Review: You Were Mine by Abbi Glines (Rosemary Beach, #9)

Summary

(from goodreads)

From #1 "New York Times" bestselling author Abbi Glines comes a brand-new Rosemary Beach novel about Tripp Newark and his hidden romantic past with Bethy Lowry. 

In the eyes of the wealthy playboys who frequent Kerrington Country Club in Rosemary Beach, Tripp Newark is a hero. Under pressure from his parents to become a lawyer and lead a conservative, upper-class life, Tripp disappeared from town five years ago to travel the world, forfeiting the opportunity to inherit millions. Yet few know what he was really running from...

Bethy Lowry was unraveling long before her boyfriend drowned in a riptide trying to save her after she'd had one too many drinks--again. A trailer park kid working as a cart girl among the wealthy patrons of Kerrington Country Club, Bethy has always been impressionable. But five years ago, before she earned her reputation as a hard-drinking, easy girl, she had spent a single summer with Tripp Newark that changed her life forever...

Read from: January 18 to January 19, 2016

Read on: Owned Paperback

Review:

I was really excited when I saw this book was on Bethy. She was always a footnote in the other books; always there but never up front. Up until the tragic events that occurred in the previous books (if you haven't read the previous books, please stop reading because there might be spoilers), I never believed we would get a full book with her. I maybe expected a novella about her and Jace or something like that, but not a book.

Which is why I was quite happy that Abbi wrote her story. I really liked to read about what happened to her to have become the girl we first met in the first book. True, nothing could have happened for her to be like this. She could have been just a girl enjoying life and sex, but I always felt like there was something behind her facade, but I will admit that as her past unfolded, it wasn’t something I completely expected.

Learning about her and Tripp’s history while reading the previous book had been somewhat a surprise, but I was intrigued as how they had met and how it all ended. Reading about it made me feel guilty sometimes for rooting for them because I really loved her with Jace, but it was obvious now that he wasn’t her first big love; his cousin was.

Now, many years have passed and Tripp wants nothing more than to protect her and win her back, but he doesn’t have it easy. Guilt, hate and so many harsh feelings are lodged in Bethy’s heart that she doesn’t give him much chance to make-up for the heartache he caused her when he left.

And while I admired Tripp's determination to win Bethy's heart again, it sometimes got on my nerves because it was borderline obsessed. I wouldn't have been able to cope with that kind of behaviour if it was to happen to me and I believe the only reason Bethy let it go was mostly because she never got over him.

This book talks a lot about regrets, guilt and miscommunications. I seriously felt sometimes to sit both of them down and just like ask them to actually say what was on their mind as the other person doesn’t misunderstand the other.

But let’s be honest here, without those, there wouldn’t be a book because it’s those obstacles that make you root for them and you want them to succeed.

Jace’s presence is felt throughout the book and I liked that Abbi wrote it that way. I didn’t feel like she was trying to dismiss Bethy’s love for Jace. She loved him; but just not like she loved Tripp.

I will admit though that I felt the ending sort of rushed. I wouldn’t have minded that Abbi took another 50 or 100 pages to really wrap up Bethy and Tripp’s story since there was only going to be one book about them.

I’m trying to keep this review spoiler free, so I will stop here, but it was another book by Abbi that I enjoyed and I’m looking forward to continue the series with the next books.

Review: All the Ways to Ruin a Rogue by Sophie Jordan (The Debutante Files, #2)

Summary

(from goodreads)

There was once a lady who loathed a lord...

Max cannot recall a time when Aurelia did not vex him. If she was not his friend’s sister, he would stay far away from the infuriating vixen. Unfortunately, they are always thrown together. At parties and family gatherings…she is always there. Infuriating him, tossing punch in his face, driving him mad...until one night, she goes too far and he retaliates in the only way he can: with a kiss that changes everything.

...and a lord who was confounded by a lady.

Lady Aurelia hasn't always hated Max, Viscount Camden, her brother's best friend. In fact, as a besotted girl, she thrived under his kind attention – sure that he was the most noble and handsome man in the land. Until her young heart discovered what manner of rogue he really was. Now, though she enjoys nothing more than getting on his last nerve, she can’t deny Max drives her to distraction—even if she tries to pretend otherwise.

Read on: January 27, 2016

Read on: Owned Mass Market Paperback

Review:

I had trouble reading since the beginning of the year. I only read one other book and still working on that review, but still, I was getting desperate and I finally picked up a book I wanted to read before Apollycon and to my surprise, I got so addicted to it, that I had trouble working; all I wanted to do is read.

You need to know that historical romance books are not usually the kind of books I'll go towards, but because I love Sophie Jordan, I picked up last year the first book of this series and actually liked it more than I believed that I would.

But this second book was my favourite of the series so far and it's probably due to the characters. Aurelia and Max are both independent people who show a lot of animosity towards one another and yet, they are always thrown back together. They bicker every time they are in the presence of one another and even if it starts polite, it always ends with them at each other’s throats.

The reason behind Aurelia's hatred towards Max comes from her heart being shattered when she was just a teenager and yes, it's childish, but she was a damn teenager so I forgive her for that. Max's hatred comes from the aftermath of this betrayal she felt. 

Aurelia is the kind of girl I wish I was. She has wicked comebacks and she isn’t afraid to speak her mind which could be quite hard to handle for the men of that time, but still, I liked how she decided to take control of her life. Whether she made the right decisions or not, she still decided to do what she had to do to make sure she didn’t end up somewhere she didn’t want to be.

And Max… Oh what to say about Max? I seriously wanted to hit him a few times, but only for his own good. He made me laugh and he made me angry and I even felt for him from time to time. He had his moments of pure chivalry and that’s the only way I believed there could be some hope for him, but even when he was what I call a douche, you couldn’t help, but like him because he made it look so good. He had such confusing thoughts and feelings about Aurelia that it was obvious from the beginning of the series that something was going to happen, we just didn’t know what or when.

In this book, both characters are so entertaining and it’s probably why this book was so addictive from page one. I can’t wait to read the next book. I’m really hoping it’s going to be about Mackenzie. I feel like this could be a very intriguing book if it was. Who’s Mackenzie? Well, you need to read this book.

So just pick up the book and see for yourself. I’m sure if you like the genre, you’ll love Sophie’s books.

Thursday: On My Wish List

Author: Wendy Higgins
Title: The Great Hunt

Add on [goodreads]

Coming out on March 8, 2016

Book 1 in the The Great Hunt duology

Summary

(from goodreads)

Kill the beast. Win the girl.

A strange beast stirs fear in the kingdom of Lochlanach, terrorizing towns with its brutality and hunger. In an act of desperation, a proclamation is sent to all of Eurona—kill the creature and win the ultimate prize: the daughter of King Lochson’s hand in marriage.

Princess Aerity understands her duty to the kingdom though it pains her to imagine marrying a stranger. It would be foolish to set her sights on any particular man in the great hunt, but when a brooding local hunter, Paxton Seabolt, catches her attention, there’s no denying the unspoken lure between them…or his mysterious resentment.

Paxton is not keen on marriage. Nor does he care much for spoiled royals and their arcane laws. He’s determined to keep his focus on the task at hand—ridding the kingdom of the beast and protecting his family—yet Princess Aerity continues to challenge his notions with her unpredictability and charm. But as past secrets collide with present desires, dire choices threaten everything Paxton holds dear.

Inspired by the Grimm Brothers’ tale, “The Singing Bone,” New York Times bestselling author Wendy Higgins delivers a dark fantasy filled with rugged hunters, romantic tension, outlawed magic, and a princess willing to risk all to save her people. 

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About the author

[website] [goodreads]

Wendy Higgins is the USA Today and NYT bestselling author of the Sweet Evil series from HarperTeen and her independently published Irish fantasy, See Me. She is a former high school English teacher who now writes full time, and lives on the Eastern Shore of Virginia with her veterinarian husband, daughter, son, and doggie Rue. 

Wendy earned a bachelor's in Creative Writing from George Mason University and a master's in Curriculum and Instruction from Radford. Writing Young Adult (YA) stories gives her the opportunity to delve into the ambiguities of those pivotal, daunting, and exciting years before adulthood.

Resolutions 2016

So, I did My Year in Books 2015 and now, I'm going to do my Resolutions for 2016. So far, I will admit that I'm not really proud of myself. It's January 21, 2016 and I'm at 1 on 150 books read and goodreads is telling me I'm behind in my reading and its right.

But I do hope that my reading will come back to me, so here are a few resolutions that I took for this year.

Reading books for book events

So I have, for the moment, two book events confirmed for 2016. I have Apollycon 2016 and Rochester Teen Book Festival. I need to read some books for these. I had to make choices between the authors who will be at both events (either for time restrictions or budget restrictions), but here is a list of authors that I need to read books from. If  for some authors I already read all of their books, some I need to be more up-to-date. I believe it will faster than to name all the books that I want to read:

Apollycon

1. Abbi Glines

2. Erin Bowman

3. Alexandra Bracken

4. Susan Dennard

5. Sophie Jordan

6. Tessa Bailey

7. Trisha Wolfe

8. Suzanne Young (she's also at the other book event)

9. Rachel Harris

Rochester Teen Book Festival

1. Rachel Hawkins

2. Tamora Pierce

3. Scott Westerfeld

4. Sarah Rees Brennan

5. Jennifer Donnelly

6. Ellen Hopkins

7. Mercedes Lackey

There will be probably some more like the Yallfest but without a list of authors, it's hard to choose what to read. :\

Finishing some series

I want to finish a few series that I started and could have finished a long time ago, but I just never came around to do it. It's usually because I buy new books and I start on those instead of reading those that I already own, but now, I would like to finish some of those series.

So I checked my bookshelves and came up with a few series that I will try to finish:

1. Parasol Protectorate series by Gail Carriger (2 books)

2. House of Night series by P.C. & Kristin Cast (1 book)

3. Cocktail series by Alice Clayton (2 books)

4. A Touch Trilogy by Leah Clifford (1 book)

5. Mara Dyer Trilogy by Michelle Hodkin (1 book)

6. Fenestra Trilogy by Amber Kizer (1 book)

7. The Agency by Y.S. Lee (1 book)

8. Lumatere Chronicles by Melina Marchetta (1 book)

9. Thirst series by Christopher Pike (1 book)

10. Les Héritiers d'Enkidiev by Anne Robillard (6 books) (in french)

I have a few more, but I have to start somewhere and that's where I'll start.

Starting new series

Here, I'm not talking about buying new series, but reading those series that I bought because they looked interesting and never came around to start them. I bought all the books, but they are untouched on my bookshelves.

So I selected a few. I don't know how many I will end up liking, but hopefully, my tastes haven't changed too much for the past few years (because yes, some books were bought years ago).

So what series made the list?

1. Chasing the Dream series by Elizabeth Briggs

2. Averia series by Patrice Cazeault (in french)

3. The Chemical Garden trilogy by Lauren DeStefano

4. La trilogie des Gemmes by Kerstin Gier (in french)

5. The United States of Asgard series by Tessa Gratton

6. Kanin Chronicles by Amanda Hocking

7. Shadow Falls: After Dark by C.C. Hunting

8. Teardrop trilogy by Lauren Kate

9. Starling trilogy by Lesley Livingston

10. Polux series by Aude Vidal-Lessard (in french)

So that should be all for now. I could add more to my resolutions or take down some. At some point, it might be too much or not enough lol. Who knows. I'll probably tell you from time to time if I succeeded some of these resolutions. :)

Thursday: On My Wish List

Author: Abbi Glines
Title: Up in Flames

Add on [goodreads]

Coming out on June 14, 2016

Book 14 in the Rosemary Beach series

Summary

(from goodreads)

The villain of Rosemary Beach finally gets her own happy ending in the long-awaited final novel of the #1 New York Times bestselling new adult romance series by Abbi Glines.

The blockbuster #1 New York Times bestselling Rosemary Beach series ends with a bang when the troubled character readers love to hate gets her very own happily ever after in this eagerly anticipated and overwhelmingly requested story. Known for causing problems for everyone in Rosemary Beach, Nan has been growing up lately, and she’s finally taking center stage—and finding love with the man she least expected. 

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About the author

[website] [goodreads]

Abbi Glines is a #1 New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of the Rosemary Beach, Sea Breeze, Vincent Boys, and Existence series. She has a new YA series coming out in the fall of 2015 titled The Field Party Series.

She never cooks unless baking during the Christmas holiday counts. She believes in ghosts and has a habit of asking people if their house is haunted before she goes in it. She drinks afternoon tea because she wants to be British but alas she was born in Alabama.

When asked how many books she has written she has to stop and count on her fingers. When she’s not locked away writing, she is reading, shopping (major shoe and purse addiction), sneaking off to the movies alone, and listening to the drama in her teenagers lives while making mental notes on the good stuff to use later. Don’t judge.

Monday: Latest Book Haul

Bought on bookoutlet.ca

Abbi Glines

Until Friday Night

Lisa Desrochers

Personal Demons

Original Sin

Last Rite

Alex Duval

Vampire Beach: Volume 2

Lissa Price

Enders

Cecelia Ahern

Love, Rosie

I shouldn't have gone on bookoutlet.ca. It's like a drug. Once I'm on it, I will want to buy so many books. So it's really a surprise that I only bought these while I was surfing on their site.

Bought at Indigo

Jay Crownover

Better When He's Brave

Leveled

Built

Alexandra Bracken

Passenger

Pre-ordered two of these books because bonus scenes or extras were offered if you pre-ordered them and they are both authors that I adore, so it was a no brainer and one that I had read on my ereader, but wanted the paperback version.

It had been a while since I had one, but I finally had a new book haul to show you all.

Next one might be in a few weeks when I order books for the Apollycon 2016 book event. :)

Thursday: On My Wish List

Author: Jamie McGuire
Title:Beautiful Burn

Add on [goodreads]

Coming out on January 31, 2016

Book 4 in the Maddox Brothers series

Summary

(from goodreads)

Fresh out of college, Ellison Edson has fallen through the cracks of rock bottom. While staying in her family’s vacation home in Colorado, her behavior has finally gained the attention of her parents—but not in the way she hoped. Cut off from the millions she’s always taken for granted, and left alone to fend for herself, Ellie spirals further out of control, making a mistake she can’t take back.

Like his twin brother Taylor, Tyler Maddox is a member of the Alpine Hotshots, fighting wildland fires on the frontline. As arrogant as he is charming, Tyler’s nomadic lifestyle makes it easy to contain his relationships to one night. When he meets Ellie at a local party during off-season, her extreme personality and dismissive attitude fascinates him at first, but as his feelings deepen, Tyler realizes that the crippling inner demons of the woman he loves might be the strongest enemy any Maddox has ever faced. 

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About the author

[website] [goodreads]

Jamie McGuire was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She attended Northern Oklahoma College, the University of Central Oklahoma, and Autry Technology Center where she graduated with a degree in Radiography.

Jamie paved the way for the New Adult genre with the international bestseller Beautiful Disaster. Her follow-up novel, Walking Disaster, debuted at #1 on the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists. Beautiful Oblivion, book one of the Maddox Brothers series, also topped the New York Times bestseller list, debuting at #1. In 2015, books two and three of the Maddox Brothers series, Beautiful Redemption and Beautiful Sacrifice, respectively, also topped the New York Times, as well as a Beautiful series novella, Something Beautiful.

Novels also written by Jamie McGuire include: apocalyptic thriller and 2014 UtopYA Best Dystopian Book of the Year, Red Hill; the Providence series, a young adult paranormal romance trilogy; Apolonia, a dark sci-fi romance; and several novellas, including A Beautiful Wedding, Among Monsters, Happenstance: A Novella Series, and Sins of the Innocent.

Jamie is the first indie author in history to strike a print deal with retail giant Wal-Mart. Her self-published novel, Beautiful Redemption hit Wal-Mart shelves in September, 2015.

Jamie lives in Steamboat Springs, Colorado with her husband, Jeff, and their three children. 

Find Jamie at www.jamiemcguire.com or on Facebook, Twitter, Google +, Tsu, and Instagram.