Naomi's Reading Palace: December 2017

The Fifteenth Minute by Sarina Bowen ~ Audio book Review & Quote-tastic (@SarinaBowen)

I know! I'm on a Sarina Bowen binge at the moment, because I love each set of characters that she introduces! Lianne and DJ went through some difficult moments, but were amazing once they got together!

The Fifteenth Minute (The Ivy Years, #5)

Title: The Fifteenth Minute

Author: Sarina Bowen

Series: The Ivy Years #5
Narrators: Saskia Maarleveld and Chris Podehl

Genre: NA Sports Romance

Published: June 16th 2016 (first published October 13th 2015)

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Freshman Lianne Challice is known to millions of fans as Princess Vindi. But sometimes a silver screen sorceress just wants to hang up her wand, tell her manager to shove it, and become a normal college student. Too bad that’s harder than it looks.

She’s never lived a normal life. She hasn’t been to school since kindergarten. And getting close to anyone is just too risky — the last boy she kissed sold the story to a British tabloid.

But she can’t resist trying to get close to Daniel "DJ" Trevi, the hot, broody guy who spins tunes for hockey games in the arena. Something's haunting his dark eyes, and she needs to know more.

DJ's genius is for expressing the mood of the crowd with a ten second song snippet. With just a click and a fade, he can spread hope, pathos or elation among six thousand screaming fans.

Too bad his college career is about to experience the same quick fade-out as one of his songs. He can't get close to Lianne, and he can't tell her why. And the fact that she seems to like him at all? Incredible.

After meeting Lianne in The Shameless Hour, I jumped into The Fifteenth Minute immediately! I fell in love with her, so I needed to get her story as soon as I could. She became such a great friend for Bella, and I could see chemistry blossoming between Lianne and DJ.

Lianne has had a sheltered life for a person who may've grown up in the spotlight. She was trying to lead a normal life by going to college and expanding her career but it was hard for her to fit in. She found some normalcy with her friend Bella but she enjoyed her time with DJ the most, when he wasn't avoiding her.

DJ had feelings for Lianne, but he had complications that made his life hard. He was fighting to remain in college and his family made things difficult for him too. He enjoyed his DJ job for the ice hockey and spending time with Lianne brightened his day.

I am continuing to love The Ivy Years series, and the complex characters that Sarina Bowen introduces in each book. Each story has been unique and leaves you wanting more. I enjoyed DJ and Lianne's story, it was sweet and intense despite her high profile. DJ helped Lianne with her lines, and Lianne gave DJ some faith that he could pull through his difficult time. I am looking forward to more stories form this world... or anything that Bowen produces!

OMG! These two were so perfect together! They had their tough times, but this here shows they deserve one another!

I sweep the pad of my thumb across her perfect cheekbone. Then she leans into my hand. It’s slight—almost imperceptible. But it’s there. A sign.
It’s a short journey to her mouth, but I say a little prayer along the way. Please.
On the first pass I’m still cautious. I take just a brush of her soft lips, landing on her jaw. She smells of berries, I think. Something sweet. I pause there, pressing a kiss to her skin, and she shivers. Then instinct kicks in. I slip my fingers to the nape of her neck and pull her closer to me. The warmth of her small body finds mine, and I have to kiss her. I turn my head a few degrees and find her soft mouth with my hungry one.
The noise she makes is a whimper. I kiss it away.

Kindle Arc Loc 40

Catching her chin in one hand, I tilt her face up to mine. She looks…embarrassed. But I don’t see why that should be. I kiss her perfect forehead, her sweet scent enveloping me once again. “Sure glad I came out for pizza tonight,” I whisper.
“Me too,” she breathes. “Um…” She gives herself a little shake. “I should go.”

Kindle Arc Loc 40

Hosted by Anna @ Herding Cats & Burning Soup

Sarina Bowen is the USA Today bestselling author of steamy, angsty Contemporary Romance and New Adult fiction. She lives in the wilds of Vermont.

She is the author of The Ivy Years, an award-winning series set amid the hockey team at an elite Connecticut college. Also, the The Gravity series.

With Elle Kennedy, Sarina is the author of HIM and US.

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Other reviews featuring Sarina Bowen

The Ivy Years series

The Year We Fell Down #1

The Year We Hid Away #2
The Understatement of the Year #3
The Shameless Hour #4

True North series

Keepsake #3
Bountiful #4

Other reviews featuring Sarina Bowen & Sarah Mayberry

Temporary

Sweet as Sin by J.T. Geissinger ~ Audio book Review & Swoon Thursday (@JTGeissinger)

I decided that it was time to give the Bad Habit series a go! You know how much I enjoy reading about tough rockers! It was also about time I tried J.T. Geissinger, and I hope to read more of her work in the future.

Title: Sweet as Sin

Author: J.T. Geissinger

Series: Bad Habit #1

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Published: July 14th 2015 by Brilliance Audio

Buy Now - Amazon | Audible | B&N

For a feisty young woman and a rock star god, love and rock 'n' roll don't mix--they ignite.

Twenty-something Kat Reid is loving life as an in-demand Hollywood makeup artist. She has absolutely no interest in rock ’n’ roll, but in order to pay the mortgage, she agrees to work on the set of a rock video for the world-famous rockers known as Bad Habit…which brings her face-to-face with Nico Nyx, lead singer of Bad Habit and Adonis in the flesh.

However, the fiercely independent Kat isn’t impressed by the hard-living, womanizing rock star. But when Nico’s model girlfriend shows up to the set drunk and Kat is tapped to replace her as the video’s sexy bride, her combustible chemistry with Nico suddenly threatens to consume the set. Nico feels it, too—and becomes determined to win Kat over, body and soul. Yet behind his rock god swagger, Nico hides a dark secret. Can he rock Kat’s world forever, or will he just break her heart?

J.T. Geissinger is an author I've seen around for a while, and when I was browsing for my next audible read, I snapped this one up on sale! Who doesn't love a famous lead singer falling for an unsuspecting make up artist... who also happened to land the female lead in their next music video!

I loved Kat and how true she was. She stood up for a girl who was under the weather, even though she didn't know her. I liked that she was that kind of strong, confident woman. She caught Nico's eye and tried to keep him at arms length, but Nico was a persistent fella!

I enjoyed meeting the secondary characters, particularly Kat's friends Chloe and Grace; they were like the Angel and Devil that gave advice in any situation. I loved that she had people that she could rely on at any moment, that didn't take crap either! Nico's band members supported him when he needed them, but I'm not sure about A.J. I think I'd like to see more of him, he's not rubbing me the right way as yet...

I was hoping to really enjoy this one, but unfortunately it fell a little flat for me. Nico seemed a little too much alpha male and over protective, not wanting Kat to make any decisions for herself. Kat made stupid decisions at times when she should've listened. It was like they couldn't get on the same page at the same time. I'm also wondering if the narration was one of the reason's I couldn't connect to these characters and I think I should've read the book instead! I do hope that I try her work again in the future though.

*** Swoon Thursday was first bought to us by YA Bound. Since they are no longer with us, and with permission from Trisha Wolfe, I have decided that those of us that love to swoon need a central meet up point. So here it is ladies! I have a link up for everyone at the bottom of the post you can add your swoons to, and I’ll set it up every week! So tell all other swooners out there to come on over, link up so we can visit each other! ***

I thought this moment was really sweet, where Nico told Kat how much she meant to him.

“What’s more romantic, Kat? Fallin’ in love because you don’t know any better . . . or fallin’ in love, knowin’ it’s gonna ruin you, knowin’ it’s gonna rip out your fuckin’ heart and smash you into a million little pieces, but doin’ it anyway, because you’d rather pay the price and be ripped and smashed forever than never get a taste of it at all?”
My lips parted. A funny little noise escaped my mouth. The edges of everything grew fuzzy, because of the water welling in my eyes. “I’m not going to ruin you,” I promised in a vehement whisper.
His lips curved to a sad smile. “Yeah, you are. You already have. Just the way you’re lookin’ at me right now has ruined me for any other woman.” His quicksilver eyes grew intense. “And I’m gonna make damn sure I ruin you for any other man.”
I felt the kiss he gave me all the way to my toes. It was hungry—no, it was devouring. I clung to him, feeling what little reason I had left regarding this relationship slipping away.

Kindle Page 137
Originally inspired by YA Bound

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Man Hands by Sarina Bowen and Tanya Eby ~ Review & Quote-tastic (@SarinaBowen, @Blunder_Woman)

I'm a day late with my review, because you know, LIFE! Anyway, here it is! This was such a fun read, but it had a touch of seriousness too! And I know I will always enjoy a Sarina Bowen read!

Title: Man Hands

Author: Sarina Bowen and Tanya Eby

Series: Man Hands #1

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Published: December 11th 2017

Buy Now - Amazon | B&N | iTunes | Kobo

He puts the "screw" in screwball comedy...
BRYNN

At thirty-four, I’m reeling from a divorce. I don’t want to party or try to move on. I just want to stay home and post a new recipe on my blog: Brynn’s Dips and Balls.

But my friends aren’t having it. Get out there again, they say. It will be fun, they say. I’m still taking a hard pass.

Free designer cocktails, they say. And that’s a game-changer.

Too bad my ex shows up with his new arm candy. That’s when I lose my mind. But when my besties dare me to leap on the first single man I see, they don't expect me to actually go through with it.

TOM

All I need right now is some peace and quiet while my home renovation TV show is on hiatus. But when a curvy woman in a red wrap dress charges me like she’s a gymnast about to mount my high bar, all I can do is brace myself and catch her. What follows is the hottest experience of my adult life.

I want a repeat, but my flying Cinderella disappears immediately afterward. She doesn’t leave a glass slipper, either—just a pair of panties with chocolate bunnies printed on them.

But I will find her.

What a bubbly pocket of fun Brynn turned out to be! I do love a girl who's voluptuous, because really, none of us are perfect! And this girl, she won the heart of a fantastic guy... he'd been hurt and wasn't looking for anyone, but Brynn flew into his arms and he just couldn't let her go!

Brynn was on the rebound, but because of a few good friends, she was encouraged to get back into the game. When she saw her ex, she downed some liquid courage and was sent on a mission to fix her night. Brynn found herself in the arms of Tom, and he gave her the best sexual experience of her life!

Tom and Brynn were great together, even though it wasn't smooth sailing for them. Crap hit the fan and Tom was there to support Brynn, and even had a plan to put her life back on track once again. However the more time they spent together, I knew they were meant to be.

I really did enjoy Man Hands, but there was a thread left open that I would've liked to see closed. I adored Brynn and Tom's relationship, and was glad to see them work through their intense feelings for one another. The epilogue was hilarious... mind you with the love she had for that pantry, I would've been annoyed (I would want to do that first! ;) ). I am looking forward to visiting this world again!

Complimentary copy provided by the Author in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the relationship between Tom and Brynn. Tom was the sweetest guy!

I may have been invisible to my ex, but this man, this man right here, he sees me.

Kindle Arc Loc 884

“It’s a moonstone,” he says, “It…” He stops and I wonder what he’s going to say next. “It’s not a big deal.”
“It looks like a big deal,” I whisper. “Like a treasure.”
His big brown eyes soften. “You’re the treasure here.” He leans over and kisses my forehead.

Kindle Arc Loc 1779

Hosted by Anna @ Herding Cats & Burning Soup

Sarina Bowen is the USA Today bestselling author of steamy, angsty Contemporary Romance and New Adult fiction. She lives in the wilds of Vermont.

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Tanya is a member of SAG/AFTRA. She is a narrator and has over 500 titles to her credit. She also narrates under the name of Tatiana Sokolov for books that are particularly saucy (AKA erotica books). When not narrating, she’s working on her own writing. Check out her books: Easy Does It, Blunder Woman, Pepper Wellington and the Case of the Missing Sausage, Foodies Rush In, Tunnel Vision, and Synchronicity. She also has a food blog at dips.tanyaeby.com.

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Other reviews featuring Sarina Bowen

The Ivy Years series

The Year We Fell Down #1

The Year We Hid Away #2
The Understatement of the Year #3
The Shameless Hour #4

True North series

Keepsake #3
Bountiful #4

Other reviews featuring Sarina Bowen & Sarah Mayberry

Temporary

Without Merit by Colleen Hoover ~ Review & Swoon Thursday (@colleenhoover, @SimonSchusterAU)

Ahhh... Colleen Hoover! This author knows how to such you into her incredible worlds and she makes you fall in love with all the characters, regardless of how broken they may be!

Title: Without Merit

Author: Colleen Hoover

Genre: YA Contemporary Romance

Published: October 3rd 2017

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Not every mistake deserves a consequence. Sometimes the only thing it deserves is forgiveness.

The Voss family is anything but normal. They live in a repurposed church, newly baptized Dollar Voss. The once cancer-stricken mother lives in the basement, the father is married to the mother’s former nurse, the little half-brother isn’t allowed to do or eat anything fun, and the eldest siblings are irritatingly perfect. Then, there’s Merit.

Merit Voss collects trophies she hasn’t earned and secrets her family forces her to keep. While browsing the local antiques shop for her next trophy, she finds Sagan. His wit and unapologetic idealism disarm and spark renewed life into her—until she discovers that he’s completely unavailable. Merit retreats deeper into herself, watching her family from the sidelines when she learns a secret that no trophy in the world can fix.

Fed up with the lies, Merit decides to shatter the happy family illusion that she’s never been a part of before leaving them behind for good. When her escape plan fails, Merit is forced to deal with the staggering consequences of telling the truth and losing the one boy she loves.

Colleen Hoover sure knows how to take one twisted family and turn it into a beautiful, heart wrenching story! I've read a few of Colleen's books now, and I really wasn't sure what to expect going into this one, but it turned out to be just as amazing as the rest of her work!

Merit was a girl who was a bit misunderstood. She came across as brash and mean, but the more I learned about her and a few of her secrets, the better it was to understand her. It was easier for her to withdraw from her twisted family, so she could avoid all conflict. But seeing Merit getting to know her family again really opened her eyes, as well as mine, to see that there was more to her family than what she perceived.

I enjoyed seeing Merit with Sagan. He brought a spark back into her dull life. It was interesting to see him express himself through his drawings, which was one of Merit's favourite things about him. He also helped her see her family in a whole new light after her little incident.

The whole Voss family had it's quirks, and they didn't gel like a family should. They each had a secret of issue that kept them apart. When these secrets are in the open all hell breaks loose, as the family is then forced to deal with one another.

Hoover touched on a delicate issue that those who have it, don't realise they are suffering. There were some sad moments, but there were some moments that happened toward the end that had me laughing out loud. There were some awkward events and some tender scenes that had me swooning as well. Altogether, it was an incredible read, that touched my soul and I'll be thinking about it for a long time to come!

Complimentary copy provided by Simon & Schuster Australia, via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

*** Swoon Thursday was first bought to us by YA Bound. Since they are no longer with us, and with permission from Trisha Wolfe, I have decided that those of us that love to swoon need a central meet up point. So here it is ladies! I have a link up for everyone at the bottom of the post you can add your swoons to, and I’ll set it up every week! So tell all other swooners out there to come on over, link up so we can visit each other! ***

Today I have two swoons, one sweet kiss and the other is a beautiful moment between a father and daughter that made my chest ache!

I don’t know how I’m still standing with the unreliable legs I seem to have right now. My head is tilted back and his mouth is inches from mine, as if he’s hesitating. He smiles and whispers, “You bury me.”
I have no idea what those words mean, but I like them. And I like how his lips connect softly with mine right after he finishes saying whatever it was he just said. And I was right. It’s perfect. So perfect, it feels like the old days in the movies when the male lead would press his hand against the woman’s back and she would curve her body backward against the pressure of his kiss like the letter C while he pulls her against him. It’s just like that.
He’s pulling me to him when his tongue slides across my lips. And just like in the movies, my arms are dangling at my sides until I realize how much I want to be in this with him and finally begin to kiss him back.

Kindle Arc Loc 127

My dad nods, just a little, and then he takes a step toward me and pulls me in for a hug. The first hug he’s probably felt like I would allow him to give me in a very long time. “I know, Merit,” he whispers, relieving me from the awkwardness of not knowing what to say to him. “Me too.”
I pull my hands from my pockets and return the hug. My father presses his cheek to the top of my head and I can’t help but smile because it’s probably the best hug I’ve ever been given. It’s the one hug I’ve needed the most. We stay like this for a while, almost as if he’s making up for lost time. And maybe I am, too.

Kindle Arc Loc 3098
Originally inspired by YA Bound

Colleen Hoover is the New York Times bestselling author of eleven novels and five novellas. Hoover’s novels fall into the New Adult and Young Adult contemporary romance categories.

Hoover published her first novel, Slammed, in January 2012. Since then, all her eligible works have become New York Times best sellers.

Colleen Hoover is published by Atria Books, a division of Simon & Schuster. Colleen also has several self-published titles.

In 2013, Colleen’s third novel, Hopeless, was the first self-published novel to reach #1 on The New York Times, where it remained for several weeks. Hopeless went on to become one of the top 20 bestselling ebooks of 2013.

In 2015, Colleen’s novel CONFESS won the Goodreads Choice Award for Best Romance. That was followed up in 2016 with her latest title, It Ends With Us, also winning the Choice Award for Best Romance.

Her novel CONFESS has been filmed as a series by Awestruck and is due to release this spring on go90. Katie Leclerc and Ryan Cooper star in the series.

Ugly Love is slated to begin filming in late 2017.

Colleen founded The Bookworm Box, a charity subscription service and bookstore, with her family in 2015. The Bookworm Box is a subscription service that provides readers with an exciting opportunity to receive signed novels in the mail each month from authors all over the world. All profits from the subscription service are donated to various charities each month. To date, The Bookworm Box has donated over $850,000 to help those in need.

Colleen’s next release is WITHOUT MERIT, a contemporary romance novel due to release through Atria Books in October, 2017.

Colleen’s current work-in-progress is an exciting revisit to a previous novel, not yet announced, due to release in early 2018.

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Hopeless series

Hopeless #1

Losing Hope #2

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Mr. & Mrs. by J.A. Huss ~ Review & Quote-tastic (@jahuss)

Huss is a must read author for me, and I had to read this final instalment in the Mister series. I loved the glimpses of all the characters, even some of the old favourites!

Title: Mr. & Mrs.

Author: J.A. Huss

Series: Mister #6

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Published: October 31st 2017

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Mr. Perfect, Mr. Romantic, Mr. Corporate, Mr. Mysterious, and Mr. Match found what they were looking for and now it’s time to seal the deal. Five Aston hasn’t quite found his happily ever after yet… not quite. But he will. And he’s about to host the party of the century for all his family and friends.

If you loved Happily Ever After, you can’t miss this one either. It’s the delicious cherry on top of the most perfect dessert and all your favorite characters will be back for one… final… swoon-worthy story.

No matter how many times I return to this world, I cannot get enough! I love that we were finally able to get closure for all the Mister's and Five! Secrets were revealed to family, and new adventures were on the horizon. Pack it full of action, some home truths and a little bit of sexiness, and it was the perfect wrap up to the series.

Mr. & Mrs. was told from the fella's perspective, all six of them and how they were coping with their girls. Some of them had expanded their families, and others were working on it. But these guys, they really cannot control these girls, whether they were big or small.

My favourite perspective was probably Nolan's... it was amusing to see him trying to learn to be a father of a girl, by spending time with two tiny little terrors. They showed him that there was more to girls than dresses and bling! He managed to get into some interesting situations that had me laughing so hard!

Oh and Five's perspective was great too! He was so certain how things were going to be for the rest of his life, but he didn't expect Rory to turn everything he knew upside down.

Mr. & Mrs. was the fitting wrap up to this entire world, even giving me glimpses of some of the original cast. J.A. Huss knows how to pack everything into one story: sexiness, intensity and amusement... Who would've thought that a pack of while pigs could cause so much havoc in such a short period of time! Laugh out loud material, that was!! I NEED to see what she can deliver next!

Complimentary copy provided by the Author in exchange for an honest review.

The first quote is from Nolan... He knows how to dress a little girl 😜 The second one... SWOON! Ollie you are a sweet talker! 💘

We had to buy special baby headphones for the ride because the noise level is too much for a six-month-old. I got black ones. With little skulls on them. And while I was at it, I bought her a little flight jacket to match. It has the most badass patches on it.
Ivy looked at her this morning. Looked at me. Back at her. Then said, “She looks like she’s starring in the baby version of Top Gun, Nolan.”
“Yeah,” I said, pretty fucking pleased with myself. “So fucking cool, right?”

Kindle Arc Loc 286

“I never thought I’d find a woman like you.”
“What kind of woman am I?”
“Perfect.”
“No one’s perfect, Oliver.”
“Except you,” I say. “You’ve got it all. Beauty. Intelligence. Common sense.”
“I did fall in love with you,” she says, smiling. “That might’ve been the best move yet.”
“You falling in love with me was my luckiest break ever. You changed all my plans, Katja Shrike.”

Kindle Arc Loc 2714

Hosted by Anna @ Herding Cats & Burning Soup

JA Huss is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than twenty romances. She likes stories about family, loyalty, and extraordinary characters who struggle with basic human emotions while dealing with bigger than life problems. JA loves writing heroes who make you swoon, heroines who makes you jealous, and the perfect Happily Ever After ending.

You can chat with her on Facebook (www.facebook.com/AuthorJAHuss), Twitter (@jahuss), and her kick-ass romance blog, New Adult Addiction (www.newadultaddiction.com).

If you're interested in getting your hands on an advanced release copy of her upcoming books, sneak peek teasers, or information on her upcoming personal appearances, you can join her newsletter list (http://eepurl.com/JVhAr) and get those details delivered right to your inbox.

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