Pieces Of Me by Jacquie Underdown

★★★★★
Read: Jan 10-16 2016

"A story about starting fresh, letting go, and risking it all for love…

For Hannah, Mercy Island is a refuge, a new beginning, and a place to find safety in her own skin. Here, in this peaceful, beachside place, she will rediscover all those pieces of herself her abusive ex stole away.  For Bear, Mercy Island is a prison, a backwater, a place he can’t wait to escape. Away, in the city, he’ll chase his dreams and lose the bad memories haunting him.

When Hannah's home is damaged in an ugly storm, Bear offers his handyman services to repair it—a last job and a pretty girl to pass the time before he heads out. But Hannah is terrified to lose herself in another relationship, and Bear isn’t in it for the long haul.

However, their simmering sexual attraction refuses to be ignored, and just because love isn’t on the line doesn’t mean sex isn’t on the table. A no-strings-attached brief fling to curb the tension and take the edge off. No ties. No emotions. No pain.

But love has a way of coming in the windows, even when you’ve slammed the door, if only Hannah and Bear can stop looking to the past and find hope in their future."



This was a beautiful story of self discovery and understanding.

I loved Bear's character! He was probably one the best book boyfriends I've read about. He was attractive, kind, caring, hard-working, but to me the most important thing was that he truly understood Hannah, and tried his best to be there for her in her hardest moments, because he knew what she was going through.

Hannah was a really strong character. After being in an abusive relationship, she finally moved away from her boyfriend, and was able to find her little corner in the world where she could really be herself, although in the beginning of the story she wasn't even sure what that meant yet.

Both characters had big hurdles to face, and I loved the way they were just there for each other in their own ways, which ultimately freed them from the shackles that were locking them in their old lives.

Make Me Sin by J.T. Geissinger

★★★★★
Read: Jan 07-08 2016

"Chloe Carmichael’s life feels pretty sweet—she’s both maid of honor and florist for her best friend’s A-list wedding, things are getting serious with her boyfriend, and her flower shop is about to get a spread in a national magazine. But it all quickly turns sour whenever the best man, Bad Habit drummer A.J. Edwards, shows his face...his handsome, unforgettable face. A.J. is everything Chloe doesn’t want: tattooed, selfish, and all-around bad news. So why can’t she stop thinking about him?

Goody two-shoes Chloe isn’t exactly A.J.’s type, either, but the chemistry between them is undeniable. A.J. will be the first to say he isn’t a saint, but there’s something he’s not saying—something that would devastate Chloe. The only way he can protect her is to push her away, but the drummer finds he needs her now more than ever. When a wedding-day confrontation reveals secrets they’re both hiding, will Chloe and A.J. ever find their rhythm again?"

I loved this book! I love the whole let's-hate-each-other-first-and-then-fall-madly-in-love thing, and this story had that very well done, which created a lot of angst between the two main characters (Chloe and A.J.) in the first part of the book. I liked the progression of the story and the development of the characters, both for Chloe and A.J. and the ones introduced in the first book. The twist towards the end was something unexpected and sad (oh my heart!), but I liked that there was a happy ending that felt 'realistic'. Overall, this book was pretty much perfect, and I hope there will be a third one in the series with Grace and Brody! :)

More than Music by Elizabeth Briggs

Read: Oct 22-23 2014
★★★★★

"Music major Maddie Taylor just finished her junior year of college and has a summer internship lined up with the LA Philharmonic, yet every night she practices guitar and secretly dreams of a louder life. But geeky girls like her don't get to be rock stars. That is, until tattooed singer Jared Cross catches her playing guitar and invites her to join his band on The Sound, a reality TV show competition. 

Once on the show, Maddie discovers there’s more to Jared than his flirty smile and bad boy reputation – and that he’s just as big a geek as she is. With each performance their attraction becomes impossible to ignore, but when the show pressures them to stay single they’re forced to keep their relationship secret. 

As the competition heats up, Jared will do whatever it takes for his band to win, and Maddie must decide if following her dream is worth losing her heart."


Oh, I absolutely loved this book!

This is a lighthearted (and short) standalone romance that just makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside, (and craving to go listen to some rock music). There were (obviously) more angsty parts, where someone got really mad or sad, but you have to have some of that in a story, otherwise it's like the ending wouldn't be worth it, it's kind of like the thing "what matters is the journey, not the destination".

It features a band (that Maddie joins) participating in a show much like The Voice called The Sound, but with bands instead of solo artists. Basically all of the drama you find in the book comes from them being in the competition. The book covers the time from when they get an audition (like the blind auditions on The Voice) to the final live show when the winner is announced.

It was a nice change of scenery for me, since a lot (if not most) of the book I read are about people with some type or another of inner demons and usually with some big secret they keep from their loved ones. This one has none of that, I'd say it's pretty straight forward, with some not-so-nice family history from both main characters, Jared and Maddie. You get to know that history fairly quickly, but the story still sucks you in.

One other thing I really liked about this book is that it took you backstage in the life of a contest like this. Obviously it is fiction, so I don't know the reasons the author decided to portray certain characters and events the way she did, but I thoroughly enjoyed the look I had at how a television music contest might work.

There will be two novellas to complete the stories of the whole band, one from before this one, and the other after.

Locke by Harper Sloan

Read: Oct 11-19 2014
★★★★★

"Darkness is the only thing I see. Ever since the day my life changed. The day that everything and everyone I held close to me ceased to exist. The day I lost it all and the demons of my past consumed my every waking moment.

I tried to keep others at arm’s length. Tried not to let my darkness taint them. Ruin them. Harm them. And whether I want to admit it or not, as much as I wish I could keep them locked out, they refuse to leave. Refuse to let me suffer alone.

If I hadn’t been so focused on keeping those demons from flying free, I wouldn’t have missed how one perfect angel was able to sneak her way under my skin—refusing to let go. Making me want things I don’t deserve.

She consumes me. Her beauty knows no end. The love she promises tempts me every time she’s near. But that pure heart that makes her MY Emmy is the one thing I’m convinced I’ll destroy if I ever let her close.

I’m a broken man. A broken man with too much darkness in his soul to ever let her light shine upon me. But even that doesn’t stop me from craving her with every single breath in my body."


This is the 5th and final book in the Corps Security series! 
This is one of my favorite series, full of alpha males and seriously fierce ladies.

In this book we get to learn about Maddox and Emmy's story, which of course, we had been teased with since the beginning of the series. 

The book starts with flashbacks all the way back to when Mad lost his leg and how horrible his family was to him growing up, and to when Emmy was learning to be a stripper at her parents' strip club (I totally didn't see that coming!).

The story however starts when they are both away from each other. Since the tragedy that had happened to the group of friends previously, Emmy can't take any more reminders of what once was and decides to go back to her parents and an abusive wannabe-husband (who only wants to be her husband so he can have the parents' club and seriously gave me the creeps whenever he was in a scene).

As would be expected, Emmy's return to her old life is very far from perfect or even bearable, and soon enough Maddox tracks her down and does the alpha macho version of taking her back home (super entertaining fights and steamy sex scenes included).

I obviously can't tell much more, because some chaos comes into their lives, one life is threatened, but all ends well for the couple, which to be honest, is all I ever want when I read a book!

I really loved this book. Maddox and Emmy are really entertaining when they fight and hot when they get into it. Plus, this is one of those stories where you don't have any other option but to cheer the couple on. Maddox had been pushing Emmy away for years, even though he loved her, so this how they got their second chance and how they expelled their demons away (hopefully) for good!

As a bonus, the very last paragraph of the book teases the new story related to this group of awesome people. I got very excited at the hint of a book about the kids (now grown ups) of the Corps Security guys, went to confirm that there really is going to be a book about them (Cohen and Danielle, for now anyway) and there is! I can't wait to know how much the kids are alike the parents!

If I Were You by Lisa Renee Jones

Read: Sept 07-09 2014
★★★★★

This book had been on my to-read list for a long time, but because the story seemed a bit different from my usual reading choices, I had been postponing reading it. It really doesn't even make much sense, because what got me into reading as a kid were mystery books, and this one definitely has some mystery in it.

I think what put me off this book for so long were my preconceived ideas about it. When I read the sinopsis of "If I Were You", I kind of understood (wrongly) that the book was very centered on the journals that Sara reads. But after reading a few chapters, it is clear that that's not the case, which was a relief, I guess because if it was kind of a recounting of another person's story, there wouldn't really be much development, at least not from the main character. So it would basically be us reading about Sara (the main character) reading Rebecca's (that's who wrote them) journals.

But enough with the rambling!

I finally read the book and very much enjoyed it!

"If I Were You" has Sara reading what she thinks is her best friend Ella's journal, but it turns out it's one of many journals from a woman named Rebecca. The journals document her affair with a man who is into BDSM, who is very possessive, and most likely not very healthy for her.

Sara's Friend got the journals in a storage unit auction, and after telling Sara how she got to have them, Sara is determined to find out what happened to Rebecca, which is difficult, because no other names are ever mentioned in the journals or on any of the items in the unit. Her address is no longer hers, and any other form of contact is also a dead end.

Searching the storage unit herself (while Ella elopes to Europe), she finds that Rebecca works in an art gallery, though after asking, she finds that Rebecca had been gone for a couple of months on leave.

Well, I don't wanna be boring and 'spoilery', so I'll stop retelling the story, and go into my thoughts on it.

I loved "If I Were You", the mystery about Rebecca and all aspects and people who know her was very enticing and pulling, and it's always on the back of your mind while you read the book, though Sara sometimes forgets about it (for sexy reasons).

The cliffhanger at the end is actually resolved pretty quickly in the second book, which I started already, because I couldn't wait!

Loving Mr. Daniels by Brittainy C. Cherry

Read: May 18-20 2014
★★★★★

WOW! I absolutely loved this book!

It's weird to say that, when in reality, about half of it was spent talking about sad things, people dying, etc. But at the same time, all those issues were always approached with such positivity, and the will to overcome obstacles, that I couldn't help but smile a lot throughout the book.

We have two main characters, Ashlyn and Daniel, who meet by chance and have very similar experiences with death and heartbreak. They fall for each other very fast, and on the first week of classes, they find out Ashlyn is Daniel's student. That's obviously the big issue in the book, along with death (but I won't mention names).

They try to make it work, being secretive, and careful; but this type of story always has a breaking point, and when it comes, it makes Ashlyn leave home and therefore, Daniel as well. But fortunately, after some time, they find each other, and I won't say more ;)

Overall, it was a really sweet story, with incredible characters who had awesome and compelling personalities. I cried at some parts, both out of sadness and happiness, and my insides even did that twisty thing they do when I read a book that really affects me (that's usually when I know it's a five star book!) I loved reading this, because of all those elements and highly recommend it!

Trying to turn things around

I started this blog in 2012 (I didn't even remember it being so long ago) and I really wanted to write reviews for every book I read. Mind you that I read more than 100 books that year, and then again in 2013, so as much as I would have liked to do that, I just couldn't keep up with it, partly out of laziness, partly because I have never considered myself to be a good writer. I think I can be, when I really put my mind into it, but the problem is, I never want to put myself out there, afraid I'll just do something so bad, that someone will comment on how bad it is, and then I'll never do it again.

With all this being said, I really am trying to get in the game and maybe even get a few followers on the blog.

One of my problems is also that a lot of times I don't see things through. But I am going to try my best.

Hopefully in a few months, I'll have people commenting on my reviews and sharing their opinions on the same books with me. I can hope!