Review: Walking Disaster by Jamie McGuire

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Walking Disaster
Series: Beautiful #2
Author: Jamie McGuire

SUMMARY
(From Goodreads)

Finally, the highly anticipated follow-up to the New York Times bestseller Beautiful Disaster. Can you love someone too much?
Travis Maddox learned two things from his mother before she died: Love hard. Fight harder.

In Walking Disaster, the life of Travis is full of fast women, underground gambling, and violence. But just when he thinks he is invincible, Abby Abernathy brings him to his knees.

Every story has two sides. In Beautiful Disaster, Abby had her say. Now it’s time to see the story through Travis’s eyes.

MY THOUGHTS

Walking Disaster is the second book in the Beautiful series by author Jamie McGuire.  This book is almost a mirror image of Beautiful Disaster except it is from the point of view of Travis.  I admit that the first book was not a favorite of mine.  I thought Travis was a man who abused Abby mentally and verbally.  Instead of rehashing all of my feelings from the first book, I will just let you read my previous review found HERE.

Now do I still feel the same way after finishing it from Travis’s POV? Well, I still consider Travis a beautiful disaster.  The only difference is now we get pieces of his past that help us to understand why he is so possessive.  I won’t excuse his behavior with that last line, but it does give us insight on how he was shaped into the man he is now. We also get to read about how insecure Travis really is deep down.  On the outside he is the man every girl wants.  What we get to read about though is how Travis is struggling about how he doesn’t feel good enough to be with Abby.  He considers himself a failure and a loser.

Abby is still Abby in this book.  I still want to know how she walks straight without a backbone.  This girl needs to find one stat. I was willing to overlook the lack of backbone this time around though since we knew this would be about Travis.

Can I also mention that cover? The previous book had a ho-hum cover that really didn’t capture my interest. This cover screams SEXY and is perfect for Travis’s story to be wrapped up in.  Kudos to the cover art department on this one.

Overall, this installment in the series was much better than the first.  I am still not a fan of the relationship between Abby and Travis.  They had a hard road that had way too many bumps that were borderline psychotic.  I will mention that the epilogue of this story though was sweet and gave us a peek into the future. While I still wouldn’t go all out and say it was a beautiful disaster of a book, it was one that made you walk a mile in the other persons shoes to see what is really going on inside their mind.

MY RATING

Very Good! I would recommend this book!
*Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley.  I received this ARC free of charge in exchange for an honest review*

Review: Chance of a Lifetime by Jodi Thomas

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Chance of a Lifetime
Series: Harmony #5
Author: Jodi Thomas

SUMMARY
(From Goodreads)

Emily, the local librarian, has started a writing group, but as the group stumbles through both the fiction and reality of their lives, they’re learning much more than how to write. But Emily suddenly has other things on her mind when a friend from her past shows up in Harmony’s library. Now she must deal with a secret she’s kept for fifteen years—a secret that changed her life and threatens to shatter her future.

Meanwhile, new lawyer Rick Matheson thinks he’s in charge of his world until accidents start happening all around him. Just when he realizes someone is trying to kill him, he meets a beautiful U.S. Marshal named Trace Adam. Now that the marshal has given him an even stronger reason to go on living, he must learn to take a chance on life to dream bigger—and love better—than he ever has before…  

MY THOUGHTS

Chance of a Lifetime is the fifth book in the Harmony series by author Jodi Thomas.

I have never read any books by this author before this one, so I had no idea what the writing style would be like.  I love to find new-to-me authors to add to my ever growing list. I honestly can say that author Jodi Thomas is now on that list. Her writing was sweet and flowed at a perfect pace.  The characters were believable and were enjoyable to read about.  I loved the author’s voice.  The writing felt natural with sweet southern charm. While there were some tense moments in the book involving all of the characters, the author did a wonderful job in keeping each character strong as a separate story.  I didn’t feel like everyone was spread out all over the place and I could connect with each one on a different level.

While this was my first book by author Jodi Thomas, this is definitely not going to be my last.  I can’t wait to read the first four books in this series and the books she will bring us in the future!

MY RATING

Very Good! I would recommend this book!

Review: For the Love of a Goblin Warrior by Shona Husk

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For the Love of a Goblin Warrior
Series: Shadowlands #3
Author: Shona Husk

SUMMARY
(From Goodreads)

Centuries ago, Meryn was thought to be utterly lost–all traces of his soul given up to the ravening goblin horde. But with the curse that enslaved him now broken, he must once again learn to walk in the realm of men.

Nurse Nadine Gilbert likes working the night shift to avoid her disturbing dreams, but her mysterious new patient looks hauntingly familiar. Meryn knows he doesn’t deserve a second chance, but Nadine brings out his long-buried human side. Telling her the truth about his violent past could destroy their fragile trust. Could she ever believe in the love of a Goblin Warrior?

MY THOUGHTS

For the Love of a Goblin Warrior is the third book in the Shadowlands series by author Shona Husk.  If you haven’t read the previous books in this series, it should still be no problem to follow along.  While I recommend you read the previous books, it is not necessary to read them first.  The main characters are Meryn and Nadine.

While this book was good and kept me reading straight through until the end, it wasn’t a book that I would say I fell in love with.  The story was a little choppy at times and it kind of threw me off while reading it.  Once I recognized the pace of the book though, I started to enjoy the plot.  This book had it all. It had loss, love, obstacles and redemption. I really enjoyed the characters and they actually felt right together.  While this book fits into the paranormal romance genre, I loved how it incorporated the fantasy elements as well.  I haven’t read much about Goblin’s, but I found it is a story line element that I could enjoy in future books – especially if written by this author.

Again, it can be read as a stand alone novel, but reading the previous books in the series will just make the world the author created richer and better detailed in your mind.  I can’t wait to see what the author will come up with next!

MY RATING

Very Good! I would recommend this book!

Review: Creed by Kristen Ashley

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Creed
Series: Unfinished Heroes #2
Author: Kristen Ashley

SUMMARY
(From Goodreads)

Way too young, eleven year old Tucker Creed and his six year old neighbor, Sylvie Bissenette, find they have something awful in common. Creed then decides he’s going to do everything in his limited power to shield his Sylvie from her ordeal. So he does and Creed and Sylvie form a bond that grows and blossoms with their ages.

They plot to leave their lives behind, the town they live in that will hold them down and the histories they share that, unless they break free, will bury them. Sylvie goes to their special place, Creed never shows and she doesn’t see him again until it’s too late.

With Creed gone, Sylvie is forced to endure a nightmare and do the unspeakable to end it. To deal, she develops a hard shell with sharp edges that very few can break through. So when Creed again finds his Sylvie, he discovers the girl he loved is locked away and he has to find his way back into her heart without getting shredded in the process.

MY THOUGHTS

Creed is the second book in the Unfinished Heroes series by author Kristen Ashley.

This book was by far much better than Knight.  I wasn’t a huge fan of the first book in this series titled Knight, but since Kristen Ashley is an addiction that you can’t quit, I had to read it anyway.  The writing in this one was so much better and I didn’t have to reread what was being said over and over again. In Knight it seemed like he had a language all of his own, but with Creed it was sexy and dare I say, normal. Not only that, but the word ‘Daddy’ didn’t come out of Creed’s mouth once so that was a major plus in this story.

Creed was sexy and bad ass.  I loved his character and whenever we were treated with a chapter from his POV, I wanted to read it several times just to imagine his sexy voice in my head.  Creed is not only the title of this book, but he is also the star who stole the show.  I couldn’t get enough of him.

Sylvie wasn’t really a character I enjoyed.  Don’t get me wrong — I love kick ass heroine’s.  It just seemed like the author tried to hard to make the reader believe she was kick ass, but I just wasn’t feeling it for some reason.

Yes, the same holds true with Creed as it does with every Kristen Ashley book.  There are run on sentences, editing flaws and over the top characters, but this is the authors signature in my opinion.  It makes it apart of the whole reason her books are so addictive. While this series still isn’t one of my favorites,  I can tell the author has grown in her story telling and character development. I can’t wait to dive into the third book that recently released featuring a character named Raid.  My family will miss me while I read it for hours, but I will continue to get my fix of Kristen Ashley.

MY RATING

Very Good! I would recommend this book!

Review: Rush by Maya Banks

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Rush
Series: Breathless #1
Author: Maya Banks

SUMMARY
(From Goodreads)

Gabe, Jace, and Ash: three of the wealthiest, most powerful men in the country. They’re accustomed to getting anything they want. Anything at all. For Gabe, it’s making one particular fantasy come true with a woman who was forbidden fruit. Now she’s ripe for the picking…

When Gabe Hamilton saw Mia Crestwell walk into the ballroom for his hotel’s grand opening, he knew he was going to hell for what he had planned. After all, Mia is his best friend’s little sister. Except she’s not so little anymore. And Gabe has waited a long time to act on his desires.

Gabe has starred in Mia’s fantasies more than once, ever since she was a teenager with a huge crush on her brother’s best friend. So what if Gabe’s fourteen years older? Mia knows he’s way out of her league, but her attraction has only grown stronger with time. She’s an adult now, and there’s no reason not to act on her most secret desires.

As Gabe pulls her into his provocative world, she realizes there’s a lot she doesn’t know about him or how exacting his demands can be. Their relationship is intense and obsessive, but as they cross the line from secret sexual odyssey to something deeper, their affair runs the risk of being exposed—and vulnerable to a betrayal far more intimate than either expected.

MY THOUGHTS

Rush by Maya Banks is the first book the Breathless series.  The main characters in this book are Gabe Hamilton and Mia Crestwell.

As I sit here contemplating with how to put my feelings of this book into words, I also have the urge to build a fence around myself because of all the mixed reactions that are being said about it.  I just know people with torches are going to come light a fire and throw me to the flames.  On the other hand, there might be enough supporters out there that would put the fire out and rescue me like a damsel in distress.  Either way, I am going to share my thoughts and maybe I can make my escape before you grab the matches.

I will say that Gabe is one cold man for the first half of this book. He is demanding, emotionally closed off, and has the power to bring his enemies to the floor groveling with just one look.  We do get little insights and the ‘why’ of his personality and the reasons behind the famous contract’s he uses.  I can understand his intense need to protect not only himself, but others that could be involved, even if it does seem a bit extreme.

Gabe is also a billionaire who is in business with two of his best friends.  Ash has to be my favorite so far of the three even though this book focused on Gabe.  Ash is the charmer and the man that explores the threesome’s with Jace.  Jace is the smooth talker and the one that will close a deal while having a little fun on the side with Ash.

Enter Mia Crestwell.  She is Jace’s little sister that he has spoiled and taken care of since the death of their parents years ago.  He provides everything for her including an apartment, money and even paying for her college.  While she appreciates everything Jace has done for her, she still doesn’t know what to do with her degrees from college and is working in a bakery to try and stand on her own feet.

While there were plenty of naughty and intense scenes in this book, I loved the tender moments between Mia and Gabe the most.  When Gabe would open up to Mia and share things that he hadn’t shared with many others, you could feel his emotions and the struggle this Alpha-man was going through.  While he is clearly a Dominant man in the all aspects of his life, you could tell that Mia was his soft spot and was going to be the one who would bring him to his knees.  I especially loved her backbone when it came to the climax of her brother finding out.  Of course, I was also appalled at the way her brother finds out — and the scene was the only reason I lowered the rating from a 5 to a 4 rating. Only because of the abrupt way it happens when we are finally getting an emotional sexy scene from Gabe and Mia.

Now many people have mentioned a scene that happens around the 70% mark in this book.  It is something that many didn’t agree with and wanted to stop with the journey when they read it.  While I won’t spoil this scene in sharing the details of it, I will say that I am glad the author turned it around bringing Gabe back to his senses.  If he wouldn’t have changed halfway through that scene, I probably would have stopped as well.

While the ending had enough sappiness that I was looking for maple trees around me, I still enjoyed it. It was sweet and over the top, but it wasn’t so bad that it made me want to dance around in a field of flowers.  Personally, this a series I am already in love with and can’t wait for the next book in the series.

MY RATING

Very Good! I would recommend this book!