Review: Instigation (Clandestine #1) by Tessa Teevan

~Synopsis~

Three years after her life changed forever, Gabriella Latham finally has it all. Killer job [if working for her boyfriend counts]. Killer closet [even if she doesn't technically own any of it]. Killer boyfriend [who refuses to let her leave him, even when she tries]. Unfortunately for her, the last part isn't hyperbole. She just doesn't know it yet.

Adrian Morningstar was a dream come true. No one had ever loved her more, and for the first time, in longer than she could remember, she was no longer alone. He was the Prince Charming to her Cinderella, until suddenly he became the Beast with whom she could not escape.

Until him.

When Rafe Matthews is hired to oversee the guest home construction of one of the most powerful businessmen in the country, he finally has his in. Nothing will get in the way of what he sets out to do.

Until her.

Watching from the shadows, he's drawn to the beautiful, isolated woman of the house. His curiosity is piqued and he has to have her. She may be taken by the boss, but that's not enough to stop him. Or her.

Nothing is quite as it seems, and this is only the beginning.

Passions ignite. Tempers flare. Secrets kill.

Book 1 in the brand new Clandestine Affairs Series. Book 2, Escalation, will release late summer 2015.

~My Review~
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I found this book because I love Tessa Teevan.  I have read her entire Explosive series, as well as the Wellington series.  So when she posted that she was putting out a new book (new series!!), I put it on my Goodreads TBR list and I read it just about the minute it got released.

This series is completely different from anything I had previously read by Tessa Teevan.  And that's not a bad thing.  Sometimes mixing it up does a body good.  While her other books were mainly contemporary romance with some military men thrown in (nothing wrong with that!!), this is more of a suspense thriller romance.  And I really enjoyed it!

Gabriella Latham, Adrian Morningstar, and Rafe Matthews are all mysteries.  We get bits and pieces of all of their stories throughout the book, but by the end, we really only know Gabriella.  Gabriella is alone in the world.  She one day meets Adrian at her favorite coffee shop, and they have an insta-love relationship.  After a short amount of time, Adrian has convinced her to move in with him and quit her job to work with him.  Her parents are both dead, and it takes a while for us to find out what happened to them.  She seems a bit wary of Adrian at first - he seems to somehow know quite a bit about her - but she eventually puts all of her trust into him.  As time goes by and their relationship evolves, she finds herself in a position of innate unhappiness and suspects Adrian of cheating.  Something has definitely changed.  Enter Rafe.  He's the owner of the company that is doing a large construction project at Adrian's home (which, in and of itself, is a mystery).  He is immediately attracted to Gabriella, and just like Adrian, he seems to know some information about her right up front, which leads to me believe that Rafe may not be all he seems, either.

The story is very interesting.  And very different.  Throughout each chapter, I was constantly hoping that we would get more answers.  I know that both Adrian and Rafe were more than they appeared to be.  And while different clues popped up here and there, we were ultimately left with a major cliffhanger.  I know that it will all come together so we can understand what's going on, but I'm really not looking forward to two more books.  That's a lie - I just am not looking forward to waiting for two more books!

There were so many aspects of this book that I enjoyed.  I loved both relationships that were happening throughout the book - completely different than anything I've read in the past.  I loved the suspense, the hopefulness that we would figure things out before the book ended.  I loved the addition of all of the art - my mother is an art teacher, and while she teaches at an elementary school level, she always took the opportunity to talk to me about different artists, and I could relate her love of impressionism to Gabriella.

Overall, I thought this was a great read.  The story was great, mainly carried by the characters, who were well developed but obviously held a lot of suspense, and I can't wait for the next book, which is Rafe's story.  I'm hoping that by learning more about him, we'll be able to put some answers to Gabriella's story.

I definitely recommend this read!!!

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Review: Until July (Until Her #1) by Aurora Rose Reynolds

~Synopsis~

Wes Silver wasn’t looking for love, but when July Mayson literally knocks him on his ass during their first encounter, his world is turned upside down by the quirky blonde, and every moment with her makes him more determined to protect her.

July Mayson doesn’t understand the pull she feels toward the bad boy biker Wes Silver, but she knows being with him is like nothing she’s ever felt before. Now all she has to do is tell her overprotective father, Asher Mayson, that she’s found her boom.

~My Review~
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I found this book because I am a huge fan (maybe even a massive fan) of the Until Series. I loved loved loved Asher, Trevor, Cash, and Nico. Now while I loved those boys, I took their books with somewhat of a grain of salt. What do I mean by that? Well, they all had similar flow, and the writing really wasn't optimal. However, they were entertaining and while everything else does help with reading the story, the entertainment factor is huge for me. That being said, when ARR posted that she would be starting the spinoff series, Until Her and Until Him (for the girls and the boys of the original 4 books), I was cautiously delighted. 

I was nervous to read about July and her grown up life when Asher and November were now (essentially) in their fifties. But I was happy to see that while they had roles in this book, they were strictly side characters and I was able to separate them from the story and see them just as parents. 

I liked both Wes and July. I felt like they were both interesting characters. Wes is your Alpha Male biker who is a retired Navy Seal (yum). July is the daughter of a crazy alpha male, who now owns her own veterinary clinic (I loved that she named it after Beast). I felt that both characters were developed well, and their first meeting was just classic. I loved everything about it. While their relationship did have an insta-love, I wasn't surprised since that's how many of ARR's books happen. And at the end of the day, it's fiction....so - not surprising. 

I loved that we got more information on the sisters and their names. I knew that the girls were July, June, May, December, and April, but I couldn't understand where December came from (it seemed so out of place). But finally understanding the meaning of their names made so much sense. And makes Asher even more lovable. I also loved the relationship between the sisters and cousins. I loved how the boys are extremely protective of the girls (even the older girls), and loved how they interacted together. I also liked the relationship that was built between Asher and Wes. Knowing that Asher was so protective of his girls made me really question how he would be when they finally brought a boy home. So once July finally plucked up the courage to introduce Wes and Asher, I loved seeing their relationship build. 

The story.  I thought that the story flowed well. I liked how July's business was a focal point, as well as a number of different animals. At the same time, there was a lot revolving around Wes's MC. I liked how the two things wove into each other. However, while the story flowed well, I felt like there were instances of conflict without resolution. Obviously certain characters were brought in so that they can be built upon in future books, and I'm guessing that some of the conflict will come up again. So in a way, it's totally possible that the lack of resolution is more of a cliff hanger to be resolved in a future book. 

I honestly would have rated this book at a 4, but I had to give it 3 starts because the editing was just so horrible. It was surprising and I almost wonder if this was an unedited draft. There were run on sentences, spelling errors and grammar errors. In one scene with all of the girls together (sisters and cousins), Nalia and Naila are used interchangeably. It was very surprising. Also, I noticed that there were a few inconsistencies with Until November, and it made the writing seem a bit sloppy.

Overall, I felt that Until July was an enjoyable read. I was disappointed in some of the conflict / resolution and certainly with the editing, but I'm excited for more books in the series because I do love those Maysons. 

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Review: Paradise (The Bianca Grey Series #2) by Pamela Srey

~Synopsis~

After leaving behind all the good and the bad things of Philadelphia, Bianca Grey has found herself starting a new school and a new job in a brand new tropical place. She went from a lifetime without many friends, to quickly meeting new people and building relationships. With so much to learn and explore, Bianca has her heart set on finding her birth mother, but will she ever find her with so many road blocks that are keeping her from doing so? With all the new relationships being formed, will any of them help her forget the one thing from her past that she desperately misses?

Join Bianca in her journey through love, friendship, and a mysterious past in the second installment of The Bianca Grey Series.

~My Review~
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I was contacted by Pamela Srey via Twitter to read and review her first book in this series, Melodies. After I read and reviewed that book, she also gave me opportunity to read and review the second book in her series, Paradise.  Once again, I overall liked the book.  It picks up where Bianca left off at the beginning of her new journey in Hawaii.  

I once again loved the qualities that Bianca has been given.  Building upon what we were given in the first book, Bianca continues to show her maturity in not only getting ready for college, but she also gets a job and jumps into a number of new relationships.  While her main intention is to search for information on her mother, she knows she has to get her life in order before she starts.  With everything she had been through in the past, I loved that she has the wherewithal to know exactly what needs to be done.

I felt that the message of love that I loved so much in Melodies is once again carried over into this book.  You can see, with how Bianca builds relationships with her new friends who live in the dorms, with her co-workers at the bookstore, that she loves and is loved.  There is also a strong message of inclusion in this book, and I felt that it was such an important topic, and handled so well.  It's amazing to see how some people only want to see the value in one way of thinking, and I felt that the way this book handled those topics were really well done.  We not only saw these topics come up between roommates and friends, but also between people who are meant to be leaders.  It's such a great message for a young audience.

While I was disappointed that at the end of Book 1, Bianca would be in Hawaii and Pete would be all the way in New York, I was very happy that Pete still does come into play in this book.  His part is smaller in this book, but it was still wonderful to see him and Bianca together, still managing to grow their relationship while they're so far apart.  They're still a part of each others' lives, and I really liked the way Pete was brought into a number of scenes.  I'm always going to be rooting for these two to be together.

I was actually kind of surprised with the number of Point of Views in this book.  Since the first book was so focused on Bianca and Pete, I assumed that the second book would follow suit.  When the first POV change came and we were given a chapter from Shawn's POV - Bianca's new boss at the bookstore/cafe where she works - I thought at first that maybe he would become a new love interest.  But then, we also got chapters throughout the book from not only Shawn and Bianca, but also from Riley (one of her classmates), Gaby (another classmate), and Pete.  So not only did we have Bianca's continuing journey of life in a new state, college, and the path to finding her birth mother, but we also got stories from Shawn, Riley, Gaby, and Pete.  Pete's stories fit into Bianca's so I felt like those flowed pretty well with Bianca's story.  And while a lot of Riley and Gaby's experiences revolved around their roommates, and fit in well with some of what Bianca was also experiencing with her roommates, I actually felt that a lot was taken away from the main part of the story.  While I liked reading about what their experiences were, I felt that not enough attention was given to Bianca's journey in finding her mother.  I was happy that we got through some rough patches in her journey to actually get some answers, but at the same time, I felt that if not so much time had been focused on things that Shawn, Riley, and Gaby were doing that weren't related to Bianca, then we could have gotten further.  I do however, hope that in subsequent books the storylines that have been started for Shawn, Riley, and Gaby are continued and resolved.  I would hate it if they were brought into this story and then we don't find out what ends up happening in their journeys.

A couple of layers from the first book were also brought into this book. Bianca's not-so-nice friend, Lilley, was mentioned so we could learn about her whereabouts, as well as Sammy, another one of the high school mean-girls.  Also, one of the apparitions from the first book also made an appearance here.  While I appreciated some of the closure we got from their appearances, I still had a few questions come the end of the book.

Overall, I found this book enjoyable.  I'm hoping that the next book can tie up some of the loose ends of not only Bianca's story with finding her birth mother, but also her relationship with Pete and his family, and her friendships that she's made along the way.  I really felt that the message brought forth in this book were strong messages, and I'm looking forward to the next adventure!

Special thanks to Pamela Srey for providing this book to me for review.

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Release Day!!! Rattle Me (A Ravage MC Novella #3.5) by Ryan Michele

Title: Rattle Me (Ravage MC #3.75)

Series: Ravage MC

Author: Ryan Michele

Genre: MC Romance

Release Date: April 7, 2015

After a devastating loss, hope breathes again.

Test after test, the lives of G.T. and Casey are about to take a huge turn. 

Emotions and pain cut deep, and fear burns inside daily. 

Can Casey relax enough to avoid undo stress? 

Can GT handle having zero control?

“This is definitely going to be one hell of a wild ride.”

~G.T.

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Ryan Michele has a huge obsession with reading, which only came to life after her best friend said she had to read Twilight. After reading that series, her entire world changed in the blink of an eye. Not only was she sucked into new worlds and all of the wonderful words authors put down on paper, she felt the urge to begin to write down the characters that played inside of her head. In doing so, Safe was born. 

When she’s not reading or writing, she spends time taking care of her two children and her husband, enjoying the outdoors and laying in the sun.  Newsletter Signup: http://eepurl.com/P8bOL

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Release Day!!! What if: The Anthology

Title: What If: The Anthology

Authors: Chelle Bliss, M. Mabie, Aly Martinez, Erin Noelle, River Savage, Hilary Storm, Shantel Tessier, Alice Tribue

Release Date: April 1, 2015

Add to your TBR: Goodreads

Cover Designer: Louisa from LM Creations 

What If: The Anthology is a collaboration from some of today's hottest indie authors. What happens when one pivotal moment in a story changes?  Have you ever wondered how things might have been? 

In these eight, never before released, novellas you'll see what happens when your favorite characters take a different path. 

A twist on the fictional reality you've already read. A chance to see if the grass is greener on the other side. 

What if one little decision changed everything? What if?

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Delusion by Chelle Bliss

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Lure by M. Mabie

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Twisted Course by Aly Martinez

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Alive by Erin Noelle

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Paradox by River Savage

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Two Steps Back by Hilary Storm

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Unforeseen by Shantel Tessier

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Unspeakable Lies by Alice Tribue

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100% of the proceeds for What If: The Anthology will be donated to Autism Speaks. Releasing April 1, 2015.

To enjoy the twist of fate within What If: The Anthology 

we recommend you read the following novels:

Throttle Me by Chelle Bliss: http://amzn.to/1ApcSSD

Bait by M. Mabie: http://amzn.to/1BOmGWh

Stolen Course by Aly Martinez: http://amzn.to/19izRG5

The Book Boyfriend Series by Erin Noelle: http://amzn.to/18FkmHr

Incandescent by River Savage: http://amzn.to/1oBLBCP

No Strings Attached by Hilary Storm: http://amzn.to/1HExFrn

Unforgettable by Shantel Tessier: http://amzn.to/18FbYHY

Unspeakable Truths by Alice Tribue: http://amzn.to/1tQ9y2D

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