Mini-Review: Holmes (Hotel #3)

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

From Goodreads:
It's been six months since Holly broke her heart in paradise, but she didn't let the experience go to waste. She's moved to be close to the beach, and racked up some weekend frequent flyer points getting out to new experiences. She's not living to work anymore, but working to live. That dream job, it's exactly that. Holly's never had a better boss than Roger Holmes. But men. No, no men. Holly can't bear the thought of going through another heartbreak, and with Holmes City Resort hosting the International Conference for Hoteliers in a week, Holly definitely doesn't have time for a man. Yet, two men are standing there, demanding she choose one of them. Can Holly forgive the man who betrayed her and is now ready to try a real relationship? Or will promises kept win her heart back again?

Holly's heart has been crushed into little pieces by the revelation of Sean Cassidy's heritage and connections. Sixteen months ago she escaped back to Australia, but now the past wants to make amends with her, and neither of the men is willing to give her up. 

Review: Love Me, Love Me Not

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

From Goodreads:
When Hailey Brown is removed from her home and put into foster care, all she wants is a safe, comfortable place where she can finish school and move on with her life. It’s not easy adjusting to a new school and a new life, but Mr. and Mrs. Campbell and their teenage son, Brad, welcome Hailey with open arms.

As Hailey begins to adjust to her new life, she and Brad grow closer. For the first time, Hailey feels like she might have a real shot at a future. Soon, however, Hailey realizes her relationship with Brad has crossed the line from friendship into something more. But being with Brad would mean giving up the perfect life that Hailey has waited so long to have.

Can Hailey and Brad resist the feelings that are developing between them—or will they risk it all to be together?

No matter what we do in life, our pasts always catch up sooner or later. It's better to face it straight on than run from it, or that's what I would have told Hailey to do. 

Review: Oceans Away (The Atlas Series #2)

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

From Goodreads:
When the girl next door returns home as a millionaire to face the farmer who never lost hope, she's caught between the man of her past and the man meant for her future.

Adopted as an infant, Ireland Leighton grew up in the heart of the Midwest. After inheriting millions from her biological parents, she is determined to help others any way she can. The only string is a business engagement with another millionaire. Ireland returns to Iowa years later to plan her brother’s tropical wedding. The festivities would be easier if her sexy ex-boyfriend stayed out of reach and her future wasn’t already planned.

Time suppressed his feelings for the girl next door, but Gideon Taggart isn’t about to let Ireland escape again. Farmer by day, veterinarian by choice, his second chance with his first love is far from easy. He soon discovers that no matter how much he loves Ireland, she’ll always choose her family over a future with him.

Ireland Leighton had successfully avoided going back home for several years. Seeing her former love, Gideon Taggart, was just too painful. And now that almost her whole identity had changed, how could she face him? Having been raised on a farm, it came as a little bit of a shock to her to find out that her biological parents were heirs to a fortune. 

Review: Someday, Someday, Maybe

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

From Goodreads:

Franny Banks is a struggling actress in New York City, with just six months left of the three-year deadline she gave herself to succeed. But so far, all she has to show for her efforts is a single line in an ad for ugly Christmas sweaters and a degrading waitressing job. She lives in Brooklyn with two roommates - Jane, her best friend from college, and Dan, a sci-fi writer, who is very definitely not boyfriend material - and is struggling with her feelings for a suspiciously charming guy in her acting class, all while trying to find a hair-product cocktail that actually works.

Meanwhile, she dreams of doing "important" work, but only ever seems to get auditions for dishwashing liquid and peanut butter commercials. It's hard to tell if she'll run out of time or money first, but either way, failure would mean facing the fact that she has absolutely no skills to make it in the real world. Her father wants her to come home and teach, her agent won't call her back, and her classmate Penelope, who seems supportive, might just turn out to be her toughest competition yet.

Someday, Someday, Maybe is a funny and charming debut about finding yourself, finding love, and, most difficult of all, finding an acting job.

When the world strikes us down, we have to channel our own inner Franny Banks' to get back up. 

Review: Lies You Never Told Me

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

From Goodreads:

Gabe and Elyse have never met. But they both have something to hide.

Quiet, shy Elyse can't believe it when she's cast as the lead in her Portland high school's production of Romeo and Juliet. Her best friend, Brynn, is usually the star, and Elyse isn't sure she's up to the task. But when someone at rehearsals starts to catch her eye--someone she knows she absolutely shouldn't be with--she can't help but be pulled into the spotlight.

Austin native Gabe is contemplating the unthinkable--breaking up with Sasha, his headstrong, popular girlfriend. She's not going to let him slip through her fingers, though, and when rumors start to circulate around school, he knows she has the power to change his life forever.

Gabe and Elyse both make the mistake of falling for the wrong person, and falling hard. Told in parallel narratives, this twisty, shocking story shows how one bad choice can lead to a spiral of unforeseen consequences that not everyone will survive.

I had no idea what the book was about when I turned the first page. I remember picking it up on a layover because it had a store recommendation on it, then I put it on my shelf only to pick it up a full year later. The Lies You Never Told Me falls into the same category as E. Lockhart's We Were Liars, it'll blow your mind with the truth you never expected.