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Review: What If, by Rebecca Donovan

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01what I am speechless……

I am destroyed……

My emotions are all over the place.

What if you had a second chance? What would you do? Would you take it?

When I heard Rebecca Donovan was writing another book, I was very excited to read it, and yet kinda nervous. The Breathing Series was the most gut wrenching series I ever read, and probably one of the most difficult series to finish. I was a wreck afterwards. Beautifully written, but it destroyed me. When I read the synopsis of What If, I was very intrigued. I knew I had to read this. But when I started this, I had no idea what I was getting into. I was completely taken back.

This is a story about four friends. It’s about what happens when life doesn’t always turn out the way you want it to. It’s about loss and heartbreak. It’s about friendship that can withstand anything. It’s about love.

When Cal was young he had three girls on his street, Rea, Richelle and Nicole. They did everything together. Until day, out of the blue, Richelle and her family moved away and Nicole stopped talking to him and Rea. They had no idea what happened and no matter what they did, they never got answers. But one day, Cal is drinking coffee and looks up to see Nicole sitting near him. But this girl isn’t Nicole. This girl is impulsive and outrageous, nothing like the quiet and reserved Nicole, from his past. He finds himself drawn to her in ways he doesn’t understand. And soon he finds out why. Not everything is as it seems.

Nicole is a perfectly wrapped present tied in a nice neat bow. And Nyelle is wrapping paper strewn across the floor on Christmas morning.

As we slowly see Nyelle’s story, you realize her life is way more painful than you ever thought. My heart was tearing apart bit by bit. The secrets she was keeping, would’ve made a weaker person crumble.

“Then…let the stars take it away and make everything better. And when the sun comes up, and those stars disappear, they take all the hurt with them.”

I did, however, loved watching Cal completely fall for Ryelle. And to watch her give into him, was so sweet. She didn’t want to, but sometimes, the heart has no choice. They needed each other, more than they ever knew.

“Holding your hand. It makes me feel like there’s a butterfly beating in my chest. There’s something about it that helps me believe everything’s going to be okay.”

~Melpomene

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Review: Happenstance 2, by Jamie Mcguire

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“There’s only one you.”

If you haven’t read the first Happenstance, you must go and do that now. I can wait….

Done? Good.

Erin is trying to still work through all of the information she has received, while living with her real parents. Having caring and attentive parents is something she has never had, so it’s hard for her to adjust. She just wants love, not things. But she is slowly growing closer to her real parents, while still battling the bullies at school, who don’t seem to care who she really is.

Weston is still her constant, throughout all of this. He will take one anyone who chooses to cause her trouble. But soon she makes a discovery that may change the way she looks at him and the way she looks at herself. As if her life hasn’t been flipped upside down already.

“She doesn’t need us to fix this for her. We’ll just love her through it.”

This was a nice little story. I can’t to see how she handles this information she has been given, in the next book. Thank God she has loyal parents, who would give her the moon if they could, and her boyfriend, who would wrestle dragons.

~Melpomene

Buy Happenstance: A Novella Series (Part Two)

Get caught up with Happenstance

Review: One More Chance, by Abbi Glines

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0101 Abbi has done it again. This book actually bumped my current top AG book down a notch. I was very anxious to read this, after the ending of Take a Chance. I wasn’t very happy with Grant. he needed to redeem himself.

This was emotional and had my heart breaking and skipping a few beats the WHOLE time. Over and over I was blown away by heartaches and spent the last half of the book in near tears. But by the end, they were spilling over.

I am glad Grant was able to get back on track. He is my favorite Abbi Glines BBF. I have loved him, from the moment Blaire pulled the gun on him, a loooong time ago. I knew he was special. I’m so glad we were able to hear his story and see just how special he was.

I may regret saying this, but I may even be a Nanhater no more. She is still cruel, but we get to see a glimpse into what she could be, if she chose to change.

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I can’t wait to read the next few books, in this series!!

~Melpomene

Buy One More Chance: A Rosemary Beach Novel (The Rosemary Beach Book 7)

But first, you must read Take a Chance: A Rosemary Beach Novel (The Rosemary Beach Series Book 6) It’s only $1.99 NOW!!!

Review: Go With Me, by Elyssa Patrick

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01 go I remember meeting Daphne in Stay With Me, and I had a feeling there more she was hiding from us. I was super excited when I found out this was coming. I sooo wanted to her her story.

Synopsis
I, Daphne Fox, have a few things to confess:

1. I hate Nick Brady. Loathe. Abhor. Can’t stand him 95% of the time.
2. That other 5%? I’m not talking about that at all.
3. People think I’m lucky for surviving the car crash. I disagree.
4. Nick is the only guy who makes my nightmares go away.
5. I won’t love him, though. Love is not worth the pain.

I, Nick Brady, have a few confessions of my own:

1. I don’t hate Daphne Fox. At all.
2. I find her scar sexy. Just like the rest of her.
3. I may be her older brother’s best friend, but that’s not going to stop me.
4. I love her.
5. And I’m going to do everything I can to have her.

Daphne broke my heart. I seriously felt bad for her. She is the survivor of a horrific crash and she is struggling with that. Why is she hear? Why did she live? Would someone love me covered is nasty scars? Am I allowed to be happy and in love? I wanted to reach in and hug her hard.

Nick was that guy that you think you hate, but you really don’t. You fight with him, but it’s really just foreplay, only you don’t notice till you’re in too deep. He has loved Daphne since before her accident, but he was too busy pissing her off to tell her. And when she almost died, he decided he has to do something about this feeling.

Their banter was so fun to watch. You could see the sparks flying from off the pages. I could see how all the guys are very protective of her, but Nick takes it further.

The only part I wasn’t super crazy about was how it was mentioned that he slept around a lot, but she never brings it up to him. They acted as though it was no big deal. I guess I’m not used to that. Most books at least have the couple talk about it. But it’s not a big deal.

I’m glad we still were able to see Caleb and Hailey make appearances in this book. They still played a large roll in the story. I like that.

But I am seriously excited for the next book!! I love Jamie and his jokes. But I know there is way more to him.

~Melpomene

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Buy Stay With Me

Review: Take Me On, by Katie McGarry

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01take

“I can’t convince you to tap out on me?” “No tapping out.”

Would you think I’m silly if I told you I didn’t know what this book was about? I saw the cover and assumed it was about fighters, but I never read a single teaser or blurb. I’m so glad I didn’t. I get all the feels, when I go in blind.

Haley has been beaten down. This poor girl has been through so much, my heart hurt. She used to live a in nice home with her parents and siblings. But after her dad lost his job they had to move in with an uncle, who’s words, towards her, cause more damage than fists would. She used to be a champion kickboxer, until a disastrous night made he decide to never step foot in a gym and swear off fighting. She’s just trying to get by and graduate. She’s trying not to cause any trouble. She takes all the hits, since no one will tap in for her.

West is privileged. He has everything he could ever needs. While his sister is in the hospital, after an accident that almost took her life, he constantly makes one wrong decision after another and soon loses everything he thought he couldn’t live without. He is thrust into a lifestyle of want and then realizes that he was one of the lucky ones.

While we watching West fall apart, we see Haley barely hold herself together.

“Sometimes I wonder if the agony inside myself would disappear if someone would shed the tears for me.”

I just couldn’t believe the things this poor girl had to endure. No one was fighting for her. No one tapped in to fight for her. That is until West came into her life. He steps up and accepts a challenge, on her behalf. But he is in no way prepared for it. So Haley is forced to help him train and let someone help her for a change.

While they agree to help each other out, they want to keep in strictly in the ring. But you know how well that always works. Soon they realize that their bond is more than just about fighting.

I was so angry with some of the characters in this story. I wanted to hit a few people myself. The way Haley was treated made me sick. These people were supposed to be there for her and protect her, but they weren’t doing anything. But I was super excited to see Abby come into the story. I know there’s a secret about her. I’m crossing my fingers for her and Haley’s cousin, Jax’s, story.

~Melpomene

Buy Take Me On (Pushing the Limits)

Preview: Flat-Out Celeste, by Jessica Park

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FLC

“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.”

Synopsis
Whether you were charmed by Celeste in Flat-Out Love or are meeting her for the first time, this book is a joyous celebration of differences, about battling private wars that rage in our heads and in our hearts, and—very much so— this is a story about first love.

For high-school senior Celeste Watkins, every day is a brutal test of bravery. And Celeste is scared. Alienated because she’s too smart, her speech too affected, her social skills too far outside the norm, she seems to have no choice but to retreat into isolation.

But college could set her free, right? If she can make it through this grueling senior year, then maybe. If she can just find that one person to throw her a lifeline, then maybe, just maybe.

Justin Milano, a college sophomore with his own set of quirks, could be that person to pull her from a world of solitude. To rescue her—that is, if she’ll let him.

Together, they may work. Together, they may save each other. And together they may also save another couple—two people Celeste knows are absolutely, positively flat-out in love.

I loved Flat-Out Love and Flat-Out Matt. Heck, I even cried when reading those! But nothing prepared me for what this book would do to me. Nothing prepared me for the heartbreaking feelings of loneliness, Celeste would show us. The feelings of trying to fit the mold that world has put on us, was almost more than I could handle. The feelings of wanting to find that perfect person, who will accept you, warts and all, and love you for them.

Celeste know she’s different. She tries to blend in and go unnoticed. She wishes she had friends, but thinks she’s too different and people won’t “get her”. Getting through high school is just the next step in her life. She’ll go to college, because that’s just what comes next. But what she wasn’t planning on, was Justin Milano. Meeting him throws a wrench in her plan and makes her start to think about other things besides school.

Justin is just the best. When we first meet him, I thought he was perfect. Outgoing. Crazy. Silly. But under that silliness was a boy made just for Celeste.

“You’re in a war.”

It was a painfully accurate way to describe her state. “I am.”

“I understand that. There are battles, some greater than others. But they are worth getting through.”He held her tighter. “This is the fight, Celeste. You’re in the middle of it. I feel that.”

“Because you have endured your own?”

Yes. I got through mine, and you will get though yours.”

For some people, this is a romance. It’s about a young quirky girl who meets a young quirky boy and live happily ever after. But this story was so much more. It’s about being yourself. It’s about letting people in, even though you’re scared. It’s about never giving up on yourself. It’s about letting go and seeing where the wind may take you. And, of course, it has a bit of love.

There are no words to explain how I felt when I finished reading this book. To say I loved it, doesn’t even come close. I am sitting here sobbing and can’t stop. When I thought Jessica’s, Left Drowning, gripped me, that was nothing compared to this. NOTHING.

“I found my hinge, Matty.”

On a personal note, I love someone who could easily be Justin or Celeste. Heck, in high school, either one of them could’ve been me. So as I was reading my heart was shattering. The feelings of helplessness and longing were almost too much to bare. I know my loved one has felt this way. The feelings of trying to change, as to appear “normal”, and it making no difference, almost crippled me. I felt horrible!! Because in fact, I actually encouraged the “acting normal” a few times. Now I realize this is fiction, but this gave me a glimpse into the workings of my loved one. Never again will I be like that. People should be able to be themselves, no matter what others think. High school sucks. Truly, it does.

This book also gave me hope that there is the perfect mate for my loved one. The perfect person to hold them together when the world tears them apart. The perfect person to calm and focus them, when things get out of control. The perfect person to love them, when they feel no one ever could.

I received this ARC, for an honest opinion. So again I’ll say, my honest opinion is, that this was way more than a NA romance book to me, it was life changing.

~Melpomene

Buy Flat-Out Celeste (Flat-Out Love)

Buy Flat-Out Love

Buy Flat-Out Matt (Flat-Out Love)

Review: All Lined Up, by Cora Carmack

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01all
I am definitely not a fan of football, but I really enjoyed this story!! And having never grown up in a sport obsessed state, this was quite an eye opener.

I totally loved Carson. He was a second string player with the drive of ten first stringers. I loved his heart and his drive. He wanted to do the best he could, cuz he couldn’t afford to stay, unless he got a scholarship. So he busted his butt and knew his limits. I felt bad for him when school didn’t come easy to him. But he never gave up. He was not your typical alpha male, am I’m so thankful for it.

I loved how much he needed Dallas, and wasn’t willing to leave her. He knew she was a distraction, but one he could work around. NOT having her, was more trouble. I also swooned every time he called her Daredevil. It was just too sweet.

“I can’t walk away from you because I don’t want to. There are a thousand things I want and need to do, but you trump all of them. You drive me to distraction, and all I want to do is get lost in you. All I want to do is make you lose it, too.”

Dallas was a dancer through and through. She lived dancing. But she has grown up with football being shoved down her throat also. With no mom and her dad a coach, she had no choice but to follow him wherever he went. She was so sick of football.

After having her heart broken by her HS sweetheart, also the QB, she swore she’s never date another football player. So when she met Carson, her heart was saying one thing, while her head was saying another.

Watching them move at a slow pace was quite refreshing. I’ve read so many books that they hook up almost instantly. This story definitely didn’t need it. They were both going through some things that needed time to resolve. It was the perfect pace.

Very sweet romance, with just the right amount heart. Perfect. Another winner from Cora!!

~Melpomene

Buy All Lined Up: A Rusk University Novel

Happenstance is LIVE!!!

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Have I mentioned how much I love Jamie McGuire’s books!! Of course I have!! Beautiful Disaster is my all time favorite book. So when she said she was writing another book, I was thrilled!!

Teaser2

#1 New York Times Bestseller Jamie McGuire returns to self-publishing with this page-turning YA account of Erin Easter, one of three Erins in the small senior class of rural Blackwell High School who not only share a first name, but also their birthday. Easter, raised by a neglectful single mom, keeps to herself and admires Weston Gates from afar. The other Erins, Erin “Alder” Alderman and Erin “Sonny” Masterson are the darlings of the community: daughters of the two wealthiest families in town, best friends, cheerleaders, and everything Easter isn’t–and they never let her forget it. Alder has even claimed Weston since the 8th grade.
Weston is a well-liked star athlete, and the son of two prominent attorneys. He struggles daily with the pressures of living up to his family name and secretly empathizes with Easter’s feeling that she belongs somewhere else; in a different life. Not until he begins sneaking nights out with Easter does he gain the courage to buck expectations and acknowledge his feelings … both for his future, and for her.
A shocking tragedy rocks the tiny town, and Easter’s life is turned upside down in the best way possible. But when the truth is revealed and everything she thinks she wanted falls into her lap, life only becomes more complicated.

My Review

Well, I LOVED this!!!! This was the perfect action packed story. So much happened and I was left fully satisfied. It was nice to have a shorter book to read, instead of another epic. With Beautiful Oblivion coming out in a few months, this was a nice little taste of Jamie’s awesomeness.

Erin Easter has a rough life. Bullying, and absent dad, and an there but not there mom, are the gist of her life. She is just trying to hold it together until she graduates, then she is out of this town. She used to love it here, with the other Erins, but at some point, it all changed for the worse.

But one day, her life seemed to change for the better. Weston actually talked to her. Soon he was sneaking out to see her and showing her that she is worth more than what these people of her.

I totally loved Weston!! He was so kind, when he finally decided to be. I loved how protective he was of her, even to his own girlfriend. I love the way he slowly began to grow a backbone and stood up for things that were wrong. When he started to care more for Erin, the words he would speak, totally made me smile. He was so very sweet.

“I can’t give up on you now. When we spend time together, I feel this peace that I don’t get when you’re not around. It’s kind of like when you’re a kid and you put on fresh PJs after a bath and get into a made bed with clean sheets straight out of the dryer. That’s what being with you feels like.”

The strength that grew from them being together, was totally needed when the tragedy of the story happened. Which then leads to the shocker of the story, which rattles the entire town. They must lean on each other, in order to get through this next phase of their lives.

I can’t wait to read the next in the series. I am dying to know what happens in their relationship and where they’re headed after they graduate.

A bonus in the book is the first chapter of Beautiful Oblivion. But I can’t read it. I need to be shocked and surprised. I never read teasers. So this is taunting me. That sneaky Jamie McGuire. 🙂

Don’t forget to enter the Rafflecopter giveaway

~Melpomene

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On Amazon Happenstance: A Novella

On BN Happenstance: A Novella

Review: Seeing Stars, by J. Sterling

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01 saving I don’t know why I waited so long to read this, but I’m so glad I finally did. Ever since I read J.Sterling’s The Perfect Game, I’ve been hooked. And when she came out with this shorter, non angst filled story, I wanted to give it a whirl. But I heard different people complain, so I was a bit nervous. But after reading it, I just don’t understand how someone can’t like this story.

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Walker Rhodes is a hot singing sensation who never settles down, spends too much money gambling and gets in trouble on the daily- at least if you believe all the tabloids.

Madison Myers is a hard working talent agent assistant thrust into the spotlight one day after Walker pulls her on stage during one of his concerts. She tries to stay away from him, but he keeps chasing her. She is strong in her resolve and he is relentless in his pursuit. The question is… WHY?!?!

Tabloid Headline Reads: Walker Rhodes pulls woman on stage during LA concert and serenades her with stars in his eyes and we watched as the sparks flew! But just who is this mystery woman who has stolen Walker’s heart? And will she be the one to finally tie down our favorite womanizing gambler?

Our readers poll:
80% say no way!
The other 20% wish they were her!

Read more inside…

Just the description sounded perfect. It was the right amount of sweet and not all the drama. When I got to 75%, I thought there was going to be some major drama and angst, but I was totally wrong and WAY off. This story needed none of that. It made me realize that you can have stories that make you feel happy and not require you to have your heart ripped out first.

Sometimes you need a break from all the drama in your life. This was that perfect little break. Now I can’t wait until the next story!

~Melpomene

Buy Seeing Stars

Review: Live by Mary Ann Rivers

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This book just sucked me in. I was speaking Hefin’s parts with my own version of a Welsh accent (think English, Scottish and Irish all rolled into one… spoken by an American… Scary, I know). I was conscious of my own bony hips when Hefin stared at Destiny’s. I smelled the library Destiny spent time in and the new wood panels Hefin carved. I was seriously in Lakefield, Ohio for a few days.

If you love a falling-in-love story, you’ve got to read Live. The emotions are written truthfully and deliberately, Destiny and Hefin wanting each other and then needing each other and then loving each other.

My favorite thing about Live is that the love is shown in actions, not just feelings. Destiny sacrifices her personal life to care for her sister. Hefin helps with Destiny’s twig project, even when he thinks he may have lost her. Betty pulls a fast one to make sure Destiny gets a chance at, well, her destiny.

Mary Ann Rivers gives the reader a substantial romance, replete with a lot of slow sex, agonizing decisions, and an intercontinental separation. The book is heart-wrenching at times. I cried so much you would’ve thought I was part of the book.

Live is also a story about a family and a neighborhood, with all the mistakes and ludicrousness and eye-rolling you’d expect. Betty and the limo provided some levity, and I laughed in between my tears.

Among the love story and the family dynamics was a big thought to ponder: a person needs to be loved enough by their family in order to feel worthy of love from a lover. I asked myself if I was, and then put myself in the shoes of the people I love. ❤️

The only niggling thought I had at the end was that I wished there was more of Destiny’s brother Paul. But I betchya his story will be in a future installment in this Burnside Series… and I can’t wait.

-Calliope

IT’S ONLY 99¢ for KINDLE!
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