Tossing It by Rachel Robinson
Leif Andersson knows a lot of things. How to hunt terrorists, where to hide from his neurotic, overbearing sisters, when to make a reasonable judgement call, and why he’s never settled down with a woman. When a SEAL base opens in the small, coastal town of Bronze Bay, Florida, Leif knows it’s the perfect situation to shake things up after years of fighting a monotonous, global war. A simple place, to build a simple life turns out to be anything but when he meets and falls in love with her.
Dementia stole Malena Winterset’s mother. It also took her father. He abandoned them both a decade ago when the mental illness grew to be more than he could bear. As the primary caretaker for her mother, Malena spends her days planning parties and working at the Bronze Bay General Store. Her nights are spent at home, wishing for something more. When a SEAL base opens, a new, handsome face in town makes his presence known, but his affections come with rules.
1.) Two forms of birth control
2.) Never leave stuff at his place
3.) Be content to never meet his family
4.) Don’t fall in love with him
When the unthinkable happens, and three of the rules are shockingly, and accidentally broken, lives are changed forever.
At least Malena never left her toothbrush in his bathroom…
ellie's $0.02:
Okayyyy, here we go. This was my first Rachel Robinson read, so I really had no idea what to expect.
I knew it was Navy Seal. I knew it was secret baby. (Hello, look at the damn cover, people. I'm not giving spoilers away.)
My expectations starting it was "Wonderful. Cocky ego-maniac military dude, knocks her up. He's going to be a dick because he doesn't want kids and a family. He's a whore. I hate him. I'm hungry and need tacos." Given, that last thought was totally irrelevant, but it was still there.
What I didn't expect was for the author to knock me off my feet and make me forget about tacos momentarily.
I also was slightly frightened that the heroine, Malena, was going to be too soft for me. And I really was in the mood for crunchy and not soft. Shit. Back to the tacos.
But Malena worried me. She seemed soft. She had a lot going on in her life.
And how the hell were these two going to mesh? Oh. The rules. That's how. But come on... we all know rules don't mean jack shit.
ANYWAY. I had forgotten about tacos and was utterly consumed with this book. The style of writing was enjoyable, there was humor, there was chemistry... and even in moments of devastation, I was still right there.
Why is it so hot when guy's talk like their dick is a third person?
My favorite scene is the hospital scene. Let me know when you get to it so we can giggle together with our hands over our mouths.
P.S. Tacos have absolutely no relevance to the story. I was just hungry at the time.
The Hardest Fall by Ella Maise
The first time you meet someone, you make eye contact. You smile, say hello. Should be simple, if you’re anyone but me. The first time I met Dylan Reed, I found myself making eye contact with a different part of his body. You see, I’m very good at being shy, not to mention extremely well-versed in rambling nonsense and, unfortunately, rather highly skilled at making a fool of myself in front of a guy I’m attracted to.
At the time, I knew nothing about him and thought none of what I said would matter since I’d never speak to him again. Turns out, I was very wrong. He was the star wide receiver of the football team, one of the few players expected to make it into the NFL, and I ended up seeing him all over campus.
I might have also propositioned him, run away from him, attacked him with a cooking utensil…and…uh, maybe I shouldn’t tell you all of it. It’s pretty normal stuff, things you’d expect…from me. Eventually, the time came when I couldn’t hide anymore—not that he’d have let me even if I tried.
Before now, he never knew I was secretly watching him. Now that we see each other every day, he knows when I have a hard time looking away. It doesn’t help that I’m not the most subtle person in the world either.
He smiles at me and tells me he finds me fascinating because of my quirks. I can’t even tell him that I think my heart beats differently whenever he’s around.
He thinks we’re going to be best friends. I think I have a big thing for him, and the more I get to know him, the more I don’t care that I’m not allowed to be his friend, let alone fall for him.
The thing is, that’s exactly what I’m doing—what we’re doing, I think.
Falling.
Hard.
ellie's $0.02:
This is a delicious, delicious, delicious sexy funny college romance.
The end.
Kidding.
I have so much to say but don't know how say it. I'm at a loss on how to review this one.
Sometimes books are about the plot. The setting. The vibe. The ambiance. The characters. The twist. The angst. Or in some of your cases, the covers. But there is always one something that strikes me personally as the strongest point of a book.
For me? This book was ALL about the characters. I'm not sure I've ever been so fully invested in characters until Dylan and Zoe. Their quirks, their chemistry, their humor, their dynamics, their dialogue, the overall general perfectness of their personalities - everything about them was everything to me. And these two MADE THE BOOK. Which means Ella Maise wrote the perfect book.
While some may classify this as a slow simmer... I classify it is a slow simmer to eventual scorching romance. I loved the pacing. I loved the build-up of these two, knowing they ended up together and I was getting the story of HOW. Think of "How I Met Your Mother." It's gonna happen, this is gonna happen, they are totally going to do "it" and fall in love. We get the story of how... And Maise sure as hell told me how.
The humor is sprinkled perfectly throughout the entire book (well, let's say starting at page one, we immediately discuss Dylan's cock... perfection), with dialogue, situations, and their characters' general existence.
This hit me in all the right spots in all the right ways. I feel like my G-spot was found, tickled to perfection, and I need to stop and go have a cigarette now. Everything about this book was just... better than good. It was fucking awesome. These characters really are the best and favorite characters I've read in a long time. They ARE the epitome of #couplegoals (man, that line in this review is going to look so stupid in a few years when hashtags are out). #favoritebook #favoriteauthor #love #mustread
I am glowing, gloating (I don't know about what, that I got to read it early?), bloating (because I eat like shit), raving, loving, and recommending this SOLID 5-STAR read.
You, Ella, you have earned a spot in my ALWAYS READ AND PICK UP EVERY BOOK YOU EVER WRITE pile.
Cold As Ice (Bedroom Games, #1) by Piper Rayne
It may be Winter Games, but the bedroom games are about to begin…
Competing in South Korea on the world stage is hard enough.
Having to spend the entire press tour beforehand with a woman who hates me?
Karma really is a bitch.
While she’s spent the last four years loathing me, I’ve spent them ignoring the guilt that gnaws at my stomach.
All Mia Salter cares about is that I’m her brother’s ex-best friend and it’s her duty to hate me. The funny thing is, I barely noticed her back when she was trying to keep up with us on the slopes. Now, as both of us prepare to go for gold, I’m seeing her in a whole different light—and it involves a whole lotta different positions.
No one said the path to the Olympics would be easy.
ellie's $0.02:
To say I loved this book is a gross understatement. Snowboarders and "Olympic" training. Is there anything better? I felt like I was in "Olympic" training with these athletes. I loved, loved, LOVED these characters. Their dynamics, their humor, their dialogue. This book is FUN (yes, in all caps) with small doses of angst. Don't want to keep things too drama-free.
And did I mention SNOWBOARDING?
This is a fun, entertaining, steamy read that will make you feel like you are right in the middle of "Olympic" training, the "Olympic" village and partaking in athlete life and antics... and sex.
This is book 1 in the trilogy (they are all complete standalones) and I've read two of the three at this point and they are a TOP favorite sport romance for me.
Why is "Olympics" in quotations? Because it never is states as "Olympics" in the book. I'm sure a trademark thingy. So I splattered that into my review. Winter Games. Winter Classics. Competition. Whatevs. We know what it's about. Humor. Athletes. And romance. Gold, silver, and bronze.
Damn. Is it Feb. 8 yet. Ready for those 2018 Winter Olympics.
The Outliers (The Outskirts Duet #2) by T.M. Frazier
Sensual. Heartbreaking. Passionate. Overwhelming. Maddening.
That’s the love Finn and I share.
It's the kind you can never recover from.
The kind you never WANT to recover from.
That's why we'll do everything and anything to protect it.
When my past chases me all the way to Outskirts, we have to make a choice.
Let the lies destroy our chance at future together or...bury them deep in the swamp where they belong.
Got a shovel?
ellie's $0.02:
The conclusion to the duet! And by duet, you do know that means you have to read the first book to even remotely understand this one, right?
Frazier "brings it" with the end of the duet with perfectly orchestrated words, plot, and finale.
One of my favorite things about this duet is that Frazier carefully constructs the angst and drama around the main characters and surrounds them with it. But Finn and Sawyer always team together and avoid unnecessary angst and misunderstandings between them. Sometimes I just need a book where the main characters are solid as one and there aren't crazy secrets between the two. Let the angst and trauma happen elsewhere.
Yeah, tis one is tat one with all the tings.
There are still plenty of jaw dropping moments and suspense... but a true love story lies therein. Family, humor, swamps, religion, tings, love, death... and finding yourself. It's all here.
Don't worry. This one really does conclude and we aren't left hanging in the swamp sad and alone.
Do we get a spin-off of Miller and Josh? Please?
Broken Souls by Evan Grace
She destroyed my family.
After ten years, Brylee Whitmore has returned to our home town, giving me my shot at revenge. I thought it would be simple, but she’s changed. I was supposed to make her pay for what she’s done, so why do I feel like I have to fix her instead?
Coming home was a mistake.
If my dad wasn’t sick, I would have stayed away. Chase Foster plans to exact his revenge, and I deserve it. I’m supposed to pay for my sins, but now he wants to fix me instead. Too bad there’s nothing left to fix.
One Tragedy.
Two broken people.
Can he forgive her?
Can she forgive herself?
ellie's $0.02:
The love story of Chase and Brylee.
This is not your typical romance or is it? I picked this one up really not knowing what to expect, as I think ALL readers should do, so this review will be kept vague, short, and sweet.
I was blown away, I was shattered, I was a wreck reading this.
I wanted to love Chase, I did love Chase, then I didn't love Chase.
I can't say more except trust me that this one is worth picking up blind. Go in not knowing. Ride the words, the flow and the plot. You'll be blown away. And it'll be oh so worth your time.
Bravo, Evan. Seriously. BRAVO. An absolutely amazing read.
Bottoms Up by Holly Renee
From the moment I met him, I knew he was trouble.
He was reckless, cocky, and everything I shouldn't want.
I had a life all figured out, and Tucker Moore was not a part of the plan.
But somehow I slipped.
One moment I had it all under control.
The next I was spiraling around him, begging him for whatever he would give me.
But as quickly as I fell for him, it all crumbled around us.
Because everything I thought I knew was far from the truth.
There was only one way to fix what we had done.
So I turned my world Bottoms Up.
ellie's $0.02:
This is one of those books that I can't put my finger on the precise point of what did it for me. Which means, it was basically the entirety of it all coming together perfectly.
I loved the imperfect but perfect heroine. She had her weaknesses. She wasn't the epitome of a super model (yay!). She was insecure. She was real. And Tucker saw through it all.
Okay, okay, I know it's fiction.
But this was written to perfection. This is the story we all want and need. This is funny (I originally had 'humorous' here but I stumbled on the spelling 100 times and I still don't know if it's right. Don't tell anyone I'm an editor.), this is sexy, this is all around ENJOYABLE.
I loved their meeting over Spanx. I loved the underwear model. I loved them hot tubbing in Nashville. Damn, I'm telling you the whole story right here, huh.
The side characters. The characters. The plot. And the delivery of it all is magnifico. I loved it all in this book.
The Honey Trap by Karli Perrin
After catching her childhood sweetheart cheating on her, Sophia Hamilton is hell-bent on stopping other women from getting played like she was.
And so the played becomes the player.
Fast forward two years and Sophia is now one of San Francisco’s most successful honey trappers. Getting paid to expose cheating men has become the norm but just when she thinks she has seen it all, she is offered a unique proposition which threatens to turn her entire world upside down.
Mason Hunter is a hotel tycoon, millionaire and cheater. Or is he?
Sophia has six weeks to find out.
She quickly discovers that Mason isn't the only one keeping secrets and she becomes caught up in a tangled web of lust, lies and misplaced loyalties.
Lines are crossed. Rules are broken. The real Mason Hunter is about to be exposed.
The hunt is on.
ellie's $0.02:
Karli, Karli, Karli... where have you been hiding. Just kidding. I read you... FOUR FUCKING YEARS AGO. You have been hiding. I'm so glad you're back.
Honey, you took this Honey Trap and knocked it out of the park. This book was hilarious, sexy, fun, entertaining... it was EVERYTHING. I loved every twist, every bind, every plotline, every character (yes, even Emily because I love a good villain), every line of dialogue... EVERYTHING. But Buzz. Buzz definitely steals the show.
I don't have enough nouns or adjectives left to finish this review and give the praise that it deserves.
This was a solid 5 stars and 5 tacos for me in all aspects of the book. Everything about it was a huge satisfaction in my gut. It was entertaining at the highest level and crept into the top spot of hilarious rom-con for me. All smiles and high fives and shit from me.
The Outskirts by T.M. Frazier
Sawyer wants a life of her own.
Finn wants to forget he ever had one.
After a tragedy, Finn Hollis escapes
into the swamp to be alone.
That is until Sawyer Dixon shows up,
all SCORCHING HOT innocence,
claiming she owns the land less than
fifty feet from his front door.
Sawyer gets under his SKIN, but even worse?
She makes him CRAVE things.
Things Finn hasn’t thought about in a very long time.
Finn WANTS Sawyer gone.
Almost as much as he wants her in his BED.
The swamp is about to get a whole lot HOTTER.
The Outskirts was originally set to be a standalone.
It is now book one of a duet.
The Outliers is the title of book two..
ellie's $0.02:
Sawyer and Finn had too much to say to keep their story contained to one book... so we get the start of the duet. The two broken souls do have quite the stories to tell.
Everything about this book was a solid yes for me. It was all emotions. Depressing, distressing, dark, and swampy. A swampy, sexy, love? Yes.
While completely different than Frazier's previous series, this one is not a disappointment. It may actually be my favorite. The mystery. The darkness. The swamp. The brokenness. It's all still sexy and romantic to me.
And not to mention the writing. The writing is never a disappointment. Precise, non-fluff and enrapturing. I dig. I dig a LOT. I was lost in the swamp world for a day on this one and I feel like I left a piece of my heart and mind back there. Thank God for a sequel, maybe I can retrieve them from those muddy waters.
Commitment (Temptation, #5) by K.M. Golland
Sizzling power couple, Bryce and Alexis — from the Temptation novels — help bring sexy back to their friend’s lacklustre thirteen-year marriage.
Natasha Jones loves her life, her husband and their two young sons. She works hard both at home and as an Events Supervisor at City Towers. But when a relationship with her work colleague unexpectedly progresses, Tash begins to question whether or not her marriage has passed its ‘Use by’ date.
Dean Jones is a numbers man but has no idea that his number could be up where his marriage is concerned. Never one to really speak his mind, he has always opted to just go with the flow in order to keep his wife happy.
Passion, intimacy, and communication have taken a backseat to demanding careers, a mortgage, and family life, and it’s not until Tash and Dean stand to lose everything they have built together that the spark between them begins to flicker again.
And boy does it flicker ...
and ignite ...
and nearly burn the entire neighbourhood down!
Can Tash and Dean keep this newly lit flame alive and save their marriage? Or will temptation make the commitment seem too much to bear?
ellie's $0.02:
This will probably be that book that so many women will be able to relate to and hopefully laugh at and along with and at themselves. The woes and tales of Tash and her marriage. It's funny, but it's not. It's romantic, but it's not. It's sexy, but it's not. It's real life, dude. This is super sassy and actually all of the aboves with or without the nots. Did that confuse you?
What Golland did was grab onto something real and wrote about it. And wrote it WELL. Added in her humor, her seriousness, her talent of storytelling, and her love of shoes.
The moral of the story is NEVER GET MARRIED.