COURTNEY REVIEWS: INEVITABLE by NICOLA HAKEN

Series: stand alone
Category/Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Nicola Haaken
Publication Date: 5/19/13
Format: ebook
Pages: 351
Source: Received from author for review

Thanks to her mother’s unstable moods and knack for making bad decisions, seventeen year old Maddie Davis has never lived in one place long enough to remember its postcode. A life spent running and caring for her wayward mother has turned British-born Maddie into the strong, outspoken and independent girl she is today – if not a little lonely. This time, running away is a whole new ballgame. For the first time her mum is not just dragging her to a different town – but a whole new country. It is only when they arrive in sunny California to be near Trudy - an old friend of her mum’s - Maddie starts to hope they’ve reached their final destination. For the first time she dreams of a future. She makes friends, commits to an education and meets a boy who has the potential to steal her heart… and break it even faster.

Trudy’s stepson Blaine Elwood appears to have it all. To the outside world quarterback Blaine is rich, confident and has the ‘arrogant bad boy’ image down to a tee. But nobody knows what goes on behind closed doors. Nobody ever can. He has vowed never to let anyone get too close – let anyone discover how weak he is. So when new girl Maddie starts tugging at strings he didn’t know existed in his heart, his only option is to push her away – until he realises how much he needs her.

Maddie and Blaine are heading for a future neither of them dreamed of – a happy one. But then, not only are Blaine’s issues at home intensifying, he discovers a shocking secret that could either send Maddie back running and force her out of his life forever, or pull them closer than they’ve ever been before. Will their shattered secrets leave too many broken shards to piece back together, or was their love inevitable from the start?

 

Inevitable is a story of a girl named Maddie who is moved from England with her mother, basically on the run. Her mother has a lot of issues, and has a lot of difficulty holding down a respectable job (aka, she mostly is a prostitute)...but that is really the tip of the iceberg. Maddie has spent most of her teenage years taking care of her mom when times are bad, so she knows no different now, except now she is in an entirely different country.

I really liked this story...but I have to tell you...pretend everyone is British and you will get along great! The first few chapters have legit dialect changes when we are in Maddie's POV and then when we switch to Blaine's...but then more English terms start coming in (which I heart, hardcore, so I didn't mind) and made things a bit confusing. When it shifted back to 100% English terms about a quarter of the way through, I let out a relieved sigh, because it was just better that way. Blaine also seemed like less of a douchebag that way.

Blaine has so many secrets too...and it takes quite a while for his DB ways to subside and for him to admit that he feels something for Maddie. I was shocked by how his storyline played out and so freaking sad. One might think that some of this stuff was glossed over...but really for the subject matter at hand I was glad that it was handled very sensitively. Blaine is a much better guy than he gives himself credit for, and he has to learn over and over to stop trying to protect everyone else and let himself lean on Maddie for support.

The ending...whoa! It came on fast, and I spent a good portion of the last 10% with my hand over my mouth. I just knew something really bad was going to happen, and while it doesn't say too early what is going on..it is implied...and while I figured it out....the conclusion was still sad and crazy. Luckily we have enough time left for a phoenix out of the ashes moment, and get to see these characters fight their way out of the fire and get closure and move on.

The sensitivity for psychological issues in this novel really make me want to hug Nicola...like a lot. As a nurse I see a lot what happens when somebody is unable, sometimes by their choice...sometimes not, to get the help that they need. And I've had the joy of getting appointments for some of these people...by joy I mean getting an appointment 4 months from now for someone who really needs to talk to somebody NOW! (Sorry, sarcasm doesn't portray well through text, working on it) Obvs, this whole system needs some work...but I thought this was a very real plot line that is pretty dear to me. So yeah..thanks! <3

Purchase Inevitable 

            

About the author:
I live in Rochdale, England with my wonderful family. I have two novels under my belt (Inevitable and Saving Amy) and am currently working on a new book to be released in the next few months.

When I'm not playing with my imaginary friends I can usually be found looking after my four adorable (sometimes!) children (five if you include the dog, six if you include the hubby!) or studying towards my English Literature degree.

All in all I'm just an ordinary mum with an addiction to reading about hot book guys, writing about hot book guys and Pepsi Max!


Connect with Nicola
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COURTNEY REVIEWS: LOVE, LINE-BREAK by JULIE MERONEK

Series: n/a
Category/Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Rebecca Giacomelli
Publication Date: 5/7/13
Format: ebook
Pages: 382
Source: Received from author for review

Sometimes distance and timing can get in the way of what would otherwise be. What if you got that second chance?

That’s what Sarah Reder is asking herself when Kellan Parker, an ex-friend, an ex-maybe-something-more, is suddenly back in her life, even if it’s only for a weekend. Will she ditch her stable but boring boyfriend Ben? And what will Kellan do about his live-in yet absent girlfriend Alice?

Sometimes the shortest time periods can feel like the longest moments. Will one weekend be enough time to fix five years of silence, or will it just bring all the old fights back to the surface?

 

 

 

Love, Line-Break was another complete surprise for me. The blurb really doesn't give a lot of insight into how the story is going to unfold so I went into it not having a clear picture. We know that two old friends are going to reconnect for a weekend, and lines will be blurred. I have mentioned it before, but I am always very wishy washy about cheating plot lines. This is another one where I am rooting for the main characters to be together in the end, but during the entire story they have a significant other...and Sarah happens to have a significant other that she is engaged to. There are many reasons why I more or less fell off the fence to their side and the main one is how intricately their friendship during college and their memories are interwoven into the story. 

Sarah and Kellen are seeing each other again after five years (except for a couple of phones calls, and one encounter at her brother's wedding) is all of their group of friends is in New York City for their five year reunion from graduating from Columbia. She and Kellen have a few stolen moments together where he wants to talk about what happened, or didn't happen, with them in the past and why they can't be defined just as friends. They are indecisive and unsure and pretty much have been waiting 10 years for the other one to make the first move, so once again lack of communication is their downfall. They spend an evening walking around NYC and reminisce about all of the things they used to do together and it seems that there aren't a lot of places in their town that they didn't have a memory at together before he talks her into coming for the rest of the weekend back to Miami with him. Dun, dun, dun. 

I held out hope at every single turn for Kellen not to be as big of a douchebag as he seemed. Sometimes he would be so sweet and attentive and want more, and then we find out some of the secrets he'd been keeping or even doing while she was in Miami with him and man oh man, did he not get what he deserved. Sarah's internal dialogue helped fill in the picture of who Kellen is and who he is to her, and it helped me alot. Their best friend status was one where they slept in the same bed almost every night in college, did everything together, finished each others sentences, but were too afraid of how the other felt to put their own heart out there. I figure it is probably why I still continued to like him even with his many faults. She explains he is OCD, and hot and cold and all over the place and even she is turned off by who he is, but that is still why she likes him too. He is always exactly who he is, and that for her...since she has no freaking clue...is very desirable. Kellen doesn't make great decisions, but hold out for when he finally figures it all out. 

A huge part of the story also is the group of friends as a whole. The six of them were attached at the hip during college, and have kept close like Sarah, Luke and Hope. Luke is Sarah's brother and he is married to Hope. Or they've become somewhat frenemies with their friend Jen, who has an obvious to everyone but her breakup with Tom on the horizon. Kellen fell off the radar by moving to Miami, and not really coming back, but the reunion is a catalyst for them all to hang out together in their old haunts. The group feel and relationships that are revealed one conversation at a time has Indie Movie written all over it. I am a closet indie film junkie, and by closet I mean I watch alone simply because no one else I know wants to with me....so I fell in love with this obviously. Not many people I am sure has watched The Romantics, but if you have...it is that type of friendships. Secondary characters are very important to me, and if they can reach into the story and have important subplots without completely derailing the rest of the story, I am hooked. This is one of those, and it is funny when one outside person tells Sarah how not everyone is as crazy as their entire group is and it was so true. The whole group gets derailed in crazy, surprising ways by the end of the book and it left me wanting so much more information to where they go from here.

Sarah's job as a travel guide writer takes her so many places. She spends her life in a suitcase going from place to place analyzing restaurants, hotels, and out of the way places that aren't considered touristy places in all of the big cities she visits. The writing of this in addition to the memories and yes, even including the chaos of the present, is so good and made me fall in love with this book. I couldn't stop reading it, because Julie Meronek killed it with descriptions of New York from the point of view of a real New Yorker, or made me feel like I was on the beach in Miami, or on the streets of Paris. Inclusion of places that can be clearly visualized without being overly obnoxious in detail are yet another thing that I love and it is a huge part of the quest to understand Sarah. 

I am amazed that since it came out in May there is only 1 review on Amazon, and no inclusions on Goodreads except for mine (that I can see, there might be more). It might be the price, which is a little daunting for a new book to people who aren't sure, or the cover. I liked it, but the blurb and it combined don't really give a clear picture to how amazing and rich the book was to me. I take away from it a feel for life and relationships and a girl finding herself and choosing who and what she wants, but taking a bumpy road to get there. Some of their decisions had me totally crazy, but that's life. People make horrible decisions all of the time, so for me these were raw and real, and the locations were almost another character. I am hoping that while I was satisfied for the most part with the ending, it did leave me with a few unanswered questions. If these two don't get another story, I hope atleast Luke does. That guy is the most amazing and loyal out of the group and gets the shaft in an awful way. *hint, hint* Julie, Luke..I want more about Luke! 


Favorite Quotes:

  "She wasn't happy. She's just pushing back against whatever she felt was keeping her in that situation, and yeah, it sucks. But you can't assume any of that about Kellan. Honestly, he probably didn't think about it at all."

 
  "I wish it were simpler to keep someone. To know someone well enough, and then just hold on."
  Luke shakes his head. "You don't get to keep people. They're too complicated, they're always changing. Independent, real, whatever you want to call it. Not a commodity."

 

Purchase Love, Line-Break at: (I receive  no compensation for purchases)          

 

 

Connect with Julie at her Website

 

 

 

COURTNEY REVIEWS: TWISTED SUMMER by LUCY V. MORGAN

Series: n/a
Category/Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance
Publisher: self-published
Publication Date: April 2013
Format: ebook
Pages: 168
Source: Received from author for review.

A dark New Adult romance

You have to understand that we never meant for it to happen. We knew it was stupid. We knew it was wrong.

Eighteen-year-old Danni Warren has big plans for her last summer before college: a cool job, a concert she wouldn’t miss for the world, and spending time with her beautiful girlfriend, Esme. But after one hell of an argument, Danni’s mother packs her off to stay with her estranged step-uncle, Gabe, in his lodge on the English coast. So begins a weekend of the worst punishment imaginable: no phone signal.

With his sun kissed good looks and sarcastic manner, twenty-nine-year-old Gabe Asher isn’t anything like Danni expected. She wants to hate him—he’s her punishment for standing up to her mother—but between surfing lessons and beach hikes, Gabe and Danni grow close. Maybe too close.

Now Danni’s questioning everything: old family secrets, her future, her strained relationship with Esme. One sun stained afternoon, Gabe and Danni go too far. And then everything else falls apart…

 

 

Twisted Summer was a story for me that had a lot of moments I really liked. My absolute favorite thing about it was the dialogue, and the authenticity coming from a British author made it that much more enjoyable. My rating was 3.5 stars and I hope I can explain why, since I've been stewing on what I think for a few days!

Danni is an 18 year old girl who is sent to spend the weekend in the middle of nowhere with her mom's step-brother, who (whom?) she hasn't seen since she was a small child. So Gabe, the non-uncle as he is usually referred to, is 29 and totally smoking hot. Having the name Gabriel Asher just screams it really, so he had to be! The premise of this taboo take on things completely had my interest. And unfortunately for me, I clearly did not read the blurb close enough or too fast, and missed the part where Danni is the one with the girlfriend. I honestly thought Gabe was who that was going to be about so I started it thinking he was going to be a typical grade A jerk, and it took me a bit to get on track with where the story was going instead of where I thought it to be going.

I always feel a little funny with the whole cheating plot line. I hate it, and I hate myself when I don't feel bad about it happening, at all. This book twisted my emotions, pun intended, and I flip flopped every few pages about how I felt about Danni. Esme was...controlling and possessive, and really judgey. I didn't like her, but at the same time felt really, really bad for her. Danni tried to have her...cake, yeah cake is what I'm going with here, and eat it too, and THAT'S when I wanted to shake her like a shake weight. She really was in a huge shit storm of her own creation, and I really couldn't feel a bit sorry for her. I have a favorite series that has a bisexual character, and you never for a second doubt or are confused about this part of him. I think Danni's age played a huge role in this confusion, but a lot of what she said and did made me side with Esme on questioning her feelings and intentions. She never even told her girlfriend that she thought she was bisexual. I'm no expert, but in my opinion that is a very big deal when the other person thinks you are on the same page as them, not matter what sexual orientation.

On the flip side though, it was an interesting array of events that was truly a coming of age story. Even when I didn't get it, I had to tell myself this girl is 18 years old, and we're inside her head 100% of the time. She thinks she is wise and knows what's up, but it is painfully obvious that she has some growing up to do. I am drawn to these sorts of things, not only because I got married when I was 18 and have a different story than most college age people, but I like stories that are different like this one and opens my eyes. I like to pretend "I would NEVER have acted like that when I was that age," but we all know that really who the hell knows. I digress. The point is I liked this story because you're right there with Danni navigating all of these adult situations, with a newly adult mindset. She has a teenage view when she thinks that just because she's in her Gabe bubble and being sneaky, people won't be on to her.

I was quite surprised to be honest with the end of the story, and Danni's growth and maturity finally shined through. After all of the drama and heartache she caused, it was especially nice to find out where everyone ended up.

 

 

 

Purchase Twisted Summer at:

Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble

 

 

About the author: 

Lucy writes sharp contemporary fiction, usually with a liberal splatter of filth. She is a Lyrical Press author and a screenwriter.

Her upcoming new adult novel, TWISTED SUMMER, is a gutsy take on forbidden love starring an even gutsier heroine.
Her contemporary series, encompassing CHAIRMAN OF THE WHORED and THE WHORED'S PRAYER, features slick London lawyers with a penchant for sensual violence. It's definitely on the darker side. BEAUTIFUL MESS, her current release, is a snarky, sexy friends-to-lovers romp.

Lucy is currently working on new novels, and is developing a paranormal television series with producers (think The Vampire Diaries meets The 4400).

She is still trying to kick her dirty Pepsi habit.

 

Connect with Lucy at:

Website  |  Twitter  |  Facebook