NA Book Review: All Lined Up by Cora Carmack

Title: All Lined Up

Author: Cora Cormack

Series: Rusk University #1

Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance

Publisher: William Morrow 

Pub Date: May 13, 2013

Pages: 320

My Copy: Paperback from my Too Be Read Pile

Book Summary:

In Texas, two things are cherished above all else—football and gossip. My life has always been ruled by both.

Dallas Cole loathes football. That's what happens when you spend your whole childhood coming in second to a sport. College is her time to step out of the bleachers, and put the playing field (and the players) in her past.

But life doesn't always go as planned. As if going to the same college as her football star ex wasn’t bad enough, her father, a Texas high school coaching phenom, has decided to make the jump to college ball… as the new head coach at Rusk University. Dallas finds herself in the shadows of her father and football all over again.

Carson McClain is determined to go from second-string quarterback to the starting line-up. He needs the scholarship and the future that football provides. But when a beautiful redhead literally falls into his life, his focus is more than tested. It's obliterated.

Dallas doesn't know Carson is on the team. Carson doesn't know that Dallas is his new coach's daughter.

And neither of them know how to walk away from the attraction they feel.

Book Review:

Totally fell in love with this book right from the start. Dallas and Carson are great together. Dallas and Carson are characters who in many ways find that they need each other in more ways than they can ever imagined. I also like how this book is about more than just football even though a lot of it revolves around football.

I like that Dallas seems a little bit reserved. Her roommate Stella seems to be the one that pushes her to go out and have some fun. Dallas needs to since her father seems to be very controlling of her life. So Dallas listens to Stella and at a party she meets a very interesting guy who turns to be Carson. We find that a lot of the people Dallas knows are at this party including her ex-boyfriend who she wants to run from. Things get pretty intense when she encounters Carson. Carson and Dallas feel a spark that is unlike anything they have ever known.

Carson really wants to move up the ladder on the football team. He works really hard on and off the football field. It shows through out the book, but he can’t get the sexy red-head girl off his mind, Dallas. Carson really feels like this girl gets him in a way that no one else has in a long time. Plus there seems to be something about her that makes him go crazy. Carson is working even harder.

I felt that as Carson and Danielle are working on their relationship or trying to do, Dallas issues start to come to a head. She wants her independence, but her dad doesn’t think she is ready for that. Her dad in some ways holds her back from doing the thing she really is passionate about is dance. Dallas really wants to pursue dancing. Plus going to Rusk wasn’t her first choice. She wants to go to New York and really follow it, but something happens that no one expects. This development majorly changes everything for both characters.

The thing that happens to Dallas and some of the other characters really changes people’s perspectives and attitudes about what other people need. Sometimes incidents and breakdowns happen so we can re-evaluate the direction that we are going in. I totally love how Carson doesn’t let Dallas push him away. Dallas and Carson really do care for each other deeply and don’t let those obstacles get in their way. Dialogue between all the characters is really strong and wonderful.

Totally loved all the characters, the chemistry, the friendship that Cora Cormack has built at Rusk University. I want more of this universe.

Rating:

4.5 Hearts

Into Your Arms by Chelsea M. Cameron Release Blitz

INTO YOUR ARMS by Chelsea M. Cameron

SMP Swerve

Publication Date: May 30, 2017

eBook ISBN: 9781250125187; Price: $3.99

Description

Get fired up for Into Your Arms, the first book in the sexy new Squad Stories series from New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Chelsea M. Cameron!

Freya has secrets she doesn’t intend to share. Not with her new friends on the cheerleading squad at Maine State University, and certainly not with sexy lumberjack-look-alike Rhett. Just because sparks flew between them at a bar one night doesn’t mean he gets to know why she transferred to MSU. When Freya dares Rhett to come to cheerleading practice, she never expects to see the dark-haired lumberjack again.

Except Rhett is the last person to turn down a dare, especially when it comes from a pixie-sized blonde. When Rhett wows the squad and becomes Freya’s stunt partner, his hands come far too close for comfort. But as Freya and Rhett’s hot post-practice sessions bring them closer, she risks her secrets being revealed. Can Freya chance exposing who she really is to the guy who wasn’t supposed to win her heart?

Author Bio

Chelsea M. Cameron is a New York Times/USA Today Best Selling author from Maine, whose books include Deeper We Fall. She's a red velvet cake enthusiast, obsessive tea drinker, vegetarian, former cheerleader and world's worst video gamer. When not writing, she enjoys watching infomercials, singing in the car, tweeting (this one time, she was tweeted by Neil Gaiman) and playing fetch with her cat, Sassenach. She has a degree in journalism from the University of Maine, Orono that she promptly abandoned to write about the people in her own head. More often than not, these people turn out to be just as weird as she is.

Author Links

Website: www.chelseamcameron.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/Chelsea-M-Cameron-Official-Author-Page-304422529610919

Twitter: @chel_c_cam

Instagram: www.instagram.com/chelccam

Buy Links

Amazon: www.amazon.com/dp/B06WVJRS1T

B&N: www.barnesandnoble.com/w/into-your-arms-chelsea-m-cameron/1125826128

iBooks: itunes.apple.com/us/book/into-your-arms/id1208262338

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/into-your-arms-5

Google Play: books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN9781250125187

Stacking The Shelves, Bought, Borrowed and Bagged, Coloring Book Updates

Stacking The Shelves is a meme hosted by Team Tynga's Reviews and Bought, Borrowed and Bagged is hosted by Braine over at Talk Supe Blog.

Note: I'm not doing as well as I would like since the weather goes from cold to hot, hot to cold, it's really messing with my sinuses and it causes me to feel very slow and sluggish. Glad to see that Book Expo is right around the corner... So happy to go, so next weekend it probably will be a bigger haul than usual...

NetGalley/Edelweiss

Coloring Book Haul
Note: The Japanese Coloring Book I bought off of Etsy and took a good month for me to get it...

Alice in Wonderland Coloring book

Chibi Girls by Jade Summer Coloring Book

Jasmine Becket Griffith Coloring Book

Mythomorphia Coloring Book

Pop Manga Coloring Book

Romantic Country I Coloring Book:

Sweet and Simple Whimsy Girls Coloring Book:

A Court of Thorns and Roses Coloring Book Flip Through

Buy at Amazon:
http://amzn.to/2rd0Krj

YA Book Review: Bright Blaze of Magic by Jennifer Estep

Title: Bright Blaze of Magic

Author: Jennifer Estep

Series: Black Blade #3

Genre: Young Adult

Publisher: Kensington

Pub Date: April 26, 2016

Pages: 368

My Copy: Courtesy of Netgalley and Kensington

Book Summary:

Bad Things Always Come In Threes…

As a thief, I'm good at three things: hiding in the shadows, getting in and out unseen, and uncovering secrets. I put these skills to work for the Sinclair Family, one of the magical mobs that run the tourist town of Cloudburst Falls. 

Everyone knows Victor Draconi wants to take over all the other Families--and kill every last Sinclair. What they don't know is that I'm on to him, and no way will I let the man who murdered my mom get away with hurting all the other people I care about. Especially when I've got places to break into, stuff to steal, and Devon Sinclair fighting right by my side… 

Book Review:

A terrific third book in this series. I totally found myself enjoying the fact that everything hits the fan literally in this book as Victor Draconi puts his final plans into motion. Lila and company try to stop him of course from doing this and find that nothing is ever easy. 

What I really love about Lila is that she is super smart and very sneaky. She certainly seems to be a much different person and a little bit more attached to the people she has come to love and respect very much. I like how this book starts with Lila, Felix, and Devon stealing some black blades from Victor, so he can’t use them, and replace them with fakes. Think this idea is wonderful. Also the fact that Deah helps them avoid being caught. Deah knows that her father is no good and decides to help them.

Also the fact that Claudia tells Lila to hide the black blades someplace other than the mansion tells me that Claudia knows Victor will come looking for them and it’s best to keep them hidden to stop Victor from doing what he wants to do. This comes to be a very wise tactical decision as something happens that we should have seen coming. Lila and Claudia know that Victor will stop at nothing to destroy the other families if he has the chance.

So of course, chaos ensues at a dinner where all the families are and of course Victor claims that he has black blades and has taken all the magic and to join his family or die. Of course no one wants to do this. Of course, the Black Blades he thought he had, backfires on him as one of Victor guards uses a fake black blade and realizes that someone switched his black blades for fakes. This infuriates him and he decides to attack and try to kill everybody. A lot of people die and get captured, but Felix, Lila, Devon, and Deah get out of this situation and go into hiding. This makes things more difficult for them as they have to figure out how to rescue everybody and fight against Victor. Victor has to be stopped before it’s too late.

I like the action packed nature of this third book a lot. There is one scene where people are talking and trying to gather intel. One scene in particular was a little easter egg for those of who read The Elemental Assassin series. Love the Pork Pit shirt that Deah is forced to wear by Lila so that they can gain intel on what is happening now that Victor is trying to find them. They need to know where everybody is hiding. What happens is nothing but short of interesting as Blake finds them and Deah unfortunately sprains her ankle and gives herself up. So of course, Lila and Devon go back to the mansion at one point and she finds her pixie is well and good. She needs to get something at the mansion.

We also learn that Lila hid the rest of the Black Blades in a place where no one would think to look. The Library where she first stayed. Thought it was a nice way to bring the series in a way back to where Lila was at the start of this series. Thought this was a nice twist and also we learn that during the time when she is trying to rescue certain members of the family, Victor lures her into a trap where she is most likely to die from copper crushers. While the Copper Crushers venom is coursing through her veins, she gets a vision and sees her mother, who tells her how to defeat Victor and that she is the only one who can do it.

Claudia and Victor are supposed to fight, and yet Lila explains to Claudia how she saw her mother and what her mother told her. Claudia agrees to let Lila fight for the family. Claudia explains that even as a teenager, he always seemed to crave power and nothing was ever enough for him. Lila needs to do this for her mother and everyone he has killed. I really have enjoyed how Lila has changed and matured over the course of three books. 

The fight between Victor and Lila is really excellent and both of them have surprises in a few ways that you never expected. Also was surprised that they had good banter and that Victor was not going to give her an easy fight because of the way that both of their talents work. It’s very similar to one another. Also the fact that he is surprised by the fact that Lila has a talent he has wanted for a long time. So he wants to take her talent and kill her not realizing that Lila always has a plan as well. The fight takes you on quite a ride and I loved that Lila emerged victorious and then peace ensues.

I really loved how this series ended. It was a happy ending and Lila found something she never thought she would have in her life, family and friends. Her life is really good now that she has avenged her mother. Plus she can move on with her life.

Rating:

4.5 Hearts

Stacking The Shelves, Bought, Borrowed and Bagged, Coloring Book Updates

Stacking The Shelves is a meme hosted by Team Tynga's Reviews and Bought, Borrowed and Bagged is hosted by Braine over at Talk Supe Blog.

Note: Have been with a terrible sinus affection this week. Sore throat, nasal congestion, sneezing a lot this weekend. Terrible to be sick at times

NetGalley/Edelweiss

E-Books Gotten

Coloring Book Haul

Alice In Wonderland Coloring Book Update

Fantasia Coloring Book Update

Sweet and Simple Whimsy Girls

The Time Chamber Coloring Book Update

Book Review: A Scot in the Dark by Sarah MacLean

Title: A Scot in the Dark

Author: Sarah MacLean

Series: Scandal & Scoundrel #2

Genre: Historical Romance

Publisher: Avon

Pub Date: August 30, 2016

Pages: 352

My Copy: Courtesy of Edelweiss and Publisher For Review

Book Summary:

Lonesome Lily Turned Scandalous Siren

Miss Lillian Hargrove has lived much of her life alone in a gilded cage, longing for love and companionship. When an artist offers her pretty promises and begs her to pose for a scandalous portrait, Lily doesn't hesitate...until the lying libertine leaves her in disgrace. With the painting now public, Lily has no choice but to turn to the one man who might save her from ruin.

Highland Devil turned Halfhearted Duke

The Duke of Warnick loathes all things English, none more so than the aristocracy. It does not matter that the imposing Scotsman has inherited one of the most venerable dukedoms in Britain—he wants nothing to do with it, especially when he discovers that the unwanted title comes with a troublesome ward, one who is far too old and far too beautiful to be his problem.

Tartan Comes to Town

Warnick arrives in London with a single goal: get the chit married and see her become someone else's problem, then return to a normal, quiet life in Scotland. It's the perfect plan, until Lily declares she'll only marry for love...and the Scot finds that there is one thing in England he likes far too much…

Book Review:

Two unlikely people who find themselves looking for something to fix. I like how you get a duke who really doesn’t want to be Duke and then gets a ward as well, a female ward. Alec and Lillian are two individuals find themselves needing one another more than they realize.

I like how this starts with Alec being notified that he is a duke and doesn’t want the title. He feels like this has nothing to do with him. Alec is not informed after several of the dukes have died that he also inherited a ward, a young woman named Lilian Hargrove. Also we get some background on Lillian Hargrove’s situation and the scandal that is going to erupt. Lillian thought this man, Derek loved her, and that they were going to marry, otherwise she would have never posed nude for him. If this painting of her, the nude, will ruin her reputation. So the mere fact that she even did this, is causing a scandal, even though the nude has not been revealed.

One of the things that I like about this book is  that these two individuals have strong willed personalities. Two people who have strong wills are going to have conflict between them. This conflict is about Lillian never having need of a guardian. Alec thinks otherwise. This mess that she has gotten involved in, this proves otherwise at least in Alec’s mind. We also learn that she has issues with trust, like him.

We get a lot of ups and downs with these two individuals as Alec thinks that getting Lillian married to some English lord will be good for her and help to lessen the blow of the scandal. The painting hasn’t been revealed yet, but will soon, so to ease this possible scandal, getting someone to marry her, means she will be protected and not his problem. Plus Derek the one who painted the nude, will have to deal with things.

As we get to know both Lillian and Alec a little bit more we find that both of them have felt like they were damaged by being neglected and that they didn’t have any friends to talk to. We also learn that there seems to be an attraction between the two of them. So they get to have a deeper emotional attachment despite him trying to set her up with someone else and it doesn’t work. Lilian also gets to meet some interesting young women. These are some characters from Sarah MacLean’s other books, which was nice to see.

I love how both Lillian and Alec work together to get the painting back. The way that this unfolds is really interesting and such a different way of solving a problem. Yet things never go as planned and utter hijinks ensue. Also things happen between the two of them that neither of them expects or sees how things will transpire. I like how Lillian is the one who decides that she wants Alec to be hers regardless of what he says, because deep down inside knows he is the man for her. 

This book had a great ending for me. I also like how both Alec and Lillian started off not really thinking that they needed anyone, but realize they need each other more than they ever thought possible. This was an awesome romance. I really love these two characters.

Rating:

4 Hearts

Stacking The Shelves, Bought Borrowed and Bagged, Coloring Book Updates

tacking The Shelves is a meme hosted by Team Tynga's Reviews and Bought, Borrowed and Bagged is hosted by Braine over at Talk Supe Blog.

NetGalley/Edelweiss

E-Books Gotten:

Print Books Gotten

Coloring Book Haul

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Coloring Book Update

Disney Princess: Art of Coloring Book

Magical Dawn Coloring Book Update

Summer Nights

Sweet and Simple Whimsy Girls Update

The Time Chamber Coloring Book Update