Naomi's Reading Palace: March 2020

Close to Me by Monica Murphy ~ Review & Teaser(@MsMonicaMurphy)

This was a sweet read, watching young love blossom throughout high school. It wasn't all smooth sailing, but I thoroughly enjoyed watching Autumn and Ash fight to find happiness.

Title: Close to Me

Author: Monica Murphy

Genre: NA Contemporary Romance

Published: February 11th 2020

Buy Now - Amazon US | Amazon Aus

Asher Davis. My first crush.

My first kiss.

The boy who ripped my heart out of my chest again and again. Over and over. I let him have it every single time.

Willingly.

We are that toxic high school couple you hear about, the one you witness in the hallway avoiding each other. You laugh at them in class when they’re forced to work together, their gazes full of hatred. We are the couple you gossip about when they win homecoming prince and princess their sophomore year…

The back and forth is what kills me the most. I’m not his princess, I’m the girl he toys with when he’s bored. And he’s definitely not my prince, no matter how badly I want him to be.

Our senior year and we’re months away from never having to see each other again when disaster strikes—and brings us closer together. All it takes is one touch, and I’m burning for Ash. Hotter than I ever have.

But will that burn turn into a devastating fire? Or can we actually make it work this time?

I was super excited to get into Close to Me, to see Drew and Fable's eldest child Autumn find love. It was a bit of a cat and mouse kind of read and I could see that they both liked one another, but the timing was never right.

I liked seeing little glimpses to Autumn and Ash over the years; when Autumn first started at the new school in the small town for her Freshman Year, then consecutive years up to their Senior year. It was interesting to see them grow, and how they interacted with one another. There was an intense connection that they tried hard to hide, but it was inevitable.

Ash had a hard time growing up, and a situation at home had him looking for a safe haven. Once this happened I knew that it was only a matter of time for Ash and Autumn.

I was a little annoyed that they were willing to push boundaries, especially with Drew and Fable, but hell... teen hormones and young love seems a good combination for bad decisions!

I really enjoyed being back in this world and it was fun to see Drew and Fable again, all grown up and making adult/parental decisions. I enjoyed meeting their family and seeing how well they all get along. I'm really excited to get more stories from the Callaghan children, so fingers crossed for the future!

I loved the way Ash bared his soul here!

“Just hear me out, okay? I—” He runs his hands through his hair, tugging on the ends. “You’re all I think about.”
I blink up at him. When did he get so tall? He’s always been tall, everyone’s tall compared to me, but I swear, he just keeps growing. Keeps getting broader too—
Wait a minute. Did he just admit I’m all he thinks about?
“I wake up and you’re on my mind. I go to sleep thinking about you. Sometimes I even dream about you, and those are always a trip, because we’re usually together, and I’m doing my best to fuck it up, yet you stick around. Like you’re really into me or something.”

Kindle Page 99

Monica Murphy is the New York Times, USA Today and #1 international bestselling author of the One Week Girlfriend series, the Billionaire Bachelors and The Rules series. Her books have been translated in almost a dozen languages and has sold over one million copies worldwide. She is both a traditionally published author and an independently published author. She writes new adult, young adult and contemporary romance. She is also USA Today bestselling romance author Karen Erickson.

She is a wife and a mother of three who lives with her family in central California on fourteen acres in the middle of nowhere, along with their one dog and too many cats. A self-confessed workaholic, when she’s not writing, she’s reading or hanging out with her husband and kids. She’s a firm believer in happy endings, though she will admit to putting her characters through many angst-filled moments before they finally get that hard won HEA.

Website / Facebook / Twitter / Goodreads

Amazon / Newsletter

Other reviews featuring Monica Murphy

Friends series
Just Friends #1
More Than Friends #2
The Rules series
Fair Game #1
In the Dark #2
Slow Play #3
Safe Bet #4
One Week Girlfriend, Drew + Fable series
One Week Girlfriend #1
Never Tear Us Apart series

Never Tear Us Apart #1

In the Unlikely Event by L.J. Shen ~ Review & Teaser (@lj_shen)

This was certainly an interesting read. It was entertaining, angsty and not something to take too seriously.

Title: In the Unlikely Event

Author: L.J. Shen

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Published: November 17th 2019

Buy Now - Amazon US | Amazon Aus

Sometimes you meet people who are out of this world, so you make them a part of yours.

A one-night stand born from vengeance in a foreign land.
An explosive chemistry neither of us could deny.
We signed a contract on the back of a Boar’s Head Pub napkin that said if we ever met again, we would drop everything and be together.
Eight years and thousands of miles later, he’s here.
In New York.
And he’s America’s music obsession.
The intangible Irish poet who brings record executives to their knees.
The blizzard in my perfect, unshaken snow globe.
Last time we spoke, he was a beggar with no intention of becoming a king.
But a king he became, and now I’m his servant.
I’m not the same broken princess Malachy Doherty put back together with his callused hands.
I have a career I love.
A boyfriend I adore.
An apartment, a roommate, a life.
I changed. He changed, too.
But Mal kept the napkin.
Question is, will I keep my word?

I've read a few of L.J. Shen's books now, and they've been hit or miss kind of reads. I picked up In the Unlikely Event because I like second chance reads, and I wanted to see the napkin contract unfold. It turned out to be a good read, despite some interesting perspectives, and I really did like Mal and Rory's story.

Rory went to Ireland looking for closure after her father died. What she didn't expect was to fall for her father's protégé—Mal—the carefree Irish busker, who showed her an amazing final night in Tolka. They had an instant connection and it was sweet to see them fall so hard and fast!

Jumping eight years into the future, and their paths finally crossed again. They had both changed so much, but their connection was still there. Mal kept so many secrets that were slow to unravel, and Rory had a shiny boyfriend that was the opposite to Mal. There were so many secrets, lots of miscommunication and meddling people in their lives, that it was hard to see them get back together.

Mal tried to draw out the cold and heartless girl that he thought Rory had turned into, but soon it became apparent he wanted his Rory back and was willing to do anything to do so. Rory tried hard to fight her feelings but Mal was always the one, and it was nice to see their connection rekindle.

Some aspects of this read were just plain weird and I will never look at a chocolate bar the same again. Some twists puzzled me but overall I did enjoy watching Mal and Rory fall once again. If you are looking for a read that you can't take too seriously, then this read by L.J. Shen is for you. There are plenty of moments that will grip your heart and leave you asking why? but honestly, I thought it was a solid read.

THis was a little amusing and really cute!

“Have you ever been in love?” I can’t swallow the emotions lodging in my throat.
He grins down at me. “Goodbye, Rory.”
My eyes flare, but I grin. “Bastard!”
“What?” He laughs.
I laugh, too. This time it’s a real laugh. We both needed this, I realize. An icebreaker.
“Why did you tell me to ask you this if the answer is no?”
“I didn’t say the answer is no.” He runs his hands along my arms. “But if I admitted it to you, I’d admit it to myself. Then I’d have to look for you, and that’d be a breach of contract. You have to understand, Rory, next time I see you, I’ll have you. I won’t care if you have a boyfriend, or a husband, or a harem of men vying for your love. If you have children, I’ll raise them as mine. So, I guess an apology is in order.”
“For what?” I blink.
He turns to leave. I’m not ready to say goodbye, but I know I never will be.
“For no doubt disrupting your life and tearing it apart next time I meet you. All’s fair in love and war, yeah?”

Kindle Page 69

L.J. Shen is an International #1 best-selling author of Contemporary Romance and New Adult novels. She lives in Northern California with her husband, young son and chubby cat.

Before she’d settled down, L.J. (who thinks referring to herself in the third person is really silly, by the way) traveled the world, and collected friends from all across the globe. Friends who’d be happy to report that she is a rubbish companion, always forgets peoples’ birthdays and never sends Christmas cards.

She enjoys the simple things in life, like spending time with her family and friends, reading, HBO, Netflix and internet-stalking Stephen James. She reads between three to five books a week and firmly believes Crocs shoes and mullets should be outlawed.

Website / Facebook / Twitter / Goodreads
Instagram / Newsletter

Other reviews featuring L.J. Shen
The Kiss Thief
Dirty Headlines
All Saints High
Broken Knight #2

Rebel Heart by Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward ~ Review & Teaser (@ViKeeland, @PenelopeAuthor)

Rebel Heart is part of a duo, so don't pick up this one if you haven't read the first book, Rebel Heir. It was a good sequel to the series and I was happy with how it all wrapped up.

Title: Rebel Heart

Author: Penelope Ward and Vi Keeland

Series: Rush Duet #2

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Published: May 22nd 2018

Buy Now - Amazon US | Amazon Aus

Rush and Gia's story continues in the gripping conclusion to the New York Times bestseller, Rebel Heir...

How to screw up a great summer in the Hamptons:

Sleep with your boss. Check.

Blow all your money on a rental you can't afford. Check.

How to walk away from a man you fall in love with at the end of a summer:

...I'll let you know when I figure it out.

Rebel Heart follows on directly after the cliff-hanging end of Rebel Heir. Gia was torn with the new twist in her life and she was uncertain how to open up to Rush without breaking everything that had built between them.

Lets just say that the crap hit the fan early on in this one, and Gia and Rush had to overcome the newest development on their own. Gia worked hard to be independent and was planning her new life whether or not Rush was in it. She still loved him, despite everything that happened and always showed him that she cared, but was reluctant to accept help from him unless he was all in.

I understood the heartbreak that Rush was going through, as he struggled to move through his own emotions and the feelings that he had for Gia. I could see that he still loved her but it annoyed me that he couldn't see the damage that he was doing to Gia. He was constantly pushing her away and then pulling her back in, so much so that it was starting to get annoying. I would've liked to see him man up when it came to Gia and set things straight a little earlier.

The ending was ok, but I was disappointed that it had to come down to what Rush did. I would've thought a man in his thirties would’ve come up with a better plan than he did, especially due to the family he was trying to build. He wanted peace and it was the quickest and easiest way he could do so.

This is probably the first read by Ward and Keeland that hasn't blown me away. I didn't really understand Rush in this second book and he got on my nerves at times. The twists were kind of predictable and a few moments actually annoyed me. Anyway, it won't stop me from reading their work again in the future!

I loved these teasers! How Rush liked control and would tell Gia his feelings!

“Why are you walking along this road, Gia?”
I was still moving as I answered him, “My car broke down.”
He nudged his head. “Get in.”
Picking up my pace a little, I walked backwards and said, “I don’t want to, Rush. I’m trying to handle things as I would if I were living alone in the City, and you wouldn’t be around to pick me up. So I’d like to walk.”
“Gia…”
“Yeah?”
“Get the fuck in the car.”

Kindle Page 161

“Will you let me watch next time?”
My body was heating up. “Are you serious?”
“Look fucking down. Do I look like I’m kidding?”
I laughed. “No, you don’t.”
“Okay, then. Next time you go clothes shopping, I wanna come.”

Kindle Page 163

Vi Keeland is a native New Yorker with three children that occupy most of her free time, which she complains about often, but wouldn't change for the world. She is a bookworm and has been known to read her kindle at stop lights, while styling her hair, cleaning, walking, during sporting events, and frequently while pretending to work. She is a boring attorney by day, and an exciting smut author by night!

Penelope Ward is a New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal Bestselling author. She grew up in Boston with five older brothers and spent most of her twenties as a television news anchor, before switching to a more family-friendly career. She is the proud mother of a beautiful 10-year-old girl with autism and a 9-year-old boy. Penelope and her family reside in Rhode Island.

Other reviews featuring Vi Keeland & Penelope Ward

Rush Duet
Rebel Heir #1
Hate Notes
Cocky Bastard
Stuck Up Suit
Mister Moneybags
Playboy Pilot
British Bedmate
Park Avenue Player
Dirty Letters
Other reviews featuring Vi Keeland
Bossman
The Baller
Life on Stage series

Throb #1
Other reviews featuring Penelope Ward
Step Brother Dearest
Neighbor Dearest
Jake Undone
My Skylar
Mack Daddy
Drunk Dial

Rebel Heir by Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward ~ Review & Teaser

I am still oving my Kindle Unlimited subscription, and grabbing reads from authors that I love. Rebel Heir was a good start to the Rush Duet series. I enjoyed the banter between Gia and Rush, and watching them face each hurdle together. I'll be grabbing the sequle immediately!

Title: Rebel Heir

Author: Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward

Series: Rush Duet #1

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Published: April 7th 2018

Buy Now - Amazon US | Amazon Aus

How to kick off a great summer in the Hamptons:

Snag a gorgeous rental on the beach. Check.

Get a job at a trendy summer haunt. Check.

How to screw up a great summer in the Hamptons:

Fall for the one guy with a dark leather jacket, scruff on his face, and intense eyes that doesn’t fit in with the rest of the tony looking crowd. A guy you can’t have when you’ll be leaving at the end of the season.

Check. Check. Check.

I should add—especially when the guy is your sexy, tattooed God of a boss.

Especially when he not only owns your place of employment but inherited half of the town.

Especially when he’s mean to you.

Or so I thought.

Until one night when he demanded I get in his car so he could drive me home because he didn’t want me walking in the dark.

That was sort of how it all started with Rush.

And then little by little, some of the walls of this hardass man started to come down.

I never expected that the two of us, seemingly opposites from the outside, would grow so close.

I wasn't supposed to fall for the rebel heir, especially when he made it clear he didn’t want to cross the line with me.

As the temperature turned cooler, the nights became hotter. My summer became a lot more interesting—and complicated.

All good things must come to an end, right?

Except our ending was one I didn’t see coming.

Ward and Keeland have hooked me, once again, with Rebel Heir! I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know both Gia and Rush! They had great chemistry and I could see that this was going to be a sweet romance. It wasn't always smooth sailing, and there were a few hurdles they had to work through, but I had hope these two would find happiness together.

Gia was a fire cracker. She stepped in to cover for a friend at a bar and was really out of her comfort zone. When she was confronted about it she didn't hold back and gave as good as she got! Rush was a bit intimidating to begin with, but Gia soon broke down his barriers. He really was a sweet, protective man that any girl would fall for.

Watching Rush and Gia's relationship change and grow was sweet. I enjoyed watching the way that Rush looked after Gia, although he did struggle with his feelings for her. It was amusing to see Gia push his buttons to get him to act as she knew what he wanted.

It was good to get into this read as it's the first book that has an actual sequel... although I could see the twist in the story coming at the end. I'm very excited to pick up the next book to see how Gia and Rush will handle that piece of information. So if you do pick this one up, it does leave you gasping, wondering what happens next!

I just loved these moments with Gia and Rush... these were just some from the beginning and they only got better!

“I’m not paying you to stand around and bullshit.”
She turned and faced me without backing up. “That’s right. You’re not. Because my shift is over. Signed out with the big tree ten minutes ago. I stopped up at the bar to order a drink before I headed home.” She pointed her eyes down to the twenty sitting on the bar in front of her. “That makes me a patron right now. And, personally, I don’t like the way I’m being treated as a paying customer.”

Kindle Page 27

It took every ounce of willpower, but I pulled out of whatever the fuck spell she had me falling under. “I gotta get going.”
Gia blinked a few times. “Oh. Okay.” She started to get out of the car again, and I started to feel like I could breathe. But before she closed the door, she leaned down and showed me her dimples. “You know, you can pretend all you want, but I know you wanted to kiss me just now. You shouldn’t have been a pussy and just done it.” Then she shut the door and yelled, “Good night, bossman.”

Kindle Page 39

Other reviews featuring Vi Keeland & Penelope Ward

Hate Notes
Cocky Bastard
Stuck Up Suit
Mister Moneybags
Playboy Pilot
British Bedmate
Park Avenue Player
Dirty Letters
Other reviews featuring Vi Keeland
Bossman
The Baller
Life on Stage series

Throb #1
Other reviews featuring Penelope Ward
Step Brother Dearest
Neighbor Dearest
Jake Undone
My Skylar
Mack Daddy
Drunk Dial

Thin Air by Rachel Caine ~ Review & Teaser (@rachelcaine)

I picked up Thin Air immediately after finishing Firestorm as I was emotionally wrecked, and I needed to see the story continue. It was exciting, action packed and it still tugged on my emotions for not only Jo, but David and Lewis too.

Title: Thin Air

Author: Rachel Caine

Series: Weather Warden #6

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Published: August 7th 2007

Buy Now - Amazon US | Amazon Aus

Joanne Baldwin has had better days – at least she hopes she has. After waking up naked and freezing in a forest, she’s located by two rescuers she doesn’t recognise at all. One supernaturally gorgeous guy might have been her lover. The other says he can control the weather…and so can she.

Not everyone looking for Joanne has her best interests at heart, and with no way to tell friend from foe, Joanne is quickly lost in a fog of deception. Her tenuous hold on life is fading with every passing moment. Now she must rebuild herself, one memory at a time, before someone else steals her life – and she disappears into thin air. Oh, and along the way, it seems that she has to save the world…

Thin Air was an interesting read, I will tell you that; seeing a character that I've grown to love, try to find herself. Jo had more powers that she was struggling with, and she really didn't know who to trust. It was exciting, action packed and intense from start to finish!

After events that occurred at the end of Firestorm, Jo was left without her memories. David and Lewis came to her rescue as she had to relearn everything she knew. It soon became apparent that her powers had grown, and that it was taking time to learn how to wield them.

Jo worked hard throughout this book, she was betrayed by a lot of people that she cared about. There was a demon that was able to manipulate those she loved and she had to figure out a way to win those people back.

Rachel Caine has done a great job continuing this story. I'm intrigued about the fighting within the Djinn and what their end goal is going to be. The overall story arc is getting exciting and I'm looking forward to see the outcome in the next book, with all of the groups working together.

Jo had to relearn everything she knew, she struggled with her feelings for people and what they could do.

‘I just want you to understand where I stand,’ he said. ‘You don’t love me, I don’t love you, and that’s it. Right?’
‘Right,’ I said. My lips felt numb. ‘I love David.’
‘Yes. You do. You don’t know it right now, but you do.’ That warmth-inducing gaze came back to fix on me. With a vengeance. ‘You’ll remember.’
‘What if I don’t want to?’

Kindle Loc 648

‘You sure you’ve got the right one now?’
His eyebrows slowly rose. ‘Fairly sure.’
‘Maybe soon we can upgrade that to completely sure.’
‘Maybe?’
‘Well,’ I said, ‘privacy’s an issue.’
He gave me a slow, wicked smile. ‘It really isn’t,’ he said, ‘if that’s all that’s stopping you. I’m fully capable of giving us all the privacy we want. Right here. Right now.’

Kindle Loc 3540

Rachel Caine is the NYT, USA Today, and #1 WSJ bestselling author of more than 50 books in several categories and genres, including adult thriller and adult urban fantasy/SF as well as books for young adults ages twelve to eighteen.

She is the winner of several national awards, and most recently was a finalist in both the International Thriller Writers awards and the Killer Nashville awards for her debut thriller novel Stillhouse Lake.

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Goodreads / Instagram