Courtney Reviews: The Oyster's Autobiography by Kitty Kilby

Series: Standalone

Genre: YA Contemp Romance

Publisher: Self-Pub

Publication Date: 6/12/13

Format: ebook

Pages: 155

Source: Author

Rating: 5 stars

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Shy girls don’t yarn-bomb the school fence at dawn, and they definitely don’t skip school to hang out with Patrick Hayes—student council president, football vice-captain (and president of his own fan club).

But then, best friends don’t usually resort to blackmail.

Fifteen-year-old Mabs is the shadow to Olivia’s sun. That’s how it’s always been. But when Olivia goes on a semester-long exchange to France, Mabs can no longer hide behind her best friend.

When a letter arrives, postmarked Paris, the last thing Mabs expects is blackmail. And unless she completes the enclosed list of dares by the time Olivia gets home, Olivia will send the love poem she stole from Mabs’s diary to the boy it was written about.

What’s even worse than the possibility of Rob Eno (her way too easily decipherable codename for the former object of her affections) seeing that poem, or her best friend thinking that she’s a friendless recluse who needs to be blackmailed into getting a life, is having to admit it just might be true.

After a few humiliating attempts, Mabs realises the only way she’s ever going to get the list finished in time is to enlist the help of an extrovert. Enter Patrick Hayes, her brother’s pain-in-the-neck best friend. The ultimate extrovert, he might be the only one who can help Mabs finish the list, and step out of Olivia’s shadow.

 

 

Courtney's Review

 

I was really excited for this novel when I read the blurb because a) I am a huge fan of Young Adult and b) it involved blackmail. Hah! The heroine's best friend is the outgoing one, so when she gets to go to Europe for a semester she decides to take matters into her own hands for getting Mabs to come out of her shell. There is a letter, a list, and a threat to reveal her deepest, darkest secret to her long time crush if she doesn't follow through with it. 

Mabs is reaalllllly mad at this turn of events. She likes being a wallflower, and she doesn't feel like she needs to change. She swears off Olivia...but wouldn't luck have it that her brother's best friend Patrick finds out about the list. And when he decides to help her complete it...she agrees, even if she acts like having Olivia's brand of fun may actually kill her! 

This story reads really, really, really fast. I think Goodreads lists it in at 155 pages, but I felt like the characters were fun, the premise was fun, and the entire thing just a lot of fun. You may or may not want to have nostalgia shot your way for your awkward teen years, but I enjoyed it immensely. I couldn't wait to see if she completes her tasks, or if her crush would find out about her, or if she and Patrick would continue to develop into best friends. I loved his character, and I think you will too. 

The Oyster's Autobiography is fun, there is a bit of angst, there is a lot of frantic thoughts on Mabs part as she struggles through her sophomore year without her best friend, but the journey she goes on is well paced, well written, and full of secondary characters that made me smile, sad, and mad. I enjoyed it so much! Check it out. 

Connect with Kitty Kilby

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Teaser Tuesday: How to Handle a Heartbreaker by Marie Harte

  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: The McCauley Brothers #2

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Sourcebooks Casa

Publication Date: 8/5/14

 

 
GoodReads  

It’s lust-at-first-sight when Brody Singer first sees Abby Dunn. Abby looks a lot like a woman he once knew, one who died years ago. But Abby’s definitely different—shyer but sexier.


Abby’s still trying to put her last disastrous relationship behind her and overcome the flaws her ex wouldn’t let her forget. But somehow Brody isn’t getting the hint. It doesn’t help that when writing her steamy novels, she keeps casting Brody as the hero.

Only Abby can write her own ending—will she choose her own happily-ever-after, or stay safe in her shell?

My Teaser ~

 

  "It's so obvious. Just sleep with him. Get it out of your system. Then use it to write those smut scenes you're always going on about it your books. And presto. Deadline problem solved."

  The familiar argument made her see red. "Smut? I write erotic romance. Not porn. Not smut. Not raunchy--"

  "Right. Raunchy." Vanessa snapped her fingers. "That's the word I wanted when I was telling Francis about your book the other day."

 

Review: Lay It Down (Desert Dogs #1) by Cara McKenna

Series: Desert Dogs #1

 

Series: Desert Dogs #1

Genre: Romantic Suspense

Publisher: Signet Eclipse

Publication Date: 8/5/14

Format: eARC

Pages: 336

Source: Publisher

Rating: 3 stars

GoodReads  |  Amazon  |  BN

 

Backbreaking days, wild nights, and the hard hum of steel between your thighs... 

 

That’s a life well lived, according to the Desert Dogs—four friends who call Fortuity, Nevada, their badlands home. Vince Grossier is the self-crowned outlaw king around here. But when Fortuity’s slick new mayor invites a shady casino development to town, the invaders’ cutthroat takeover tactics quickly turn deadly. With police turning a suspiciously blind eye, it’s up to the locals to fight back, and Vince is on the front line. The pretty photographer hired by the developers might be the key to infiltrating the enemy. And a temptation too good to pass up.

 

Finally free of a controlling ex, Kim Paget’s not looking to be taken for a ride—not on the back of some tattooed roughneck’s bike and definitely not in his bed. But when she finds evidence that her bosses are rattlesnake-dangerous, Kim must entrust her safety to the man who threatens danger of a whole different kind.

My Review

 

No one will be more surprised than me that I did not love Lay It Down. I don't even personally know of another reader who was more anxious to read this book. It's possible that my expectations were too high, but I honestly don't think that's it. As much as I wanted to love this book, I didn't.

 

Here's why...

 

Cara McKenna is a master at writing stories with a bit of quirk. It can be that the character has an unexpected kink, personality or occupation. Or they story might revolve around an unusual circumstance. Whatever it is, I go into a McKenna book just knowing there will be some sort of hook that will have me dying of giddy as I read. Lay It Down didn't have that. It was mainstream, which is fine. I'm sure that this novel will find a huge audience for that very reason. But for some reason, deserved or not, I just felt somewhat let down.

 

Lay It Down is not an MC book. And fine, that doesn't really bother me, and it's not promised in the book description, but.... it's kind of implied. A lot of readers are going to look at that cover and assume. Vince Grossier is a dude who just happens to ride a bike while trying to solve a murder mystery and get into his favorite gal's pants.

 

Lay It Down read like a cross between a modern-day western and romantic suspense. The story is set in northern Nevada, with the townspeople, led by Vince, dismayed over a casino development. There's a lot of talk about the red dirt and quarries and shafts (not the fun kind). Though it's actually fit the story, it didn't turn my crank. The same for the romantic suspense element. There's an old murder, a new possible murder and bad guys who'll stop at nothing to get their way. The story does not end on a true cliffhanger, but there seems to be a big series arc. I just don't have a lot of luck with the sub-genre.

 

Something I love about McKenna's other work is her ability to make me believe in a couple, despite impossibilities. I've believed in a hermit alcoholic with a penchant for ropes and his sweet lady love. I've believed in a Parisian male prostitute and his virgin lover. I've always felt that connection. With Kim and Vince, I totally bought the physical, but didn't really understand why exactly they fell in love.

 

There's an element of magical realism in Lay It Down, and it just didn't work for me. Vince's mom and his brother both have "the sight". They're able to predict the future and it does play an important role in the story, at least on the mom's end. I don't know, it felt unnecessary, to me.

 

As long as I'm wearing my tightest pair of rantypants, let me just add one more issue. I love the swears. I use the swears a lot in real life. I like to mix things up which means I vary my swears. But geez, it felt like every other sentence started with the word "Goddamn..." I mean, I get it, it's a great swear word but what about the other greats? They were vastly underused. I swear, I got so annoyed that my eye started twitching every time another sentence started with that word.

 

 

Okay. I know this review is coming off as pretty negative, but I did like Lay It Down well enough. The main characters were fairly engaging, as were the secondary characters. I'm hoping future books will focus on different leads, particularly Rayna and Vince's brother Case. The story was interesting, it just didn't pull me in. My favorite part, to no one's surprise, was the sex. McKenna is always stellar at the physical interactions between her characters, and Lay It Down was no exception.

 

So. Do I recommend Lay It Down? I do, but long-time McKenna fans should be prepared for something completely different.

 

 

Favorite Quotes

 

 

  She spoke to his throat, watching the pulse tick there. "I want you to know, you're the most obnoxious man I've ever met."

  He nodded thoughtfully, looking not at all surprised. "That's why I dialed back my usual wooing tactics."

 

 

  "You banged a guy named Vince... Holy shit. That is so awesome. Are you his old lady now? Do you have to get his name tattooed on your cleavage?"

  "He's not in a gang you spaz. Though he is on parole..."

  A pause. Jesus Christ, Kimbo. I don't think I've seen you go through a major breakup before, but when you're in the market for a bad-idea rebound, you do not fuck around."

  "Apparently not."

  "You're my new hero. Tell me everything."

 

 

About Cara McKenna

 

Cara McKenna writes smart erotica—sexy stories with depth. A little dark, a little funny, always emotional. She also writes red-hot romance under the name Meg Maguire. Her wonderful publishers are Ellora's Cave, Harlequin Blaze, Loose-Id, Penguin / Intermix, and Samhain. She loves writing sexy, character-driven stories about strong-willed men and women who keep each other on their toes, and bring one another to their knees.

Cara was a 2010 Golden Heart finalist, a 2012 Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award nominee, and a 2012 Golden Leaf finalist.

Cara is represented by Laura Bradford, of the Bradford Literary Agency.

Before becoming a purveyor of red-hot romance and smart erotica, Cara was a record store bitch, a lousy barista, a decent designer, and an overly enthusiastic penguin handler.

Cara now writes full-time and lives north of Boston with her bearded husband. When she's not trapped in her own head she can usually be found in the kitchen, the coffee shop, or jogging around the nearest duck-filled pond. She is a very proud member of the Romance Writers of America® and her local New England Chapter.

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Cover Reveal: Cherish (Covet #1.5) by Tracey Garvis-Graves

I am so excited to share the gorgeous cover for Cherish, by New York Times Bestselling Author Tracey Garvis-Graves. This novella is a companion to Covet, and let me just say, I have been periodically begging Tracey for Daniel's story since I finished Covet. Be sure to let me know what you think!

Title: Cherish (Covet 1.5)
Author: Tracey Garvis-Graves
Age Group: Adult
Genre: Women's Fiction/Contemporary Romance

Add Cherish on Goodreads

Fans of Covet by New York Times bestselling author Tracey Garvis Graves will be delighted by this novella-length sequel.


When Daniel Rush wakes up in the hospital after suffering a gunshot wound to the head, the last person he expects to see at his bedside is his ex-wife Jessica. Their marriage disintegrated after the death of their infant son Gabriel, and Daniel gave Jessie what he thought she wanted: the freedom to start over with someone else. But Daniel never updated his emergency contact information, and Jessie is the one who receives the call with the devastating news.


Daniel was Jessie’s one true love. Together since college, Jessie had dreams of raising a family with Daniel, and growing old together. When Gabriel died, Jessie buried those dreams with her beloved son and shut everyone out, including Daniel.


Daniel faces months of grueling rehabilitation and he’s going to need some help. Jessie is the last person anyone expects to volunteer, but this is her one chance to make amends, giving her and Daniel a shot at getting things right this time.


The road to recovery will be long and arduous. But with Jessie leading the way, Daniel just might be able to get his old life back.


Daniel knows how to covet. But can Jessie help him remember how to cherish?


*Please note that this is a novella-length sequel. Reading Covet before Cherish is highly recommended in order to enhance your reading pleasure.
 

See where Daniel's story begins, with Covet

 

 

GoodReads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks

 

 

About Tracey Garvis-Graves 

 

Tracey Garvis-Graves is the author of On the Island and Covet. She lives in a suburb of Des Moines, Iowa with her husband, two children, and hyper dog Chloe. She blogs at www.traceygarvisgraves.com using colorful language and a snarky sense of humor to write about pop culture, silly television shows, and her suburban neighborhood. You can e-mail her at traceygarvisgraves@yahoo.com. She’d love to hear from you.

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REVIEW: BATHING AND THE SINGLE GIRL by CHRISTINE ELISE MCCARTHY

Series: Standalone
Genre: Women's Fiction

Publisher: Multum In Parvo

Publication Date: Feb 2014

Format: ebook 

Pages: 372

Source: Author 

Rating: 4 stars

GoodReads  |  Amazon  |  B&N  |   iBooks  | Google Play

BATHING & THE SINGLE GIRL is the smutty, mercilessly irreverent and laugh-out-loud funny debut novel by actress Christine Elise McCarthy. Inspired by her one-woman short film of the same name, it’s the kind of novel Jonathan Ames might write if he’d dropped out of college and had been working as an actress in Hollywood for the last 20 years.

The life of an actress in LA isn’t all glamour, money, and bedding rock stars. Sometimes it’s more about humiliation, red wine hangovers, and the bad decisions they fuel. Ruby Fitzgerald has barely worked in years, not that anyone remembers her for anything but her short stint on a long-canceled but iconic TV show. But that was back when her career prospects seemed on the upswing -- longer ago than Ruby cares to admit, and awkward sex with regrettable partners is doing nothing to take the edge off. Everything once functional in her house is going on strike, but the unemployment checks barely cover the mortgage, and a self-respecting girl needs to be able to pay her bar tab -- so repairs are on hold. One more bubble bath and a few more cocktails. A gal can always get responsible tomorrow.

With everything mounting against her, a cranky and increasingly despairing Ruby will have to find out if her life’s larger indignities are the result of bad luck, or a chronically bad attitude. What follows is a walking tour of the hilarious depths you can sink to if you stop exercising your best judgment.

My Review

Oh my gosh, where do I even begin with Bathing and the Single Girl? This is a book that is really hard to review because honestly, I think it's best to experience first-hand. This is not my way of writing a lazy review, but it's true! In fact, I have a friend, Amanda, who appreciates the funny as much as I do. I kept telling Amanda how funny BatSG was, and she was interested, for sure. But, when I began sending her screen caps of the hilarious moments in the story, she immediately bought a copy.

There are a few ways I internally categorize humor. There's SALTS, which means Smiled A Little Then Stopped. Those books have funny moments, but nothing that really stands out. The highest level of funny is Holy Shit, Did Amanda Write This? Obviously, this is the level of funny Bathing and the Single Girl achieved. This book had me highlighting entire pages, texting the funny to my friend, reading the passages to my husband while crying tears of hysterics.

Oooh, I should probably throw out a couple of qualifications. One, my idea of funny is different from some. This book could get pretty crude sometimes, and by pretty, I mean a lot. Nothing is safe from the characters' snark, be it age, sex, religion or politics. And speaking of politics, that's my second point. Towards the end, Ruby begins dating someone with very different ideas of politics and religion. There's no mistaking that Ruby thinks he is ridiculous, her friends think he's ridiculous. I happen to share a lot of the Ruby's ideas on politics and religion, so it didn't bother me. But for those
 who don't, that could be annoying.

Bathing and the Single Girl is the story of an actress, written by the actress. It reads as part women's fiction and part memoir. I can only imagine that the author drew on her own life experiences to write the story, but it doesn't really matter if she did or she didn't. A lot of the fun was the wondering, imagining who could be the real-life counterparts to the story.

Regardless of my speculation, Bathing and the Single Girl was great. It read as honest, totally unflinching, and remarkably funny. I really enjoyed it and do highly recommend.

Favorite Quotes

  "Fuck Justin Timberlake."
  "You love Justin Timberlake."
  "Until I found out his mother is--like--my age. It's one level of wrong to have a crush on a teenager with a Jew fro but it is a whole new level of yuck when he could be your son. I don't need Chris Hanson showing up with Perverted Justice while I'm trying to seduce Justin with chocolate chip cookies and sweet tea."


  "I'm sorry, baby..."
  Oh God, I thought as I curled my fingers around his mini gherkin. I felt like a pedophile. I tried to think of something, anything, to say in response to this apology. Then I realized he had something else to say.
  "You probably already noticed, but..."
  A suicide pact seemed like the only way out of what was going to be the most uncomfortable situation of our lives.
  "Anyway, I'm sorry. But I have really small balls."
  I actually did a slow-mo head turn and "Can you believe this shit?" look over my shoulder to a non-existent witness.
  "I'm sorry, baby. You probably noticed that I have really small balls," he says? Guess what? No! No, I didn't. As a matter of fact, I didn't notice your balls at all.



  "Eliza, I'm not sure you have thought this thing through properly. You do realize that, right? That as a lesbian, you don't just walk around having Samantha Ronson lookalikes munch your box. I'm guessing that, at some point, some chick with pubic sideburns is going to expect a reach-around. And by reach-around I mean they are going to expect you to go ears-deep in their ham wallet. Are you ready for that?




About the author

Christine Elise McCarthy has been acting professionally for 25 years and is recognized primarily for her roles as U4EA-popping bad girl, Emily Valentine, on Beverly Hills, 90210, as Harper Tracy on ER, and as Kyle, the gal who killed Chucky in Child’s Play 2. She has also appeared in recurring roles on China Beach, In the Heat of the Night, and Tell Me You Love Me. Among her other film roles are Abel Ferrara’s Body Snatchers and two films starring Viggo Mortensen: Vanishing Point and Boiling Point. 

As a writer, she has written three episodes of Beverly Hills, 90210 as well as characters and storylines for the series, a pilot that was optioned by Aaron Spelling, and comical true-life essays that she performed at the Upright Citizens Brigade and Naked Angels theaters in LA. She maintains an irreverent food porn blog calledwww.DelightfulDeliciousDelovely.com for which she provides recipes, photographs and sometimes shares details of the triumphs and, more frequently, the humiliations of her own life. She has a great passion for photography (www.MyPinUpArt.com) and has shown her pin-up and decaying Americana imagery in the United States & Paris. She has been on the selection committee of Michigan’s Waterfront Film Festival since its inception in 1999, she is co-director of the Victoria Texas Independent Film Festival, programs for the Self-Medicated Film Festival and The Lady Filmmakers Film Festival, and consults & judges for many others. Her 
directorial debut, Bathing & the Single Girl, was accepted into over 100 film festivals and won 20 awards. 

Bathing & the Single Girl, inspired by the short film, is her debut novel.

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The Weekly Rewind, #110: Book Haul and Giveaway

THE WEEKLY REWIND is a weekly post in which I recap books received in the past week, what I'm looking forward to, and giveaways.




Book Haul
(click on covers to visit GoodReads page)

For Review

 

I fell in love with Sawyer Bennett's sports romance series, Off Sides. I'm excited to give this new hockey series a try!

 

For Review Consideration 

             

 

 

 Lots of book to consider this week! I have added The Lover's Secret to my read-at-my-earliest-convenience list. I really like Reed's writing and am curious to see Brooke and Jett on their next adventure. The next seven books all came from Harlequin. This is my second copy of I Want It That Way, so I will be passing that along. I'm not quite sure about The Beautiful Ashes, but I do love Jeaniene Frost, so I'll give it a try at some point. Same with The Winter Guest; I enjoy Jenoff's writing. The Last Breath sounds super intense! I've never read Higgins, but will give In Your Dreams a try bc it looks good! The other two will be passed along. Same with Assail, which came from Tor.

 

 

Purchases

 

 

 

I got both of these beauties for only $0.99. I can't wait to read them!

 

 

Freebies

 

             

 

There were so many freebies this week! I read Three Little Words as an ARC and really, really liked it. Looking forward to trying out the rest.

 

 

 

Thanks to

• Loveswept
• JC Reed
• Harlequin
• Tor Books

 

 

 

Must be 18+ years to enter; open to US only.

 

 

 

 

    

 

 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Sexy Saturdays: A Bride for a Billionaire by Lauren Hawkeye

 

 

Sexy Saturdays with Andrea and Autumn is a weekly feature created to spread the word about spicy reads.

 

Participating blogs:

The Autumn Review

The Bookish Babe

 

 

 

 

Series: A Virgin, A Billionaire, and A Marriage #1

Genre: Erotic Romance

Publisher: Calluna Vulgaris Books

Publication Date: 6/2/14

Format: eARC

Pages: 178

Source: Author

Rating: 3 stars

GoodReads  |  Amazon  |  B&N

 

 

A billionaire love story...

Matteo Benenati has spent his life wrapped in wealth and privilege. He is shallow, selfish, jaded—and he likes it that way.

When bold American art student Riley Tremaine crashes into his life, her light forces him to examine the dark places inside of his soul, the ones he thought he’d buried with his father. He knows he should let her go… but he’s never claimed to be a good man.

When Matteo is pitted against his unscrupulous stepsister Emilia Guerra in a bid for his late father’s empire, he must decide between honor and vice. In need of a wife—and desperate to possess her—Matteo makes Riley an offer she can’t refuse. She will be his bride—in every meaning of the word—so that he can protect his legacy.

But Matteo soon learns that Emilia’s soul is darker even than his own. And by marrying Riley, he has made her a pawn in a power struggle that could shatter their world.

This is book one of the A Virgin, A Billionaire and a Marriage series. It is a category length novel that stands alone- no cliffhangers!

My Review

 

A Bride For a Billionaire read like a bit like an old school category romance. You have a European billionaire with daddy issues, who needs a bride to inherit his fortune.  A fresh, innocent young woman with mommy issues, who really needs the money. And a marriage-of-convenience. A villain in the unhinged step-sister who's out to seduce him out of his fortune and will go to any means necessary to do that. These elements combine to form a twisty, seductive, over-the-top story. Despite that, or maybe because of it, A Bride For a Billionaire was fun. It was exactly as advertised!

 I really had to let myself go with this one. I didn't really understand why Mateo found Riley so fascinating, other than she didn't fall at his feet and that her lady garden had never been...tilled? I did like that Riley matched Mateo's aggression, which probably made him even more hot for her, now that I think about it. The villain of the story, Mateo's step-sister Emilia, was especially nasty and bitchy. The lengths she went to in order to win were way over-the-top, and more than a little disturbing, but kind of right for the story. The ending was completely crazy-pants, and I heaven help me, I enjoyed a lot of it.

 I never felt a strong connection to the story or characters. But I did enjoy A Bride For a Billionaire for what it was: a sexy, dramatic romp.

 

Favorite Quotes

  "You didn't just want me out of the way," I say slowly, backing further away from Emilia as she tilts her head to the side, examining me as though I'm a bug she'd love to squash beneath her stiletto. "You want him for yourself."

  Oh man, that's fucked. I may have hillbilly blood running through my veins, but even people I know don't get it on with their stepsiblings.

 

About Lauren Hawkeye

 

Lauren Hawkeye/ Lauren Jameson is a writer, yoga newbie, knitting aficionado and animal lover who lives in the shadows of the great Rocky Mountains of Alberta, Canada. She's older than she looks--really--and younger than she feels--most of the time--and she loves to explore the journeys that take women through life in her stories. Hawkeye's stories include erotic historical, steamy paranormal, and hot contemporary. Make sure to check out her work as Lauren Jameson, where her erotic romances take a walk on the wild side.

 

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