Love Bites by Rachel K. Burke ~ #bookreview

 Love Bites

by Rachel K. Burke (Goodreads Author)

What do you do when you fall in love with your best friend’s boyfriend?

That is the question that twenty-six year-old Justine Sterling has been asking herself ever since the day she met David Whitman, her best friend Renee’s boyfriend. Justine is determined to ignore her growing feelings for the irresistibly charming David, until one night, when she finds herself in the bed of the one person she should stay away from.

When Justine and David’s affair ends in heartbreak, Justine is forced to repair the damaged friendship with her best friend. In doing so, she learns that right and wrong decisions aren’t always black and white, and sometimes you have to follow your heart to see where it leads.

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Source: eARC for Honest Review Courtesy of Author

Genre: New Adult Contemporary

Related to another book Sound Bites but can be read as a standalone

My Love Bites Review...

It has been forever since I read Sound bites but I really did enjoy that story so given the opportunity to read this book I jumped on it.  After reading it, I forgot that Justine was part of the reason for Renee's heartache in Sounds bites.  This was a good book and not your typical love story as it is more about losing one's self and then finding your true self before you can truly love and be loved.  

While reading it I was first having a hard time wrapping my head around loving your best friend's boyfriend but the way it was presented and the format of the story takes you inside Justine's torment and how she fell for David.

While her disastrous decision and tormented heart she loses her best friend and other half but that is not the only thing she loses.  Now that she is free to love David she ends up being co-dependent on him for everything which causes her to lose herself in the process.   The original reason David wanted her was because of her independent spark but once that was gone he moves on as well.

For Justine, this is where her journey truly begins, as she first has to forgive her self and move forward from her broken heart but that's easier said than done.  Renee may have moved forward but Justine's in some sort of inner turmoil.  Once she realizes that she truly did lose herself she now starts to try and pick up the pieces to glue herself back together but maybe a better more stronger model this time.

"But then one day, you wake up and the sun shines again.  You start to feel like yourself again.  And when you actually meet the person you're supposed to be with, you'll thank God you didn't end up with someone who didn't appreciate you for who you really are."

With the help of as self help book, Renee and friends,  Justine each day starts to moves forward.

"Remember what I told you about breakups. They're painful as hell, but then one day, you wake up and the sun shines again." He smiled knowingly.  "That's when you're ready to be friends."

This book was very sweet and not typical which I adored.  More often than not romance books are all very similar and at times sometimes monotonous but with this it had a refreshing take on it and you felt like you were taking the journey along side Justine to find her inner happiness and loving one's self.

4 Love Bitten Thumbs up!

 

Lauren

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The Eversea Series by Natasha Boyd ~ #bookreviews

Eversea (Eversea #1)

by Natasha Boyd (Goodreads Author)

Eversea, a love story, is a Winter Rose Contest FINALIST 2013. Emilia Pisani of Simon & Schuster (judge) says "Great southern flavor!" and "Jack is an alluring leading man!"

An orphaned, small-town, southern girl, held hostage by responsibility and self-doubt.

A Hollywood A-list mega-star, on the run from his latest scandal and with everything to lose.

A chance encounter that leads to an unlikely arrangement and epic love affair that will change them both forever.

When his co-star and real-life girlfriend is caught cheating on him with her new director, A-list hottie, Jack Eversea, finds himself in sleepy Butler Cove, South Carolina. Jack hopes the sultry southern heat in this tiny coastal Lowcountry town will hide him not only from the tabloids and his cheating girlfriend, but his increasingly vapid life and the people who run it. He doesn’t count on meeting Keri Ann Butler.

Keri Ann has relied on herself so long, dealing with her family’s death and the responsibilities of keeping up her family's historic mansion, that boys and certainly the meager offering of eligible boys in Butler Cove, have never figured into her equation. But fate has other plans. Suddenly face to face with the man who played the movie role of her favorite fictional character, Jack has Keri Ann yearning for everything she has previously avoided ... and Jack must decide whether this funny, sassy girl is worth changing his life for, before his mistakes catch up to him.

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Source: Kindle

Genre: Adult Contemporary Celebrity Romance

Part 1 of 2.5

My Eversea Review...

I have heard such great things about this series and finally decided to take the plunge.  Here we have small town girl who lands the heart of a celebrity on the run from his life.

Jack Eversea is tired of his controlled life and needs a break but what he didn't intend to do was fall in love.  Keri Ann is just a plain jane type of girl minding her own business until Jack Eversea walks into her life.  Keri Ann is a bit taken back about meeting Jack Eversea but she's honest to the core and calls it as she sees it, which makes Jack take even more notice of her.

"It's amazing," said Jack, shaking his head and looking at me.  "What's amazing?" "It's amazing," he repeated, "that you seem to have no idea how fucking beautiful you are."

Keri Ann is a bit frightened by Jack's world but she can't stop how she feels about him.  As Keri Ann starts to give more of herself to Jack his past comes charging back making her doubt everything.

A few kisses and handholding did not a boyfriend make.

After Jack basically destroys her, she really never has given up hope but can she handle his life or the displeasure of her brother and others?

"I just know that the way he was looking at you, he's coming back someday.  I need you to be prepared for that and to know I won't let him mess with you again."

Jack and Keri Ann have a whirlwind meeting but emotions are involved which is the cause of so much torment between these two star crossed lovers.  Jack's world is not like the normal world, it's a world that all is not as it seems, but that false reality could be the cause of a greater loss that Jack may never recover from.

4 Jack better man up thumbs up!
 
Lauren

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Forever, Jack (Eversea #2)

by Natasha Boyd (Goodreads Author)

A feisty small-town girl and the Hollywood star who broke her heart

An all-consuming love threatened by fame

One last chance at FOREVER

Keri Ann Butler's life changed on the night she met movie star, Jack Eversea. She thought she knew a Jack that was very different to the man adored by fans the world over. In the wake of his betrayal and abandonment, Keri Ann has had to pick up and move forward with the life she was supposed to live and has put off far too long.

Suddenly Jack is back, and his explanations for why he left seem more and more plausible, and his declarations more seductive. But being Jack's latest tabloid accessory isn't on Keri Ann's career agenda, no matter how much she is attracted to him. And how can she can ever trust him again?

Jack knows he let the only 'real' thing that ever happened to him slip through his fingers. And his hands have been tied to try and stop it. Until Now.

Jack is now fighting to save his relationship with Keri Ann, even as his crazy life threatens to tear them apart. Again. The question is, can he convince her she can have it all? And have him? Forever?


Read how it all began in “Eversea “…

~~~~

Forever, Jack is the sequel to Eversea

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Genre: Adult Contemporary Celebrity Romance

Part 2 of 2.5

My Forever, Jack Review ...

Keri Ann is trying to move forward from what was Jack Eversea but it's hard.  Especially seeing his life unfold right in front of your eyes.  It has been months since she last saw Jack but unfortunately she can't let him out of her heart.

Finally trying to move on Jack lands back on her doorstep causing her newly fragile world to crumble.

"Let's start with something I never told you before. I, Jack Eversea,  am ...utterly in ... love ... with you, Keri Ann Butler."

After hearing that you would think Keri Ann would jump back into his arms, but so much has happened between them and so much time has passed.  Plus the extra pressure that comes with Jack's world is a hard pill to swallow.

Jack has a lot to make up for with Keri Ann to win back her heart.  But first he has to come clean with what she doesn't understand about his world.  It's a lot to take but he believes she is strong enough to withstand his world so they can have a slice of their happiness.

"You are so beautiful, so talented, so honest. And you are strong.  Let me be part of your life, and be brave enough to be part of mine. I know you can be, I've seen your strength. Please believe in us."

After Jack, Keri Ann realized that she too was hiding from her potential.  Now taking the risk into finding herself she starts to question everything.  She wants to be known as Keri Ann not Jack Eversea's girlfriend.  They might be one in the same but yet are totally different. Keri Ann is fighting the dichotomy within herself and her love for Jack to the point that it might destroy the potential of them.

"... He wants to be here for you and you won't let him.  He wants to help you, and you won't accept anything. ..."

For Keri Ann and Jack their life won't be easy being in the spotlight but being a part will be harder.

 "Whatever you want. I'll do it. I'll give you whatever you need.  My life. Forever."

"I love you, Keri Ann. I love you so fucking much it's literally a physical ache in my chest."

" ... The way I feel about you was never a decision.  It just was.  I was made to love you. I never fell, I was already there.  From the very first moment."

I love this series and especially Jack Eversea.  I'm so glad that I finally gave this series a go.  If you love celebrity romance than please give this one a try.

4 I love Jack Eversea Thumbs up!

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Mistletoe & Hollywood: An Eversea Series Novella & a Desire Resort Series Novella 

by Natasha Boyd (Goodreads Author), Kate Roth (Goodreads Author)

***LIMITED TIME SEASONAL RELEASE***

Jack Eversea and Evan Weston, two of Hollywood's hottest young actors had their hearts stolen by regular down to earth girls, and we lived and laughed and loved their stories in the Eversea Series and in the Desire Resort Series. But what happened when the books were over?

How did each couple choose to spend their first Christmas? Was it sexy, emotional, stressful or heartwarming?

Perhaps it was everything and more. Let's find out!

Mistletoe & Hollywood is a bundled duet featuring:

Evan and Dani's first Christmas in Many Times, Many Ways by Kate Roth.

and

Jack and Keri Ann's first Christmas in My Star, My Love by Natasha Boyd

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Source: Kindle

Genre: Adult Contemporary Celebrity Romance

 Part 1.5 of 2.5

My Star, My Love Mini Review... 

Mistletoe & Hollywood is a quick compilation between Natasha Boyd and Kate Roth.  The book contains two novellas.  I only read the one pertaining to the Eversea series as I still need to read Kate Roth's series first.

My Star, My Love takes place between the end of Forever Jack and it's epilogue.  It continues on the journey of Keri Ann and Jack.  Their lives are public which is taking a toll on their relationship.  Deciding to go back home to England for Keri Ann to meet his family, she starts to realize that Jack has been making all the sacrifices, not her.  With that slap of reality she quickly realizes that for them to truly work she also has to sacrifice for them to have their HEA.

4 another dose of Jack thumbs up!
 
Lauren

I really do adore this series.  It has a great HEA with tons of angst from this celebrity world. 

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The Surrender Trilogy by Lydia Michaels ~ #bookreviews

Falling In (The Surrender Trilogy #1)

by Lydia Michaels (Goodreads Author)

The debut of an emotionally charged and highly erotic contemporary romance trilogy, in which love and trust are the most dangerous games of all…

With a dark past that would have shattered most people, Evelyn “Scout” Keats is doing what no one in her bleak world thinks possible—getting off the streets and leaving her impoverished life behind. She’s a new maid at the luxurious Patras Hotel, and aims to keep her job no matter what. But that doesn’t mean she’s going to sacrifice her dignity, or let anyone into her heart. The risk of losing either is just too great.

When hotel tycoon Lucian Patras discovers Evelyn in a compromising position, he uses everything at his disposal to seduce her—a proposition that both surprises and frightens her.

Ignorant to her true circumstances, Lucian relentlessly pursues Scout as a prize to be won. But he is soon given an unforgettable lesson in love and sacrifice when he learns how far Scout has gone to gain her independence and discovers that there are some things money can never buy.

LOOK FOR THE NEXT BOOK IN THE SERIES, BREAKING OUT

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Source: eARC for Honest Review Courtesy of Penguin/NAL Publishing

Genre: Erotic Adult Contemporary

Part 1 in a Trilogy. Has a cliff hanger.

My Falling In Review ...

Gah! Totally what I needed to get me out of my reading funk.  This was one of those books that was on my TBR and I signed up saying I would review it but once I read the synopsis I wasn't sure I was in the mood for the book.  However, I had a time frame so I made myself read it and Squee! I am so happy I did.  It was great.  So not what I expected but it was so well done.  It was divided into parts.  Each part was a different POV which I felt gave a great balance and depth to the book.

Scout (Evelyn) just wants a job so she can climb out of the whole she was born into.  She doesn't just want this job, she needs it.  With a switch of plans one day she finds her self face to face with her billionaire boss.  After making a mistake with her boss she fears losing her job only to have a different kind of proposition instead. 

"You don't intimidate me, Lucian," she whispered brazenly. "Well, that's good. I don't want to intimidate you. I want to master you, love you so thoroughly, know you completely, in a way no one else ever has, and that doesn't happen when one feels threatened, coerced, or intimidated. I'd say we're making progress."

With Scout she is a bit of an enigma with her innocence but also her fierce street survival smarts.  The moment Lucian sees Scout he wants to possess her but they are worlds apart.  I wasn't sure this rags to riches story was going to work but Lydia Michaels mastered it.  I was hooked in immediately with Scout and Lucian.  They may be worlds apart but yet so similar in so many regards. 

Scout knows she is selling a bit of herself to have the comfort of a roof over her head and a meal to have, but it's only sex and she thinks she will be able to compartmentalize these things.  As Lucian pursues Scout he takes what he desires and wants to possess but what he didn't count on was taking her virtue which throws him in a loop and into uncharted territory.

"... I'll teach you anything you're interested in learning. I never want you to feel like you're less because you can't do something. Anything you want to learn, I'll teach you. Even without those skills, you're so much more than anyone else in this world."

For Lucian it is a tug and pull situation trying to find a balance to their needs and wants.  As Lucian tries to get over what he took he causes Scout to run.  Thinking that she deserves better he lets her go not realizing that he needs her in his life and she fills a spot in his heart that he didn't realize he needed filling till it was almost too late.

"Look at me. Evelyn.  I love you and you can't put up walls between us because love scares you.  Keep all your words locked in, but silence does not make your feelings any less real. ..."

Desperate to find Scout he makes a deal with the devil but worth it so he can get her back.  As he has her back Lucian teaches Scout about her self and her sexuality.  The more the explore the more they both fall.  As they fall so did I, only to be ripped open by a cliffhanger. Argh!! Thankfully this series is complete and I will be devouring the next two immediately.

4.5 Encompassing Thumbs up!

. 5

Lauren 

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Breaking Out (The Surrender Trilogy #2)

by Lydia Michaels (Goodreads Author)

Second in the darkly compelling, sexually-charged contemporary romance trilogy, in which two men vie for the mind, body, and heart of a woman who may never give in to their wishes—or her own…

Evelyn “Scout” Keats has left behind her painful past of surviving on the streets, and is now living in the luxurious penthouse master suite of Hotel Patras with her lover, billionaire Lucian Patras. But what she doesn’t know is the price Lucien paid for her freedom.

To protect Scout’s life, Lucian cut a deal with a dangerous man from her past, Parker Hughes. He swore to stay away from her for thirty days, even though he knows Parker will be fighting to keep them apart for good and take Scout as his own.

Yet neither man realizes that Scout is not about to be used as a prize or a bargaining chip for any man’s power play—and she falls back on her hard-earned self-respect and courage to show both men that the only person she truly needs is herself.

But Lucien has other plans…

DON’T MISS COMING HOME, THE THIRD AND FINAL NOVEL IN THE SURRENDER TRILOGY

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Genre: Erotic Adult Contemporary
Part 2 of 3


My Breaking out (Surrender #2) Review ...

This book starts with Evelyn (Scout) and Lucian together in their groove of a new relationship but it sure doesn't end that way.  The closer Evelyn and Lucian get the more Lucian starts to panic about his deal with the devil, while it is making its way to the forefront with the help of his ex best friend.

"I love you, Evelyn.  I want you to know, no matter the mistakes I've made in the past or the mistakes I'm sure to make in the future, I've never loved anyone the way I love you."

Scout thinks are going good until Lucian dumps her and she goes running back to her friend Parker.  All she needs is a friend but Parker finally plays his hands and shows what he wants.  With Scout being devastated she allows it until finally Lucian gets his head out of his ass and fights for what is his, but now that the truth is out and it may be too late.

"She may be poor, but she's the only person I've ever met with as much determination as me.  She's my match, and for the first time in my life, I finally understand what others fear when they face me in a board meeting.  If she's determined never to be with me again, take my word, she won't."

Finally Evelyn thought she could be happy and move forward with her life and get the happiness she deserves but maybe she was just a pawn in this game of chess.

4.5 Game Playing Thumbs up!
. 5
Lauren 

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Coming Home (The Surrender Trilogy #3)

by Lydia Michaels (Goodreads Author)

The conclusion of the savage, sensual Surrender trilogy in which betrayal, pain, and vengeance threaten to destroy a passion between two damaged souls…

Evelyn “Scout” Keats thought she finally found her long-sought happiness in billionaire Lucian Patras. But even though Lucian has always treated her like a queen, she has discovered she is nothing more than a pawn in his own secret game.

Worse, her long-time friend and supposed shining knight, Parker Hughes has also used her for his own interests by playing a part in Lucian’s game. Everyone’s honor is suspect, and no one can be trusted. It is Scout’s worst nightmare come to life.

As she struggles to comprehend the cost of a broken heart and the value of love, she must choose, once and for all, how much her pride can endure—and how much she is willing to risk to be truly happy.

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Genre: Erotic Adult Contemporary
Part 3 of 3

My Coming Home (Surrender #3) Review ...

Evelyn can't count on anyone but herself now that her one true friend and love of her life have betrayed her.   Now she needs to invest in herself and move forward.  This is a good plan but one Lucian Patras is not playing along and he will do anything to convince that they need each other.

"I never had anything, but I thought I had you, and losing you was just too much to bear."

" ... I'd do it all over again, Evelyn.  It'd kill me, but I would.  I'd save you again and again, no matter the cost, because that's how badly I need to know you're safe."

Lucian might be the only one who wants them together as there are many outside influences playing this game trying to keep them apart. Hell even Evelyn thinks they shouldn't be together but it doesn't mean her heart and brain are on the same page.

"I need you, Evelyn."  He stepped closer, tilting her head back.  "I need you more than the air I breathe."

"Nothing is right when you're absent.  I own the whole damn city, but when you aren't here, I can't find home."

"I spent nearly a month without you.  I won't do it again, Evelyn.  Not in word or action will I tolerate such distance between us.  I want you, in my life, in my days, in my bed, and I don't intend to acquiesce all that much.  You want your independence? That's fine ... for now.  But there's only so much a man can take."

But being on her own is not what it's all cracked up to be and Lucian sweeps in and helps her once again convincing her that they need each other.  As they start to move forward of course life beats them down again, but is their love strong enough to pull through when it is needed.

So many women believed submissiveness was a weakness, mindless subservience enacted to inflate a male's ego.  They were wrong.  It was strength.  Her strength was the trigger.  The strength to let go, the strength to trust in another's ability to know how much they might take, the strength to believe they're utterly beautiful without facades and conceit. Raw.
It was a woman bared in naked truth, secure enough to give over to her man, surrender every bit of struggle to be a queen at the top of the king's mountain.  There was such a high esteem in his mind for the strength it took to surrender here, yet remain empowered in the outside world. He felt nothing but utter admiration for any woman capable of collapsing such self-preservation after just once command.

I loved this story!  The whole trilogy had me ensnared.  After I got the chance of an ARC for Falling In, I immediately bought and downloaded the next two as I had to find out what was going to happen for these two.  Let me tell I did not get a lot of sleep in those 48 hours while I read and worked, but it was so worth it.  Lydia Michaels is by far becoming one of my favorite authors and I can't wait to read more from her.

"Evelyn, be my queen, protect me, stand by me, love me and I promise to always do the same."

4.5 Well Played Thumbs up!
. 5
Lauren



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Secrets and Charms (Secrets #2) by Lou Harper ~ #bookreview, #MM

Secrets and Charms (Secrets #2)

by Lou Harper (Goodreads Author)

One hot ginger. One cool blond. The result is anything but lukewarm.

Out and proud from a tender age, Olly Blackwood is content with life in LA, working at a Hollywood gourmet grocery. There's only one thing missing: romance. He's had his fill of casual hook-ups. He wants a man for keeps, and he wants sparks.

He certainly gets them when he meets Rich Willson, who has the stormy temper to go with his fiery hair. But is he keeper material? He might be if only he'd come out of the closet.

After losing his disapproving father, his job, his girlfriend, and pretty much all his money, Rich packed up his secrets and moved to his actress sister s house to regroup and help her renovate. He doesn't like the curmudgeon he s become, but something about the perpetually cheerful Olly rubs him in a way that should be wrong, yet feels pretty damned right.

Over paint buckets and sanding tools, Rich finds Olly getting deeper under his skin. But when an altercation with a paparazzo comes back to haunt him, he finds that sordid Hollywood secrets can be murder maybe his own.

Warning: Contains a hot-tempered ginger, a cool-headed blond, redecorating shenanigans, and sordid Hollywood secrets. Happy ending guaranteed or your ticket price refunded.

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Source: eARC for Honest Review Courtesy of Samhain Publishing via NetGalley

Genre: MM Contemporary

Part 2 in an ongoing series but can be read as a standalone

My Secrets and Charms Review ...

What do you get with a Hollywood starlet, an angry ginger and a puppy eyed sweetheart???? 

What you get is a super cute read about coming out and find love while dealing with a whole lotta drama.

This is the second in the secret series but I read it as a standalone.  I didn't feel reading it this way negated the experience at all if anything it just made me want to read book one to find out more about Jem and Nick.

In Secrets and Charms, we have blond Olly who works at the elite Hollywood grocery store where he meets and works with all kind of people.  His fellow colleague convinces Olly to go see a psychic where Olly learns that evil is lurking around the corner and he is meant to help someone.  Not paying to much attention to the general reading he goes about his merry way.  One of the other people he met was his friend Sandy who he's has signed up to help paint her new house.  Once there to help her out he runs into her angry ginger of a brother Rich who is instantly a dick to Olly. 

Olly wants nothing to do with this prick even though he likes to look at him.  He even thinks it's reciprocal but denies it because Rich is straight or so we think.  Even though they try to stay away, they get drawn in the middle of a whole bunch of drama when they find out that Sandy is being blackmailed.  Now together they try to find the blackmailer only to fall into a very tangled web full of secrets, lies and death.   But this tangled web gets more tangled when Rich starts to be honest with his true self.

This book was great full of drama, suspense, coming out, hope, adoration and love.  I'm a big fan of Lou Harper and she did not disappoint with this tale. Can't wait to read more from Lou and this series.

4 Charmed Thumbs up!

 

Lauren

 

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