Review- Sometimes It Lasts by Abbi Glines

Goodreads Summary:

Cage York has to choose between a love of the game and a love of the girl in this sultry Sea Breeze novel from New York Times bestselling author Abbi Glines.

After waiting for his big break, bad boy Cage York is finally called up to prove his worth in the college baseball arena. But when Cage’s girlfriend, Eva, mourns the sudden loss of her father, it’s not Cage’s comforting arms she runs to, but those of her former fiancé’s twin brother, Jeremy.

Torn between his baseball dream and the girl of his dreams, Cage must prove he’s worthy of Eva’s love, or risk losing her to Jeremy forever.

Sea Breeze Series:

Sarika's review of Breathe (Sea Breeze #1) by Abbi Glines

Janhvi's review of Because Of Low (Sea Breeze #2) by Abbi Glines

Sarika's review of While It Lasts (Sea Breeze #3) by Abbi Glines

Janhvi's review of Just For Now (Sea Breeze #4) by Abbi Glines

REVIEW:

Sometimes It Lasts was one of the most anticipated New Adult releases of 2013 because- 1) it's an Abbi Glines book, 2) it's a Sea Breeze novel and 3) it's Cage York's book. 
Of all the Sea Breeze boys, Cage York has been my most favourite since the moment he was first introduced in Because Of Low and I madly fell in love with him during While It Lasts. From the way things were described in Just For Now, it was clear that Eva and Cage were facing some problems and I was thrilled when Abbi said there'd be another book for the cute couple. 
Sometimes It Lasts starts out with a heartbreaking prologue. It then moves to the happy times that Eva and Cage spend when their relationship was at it's peak. From there, we then get to more ups than downs in their relationship which finally turns into something that is cute and fabulous. 
We saw Cage move from being a playboy to a man in While It Lasts and in Sometimes It Lasts, he remains a man who cares immensely about his woman and is protective of her. I loved his urge to fix every little thing that bothered Eva and take charge of every problem she faced. I loved seeing him want to have and work towards building a stable future for his lady, his family and himself. In short, I fell in love with him all over again. 
I had a few issues with some of Eva's decisions and reactions in this book, but she was still her caring and sweet self and that made it perfectly fine. I liked how she cared about her dad and her dead fiancé's twin brother Jeremy as much as she cared about Cage. 
Eva and Cage are so cute together it's hard to not have a smile plastered on your face while reading their story. They are fabulous and sexy. I love them! 
Also, it was amazing to meet all the other Sea Breeze guys and girls and I'm so excited to read stories of all the single dudes. I'm sure Abbi Glines has something really nice planned for each of them. 
Sometimes It Lasts was a perfect ending to Eva and Cage's wonderful story that I devoured in a few hours and that makes me smile every time I think of it and most importantly, every time I think of my boy Cage. He's super! 

RATING:

Book Blitz- Beyond Repair by Chelsea Camaron

We're part of the Book Blitz post for author Chelsea Camaron's book, Beyond Repair hosted by Asli @ Yah Gotta Read This. 

Take a look below for all the book details! There some amazing teasers below for you to. 

BOOK DESCRIPTION: 

Harrison and Tiffany have a long history of hooking up. Harrison decides he wants more. Tiffany, a spoiled Southern Belle is embarrassed by a working class Harrison. After over two years apart Tiffany is missing his touch. She heads to Charlotte to claim her man.

Harrison is finally settled in Charlotte. He has a job he loves, his sister close by, great friends, and an awesome agreement going with Sophia.

Can Sophia ever want more from Harrison than just sex? Has Harrison fallen in love or just lust with Sophia?

After all this time and hurt feelings, is he really meant to be with Tiffany? Can Harrison manage to let his guard down and find his way back to Tiffany? Will Tiffany be satisfied with a regular working class mechanic? Or is their relationship in the past and beyond repair?

TEASERS:

BOOK LINKS:

AMAZON / GOODREADS

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: 

Chelsea Camaron has a love for old muscle cars and Harley Davidson motorcycles. She currently resides in Southern Louisiana with her husband and two children. She was born and raised in Coastal North Carolina and her heart is always Carolina day dreaming. Her love for reading has sparked a new love for writing with a few projects currently in the works.

When I was younger I once said I wanted to become an author “when I grow up”. Well, I am a big kid and don’t plan to ever fully grow up, but this is an amazing journey to accomplish something I set out to do in childhood.

FACEBOOK / TWITTER

Thank you for stopping by! 

Feature & Follow Friday #54

Feature and Follow is a weekly meme hosted by Parajunkee's View and Alison Can Read.

Today's question is: 

If you could only have ONE – one book – for the rest of your life. Don’t cheat…what would it be?

My answer:

God, this is hard. I can't pick just one book, I wouldn't survive. There are just SO many I want. I'm greedy that way. But still, from all the books I've read this year, I'd pick Twisted Perfection by Abbi Glines cause I would never get tired of re reading it.

Which book did you pick?

Follow us and we'll follow back!

Happy Friday everybody :)

Review- The Redemption of Callie and Kayden by Jessica Sorensen

Summary-

The dark secret Kayden has kept hidden for years is out. Worse, he's facing charges for battery. The only way he stands a chance against the charges is if Callie speaks up, something he'll never ask her to do.

Callie knows Kayden is going back to his dark place and desperately wants to save him. But saving him means admitting her secrets aloud. Callie and Kayden are stronger than they think, especially when they're together. Together they move forward, face their demons, and finally start to heal from their traumatic pasts.

Review-

After the massive cliffhanger on which the Coincidence of Callie and Kayden had ended I was pretty excited to finally see what happened with them in the Redemption of Callie and Kayden. The book was quite good but not as good as the first one. The intensity which was built up before kinda seemed to have fizzled out in this one.

The Redemption of Callie and Kayden begins right after the events which take place in the previous books. Kayden is still recovering from what happened before and his mother has shifted him into a facility to recover for a few days. I'd liked Kayden in the last book but he seems to be falling apart in this one. He's stubborn and wants to keep Callie out. Thank god he doesn't succeed.

Callie was still the same sweet girl. She's determined to save everyone including herself and Kayden and move on ahead in life. I loved Callie's best friend Seth. He was an amazing guy and always brought in the much needed comic relief. Callie's was really strong and I loved seeing her come into her true self in this book.

The romance between Kayden and Callie was really nice. They have chemistry and they understand each other's issues. The thing I didn't like in the book though, was that everything was left really open ended. This book kinda concludes Kayden and Callie's story or at least that's what I think because Luke's book is next. But I'm getting the feeling the same issues are gonna be slapped on again in his book.

It actually disappointed me that there was no point to the book. Things don't really move forward where the plot was concerned. Jessica Sorensen's writing is good and though this book wasn't that intense I still enjoyed it. I just hope Luke's book is good and a bit more unique. All in all it was a good read but I wanted more.

Waiting on Wednesday #54

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

Stubborn Love by Natalie Ward

Publication Date: 5 September, 2013

Summary-

Five years ago, tragedy brought Jared and Mia together. A tragedy that was the start of an unlikely source of support, a true friendship and eventually, deep, heart-stopping love. Until the day something pushed them apart, forcing one of them to let the other one go.
Now, over the course of a day and a night, Jared and Mia will finally talk about how it all went wrong. How something which seemed so perfect and true, was so easily broken. And just when they think they’ve found their way back to each other, their love, will once more be put to the ultimate test.

Sometimes, you never realise how much you can hurt the one you love.
Sometimes, you never realise the lengths you’ll go to, to help someone you love.
And sometimes, you never realise just how stubborn love can be.
Because it’s impossible to let somebody go, when you never stopped loving them in the first place.

I have read and LOVED Natalie Ward's I Love You To Death. Super duper excited for Jared and Mia's story :)

What are you waiting on?

Teaser Tuesday #54

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by Miz B of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the 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 SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! 

Here's my teaser:

"Clary, you're an artist, like your mother. That means you see the world in ways that other people don't. It's your gift, to see the beauty and the horror in ordinary things. It doesn't make you crazy-just different. There's nothing wrong with being different."

-City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments #1) by Cassandra Clare

Goodreads Summary:

When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder -- much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing -- not even a smear of blood -- to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?

This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know. . . . 

Exotic and gritty, exhilarating and utterly gripping, Cassandra Clare's ferociously entertaining fantasy takes readers on a wild ride that they will never want to end. 

What's your teaser this Tuesday? Link me up to it so I can come read. 

Happy reading! 

Review- Losing Hope by Colleen Hoover

Goodreads Summary:

In the follow-up to Colleen Hoover’s #1 New York Times bestseller Hopeless, the charming and irresistible Dean Holder tells the passionate story that has melted thousands of hearts.

In Hopeless, Sky left no secret unearthed, no feeling unshared, and no memory forgotten, but Holder’s past remained a mystery.

Still haunted by the little girl he let walk away, Holder has spent his entire life searching for her in an attempt to finally rid himself of the crushing guilt he has felt for years. But he could not have anticipated that the moment they reconnect, even greater remorse would overwhelm him…

Sometimes in life, if we wish to move forward, we must first dig deep into our past and make amends. In Losing Hope, bestselling author Colleen Hoover reveals what was going on inside Holder’s head during all those hopeless moments—and whether he can gain the peace he desperately needs.

REVIEW:

Oh. Uh. Um. Where do I begin? How do I start? What do I even say? I. Have. No. Idea. I'm not going to make any recommendation or suggestion here, but I'm just politely going to request you all to. Go. Read. Losing Hope. NOW. You won't regret it. You'll love it. And perhaps you'll get back to me and help me express my feelings and thoughts. Because I sure as hell am unable to do it. This is just like Hopeless (my review). All over again. 
Wow. I don't know what Colleen Hoover does and how on earth she manages to captivate me, enchant me and fascinate me.  Every. Time. Her writing is sparkly, her characters intense and adorable and her books... What can I say? They. Are. Oh my God. Wow. 
Losing Hope, just like all the "there are two sides to every story" novels, has stuff we've already seen in Hopeless, but mind you, these are only a few scenes here and there. It's much more than just a retelling of Hopeless from Dean Holder's point of view. This is Dean and his twin sister Lesslie's book. And it is incredible. It is terrific. It is... Yeah, I'm out of profound adjectives now. 

I don't have much to say about Sky that I haven't already said. That girl and her story are something unimaginable, sad and truly mesmerising. She and Dean are perfect for each other. 
Dean's twin sister Les was something else entirely, just like her brother. I loved her and couldn't help wondering what would happen if she were alive. Dean writes many letters to Les in the book, but the letter that did it all for me and was the highlight of the whole book was Les' letter to Dean. Oh my God. I don't know what to say. Again. Les was so special. 

I loved Holder in Hopeless and I loved Dean (that's what I'm choosing to call him now) even more in Losing Hope. Even though I felt super sad for him in Hopeless, I was feeling more for Sky than him at that time. But here, Dean takes it all. I felt happy sad and good bad for him. That boy is just killer. He's just... He's different. I can't even imagine how he went through everything he went through without breaking down, without giving up and without even thinking of going the way his sister did and ending it all. While he admires his sister for her bravery and courage, I admire him for his fortitude and strength and will to continue and look forward and not backward. 

Losing Hope. Is. Fucking. Incredible. Terrific. Breathtaking. And wow. Just wow. I still feel speechless and unjustified after the everything and nothing I've said. I love Hopeless. I love Losing Hope. I love Sky. I love Dean. I love Daniel (he's hilarious and dashing). I love Les. I love Colleen. I love love love anything and everything about the Hopeless series. Like I said. Go. Read. NOW. 

RATING:

Cover Reveal- Without You by Brooklyn Skye

I'm excited to share the cover of author Brooklyn Skye's novella, Without You. I read and loved Stripped and you an find my review of it here. Let's get on to the post YA Bound has for us! 

WITHOUT YOU

by Brooklyn Skye

Release Date: 10/22/13

Summary from Goodreads:

*A novella to the best-selling New Adult novel STRIPPED*

I’m the knight on the white horse in her eyes, the one who broke down her defenses after her sister’s death until she realized she was capable of love. To her—aside from my name, Torrin Kingsley—I’m perfect.

But there’s a sliver of my past I’ve never shared with her. One that is now haunting me with every breath I take. One she is starting to raise her brow to.

I’m not certain how much longer I can keep it from her. To be honest, I don’t know that it would make a difference anyway, because it seems no matter which path I choose, they all lead to the same end point. A place without Quinn.

My demons run bone deep. I guess burying them forever wasn’t possible.

Book One:

Stripped is on sale and you can buy it for $0.99 at the following links: 

Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo

About the Author:

Brooklyn Skye grew up in a small town where she quickly realized writing was an escape from small town life. Really, she’s just your average awkward girl who’s obsessed with words. Her Best-Selling New Adult debut, STRIPPED, is out NOW! Represented by Bree Ogden of D4EO Literary Agency.

Author Links:

  

Review- The Activist by John Grisham

Summary-

Though he's only thirteen, Theodore Boone has spent more time in the courtroom than almost anywhere else, and there's always a new adventure waiting. After having been falsely accused of vandalism and theft, Theo is happy to finally be out of the hot seat, once more dispensing legal advice to friends and community members, when an exciting new case demands his urgent attention.

Review-

Theodore Boone The Activist by John Grisham is the story of a thirteen year old boy Theo, who has adventures with the law. This is actually the fourth book in the Theodore Boone series but its not necessary to read them in order. Each book has its own closure though the people in Theo's life are seen again.

At first, I was a bit hesitant to see the way Theo was being portrayed considering he is only thirteen and thirteen year olds don't think the way he thought. Theo was really mature but he had the naivete of a kid. Thoe's parents are both lawyers and that is where the whole support system behind him is based. There are many people in his life who stand behind him all along.

In the small town where Theo lives, the government has decided to construct a new bypass which would help decrease the traffic for the truckers and other businessmen. But what they are ignoring to say is that it requires a huge amount of money because of which school teachers and janitors are being laid off. The bypass would go through a huge amount of land destroying nature and it would be really close to another school.

Theo actually doesn't want to get involved in the whole thing where nasty politics are taking place. But when an incident happens he can't help but become the Activist. This was unlike any other book I've read. John Grisham is intimately familiar with the law and it came through really well in the book. I got to know a lot of new stuff and see it all through a thirteen year old's eyes.

Fans of law and mystery should definitely check this series out. And even though the protagonist is only thirteen there is no immaturity in the book. On the other had it just gives us hope that anyone, young or old can make a change by going the right way of law. Theodore Boone the Activist was a unique and well written book.

*Note: This book was provided by Hachette India in exchange for an honest review. We thank them.

Review- Left From Dhakeshwari by Kunal Sen

Goodreads Summary:

'Left from Dhakeshwari' is a collection of nine interconnected stories dealing with lust and loneliness, death and obsession, memories and madness.

In the first story, 'We Were Writers', we meet a Bengali film actress, who after her brother’s suicide, returns to her small hometown and reflects upon the life she left behind; in ‘Bomb Church’, Aniruddha tries to piece together his mother’s identity after her mysterious departure; the only clues available in the existential whodunit being: a soap-box, a brown shoe and the statements of five witnesses; while the heartrending 'Salt Lake' recounts an unusual affair between a disfigured girl and a mime-artist with scars of his own. 

The other characters in this collection include a runaway teenage-girl, an agoraphobic writer, a masochistic cosmetic surgeon, a ghostess, identical twins and a manic-depressive housewife. And they are all in search, of a time and place they can call their own. That is perhaps why the title itself, denotes both a time and a place: a point of departure and the forbearer of journeys. 

In his first solo book, Kunal Sen infuses his women with souls of poetesses and a seductive melancholy and arms his men with child-like, romantic sadism. 'Left from Dhakeshwari' is written in a style that straddles between the tragic-dramatic and mildly surrealistic, but remains in the end a book about some remarkably original people and their depths and failings.

REVIEW:

I had no idea about a book called Left From Dhakeshwari by Kunal Sen until we became part of the Left From Dhakeshwari Read-along along with a few other Indian bloggers.  

I do enjoy short stories once in a while, but they leave me feeling empty and wanting for more. I think that the trick with these types of stories is that if you do them well, they make for really good reads.

Left From Dhakeshwari has a total of nine stories which are all inter connected. A people map or tree at the beginning of the book shows us the relation between all of the characters from these nine stories.

While I really liked some stories, there were some that went over my head and were beyond my comprehension. I did not understand their significance at all and I didn't even want to try. But the ones that I did like were really good and some even had me thinking deeply about them. 

Although it was difficult to get some points the author tried to put forth, he does an excellent job at capturing certain emotions and sentiments.

Author Kunal Sen's writing is different, in a good way. It has got a nice flow and literary touch to it. I loved how, in an already short story, he made further numerical divisions. I go by numbers of chapters, of pages, etc. when reading and so I really liked how the author managed to make a short story seem like a small novel.

Overall, Left From Dhakeshwari didn't exactly live up to the 4 and 5 star reviews I'd seen for it on Goodreads, but it was a dazed, decent and different read.

RATING:

Feature & Follow Friday #53

Feature and Follow is a weekly meme hosted by Parajunkee's View and Alison Can Read.

Today's question is: 

Book Selfie! Take a pic with your current read.

My answer:  

Link me up to your post in the comments and let me know if you're a new follower so I can come follow you back. 

Happy Friday and happy reading, everyone!