Review: Up In Flames, by Abbi Glines

Amazon

Goodreads

#1 New York Times bestselling author Abbi Glines returns to Rosemary Beach one last time in this highly-anticipated finale.

Spoiled. Selfish. Rich girl. Villain. Slut.

As the Prada-clad bad girl of Rosemary Beach, Nan Dillon has been called every vile name under the hot summer sun. Some of her reputation is deserved—she’s never had to worry about anything but maintaining her perfect figure and splitting Daddy’s private jet with her brother, Rush. 

But Nan is far from happy. Rush has another kid on the way and doesn’t have time to catch up with his sister. Grant, the last guy she truly cared about, chose to be with her half-sister, Harlow, instead of her. And Harlow, who has never gotten over the way Nan treated her when she first moved to town, remains distant.

So when Major asks her out, she jumps at the chance to date the gorgeous charmer. Though she doesn’t know much about the sweet-talking Texan, and though it’s clear he doesn’t want to be exclusive, dating him beats hanging out with vapid socialites or watching Netflix alone at home.

For a while, Nan deals with Major’s playboy ways, but after he burns her one too many times, she takes off for an impromptu wild weekend in Vegas. There, she meets Gannon, a darkly seductive and oh-so-dangerous businessman who knows exactly how to handle her.

With Major asking for a second chance and Gannon haunting her dreams, Nan has to decide who to give her heart to. But what she doesn’t realize is that these players are involved in a much bigger game—and they’re already two moves ahead of her.

Review

4 out of 5 stars

When Nan's book finally appeared on my Kindle I immediately dove right in.  She has after all been the villain of  Rosemary Beach and I was dying to see how Abbi Glines would make us all fall in love with her.  But, if I'm being completely honest my feelings for Nan started changing the day she helped out Harlow.  I couldn't help it because at that moment in the series we finally got a chance to see a completely different side to her.  Yet, if Nan had been a like-able character from the start the Rosemary Beach series simply wouldn't have been the same.  Let's face it, Nan has been the perfect mistress of drama.

As the book starts out we see Nan and Major have a sort of friends with benefits thing going on, yet it's clear Nan wants more but is basically afraid of rejection and therefore doesn't push Major.  She puts up with a whole lot of crap from him, something you wouldn't expect to see from a person like Nan.  But maybe that's just it, maybe we don't really know anything about Nan.  Like for instance her complete and utter unhappiness.  She knows she's made mistakes, her pain and inability to control the actions that spring forth as a residual affect have alienated her from everyone.  But she wants to change, she wants to do better.  She knows Rush will always love her and now she has the unconditional love from her nephew Nate, but she wants more.  Nan has literally watched everyone in her life find their HEA and she wants it for herself.  Yes, Nan wants to be someone's Blair and honestly who can blame her.

A weekend in Vegas to but some distance between herself and Major's philandering ways puts Nan on the path to meet Gannon a real man, one who's dark, secretive and dangerous yet Nan cannot help but feel drawn to him and safe in his arms.  The affair doesn't last long but it changes Nan's life in ways she never sees coming.  Will she go back to Major or will she decide she deserves more?

Abbi Glines did a wonderful job crafting this story.  She has given us two male leads who both see the beauty and strength of Nan beyond her bitchy exterior.  One of these characters is ready to step up while the other one doesn't even realize he's in love with her until it's too late.  This story is packed with a little bit of suspense and mystery and I can guarantee before the end you will be rooting for Nan because no matter what anyone's done in the past everyone deserves happiness and the love of a man who genuinely appreciates every single composition of their personality, all of it, the good and the bad.  

I thought this story was paced perfectly, I grew to love Nan and was in awe of her strength and self-awareness.  If there was anything I found "annoying" it was her constant inner dialogue and obsession with how many calories something contained and how hard she would have to work out to burn those calories off.  I found the constant mention of those things aggravating and for me personally it took away from her journey.

Up in Flames is a great conclusion to the Rosemary Beach series.  While we don't get to hear from all of our favorite characters, Abbi Glines does give us a few opportunities to check in with just about everyone.  Nan finds not only love but maybe also and more importantly joy and peace.  I for one am sad to say goodbye to the Rosemary Beach series!  Absolutely don't miss out on this book, give it no other thoughts, just one-click it today. 

Review: Until Friday Night, by Abbi Glines

Amazon

Synopsis

To everyone who knows him, West Ashby has always been that guy: the cocky, popular, way-too-handsome-for-his-own-good football god who led Lawton High to the state championships. But while West may be Big Man on Campus on the outside, on the inside he’s battling the grief that comes with watching his father slowly die of cancer.

Two years ago, Maggie Carleton’s life fell apart when her father murdered her mother. And after she told the police what happened, she stopped speaking and hasn’t spoken since. Even the move to Lawton, Alabama, couldn’t draw Maggie back out. So she stayed quiet, keeping her sorrow and her fractured heart hidden away.

As West’s pain becomes too much to handle, he knows he needs to talk to someone about his father—so in the dark shadows of a post-game party, he opens up to the one girl who he knows won’t tell anyone else.

West expected that talking about his dad would bring some relief, or at least a flood of emotions he couldn’t control. But he never expected the quiet new girl to reply, to reveal a pain even deeper than his own—or for them to form a connection so strong that he couldn’t ever let her go…

Review

4.5 out of 5 stars

Confession...from my very first Abbi Glines experience I've kind of been a sucker for her books.  I buy them and read them just as soon as I can.  Of course over the years there are some stories and some characters I love more than others.  Maggie and West happen to fall into the category of ones that I love.  

Unit Friday Night is written with such heart and soul.  I found myself emotionally attached to both Maggie and West.  I worried for them, I cried for them, I smiled with them and loved every second spent watching those two fall in love.    

This is a YA book and therefore it isn't as necessarily as "steamy" as some of Abbi's other stories, but that's not to say this book wasn't full of chemistry.  It just means there is so much "more" to this journey.  There were plenty of moments that will melt your insides and get your blood rushing but those moments aren't all tied to the physical.  The emotional bond between Maggie and West felt real and I commend Abbi Glines for exploring the worry and doubt of two people bonding over life changing circumstances.  For pushing those boundaries and exploring whether or not a real love could even be tangible.  

Maggie's strength was astounding.  Her ability to see beyond someone's facade, to sense beyond the surface and know what a person needs is simply stunning.  Her life wasn't cookie cutter perfect and she has no reason to want to help anyone else, but she does and in it finds a desire to perhaps live more of a life than she's previously had the strength to do.  While West's journey through grief is a predominant theme of this story it doesn't overshadow his secondary journey of falling in love, of recognizing what love really is, how to not only appreciate it's gift but to also cherish it.  Abbi Glines did a really great job bringing all these themes and characters to life.  Without a doubt she captured the essence of everything a YA novel should be filled with.

As the story was wrapping up though I will have to confess I felt as though there were a few loose ends I would like to have seen more tied up.  I know there will be other books in this series, which I will without a doubt be reading, but I have no idea if we will get another West and Maggie book, or if one is even needed.  But I can say I would love to see more of these two.  Speaking of additional books in this series, I have to commend Abbi on giving the secondary characters of this story such dimension.  They weren't just names, she gave those names a personality, she made me want to dig a little deeper into some of them.  Take a chance on Until Friday Night, it's a really great read in what I predict to be another bestselling Abbi Glines series!   

Review: When You're Back, by Abbi Glines

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Itunes

Synopsis

The future is bright for Reese Ellis. She has Mase Colt-Manning, the man of her dreams, and a family she didn’t know existed until her long-lost father arrived on her doorstep in Rosemary Beach. After growing up with a cruel mother and abusive stepfather, Reese is eager to get to know the caring and charming man who wants to be a part of her life. Everything is finally falling into place.

While Reese is visiting her new family in Chicago, Mase spends time with his “cousin,” Aida, who has worshipped him since childhood. Though they’re unrelated by blood, Mase and Aida have been raised to think of each other as family. But when Reese returns, she can tell something isn’t quite right with Aida, who clearly resents Reese and excels at manipulative little games. And though Mase is unsuspecting, Reese knows Aida doesn’t love him like a cousin should... 

Review

4 out of 5 stars

I absolutely love when a new Abbi Glines book releases.  I can always count on her to provide me with a good, fun escape filled with the right amount of drama and perfect HEA.  There hasn't been a single one of her books that I've read and haven't enjoyed (and confession...I've read them all)!  There are some stories and some characters which I fall for a little harder than the others but all in all I'm never disappointed when I sit down with one of her creations.

When we last left Reese and Mase I expected them to ride off into the sunset of their own HEA.  I wasn't sure what other drama could be cooked up for them to endure.  Nevertheless, Abbi Glines always has a few surprises up her sleeve.  Reese and Mase make for an endearing couple.  They are the kind of characters you cannot help but root for.  It's obvious these two are madly in love with eyes only for one another but there are a few wrinkles which need a bit of ironing.  

Watching Mase struggle with letting Reese make her own way and with Reese in her confidence of their relationship made for a good dose of drama.  While I couldn't help but smile as they found strength in one another and grabbed a hold of their true HEA I'll have admit that this installment moved a little slow and parts of the story felt forced.  In the end, for me, what really stole the show was the secondary story-line and mystery surrounding Captain.  When the last page was turned I couldn't help but feel that When You're Back was simply a stepping stone to get us more familiar and intrigued with Captain.  I for one cannot wait to see where his journey goes!

So should you buy this book, should you make the time to read it?  Yes because when it comes to Abbi Glines you really cannot go wrong.  Her Rosemary Beach series is without a doubt one of my favorite indulgences!