Pre-Release Blitz- Idle Bloom by Jewel E. Ann

Meet Oliver & Vivian in this sexy, quirky & emotional stand-alone. You will laugh, you will cry and most of all, you will not be disappointed!

Pre-order Idle Bloom for a December 1st release at the following retailers:

Amazon / Kobo / iTunes

Blurb

"What lies beneath my veiled perfection is the ugly truth—my truth, my reality, my destiny."

Vivian Graham has an acceptance letter into Harvard, a badass tattoo, loyal friends, ties to marijuana, a penchant for Dunkin’ Donuts, and her pesky V-card.

Everyday she takes the Red Line to her job at The Green Pot in Boston while her friends enter the coveted, black iron gates to higher learning. The ramifications from a tragic accident have put her life on hold while time marches on for everyone around her.

After graduating from Harvard Law, Boston native, Oliver Konrad, moves to Portland to start his career and his life. Three years later, after a horrific discovery, he returns home to trade in his three-piece suit for leather work boots and his suburban home for a condo in Cambridge.

All he brought back to the East Coast was an aversion to pillows and secrets he keeps hidden behind a mysterious locked door. Oliver’s days are predictable and his nights are lonely until he meets Vivian on the subway. Her long raven hair, green eyes, and mile-long legs are achingly sexy, but the way she "innocently" fingers and licks her Boston Kreme doughnut can only be described in two words—complete torture.

When their paths cross at every turn, laughter is abundant, friendship is easy, and love is unintentional. However, their future seems improbable.

Excerpt

“I don’t need panties.”

“I disagree,” he says with his back to me as he signs for the purchase at the counter. He takes the bag in one hand and grabs my hand with his other. “Shall we?” He leads me out of the store.

“A, I have plenty of panties. B, I told you I don’t wear them sometimes because it makes me feel sexy.”

He opens my door and sets the bag by my feet after I get in. Then he leans down and brings his face a breath away from mine as his hand slides up my leg. His thumb eases past my shorts. He stops and shakes his head as the pad of it meets my bare sex, no underwear.

My face contorts into a grimacing smile as my shoulders rise into a guilty shrug. He presses his thumb to my now wet center. My mouth relaxes as I suck in a breath and try to close the distance between our lips. He moves his head back just enough to deny me. He grins then moves his thumb a little higher. I moan as he rubs slow circles.

“How do you feel?” he whispers.

“G–good.” I grip the side of the seat and let my head fall back.

“What else?”

“Turned … on.” I close my eyes.

“What else?”

I tilt my hips up as he works me up so high I fear my own reaction to the impending fall.

“Oli …”

He speeds up, pressing his lips to my neck, and when his teeth graze over my sensitive skin I lose it.

“What. Else?” he whispers in my ear as the blinding sensation rips through me.

“Sexy … I feel … sexy.” I try to catch my breath while my head’s still spinning.

He kisses me hard then shuts my door.

I hate that I have no self-control to deny him giving me an orgasm while parked with the door open on a public street. Now he’s sporting a ridiculously smug grin as he pulls out into traffic.

“What was the point of that?” I break the silence.

“I wanted to prove that I make you feel sexy. Now that you know that, you can start wearing underwear.”

“What does it matter if no one else can see that I’m not wearing underwear?”

“First, some of the dresses you wear are awfully short. Second, I know you’re not wearing underwear and I don’t like walking around saluting everyone I pass.”

“Saluting?”

He shoots me a you-know-what-I-mean look.

“Whatever, you’re just being weird.”

“I’m being a guy.”

“That’s what I said. You’re being weird.”

About the Author:

Jewel E Ann

Jewel is a free-spirited romance junkie with a quirky sense of humor.

With 10 years of flossing lectures under her belt, she took early retirement from her dental hygiene career to stay home with her three awesome boys and manage the family business.

After her best friend of nearly 30 years suggested a few books from the Contemporary Romance genre, Jewel was hooked. Devouring two and three books a week but still craving more, she decided to practice sustainable reading, AKA writing.

When she’s not donning her cape and saving the planet one tree at a time, she enjoys yoga with friends, good food with family, rock climbing with her kids, watching How I Met Your Mother reruns, and of course…heart-wrenching, tear-jerking, panty-scorching novels.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Intagram | Goodreads | Pinterest

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Review- Just One Day by Gayle Forman

Summary-

A breathtaking journey toward self-discovery and true love, from the author of If I Stay.

When sheltered American good girl Allyson "LuLu" Healey first meets laid-back Dutch actor Willem De Ruiter at an underground performance ofTwelfth Night in England, there’s an undeniable spark. After just one day together, that spark bursts into a flame, or so it seems to Allyson, until the following morning, when she wakes up after a whirlwind day in Paris to discover that Willem has left. Over the next year, Allyson embarks on a journey to come to terms with the narrow confines of her life, and through Shakespeare, travel, and a quest for her almost-true-love, to break free of those confines. 

Review-

I had Just One Day sitting on my shelf for quite a few days. It was only until recently that I finally decided to pick it up. I had read a few mixed reviews about Just One Day which was what had made me a bit hesitant to pick it up in the first place. But my worries were for nothing. Just One Day was an amazing read with beautiful writing.

Allyson has been a good girl all her life. She does what is expected so that she can make her parents happy. Allyson is on a world tour right before she goes off to college, when she meets Willem at an underground performance of Twelfth Night. An impulsive decision takes her to Paris with Willem for Just One Day.

I really liked Allyson. She was a sweet girl who it seemed like had everything in life but was still missing something within her. She wanted to be brave and find passion and that is what I admired about her. When she meets Willem she feels an instant connection to him. He makes her question things and see things like never before.

I really loved the chemistry Willem and Allyson shared. Their conversations were so beautifully written. I have a whole bunch of quotes highlighted. But the entire book is not only about the one day the spend together. After parting ways unexpectedly Allyson heads back to college where she has to face her real life again. I liked seeing Allyson struggle and come in to her own in the second half of the book. She truly discovered herself.

I cannot praise Gayle Forman's writing enough. The way she strings together words is just perfect and many a times it seems like she's reading your mind and putting your thoughts exactly into words. The ending left a lot to be desired, still I was completely satisfied with it. I totally recommend Just One Day.

  

Waiting on Wednesday #106

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

I'll Meet You There by Heather Demetrios

Publication Date: February 3rd, 2015

Summary-

If seventeen-year-old Skylar Evans were a typical Creek View girl, her future would involve a double-wide trailer, a baby on her hip, and the graveyard shift at Taco Bell. But after graduation, the only thing standing between straightedge Skylar and art school are three minimum-wage months of summer. Skylar can taste the freedom—that is, until her mother loses her job and everything starts coming apart. Torn between her dreams and the people she loves, Skylar realizes everything she’s ever worked for is on the line.

Nineteen-year-old Josh Mitchell had a different ticket out of Creek View: the Marines. But after his leg is blown off in Afghanistan, he returns home, a shell of the cocksure boy he used to be. What brings Skylar and Josh together is working at the Paradise—a quirky motel off California’s dusty Highway 99. Despite their differences, their shared isolation turns into an unexpected friendship and soon, something deeper.

This one definitely sounds interesting so I'm excited to read it.

What are you waiting on? :)

Top Ten Tuesday #38

Top Ten Tuesday is a bookish meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

Hi, guys! So I feel like I'm doing this meme after so long, and it has been a long time since we last did it. Anyway, this week's topic is: 

top ten books on my winter tbr

Once I get done with my exams in the first week of December, I have holidays until New Year so I'm hoping to catch up on some much needed reading, even though I'll be working on my research in the holidays. I can't promise ten books, but I'll put them down anyway. Some of these books, I even need to buy first in order to read them. Well, you get the deal. Reading, buying... All on my winter TBR! *winks* 

 

 

 

What's on your winter TBR? Let me know in the comments below and link me to your post so I can check it out. Happy Tuesday and happy reading, everyone! 

Review- Looking for Alaska by John Green

Goodreads Summary:

Before. Miles "Pudge" Halter's whole existence has been one big nonevent, and his obsession with famous last words has only made him crave the "Great Perhaps" (François Rabelais, poet) even more. He heads off to the sometimes crazy, possibly unstable, and anything-but-boring world of Culver Creek Boarding School, and his life becomes the opposite of safe. Because down the hall is Alaska Young. The gorgeous, clever, funny, sexy, self-destructive, screwed-up, and utterly fascinating Alaska Young, who is an event unto herself. She pulls Pudge into her world, launches him into the Great Perhaps, and steals his heart.

After. Nothing is ever the same.

REVIEW:

When I first bought Looking for Alaska, I had already read and loved The Fault In Our Stars. When I picked it up to read, I wasn't sure what to expect, but seeing as it's a John Green book, I knew that it would be, in it's own and unique way, epic. Unfortunately, it wasn't all that life-changing, mind-blowing and totally oh my God, but Looking for Alaska was still a great read, but I only wish I had loved it more. 

Looking for Alaska is actually a very simple story of a bunch of friends who realise how short and valuable life is after they are struck by an incident none of them foresaw. I've read plenty of books with a similar plot and I've definitely read better. But what I must say is that Looking for Alaska is indeed a very nice story. I loved the aspect of what remains when we are gone that was taken up in it. Finding the "Great Perhaps" and all that. That was very interesting. But what has stayed with me and will stay with me most is the following line which I loved so much: 

"You just use the future to escape the present." 

The bunch of friends I spoke of before are Miles or Pudge, Chip or Colonel, Takumi, Lara and Alaska. I loved the gang, yes, but I especially loved Colonel. He was a cool and funny guy. And I loved his mom as well. While the book is actually from Miles' point of view, aside from his curiosity, I didn't really connect with him. Takumi had two absolutely great moments that I'll always remember when I look back at the book. Lara was really nice in her own way, but I didn't really like Alaska all that much and it's a shame, because the book is about her. She was messed up, but I would have loved to know the "whys" of everything, but I felt that somewhere, it was necessary to keep it unsaid and undone anyway. 

What made Looking for Alaska a very quick and interesting read was John Green's writing. It was nice and simple and there were plenty of funny moments, although after reading The Fault In Our Stars, I didn't find it as brilliant. Besides, if I take into consideration the fact that this book is the author's debut, it was some really great writing.

I liked how the book was divided into Before and After and we go backwards and forwards from the day on which the incident that I won't tell you about happens. The summary is a little deceiving though when it talks about the After. I didn't find anything that wasn't the same except the excessive drinking and smoking which I didn't care about anyway. Speaking of the incident, I have my own theory, but to avoid spoilers, I won't mention it, although I feel everyone knows it for what it actually was than what it was made out to be. Looking for Alaska had some aspects that made it just about great for me, and I did like it while I was reading it. 

RATING:

Happiness is...

Hi, guys! So today is one of those days when I'm out of creative ideas. I have some time to actually sit and make posts which is why I'll also be catching up on some commenting over your blogs this weekend, so be ready, I'm gonna stalk y'all big time. It's been so long since we did a random post. Anyway, what I'm going to share with y'all today is something that you must have already come across somewhere or the other. I've shared this stuff with all my bookish friends, but I thought, why not make a post and share it with our lovely bookish blog readers? So here I am sharing some happiness is... anything and everything to do with books pictures. 

All the images are taken either from Facebook, Google, Twitter or some webpage, but in the end, it all lands up to The Happy Page on Facebook as is watermarked on all images. 

I do not hold the right to any of the photos, but I'm sharing them simply out of my love for them and so that we have a place where we can put all the bookish ones together. Trust me, these images are all over my phone and it takes ages to search for them all, so here we are- organised and ready! 

Let me know which one is your favourite in the comments below. I honestly cannot pick one- they are all so relatable. But in case you do have one that appeals to you more than the other, let me know because hey, bookish talk makes us all happy, I suppose! 

Anyway, I hope you liked this post, and thank you so much for stopping by! 

Review- The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd

Summary-

London, 1894. Juliet Moreau has built a life for herself-working as a maid, attending church on Sundays, and trying not to think about the scandal that ruined her life. After all, no one ever proved the rumours about her father′s gruesome experiments. But when she learns her father is alive and continuing his work on a remote tropical island, she is determined to find out if the accusations were true.

Juliet is accompanied by the doctor′s handsome young assistant and an enigmatic castaway, who both attract Juliet for very different reasons. They travel to the island only to discover the depths of her father′s madness: he has created animals that have been vivisected to resemble, speak, and behave as humans. Worse, one of the creatures has turned violent and is killing the island′s inhabitants. Juliet knows she must end her father′s dangerous experiments and escape the island, even though her horror is mixed with her own scientific curiosity. As the island falls into chaos, she discovers the extent of her father′s genius-and madness-in her own blood.

Review-

I was so very intrigued when I first saw the summary for The Madman's Daughter. It just seemed to look like a really good historical young adult gothic fiction with just the right amount of creepiness to make for an interesting read. Unfortunately, The Madman's Daughter did not live up to my expectations. I wanted more and I did not get it.

The main issue I had with this book was Juliet, our heroine. I did not like her. At all. And then it got tiring because the entire book goes from her point of view and I did not want to be in her head. Juliet had a lot of things to worry about, namely her father who is supposedly mad and a strange island where all things creepy are going on. But she kept dithering between her feelings for two boys. 

The whole eerie atmosphere which was built up kind of lost its point when one second Juliet was describing her surroundings and the other second she focused on her attraction to one of the boys. Can you even think of how it would feel to hold a boy's hand at a time when some creature is killing the island's inhabitants? I am also not a fan of love triangles anyways, so the romance plot was a fail for me.

The two boys who made for Juliet's love triangle were Montgomery and Edward. I really liked Montgomery. Juliet and he shared a connection since their childhood and he genuinely cared for her. While Edward was shown as a mysterious guy he did not live up to it. 

The interesting parts in The Madman's Daughter were definitely the experiments the doctor was conducting. There are quite a few gruesome scenes but nothing too severe. There were some interesting twists to the story even though the pace was a little slow, but not enough to make up for Juliet's irritating behavior. The Madman's Daughter was an okay read.

Waiting on Wednesday #105

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

Hero by Samantha Young

Publication Date: February 3rd, 2015

Summary-

The emotional and unforgettable new romance from the New York Times bestselling author of the On Dublin Street series.

Alexa Holland’s father was her hero—until her shocking discovery that she and her mother weren’t his only family. Ever since, Alexa has worked to turn her life in a different direction and forge her own identity outside of his terrible secrets,. But when she meets a man who’s as damaged by her father’s mistakes as she is, Alexa must help him.

Caine Carraway wants nothing to do with Alexa’s efforts at redemption, but it’s not so easy to push her away. Determined to make her hate him, he brings her to the edge of her patience and waits for her to walk away. But his actions only draw them together and, despite the odds, they begin an intense and explosive affair.

Only Caine knows he can never be the white knight that Alexa has always longed for. And when they’re on the precipice of danger, he finds he’ll do anything to protect either one of them from being hurt again…

I'm a fan of Samantha Young books so I'll definitely be reading this one.

What are you waiting on? :)

Blog Tour: Book Spotlight, Excerpt + Giveaway- Claiming Carlos by Rachelle Ayala

Hi guys! Thanks to our buddy DDS @ B00k R3vi3w Tours, we're part of the blog tour for author Rachelle Ayala's Claiming Carlos, book #2 of the Sanchez Sisters series. As our stop o the tour, we have a spotlight post for you.  You can check out the entire posting schedule here. 

Book #2 of Sanchez Sisters Series

Choco Sanchez is stuck in a rut. She's never hit a softball and has been friends forever with Carlos Lopez, the head cook at her family's Filipino restaurant. When flashy restaurant consultant Johnny Dee hits her with a pitch, she falls head over heels and gets a makeover

Carlos Lopez is not about to lose one for the home team. Johnny launches a full scale change on the menu, and Carlos sends him straight into the dumpster. Claiming Choco's heart proves more difficult. But never underestimate a man who can cook hot, spicy, and steamy, and we ain't talking just food.





Buy Links:

Amazon.com I Amazon.in I Barnes & Noble

Excerpt:

[Love to Hate Miranda]

“Stop.” Miranda waves a spatula and blocks our way. “No members of the wait staff allowed in the kitchen.”
“I need another order of vegan spring rolls. No meat!” Sarah yells.
“She stole my gluten-free bangus.” Susie pushes her way past Miranda, who bounces against the door to the cold room, opening it.
“Out, out of the kitchen.” Miranda sticks a finger in Susie’s chest. Big mistake.
Susie’s nostrils flare and her piercings dance. “Out of my way.”
With a hefty push, she shoves Miranda who stumbles back into the cold room. Her arms windmilling, she falls in between the sides of raw pork belly hanging up to dry.
“Ai ya!” Miranda slaps at the pork bellies and pulls on a trussed whole duck for balance, right when a wooden tray of balut, fertilized duck eggs with the intact embryo, falls and splatters over her. The slime and partially formed embryos ooze down her hair and face.
Everyone except Johnny bursts out laughing. I whip out my cell phone and snap as many pictures as I can before Johnny blocks my view to help his mother.
Out of nowhere, Carlos appears, and he gives Johnny a kick on the back of his tight leopard printed butt, sending him sprawling against the skewered suckling pigs. They tumble like dominoes, knocking Johnny on top of his balut-covered mother.

Carlos picks up a tray of the Vietnamese style transparently wrapped no-fry spring rolls and flings the contents into the cold room all over Johnny and Miranda. “Vegan spring rolls is off the menu.”

About the Author

Rachelle Ayala is a bestselling Asian American author of dramatic romantic suspense and humorous, sexy contemporary romances. Her heroines are feisty and her heroes hot. She writes emotionally challenging stories but believes in the power of love and hope.

Rachelle is the founder of an online writing group, Romance in a Month, an active member of the California Writer's Club, Fremont Chapter, and a volunteer for the World Literary Cafe. She is a very happy woman and lives in California with her husband. She has won awards in multicultural and historical romance

Connect with the Author:

Website I Blog I Facebook I Twitter I Goodreads

Tour Schedule

Giveaway

1st Prize - $20 Amazon Gift Card
2nd Prize - Choice of Rachelle Ayala's eBooks

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I'd like to thank DDS for letting us be part of this and thank you to the author as well. And lastly, thank you, readers, for stopping by!