Review: Crave Part One, by E.K. Blair

Amazon

Goodreads

Kason and Adaline.

From the moment they met, they started to fall. Neither of them predicted just how far the drop would be, though.

Loving Adaline was all Kason had ever wanted to do. But layer by layer, he started to unravel, forcing Adaline to face an addiction she never could’ve imagined.

This is what happens when one person loves beyond the craving and the other craves beyond the loving.


Review
3.5 out of 5 stars

I have to admit I went into this book somewhat blind - which I NEVER do!  My blog partner loves this kind of experience, me...not so much.  But, I have always loved E.K. Blair's books and thought why not.  Crave centers on the story of two high school characters navigating first love and addiction.  They come from opposite ends of life.  While they both primarily are raised by single mothers, Kason's mom works two jobs and can barely make enough to keep them in a dumpy apartment on the wrong side of the tracks.  Adaline's mom on the other hand is a well-to-do lawyer and they live in a gorgeous house situated in a posh neighborhood.  As far as material things go Adaline wants for nothing and Kason works hard for everything he has.  At first glance they couldn't be more different, yet almost from the first time they meet they are irrevocably drawn to one another.

Before long these two lovebirds are inseparable but is clear Kason is waging a very secret hormonal war.  I'll be honest I didn't think much of it in the beginning because he's a 17 year old teenager - of course he's going to be horny!  But as the story progresses you realize to Kason this is a much bigger deal than at first glance.  His addiction brings forth the catalyst that is the turning point in the story.  It definitely provided a good dose of angst but I cannot help but feel as if something was still missing in the story.  

It's not as if I didn't like Kason because I did and his back story absolutely broke my heart but I just couldn't find myself rooting for either him or Adaline, and I would like to see them together as a couple, they have the potential to be great, but individually they just aren't there yet.  They both have redeeming qualities and I appreciate the fact E.K. Blair chose to have these characters be honest.  Their honesty with one another, no matter how difficult, was truly refreshing and the best part of the book for me because I feel as though I read so much where the climax all boils down to dishonesty or rather a character just not speaking their mind.  So kudos for a change in pace.  I don't know.  I feel like Kason and Adaline have so much potential as both individuals and a couple but they have a long way to go.  My hopes is in the next book they both are strong enough to face their insecurities and choose to do so.  

I'm going to give you fair warning that this one ends on a cliff hanger.  Unfortunately I don't really think I like the direction this cliff hanger is going to take the story, but on the other hand it may be just the catalyst that is needed to allow both Kason and Adaline open themselves up to the power of a healthy all consuming love. 

   

COMING SOON

Crave: Part Two – Releases October 16

AUTHOR BIO 

E.K. Blair, takes her readers on an emotional roller coaster with her dynamic and intense writing style. Noted for her ability to create fleshed-out characters that will evoke a realm of reactions, you can be assured that her stories will linger with you far beyond the last word.

A former first grade teacher with an imagination that runs wild. Daydreaming and zoning out is how she was often found in high school. Blair tends to drift towards everything dark and moody. Give her a character and she will take pleasure in breaking them down, digging into their core to find what lies underneath.

Aside from writing, E.K. Blair finds pleasure in music, drinking her Starbucks in peace, and spending time with her friends. She’s a thinker, an artist, a wife, a mom, and everything in between.


AUTHOR LINKS

Website: http://www.ekblair.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EKBlairAuthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/EK_Blair_Author
Instagram: https://instagram.com/authorekblair/
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/e-k-blair

Review: Keep by Rachel Van Dyken

http://amzn.to/29Pmj7Y

My name's shouted on rooftops.
It's written on bras, bathroom stalls, hell my name is everywhere. To say my name is to experience an orgasm without ever leaving your house.
My name?
Zane "Saint" Andrews.
I'm sex.
I'm a rock god.
I'm also a virgin.
What they don't know won't kill them right? Give the people what they want. And what they want is the idea of me; the pleasure they gain at listening to my song and knowing without a doubt I'm talking about them and only them.
It worked for a while.
Until a nerdy girl with glasses falls at my feet, literally, and suddenly I don't want to be Saint anymore, what I want? What I really need?
Is to be kept.
By her. 

Review:  4.75 of 5 Stars

I first fell in love with Zane Andrews in Capture, Book 1 of the Seaside Pictures series. He was funny, a little strange and obsessed with marshmallows.  Oh did I mention that he loves to walk around naked, like all the time??  I didn't understand it, but I knew the back story had to be amazing.   His childhood is haunting and leaves him with some major issues that need to be resolved.  I especially love that reading about Zane gave me an appreciation for celebrities and the loneliness they must face everyday.  How can you ever tell who likes you for you and who just wants something from you.  How do you overcome the battle of everyone having a preconceived notion based on tabloid rumors?  How do you find a true friend?  Despite the money and fame, it still must be a hard life at times. 

Fallon, the nerdy girl next door, is adorable.  I love that she doesn't go fawning after Zane and was sold on her character when she gave him a fake number when he asked.  She has guts, despite her stuttering and legally blind vision.  When Zane is searching for a friend and bribes Fallon to hang out I knew that sparks were going to fly!  She was exactly the type of person he needed in his life.  She knew when to push and when to be patient; but more importantly she knew how to earn his trust.

Once Fallon and Zane finally give into their desire and fall in love, BAM, Rachel blew me away.  Totally blindsided.  I never saw the twist coming and it was so, so, epic.  Keep is a beautiful love story with the perfect mixture of angst, humor, sexiness and love.    Rachel Van Dyken totally rocked this book and left me wanting "s'more"! 

Review: The Ruby Circle (Bloodlines #6) by Richelle Mead

Their forbidden romance exposed, Sydney and Adrian find themselves facing the wrath of both the Alchemists and the Moroi in this electrifying conclusion to Richelle Mead’s bestselling Bloodlines series.

When the life of someone they both love is put on the line, Sydney risks everything to hunt down a deadly former nemesis. Meanwhile, she and Adrian becomes enmeshed in a puzzle that could hold the key to a shocking secret about spirit magic, a secret that could shake the entire Moroi world and alter their lives forever.

Don't miss their unforgettable final chapter...

LOVE WILL CONQUER ALL

Review:  5 of 5 stars

The Ruby Circle is the final installment of the Bloodlines series by Richelle Mead. This series has basically consumed my life for the last ten or so days.  I loved Vampire Academy and all the fun, exciting things that happened in it with Rose and Dimitri.  I was really unsure about how this series would compare, especially since Sydney seemed so boring and uptight in VA.  I am so glad that I didn't let my preconceived notions get in the way of loving this series.  I dare say that I loved it more than Vampire Academy!

TRC begins with a frantic search for Princess Jill Dragomir.  Since Adrian and Sydney are basically trapped at Court they are going stir crazy and a little insane trying to figure out who has Jill and why.  A surprise visit from Ms. Terwilliger brings some human magic to Court.  Once it is clear that whoever is holding Jill captive has a grudge against Sydney a plan begins to form.  Can Sydney protect herself the the Alchemists waiting for her on the outside?

After Sydney's escape from Court, Adrian is left with his own demons to face, in the form of spirit and his dead Aunt Tatiana.  Olive, the Strigoi that was restored to a Dhapmir has run away from her sister Nina and anyone else that is searching for her.  Nina begs Adrian for help to find her in a spirit dream the truth is revealed, but at what cost?  Is the use of spirit magic worth the cost?

Prepare yourself for a roller coaster of emotions and twists and turns that you did not see coming you way.  I thoroughly enjoyed every book in this series.  I felt like each book was a little better than the last.  That being said, I think that Richelle Mead has left the reader with some unanswered questions and many possible storylines for future spin offs into another series.  I hope that one day she decides to create another series to answer them.  

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!   

Promo: Just Me by L.A. Fiore

 

 

═══ LIVE BUY NOW ═══

Synopsis: Lark O'Bannion learned early that life isn't really like a fairy tale. Parents don't always love their children unconditionally. Damsels are usually left to deal with their distress alone and Prince Charming rarely, if ever, comes riding to the rescue. Happily-ever-afters are a lovely concept, but in reality are few and far between. When Sebastian Ross rolls into her life on his Harley, with his dark beauty and inked skin, Lark is willing to admit that maybe she doesn't know as much as she thinks she does. Sebastian wants nothing more than to get out from under the control of his parents and their desire to force him into a mold. Changing schools in his senior year isn't an act of rebellion, but his attempt to take control of his life by following his own path. One look into Lark's emerald-green eyes and control is taken out of Bastian's hands. He will discover that the only path he wants to follow is the one that leads to her. Mature YA for Adult situations and language. Author's Note: This is a new edition to the previously released Just Me. New publication date: October 6, 2015.

AmazonUS | AmazonUK | AmazonCA | AmazonAU | nook | iBooks | kobo

════════════════

════════════════

JUST ME THUNDERCLAP CAMPAIGN

Thunderclap Campaign is now LIVE for Just Me by LA Fiore

Click if you would like to help and support ▼

https://www.thunderclap.it/projects/32340-new-mature-ya-from-l-a-fiore

════════════════

L.A. Fiore is the author of several books including: Beautifully Damaged, Beautifully Forgotten and Always and Forever. She's also the social secretary for her two children, a tamer of ill-mannered cats, the companion to one awesome dog and married to her best friend. She likes her wine red, her shrimp chilled and her social gatherings small and intimate.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Amazon Page | Instagram | Newsletter

═══════════════

Hosted by The Next Step PR, LLC

Website | Facebook | Twitter

Image by Cool Text: Logo and Button Generator - Create Your Own Logo