Falling into You by Lauren Abrams
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Boo! This book did not live up to my expectations or the description.

“Falling Into You” popped up on a “new adult” romance list and, after seeing the average rating and reading a few reviews I dove in head-first. Hallie is a 19 year old self proclaimed klutz with zero (and yes, I do mean ZERO) fashion sense. She’s in New York to avoid her male best friend (whom she is interested in alas her affections are unrequited). Hallie’s character comes across has very naïve and immature. She doesn’t show any emotional growth or maturity in her decisions or interactions with ANY of the other characters. For example, she has pined after Ben for years but has never verbalized or approach the situation as a mature adult. It’s a grade school crush by a college-aged character and not an attractive feature. Furthermore, after thoroughly describing her romantic debacle with Ben it’s only mentioned briefly throughout the rest of the book. Weird. I would definitely classify this as more of a young adult book with a few more mature romantic scenes sprinkled throughout.
Also, it’s a minor complaint but I do want to mention that Hallie prefers wearing flip-flops due to her klutzy tendencies yet somehow transformers into a sexy & talented dancer when the music turns on. I’m not buying it.

So there you have it! I’d recommend this book to high school girls with romantic notions of fame and limited understanding of adult relationships.

Now I’m off to discover new books that will hook my interest! Ciao friends!

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It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It Ends with Us is truly Colleen Hoover‘s best book to date! Powerful and captivating. Do yourself a favor and start reading it immediately. My only complaint is that the last scene seems rushed. I feel that Colleen could have explored that development/relationship further before ending the book.

BONUS- The stethoscope scene is out of this world sexy. Holy guacamole… I NEED to find myself a sexy doctor pronto!

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The Gamble by Kristen Ashley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

“I’m sorry?”

“Sorry?”

If you enjoyed reading those words and want to read them over & over again then THIS is your book!

Kidding…but not really. Our lovely leading lady (say that 3 times fast!) Nina has a penchant of responding to most situations with her signature catch phrase “I’m sorry?”. And, just to keep things interesting she sometimes throws in a shorter response of “Sorry?”.

Aside from the repetitive rhetorical questions this book was a solid 4 out of 5. Kristen Ashley delivers her signature hunky-yet-damaged love interest mixed with an equally attractive darling for him to pursue. This is the first book in her “Colorado Mountain” series. It was an enjoyable read but didn’t captivate my attention enough to jump into the second book.

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Educating Emma by Kat Austen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I’ll make this review short & sweet…just like the book!

Educating Emma is a salacious little story that was (in my humble opinion) completely implausible until the plot twist towards the end and the epilogue that brought everything together. With that being said it was still a cute, fun read that I enjoyed. Be warned- Lots of dirty talk and explicit scenes.

For more reviews visit me at sufferingsexlexia.com

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For You by Kristen Ashley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4 stars for Kristen Ashley‘s “For You” – the first installment of “The ‘Burg” series. For those faint of heart OR easily spooked this is NOT the book for you. I’m not ashamed to admit that two nights in a row I found myself huddled in a ball afraid of a hatchet-weilding maniac to come bursting from my closet.

Meet our female protagonist:
February Ownes is a blonde, curvaceous woman with a penchant for Harley Davidson tanks who’s saddled with a broken heart and plenty of emotional baggage. She’s caring, feisty when necessary and staunchly loyal to her family and friends. Plus- let’s all give Kristen Ashley 3 cheers for writing a sexy, confident love interest who just-so-happens to be 42 years old. Yep, not what society would necessarily coin as “young” but she’s still rocking with confidence and I LOVE that!

Now ladies- I’ll understand if you drool while I describe our next male protagonist. Lieutenant Alexander Colton AKA “Colt” is the stuff dreams are made of. He’s tall and fit, quick and athletic, handsome and strong. Oh, and he’s also chalk full of integrity and has dedicated his life to giving back to the community as a police detective. What did I say??? SUPER FOXING HOT. Oh, and he’s also 44 and still turning heads. Yum.

To avoid spoilers I’ll mention but won’t go into details about the vengeful menace that haunted my dreams. Let’s just say the serial killer uses a hatchet to hack into his victims in the most heinous way possible. Then to further abuse them post mortem he poses them in humiliating ways. This individual is one sick SOB.

My only complaints were:
-The sheer number of murders. Truly, how many people can one individual of normal stature and strength hack to death? Certainly at least one of his victims would have been able to escape or overpower them? Not to mention the lack of witnesses???
-Romance angst – Seeing as how this is a romance novel I’m not giving away any spoilers with this next complaint. In the beginning February and Colt do their best to fight their attraction to each other. Needless to say when they eventually succumb to their desires they have to confirm it approximately one-fu%&*ing million times. AND- get this! Each time they act surprised at their commitment and love from each other. What the fu#$ chuck?!? Haven’t we already established that you are soul mates who were made for each other? For two intelligent individuals in sync with each other these declarations annoyed me. Plus her dad gets super pushy and insists they tell him how “solid” their relationship is. REALLY?!? What normal 40 year olds need to explain themselves to their parents? *ends rant*

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Tangled by Emma Chase
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Why did it take me so long to dive into this book?!? Tangled has patiently waited on my “Want to Read” list for several months. Time and time again I passed over it and now I’m asking myself “why”?!

As the first exclusively male POV book that I’ve read, it could have turned me off to similar books in the future. Alas, my worries were unfounded. I loved following the story from Drew Evan’s perspective. Emma Chase crafted a character that was humorous, honest, arrogant, compassionate, competitive and sexy. What I wouldn’t pay to grab a beer or sit across a conference table with this character! Drew Evans is a highly successful professional working for his father’s company. He puts the “man” in manwhore but his cheeky comments and brutal honesty allowed me to still root him on throughout the story.

Katherine “Kate” Brooks was a ball buster. There’s no better way to describe her behavior. She’s smart, aggressive and hard working. She’s also loyal which is the only way I can wrap my head around her long term LOSER boyfriend whom I’ll lovingly refer to as a douche canoe.

Thanks to Drew’s incessant and hilarious inner dialogue the book is an enjoyable read.

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Real by Katy Evans
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Real by Katy Evans was a “REAL”ly intense book but before I get into the nitty gritty of the story I’d like to applaud Katy Evans for creating the most handsome man in book existence. Remington Tate is my new fantasy “boyfriend body”. Plus, if I’m being completely honest his name is pretty kicka$$ which earned him more favor in my mind.

Now, I hope you’ve noticed that I said he was my favorite boyfriend-appearance wise. Notice I’ve not mentioned his personality or mental faculties. This is where the intensity of the book made me extremely uncomfortable. MAJOR SPOILER ALERTS COMING UP! Remington Tate is bipolar with extreme manic episodes that most often result in violent behavior and property damage. Fellas- in this day and age I’m happy to say that mental health is becoming a larger topic of discussion. As someone who was personally victimized by someone with mental illness (former best friend is a sociopath)- let me assure you firsthand that it’s no walk in the park. Bipolar disorder and aggressive tendencies should be taken extremely seriously. It’s not merely something to be swept under the rug or to be perceived as adding mystery or intrigue. Especially when the person diagnosed has declined professional help or medication.

While I applaud Remington’s character for (finally) being honest with his partner regarding his diagnosis I still felt they were dancing on the ledge of danger and therefore I was unable to completely submerse myself in the book. Perhaps I have too much real-life experience (aka baggage) to truly enjoy the book without cringing every time Remington had a violent episode. Make no mistake, bipolar disorder isn’t a death sentence but I felt that the characters could have taken a more proactive approach to treatment options.

And now I’ll step off my soap box and proceed with my day.

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Untouched by Alexa Riley
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Wha… What the hell just happened?!? Imagine this- you purchase some land to build an airstrip on. Upon visiting the land you see a “castle-like” building and notice movement inside. How do you react? Bust inside, find a fair maiden, race her upstairs and bang the ever-loving-$hit out of her repeatedly while using dirty talk.

If Alexander is doing it right, then I’ve been doing it wrong my entire life. Let’s be honest I’m a huge fan of this genre and dirty talk speaks directly to my soul. However this story was beyond preposterous and I couldn’t buy into the outlandish characters.

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Dusty by YellowBella
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Simply put…I think it would have been easier to rip my heart out and rub it against a cheese grater for a few hours. This book takes torturous romance to the next level AND I LOVED EVERY SECOND OF IT!

I’m adding this book to my all time favorite angst-riddled romance novels. It joins The Story of Us and Complicate Me. Those books have the power to seize you by the gonads until you’re on your knees begging the author for compassion.

Thomas AKA Dusty is damaged with a capital D. A character with a potent cocktail of handsome, cocky, selfish and destructive. His perception of love is completely warped and he chooses to envelope those around with his misery. Leighlee Bliss is a product of overbearing parents and a naivety that borders on willful ignorance. Together they bastardize the love they share and seem to relish in the continual torment of their relationship.

Proceed with caution my fellow librocubicularists!

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Trouble by Samantha Towle
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Samantha Towle- author of my all-time FAVORITE series The Mighty Storm has once again given me a lust-worthy book boyfriend. Jordan Matthews is gorgeous and he knows it. Let me tell you folks, there are far worse things in life than a cocky alpha male.

Mia Monroe, Mia Monroe…what a sorrowful childhood you’ve been given. In Fifty Shades of Grey the male protagonist describes himself as “5o shades of fucked up”…if that was the case poor Mia Monroe is probably 5,000 shades of fucked up. Referring to some of her memories as cringe-worthy doesn’t seem to do them justice. The fact that she’s a semi-functioning adult is a nod to the resiliency of the human spirit. I’m usually the sadistic SOB chanting for authors to add more angst and turmoil in their plot lines. In this case I feel like handing Samantha Towle a voodoo doll and a margarita so she can channel some of her angst away from poor Mia.

This was the perfect, angst-riddled literary nugget to sink my teeth into this summer. I encourage you to do the same. Happy reading my fellow book lovers!

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