Raine by J.C. Valentine

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Raine

 

RAINE
by J.C. Valentine

Warning: RAINE contains adult situations some readers may find offensive. This is a deeply emotional story that contains violence, explicit sex, strong language, and is not considered suitable for readers under 18.

Shy.
Intelligent.
Naive.
Statistic.

Raine Forester was an average girl leading an average life. She slipped beneath everyone’s radar, until Camron Moss, the most popular guy in school, took interest in her and changed everything.

Some acts are unforgivable.

Raine thought she’d been accepted. She thought she was one of them. She thought she was in love… until one moment made her realize she’d trusted the wrong person. Lies are told, hearts get broken, secrets are revealed, and sometimes, true love is found in the least likely places.

Have you ever started reading a book and thinking to yourself that you aren’t sure if this is going to be a book that keeps your interest?  I admit that after the first few chapters, I was wavering between putting the book down or going for the whole she-bang.  It does touch on some sensitive subject including rape.

I wasn’t a fan of a few characters in the book. The boys’ parents were horrible.  I hated the fact that they had no substance to their roles except to be the money holders that are cliche.  I also took a bit to warm up to Raine. She is suppose to be some ordinary girl dating this wonderful and popular boy, but within a chapter he turns into this completely different character at the other end of the spectrum.

Then we have Jarret, who is Camrons little brother.  He is older and the black sheep of the family. He swoops in to save the day and the woman in distress.  While I did like his character and was rooting for him to succeed in being the man his brother could not be, I would have preferred him to have stood up a little sooner to his family.

Overall the story was a pretty decent read for a new to me author.  I could see myself reading more books by author J.C. Valentine in the future.

[sc:rate3 ]

AMAZON / AUTHOR WEBSITE / GOODREADS

 

Quickie Reviews For You (7)

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A short post featuring a few quick reviews. Short, sweet and all in one post.

Taken from my list of books read and ready to be reviewed, we are featuring books that have been assigned a 3 STAR rating. In no particular order.

 

billionairestepbrothers offerBillionaire Stepbrother’s Offer
By: Stephanie Brother
3 STARS
GOODREADS / AMAZON (currently $2.99)
The parts of this book that weren’t predictable, ended up being confusing and not really entertaining enough for the reader to want to sort through. I guess it is an okay book to pass the time away but one you can barely get sucked into.

 

theoneyouwantThe One You Want
By: Gena Showalter
3 STARS
GOODREADS / AMAZON (currently $2.99)
I love this authors writing in the paranormal world. I even love it in the young adult world. This start to a new series in adult contemporary romance wasn’t one of her hits for me. The characters barely gave any real emotion and at times they went over the top and left me rolling my eyes. It had some great chapters in the book, but the bad heavily outweighed the good.

 

justjoeJust Joe
By: Carla Cassidy
3 STARS
GOODREADS / AMAZON (Currently FREE)
This was a sweet and tender read that was actually worth reading even though it was quite short. I would have loved a little more insight into the charity and the work they do for it. The characters were good and I actually liked them together. I think if this book was a full length book, then my rating would have been higher.

 

watchingelijahfallWatching Elijah Fall
By: Amy Spector
3 STARS
GOODREADS / AMAZON (Currently  FREE)
A sweet and gentle story that might have been too sweet and gentle. The characters were great and they fit together well. This one was just a little too tame for my current moods. That aside, the writing did flow nicely. Dialogue was nicely done and so was narrative. It just needed some OOMPH to it for this reader.

Quickie Reviews For You (6)

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A short post featuring a few quick reviews. Short, sweet and all in one post.

For this edition of Quickie Reviews For You, we are mixing it up. Taken off my review list at home, these are in no particular group or order.

mayhemMayhem by Jamie Shaw
4 Stars
GOODREADS/AMAZON (currently $2.99)
Is it a book full of cliche’s? Yes, but it works perfectly for this story. Is it predictable? Again yes, but I didn’t really care because I got to read about rock stars and love. I am a sucker for this trope. The only thing I really had an issue with was Adam not realizing who she was without her makeup. Come on! Makeup wouldn’t change her that much just because she has a smoky eye instead of a natural look.

 

the deal The Deal by Elle Kennedy
5 Stars
GOODREADS/AMAZON (currently priced $4.99)
Oh.My.GAWD! This book….no words. I loved it from page one until The End. Hannah was awesome but Garrett was the best hero ever! I laughed, I teared up, and then I also did everything in between on the emotional scale. I can honestly say that this book will be on my favorite books of 2015. I may have also highlighted so many quotes in this book that I might have started to annoy people it shared with. I dare you to just go read the quotes section on Goodreads and see what I mean.

 

hard knocksHard Knocks by Lori Foster
3 Stars
GOODREADS/AMAZON (currently $1.99)
This is a short novella featuring Gage and Harper.  I love the author, but this one I couldn’t make a connection with the characters.  The writing was just as good as always.  The characters were okay.  The  plot was all right.  I just couldn’t feel the romance between the two for it to stand out from her other books.

 

maybe somedayMaybe, Someday by Colleen Hoover
3 Stars
GOODREADS/AMAZON (currently $7.99)
Love triangle? Check. Guitar player? Check. Sweet emotions? Double check. While this wasn’t one of my favorites by this author, it still was a great read.  I loved Ridge, but I just didn’t like how he went about things and the decisions he would make throughout the story. We felt bad for him, but I couldn’t justify some of the things he did as “good guy” criteria. Sydney needed to just pull up her big girl panties and walk away from Ridge, but then we wouldn’t have a story.  Not bad writing, just bad character decisions.

 

ugly loveUgly Love by Colleen Hoover
4 Stars
GOODREADS/AMAZON (currently $7.99)
Ugly Love will leave you with a bad case of “Ugly Cries” which is followed by “Ugly Book Hangover”.  I actually enjoyed this one surprisingly.  I wasn’t too sure about it at first, but the characters grew on me.  The only thing that kept this from hitting the high mark was that the author did have the characters acting and talking immature at times.  I kind of overlooked that though because I was slightly infatuated with Miles. (somebody mentioned this book is getting made into a movie?? Does anyone know if it is true? Comment below and let me know!)

 

Hate F*@k by Ainsley Booth

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hatef@ck

 

Hate F*@k
by Ainsley Booth

Warning: This is just the start. This doesn’t end well. And it’s going to get much worse before it ever gets better.

Cole:
I push her buttons. I want to push them in the good way. Dirty, up-against-the-wall, my-hand-in-her-pants kind of way.
But that’s not possible, because I’m dark and she’s light, and we both know it.
So I push her buttons in the bad way, making her hate me.

Hailey:
If a genie granted me three wishes, I’d ask for Cole Parker to never look at me again, that I’d forget the dark promise in his eyes, and that just once, before he vanished from my life completely, that he’d push me up against a wall and fuck me.
Then I’d go wash my mouth out with soap.

I seriously feel like I read an entirely different book than everyone else.  I see reviewers giving this book high praise and glowing recommendations while I sit here at a loss on the last page just blinking my eyes in confusion.  What the heck did I just read?

The characters were dull and hate each other but we don’t really know the real reason to the hate. They are attracted to each other though and have some steamy and smutty scenes together. Then we have an ending that leaves you on a cliffhanger of sorts.  Hailey was snobby and came across as better-than-thou. Cole was a dirty talking bad boy but protective and secretive.  This book was just s hot mess for me.

MY RATING
[sc:rate1 ]

GOODREADS / AMAZON

Hopeless by Colleen Hoover

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Hopeless by Colleen Hoover

 

Sometimes discovering the truth can leave you more hopeless than believing the lies…

That’s what seventeen-year-old Sky realizes after she meets Dean Holder. A guy with a reputation that rivals her own and an uncanny ability to invoke feelings in her she’s never had before. He terrifies her and captivates her all in the span of just one encounter, and something about the way he makes her feel sparks buried memories from a past that she wishes could just stay buried.

Sky struggles to keep him at a distance knowing he’s nothing but trouble, but Holder insists on learning everything about her. After finally caving to his unwavering pursuit, Sky soon finds that Holder isn’t at all who he’s been claiming to be. When the secrets he’s been keeping are finally revealed, every single facet of Sky’s life will change forever.

MY REVIEW

Wow. Just wow.

Have you ever read a book and just have no words to really express what you are feeling?  That is how I feel after reading Hopeless by Colleen Hoover. I have had this book sitting on my Kindle for quite some time now.  I had purchased it back when everyone was raving about it, but somehow it just got buried in my list on my Kindle.  While trying to find something to read one day, I came across it again and decided to give it a try. I am still berating myself in my head for waiting to read this.

First of all, this book does touch on sensitive subject material.  If you can handle reading about sensitive subjects, then I urge you to read the book.  I loved the character of Dean Holder.  I loved his strength and his determination.  Not only has he suffered loss and pain in his life, but he has also held onto ‘Hope’.  He never really gave up.  While we slowly learn about his past growing up, we learn pieces of information that help us figure out the mystery involving Sky.  Sky has so much more back story than what we first believe and it slowly grows and evolves into a bigger puzzle involving many more key characters in the book.

I don’t want to give to much away, because the story from start to finish is a whole.  Each chapter helps us reach the ending that the reader explores in the first chapter teaser.  I can definitely say this book is on my Top Ten for the coming year even if it was published awhile back. Again, why did I wait so long to read this?!

“Not everyone gets a happily every after. Life is real and sometimes it’s ugly and you just have to learn how to cope.”

MY RATING

[sc:rate5 ]

GOODREADS / AMAZON