"Bleed Like Me" Sheds A Beautiful New Light Into The Darkness Of Obsessive Love

Bleed Like Me Title:  Bleed Like Me
Author:  Christa Desir
Format:  ERC
Length:  288 pages
Publisher:  Simon Pulse
Rating:  5 Stars

From the author of Fault Line comes an edgy and heartbreaking novel about two self-destructive teens in a Sid and Nancy-like romance full of passion, chaos, and dyed hair.

Seventeen-year-old Amelia Gannon (just "Gannon" to her friends) is invisible to almost everyone in her life. To her parents, to her teachers-even her best friend, who is more interested in bumming cigarettes than bonding. Some days the only way Gannon knows she is real is by carving bloody lines into the flesh of her stomach.

Then she meets Michael Brooks, and for the first time, she feels like she is being seen to the core of her being. Obnoxious, controlling, damaged, and addictive, he inserts himself into her life until all her scars are exposed. Each moment together is a passionate, painful relief.

But as the relationship deepens, Gannon starts to feel as if she's standing at the foot of a dam about to burst. She's given up everything and everyone in her life for him, but somehow nothing is enough for Brooks-until he poses the ultimate test.

Bleed Like Me is a piercing, intimate portrayal of the danger of a love so obsessive it becomes its own biggest threat.


 My Thoughts
If you are a fan of Intervention, Hoarders...Buried Alive, or any other form of twisted reality TV goodness that deals with  what people resort to when in the throws of obsession, or if you are a person with a fetish for watching train wrecks in slow motion.  This this the book for you!

Amelia "you don't see me" Gannon,is the perfect fuse for Michael Brooks' particular brand of "I need someone to love me" emotional and psychological TNT. 

These are two characters that readers know, from the outset, can not possibly be good for each other.
However, given the fact that they not only manage to find each other, but that they also seem to find in each other, some semblance of comfort; one can't help hoping or the best, but...
In much the same way that one does when your brother comes home from a weekend in Vegas, and announces that he has just married Trixie, a stripper, who will be moving down next week.  You know that things WILL NOT END WELL.
The guilty pleasure of this read is seeing just how bad things are destined to become before DEFCON 1 is reached.

Oh...Amelia
Here we have a character who, though she has problems, has still managed to maintain an education, a job, friends, and a clean criminal record.  Her only two issues being the stress of her unruly adopted brothers on the family, and her social awkwardness.  Hence...Amelia's gateway to cutting and a codependent, hot mess of a relationship.

Michael...Demon or Angel
In Michael, we have a person who is just trying to find someone and somewhere to belong.  He is about to age out of the foster care system, was abused as a child, and is just doing what he has to.
He sees Gannon as his one chance to be that all important "knight in shining armor", and for a while, he is.
But...
Obsession, recklessness, and drugs, can and do destroy everything that is good about what they have, and what he is trying to do.

This is a story that is built on angst, dysfunction, love, pain, and what can happen when the hopeful naivety of youth is turned in upon itself.
There are more than a few WTF's and OMG's to be had here, and the ending is....

YOU'LL JUST HAVE TO READ IT!



Christa DesirI'm a YA author who loves dark contemporary books. Novels include: FAULT LINE (Oct 2013), BLEED LIKE ME (Oct 2014), TWELVE (Jan 2016), and LOVE BLIND (May 2016).

I am also a feminist, rape victim activist, and romance novel editor. I live outside of Chicago with my awesome husband and our three small children. 

A Tale Of Enduring Love Is A Sure Bet With "The Likelihood Of Lucy"

The Likelihood of Lucy (Regency Reformers, #2)Title:  The Likelihood of Lucy  
(Rengency Reformers #2)
Author:  Jenny Holiday
Format:  ERC
Length:  287 pages
Entangled/ Select Histoical
Rating:  4 Stars

Danger and desire are explosive in the newest romance from Select Historical!

She would never bow to any man...

London, 1815

Trevor Bailey is on the cusp of opening the greatest hotel in London. His days as a gutter snipe are behind him, as he enjoys a life of wealth, society, and clandestine assignments as a spy in the service of the Crown. Until one tumultuous night churns up the past he'd long left behind...

Turned out by her employer for her radical beliefs, Lucy Greenleaf reaches out to the man who was once her most beloved friend. She never expected that the once-mischievous Trevor would be so handsome and gentleman-like and neither can deny the instant attraction.

But Lucy's reformer ways pose a threat to the hotel's future and his duties as a spy. Now Trevor must choose between his new life and the woman he's always loved...  -Goodeads



My Thoughts
The Likelihood of Lucy as a story, is an exercise in plot superfluity.

The story of Trevor and Lucy's hardscrabble childhood on the streets of The Seven Dials, their respective betterment of circumstance, the unfortunate night of Lucy's sacking, and their subsequent reunion, makes for more than enough of a "sweeping saga". There is absolutely no need for Lucy's obsessive loyalty to the dead feminist, Mary Wollstonecraft, that seems to be more of a bane than a salve to her already precarious existence. Likewise,Trevor's half-hearted forays into the world of espionage, when he is a hotelier, a mining magnate, and has rather lucrative shipping endeavors, prove just as annoyingly pointless.

Given the fact that this is a Regency Reformers novel, there is a bit of cause related story to be expected. The problem here lies in the fact that the characters of Lucy and Trevor are so well suited for each other, and their storyline so complete, that it leaves no room for the all important "causes" to which the two are attached.

What does stand out about this read however, is the wonderful continuity of Trevor and Lucy's story; across both time and chapters. Lucy shines as both Trevor's "reason to be" and a wonderful leading woman in her own right. The latter is best exemplified in her role as manager of Trevor's hotel, The Jade.

Trevor is a wonderful leading man in every respect. He proves time and time again, from childhood on, that he is capable of the selfless, all enduring love that all women crave. His being only for Lucy. His one and only goal has always been, and continues to be, seeing to it that Lucy is safe and happy. Whatever the costs. His ability to treasure Lucy without objectifying her, is a welcome breath of fresh air to the modern reader.

This review would not be complete without a nod to Earl and Countess Blackstone, who readers first met in The Miss Mirren Mission, book one of this series.

Kudos are also due to one Viscount Galsmith, baddie extraordinaire.


About this author
Jenny HolidayJenny Holiday started writing in fourth grade, when her awesome hippie teacher, between sessions of Pete Seeger singing and anti-nuclear power plant letter writing, gave the kids notebooks and told them to write stories. Most of Jenny’s featured poltergeist, alien invasions, or serial killers who managed to murder everyone except her and her mom. She showed early promise as a romance writer, though, because nearly every story had a happy ending: fictional Jenny woke up to find that the story had been a dream, and that her best friend, father, and sister had not, in fact, been axe-murdered.

From then on, she was always writing, often in her diary, where she liked to decorate her declarations of existential angst with nail polish teardrops. Eventually she channeled her penchant for scribbling into a more useful format. After picking up a PhD in urban geography, she became a professional writer, spending many years promoting research at a major university, which allowed her to become an armchair astronomer/historian/particle physicist, depending on the day. Eventually, she decided to try her hand again at happy endings—minus the bloodbaths. You can follow her on twitter at @jennyholi or visit her on the web at jennyholiday.com.





    

WTF I've Been Reading! #1

I don't know why, but it seems that just as things are winding down for the kids;
they wind up for me.
New business ventures around every corner, the summer sun enticing me to come and bask.  (Well, at least as much as one can when the temperature is 97, with a heat index of hell.)
And then, there is my beloved blog!

With nearly every book that I choose being a 5 star, (Yay me!)
I have decided to share the goodness and let you know what exactly it is that 
the literary gods have been gifting me with as of late!


Bleed Like Me

Between the Notes

The Wednesday Group

  Brutal Youth

Feel free to let me know which of these pretties you will be reading,
or what you have in your TBR!

Happy Reading!



Learn From The Healing and The Heartbreak That Is "Apple and Rain"

Apple and RainTitle:  Apple And Rain
Author:  Sarah Crossan
Format:  ERC
Length:  330 pages
Publisher:  Bloomsbury Children's Publishing
Date of Publication:  May 12th, 2015
Rating:  4 Stars

When Apple's mother returns after eleven years away, Apple feels whole again. But just like the stormy Christmas Eve when she left, her mother's homecoming is bittersweet. It's only when Apple meets someone more lost than she is that she begins to see things as they really are.

A story about sad endings.
A story about happy beginnings.
A story to make you realize who is special.  -Goodreads







My Thoughts
Though this read is classified as YA, it reads very middle grade.  
Apple, the book's young protagonist, is a highly sheltered 8th grader who has been raised by her grandmother for the last eleven years.
When her flighty and free-spirited, actress wannabe, mother suddenly re-enters her life, a new younger sister for Apple in tow.  The ripple-free pond that has been Apple's life suddenly morphs into a storm-tossed sea of new experiences, disappointments, lessons, loves, losses, and possibilities.  


For the most part, this read deals with the "be careful what you wish for" aspect of longing for an absentee parent.  Apple has never gotten over seeing her mother leave on the fateful Christmas that changed her life.  Years of no contact have only served to elevate the pedestal on which she has managed to place her wayward mother.  While the steady hand of her Nana, serves as an all too strict reminder of what not having her mother in her life seems to be costing her. 

When Apple's wish of her mother's return is suddenly granted; she finds herself on the receiving end of far more than she ever bargained for.
And...far more it seems, than her thirteen years have prepared her to deal with.

Just a few highlights:
A emotionally damaged younger sister, who has formed an unhealthy attachment to her doll, Jenny.

A mother who would rather throw parties, stay away from home for days, and drink alcohol, than take care of her children
Self same mother seems quite content to leave Apple to care for herself and her sister at any given time.

A father who has moved on to a new wife and family, and only chooses to look back on holidays and when there is a crisis too big to ignore.

Apple and Rain is a sad look at what happens when two little girls are forced, through no fault of their own, to grow up too soon.  To learn lessons best left for later.  To become their own heroes.
Parental neglect is a silent scourge wreaking havoc in the lives of millions of children everyday.
Adults find it so easy to excuse the inexcusable with justifications like, "Your mother just needs some time to get herself together." 
Or...
"Your father just can't handle a family right now."
No one ever asks the children what they can handle.  No justification is ever given for their abandonment issues, lack of trust, and fear.

Apple and Rain is a story that manages to do just that.  With a quiet realism that gets to the heart of the matter in a voice and an emotional range tailor-made for today's young teen. 





About Sarah

Sarah Crossan
Sarah Crossan is Irish. She graduated with a degree in Philosophy and Literature before training as an English and Drama teacher at Cambridge University and worked to promote creative writing in schools before leaving teaching to write full time.

She completed her Masters in Creative Writing at the University of Warwick in 2003 and in 2010 received an Edward Albee Fellowship for writing.

She currently lives in NYC. 

Half-Blood Is A Whole Lot Of Reader Cat Nip

Half-Blood (Covenant, #1)Title:  Half-Blood
(Covenant #1)
Author:  Jennifer L. Armentrout
Format:  Kindle
Length:  281 pages
Publisher:  Spencer Hill Press
Rating:  5 Stars

The Hematoi descend from the unions of gods and mortals, and the children of two Hematoi pure bloods have godlike powers. Children of Hematoi and mortals--well, not so much. Half-bloods only have two options: become trained Sentinels who hunt and kill daimons or become servants in the homes of the pures. 

 Seventeen-year-old Alexandria would rather risk her life fighting than waste it scrubbing toilets, but she may end up slumming it anyway. There are several rules that students at the Covenant must follow.
Alex has problems with them all, but especially rule #1:Relationships between pures and halfs are forbidden. Unfortunately, she's crushing hard on the totally hot pure-blood Aiden. But falling for Aiden isn't her biggest problem--staying alive long enough to graduate the Covenant and become a Sentinel is. 

If she fails in her duty, she faces a future worse than death or slavery: being turned into a daimon, and being hunted by Aiden. And that would kind of suck.

My Thoughts
A lot can happen in three years, and for Alexandria, the three years that she has spent living among mortals could mean a life of drudgery and servitude.
 Unless...
She can prove to the power that be at The Covenant, that she is...that she can be...enough.

This world of powers, daimons, pures, halfs, love, loss, and fighting!  Lots of fighting!
Alex is a fighter, and as the story progresses, you come to realize that she has more to fight for than most.
After seeing her mother killed at the hands of a daimon, The Covenant and training is all that she has.
Or is it?
Aiden, the sexy, pure-blood, Sentinel who has agreed to train her may have a thing or two to say about that.
As long as they don't get caught...that is!

This book is as good as...
All the drama, plots, lies, and forbidden love!
There is so much to love about this book, but the intensity of the forbidden love between Aiden and Alex, is by far the ultimate reason that this book is book-lover crack.
Well, that and Alex's Sookie Stackhouse-esque knack for life threatening situations.

But...

These are just a few of the reasons that this book, and this series will be a reread for life.




About Jennifer
Jennifer L. ArmentroutHey Guys! Please note: I don't send out ARCs for review. If you're interested in reviewing a book of mine before release date, please contact the appropriate publisher. I also do NOT check my Goodreads email.

To email me, please use the below addy.
jenniferlarmentrout@live.com

# 1 New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Jennifer L. Armentrout Lives in West Virginia.

All the rumors you heard about her state aren’t true.

Well, mostly. When she's not hard at work writing, she spends her time, reading, working out, watching zombie movies, and pretending to write.

She is the author of the Covenant Series (Spencer Hill Press), the Lux Series (Entangled Teen), Don't Look Back (Disney/Hyperion) and a yet untitled novel (Disney/Hyperion), and new YA paranormal series with Harlequin Teen.

Jennifer also writes New Adult and Adult romance under the pen name J. Lynn. The Gamble Brothers Series (Tempting the Best Man/Tempting the Player) and Wait for You. Under her pen name, she is published with Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.



"Manwhore"....Not So Much

Manwhore (Manwhore, #1)Title:  Manwhore
(Manwhore #1)
Author:  Katy Evans
Format:  ERC
Length:  368 pages
Publisher:  Gallery Books
Rating:  2 Stars
 
Is it possible to expose Chicago’s hottest player—without getting played?

This is the story I've been waiting for all my life, and its name is Malcolm Kyle Preston Logan Saint. Don’t be fooled by that last name though. There’s nothing holy about the man except the hell his parties raise. The hottest entrepreneur Chicago has ever known, he’s a man’s man with too much money to spend and too many women vying for his attention.

Mysterious. Privileged. Legendary. His entire life he’s been surrounded by the press as they dig for tidbits to see if his fairytale life is for real or all mirrors and social media lies. Since he hit the scene, his secrets have been his and his alone to keep. And that’s where I come in.

Assigned to investigate Saint and reveal his elusive personality, I’m determined to make him the story that will change my career.

But I never imagined he would change my life. Bit by bit, I start to wonder if I'm the one discovering him...or if he's uncovering m

What happens when the man they call Saint, makes you want to sin?
  -Goodreads

My Thoughts
Manwhore has proven quite the disappointment.  Just another uber-rich boy playing the "I want it" game with a common girl.
The name may have changed, but  Malcolm Kyle Preston Logan Saint, touted as playboy extraordinaire; able to have whatever or whomever he wishes with a mere look; reads all Christian Gray.  All of his bad boy ways seem to disappear however,  with one look at Rachel.

The girl destined to get closer to him than any other.  The girl who has the power to reveal the truth about the legend of MANWHORE.

Ok...ok...all drama aside.  This is a sweet book, but too close to the 50 Shades plot-line for its own good.  Minus the kink that is.
The best part of the story is the "will she or won't she" of the big reveal that Rachel is supposed to do to save her future.

Unfortunately, there just isn't that much to say about this one.  A way to pass the time.  Something to do.  Good for the airport.  Slightly better than watching paint dry.






About Katy
Katy EvansKaty Evans grew up with books and book-boyfriends until she found a real sexy boyfriend to love. They married and are now hard at work on their own happily ever after. Katy loves her family and friends, and she also loves reading, walking, baking, and being consumed by her characters until she reaches “The End.” Which is, hopefully, only the beginning…
Website  Goodreads  Twitter

Bout of Books Day 3

Today was a great day for reading!
I had two finishes!
 









Bout Of Books Day 2



Day 2 of my Bout of Books READ-A-THON
was all about the audiobook!

I was introduced to one of the best YA Fantasy series EVER!
Thanks NETGALLEY and DisneyHyperion!

I read:

 by
Liva Blackburne

This is an awesome story that is full of action and secrets,
plots, intrigue, mystery, and MAGIC!

Now on to BOOK 2!







 



There Is Nothing Innocent About "Danger Wears White"

Danger Wears White (The Emperors of London, #3)Title:  Danger Wears White
(The Emperors of London #3)
Author:  Lynne Connolly
Format:  ERC
Length 243 pages
Expected Date of Publication:  July 7th, 2015
 Publisher:  Lyrical Press
Rating:  4 Stars

Hoping to live down her family’s connections to the traitorous Jacobite cause, Imogen wants nothing more than a quiet life in the country. When she stumbles upon a wounded man, the white cockade in his coat tells her he’s a Jacobite, and a danger to the crown. Yet there’s something about him she can’t resist . . .
In search of a document on behalf of his powerful family, Tony is shot and left for dead. Secreted away to a hidden chamber, he finds himself both a guest and prisoner of a beautiful but mysterious woman. What she wants and who she serves, he cannot know. But what he does understand is the desire burning strongly between them. And that neither of them will be spared until their lust is sated.
When the action moves to London, suddenly it’s Tony who has to act to save Imogen. Forced to become a lady in waiting to Princess Amelia, she is in peril from the Jacobites, who are convinced she is their salvation. Only the strength of Tony and Imogen’s love can save them now.  -Amazon

My Thoughts
Imogen Thane is a woman happy to live the quiet life that her comfortable country home affords her. Secure in the knowledge that seasons, social jockeying, and the mad dash for titles and husbands is well behind her,and self-supported spinsterhood her future.
But when she discovers an injured man in a tumbledown hut on the outskirts of her property. She knows that she must do all that she can to help him. Even though she knows that to do so is treason.

Tony Shaw is nothing that he seems...
To Imogene...he is irresistible!

Danger Wears White, is the perfect blend of romance, political intrigue, and mystery. Leading man Tony/Antonious and lady Emmy/Imogen are allowed to know each other as people, without all of the pomp and circumstance of society.
Because of this, readers are able to hold on to the truth of these two, and their feelings for each other as the lies and secrets swirl around them.
A large part of the story sees the two parted, and Imogen thrust rather unceremoniously into the societal lion's den that she'd tried to avoid.
This is the time when secrets that have plagued but Tony and Emmy are revealed, as are schemes and plots by supporting characters.

There is a wonderful balance between drama, romance, mystery, and suspense. The only detraction coming from a confusing back and forth concerning who is loyal to the sitting crown, and who is of the dreaded Jacobite faction.

Both Tony and Emmy are strong and intelligent characters, who are easy to root for. Emmy is allowed to be outspoken, and is never made a pawn of the people around her.
Come lords, ladies, kings, or queens; Imogen Thane takes on all comers with an unmatched wit and quiet grace that readers can't help but adore.
This is the third book in this series, but because each book is a companion to the other; books may enjoyed in any order.




About Lynne
Lynne Connolly I was born in Leicester, England, and lived in our cobbler’s shop with my parents and sister. It was an old house and most definitely haunted, but I didn’t find out until I left that my great uncle had hung himself in the living room! But I think our ghost might have been older than that. It was built on the site of the old Roman cemetery, and the land had been constantly inhabited, being in the centre of town. Then, when the council bought the house from us to build a road, my grandfather retired and my father went and worked for the Post Office. My mother was a sample machinist; that is, she worked with designers on the prototypes (models or samples) of garments. So I was very well dressed! We bought a relatively modern house in the country, and my mother was blissfully happy. It’s all very well living in a large old house, but it’s a dreadful task to keep it clean and warm!

My mother's side of the family are Romany gypsies, although sadly we haven't any of the old trailers that are so astonishingly beautiful. I was taught to read the Tarot cards, and I usually use two packs; the Rider pack for simple readings and the Crowley Thoth pack for the complex stuff.
I've always had an interest in the paranormal and it's been a delight to be able to put some of this into my novels.

I'm Reading...Bout of Books 13

Bout of Books

Hello My Lovelies,
I know that I am usually all about the reviews,
but starting today,  I will participating in one of my favorite 
READATHONS
of the year!

The Bout of Books!

Here is some information about Bout of Books:

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 11th and runs through Sunday, May 17th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 13 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team!

Well...I'm off to read, but be sure to follow me here, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for updates!
If you're lucky...there may even be a video or two.

There is still time to join in the fun!
Just click the link above, follow the simple steps, and READ...READ...READ! 

Challenge 1
My Bookish Survey

1.  How do you organize your shelves!
R A I N B O W

2.  What is one of favorite books that's not one of your favorite genres.
Three Graves Full


3.  What was the last 5 star book you read?
A French Whipping (The Billionaire Tricksters of Boston #2) 

4.  What book are you excited to read during the read-a-thon?
Positive

5.  What book do you recommend the most?
Don't know yet!