Review- The Game Plan by Kristen Callihan

Summary-

A beard-related dare and one hot-as-hell kiss changes everything.

NFL center Ethan Dexter’s focus has always been on playing football and little else. Except when it comes to one particular woman. The lovely Fiona Mackenzie might not care about his fame, but she’s also never looked at him as anything more than one of her brother-in-law’s best friend. That ends now. 

Fi doesn’t know what to make of Dex. The bearded, tattooed, mountain of man-muscle looks more like a biker than a football player. Rumor has it he’s a virgin, but she finds that hard to believe. Because from the moment he decides to turn his quiet intensity on her she’s left weak at the knees and aching to see his famous control fully unleashed. 

Dex is looking for a forever girl, but they live vastly different lives in separate cities. Fi ought to guard her heart and walk away. But Dex has upped his game and is using all his considerable charm to convince Fi he's her forever man.

Game On

Release date: November 1st, 2015

Page numbers: 323

Review-

I had really enjoyed the first two books in the Game On series by Kristen Callihan so I was super excited to read The Game Plan. There were a few hints given in the last book that this one may be about Fi and Dex and these two couldn't be more opposite than each other. Though I wasn't that blown away by The Game Plan, I really did enjoy the book.

Ethan Dexter is an NFL center. He has always been calm and composed, never letting anything get to him. He is the strong, silent and bearded type whose presence can be felt though he tries not to be the center of attention. I really liked Dex. He was so smitten by Fi and he wanted her with everything he had. He was tired of living the lonely life and Fi was all things bright and happy.

Then we have Fiona or Fi as most people refer to her. Fi has always been the party girl. Even though she has come a long way, sometimes that image comes back to haunt her. All Fi wants to do is focus on her career and prove that she can be independent but Dex comes along. I liked Fi. She had genuine reasons for hesitating with Dex with the whole long distance relationship thing. She was the perfect fit to Dex.

Dex and Fi were both really likable characters. They have their faults but never does it get irritating to be in either's head. Yes, they both make mistakes but they are willing to learn from them. Fi and Dex also shared amazing chemistry. It is hard to imagine but Dex is a virgin hero which made things really interesting. 

It was also really great to see Ivy and Gray with their kid and Anna and Drew. They made for a great support system for Dex and Fi. I am extremely curious to see what happens next in the Game On series and as to who will be the next couple. I enjoyed the Game Plan.

Book Beginnings on Friday #4

Please join Rose City Reader every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author’s name.

Prologue

My father took one hundred and thirty-two minutes to die.

I counted.

-Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta

Summary-

I'm dreaming of the boy in the tree. I tell him stories. About the Jellicoe School and the Townies and the Cadets from a school in Sydney. I tell him about the war between us for territory. And I tell him about Hannah, who lives in the unfinished house by the river. Hannah, who is too young to be hiding away from the world. Hannah, who found me on the Jellicoe Road six years ago.

Taylor is leader of the boarders at the Jellicoe School. She has to keep the upper hand in the territory wars and deal with Jonah Griggs—the enigmatic leader of the cadets, and someone she thought she would never see again.

And now Hannah, the person Taylor had come to rely on, has disappeared. Taylor's only clue is a manuscript about five kids who lived in Jellicoe eighteen years ago. She needs to find out more, but this means confronting her own story, making sense of her strange, recurring dream, and finding her mother—who abandoned her on the Jellicoe Road.

Blog Tour: Excerpt + Giveaway- The Weekend Bucket List by Mia Kerick

The Weekend Bucket List

by Mia Kerick

Genre: YA Contemporary Fiction/Coming of Age (LGBTQ)

Release Date: April 19th 2018

Duet Books, YA imprint of Interlude

Summary:

High school seniors Cady LaBrie and Cooper Murphy have yet to set one toe out of line—they’ve never stayed out all night or snuck into a movie, never gotten drunk or gone skinny-dipping. But they have each other, forty-eight hours before graduation, and a Weekend Bucket List.

There’s a lot riding on this one weekend, especially since Cady and Cooper have yet to admit, much less resolve, their confounding feelings for one another—feelings that prove even more difficult to discern when genial high school dropout Eli Stanley joins their epic adventure. But as the trio ticks through their bucket list, the questions they face shift toward something new: Must friendship play second fiddle to romance? Or can it be the ultimate prize?

Add to Goodreads

Buy on Amazon!

Excerpt: 

She acts as if this was my big idea, but The Weekend Bucket List has got Cady LaBrie’s name written all over it. She’s persuasive, though—the girl has almost got me believing I came up with the idea to do everything we never did that “normal” kids do in high school, all in the forty-eight hours before graduation. We have a lot of lost time to make up for.

“These fries are so good.” Cady’s eyes are closed like she’s in goddamned ecstasy. I’m not sure why, but I look away.

“How can you eat so freaking much and stay so freaking skinny?” I ask, as Cady starts in on her second large order of french fries. And these are just appetizers.

“I’m petite, Cooper. Not skinny... and you’re skinny, too.”

I shrug and suck futilely on the straw that stands straight in my vanilla shake.

“Whatever.” It doesn’t matter how thick the shake is; I’m in no rush to suck it down. Cady’s the talker in this relationship, so all I’ve got to do is sit here and listen. 

About the Author:

Mia Kerick is the mother of four exceptional children—all named after saints—and five nonpedigreed cats—all named after the next best thing to saints, Boston Red Sox players. Her husband of twenty years has been told by many that he has the patience of Job, but don’t ask Mia about that, as it is a sensitive subject.

Mia focuses her stories on the emotional growth of troubled men and their relationships, and she believes that sex has a place in a love story, but not until it is firmly established as a love story. As a teen, Mia filled spiral-bound notebooks with romantic tales of tortured heroes (most of whom happened to strongly resemble lead vocalists of 1980s big-hair bands) and stuffed them under her mattress for safekeeping. She is thankful to Dreamspinner Press for providing her with an alternate place to stash her stories.

Mia is proud of her involvement with the Human Rights Campaign and cheers for each and every victory made in the name of marital equality. Her only major regret: never having taken typing or computer class in school, destining her to a life consumed with two-fingered pecking and constant prayer to the Gods of Technology.

Contact Mia at miakerick@gmail.com.

Author Links:

Website│Goodreads│Twitter│Facebook

GIVEAWAY:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blog Tour Organized by:

YA Bound Book Tours

Waiting On Wednesday #232

"Waiting On Wednesday" is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spines, that spotlights upcoming releases we're eagerly anticipating. 

From Twinkle, with Sandhya Menon

Publication date- May 22nd 2018

Goodreads Summary:

Aspiring filmmaker and wallflower Twinkle Mehra has stories she wants to tell and universes she wants to explore, if only the world would listen. So when fellow film geek Sahil Roy approaches her to direct a movie for the upcoming Summer Festival, Twinkle is all over it. The chance to publicly showcase her voice as a director? Dream come true. The fact that it gets her closer to her longtime crush, Neil Roy—a.k.a. Sahil’s twin brother? Dream come true x 2.

When mystery man “N” begins emailing her, Twinkle is sure it’s Neil, finally ready to begin their happily-ever-after. The only slightly inconvenient problem is that, in the course of movie-making, she’s fallen madly in love with the irresistibly adorkable Sahil.

Twinkle soon realizes that resistance is futile: The romance she’s got is not the one she’s scripted. But will it be enough?

Told through the letters Twinkle writes to her favorite female filmmakers, From Twinkle, with Love navigates big truths about friendship, family, and the unexpected places love can find you.

I wasn't the biggest fan of When Dimple Met Rishi, but let's see what story author Sandhya has in store for us with this book! 

What are you waiting on this Wednesday? 

Top Ten Tuesday #70

Top Ten Tuesday is a bookish meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

This week's topic is: 

FREQUENTLY USED WORDS IN Young Adult/ New Adult TITLES! 

 

 

 

 

Beautiful, isn't it?

Do share your post in the comments! 

Review- Searching For Perfect by Jennifer Probst

Summary-

The up-and-coming matchmaking agency Kinnections is the hottest thing to hit Verily, New York—just like Kennedy Ashe, social director for the service she owns with her two best girlfriends. A coach, consultant, and cheerleader rolled into one super-sizzling package, Kennedy creates dream dates, encourages singles to shine, and never refuses a challenge—not even Nate Ellison Raymond Dunkle, rocket scientist, nerd extraordinaire, and Kennedy’s newest client.

Kennedy vows to work her magic and transform this hot mess in a lab coat with a disastrous relationship track record into the most wanted man on the Verily dating scene. If only she could turn the wand on herself . . . 

Though she radiates confidence and sex appeal, Kennedy harbors deep-seated insecurities from a tormented past and lifelong struggle with weight issues. When she realizes she and Nate are cut from the same cloth and might be perfect together, can Kennedy learn to let her heart lead the way? Or will her fears sentence her to the sidelines as Nate finds love—with someone else?

Release date: April 29th, 2014

Published by: Gallery Books

Page numbers: 352

Review-

I like Jennifer Probst as an author. She always writes feel good romances and I enjoyed her Marriage to a Billionaire series. While I had found the first book in this series to be okay, I was expecting more out of Searching For Perfect. Sadly, it did not meet my expectations.

Lets start with the good first. Nate our hero is a rocket scientist and really clueless where love and relationships are concerned. He is direct and thinks there's a scientific solution for everything. Nate was one sexy nerd! He was really sweet and completely smitten by Kennedy, even though she was his match maker. I liked reading about a nice guy for a change who was genuine about his feelings.

I didn't really like Kennedy. Kennedy has a seemingly perfect life. She has worked extremely hard to get where she is but she is bored of the monotony. So when Nate comes to Kinnections she takes finding him love as a challenge. Kennedy also has a lot of issues with insecurity. With the way Kennedy's past was shown I expected her to be nicer but she was really mean at times. I didn't get her behavior and I didn't like her very much.

The scenes between Nate and Kennedy were hot. They have chemistry and the attraction required but I didn't totally see their reasons for being together. I wanted a deeper connection between them than just the looks. What I really had issues with though was the dog collar scene. It disturbed me and it is a big fat NO in my book.

It was really nice seeing all the characters from the previous books. My love for Wolfe still remains strong. I am so damn intrigued by his character and I think I keep reading this series just to get glimpses of him in between. Searching for Perfect was an okay read for me.

Book Beginnings on Friday #3

Please join Rose City Reader every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author’s name.

CHAPTER ONE

MAE SULLIVAN frowned up at the grimy old office building and shifted from one aching spike-heeled foot to the other, trying to keep the weight off her blisters. 

-What the Lady Wants by Jennifer Crusie

Summary-

If he's Cary Grant, where's his Girl Friday?

Mitch Peabody was learning pretty fast that the life of a private detective was nothing like the movies. He'd envisioned a world of tough-talking detectives and smart-mouthed, stunning dames. Instead he saw case after case of cheating husbands, suspicious wives and unsuspecting mistresses…until she walked through the door.

Right down to her stilettos, Mae Sullivan was a knockout with a lethal body—and a lethal family to go with it. There was something not quite on the up-and-up about her, but she came with a case he couldn't afford to refuse…and left him with a case of lust he hadn't had since high school. It didn't take long for him to fall for her, hook, line and sinker. But was Mae interested only in catching the double-crossing crooks who murdered her uncle…or did the lady want to catch him?

Blog Tour- Tribal Affairs by Matt Dallmann

Welcome to my stop on the Tribal Affairs blog tour!

Tribal Affairs
by Matt Dallmann
Genre: Ya Fantasy
Release Date: July 31st 2017

Summary from Goodreads:

Dahlia, a centuries old genie, lies hopelessly trapped in a damaged golden locket charm attached to an ankle bracelet. Its owner, sixteen-year-old Liana, wears it for the first time during her father Jamison’s opening night illusion spectacular. Not only does its presence cause Jamison to folly his performance, but it also starts a chain of bizarre events that lead to a showdown with Dahlia’s mortal enemy, Stefan, and an unsuspecting romance between Liana and his son.

Tribal Affairs now available!

Excerpt:

He slowly turned away, changing the stance of his feet as if preparing his body for motion. That was it? Liana felt her emotional capital building back up and could think of only one thing to spend it on: getting what she came for. She looked at the collar of Stefan’s turtleneck as he walked away. It was time to go on the offensive. Liana turned and followed him offstage.

         Stefan entered the next room with the satisfaction of a hoarder returning to his nest. In fact, according to Jamison, the only reports of ever seeing him smile were at times when he was nestled comfortably among the scattered lumber, various tools, and bolts of muslin in this, his special room. Just as he was about to make another impression of his backside in a pile of sawdust on his chair, Liana bolted in like a superhero.

         “Wait, Stefan!” she called.

         He turned his head like an owl, and just as quick.

         “I wanted to make sure everything was okay with the harness.”

         “Oh, yes,” said Stefan. “I’m so sorry about what happened on opening night. It was a total fluke. I promise it won’t happen again. These brand-new harnesses are top-of-the-line.”

         “Great.”

         Liana began to notice the subtle tells in his body language and revealing tones of his voice. He was apologetic and submissive and would certainly help her.

         “Also,” she started, “I know this may seem a little strange, but, that tattoo on the back of your neck; I think I’ve seen it somewhere else before. What does it mean?”

         Stefan smiled. “That old thing? I got it back when I was in high school. I was a wild one back then.”

         Liana smiled, insisting on another answer.

         “It means about ten different things,” Stefan obliged.

         “Really?”

         “Yes, strange, isn’t it? Some ancient language, I forget the name of it. I’ve got a whole book of different translations in the back. Would you like to see it?”

         “Sure. I’d love to.”

         Stefan sauntered over to a large metal cabinet with Liana in tow. He seemed to glide across, around and through the mass of stuff about the room, while Liana dodged everything like navigating an obstacle course.

         “My wife says I collect too much crap, so I’ve started keeping things here at the theater.”

         He opened the large metal cabinet and began rummaging through piles of old dusty books. The search seemed to go on forever.

         “I don’t want to be a bother,” Liana said trying to come up with a suitable excuse to leave.

         “No, don’t be silly. It’s my pleasure.”

         Maybe so, but Liana began to regret her actions. The wrestling match wasn’t over, and reality had started gaining ground. Without a struggle, Liana gave up her dominant position and started to back away from Stefan. Assuming her place as the submissive, she was afraid to turn away from him and didn’t notice the door behind her closing.

         “You have her eyes, you know,” said Stefan.

         “What?”

         “Her eyes, the woman in your dreams.”

         As Liana began to panic, Stefan continued rummaging through the old books.

         “How do you know about—?”

         “I know everything about you.”

         He turned to look at her. He was different, no longer the slow-moving turtle but rather a dominant silverback gorilla. His shoulders bulged as his eyes pierced into Liana’s mind.

         “What do you mean?” said Liana.

         “You can see things with those eyes, can’t you?” he asked.

         Liana backed away as he gained ground on her.

         “Amazing things,” said Stefan. 

         His eyes became black, and Liana felt herself going into a trance. Images of the beautiful woman from her dreams and the elder man flashed into her head, she standing on the cliff and he advancing on her. Still, Liana couldn’t see his face. Why couldn’t she see his face? The images continued to flash, faster and faster; the beautiful woman, the elder man, the hanging man, the laughing band of ruffians, the beautiful woman, the elder man, the beautiful woman, the elder man, the elder man, the elder man. The images stopped. Liana looked directly in front of her and saw his face. It was him.

         “Xethalis,” she whispered.

         Stefan smiled. Liana thrust out her arms and pushed Stefan across the room with the strength of twenty men. His back slammed against the opposite wall, causing it to collapse on top of him.

         Liana’s trance broke. She looked down at her hands then across the room at Stefan, buried beneath the collapsed wall.

About the Author:

Matt Dallmann has a background in acting and holds a BFA from Marymount Manhattan College in New York City. His films and screenplays have been featured at film festivals across the United States including Cinequest, Big Apple Film Festival, Seattle’s True Independent Film Festival, DragonCon and Zero Independent Film Festival. His piano compositions have been published for commercial use and he is a member of ASCAP. Matt is also the Co-Founder and Vice President of the boutique medical billing firm VGA Billing Services, Inc. in New York City. He lives in New Jersey with his wife and two daughters.

Author Links:

  

Waiting On Wednesday #231

"Waiting On Wednesday" is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spines, that spotlights upcoming releases we're eagerly anticipating. 

The Weekend Bucket List by Mia Kerick

Publication date- April 19th 2018 

Goodreads Summary:

High school seniors Cady LaBrie and Cooper Murphy have yet to set one toe out of line—they’ve never stayed out all night or snuck into a movie, never gotten drunk or gone skinny-dipping. But they have each other, forty-eight hours before graduation, and a Weekend Bucket List.

There’s a lot riding on this one weekend, especially since Cady and Cooper have yet to admit, much less resolve, their confounding feelings for one another—feelings that prove even more difficult to discern when genial high school dropout Eli Stanley joins their epic adventure. But as the trio ticks through their bucket list, the questions they face shift toward something new: Must friendship play second fiddle to romance? Or can it be the ultimate prize?

This book comes out tomorrow!!!

What are you waiting on this Wednesday? 

Teaser Tuesday #90

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by Miz B of A Daily Rhythm. Anyone can play along! 

"From the shcool, the lunch bell begins to toll. Food sounds good right about now. "Oh, yes. I'm a regular beast."

"Funny, then, that you should kiss like such a gentleman." 

-A Light Amongst Shadows by Kelley York and Rowan Altwood 

Goodreads Summary:

James Spencer is hardly the typical “troubled youth” who ends up at Whisperwood School for Boys. Instead of hating the strict schedules and tight oversight by staff, James blossoms, quickly making friends and indulging in his love of writing, while contemplating the merits of sneaking love poems to the elusive and aloof William Esher.

The rumours about William’s sexuality and opium reliance are prime gossip material amongst the third years. Rumours that only further pique James' curiosity to uncover what William is really like beneath all that emotional armor. And, when the normally collected William stumbles in one night, shaken and ranting of ghosts... James is the only one who believes him.

James himself has heard the nails dragging down his bedroom door and the sobs echoing in the halls at night. He knows others have, too, even if no one will admit it. The staff refuses to entertain such ridiculous tales, and punishment awaits anyone who brings it up.

Their fervent denial and the disappearance of students only furthers James’s determination to find out what secrets Whisperwood is hiding... Especially if it means keeping William and himself from becoming the next victims.

Do share a teaser from your current read!