Review: Frontline by Alexandra Richland



Title: Frontline
Series: Frontline #1
Author: Alexandra Richland
Published: 08/06/13
Pages: 415
Acquired: Purchased on Amazon
Goodreads Rating: 3.89
My Rating: 4.0


Goodreads

Amazon





Goodreads Synopsis: 
When nurse Sara Peters treats celebrity billionaire Trenton Merrick for a mysterious injury to his forehead, she is blindsided by what follows: a passionate exchange in the examination room, followed by an invitation to Trenton's mansion the next night. 

Trenton spins a web of deceit and seduction around Sara that both repels and attracts her. One part humanitarian, the other international financial mogul, his professional and public life are a curious contradiction. As Sara journeys deeper into her feelings for Trenton and begins unraveling the mystery behind his injury, she finds herself embroiled in a game of trust and betrayal, where the odds are stacked in Trenton's favor, and the outcome for the loser is too terrifying to conceive.


My Review: 

When I first heard about this book, I was very eager to pick it up for 3 main reasons: 1) The main character is a nurse. 2) The author is a nurse and 3) The amazing book trailer!  After reading the synopsis I was expecting a traditional Billionaire meets working girl, he chases her, seduces her and wins her over. Yes some part of that was true about this book, but what I was not expecting was an amazing action-filled, thrilling, and suspenseful story line to also be thrown into the mix! 

First of let me just say, that I am hoping my future job after I graduate in December be in the type of hospital where a man like Trenton Merrick becomes my patient. I absolutely enjoyed reading the first few chapters where Sara is at work in ER going through triage. As a nursing student, I appreciated all the details that the author threw in there.  

Okay, so I have to admit that the entire love affair between the two main characters was a little far-fetched and falls into the category of "Insta-love." But I did find myself swooning over some very sweet moments between Trenton and Sara. Trenton is however a little too uptight and controlling over Sarah. He could probably even give Christen Grey a few lessons. But in the end we find out why he was so protective and things started to make sense. There was a reason after all his crazy madness. 

The supporting characters or this story were also very enjoyable. I loved seeing Sara's friends stick up for their friend, in both of there own quirky yet endearing ways. I do believe the future books in this series will be about them and I am looking forward to finding out more about them and their love stories. 

Review: Stay with Me by Elyssa Patrick





Title: Stay With Me
Series: Stay With Me #1
Author: Elyssa Patrick
Published: 08.30.13
Pages: 270
Acquired: Negalley 
Goodreads Rating: 3.88
My Rating: 4.0


Goodreads: 
Amazon: 







Goodreads Synopsis: 

With one look, I’m his . . .

With one touch, he’s mine . . .

With one kiss, it changes everything between us . . .

I’ve been famous since I can remember. Singing, acting, dancing—I’ve done it all. The tabloids cover my every move, but I don’t want that anymore. I want to be normal, whatever that is.

When I leave Hollywood for college in Vermont, I’m on my own for the first time in my life. This is my chance to figure out who I am and what I want in life.

But it’s a lot harder than I expected. I can’t escape my image. Classes are difficult, and I’m struggling. And then there’s Caleb Fox.

Sexy, intriguing Caleb Fox.

Caleb is the one man who doesn’t want to use me. He breaks down my walls. He challenges me. He wants me. And I just don’t know if I can give him the same—or if he’ll stick around when he finds out my shameful secret that the tabloids haven’t managed to uncover.

Dating him is risky enough, but loving him could break me


My Review:

You guys I have to admit that I really enjoyed this book! At first I was really intrigued by the cover. I have read many great books about male musicians. (Kellan Kyle anyone> :) ) But seeing a girl rocking a guitar on the cover really caught my attention. After I started reading I must admit that I could not stop and I completely enjoyed it from start to finish. 

I loved that this time around it was about a famous girl wanting to step away from the glitz and glamour and pursue a life outside of Hollywood. I loved the initial meeting between Hailey and Caleb. I have to admit it was pretty straight forward and obvious, but I still liked seeing it. I loved seeing their relationship blossom and watch Hailey attempt to figure out who she really is and not the childhood star that everyone knows her as. 

It was really heartbreaking reading about the dynamic between Hailey and her mom, and how low her mom would go to remain in the spot light. It reminded me of certain real-life mother/daugther relationships we hear about on the news and tabloids in real life. 

Another thing I really enjoyed about this story was seeing Hailey interact with Caleb's family. I enjoyed reading the scenes with Hailey and Caleb's younger sisters. There was one line about how Caleb is the best big brother in the world for dating their idol. I thought it was so sweet and adorable. But I have to say my favorite scene is one where Hailey overcomes her worry about picking up a guitar again and sings to Caleb. I am getting goosebumps just thinking about it. 

There will be more books in these series, but from what I understand from the blurbs on Goodreads, they will be about Caleb's room mates and I am actually looking forward to reading more about them. I do however, hope to read more about Caleb and Hailey in the future. So Ms. Patrick if you are reading this, lease incorporate them somehow into your future books! It will be much appreciated :-) 

Review: Beneath the Surface by MA Stacie



Title: Beneath the Surface
Series: Reluctance #1
Author: M.A. Stacie
Published: 08.29.13
Pages: 263
Acquired: Netgalley
Goodreads Rating: 3.74
My Review: 3.5

Goodreads
Amazon 










Goodreads Synopsis: 
Kyran Reese is a man in control. Driven when it comes to work, focused when it comes to play. From his office to the chalk circle of the bare-knuckle boxing ring, his only thought is to win. That thirst heightens when Dale Porter enters his life. His brother’s assistant should be off limits, but her witty comments and sarcastic comebacks have him desperate to get her between the sheets.

When Dale agrees to Kyran’s relationship stipulation of no labels she’s sucked into a whirlwind of lust, money, and underground boxing. Dale fights her growing affection, trying to hide it when the world around them spirals out of control. All too soon she realizes she can’t hide her true feelings any longer.

Has Kyran finally met his match? Could playing to win mean playing for keeps?


My Review: 

There were a lot of things I really liked about this book and a couple of things that I didn't. First let me get the things that I didn't like about this book out of the way, so then we can focus on the GREAT things about this story. 

First off, there were a lot of similarities between this book and the Crossfire series by Sylvia Day. Not that I didn't enjoy the similarities  but once again it was my issue about originality and wanting to be completely blown away by the story line. The second thing that kind of made we pause, was I felt that there was so much more to these character's stories that we haven't heard. And at the end of the story it left me wanting so much more. As this is the 1st book in the series, I am hoping for more character development in the coming books. So I hope this author lets us see more into the great characters she has introduced us to

Now on to the things I liked!  Honestly before I get into the love story, can I just say that I really enjoyed the sibling relationships in this story. I loved the dynamic of Dale and her brother Trace as well as Kyran and his brother Taylor's dysfunction relationship. Out of every story line this is the one which I hope the author works on. There is so much potential with both of these bro-sister/bro-bro relationship I'm dying to learn more about. 

The second thing I really enjoyed was the whole idea of relationships and the "Labels" we give them.  This is actually something I was talking to a friend about recently. And to see it discussed in this book was very interesting. Dale and Kyran start off as friend's with benefits and slowly but surely it escalates to something more. I loved how they work through all the aspects of how to label their new budding relationship. And I especially enjoyed the ending and how they come to finalize the what new labels to give each other :)  All in all this was a quick enjoyable read, and I am looking fwd to hear more about the rest of this series! 

FFBC #5 - Find Me by Romily Bernard with GIVEAWAY :)



Welcome to the 5th Fantastic Flying Book Club, Book Addicts!
For this event we have an awesome book to share with you, guys. It's Romily Bernard debut novel: FIND ME.
We are madly in love with it and we wanted to share everything we can with you. And Romily is just fantastic! She surely belongs to our club. She's amazing and she's the one making the giveaway for this event possible, Book Addicts!
We thought you would love to know a little bit more about her and her debut novel, FIND ME, so we have an exclusive interview with her for the opening tour day! YAY!
So what are we waiting for? Showtime!



Find Me 
Romily Bernard 
307 pages 
Publisher: Harper Teen / Simon & Schuster UK 
Release Date: September 24th, 2013 
Genre: Young Adult, Mystery, Thriller, Romance
 photo addtogoodreadssmall_zpsa2a6cf28.png photo B6096376-6C81-4465-8935-CE890C777EB9-1855-000001A1E900B890_zps5affbed6.jpg

Synopsis via Goodreads

“Find Me.” 

These are the words written on Tessa Waye’s diary. The diary that ends up with Wick Tate. But Tessa’s just been found . . . dead. 

Wick has the right computer-hacking skills for the job, but little interest in this perverse game of hide-and-seek. Until her sister Lily is the next target. 

Then Griff, trailer-park boy next door and fellow hacker, shows up, intent on helping Wick. Is a happy ending possible with the threat of Wick’s deadbeat dad returning, the detective hunting him sniffing around Wick instead, and a killer taunting her at every step? 

Foster child. Daughter of a felon. Loner hacker girl. Wick has a bad attitude and sarcasm to spare. 

But she’s going to find this killer no matter what. 

Because it just got personal.





I graduated from Georgia State University with a Literature degree. Since then, I’ve worked as a riding instructor, cell phone salesgirl, personal assistant, groom, exercise rider, accounting assistant, and, during a very dark time, customer service rep. 

So don’t let anyone tell you a BA degree will keep you unemployed.







Oh, man, I have to pick one? Um. THIS IS NOT A TEST by Courtney Summers…wait, no, HUNGER GAMES. I also loved MADMAN’S DAUGHTER. And ANOTHER LITTLE PIECE. And…um, can I go with ‘yes’?


Any time I’m not having to drag the words out of me letter by letter. 

I recently discovered FRINGE and I’m obsessed. I’m also, what? Five years late to the party? Unfortunately, this is typical of me.



THE USUAL SUSPECTS.



Hitting 2000-2500 words before lunch so I can spend the afternoon reading.

Oooo. Great question. At the moment? Probably CUT by Jimmy Eat World.


Almost anything with carbs. I have a serious problem. 


Sean Kendrick from THE SCORPIO RACES



Both!

YA, but I’ve been known to try almost anything


“The first time someone shows you who they are, believe them.” Maya Angelou

Hi!! *waves furiously* I’m so glad to see you guys!! Thank you for coming by!!



Thank you so much for having me! I had an idea about a teenage girl hacker who was trying to work while a cop circled her house. No idea what kind of work she was doing. Or why the cop was trying to break in. But I wanted to find out. Some days were definitely easier than others. I tend to write myself into a corner, which is great…until I have to write my way out of the corner. The eventual solution usually involves a lot of flailing around and eating frosting straight from the tub. I am not a graceful writer.

FIND ME is about a teenage hacker trying to get out of the game who gets blackmailed into finding a classmate’s rapist. Some people have told me they really like the romance in the book. Others prefer the hacking. Personally, I like the creep factor.

Wick’s a reluctant hacker. She learned from her criminal mastermind father and, lately, has been using her talents to help women track down cheating husbands and boyfriends. She’s smart, prickly, and sarcastic.

Yeah, the name thing. Some people love and some people hate it. I have a thing for weird names. Probably because my name is rather weird. For some reason, I just knew she was named Wick because “it’s what you light to set stuff on fire.” That’s the way Wick describes herself and it felt so right for a hacker.

Probably her loyalty to her little sister, Lily. She would do anything for her.

Yes!! How about the truth behind Wick’s mother suicide? Only I can’t tell you about it until the second book, REMEMBER ME, comes out.



Griff’s a green-eyed, dark-haired hacker who has been crushing on Wick for years. 

Probably his loyalty too. Griff will protect Wick at any cost.

Well, there is that whole background about how he got into hacking in the first place. Hopefully, I’ll get to explore it further in a novella from Griff’s perspective.



No. And we won’t reflect on what horrible things that says about my personality. 

Close, but increasingly strained. Wick doesn’t believe in happy endings. Lily does. She wants Wick to give up hacking, stop expecting their new life to disintegrate and Wick can’t bring herself to do it.

I didn’t actually know the ending until I wrote it. I was surprised too because I really liked that character. 

Yes! FIND ME is actually the first in a trilogy. REMEMBER ME, the second, picks up a few months after FIND ME’s end and deals with the fall out. Griff and Wick’s relationship is tested. Lily starts to come into her own. And there’s a little problem with a completely hot and completely arrogant new hacker who thinks Wick should embrace her talents instead of hiding them.



Ooo. That’s another good one. I think Ellen Page would make a great Wick. Yeah, the blonde hair is a bit of a problem, but we could work with that, right? As for Griff…what about Logan Lerman? He was in THE PERKS OF BEING A WALFLOWER and has that whole hot guy, under-the-radar-thing going on. I think a younger Dakota Fanning would be a perfect Lily. She’s intense and precocious and knows exactly what she wants.







Book Addicts, there's more #FINDME surprises! September 24th at 7 PM ET/ 6 PM CST/ 5 PM MST/ 4 PM PST, there will be a Twitter Party hosted by Musings of a Blodger and Ensconced in YA for Romily's debut novel. It will be Release Day twitter party! And who's going to miss such an awesome party where there would be a lot of FIND ME fans and lots of prizes!?

See the details/rules/tips/info here: #FINDME Twitter Party

Who's going to be there?





SEPTEMBER 18th
The UnofficialAddiction Book Fan Club & A Reading Nurse -> Welcome to the Fantastic Flying Book Club


SEPTEMBER 19th
Coffee, Books and Me -> Review + Favorite Quote + Playlist
Reader Rising -> Review + Interview
Oops! I Read A Book Again -> Review


SEPTEMBER 20th
The Bookish Daydreamer -> Review + Favorite Quote
Peace, Love And Fangirl -> Review + Excerpt
Bookcase to Heaven™ -> Review + Guest Post
A Dream Within A Dream -> Review

SEPTEMBER 21st
Imaginary Reads -> Review
Sarah Elizabeth's Bookshelf -> Review + Dream Cast
Curling Up With A Good Book -> Review

SEPTEMBER 22nd
Paperback Princess -> Review + Guest Post
The Book Cellar -> Review
Working for the Mandroid -> Review + Dream Cast
Tressa's Wishful Endings -> Review + Excerpt

SEPTEMBER 23rd
Read. Sleep. Repeat -> Review + Excerpt
Enticed by Books -> Review + Dream Cast
Forever 17 Books -> Review
Paranormal Book Club -> Review

SEPTEMBER 24th
Read Books And Live Green -> Review + Interview + Playlist
Hopelessly Devoted Bibliophile -> Review + Favorite Quote
Book Cover Justice -> Review
Istyria Book Blog -> Review


  • There will be two winners
  • You must be 13 or older to enter this giveaway
  • It's an US ONLY giveaway. Sorry international readers.
  • Each day there will be available a #QOD (question of the day) in each participant blog. You can earn more points by answering the answers.
  • For those who don't know how this works, the winners will be those who have participated the most. Meaning, the winners will be those who have more points. No Rafflecopter luck this time, Book Addicts. This is all on you now! If there's a draw, then the odds will decide and this time the Rafflecopter luck would be a major factor deciding if you win or not.
Win (1) of (2) signed hardback copies of FIND ME by Romily Bernard and some slapbands
(US ONLY)

Tell us something about yourself, like Romily did, and If you are expecting this book as much as we are.


a Rafflecopter giveaway


Thank you to our beloved team for making this event possible.






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