blog tour · book blog · book review · books · reading · romance · YA

Blog Tour: Bound to You by Alyssa Brandon

Bound to You
Alyssa Brandon
Published by: Swoon Reads
Publication date: April 10th 2018
Genres: Paranormal, Romance, Young Adult

A stubborn teen faces off with her brooding, indifferent (but super hot) soulmate in this unique and sexy take on a classic paranormal romance story.

She’s met her mate . . . and he’s met his match.

Megan Ross has been waiting her whole life for her mate to come and sweep her off her feet. But the wolf she meets on the beach is NOT the sweet gentle boy she’s been dreaming of. Instead, he’s a warrior, one whose suffering has led him to lock his heart away in a prison as cold and hard as a diamond, who fights to resist the bond and their deep attraction.

Far from home, with a soulmate who is still a stranger, Megan learns that the path to true love isn’t quite as straight and easy as she thought . . .

Chosen by readers like you for Macmillan’s young adult imprint Swoon Reads, Alyssa Brandon’s debut novel Bound to You is guaranteed to make readers swoon, sigh, and maybe even cry before it’s over.

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Author Bio:

Alyssa Brandon is a recent college graduate from Sweden who enjoys reading, doing yoga, puzzles, and, of course, writing. Bound to You is her debut novel.

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percy-klein

It has been a while since I’ve read a paranormal romance, so when I came across Bound to You I decided it was time to re-visit one of my favorite genres. Just reading the synopsis brought back a feeling of nostalgia to a time when I was obsessed with True Blood, Bitten, and the Chicagoland Vampire series.

The one thing that Megan Ross has been looking forward to her whole life is to find her mate. While she has not been like most female alphas and found her mate by her 16th birthday, Megan is hoping that the night of her 18th birthday that will all change. As luck would have she gets her wish, except the mate she has been waiting for doesn’t exactly feel as excited about the match as she does. After a bit of a rocky start getting to know her mate James, Megan is swept away to Canada to start her new life amongst a pack she barely knows, and with a mate who is doing everything in his power to keep his distance.

This was a nice little dip back into paranormal romance for me which I really enjoyed because it made me realize that I need to start reading more PNR books. That being said, I completely connected with Megan and her being a bit of a hopeless romantic when it came to finding her mate. What made it even better for me was that when her and James meet for the first time and they sense that they are each other’s mate, there is no insta-love element involved. Sure, there was definitely insta-lust from both parties even though James tried his hardest not to even acknowledge it existed let alone give into it, but the beginnings of Megan and James’s relationship actually unfolded somewhat normally by them trying to get to know one another. Emphasis on the word trying thanks to James, but that’s besides the point.

Unfortunately, while I did connect with Megan on the hopeless romantic front, I also found her extremely immature at times. She is supposed to be 18, and I know that doesn’t automatically make her super mature, but at times, I honestly thought she was 16. That, and her naivety towards her relationship with James and how it was suppose unfold a certain way based on the ideas she had as a young girl caused me to lose interest from time to time. I also found that there were certain parts of the story that weren’t delved into more, like James’s past and the full story as to why Lucy is living with the pack, leaving me with more questions when I was finished than I would have liked .

Overall, I enjoyed this read. Even though I didn’t end up liking it as much as I thought I would, I still think it is a good book for anyone who likes to read paranormal romances. So, if you are looking for a PNR to read, give this one a try!

 

3 stars

 

 

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book blog · book haul · books · reading · romance · sale · stacking the shelves · YA

Stacking the Shelves [9]

Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga’s Reviews where book lovers share what books they got throughout the week!

Note: These are the books I have acquired over the last two weeks which is why there is going to be A LOT of books. 22 books to be exact. I know, I have a problem lol.

E-ARC’s


E-Books


**Spite Club is currently FREE on Amazon at the time of this posting.

**Entice is currently FREE on Amazon at the time of this posting.

**Not the One is currently FREE on Amazon at the time of this posting.

**Bend is currently FREE on Amazon at the time of this posting. Penelope Douglas gave this book 5 stars on Goodreads so I knew I had to pick it up if she loved it so much.

**Bound to Me is currently FREE on Amazon at the time of this posting.

**Serenade is currently FREE on Amazon at the time of this posting. I mixed things up a bit and got a few YA books like this one and the Prince in Disguise.

**A Love Thing is currently FREE on Amazon at the time of this posting. This is the BIGGEST steal available right now because it is a bind up of 10 full-length novels by 10 different romance authors. I highly recommend that you guys check this out.

**Desire is currently on sale for $0.99. This older man/younger woman romance is right up my alley. Plus, that cover is gorgeous!!

**Dr. OB is currently FREE on Amazon at the time of this posting.

Umm, so those are the books I got over the past two weeks. I really hope I am not the only one who gets this many books in a span of two weeks because I am pretty sure I have a book buying/book hoarding problem lol.

What books did you guys get this week?
Have you read any of the books I got?

Let me know in the comments below.

 

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blog tour · book blog · book review · books · reading · romance · YA

Blog Tour: Let’s Talk About Love by Claire Kann

Let’s Talk About Love 
Claire Kann
Published by: Swoon Reads
Publication date: January 23rd 2018
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult

Alice had her whole summer planned. Non-stop all-you-can-eat buffets while marathoning her favorite TV shows (best friends totally included) with the smallest dash of adulting–working at the library to pay her share of the rent. The only thing missing from her perfect plan? Her girlfriend (who ended things when Alice confessed she’s asexual). Alice is done with dating–no thank you, do not pass go, stick a fork in her, done.

But then Alice meets Takumi and she can’t stop thinking about him or the rom com-grade romance feels she did not ask for (uncertainty, butterflies, and swoons, oh my!).

When her blissful summer takes an unexpected turn, and Takumi becomes her knight with a shiny library employee badge (close enough), Alice has to decide if she’s willing to risk their friendship for a love that might not be reciprocated—or understood.

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Author Bio:

Claire Kann hails from the glorious Bay Area where the weather is regrettably not nearly as temperate as it used to be. She has a BA in English/Creative Writing from Sonoma State University, works for a nonprofit that you may have heard of where she daydreams like she’s paid to do it. LET’S TALK ABOUT LOVE is her debut novel.

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GIVEAWAY!

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percy-klein

Have you ever started reading a book and within the first few chapters gotten a warm fuzzy feeling in the pit of your stomach? This feeling could mean many different things in the world of reading but for me, it signaled right off the bat that I was going to love this book no matter what lay ahead in the story. This may sound super cliche, but you should always trust your gut feelings, because I was right and enjoyed reading every minute of Alice Whitley’s story and her journey to finding love.

Not only did I have an immediate reaction when first reading this book but, this book is also the most diverse read I have read in a while. Alice Whitley is a sophomore in college who, within the first few pages of the book, gets dumped by her girlfriend Margot who also happens to be her roommate. This moment is not only devastating for Alice but also extremely awkward. The reason why Margot broke up with Alice is because, after Margot accuses her of never being able to desire her sexually, Alice admits to Margot that she is asexual. Not only is Alice asexual but she is also a women of color as well as bisexual. The amount of representation found in Alice alone was not only surprising but also completely refreshing. It is one of the reasons why I enjoyed this book so much.

While I am unable to connect with Alice in regards to her sexuality and ethnicity, it was her personality that sometimes made me feel like we were long lost friends. Her Cutie Code, which helps her assess how attractive she finds someone aesthetically, is a variation of what I have done with my friends since high school. While the reasoning behind my “code” is because, as my friends put it, I’m a little boy crazy (and still am), it was this similarity that allowed me to understand and relate to Alice even if our sexualities are different. In addition to that, Alice’s love of binge-watching TV shows and how she used that to sometimes cope with what was going on in the world around her is another reason why I related to her so strongly because I am literally the exact same way. Seriously, when she talks about wanting to lose herself in the fifth season of Supernatural and “pass out once her serotonin levels overloaded on the cutie patootie badass with the biggest heart named Dean Winchester”, I have never related so much to a character in my entire life. Oh, and the fact that she is working at a library over the summer and I currently work at a library just sealed the deal even more.

Ok, enough about my fangirling over Alice and how much we are alike. As was mentioned above, this book is about Alice’s journey to finding love as well as herself. After the breakup with Margot, you see Alice struggle to understand why sex is so important when it comes to love as if it is a requirement for someone to be able to say that they love someone.

“Love shouldn’t hinge solely on exposing your physical body to another person. Love was intangible. Universal. It was whatever someone wanted it to be and should be respected as such. For Alice, it was staying up late and talking about nothing and everything and anything because you don’t want to sleep–you’d miss them too much. It was catching yourself smiling at them because wow, how does this person exist?? before they caught you. It was the intimacy of shared secrets. The comfort of unconditional acceptance. It was a confidence in knowing no matter what happened that person would always be there for you.”

That is my favorite passage in the whole book. The words said above are so simple and I have probably either heard or said them at least a few times in my life but seeing them printed just made them so much more profound that I am pretty sure I had a mini epiphany while I was reading it. Anyone can relate to these words regardless of what their sexuality is and that speaks so much to how wonderful this book is.

Let’s Talk About Love has so much more that I could gush about but we would be here forever, trust me. All I can say is that you should read this book. It is a diverse read with a super relatable main character, extremely loyal side characters, and an adorable romance. I can’t believe this is Claire Kann’s debut novel, but I can’t wait to see what she has in store next.

4 stars

 

 

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blog tour · book blog · book review · books · reading · YA

Blog Tour: You Won’t Know I’m Gone by Kristen Orlando

**Disclaimer: If you have not read the first book, You Don’t Know My Name, then you will be spoiled if you read on. **

You Won’t Know I’m Gone 
Kristen Orlando
(The Black Angel Chronicles #2)
Published by: Swoon Reads
Publication date: January 16th 2018
Genres: Contemporary, Thriller, Young Adult

Reagan has to prove herself to an elite group of special agents—and avenge her mother’s death—in the second book in the Black Angel Chronicles from the author of You Don’t Know My Name.

Going rogue in an effort to rescue her kidnapped parents has cost Reagan Hillis her automatic ticket to the Training Academy. But becoming a Black Angel is the only way Reagan will be able to exact revenge on her mother’s merciless killer, Santino Torres.

When Reagan is given a chance to prove that she’s worthy of training to be a Black Angel, she also gets the first chance she’s ever had to be her true self. No aliases. No disguises.

But when her friend Luke joins her at the Black Angels training compound, Reagan finds herself once again torn between the person she was and the person she wants to be. Reagan has to prove that she’s as good as her parents trained her to be, because she’ll never find Torres without the Black Angels’ help.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo

 

Author Bio:

Writing is one of the great loves of Kristen Orlando’s life and she has been lucky enough to make it her living, first as a television producer, then as a marketer and now as a novelist. Kristen graduated with a B.A. in English literature from Kenyon College. She lives in Columbus, Ohio with the other great love of her life, Michael. You Don’t Know My Name is her debut novel.

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GIVEAWAY!

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BLOG TOUR SCHEDULE

January 8th

Movies, Shows, & Books >> Excerpt
Character Madness and Musings >> Interview
What Is That Book About >> Excerpt
Married To Books Reviews and Blog >> Review
The Hopeless Romantic Bookworm >> Review

January 9th
CBY Book Club >> Excerpt
It’s a Book Life >> Review
Bookworm for Kids >> Review
Smada’s Book Smack >> Review

January 10th
Rainy Days and Pajamas >> Excerpt
The Avid Reader >> Guest post
Butterfly-o-Meter Books >> Interview
FANNA >> Review

January 11th
A Dream Within A Dream >> Excerpt
Novels & Necklaces  >> Review
Book Stacks Amber >> Interview
Reading With Erin >> Review
The Candid Cover >> Review
Bibliobibuli YA >> Guest post

January 12th
BookCrushin >> Guest post
Gizmos Reviews >> Review
The Heart of a Book Blogger >> Review
Book-Keeping >> Review


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You Won’t Know I’m Gone picks up right where the first book left off with the aftermath of the Colombia mission that resulted in the death of Reagan’s mother at the hands of Santino Torres. Reagan’s automatic entry into the training academy to become a Black Angel is revoked because her actions on the mission and instead she must attend the Qualifiers to prove she still has what it takes to be a Black Angel. Passing the Qualifiers is Reagan’s only chance to track down and kill Torres in order to avenge her mother’s death. Qualifiers become even more interesting when Luke is selected, causing Reagan to confront her feelings about him while battling with not only grief but also the hunger for revenge against Torres.

While you definitely get a closer look into the inner-workings of the Black Angels as Reagan and her friends make their way through the Qualifiers, Reagan’s mental state and how she deals with the array of emotions that she experiences since witnessing her mother being killed is a huge part of this book. There are times when things get super emotional as Reagan feels it is her fault her mother is dead because of her actions. It also takes a bit of a dark turn as we read Reagan’s ever-growing need to kill Torres and how once that is done things will be better. Reagan was such a strong character in the first book but the aftermath of Colombia has left her in pieces, struggling to stay some version of sane to those around her.

Luckily, Reagan has friends at her side to help her overcome the loss she has experienced and regain the strength she once had during Qualifiers. The introduction of Anusha and Cam were wonderful additions as they remained loyal and supportive to Reagan the entire time. They may have all been competing for spots to get into training academy but from the very beginning Anusha and Cam made it clear that they weren’t there purely as competition. Anusha has such a fierce loyalty towards Reagan, standing up for her during the Qualifiers against other competitors and Cam is an adorable geek with some serious hacking skills that come in handy. On top of that, they are both characters of color which made me super happy to see some diversity being represented in this book.

Besides Anusha and Cam, there is another person that plays a very important role in Regan’s life, even if she thought she would never see him again after Colombia. Ah, Luke. Luke. Luke. Luke. Reagan’s relationship with Luke was one of my favorite parts of the first book so I was itching to see what would happen to them in this one. They are no longer in the comfort of their lives in New Albany. They have lived through a tragedy together and Reagan, in particular, now has a hard time focusing on her goal and need for revenge because Luke has come into her world of the Black Angels. There were some sweet moments between these two as well as some emotional and angsty ones. The ending left things up in the air on where their relationship stands so I am interested to see what happens next between them.

As this is the sequel, and I honestly believe you will enjoy this series much more going in as blind as you can, it is hard to talk about the plot without spoiling anything. Yes, Torres is still at large and lurking in the shadows but that is really all you need to to know. What I will tell you is, just like the first book, the last 50 pages of this book are full of action and left me once again on the edge of my seat. I honestly can’t wait to see how the next book will continue with this story

If you read the first book and you enjoyed it, I highly recommend you continue on with the sequel. It has the same amount of intrigue and action as the first, leaving you wondering and waiting for the next book in the series.

4 stars

 

 

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book blog · book review · books · reading · YA

You Don’t Know My Name by Kristen Orlando

You Don’t Know My Name (The Black Angel Chronicles #1)
by Kristen Orlando
Publication Date: January 10th, 2017
Source: Own Copy

25876993

Fighter. Faker. Student. Spy.

Seventeen-year-old Reagan Elizabeth Hillis is used to changing identities overnight, lying to every friend she’s ever had, and pushing away anyone who gets too close. Trained in mortal combat and weaponry her entire life, Reagan is expected to follow in her parents’ footsteps and join the ranks of the most powerful top-secret agency in the world, the Black Angels. Falling in love with the boy next door was never part of the plan.

Now Reagan must decide: Will she use her incredible talents and lead the dangerous life she was born into, or throw it all away to follow her heart and embrace the normal life she’s always wanted? And does she even have a choice?


percy-klein

I have had my eye on this book ever since it was published last year. I mean who doesn’t love a good spy thriller? And, with a cover like that I knew I had to read it. It has taken me almost an entire year to make that happen, but I am so glad I finally got around to it.

Reagan Hillis’s life has always been different from those her own age ever since her parents informed her what their jobs really were when she was 10 years old. Since then, her last name has never been Hillis, just another elaborate cover story as she tries to grow up and live her life. Though, training to be a spy for one of the most elite spy agencies in the world is probably not what one would think of in regards to extracurricular activities. Reagan’s destiny is to become a Black Angel just like her parents and carry on the legacy. The only thing that might deter that is a glimpse of what life would be like just being a normal teenager who who has control over how their future will look.

Reagan and her family’s latest placement in New Albany, Ohio is different that the other placements. For one, the friends that Reagan has made, that she specifically targeted so that she could maintain a low profile while surviving high school, have become the closest friends she has ever had. She knows her cover story back to front of course, that she is Reagan Macmillan, but for the first time she feels like she can let herself, Reagan Hillis, shine through a little bit. This is mostly due to a certain someone, who made ME swoon, who happens to be her next door neighbor. As they say there is always a boy (lol), but Luke Weixel is THE boy next door. His relationship with Reagan, just as friends even though everyone around them knows they should be together (you know how it is lol), is so wonderful and adorable and probably one of my favorite things about this book.

Ok, aside from the swoony potential high school romance, I loved having Reagan as the narrator and getting inside her head. Being a teenage is hard enough especially when college is on the horizon but when you have been brought up training to be a spy which entails learning to shoot a gun and kill a man a number of different ways, life gets much more complicated. Reagan is SUCH a strong character, there is no denying that, but it was her vulnerabilities and the doubts she had about her life and whether or not she wanted to continue with the plan of her becoming a Black Angel that was not only relatable but also super interesting. This struggle between meeting the expectations set by her parents of becoming a Black Angel or going off the college and essentially starting a relationship with Luke were so palpable. The writing during these moments was so engaging that I honestly felt the magnitude and depth of what Reagan was feeling when I was reading.

While there was definitely action in this book, about two-thirds of the way through, there were also a lot of emotional moments too. I was always try to anticipatewhen the plot would turn more towards the spy thriller aspect even from the very beginning. But the fact that it doesn’t happen right away and that you really get a glimpse into Reagan’s life and how she juggles being a high school senior with her friends while also getting up early to train and doing target practice after school is what really allows you to connect with Reagan and the emotions and feelings she has throughout the book. Her feelings towards Luke continue to grow and she begins to imagine what life would be like if she chose him and the life that went with it, becoming a normal college student. But, the weight of what her future is meant to be starts to be too much, and her relationship with her parents starts to become strained as they fail to see her struggle and continue to push her towards her destiny. She is Reagan Hillis after all, the one every other Black Angel legacy is told about during their training, the example of what they should strive to be.

I have babbled on about this book so much but I can’t forget the action as it is what makes this book a spy thriller. While the unraveling of this part of the plot was a bit predictable to me, it more than made up for it in the last 50 pages of this book. Edge of your seat action that comes to such a precipice that when I finished this book I has a mini book hangover. The ending was a culmination of so many feelings for me leaving me wondering where things are going to go in the sequel.

Overall, if you couldn’t already guess, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and can’t wait for the sequel. (More Reagan and Luke time please!) If you like spy thrillers, you should definitely pick this up. I would describe it as the more adult but still YA version of the Gallagher Girls series by Ally Carter (if that makes sense lol).

4.5 stars