Top Ten Tuesday: Popular Books that Lived Up to the Hype

Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday!

Top Ten Tuesday is an original weekly feature created by The Broke and the Bookish and is now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s is Popular Books that Lived Up to the Hype.

1. Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

2. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

3. Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Abertalli

4. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

5. Nowhere But Here by Katie McGarry

6. The Wall of Winnipeg and Me by Mariana Zapata

7. Fallen Crest High by Tijan

8. Bright Side by Kim Holden

9. Nine Minutes by Beth Flynn

10. Illuminae by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

Review: Four Day Fling (Emma Hart)

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Four Day Fling
Author: Emma Hart
Publication Date: July 24, 2018
Publisher: Emma Hart
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Note: This review is for an ARC and is my unbiased opinion.

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ½

Synopsis:

Imagine this.

You’re ready to leave after a one-night stand, and you’re figuring out how to—shock horror—leave your number and ask him to be your fake boyfriend for your sister’s wedding this weekend.

When he wakes up.

Well, that happened to me. And over coffee and omelets, I found myself a date.

Which was how I ended up arriving at the wedding with a guy I knew nothing about.

I didn’t know his last name, or how we met, or how long we’d been dating. I didn’t know where he grew up, what he’d majored in in college, or how many siblings he had.

I sure as hell didn’t know he was Adam Winters, hotshot hockey player, and not only my father’s favorite player, but my little nephew’s freakin’ idol.

Which means I’m in trouble. Big, big trouble.

My mother is suspicious, my sister is bridezilla on crack, and my grandpa will tell anyone who’ll listen about his time in Amsterdam’s Red Light District.

Four days.

I have to keep this up for four days, and then Adam and I can return to our regular lives, where we don’t have sex whenever we’re alone, and my family aren’t interrogating him over his intentions with me.

At least, that’s the plan.

And we all know what happens to those.


I have to be completely honest. I read Four Day Fling without reading the blurb beforehand. I didn’t feel the need to because I love Emma Hart’s writing. That being said, I was just as shocked to find out Poppy’s wedding date was a famous professional hockey player. It made the story that much funnier for me — and Four Day Fling was hilarious.

Poppy was a mixture of snark and awkwardness. She was a hot mess and I loved her for it. From her t-shirts with sayings to the way she dealt with her family, Poppy was a character who made me laugh. I adored her and her crazy ways. I found her to be a refreshingly blunt character who had confidence along with real life insecurities. It was fun reading about her falling for Adam.

Adam was all cool confidence. The guy knew how to go with the flow. His willingness to accept all the crazy going on added to the enjoyment of this story. I loved how Adam loved what other people saw as Poppy’s flaws.

Poppy and Adam made a great match. The way they navigated a wedding and Poppy’s crazy family as a fake couple was hilarious. I couldn’t get enough of this story. I didn’t want the four days to end…and when it did…the story continued to in a way suited to both Adam and Poppy.

If you’re looking for a fun romantic comedy to enjoy on this beach or just take your mind off things, Four Day Fling is the perfect book.

Series Review: Losing It (Cora Carmack)

Losing It
Series: Losing It, #1
Author: Cora Carmack
Narrator: Phoebe Strole
Publication Date: April 30, 2013
Publisher: HarperAudio
Genre: New Adult, Contemporary Romance

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★

My thoughts:

I hadn’t read this book before now because I didn’t think I would like it. I’m not a fan of the whole student-teacher forbidden romance thing. As a parent, those type of romances disturb and concern me. Losing It didn’t bother me, though. Cora Carmack did a very good job of not crossing over a line I couldn’t handle. This student-teacher romance worked for me for a number of reasons.

  • Bliss was a college senior. She was an adult a few years over the age of 18.
  • Garrick wasn’t too much older than her. He had recently graduated from college himself.
  • Bliss and Garrick’s relationship went slow. Based on the title, that seems false. It was truly a very slow burn romance.
  • There weren’t a lot of scenes where I worried they were going to get caught. The ones that were made me laugh. They were actually kind of funny.
  • I also think that listening to the audio version of the book made a difference. It was like being even more in Bliss’ head and feeling her feelings.

All of these things made the student-teacher concept easier on me. It also helped that I loved the writing and the characters. This book really surprised me, and in a good way. I truly wanted Bliss and Garrick to be together.

The only things that bugged me were lack of depth/growth of the characters and the switch from the entire book being in Bliss’ point of view to Garrick’s for the epilogue. I wanted Bliss to learn something more and to get a greater insight into Garrick. As for the narration switch, it was mostly because the narrator. He talked so much faster than the person who did Bliss. It was a shocking change. That wasn’t that big of deal, though. I got used to it. Overall, Losing It was a good classic NA read.

Faking It
Series: Losing It, #2
Author: Cora Carmack
Narrators: Emma Galvin, Dan Bittner
Publication Date: June 4, 2013
Publisher: HarperAudio
Genre: New Adult, Contemporary Romance

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★

My thoughts:

Faking It was definitely more my style than Losing It. I really enjoyed this take on the fake relationship trope. I liked Cade in Losing It and was happy he got a chance at real love. He was slightly broken, but his heartache was nothing compared to Max’s. I loved what Cade was able to bring to Max’s life. It was really sweet.

Faking It felt like a standard new adult romance. It had two broken characters who didn’t realize they were looking for the wrong thing until they found each other. The story had a little angst, but it wasn’t over the top. Faking It is definitely a must read for new adult fans.

Finding It
Series: Losing It, #3
Author: Cora Carmack
Narrators: Soneela Nankani
Publication Date: October 15, 2013
Publisher: HarperAudio
Genre: New Adult, Contemporary Romance

Rating: ★ ★ ½

My thoughts:

Finding It was my least favorite book in the series. It had several things stacked against it. I like books set in countries outside the U.S., but books where a character travels around don’t always work for me. This one did at times but didn’t at others. I also didn’t immediately fall in love with Kelsey’s character. I didn’t like her or the decisions she made at first. It took me almost until half way though the book to start to be interested in her story. It was when she let me in on her secret. Then, I could at least start to understand her. I was seriously considering DNFing the book prior to her revelation. Even after I considered it. I think I just needed more of Kelsey and Jackson sooner. If I would have been reading instead of listening, I honestly would have skimmed to get to the heart of the story faster.

Overall Thoughts:

I had put off reading the Losing It series because I mistakenly thought it wasn’t for me. After reading Cora Carmack’s other NA series, I decided to take my chances. I’m happy I did. The first two books in this series were well worth reading. The last book wasn’t for me, but I’m sure others would enjoy it.

My #BookBonanza18 Experience

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of attending Book Bonanza 2018 in Denver, Colorado. It was a crazy, fun, exhausting experience that I’m excited to share with you today. If I had to sum it up in one sentence it would be: This was my author bucket list event. It really was. I didn’t get to meet EVERY author there I wanted to, but I got to meet a whole bunch of them. I also got to meet some new to me authors. If you’re interested in my experience, read on. (Sorry, it’s going to be a long post. I want to tell you everything so you feel like you were there right with me!)

THURSDAY, JULY 19th

Thursday wasn’t technically a Book Bonanza day, but it was the day I arrived in Denver and met up with my friend Ashley from South Carolina. We checked into the Hyatt Regency Tech Center Hotel. They surprised us with an “upgraded” room, which really meant we got to share a king size bed. LOL. We made it work. I wish I would have remembered to take a picture of our room for you. Our hotel was just a short walk to the Denver Marriott Tech Center where the event was held.

Book Bonanza registration was easy peasy. We were able to walk right up and check in. We got a cool canvas tote screened by Heath Hoover himself. It was filled with two signed books, a water bottle, information about the event, a small snack bag, a Bookworm Box pen, and a few other small gems.We then headed to the bar for food while we waited to meet up with Kim Holden’s Bright Siders Facebook group.

I have one thing to say about Kim Holden. That lady is sooooo nice. She took the time to greet each and every one of us at the event. She took pictures with us and asked us how we were. She really took time with everyone. Kim Holden made this quick event so special. She also brought along with her some friends. Beth Flynn was there, and J. Sterling made a quick stop in. I also got to meet the one and only Ginger Scott who swung by from RWA to say hello. Ginger was just as friendly and amazing as Kim.

I can’t leave out one incredibly cool thing that happened at the Bright Siders meet up. I got to meet Lenore from Celebrity Readers! I cannot get across in writing how cool this was. This is the first time I’ve gotten to meet a blogger friend in person. Lenore was just as amazing as she is online. I adored talking to her. I got that chance several times over the weekend. I really hope I get to see her at another event someday.

Friday, July 20th

Friday morning and afternoon was filled with panels. The first panel was Welcome and Chat with Colleen Hoover and E.L. James. They did a quick question and answer session. They were hilarious!

The second panel was Writing Sex Scenes – WTF?. It was funny, too. Helena Hunting, Audrey Carlan, Robinne Lee, and E.L. James had some great comments on how they tackle those sexy scenes. We had some of the youngest attendees next to us (they were 16-19 and from Missouri). Ashley and I totally wanted to put on our “mom hats” and earmuff them.

After the second panel, we broke for lunch. We had tons of options with all of the food trucks at the event. I had a really yummy chicken bacon ranch wrap and my friend tried out another truck. These trucks were available for breakfast, lunch, and dinner during the event. It was so easy and convenient.

The third panel was the Rachel Hollis Keynote. If you don’t know who Rachel Hollis is, you need to look her up. I didn’t know anything about her, but by the end I was so impressed with her. I really, really want to read her book Girl, Wash Your Face. She was so inspirational and funny. I had a couple of “ah-ha” moments during her talk.

After those three general panels, there were three more panel sessions where you could choose what you wanted to listen to. We decided to go to two panels and skip one for a break. For our fourth panel, we chose Writing with a Spouse or BFF. The panel participants were Max Monroe, Sarina Bowen, Jane Harvey-Berrick, and Stuart Reardon. This was a great panel. I loved hearing about how Sarina Bowen writes with all of her co-authors. I adored how funny Max and Monroe were in real life. I also got an introduction to Stuart Reardon and Jane Harvey-Berrick’s writing and the process they go through . It was very cool.

We skipped the middle panel to go back to our hotel and grab our books for the evening signing. On the way, we made a stop at the Cupcake Room for our free cupcake. Dang those cupcakes were awesome! I had a peanut butter cup one. YUM!

We came back and listened to the Judging Books by Their Covers panel. The presenters were Fisher Amelie, TM Frazier, Karina Halle, Michelle Mankin, Dina Silver, and Meghan Quinn. It was interesting to hear how they come up with ideas for their covers.

After all the panels, it was a quick dinner break at the food trucks before lining up for the singing. We were eating when someone came by and told us Jessica Park was doing a pop up signing in the lobby, so we hurried over there. It was cool. Many authors did these little pop up signings throughout the event.

The first signing was crazy! People lined up 2 HOURS EARLY, guys. It was insane! In line, I started talking to some of the other attendees. I had a really great conversation with several of them. The nicest lady named Shelly offered me her blog card, and I realized she was one of the bloggers I was hoping to meet while there! Shelly is from DG Book Blog. She’s such a sweetheart! I loved getting to meet her and learn more about her. I saw her several times throughout the weekend and she always had a smile on her face. I’m excited to keep in contact with her.

Back to the signing. We were lucky to be fairly close to the beginning of one of the lines. We walked in and immediately got wrist bands to see Colleen. We were numbers 13 and 14, if that tells you anything. We were able to walk right up to Max Monroe and have them sign our books. After that, things got a little chaotic. The Book Bonanza staff adjusted quickly and started giving out more wrist bands than I think they anticipated. I got to meet:

  • Max Monroe
  • Colleen Hoover
  • J.A. Huss
  • Sarina Bowen
  • Elle Kennedy
  • Stuart Reardon and Jane Harvey-Berrick
  • Meghan March


Every single author and attendee I met was nice and gracious. The signing was from 8:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m., but we only lasted until 11:00 p.m. We were EXHAUSTED and had to be back to for the 8:00 a.m. signing the next morning. We called it a night and attempted to get some sleep. Here’s one picture of one of the rooms the signings were held in. As you can see, there wasn’t much room for maneuvering!

Saturday, July 21st

Getting up Saturday morning was hard. We had planned to get up about 4:45 a.m. so we could be lined up at 6:00 a.m. It didn’t happen. We got there about 7:30 a.m. Neither of us cared. We split up between the two singing room lines. I was all the way outside this time. It didn’t really matter. I was still able to get wrist bands for the authors I really wanted to see. I saw:

  • Rachel Higginson
  • Jay Crownover
  • Meghan Quinn
  • Kennedy Ryan
  • Teagan Hunter
  • M.E. Carter

We took a quick lunch break and then got back in the line for the second signing session. I, once again, ended up waiting outside in line. It was in the high 90’s temperature wise, but luckily there was shade. The afternoon felt just as easy as the morning. Despite crowded signing rooms, I was able to get all the books I brought signed but one. (My fault — I didn’t realize Tammara Webber was only there Friday evening.) I picked up a few preorders and had them signed along with two new to me authors’ books. Oh, and my friend Ashley got my books signed by Tiffany Debartolo since there wasn’t a line for her when she walked in the room. She was also able to see Willow Aster while I was in the other room. In the afternoon session, I met:

  • Beth Flynn
  • Dina Silver
  • Whitney Barbetti
  • J. Daniels
  • Tijan
  • Mariana Zapata
  • Kim Holden
  • Audrey Carlan and her cover model

The eight hours of signings took its toll on Ashley and I. We were exhausted from not sleeping much the night before and spending so much time standing and walking. We were so exhausted, we made the decision to skip the Book Bonanza concert Saturday night. I’m sad we didn’t experience it, but I don’t think I would have made it through. We ate dinner and packed up our stuff. We were in bed and asleep by 9:00 p.m.

Sunday, July 22nd

We left early Sunday morning. I was at the airport by 7:30 a.m. I’m glad we went that early because we missed a lot of the airport congestion. I was soon on a flight back to Seattle. Since then, I’ve enjoyed seeing all the posts on Book Bonanza’s Facebook page. I think it’s safe to say that everyone who went had an amazing experience.

My Take Away From Book Bonanza 18

Book Bonanza 18 was truly an amazing experience. Everyone involved was so gracious and kind. I met so many amazing readers, bloggers, and authors. I truly feel like I checked something off my bucket list. I have such an appreciation and respect for Colleen Hoover and her sidekicks. Everyone put so much effort into making sure the event was running smoothly, and that Safe House Denver was never far from our thoughts. I am so happy to announce that they were able to raise $50,000 from the event for Safe House Denver. Book Bonanza was truly a magical experience. I would love to go to another Book Bonanza again one day. There was just something about being surrounded by people who love books as much as I do.

If there’s anything you’re curious about regarding Book Bonanza, don’t hesitate ask me!

Review: All Your Perfects (Colleen Hoover)

All Your Perfects
Author: Colleen Hoover
Publication Date: July 17, 2018
Publisher: Atria Books
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Fiction

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ½

Synopsis:

Colleen Hoover delivers a tour de force novel about a troubled marriage and the one old forgotten promise that might be able to save it.

Quinn and Graham’s perfect love is threatened by their imperfect marriage. The memories, mistakes, and secrets that they have built up over the years are now tearing them apart. The one thing that could save them might also be the very thing that pushes their marriage beyond the point of repair.

All Your Perfects is a profound novel about a damaged couple whose potential future hinges on promises made in the past. This is a heartbreaking page-turner that asks: Can a resounding love with a perfect beginning survive a lifetime between two imperfect people?


All Your Perfects is an emotional journey through a marriage on the brink of collapse. It’s split into two parts: the past and the present. These two time frames aren’t split into part one and part two but alternate every other chapter. As Quinn and Graham meet and fall in love in the past, their relationship is splintering and falling apart in the present due to infertility. Quinn and Graham will have to decide if the foundation they built in the past is enough to save their future together.

Oh, man. This book. It made me feel so many, many things. It was completely frustrating to feel Quinn and Graham’s love for each other blossom in one chapter and then immediately after feeling their despair in another. The ups and downs took a toll on me emotionally. If another author had written this story, I might not have liked it. Colleen Hoover worked her magic. All Your Perfects had the same vibe as some of her earlier books. That’s the only way I can think to describe it. All the ups and downs led to something magical, something I am not sure many authors could pull off successfully and not make me hate them.

I’ve never dealt with infertility. I can only imagine how utterly devastating it would be. I’ve never dealt with a marriage in crisis. I don’t even want to think about how horrible that would be. Even though I’ve never dealt with either of these things, I did take away something important from All Your Perfects: communication. My relationship with my husband may be easy, but that doesn’t mean I can’t do a better job communicating my thoughts and feelings with him. This book was a good reminder that people can’t read minds and it’s important to keep an open path of communication with those you love.

Despite being put through an emotional wringer, I ended up truly loving the experience that Colleen Hoover gave me in All Your Perfects. I think so many people (and their relationships) are going to be impacted by this book. It’s definitely worth reading.

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten WOW Endings

Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday!

Top Ten Tuesday is an original weekly feature created by The Broke and the Bookish and is now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s is Books with Sensory Reading Memories (where I was, what time of year it was, who I was with, what I was eating, etc.). I don’t really have any of those reminders of books. The only one I could come up with was when I read the Harry Potter series to my daughter after she was born. So, I’m changing things up and picking out a different older topic to do. I’m going with Top Ten WOW Endings. You’re not going to get any comments because I won’t ruin these ending for anyone!!!

1. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

2. Nine Minutes by Beth Flynn

3. Paper Princess by Erin Watt

4. A Boy Like You by Ginger Scott

5. Mud Vein by Tarryn Fisher

6. Bad Mommy by Tarryn Fisher

7. Combative by Jay McLean

8. The Score by Elle Kennedy

9. Too Late by Colleen Hoover

10. Confess by Colleen Hoover

Review: The Hardest Fall (Ella Maise)

The Hardest Fall
Author: Ella Maise
Publication Date: April 18, 2018
Genre: New Adult, Contemporary Romance, Sports

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Synopsis:

The first time you meet someone, you make eye contact. You smile, say hello. Should be simple, if you’re anyone but me. The first time I met Dylan Reed, I found myself making eye contact with a different part of his body. You see, I’m very good at being shy, not to mention extremely well-versed in rambling nonsense and, unfortunately, rather highly skilled at making a fool of myself in front of a guy I’m attracted to.

At the time, I knew nothing about him and thought none of what I said would matter since I’d never speak to him again. Turns out, I was very wrong. He was the star wide receiver of the football team, one of the few players expected to make it into the NFL, and I ended up seeing him all over campus.
I might have also propositioned him, run away from him, attacked him with a cooking utensil…and…uh, maybe I shouldn’t tell you all of it. It’s pretty normal stuff, things you’d expect…from me. Eventually, the time came when I couldn’t hide anymore—not that he’d have let me even if I tried.
Before now, he never knew I was secretly watching him. Now that we see each other every day, he knows when I have a hard time looking away. It doesn’t help that I’m not the most subtle person in the world either.

He smiles at me and tells me he finds me fascinating because of my quirks. I can’t even tell him that I think my heart beats differently whenever he’s around.

He thinks we’re going to be best friends. I think I have a big thing for him, and the more I get to know him, the more I don’t care that I’m not allowed to be his friend, let alone fall for him.

The thing is, that’s exactly what I’m doing—what we’re doing, I think.

Falling.

Hard.


The Hardest Fall has been on my to-read list since it was released back in April. I loved the cover and the blurb. It seemed like a book right up my alley. Knowing it was from the author who also wrote two books I really enjoyed, To Love Jason Thorn and To Hate Adam Connor, made me that much more excited to finally get to read it.

I adored Zoe and Dylan. Zoe was this shy, quirky girl who was embarrassed by just about everything. Seeing her through Dylan’s eyes made me love her more than I already did. Dylan was a refreshing take on the college football star. He was a nice guy who was into monogamy. You don’t see that often in new adult romances. I liked that he was a decent human being from the get-go. I also liked what a hard worker he was.

Zoe and Dylan’s relationship was so sweet! It was a slow burn romance in all of the best ways. I got to see their relationship revolve from acquaintances to friends to more in a time that felt real and not rushed. That’s another thing you don’t find often in new adult romances. What I really loved about their relationship was how they treated each other.

Another thing I loved about this book were the other relationships in it. Zoe had some strong friendships, and they created some special, memorable moments. Dylan also had great friendships with his team that were spotlighted. All of the supporting characters strengthened Zoe and Dylan separately and together. It was cool.

The Hardest Fall surpassed my expectations. It surprised me with its twists and turns. I wasn’t expecting them! To be honest, Zoe’s secret had me a little stressed out! I was worried things were headed in a direction I wouldn’t like. Ella Maise took this book from average to exceptional with her plot line. It kept me on my toes! I highly recommend reading it if you’re a fan of sports, new adult, or college romances. It was an incredibly well written book.

Series Review: Forever Pucked, Pucked Under, Pucked Off (Helena Hunting)

Earlier this month, I posted mini reviews for the first three books in the Pucked series. Today, I’m back with mini reviews for the next three books.

Forever Pucked
Series: Pucked, #4
Author: Helena Hunting
Publication Date: March 29, 2016
Publisher: Helena Hunting
Genre: New Adult, Contemporary Romance, Sports

Rating: ★ ★ ★

My thoughts:

Back to beavers, MCs and Area 51. Once again, those terms overshadowed Violet and Alex’s story. This book was a fun addition to their story from book one. I loved the situations they were put in. I liked how they each grew individually and together. I just wish there weren’t so may beaver and MC references.

Pucked Under
Series: Pucked, #5
Author: Helena Hunting
Publication Date: July 7, 2016
Publisher: Ink & Cupcakes, Inc.
Genre: New Adult, Contemporary Romance, Sports

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★

My thoughts:

I adored this novella. Lucy and Randy are my favorite couple in this series so far. They’re story is so cute and sexy. I liked how Randy’s family added the drama to this book and how it all turned out. My only complaint about this one was I wanted it to be longer!

Pucked Off
Series: Pucked, #5
Author: Helena Hunting
Publication Date: February 21, 2017
Publisher: Ink & Cupcakes, Inc.
Genre: New Adult, Contemporary Romance, Sports

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ½

My thoughts:

This was my favorite book in the Pucked series. I could really see Helena Hunting’s growth as an author in this one. I adored Lance and I’m so happy he found that special woman for him. He deserved her and to be happy. Their story was so sweet. My only issue with this book was that I felt the evil person in it needed to be dealt with in a harsher, legal way. Other than that, this book was perfection!

Review: Always Been You (Sadie Allen)

Always Been You
Series: Cedar Lake, #1
Author: Sadie Allen

Publication Date: July 19, 2018
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Note: This review is for an ARC and is my unbiased opinion.

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ½

Synopsis:

Emma Taylor ran away from home in a cloud of dust, taking the pieces of her broken heart with her. Fifteen years later, she is back to care for her grieving father and to face the boy who once broke her heart.

Brazos Huntswell was dealt a bad hand. Life hasn’t turned out the way he envisioned it in high school. He’s a single father to a moody teenage girl and trying to make a go of the cattle ranch his father left him.

Trouble is brewing in the town of Cedar Lake, and people are turning up dead. Will Braz and Emma be able to weather the coming storm and take a chance on forever? Or will a ghost from the past destroy that chance… permanently?


My thoughts are a little jumbled for Always Been You. I really enjoyed Sadie Allen’s writing, but there was something that didn’t work for me. I’m not sure how to explain it, but I’ll do my best.

I would categorize Always Been You as a romantic suspense novel. There was a second chance love story between the main characters, Emma and Braz. There was also a murder mystery happening in their small town of Cedar Creek. I liked both aspects, but they also distracted from each other.

Emma and Braz were great characters. I liked them individually. They each had a lot going on in their own lives. Emma was a teacher and was encouraging her father to live again after losing her mother. Braz was a rancher and single father. I loved their relationships with their families. It was the best part of the book. I especially loved Braz’s relationship with sky.

As for Emma and Braz together… I didn’t connect with their relationship. I have a hard time believing second chance love stories where the characters pined for each other for years and years without seeing each other. It doesn’t feel natural to me. I understand having that regret or person in the back of the mind at times, but I don’t get not moving on. Emma more so in this aspect than Braz. What made it even harder for me was their reconnection felt like instant love. I didn’t feel like I ever really got to see them get to know each other as adults with the amount of time they spent together. I wasn’t sold on their love. I think I could have been if their relationship was the main focus of the book.

As for the murder mystery, I liked that. I am not always a big fan of romantic suspense, but the suspense part worked for me. I could kind of see what was coming, but it was still exciting. My only complaint with this part was that there wasn’t a complete conclusion — probably because there is already a book two in the works.

I hate that this review sounds negative. I actually did enjoy reading Always Been You. I wanted to know what was going on with the murders and how things would work out for Emma and Braz. I still do. I will definitely read the second book to find out what else is to come in Cedar Creek.

Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Novellas

Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday!

Top Ten Tuesday is an original weekly feature created by The Broke and the Bookish and is now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s is Favorite Novellas/Short Stories.


1. Undone by You by Kate

2. Mason by Tijan

3. Logan Kade by Tijan

4. Tapping Her by Max Monroe

5. Banking Her by Max Monroe

6. Scoring Her by Max Monroe

7. Mother Fluffer by Max Monroe

8. Sleighed It by Max Monroe

9. So Much More by J. Daniels

10. Blonde Date by Sarina Bowen