JUST MY LUCK BY ADELE PARKS

Rating: 3.5 stars

Goodreads Description:

It's the stuff dreams are made of – a lottery win so big, it changes everything.

For fifteen years, Lexi and Jake have played the same six numbers with their friends, the Pearsons and the Heathcotes. Over dinner parties, fish & chip suppers and summer barbecues, they've discussed the important stuff – the kids, marriages, jobs and houses – and they've laughed off their disappointment when they failed to win anything more than a tenner.

But then, one Saturday night, the unthinkable happens. There's a rift in the group. Someone doesn't tell the truth. And soon after, six numbers come up which change everything forever.

Lexi and Jake have a ticket worth £18 million. And their friends are determined to claim a share of it.

Review:

Two beautiful children. Wonderful well-loved jobs. A weekly lottery syndicate with their closest friends. Life couldn't get much better for Lexi and Jake.

Every week for the past fifteen years, they get together with their friends to put in for the same numbers in the lottery in the hopes of one day winning big. However, one night their friends conclude that they're ready to call it quits and drop out of the syndicate. Much to Lexi's confusion and concern that the decade-long friendships they've cultivated are also coming to a close.

Yet she continues to buy a ticket the next week for old time's sake - lo and behold, her numbers come up!

Lexi and Jake are millionaires! Their family is swimming in gold, their children dressed to the nines in Prada, Tom Ford and Balenciaga whilst Jake motors around in a flashy Ferrari. Life could not be better!

Little did they know that the people they considered their friends would be the ones not to celebrate with them over their win but instead try to claim the winnings as their own.

**SPOILERS AHEAD**

Just My Luck seems like an easy-going, fun read about the life of lottery winners to begin with, but antics shortly ensue leading to something far worse than Lexi and Jake could ever imagine.

Their little girl is kidnapped.

What follows is a rapid adrenaline-filled chase to find out who kidnapped Emily and make payment of £10 million for her safety.

As bad as it sounds, I thoroughly enjoyed this particular debacle of the story and how it was told from both Lexi and Emily's perspectives; one of a worrying mother who is ready to stop at nothing to get her baby girl back home, the other of a young girl having to fend for not only her own life but that of her newly-discovered baby of whom she is pregnant with during all this.

It's chaotic, gripping, emotionally tormenting and will have you on the edge of your seat much like Lexi as you pray Emily and her baby to survive.

Now, I've heard so many wonderful things previously about Adele Parks' writing, and I must say she lives up to the expectations set. But my, oh my does she know how to write a character that you just want to...URGH.

I'm just going to say it...

Jake. By VERY far is the most disreputable, wicked, lying, disgusting, downright dirtbag I've ever come across in books! At first, he seems so good for Lexi and the kids, happy to live an easy family life but OOOH the dirty bastard he is! 

It just riles me up thinking about him!

Trust me, once you read Just My Luck you'll feel the same.

Lexi. What a woman. Strong and courageous in the face of animosity, a woman who holds her ground, would never let a bad thing happen to her family and holds pride in what she believes to be right. She deserved so much better than Jake.

Emily and Logan are honestly the sweetest children, both happy as can be in their everyday lives and are the two to react in the way of what would be expected if your parents won big in the lottery. Emily shops til she drops, Logan makes new friends - though that's mostly the money doing the talking - and they live life like never before!

Though for Emily it takes a rather twisted turn prior to her kidnapping - yes, this book did her dirty but made up for it by making it such an intense plot point.

Carla and Patrick & Jennifer and Fred, the dynamics in this friendship are put to the test as the couple win big and undoubtedly it brings out the worst in those closest to them.

As the news come to light, the secrets and betrayals come out in this group and this causes greed, jealousy and plenty of back-stabbing to come into play.

I mean c'mon...if you won the lottery, wouldn't you want your friends to be supportive and happy for you?

In terms of the pacing, I won't lie, it was rather slow for the first hundred or so pages. I found it rather difficult to get into.

Don't get me wrong though there were a few moments in the first section that definitely captured my attention but realistically I fell more into the story further in.

As we hit the 180 page mark, the pace really did pick up and I for sure found myself gearing up for pure chaos and an adrenaline rush worth of a page turner! It did not disappoint.

And even through to the climax of the main conflict - with it's respective sub-stories - I was flying through each page right to the end. So overall, a bit of a slow start easing into the story, but the pacing was relatively well done but maybe just not my cup of tea.

A tale of secrets and betrayal, greed and jealousy with families and friendships ripped apart. Adele Parks' Just My Luck brings to life a heightened reality to how money can ruin everything and how one big win can cause a whole world of loss.

A big thank you to Harlequin Australia for sending me an arc of this new release.

If you are interested in picking up this new release by Adele Parks, be sure to check out Just My Luck

Plenty more blogging goodness to follow, but in the meantime be sure to jump on over to my YouTube channel to see what your resident bookworm has been up to!

Think lovely thoughts xo

FAKE FIANCÉE BY ILSA MADDEN MILLS

Rating: 5 stars

Goodreads Book Description:

They say nothing compares to your first kiss,

But our first kiss was orchestrated for an audience.

Our second kiss…that one was REAL.

He cradled my face like he was terrified he’d f*ck it up.

He stared into my eyes until the air buzzed.

Soft and slow, full of sighs and little laughs,

He inhaled me like I was the finest Belgian chocolate,

And he'd never get another piece.

A nip of his teeth, his hand at my waist...

And I was lost.

I forgot he was paying me to be his fake fiancée.

I forgot we weren’t REAL.

Our kiss was pure magic, and before you laugh and say those kinds of kisses don’t exist…

Then you’ve never touched lips with Max Kent, the hottest quarterback in college history.

Get ready for breathtaking kisses and dreamy football players…

My Review:

Thank you to TRSOR Promotions for sending me an ARC of Fake Fiancée for review!

WOW. I mean just…WOW. I read this in 3 days and was left utterly speechless with a giant smile and a few tears of joy.

What a perfectly balanced emotional and steamy whirlwind! I honestly couldn’t have asked for a better cheesy adult romance book to land in my hands at more perfect timing!

I’d be completely lying if I were to say I wasn’t planning on hunting down a quarterback with a troubled past and begging to be his fake girlfriend – oops?

I honestly loved everything about Fake Fiancée, the cheesy romance, the gorgeous characters and bonus emotional rollercoaster. I remember when I started this book, I was in a study lesson, about 4 chapters in and I was like: “I should not be reading this in class…but I’ll do it anyway!”

Yep, definitely worth it.

Max is the star quarterback of Leland University and is one of the top contenders to win the prized Heisman Trophy at the end of his senior year. His presence is known on and off the field; almost everywhere he goes football groupies swarm him with pleas to be the next notch on his goal post.

Sunny is the sassy and vibrant art major attending Leland on an art scholarship; She lives next door to Max and she is not very fond of him being an athlete, who of which is on the same team as her douchebag ex-boyfriend. However, as all romance stories go, something changes in the way Sunny sees Max; she decides to give him a chance and agree to be in a fake relationship, soon turning into a fake engagement – much to Sunny’s surprise.

Sunny and Max’s chemistry broke the scale and the indisputable attraction between them was beautifully told. I loved that Max was not an asshole or manwhore, but instead was a sweet, caring, attractive and somewhat cocky man whom I have certainly fallen for.

Fake Fiancée was such an enthralling, beautiful, angst filled romance of which I found incredibly hard to put down. The storyline was very engaging, Max and Sunny’s fast paced story immediately sucked me in, and Ilsa’s storytelling was simply fabulous!

EXCERPT

Max stalked over to the barrier that divided the stands from the football field and jumped it. The fans went nuts as he brushed past them, some not even realizing it until he was down the aisle. The Jumbotron followed him.

“Good Lordy, what’s he doing?” Mimi asked, clutching at her chest.

“I don’t know,” I said rather weakly, taking the chance to study him the closer he came. He was beautiful, his shoulders impossibly broad. To add to the distraction, his helmet was in his hand and all that dark brown hair was flowing around his chiseled features as if he had a fan in his face. My Viking.

“He’s coming over here,” Mimi commented.

He was. But why?

I stopped breathing . . .right when he came to a halt in front of me and knelt down on one knee.

Eyes the color of a wild ocean gazed at me.

He took my left hand in his right one.

“Max,” I breathed, my heart fluttering.

He gazed up at me. “Sunny Blaine, will you marry me?”

The stadium went wild. In a daze, I looked up at the Jumbotron and felt like I was watching this happen to someone else. Camera phones flashed all around us.

My first clear thought was I’ll kill him.

Aloud, nothing came out but a faint wheeze. Clearly someone had stuffed a giant wad of cotton in my mouth. Clearly I needed something a lot stiffer to drink than this Diet Coke. Clearly my fake boyfriend was a freaking raving lunatic.

He sat his helmet on the ground next to my feet, reached inside it and pulled out a small black box.

No, no, no!

The box opened, and my stomach churned at the sight of the large round solitaire diamond ring that was nestled on the black silk. I blinked repeatedly to clear my vision.

With deft fingers, Max eased it out of the lining and slipped it on my left hand.

I stared down at it. Then back at him.

I was going to murder the hottest quarterback in the country.

Kiss her, Kiss her, the crowd chanted.

We were the focal point of the entire world.

Max stood and tugged me up with him until we were standing. He slid his hand around my neck and pulled his face to mine. The sky was blotted out as he kissed me.

But I hadn’t said yes!

I wouldn’t say yes.

Not to a fake engagement.

The applause of the stadium was deafening. And his kiss—it was deadly. Despite my rage, my body craved him. His lips were hot, so hot, and my tongue met his with a vengeance. We kissed hard, and I nipped at him, my teeth scraping across his lips. But the only one who’d end up bleeding in this scenario was me.

He eased back to take me in, and with a final look at my face he gave a thumbs-up sign to the entire stadium. They went nuts, chanting his name.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered in my ear, letting his hand trail down my arm as he stepped back from me. He walked away backward, eyes on me the entire time. The announcers for the game told everyone who might have missed it that Max Kent had just asked his girlfriend to marry him, and she’d said yes. More cheers came as they replayed him on his knee in front of me with a giant YES written across the top.

I plopped back down in my seat. Frozen.

“. . . did you see her face? Shocked . . .”

“. . . most romantic thing in football . . .”

“. . . luckiest girl in the world . . .”

My face went hot. Even my ears burned. I wanted to crawl under a seat.

God.

What a lie.

The half ended and our offense came out to the field, snapped the ball, and Max threw it straight to Tate who ran it in for another touchdown. My chest constricted and anger churned in my gut.

I didn’t care who won.

I hated football right now.

Most of all, I hated Max Kent, and I was going to make him pay.

BUY FAKE FIANCÉE NOW:

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/2laEuMc

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/2lfrSjw

Amazon Paperback:  http://amzn.to/2ldp4TS

Think Lovely Thoughts xo

THE WITCH'S TEARS BY KATHARINE & ELIZABETH CORR

Rating: 5 stars

Goodreads Book Description:

Can true love's kiss break your heart...? The spellbinding sequel to The Witch’s Kiss by authors and sisters, Katharine and Elizabeth Corr. It's not easy being a teenage witch. Just ask Merry. She's drowning in textbooks and rules set by the coven; drowning in heartbreak after the loss of Jack. But Merry's not the only one whose fairy tale is over. Big brother Leo is falling apart and everything Merry does seems to push him further to the brink. And everything that happens to Leo makes her ache for revenge. So when strangers offering friendship show them a different path they'd be mad not to take it...Some rules were made to be broken, right?

My Review:

The darkly magical sequel to The Witch’s Kiss burns wickedly bright.

Thank you to the ever-lovely Katharine and Elizabeth Corr for sending me an ARC of The Witch’s Tears to read and review! I am so honoured to have been on this journey with you both and support you in your future writing endeavours.

***WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD***

So I read the first book in this series and was left in a completely heartbroken, emotional coma. I was in complete and utter denial after Jack and Merry’s sacrifice, I didn’t want to believe that it had ended.

The Witch’s Tears picks up three months later, Merry and Leo’s grandmother is kidnapped – the investigation of this mysterious disappearance is the main focus of the book. The coven won’t allow Merry to help her find Gran so she decides to do some investigative work of her own.

In the midst of the madness, we are introduced to two new characters, Finn who is a wizard and wants to help Merry find her Gran in order to help his brother who is under a spell of sorts. Ronan is quite unknown in the beginning, a complete stranger who saves Merry from being attacked by some mystical creature.

There’s more involvement of Leo, Merry’s brother, he’s grieving and trying to come to terms with the past events. We see his interactions with Ronan, how he falls for this mysterious man and how Ronan understands what it’s like to be the only human surrounded by those who wield magic.

It was wonderful to see more of Leo, his sibling relationship with Merry and how frustrating it can be for him to not be able to help in those situations that require magic.

The character development of Leo and Merry, in particular their relationship was beautiful and heart wrenching. All I wanted to do was hug them, help them through their grief and bring them together again as a happy family.

The ending absolutely killed me (again) like WHYYYY NOT ANOTHER CLIFFHANGER UGH YOU CAN’T DO THIS TO ME AGAIN

If you haven’t read the first book, The Witch’s Kiss, I highly recommend picking it up and following the story of Merry as she struggles to contain her powers.

Think Lovely Thoughts xo

ONE HUNDRED BREATHS LATER BY HAYLEY STUMBO

Rating: 5 stars

Goodreads Book Description:

I’ve got such an envious heart;

it sloshes and aches

when you touch her face,

and I don’t know what to do with it,

other than to just

let

it

break.

Taken straight from the journals these poetic memoirs came from, One Hundred Breaths Later is a collection of love, loss, guilt, strength, and what it feels like to be vulnerable in a world that is resilient.

My Review:

First of all, thank you to the beautiful Hayley for sending me an ARC and final copy of her masterpiece!

She does it again! I am constantly amazed by the brilliant work Hayley creates and this one in particular struck a heartstring to which I ended up in tears after finishing it.

At the end of One Hundred Breaths Later, Hayley mentions that she wrote these poems starting circa 2004 when she would jot down thoughts into a little black notebook. Now 13 years later, here she is publishing pieces of her life and I have to tip my hat off to Hayley for being so brave and courageous to do so.

Poetry can be a truly personal and somewhat daunting thing to put out into the world; it’s even more wonderful when readers can relate to the written work,

It’s hard to review a poetry book but what I can say is that I loved the style of One Hundred Breaths Later, it’s a treasure containing a lot of relatable poems that should be savoured.

Some of my personal favourite poems from One Hundred Breaths Later are:

·      HOMECOMING

·      ONE HUNDRED BREATHS LATER

·      ALMOST

·      LANE AND HIGH

·      LEFT AND LESS

Buy One Hundred Breaths Later today on Amazon

Think Lovely Thoughts xo