REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY: BREAKABLE by TAMMARA WEBBER

 

 

I'm so excited to be bringing you a review and giveaway for Breakable by Tammara Webber. Thanks for stopping by! 

 

 

Series: Contours of the Heart #2
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Penguin Berkley
Publication Date: 5/6/14
Format: ARC
Pages: 368
Source: Publisher
Rating: 5 stars

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He was lost and alone. Then he found her.
And the future seemed more fragile than ever.

As a child, Landon Lucas Maxfield believed his life was perfect and looked forward to a future filled with promise — until tragedy tore his family apart and made him doubt everything he ever believed.

All he wanted was to leave the past behind. When he met Jacqueline Wallace, his desire to be everything she needed came so easy…

As easy as it could be for a man who learned that the soul is breakable and that everything you hoped for could be ripped away in a heartbeat.
 

Review

There's a reason Landon Maxfield has such a devoted fan-base of readers. He's one of the good guys, the best guys. He's respectful and brave and so strong in heart. Do you have any idea how amazing and refreshing it is to find a young man like this? He's the kind of guy you want your daughter to find. The kind of man you want your son to be. The book world I know has been anxiously awaiting Lucas's story, Breakable. Nearly crazed, really. And how could a book so highly anticipated possibly live up to expectations? I feel that anyone who's read Tammara Webber's work knows that this is not only probable, it's a given.

Obviously Breakable covers the story of Lucas and Jacqueline. And though I love that story, I also mostly knew it. Would I want to see it again from Lucas's point of view? But it's not exactly the same story told through his eyes. Landon's story is the one we're familiar with. We know the pivotal moments between him and Jacqueline, from the rescue in a frightening moment, to the emails exchanged with a tutor, the sketches, the reassurances in pride during self-defense classes, the revelations. Yes, we get Lucas's take on those pivotal moments, but this is different. Webber didn't just rehash the story from a different angle. We get to see how at first, Jacqueline intrigued Lucas, and that over time, she owned him. He didn't want to want her, but he couldn't stop. I never realized the mysterious guy with the lip ring and tattoos was protecting his heart. Because I didn't know what that heart had been through. I think what makes Breakable so different is learning what Lucas has been through, from his perspective, and how those experiences shaped his thinking, his very existence. The loss that has marked him in every way.

But.

Breakable employs a shifting point-of-view, between Lucas and Landon. And as much as it is Lucas's Breakable is also Landon's story, in the time before. We get the experiences that transformed Landon into Lucas. From the moments following tragedy, and into his teens years. The speculation, isolation, crushing guilt, the unbearable pain that is locked down so tightly. We also get fleeting moments of good times, with Landon's gruff yet loving grandfather, his unlikely best friend, the faith and love from a family that never let him go. We see Landon's slide to the bottom, giving up everything and resigning himself to a half-lived life. We get the choice to turn things around and the redemption.

Breakable was beautiful. Not that anyone had doubts about Webber's ability to bring her talent to the table and create a great story that would make readers fall in love with Lucas all over again. I was very hesitant to open myself to that, and I admit that it did hurt to read Landon's story. But it also made me happy. I knew how it was going to end, but I still felt anxiety, and elation. Breakable was gorgeous, so utterly heartbreaking and in the end, triumphant.

 

Favorite Quotes


  This was what you got, when you became too cocky about how principled you were, walking that straight and narrow. You slammed right into the one thing you couldn't have, just because it crossed your path while you were focused on your almighty integrity. Jacqueline Wallace wasn't mine to take, and her needs weren't mine to uncover and fulfill.

  I had the truck I'd wanted, a thousand-year-old symbol of my heritage, a secret recipe for brownies, a pocketknife, and memories of my grandfather I'd never have without the loss of my mother. I couldn't make sense of these things or their value to me, when every one of them was linked to the loss of something I didn't want to lose.

Contours of the Heart Series

 

 

(covers lead to GoodReads page)

My review of Easy

Giveaway

I have one copy of Breakable to give away, courtesy of the publisher. Must be 18+ years of age; open to US only.
 a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

About the author

Author of Breakable, Easy, and the Between the Lines series.

I'm a former undergraduate academic advisor, married to my high school sweetheart, mother to three adult children and four very immature cats.

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TEACHING WILLOW: SESSION 3 by PAIGE JAMES ~ TEASER AND GIVEAWAY

 

I'm so excited to bring you Teaching Willow: Session 3. I am so into this series and can't wait to see how it all ends! Be sure to check out the promo and giveaway. Thanks for stopping by!

 

Series: Teaching Willow: Session 3

Author: Paige James

Publication Date: 4/21/14

Hosted by: Wordsmith Publicity

 

It started with waking up in a strange place.

It ended with everything that I thought I knew coming into question. 

Now, I’m watching love turn into hate, bend turn into break and lies turn into truth that hurts worse than the deception ever did.

Such is my life, The Wicked World of Willow Masters.

 

Describe Ebon in Five Words

 

E- Eloquent. I find that he can express himself very well, even in his own mind.

B- Bound.  He’s bound to Willow even though he doesn’t fully realize it.  But I think, in this session, he’s beginning to.

O- Oh-so sexy.  I love the image of Ebon. The way he speaks and moves.  God, he turns me on!

N- Naughty.  Deep down, Ebon is very, very dirty.  And I foresee him unleashing more and more of that with Willow.

 

 

 

 

Describe Willow in Five Words

 

W- Willful.  Willow has been repressed and now that she’s coming into her own (over a guy, no less), I think she’s very willful.

I- Independent.  She’s fought hard to get where she is. You get to see a bit more of that in this session.

L- Liar.  We all know she’s becoming very adept at lying, but I’m not sure I could call her a liar in that most malicious way.  I think she is a girl who got caught up in her own damage control and turned a molehill right into a mountain.

L- Loving.  For all her faults and bad choices, Willow loves and she loves hard.

O- Ornery.  We are going to see a bit of this in her and I, personally, can’t wait!

W- Weathered.  When she comes out of this hurricane, she’ll be weathered, but she’ll be stronger for it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Purchase Links

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Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the author

My name is Paige James. I'm a fairly shy bookworm and lover of all things romantic and steamy. I'm a wife, a daughter, a sister, a friend, a drinker of wine, an animal advocate (even the ones that look like rodents) and a spinner of tales. Thank you for taking a chance on my work. You're making this working girl's dream come true.

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REVIEW: HAPPENSTANCE by JAMIE McGUIRE

Title: Happenstance

Author: Jamie McGuire

Publisher: Jamie McGuire LLC (May 9, 2014)

Print Length: 100 pages

Source: Author
Rating: 4.5 stars

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#1 New York Times Bestseller Jamie McGuire returns to self-publishing with this page-turning YA account of Erin Easter, one of three Erins in the small senior class of rural Blackwell High School who not only share a first name, but also their birthday. Erin Easter, raised by a neglectful single mom, keeps to herself and admires Weston Gates from afar. The other Erins, Erin A. and Erin M. are the darlings of the community: daughters of the two wealthiest families in town, best friends, cheerleaders, and everything Erin Easter isn't--and they never let her forget it. Erin A. has even claimed Weston since the 8th grade. 

Weston is a well-liked star athlete, and the son of two prominent attorneys. He struggles daily with the pressures of living up to his family name and secretly empathizes with Erin Easter's feeling that she belongs somewhere else; in a different life. Not until he begins sneaking nights out with Erin does he gain the courage to buck expectations and acknowledge his feelings ... both for his future, and for her. 

But when a shocking tragedy rocks the tiny town, Erin's life is turned upside down in the best way possible. But when the truth is revealed and everything Erin thinks she wanted falls into her lap, life only becomes more complicated.

 My Review

  
I have a confession: I was a popular girl in school. Very, very popular (but nice, I promise). Despite the popularity, though, I wasn't especially happy, and I don't look at those years as the glory days. My point in all this is: when I read YA, I don't tend to find myself identifying with the popular girls, but the girls on the outside. Characters such as Erin Easter.

With Erin Easter, Jamie McGuire created a poignant, heart-wrenching portrayal of loneliness and
bravery in the face of unrelenting bullying. I was amazed by her strong spirit. She is a girl who's only
hoping to keep her head down, to survive long enough to get out. I wish I could push Happenstance in the hands of those who face bullying and neglect on a daily basis. To show them that they are not alone, and they are worthy of love, respect and kindness.

Weston. He's that boy you see in a lot of YA books and movies: popular, but nice. Weston's girlfriend is one of the Erins, and yes, that's such a bummer but not unexpected. It's easy to quickly see that Weston is better than he's allowing himself to be. I wanted Weston to stand up for Erin, to take a stand. To be Erin's hero. Knowing how difficult that is, I wasn't surprised by the time it took, but endeared by his courage. To stand up to everyone you know takes guts, and that is another aspect I loved about Happenstance, having the courage to stand up and do what's right.

The thing is, Erin doesn't need a hero. She only wants out. Maybe through Erin, Weston can find the strength to be the person he wants to be. Maybe they can save each other...

But then. Then Happenstance takes a huge turn. The synopsis mentions a tragedy, and yes, that tragedy definitely shakes up Erin and Weston's world. But that's not all! There were a couple of small, passing hints that more was in store for Erin Easter. When the twist plays out, everything changes, spinning Erin's life completely around, and setting us up for a very interesting series indeed. I cannot wait to see how the Erin's story plays out. You can bet I will be there every step of the way.

About the author

New York Times best selling author Jamie McGuire has penned the Providence series and contemporary romance Beautiful Disaster. She lives in Oklahoma with her husband and three children. She is an RT(R), a graduate of Autry and Oklahoma Northern College, and a full time writer.

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WAITING ON WEDNESDAY: REAPER'S STAND by JOANNA WYLDE

Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine,that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.


This week's WoW selection is...

 

 

 

Series: Reaper's MC #4

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Berkley Trade

Publication Date: 9/2/14

 

As Reapers Motorcycle Club president, Reese “Picnic” Hayes has given his entire life to the club. After losing his wife, he knew he’d never love another woman. And with two daughters to raise and a club to manage, that was just fine with him. These days, Reese keeps his relationships free and easy—he definitely doesn’t want to waste his time on a glorified cleaning lady like London Armstrong.

Too bad he’s completely obsessed with her.

Besides running her own business, London’s got her junkie cousin’s daughter to look after—a more reckless than average eighteen-year-old. Sure she’s attracted to the Reapers’ president, but she’s not stupid. Reese Hayes is a criminal and a thug. But when her young cousin gets caught up with a ruthless drug cartel, Reese might be the only man who can help her. Now London has to make the hardest decision of her life—how far will she go to save her family?

 

Why I'm Waiting ~ Because who doesn't want to read a book about an MC President nicknamed Picnic? But seriously, I do adore this series. 

 

BOYS LIKE YOU by JULIANA STONE

Today marks the release of Boys Like You by Juliana Stone, and I have some fun facts about Nathan Everets to share! I'm a fan of Stone's and have no doubt this is a great story. Thanks for stopping by! 

Genre: YA Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Sourecebooks
Publication Date: 5/6/14

One mistake.

And everything changes.

For Monroe Blackwell, one small mistake has torn her family apart –leaving her empty and broken. There’s a hole in her heart that nothing can fill. That no one can fill. And a summer in Louisiana with her Grandma isn’t going to change that…

Nathan Everets knows heartache first-hand when a car accident leaves his best friend in a coma. And it’s his fault. He should be the one lying in the hospital. The one who will never play guitar again. He doesn’t deserve forgiveness, and a court-appointed job at the Blackwell B&B isn’t going to change that…

Captivating and hopeful, this achingly poignant novel brings together two lost souls struggling with grief and guilt – looking for acceptance, so they can find forgiveness.

Ten Fun Facts About Nathan

Ah, so happy to be here and to share with you all ten things about Nathan Everets that you might not know.

1. Nathan hates brussel sprouts more than any other food on the planet.

2. Once, he didn’t shave for days because he and his buddy Trevor wanted to see who could grow the best beard.

3. He thinks The Rolling Stones are overrated.

4. If he could meet one dead celebrity it would be Jim Morrison from The Doors.

5. He can hold his breath under water longer than anyone else he knows.

6. He hid his tattoo from his mother for six months before she finally saw it.

7. When he was six he wanted to be Superman and for a while, thought he could fly. The result was a broken arm.

8. He’s the most loyal person you’ll ever meet.

9. He’s allergic to horses.

10. When he’s gigging or playing football he wears his lucky boxers, the ones with Spiderman on the butt.


Well.... Nathan sound  like fun! I can't wait to read Boys Like You. 



About the author

Juliana Stone’s love of the written word and 80s rock, have inspired her in more ways than one. She writes contemporary romance, paranormal romance and will debut a young adult novel in 2014. She spends her days navigating a busy life that includes, a husband, kids, a dog and a cat.

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TEASER TUESDAY: SUN-KISSED by LAURA FLORAND

 Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along, just do as following:

·Grab your current read

·Open to a random page

·Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page

·Be careful not to include any spoilers so as not to ruin the book for others.

Make sure to share the title and the author so other TT participants can add the book to their TBR piles.

 Series: Snow Queen #2/Amour et Chocolate #7
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date: 5/20/14


GoodReads  

They called her the Ice Queen.Anne Winters. Self-made billionaire. Household name. Divorced single mom. Convicted felon. She didn’t let anyone or anything get to her. No one was allowed to breach the walls around her heart except for her own son. She had only one trusted friend: her vacation house neighbor. They’d been walking the beach together for twenty years. Not that this gave him access to her heart, of course…They called him a man who got what he wanted. Mack Corey. Self-made billionaire. Dominant world player. Widowed father of the bride. No felony convictions yet, although his daughters had come close. He’d transformed his family company into one of the top 500 by the age of thirty. He’d raised two daughters who dumped him for idiot arrogant French chocolatiers and went off to live in Paris. Hell, he even managed to tolerate his dad. But that Ice Queen act Anne Winters had going was really starting to get to him…They’d been friends for twenty years. Could they become lovers? Could a frozen heart be kissed by the sun?

My Teaser

 

  "I didn't lose my mind. My mind just kind of woke up and focused. It's amazing how effective a dash of cold water on a man's dick can be at reaching to his brain. And I realized I should trust you."

  What? Why does that sound so--strange? Opposite? That he should need to trust her?

  "I mean, twenty years, Anne. If you want to knee me in the groin or slap me or say yes, if we have good sex, or crappy sex, or no sex, any way this can go, I'll still be on that beach tomorrow. Won't 

you?" 

 She sighed very heavily. "Of course I will, you idiot."

  A smile around the edges of his mouth, tight and happy and carefully contained. But his eyes were brilliant. "So I can't lose you. And that's the only thing I've been afraid of. What about you? What are you afraid of?"

This story was gorgeous and just phenomenal. My review posts on release day.

Review: Laugh (Burnside #2) by Mary Ann Rivers

Series: Burnside #2
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Loveswept
Publication Date: 5/6/14
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Rating: 5 stars

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Mary Ann Rivers continues her Burnside family series—perfect for readers of Kristan Higgins, Jill Shalvis, and Ruthie Knox—as two people try to share their hearts without losing their cool.

Dr. Sam Burnside is convinced that volunteering at an urban green-space farm in Lakefield, Ohio, is a waste of time—especially with his new health clinic about to open. He only goes to mollify his partner, suspecting she wants him to lighten up. Then Sam catches sight of Nina Paz, a woman who gives off more heat than a scorcher in July. Her easy smile and flirty, sizzling wit has him forgetting his infamous need for control.

Widowed when her husband was killed in Afghanistan, Nina has learned that life exists to take chances. As the daughter of migrant workers turned organic farmers, she’s built an exciting and successful business by valuing new opportunities and working hard to take care of her own. But when Sam pushes for a relationship that goes beyond their hotter-than-fire escapades, Nina ignores her own hard-won wisdom. She isn’t ready for a man who needs saving—even if her heart compels her to take the greatest risk of all: love.

I'm just going to preemptively put out this warning: my review for Laugh may be a bit of a hot mess. The story is just so deep and so real and my brain wants to cover every single angle. I know that's not possible, nor should I do that. Just know that no matter how hard I try to give the story the respect it deserves, I know I won't do Laugh justice.

Sam Burnside is an angry man. At least, he seems to be. In Live, he came across as overbearing and arrogant. Much pressure has been laid on his shoulders throughout his life, and it's a burden he bears heavily. I was surprised by Sam in Laugh. Surprised to realize what it is that makes him angry. He has spent a lifetime managing, some times more successfully than other, ADHD. His mother helped him cope and manage, but after her death, his father couldn't deal with Sam in the same manner. That easy understanding was gone, leaving Sam to feel alone. When Sam can't cope, or things change, it makes him feel overwhelmed and anxious, which in turn makes him frustrated and causes him to lash out. Sam has big emotions and at times struggles to manage them in a way that doesn't push people away. Sam loves hard, but rather than bring people closer, his earnestness pushes them away. He just wants to be happy. To make others happy by simply being, like his sister Des, but he struggles with just being. Sam is so afraid of losing something that he hold on to everything.

Ten years ago, Nina Paz lost her husband, and in a manner, her life. Unable to grieve in the way the families needed her to, she left that life behind and started again on her own. She built a farm and a business, a family of close friends and coworkers. She built a life that she could look on and see the results. Nina has a sort of cautiously optimistic outlook on life. She knows all too well it can go wrong in a moment's time, but she also knows a life have-lived is no life at all. In the time following her husband's death, Nina took quick and easy comfort from the bodies of men. She had nothing else to give. She's not ashamed of that time in her life, but she is done with it. It would be easy to seek that comfort with Sam, to give it to him. But it's time to slow down, and see what the present brings. What she finds with same isn't empty satisfaction that got her through the dark times. It's a fullness. But that fullness scares her, because she knows too well the pain of losing it.

Sam and Nina together were endearing. Nina knew the exact way to love Sam, soothing and understanding him. She's the first person since his mother's death who really gets him and the language of his love. Sam is seeking, and Nina soothes the piece of him that's always hoping to be and do enough. To not do too much, which is his way. But it's such a struggle for him. Nina needs slow, and Sam tends to rush with his brain and heart crashing ahead. Sam is almost...manic with his love and the need to claim Nina now. And I love that he's all "I'm kind of an asshole." and yet he's completely lovable because he is open and earnest. But Sam brings so much to Nina. He loves her so well and so passionately. He understands why she's so passionate about her work and her people, he acknowledges her husband's forever place in her heart. These two were so sexy, too! I love that they talked so much, worked to understand each other. But they also let their bodies speak and love each other when they had no voice.

The rest of the Burnsides play a part in the story, especially PJ. The very tense relationship between Sam and PJ is examines and ohmyword! I hope that boy gets his own book. His life-long love for Lacey, the refusal to ever give up on her, it is what epic love stories are made of. Sam and Sarah's tremendously strained relationship is dealt with as well. Sarah is so hard to pin down. Like Sam in Live, I don't think I like her that much, but I hope to be proved wrong if she gets a story too.

I can't leave this review without discussing my beloved Des and Hefin. I'm so happy that we get glimpses into their new life. I will love that gruff and charming woodcarver/engineer forever.

Mary Ann Rivers is an author I trust implicitly. She unfailingly delivers stories with such realism, about the people around us. She delivers the romance that is best experienced in the quiet moments between two people falling in love, or who are already there. It's gritty and tough and messy. It's beautiful.

Favorite Quotes
  She'd take his hours and see if she could make days out of them. One by one. Steady. No waiting, but no racing either.
   An hour at a time.


  "Nina," he whispered, and she could hear the hope in it, the hope that he was going to do the right thing, and make this happen, and give himself to her and she would take him, she could hear in how he said her name that she wanted her to take him. Him. Just him.

  Sam Burnside had the clearest, sweetest heart of anyone she had known. Even as he fought himself and struggled to understand the people he loved, fought them, he never withheld his love.
  Everyone Sam loved knew it.
  It's why, she thought, watching him sleep, the people Sam loved weren't as gentle with him as they should be. They were safe with him, his love made them perfectly safe. Safe to behave badly or to test how much love could bear.
  His love made their love better. When they tested it, they found love to be strong beyond measure, able to bear incalculable losses.

The Burnside Series

 

(covers lead to GoodReads page)

About the author  

Mary Ann Rivers has been wearing a groove in her library card since she was old enough for story time. She’s been writing almost as long—her first publication credit was in Highlights magazine. She started writing and reading romance in the fifth grade once she stumbled on the rainbow of romance novel book spines in the library’s fiction stacks.

She was an English and music major and went on to earn her MFA in creative writing, publishing poetry in journals, and leading creative writing workshops for at-risk youth. While training for her day job as a Nurse Practitioner, she rediscovered romance on the bedside tables of her favorite patients.

Mary Ann lives in the Midwest with her handsome professor husband and their imaginative school-aged son. She writes smart and emotional contemporary romance, imagining stories featuring the heroes and heroines just ahead of her in the coffee line.

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