Review: Topaz and Lace

'' ''So now you're doing what you do best.''

''Excuse me?''

Running away.'' He smiled. It chilled. ''Because that is what you're doing, isn't it?'' ''

★★★☆☆

From Goodreads:
A temporary condition, she’d intended to be there only long enough to leave again. But then she met him.
Pursuing her dream of becoming a veterinarian, when Cassie Hastings took an externship in the tiny town of Pantula, Texas, she never planned on staying. For a girl staunchly opposed to change, moving some odd thousand miles away from home to a population boasting more heads of cattle than people and an apartment housed on top of an animal clinic, it promised to be a steep learning curve.
She would have handled it all better, (she would have!) if it hadn’t been for Brannt McDowell, one of the town’s most prosperous cattle ranchers—and her most stubborn client. He was moody, arrogant, infuriatingly witty…and altogether devastating. Pitted against the knowledge that her rotation lasted only eight, short weeks, and an ever-increasing attraction to one another, tempers soon flared and sparks ignited between the sparring partners.
Cassie had gone to Pantula to learn about large animal medicine; she’d gone there to glean independence in the wide open air; she’d gone there on a dare. Falling in love hadn’t been part of the plan. She did it anyway.
Now she’d have to choose between the place she’d always thought she’d be headed, and the home she suddenly didn’t want to leave.

She wants to challenge herself and show the world that she isn't afraid to leave home. And now it just might turn against her.

Review: My Unexpected

'' Love does not happen so easily, particularly for me. I don't believe that a person can fall for someone so quickly, that's nonsense! ''

★★☆☆☆

From Goodreads:
Falling for someone can be so easy: you do it.
You don't think about it rationally.
You think with your heart.
But, sometimes there is a big gap between what you want to happen and the reality: destiny plays with your life making things harder.
Maggie Reynolds is a college girl. She never thought she could fall in love.
The idea that someone could actually see her like a potential girlfriend started to fade in her mind.
She is quite shy, the girl who doesn't want attention upon her.
Logan O'Connor is a boy that is trying to make a dream come true.
He wants to be a pilot. He is bold, attractive and makes all the girls swoon.
Their meeting is funny and unpredictable.
Probably it's from that very moment that their lives will change forever.
The 'unexpected' is right around the corner, and you can never be prepared. Especially if it is about love.

Girl meets boy. They fall in love. The strength of their relationship is tested. Will they stick through it all or walk away from each other?

Review: Reaper's Redemption (Satan's Sons MC #3)

'' Strenght. At times you feel like you have zero, that you're weak. You think you know what your limits are. Strenght was something I had a lot of right now. ''

★★★★★

From Goodreads:

After the events of the second book, Reaper sets out to find Abby and will stop at nothing to get her back, no matter how much blood is spilled along the way. He wants revenge, and what Reaper wants, Reaper gets.
Abby:
What the hell. Where am I? Where’s my baby? I remember glass smashing and men in masks grabbing me, pulling me away from my crying son and sister. God, I need Reaper. What if I never see him again, touch him again? I can’t even think like that. Reaper needs to get his shit together and come find me. I don’t know how much longer I can last without him. 

Reaper:
I hadn't slept in days. But that was nothing to the pain I felt every day knowing Abby was out there, alone, kidnapped. A disgusting feeling washed through me, just at the thought of what they could be doing to her, how they would be treating her. She had to know I'd come for her. She had to know that every bone, blood vessel and beat of my heart would drive me to find her. Our son needs her. Hell, I need her. It’s time for me to do the only thing I’m good at. Being the Reaper. 

Are you prepared for this? I wasn't. The emotional rollercoaster you're about to board is going to mess both your hair and make-up.

Review: Crossing Into Brooklyn

'' ''You went to Brooklyn?'' ''

★★★★☆

From Goodreads:
To Find Your Future, You Have to Face Your Past
At sixteen, Morgan Lindstrum has the life that every other girl wants--at least from the outside. A privileged only child, she has everything she could ever want, except her parents' attention. A Princeton physicist and a high-powered executive, they barely have any time for each other, much less for Morgan. Then her beloved grandfather dies, depriving Morgan of the only stable figure in her life. If that's not enough, she suddenly finds out he was never her grandfather at all. To find out the truth about her family, Morgan makes her way to Brooklyn, where she meets Terence Mulvaney, the Irish immigrant father who her mother disowned. Morgan wants answers; but instead of just satisfying her curiosity, Mulvaney shows her the people in his condemned tenement building, who are suffering and have nowhere to go. He challenges her to help them, by tearing away the veil of shame, and showing her wealthy parents and her advantaged circle of friends a world they don't want to know exists. The temptation to walk away from this ugly reality, as her mother did, is strong. But if she does, can Morgan ever really leave behind what she learned when she crossed into Brooklyn?

When your own family won't give you the answers you desire, you must seek them from somewhere else. Morgan's mother is absent a lot, her father engrossed in his studies, neither of them talking to each other. So when a relative dies and bits and pieces of never heard before information filters into Morgan's ears, she can't help herself to leave the matter alone. 

Review: King's Cage (Red Queen #3)

'' ''Those who know what it's like in the dark will do anything to stay in the light.'' ''

★★★★★

From Goodreads:
In this breathless third installment to Victoria Aveyard’s bestselling Red Queen series, allegiances are tested on every side. And when the Lightning Girl's spark is gone, who will light the way for the rebellion?
Mare Barrow is a prisoner, powerless without her lightning, tormented by her lethal mistakes. She lives at the mercy of a boy she once loved, a boy made of lies and betrayal. Now a king, Maven Calore continues weaving his dead mother's web in an attempt to maintain control over his country—and his prisoner.
As Mare bears the weight of Silent Stone in the palace, her once-ragtag band of newbloods and Reds continue organizing, training, and expanding. They prepare for war, no longer able to linger in the shadows. And Cal, the exiled prince with his own claim on Mare's heart, will stop at nothing to bring her back.
When blood turns on blood, and ability on ability, there may be no one left to put out the fire—leaving Norta as Mare knows it to burn all the way down.

She promised that all will burn. It's right there on the cover. I have always wanted to think I am an optimist when it comes to books, so not believing the clear sign on the cover was the way to go. Now, after a year of postponing, I picked it up. I ignored the clear warning on the cover. And burned.

Did you know that this is the third book in a series? So if you haven't read it, I warn you: There might be small SPOILERS if you decide to continue reading.

Review: Frost Security: Richard (Frost Security #1)

'' It was like we were connected somehow. I felt it in my bones when I looked at him. ''

★★★☆☆

From Goodreads:

In the mountains of Colorado, a small town named Enchanted Rock seems to always be in need of protection. Luckily, the shifters of Frost Security call this town home.
For years, Richard Murdoch served in Afghanistan, a lone wolf shifter always on the prowl for his true calling in life. Now that Richard has helped found Frost Security with his pack, he may have finally found his true calling, and his true mate: an art gallery owner in need of protection from a psycho stalker who wants her either run out of town, or dead.
Jessica Long is a hometown girl, trying to keep her little art gallery the Curious Turtle afloat through some bad times. But her silent partner passed away from a heart attack recently. Even worse? She's been receiving death threats ever since he died. She desperately turns to Frost Security for help, hoping they can scare off her stalker.
Richard becomes Jessica's shadow as the team at Frost Security try to uncover who is terrorising her. If this stalker of hers escalates like they think he will, nothing will stop Richard from ripping him apart. He just hopes Jessica isn't there to see it. 

 Rarely do I pick up a book not knowing too much about it. Even rarer is that I dive in blindly. But, since exception proves the rule, here we are. Can't say I am disappointed.

Review: Black Mark's Heart (Black Mark Series #3)

'' ''We'll be happy. I promise you.'' ''

★★★★☆

From Goodreads:

With a broken heart and a raging anger towards Darius, Mora and her unborn child go on tour where she puts all of her pent up emotions into her music, sky rocketing her career. She desperately tries to move on and start her new family without Darius casting his dark shadow on her life.

But keeping Mora and Darius apart is like keeping a moth from a flame, and their distance doesn’t last long before the couple is back to their old wicked ways.

When things take a dangerous turn and one of Darius’ fellow Fehu members becomes obsessed with Mora, she feels trapped. A fresh start could be just what she needs - but does she have the strength to leave behind the man who has always held her heart?

So, this is it? This is the third book in the series, so by continuing beyond this point may SPOIL something if you haven't read the second book yet. Then again, if you read the synopsis above, you're already spoiled...

Review: Make It Count

'' ''But I suppose ultimately we have to decide if we're going to live to die, or live... to live.'' ''

★★★☆☆

From Goodreads:

He’s irresistible…but she’s the one person who knows his days are numbered
Casey’s touch can reveal the one thing a person would never want to know — the number of days they have left to live.
By the time Casey turns seventeen she’s learnt to withdraw. But the phobia she fakes in order to avoid human contact is sorely tested by hot, persistent, motorcycle riding PJ. For a girl who craves contact, maple eyed PJ is impossible to resist. When the inevitable happens, when hands, bodies and lips collide, Casey sees PJ's number, one that can only be seen as a cruel twist of fate.
Now she must decide. Will she continue counting the days of her life, or start living a life that counts?

 If you knew that someone's time on Earth would be over shortly, would you stay away from them to save yourself from the heartbreak, or would you stay with them?

Review: The Impossible Bet

'' ''I've never kissed a stranger,'' I admit on a shy mumble, and our lips make the first, feather-light contact. At my confession, his brows narrow a tiny bit, but I don't care. Breathing in deep and sound, I close my eyes and kiss him. Sticking my finger in a socket couldn't be any more electrifying than this. ''

★★★★☆

From Goodreads:

The Wager:
Three kisses.
Two of which must be initiated by the girl—a girl my friends select for me.
I have just under two weeks.
If I win, I get the coveted role of Tristan in a stage production.
If I lose, I’m still in the play…in the worst possible way. Playing Isolde in lacy underwear is something I may never live down!
The bet should be a piece of cake—until my friends pick my conquest. My quirky new neighbor, Pippi Longstocking in Pink. Yikes!
Oh, and did I mention I’m not allowed to speak to her? At. All.

  

Charming a girl who doesn't want to be charmed isn't easy. Add a no-talking rule into the mix and you got yourself an impossible bet. Or so you might think.

January Wrap-Up and February TBR - PART 2

Here's the Part 2 for January Wrap-up and February TBR. The post started to get a bit too long, so I decided to split it in two. If you haven't read the first part and want to do it, click the link for a shortcut.


And if you are coming from Part 1, hi again.

So what to expect from the month of February? A lot.

I have already read a few books, and the reviews will be up in the upcoming week or so. I am to write two reviews a week, appearing about two or three days apart. Three if I haven't had time to read much and two if there are many books already read and just waiting to be reviewed.

January Wrap-Up and February TBR - PART 1

I could say the month of January was quite a successful month for me. First of all, I set my Goodreads Reading Challenge for 120 books, almost doubling my goal from last year. Already, I am two books ahead of schedule, which has never happened at this time of the year.

I decided to bring the monthly Wrap-up and TBR post back. I decided to discontinue writing it about a year ago since I wasn't reading as much as I am now, and because I set some unrealistic goals I could never meet. This post is not just about books. It's a post where in addition to telling you about the books I read in the past month, all the happenings, and what to expect from the next month, I'll be letting inside my (sometimes a bit messy) life.