Author Archives: rebeccabook17

2018 Book #7 – Wallflower Most Wanted by Manda Collins

Posted in Book reviews, Book series, Historical Romance, Studies in Scandal by

51mDRlMABVLTitle: Wallflower Most Wanted
Author: Manda Collins
Date finished: 1/17/18
Genre: Historical romance
Publisher: St. Martin’s Paperbacks
Publication Date: January 30, 2018
Pages in book: 320
Stand alone or series: #3 in the Studies in Scandal series
Where I got the book from: NetGalley
NOTE: I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.

Blurb from the cover:

THE PICTURE OF ROMANCE
A dedicated painter, Miss Sophia Hastings is far more concerned with finding the right slant of light than in finding Mr. Right. But when an overheard conversation hints at danger for another local artist, Sophia is determined to get involved. Even if it means accepting help from an impossibly good-looking vicar who insists on joining her investigation—and threatens to capture her heart…

Reverend Lord Benedick Lisle knows that Sophia is no damsel in distress. But he won’t allow her to venture into peril alone, either. . .especially since he finds Sophia’s curious, free-spirited nature so alluring. But protecting her from harm is becoming more difficult than the vicar could have expected as he and Sophia confront their fiery mutual passion. Who could have known that the art of love would prove so irresistible?

My rating:  3.25 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review.

A talented artist painted into a tale of true love

Sophia Hastings is another of the Beauchamp heiresses, a talented painter and artist. She finds herself paired up with the local vicar, Benedick Lisle, to solve a mystery. Unbeknownst to them both Sophia was actually charged with this task by Celeste Beauchamp herself, though they will find this out later in the story. Sophia and Benedick’s story line was very similar to those in the previous two novels, and while things did start to feel a tad repetitive, Sophia and Benedick had a story all their own. One of the things I love most about this series is that it features intelligent and strong women, and also women that form a deep and meaningful friendship with each other even though they’re all technically “competing for their own legal rights to this house. I think that it is so inspiring to read about such strong and talented ladies. That being said, the characters weren’t as fully formed as I think they could have been and also with the plot it felt almost like we dove right in without much preamble, which felt a bit jarring at first. I thought this was a sweet story though and a good romance novel, and a good addition to the series. I look forward to reading the rest of the ladies stories (hoping for one on Serena’s story too!).

Link to author website

Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page

2018 Book #6 – The Rogue Is Back in Town by Anna Bennett

Posted in Book reviews, Historical Romance by

519cu+3NX8LTitle: The Rogue Is Back in Town
Author: Anna Bennett
Date finished: 1/16/18
Genre: Historical romance
Publisher: St. Martin’s Paperbacks
Publication Date: January 2, 2018
Pages in book: 366
Stand alone or series: #3 in the Wayward Wallflowers series
Where I got the book from: NetGalley NOTE: I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.

Blurb from the cover:

Equal parts scoundrel and seducer, he’s returned to London determined to mend the rift with his older brother. All Sam must do is take possession of a tumbledown town house. A seemingly simple task, except the house is occupied—by an infuriating, whip-smart beauty who refuses to do his bidding.

Miss Juliette Lacey’s wallflower days are over. She has a plan to turn her eccentric family into the toast of the ton—but the devilishly handsome rake trying to oust them from their home thwarts her at every turn. How can one man be so vexing and make her simmer with desire?
As her attraction to Sam deepens, Julie’s problems grow—she may have, once upon a time, secretly shared a kiss with his honorable older brother. Suddenly, Julie’s caught between a rogue and a marquess, between passion and respectability. Torn between two brothers, what’s a girl to do?

My rating:  2.5 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review.

Can a confirmed rascal really turn himself around? 

Samuel Travis has historically been a self-confirmed rogue, but he is now determined to prove himself worthy and turn himself around and start accomplishing something. Juliette (Julie) Lacey is the youngest of three sisters (hence she is featured in the third book in the series) and is the most adventurous of her three sisters. Even though she’s the most daring though, I found it hard to believe that someone with her strong personality would even give thought to Nigel’s proposal (I won’t say what it was but it was shitty). I would’ve kicked him right in the nuts and told him to go F off. And the thing that disturbed me the most really was the lack of closure regarding what happened with the “villain” of the story. He’s a complete and total ass but he just kind of fades into the background in the end and nothing bad ever happens to him, which while it may be realistic is not really something that I end up enjoying in a book. I want to see a little karma take place, and really this guy should’ve been RUINED. Sam’s character was really good and I liked the character development there, plus this was a fairly easy read. And while the ending was kind of a let down for me personally I still thought it was a fairly good romance novel and would say its worth the read!

Link to author website

Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page

Bout of Books 21 Wrap Up Post

Posted in 2018, Bout of Books 21, For the love of books, Reading Challenges by

cc4sUlk

So for one of my goals this year to help me focus more on reading and having concentrated time for reading, I decided to participate in all 3 Bout of Books reading challenges / read-a-thons this year! The first one was luckily scheduled for this past week which is before my busy season at work officially starts.

Below were the goals that I had set for the week and my assessment with how I did on them.

Time Devoted to Reading

I plan to read at least 2 hours each day during the week, with hopefully additional hours on Friday. Also the Saturday during Bout of Books I have Goal Day planned but then I have other family plans in the evening so I’m hoping for a good 4 hours of solid reading. And then Sunday I don’t have anything planned other than house work so hopefully a solid 4 hours that day as well.
Things didn’t go quite according to plan – Goal Day for Saturday got moved because of a family function and due to prep work and chores I barely got to read at all Saturday. Plus a couple social functions kept me away from reading during the week. Overall I ended up reading close to 16 hours this week though which I’ll call a success. 

My Goals

My goals for this read-a-thon are that I’d like to participate in as much as I can: the daily posts plus reading every day.

I did participate in 3 out of the 7 daily challenges and I did read every day. 

Books to Read

 

Overall this was a great week of concentrated reading for me and I am glad I was able to get so much accomplished! Looking forward to the next one in May!

 

Bout of Books 21 Update – Day 7

Posted in 2018, Bout of Books 21, For the love of books by

Sunday was a great reading day! We ended up staying home and not doing much, my favorite kind of Sunday plus I was able to spend most of my time reading. So my Sunday’s progress is below:

Update

Sunday

Time spent reading: (Approximately) I didn’t really track it exactly but I read off and on all day – I’d estimate about 5 hours total
Number of pages I’ve read today:  279 pages
Total number of pages I’ve read: 978 pages
Books read: Finished The Safest Lies, started The Rogue Is Back in Town
Challenges: Coincidentally I had to post a review today anyways, which was lucky since that was the challenge for Sunday! See my review of The Safest Lies here

Make sure to check out my wrap up of the challenge overall, had a great week of reading!!

2018 Book #5 – The Safest Lies by Megan Miranda

Posted in 2018, Book reviews, Bout of Books 21, Fiction, For the love of books, Mystery, Reading Challenges, Suspense, Young Adult by

518u1R1zo6L._SX325_BO1,204,203,200_Title: The Safest Lies
Author: Megan Miranda
Date finished: 1/14/18
Genre: Young adult, thriller/suspense
Publisher: Ember
Publication Date: May 30, 2017 (Paperback; hardcover was released May 24, 2016)
Pages in book: 357
Stand alone or series: Stand alone
Where I got the book from: My friend Alex

Blurb from the cover:

Kelsey has lived most of her life in a shadow of suspicion, raised to see danger everywhere. Her mother hasn’t set foot outside their front door in seventeen years, since she escaped from her kidnappers with nothing but her attacker’s baby growing inside her—Kelsey.

Kelsey knows she’s supposed to keep a low profile and stay off the grid for their protection, but that plan is shattered when her dramatic car accident and rescue by volunteer firefighter and classmate Ryan Baker sparks media coverage.

A few days later, she arrives home to find her mother missing. Now, to have a chance at a future, Kelsey will have to face her darkest fears. Because someone is coming for her. And the truth about the past may end up being the most dangerous thing of all.

My rating:  3.5 stars out of a scale of 5

My review:

What do you do when your worst fears are realized?

Kelsey’s whole life her mother has been subtly training her, giving her the knowledge that she would need to survive. Kelsey always believed that her mother was paranoid because of what she experienced when she was around Kelsey’s age – being abducted and held against her will. But after Kelsey’s mother disappears and Kelsey finds herself in danger, facts start to surface that don’t fit with this story. As Kelsey fought her way to freedom and in the days and interrogations that followed, I found the thought process for the police and for some of the other adults in charge to be a little unrealistic. Overall though I liked this book and found it to be an interesting read. I especially liked how Ryan and Kelsey’s relationship developed through the book, I thought it was really sweet. And I think the part where they were trying to escape the panic room was one of the best parts of the book, I only wished it had been closer to the end since it created such great tension in the story. I thought this was a good read though and I would recommend it.

Link to author website

Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page

Bout of Books 21 Update – Day 6

Posted in 2018, Bout of Books 21, For the love of books, Reading Challenges by

cc4sUlk

Saturday did not go ok reading wise. I was able to read a little in the morning but then grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning, and parties took up the entire rest of my day! So my Saturday’s progress is below:

Update

Saturday

Time spent reading: (Approximately) Probably just about 1 hour, didn’t really track it exactly
Number of pages I’ve read today:  63 pages
Total number of pages I’ve read: 699 pages
Books read: Continued The Safest Lies
Challenges: I did not participate in the daily post challenge for Saturday, I wanted to but ran out of time

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s post on my Sunday update and my wrap up of the challenge overall, hoping for a day full of reading today!!

Bout of Books 21 Update – Day 5

Posted in 2018, Bout of Books 21, For the love of books, Reading Challenges by

cc4sUlk

Friday went ok, I was able to read for awhile at night but I could barely keep my eyes open! So my Friday’s progress is below:

Update

Friday

Time spent reading: (Approximately) Probably around 2-2.5 hours, didn’t really track it exactly
Number of pages I’ve read today:  118 pages
Total number of pages I’ve read: 636 pages
Books read: Continued The Safest Lies
Challenges: I did not participate in the daily post challenge for Friday

Stay tuned for continued progress made in tomorrow’s post on my Saturday update, hoping for a day full of reading today!!

Bout of Books 21 Update – Day 4

Posted in 2018, Bout of Books 21, For the love of books, Reading Challenges by

cc4sUlk

Thursday did not go well reading wise but was a fun day! I did not meet my reading goal and really I barely read at all, but I had a great time grabbing drinks with my best friend. So my Thursday’s progress is below:

Update

Thursday

Time spent reading: (Approximately) 20 minutes
Number of pages I’ve read today: 18 pages
Total number of pages I’ve read: 518 pages
Books read: Started The Safest Lies
Challenges: I did not participate in the daily post challenge for Thursday

Stay tuned for continued progress made in tomorrow’s post on my Friday update, hoping to find lots of time for reading tonight, and lots this weekend as well!!

2018 Book #4 – Like Broken China by J.D. Thompson

Posted in 2018, Book reviews, Bout of Books 21, Fiction, Reading Challenges, Women's fiction by

51yezZ6480LTitle: Like Broken China
Author: J.D. Thompson
Date finished: 1/10/18
Genre: Fiction, Women’s fiction
Publisher: Self-published
Publication Date: November 21, 2017
Pages in book: 284
Stand alone or series: Stand alone
Where I got the book from: Author/Publisher NOTE: I received this book for free from the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.

Blurb from the cover:

Is love enough to repair the pieces of a shattered life?

This is the question plaguing Courtney Cook’s mind as she packs her whole existence into a 20ft moving van. When she first encountered Matt in a coffee shop ten years prior, she was immediately transfixed. Dark, adventurous, and wildly untamed, Matt was everything Courtney didn’t know she wanted. One night of uninhibited abandon was all it took for her to be completely enthralled by the boy without limits. Now saddled with two children, a sky-high mortgage, and a marriage crippled by addiction, Courtney finds herself desperately trying to hold on to the life she knew. But as she struggles between letting go of what could have been and accepting what is, one question simmers at the surface of Courtney’s mind: is love ever enough?

Powerful and provoking with humor woven throughout the raw sting of heartbreak, Like Broken China offers an honest take on the decisions two people make and the aftermath that can destroy an entire decade.

My rating:  4.0 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review.

Letting go of a toxic relationship

In this novel we follow Courtney Cook as she navigates her separation and divorce from her alcoholic husband. The story line alternates between the present day as Courtney struggles to move on with her life and the past as we learn about Courtney and Matt’s history. Honestly the more I read about the stuff Matt pulled early on in their relationship, I was more and more shocked that Courtney stood by him. The first time she came home to find Matt passed out drunk with their BABY SON Noah screaming and crying in his crib I would’ve been like, nope I’m out. Anyways, the story overall was really engaging, even though pretty much the entire book is about one character’s development it was still really a quick and interesting read. I liked that Courtney was finally able to let go and realize that the relationship she was in with Matt wasn’t a healthy one for anyone involved (including her children), though I was technically a tad frustrated in how long it took to get there. Overall a good story though and I would recommend it!

Link to author website

Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page

Bout of Books 21 Update – Day 3

Posted in 2018, Bout of Books 21, For the love of books, Reading Challenges by

cc4sUlk

Wednesday went well! I was able to find a little time to read during the day and then a little more before bed, so I ended up just meeting my 2 hour goal plus I finished a book. So my Wednesday’s progress is below:

Update

Wednesday

Time spent reading: (Approximately) 2 hours
Number of pages I’ve read today: 177 pages
Total number of pages I’ve read: 500 pages
Books read: Finished Like Broken China (Review to be posted later today)
Challenges: I did not participate in the daily post challenge for Wednesday

Stay tuned for continued progress made in tomorrow’s post on my Thursday update and check back later for my review on Like Broken China!!