the beginning. She was only seventeen, not quite an adult. Spider didn’t know this at first, but once he did I felt a little uncomfortable with his attraction to Rose. He wasn’t that much older, but it still kind of bugged me. Luckily, not all of the story was in this age gap.

Another thing I had issues with was Trenton. I’m not going to say what went down, but I was a little disappointed in Rose. It was all resolved well, but still. She was too good of a person for it.

Despite this all sounding negative, I did enjoy reading Spider. The story kept my attention, and I loved the ending. I just wish those couple of things didn’t bug me so much.