e-ARC Review: ANTICIPATION by Sarah Mayberry

 

Title: Anticipation (Brothers Ink #2)
Author: Sarah Mayberry
Publishing Date: April 1, 2015
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Source: e-ARC from author
Buy Links: Amazon | B & N | Kobo | iTunes | Smashwords

Blue Sullivan knows a player when she sees one. And Eddie Oliveira—charm and sex personified—was born to play. She never wanted him to say goodbye, so for the last ten years she’s ignored the sizzling attraction between them and focused on being the best sidekick a guy could have. Smart girl, right?

Then Blue has a serious accident, and overnight Eddie changes. Suddenly he’s more intense and singularly devoted…to her. With all this sexy attention, it’s hard to stay within the boundaries she’s scrupulously drawn. The temptation, the anticipation builds and, finally, she has to have what he’s offering. Of course Eddie proves to be brilliant. Now, she worries he’s ruined her forever…and she might regret leaping from friends to lovers.

 

Sunday Post (62): Heavy rains and an earthquake!

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @
Caffeinated Book Reviewer. This meme was inspired in part by ~ In My Mailbox~. It’s a chance to share News; a post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog.

 

Last Week on the blog

This has been a very rainy week here in Tokyo. There was a typhoon that hit Japan and sadly caused devastating destruction in prefectures north of Japan. It was heartbreaking watching videos of towns flooded and houses just swept, literally swept away by flood waters. And on Saturday, I experience my third (or was it fourth?) earthquake. I was brushing my teeth at 6:00 in the morning (because I was going out of town) when I heard this thundering noise and I initially thought that people were breaking in (which is really wide imagination on my part) but it turned out that the floorboards and the glass doors to the kitchen were rattling because of the earthquake. It wasn’t that big in intensity, around 5.4 magnitude I heard. But the epicenter was pretty close to Tokyo so maybe that’s why it felt stronger than it actually was. Don’t worry, everything’s great. As you all may know already, earthquakes are pretty common experiences here in Japan.

If you have time, check out my other blog, Crack-tastic Confessions. Have a great week, you guys!

Reviews:

• Compulsion by Martina Boone
• Trade Me by Courtney Milan

Features:

• “Waiting On” Wednesday #80: The Skylighter by Becky Wallace
• Let’s Talk About…Re-reads!

e-ARC Review: TRADE ME by Courtney Milan

 

Title: Trade Me (Cyclone #1)
Author: Courtney Milan
Publishing Date: January 19, 2015
Genre: Romance, Contemporary, New Adult
Source: e-ARC from publisher
Buy Links: amazon | amazon uk | apple | nook | kobo | google | all romance | smashwords

Tina Chen just wants a degree and a job, so her parents never have to worry about making rent again. She has no time for Blake Reynolds, the sexy billionaire who stands to inherit Cyclone Technology. But when he makes an off-hand comment about what it means to be poor, she loses her cool and tells him he couldn’t last a month living her life.

To her shock, Blake offers her a trade: She’ll get his income, his house, his car. In exchange, he’ll work her hours and send money home to her family. No expectations; no future obligations.

But before long, they’re trading not just lives, but secrets, kisses, and heated nights together. No expectations might break Tina’s heart…but Blake’s secrets could ruin her life.

 

Let’s Talk About… Re-reads!

 

For book lovers like us, there’s truth in “there’s no such thing as too much books”. But at the same time, we feel the pain (don’t we all?) of not having enough time to read all the books we want to. And when there are books after books being added to your TBR file, there’s that question on whether to re-read something you’ve already finished. For others, it’s a dilemma. For some, it’s not even a question.

“Waiting On” Wednesday (80): THE SKYLIGHTER by Becky Wallace

“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine that spotlights eagerly anticipated upcoming releases.

This week’s spotlight is on:

THE SKYLIGHTER (The Keepers’ Chronicles #2)

by Becky Wallace

Release Date: March 22, 2016

Johanna and Rafi are in a race against time to save their country before a power-mad Keeper destroys everything they hold dear in the “enthralling magical world” (Cinda Williams Chima, author of The Heir Chronicles) introduced in The Storyspinner.

As the last of the royal line, Johanna is the only person who can heal a magical breach in the wall that separates her kingdom of Santarem from the land of the Keepers, legendary men and women who wield elemental magic. The barrier protects Santarem from those Keepers who might try to take power over mere humans…Keepers who are determined to stop Johanna and seize the wall’s power for themselves.

And they’re not the only ones. As the duchys of Santarem descend into war over the throne, Johanna relies more than ever on the advice of her handsome companion, Lord Rafael DeSilva. But Rafi is a duke too, and his people come first. As their friendship progresses into the beginnings of a tender relationship, Johanna must wonder: is Rafi looking out for her happiness, or does he want the throne for himself?

With war on the horizon, Johanna and Rafi dodge treacherous dukes and Keeper assassins as they race to through the countryside, determined to strengthen the wall before it’s too late…even if it means sacrificing their happiness for the sake of their world.

Hot off the Press: New Releases this September 2015

Every month, there are always new releases to look forward to and the more there are books, the harder it is (at least, for me) to keep track of all the beautiful books I want to get on my shelf. So I decided to start this monthly post where I spotlight new releases for the month so (1) I can keep track of all of them  and (2) share them with all of you, see if you’ve got the same line-ups on your TBR shelf.

Without further ado, here are the new releases that I’m looking forward to this month:

 

Alex and Eli’s interactions in the previous book just brought on serious sparks. Now, it’s their turn for their own book!

Title: Playing with Fire
Author: Kate Meader
Release Date: September 29, 2015

From popular romance author Kate Meader comes the second novel in Hot in Chicago, a brand-new, sizzling series that follows a group of firefighting foster siblings and their blazing hot love interests!

As the only female firefighter at Engine Co. 6, Alexandra Dempsey gets it from all sides: the male coworkers who think she can’t do the job, the wives and girlfriends who see her as a threat to their firefighter men, and her overprotective foster brothers who want to shelter their baby sister at all costs. So when she single-handedly saves the life of Eli Cooper, Chicago’s devastatingly handsome mayor, she assumes the respect she’s longed for will finally come her way. But it seems Mr. Mayor has other ideas…

Eli Cooper’s mayoral ratings are plummeting, his chances at reelection dead in the water. When a sexy, curvaceous firefighter gives him the kiss of life, she does more than bring him back to the land of the living—she also breathes vitality into his campaign. Riding the wave of their feel-good story might prop up Eli’s flagging political fortunes, but the sizzling attraction between them can go nowhere; he’s her boss, and there are rules that must be obeyed. But you know what they say about rules: they’re made to be broken…

 

 

Finally, it’s Olivia and Lyon’s story. I’m almost scared to read this one. It will be like an end of an era.

Title: The Legend of Lyon Redmond
Author: Julie Anne Long
Release Date: September 29, 2015

Bound by centuries of bad blood, England’s two most powerful families maintain a veneer of civility…until the heir to the staggering Redmond fortune disappears, reviving rumors of an ancient curse: a Redmond and an Eversea are destined to fall disastrously in love once per generation.

An enduring legend

Rumor has it she broke Lyon Redmond’s heart. But while many a man has since wooed the dazzling Olivia Eversea, none has ever won her—which is why jaws drop when she suddenly accepts a viscount’s proposal. Now London waits with bated breath for the wedding of a decade…and wagers on the return of an heir.

An eternal love

It was instant and irresistible, forbidden…and unforgettable. And Lyon—now a driven, dangerous, infinitely devastating man—decides it’s time for a reckoning. As the day of her wedding races toward them, Lyon and Olivia will decide whether their love is a curse destined to tear their families part…or the stuff of which legends are made.

 

Review: COMPULSION by Martina Boone

Title: Compulsion (The Heirs of Watson Island #1)
Author: Martina Boone
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal
Publication Date: October 28, 2014
Source: bought
Buy Links: Amazon | B & N | Indiebound | Book Depo

Three plantations. Two wishes. One ancient curse.

All her life, Barrie Watson has been a virtual prisoner in the house where she lives with her shut-in mother. When her mother dies, Barrie promises to put some mileage on her stiletto heels. But she finds a new kind of prison at her aunt’s South Carolina plantation instead—a prison guarded by an ancient spirit who long ago cursed one of the three founding families of Watson Island and gave the others magical gifts that became compulsions.

Stuck with the ghosts of a generations-old feud and hunted by forces she cannot see, Barrie must find a way to break free of the family legacy. With the help of sun-kissed Eight Beaufort, who knows what Barrie wants before she knows herself, the last Watson heir starts to unravel her family’s twisted secrets. What she finds is dangerous: a love she never expected, a river that turns to fire at midnight, a gorgeous cousin who isn’t what she seems, and very real enemies who want both Eight and Barrie dead.

 

Sunday Post (61): Sudden opportunities and new experiences!

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @
Caffeinated Book Reviewer. This meme was inspired in part by ~ In My Mailbox~. It’s a chance to share News; a post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog.

 

Last Week on the blog

So, I was able to post just one review this past week. I had something urgent come up that took me away half of the week, plus other commitments so I wasn’t able to get my posts ready. I participated in an English summer camp for Japanese high school students and it was so much fun. The kids were really adorable and really bright. By the time the camp was over, I had a bad case of separation anxiety from my kids (the ones assigned to be in my group). This past week, I was able to experience teaching basic English to older people. It was a bit different from the summer camps I’ve attended because it had a more class-set-up kind of thing going on. But both instances have been really good and experiences for me.

If you have time, check out my other blog, Crack-tastic Confessions. Have a great week, you guys!

Reviews:

• Necessary Restorations by Kate Canterbary

Review: NECESSARY RESTORATIONS by Kate Canterbary

Title: Necessary Restorations (The Walshes #3)
Author: Kate Canterbary
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Publication Date: April 15, 2015
Source: bought
Buy Links: Amazon 

They liked to call me names. Manwhore. Slut. Player. But I make wrong look so right…

He’s a flawed perfectionist…
I can read women better than any blueprint. I understand their thoughts and feelings, their secret desires and insecurities, and I know how to get rid of them once I get off.

But all bets are off when Tiel Desai slams into my life. She redefines what it means to be friends, and she makes it sound like the filthiest thing I’ve ever heard.

I can’t read the gorgeous conservatory-trained violinist, but she’s the only one keeping me from shattering by small degrees, and I can’t let her go.

She’s wildly independent…
My past—and New Jersey—are far behind me, and now my life is blissfully full of music: playing, teaching, and lecturing, and scouring Boston’s underground scene with an annoyingly beautiful, troubled, tattooed architect.

I’m defenseless against his rooftop kisses, our nearly naked dance parties, the snuggletimes that turn into sexytimes, and his deep, demanding voice.

I have Sam Walsh stuck in my head like a song on repeat, and I’m happy pretending history won’t catch up with me.

The one thing they have in common is a rock-solid disregard for the rules.
They find more in each other than they ever realized they were missing, but they might have to fall apart before they can come together.

It’s the wrongs that make the rights come to life.