REVIEW; Captured (Gowns & Crowns #2), by Jennifer Chance

Rating: ★★★★☆

Genre: New-Adult, Romance

Recommend: Yes

Book 2

SPOILERS!!! 

Summary:

Lauren Grant is visiting Garronia as her best friend is soon to marry a Prince. She is a perfect woman with a perfect image to maintain, and never falters in front of a man. Dimitri Korba is set as her bodyguard, but he finds the sharp and confident American to be attractive and enticing. But Lauren has had an older admirer since she was a child. He is friends with her parents and when the threat of him causes her into hiding, Lauren and Dimitri are forced together as they explore their mutual feelings. But is their romance part of Dimitri's duty to protect her? And can they survive the threat of Lauren's future husband?

My Thoughts:

Lauren: Oh, what a girl! She is an amazing character and I related so much to her. She has a rock hard exterior and always has the perfect mask in place to maintain a pristine image. She is actually quite a sensitive soul who is only protecting her heart. I found her quite alluring, as she attempted to use her looks to manipulate Dimitri but also let her heart betray her head so often. Her internal battle of head vs heart was such a strong theme and so relevant to young females. 

Setting: This was set on a fictional island, however due it not being an actual place there was a lack of history or culture presented. There were links to a Greek island, however the culture and nation were fictional. For me, this sort of affected the reality being presented and I didn't get an adequate description of the idiosyncrasies of the people or land to build a sufficient setting. It just felt like a no man's land between Greece and Turkey. Beautiful nonetheless though. 

There was a beautiful romance built between Lauren and Dimitri, presented by dual POV. I rather enjoyed this insight into both of their minds as it was often comical - the pair were playing the exact same game and the author managed to shield enough information from us to still allow for doubt and speculation when required - for once not everything was just given to us on a plate. 

I appreciated how there were two plots really- their romance and the drama between Lauren and Henry. The drama certainly intensified where Henry was involved, and the two plots were well blended to propel each other and provide a good story. 

Overall:

I quite enjoyed this read. There was a beautiful balance of humour, drama and romance that kept me reading and hooked - read within 24 hours! A perfect summer read. 

Goodreads

REVIEW; Rule, by Jay Crownover

Rating: ★★★★☆

Genre: New Adult, Romance, Drama

Recommend: Yes/No

Summary:

Rule Archer is a tattooed, bad-ass player. It his ritual to go out and get drunk, pull a girl and get what he wants and have her leave quietly in the morning. He turns heads when he walks in a room and most females swoon after him.

Shaw Landon has been one of those girls for over 5 years. Having loved him since she first met him at 14 years old, she could never get over him. Following the death of her best friend, Remy, Rule's twin brother, Shaw still found herself wrapped up in the lives of the Archers. 

Every Sunday she drags Rule from his latest acquisition and drives him to a family meal, in the hope she can keep his family together. They were more of a family to her than her own were, and she doesn't want to give up. 

Rule can't stand Shaw, or doesn't have much time for her. But after her spends more time in her presence and his friends and family point out her looks, Rule begins to see Shaw in a completely different light, and his feelings and thoughts about her change him. After Shaw's birthday night, their relationship changes and so begins the rocky love life of Shaw and Rule.

My Thoughts:
ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS!! It's definitely on my list of favourites. 

LOVED:

1. Rule; we're told all the girls can't help but pine after him due to his looks, but that followed through with his personality and attitude. Even with words Crownover portrayed his sex-appeal and angsty attitude that draws you in to his power. I didn't like him to begin with, as in his dismissive attitude towards women wouldn't attract me at all, but as soon as he starts to really see Shaw, we see the real him emerge from his pain and he becomes a bad-ass we can't help but love. 
2. Shaw; gotta give this girl props, she fell in love with her best friend's twin, and dealt with for years despite him breaking her heart every week when she witnessed his girls being dismissed. The girl had strength! She had awful pressuring parents who didn't listen to her and she finally was able to stand up to them and also confess her feelings to Rule.

DIDN'T LOVE:

1. Names; This won't seem like much of a big thing, but one thing really stuck out to me from the start and that was the character names- the majority were all 4 letters long!! Shaw, Rule, Rome, Remy, Nash, Gabe, Dale and others. It just lacked a bit of balance as realistically in a group of friends there is a variety in name length! It would be one thing if some were nick-names like Alex being short for Alexander but it was just something that irked me as the story progressed. 
2. Sex; this book oozed sex appeal and attitude. But as a female, I didn't really like the presentation of sexual topics in this. Rule's attitude was a huge turnoff. He wanted sex and to use girls, but put the blame on the girls being stupid enough to go home with a stranger. It's 50/50. He was a player and Crownover wrote from that POV but he was a bit too flippant that you wonder is it possible for one girl, and of course the one girl who loves him, to change his ways. Shaw had kept herself for him and her first time was absolutely brilliant and amazing... not buying that. 
3. Plot; it was a little predictable but NA/YA generally is to an extent. At times it felt like it was the same skeleton of a lot of similar stories but just dressed a bit differently. The stereotype virginal goddess falling for tattooed badboy and he of course reciprocates the feelings and is forever changed by the goddess. All the drama too- Remy's death, their mother, Shaw's parents, Gabe- all the trauma and drama surrounding the lot of them at times just seemed too much to be true.
4. Communication;  At times it really felt like I was missing a huge part of Shaw and Rule communicating. There were too many repetitive conversations about love and their relationship and not knowing what they were doing but knowing they love each other to not wanting to hurt each other, and all of this just in metaphors etc etc. It all just felt a little too much and up in the air for me. 

Although there were a few things I disliked/had issues with, it didn't really take away from the fact that I REALLY LOVED this book. I fell for Rule and Shaw together. Their relationship is depicted beautifully and their journey is far from smooth but it's captivating. It may not be the best written of novels, but it is still mighty good and the novel itself has an attitude that draws you in. 

I both laughed and cried whilst reading this and if a book can cause me to do both, then it's winner to me.

Goodreads 
Amazon UK
Amazon

REVIEW: Welcome to Sugartown, by Carmen Jenner

Rating: ★★★★☆

(semi-spoiler free review)

Genre: New-Adult, Romance

Summary: 
19 year-old Ana Belle spends her time running her family pie shop in the heart of Sugartown, a small town where everyone knows everything. She has a reputation despite being a "good girl" and just keeping her head down and working. Her days are spent working and with her best friend, Holly. Both dream of the day they can escape the boring town but know the reality is far away and unreachable. 

Then in rides Elijah Cade. This tattooed biker hunk wanders into Ana's pie shop and wants her immediately. Ana feigns disinterest but wants him just as badly. Working for her dad, Elijah harbours a dark past and Ana's father attempts to keep them apart. 

Following numerous events/incidents throughout the book, Ana and Elijah's relationship is put to the test and they have to battle through their want for each other and whether they are actually more harmful together or apart...


My Thoughts:
This book is the definition for a roller-coaster story. The start is fun and light as they flirt back and forth and there's humour etc... But then it drops dramatically down a deep hole and emerges into dark and dangerous territory as Cade's past is brought to the present.  

I loved the connection between Ana and Elijah from the start and Holly interfering added so much humour to the overall story. Holly was probably my favourite character in the story as I think everything she did/said I agreed with or believed was necessary and realistic. Some things Ana/Elijah did/said just annoyed me or disappointed me in a way. 

The reason this book isn't 5 stars is for the following: 

Ana; sometimes I just wanted to shake her for being so stubborn with Cade. I know he broke her heart etc and for the majority of the time, I think her actions were justified but there were just some occasions were I was like "OH JUST GIVE IN TO HIM! YOU CAN SEE HE CARES!" and it felt like she was over-playing the victim a tad too much. 

Elijah; 99% of the time he was a perfect dreamy sexy bad-ass. BUT...there were a few times were he acted or said something that I felt really didn't fit his character who claimed to love Ana so much. Now, I'm well aware a man has needs etc but considering how much trouble he went to to prove his love for Ana and showed us how much he cared, I just can't understand why he'd go and have sex with Ana's number one enemy in the bathroom when Ana just needed time to come to terms with the fact he had kept his past a secret. 
At this point if I were Ana I would never have forgiven him as how could he do that if he really cared? 

That was my main issue with this book and why I'm giving it 4 stars. It were those teeny moments where the characters seemed to waver slightly off the path the author had built for them and left me questioning "who were they really?" 

Overall I would definitely recommend this book to anyone that loves a good romance novel but with a LOT of drama. It was quite unlike any other I've read before and I read it in less than 2 days! 

REVIEW: Prescribed, by D.D. Parker

Rating: ★★★★☆

(spoiler free review)

Genre: New-Adult, Romance

Summary: 
Emma believes being a surgeon is the career for her, however on her first day of volunteering in the hospital she faints at the sight of blood. Enter Dr Matthews. Young, gorgeous and available. Neither Emma nor Dr Matthews can ignore the chemistry between them but any moment alone where something may happen is inconveniently interrupted. 

Unlike the young doctor, Emma is not available. She is dating her teenage boyfriend, Eric, and she wonders if she is with him due to the memories of when they were younger, more so than their relationship now. 

According to Eric though, Emma is his and he is willing to go to extremes to make sure Emma stays by his side.


My Thoughts:
Oh wow! I started this book when I went to bed and actually completed it about 2 hours later, once I began I couldn't put it down. This was more to do with the character of Eric that kept my interest until completion than the chemistry between Ryan (the Doc) and Emma. 

It is extremely fast-paced as there are less than 100 pages, and my god there's a lot in those pages. I just really enjoyed the twist of the romance being threatened due to Eric and then the dramatic ending was just shocking. 

Personally this would've gotten 5 starts if it was just longer as I think there was so much packed into the story that the suspense could've prolonged the story for nearly double the amount of pages. I understand this was a novella so it's naturally going to be short with a lot of content but I would've really liked to have more character development and just get to know a bit more about Emma etc. 

Overall, I would recommend this as a great drama-filled new-adult romance and an action-packed start to this series!


Thank you to the author for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

REVIEW: Rushed, by Gina Robinson

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Genre: Young-Adult, Romance 

Summary:
Alexis is a sorority legacy due to her mother, and physically she ticks all the boxes for what the leading house want in a pledge. But she feels she has nothing in common with any of the girls and would much rather go for a house that suits her personality... One catch though, as long as her parents are funding her education, she must please them and this includes following in her mother's footsteps and getting into Delta Delta Psi. 

This sorority has 4 guys that are known as "houseboys". They are looked down upon by the girls and out of bounds for romantic purposes. But Alexis sets her eyes on Zach and he reciprocates her feelings. However, he needs his job more than anything and if he gets close to Alexis he loses everything. Meanwhile Zach harbours a secret from his past and Alexis believes she'll be the exception and be able to help him, whilst protecting her place in her house.


My Thoughts...

I read this in one day so that's a good example for how it was an easy read and held my interest throughout. The story is pretty cute and is an enjoyable light read and was exactly what you'd expect from a YA romance. 

However... 
It just lacked something for me overall. I think it was credibility. Zach's secret is traumatic and everything but the ending was a little bit too coincidental for me, I know it's a writing technique but it didn't have the desired effect on me like I presume it was intended. 

The story was too predictable; from the blurb it was clear there'd be romance between Alexis and Zach but I expected more than just love at first sight... kiss...sex..."i love you"... IMO it would have gotten at least 4 stars from me if there was more of a natural build up and not just a jump-the-gun-she-is-the-one thing.

Characters really lacked depth; we got an insight into Zach's world but I just didn't feel for him, I didn't get that pang of sympathy that I wanted to and I can't explain why, but if Alexis had ended up with Dak, I wouldn't have screamed in protest like I have/would at other books. 

All that aside though, it still is a great novel. The story is simple but with a few minor twists here and there. It had to be good enough as it took less than 24 hours for me to complete and if there was a follow on book I would probably read it! 

Thank you to the author for allowing me the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review!

REVIEW: Fallen Crest High, by Tijan

Rating: ★★★★★

(semi-spoiler free review)

Genre: Romance, Contemporary,

Summary: Written from the POV of Sam, she comes home to find her mom, Analise, amongst boxes announcing she was leaving Sam's father to live with her new boyfriend, and Sam was going with her. However, Sam's new step-brothers are the notorious Kade Brothers. Composed of Logan and Mason Kade, they are the most wanted by the girls and the guys and are stars on the football field.

Sam is the first girl they come across that doesn't give a damn about them. After discovering her boyfriend had been cheating on her with her "friend", Sam no longer cares about her "friends" or being popular or what people think of her in school, and she goes out of her way to hide her association with the Kades. She doesn't want to trust anyone and spends most of her time alone or out on extensive runs that tire her out.

Her fierce attitude intrigues the brothers and so sparks the beginning of a unique relationship with the brothers, as they take her under their wing and protect her from her abusive mother.

More drama unfolds and Sam finds herself in drama once again, but now she has true friends on her side, and she realises she "has the power".

Pros:

1. Characters! Really loved the characters in this book! Samantha is such a great heroin with her careless attitude and her hidden vulnerability that only the Kade brothers can identify. Logan and Mason are a perfect mix of dark, angst, humour but also have a loyal side to them and go much deeper than initially perceived, but not in that much of a "predictable typical" way. The parents are all off the wall but somehow it just works with the story.
2. Plot; The blurb doesn't give too much away about the plot of this book but the story was thoroughly captivating and addicting. It's mainly about Sam adapting to living with the Kade brothers and dealing with her psycho mom and trying to make her own genuine friends and just trying to overcome the constant obstacles that come her way whilst still not caring about what people think!
3. Pace; the pace of this book was perfect, it was fast enough to keep my interest but not too fast that I lost track of what was actually happening, and when Sam and Mason happen, it takes its time rather than happening too early on into the book, which I liked.
4. The Writing; although there were some errors, they were pretty insignificant overall. It was written from the POV of Sam and the tension was intense! The story was just delivered eloquently and I just loved how the scenes were written

Cons

1. Few errors, nothing major. Got a "little" lost with the female characters of Tate, Tanya etc and who was who but they were side characters and not too relevant.

My Thoughts;

Loved loved loved this book so much!

Couldn't put this book down as soon as I started and it is so different to a lot of the books in this genre. Had the perfect mix of suspense, romance and some darkness too.

Would definitely recommend this book, will be one of my favourites!