Undressed (The Men Of West Beach #1) By: Kimberly Derting

I want to send a huge thank you to Kimberly for sending out the ARC for this one. I thought the book sounded amazing from the description, but y'all, it was even better once I dove in. And I'm so excited to share my review with you.

Be sure to grab a copy of UNDRESSED August 27th when it releases!! 💙💙💙

Can two people whose dreams have been cast aside find a new passion...together?

No one ever expected straight-A student Lauren Taylor to make waves. But that was the old Lauren, before she went to college and became an online stripper to make ends meet. Now, Lauren is on the run with a secret and a bag of cash, fleeing landlocked Arizona for the beaches of California. 

Will Gabaldon was one of the hottest surfers on the circuit, but fate had something else in mind. When a surfing accident shattered his budding career, Will was forced into a life of tending bar and doing odd jobs just to survive. 

A swim instructor with secrets like Will is the last thing Lauren wants. A distraction like Lauren is the last thing Will needs. 

But soon, both discover there’s one thing more dangerous than the wave that ended Will's career: Love.

Sleep? What is this sleep thing you speak of? Haha

I will learn one of these days to actually space out a book and take my time enjoying it... Said no book worm ever!

But seriously y'all.... I LOVED this book.

Surprisingly this was my first time diving into one of Kimberly's books (Although Body Finder's been on my radar for quite some time) but I'm so glad I got the opportunity to finally give a book of hers a shot. Because Undressed was just so so good.

From start to finish I was drawn in.... Between the great character development, to the fun and intriguing. And even a bit mysterious story line. I found myself not able to put this book down until I hit the last page (I may not have slept.... again)

And I think I broke a personal reading record this book. With my mad reading skills and all hehe. It took me maybe 4 hours to finish though. (I was on a roll haha)

And I literally didn't want to stop flipping pages until I knew what was going to happen.

The story just draws you in so much, and you can't help but want to see what's going to come about with these fictional people.

In my opinion, a great end of summer book. One of those fairly light and flirty ones. But yet, that still offers just a touch of mystery and suspense to offer an incredibly well rounded story.

I adored Will and Lauren so much too.

Will is the ultimate cocky, knows he's flaming hot Cheetos hot, surfer dude. But also has such a complicated past to go along with it all, that gives him a level of down to earthness (that is too a word hehe). And you can see just how hard working and caring the guy really is.

Plus I just love a good sweetie that's got a bit of a cocky side. It makes things so much more interesting and fun.

And man does it make him offer a great start to some major tension.

But as they say, it takes two to tango. And Lauren is the other half to Will's crazy.

I really really liked this girl (and as many of you know. I don't through that around often with female characters in my reviews)

There's just something about her though, that was so fun to read. But yet you feel so understanding and sympathetic towards her too.

She takes no crap, and is very strong on her opinions. But we also get to see the shy more vulnerable side to her on a. couple different fronts. And I loved that about how she was written.

It gives her that much needed depth I feel gets lost on so many female characters these days.

And made you just want to root for her, and cheer her on. Beg her to open up a bit. and stop worrying.

If she were a real person and not a fictional character in a made up world..... I could totally see myself hanging out with someone like her.

She's spunky and very mkuch in your face when she wants to be. And I totally just enjoyed getting her POV in this story.

And something else to add. I loved the secondary characters this story had to offer. We honestly don't get a ton from them. Just enough to add to the main. Characters histories and all that fun.

But they were involved just enough to let us have some fun and get to build a bit more on Lauren and Will's personalities.

Plus they just offer those fun little moments that make you snort at times.

And man. Just the story line to this books itself.

I really did love it. It was a fresh take on a topic I've seen pop up a few times now in books.

And I absolutely loved how Kimberly built on it all.And made this amazing cohesive story. that was able to really expand away from just one or two key topics. And then weave them all back together so they make a truly wonderful story. That keeps you flipping that page and begging to know what will happen between our two characters. As well as their friends and family. And how all that tension and those problematic situations will be resolved.

I can't sing enough praises for Kimberly, as she branches out into the NA/Adult romance world.

She did such a wonderful job of it.

And this book is all kinds of hot too! (Did I forget to mention that before? hehe) 🔥🔥🔥

Because the romance in this book is freaking fantastic and, all I can say at this point is that I'm just ready for the next book to be here already haha.

UNDRESSED gets

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐5 STARS⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

(Really like 10. But hey. I don't make the rules here hehe)

Breaching The Contract (Conflict of Interest #1) By: Chantal Fernando

When Simon and Schuster reached out to me about possibly reviewing this book I jumped on the chance. (Thanks for the ARC! y'all over at Pocket Star rock!)

New York Times bestselling author Chantal Fernando returns with BREACHING THE CONTRACT, book one in a brand new series—The Conflict of Interest Series—about a brigade of lawyers who, despite being bad boys at heart, always end up just on the right side of the law.

Katerina Dawson knows exactly what she wants from life. And as the new associate at the top law firm in the city, she’s ready to live out her dreams of becoming a criminal lawyer. But going on coffee runs and babysitting kids during the day was definitely not what she had in mind. She knows that anyone else would kill to be in her shoes, but she has to draw the line somewhere. That’s easier said than done, though, when Kat has to confront her handsome boss…

Tristan Channing and Jaxon Bentley run a successful law firm together and the two partners couldn’t be busier right now. When Jaxon suddenly takes a leave of absence, Tristan begrudgingly assumes responsibility of the new associate, the hot new associate, who has curves for days. Needing to keep his distance from her, Tristan sends Kat on needless errands and has her doing work even an intern wouldn’t touch, like picking up his kids. But his plan backfires when he sees his children grow attached to Kat and sees her getting comfortable in his home. It triggers something deep within him, and it feels right to have her there. Will Tristan be able to keep his work and personal lives separate, or will he find that his heart holds the final verdict?

I'm always up for a good lawyer romance. (Blame Emma Chase. Although I think she's ruined me for all lawyer books to come haha)

And this one sounded so so good. And was such a just fun quick read too.

The book is only a little over 100 pages. But honestly, I would have been more than happy to read a couple hundred more haha.

And as short of a book as this one was, Chantal did such an amazing job creating her characters and giving them a full, cohesive, and entertaining story.

I loved Kat and Tristan (Although I had to go back and reread Tristan's description because I totally had the worst image of some dude like mid 40's and a little rumpled, maybe balding, and pudgy. (Even though that's not him at all haha. This is what I get for not sleeping in over 24 hours.)

And anyways. I knew the image in my head was so wrong. And I knew it right away. But my brain just wasn't processing it. So I had to force myself to picture him as the hot 30 something lawyer. Which made for way steamer scenes than the other guy I had pictured in my twisted head hehe.

But it's not because Chantal doesn't do a great job with character description. She actually gives so many details that once I forced my brain to focus, I had a total amazing image of what this guy would look like haha.

And he was just an interesting character to read in general. he had so many sides to him. And made for a really interesting complex character.

And a totally lovable one at that (Even though I'm dying to see Jaxon's story now though.... like BAD! haha) I just loved how we got to see Tristan with his kids. so sweet and adorable. And then this moody fierce lawyer that totally kicks butt. But yet the also smirky sarcastic in office lawyer (Does that make sense? lol)

And don't even get me started on Kat. (Yes I know. I'm actually saying nice things about a female character for once. Well guess what? I FLOVED her)

She was witty and smart. And I loved how head strong and driven she was.

She knew what she wanted and worked her booty off to get it.

Plus she just made me giggle throughout the story. She has such a fun loving personality when she's not in work mode. And I loved the chemistry she had building with Tristan.

This book was just such a great read. And I enjoyed every page of it.

Plus I'm so excited to see how our next 2 lawyers are going to turn out (Or at least the 2 I'm hoping we get books about them haha)

I give BREACHING THE CONTRACT

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐5 STARS⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Release Day Blitz: Mercy By: Debra Anastasia

It's Release Day!!!!

I can't wait for ya'll to get your hands on this book. It is so so good. And such an intense crazy book.

If you like the dark and brooding types, than this one is definitely for you

Blurb

He taught me to kill. Murder is in my blood now. It runs through my veins and though I hide the monster I see in the mirror with ink, it doesn’t keep him from coming out.

My street name is Mercy, but I never show any. Except for her. I watch Becca, though she doesn’t know. She saved me a long time ago; the day my father killed my mother. Her bravery turned her into a target.

My father holds a grudge and knife with the same proficiency, and Becca is the focus of his hatred. And I’m the only monster who can save her.

ADD TO GOODREADS

Purchase Links

$2.99 for a limited time

AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU

B&N / KOBO / iBOOKS

Trailer

Author Bio

Debra Anastasia likes to write from her heart, her soul or her butt. The genres she dabbles in are examples of that. There are two paranormal romances in the Seraphim Series and now four contemporary romances in the Poughkeepsie Brotherhood Series and a stand alone in the same genre, Mercy. Fire Down Below and Fire in the Hole, Booty Camp Dating Service and Beast complete her comedy repertoire. The Revenger, a dark paranormal romance, is finally in the light, and the last, a novella called Late Night with Andres, is special because 100% of the proceeds go to breast cancer research. 

Debra lives in Maryland with her two kids, husband of twenty years and two dogs. The king of the house is clearly the tuxedo cat that is the size of a small donkey. Find about her latest adventures on DebraAnastasia.com

Author Links

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AMAZON - GOODREADS

In The Crease (Assassins, #12) By: Toni Aleo

I want to send a huge thank you to Toni and Ardent Prose PR for getting this awesome ARC sent out for review.

Y'all rock, and I can't thank you enough for getting me Wren and Jensen's story. I absolutely adored this book, and was so excited to finally get their story. And man, Toni, you did not disappoint

😍💓😍💓😍💓

Jensen Monroe is a unicorn. As handsome as any model, as polite as can be, a goalie of unmatched skill, and the best friend anyone could ask for. But he longs for a particular special someone to make his life complete. He’s been in love with Wren since he was a teenager, but as his best friend’s sister, she’s always been off-limits.

Wren Lemiere has prided herself on being a love ’em and leave ’em girl her whole life. She’s all about equal opportunity in the battle of the sexes. Why should guys like her brother and his best friends get to be the only ones allowed to play the dating game? One wrong move, however, and she finds herself in violation of her own rules.

In need of a fake husband and baby daddy for her unexpected bundle of joy, Wren finally accepts Jensen is the logical one to ask for help. Except he has a counteroffer…one with so many strings attached, they may just find themselves wrapped up in ties that bind. Forever.

Let me just say... This is one of those books that I was dying to get my grubby little hands on. I totally fell for Jensen and Wren back in Vaughn's book, and was literally bouncing up and down at the idea of finally getting to see what was going to happen between them.

So when the email went out that they were being sent out I was freaking ecstatic. 

I can't even tell you all.This book did not disappoint one bit. It had everything I could have wanted... Amazing characters, a great plot, sexy times galore, and yes, even a few overly frustrating scenes I just wanted to reach in and strangle some characters over.

But the plot was just so adorable, and man were the hockey men a swoony bunch haha.

But it was more than just some hotties out on the ice.

Toni gave us a well developed story that left be feeling so satisfied at the end, and more in love with this group of characters than I already was. The story was fairly fast paced, and had oodles of romance, drama, and silliness.

And let's not forget out star characters.

I honestly wasn't sure what to expect with Wren. She's shown up in several of the books in the series, and she's always been one of those characters I liked enough. Especially as we got a bit of a better glance at her in DELAYED CALL.

So I was really interested in what she was going to give us in this book.

And in true Toni form (I swear this woman must be able to like predict half my life at this point haha) she gave me another female character I related to immediately. There were so many things about Wren that I saw in myself. Her personality, unwillingness to trust or lean on others, her insecurities, her experience with awful douche canoes.... I mean honestly there was a lot. And no they weren't all bad. Wren is totally a dork, and funny too, and hey... I appreciate a girl who can joke about her black black soul, because I do all the time too haha. I swear I don't have a heart sometimes hehe.

Now don't get me wrong though. Wren and her multitude of insecurities did try to annoy me here and there. But only because I think they were a bit overdone at times.

I mean I get it, a girl has things that bother her. But I feel like at times they had too large of a presence in this book. And at times, defined Wren more than some of her other amazing qualities did.

But I also liked how Toni used those things to show Wren's growth through the story. She was one of those complex characters that had a ton of different sides to her, and I think by giving her those real life like qualities that most woman go through... It allowed for Wren to seem more real, not just a character in a book. And that's a testament to just how well Toni knows how to write.

It's funny too. A friend of mine who also blogs and received a copy of the book was talking with me, and had a good point. that I totally agreed with. Wren reminded them and me very much of Elli back in TAKING SHOTS.

They have very similar personalities and even insecurities and fears, and I kinda liked that little nod back to the original book (Even if that wasn't really intentional)

And then... There is Jensen....

I wanted this boys book sooooo bad haha.

He seemed like the biggest sweetie ever back in Vaughn's book. And I wanted to see the full extent of that.

Plus let's face it. Kayla has a soft spot for the goalies haha (Tate still makes me all swoony hehe 😍😍😍)

I blame Ben Bishop for my obsession. But I mean, can you blame a girl? He's so adorable haha

🏒🔥🠋🔥🠋🔥🠋🔥🏒

But anyways, back to Jensen.

He's just one of those characters that you automatically fall for.

He really is too sweet for his own good, and just such a caring nice guy. Plus he's funny. But I mean could you expect anyone who grew up around Vaughn and Wren to be any different?

That whole group, Wells included too, cracked me up from the start of getting to meet their characters. And Jensen just has that infectious personality and so many jokes and quick quips that cause you to have to put the book down for a few seconds and just giggle. (Like full on girly girl giggles haha)

But he's also one of the most loving and compassionate characters I've read in a while. He literally lives with his heart on his sleeves, and I adored how open and caring he really was. And man Jensen's been through his own share of crap too. But I loved how Toni wrote that all into his story and still let him grow from that, even if it meant still struggling sometimes with it too.

If I thought Wren was complex, she has nothing on Jensen.

He has so many layers [Insert bad Shrek joke here]

But getting to see all those sides to him and see that it only makes him more sure and confident warmed my heart. I wanted to root for him with Wren. I wanted to see him get everything he wanted.

He's definitely scored a spot in my top 5 guys Toni's given us so far.

And let's not forget all the fun characters that made a comeback in this book. Obviously Vaughn and Brie were back (And thank god because I needed more of that troublemaker in my life haha)

And man were those two cute as heck. And so so funny. Vaughn is back in true Vaughn fashion, and between him, Jensen, and Wells, I was about in tears a few times laughing so hard.

But also we get some fun little glimpses of Elli and Shea. And to my absolute delight even Tate (Even if my heart kinda broke for my original Assassins BookBF)

Plus a ton of other familiar faces here and there.

But that's something I've always loved about these books. Getting those small looks into how everyone's lives are going and progressing. It's so fun, and totally sweet to see how favorite characters and couples are doing.

And one thing I think I always kinda forget to mention in these reviews is, Toni has this way of bringing real life issues and situations into her books. Her character's either seem to face something themselves or know someone who is. And I love the way she sheds light on these things. How she shows her readers that yes, these things do happen in the world. And there is a way to live with them and even make your life better because of them, or learn from them.

I don't want to get onto specifics because I don't want to giveaway any plot points from this or previous books in the series. But if you follow Toni's books, you know what I'm talking about.

But I just want to say thank you Toni. For not being afraid to bring real life situations into your books. And allowing your characters to hopefully give some hope and strength to anyone in your characters shoes.

This book was such a great read. And I can't wait for everyone to get their hands on it. It really was a sweet story.

I give IN THE CREASE

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐5 STARS⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

If There's No Tomorrow: Jennifer L. Armentrout

I'm so excited to get to share my review of IF THERE'S NO TOMORROW with y'all today.

This is by far one of the best books Jen's put out to date, but also one of the most emotional and heartbreaking.

I can't thank Jen and her spectacular team enough for sending out this amazing ARC copy to read and review. I seriously adore y'all 😘😘😘

I seriously love Jen's books, and her herself too. She is just one of those authors that is a blast to meet and get to talk with. And I've gotten the luck to meet her several times over the past few years. She was actually one of the first few authors I ever met, and it seems I wind up at some event she's at or hosting at least once a year hehe.

I just got to meet her again this past March at Apollycon (Along with all those adorable cover models of hers haha) while I was working the event.

And she's totally awesome y'all!

 

Lena Wise is always looking forward to tomorrow, especially at the start of her senior year. She's ready to pack in as much friend time as possible, to finish college applications and to maybe let her childhood best friend, Sebastian, know how she really feels about him. For Lena, the upcoming year is going to be one of opportunities and chances. 

Until one choice, one moment, destroys everything. 

Now Lena isn't looking forward to tomorrow. Not when friend time may never be the same. Not when college applications feel all but impossible. Not when Sebastian could never forgive her for what happened. 

For what she let happen.  

With the guilt growing each day, Lena knows that her only hope is to move on. But how can she move on when tomorrow isn't even guaranteed?

I have got to start appropriating the time to be reading vs. the time to be sleeping. Because it's 6 am, and I've gotten ZERO hours of sleep so far.
And this makes 2 nights in a row of starting a book and finishing it before the sun rises the next day....

I go from not being able to hardly touch a book for months to this. Lord someone help me now haha.

But y'all I cannot put into words just how stunning and incredible this book was.

Jen always has this wonderful way of eliciting emotions through her writing. And this book managed to hit every single one of those feels I could possibly have.

I made the decision to go into this book blindly.
A decision that I'm extremely glad I made.
(I've done it a lot lately with recent books, especially by some of my favorite authors. And it seems to help with that separation of moving on to a new book or series by them. And not staying attached to the old ones. Plus it has just made for a much better reading experience for the books I've been brave enough to do it with)

So I really had no clue other than it was a contemporary YA, of what to be expecting or thinking.

And man, I'm pretty sure if I had read the description, I would have never expected what this book delivered.

I can't stress enough how beautiful the writing in this book was. Absolutely heart breaking. But so honest and sincere. And a subject that I think will touch a fairly large amount of people. Especially teens and even us still in our 20's who see ourselves as indestructible.

This book touches not only on life altering decisions and consequences, but also just that good contempary style of friendships, relationships, and growing up and finding yourself.

And as I said, this book hits a really good close to home target. We're not indestructible, and choices we make... No matter how insignificant they seem, have a way of playing out in ways we don't ever suspect. We make dumb choices and decisions because of others around us. And we don't think about what will come of those things. "It will never happen to me" I feel gets thrown around a lot these days.
And this is a good reminder that it could, and what happens when it does.
Yes it is a work of fiction. But it's dealing with a very real subject that does in fact happen all to often these days.
And Jen does such a wonderful job of breaking it all down to its barest most raw form. To give us those soul wrenching emotions (both good and bad)

And she does it not only with such an incredibly detailed and thought out story. But with such multi dimensional real characters.

I could feel the emotions in this book as I turned every page. Feel the hurt. And sparrow, and pain, and giddiness. The happy, sad, and fun.
And honestly this book had all those things.
I found myself laughing hard at times, and breaking down in tears at others. Such real and true emotions.
I found myself weeping and cheering along with the main characters.

They were so we'll constructed and thought out.

I adored Lena and her struggles (be it boy trouble, to the more emotional grief and guilt that overtakes her)
She's a relatable character, someone we've all been at a point I think. And I loved watching the evolution she takes through the pages of the story.

There were times when I wanted to reach in and smack her (shock shock for me right haha)

But I think those moments that caused me to feel like that, were needed too. They showed the difficulty Lena faced through the story. And in the end offers you a better emotional attachment to her and her situation.

And I can't even explain how much I loved Sebastian. I always find myself so completely smitten with Jen's male characters. Whether it's Daemon, Seth, or Aidan. And Sebastian was no exception (He was more along the lines of reminding me of Cam, or even Jensen)

I feel like he was so much wiser beyond his years at times, but yet still this emotional unsure teen too. And that gave him so much of that depth I mentioned. It made him relatable, and the character that you turn to lean on and feel for just as strongly as you do for Lena.

He's got that goofy charm with just enough cockiness to him, that you just can't help but adore in a character. And man I'm just putting it out there now.... I.CALL.DIBS!!!!

HE IS MINE! I CALL HIM!

AND NONE FOR GRETCHEN WIENERS!!!
😜😜😜😜😜

Plus I just adored all the additional characters in this book as well. they were a fun and interesting mix of goofy athletes, silly gossipy girls, and dorky guys.

All had their own unique personality. And those little things about each of them are what added so much to the story.

They give you those things that make you feel more as the story goes on, and let you really understand why the other characters feel or act so strongly.

This story is just by far a touching and beautifully heart breaking experience of a read. Much the way The Problem With Forever was. 

And I will warn... Have a box of tissues close by. Because if you're like me (claim to not be emotional) you'll need them anyways. Because guess what?! This emotionless blogger bawled like a baby with a toothache.
😭😭😭

IF THERE'S NO TOMORROW gets

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐5 STARS⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Honestly It'd get get 20 if I could do that.

it was just that good of a book.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐