Love Me by Bella Andre

It's been five years since Lily and Travis fell in love in Take Me....now it's finally time for Janica and Luke to get their very own happy ending.

If there's one thing that Janica Ellis is absolutely certain of, it's that she and Luke Carson are totally wrong for each other. She's a wild, artistic and outspoken fashion designer. He's a type A, workaholic trauma surgeon (who just happens to be sizzling hot and her brother-in-law!). But Janica is about to be proven wrong when opposites attract...in the sexiest possible way.

After a life-changing night in the ER, Luke is desperate for escape - and relief from his personal demons. For five years he has fought his attraction to his sister-in-law, but when he's pushed too far, he can't fight it another second. He needs her. Desperately. He's spent his whole life doing the right thing. For one night, he's going to follow desire instead. Straight into Janica's arms.

Janica can't believe Luke is finally at her front door...and that he's kissing her like he's been waiting his whole life for her. But even as their sensual connection deepens with every touch of skin on skin - and the man she always thought was such a good boy turns out to be sinfully, toe-curlingly bad between the sheets - Janica soon realizes she wants more than Luke's body. She wants his heart too. But what will Luke do when one night of extreme passion turns into an all or nothing proposition?

Cover:  Cover isn't really much to write home about.

I picked up this book for free on the Kindle, so can;t really complain about that.  I thought it was a real bargain because I love a lot of Bella Andre's books- The Sullvians, The Morrisons and the Maverick Billionaires. 
And this book was ok, but I didn't feel like it was up to the same standard as her other books.  
I felt the supposed chemistry between Luke and Janica was told to us, not really shown.  I just didn't feel the heat.
Over all the book was a good, little read that I didn't love or hate.
2.5/5 stars.

Waiting On Wednesday: WILD COUNTRY

Waiting on Wednesday is all about sharing the books that I'm eagerly waiting to be released.

This week the book that I'm waiting on this week is Wild Country by Anne Bishop, book 7 in The Others series.  I love this series and cannot wait for the next instalment.

5th March.

In this powerful and exciting fantasy set in the world of the New York Times bestselling Others series, humans and the shape-shifting Others will see whether they can live side by side...without destroying one another.

There are ghost towns in the world—places where the humans were annihilated in retaliation for the slaughter of the shape-shifting Others.

One of those places is Bennett, a town at the northern end of the Elder Hills—a town surrounded by the wild country. Now efforts are being made to resettle Bennett as a community where humans and Others live and work together. A young female police officer has been hired as the deputy to a Wolfgard sheriff. A deadly type of Other wants to run a human-style saloon. And a couple with four foster children—one of whom is a blood prophet—hope to find acceptance.
 
But as they reopen the stores and the professional offices and start to make lives for themselves, the town of Bennett attracts the attention of other humans looking for profit. And the arrival of the Blackstone Clan, outlaws and gamblers all, will uncover secrets…or bury them.

Waiting On Wednesday: Bloodleaf by Crystal Smith

Waiting on Wednesday is all about sharing the books that I'm eagerly waiting to be released.

This week the book that I'm waiting to be released is Bloodleaf by Crystal Smith.  I'm intrigued by this novel, stumbled across it by accident on Goodreads and the synopsis grabbed my attention.

Released 5th March.

Princess Aurelia is a prisoner to her crown and the heir that nobody wants. Surrounded by spirits and banned from using her blood-magic, Aurelia flees her country after a devastating assassination attempt. To escape her fate, Aurelia disguises herself as a commoner in a new land and discovers a happiness her crown has never allowed. As she forges new bonds and perfects her magic, she begins to fall for a man who is forbidden to rule beside her.

But the ghosts that haunt Aurelia refuse to abandon her, and she finds herself succumbing to their call as they expose a nefarious plot that only she can defeat. Will she be forced to choose between the weight of the crown and the freedom of her new life?

BOOK HAUL | FEBRUARY 2019

Waiting On Wednesday: Love in the Afternoon

Waiting on Wednesday is all about sharing the books that I'm eagerly waiting to be released.

This week the book that I'm waiting to be released is Love in the Afternoon by Karen Hawkins.  I love her historical romance novels, but I've never read anything else by her and I'm definitely intrigued by the sound of this.

Released 27th May.

From New York Times bestselling author Karen Hawkins, a modern-day fairytale following a reclusive man who has hidden himself behind a wall of thorns and the woman who, armed with a pair of garden shears, is determined to tear it down. 

After his wife left him for a wealthier and far more outgoing man, shy IT specialist Jake Kaine decided to heal from his wounds in isolation and now runs his successful business from home. Refusing to go out except when absolutely necessary, he allows weeds and thorny shrubs to overrun his property and discourage visitors. But when Sofia Rodriguez moves in next door, Jake’s solitary life is abruptly turned upside down.

A young widow with two small children and a passion for horticulture, Sofia finds her reclusive neighbor’s thorn wall an intriguing challenge. At first, she has no idea how to breech the literal and metaphorical walls Jake has built around him. But with the help of her best friend Taylor Dove, whose legendary Dove family magic gives her a super green thumb, Sofia arms herself with new weapons. Though he battles her every step of the way, Jake soon discovers that his self-imposed exile may be no match for the fierce determination of a woman wielding a razor-sharp pruner and enough love in her heart to make even the most stubborn flower bloom.

Featuring Karen Hawkins’s signature “witty and humorous dialogue and sizzling sensuality” (RT Book Reviews), Love in the Afternoon is a charming and unforgettable novella that is perfect for fans of Sarah Addison Allen and Karen White. 

Moonlight Scandals (De Vincent #3) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

It takes a fearless woman to love the most scandalous man alive in New York Times Bestselling Author Jennifer L. Armentrout’s breathtaking novel 

Even a ghost hunter like Rosie Herpin couldn’t have foreseen the fateful meeting between two mourners that has brought her so intimately close to the notorious and seductive Devlin de Vincent. Everyone in New Orleans knows he’s heir to a dark family curse that both frightens and enthralls. To the locals, Devlin is the devil. To Rosie, he’s a man who’s stoking her wildest fantasies. When a brutal attack on her friend is linked to the de Vincents, he becomes a mystery she may be risking her life to solve.

Devlin knows what he wants from this sexy and adventurous woman. But what does Rosie want from him? It’s a question that becomes more pressing—and more dangerous—when he suspects her of prying into the shadows of his past.

Now, the legends surrounding the de Vincents may not be myths at all. But if she’s to discover the truth, she must follow them straight into the arms of the man she can’t resist—the handsome devil himself.

Cover:  All the covers in this series are similar, and they're ok.  There's nothing amazing about just a guy on the cover.

I really enjoyed the first two books in this series, so I was excited for the third book to be released, especially as this one is about the eldest brother, Devlin, aka the Devil.  We see a lot of Devlin in the first two books, and he comes across very much as cold and ruthless- so I was wondering how we were going to get to trips with his story.  But Jennifer L. Armentrout managed it.  There's definitely a lot of depth to Dev's character, and we got to see why he is the way he is.
On paper you'd never pair him together with Rosie- who is vivacious and snarky after tragedy hit.  She's also into paranormal investigation- not someone you'd imagined paired up with a serious business man.
But they have a strange push and pull between them, and I was hooked.
Loved reading this one, I didn't want to put it down.
5/5 stars.

Five Feet Apart by Rachel Lippincott

Can you love someone you can never touch?

Stella Grant likes to be in control—even though her totally out of control lungs have sent her in and out of the hospital most of her life. At this point, what Stella needs to control most is keeping herself away from anyone or anything that might pass along an infection and jeopardize the possibility of a lung transplant. Six feet apart. No exceptions.

The only thing Will Newman wants to be in control of is getting out of this hospital. He couldn’t care less about his treatments, or a fancy new clinical drug trial. Soon, he’ll turn eighteen and then he’ll be able to unplug all these machines and actually go see the world, not just its hospitals.

Will’s exactly what Stella needs to stay away from. If he so much as breathes on Stella she could lose her spot on the transplant list. Either one of them could die. The only way to stay alive is to stay apart. But suddenly six feet doesn’t feel like safety. It feels like punishment.

What if they could steal back just a little bit of the space their broken lungs have stolen from them? Would five feet apart really be so dangerous if it stops their hearts from breaking too?

Cover:  I absolutely love this cover, I think it’s beautiful.  It’s a simple but stunning cover.

I can’t believe I hadn’t heard of this book sooner.  It came out November 2018 but I didn’t heard about it until January 2019 when I stumbled across the trailer for the movie.

And then I knew I needed to pick up the book- and realised that I had the book on my Kindle as an ARC from NetGalley.  So I picked it up and instantly knew it was a book I was going to enjoy.  What I loved most about it was that we got both protagonists points of view- Stella and Will.  I always find I love a book that bit more if it has more than one characters perspective. 

Both protagonists have CF- cystic fibrosis, and as such can’t get close to each other, or they risk infecting each other.

This book reminds me of a cross between The Fault In Our Stars by John Green and Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon, and I mean that in the best way.

This book really grabbed my attention and I loved that!  I think because it was a book that I hadn’t heard much about yet so went into blind.

Can’t wait to check out the movie.

5/5 stars.

Waiting On Wednesday: The Beauty of the Wolf

Waiting on Wednesday is all about sharing the books that I'm eagerly waiting to be released.

This week the book I'm waiting on is The Beauty of the Wolf by Wray Delany, an adult, historical retelling of Beauty and the Beast.
Released 21st February.

What some might call beauty, I find monstrous'

In the age of the Faerie Queene, Elizabeth I, Lord Francis Rodermere starts to lay waste to a forest.

Furious, the sorceress who dwells there scrawls a curse into the bark of the first oak he fells:

A faerie boy will be born to you whose beauty will be your death.

Ten years later, Lord Rodermere’s son, Beau is born – and all who encounter him are struck by his great beauty.

Meanwhile, many miles away in a London alchemist’s cellar lives Randa – a beast deemed too monstrous to see the light of day.

And so begins a timeless tale of love, tragedy and revenge…

A stunning retelling of Beauty and the Beast.

Waiting On Wednesday 'Devil's Daughter'

Waiting on Wednesday is all about sharing the books that I'm eagerly waiting to be released.

This week the book that I'm waiting to be released is Devil's Daughter by Lisa Kleypas, the fifth book in The Ravenals series.  I absolutely love this series and cannot wait to read this installment.  I love the links to the Wallflowers series.

Released 19th February.

Although beautiful young widow Phoebe, Lady Clare, has never met West Ravenel, she knows one thing for certain: he's a mean, rotten bully. Back in boarding school, he made her late husband's life a misery, and she'll never forgive him for it. But when Phoebe attends a family wedding, she encounters a dashing and impossibly charming stranger who sends a fire-and-ice jolt of attraction through her. And then he introduces himself...as none other than West Ravenel.

West is a man with a tarnished past. No apologies, no excuses. However, from the moment he meets Phoebe, West is consumed by irresistible desire...not to mention the bitter awareness that a woman like her is far out of his reach. What West doesn't bargain on is that Phoebe is no straitlaced aristocratic lady. She's the daughter of a strong-willed wallflower who long ago eloped with Sebastian, Lord St. Vincent—the most devilishly wicked rake in England.

Before long, Phoebe sets out to seduce the man who has awakened her fiery nature and shown her unimaginable pleasure. Will their overwhelming passion be enough to overcome the obstacles of the past? 

Only the devil's daughter knows…

Somewhere I'll Find You (Capital Theatre #1) by Lisa Kleypas

The toast of the town...

All London is at Julia Wentworth's feet—and anything she desires is hers for the asking. But the glamorous leading lady guards a shocking secret: a mystery husband whom she does not know, dares not mention ... and cannot love.

For years Damon Savage has been searching for the stranger his parents wed him to without his consent, hoping to legally free himself from matrimony's invisible chains. And he is astonished to discover his "bride" is none other than the exquisite lady he'd hoped to make his mistress! But though his wife by law, Julia will never truly be Damon's—until he conquers her fears, his formidable rivals ... and her proud, passionate, and independent heart.

Cover:  Bit of a boring cover to be honest, nothing to really grab your attention.

I love Lisa Kleypas's books.  She's one of my all time favourite historical romance authors, so I've been making my way through her older works.
Somewhere I'll Find You is the first book in the Capital Theatre duology.  I actually read the second book, Because You're Mine, first and it became one of my all time favourite historical romance and pretty much sparked my Lisa Kleypas obsession.
I enjoyed this one, but not quite as much as Because You're Mine.  I found the romance in this one...just less.
Interesting premise where the two protagonists are married by their demanding fathers as children, both rebel, and haven't seen each other since.
Damon has thrown himself into keeping his family estate alive after his reckless father gambled away the fortune.
Julia has assumed a life on the stage, becoming a revered actress.
When their paths cross again, they're surprised to find they might not want their marriage dissolved after all.
Over all I enjoyed the story, but not as much as previous novels by Lisa Kleypas.
4/5 stars.

Never Love a Highlander (McCable Trilogy #3) by Maya Banks

In a tale of strong ties and true love, Maya Banks' trilogy comes to its conclusion, as the youngest McCabe brother uses sword and seduction to save his clan - and seal his heart.

Caelen McCabe’s young, reckless heart nearly destroyed his clan. Now, putting family loyalty above all else, he steps up to marry his older brother’s jilted bride and salvage the uneasy alliance between two clans. While beautiful Rionna McDonald is a fit wife for any man, Caelen trusts no woman, especially not this sweet temptress who torments him with white-hot longing.

As the sacrificial lamb in her father’s power game, Rionna will do her duty but vows to protect her heart and her pride from humiliation. Despite everything, though, the heat in Caelen’s touch melts her defenses, and she craves the sensual delights of a husband who guards his emotions as fiercely as his clan. But when the ultimate battle for the McCabe legacy is upon them, Rionna’s true warrior spirit emerges. She will risk the wrath of her father, the fury of her enemies, and her life to prove to Caelen that his wife’s love is too precious to lose.

Cover: Again, another raunchy cover for this series that I neither love or hate.

I completely devoured this series- as soon as I finished one, I had to pick up the next.  I was so devastated that I reached the end of this series.  It’s become one of my absolute favourites, and can’t recommend it enough for fellow historical romance fans.

I was slightly anxious about book 3, not only because it was the final instalment but because it was Caelen’s book, and while he has been supportive of his bother’s finding their matches, he’s been the most cynical of the brothers, due to a woman betraying him in the past.  I shouldn’t have worried, Maya Banks made me love him and his book just as much as the previous two!  I cannot pick a favourite out of the three!

I loved that Rhionna was a real match for him.  Unlike most women of this time, Rhionna is a real warrior and she fights for what she wants.  And what she wants is for them to have a real marriage, but it takes Caelen time to see that Rhionna isn’t like the woman that hurt him, and that he loves her just the way that she is.

5/5 stars

WRAP UP | JANUARY 2019

FAVOURITES | JANUARY 2019