In her latest enchanting novel, New York Times bestselling author Sarah Addison Allen invites you to a quirky little Southern town with more magic than a full Carolina moon. Here two very different women discover how to find their place in the world—no matter how out of place they feel. Emily Benedict came to Mullaby, North Carolina, hoping to solve at least some of the riddles surrounding her mother’s life. Such as, why did Dulcie Shelby leave her hometown so suddenly? And why did she vow never to return? But the moment Emily enters the house where her mother grew up and meets the grandfather she never knew—a reclusive, real-life gentle giant—she realizes that mysteries aren’t solved in Mullaby, they’re a way of life: Here are rooms where the wallpaper changes to suit your mood. Unexplained lights skip across the yard at midnight. And a neighbor bakes hope in the form of cakes. Everyone in Mullaby adores Julia Winterson’s cakes—which is a good thing, because Julia can’t seem to stop baking them. She offers them to satisfy the town’s sweet tooth but also in the hope of rekindling the love she fears might be lost forever. Flour, eggs, milk, and sugar . . . Baking is the only language the proud but vulnerable Julia has to communicate what is truly in her heart. But is it enough to call back to her those she’s hurt in the past? Can a hummingbird cake really bring back a lost love? Is there really a ghost dancing in Emily’s backyard? The answers are never what you expect. But in this town of lovable misfits, the unexpected fits right in. Hardcover, 269 pages Published March 16th 2010 by Bantam Current GoodReads Rating: 3.97 Stars My ReviewThe story hinted at several leads that could have held deeper developments but with so many different directions it was hard to go into enough detail about any of them in such a short book. The story introduced changing wallpaper, a missing child put up for adoption, and a man seeing through the wall to watch the woman he loved bake. I started to conceive all these directions and possibilities where not a single one played out. Each detail seemed to be a teaser and I was disappointed in the author not going into further detail, but a pro to that is that it was a simplistic story line that kept you guessing, but never went it the direction you though it would.
Once it revealed that Win Coffey boy appeared in Emily's bedroom the first night she was in town and made constant appearances after to watch her sleep, that screamed Twilight awkwardness. I was amused when he finally revealed why he couldn't come out at night, that after generations of this genetic mutation the best title they could come up with for it was something still so femininely dry, "the glowing". “Never forget that I was your first real kiss. Never forget that you’ll be my last. And never stop loving me between all of them. Never stop, Charlie. Never forget.” Silas races against time as more truths unravel, while others twist tighter together. And now, the stakes are higher as Silas’ control slips and others begin to point fingers. Charlie is in trouble and he must be the one to bridge the chasm between their past and their present. Because somewhere between I love yous and Never Nevers and Never Agains, a truth they can't imagine, beckons to be found. “Where are you, Charlie?” ebook, 158 pages Published May 17th 2015 Current GoodReads Rating: 4.17 Stars My Review: Once again I'm left deep in thought by these dang "to be continued..." teasers. This story felt like the most bad ass, detailed trailer for the most epic movie ever about to come out. You are left contemplating the scenes and anticipating what's to come. This series is the first where I have felt so lost in the events and characters that I blur my reality with the story line. I finish the book and am left dizzy when I look up.
These little details that are starting to unravel and the new twist in direction the audience gets to think about now is epic. Pieces are starting to fit back into the puzzle and it's painting one beautiful, complex picture. I love this story because it keeps introducing hints of new information to the reader and it's up to you what to make out of it, which is why it feels like your a character in their adventure. The characters are just as clueless as the reader is and together we shall figure this thing out. It's a race to the answers! P.S. I'm so glad I waited to read this series till all the books had been released because most of the negative reviews are just because how pissed the reader is with how much of a teaser is. This book provides more questions than it does answers, so my suggestion is to have Part Three close. I'll post my review for that soon and by golly it better have some answers! Trama, isolation, courage, love. . . Anxious Love Hopeful about his future after overcoming loss, Ryan Ware is living his dream life as a first round draft pick. He’s enjoying every crazy minute of fame, fortune, and gorgeous women. Despite being the most sought-after writer in romance, severe anxiety keeps Leah Jones isolated. Having a regimented life keeps the triggers at bay that could put her back in the hospital, perhaps permanently. A chance meeting in New Orleans, Leah’s brown eyes capture Ryan’s heart, and he vows to learn more about this reclusive beauty. Can Leah’s anxieties withstand Ryan’s crazy life? Can Ryan learn enough about real love to be the right man for Leah? Anxious Love contains explicit scenes of a sexual nature and is not suitable for readers under 18 years of age. Published June 9th 2016 by SAM & Associates, LLC Current GoodReads Rating: 4.62 Stars My Review:I love when a main character has a mental hardship because they immediately become so much more real and relatable to me. I started reading this story as the news of the outside world was covering a parallel story about a girl who was raped while on the Stanford campus. While the outside world was furious with how the situation was handled, I was getting the girls perspective of the aftermath to how the situation had affected her now years later.
Fallen Too Far was Blaire's story. Now it's time for Rush to share his side. Everyone in Rosemary Beach thinks they know how Rush Finlay and Blaire Wynn fell in love. But Rush is back to tell his side of the story... Rush has earned every bit of his bad-boy reputation. The three-story beach house, luxury car, and line of girls begging for time between his sheets are the envy of every guy in Rosemary Beach, and Rush handles it all with the laid-back cool of a rock star’s son. All he needs are his best friend, Grant, and his sister, Nan. Until Blaire Wynn drives into town in her beat-up pickup truck with a pistol under her seat. The Alabama farm girl instantly captures Rush’s attention once he discovers that the angelic beauty is his new stepsister, but he vows to keep his distance. Even if she needs his help. Even if he craves her. Because Rush knows why Blaire is all alone in the world, forced to ask for help from the father who abandoned her three years ago. And he knows if he gets too close it will destroy Nan, who has a secret connection to Blaire. He has every reason in the world to stay away from her. Find out why he doesn’t. Current GoodReads Rating: 4.27 Stars Kindle Edition, 1st edition, 242 pages Published May 6th 2014 by Atria Books My Review:It has been almost two years since I read the other side of this story, Fallen Too Far, the first book in the Rosemary Beach, Too Far series back in August 2014. I did not read the synopsis on this book to remind myself of the story line or to know that it was a different perspective of the first in this series. These renditions of telling the same story in a different perspective are not my favorite and I don't know if I would have added this to my to-read list if I would have read what it was about, but once I started the book I didn't want to put it down.
Jude Ryder and Lucy Larson are this generation's Romeo and Juliet: Explosive. Sizzling. Tragic. A steamy summer encounter with bad boy Jude means trouble for Lucy. Her sights are set on becoming a ballerina, and she won't let anything get in her way . . . except Jude. He's got a rap sheet, dangerous mood swings, and a name that's been sighed, shouted, and cursed by who knows how many girls. Jude's a cancer, the kind of guy who's fated to ruin the lives of girls like Lucy—and he tells her so. But as rumors run rampant and reputations are destroyed, Lucy's not listening to Jude's warning. Is tragedy waiting in the wings? This racy romance is hot, hot, hot! Paperback, 365 pages Published December 18th 2012 by HarperCollins Current GoodReads Rating: 4.04 Stars My Review:The entire story seemed to happen in the last few chapters!
It started off in a very stereotypical fashion as a high school girl that just moved to town lays out in her bikini in her last week of summer break before her senior year and spots a hot guy playing football on the beach. She tries to get his attention and finally on her last effort to catch his eyes, she has him falling over her to catch the ball. It was a disappointing cliche of a beginning that I felt I had read before and knew every last detail of what was to happen during the rest of the book. Fallon meets Ben, an aspiring novelist, the day before her scheduled cross-country move. Their untimely attraction leads them to spend Fallon’s last day in L.A. together, and her eventful life becomes the creative inspiration Ben has always sought for his novel. Over time and amidst the various relationships and tribulations of their own separate lives, they continue to meet on the same date every year. Until one day Fallon becomes unsure if Ben has been telling her the truth or fabricating a perfect reality for the sake of the ultimate plot twist. Paperback, 310 pages Published November 10th 2015 by Atria Books Current GoodReads Rating: 4.50 Stars What Was Your Favorite Quote?My Review:
First off I read the free excerpt on the new Crave app that has little videos embedded in an ebook version of the book and loved that. I was torn as to whether to continue that route or buy the book and ended up buying a paperback edition since it had been so long since I've held a good book in my hands. I still am struggling whether to try the app again because I did love the idea of it, but isn't some of the fun of reading using your imagination to dream up how the characters looked and interacted. My one try on the Crave app was awesome and I wasn't disappointed with who they chose to portray Ben, but I'm hesitant that a book hunk might fall short of how I imagined him to be and it would distract me from the story. This cover was simple and not covered with the typical sexy half-naked character romance novels usual portray, so I wasn't embarrassed to whip this out on my travels and read this in the airports. I love how captivating her novels always are this one does not disappoint. It's been the most refreshing novel I've read in a long while. I love how it feel like it has so many punch lines. There were so many times throughout that I wanted to stop and post a quote that I had just read from it. It was catchy and relatable. I love how real and vulnerable she makes the characters. I've read reviews that hate how weak Fallon is, but to me I relate to that so I enjoy reading a character who to me needed Ben to help her initially pick her head up from looking at the ground and from there she blossomed on her own. The extent of her doubts and insecurities were dramatized through her accident, but I still could relate to how easy it is to just give up and live below the radar avoiding peoples gaze. 4/27/2016 Truth in Patience (The Patience Trilogy #3) by Beth Fehlbaum Blog Tour Review + GiveawayRead NowTruth in the past. Truth in reality. Truth for tomorrow. Finally adjusting to life in small town Texas, Ashley Asher sees a glimmer of what happiness really is. Even her new relationship with the attentive Joshua Brandt shows promise of a first romance. But Ashley's fear of intimacy after years of unspeakable abuse may cause friction and distance in their relationship. Determined to prove to her that she's healing, Dr. Matt, her beloved therapist, shows her that "life is messy." And he doesn't know how messy it is about to get. When her mother decides that Ashley belongs back in their hometown with her, Ashley is forced into another family feud that she isn't prepared for. Refusing to leave behind the new life she created in Texas, Ashley and her mother go head-to-head. But can Ashley finally find the courage and strength to battle her demons when her mother might be the biggest demon of all? Genre: Young Adult Contemporary Fiction Publisher: Steady On Books Date of Publication: March 29, 2016 PURCHASE LINKS: AMAZON BARNES & NOBLE Read More for Giveaway!
Auburn Reed has her entire life mapped out. Her goals are in sight and there’s no room for mistakes. But when she walks into a Dallas art studio in search of a job, she doesn’t expect to find a deep attraction to the enigmatic artist who works there, Owen Gentry. For once, Auburn takes a risk and puts her heart in control, only to discover Owen is keeping major secrets from coming out. The magnitude of his past threatens to destroy everything important to Auburn, and the only way to get her life back on track is to cut Owen out of it. The last thing Owen wants is to lose Auburn, but he can’t seem to convince her that truth is sometimes as subjective as art. All he would have to do to save their relationship is confess. But in this case, the confession could be much more destructive than the actual sin… Paperback, 306 pages Published March 10th 2015 by Atria Books Current GoodReads Rating: 4.28 Stars My Review:
I love that the inspiration behind this story was true confessions from anonymous sources submitted to the author. I think Colleen Hoover is a mastermind on social media by posting excerpts, how she feels while writing some of these broken romances, and asking for character names and for these confessions from her audience. She makes you feel involved, as if you are a part of her books. She also posts pictures of her kids and brags about her husband, she is a crazy beautiful down to earth woman. I met her at a book fair and she came around the table to give me a hug and take a picture with me, she was so easy to start a conversation with. I have read the Hopeless, Slammed, and Maybe series and I am making my way through her Never Never series. I have wanted to read Confess since it came out and finally had the chance to read a book from my library now that my life is settling down. I was drawn to it more than others based on the community involvement and the idea of real-life confessions incorporated into the story line. I had no idea how she would incorporate them, but she managed beautifully as always. I do wish there was a more consistent emphasis on the confessions. It was such a fun element to involve and it seems there was only a chapter or two focused on them. I do wonder if some of the confessions she received inspired some of the plot twists that occurred throughout because those were constant. There never seemed to be a slow moment between both secrets being revealed and obstacles being thrown their way. |