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Book Review: Doves for Sale – Lila Felix

Author: Lila Felix
Synopsis from Goodreads:   

“Love isn’t crazy. Love isn’t a degree of insanity. Love is sanity at its purest. It forces your soul to make a rational choice—a choice to make another person’s happiness your priority, to allow them access to your heart and soul. Letting Ezra go was choosing to love him. Letting him go was the best way you knew how to choose his joy over your own. I can see it in both of you. This love isn’t one that will go down without a fight.” 


Seven months is a long time to wait.

Ezra has three goals. There is no choice. He has to get better, for himself and for Aysa.

Except, his best friend Roman has moved in in his absence. He’s given Ezra’s girl a shoulder to cry on, a hand to hold, and a fighting chance at winning her heart.

Aysa knows who her heart belongs to.

But loving Ezra is no easy task.

Ezra never promised simple, he only promised his heart.

Aysa has two paths in front of her, one carries peace and one carries a love that never ends.


My Review:
Doves for Sale is what I would call a ‘big goofy grin book,’ as that is what was on my face for nearly the entire thing; I loved the fun-ness between Ezra and Aysa, yeah their lives are still pretty crazy (who’s isn’t, really?) and they still had stuff to work through, but I was just in love with these characters getting back together and finding some stability and trust between them.  Then there was the new friendship between Knox and Aysa, and their banter that at times had me laughing out loud – he is my new favorite supporting character….at least for this month.  While this book didn’t have as much conflict as Sparrows for Free, it provided that “sigh” worthy HEA that I love.  I truly did love this book and do recommend it, however you must read Sparrows for Free first, or else it will feel a bit lacking – the hardest parts of Ezra and Aysa’s story can be found in the first book.  While this book had some difficulties of it’s own, it wasn’t nearly as heavy nor, thankfully, as melancholy.

Rated: PG-13  
Genre: New Adult – Romance
Rating:  4 Stars

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Book Review: Dethroning Crown – Lila Felix

Title: Dethroning Crown
Author: Lila Felix
Synopsis from Goodreads:   

Number ten is plastered on his team jersey and on his ego. In his own mind, Crown Sterling is the shit. He dates the prettiest women, he dominates on the soccer field, he pours money out of his pockets like it’s water. Until a debilitating knee injury puts him out of commission on and off the field. He’s sent to an isolated town in Louisiana to recoup, undergo physical therapy and heal. But it’s when you’re down that you find out who your real friends are, and what they value in you, if anything at all.


All Lyra wants out of life is peace and quiet. She grew up with a regular, everyday family. When she turned sixteen, rummaging through her grandmother’s hope chest in the attic, she discovered a secret that would turn her simple, normal life into a ball of chaos that revolved around her. But while she seems to face her fears head on in her career, she lives a life that’s secure and well hidden.


A new neighbor moved in next door and he’s decided that everyone needs to listen to his rap music, shattering Lyra’s quiet existence. Enraged, she stomps to the next townhouse over and who should open the door but a man whose good looks and charming smile knock her breathless.


How good looking? Just ask him.


How charming? He’ll tell you that too.


The king must be dethroned.


And a small town girl who’s been through hell is just the one to do it.

My Review:
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Dethroning Crown,  so much that if I had the time I probably would have read it all in one sitting.  When I first started the book I wasn’t sure I was ever going to actually be able to like Crown by the end of the story; he was just too much ego and honestly, silly with entitlement issues, but as aspects of his life are revealed and you start to understand him, he is easy to fall for.   His sensitive side was wildly attractive. (And honestly, any time you pair a guy with a kitten, even for a short time, it’s bound to be attractive. But that’s just my opinion).  Lyra was such a sweet person even from the onset, I was ready for great things to happen for her right away.  So basically, these two characters got under my skin and I wanted to make them my friends.

I loved that the heat between Crown and Lyra was a growing process throughout the book and that the characters were not pinning for each other within the first few chapter.  Lyra and Crown may have appreciated each other’s appearances from the start, but anything beyond that had to be cultivated, they had to learn to like each other before there was anything more.  The supporting characters helped out a lot with this too,  especially on Crown’s side, as he was figuring out his life and the fact that he was basically a big ball of arrogant soccer player, and that was about it.  There was also Lyra’s fears to work out and understand, and ienjoyed how even though we knew the reason why Crown was who he was pretty quickly, Lyra’s whole story came out and bits and pieces.  All of these things made this story of two people that, from a distance should seem bigger than life, just regular people with issues that needed to be fleshed out.

Rated:  PG-13; Mild cussing, some sensuality but mostly clean
Genre: New Adult – Romance
Rating:  5 Stars
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Book Review: Sparrows for Free – Lila Felix

Author: Lila Felix
Synopsis from Goodreads:   

There are skeletons in every closet. Some stay quiet—and some rule your soul with an iron fist.


Ezra is ruled by the ghosts of his past—and needled by the guilt they create. Not only does he have to manage his own guilt—his friends are forced to bear the weight as well. He lives in limbo, never dreaming of anything that lies beyond the grave.

In his mind, he’s a murderer, pure and simple.


Hide and seek is Aysa’s game. She begs for small spaces and empty places. But, she secretly desires so much more.

When they find each other, a hope for something new is sprung.

But Ezra’s skeletons are out for blood.


“I hide shock well. I’m a pro at hiding. I have no idea that whatever he had to tell me would be so personal—so heartbreaking. But, I quickly remembered that heartbreak was all around him every time he turned around. He needs no more empathy or sympathy in his life. He craves someone to give him a different take on a tired situation.

And different is practically my middle name.”

My Review:
I had read Lila Felix’s Love and Skate book a few months ago, and while the story line was really good and I did like the characters, the whole book felt a little stiff and needed quite a bit of editing; the lesson I have learned is never judge an author by previous work, and honestly I never would have pegged myself for doing something like that, but I know that is exactly what I was doing every time I scrolled past Sparrows for Free on my kindle and bumping it down the line of my TBR pile; thankfully a friend talked some sense into me and told me I would really like this book, and she was right!  The story of two messed up people and the road to their recovery was beautifully written. The characters were people I really wanted to get to know.  Asya, was someone I could realate to in some ways; not necessairily in the hiding from life – but while growing up there were moments when I felt like I was invisible.  I loved Asya’s gradual increase of self esteem and how she  stood up for herself; she didn’t wake up one day and decide to be different – it was a work in process.  If nothing else, Sparrows for Free will trap you into a story that you absolutely have to finished, if for no other reason than to see Asya and Ezra find themselves and begin to move past who they are and into who they should be.

Rated:  PG-13 – Mild cussing, a bit of sensuality
Genre: New Adult – Romance
Rating:  4 Stars
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Book Review: The Law of Moses – Amy Harmon

Author: Amy Harmon
Synopsis from Goodreads:   

If I tell you right up front, right in the beginning that I lost him, it will be easier for you to bear. You will know it’s coming, and it will hurt. But you’ll be able to prepare.


Someone found him in a laundry basket at the Quick Wash, wrapped in a towel, a few hours old and close to death. They called him Baby Moses when they shared his story on the ten o’clock news – the little baby left in a basket at a dingy Laundromat, born to a crack addict and expected to have all sorts of problems. I imagined the crack baby, Moses, having a giant crack that ran down his body, like he’d been broken at birth. I knew that wasn’t what the term meant, but the image stuck in my mind. Maybe the fact that he was broken drew me to him from the start.


It all happened before I was born, and by the time I met Moses and my mom told me all about him, the story was old news and nobody wanted anything to do with him. People love babies, even sick babies. Even crack babies. But babies grow up to be kids, and kids grow up to be teenagers. Nobody wants a messed up teenager.


And Moses was messed up. Moses was a law unto himself. But he was also strange and exotic and beautiful. To be with him would change my life in ways I could never have imagined. Maybe I should have stayed away. Maybe I should have listened. My mother warned me. Even Moses warned me. But I didn’t stay away.


And so begins a story of pain and promise, of heartache and healing, of life and death. A story of before and after, of new beginnings and never-endings. But most of all…a love story. 


My Review:
I’m a fan of paranormal books, although I usually like to know when I’m reading one, The Law of Moses took me by surprise in that area, however the way that it is lightly paranormal mixed with real life written so well makes this book exceptionally awesome. Additionally Moses and Georgia’s relationship unfolding scene by scene made this book very difficult to put down.  At first I thought the book was going to take the well worn story line of bad boy, trouble maker chasing after and ultimately winning over the nice, ‘perfect,’ innocent town girl; so I was happy when the story started down a different road all together and was filled with love, heartache,  mystery and suspense.  In this story it was Georgia doing all the initiating, making all the first moves and practically throwing herself at Moses, to which he eventually relents.  The “bad boy” persona of Moses is all drummed up gossip while he’s truly a stand-up guy who just wants to protect those people he actually cares for, and this makes him all the more appealing. Though, what I absolutely loved were the words forming the sentences making the book; this book was like reading one of the paintings Moses was plastering to the wall – very lyrical and colorful, one of those books that is very easy to picture in your imagination.

Rated:  Pg-13; some sensuality a bit of cussing I think…the rest of the book was so entrancing I can’t remember much cussing.  Any and all scenes of intimacy are spoken of emotionally rather than descriptions of the act.
Genre: New Adult 
Rating: 5 Stars – Beautifully Written


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Book Review: Roomies – Lindy Zart

Title: Roomies

Author: Lindy Zart
Synopsis from Goodreads:  

Graham Malone is my roommate, my personal eye candy, the reason I get up in the morning smiling (that could be from the illicit dreams I have about him too, I suppose. Let’s move on.). He’s also beautiful to look at, but his heart is where his true beauty lies. Take away the exterior and the interior still shines. 


I love him. I mean, I’m pretty sure I do, having never been in love before. Anyway, it seems legit. 


And now his brother Blake is here, and, well, he’s the complete opposite of Graham. Sarcastic, brooding, and totally available. But he’s leaving soon, and Graham’s the one I want. I shouldn’t have to remind myself of this, right? I wouldn’t have to if Blake would quit looking at me like I’m something yummy and he’s starving.


Here’s a toast to roomies; the ones you should never fall in love with. Or something.

My Review:
Roomies was “laugh-out-loud” fun, romantic read; filled with plenty of sarcasm, wit, antics, broody jealous guys,  strange parents, a love triangle, and a bit of forgiveness and reconciliation.  The voice of this book, Kennedy, is self-proclaimed immature (and she is), she is very ‘blonde,’ can’t drive worth a lick and deflects meaningful conversations with banter and sarcasm; but she becomes very insightful at moments as well, which would usually seem strange but somehow worked for her character very well.  It actually redeemed her, because let’s face it; she sometimes even got on my nerves, especially when she was absolutely oblivious to Graham’s  (roommate) obvious adoration for her.  Graham was likewise just as oblivious, which resulted in a lot of heated moments, and even a macho “you’re mine” up against a door; but with every two steps forward it seemed like we took three back on the whole “I don’t want to mess this up” train.  Of all the characters, Blake was the only one who wasn’t actually blonde (ditzy, or otherwise…what’s up with that, Lindy Zart….why was nearly everyone blonde?), this dark brooding male was equally as appealing as Graham, and he basically knew what was what from the very first day.


Rated: PG-13 – sensuality, cussing (actually, if this were a movie it would be R, because the F word was used multiple times… in one paragraph), alcohol
Genre: New Adult
Rating: 4 Stars
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Book Review: The Real Thing – Cassie Mae

Author: Cassie Mae

Genre: New Adult
**This book was an Advanced Reader Copy from Netgalley.com; other than the joy of reading – I was granted no compensation to review this book.**
Synopsis (from Goodreads.com): Eric Matua has one friend—his best friend and childhood sweetheart, who needs a place to stay for the summer. Mia Johnson has thousands of friends—who live in her computer. Along with her email chats and Facebook notifications, Mia also devours romance novels, spending countless hours with fictional characters, dreaming of her own Romeo to sweep her off her feet. When she starts receiving supersweet messages from a stranger who thinks she’s someone else, Mia begins to believe that real love is possible outside her virtual world. 


When the two friends become roommates, Mia finds herself falling harder than she ever thought she could. But Eric keeps his desires locked away, unsure of himself and his ability to give his best friend what she deserves in a boyfriend. As her advances are continually spurned, Mia splits her time between Eric and her computer. But she soon realizes she’s about to lose the only real thing she’s ever had.

My Review: I try very, very hard not to read other people’s reviews before I write a review myself, because I find my opinion is influencible; I find that I can see the other persons perspective on a book, and then….well, it becomes difficult to not have that same perspective. Not to say that when others hate a book, I immediately do too or anything like that, it’s just that when I read the book, or think back on it – I start seeing where they are coming from and well…that’s frustrating to me because then I’m left wondering (if I read the review before I read the book) if I would have felt that way anyways, or if I would have seen it myself. I’m like that with pretty much everything though, my friends know that I will be pretty upset, and have even NOT seen a movie or read a book based on someone spoiling it for me. This is ironic considering I’m sitting here typing up a review so that others can gadge whether they want to read a book or not, isn’t it?
Okay, now that I’ve said all that, it sounds like I’ve got a bad review coming up, doesn’t it?  Not true. But I am going to say that having Cassie Mae as a friend on Facebook makes avoiding others’ reviews difficult.  The one little bit of a review I did see mentioned the lack of males who aren’t naturally confident, in books; and the thing is, I agree.  Even Cassie Mae’s own ‘nerd males’ have a certain amount of self confidence that makes them very nearly alpha in their own right. Eric, however, is suffering from a severe anxiety disorder, which sort of completely knocks him out of the over-confident category right off. Add in a jerk and verbally-abusive ex-girlfriend and you know this guy isn’t going to be your typical leading man.  It was that, and the whole ‘falling for your best friend’ plot that had me jumping over to NetGalley.com to see if this book was listed.  (And it was my lucky day!)
What’s The Drama?  Emilia ( Em, Emmy, Mia…) is super thrilled to be spending the summer with her best friend, and long-time crush, Eric, but is finding disconnecting from her electronic world long enough to enjoy him long enough.  Eric has liked Emmy for so long, but she is his best friend.  Beside, touching her leaves him feeling breathless…literally.  She is also that girl, no way she’d ever like someone like him, right!?
What I Loved:  The characters are so real!  As mentioned above, Eric is not this perfect guy; he’s dealing with anxiety issues, self-esteem issues as well as weight issues. He is the opposite of over-confident, and I think it makes the book realistic. Real people have real issues. I feel the same way about Emmy.  I can probably think of several people who have a severe electronic/social media addiction (and many more with gaming addictions). Being online and talking to people we can’t see makes us brave in ways we really are not, it is so easy to hide there.  Emmy also had a loneliness problem, she found solice in the people who liked her via messages, texts, emails, etc.  The attention is addicting. I know I enjoy all of the notifications on my birthday. It really makes me smile and feel good – but really, why is that?  Half of those people I don’t even have a relationship with outside of the computer. 
Emmy was also easy to relate with because we have something huge in common – um, books!  It is obvious we readers understand each other since it is so easy to write one of us into a story and into a character who is otherwise not like us in anyway at all.  I smiled at her book-love every time it came up. 
Another thing to love, Cassie Mae is witty and fun, or at least her writing reflects that she is.  I am always able to laugh out loud while reading her books.  She has become one of my go-to authors when I’m looking for something fun, and just straight up fiction/romance (no paranormal, or long plots with crazy twists).  I love that I can rely on her to give me a light read that will end in that happy *sigh* that I crave.
Not So Much:  Even I was annoyed with Emmy’s inability to disconnect. I have a love/hate relationship with technology, and there were moments when I wanted to punch her in the jaw because of it.  However, this is a part of her characters, and is also listed under “what I loved,” because it is realistic.  Anyhow, I also ….and YES I know this is New Adult… am not a huge fan of some of the more, hmm..I don’t even know how I can say it without sounding prude, but some of the sex (not the actual scenes, but the inbetween) talk, it was a bit much for me.  And I’m not into vibrators and such.  Maybe I am a prude.  Maybe I got married at 21 and have gone 13 years of married happiness without any of that sort of thing, but…I don’t know, I’m not a fan of it in books.  
Can My Kids Read This?  Did you read the above paragraph?  Then my guess is, you already know that I would not recommend this book for teenagers.  🙂
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Book Review: Switched – Cassie Mae // GIVEAWAYS!

Author:  Cassie Mae
Genre:  New Adult; Romance
Publication Date:  December 2, 2013

**This book was an Advanced Reader Copy from Netgalley.com; other than the joy of reading – I was granted no compensation to review this book.**

Synopsis (from Goodreads.com):  Ever since high school, Kayla has been crazy for gorgeous football player Talon. But before she could muster the courage to tell him, he became a hot item with her beautiful BFF, Reagan. The only person who knows Kayla’s secret is Wesley, Talon’s best bud—and he’s got it bad for Reagan. Now they’re all in college together, hanging out 24/7. For Kayla, seeing the two lovebirds together is absolutely unbearable. So Kayla and Wesley hatch a plot to drive them apart before Talon has a chance to give Reagan the Christmas gift she’s been waiting for.

Soon enough, the once happy couple is fighting. Reagan suddenly can’t get enough of Wesley’s goofy sense of humor, and Talon seems to be paying more attention to Kayla than a guy who’s “only a friend” ever should. But just when everything seems to be falling into place, Kayla and Wesley accidentally spend a night together and discover a hitch in their plan they never considered: that switching partners may not lead to a perfect ending after all.


Review:   I read Switched in under 24 hours.  I probably would have read it in one sitting, if..you know, I didn’t have kids and have to sleep and all.  Silly real life getting in the way!  Regardless, the book was that engrossing, and fun!  I loved watching the the relationships in this book unfold, and even though I could guess everything that was going to happen from beginning to end, I still loved reading it.  The chemistry between the characters, especially Kayla and Wesley, is so intoxicating, you can hardly wait to get to the end. I honestly think what makes this one so good is the fact that – I’ve been there.  I’ve crushed on a guy so hard and while I haven’t done anything to get him or anything, I have gotten to the point where it feels like there’s a chance – and then he doesn’t seem quite so perfect.  It can be a confusing mess.

Read the book!  Tell me you don’t love it.  I dare you!  I’m not saying the plot is original, and has never been done before, so if that’s what you’re looking for, then you do have the wrong book.  However, if you’re looking for a book that has characters that you can relate to, and funny, and sweet, and a-dor-a-ble…here you go! 

GIVEAWAY #1:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

GIVEAWAY #2:

Anyone who comments on this review post through midnight (PST) on Sunday, December 8 is eligible to win a NetGalley review copy of SWITCHED! Winner chosen at random.

Cassie Mae
* Author information from Goodreads.com

website:  http://readingwritingandlovin.blogspot.com

About this author: 

Cassie Mae (sometimes writes as Becca Ann ;)) is a nerd to the core from Utah, who likes to write about other nerds who find love. Her angel children and perfect husband fan her and feed her grapes while she clacks away on the keyboard. Then she wakes up from that dream world and manages to get a few words on the computer while the house explodes around her. When she’s not writing, she’s spending time with the youth in her community as a volleyball and basketball coach, or searching the house desperately for chocolate.
Don’t forget to connect with Cassie on Facebook and Twitter!


Hop along!
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Book Review/Exerpt: Chaotic, Book 1 of The Imperfect Perfection Series – C.A. Williams

Title: Chaotic
Series: Book #1 of The Imperfect Perfection series
Genre: New Adult, Contains Mature Content, recommended for 17+
Expected Publication Date: May 15th

Synopsis:
Adelaide McGregor was spinning out of control, in a world of pain that no one knew anything about. She put up a front, displaying a picture perfect girl that everyone wanted to be, but no one was truly there for her. Then she was sent away to live near her grandparents due to bad behavior when her mother decided she just didn’t want to deal with her any longer. Without a penny to her name and no where else to go, her life was uprooted to North Carolina. Everything seems to be changing for the better with her fresh new start until she meets a guy who flips her world upside down all over again. Sometimes you have to make it through the struggles of imperfection in life for everything to come out as complete perfection, but Della hasn’t quite learned that lesson yet.

Quick Excerpt:

“Don’t worry, mother. I’m not being stupid about it, I’m on birth control, and whichever penis I pick is most certainly wrapped. So when and if I feel the urge to spread my legs, just know I’m being one hundred percent safe. Even if I’m not exactly laying back and spreading my legs, you know there are so many different positions I love to try out. Have you ever heard of the Dolphin? It’s fairly tricky but once you get the hang of it, can be amazing. It also helps that I’m so flexible,” I added on loudly before laying my napkin on my cleared plate.

My Review: During the first few chapters, before Della moved back to her grandparents and started going to college, I found her a bit hard to deal with. It was hard to reconcile her internal dialogue with her words and actions. For all intents and purposes, she was everything she was trying not to be, or telling her mother she was not. She was an out of control teenager/wanna-be adult.

Once she got to her grandparents, it was like she was a different person altogether, which was also a little bit hard to believe, however it made the book easier to read. I felt like I had started almost a completely different book, even though the girl had the same past events, her actions were quite a bit different, though she was still very insecure and pretty unsure of herself. The more I read, the more I got into the characters and the story, and found myself a little bit hungry for what was going to happen between Della and her two boys.

Of course, my loyal readers will know exactly how I feel about the love triangle scenario (way over done and tired story line), however in this case, it didn’t feel much like a triangle. I felt like Della had one serious love interest, Justin. He was the perfect scenario; a guy who had some of her same outrageous and wild character flaws, however was looking to be serious and get serious about his life. Then there is Nash, the “best friend” neighbor boy who grew up next door to Della’s grandparents, and who she spent a lot of her childhood hanging out with. Their affection for each other was not weird or surprising, however judging by Della’s internal dialogue – she liked Nash well enough, but he wasn’t exactly what she needed, or her other half. In the end, Nash started to come off as creepy and obsessive in his own way.

In the end, I felt like Della was unfair and almost, a tiny bit hypocritical….but there’s still another book (or two? Not sure how long this series is suppose to be) to go, so she has time to right her self in my eyes.

I feel like this was a pretty good love story of some semi-troubled kids who are finding their way into adult-hood. This book is seriously not meant for teenagers though, most certainly falls into the mature-Young Adult category in my opinion, as there are some steamy scene, as well as underage partying and the like. Probably a bit heavy on all of the above in my opinion, however I’m looking forward to finding out what happens between Della, Justin and Nash, as it is pretty much up in the air from here. My hope for Della is that in the midst of trying to figure out her love-life, she also tries to figure out her life. She needs to find something she’s passionate about that isn’t guys or partying. 

Links to the book:

Goodreads/Kobo/Amazon Kindle/Barnes & Noble


Author Bio:
I am a stay at home mom to two crazy little boys, with another baby on the way.(Finally Pink!) I’ve been married to my high school sweetheart for almost six years now and he is my biggest supporter. I’ve always had a love for books since the time I first started reading and started swapping books with my mom when I got a little older. My love for reading turned into a love for writing and I’ve enjoyed every second of it.

Author Links:
Goodreads/Facebook/Blog
Facebook Blog Event

Giveaway Info:
Author is giving away 2 ebook copies of ‘Chaotic’ by C.A. Williams
a Rafflecopter giveaway//d12vno17mo87cx.cloudfront.net/embed/rafl/cptr.js