Book Review: Storm and Fury by Jennifer Armentrout

Title: Storm and Fury
Author: Jennifer Armentrout
Series: Book One in the Harbinger Series
Genre: YA/NA Fantasy
Published By: Inkyard Press (June 11, 2019)
Source: ARC Provided by the Publisher (in exchange for an honest review)
My Rating: 4 Stars!


Book Description:
Eighteen-year-old Trinity Marrow may be going blind, but she can see and communicate with ghosts and spirits. Her unique gift is part of a secret so dangerous that she’s been in hiding for years in an isolated compound fiercely guarded by Wardens—gargoyle shape-shifters who protect humankind from demons. If the demons discover the truth about Trinity, they’ll devour her, flesh and bone, to enhance their own powers.


When Wardens from another clan arrive with disturbing reports that something out there is killing both demons and Wardens, Trinity’s safe world implodes. Not the least because one of the outsiders is the most annoying and fascinating person she’s ever met. Zayne has secrets of his own that will upend her world yet again—but working together becomes imperative once demons breach the compound and Trinity’s secret comes to light. To save her family and maybe the world, she’ll have to put her trust in Zayne. But all bets are off as a supernatural war is unleashed…

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I absolutely adored Armentrout's Dark Elements trilogy and when I saw that she was releasing a new book set in the same world of the Wardens, I knew it was something I had to try.

I'm so excited that Armentrout decided to resurrect this series. It really is so much fun and truly completely unique.

Not only do we get a continuation of the series but this time with a new unique character but, we get to see many old favorites as well. 

It couldn't have been any more fun if it tried.

I loved every second of this book. From the slow burn romance to the action and mystery to the fun banter and of course, they very real medical condition that Armentrout herself has. It was so informative and interesting and just...yeah. Such a great read and one I can not wait for all fans to read and of course, for the next book to come out.

*All thoughts and opinions are my own and were not influenced by the author or publisher. I was not compensated for this review.*

Blog Tour Book Review: The Yankee Widow by Linda Lael Miller

Title: The Yankee Widow

Author: Linda Lael Miller

Series: Stand Alone

Genre: Historical

Published By: MIRA (May 1, 2019)

Source: ARC Provided by the Publisher in exchange for an honest review

Book Description:

From a #1 New York Times bestselling novelist comes this richly layered, multi-generational saga set against the backdrop of the Civil War, told in a smart, assured, compelling voice. Linda Lael Miller is known for portraying strong women characters at climactic points in history that speak to the hurge fanbase that she has creates as the author of over 100 novels.

A richly drawn, multigenerational saga writ large against the complexities and heartbreak among families of both sides as men take up the war to presserve the nation or defend their way of life. Told in a smart, assured and compelling voice, the novel is the story of Caroline, the young wife of Jacob, who together live on a farm raising their daughter Rachel just outside of Gettysburg. When Jacob joins the Northern army to do his duty and help save the Union, no one anticipates he will not return. Caroline gets news that he is wounded and has been taken to Washington DC with his regiment, and so she must find her way there and navigate the thousands of wounded to find him. Thus begin this saga that focuses on the strong women and men of both sides and both races who sacrificed so much and loved so well during this critical juncture in American history.

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About the Author:

The daughter of a town marshal, LINDA LAEL MILLER is a #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than 100 historical and contemporary novels, most of which reflect her love of the West. The "First Lady of the West" lives outside Spokane, Washington, where her rescued horses, dogs and cats live the high life.

Published since 1983, Linda was awarded the prestigious Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007 by the Romance Writers of America. She was recently inducted into the Wild West Heritage Foundation's Walk of Fame for her dedication to preserving the heritage of the Wild West.

Hallmark Channel is developing a series based on Miller's Big Sky Country novels, published by HQN Books. In addition to writing more contemporary cowboy romances, she is working furiously on a big book Civil War series for Harlequin. When not writing, Linda loves to focus her creativity on a wide variety of art projects.

More information about Linda and her novels is available at www.lindalaelmiller.com and at www.facebook.com/OfficialLindaLaelMiller

Beautifully written and rich in detail, The Yankee Widow will transport you back in time to an era that is seldom talked about let alone experienced. With a country literally torn in two with brother again brother and friend and foes alike, this atmospheric novel will make you feel like you are in the very heart of the battle, both on the field and off. 

A time when war raged the country side, women had to be strong and independent and children grew up way too fast. When men were gentlemen still and freedom was a thing that not everyone experienced or got the luxury of having. 


Wonderfully told in alternating point of views, The Yankee Widow will tug at your heart strings and keep you thoroughly engaged the whole way through. Truly a riveting story that you will be glad you took the time to read, enjoy, and learn from. 

Blog Tour Review: The Great Pretenders by Laura Kalpakian

Title: The Great Pretenders

Author: Laura Kalpakian

Series: Stand Alone

Genre: Contemporary

Published By: Berkley Books (April 16, 2019)

Source: ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Book Description:

The daughter of Hollywood royalty, Roxanne Granville is used to getting what she wants--even if she has to break the rules. But after a falling-out with her grandfather, a powerful movie mogul, she has to face life on her own for the first time....

Roxanne forges a career unique for women in the 1950s, becoming an agent for hungry young screenwriters. She struggles to be taken seriously by the men who rule Hollywood and who often assume that sexual favors are just a part of doing business. When she sells a script by a blacklisted writer under the name of a willing front man, more exiled writers seek her help. Roxanne wades into a world murky with duplicity and deception, and she can't afford any more risks.

Then she meets Terrence Dexter, a compelling African American journalist unlike anyone she's ever known. Roxanne again breaks the rules, and is quickly swept up in a passionate relationship with very real dangers that could destroy everything she's carefully built.

Roxanne Granville is a woman who bravely defies convention. She won't let men make all the rules, and won't let skin color determine whom she can love. The Great Pretenders is a riveting, emotional novel that resonates in today's world, and reminds us that some things are worth fighting for.

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About the Author:

Laura Kalpakian was nominated for the prestigious International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award for American Cookery. She won a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, a Pushcart Prize, the Pacific Northwest Booksellers’ Award (twice), the Anahid Award for an American writer of Armenian descent, the PEN West Award, and the Stand International Short Fiction Competition. She has had residencies at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Montalvo Center for the Arts, and Hawthornden Castle in Scotland. She is the author of sixteen novels, and four collections, and over a hundred stories published in collections, anthologies, literary journals and magazines in the USA and the UK.

Website

There is so much history, so much content in The Great Pretenders that is truly enchanting and you can tell that the author spent a lot of time and effort into getting so many world events and Hollywood events right. It really is like taking a step back in time and experiencing it all for yourself through a different perspective. 

A time when everything and anything and everyone was judged, tried and prosecuted for the color of their skin, where they lived, how they dressed, what they believed in,  and how much money they had. 

Rich in detail, family drama, a Hollywood atmosphere and all the things that go with them all, this was a read unlike any I've read before. 


Sometimes troubling, sometimes slow but always interesting, The Great Pretenders is a book that is sure to appeal to many people who love the theme, era, and the setting. 

Blog Tour Review: Park Avenue Summer by Renee Rosen

Title: Park Avenue Summer

Author: Renee Rosen

Series: Stand Alone

Genre: Historic/Contemporary

Published By: Berkley (April 30, 2019)

Source: ARC Provided by the Publisher (in exchange for an honest review)

Book Description:

Mad Men meets The Devil Wears Prada as Renée Rosen draws readers into the glamour of 1965 New York City and Cosmopolitan Magazine, where a brazen new Editor-in-Chief--Helen Gurley Brown--shocks America by daring to talk to women about all things off limits...

New York City is filled with opportunities for single girls like Alice Weiss who leaves her small Midwestern town to chase her big city dreams and unexpectedly lands the job of a lifetime working for Helen Gurley Brown, the first female Editor-in-Chief of a then failing Cosmopolitan Magazine.

Nothing could have prepared Alice for the world she enters as editors and writers resign on the spot, refusing to work for the woman who wrote the scandalous bestseller, Sex and the Single Girl. While confidential memos, article ideas, and cover designs keep finding their way into the wrong hands, someone tries to pull Alice into this scheme to sabotage her boss. But Alice remains loyal and becomes all the more determined to help Helen succeed. As pressure mounts at the magazine and Alice struggles to make her way in New York, she quickly learns that in Helen Gurley Brown's world, a woman can demand to have it all. 

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About the Author:

Renee is the bestselling author of historical fiction including: WINDY CITY BLUES, WHITE COLLAR GIRL, WHAT THE LADY WANTS and DOLLFACE, as well as the YA novel, EVERY CROOKED POT. 

PARK AVENUE SUMMER: a Novel of Helen Gurley Brown and Cosmopolitan Magazine will be published in April 30, 2019 from Penguin Random House / Berkley. 

Most people discover their love of reading first and then decide to try writing. For Renee Rosen, it was just the opposite. From the time she was a little girl she knew she wanted to be a writer and by age seventeen had completed her first novel, with what she admits was the worst opening line of all time. Her hopes of being the youngest published author on record were soon dashed when her “masterpiece” was repeatedly rejected. Several years and many attempts later, Renee finally became a reader first.

Since then she has been fortunate enough to study the craft of writing from such esteemed novelists as Michael Cunningham, Susan Minot and Carol Anshaw. 

Renee now lives in Chicago where she is working on a new novel. You can find her online at https://www.facebook.com/ReneeRosenAu..., https://twitter.com/ReneeRosen1 or visit her website at www.reneerosen.com 

Once in awhile you come across a premises that you just know you have to experience for yourself. You pick up a book and you just instantly connect. Not because of the characters or even the setting but just because it simply is written so well that you immediately get sucked into the very story itself and then before you know it, you are in love. In love with the characters, in love with the setting, in love with it all.

Park Avenue Summer is an exceptional read that not only took me by surprise but took my breath away. I absolutely devoured it and adored it and just couldn't get enough of it. 

It is so well written, so well voiced and truly something I can't recommend enough. A wonderful insightful look into women in the work place in a time where we weren't quite accepted yet and had to fight for every little triumph and recognition we received. 

Review: There's Something About Sweetie by Sandhya Menon

Title: There's Something About Sweetie
Author: Sandhya Menon
Series: Book Two in the Dimple and Rishi Series
Genre: YA Contemporary
Published By: Simon Pulse (May 14, 2019)
Source: ARC Provided by the Publisher (in exchange for an honest review)
My Rating: 5 Stars!


Book Description:
Ashish Patel didn’t know love could be so…sucky. After he’s dumped by his ex-girlfriend, his mojo goes AWOL. Even worse, his parents are annoyingly, smugly confident they could find him a better match. So, in a moment of weakness, Ash challenges them to set him up.

The Patels insist that Ashish date an Indian-American girl—under contract. Per subclause 1(a), he’ll be taking his date on “fun” excursions like visiting the Hindu temple and his eccentric Gita Auntie. Kill him now. How is this ever going to work?

Sweetie Nair is many things: a formidable track athlete who can outrun most people in California, a loyal friend, a shower-singing champion. Oh, and she’s also fat. To Sweetie’s traditional parents, this last detail is the kiss of death.

Sweetie loves her parents, but she’s so tired of being told she’s lacking because she’s fat. She decides it’s time to kick off the Sassy Sweetie Project, where she’ll show the world (and herself) what she’s really made of.


Ashish and Sweetie both have something to prove. But with each date they realize there’s an unexpected magic growing between them. Can they find their true selves without losing each other?

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Is there anything better than a sweet cute contemporary that packs all the feels and leaves you with a smile shinning bright on your face? Something fun and energetic and most of all, just really really good? Nope, I don't think so, at least, not in the book world.

There's Something About Sweetie was so wonderful. Packed full of sweet and heartfelt messages about accepting who we are and being strong and independent while still being respectful of others. 

I love not only the strong and powerful messages this book had but also the strong and supportive parents and heritage as well. There truly is something to be said about reading something you don't hear about every day. About a woman being confident in her own body, regardless of what color, shape, or size said body is. About accepting not only others, but ourselves too. Loving others and allowing others to love us in return.

The fact that no one is perfect. We are all learning and doing the best we can. We all have faults and cracks and insecurities regardless of our appearance but we don't let those things define us, we let them make us stronger.

I adored this read. The characters, the messages, the sweet building romance. It was just so real, so fun and really did leave me with a huge smile on my face. 

*All thoughts and opinions are my own and were not influenced by the author or the publisher. I was not compensated for this review.*

Review: The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren

Title: The Unhoneymooners
Author: Christina Lauren
Series: Stand Alone
Genre: Contemporary
Published By: Gallery Books (May 14, 2019)
Source: ARC Provided by the Publisher (in exchange for an honest review)
My Rating: 4 Stars!


Book Description:
Olive is always unlucky: in her career, in love, in…well, everything. Her identical twin sister Amy, on the other hand, is probably the luckiest person in the world. Her meet-cute with her fiancé is something out of a romantic comedy (gag) and she’s managed to finance her entire wedding by winning a series of Internet contests (double gag). Worst of all, she’s forcing Olive to spend the day with her sworn enemy, Ethan, who just happens to be the best man.

Olive braces herself to get through 24 hours of wedding hell before she can return to her comfortable, unlucky life. But when the entire wedding party gets food poisoning from eating bad shellfish, the only people who aren’t affected are Olive and Ethan. And now there’s an all-expenses-paid honeymoon in Hawaii up for grabs.


Putting their mutual hatred aside for the sake of a free vacation, Olive and Ethan head for paradise, determined to avoid each other at all costs. But when Olive runs into her future boss, the little white lie she tells him is suddenly at risk to become a whole lot bigger. She and Ethan now have to pretend to be loving newlyweds, and her luck seems worse than ever. But the weird thing is that she doesn’t mind playing pretend. In fact, she feels kind of... lucky.

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I made the foolish mistake of thinking that once I received a copy of The Unhoneymooners I would be able to wait closer to it's release date before starting it. After all, I cherish all Christina Lauren's reads and I always want them to last as long as possible, I mean who doesn't? Their characters are engaging and oh so relatable but of course, I completely forgot that, well, I really do not have the best patience in the world and I, in fact, can NOT wait to start one of their books. 

Hence, my sleepless night and my whole, sorry, not sorry attitude about starting it way earlier than I should have and even losing sleep over it. I mean, this is Christina Lauren we are talking about and add in a enemies to lovers trope and I am so all over it. 

Oh how I was sucked into the storyline from the very first page. I loved not only the love hate relationship between Olive and Ethan but the whole family dynamic and of course the unbelievable tension between, well, just about everybody. 

Truly another hit from Christina Laurens and one I won't be forgetting soon. 

*All thoughts and opinions are my own and were not influenced by the authors or publisher. I was not compensated for this review.*