Review of “Sweet Filthy Boy” by Christina Lauren
Title: “Sweet Filthy Boy”
Series: Wild Seasons
Author: Christina Lauren
Where I got my copy: I lucky to receive an ARC at no charge in exchange for an honest review from the Netgalley.
The Synopsis (Thanks to Amazon):
The New York Times bestselling author of Beautiful Bastard, Beautiful Stranger, and Beautiful Player starts a brand new story of friends, love, and lust with Book One of the Wild Seasons series.
One-night stands are supposed to be with someone convenient, or wickedly persuasive, or regrettable. They aren’t supposed to be with someone like him.
But after a crazy Vegas weekend celebrating her college graduation—and terrified of the future path she knows is a cop-out—Mia Holland makes the wildest decision of her life: follow Ansel Guillaume—her sweet, filthy fling—to France for the summer and just…play.
When feelings begin to develop behind the provocative roles they take on, and their temporary masquerade adventures begin to feel real, Mia will have to decide if she belongs in the life she left because it was all wrong, or in the strange new one that seems worlds away.
My Review (or general thoughts on this amazing work of writing!):
First off I have to say I am an absolute fan of the Dirty Bastard series, so when this was announced to say I was excited is an absolute understatment – I mean all new characters and this first book featuring a hot french guy… WHAT? One of my favorite books from the other series includes Max and his hot accent – so I was almost in instalove with this… but I will digress on this because I am rambling – maybe a tad – but you agree right?? Accents are HOT!
So, back to the book. I really enjoyed meeting our new range of characters. And although I thought the overall plot line – going to Vegas – marrying someone – and then spending a month with him – was a little beyond “most” reality I loved the notion of the character just giving in and being young and living – and isn’t that what fiction is all about? Doing things normal people wouldn’t or couldn’t in the real world… To me it is just that – and I loved that the story line was something somewhat fictional but not TOTALLY out of the realm of possibility – I mean it’s not like this could “never” happen so it had both the fictional allure and the “OMG I want this as my life” allure.
Ansel and Mia meeting in Vegas – the eye contact that first night was HOT and the hotness just continued. I have to say that the authors here did not dissappoint on the HOT factor and if anything it was hotter than anything I’d read by them before. I love romance and the utter idea of love at first sight… SWOON big time! I also enjoyed that when Mia goes with him in Paris everything is not picture perfect – they stumble – and have their own trials that are “real” and portray a real life – it wasn’t a cinderella fairy tale. It was hot, entertaining, amazing, HOT, and real at the same time. I would like to believe the feelings they encountered on both their parts would really represent what someone could be feeling in that situation.. I loved Ansel’s positive outlook and his love for Mia. I loved Mia’s hesitance but bravery for putting herself out there with Ansel and defying her parents to live her own life and not settle. I just loved the book.
So… Basic recap of the review:
Loved the book, loved the characters, and loved the writing. The book being based partly in Paris gave it the travel feel and of course I loved this too. If you are into hot romance, great writing, and love – this is a book for you! I cannot wait for the next book in this series to come out and the fact that it will intertwine with characters from the Beautiful Bastard series just makes it more special. Get this today – you will not be dissappointed!
One Amazing Quote I Loved:
“I want to love all of my life as much as I love this night.”
This book is absolutely a Must-Read so click this link below and hop over to Amazon to get your copy today!
Happy Reading!
Kelley
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Happy One Year Anniversary to ME!
I cannot believe it’s been ONE YEAR GUYS!!!
I have been off the grid for awhile but I just want to thank everyone who has supported and stayed with me through my fails and my hits… I hope you will continue on to grow with me.
In my first year I had a “to do” list of sorts and I thought it might be cool to share that now and see how I fared:
1. Reach 100 followers on my blog – BIG YES to this – thank you to everyone who follows my flog!
2. Get a Twitter Account and get 200 followers there (I thought this might be tough) – but happy to report I MADE IT! Thanks guys!!
3. Befriend one amazing author and help support their work. WOW Yes, I have so many people to thank here – Jessica Park, Emma Chase, Katie McGarry, Colleen Hoover, Lauren Oliver, and so many more! I have met via online more authors than I could ever dream – the authors I dream about taking time to talk to me on FB or Twitter has meant more than anything else, it’s why I wanted to become a blogger to support these wonderful people!
4. To get a chance to read books “before” they hit the market – so sue me, I wanted to be part of the cool kids club. and YES i have to say I don’t get every book I ask for, but I do get a good part, nothing to complain over for sure! I still buy my fare share, so Amazon never has to worry about losing me as a customer….
5. To get to know what Indie writing is all about. WOW have I really learned about this this year – some of my best reads for 2013-2014 have been the indies that were self pubslished and still stole my heart. I try to promote these as often as i can – these books and characters deserve as much love as the largest authors and stories out on the market. The indie writers have touched my heart, but more than that they have made me feel like maybe i have a place in this world outside of blogging….
6. To evaluate my own life and what part reading plays into it. Well, like all things “me” i dove in head first and over did it. Then I had to put the breaks on, now I’m trying to work some balance into the picture – so we shall see how this goes. I still read a TON but I’m trying to be more selective of what I review and only review things I feel like I really want my readers to read and/or at least know about. No worries about my reading habits here though, I still read pretty much anything I can get my hands on…..haha…
7. To Become friends with other bloggers I can share my love of books with: Now to this I would say YES in some ways and NO in others. When I first came along I spent the time to troll other blogs and communicate. I was honestly hoping I would find a book BFF somewhere in the internet land.. No one I know shares my true love of books and especially the genres I love so much – so while I have been active on forums I haven’t found my “click” yet. The cloest thing I have to a blog I follow and would love to be a part of is the Aestas Blog – I follow them religiously and they seem like cool chicks – maybe one day I can be part of that, maybe not – for now i’m happy sharing thoughts and seeing their thoughts about my favorite subject.
8. Did I say 10 really?? Hmmm… #8 to really start looking outside of the YA genre. When I started thsi that was my main focus. If you read my blog at all, you will know that I have OVERLY achieved this. I have fallen in love with this new genre… New Adult (Iknow everyone has mixed feelings here) and I also love the adult world to a point (AKA Sylvia Day, Alice Clayton, E.L. James, and of course Emma Chase). I have been introduced to so many new authors and for that i’m thankful everyday! So keep it coming in this aspect!
9. I want to attend a BEA Conference. This is one of my biggest wishes – and I don’t know that it can happen this year…. but I want it to happen soon. All my dreams would come true here, to be part of the real blogging community and to meet some of my favorite authors – nothing would be better! It would be like Christmas and my birthday all rolled into one – are any of you guys going this year???
10. Last, but certainly, not least I would like to meet Stephanie Meyer. Without “Twilight” I don’t know that I would have gotten back into reading on this scale and fallen in love with this genre leading to my blog/etc. Meeting her would be…amazing.
11. I have to add one last one, I want to have a blurb – Yes a blurb on the back cover of a book or in a description of a book on amazo – i’m not picky, i’ll take what I can get but to see my writing helping show off soemone else’s would be amazing!
All Right guys that’s about it. I can tell you about one cool thing I did this year and why it was a “bookish” cool thing..
I was in NYC last month for Toy Fair (yes for my real job) and I had a minute, and i picked to site see the NYC Public Library – specifically the Rose Reading Room. Have you been? If not you are missing out big time! For readers, it’s like…heaven. THe smell of books, the quiet, the smell…ahhh I could have spent all day there. Most importantly i was picturing a scene from one of my favorite books there – If you have read “Beautiful Stranger” in the “Beautiful Bastard” series you know what I mean – and that scene is HOT. So, I flushed, sniffed the great smell, sat in a chair in the famous reading room and bid it a fond farewell – believe me I’ll be back. It was then I realized just how much books had become a part of my life. Here I was picking this of anywhere to sight see – and it was the best place i’ve been there in a long while. Just to enjoy the quiet for a few moments, to know all the words contained in all those books I can’t wait to read. The whole expanse of knowledge and stories I have yet to find… It’s humbling and amazing all at the same time.
So happy blog anniversary to me! And to you – thank you ALL for sticking around and making it worth my while!
Happy Thursday Everyone!
Your fellow Blogger –
Kell
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ARC Review of “Left Drowning” by Jessica Park
So I was super exicted to read this – I hope you all enjoy my review and most importantly – READ this wonderful book!
Title: “Left Drowning”
Author: Jessica Park
Published by: Amazon Children’s Publishing
Publish Date: July 16, 2013
Overview of Story Thanks to GoodReads:
What does it take to rise from life’s depths, swim against the current, and breathe?
Weighted down by the loss of her parents, Blythe McGuire struggles to keep her head above water as she trudges through her last year at Matthews College. Then a chance meeting sends Blythe crashing into something she doesn’t expect—an undeniable attraction to a dark-haired senior named Chris Shepherd, whose past may be even more complicated than her own. As their relationship deepens, Chris pulls Blythe out of the stupor she’s been in since the night a fire took half her family. She begins to heal, and even, haltingly…
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“Twisted” by Emma Chase is FINALLY Here!
Yell to the stars ladies – “Twisted” is in today with more of our ever-loveable Drew Evans and his unforgettable shananigans!
Author: Emma Chase
Release Date: 3/25/14
How I got a copy: I can an advanced E-Copy thanks to my awesome blogger status – so I have been sitting on this gold for 2 weeks! Now I finally get to share!!!
The Short of it….
There are two kinds of people in the world. The ones who look first, and the ones who leap. I’ve always been more of a looker. Cautious. A planner. That changed after I met Drew Evans. He was so persistent. So sure of himself – and of me.
But not all love stories end happily ever after. Did you think Drew and I were going to ride off into the sunset? Join the club. Now I have to make a choice, the most important of my life. Drew already made his –in fact, he tried to decide for the both of us. But you know that’s just not my style. So I came back to Greenville. Alone. Well, sort of alone….
What I’ve come to realize is that old habits die hard and sometimes you have to go back to where you began, before you can move ahead.
TWISTED picks up two years after Tangled’s end, and is told from Kate’s POV
*Thank you GoodReads for that great summary!
What I thought:
Up until now I have been doing reviews a little differently – putting a few different paragraphs together and then trying to make sense of it all at the end, but I think I just want to write and I hope you all want to read. So i’ll try to make this meaningful to those readers who “get” this book and help anyone on the ledge understand WHY they MUST read it. So now that I have my mission, here I GO!
I Love Their Story
Emma had me all tied up with Drew and Date in “Tangled” – the #1 Read for me in 2013 by FAR!! So to say I was excited about this new release is an understatement – who wouldn’t want more Drew and Kate. It was honestly addicting getting into that pure male brain of his. I have never laughed as hard at any story, while wanting to at the same time slap the sense into someone – it was rather a strange feeling. But in the end, Drew didn’t let me downa nd he did want he needed to get his girl, being Kate. Seeing there was a second part of their story, I could NOT wait to see what the next adventure brought. I was also interested to see things (for the most part) from Kate’s POV this time. We know how Drew’s sleezy brain works – why not see a story in a more …understandable format for all us gals huh? Emma did it – “Twisted” was amazing.
I have to start off saying that for the first 50% of the book I was almost entirely absolutely horrified. If you have yet to read, I don’t want to ruin anything – but the current thought running through my head was WHAT???? and HOW???? and OMG DREW YOU IDIOT!!!!. Yes, there may have been expletives invovled as well – a true lady cannot say…so you will have to imagine. So true to it’s title, you can tell the book had even me, the lowly reader, absolutely twisted by mid point. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do, but I knew one thing I was not to do was put the book down.. This is one of those books I started understanding my rear woul be on that cough or chair until I read the very last page and true to form, I did just that.
Emma’s writing was still as hilarious as ever, I still had some great laugh out loud moments – but I loved the seriousness she wrote into the story too. I mean – this story does have some serious subject matter and I was glad to see that not only was it handled in an amazing way, it was handled and written with the grace, humor, and class I have seen from Emma Chase since the first book I read from her. This book was not “Tangled” by any means since there was much more humor there, but she did take that humor and insert it into “Twisted” to make it a story all it’s own with it’s own feelings and needs – that’s what i loved about it. I wasn’t just one of the same, it was the living next part of their story and it just fit.
Lastly, I will say I walked away from this book an utterly happy woman and in utter need for the next story. I walked away feeling resolved and happy. I don’t want to spoil the ending, so I will digress no more – but READ it TODAY! You can see what I love about this and what you will love about this series and this author. Emma Chase is an absolute go to author for me from this point on – Someone i will always have my eye on for her next book out. It’s hard to find, sexy and romantic books that include male POV’s that are so real – they arn’t fake or silly – they are just real and that makes them even more funny. I just cannot say enough about her… Or this story.
If you love Drew and Kate. Go and get this today and be prepared to not put it down until it;s down. It will pull at your heart strings, make you laugh, but in the end you will be happy with how Emma concluded this part of their story – I can promsie you that.
I can’t leave without a quote – so here it goes….
Did you think Drew and I were going to ride off into the sunset? Live happily ever after? Join the club. Apparently happily ever after only lasts two years.
Don’t check the title. You’re in the right place. This is still the Drew and Kate show. It’s just twisted around. Messed up. Welcome to Oz, Toto. It’s a fucked-up place to be.
What’s that? You think I sound like Drew? That’s what Delores says—that he’s infected me with his profanity. She calls it Drew-speak. I guess after two years, it kind of rubs off.
So I can see that you’re wondering what happened. You were so in love. You were so perfect for each other. Tell me about it.I know this might not be the best quote, but it’s something showing even from early on there was some seriouis stuff going on and Emma still pulled her humor through. You cannot expect this book to be “Tangled” because if you do, you will be dissappointed. What you can expect is the next part of Kate and Drew’s journey in real life style – unfiltered. LIfe gets hard, you don’t ride off into sunsets – Kate and Drew are right about that. If you’re ready for the real tale of how their life goes on from here, then read “Twisted” and you won’t be dissappointed” – my feel is that any true fan of the first story cannot be anything but impressed, so there’s my opinion….
MY THOUGHTS
The story rocked. Emma Chase did yet again an amazing job, and I will be absolutely reading the next story and the next. So get this one today and i’d love to hear your feedback!
Happy Reading!
Kelley
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Hey Ya’ll! Have you missed me???
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Hey Ya’ll! Have you missed me???
I’ve been MIA since a review in November and I have surely missed you all! I had to take a little blogging break becuase of a lot of personal things going on and my job being so intense, but I’m ready to be back – but still not full time… I’m determined to find a balance to my life where I can still be active here without it overtaking my entire life – so if you have any tips, I”m all ears…
Anyway, i Just wanted to say HI since it’s been so long and tell you I have a few great reviews coming – one for the sequel to “Tangled” that I have been anxiously awaiting! I’m also reading the “Unearthly” series by Cynthia Hand right now and let me tell you… WOW – it has touched me in a way I haven’t found in a long time. I am only on the second book, but I’m captivated – so look forward to that review too!
Hope everyone has a great Thursday! And look for more coming from me soon!
XO
Book Girl From South Carolina
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McGarry’s “Crash Into You” is Amazing – an Absolute MUST Read for 2013!
Title: “Crash Into You”
Author: Katie McGarry
Release Date: November 26th, 2013
How I got My Copy: I got an E-Copy for review from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
The Re-Cap (Courtesy of GoodReads)
From acclaimed author Katie McGarry comes an explosive new tale of a good girl with a reckless streak, a street-smart guy with nothing to lose, and a romance forged in the fast lane
The girl with straight As, designer clothes and the perfect life-that’s who people expect Rachel Young to be. So the private-school junior keeps secrets from her wealthy parents and overbearing brothers…and she’s just added two more to the list. One involves racing strangers down dark country roads in her Mustang GT. The other? Seventeen-year-old Isaiah Walker-a guy she has no business even talking to. But when the foster kid with the tattoos and intense gray eyes comes to her rescue, she can’t get him out of her mind.
Isaiah has secrets, too. About where he lives, and how he really feels about Rachel. The last thing he needs is to get tangled up with a rich girl who wants to slum it on the south side for kicks-no matter how angelic she might look.
But when their shared love of street racing puts both their lives in jeopardy, they have six weeks to come up with a way out. Six weeks to discover just how far they’ll go to save each other.
What I thought:
I can only start off as fair warning that I am a huge fan of Katie McGarry’s writing. Every store she writes, just seems to catch me in a different place. This book was no different. I actually applied for an ARC copy and was turned down – then I reapplied and made sure to include the links to my other reviews – and then about 2 weeks ago I got a notification that I got the copy.. Awesome! To say this made my day is an understatement. So – what does an obsessive reader do? I quit everything else I was reading, started this and finished it within 1 day – YES it was that good! Ok, so now I’m mostly over my swooning – let’s hear what I thought of the story.
I want to start with Isiah – and how much I really loved his character in the other books, so loyal and honest. I was super excited to see him get his own story finally. Saying that, seeing more into his story was a little heart breaking – what a hard life he had growing up. What I can say without question is that Isiah is a survivor – He never let himself be a victim and I loved that strength. Meeting his Mom in this book was both sobering and.. I think in the end healing for him and I loved seeing that. I also really enjoyed seeing the characters from the other stories reappear – espeically Noah and Echo (these guys have a very special place in my heart!) and seeing them still happy made me even more happy! Throughout the story, I loved watching the relationship between Rachel and Isiah growing, seeing them get closer despite all of their differences – and seeing them overcome the stereotypes that would have kept them apart. The journey all around for Isiah was a great one, it was real and it built like a real relationship. I love that McGarry always portrays such real, rounded characters – they are believeable and people you could be friends with should they really exist outside of the pages – and these characters and story are no exception.
Now on to Rachel.. In the begining, the word I thought about the most for her was naive. I felt for her with her home life and the pressure her sister’s passing put on her and how it affected her whole mental being, it literally had me in tears within the first few pages. I cannot imagine having to live under that type of stress or expectation – and Wow, again McGarry wrote this so well. When Rachel does to the drag strip, and Isiah sees her and refers to her as an Angel I think I swooned over the Moon! From the first moments, their connection crackled. I love that even though McGarry includes the physical aspects, she doesn’t force more than would be appropriate – it’s always so tasteful and within the context of the story and the characters. In this case, seeing Isiah be so gentle with her and just… wanting to take care of her when no one else in her life thought of her first — Swoon! Now of course they get in trouble together – we had to have a story line, but I loved it. I loved the bad boy racing and seeing Rachel open up to a world outside of everything she knows. Seeing her learn to trust Isiah and open up was beautiful. I loved seeing her tough side come out and see her want to defend Isiah too. Really, I just fell in love with both of these characters hands down.
The Romance… How could I not write about the romance?? SWOON city! In every book, I always enjoy seeing how McGarry builds the romance based on the characters in the story – so it always fits them to a tee and does not feel fake, forced, or out of place. That is a huge talent she has as a writer and a story teller. Rachel and Isiah were characters I wanted to see together from the first moment. The book had twists and turns and even though they may have fought it in the begining, both so unsure of trusting someone else like that and letting them in, seeing it happen was amazing. I for one could not put it down – I read this one night sitting on my couch without any stopping – and it’s been a long time since I’ve been this intuned with a story. The story is full of real love, real swoon, not fake and false things that no person in real life would do – these characters are the type of people you meet everyday and that is why I really love McGarry’s writing. Reading this story to me, shows that there is true love out there – and it does’nt have to always be hearts and flowers to be real – it can just be REAL.
My Take-Away:
If you’re not sure yet how I feel I will tell you now – GET THIS! READ THIS! If you love romance, a bad boy, some drama, and then some twists and turns – then this book is for you. McGarry did it again with this story and now I cannot wait for what will come next – soon hopefully?? I am really excited I got to read and review this book for my site and honored that I get to put the word out about this story – and I hope all of you will check it out. I will post the amazon link to buy the book below.. You could be reading this in mere minutes on your E-Reader device – so check it out! If you don’t trust me wholly, check out the other reviews, because I’ve looked and I see all her other fans who love this as much as I do. Isiah and Rachel had a story that really shows the best people can bring out in each other, a story that showed that true love can conquer all in a “Say Anything” type of way – a love that can go beyond societal lines.. Their love is the kind of love I have and I hope everyone else can find too. So, get the book and check it out – you will not be sorry!
Quotes I Adored:
“You can ignore me, Rachel, and you can try to treat me as a friend, but none of that will erase the fact that I think about kissing you every second I’m awake and dream at night of my hands on your body. And it sure as hell won’t erase that I’m terrified by how much I like you.”
“Maybe this is what happens when you fall in love. On the outside a lighter is nothing amazing, but it holds all the ingredients that can create something wonderful. With a few pushes in the right direction, you can inspire something so brilliant that it pushes back the darkness.”
——
Well readers – I’ll leave you with that – I hope you enjoyed and will check the book out!!
Happy Reading!
Kelley
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Monday Musing – October 14th
Hosted by Should Be Reading @ http://shouldbereading.wordpress.com/2013/10/14/musing-mondays-oct-14/
Musing Mondays asks you to muse about one of the following each week…
• Describe one of your reading habits. • Tell us what book(s) you recently bought for yourself or someone else, and why you chose that/those book(s). • What book are you currently desperate to get your hands on? Tell us about it! • Tell us what you’re reading right now — what you think of it, so far; why you chose it; what you are (or, aren’t) enjoying it. • Do you have a bookish rant? Something about books or reading (or the industry) that gets your ire up? Share it with us! • Instead of the above questions, maybe you just want to ramble on about something else pertaining to books — let’s hear it, then!
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Today I want to muse about something I read over the weekend – I read “This Is What Happy Looks Like” by Jennifer E. Smith over the weekend and it had such great character building – sweet romance, and story bulid up – it was as heart breaking in some points as sweet in others, but at the end I really needed that HEA… and it just wasn’t there. As much as I loved this book, I was just… let down. I really wanted to see that all the heart ache, all the work led to something at least – a second date – more communication.. I know their lives were very different and it basically leaves it for you to assume they will continue seeing each other, but me personally, I like hard proof.
So – have you guys read this? What did you think? I have heard such great things about this book (hence why I actually bought it) and I was just a little let down..
Happy Monday! Tell me what you think!
Kelley
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Book Girl From South Carolina 